Imatges de pàgina
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years fince, in his much admired poem,
is too just :

Could nature's bounty fatisfy the breaft,
The fons of Italy were furely bleft.--
But fmall the blefs that fenfe alone be-
flows,

And fenfual blefs is all the nation knows.
In florid beauty groves and fields appear,
Man feems the only growth that dwindles
here.

Contrafted faults through all his manners
reign;

Though poor, luxurious; though fubmiffive, vain ;

Though grave, yet trifling; zealous, yet

untrue:

And even in penance planning fins anew.
All evils here contaminate the mind,

That opulence departed leaves behind, &c.
The other small ftates of Europe,
the duchy of Savoy, the Swifs Cantons,
&c. have experienced fimilar revolutions
from the incurfions of the French.
Of thefe, the overthrow of the Swifs
afforded most regret to men of reflec-
tion. That peaceful country, long
the nurse of liberty, and the fure re-
fuge from the oppreffion of neighbour-
ing nations, prefents no longer an a-
fylum to the man of taste and litera-
ture. He cannot now retire thither
to enjoy freedom from the convulfions
of war and tumult. Political diffen.
ion has fpread its baneful influence

among a people, once invincible by union and local fecurity.

There is one empire more which may be added to the list of thofe, which, in the courfe of the last cen tury, have fuffered a gradual deciesfion, that of Turkey, now tottering to its foundation. It is not eafy, indeed, to conceive how an empire fa conftituted could long fubfift in the neighbourhood of civilization and provement. But ages may yet pal before the inhabitants of the Torb dominions, whoever may be their querors, can derive the bleffings d rational liberty, of literature, or di religion.

No nation on earth has more caule to be thankful for the advantages it e joys and has enjoyed for many centuries than Great Britain, yet if thefe art employed to unworthy purposes, i peace begets infolence, and fecurity takes from us a reverence for the giv er of every good and perfect gift,' we may have reafon to fear that the fcourge which has chaftifed the impiety of nations, will fall with redoubled for on those to whom much has been given, and of whom much will k required.'

ACCOUNT of the most remarkable EXTRANEOUS FOSSILS
found in SCOTLAND.
(Continued from p. 341.)

IN the enumeration of marine productions found in a foffil ftate in Scot land, I mentioned fhells first. Thefe, in confiderable variety, are to be found in a great many places. In deed, wherever there is coal and limeftone, foffil fhells are to be feen. The places however, where they have been discovered, in greatest variety and abundance, are in the neighbourhood of Glafgow and Pafly, in the quarries in the parishes of Rutherglen and Kilbride; at the lime works of Innerteil in the county of Fife, and at

K.

Limekilns. In the statistical reports,
many other places are mentioned, as
producing foffi fhells, which I fhall
af-rwards notice, but for the most
part
thefe reports neither fpecify the
kind of fhells, nor the particular spots
where found.

Plate V. fig. 1, 5, reprefent v rieties of the Turbo, but they are not numerous in a toffil state any where in Scotland. Another kind is delicated

of the fpecimens, unless otherways The plate exhibits the natural üze mentioned.

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fig. 7 and 11. This is the Terebra, or the Turbo clavicula longiffima. It is ftriated tranfverfly (7) as well as fpirally (11), and is found upon all the coafts in Scotland in a recent ftate, as well as over the fhores of Europe. Wherever shells are found in a foff! ftate, thefe are generally amongit them. They lie for the most part in till, in the neighbourhood of lime tone. They are found of all fizes, from a microscopic fize, to upwards of an inch long. They are found at Stuartfield and Lawrifton, in the County of Lanark.

The buccinum fig. 2, 3, 4, is nct frequent.

Fig. 6. See fig. 12. below.

Fig. 8. Seems to be a chambered nautilus. The fpecimens frequently retain the fhell, which is very thin and has a fine polith. They are found, though fparingly, at Lawrifton and Thornliebank.

Fig. 9. Seems to be a nautilus, but not chambered; it is of a globoze form, and beautifully adorned with fine prominent threads, which give it a kind of ftriated appearance. The fpecimens of this nauulus are found for the most part retaining the fhell, which is of a whitish colour, pretty thick and well polished within. Some of thele are found of an inch in diameter, others fmall.

Fig. 10. 18. Is the trochus. Neither this nor the other kind of whelk reprefented, fig. 18. are found in plenty in any part of Scotland.

Fig. 6. 12. Reprefent two fpecies of the anomie. It may be proper to remark, that this name is rather indefinite. It was first introduced into the fyftem of foffil fhells by Fabius Columna, an accurate naturalift. Finding that many species were not defcribed by writers on conchology, he called them concha rariores anomix. This name, ever fince, has been adopted as the nomen proprium of that numerous family of thel's.

The genus reprefented by fig. 6. is the anomie friate, they are found in

feveral places in the parish of Kilbride, but the fpecimens are moftly braised, as in the engraving. A fpecies of anomia leaves is delineated fig. 12. They are found in plenty in a lime quarry on the eaft bank of Aven, a little below Strathaven, I believe they are elsewhere very scarce.

