Phenomenom in Heamatite.— Gresley. 921 
the mass in that direction. Of course, one is at once inclined to 
ask: What do these holes represent,and whence came they? Were 
they once filled with ore or with any other mineral matter? etc. 
While the writer does not pretend to give any satisfactory explan- 
ation of this curiosity, he would like to remark one or two things. 
. These cannot be holes drilled or eaten out, or burrows made by 
worms or animals of any kind; nor have they been made by the 
handof man. The form or arrangement of the structural fibre of the 
ore in vicinity of the apertures is altogether against such theories. 
The writer possesses various English specimens of clay ironstone, 
one of which is now hematite (having been altered by peroxidation 
of iron and water in contact with red strata of Permian age), per- 
forated by worm burrows, which are now either filled with pink 
calcite, with fossil slime secreted by the worms, or are empty. 
We are unfortunately in the dark as to which way this illus- 
trated sample lay or was formed /7 s/t, but the writer conjectures 
that in whichever direction it was accumulated or grew, the 
mass in forming met with some obstructions, around which it 
continued to grow and even to entirely envelope in most cases. 
What such supposed obstructions or projections were, seems to be 
the point from which to arrive at a satisfactory conclusion of the 
growth of the ore. It has occurred to the author that possibly 
stalactitic ore was there first and that this fibrous variety formed 
around and amongst the stalactites. But stalactites do not take 
the form which these holes show. Usually they are rudely cyl- 
indrical or long, tapering cones; and, if once present why are no 
remnants left now? Twigs, wires or narrow pods would seem to 
suit better. Whatever may have been there is now gone from 
the samples examined, for all the holes are empty. 
It seems impossible to regard them as elongated air holes, or 
bubbles, for the texture and form of the ore has not been altered 
from what it was when first formed into this condition; there has 
evidently been no squeezing, no metamorphism, no fusion, vitri- 
fication, elongation or shortening of the mass; it shows to-day just 
as it was after or even during process of formation, or growth, 
as we may fairly term it. Can it be possible that the mass has 
formed in situ around or in contact with a number of lengths or 
coils of wire, in some place in a mine, where the conditions have 
been very favorable for a very rapid growth? We know that 
agates are produced in a very short space of time under favorable 
circumstances: I refer to the German samples artificially made 
