IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // {■/ ^ :/- & C/a fA 1.0 I.I 14* 12.8 S50 M 2.2 IM IM isiio nil 2.0 .8 1.25 1.4 1.6 < 6" — ► p^. <^ /a %. 'm ■>i '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation # w^ <> 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^\^ ^\. WrS \j '^ ^^'■ m ril CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1980 Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy avhilable for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may sisnificantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D D D D D D D n D D Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pellicul6e Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes gdographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Reli6 avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ La reliure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int^rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been' omitted from filming/ II se peut que certaines pages blanches ajout^es lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela 6tait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6td filmdes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppidmentaires; L'institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a dt6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger iine modification dans la methods normale de filmage sont indiquds ci-dessous. I I Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes Pages restored and/oi Pages restaurdes et/ou pelliculdes I 7f Pages damaged/ j I Pages restored and/or laminated/ D Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages ddcolordes, tachet6es ou piqu6es □ Pages detached/ Pages d6tach6es r~^ Showthrough/ LJlI Transparence I I Quality of print varies/ Qualitd indgale de {'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du matdriel supplementaire Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible D Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc., have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata, une pelure, etc., ont 6t^ fiim^es d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. 1 t P t s o fi s o T si T v\ M di er b( rij r«i m J This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est filmd au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous. IPX 14X 18X 22X I I I I I I I I I I Is/ 1 I T" 26X »X 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X 32X re idtails BS du Tiodifier Br line llmage es The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: National Library of Canada The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and tegibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and endi-'g on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or iliustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or iliustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol —^ (meaning "CON- TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Maps, plates, charts, etc.. may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as rAquired. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grdce d la g6n6rosit6 de: Bibliothdque nationale du Canada Les images suivantes ont 6td reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettetd de Texemplaij-e film6, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprim^e sont filmds en commenpant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par fe second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont film6s en commenpant par la premidre page qui compcrte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la dernidre page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — ► signifie "A SUIVRE ", le symbole V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent dtre filmds d des taux de reduction diffdients. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul clich6. il est film6 d partir de Tangle sup^rieur gauche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas. en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la m^thode. errata I to t ) pelure, on d n 32X 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^KSF THE MINEEALOGY OF NOVA SCOTIA. A REPORT TO THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT. BT HENRY HOW, D.C.L., COHBESPONDmO MEMBEH OF THE NATimAI, HISTORY SOCIETY OF MoCi^ ' AND0FTHEKEWY0EKI,YCBraiOFNATDHAI,m8T0BY;«)BMEHI-T ' CHEMIST TO THE BRITISH ADMIBAI.TY STEAM WAVY COAt ENQOISY. CHARLES ANNAND, PUBLISHER. 11 PRINCE STREET. 1869. ii PREFATORY LETTER. King's College, Windsor, June Ist, 1868. Sir, I beg to lay before you the Report on the Mineralogy of the Province with the preparation of which I have been entrusted by the Provincial Government. I have thought it proper to give in the form of an Intro- duction some account of the origin and scope of the Report, together with references to the numerous sources of oflScial and other information oh the minerals of the Province. The Table of Contents shews the heads under which the minerals are treated. All which is respectfully submitted by, Your obedient servant, Henry How, D. C. L. The Honourable W. B. Vail, Provincial Secretary. M m ■■\ /; CONTENTS. CHAFTEB I. Introduction — References to Publications on tlie Minerals of the Province .... 1 CHAPTER II. Coal and Allied Minerals € CHAPTER III. Gold 37 CHAPTER IV. Silver — Argentiferous Galena — Antimony — Mercury — Molybdenum — Arsenic —Cobalt— Nickel— Bismuth 68 CHAPTER V. Copper — Ores of Copper — Ore of Lead — Ore of Zinc — Plumbago — Sulphur —Ore of Sulphur C5 CHAPTER VI. Iron Ores —Mineral Paints S3 CHAPTER VII. Ores of Manganese 110 CHAPTER Vni. Gypsum — Anhydrite — Borates — Brine Springs — Salt — Magnesia Alum 127 CHAPTER IX. liiniestones—Marbles-Barytes— Moulding Sand— Clays 149 CHAPTER X. Building Stones- Stones and Materials for Grinding and Polishing. ....... 169 Ti. CHAPTER XI. Minerals for Jewellery and Ornamental Purposes not before mentioned.. •.179 CHAPTER XII. Minerals not included in the foregoing classes and c)iicfly adapted for the Cabinet 186 CHAPTBB Xni. Mineral Waters 199 CHAPtBR tH. Catalogue of Localities of Minerals ii*ii',[ 201 CHAPTtlk xit. Notes on the Reservation of Minerals, 211 APPENDIX. (Page 216.) Keport on the Gold Regions, by Dr. S. Hunt— Gold Product of the Province — Copper Ore of Cape North, C. B. — Provincial Salt at the late Exhibition — Export of Minerals from Windsor in 1868 — Marble in Cape Breton — Coal Mines. ERRATA. Page 2S, and elseiwhere, /or Welch read Welsh. 26, last line Ratio etc., should be above firtt table. 4k%.\me 16 from topjjbr 8ylwin 7tad Selwyn. 45, 62, 69, 103, 121, 123, 125, 135, 137, 140, 141, 162, 163, 164, 178, 184, 9 „ „ ybr Phillip's r*ad Phillips's. 8 „ bottora, /or Amalgamators reatZ Amalgamaters. 7 ,, top, /or Cumberland reorf Colchester. 2 from bottom, for it read titanium. 18 „ top,/or MushprattreotZMuspratt. 7 „ bottom, /or in recM? from. 1 for veins read cmtieti. 8 from top 1 selenite was shipped from Miller's Creek, Avon- 2 „ „ 5 <^ale ; price named was paid in New York. 21 ,1 » /o** Outram read Outrim. 9 „ M for „ read „ 8 „ „ /or with these result. *ead the results were these. 21 „ » /< " fln3 ♦"<«<^ fife* 10 „ bottom, for fine read fire. 7 „ top, Tatamt^ouche should be in Colchester County. 3 „ „ for simple read simply. f I - iiwrnii-iimiiitT'^Tni^T' , ■ , r,„„ Process for extracting Gold from Quartz. . . .G. Lawson |. Notes on Ec. Min. N, S., Ill, Limestone and Marble, HrHow 1866'. Remarks on Minerals sent to Paris Exhibition. . . . . ' " 1867. Geology of Gay's River Gold Field, D. Honeyman 1867^ Explorations in Pictou Coal Field, R. G. Haliburton. ....... 1867. Gaol. Features of Londonderry Iron Mine, D. Honeyman. ...1867. Notes on Ec. Mifl. N. St, IV, Gypsum and Anhydrite, and ) , ^^q the Borates and other Minerals they contaiu* • 'H. How, j ' The following reports to companies made her^ have been con- sulted ; — On the Lead Ore of Gay's Eiver, F. Bawden, Johnson ) , j.„„ and Matthey and others .*<»*.v^;4*i»p v*»1864, n » »» ' >» >» » iQ«c On East Mountain of Onslow Lime and Manganese! Go's. ) , „„„ Property, W. Barnes, D. Honeyman, H. How ) On an Iron Deposit at Brookfield, W. Barnes, H, How 1866. On Cement and Paint Stone of Chester Basin, H, How. .... .1!BJ56. On Gold Field of Gold River " ...... 1§66, On Montreal and Pictou Go's. Coal, etc. .V. .'.'!'.' ,." . ..^..1866. On the Silver Mine, etc., at Badjiec^;,H. Y, Hiudi»,«„''>! •,•••• •1867. On the Baryta of Five Islands,^ G. D. Whycoff, .. .r. ....... .. 1867. On the Douglas Slate Quarry, G. I^wsotki. »jf"[; .,m **••».. .186®^ Reference has been made to the successive numbers of) loga. i the "Mining Gazette," Halifax, A. Heattierington'.,. . T.,^" The following papers on special points of N. 3. mineralogy have" been published abroad : — On Natroborocalcite in Gypsum of N.S., H. How, Silli-) ,gg.. man's^ Journal ....... ........»...«..•,..,(...««, ,,^».,)f ; * INTRODUCTION. Analysis of Faroelite and some other N. S, Minerals, H. ) How, Silliman's Journal ) On Three New Minerals from Trap of N.S., H. How, Edin. ) New Phil. Jnl I On an Oil Coal from Pictou Co., N S., H. How, Sill. Jnl. ) and Ed. N. P. Jnl j 'On Gyrolitfi in Trap of N. S. H. How, Ed. N P. Jnl. ) and Sill. Jnl j On Natroborocalcite and another Borate in Gypsum of) N. S., H. How, Sill. Jnl j On the Gold of N. S., 0. C. Marsh, Sill. Jnl On the Gold Fields of N. S., A. Gesner, Geol. Soc. London. . On Pickeringite in N. S., H. How, Jnl. Chemical | Society, London j Report on N. S. and N. Y. Go's. Gold Property, B. Silliman.. On Mdrdenite, a new Mineral from Trap of N. S., H. ) How, Qu. Jnl. Chem. Soc, London j On Gold Mines and , do' d Mining in N. S., H. Perley, ) Can. Naturalist ) Contributions to the Minerology of N. S., Part I, Man-^ ganite, Pyrolusite, Wad, H. How, London Edinburgh >• and Dublin Phil. Mag. • ) Do. Part n, Wichtisite, Pencil Stone, Variegated Slate, ) Bitumen in Oalcite, H. HOw, L. E. D. Philosophical >• Magazine , ) On Ledorerite in N, S., 0. C. Marsh, Silliman's Jnl Some account of the operations of Gold Mining in N. S., ) G. Lawson, Chemical News j Oontributions to Mineralogy of N. S., HI, Silieoborocal- cite, a new Mineral, etc., and Addendum, H. How, L. ,E. D. Phil. Mag There has also been published : — A Catalogue of Mineral Localities in New Brunswick, Nova ) Scotia, and Newfoundland, 0. C. Marsh, Silliman's Jnl. j 858. 859. 860. 861. 861. 861. 862. 863. 864. 864. 865. 866. 867. 86t. 86t. 868. 863. * The author is indebted to several gentlemen for private com- munications, as specially mentioned in the body of the report, and he has included numerous unpublished notes of his own. For the valuable information contained in the chapter on the reservation of minerals in the province, he is obliged to W. A. Hendry, Esq., Deputy Commissioner of Crown Lands. CHAPTER II. COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. Coal is the most important of the minerals of the province, it was worked in Cape Breton by the French, upwards of a century ago, and no doubt it has been raised ever since to some extent. During the last forty years, though for the first thirty mined under a practical monopoly, it has been produced to the ascertained value of about 20 millions of dollars. In the year 1826, a grant was made by George IV., to the Duke of York, of all mines and minerals in the province, not previously granted with the land, for the term of 60 years, at certain rents and royalties. The lease was assigned to some creditors of the Duke, and transferred to an English com- pany, called the General Mining Association, who commenced operations here in 182t. After the Provincial Government had made prolonged efforts to remedy a state of things so manifestly prejudicial to the interests of Nova Scotia, an arrangement was come to in 185T, and the next vear an Act was passed, by which the rights of the Association were restricted to the mining of coal alone, in six areas, selected by themselves. This proceeding at once gave life to mining enterprise, and as regards coal the result has been tl.at while the Association worked only six >mine8 in two counties of Nova Scotia proper and one county of Cape Breton, returns of coal have since been made from 36 mines in two counties of Nova Scotia, and the four counties of Cape Breton, seams from two to nine feet thick have lately been reported in a third county of Nova Scotia, and several new companies have just been organized for the working of valuable properties. The coal mines were from 1858 to 1860 under the supervision of a Provincial Inspector of Mines, J. I''cKeagney, Esq., who made most valuable reports upon the subject, giving the nature and extent of th,e operations of the COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. Association and the amount of coal sold from each of their mines, and the results of the action above mentioned in the opening of new mines, and the raising an increasing quantity of coal, with much further important information. In 1861 the office of Inspector of Mines was abolished, and the duty of inspection transferred to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, by whom detailed reports were issued till 1864, when the greatly and rapidly increasing business of mining ronderer' other arrangements necessary. The Depart- ment of Mines v as then formed, and placed under the control of the Chief Commissioner of Mines, and the office of Inspector of Mines was re-established. In this latter capacity , John Rutherford, Esq., M. E., Member of the North of England Institute of Mining Engineers, made his first report in 1866. In this and his report for the following year full particulars as to the actual condition of all the works are given, while the reports of the Chief Commissioners of Mines with which they are issued afford a conitinuation of details respecting the amount of coal raised and sold and other matters of importance. To an abstract of some of the most essential points given in all these voluminous reports and in other sources will be added the principal results of such examinations into the quali- ties of the coals by analysis and practical trials, as I have been able to collect or have myself made. The productive coal measures of the province so far as known (I am not aware of the exact age of the beds lately reported in Antigonish county, ) are the second in descending order of the five members into which Dr. Dawson divides the carboniferous system. They are found in the counties of Pictou, Cumberland, Hants, and Colchester, Nova Scotia, and in the four counties of Cape Breton, covering an area the known extent of which is very large. Thus from late official reports it appears that in 1865 there were in ad- dition to the territory of the General Mining Association (comprising 44 square miles) 81 s'^.uare miles under coal mining leases. The aggregate extent of areas under licenses to search was about 1920 square miles. Within the year 1866, 376 applications were made for licenses to search, embracing about 1880 square miles, of which 84, covering about 420 square miles, were for ground never previously applied for. The number of licenses to work taken out the same year comprised 73 square miles, a larger tract than had ever been applied for within any previous year. This last fact ia 8 COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. mentioned as indicating an increased degree of confidence in those who have been most engaged in explorations. In Cape Breton county alone, according to Mr. E. Brown, formerly Agent at the Sydney Mines, the productive coal measures cover 250 square miles, their thickness being probably 10,000 feet. The following extracts from the official reports shew the late progress and present condition of coal mining. In 1858, the first year of the working of the New Mines under the Act before men- tioned, the quantity of coal sold from the mines of the Association, viz.: those at Albion Mines, Joggins, Sydney, Lingan, and Aconi, was 224,400 tons, of 2240 lb. and from the New Mines, 8 in number, only 2,325 tons ; in 1865, the most prosperous year re- corded, the Association sold 366,962 tons, while the New Mines, 22 in number, sold no less than 285,892 tons. In this last year the general results of coal mining had been no less satisfactory than those of gold mining ; thirty collieries were in operation, some of them, only just opened, had made but small returns, but in all, wi'li one or two exceptions, works were being vigorously prose- cuted with good prospects ; the returns shewed the total quantity of coal sold during the year, ending 30th Sept., to be 652,854 tons. In 1866 the total sale of coal was 601,302 tons ; the decrease was owing to the abrogation of the Reciprocity Treaty made with the United States in 1854 and the imposition in the latter country of a somewhat heavy duty, $1.50 per ton, on coal ; the effect of these measures on the coal trade was of course damaging, as the United States was the largest consumer. Still, the effect was not so great as might reasonably have been expected, and the aspect of affairs at the close of the first fiscal year after the abrogation of the Treaty was -the reverse of discouraging. While the total decrease in the sale of coal, as compared with the previous year, was 61,552 tons, the shipments to the United States shewed a decrease of 145,144 tone. This falling off was considered to be not wholly due to the abrogation of the Treaty. The great demand for coal during the late war, and the depressing effects of that war upon pi*oductive industry in the United States, gave a great stimulus to the coal trade here, and one which did not cease with the close of the war. Again, when the abrogation of the Treaty was imminent, a further stimulus was afforded, efforts being made to force as much coal as possible into the ^^nited States before the imposition of a duty. tri n^ COAL AND ALLIED MNERALS. 9 Prospects were very cheering in the direction in whicii the coal trade had increased. The proprietors of collieries having received a check from the United States had looked round for new markets. The home consumption had increased of coutso ; the actual increase being about 50 per cent, within the year. What was more im- portant was the fact of the exports to the neighbouring colonies having increased by 64,099 tons. These figures, however, did not sufficiently explain the matter. The annual export of coal to the neighbouring colonies had more than doubled within the year and the indications warranted belief in a rapid and continued increase in the trade. In 1861 the total deficiency in the coal sold as compared with 1866 was 119,224 tons which was attributed to the abrogation of the Reciprocity Treaty, There was reason to hope that the existing arrangements with the United States would be modified. The expectation that the loss of the trade with the latter country would have been made up by increased home con- sumption and exports to neighbouring colonies were not realized, though the falling off wa^ chiefly in " other countries " There was a decrease in home consumption of 1,983 tons, and in exports to neighbouring colonies of 3,379 tons. Although the returns of coal raised shewed a decrease of nearly 21 per cent, and work had been suspended at some of the new ndines, it was a cheering fact that not only had additional mines been opened, but preparations were being made at others for a considerable extension of the powers of production. As regards the capabilities for supplying an extensive demand, Mr. Haliburton, in an article in the Tran- sactions of tho Nova Scotia Institute, says : Nova Scotian collieries now opened or in preparation would raise, in 5 years, 5 or 6 million tons annually, and the supply could be gradually increased to meet any demand, however great. I '■': \ ■ , Frequent illustration has been made in foreign Exhibitions of the coal of the province. Mr. Poole, Agent to the General Mining Association, sent to New York in 1853, a continuous specimen of the whole Main Seam at the Albion Mines, Pictou county, shewing a thickness of 38 feet 6 inches. Mr. Scott, Agent, sent a similar section to Montreal in 1855, and a column to London, in 1862, when a medal was awarded. A column was sent to Dublin, in 1865, for which a medal was given, and which remains there in the Winter Garden, with its name, origin, height, 35 feet 6 inches, as 10 COAL AND ALLIKD MINERALS. well as the honors obtained in 1862 and 1865 properly indicated. In Paris, in 1867, for a column 3t feet 10 inches high, sent by Mr. J. Hudson, Agent, a Silver Medal was awarded to the General Mining Association. At Dublin, in 1865, the coal of Cape Breton was distinguished by the award of four Honourable Mentions, viz.: to Hon. T. D. Archibald, for "good sample," to Mr. R. Brown, for "interesting specimens," to Mr. J. C. Campbell, for "a good specimen," and to Messrs. Symonds, Kay, and Ross, for " a good specimen " of coal. At the late Paris Exhibition, in addition to the Albion column, there were shewn : — A column of Coal 5 feet thick, from Gowrie Mines, Cape Breton, 6 " " " Sydney Mines, " 8 " " " Caledonia Mine, " 9 " " " Cow Bay Mine, " 9J " " " Little Glace Bay Mine, C. B. And Oil Coal and Oil from Albion Coal Fields. The following table shews some of the leading facts connected with the coal mines of the province, from which coal has been raised of late years, they are 36 in number : — ;> }) it )t >) )t }) >} >) It Mine. Principai, Sxams. No. Thick- ness. Dip. WORKINOa. Greatest Depth. Extent. Coals raised in tons of 2240 lbs. 1886. 1867. CumberVd Co,N^.S Joggius Victoria Lawrence Macan Ohiegnecto St. George , Pictou Co., K. S. Albion Acadia . Koya Scotia.... Bear Creek. ... McKay Pictou(German) Mont. & Pictou . M'Bean Inverness Co, C.B Port Hood Chimney Corner Victoria Co., C.B. N. Campbeltown BlaokRock Cape Breton Co. Matheson, Iiit. * Braed'Or... | Collins .., 6ft.2 in. 3 " 4 " 6 " IJ " 2 " 44 " 2 " 4| " 12" 9 " 11 " 9i " 38 " 6 " 15 " 6 " 12 " " 20 " " 19 "10 " 19 "10 " S. 17"" or 1 in 3.5 S. 22° or 1 in 2.6 8. 