strata in this part of the river lie flat or horizontal, and in some places these flat-lying strata dip a little towards the fouth-east, and in other places towards the north-east. This diversity and oppofition of dip or declivity is occafioned by the waving of the strata up and down, which is a very common incident where the strata lie very flat, or nearly level with the horizon. There is to be seen in a quarry about a quarter of a mile above Roflin, and alfo near Auchindinny, upon the north side of the river, a regular continuous seam of coal, only about one, or one and a half inch thick, with very strong thick beds of post stone above it; and I know that there are several thick seams of coal both above and below this thin one, fome of which are now working. There are also a variety of strata lying in various positions between Auchindinny and Pennycuick. About two hundred yards above Auchindinny bridge, in the bed of the river, we see the vertical and the horizontal ftrata in the fame place, the edge metals occupying the north, and the flat ones the fouth side of the bed of the river. This spot deserves the examination of the curious, as it determines the place and manner of various sections of the flat, and likewise of the edge.coal metals in the river, and in the rivulets in the lands of Newhall and Carlops. The horizontal coal strata lie so very flat in this place, and especially in the farm of Carlops, that the coal feams frequently wave up and down, which occafions several gentlyswellingridges and troughs, or elevations and depressions, of the horizontal stretch of the coal and the other strata. This incident is known with certainty, as fome of the flat coals have been worked in that farm, where the strata. were found thus waving up and down. It is remarkable, that both the edge and the flat coals, with their several concomitant strata, preserve their parallelism, and the true line of bearing from the sea, until they reach the lands of Carlops, and there the true line of bearing of the coal metals ends, and they turn away almost in a tight angle towards the south-east, instead of the south-west direction, which was the former line of bearing from the fea to this place. The edge-coal, and all its concomitant strata, appear, and really are in the utmost disorder and confufion imaginable, when they arrive at the their coming in contact in this part extremity of the true line of bearing of the country. Some of the foundations of the cotton mill at Pennycuick, and of in the lands of Carlops, and they are dwindled away almost to nothing, the thickest of the seams of coal be the water courses, are cut pretty ing hardly so many inches as they deep in horizontal coal metals, where they have cut through one regular feam or stratum of coal, about twelve or fourteen inches thick, which is to be feen betwixt the east end of the highest building and the bed of the river. There are a variety of instructive particulars relating to this subject in the lands of Pennycuick, between the village of Pennycuick and the lands of Newhall; and there are should be feet thick. This diforder and diminution is occasioned by this being the out-skirts of the coal-field; and this confufion of the strata is to be seen distinctly in the banks of the river below the bridge of Carlops. There are abundance of horizontal strata to be seen in the bed of the river South Esk, upon the east and fouth fide of the town of Dalkeith, Kka betwixt betwixt the Duke of Buccleugh's and the Marquis of Lothian's parks. Those strata slope with various degrees of declivity towards the northwest, and in some places they dip towards the north, and in other places towards the west. There is also a variety of horizontal Arata, and confiderable sections of them upon both fides of this river, between Newbattle and Dalhousie; and about a quarter of a mile below Dalhousie bridge, there are some irregular discontinuous imperfect seams of coal. The discontinuity of fome irregular beds of coal is an incident which is frequently met with. Many rocks and strata are to be feen in the main branch of the river between Dalhousie and Temple, all of them lying in a horizontal position, with various degrees of declivity. The neighbourhood of Temple is one of the happiest walks imaginable for the student of the strata of coal. He will there meet with various sections of feains of coal, and of their concomitant strata, appearing fair and regular. It is but rarely that we meet with a more complete and regular section of the strata of coal than the one to be feen close by the Temple mill, and not much above a hundred yards below the church. This is a fair and clean horizontal section, cut nearly perpendicular, and pretty high. in which there are at least four dif ferent seams of coal distinctly seen dipping a very little towards the N. N. E. The strata in the neigbour hood of Temple lie remarkably flat. About a mile above Temple church, the fouth branch of the river runs upon the face of a hard ftratum of rock for more than a hundred yards in our fight, as upon a smooth pavement, and we fee it running upon the face of the same stone below the church. There are several feams of coal to be seen in this branch of the river above Temple church, dipping mostly north, though sometimes the declivity chan ges, and the strata are found to dip towards the N. W. and alfo towards the N. E. This variety of declivity is commonly met with among horizontal strata, especially those of the coal metals. It is occafioned by the waving and wheeling of the horizontal strata. The north branch of this river is well worth the inspection of the cu rious. About a hundred yards above the bridge, two pretty thick seams of coal appear, and there are various