SPECULAR OXIDE OF IRON. 93 
for, in many points, the masses have been penetrated through, and to the rock beneath, and 
upon which it appears to rest. 
In order to exhibit this'form, I shall give several diagrams, which will serve to illustrate its 
mode of occurrence, as well as the geological relations of the rock itself. 
The first in order, is a section of the Parish ore bed .in St. Lawrence county : 
a, a, High bluff of specular oxide ; h. Adit which has been cut through the hill; c, Serpen¬ 
tine ; d, Gneiss ; e, e, Potsdam sandstone. 
This mass covers a wide area ; its extent has not been determined by the excavations, but 
its depth, particularly at the south end, is found to extend to but eight or ten feet, as the ore is 
cut entirely through, so as to disclose the serpentine beneath. It appears, from an inspection 
of the locality, that a large amount of ore must at some former period have been swept away, 
as there are extensive removals of rock and materials which must once have covered this par¬ 
ticular mass. 
The next diagram of this series, (fig. 25,) shows a continuation or extension of the Parish 
bed to the northwest about forty rods, where an extensive excavation has been made, which is 
called the Kearney hed, A few rods to the south of the Parish, and also to the north of the 
Kearney bed, we find the Potsdam sandstone ; at the former place, dipping to the south, and 
at the latter, to the north; or, in other words, thrown off in opposite directions from the 
masses of ore. An arrangement of this kind clearly indicates the nature and cause of changes 
at this place, which appear to have resulted from an uplift, or an outburst of the ore in con¬ 
nection with the serpentine beneath it. ■ That the serpentine and the specular oxide were the 
a, a, Sandstone ; b. Excavation of the Kearney bed; c, Adit in the Parish bed ; d, d, Ore ; e, Serpentine. 
rocks which created this disturbance in the position of the sandstone, seems highly probable 
from the fact that no igneous rocks, as trap or greenstone, appear in the vicinity. This fact, 