35° or 1 in 1.6 S. 42° or 1 in 1.2 8. 46° or 1 in 1 N.K. 20°orlin2.75 N. K. 20° or 1 in 2.75 N.K. 20° or 1 in 2.75 N.E. 20°orlin2.75 E, 20° or 1 In 2.76 K. 20° or 1 in 2.75 25 " " 6 " 1 " a " " 4 " " 4" 6 " 2 "lU " 4 "11} *' 8. W. 19° or 1 in 2,9 Shaft 110 It. Shaft 135 " Slope Slope 150 " Shafl 90 " Slope 210 " Shaft 840 " Shan Slope 550 " Slope 390 " Slope 226 " Shaft S. E. 65° N. W. 27° or 1 in 2 E. 12° or 1 in 6 E. r or 1 In T E. 6' or 1 in 10 100 60 Shaft 180 Slope 300 " Slope 300 " Shaft 90 « 25 acres. "i 8,478 2,077 2,300 4,847 150 222,437 14,602 62 533 176 3,824 3,142 468 8,806 290 830 212^ 143,3&4 18,738 41 443 m 164 421 22 6,315 60 4,033 ^9 775| 433 COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. U 830 212} (Continued.) Mine. Principal S8 132,015 10 59,780 13,364 687 61,SD2 . 374 7,163 (6,206) 107,642 35,704 (2,893) 1,138 116,533 53 N. E. 12° or 1 in 4.7 K. 5' or 1 in 11 Slope eoo " Slope 300 " Shaft 173 " Slope 400 " Shaft 111 " Shaft 36 << 45 «• 7 •' 45,628i 15,967| 8,015 International . . . HAlAdonib ■ . . . ■ Little Glace Bay • Acadia ..••••..• E. 6° or 1 in 11 ' ;• 25 " 46,7161 Qlyde 8". 6 " 6 "Hi " 8 "10 " 4 "11 " 4 " • " 8 '« 6 " N. E. 7" or 1 in 8 N.a-orlinS.? N. E. 6" or 1 in 11 N. B. 7' or 1 In 8 N. E. E. Slope 480 " Slope 240 " Slope Shaft 80 " Slope 270 » Shaft 71 » 20 Block Houic*. Gowrie . • • • • • . • 12 " 84,938 38,582 MiraBay South Head Victoria 35Q Richmond C»,0. B Richmond Sea Coal Bay... 2 3 " " 4 II " 4 to 7 ft. N. E. 86° ) Shaft aOO " 1,016 (400) 684,740 642^271 A larger quantity of coal was raised in 1865, namely, 712,515 tons, the greatest annual weight yet produced. The years follow- ing are selected, as shewing the greatest number of mines in operation ; the amounts in brackets were got out in 1864 or 1865, and are inserted to shew that the mines have been worked, they are not included in the total results. Many of the new mines, in Cape Breton and Cumberland counties especially, have been opened on seams long known to exist. In Fictou county there has been a most remarkable de- velopment of the productive beds. Mr, Rutherford says of those large seams worked at the Acadia, Nova Scotia, and Bear Creek mines, about 20 feet in thickness, and others underlying, so far (three miles to the west, for example, and again to the south, at varying distances,) from the series proved by the General Mining Association and Acadia Company, that whatever may be the case as to their identity with those long known, it is a gratifying and important fact that seams of coal of an exceedingly valuable character have been traced over a tract of country in which their existence was only a short time ago extremely problamatical. To what extent they may spread existing openings scarcely afford a sufficient basis for conjecture ; but considering their inland position and consequent freedom from the limit of yield to which the aub- 12 COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. aqueous coal fields are subject, their economical importance cannot bo too highly estimated. With reference to the great discoveries made to the north and east of the Albion Mines, the coal found by- Mr. Haliburton in several beds of from 2 feet 6 inches to 25 feet in thickness on the Montreal and Pictou area is thus spoken of: " The discovery of coal on this area has added to the importance of the Pictou coal field in a remarkable degree ;" and it is paid also, " The same seam has been discovered by Mr. Kirby on the east side of East River, to the north of New Glasgow. This extension of this portion of the coal field will doubtless lead to further ex* plorations, the progress of which will be watched with interest." Prospectings were made in several places in' 1866 with more or less success. Mr. Kirby proved two seams of coal, each four feet thick, about two miles east of New Glasgow. A seam of coal was found by Mr. Haliburton, at Sutherland's river, about seven miles east of Albion Mines, it proved to be 14 feet total thickness at 100 feet depth, but disturbed, and further explorations were in progress ; between this and the Albion Mines on the M'Bean area, coal was opened upon. From these and other details it is evident that the limits of the coal basin here have been largely extended in every direction. In connection with these operations notice is made of th*^ recently reported discovery of coal near Antigonish, in the county of that name, by Messrs. McKinnon and Chisholm. This coal field, it is remarked, is an interesting addition to those already known, and its development will be attended with much interest. It is separated from the county of Pictou by metamorphic rocks. Cumberland county is spoken of in the report of 1864, as having a large tract of country of which Spring Hill may be taken as the centre which has long been known to contain exceedingly rich beds of coal. Explorations carried on with much spirit had been attended with cheering results. Under ordinary conditions mines could not be opened and successfully worked in this inland district without large preparatory expenditure. But if, as is anticipated, the projected Intercolonial Railway should pass through, or skirt this coal basin, a number of rich coal mines will, beyond question, be opened. In Inverness county. Cape Breton, explorations have proved the existence of several seams of coal along the coast to the east of COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. 13 Port Hood. At Mabou, Broad Cove, and Chimney Corner, soams varying in thickness from 3 to 7 feet, have becii found. At the close of his first report, in 1866, Mr. Rutherford makes some remarks, an abstract of which will give a very good general idea of the character of the coal niincs. The remarks are said to apply with a few exceptions to nearly all the collieries of the pro- vince. It is mentioned that the facility with which coal has been reached in all the distriqts, as compared with other mining countries in which, from the exhaustion of the seams near the crop, expensive sinkings become uecessary, instead of permitting an effective winning of a largo tract of coal before beginning the regular working, seems to have engendered an indifference to future operations, and allowed the desire for immediate profit to supersede the necessity of a judicious arrangement of the mode of working. To this cause is attributed the short distance from the crop to which, in most of the mines, the workings are confined. The introduction into the market of coal worked so close to the crop, is believed to have operated injuriously to the interests of the mine owners. The small size of tho pillars left is objected to, for reasons given in detail. The general freedom from gas is men- tioned as having produced an indifference as to the necessity of making provision for effective ventilation as this workings become extended. The mere fact of there being at present in most of the mines no deleterious gases, should not be deemed sufBcient to render unnecessary the provision of the fresh air requisite to the healthy existence of the minerft. In many instances the exposure of the coal on the faces of clifiFs has induced the opening of th^ seams to be made by driving an adit or level li'om the shore, which has answered the double purpose of being an outlet fqr the coal and the water made in the mine. TJie desire to obtain as much coal as possible has in many cases iQd to this level being so placed that it is within reach of the tide, which occasionally flows ia,to the mine. Dams have been fixed in; bqa^ of the cplliepes to prevent any unusual rise of the tide overflowing the dip workings, aud their adoption in others is recommended. The quantity of water made in the mines is not larg;e, and it is thought that much of it is from the surface. The great loss consequent upon storing the coal got out in winter on the surface is pointed out. The production of sl^ck coal by exposure and by breaking in putting down and u COAL AND ALLtED MIKBRALS. relifling is such that it is believed in some instances not much more than fifty per cent, of largo coal is obtained from the heap. Snggefit'nns as to the means of lessening this great loss by modifi- cation of the plan of working the mines and erection of suitable protective buildings on the surface are made. The total amount of coal raised and shipped In the province is given in the Inspector's report for 1863 as being, from 1827 to 1857, inclusive, 3,692,762 tons. From the year the new mines were opened (1858) the returns of coal up to last year I have calcu^ lated from ofiicial data to be as follows : — Coal baisrd and bold in Nova Scotia in tons of 2240. lbs. Year. Total Railed Raised and Sold. Raised and sold from New Mines only. 1858 229,960 tons. 2,825 tons 1859 270,293 " 8,908 " inc. 2151 tons Oil coal. 1860 322,802 " 13,352 •« " 1648 " " " 1861 326,428 " 41,630 " 1862 394,708 " 41,614 « 1863 429,361 " 86,969 " 1864, (9 moB) 395,030 tons. 406,699 " 162,358 " (raised 151,715 tons.) 1866 712,676 " 662,864 " 286,892 " ♦' 292,789 ♦' 1866 684,740 '« 601^802 " 201,686 " " 261,180 '♦ 1867 642,127 " 482,078 " 217,878 " " 227,828 " From 1868 to 1867.. ^w. 4,116,966 tons. 1,060,920 From 1827 to 1857 8,692,762 " Total raised and sold . > 7,708>727 tons. The coal is sold at the colleries at ptices -^aryin^ from $1.70 to $2.50 per ton for large, and 80 cents to $1.20 for small. The average price for large coal is $2 per ton at the New Mines. At Little Qlace Bay it is put on board for that sum. At Lingan the price is about ten cents higher, and at Sydney and the Albion Mines, the highest price named, $2.50, is obtained. It was one of the terms of the agreement before mentioned as entered into be- tween the Provincial Government arid the General Mining Asso- ciation, that during the lease held by the latter, the royalty on all coal raised in the province, should be 10 cents per ton of 2240 lbs* on all quantities up to 26,000 tons raised by each company, with one third diminution on all over that quantity ; small, or slack coal, and coal used by the workmen, and in caifrying on the works, to be free of royalty ; it was also stipulated that during the lease no export duty should be placed on coal without the consent of the Association. The royalty accruing to the province I find to be COAL AKD ALLIED MINERALS. 16 as follows, for those years in which return^ of amount of coal raised are given : — Royalty paid by Goal. Aotunl Koyatty on Coal rained. 1863 #30,969. ' 18(54 (9 mo.) 83,745. #89,503. 1866 43,645. 66,597. 1866 46,989. 62,687. 1867 64,480. 52,068. On this subject the report of 1867 states that the increase ob- served arises from two causes. In 1865 an amendment to the Mines Act was passed, making the royalty payable quarterly, whilst previous to that date, it was p»iyable yearly, so that part of the income on coal raised had been paid during the current year. There had also been some progress made in collecting arrearages, of which there is still a considerable amount due from former years, as shewn in the statement given. Quality of the coals. — The coat of the province is bituminous, or soft ; no anthracite or hard coal has been met with. There are also very rich oil-coals, distinguished from common coals by their composition and property of yielding oil on careful distillation, and more resembling cannel coal, which is also found here, but not abundantly. In giving the results of examination into the qualities of the coals, by chemical analysis and practical trials, I shall take them by counties. I must mention that some of the analyses were made several years ago, and probably the character of some of the coals would now be tound different ; as a general rule, im- provement of quality might be expected in increased depth of workings. As regards the " evaporative power " I must state that when it is mentioned as " theoretical," as it is in most cases, it is calculated from a formula employed in the British Admiralty Coal Enquiry on coals suited to the Steam Navy, in which I was for- merly engaged as chemist, and expresses the number of pounds of water which the coke by itself could convert into steam, at the temperature of 212° Fahrenheit. K was found in the Enquiry that this theoretical result, notwithstanding several striking exceptions, showed that the work capable of being performed by the coke alone, is actually grieater than that obtained under the boiler with the original coal. In the first report issued on the subject, it appeared that out of 29 coals examined, the theoretical number was !, IC COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. greater than the practical in 16 cases, the reverse being found with the remainder. In the absence of practical trials, therefore, this mode of 'representing the value of a coal for steam purposes, can only be taken as approximatively correct. Coal of Cumberland County. — The coal from the Joggins was described by Dr. Dawson, in 1855, as free-burning bituminous coal, of fair quality, affording, on analysis of a specimen from the main seam. Moisture ...>......•'« 2 . 50 Volatile Combustiblfe Matter. 36.30 Fixed Carbon .■...•.v.v. 56.00 Reddish-gray Ashes. ........ ..i.... . ... 5.20 100.00 The speciiuen was bright coal, of uniform texture, with straight joints, containing films of iron pyrites and calcareous matter. The principal market for this coal is St. John, New Brunswick. The coal of Springhill, (South) about 20 miles south east of Joggins shore, has not been worked for exportation, as, owing to its inland situation, it would not at present be remunerative. It is expected, however, that the opening of the projected Inter- colonial Railway will ;make this deposit very valuable. The coal, of which one seam is twelve feet thick, dipping north, has been examined by Dr. Dawson and myself, with the following results : — •niftw'n' Dawson. Hbtc. Moisture .(..... *.i|^«a. 80 2!.92 »''^>»<( Volatile Combustible Matter. ...... 28. 40 22.46 •■•' Fixed Carbon ,*.*;k.V'.^k4)*;i. .56.60 60.95 Reddish Ashes i. ••<•..:. i.. -...<«•(■*.<; IS. 20 13.67 y - /■ .; , ••! ■ ''rfyr'^ „,i;;e.U ,l^<>'<>0 100.00 Theoretical evaporative powei*'.' i *^», ." l". ..... 8 . 37 Dr. Dawson states that from the chajj-acter given of this coall^ persons who have used it, he should infer either that the quality had been overrated, or tha>t his specimen was inferior to the average quality. The latter, is probably the, case, *s the follpwing analysis by Messrs. Woodhouse aad Jeffcocke, of Derby, i]ng),and, for .IT ...//"to ■Mght COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. 1*1 which I am indebted to E. A. Jones, Esq., of the Acadia Mines, shews the coal to be of a quality superior to that indicated above. Analysis of coal from 12 feet seam, Springhill : — WoodhouBC and Jeffcoeke. Carbon ,...12.00 Hydrogen ••.•.•',» «•• 6»02 Oxygen 7.26 Nitrogen 1.96 Sulphur 0.84 Water 2.60 Ash 10.80 100.56 Mr. Jones remarks that the Intercolonial Railway will bring the Acadia Iron Mines into communication with the Springhill coal fields, distant 24 miles, and will thus assist very much in develop- ing the iron interest. The North Spring Hill seams are between five and six miles from the River Napan, and dip south. They have been proved to be three in number but do not appear to have been actually worked, operations were begun in 1859 and soon discontinued. In the Inspector's report of the next year it is said that the coal is pronounced to be of superior quality. The following analysis is given : — Volatile matter i 31 .000 Fixed carbon '•••««• 59.174 Ash ",l* 3.826 100,000 Sulphur in volatile matter 0.316. It is said that " the almost entire absence of sulphur in the vola- tile matter renders the coal especially adapted for gas purposes." The Victoria coal is much esteemed in St. John, New Brunswick, where it is chiefly sold. The Macan (Lawson's) coal has been found a good domestic coal at Windsor where it has sold at |4.50 per chaldron. The only objection made t<^ it, i^ that it forms clin- kers in stoves. I Coal of Pictou County. The coal from the Albion Mines was verj' thoroughly tested ia 1842 or 1843 by Professor Johnson in B A 18 AN] '^r COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. the experiments made upon coals at the Washington Navy Yard by order of the United. States Government. The composition of the two samples of coal used was as follows : I. Moisture .1 ..-.'.'. . . •. .-. . . .-. .2.567 Volatile combustible matter 2t . 063 Fixed carbon....... ... ..•.•.•....-.•.• 56.981 Ash 13.389 I'A.n IL 0.781 25.795 60.785 12.508 100.000 100.000 Sulphur ........'...'..,. ....' 0.769 Specific gravity 1.320 1.330 Weight of a cubic foot in a merchantable state 53 . 55 lb. 49 .25 lb. !fio >>. i'rm'd »t\t i*M, the mine, calculated, about. .8?i lb. Actual evaporative power, viz : pounds of water ) q 4.1 s aq evaporated at 212° by one pound of coal. . . J . Theoretical evaporative power (I have calcu- ] ■' iated to be)....., .;■.....'.......... J il;;! 7.82 8.34 No. 1 was easily igriited, its clinker was iti sheets of considera- ble magnitude and somewhat porous. No. 2 burnt promptly with a long smoky flam6, its clinker was black, vitreous and porous, tole. ably friable and not appar3ntly inclined to adhere to 4he grate. • The evaporative power of bituminous coals from Liverpool, nd Newcastle, England, and a locality in Scotland was found uiuer the same circumstances to be respectively 7 .84 ; 8.66 ; and 6 .95. It will be useful to state here that the results of le British Ad- miralty Coal Enquiry were these : — No, and locality of British Coala examined. Actual evaporative power, or No, of pounds of water evaporated from 212' by 1 poond of coal. irf»i>»j »» ^> n t"^' 28 „ ft ft ° >t ,.H,,j , Average of 37 Coals from Wales .'.'.... vi. 9.05 17 „ „ Newcastle ......V.'... V.v..... ...8. 37 Lancashire < 7 • 94 Scotland .7 . 70 iDerbyshire ...7.68 Numerous analyses were made by Dr. DaWson in 1854 shewing the character of the Albion Mines coal from different pafts of the upper floor of the mine, and also the varieties existing thi oughout the whole thickness oi their main seam, in a series of assays of coal taken at,di8tanqe8,9f oi^e foot in thick'nes". The general results were that the best coal was found oil the N. W. side of the old workings, tl COAL AND ALLIED MINEBALB. 19 ieteribration taking place at either extremity of the ^vorkingB of the upper floor. In all parts of the mine the lower coal was infe- rior to that of the middle of the seam and still more so to that of the upper part above the "holing stone" or "fall coal" of the miners. On the west this frll coal disappeared or was reduced to insignificant thickness. The assays made to show the variations in thickness of the whole seam were on coal taken at this western part. This valuable series of assays of the coal of this seam so familiar to the world is here given. Assays of Samples taken at distances of one foot in thickness m the- Main Seam of Coal at the Albion Mines, Pictou, by Dr. Dawson :.. Volatile matter Volatile matter ■ Fixed hy rapid coking. by slow coking. Carbon. AAl]eB« . No. 1. Coal ........26.0 19.9 63.8 16.3 2. do .•i^'v.;..27.8 24,1 63.8 12'^l 3. do ....27.4 25.7 60.0 14.3 4. do S7.2 25.0 65.5 9,.6 6. do 25,8 25.1 64. d 10. 1 6. do 25.2 24.9 62.5 12-6 7. do 27.4 22.0 68.5- 9^5 8. do 26.8 22.9 66.7 10:4 9. do 27.0 ;/28.Q 61. a 14.8 10. Carbonaceous shale. 1 6.4 ,, 15.9,, 26. a 58.8 11. Coal 28.8 25.8' 59.7 14.5 12. do. 27.2 25.4 62.5 12.'l 12. do. .;.... ..i 27.6 24.7 62'.5 9.8 14. do. .;.... 'i.i'..... 26. 6 23.9 61 JO 15*1 15. do. 26.8 28.1 ,65.1 11.8 16. do 28.8 24.9 62.3 12.8 17. do , 30.4 26.0 65.0 9.0 18. do '.......■...26.0 26.1 63.0 10.9 19. do. .;'..'V'.V.'V.V'i..26.0 : • 25.0 66.3 8.7 20. do V, 26.8 22.7 63.6 13.7^ 21. Coarse Coal .......25.8 23.3 • 58.3 18.4 22. do. 27.2 22.5 60.3 17.2 23. Coal 29.(4 23.6 64.3 12.1 24. Coarse Coal 25.'8 22.4 57.6 20.0 25. do 25.8 23.1 60.2 16.7 26. .do. 27.8 21.9 54.8 23.3 27. Coal 27.0 24.3 65.5 IQ.^ 28. do 25.6 22.4 65.0 12.6 29. do. 25.8 22.7 62.7 14.6 30. do. 27.2 234, 67.4 9.5 31. do. 32.6 22.4 66.5 U.l 32. Coarse Coal 22.2 21.5 50.4 28.^ \ li 20 COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. The coal above the "holing stone" is not found at the part whence these coals were taken, as before explained. At the N. W. side of the old workings it is three feet thick and has this com- position : ' ' Dawson, Moisture 1 . 55|0 Volatile combustible matter. . . . 2t . 988 Fixed carbon 60.887 Ashes . 626 100.000 In these assays we have a most instructive and interesting set of experiments, the most complete of the kind, so far as I know, ever made on any bed of coal of considerable thickness. " All the coals afford a fine vesicular coke and their ashes are light grey and powdery, with the exception of those of the coaise coals which arc heavy and shaly. The worst defect of this coal is its containing rather a large quantity of light bulky ashes which causes it to be less esteemed for domestic use than on other grounds it deseives. It is very free from sulphur, burns long, with a great production of heat, and remains alight when the fire becomes low much longer than most other coals." Subsequently to the investigations of Dr. Dawson some abandoned works on the main seam were re- -opened and it was reported in 1859 that it was believed "to be generally admitted that the new Mulgrave workings lately opened "by Mr. Scott, produce a richer coal than any that has hitherto been obtained from this colliery." The deep seam at these mines, 150 feet vertical below the main seam, contains about 12 feet of good coal, the best of which is superior to that of the main seam. Its best portions contain only about 5.8 to 11 per cent, of ash and afford much illuminating gas and a fine vesicular coke similar to that of the main seam coal. These results were obtained by Dr. Dawson who also tested on a small scale the gas producing quali- ties of the coal which has long been largely used here and in the United States in the manufacture of gas ; the results obtained -were : — ■ ' Cubic fcet gaa per ton. ^Coal from upper 9 feet of main seam from Dalhousie pits 3,902 doal from middle of main seam * . . .5,080 Coal from upper 3 feet of best coal of deep seam 6,668 Coal from lower 3 feet of best coal of deep seam ......; 8,504 COAL AND ALLIED MINEBAL8. 