MOUNTAINS. 
from the others, and westward on the same 
heights from Astico to the river Adige. 
Their number and variety of bulk is re- 
markable at Tonezza, and near Folgaria, 
where the hills being entirely calcareous, 
entirely destitute .of sound and primitive 
strata, demonstrate that the fragments al- 
luded to are foreign to the places in which 
they are deposited. As no possible move- 
ment of water could, in the nature of 
things, be supposed to elevate these masses, 
it is equally fair to suppose, that streams 
gushing down the mountains have carried 
them to their present situations, from those 
vast ruptures observable in every direction 
on mountains, doubtlessly caused, in the 
first instance, by earthquakes filling the 
usual channels of great bodies of water. 
The calcareous portion contains min)bers 
of natural caverns, incrustated with stalac- 
tites, and some veins of metal which are 
neither large nor extensive, but cross the 
compact limestone in the under stratum, 
being invariably inserted in the fissures next 
to the adjoining inferior slate and its metal- 
lic veins, to which they appear to belong, 
and the cracks of the solid limestone, into 
which volcanic matter has been forced, 
sometimes contain metals. Generally no 
ore or veins are discoverable in the highest 
Stratum of the calcareous mountains which 
are lamellated and shiver. Tlie ancient sil- 
ver mines in Monte di S. Catharina, in 
Tretto, pass through the undermost com- 
pact limestone ; and in Monte di Trisa, 
Monte Narro, Monte di Gastello di Pieve, 
and several others to the w’est, are veins 
and old mines of silver, copper-ore, and 
lead, with pyrites, manganese, and bland, 
which extend through limestone. In Monte 
Sivellina is hard limestone without visible 
stratum, petrifactions, a lead vein, coarse 
tessilated lime-spar, manganese, and ame- 
thysts. 
The last division, “ montes tertiarios,” 
or lower hills, W'ere in some degree pro- 
duced by the decay of the higher, and ac- 
cumulations of sand and clay : those have 
regular strata, and various petrifactions, and 
particularly immmularios and lenticularios. 
They have suffered great derangement from 
volcanic causes, which is demonstrated by 
the discovery of large fragments of lime- 
stones, petrifactions, and other substances, 
inclosed by the lava, and raised by its flow 
ing )ipward, and they have often been co- 
vered by the descent of ashes. Some are 
considered as posterior to the eruptions, 
and rest on their productions, when those 
are found to contain pieces of lava, or 
pumice stone, it is conjectured that they 
have been introduced by the passage of 
water. Several of these hills in the Vicen- 
tine, Veronese, and other districts of the 
Venetian territories, contain strata of coal, 
which inclose some petrifactions, particu- 
larly a fish found at Monte Viale in the 
first-mentioned district. Very little ore has 
been discovered ; and Fcrber, to whom we 
are indebted for these observations, was at 
a loss whether to class certain sandy and 
argillaceous hills in the Valle di Signori 
with those under consideration, as the lat- 
ter contain coals, plaster, alabaster, sulphu- 
rous pj rites, with some lead, copper, and 
iron ore. 
Many of the hills in the Vicentine and 
Veronese districts furnish numerous and 
beautiful petrifactions ; of those the Montes 
Berici, near Vicenza, are most remarkable. 
Creazzo, three miles from Vicenza, contains 
the inner nuclei or impressions of Chamites, 
almost perfect pectinites, the area Noae, 
the chitos Linnei, and some scarce glosso- 
petras, and the sand abounds with frag- 
ments of madrepores, small nautilites, and 
uncommon teeth of fish. I. Colli di Mon- 
tecchio e Castel Gomberto is full of petri- 
factions, and the lowest explored stratum 
of Brendola, ten miles from Vicenza, is a 
blue clay, inter.spersed with surprising quan- 
tities of marine bodies, and is covered by 
numbers of limestone beds, dipping towards 
the sea, including a great variety of sea 
shells, but unlike those contained in the 
clay. The W'cst side of the hill is covered 
with lava, generally striated, and formed 
like shell. The fissure in the lava, called 
le spesse, has a rivulet in the bottom, which 
flows over ground containing an astonishing 
quantity of madrepores, fungites, and ex- 
otic shells, the aggregate affording a most 
pleasing assemblage of marine and volcanic 
productions. Ostracites are found very 
plentiful at St. Vido, and at Gramona are 
petrified echinites, and the echinus orbicu- 
lus, which inhabits the Indian seas in its na- 
tural state. Besides those, there are ser- 
liula lumbricalis ; and at one hundred yards 
distance nummularii, and non-descript ba- 
lani. An isolated hill, called Favourita, in 
the Vicentine district, contained the bones 
and teeth of a crocodile, discovered by 
M. Arduini. Ronca seems to be the pro- 
duction of the united powers of Neptune 
and Vulcan; but the interior is in a state 
of utter confusion and devastation ; the sum- 
mit is completely volcanic and without pe- 
