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quitted England for America, carrying with him that indefatigable ardour in the 
promotion of scientific objects which, being united to the happiest qualifications 
for the services on which he was engaged, could hardly fail to rouse a spirit of 
philosophical research among those into whose society he might be thrown. The 
name of Featherstonehaugh is as well known for his enthusiasm in the cause of 
science, as for the possession of talents which enable him to exert that enthusiasm 
so powerfully in her behalf. He has been one of those most actively engaged in 
geological surveys in several of the States, and the result of some portion of his 
labours has been laid before the public at the express desire of the American 
government. The following passage is from the pen of Mr. F. He is describing 
the travertin deposited by the waters in the valley of Sweet Springs, Alleghany 
county, Virginia, and proceeds to relate a highly interesting phenomenon connect¬ 
ed with them :— 
“ I was one day returning to my cabin with some specimens of this travertin, 
when I met Mr. Rogers, the landlord of the establishment at the Sweet Springs, 
an old inhabitant of this part of the country and a very intelligent and worthy 
person. He assured me that, some years ago, when hunting deer in the hills, he 
had seen some rocks exactly resembling them. As he is a man of very good 
judgment, I proposed to him to accompany me there, and he cheerfully consented. 
Mounting his horse and accompanied by myself on foot, we went about six miles 
in a north direction ; but so many years had elapsed since he had casually ob¬ 
served the place, and the deep dells and hills, clothed with their everlasting woods, 
resembled each other so much, that we passed an entire morning wandering about, 
climbing one hill and descending another, till I began to think he had been mis¬ 
taken, and told him so; but he proposed trying another hill side called Snake 
Run Mountain, and there I followed him. Being in advance of me, I heard him 
holloa, and I immediately knew that the game was found. He approached me 
holding in his hand a piece of very ancient travertin, which I recognized at once ; 
and leading me to the brow of a hill, at least three hundred and fifty feet above 
the level of the Sweet Spring , I saw, to my great surprise, a huge mural escarpe- 
ment of travertin, skirting the brow of the hill, with the weather-worn remains of 
old stalactites ; whilst the body of the rock resembled, in every particular, the 
recent one at the cascade, abounding in large pipes of calcareous matter, which 
had formerly enclosed logs and branches of wood. The pendant stalactites con¬ 
sisted of concentric circles ; and there was the complete evidence that a stream of 
mineral water of great breadth, containing carbonate of lime, had, for a great 
length of time, passed over this brow, and formed the rock. The surface of the 
rock, in many parts, was interspersed with what are vulgarly called pot-holes, 
being circular perforations made in rocks by pieces of rock and gravel, kept 
whirling in them by streams of water similar to those which I have seen at the 
summit of the lofty hills of Lake George, in the State of New York. This Snake 