21V rr. ■ Dr. Dawson anticipated that the reputation of the coal as a gas; producer might increase as the quality of the coal then being open- ed was superior to the old, and mentioned that the value of the coal for the purpose in question as well as for family and steam uses depends in part on the good quality of its coke, and in part on its comparative freedom from sulphur. It appears that the charac- ter of the coal is well maintained. Mr. Hudson, the present agent at the Albion Mines, has kindly furnished me with the following statement from the Boston Gas Light Company, U. S., dated Sept. 24th, 186Y : "We have not carbonized much of the Pictou Coal received during the present season ; the general appearances how- ever indicate that it will average with former years. Pictou coal yields 7,180 feet to the ton of 15 candle gas 5 the coke is light and of fair quality. The coal is valuable to such as require large stocks on hand as it is not liable to spontaneous combustion under any ordinary conditions of storage. When the coal is worked to high heat it yields more gas, but to the injury of its coke ; signed, W, W. Greenhough.''^ Mr. Hudson writes "I enclose you a c^y of letter from the Manager of the Boston Gas Co. — they do not ex- tract the whole of the gas as the coke from our coal, on account of its freedom from pyrites, is of great value ; 15 candle gas is Ifurnt* in Boston from our coal, in London it is 12, and in Manchester only 10, here the finest gas coal in England is mined, viz : the Wigan cannel of Lancashire. Albion Mine coal is also used for iron mak- ing and steam." Mr, Buist, of the Halifax Gas Works, found the Pictou coal to give 8,000 cubic feet gas to the ton of 2240 lbs. It will be interesting to have for comparison on the point of gas qua- lity a few lines' from the official report of Dr. Letheby on the gas supplied to the city of London in the course of the quarter ending 30th Nov., 1867. It appears that while in the quarter named and the corresponding quarter of the preceding year the average of the gas was about 14 caudles, or two above the parliamentary require- ment, the chemical quality of the gas as regards the amount of sulphur contained, with one gas excepted, was unsatisfactory, the quantity of the sulphur being generally in excess of the amount allowed viz. 20 grains in the 100 cubic feet of gas. The freedom from sulphur in the Pictou coal is obviously an important matter..' Coal and Oil Coal of the Acadia Minea.-^l am indebted to Mr, £m I II 21^ COAL AND ALIJED MTNEKAL9, Hoyt, Agent of the company working the mines, for much valua- ble information and have myself examined the oil coal and compar- ed it with corresponding minerals in a paper published several years ago. The McGregor seam of bituminous coal, 12 feet thick, consists of two benches separated by a slaty baud which it is diffi- cult to keep from the good coal the character of which is thereby injuriously afi'octed. The two benches also difier in quality as shewn in the following analyses obtained by Mr. Iloyt from the former proprietor, Mr. J. D. B. Fraser. iBt Bench. 2nd Bench. Volatile ,matter 22 . 50 . 23 . 30 i,. Fixedcarbon 65.10 ;• 70.00 !.. Grey ash 11.80 6.70 100.00 100.00 ^;, . Sppcific gravity ,1 . 334 1 . 301 Theoretical evaporative I n no- q ki power, I find to be. . 3 On the 9th of February 1865 one ton of this coal, a mixture from both benches, was tested at the works of the Manhattan Gas Company, New York, with the following results, viz : — One ton of 2240 lbs. gave 950Q feet of 13.03 caudle gas and 41 bushels of coke weighing 1640 lbs. The coke was good, con- tained rather much ash and made some clinker, but it burned well and kept up a good strong fire. The coal seemed to deserve trial on a larger scale as it was very readily carbonized, yielding a good volume of gas and coke. Analysis of the coal gave : Volatile matter 32.0 Fixed carbon .....59.3 Ash....^..^ 8.7 ; / 100.0 A subsequent trial made by the same company showed a less favorable result caused wholly by the admixture of the slaty band material. Mr. Hoyt expresses the opinion that if this is carefully thrown aside the McGregor coal would be found superior for gas to that of many other mines now so extensively used throughout New England. The slack coal does not answer for blacksmiths' purposes but a successful experiment has been made on its conver- i*.,™ earn COAJi AND ALLIED MINERALS. 23 sioi;i into coke, samples of which have been approved in various local markets. The Acadia seani is 20 feet in thickness and is described as " one of the finest seams of coal: in the world from the peculiar character of its position and coustruction. With the exception of the fire- clay parting of three inches thickness there is not the leafet inter- stratification of foreign matter or impurity of any kind, and the pftrting is of great importance to the miner because it enables him to " hole " in it, instead of cutting the hard coal, and thus reduce the expense of mining at least 15 cents per ton over any other coal in the country. The Acadia coal has acquired so high a reputa- tion as a superior household coal that- it was found necessary to issue certificates with each load sold as a protective measure. As a steam coal it is believed to be the best in America and to equal that of Wales. Vice Admiral Sir James Hope was induced to test a few tons and he was so Well pleased with the re It that he made a report on it to the Lords Gotamissioners of the Admiralty, He requested permission to order lOOO tons of the coal and asked the price at which it could be delivered at Bermuda, Jamaica, and Barbadoes. By the report of the Admiral's engineer it would ap- pear that the coal burns quickly, gives a stong heat, makes little or no smoke and is of a hard nature calculated to stand tranship- ment without deterioration. The coal contains 7*7 per cent, of carbon, which is only t per cent, less than the average of 37 Welch coals, and 5 per cent, less than 18 Newcastle coals. The sample tested by the Admiral was mined only 33 yards from the crop, and migl^t be called crop coal, and was by ho means equal in quality with that which could be produced from a further depth. The im- portance of possessing so superior a steam coal can hardly be over- rated. Already applications have been received from prominent shipping merchants for sample cargoes for the West Indian and South American markets which are now supplied direct from Wales, In addition to the British Navy, the steamship companies must inevitably use thjs coal in place of AVelch whic^i they are now compelled to import at a heavy outlay for freight^'' >uilq\itP, I &xamin6d a small sample of coal selected by myself from" the heap at the mouth of the pit opened by Mr. J, Campbe^' at Bear Creek, on the seam said in the Inspector's report of 1866 to be the same as that wprked by the Acadia Company just referred to, with the following results : — ■■•: ; '< 24 COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. \ \ rfffu Moisture • . 3.70 Volatile combustible matter 23 .94 Fixed carbon ...,%,, 67.40 Ash. 4.96 Coke t2.36 100.00 Theoretical evaporative po^er 9. 26 Oil Goal. — I believe this material was first examined and de- scribed by myself in a paper published * in 1860 soon after it had been opened upon by Mr, Fraser. It has been called the Stellar coal from the fact of " stars of firo " dropping from it when it has been held to a flame and removed. The seam in which it is found is called the Stellar seam. As the well known minerals analogous to it in the leading property of furnishing much oil have been distin- guished from coals by the special names Torbanite and Albertite this might be designated Stellarito. It occurs with bituminous coal in a seam 5 feet thick of which 1 foot 10 inches are Stellarite, 1 foot 4 inches bituminous coal and^ 1 foot 10 inches bituminous shale ; the composition of the three bands is shewn by my analyses to bo as follows : — Coal. SteUarfte. Shale. Volatile matters. ,.,.....33.58 66.56 30.65 Fixed carbon...... p 62.09 25.23 10.88 Ash ^..;\. 4.33 8.21 58.47 100.00 100.00 100.00 Moisture. .23 Specific gravity. . . . ► , 1 . 103 The oil-coal or stellarite has been examined abroad with quite analogous results, the mineral improves in quality towards the east while the overlying M'Gregor coal deteriorates in that di- rection. Other analyses have given the following results, the No. 2 is probably the shale : — No. 1 No. 2 Peony, Moisture 20 Volatile combustible matter.. .67 .26 Fixed carbon . : /. .' . w . 1'. I '.' . . 24 . 03 Sulphur ....:.*.i.^i..... .11 Ash w« . . . . ... • .^. . .... 8 .40 WallaoQ. .32 68.38 22.35 ^05 8^90 Penny. Wallj^oe. .80 .60 34.16 38.69 12.30 8.26 .74 .25 52^00 52.20 ')d.l loo .00 lOO .00 106 .00 100 .OW Specific Gravity 1.06^ * SiUimsn'8 Journal Mid Bdinb. Phil. JournaL U079 1.612 1.668 COAL AND ALLIBP MfNERALS. 25 Having", on acconnt of my former connection with the British Admiralty Coal Enquiry, been one of those engaged to furnish chemical evidence in the famous first trial in Edinburgh of the question whether the mineral known as " Boghead Coal" found at ' Torbane Hill, Linlithgowshire, should properly be called a coal, I was naturally much interested on the discovery of the stellar oil- coal and got ultimate analysis made of it and of the " Albert Coal," also subject of a trial on the ground that it had been improperly called coal. These Analysis were very kindly aade for me through Pvof. Anderson of Glasgow who generously met my deficiency in the necessary apparatus which I had not brought out with me. The results were most interesting, especially when compared with those obtained from bituminous and cannel coals. As to the for- mer I selected, from those I had made in the Admiralty Enquiry, analyses of English, Scotch and Welsh bituminous coals, and, as to the latter, analyses of English and Scotch cannels made by other chemists. The following table shews the differences which Qbtaiu between these minerals in proximate and ultimate analysis, and in specific gravity, and the ratio existing between the two most im- portant constituent elements : — Mineral. Locality. hi t QQ Proximate Aualyais. Ultituate Analysis, a So .a (3 O u o as H O a . 2 H 01 o S^ if •c 4 Welsh ( BItum. \ Coals. ( Scotch ( Bitum.^ Coals. ( Knglish ( Bltum. J Coals. ( EoR. Cannel Scotch I Gonnels. i Torbanite i Albertltc Stcllai-ite. i Duffryn.... Ncwydd ... Ebbw Val6. Grangeraonth Fordul Broorahlll.. Lydney.... Wigiirt..... Lesmnhagow. Capledfae.. Torbaiiehlll Scotland . HillBboro, New Bi-uas. N. QIaHgow NoVa Scotia 1.328 1.310 1.276 1.290 1.025 1.025 1.283 1.276 1.251 1.170 1.091 1.103 81.04 71.56 76.00 53.08 48.03 3.26 3.24 1.50 3.52 4.00 80 56.13 3.07 81, 20 47.80 10.00 73, 88.26 84.72 89.79 79.85 79.58 64 57.66 70 37.26 7.(:.5 45.44 25.23 2.7080, 6.03 73, 66, 26.40 21.18 0.17 8.21 66.00 26 4.661.45 5.7§1.5« 5.15 2.10 5.28 5.50 6.17 5.69 5.53 7.62 6.80 8.58 9,62 9&I10.1& 1.35 1.13 1.77 1,21 1.02 1.42 1.46 1.84 2.85 2.04 2.27 1.50 1.14 2.12 i.90 0„55 U76j., 0.68 0,36 0.70 0.60 3.59. 0.39 8.58 8.33 4.37 0.48 8.08 ♦ 8.80 2.99 f t 100 : 4.82 100; 6 100: 6 100; 100; 100; 100; 6.61 6.93 7.55 7.T8 100: 6.90 100 : 10.43 100: 11.99 100 ; 13.00 100: 11<02 100 : 12.63 H.How » Vaux. Miller. A.Fyfe H.How Siessor &How * Nitrogen and Oxygen 11.76. f Stilphur If any, and Oxygon, Ijn. X '^t ^i 0"*^ Oxygen .08. In the paper in question I pointed out that the true comparative value of combustible minerals, while partly indicated by the rela- tive amounts of volatile matter and fixed carbon, is only truly i 29 COAL AND ALUED MINERALS. shewn when account is taken of tho oxygon, which is sometiines large in quantity, aa seen above, and is reckoned as volatile mat- ter to the credit of the mineral while its real effect is reduction , of vaiuQ. I showed that when the hydrogen equal to the oxygen pvcr sent is deducted, taking only those cases where there is an apparent equality in the ratio of carbon to hydrogen, the last three minerals in the table above stand apart from the rest : thus !■ •■; Gannel coal from Wigan. IQO to 5,65 '••',, ,, ,, Lesmahagow. 100 ,, 8.71* ,, „ ,, Capledrae ,...100 ,, 10.05 ; Torbanito ■ „ Scotland ; 100 „ 12.43 Albertito ,, New Brunswick 100 ,,10.85 •uri Stellarite „ Nova Scotia 100 ,, 12.43 * Allowing two per cent, for nitrogen. and that theoretically they should be excellent "oil coals " as is abundantly shewn by experience. J'or the following amounts of oil yielded by various materials I am indebted in part to Mr. Poole formerly manager of the Fraser Oil-coal Works where the stellarite was used and in part to Mr. Hoyt, I have myself tried none of them for the production of oil. ' ' ' Ornde Oil per ton, Union Oil Coal of West Virginia affords 32 gallons. Elk River „ „ „ „ 54 „ Kanawha ,, ,, ,, ,, .88 ,, Lesmahagow Cannel, Scotland ,i • 4:0 ,, Albertite, New Brunswick ,, . . 92 to 100^ ,, Tiorbanite, Scotland ,. . .116 to 125 „, , Stellarite, or " Stellar Coal" ;, 53 '„ ,„ „ No. 2. .50, 60|, 63, 65, 74 '■ 7, ' „ No. 1 ...123 to 126 S, ,, ,, Picked samples gave _ in Boston. ...... ...199 ,, Some of these are the amounts yielded by careful experiments on the small scale : when oil was made at the Fraser mines in 1859 the practical resuU was about 60 gallons crude, and from 30 to 35 gallons fine clarified oil to the ton. A seaim of oil coal similar to that just described was worked for two years about three miles to the east of the Albion Mines. A specimen of oil coal ht^ving very much the appearance of the stellarite was sent to the Paris Ratio of carbon to hydroveii after dedacting hyclrogen ^qfiiil to oxygen present. ; I COAL AND ALUEO UINBBAI^. 29^ Exhibition, it was found, I believe, on the east aide of East River. The oil coal has also been met \fith on tUo Montreal and Pictou area, on the nortliern edge of the basin. At sorru) future time» therefore, great results may bo expected from the working of this valuable material. The raising of the mineral was stopped on the discovery of the abundant supplies of mineral oil in the United States about 1860. The whole quantity sold from, the two mines ; in operation was about 4000 tons* of the value of about $8.35. per ton delivered at the place of shipment ; sorae of this was sent, to , oil-works in United States. Of course the stollarite is a most valuable gas material, it has been u^pd by various establishments in these provinces to mix with bituminous coals for adding to the illuminating quality of the gas produced. Torbaniie or " Boghead coal " has been, and is still probably, imported for the sam» pur- pose. , ,..',, , ' Goal of the Montreal and Pictou Mine4. — I examined several samples of the coals raised on the first opening of the seams ; the following is an abstract of my report made to the company as respects the qualities of the coals :-^ Sample No. 1, from the first hpnch, gave „ Moisture 4.40 Volatile combustible mattei: .... 24.96 Fixed carbon. .*.... ..♦i^ «%*¥..' 61.07 ) n, ^a ac .„, n KQ f Coke 70.65 100.00 " "" Theoretical evaporative power 8.39 This coal has considerable evaporative and heating power, and wotild give a moderate amount of gas of good illuminating quality. The appearance of the coal is much in its favour, some that I saw takeh from the seam w'as very clean and bright. Sample No. 2, from the second bench, gave ' • Moisture .«. , £1^47 Volatile combustible matter. .;.. 19.93 Fixed carbon 68.55) ^, >,a on Ash 6.05 f Coke 74.60 - 100.00 ''"'''^ Theoretical evaporative power 9.41 Specific gravity ....•'. 1.36 i I 28 COAL AND ALMRD MINERALS. This was an extremely bright and clena coal. Its very high evaporative power makes it occupy a very good position among British and American coalri for steam purposes. So far as comparison can at present be made, there seems reason to believe that the opinion held as to the coal tending to improve in quality towards the northern edge of tho basin, is correct. In the specimens examined I observed the sulphur to be small in amount and in this important respect like other Pictou coals they compare favourable with Sydney (and most other Cape Breton) coals for gas and steam uses. Taking all the characters of the coal into consideration, I think there is groat promise of their proving respectively valuable for gas, steam, blacksmith's and household pui poses. ' Atrial of the coal from the third bench made at the Pictou Gas Works, gave 62J per cent more gas than was, according to Dawson, produced from Albion Mines main seam coal at the same works, and a five foot burner gave a light equal to 15 candles." (Com- pany's Prospectus) Coal of the Pictou Mines, on the east side of East River, taken from the four feet seam, was tested in P Hand, whore it was called excellent for steam purposes and found to yield nearly as much gas as a mixture of half Westmorland (U. S.) and half Newcastle coal. Tried at the Pictou Gas Works it gave 6650 cubic feet per ton. The oil coal found here proved in Portland to equal the best cannel coal for gas making. Oil Goal of Antigonishe County. — Mr. J. Campbell reports a five foot seam of curly cannel which will yield at least 40 gallons of crude oil to the ton, and 16 feet of oil shale which will yield at least twenty gallons. Goal of Inverness County, Gape Breton. I examined specimens taken as the average of several pounds weight from two seams at Chimney Corner where operations have lately been begun on some seams cropping out on the sea shore. I'he results were these : — No. 1. No. 2. Moisture.... ......■."..•.■.' g.l9 1.9*1 Volatile combustible matter . . ■.•.'.... "26 39 20.46 Fixed carbon. .,,f.,f,^ 57.70 61.13 Ash V.'... 7.72 40.44 100.00 ' 100.00 Theoretical evaporative power.... 7.89 8.89 COAL AND AUARD MINKRAL0. $9 The amount of sulphur was apparoutly about that usual in coaltt of this district, decided, but not excossiTe, both samples caked, the first swelled a little and the coko, 65.42 in the first, and 71.57 in the second, was coherent. The samples were 'of course from near the crop and are promising from their very fair heating power : the coal would prove, no doubt, excellent for domestic purposes. Goal of Richmond County, Oape Breton. The coal now worked by the Richmond Company, at Little River, has l)een examined by Dr. Dawson with those resoltg :.^ Volatile matter 30.25 Fixed carbon 56.40 Ash 13.35 100,00 Specific gravity... 1.38 The coal is described as hard and very little injured by exposure : "burned in a stove it ignites readily, fuses, swells, and cakes, giving a strong flame and a lasting fire. In a smith's forge it works well, its behaviour being similar to that of Pictoi^ coal. Practically it will be found serviceable for domestic use, well adapted for smith's use, and from the large quantity and high illu- minating power of its gaseous matter, probably a good gas coal. There should be little waste in its extraction and it will suffer little by being " banked " or kept in the open air. It contains more sul- phur than the Pictou coal." The coal at Oarribou Cove in tiie same district gave Dr. Dawson Volatile matter... ,M..;. 25.2 Fixed carbon ..••'•*•«• 44.7 Ash V.".' .-..'.; 30.1 . , 10.000 and is described as too poor for exportation but possibly useful for local domestio fires. Of the Sea Coal Bay coal it is stated in the Inspector's report of 1864 (by Mr. J. Campbell.) "The large bed of coal on which the government received an tinfavorable report some years ago has been explored by means of a shaft to the depth of 55 feet, and at that depth the lead is found to improve so much that at least six feet of good clean coal may be mined from it," and "there is another COAL AND ALLIED HINEBAL8. important feature in this coal field. The beds are found to improve greatly in the quality of their coal the lurther they are followed •along their strike to the south-westward and also to the dip." ii I' ^ Coal of Cape Breton County, C. B, — ^The character of the coal of the Sydney Mines has been well known in the market since the commencement of operations by the G. M. A. in 1827. It is es- teemed very highly as a domestic coal and is much in demand for marine steam purposes. Examined by Prof. Johnson on the oc- casion before mentioned for the U. S. government it gave the re- sults under his name : — • ■ • ■ • • • Johnson, 1842. How, 1861, Moisture.....^ 3.125 ) qi s? Volatile combustible matter 23.810 | ^^'*' Fixed carbon 67.570 64.59 A8h.,.v.v.»../.-.v.-.'.v.v.v.'.-.v.v. ;..495 3.54 .:",,.. 100.000 100.00 Specific gravity 1.340 .' ' Weight of cubic foot in merchantable state 47.44 ,, ,, ,, ,, unbroken, calculated) ^.o tA ' from Sp. Gr., about ) ' .; ; Actual evaporative power .....,,... .7.99 , ., Theoretical ,, „ I find to be .. ,_. » .