The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1861-01-19
Fer the Free Trader.
Geological Paper--No.
TIE OOTiTE Rpcga


The Ooiits system or group Of rocks
takes il. name from the great number of
I eggshsped stones imbedded in it, (colite
peing derived from the Greek, Don, an egg,
and lithos, stone) These stones composed
OF lndurated clay, or calcsreous matter,
frequently contain petrifed leaf or she'll
hsh' but are generally fllod in the centre
with ca!carsous spar, which sometimes
/ spreads IN VEINS ell over the stone, when
I thes are called turtle stones. These are cf-
| len very large aud Arc supposed by some
iacipient Scoiogists to be the remains of
sea monsters, but this is not 80. Thsv
were produced by sphcroidal concretion of
! matter around nucleus while in water
The oolite group occurs ia this county on
the Big Ncrnlilion, immediately above tho
coal strata, and il made up OF limestones.
marls, and shales which are filled with
Petriiied remains. During the deposition
Of these rocks very warm and L, DIST eli
mate prevailed all over the globs The
ocean then teemed with animal and vege-
/ table life. Anmoaites BelemAites Ortho-
ceras, and other species of shelliish were
Imprisoned by millions in the strata
Acres upon acres Of the encriilite or stone
lily grew upon The ooli,e The corals then
built up their hebit.tions As the land
gradually appesrodan immense vegetation
spraDg M, and ferns and plants fourished.
the rivers and lands were inhabited by
enormous reptiles and crccodles. Tho
oolite group IL sp.rinaiy developed in this
country. In Lurope there are vast tracts
OF enchoriv-l she'll marble filed with my
riad- of marine shells and corals: this
marble Is susceptible of very high polish
and Is much used. In the Jura noun
tains, and the ranges Of the Alps, Appen-
nlnes, and Py!enees there are extensive
beds OF rocks composed entirely of car
donated sheilfish ana vegetable matter
All these belong 10 the oolitic group. 1t
was during this period that that huge rep
tile OF the Saui2n tribe. the Iguandor,
lived. From the petrifed remains of the
lgnandor, Or. Mantell has found bv the
aId OF comparative anatomy that their bo-
dy was a. large - tEat OF the elephant,
and the limbs IN Ike proportion. Their
length was about - faet: length Of the
hind foot % feet; and the thigh was more
than seven feet in circumference While
contemplating thee mons: rs-their ha-
bits appearance and movements a they
drew their uucouth length along tho
ground one Is ioCcibiy reminded of NH
tons description Of satan;
VIZ. isa r,.ri-t 7b5-. .zs yves .rd eva.
Tint spars uS h.s.-.. IL other rsrt- besides
Prone ca the t9si, extended long and large
2 u
A Haota tie ABLE, Ii ne y rloHs;rol. size.'
These rertiIes were .herbivorous. and
probably fed on the fern. Pine. and fir trees
that grew in thsi- couatry. Their remains
were FIR. discovered 10y Or Mantell in the
We.la-r rocks in England. The fossil CO.
rails and plants OF the oolite are numerous
From the great quantity Of coral found in
loose fragments On The Nefmiiion, | have
reason 10 believe that Ilero Is a large fossil
coral reef -onew here on that niyer also
noticed 3 large quantity Of mrea slate,
which IS an indication Of fedspar: the
latter Is used ia making limitations OF por-
Csian ware, and is therefore valuable in
! C4ctiral 2oin. CT view The coal plants
oyeile the coal, and vary in length from
six 70 forty feet. Under the gui lance of
Murray kirkpatrick, Esq, proprietor Of
valuable coal beds on the Vermilion, l
traced one of thsss plants, O Sigi,laria,
over thi-- f-Htr - ley ~ q -e-i-s-.~l re
sition, aud the main trunk was twenty
inches wide ct the bas. numerous branch
Is ei.ot on. in all directions.
BY the way, these coal beds deserve
passing notice. There are two beds of
camel coal snd one of bituminous. The
latter is from eight to nine feet thick the
coal Is bright hard and compact, and
burns well 1t has been mined about Sc
venty yards, and there are several SIDE
leads. Ali along the Passages you will see
sulPhuret of iron partly changed 20 the
puTest copperas, by the action of the air
and the drippine' of alum from above
The lower bed OF camel coal il from six
to nine inchs. in thickness-the upper bed
from one foot to three feet four inches, and
i. said to be the best caunel coal in Hi
nos. There are several varieties Of coal
plants impressed on the shale above, and
ferns and stem. Of trees are dug out In
the nei,hborhoci CT the r.!nes | found
some fossil footnarLs on the sandstone
which appeared TO bc tho.e Of qusdrupeds.
Nothing definite however can u. known ss
to their origin, on account OF the absence
OF organic remains Future discoveries
will undoubtedly bring to light many inte-
resting facts n regard 10 this branch of
Geology. ". W. c.