Fig. 13. 14. Are intended also to reprefent another fpecies of anomiæ ftriate which is very beautiful, other fpecimens are thin, of a white colour, and finely ftriated, fig. 13. fhows the infide. Thefe are pretty common, they are met with at Philipsbill, and at Freehorn near Beith.

Fig. 15. 16. 17. 20. 21. Are microscopic fhells found in marble, and can only be perceived to be fhells with difficulty by the naked eye. They all belong to the mufcle tribe. Thofe of fig. 15. are the most numerous, are of a pure white colour, and retain a very fine polith. The figure is greatly magnifyed. Fig. 16. is the scarceft of any, and the most curious; fig. 17. and 21. are different views of it. The fhell is of a brown colour, and ornamented with minute indentings, the dots upon figure 17. exhibit the natu ral fize of the fhell.

The fpecies fig. 20. is commonly five or fix times larger than the for

mier.

Thefe very uncommon fhells have not, so far as I have been able to learn, been found any where in Scotland, but at Lawrifton and Stuartfield, in the parish of Eatt Kilbride.

Fig. 19. Is a fpecimen of the pecten, one of the largest fize that is ufually met with in Scotland. They are rare, but are fometimes found at Limekilns and Innerteil quarry, both in the county of Fife.

Plate VI. The hell fig. 1. is very beautiful, and belongs to the anomiæ ftriatæ. It confifts of two teeth in the under valve, which are inferted into two correfponding furrows in the upper. It is very ufual to find these foffils in fragments, or greatly bruifed. Many of them retain the marks of

bruifes,

bruifes, received in a living ftate. They are found at Lawrifton, and Thornliebank..

Fig. 2. is the cockle. Such are generally found imbedded in fhiftus, along with buccini entrochi; and many are fo clear and perfect, that they appear to be in a living state. Thofe are found at the fame places with the above, and in the neighbourhood of Paifley, cockle fhells and pholades have alfo been found near the old bridge of Lanark.

Fig. 3. 4. Reprefent the anomia echinate, or unequal valved foffi thelis furnished with fpines. The under valve (fig. 4.) is convex, having the contour greatly curved over the upper valve, which is almost level, or only a little concave. The fpines are few, and regularly placed, and are all on the upper valve; they are long too, and flexible in a flight degree. The general appearance of them is that of wires of mother of pearl, retaining the moft finifhed polish. They confit of two parts; an external covering compofed of a great number of concentric Jamellæ, extremely thin and fhining; thefe conftitute about half the thicknefs of the fpire. Within is a white folid opake fubitance, which compofes the other part. The lamelle appear to be an elongation of the feveral coats, or lamelle, of the shell to which the spires adhere, or rather out of which they feem to grow. It is evident therefore, that they were not moved by articulations or cartilages, like the fpires of the recent echini. Many of the fragments are greatly bruifed or flattened, which injuries they must have received when recent. Thefe fpires are placed on the under valve, in fuch a manner, that they may be ufd to affilt the animal in fufpending ittelf on the furface of the water; they might also be useful in procuring food, or warding off danger. The peculiar conftruction of the infide of the upper valve, is delineated fig. 3.

These are found at Innerteil quam in Fife, at the quarries in the parth a Kibride, and near Paifly,

Fig. 5. 6. Exhibit two fpecies of the mult articulate cockle. The hing which is obfervable in the calts o ly, confifts of about twelve teeth in each valve. Some of thefe are found fo perfect, that feveral perfons, opuf ing them to be living, have attempted to open them. The thell in both p cies is white, and commonly in a tigh ftate of prefervation. They are g rally found lodged in til. The e cies fig. 5. is finely ftriated.

Fig. 7. Is a fpecies of echinate, a both valves are entirely covered w very fmall fpines refembling hair, ty deferved rather to be called conche

lose, the draught is reprefented a partly covered with them, and party

not.

Thefe fpines are in rows, ner ly concentric with the beak. Ther exact length, cannot be precifely & certained, but in no fpecimens found in Scotland, that I have feen, do they reach beyond the contour of the fad They lie fo closely together, that the furface of the shell is entirely concul ed from view. The infides of s valves are ornamented with short pilla, placed in rows like the pins The fpecimens are of different diame ters, fome are not above half an inch in length, others are as large as the figure. They are found, but fparing. ly, among till in limestone quarries.

Fig. 8. Reprefents a very beautiful fmall petten, which is rare; found at

Limekilns.

Fig. 9. 10. Represent the patella or limpet. It is ufually found among till, incumbent on limeftone. The native thell is for the most part entrs, and is of a deep blue colour inclining to black. Limpets are not very con mon in a foffil ftate in Britain." M of the limestone quarries in Kilbide however, have them; good fpecimens have also been found in Magpieh!! quarry, parish of Stewarton.

To be Continued.

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