^.2^ ,'■'■' '■ 8.87 " It burned with a large smoky flame> its coke fell into small pieces and wasted between the grate bars. ^ Its clinker was black compact, and in thin sheets highly fusible, spreading over fttld ad- hering to grate ba;rB, heating them. The coal ignited promptly and burned rapidly, agglutinating and swelling but slightly." In 1860 the Inspector reported, " It may be interesting to know that a cargo Of 450 tons of this coal was shipped by order of the French Governmbnt, to Brest. The Director of the Naval Con- struction at Brest reports the result of the trials made upon it to the Minister of Marine, as follows : The trials of the Nova Scotia coal by La Perdrix shew that, like Newcastle coals, it ignites easily, and produced a long, lively flame, little coloured. }t swells a little in th« fire and does not clog the bare. It gives but little clinker, fend is not very brittle. Jte steam power is little in- ferior to that of Cardiff coal, and equals that of Newcastle. It is a COAL AND ALLIED MTNERALS. m fine coal ind completely assimilable to that of Newcastle." The whole number of calls of steamers, including French, English and 'American men-of-war, for coals that year was 66. The quantity of gas yielded is less than that from Pictou coal, and the presence of a little iron pyrites renders it less profitable for the manufacture of gas. As a domestic coal it is quoted in Halifax at the present time at $1 a chaldron more than that from the new mines. The coal of Lingan was first mined in 1854 for certain gas works in the United States where it was much esteemed. According to Dr. Dawson the 9 feet seam gives a fine coking coal, having » .^yery small per centage of ash and yielding 35.16 per cent of vola- tile combustible matter, and therefore rather superior to the. pro- duce of the Albion Mine as a gas coal. In 1861 the chief portion of the coal raised went to New York, smaller quantities, h(>wever, were sent to the gas works at Salem, Boston, Portland, Dorchee- ter, Portsmouth and (Quebec, at all which places it was much esteemed. It also makes a good domestic coal, but generally brings 50 cents less in the market than that of Sydney. Coal of , Little Olace Bay Company's lime. — Coal from the Hub and Harbour veins were, thus reported on by the Chief Engineer of H. M. S. Duncan in 1861. "In compliance with your directions to try^ the two samples of Little Glace Bay, C. B., coals with a view tq ascertain their steaming capabilities I have the honor to report that they have had a fair trial in, the boiler of the small port- able engine attached to the lathe-room and also on board the gun- boat Charger. I have also tested them in the usual way for carbon with the following results. The Harbour vein gave dark brown smoke considerable in quantity, 6.*i[9 of clinker and 2.12 of ash per cent,, the Hub vein a considerable quantify of light, bro^'n smoke, 2.4*? of clinker, and 1.3 apj^ per cent. Both coals light up quickly, raise steam fast, burn well and clearly, and generate steam well. The deposit of sqot ie considerable i;i, both kinds. Tested for car- bon the Harbour vein contains 83.5 per cent, and the Hub vein 80.9 per cent, and therefore in this respect they are nearly equal to Welch which is further corroborated by the fact that the daily ex- penditure of Welch and Glace Bay coal in the lathe-room is as nearly as possible alike, tlie Harbour vein having slightly the advantage # I 3 ; 92 COAT' AND ALLIED MINERALS. of the Hub vein. Not having the necessary apparatus, I ara unable to test these coals for sulphur, but judging by the manner in which they burn and other observations I should say the quantity they contain is very small. Being similar in their nature to North of England coal thoy are sot liable to make much small or dust and would therefore stand the eflfects of transhipment without much de- terioration. I am therefore of opinion that both of these coals are well suited for the sue of H. M. Steam Ships particularly if treated in the same way as ordered by the Admiralty respecting English coals, viz,, mixed with Welch in proper proportions : signed, Edw. 0. Crichton." Mr. Hendry reported in 1864 that the coal stood high in the market both for gas and domestic purposes. A specimen of the Hub vein coal gave Mr. H. Poole, "while a pupil of mine, these re- sults. Moisture > 5.52 Volatile combustible matter 31.02 Fixed cai-bon ..v. 62.53 Ash 93 100.00 Theoretical evaporative power. .... » 8.59 Mr. Buist has found one of the coals of Glace Bay to yield at the Halifax Gas Works 8500 cubic feet of gas to the ton of 2240 lbs. The coal contains more sulphur than Pictou coal but the gas is superior in illuminating quality, its Coke is very good. Of the two seams Mr. Buist says the other is not so well adapted to gas purposes but is very superior for steam purposes. Coal of Oowrie Mines. — The following report is from Mr. W. T. Rickard, F. C. S. "Having carefully analyzed samples of coal from Gowrie Mines, Cow Bay, C. B., I beg to observe the general properties of the coal are of a highly satisfactory character, and for steam and domestic purposes may be considered equal and in some respects superior to Newcastle coal. It bums with a strong hard cinder, giving oflf very little smoke, and leaving an ash which 18 not liable to fom* clinker owing to the absence of lime. While the proportion of sulphur ils not excessive in any of the samples, in that from the second band it is less than the average obtained COIL AND ALLIED MINERALS. 33 auablc which they rth of at and ich de- ls are eated nglish Edw. from 36 samples of Welph coal. Its evaporative power, though inferior to Welsh, is higher than that of Newcastle coal, while its high specific gravity renders its capacity for storage not the least of the advantages it offers for Marine Steam purposes. The results obtained on analysis, in 1863, were given as follows : — Sample marked Sample marked First and Becond Band. Second Band Moisture 1.80 1.46 Hydrocarbonaceous matter .27.08 S7.27 Sulphur 3.42 1.27 Coke ;,;•', 67.70 100.00 60.00 100.00 Ash 7.25 4.15 Theoretica,! evaporative power 8.53 Specific gravity 1 .33 The coal of the Block House Company is much in request forgao in the cities of New York and Boston. Mr. Buist informs me that he has found the ooal to give at the Halifax Gas Works 8,500 cubic feet of. gas to the ton of 2240 lb. This coal contains more sulphur than that of Pictou, but the illuminating power is a little better ; the coke obtained is of fair q.ality. Table shewing the Proximate Analysis of some of the Coal and Allied Minerals mined in Nova Scotia : Minerals. Specific Gravity, If 1 . 7 2f! r 65.70 70.00 67.40 25.23 > i ;• 24.03 22.36 12.30 -8.26 10.88 11.80 6.70 4.96 8.21 8.40 8.90 52.00 52.20 58,47 ' .'1 9102 (H) 9.61 (H) 9,26 II H."How. Acadia Mino. 1.193 1.009 1.079 1.612 1.568 ■ ■!'■ i. .'■■■t I 1 u- ...... ^ . . . . 123 126 60J 03 Penny. WaUace. Penny. Wallace. H. Uow. 0.32 0.80 0.60 a 68.88 d 34.16 e 38.69/ 10.66 ...1 . .'k • i . . . .."■ V fluvi; e>: 34 COAL AND ALLIED MINERALS. (Continued.) Mineral. 1! ll II Per cent. If n Is.- ill Locality. £ 1 a «l 62.00 61,07 68.55 m 4.33 0.58 6.05 o 1 Pictou Co,ys Acadia Mine. Mont 8c Pictou Coat in Stellar sm Coal. If II II II II II 11 II (1 II II II S3.58 4.40 24.95 5.47 10.03 H How. .... 8.39 0.41 Mine. do. Plotnn Minp 1.36 6650 Pio.i^as Wl[» InvemestCo., C.B. Chimney Cor. 8.10 26.se 7.07 20.46 30.25 3.12 23.81 31.87 35.16 5.52 31.02 67.70 61.13 56.40 67,57 64.59 7.72 10.44 13.85 5.49 3.64 • • ■ ■ 7.80 8.30 H. How. BU^mond 'do. C.B. Richmond. Cape Breton Co., C. B. Sydney Mine. 1.88 1.34 7.90 • • • • 0.20 (H) 8.87 •Tnlinann H. How. Llngan ,, Llt.Glace Bay •T AV Dawson 62.53 0,93 1.30 2.12 7.25 4.15 .... 8.50 (H) H« Poolo* Hub Vein. fjrinhton y 8600 Gowrie, Ist & 180 80.50^ 1.46 SRhlh. 60.45 65.58 .... 8.53 Rlckard 2nd Band, do. 2nd Band. 1.33 ?8500 and Bulst. .... a Sulphur 0.316. b Sulphur 0.769. c Sulphur 0.11. d Sulphur 0.06. phurO.25. ^ Sulphur 3.42. A fnlph^r 1.27. « Sulphur 0.74. /Sul- Oil Shales. — Up to the present time no attempt has been made to manufacture oil from shale, except in the case of that accoin- panying the Eraser oil coal, both of which were worked together I believe in the distillation of oil as already mentioned. Large de- posits of shale are met with in the East River district of Pictou county aflfording a product of oil larger than is found remunerative in Scotland. Last year I observed an advertisement in a Glasgow paper referring to a shale yielding about 30 gallons of oil to the ton for which offers were invited, and some shale I examined from East River gave about 35 gallons crude oil to the ton. The non- productive coal measures of Hants county afford large quantities of shale, which have led to expectations of finding coal, but the amount of oil they yield has not been ascertained. The deposits of shale in Autigonish county may be of the same age as these ; these beds are very favourably spoken of by Mr. Campbell, from whose report I make a few extracts. "The fact that the centre of the Antigonish basin is occupied by highly bituminous limestone overlying the oil-coal and oil-shale beds may possibly indicate that f COAL AND ALLIKD IHKERALS. 35. the whole group is upper devonian or lower carboniferous rocks which are not known in this countiy to contain coal beds of any value." On this point I may mention that in a depth of about 180 feet in the neighbourhood of Windsor only one small seam of coal, some six inches thiak, was found in 1864, and that in a shaft sunk at Hantsport in similar rocks to a considerable depth no coal was obtained. Mr. Campbell goes on to say: "The bituminous beds appear to be divided into two groups, the lower of which appears to be about YO or 80 feet in thickness, 20 feet of which may be re- garded as good oil shale including five feet of curly cannel rich in oil. The upper band, which lies in immediate contact with the limestone, cannot be much short of 150 feet in vertical thickness of strata containing a large percentage of oil. Of this great bed of oil-batt about 30 feet will in all probability yield from 20 to 25 gal- lons to the ton . The five feet seam of curly cannel will yield at least 40 gallons crude oil to the ton, and the fifteen feet of the best section of the oil-batt will yield at least 20 gallons to the ton, and taking this as worth 25 cents per gallon at the shipping port, there are in all $370,533,325 worthof oil which can be obtained from 20 feet in thickness of rtrata underlying 2000 acres of land — out of 18000 — comprising a^basin underlaid by at least 50 feet in thickness of beds rich in oil." Bitumen. — Liquid Bitumen, petroleum, or mineral oil, is reported to have been found in more localities than one but I have no precise information on this subject. A most intAesting discovery of solid bitumen was made by Mr. Barnes in the neighbourhood of Grand Anse, Inverness county ; the amount met with was small. The remarkable resemblance between this bitumen and the albertite of New Brunswick was pointed out in a paper by myself (Contri- butions to the Mineralogy of Nova Scotia, II. L. E. D., Phil. Mag. March 1866). Bituminous matters are often found diffused through limestones, sandstones, and occasionally gypsum, but separate masses such as observed ^y Mr. Barnes have not before been noticed. Peat. — Extensive peat bogs are found in the province ; the largest perhaps are the savannahs in different parts of Shelburne county, and the carribou bog near Aylesford, Kings county. They 86 COAL AND ALUED MINERALS. are especially frequent in the rocky country of the Atlantic coast, as near the gold districts of Tangier and Sherbrooke. Mr. Camp- bell mentions the existence of considerable tracts of peat on the table lands in the Cape North district of Inverness and Victoria counties, Cape Breton. No examination hjjs been made of the depth and quality of the peat in these deposits but the subject is well worth attention as peat is now extensively used as a fuel in generating steam, and in smelting and working iron, especially in the case of iron-sand, which, as hereafter mentioned, is met "with on the Atlantic coast of the province. (See geology of Canada 1866, p. 284, et seq). ST CHAPTER III. GOLD. A GLANCE at the Introduction will show that a good deal has been written on the auriferous rocks of the province since the commence- ment of gold mining in 1861. The results of all but the earliest operations are registered with precision and fulness, very much appreciated abroad, in the official reports annually given at first by the Chief Gold Commissioners and latterly by the Chief Commis- sioners of Mines. A summary only of the numerous and very in- teresting details on record is necessary on the present occasion ; with this will be incorporated such additions as seem useful. Gold was found in Nova Scotia about 100 years ago. Not long after my arrival in the province, probably in the summer of 1855, the late Canon Gray, D.D., Rector of Trinity Church, St. John, N. B., who died in 1868, aged TO, told me that as a boy he had taken gold out of rocks on his father's property near Halifax, and had it melted by a jeweller in that town. On my speaking of this lately to his son, B. G. Gray, Esq., this gentleman said the locality referx-ed to was probably near Bedford, and that both his grandfather and great grandfather had collected specimens of gold in this province ; that the latter especially had many specimens of rich auriferous quartz from Lawrencetown and other now well known localities, and that old family documents show that particular importance was attached to certain parts of the estate, presumably from the known existence of gold.* In the historical account of the discoveries of gold in Mr. Heatherington's guide to the Gold Fields, it appears that the metal was known to exist in Sherbrooke, Isaac's Harbour, and the Ovens, more than 30 years ago, that Mr. R. G. Fraser and Mr. J. Campbell found alluvial gold in 185T, that Capt. L'Estrange discovered gold in quartz in 1858, and that Mr. J. G. Pulsiv^r, in * I have been informed since the text wa» written that gold was washed from the Avon at Windsor, Hants, sixty years ago, each man making eighteen pence a day. I I r, fi ; :,■ ^8 ooih. I Nil 1860, made that discovery which led to the opening up of Tangier, and the eventual proclamation of all the other districts. Gold is found in Nova Scotia in the ftietamorphic district form- ing the southern half of the province, in the altered rocks of dif- ferent parts of the northern and eastern portions of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton and in the dotrital deposits derived from these rocks, respectively, met with in lower carboniferous formations ; it is said to occur also in the trap of the new red sandstone, and is often found in superficial alluvial deposits. Almost all the gold has been mined in districts lying scattered through the band of metamorphic rocks considered to be of lower Silurian age extending through the southern half of Nova Scotia proper from Cape Sable at the west to Cape Canseau at the east. This zone varies in width from 6 or 8 miles at its eastern extremity to 40 or 50 at its widest parts, its edges being only roughly par- rallel. It is estimated to contain about 1000 square miles. The rocks consist of quartzite and slates, inclined at a high angle, with a general northeast and southwest course ; they are invaded in places by granitic eruptive rocks and in the vicinity of these are dislocated and highly metamorphosed. They seldom rise to any great height, the highest land on the Alantic Coast is Mount Aspatogoen, ascertained by Mr. Poole's measurement to have an altitude of 450 feet. Mr. Campbell reports that from the entrance to Halifax Harbour to the Renfrew Gold Field, a distance of about 30 miles, six nearly parallel anticlinal folds or lines of elevation exist, which do not lie at equal distances apart because the strata are folded up to sharper lines of inclination in some of them. The east and west anticlinal lines are intersected by north and south lines of upheaval and it is of the titmost importance to find the east points of occurrence of these as it is chiefly at such localities that the gold bearing rocks are brought to the surface. The band nearest the sea contains, in the east, the Ovens and Tangier mines ; the next has Wine Harbour and Lawrencetown ; the third, Sher- brooke, Old Tangier and Birch Cove ; the fourth, Waverly and Isaac's Harbour ; the fifth, Oldham and County Harbour ; the last, Renfrew gold field. It is stated by Mr. Hamilton, in a paper read while he was Chief Gold Commissioner, that the bands do not in every instance continue from one gold bearing tract to another, and he is of opinion that the quartzite bands are much more nume- OOLD. 89 rous than they have been represented. In the western part of the province gold has not been mined west of Lunenburg County, but it has been met with at Middle Jebogue and tho Cream Pot, in Yar- mouth county at the extreme west of this southern metamorphic district. In the eastern part of the band it has been found at the farthest extremity on the shore of Chedabucto Bay. New dis- coveries are continually being made throughout the region and it is thought probable that the metal has been found wherever it has been sought in the proper rocks from one end to the other of the southern part of the province. The gold exists to some extent in the quartzite and slates but generally occurs in leads consisting chiefly of quartz running through the quartzite and less frequently through the slates. The leads contain more or less mispickel, galena, blende, iron pyrites, copper pyrites, and peroxide of iron ; argentiferous copper sul- phide, molybdenum, and, as at Oldham, native copper are occasion- ally observed. The gold is frequently alone, in a state of minute subdivision and invisible, also in masses of characteristic appear- ance varying in size from scarcely visible points up to pieces, of irregular form, of a few ounces in weight : crystals are met with but rarely, I believe. The mtst abundant sulphuret is probably mispickel, this sometimes occurs in very large masses, as at Mon- tague where i^ frequently holds gold in visible particles ; the same association is seen at Uniacke. In some leads other sulphurets are considered good indicators of gold, as blende in one of the leads at Waverly ; at other leads in the same locality it is not found to be so. Native sulphur in crystals has been found at Uniacke as men- tioned to me by Prof. Hind. Of silicious minerals in the quartz, chlorite is found at Uniacke and, as Dr. Lawson informs me, soda felspar at Waverly. The slates are generally ai'gillites, at Tangier and to the east they are magnesian, at Wine Harbour the gold occurs in talcose slate which is sometimes beautifully plated with the metal. As a general rule those leads only are found to be productive which are conformable with the containing rocks and are therefore held to be beds as distinguished from veins. Notable exceptions occur at the Ovens, and at Oldham, where very rich cross veins are found. The words vein, lead, and lode are applied iudiscriminately to 40 GOLD. Hf bedfl and true veins. The productive leads vary in thicknoAS from a small fraction of an inch up to several feet, they generally, if not always occur in groups. The arrangement of tlie groups is so regu- lar in some places that if the outcrop of the highest or most recent is knovrn all the others may bo found in proper sequence beneath it. As many as 30 veins ranging from an inch to 15 inches in thickness have been found in a distance of 160 feet, and at Law- rencetown 5 distinct groups, three of them consisting respectively 10, 13, and t auriferous leads, have been recognized ; one group appears to be contained within a space of 45 feet, another within TO feet. These groups are separated by bands of barren rock and are succeeded by barren leads. The amount of quartz in leads is enormous, for example, the 30 veins above mentioned gave an aggregate thickness of 15 feet, in another case an aggregate thick- ness of 25 feet has been observed in 250 feet distance, and the greater part of the veins were proved to be auriferous. The leads sometimes consist of beautifuly wliite quartz with coarse gold almost free from sulphides, sometimes of much slate with the quartz, when they are often very productive. The upper wall is generally quartzite, the lower slate, both walls occasionally slate, but cases of quartzite forming both walls do not appear to have been observed,* The contrast remarked in Austj^alia between the continuance of hard and soft veins has been noticed here in some cases, viz : that leads in which the quartz is enclosed in a soft friable rock are erratic and do not seem to extend far longitudi- nally, while those in which the vein stone is very hard are very regular and of long continuation and contain the metal pretty equally distributed , As a general rule it is found that the variation in richness in different points in the length of veins is very great, so that lodes rich on the whole are very poor in some parts, thus for example, when on a visit to Waverly last year Mr. Burkner told me that the Tudor lead was richest in the centre, that at shaft No. 11 the quartz gave from 6 to 8 ounces of gold to the ton, at No. 13 the slate was so rich as to seem all gold in the hanging wall, while at Nos, 17 and 18 there was as little as from 8 down to 3 dwt. to the ton. No mention was made of the depth at which these results were obtained, and the depth is a very important consideration as it appears that here as elsewhere the metal ruais * Ab those pages are' passing through the press Dr. Lawson mentions to me that there is ■«cb a case at the Lawrence Co.'i mine, at Uniacke,. OOLD. 41 through the leads in streaks, bands, or zones, which arc sometimes horizontal but often inclined at an angle varying from that of the dip of the lead. Those rich belts are separated by intervals of barren lead of varying thickness. On the same lead,, as fur as ex- perience goes, the deptli of the rich zouo and the distance of the zones apart is tolerably uniform, on a neighbouring lead it is not necessarily on the same horizon but may be much below or above. (See Mining Gazette, April and May 1868). Of these streaks or zones Rittel says, in his Resources of California, that tlie rich streak has a dip in the lode which may be found by taking