M'H) The American Geologist. Novi-mber, i896 
i)V(M- niiiiiy S(|iiare miles ol' country in ("anadii, as Tor example 
near Sudbury. Jiut it does iiot sliow the green color and 
close hard texture that usually characterize this mineral. It 
is deei)ly weathered and pitted so that on the surface it looks 
like a piece of ordinary '• rotten-stone " being quite light in 
both senses of the word. Numerous small holes, resembling 
tliose made by worms in wood, are scattered over it and it 
altogether presents a perfectly unique appearance. 1 remarked 
this change to the tinder and also tiie rarity of the material 
for this kind of im[)lement. He said that he had never seen 
another made of this kind of stone. I have only one in my 
eolleetion, a heavy weapon weighing several pounds and I 
have seen a few others, among them a very beautiful one in 
the Peabody Museum at Cambridge, l)ut beyond all doubt it is 
a material not often employed, lacking as it does the high de- 
gree of toughness possessed by. green-stone. 
On my pointing out the importance of this decay of the 
stone as evidence and the need of ascertaining its extent Mr. 
]Masterman at once gave me permission to saw it through. I 
did so with a common hack-saw in a few minutes without 
dulling the tool and to my surprise I found that the weather- 
ing had gone almost to the very middle, there remaining only 
a mere trace of the original stone, retaining the green color 
and hardness and alf'ording conclusive evidence of its original 
condition. As additional confirming evidence the leached 
portion showed those concentric lines of color (limonite- 
stains) running parallel with the outlines that are so con- 
stantly present on oxydized pebbles and which furnish posi- 
tive proof that the whole process has taken place since the 
stone received its present form. Whatever change therefore 
has taken jilace in this implement has come about since it was 
fashioned into an axe by its neolithic author. It is now so 
soft that it may be scratched with the finger-nail, and the 
'•decay" is apparently due to the solution of some calcareous 
or other solid^le ingredient originally contained in t!ie slate. 
The reader will see at once the importance of this matter 
and the strong confirmation which it lends to the story of its 
discovery inasmuch as it would not be possible to produce 
such an imi)lement, unique as it apparently is of its kind, at 
least so far as the writer is aware. I will return to this jioint 
howeviM- hereafter. 