fections of the coals and coal metals to be seen in several places for more than two miles up the river, some of which have been and are now working. The Salisbury Craigs, near Edinburgh, are well worth the examination of the mineral student. The thick bed of rock at Salisbury Craigs, which was quarried fome time ago, is a stratum of basaltes, which is easily known by examining the quality of the ftone; and the fact may be farther evinced by tracing the stratum to the south fide of Arthur's Seat, where the fame individual bed of stone will be found regularly formed into columnar bafaltes; the columns are diftinct, and of confiderable length and magnitude. Wher the examiner has made himfelf master of the stretch, bearing, and declivity of this particular stratum, he may then proceed to investigate the rest of the strata of Arthur's Seat, which is not an easy task for a beginner, the whole hill being chiefly composed of difierent irregular thick strata of bafaltine rocks, which vary in thickness confiderably in different places; a circumstance common to basaltes; and, therefore, on account of the difficulty of investigation, I would not advise the mineral student to begin a furvey of the strata of this mountain, until he is pretty well advanced in the knowledge of the natural history of strata in general. When When he comes to examine these rocks, he will observe, that the whole hill is not entirely composed of bafaltes. There are also thin strata of various species to be found among those rocks. For instance, feveral beds of free-stone have been quarried deep down upon the fouth side of Salisbury Craigs; and there are regular thin strata of several kinds to be seen immediately above and below the thick ftratum of rock which is properly called Salisbury Craigs. There is a pretty good section of various thin strata upon the fouth fide of the Water of Leith, imme diately below the mills, and there are a great number of thin strata to be seen in the bed of the river, all the way down below the Mineral Well. These strata appear pretty fair and regular, dipping with an easy flope towards the N. W. or W. N. W. but the circumstance which is best worth the inspection of the student in this place, is a couple of whin dykes which cut the strata asunder. These two dykes are to be seen in the bed of the river, one of them near the Mineral Well, and the other a little higher up. They run quite across the river, almost at right angles; ard these dykes, or ridges of stone, are the more remarkable, that these sort of troubles or interruptions of the regularity of the strata, are but seldom met with in the Lothians, though common enough in other places. But although whin dykes are not fo commonly found in the Lothian coalleries as they are in fome other coal fields, yet the Lothians are not exempted from them. A large whin dyke passes through the coals, &c. a little below Niddry, where it croffes almost at right angles to the bearing of the strata. Another, still larger, is to be seen emerging out of the fea at Cockenzie, where it forms the north fide of the little harbour, and then runs end-ways through the country. And, in like manner, se veral other very large whin dykes are to be feen as you go farther to the N. E. along the shore, some of whicht form confiderable ridges of rock as they pass through the country, which appear in many places high above the surface of the ground; and all of them are diftinctly seen to cut thro the coal metals in a line nearly right across the bearing of the strata. It may not be improper, however, to remark, that there is one circumstance appertaining to the two whin dykes in the Water of Leith, that is not common to every one of the kind, which is, that each of these two is both a dyke and a flip; that is, the strata, which are cut afunder by the dyke, are not here found upon the fame level on both fides of the dyke, which happens in most (though not in all) others of the same kind. These dykes, which throw the strata off the ordinary level, may properly enough be called flip-dykes. There are a great variety of strata further up in the river Leith, about Slateford, Collington, Currie, and still farther up, and fome pretty good fections. There are various sections of the strata to be seen upon the banks and in the bed of the river Almond, particularly all the way between the fea and Cramond-bridge, and farther up, all the way till within three or four miles from Calder. There are good fections of the strata in the branch of that river, which runs upon the fouth side of Calder, above the bridge, and especially above the house of Calderhall, and still farther up towards the fouth bridge of Calder, there crosses the river a thick ftratum of coarse limestone, which contains fome lead ore in grains and flowers, blended in the composition of the stone; but it does not appear in such quantity as to be worth working. moors. About half a mile below the A confiderable variety of strata are to be seen in the north branches of the river Almond, above Calder, and among them several coals, some of which have been worked; and there, are fome pretty good sections of coals, and their concomitant strata, in the branch of that river called Breich. There is a fine section of two seams of coal, and of the ftrata accompany. ing them, to be seen in the free-stone quarry upon the east side of the river near Cranston. On the Characteristic Distinctions of the Flight of Birds *. " Omnibus animalibus reliquís certus et uniufmodi, et in fuo cuique genere inceffus: est aves folæ vario meatu feruntur, et in terra, et in aere." A PLIN. Hift. Nat. lib. x. cap. 38. GOOD ornithologift should be able to diftinguish birds by their air, as well as by their colours and shape; on the