some of the vein stoJie and examining the wall rock cai"efully. In niust veins it will be found that the wall has little furrows, as though the lode had been pushed upwards ; these indicate the direction of the dip of the rich streaks. Sometimes the gold occurs in nests and pockots apparently distributed without rule, at other times it is more uniformly disseminated. In cross sections of veins there is also great diversity : in one case the metal is nearly all on one side of the vein ; in another lode similarly circumstanced it is chieily on tJie other side ; in a third — these cases are more rare — it forms a plane or leaf in the middle of the lode. Again, it is sometimes found mostly in the slate casing and not in the quartz itself; the ordinary rule appears to be that the metal is scattered through iboth. (Hamilton on Aurif. Deposits; Trans. N. S. Inst.). The following observations - by Mr. J. A. Phillips, in his r9cent magnificent work on Gold and Silver, show that the foregoing characters belong to auriferous veins generally ; they are offered as interesting on the subject of the variable richness in planes and on that of the results of deep mining in Australia and California. "It is generally observed that the widest auriferous veins arc not usually the richest and that some of the laminae running parallel with the enclosing walls are uniformly more productive than others. It therefore not unfrequently happens that a portion of the rock sufficiently rich to be worked with advantage is separated from another comparatively barren baud by a distinct heading or false wall. As a general rule these veins are most productive which contain a good deal of sulphides disseminated, although ucax- the surface these have, in nearly every instance, become decomposed, the enclosed gold has become liberated and the quartz stained of a reddish or brownish colour. When gold occurs in a hard white quartz free of sulphides it is mostly iu visible flakes and granules. ! li 'f i2 OOLO. l^ ClOi) but such veins, though affording fine specimens, are not often regularly and remuneratively productive. Some of the most steadily remunerative veins are only of moderate size and seldom exhibit visible gold, and this is particularly noticeable in those which, like the Norambagua lead in Grass valley, California, are divided by numerous thin seams of slate into bands of various thickness. It was formeily belived that veins of auriferous quartz become gradually less productive at increasing depth biit more ex- tensive experience would tend to show that it is in reality not the case. Gold mines which have for many years been continuously worked in various parts of the world, have fluctuated considerably in richness at different depths but it has not been fouud that these variations in any way correspond with a gradual impoverishment in the deeper levels. In a communication addressed to Sir R. Murchison, who inclines to the opinion that gold-bearing veins generally diminish in value in depth, Mr. S^wip says: "There is undoubtedly good evidence that those uppef portions of the quartz veins whi^h by denudation now form the gold drifts were often far richer than any we now find at the surface, but we should not forget that in all probability many hundreds of vertical feet of quartz have been thus naturally broken up, crushed, and washed, and the fact of the veins so abraded being still frequently very rich in their present surface, goes far, I think, to prove that the diminution of yield in depth, even though admitted to be true, on a large scale, is still so slow as not to be appreciable within any depth to which ordinary mining operations are carried.''' He con- cludes by expressing an opinion that the extraction of gold from quartz reefs, if properly conducted, may be regarded as an occu- pation which will prove as permanently profitable in Victoria, as tin and copper mining have been in Great Britain. (The greatest depth to which any reef had been worked in 1861 was about 450 feet, the yield wad more than 5 ounces of gold per ton of quartz.) " In California the early quartz miners were also fully impressed with the idea that the outcrops of the leads were more productive than the deeper portions of the same veins, and as soon as the quartz ceased to pay they usually suspended operations without exploring to any considerable depth. Within the last few years however their opinions in this respect have materially altered since the working of the deeper mines would lead to the conclusion that ■•.(■■ oou). 48. there is rn> evidence of the progressive falling off in the richness of the veins in the deeper workings. The North Star and Allison Ranch veins in Grass Valley among many others that might be selected, serve to illustrate the fact that the Californian mines do not become sensibly poorer in depth. The North star is now worked in its dip to a depth of 750 feet, and gives quartz yielding on an average £1 per ton of 2000 lbs., whereas in the upper levels the value did not exceed £4 per ton. The Albion Ranch mine at a depth of 500 feet, yielded during the first three months of 1866 a net profit of above £20,000. Hay ward's mine, in Amador county is another still more striking instance ; this ledge is worked in its dip to a depth of above 1250 feet and yields quartz of much greater value than that obtained from the same vein at higher levels. Among the reasons for the former prevalence of the impression in question is the fact that gold is almost universally associated with pyrites and other sulphides, and these, becoming oxidised at shal- low depths, liberate the enclosed gold, which is thus readily ex- tracted by amalgamation although the deeper and consequently less decomposed portions of the vein, which may in reality have been equally rich, gave less satisfactory results to the early miners. With the improved methods of treatment, however, which have come into general use the diflBculty has to a great extent disappear- ed, and as all the auriferous sulphides are now being carefully collected for subsequent treatment, the average production of a vein has generally been found to be sustained at all depths to which the miner has hitherto penetrated." At the famous Eureka mine of Grass Valley the ore contains only $12 a ton of 2000 lb. at the surface and this only for a small extent of the vein. At 100 feet depth, it contains $25, and at 200 feet depth, $42 per ton. Now the works are at 300 depth, and here a great part of the ore pays $70 per ton : at the same time the vein matter has increased from two feet in thickness at the surface to five feet, (Mining Ga- zette, Feb. 1868.) The altered rocks in the inner districts of the province generally considered to be upper silurian or devonian have as yet not af- forded much gold but there has been some little mining attempted. These rocks form several ridges. One runs along the south side of the Annapolis Valley from Digby to near Windsor. Another forms the Cobequids and with an alteration in its direction proceeds •j I a GOLI). i! (i eastward to the Strait of Canseau throwing off spurs north-east- ward to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and south westward on both sides of the Stewiacke river. In the Island of Cape Breton, nearly the whole of Victoria County, a large portion of Inverness, and several detached eminences in Cape Breton and Richmond counties belong apparently to the same formation. The several ridges have been but little explored for gold, nor is it probable they will be, to any great extent, for sometime to como. These hills are, for the most part, in the interior of tae country, their rocks arc rarely ex- posed, being covered with a pretty deep soil bearing a heavy growth of timber. Gold has been found in quartz at Wagamat- cook, Victoria county, and mined to some small extent, but little is really known of the economic value of this proclaimed gold district on account of its remote and inaccessible position. In the same county*.quartz veins yielding gold associated with iron and copper pyrites and argentiferous galena occur in slates and schists near Baddeck, another vehi near the junction of a bed of quartzite and coarse hornblendic rock at the same place affords both gold and silver. I examined some specimens from these spots for Mr. Cameron, who afterwards had assays made in Boston the results of which, as reported by Prof. Hind, were that the galena from the slates and schists gave a very remarkable percentage of gold, and the ore frorh the quartzite gave upwards of 18 oz. of gold to the ton of 2000 lb, and more than 97 oz. of silver. Gold has been found at Cape North, Inverness county, near the head waters of the Musquodoboit river, Halifax county, and of the Stewiacke river, and, it is believed, at Five Islands, Colchester county. Mr. Poole found many quartz veins and other favorable indications in Digby county and gold has been reported from near the town of Digby so that there is reasonable expectation that the metal will be found throughout this metamorphic district. In connection with the foregoing discoveries it is interesting to observe that in Australia " gold is now found to occur not only in quartz veins and the alluvial deposits derived from those and the surrounding rocks but also in the claystone itself and, contrary to expectation, flat bands of auriferous quartz hav^ been discovered in dykes of diorite which intersect the upper l .-ian and lower devonian rocks. Quartz of extraordinary richness has been ob- tained from these bands and the new experience of the miner is ■ i COLD. ,46 iast- )oth arly and ties ave to the ex- leading him to look for gold in places heretofore ent-irely neglected. It is probable some time may be lost, and that his labours may not be always well directed or successful, but it is commendable that he should not be deterred from exploration by warnings and re- monstrances, founded on surmises often baseless. If he had closely followed the older precepts we should, at this moment, liave been dependent for our yield of gold on the shallower alluviums and the surface only of the veins of quartz," (R. B, Smyth, Intercolonial Ejhibition, 1866, p. 5, quoted in Phillip's Gold and Silver, p. 108.) In Canada the most promising auriferous rocks are upper silurian. In the detritus of lower silurian rocks found forming a conglome- rate about 4 miles from Gay's river, Colchester county, in rocks of lov;er carboniferous age, gold occurs in considerable quantity. The lower part of the beds of conglomerate or grit at their junc- tion with the slates on which they lie unconforraably is richl}'" auriferous, the gold occurring chiefly in the form of flattened scales, sometimes a quarter of an iuch in diameter, disseminated thi ou^h the rock. The discoveries made here were chiefly on improved lands and from the high prices asked for permission to work, little has been done in mining, but the official report for 1866 says that it is beyond all question that the conglomerate bed contains a large proportion of gold and it was expected that operations would soon prove its economic value on mining and treating. I have lately heard that very good results are being obtained. A conglomerate derived from the newer metamorphic rocks of "Victoria county is reported on by Prof. Hind in connection with the veins before mentioned found by Mr. Cameron. The conglomerate forms a bed about two feet thick underlying limestone, it contains a little cop- per with remains of plants and also unworn pebbles and masses of crystalline limestone. Dr. Ilayes found in these samples : I., 5 dwt. of gold ; II., 19 dwt. 14 grs. of gold ; III., 16 dwt. 8 grs. of gold to the ton | in the latter case 6 dwt. 12 grs. of silver also. These were the results of assays of selected specimens in which galena and copper ore were visible. It is manifest, the report says, that so easily accessible aud rich a conglomerate is _ very valuable, while the impoitaut question remains to be answered whether tlic gold found on assay is all in a, state in which it can be separated by amalgamation and whether the band is e(jually rich in other quarters. Mr. Poole found a conglomerate, resting uncon* i^^ h GOLD. formably on slates, near Avour's Head, Digby county, which con- tained gold and native copper. As regards gold occurring in trap rocks, auriferous quartz has been discovered and to some slight extent mined in the trappean headlands of Partridge Island and Cape d'or in Cumberland county, as stated by Mr. Hamilton. The ridge on the south shore of the Bay of Fundy from Blomidon to Briar Island being of the same nature will doubtless be found to afford it also. To Mr. J. Campbell appears to be unquestionably due the dis- covery of the auriferous character of the superficial alluvial deposits of the province. Before 1867 he had panned gold from several places along the sea shore and in that year, aided by Mr. R. G. Fraser, he obtained a very good show of gold from the pands of Fort Lawrence, Halifax Harbor; in the same year, and in 1859, Mr. Campbell and Prof Silliman obtained gold from the sand of Sable Island. The former reports that in nearly all the deposits of glacial drift or boulder clay, on the south coast more or less gold is found*, but its economical value is much lessened by its diffusion through tenacious clay, too expensive to work by ordinary means. It is only when the glacial drift has been re-arranged that it will be worth working. The gold of the rocks on this coast is now for the most part probably in the submarine banks as is perhaps suffi- ciently proved by the sands of Sable Island being richly auriferous. Shore washings at the Ovens, in Lunenburg county, are reported to have yielded during the autumn of 1861, 2000 ounces, in 1862, 311 ounces, since then they have been abandoned, but Mr. Hea- therington stales that from his own recent experiments he is able to assert that the sands are still worth testing afresh. The Chief Gold Commissioner reported in 1863 that both in Wine Harbour and Sherbrooke, but especially in the latter, a large pro- portion of the material returned as " quartz crushed " in this and the preceding year really consisted of alluvium and debris from the pits less highly auriferous than average quartz but very profitable from the facility with which it can be procured and crushed. This year I was informed by Mr. Lordly that the washings at Sherbrooke were becoming very rich and one company had probably taken out 400 ounces of gold. Tangier produced in 1865, 117 ounces from alluvial washings ; this and various other districts have returned smaller quantities. Last aut imn a deposit of sand was discovereu GOLD. 4T con- in Mr. Sutherland's claim at Gold River, Lunenburg county, in which I found 14 dwt. 10 grains of gold to the ton of 2000 lb. of dry sand. In the newer metamorphic districts gold has been found m the alluvium brought down by many streams. In Wagamatcook, which is a proclaimed gold district, most of the gold obtained has been washed from the alluvium on the lower flanks of the hills skirting the Middle river. It is very coarse and nuggetty and is indicative of rich lodes in the high lands. The same rock formation is seen on many places on the shore of the Bras d'or. Gold has been found in the sands of nearly all, if not all, the streams of Inverness and Victoria counties which take their rise in these metamorphic hills. As full separate returns have not been made for quartz and al- luvial gold at Wine Harbour and Sherbrooko it is impossible to ascertain the total amount of the latter obtained, but, taking the foregoing estimate of that got from the Ovens in 1861 and the quantity given in the oflScial returns as "from alluvial mines," it appears that in round numbers 262t ounces of gold have been ob- tained from washings up to the date of last returns in Sept. 186Y. It is not possible now to arrive at the actual amount of gold taken out since 1860 because it is well known that no accurate re- turns were made at first. It was not till 1862 that the Department of Mines was established and although it is binding on both miners and mill owners to make returns under oath of the amount of quartz crushed and of gold obtained the earlier statements are not perfect because it took some time to get the official system of recording in working order. As for the whole it is so well known that a large amount of gold is stolen that it is considered a tenth might fairly be added on this account to the gross amount of gold as given in the official returns, without doing this, and estimating with Mr. Heatherington 6000 oz. as the amount raised in the first two years we have in these and the succeeding years, ending Slst December ; the following as the GROSS YIELD OF GOLD IN NOVA SCOTIA. Year. Ounces. Year. Ounces. 1860-61 6,000 1865 26,454 1862 7,275 1866 26,204 1863 14,001 1867 27,294 1864 20,023 Total 126,251 ;i LU_ r^" 48 GOLD. ■ \ The gold is valued in the official returns at $18.50 per ounce, hence the value of the total product is $2,317,143. ' The various districts which have produced the gold have given very different quantitiefj as phewn in the details to be found ia the official returns. The Chief Commissioner of Mines and the In- spector of Mines give a most interesting account of the actual condition of each district in their report for 1861 from which and subsequent returns and other sources I condense the following statement. In gold mining the success may be considered good both in the increase of gold obtained and the average rate per ton of quartz crushed, whilst the average remuneration for each man, counting 818 days in the year and the gold at $18.50 per oz., is two dollars and forty four centf per day, a result, it is believed, without a parallel in any country. The progress in the yield of gold has been steady and we may expect a large increase in the working of the poorer mines ; leads are now made to pay which at first could not have been worked without loss and leads now deemed worth- less will no doubt, owing to the increased experience in mining and treating the ores, be found remunerative. Stormont. — The mining in this district has for some years been confined to Isaac's Harbour, but this year prospecting to a con- siderable extent has been carried on at Seal Harbour with most promising results. In the County Harbour portions of the district there has been some fairly successful prospecting. This district As a whole has always been a paying one yet from its inaccess ■ ability by land carriage it has not hitherto been much known. Wine Harbour district still shews a falling off, both in the quan- tity of gold produced and paying qualities per man. This may partly be accounted for by the fact that an extensive tunnel is being cut across the metals for drainage and prospecting purposes pre- paratory to extensive mining. There have beein large purchases made and it may be again, as it was in 18BS, the best paying dis- trict in the province. New lodes were reported to be discovered in January last. Soliie of these have lately proved very rich. Sherhrooke. — Though second in quantity of gold produced, this ,u eOLD. Id given in the he In- actual cli and district, as it has been since 1864:, is the first in profit. The aver- age per man for 1866 had a cash value of $1617,45, and for 1867, $1642.30, Much larger returns are expected this year ; extensive preparations are being made for mining. ■ Tangier taken as a whole has not proved a success, yet the Chief Commissioner cannot believe that in a district where such splendid specimens, so much rich ore, and so many leads are met with, good paying mines will not be found. Old Tangier, or Mooseland, has advanced rapidly and is'proving remarkably rich both in ore and specimens. The reault of last January's crushing was 64 oz, 1 Montague is one of those districts that have fallen away sinde the publication of the last annual report : it is believed the depres- sion will not last ; by latest accounts preparations were being made for renewed operations. Waverley. Though this has lost its place as first in regard ta quantity of gold obtained it still continues to occupy a prominent and attractive position among the gold-producing districts. There is no place in the province where, so far as the Chief Commissioner can learn, mining is so economically carried on and crushing so cheaply done as in this district. The great depth of the soil here is believed to be the chief cause of the falling off in returns. Al- though the yield has been large the width of ground mined has been very small, mining having been confined to on6 lead. From the narrow strip of ground worked there have been got, up to Sep. 1861, 56'3'58 tons of quartz which have given 36101 oz. of gold. "Can it be supposed that the district has run out when as is well known, from the cause above stated, the district has hardly been prospected at all ?" MlKli' Vldham has never done so well as in the past year and it may be fairly inferred that the periodical depression to which all dis- tricts are so liable has in this instance passed and it will be sur- prii^hg if in a short time Oldham does not take its place as a leading dietriot. if).'>.'