Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1882-12-06
IN FORESTS OF STONE.
Petrincd Trees that are Found In Many
Parts Of the World,

Petrincd Trees that are Found In Many
Parts Of the world.
~ had queer experience once" u
gentleman who had been examining col
lection OF trees and woods, said, "and
these hard woods remind me OF IL. |
was prospecting in Arizona with party
OF friends, and we had had rough luck,
We had q young lrishman as cook that
had picked up IN Omaha, who was
worth more than any ten men over
saw in keeping up the spirits OF the
crowd. Tho lower the provisions the
moro jovial no was, and Tn hanged ii
he didn't seem to have the blues ope
day when We shot bear and were on tue
edge OF starvation. One day when he
had been out picking up wood Tor q fire,
he came TO me and said, Beggin' yer
pardon Master Tom, but av its all the
same I'd loike to take the back track"
whats tho troubleY l asked.
at mcight be that | be afraid nv get.
tin so fat couldn't walk back, but divil
n bit o that" said he solemnly, "But
did ye ever hear tel O. the sthory av
Aa.bayan Noights? Sorer the tooime
I've heard Father Clinchy relate it in the
ould country. It's all about q coun'
thry where the men, women, and cbilder
turned to stone. i 1always took IL to be
q joke, the results nv too much larnin',
but divil q bit when we've struck the
self same place. Yo laugh, is It'll Cast
yer eye on that" and he held out per
ect limb OF tree of hard, solid rock,
while in the other hand he had large
petritied oyster.
"Why. that's petriaed wood" ex.
claimed.
yes" rejoined Pat, "and we'll NIL be
in the same fix if we kape on. I'm for
the back trail
1t was long time before we could
make HIM understand the situation.
But it was q curious sight, We had
campea on the edge OF forest that had
actually turned to stone, All about
were the great stumps that at first we
had taken for stones, but found, on close
| examination, to bo trees turned into
stone. Some were flat on the ground,
others broken into hundreds OF pieces,
while all around were bones and shells
all turned to stone also. How long they
had been there nobody knows.
| Stone forests are IN many parts OF the
world. A number of stony trees have
been recently received at the Smithson.
ian institute from the West. In many
cases they are hardened by the peculiar
atmosphere as they stand, and in others
they are buried, the parts being replaced
/ by mineral matter. The little Colorado
river in Arizona has long been famous
locality for such finds. AT one place
more than $4,000 cords of trunks and
sections of logs were found by govern
ment surveyors. Most Of them were
silicifed. Many are 7 feet or more in
diameter and from 20 to 70 feet in
hight. The greater part of them have
probably been covered in the mari that
originally was 100 ieet thick. Some of
the treos are changed to jasper, assum-
ing numerous hues, while others resem-
BILE opal, and when broken open the
core is often found lined with crystals
of the most beautiful tints. Louisiana
and Ohio are noted localities for fossil
trees. In the former state, several
years ago, in turning up the ground, an
ancient forest layer was unearthed, and
in succession two others below it, and
scientists Judge from the size of the
trees that from the time OF the first
laver to the last $4,000 years must have
elapsed. In the remains Of the glacial
drift in Ohio old forests are often dis
covered. Some have been buried be.
meath the water by the sinking of the
land. Some of the Ohio trees are not
entirely changed into stone, being yet
soft, while others are found in all stages
from rock to porous sponge matter.
In some parts OF the island of Antigua,
one of the British leeward group, there
are most remarkable examples OF stone
forests. The trees are in many instances
of great size, presenting curious sight
with living birds perched upon the leaf
less and stony limbs.
The fossil palms are the most remark.
able of oil these stony forms. They
generally have cylindrical stem, rising
t, great hight, crowned with canopy
of foliage that stands upon the rock in
high relief.
Some wonderful stone forests have
been unearthed by tho workers in the
building stone quarries of the Isle OF
Portland, from which comes the famous
building stone. The workmen had cut
down to what they termed dirt bed,
and suddenly came to the stony forest
standing upright There were hundreds
of trees few feet apart. The tops up.
peared to have been wrenched OIL, but
many were forty feet in hight. On some
of the limbs were the delicate stems,
and here and there leaves and twigs.
In Van Diemens Land similar forests
are known, the great trunks being cIlci
fed and partly silicitied, while others
are changed into chalcedony. They
we're found in most cases erect, with the
branches and limbs scattered about their
roots. So natural were many OF these
that newly.arrived laborer sent out to
collect wood brought in load, com
planning of its heaviness. They are
used however, being burned for lime
N. Y. SIN.