ground as well as on the wing, and in the bush as well as in the hand. For, though it must not be faid that every species of birds has a manner peculiar to itself, yet there is somewhat in most genera at least, that at first fight discriminates them, and enables a judicious obferver to pronounce upon them with fome certainty. Put a bird in motion Et vera incessu patuit" Thus kites and buzzards fail round in circles with wings expanded and motionless; and it is from their glid ing manner that the former are still called in the north of England Gleads, from the Saxon verb glidan, to glide. The kestrel, or wind hover, has a peculiar mode of hanging in the air in one place, bis wings all the while being brifkly agitated. Hen-harriers fly low over heaths or fields of corn, and beat the ground regularly like a pointer or fetting-dog. Owls move in a buoyant manner, as if lighter in the air; they seem to want ballast. There is a peculiarity belonging to Javens that must draw the attention even of the most incurious; they run spend all their leifure time in striking and cuffing each other on the wing in - a kind of playfulskirmish; and, when they move from one place to another, frequently turn on their backs with a loud croak, and seem to be falling to the ground. When this odd gefture betides them, they are scratching themselves with one foot, and thus lose the center of gravity. Rooks fometimes dive and tumble in a frolickfome manner; crows and daws swagger in their walk; wood-peckers fly volatu undofo, opening and clofing their wings at every stroke, and so are al. ways rifing or falling in curves. All of this genus use their tails, which incline downward, as a support while they up trees. Parrots, like all other hooked-clawed birds, walk aukwardly, and make use of their bill as a third foot, climbing and descending with ridiculous caution. All the gallinæ parade and walk gracefully, and run nimbly; but fly with difficulty, with an impetuous whirring, and in a straight line. Magpies and jays flutter with powerless wings, and make no difpatch; herons feem incumbered with too much fail for their light bodies; but these vast hollow wings are necessary in carrying burdens, such as large fishes, and the like; pigeons, and particularly the fort called smitters, have a way of clashing their wings the one against the other over their backs with a loud snap; another variety called tumblers turn themfelves * From White's Natural History of Selborne. selves over in the air. Some bird have movements peculiar to the season of love: thus ring-doves, though strong and rapid at other times, yet, in the spring, hang about on the wing in a toying and playful manner; thus the cock-snipe, while breeding, forgetting his former flight, fans the air like the wind-hover; and the greenfinch in particular exhibits such languishing and faultering gestures as to appear like a wounded and dying bird; the king-fisher darts along like an arrow; fern-owls, or goat-fuckers, glance in the dusk over the tops of trees like a meteor; starlings as it were swim along, while missel-thrushes use a wild and desultory flight; swallows fweep over the surface of the ground and water, and diftinguish themselves by rapid turns and quick evolutions; swifts dash round in circles; and the bank-martin moves with frequent vacillations like a but terfly. Most of the small birds fly by jerks, rifing and falling as they advance. Most small birds hop; but wagtails and larks walk, moving their legs alternately. Skylarks rife and fall perpendicularly as they sing; woodlarks hang poised in the air; and titlarks rife and fall in large curves finging in their descent. The white-throat uses odd jerks and gesticulations over the tops of hedges and bushes. All the duck kind waddle; divers and auks walk as if fettered, and stand erect on their tails: these are the compedes of Linnaus. Geese and cranes, and most wild fowls, move in figured flights, often changing their position. The secondary remiges of Tringe, wild-ducks, and some others, are very long, and give their wings, when in motion, an hooked appearance. Dab-chicks, moor-hens, and coots, fly erect, with their legs hanging down, and hardly make any difpatch; the reason is plain, their wings are placed too forward out of the true center of gravity; as the legs of auks and divers are situated too backward. F Obfervations on the Notes of Birds *. ROM the motion of birds, the tranfition is natural enough to their notes and language, of which I shall fay fomething. Not that I would pretend to understand their language like the vizier; who, by the recital of a conversation which paffed between two owls, reclaimed a fultan, before delighting in conquest and devaflation; but I would be thought only to mean that many of the winged tribes have various founds and voices adapted to express their various paffions, wants, and feelings; fuch as anger, fear, love, hatred, hunger, and the like. All species are not equally eloquent; some are copious and fluent as it were in their utterance, while others are confined to a few im portant founds; no bird, like the fish kind, is quite mute, though some are rather filent. The language of birds is very ancient, and, like other ancient modes of speech, very elliptical; little is faid, but much is meant and understood. The notes of the eagle-kind are shrill and piercing; and about the feafon of nidification much diversified, as I have been often afsured by a curious observer of Nature, who long refided at Gibraltar, where eagles abound. The notes of our hawks much resemble those of the king of birds. Owls have very expressive notes; they hoot in a fine vocal found, much resembling the vox bumana, and reducible by a pitch-pipe * From the fame, to |