>'i !l M GOLD. : •i I [ ! Benfretu, from being third in rank last year, and about fifth in years previous, has placed itself first this yeal-, having produced 900 oz. more gold than any other district, and is second only in point of profit, each man having earned $895.30 for the year. This re- sult may well inspire the miners in depressed districts with confi- dence. From being one of the poorest Renfrew has become in a short time one of the most productive districts. Here the Ophir Company has had great success. The trustees reported : " It is almost unparalleled in the history of mining operations that a mine has been opened to so large an extent, buildings erected, machinery procured, and in fact the whole mining plant paid for, and a very handsome surplus earned above all these preliminary and necessary expenditures, out of the profit of the mine from the start, and with- out a call of a dollar from the Shareholders in the short space of eight months." Lawrencetown this year does not figure as a gold producing dis- trict, it being classed in the tables among the " Unproclaimed and other Districts ;" this is not because there has been nothing done but because there was only a small amount of gold produced. The discoveries of gold bearing leads have been considerable and opera- tions have been commenced on a large scale and there is no doubt from present appearances that this will in futiire be a leading district. Recent discoveries have induced the commission to enlarge this district to nine times its original size. :4 .;■.■ ilal.i . ■ 'yjii c,^,i .A'j\ . Uniacke is a new district in which some prospecting licenses were taken out in 1866. The ground already applied for and under prospecting license and lease is large and the surface over which workable leads have been found equals any in the province* Since the report was issued very large returns have been made. The Mining Gazette for February states that 13 tons of quartz from the Westlake Co.'s mine gave 234 oz. 6 dwt. of gold as the result of 21 days labour from a vein containing from 6 to 8 feet of workable ore opened and being drifted in at a depth of 16 feet. Twenty-frve tons of quartz from the same shaft crushed three days before Christmas gave 67 oz. 11 dwt. of gold. From the HftU and M'Alister mines six tons recently crushed gave 22 oz. % dwtsi. retorted gold. The DouU and Burkner properties are also yielding GOLD. U good ore, and prospectors claim to hav& made discoveries in the western pjtrt 6f the district. Ovens. This district has not improved and yet the quartz is very rich. The Mining Grazette of February reports that the editor is confident from the results of a visit and tests personally conducted that both the quartz and placer mines of the Ovens oflfer lucrative fields for investment. In March 1868 rich washings were found by sinking 15 feet through the surface soil on to the bed rock close to which the first pailful of dirt gave specimens, which I saw, consisting of four or five nuggets, one of which weighed 13 grains, a small piepe of worn rock rich in gold and some dust. , ^.,1^ Discoveries that from appearances at the time of reporting were likfely to become of importance were noticed by the Commissioner as having been made between Old Tangier and Upper Musquodo- boit ;• at Killag a branch of the Middle river of Sheet Harbour ; at Fifteen Mile stream, a branch of the East river of Sheet Harbour, to which place a crusher has been transported during the winter ; at Mosher's River; at Scraggy Lake, Ship Harbour; at Upper Stewiacke, where great excitement was caused last summer and many prospecting licenses and leases were applied for, and pros- pecting carried on with success; and at Gold River, Lunenburg. From results of a visit paid in 1866, to the last named place, I reported that there was good promise of further working as ihe quartz veins were nunierous and some had given from 16 to 22 dwt, gold to the ton, A new company began last year to work Mr. Su- therland's claims, on whicK 1 had, reported. Quartz gave on assay in New York during the mihihg, 3 oz. lY dwt. gold, and 12 oz. silver to the ton j the gossan, said to be abundant, gave me about 6 dwt. gold to the ton, and^ satid found later on gave me 14 clwtiS. 10 grs. retorted gold to, the ton, A crusher was erected bu't^ before it went into operation I believe, want of ftmds paused the breaking up of the con^pany. , ,, . .j.^ - '7; • ;., , . Since the issue of the Chief Commissjoners latest Report very confeidera^^e dpy^lopmlsnts have been made in various districts and a large number of n6w companies have been incorporated. X refrain from giving any details ai3 the accounts of operations are altogether too uncertain to warra-nt any statem6flt; not based rOn personal observation or official information. * *» '** ■ ■ #8 GOX,0. The fallowing are the statistical rpturns, in the Chief missioner's Report, for the year ending Sept. 30t^, ,1,861. Com- Nil ■i' Statement shewing the. average (luily labor employed, the amount of quartz crushed, the yield of gold per ton ofqriarta, the quuntUie^ of noUfrinn liUutitil mines, the yield of gold, the maximum yield per ton in each dintrict, and in the whole pruvifiee, and the value of the Hverage yield ofgold2>er man employeil in mining, for tu)theiHo7iths ending Sept. 30, 1887. Stormont, '• Isaac's Harbor" Wine Hartor .... Bherbrooke Tangier Montagu ......... ■Waverlfy . . .i.... Oldham Renfrew Uniaekq... ........ Unproclaimed and Other Districts.. a n 38 00 19 181 63 18» ao ■I t- a?" a*! ten ■;r 676 85 27 > 3 3SQ7d 00 00 Quart*, iie cntbH, ,h toDK ewx,lb 1149 00 00 1667 6609 486 il28§ 960 7770 1212 117 00 o6 QO 00 00 00 00 00 m 00 oo 00 00,00 00 00 Yield per I Ton, !-. -J •.1. i*w(. gr. l 05 08 08 1 09 16 1 19 07 108 104 15 1 03 04 > ■ ■• OoM from a*- 4w». gT' 20 06 00 28 15 15 Total Yield, of Gold. iVi oi. d«t 1505 02 11 ■ 7B4' 00 09 §522 06, 11 3^9 16 10 417 13 21 41S4 18 17 1359 12 02 9401 02 10 947 01 17 136 00 21 17, , 82 4B 01 15 27683 06 09 26 13 08 $766 00 1 P a Is M. dirt,gr 4 10 00 13 08 13 05 06 16 09 20 12 18 00 20 o8 01 10 00 2,00 00 $618 73 4& 60 1592 58 385 50 .406 99, 422 63 ,488 88 8d5 36 584 00 278 55 ; The following further statenients and comparisons from oflBci9,l returns, Mr. Heatherington's G'ltwZe, Mr. Phillips' Jfimngr and Metallurgy of gold and silver, and tiiie Report fb Qongress on the Mineral resources ^of the pniied, States by special cpmmissioners fo Browne and Ross, will be found valuable. ,^ r^ r , The co^t of raising a ton of quartz vanes very much bet^i etween the limits of $3 and $130 ; of 19 returns only' three gi\ $20 arid above as a maximum ;, the average 9f tl^e rest would b aboui $§, The average cost of crushing apd mill treatment is, 60 cents a ton by water and $2 by steain mjlls. In' one ste3,m mill tlie cost is give^x ^,^ one dollar per tpn hauling iacluded. In California the average ^cost in water mills', where the water is fre^ is '$i.'22, where the -vfater is bought $1.60; in steam mills $^.1^. Miners' wages have varied little since gold mining began. Boys and carters have from 75 cents to |1 ; pitmen. $1.10. to .^J.SQ: inechanids $1.50, to $2.00 per d^y. In Australia the wages vary from ^^ to $3.5(i ; in California from $3.^0 to $'5.06, but it is reported' tH^t tne miners nave struck there for $6. AmalgaiAa^or^ Jiave h^H $75 iq $100 a inonth anid mining captains $^5 to $l5ti p^r month. Board aniif lodging can be had at most of the miae^/or $3 or $3.50 a Tve6k. ■yl'j- lU J i QOLTi. i$ ' Th6 'Sii^tdincd average' yielddf gotcl 'in the province • from the crushing of '90850 tons of quarts! was 1 oz. dwt. IS grains. '"■" '" Thfe dnHltal quiliquohinal moan yield of gold per miner for the years ending 3l8t of December, 1862 to 1864, was $511.32; the t?ificnnial mean for 1864 to 1866, $680.9^ ; and the biennial mean for 1865 to 1866, $U4.16. The mean for 1867 Was $765. (Year ending 30th Sop.) The mean annual earning per miner In Victoria, Australia, was highest in 186ff when it amount6d to $402.'06 which is considered to be at least equal to the average earnings of the State of Cali- fQ^jji^'iivf ji^iiuiTjirt ,«fO!()ljli» The a)tnount'Of quartz rsiised daily per man here has increased from 85.5 lb. ih i860-1861 to 300 lb. in 1866, a result shewing greatly improved system of mining. The average yield of gold per ton of quartz in Nova Scotia com- pares very favourably with that of other countries. Mr. Ashburner, in 1866, reported that "it is very difficult to state, even approxi- mately, the present average yield of the quartz from the Oalifornian mines. It is' probable howeVer, that it has not varied much within the last five years and in 1861, taking the returns from those mines which wore at that time believed to be profitable concerns, it WOiS at the rate of $18. 50 per ton. The two- extremes were amine. in Grass Valley, which was yielding $80 per ton, and one at Angels, in Calaveras county, where the quartz only paid $5 and was still being worked at a small profit. The most 'ribted of the excellent^ mineb on the course of the " Great Vein " in Amador county, is the Eureka which has been worked for about 11 years and has produced probably nearly as much gold as any other in California. Its quartz has never averaged very high and the principal production- has been from ores of a low grade, not yielding more probably than from $10 to $15 per ton." The average for the famous Brazilian mine St. John del Rey which, during 36 years, haS given a profit of upwards of £1,000,000 sterling, is 8 dwt. of gold to the ton ; during the most prosperous period of ex!ploitation of the Berezovsk mines in the Urals, the yield was frOm 6 io 11 dwt., and at Zell, in the Tyrol, the average' was only 2f dwt. of gold to the ton, being probably the smallest amount obtained from any rock worked. Victoria, Australia, gave for 1864 to 1866 an average of 10 dwt. 19 I'o grains, Nova Scotia for the same pieriod, an average of 1 oz. %^ OPLD. dwt. 13 grains of gold to the ton of 2240 lb. ; tho Americau ton, it will bo remembored, is 2000 lb. and as Mr. Ilcatherington gives tho average yield in California as 15 dwt. the two countrioa will probably be about eq aal in this respect. , When it is recollected that in the provincial returns the statement is made with regard to the gold yielded by "quartz, sand, and gravel, crushed," although it is known that by far the largest amount of this is quartz, it is obvious t^hat exact results cannot be obtained : it must tilso be taken into consideration that iqucU gold is known to be stolen and much lost in working. As regards the total production in California, although tho rich shallow diggings are exhausted, by far the larger proportion, pro- bably, two thirds, of the gold is obtained from hydraulic and other "washings", -iqttn-J' It may be well to record the following statement here for the sake of allowing comparisons to be made with what appears to be the extreme limit of productiveness. " Grass Valley in California is the most productive gold quartz mining district in the world. The annual yield of an area drawn by a radius of four miles is $3,500,000. The number of labourers employed in the mines and mills is 2000, showing ^u average yearly production for each person of $1,T50 and the average yield of the rock worked is $30 to $36. . The lodes are narrow, none of them exceeding 1 feet in width and most being less than a foot. They contain much pyrites l^nd this fact with the narrowness of tho veins contribute to make the average expense of extraction and reduction high— about $15 a ton. ^ome of the woi-ks have been sunk to a depth of 400 feet, but most of the pay quartz is obtained within 200 feet of the surface. .. .,^ .^j; j,.,, .)j;-i07 ;;":•':• cr nfl^il •\:^'i,i;;;[.» One of the provincial districts, Sherbrooke, it may bO recalled, gave in 1866 an average yie^d per man of $1611.46; in 1^67, of $1642.30. Tho success of the Ophir Company working at Ren- frew having been mentioned as an instance of profitable working of quartz, ii, will suflOice to add that the Palmerstoa Company at Sherbrook^ wijih 29 areas pf whiph only, 9 are worked had as the resulji.'of one year's , operations $18,000 balance after meeting all current expenses, erecting a new 10 stamp n^i}l, and payings dividend of 26 per cent. . ;7 Mr. Rawson, writing, in Februa;??! i^68,;to the Londofli Mining GOLD. be and Journal, said that three months inspection of the gold fields of the province had satisfied him as to their great value and made him anxious to arouse the capitalists of England to examine into their real importance. The American men of money ho found had already learned their richness and were rapidly buying up all the best properties. Several of the mines he found quoted in the New- York Exchange at premiums ranging from 120 to 150 por cent on their original shares. M. Michel, who visited these mines last autumn and has been engaged in gold mining in South America, told me he was not at all prepared to find anything like the display of gold bearing rocks he witnessed and he thought that comparatively nothing had yet been done in mining towards developing the real value of the Nova Scotiaa auriferous deposits. The gold of this province is not surpassed by any in the world in purity ; r3peated assays are said to have shewn it to average 22 carats fine, or to contain 916.66 parts of gold in a thousand ; the official calculations are made on the assumed value of $18.50 for unsmelted or retorted, and |19. 50 for smelted, gold. The actual composition of the gold as found native or in ingots or buttons is shewn in the following ANALYSES OF NOVA SCOTIA GOLD. Locality. Authority. Gold. Silver Iron. Cop'r. Lead. Zinc. Total. Old Tangier LocaUty not known Old Tangier (Field Lode),. „ (Leary Lode), O. C. Marah. J, F. Baker, B. Slllltnan. U. 8.A88.ay Office. A. Gesner. H. How. A. Oeaner. 9S.13 97.30 97.25 96.60 96.60 94.69 93.06 1.76 a. 70 2.75 trace. 0.05 99.94 100.00 100.00 2.00 4.74 6.60 7.76 0.05 trace. 0.08 0.04 0.16 98.69 Waverley (Laldlaw's) 0.. 0.09 0.11 39 09.98 99.75 " 0. 0. Marsh. 92.04 99.91 The mean of the foregoing analyses gives 956.03 parts of gold in a thousand, the average of Australian alloy is given by Ashburner as 921, that of California by Dana as fi'om 8*75 to 885 thousandths in gold. The loss of weight in smelting the rough product of amalgama- l^on is very variable, shewing that the retorted gold is of very uncertain value. In a great number of results obtained by Mr. R, Gt. Fraser, of Halifax, I found by calculation that the loss varied from 0.81 per cent on two samples from one district to 13.8 per cent on 13 samples from another district, in two cases it was about H I I 0« GOLD. 44 por cent, on five 'and six eamplos, respectively, from other districts. It is well known that a considerable amount of gold is lost by imperfect amalgamation : the following estimates have boon made as to the actual amount in some cases. Pyrites worked from tailings at the Nova Scotia and Now York Co.'s mill at Tangier gave on assay by Dr. Torrey, Chief absayer to the U, S. Assay Office. Gold per ton of 2000 lb $122.13 Silver „ .. „ 2.67 $124.80 Pyrites from Lake Co. 's lead, at Tangier, gave on assay by 0. D. Allen, Gold per ton of 2000 lb .$187.04 Pyrites from tailings of theLeary Lode, Tangier, gave E. N, Kent Goldpertonof 2000 lb $134.99 Assuming an average of 8 Der cent as the amount of pyrites in the ore, and it has been variously said to contain from 8 to 12, the gold valuv^ of the pyrites will be $15.20 per ton. (Sillimaa's Report.) Tailings from Waverley, selected from difforent parts of tailings bank : — No. 1. gave 6 dwt. 8 grs. gold to the ton of 2000 lb. No. 2. from five lb. of tailings all thii silicious particles were washed out, leaving 3 oz. 11 dwt. of sulphurets, which gave 6 oz. 14 dwt. 1 gr. of gold, and 10 dwt. silver, tD the ton of 200D lb. On calculation this result gives $7.78 as the value of one ton of 2000 lb. No. 3. Tailings from the bed gave a value of $7.59 for the ton of 2000 lb., the value of the silver is not considered. (H. Perley.) No knowledge appears to exist as to the actual amount lost in this way in California ; the only data Phillips could collect on the subject were those obtained from a company in Australia, at whose establishment the tailings were regularly sampled and assayed j the results showed that the tailings contained on an average about 2 dwt. of gold of which some portion was recovered by roasting and grinding the washed sulphides in a Chilian mill. The machinery and contrivances employed with the object of saving as iliil ooto. 51 much gold as possible arc of the most varied characters and Mr. Phillips, finding it iispossiblo to attempt a description of them all, confines himself to noticing such as are most commonly made use of in the best conducted establishments. Those are described, and in some cases figured, in his Mining and Metallurgy of Gold and Silver, (p. IQOctseq.) and are well worth the attention of managers and companies. As all authentic data are of service in working out such a problem it will be ^seful^ to give some information obtained last summer while visiting Waverley. Mr. Burkrer thinks the gold becomes mechanically attached to the pyritoe in the process of stamping ; th^, heavy pyrites remains in the stamping box a month, and he has seen on the ore under magnifying power distinct particles of gold, when, as he believeF,, there was not much gold originally in the! pyrites. He sent to Freiberg, iBt,' 860 lb. of pyrites from cleanings of stamper boxes in which' quartz of 2J to 3 oz. per ton had been crushed, the assay rtiturn' was $G00 to the ton ; 2nd, two tons of pyrites from quartz of 15 to 20 dwt. per ton, assay return was $160 per ton ; 3rd, 8. or 10 tons pyrites from tailings which gave $18 or $20 to the ton ; the first and second lots of pyrites gave about as much quicksilver as gold, hence the mine al carries amalgam in close admixture. > i III lU ]■■■ J. I. (If I iriiiU . lMd,J5o ©i. ^; %iiilti^ T ata aji M ,1 .'■'lil'' ,il.i- CHAPTER IV. i !u t SILVER.— ARGENTIFEROUS GALENA.— ANTIMONY,— MERCURY.— ," ''■ MOLYBDENUM.— ARSENIC— COBALT.— NICKEL.— BISMUTH. i^lver. Moiok^nzie River, Inverness Co., Cape Breton. It has Iqjig been supposed from Indian and local traditions that silver exists in the gravels of the bed of this river. Mr, John Campbell was the first to prove the fact of its occurrence : in his report on the, Gold Fields, 1863, he states ''that the prospects for silver mining appear most encouraging over a considerable tract of country, more particularly in the neighborhood of Grand Anse where the Mackenzie River falls into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Native silver is found abundantly disseminated thiough the drift of this stream, in small grains and nuggets, and this appears to be the case along the greater part of its course, for in many trials made several miles inland I found the silver as plentiful as I found it near the Gulf coast. Nor is there reason to doubt the existence of rich deposits in some places where circumstances favoured the concentration of such particles of the drift as were of the greatest specific gravity such as silver. The sources from which this stream derived the silver rolled in its drift are, as far as I have been able to discover, first, from veins of a beautiful variety of spar, closely reseuibling meerschaum, that abound in some parts of the district ; some of the veins contain native silver, embedded in strings and nests of a softish grey substance of earthy texture much resembling the carbonate of that metal. The other source I have reason to believe is the general surface of glacial drift along its banks and tributaries," Mr. Barnes has also found silver for iir^wards of eleven miles from the mouth of the river ; he failed however, to discover the source of the metal. SILVER ORES. $9 Silver in the Gold Districts. Silver is contained perhaps invari- ably in nq.tive gold j jt is shown in every one of the analyses of that metal, as found native, given ; it appears also to e^t s^pavately,*' Mr. P. S. Hamilton, in his report as Commissioner of Mines, ip 1865, states,' " It would here be a needless discussion for me t9 enter into an explanation of the reasons for saying, what 1 neyesr- theless, do say, that silver will probably be foui^d in sufficient c[uan- tity to remunerate the miner in the same geological formation as gold. I believe I may safely say I have myself :f9und it in some, lodes now being worked." He then recommends such an altera- tion in the mining leases ^s would allow tl^e miners to extrapt the silver. In Mr. Heaiherington^s Guide to the Gold Fieldp Mr. ]?ul- ^iver states that he knows where silver exists and only awaiis an opportunity to avail himself of his knowledge. „ Silver in Manganese Ore. Although it is not known in what form the metal occurs, it may conveniently be recorded here that Messrs. Taylor & Co. of London, found, on assay of a specimen of manganese ore from Teny Cape> Hants county, 6ve ounces of sil- ver to a ton of ore. ■ i.U o : '' 'v, 7,1' . . Silver in Goal. Mr. J. Campbell informs me that traces of silver ha^e been detected in coal of Pictou county. '"^''''^^'■»<1 f^^Ww lor smPa to , livfiium oiij i" x'aienx oeoshfjjp odt ui I'Ui'A eirr: Silver in Native Copper: I have found a little silver in the cop- per of the trap region, as mentioned in speaking of that metal, 'ur^ Silver Ores, Watclwbuekt, Gape Breton. In the spring of 1866 Mr. A. Cameron, of Baddeck, brought me some specimens for iex- si^miuation one of which I found to be very rich in silver, the me- tallic ore was in fact sulphide of silver, it was ia ^ quarte rock which also contained galena. Mr. Cameron afteriWards had large samples assayed in Boston, and the property was surveyed by PrOl.. Hind, from whose report I make some extrmtts. "The SilvQr Mine. — This vein h«,8 been opened to a vertical depth of 16 feet near the junction of a bed of quartzite and coarse hof nblendic rock with epidote, about i of a mile from the south-west boundary ojF licence to search No. 9, on the peninsular south-west of Badde&k forming part of the south-west coast of the Little Bras d'or Lake, Victori^jCQimty. The vein oocupiee a fissure of variable width ir- \><1 SILVER ORES. (from half an uich to four inches as far as traced) running nearly at right angles to the strike of the rock. Several touch smaller veins run into it. The ore taken froto this vein, assayed by Dr. Hayes, of Boston,, gave these results : One ton 20,00 lb. would afford 18 oz.', 9 (iwt. 3 grs. of gold, and 9*7 oz. lo dwt. 4 grs. of silver, worth to- gether ,6508. 