GEOLOGIST.

CHAPTER I.

Embarkation—A foundered Vessel—Lateness of the Harvest dependent on the Geological character of the Soil—A Granite Harvest and an Old Red Harvest—Cottages of Redstone and of Granite—Arable Soil of Scotland the result of a Geological Grinding Agency—Locality of the Famine of 1846—Mr. Longmuir's Fossils—Geology necessary to a Theologian—Popularizers of Science when dangerous—"Constitution of Man," and "Vestiges of Creation"—Atop of the Banff Coach—A Geologist's Field Equipment—The trespassing "Stirk"—Silurian Schists inlaid with Old Red—Bay of Gamrie, how formed—Gardenstone—Geological Free-masonry illustrated—How to break an Ichthyolite Nodule—An old Rhyme mended—A raised Beach—Fossil Shells—Scotland under Water at the time of the Boulder-clays. 255

CHAPTER II.

Character of the Rocks near Gardenstone—A Defunct Father-lasher—A Geological Inference—Village of Gardenstone—The drunken Scot—Gardenstone Inn—Lord Gardenstone—A Tempest threatened—The Author's Ghost Story—The Lady in Green—Her Appearance and Tricks—The Rescued Children—The murdered Peddler and his Pack—Where the Green Dress came from—Village of Macduff—Peculiar Appearance of the Beach at the Mouth of the Deveron—Dr. Emslie's Fossils—Pterichthys quadratus—Argillaceous Deposits of Blackpots—Pipe-laying in Scotland—Fossils of Blackpots Clay—Mr. Longmuir's Description of them—Blackpots Deposit a Re-formation of a Liasic Patch—Period of its Formation. 270

CHAPTER III.

From Blackpots to Portsoy—Character of the Coast—Burn of Boyne—Fever Phantoms—Graphic Granite—Maupertuis and the Runic Inscription—Explanation of the quo modo of Graphic Granite—Portsoy Inn—Serpentine Beds—Portsoy Serpentine unrivalled for small ornaments—Description of it—Significance of the term serpentine—Elizabeth Bond and her "Letters"—From Portsoy to Cullen—Attritive Power of the Ocean illustrated—The Equinoctial—From Cullen to Fochabers—The Old Red again—The old Pensioner—Fochabers—Mr. Joss, the learned Mail-guard—The Editor a sort of Coach-guard—On the Coach to Elgin—Geology of Banffshire—Irregular paging of the Geologic Leaves—Geologic Map of the County like Joseph's Coat—Striking Illustration. 291

CHAPTER IV.

Yellow-hued Houses of Elgin—Geology of the Country indicated by the coloring of the Stone Houses—Fossils of Old Red north of the Grampians different from those of Old Red south—Geologic Formations at Linksfield difficult to be understood—Ganoid Scales of the Wealden—Sudden Reaction, from complex to simple, in the Scales of Fishes—Pore-covered Scales—Extraordinary amount of Design exhibited in Ancient Ganoid Scales—Holoptychius Scale illustrated by Cromwell's "fluted pot"—Patrick Duff's Geological Collection—Elgin Museum—Fishes of the Ganges—Armature of Ancient Fishes—Compensatory Defences—- The Hermit-crab—Spines of the Pimelodi—Ride to Campbelton—Theories of the formation of Ardersier and Fortrose Promontories—Tradition of their construction by the Wizard, Michael Scott—A Region of Legendary Lore. 307

CHAPTER V.

Rosemarkie and its Scaurs—Kaes' Craig—A Jackdaw Settlement—"Rosemarkie Kaes" and "Cromarty Cooties"—"The Danes," a Group of Excavations—At Home in Cromarty—The Boulder-clay of Cromarty "begins to tell its story"—One of its marked Scenic Peculiarities—Hints to Landscape Painters—"Samuel's Well"—A Chain of Bogs geologically accounted for—Another Scenic Peculiarity—"Ha-has of Nature's digging"—The Author's earliest Field of Hard Labor—Picturesque Cliff of Boulder-clay—Scratchings on the Sandstone—Invariable Characteristic of true Boulder-clay—Scratchings on Pebbles in the line of the longer axis—Illustration from the Boulder-clay of Banff. 324

CHAPTER VI.

Organisms of the Boulder-clay not unequivocal—First Impressions of the Boulder-clay—Difficulty of accounting for its barrenness of Remains—Sir Charles Lyell's reasoning—A Fact to the contrary—Human Skull dug from a Clay-bank—The Author's Change of Belief respecting Organic Remains of the Boulder-clay—Shells from the Clay at Wick—Questions respecting them settled—Conclusions confirmed by Mr. Dick's Discoveries at Thurso—Sir John Sinclair's Discovery of Boulder-clay Shells in 1802—Comminution of the Shells illustrated—Cyprina islandica—Its Preservation in larger Proportions than those of other Shells accounted for—Boulder-clays of Scotland reformed during the existing Geological Epoch—Scotland in the Period of the Boulder-clay "merely three detached groups of Islands"—Evidence of the Subsidence of the Land in Scotland—Confirmed by Rev. Mr. Cumming's conclusion—High-lying Granite Boulders—Marks of a succeeding elevatory Period—Scandinavia now rising—Autobiography of a Boulder desirable—A Story of the Supernatural. 336

CHAPTER VII.

Relation of the deep red stone of Cromarty to the Ichthyolite Beds of the System—Ruins of a Fossil-charged Bed—Journey to Avoch—Red Dye of the Boulder-clay distinct from the substance itself—Variation of Coloring in the Boulder-clay Red Sandstone accounted for—Hard-pan how formed—A reformed Garden—An ancient Battle-field—Antiquity of Geologic and Human History compared—Burn of Killein—Observation made in boyhood confirmed—Fossil-nodules—Fine Specimen of Coccosteus decipiens—Blank strata of Old Red—New View respecting the Rocks of Black Isle—A Trip up Moray and Dingwall Friths—Altered color of the Boulder-clay—Up the Auldgrande River—Scenery of the great Conglomerate—Graphic Description—Laidlaw's Boulder—Vaccinium myrtillus—Profusion of Travelled Boulders—The Boulder Clach Malloch—Its zones of Animal and Vegetable life. 355

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