61 per ton of ore equal to the sample examined. From, information obtained on the spot the argentiferous and auriferous ore appears l^o be present in the vein in pockets and not evenly dis- tributeii, hence it is probable that important aggregates of these metals may be reached. The angle at which the vein is inclined is low (27°), henco it is not probable that it will attain considerable width, yet if it maintains its present average thickness, notwith- standing its pockety character, the extraordinary richness of yield both of gold and silver, makes it valuable. The ore may be ship- ped in the capacious, safe, and deep harbour which^ lies at the foot of the hill about a third of a mile distant." I 8 Argentiferous Galena., In th€| spring of 1865 I received seve- ral samples from Mr. Cameron some of which proved to contain silver also but not in such quantity as the preceding. The metal- lic n^inprals were galena, iron and copper pyrites, and a little blende some of which proved to contain a good, deal of cadmium ; gold was fouiid in the quartzose matrix of the minerals. The report of Prof. Hind, in referring to the galeaa, says : " The argentiferous galena veins are situated in that part of the metamorphic nucleus which, in the form of high cliffs, constitutes part of the coast of the peninskila on Jjittle Bras d'or. The rocks consist of alternating beds^of quartzite, diorite, fine hornblehdie slate, and coarse horn- blendic schist. The main cliff vein is of uneven thickness, and, where exposed on the faoe of the cliff, about 65 feet above tide, it is from 12 to 16 inches thick. It is very ferruginous and contains tkin seams of argentiferous galena with small pockets and specks of cbpper ore and ivon pyrites. The analysis by Dr. Hayes of spe- cimens' from llie cliff vein gave for the highest yield 39 oz. 10 dwt. 12 grs., or .$51.38 worth of silver, to the tort. The argentiferous galena does not appear to be uniformly distributed through the vein, but is in patches and streaks. "In a conglomerate on the oOMt of the beiy Reparating the peninsula from Baddeck argen- tifdrotis galena is found with copper ore in a band two ieet thick. k ANTIMONY ETC. 61 In one sample of this Dr. Hayes found ^ith gold, 6 dwt. 12 grs. silver to the ton." , . ; Antimony. A small specimen of this metal, in the native state, was given me as coming frona Ilalifax county, within a few miles of the city, without information as to the mode of occurrence pij quantity found. , . ,!,.,•,,- ' .r • .,jj -'r The existence of the rich antimony deposits . consisting of the ^ulphide with occasionally a notable anaqunt of the nativot metal, in the lower silurian rocks. of New Brunswick,, which ares ipo\yj being extensively worked rend.ers this indication of importa-nq^* : ; T]^e uses of the metal are maiay apd increasing : its mcfi;t.,exten§ive a^H pKcatiori is in the makjng of valuable alloys. T^e pre ,oJ^, ff ew^ Brunswick gives on assay ,from 47 to 73 per cent, of metal, and £14 sterling have been offered in England for pertain qualities. ^ chemical i ufacturer told me he had tons of this, ore in New York where it is . lorted for use as a horse, medicine ; roasted to oxide it is employed in niaking opalescent glass^ and converted into chlo- ride it is used by calico printers. It is stated by Dr. Hayes tbat the pre costs about $60 a ton imported to Boston. (See reports, op. Geology of ?f e\Y, Brunswick by Prof. Bailey, 1 864, and frof. Hind, 1865.) UliX Imp. ■ ,,|... ,.'. ; in; ■' {■>>{.:.::, Hit" 15 voi^l id ,av^" ' M BI5^ • (U-'. ; . ('M- . , ■' x;!o; : hlerg^ll ' i& . flO . '> ■;■ .- fi V,: • -' ' '" '- -n " ' 1 ; '• ' ■ . ,: .-at :, ■5? fcfJJO*».^ C . jhj «rr! ; rut arlT . I>ad-if*^h 'lo 389f^TJ5^0t b.'>M/i^!'j-ffJ<| fihm- Ut^ vKi '••.••: ' ;niH iir.i i;, •tsio li^''i'ff^ri; n'H '\-j:.: ...1 '.(ii: {.burn myff I'k>?; o« ct. ..■u.ir|.J bcX -hli' •I'j a li^'iii ttfi niftJ^cf . 65 CHAPTER V. COPPER.— COPPER ORES.— LEAD ORE— ZINO ORB.— PLUM BIGO.- SULPHUR— SULPHUR ORE. Copper. This metal is found at sevei'al localities on the shores of the Bay of Fundy and of Minas Basin. The name Cape d'Or is supposed to have been given by the early French mariners to the mass of trap forming the south-western extremity of the county of Cumberland from their mistaking the pieces of metal seen in the rock foi' gold. The metal is found in rounded and rattened pieces imbedded in the trap and in similar forms in the shingle at its base ; a specimei of 15 lb. weight is reported to have been obtained on the west side of the Cape. It is said to be always more abundant after a storm, either i disintegration of the rock or from being washed up on the bea It is found on the east side of the Cape in a vein of jasper, and on the surface in the soil. A specimen was lately given to me consisting of the metal inclosed in red copper ore and green carbonate of copper : the whole weighed very nearly a pound. Various statements are made as to the amount of copper existing here, a few years ago little could be found, while it is said by the residents in the neighbourhood that in 1866 about two tons were carried away by Americans. Specimens quite similar in ap- pearance to those from the Cape are obtained at Spencer's Island a few miles to the east. Some 20 miles further east the metal is again found in trap and is reported to have been got in holes at low tide in this vicinity to the amount of a few pounds ; specimens have been shewn me as being so found. Last summer two fine specimens were submitted to me, said to have been got on the shore of Cumberland county, one was in cubic crystals, the other a rounded flattened mass, their weight was perhaps half a pound. Mr. R. G. Fraser told me he once had a piece of copper from the 66 COPPER, ( i Basin of Mines weighing six pounds. In tlie trap rock forming the southern shore of the Bay of Fundy copper has been found at vari- ous points from Cape Blomidon, at the eastern extremity, to Brier Island at the western extremity, of the coast. The most productive locality lias been thought to bo Margaret- ville or Peter's Point. I saw it in this neighbourhood 12 years ago. In 1862 a company, formed in Halifax, prospected here and commenced operations at Bishop's Brook some 2 or 3 miles east of the Village, The metal was found crystallized in a matrix of zeo- lite running through the trap, and appeared to be most abundant in the rock on the beach exposed at half-tide, A considerable ex- cavation was made and about three hundred weight of metal got cut during the summer, I visited the spot the next summer and found the place abandoned. The metal occurs close to the wharf at Margarntville in zeolite in the trap and also in rocks exposed at htdf-tide, as well as near a brook a few yards to the east and again about li mile back from the shore. An American company has been working at this- last locality ; in 1864 $2500 were expended in operations : the licensees appeared sanguine as to their eventual success. Operations however have been abandoned. The enormous deposits of copper at Lake Superior are, as at the foregoing localities, found in trap, and sometimes also the metal is associated with zeolites. Whitney, however, has shewn that though the rock there contajns a few of the zeolites met with here, those minerals which are most characteristic of the Nova Scotian trap rocks are almost entirely wanting at the Lake, and that while no analysis of the rocks themselves has shewn their geological age to be identical, their mineral contents fail entirely to indicate this being the case. (Silliman's Journal, July 1859, p. 20.) I find the copper from Cape d'Or to yield on analysis a trace of silver of which a specimen from Lake Superior, apparently pure, contained accord- ing to Whitney three ten thousandths. Silver is not visible in the Nova Scotian copper as it very often is in considerable masses in that of Lake Superior. Mr, Barnes informs me that native copper has been foxjnd in the trap of Mt. Jeron^e, 4 miles north of Cheti- camp, Cape Breton. f, .Although there may be difference in the geological age of the trap here and at Lake Superior, the occurrence of copper at many places in the Bay of Fundy and apparently the Basin of Minas is COPPER ORES. 61 at the etal is that here, cotian while al age te this nd the which ,ccord- inthe ,8868 in copper Cheti- of the t many [inas is '4 important and in this connection it is worth observation that at the Lake Portage copper district of Lake Superior where there are at least 12 mines in operation of which the majority are producing from 20 to 120 tons pure metal per month, some of the works on the most productive lode make use of rocks containing quite a low per centage of native copper. Thus at the Quincy mine, the width of the copper bearing rock being from 6 to 30 feet, the average being 10 feet, the amount of metal was on calculation from the yield per cubic fathom in 1864 only 1.4 per cent. At the Pewabic and Franklin stamp works the yield of the rock treated was 1 . 69 per cent. Of course the copper being unequally distributed through the rock the true percentage would often be above, often below, these numbers. The metal is got by burning the rock, and subse- quent stamping and washing with magnificent machinery. (Geo- logy of Canada, 1866, pp. 162-3.) Ores of Copper. These are found at many localities and are oc- casionally very rich : the quantity in some places being such as to have led to the commencement of raining operations. Copper Pyrites at Polsoii's Lake, Antigonish County. On the south side of Poison's Lake, about two miles east of Lochaber Lake large fragments of copper and iron pyrites in an impure brown hematite are found in the surface gravel, sometimes these are from three to five feet in diameter ; the average amount of cop- per of several samples was found by Dr. Dawson to be 10.8 per cent. From Dr. Honeyman's survey of this district in 1864, for the Government, it appears that near the junction of the basal greenstone rocks of the series, at Keppoch, with the sedimentary rocks there are traces of carbonate of copper and numerous veins af micaceous iron ore. In the sedimentary rocks are small quan- tities of carbonate and sulphide of copper and in some of the de- vonian are the blue slates of Poison's Lake with numerous veins of carbonate of iron or ankerite with sulphide of copper, these veins being undoubtedly a continuation of the veins which produced the miiBaes of cupriferous oxide of iron which have long attracted attdtitkrn. The ore and gangue as found at Grant's Brook were setftto' Me for examination ; the gangue proved to be carbonate of iron 'With a little carbonate of magnesia and perhaps one or two .1 68 COPPER ORES. 1^ ' per cent, of carbonate of lime with a suall amount of quartz and perhaps steatite. The ore was pyrites rich in copper. I after- wards had to examine other specimens from Lochaber, these con- sisted of iron and copper pyrites in iron ore of similar character to the preceding. The copper contained I found to be about 9 per cent. Dr. Honey man considered that there could be no reasonable doubt as to the position of the vein of copper ore at Poison's Lake. Leads were subsequently found and last year (1867) a company was incorporated for the purpose of working' the ore and operations have been carried on to some extent and are still being pursued. If the ore proves really abundant and the average yield of copper remains as above indicated the prospects of the company are excellent. The improvement in working copper ores in England have made a very much lower and decreasing amount of metal re- munerative. The following data from Phillips and Darlington's Records of Mining and Metallurgy are very instructive on this point : — Average produce of Copper from the mines of Devon and Cornwall. 11*16 to 1785 average produce 12 percent, metal 1826 to 1835 „ „ 8 1836 to 1845 „ ,, Ti „ 1846 to 1855 „ „ ll „ "These figures" it is remarked "clearly shew the economic value of the improvements eflFected in working our mines." Proof of the increasing excellence of the methods now in use is afforded by the corresponding deti^ls up to nearly the present time which I have taken from the IVpiieral Statistics of the United King- dom shewing that the average produce from 1859 to 1866 varied from 6.65 in the former year up to 6. 7t, the highest reached, in 1863, and down to 6,18 the lowest percentage, given in the latest year named ; the price of the ore at this percentage was £4. lis. sterling per ton. I may add that Phillips and Darlington are care- ful to point out that the mean produce of the vein stuff of Devon and Cornwall has been estimated by eminent authority at about 2 per cent, and that much of the exceedingly large amount of ore got at the Devon Great Consols affords not more than from | to \\ per cent, of metallic copper. Very poor ores are found to be remune- rative on the continent of Europe. Thus in 1861 no less than 50,- I COPPER ORES. 61^ 000 tons of coppery iron pyrites were exported from Portugal to England which contained at most 3J to 4 per cent, copper. In Prussia the Stadtberger Company of Altena treat successfully ores containing only from § to 2 per cent, metal. Of the 65000 tons worked up every year, 12 parts out of 13 form what they call second class ores and contain only two thirds per cent, copper. Ores of Tatamagoudhe, Cumberland Go. For the account of these I am indebted to Hon. A. Patterson, of Tatamagouche, who kindly procured a report from Mr. P. Brodie (at the time, 1866, in charge of the mining operations,) which is essentially as follows : The place now being worked is on the north west side of French River, (about 5 miles from the village of Tatamagouche) at a point where the bank is about 70 feet high. After removing about 12 feet of surface I first came to a deposit of blue clay which contains some small nodules of copper ore, (grey sulphuret). This was about one foot thick, next came a layer of brownish grey sand- • stone about two feet thick, in the centre of which I find a good many nodules embedded of the largest size we get. I should properly divide this last for there is a regular wall-like separation just where the copper is most abundant. Next in order is a bed of clay similar to the first, which resolves itself into a sandy formation carrying copper as it gets deeper for about 18 inches, under which Is the next productive stratum which is a dark grey sandstone completely charged with copper. This bed is a little over a foot thick and the ore is dispersed through it in nodules, although there is a great deal of ore lost for want of proper appliances. I should mention this formation of ground has a slight dip to the N. E. of about 1 in 12. On the south east side of the river I have driven a level about 20 feet on a nine inch lode of ore. It is a mixture of black and grey ore. This place differs from the first named inasmuch as there is no clay on either side, the lode being bound on top and bottom by good solid grey sandstone. The ground on this side the river rises to a gradual slope from the water, but on the north side the bank is abrupt. About the bank on the north side is another small irregular seam of copper, I have not opened on it, so can say nothing about it. Close down on the water's edge there is the outcrop of a lode of ore imbedded in a heavy stratum of conglomerate. i f 70 COPPER ORES. This lodo is a very nice mixturo of copper and lignite, it ia about two inches thick at the point seen, but I am inibrmod on reliable authority it is from six to eight inchea where seen in the river bed. If it is as large as that, there is no doubt of its being a valuable mine to work. On the north east side whore I began to work I have driven in 4 tunnels about 40 feet each, and have cross cut some of thorn. I find it very easy ground to work but it wants care and good timbering to make it secure. I sank a shaft about 150 feet from the edge of the bank and at the depth of 25 feet came to a small scam of ore. 1 have anotlier shaft sunk to cut the lodo containing the lignite but have not yet reached it. Altogether a good deal of 'vork has been done this summer. I have six men nearly all the time at work, I do think if this place were properly tested it would turn out a good paying property ; every appearance is in its favour. The yield of copper from samples sent to Boston is 14 per cent," Specimens from both the first mentioned spots were sent to the Paris Exhibition, The samples from the south side of the river were sandstones containing numerous nodules of ore about the average size of bantam's eggs. The others were loose nodules of the same character and perhaps on the average larger. Some nodules found here are larger than hen's eggs. I found the specific gravity of a specimen from this locality to be 5.25t, this and the great richness, 74 per cent of copper having been found on assay in Boston, show the ore to be vitreous copper ; it is often coated with green carbonate. Ores at Gheticamp, Gape Breton. These have led to the forma- tion of a company which has carried on operations for a short time only. The official report on the mine in 1864 is this. " This mine is only in progress of development — all that can at present be said about it is that the indications are good. The vein rock was dis- covered at several points along a line in the directions of S. 40° W. about a mile and a half from the shore of Gheticamp. The vein rock is J;hree feet six inches thick, and the vein itself about five inches. It dips towards the mountain at an angle of 60° with the horizon, in the direction S. 50° E. This mine was visited early in October ; at that time a shaft was opened in the hard rock to a depth of 10 feet, and a small house, used as a smithery, erected COPPER ORES. 71 •>: over it. An adit or tunnel was also in course of construction. The adit was driven into the face of the hill about 100 feet, but was not expected to meet the vein until it had been driven 410 feet, at which point it was expected to intersect the vein rock, 106 feet from the surface." From information kindly furnished this year by Mr. Barnes, who superintended operations for some time, it ap- pears that the vein rock at the surface is calcite which runs wedge- shaped between sandstone and micaceous slates, and that the ore at the outcrop consists of silicate of copper (chrysocolla) with blue and green carbonates, and spots of rich grey and yellow ore, while the veius intersected by the level are several in number and con- sist of rich yellow ore. On continuing the levels beyond the shaft into the mountain intrusive dykes of syenite containing flesh red felspar and bluish quartz were met with. There has been nothing done at the mine for two or three years, and I believe there is no present intention of resuming operations. I t Ores on East River of Pictou. Promising appearances have been found by Mr. Barnes on the East River, about 4 miles from New Glasgow, near the railway. The ores consist of sulphuret with lignite and green carbonate disseminated through micaceous sand- stones; the cupriferous bed is estimated to be about 2 feet thick and has been found on both sides of the river. I visited the spot last summer and saw the outcrop of the bed on one side of the river. Several specimens of the ore and rock subsequently sent me look very encouraging. Some of the vitreous ore with lignite gave Mr."^ Barnes nearly 40 per cent of copper. The rocks here are probably at the base of the coal measures or lower carboniferous, and an interesting case of copper ores being worked in lower coal forma- tion sandstones occurred at Newgate in Connecticut. Here, Mr. Barnes informs me from observations of his own, and inquiries made at the time of his inspection, the sandstones resting on highly metamorphosed conglomerate contain a bed from eighteen inches to two feet in thickness of rich vitreous copper cased with chryso- colla. The rock was estimated to contain about four per ceat. of ore, the dressed ore gave 37 per cent, of metal. Workings bad been carried on by the State for about sixty years over fourteen acres and a very large amount of ore must have been taken out. The district was laid dowu as altered carboniferous, not lower car- ■ ( T2 COPPER ORES. its i boniferous. This v/ould appeo-r to be an instance where copper has been profitably worked in rocks of this age. Mr. Barnes thought the appearances not so favourable as at East River, Ores at Indian Point, Five Islands, Cumberland County. These consist of red oxide, with a little grey ore and green carbonate, in association with magnetic oxide of iron. They occur in veins from 2 to 10 inches thick in trap, the immediate matrix or vein stone being a hard jaspideous rock. Mining operations have been con- ducted here by Mr. J. Browne who shipped about 10 tons to Eng- land which gave some tbree per cent, of metal, -a second quantity of about 12 tons, of richer appearance, ^as lost on the voyage. Some tons remain at the spot. The ore sent to England had not been in any way dressed, as, the veins being small, it was quarried out rock and all and so sent. Mr. Browne thinks that it might have been brought up to 10 per cent, by proper dressing. The ground presents great facilitiei? for trying the deposit in depth, and a tunnel 300 feet deep it is thought could be brought in to strike the mineral-bearing ground. A specimen of the iron ore found gave me 5.6 per cent, metallic copper. V Ores in other localities. Very rich copper pyrites, yielding 31 .6 per cent, of metal has been found on the so ith branch of the Salmon River, ^»ut Dr. Dawson who obtained this result is not aware of the ore occurring in quantity sufficient for mining purposes. This vein is probably the Salmon River of Guysboro' as I have had rich copper pyrites given me as coming from this county. Of the ores of the coal formation Dr. Dawson says (Acadian Geology, p, 267), " the principal localities are the Carriboo River, West River, a little below Durham, and East River, a fe v miles above the Albion Mines. Similar appearances also occur at French and Waugh's Rivers in the band of coal formation rocks connecting Cumberland and Pictou distriocs. In all these places the principal ore is grey sulphurct with films and coatings of gieeu carbo ";0. The ores are associat- ^ ed with fossil plants to which their accumulation is to be attributed. The ores are rich and valuable and the only reason they are not worked is the conviction that the deposits are too limited to be of economic impc-ance. This has been found to be the case in two instances in whicL trials have been made by agents of the Min ug I I COPPER 0KE3. 13 Association. The folk < ing is the composition of a sample from CarriboOjCopper 40, iron 11.06, cobalt 2.10, manganese 0.50, sulphiir 25.42, carbonate of lime 0.92, total 80." A very rich sample of copper ore was given me a few years ago as coming from Cumberland county, and one as being found at Margaretville, Annapolis Co. Specimens, of which I do not know the localities, Rent me for analysis have given, among other low re- sults, 40.25 and 39. 13 per cent of copper, the latter contained in all : Copper 39. 13 Iron 18 .40 Sulphur 1 i . 90 ' Gangue 18 .58 Oxygen, carbonic acJ, water, a little lime and loss . .11.99 100.00 So long ar. ores containing so highly remuneiative an amount of copper continue to be met with there will be very strong induce- ment to prove whether they exist in quantity suflScient to warrant mining operations, even in the face of repeated disappointment. Mr. J. Campbell, in his report on the Eastern Gold Fields, 1863, statea that from the uiouth of Steep Mountain river, Inverness Co., Cape Breton, for a distance of thirty miles eastvv'ird favourable indications of copper >re8 exist. Mr. Poole, in his report on the Western Gold Fields, 1862, mentions that at Blaudford Cove, at the base of Aspatogoen Mt., Lunenburg Co., bands of dark blue ironstone si ate visible for some distance along the shore hold a gG<^d (V^fA of copper pyrites, and that it might be worth while to search for a lode, also that on Hillsborough Brook about 12 miles from Brookfield, in Liverpool township of the same county, a good deal of copper and iron pyrites was seen in quartz veins on which excavations had been made and which were said to increase to the east, and that copper might be found in depth. He observed copper pyrites also at the Westfield Brook in the same region, and in an official examination of some of the specimens he brought iiome I found a little copper in pyrites from Geyser's HiH, Halifax, and from Jebogue Point, Yarmouth, a circumstance leading Mr. Poole to remark that though small the amount given might induce parties to explore in depth as copper is not usually a surface metal. Some copper was said to have been dug out of cellars at Middle Jebogue many years before Mr. Poole's survey. Ill Irji^ u. LEAD ORG. At the Provincial Exhibition now open (Oct. 1868) Mr. Hugh M'Adam shews specimens of promising copper ore from a deposit reported to be a thick bed in Antigonish county. Lead Ore. The only ore of lead found in the province is galena, it occurs in many localities, but so far only one of these has been thought sufficiently rich to encourage mining operations. The ore is very frequently found with gold in quantities sufficient to be very troublesome in amalgamating, and occasionally it occurs with rich silver ores or itself contains a large amount of silver. 6 This is the ore which has a favourable report having Galena of Gay's River, Colchester Go been thought to occur in quantity been made to this effect by a mining engineer, since deceased. The ore occuis in disseminated crystals and thin veins in beds of lower carboniferous limestone, and contains silver in vaiying pro- portions, as shown by the accompanying reports of assay masters. As regards quantity and mode of occurrence the late Mr, S. Bawden reported as follows : — "R. Smith, Esq., Halifax, Sept. 2t, 1862. "Sir, — Having had samples of lead ore brought '^le to examine which I considered most valuable both for lead and silver, but at the same time, doubting in my mind if it could be had in such quantity as reported to me, and the owners of the property con- fessed to be totally ignorant as to its worth or how to work it, or how to dress the ore to make it marketable — this induced me to go to see it before leaving this country. " At the first sight I was particularly struck with the quantity on the surface in the shape of boulders and flagstones lying one on the top of the Other, — not a conglomerate, but solid massive rocks of the mineral as I will herein explain. " A trench has been dug for some little depth by the proprietors, and loose earth been found deposited between those layers impreg- nated with the mineral of the richest quality. " The main bottom has not been reached in the line of mineral, but on either aide, some few yards distance, the hard whinrock is crop- ping out at the surface, and those vertical beds of mineral are deposited, as it were, in a hollow or bend in a gentle rise of the hill between the above mentioned whinrock. " The result of my observation on this is that it is an upheaval from an immense deposit of mineral which will be found in the shape of a lode running east and w(5Bt. " Wha is more particularly notJr-jable is its formation of slaty cleavage, and the peculiar blue gr_.a of strata found mixed in with LEAD ORE. 75. the mineral ores, which is the evidence to show that these impres- sions were produced from a lode underneath, as there are no such indications on either side of its immediate course. "The assay sent you from Mr. Nash, was what it was worth in its rough state, but the sample sent to Cornwall was first cleaned by the aid of water, and the ore then is worth £18 per ton, and eleven and a half ounces of silver to the ton. "You need not however, take either of these, but when I return to England 1 will bring a fair average of the ores so that you can get assays in London. " I visited the place again last week, and was ap well pleased with its appearance as I was at first sight. Thousands of tons can be raised for 2s. per ton before the lode will be reached. " I should not omit stating that this is close along side a river called Gay''s River, where abundance of water can be had at all times for the purpose of cleaning and dressing the ore. " All other information you deem necessary, I shall be able to give on my return. I am, Sir, " Your most obedient servant, "Samiie;* Bawden." The following reports refer to the quality of the ore. Assay Office, 11, IS & 79, Hatton Gardens. London, 21st Feby., 1862. ' ' The sample of mineral assayed for Messrs. Fixley, Abill & Lang- ley is found to produce 8| per cent of good pig lead. " The proportion of silver is equal to .35 oz. to the ton of 20 cwt. of ore. It contains minute traces of gold. "As the lead in this mineral exists almost entirely in the state of galena, it may easily be treated by washing, thus reducing the ore in bulk by 80 or 85 per cent, and bringing it to a valuable and marketable condition. "Johnson, Matthky & Co." The quantities of metals given above, otherwise stated, are eq :al to 196 lb. of load to the ton (English) of ore, and 4oz. silver l^ the ton of lead. The neit report is that of Mr. Rickard, made for Mr. J. D. Nash : "Halifax, N. S., Dec. Slst, 1862, " First. Eight oz. No. 1 galena ore gave on washing 1 j oz. con- centrated ore, yielding 27 per cent, lead and 44 per cent, rough ore, or 19 dwt. 11 gr. silver per ton of washed ore, or 3 oz. 11 dwt. 13 grs. silver per ton of lead. • " Second. No. 1. galena. Old Workings, 6 per cent, lead, 4 dwt. 21 grs. silver per ton ore. m t: u I t6 LEAD ORB. " No. 2. On Hill, 8 per cent, lead, 6 dwt. 12 grs. silver per ton ore. " No. 3. At Brook, 5 per cent, lead, 3 dwt. 6 grs. silver per ton ore. "No. 1. P. 18 per cent lead, 16 dwt. 8 grs. silver per ton ore. Trace of gold. "W. T. RiCKARD, F. C. S." It will be observed that the first assay by Mr. Rickard gives not very much less silver to the ton of lead, than that of Johnson 6 Co., the percentage of lead in the concentrated ore is equal to 604 lb. to the English ton. The last assay in the report, otherwise stated, gives 403 lb. lead to the ton, and 4J oz. silver to the ton of lead. The next report is from England, "Flock Lead Smkltikg Works, "Devon, Cornwall, Aug. 15th, 1866. "Sample of lead ore from Nova Scotia, per James Richard Bawden. "Lead Itf per cent. "Silver IJ oz per ton of ore, llj oz. per ton of lead. "H. B. CmPKAX." The ore contains, as found by Baron Liebig, who examined it for Mr. R. G. Eraser, antimony to a very small extent, a specimen af- forded me also a trace of this metal. With regard to the value of the silver in lead ores the following abridged extract from Phillips's Metallurgy (now out of print) is instructive. "Previous to the discovny of the present methods of improving and enriching the metal obtained directly fi'om the ores none but moderately rich leads could be treated for the silver they contained. The method of treatment not only involved the expenditure of a large amount of coal, but also the loss of at least 7 per cent, of the lead operated on ; consequently lead that did not contain from 9 to 11 oz. of silver to the ton, did not admit of being profitably refined. When the lead and silver were also associated with tin or antimony, the diflBculty and expense of t^ '•^ process were much increased, and proportionally richer ores w re conse- quently required. By the improved processes lead containing but three ounces of silver to the ton of metal may be refined with ad- vantage." T'-is was written in 1854 since which time no doubt the methods have been fu ther improved. In 1864 the whole amount of lead ore raised in Great Britain and Ireland was 94,433 >> GALENA. 77 tons and from this there were obtained 67,081 tons of lead and 641,088 ounces of silver, the value of the lead being £1,448,959 and of the silver £176,299. In 18661;here were raised 91,047 tons of lead ore which gave 67,390 tons of lead and 636,188 ounces of silver ; the percentage of load in the ore is rather above 74 and the amount of silver in the ton of ore just under 7 ounces. The mean price of the lead ores raised in 1861 was £12 10s. Id. Pig lead is worth about £21 a ton, silver about 5 shillings the ounce. Argentiferous Oalena of Baddeck, Cape Breton. See ^Iver Ores. A specimen of galena of which the locality is said by Mr. W, M. Harrington, who sent it me for analysis, to be Lunenburg County gave me : — Lead 85.05 Antimony .traces. Sulphur and Gangue 14 . 95 100.000 No silver was detected in the wet way by a special *est : minute traces may have b^^en present — ^indeed it is said no galena is quite free of silver. The ore was very pure but proved not to be acces- sible or probably abundant. I have found several specimens from gold regions of the province to contain notable amounts of silver. Galena of other localities. This ore is found in fine crystals at the Joggius Coal Mine, Cumberland county. Two very good specimens were brought me by a miner in 1858 as having been ob- tained about 6 fathoms below a seam of coal in cutting through a fault, the agent of the General Mining Association concluded there was not suflBcient to be of importance. Galena is reported to have been found in small quantity in Guysboro, Mr. Barnes informs me that numerous veins containing much galena occur in altered limestones at the mouth of M'Kenzie River, Inverneps county, Cape Breton ; and that one of the veins contains large octohedra' crys- tals of fluor spar of which some are upwards of an inch across. Mr. Campbell, in his report before referred to, also notices that masses of galena are found distributed through the tranverse sec- tions of some large mineral veins seen in the sea cliflFs between Fish Pond River and the mouth of the Mackenzie River. Though m 78 ZINC ORE, the ore is not in large quantity so far as can be seen on the surface, the facilities for mining are so favourable that comparatively poor ores might be profitably wo?ked. It is worthy of notice, as Dr. Dawson points out, that the lower carboniferous limestones which are so abundant in this province are the rocks in which valuable ords of lead are met with in England and other countries, and that therefore there is some reason to hope that important indications of this metal may yet be discovered. Zinc Ore. The only ore of zinc yet met with here is the sul- ishuret, called blende and, when of a dark colour, black-jack. Itia seen vei*y frequently in association with gold in quartz, but the quantity has not been found to be of mining importance. The largest pieces of it I have seen were from Mount Uniacke, they were crystalline masses, perhaps half an inch across, of a very daiK colour, containing a good deal of iron : they were associated with (^ale-spar and a little pyrites in quartz. 2^11 Ore. Tinstone has been found by Mr. Barnes in a sand composed of quartz and decomposed felspar in Tangier and by Mr. J. Campbell at Shelburne as I have understood. I f Alloy of copper, zinc, and tin, reported to have been found in the province. I place on record here the analysis of a substance of metallic appearance and somewhat tin-like colour on fresh surfaces sent to me some years ago and which was said at first to be abun- dant but afterwards only to occur in thin veins. The composition found being so entirely unlike that of any known rnineral and no matrix being furnisned with the specimens examined by me mineralogists (specimens were sent to the London Exhibition of 1862) have refused to believe in the substance being a mineral. However, the person from whom I received it on being applied to for infonnation asserted that it occurred in veins of which he gave the direction. Specimens afforded me on analysis :-— Copper •w'w •'•-*.• itr 57.29 Zinc ..»-..**,. k*i.. 20.54 Tin 19.94 Lead ..r .|. 2 . 39 Iron .08 100.24 : t t i: r V I FLUMBAQO. 19 While there is no mineralliaving a composifion similar to or ap- proaching that shewn by these results, there is also, so far as I have been able to find, no artificial alloy having any thing like the same proportions of ingredients. A mining engineer from England to whom I showed specimens offered £'15 sterling a ton for the sub- stance of the quality shewn by ray, analysis. Plumbago. Specimens uf earthy plumbago or black lead have been sent to me for examination from Parrsboro', Cumberland county, where it occurs at Partridge Island, either in a bed or vein on the shore ; and from Salmon River, Colchester county. The former was in powder, the latter in masses some inches thick. Mr. Fraser informs me that a deposit of 10 inches thickness occurs in Cape Breton, and one of 4 feet in Musquodoboit, both of an earthy nature. The same gentleman has lately shewn me the best quality of plumbago I have yet seen as found in the province. It is said to be in a deposit six feet thick in a new locality. These deposits may be worth attention since the improvements in the preparation have rendered impure plumbago valuable. The chief deposit of pure plumbago was at Borrowdale, in Cumberland, England, where it was found in deta'^hjd pieces very irregularly distributed. The supply was uncertain ;id of doubtful continuance. The price of the mineral was kept up oy careful management ; about 15 years ago it was 35 to 45 shillings a pound : and at this rate the mine has been known to bring £100,000 in one year ; in 1859, the price was 30 shillings a pound. The present price of plumbago from Ceylon is, for lump, 25s. to SQs.; for dust, ISs. to 20s.; fi-om Germany, Ts. to lOs. per cwt. The use of the finest mineral is in making pencils : the best of these are made by sawing the plumbago into pieces which are inserted in cedai, inferior qualities are made of the saw dust and small pieces mixed with antimony and sometimes sulphur. A considerable portion of the smaller pieces of the Cumberland plumbago which are too small to cut for pencily is of the finest quality. Mr. Brockenden patented a process by which these v/ere ground, and ultimately formed by enormous pressure into coherent blocks from which slices could be sawn fit for making pencils of the best quality. Another process, invented by Brodie, removes from common plumbago by chemicttl means the impurities which prevent the formation of solid blocks by Brockeuden's patent. • u ^ 80 PLDMBAGO. The mineral in coarse powder is submitted in an iron vessel to the action of twice its weight of oil of vitriol and seven per cent of chlorate of potash : the mixture is heated over a water bath till the chlorous fumes cease to be given off. By this means the com- pounds of iron, lime, and aluminb, present are rendered for the most part soluble and the subsequent addition of a little fluoride of sodium to the acid mixture will decompose any silicates which may remain and volatilize the silica. The mass is now washed with water, dried, and heated to redness. The last operation causes the grains of plumbago to exfoliate, the mass swells up in a surprising manner and is reduced to a state of very fine division. It is then levigated and obtained in a pure condition ready to be compressed by the method of Brockenden before mentioned by which coherent masses are obtained equal in beauty and solidity to the best native mineral. Very large quantities of plumbago are employed in making, be- side lead pencils, glazing for gunpowder, polishing powder for stoves, paints, and crucibles for r Iting gold, silver, and other metals. Of the various crucibles made those formed of plumbago have acquired the highest reputation, being used almost exclusively in the European mints and other government works. The plumbago used must be very pure — some of the samples average more than 98 per cent, carbon ; but in every case it is subject to the most careful scrutiny by experienced workmen, who throw out any doubtful pieces. The plumbago then undergoes the process of grinding to different degrees of fineness, special regard being had to the metals for which the crucibles are intended. In like manner varying proportions of clay are mixed with the plumbago which are nicely adjusted to the prevention of the formation of a slag and of the oxidation of the plumbago. The compound mass is then work- ed like clay in the pottery manufacture. (Handbook to Exhibition f 1862, 1.32.) If the quality of the plumbago found here should prove suitable for the treatment above describod, and the quantity be sufficient, a valuable addition may be made to the resources of the provincial potters. 5'wZpAMr.' 'specimens of a greyish black iS^tilstance with a slight metallic lustre from arf unknown locality, examined by Prof. Laweon, i t P c 81 8 r.'i SULPHUR. 81 in 1866, proved to consist of native sulpnur, which had not been previously known to occur in the province. In the first specimen examined the dark colour was found to be due to plumbago and not to the presence of metallic oxides or sulphides as is commonly the case in Sicilian specimens. The substance was very light, specific gravity 2, and when heated burned with the characters of sulphur ; it would readily afford pure sulphur by a simple process. In the same year Prof. H. Y. Hind mentioned to me that native sulphur had been found in veiy small amount at the Mount Uni- acke gold mines : in one caseja crystal was obtained but unfortu- nately lost. In November of the same ear Mr. Nash showed specimens of * sulphur ore " from Cape .'ton, at a meeting of the N. S. Institute, are of ork- tion ible it, a Hcial ght Ion, Ores of Silphur, Under this name mention is made in the British mining records of the common iron pyrites employed in the separation tf sulphur and the making of sulphuric acid. This mineral certains 46 iron and 64 sulphur, in round numbers, per cent. It if a very common constituent of many rocks, is found in all the goU districts and appears to exist in large quantity in seve- ral localiti38 abounding in slates : if it should prove to be really abundant n any favourable situation it wou'd be well worth atten- tion ; en(piry after deposits of it has been made of me on the part of a chenical manufacturer in New York who said that pyrites of 40 per bi\ >;'t itfilqftM IV • •\, I '/'I >'• (1 ■ i-i mm- ^ Od Vi\'fr '.r ■: \ If*; mof' { Ul '.■■•')u • •uU "jnbotq ndt ).>r.'>«M/r. \,?f* ' (f •IiUioqiiii '^ftjiivq ,L!)m)hr • ■'■ \suili^»)« H"q»tinii^' ^Siihov.' xol hnttema iio;i iGq?B' - Ji lo'l trj+Bitoi 1« iqoo *jiiiooq OiooT .iM .^jfttytnn *»rfJ i (>?>rtf«iiu-t»Oii aJi ab-mjjai a A .I'jiqoD J8 CHAPTER VIr IRON ORES— MINERAL PA1NT8. mot> 11 i itl . )'l(i Iron Ores. The province is abunclautly «upplioJ with a variety of such ores as are employed in smelting : a few only of their hicalities have been the scenes of mining operations. These have been conducted almost exclusively in connection witli smelting works, of which only one is now in activity ; it produces a very Hije quality of charcoal iron. Mr. Barnes, in reporting in 1866 on , a deposit of iron ore in Colchester Co. of which further mention will be made, gives a summary of his observations on the iron ores of which it will be useful partly to quote the substance hero as showing generally the nature of the ores. "Having given my attention for some three years past to the ecououuc value of the iron deposits of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton I have noticed the following varieties which probably embrace all at present known- to occur in quantity. "Bog Ore. Occurring principally in the coal districts of Sydney, Pictou, and Springhill — in such limited quantities as to be of little practical importance. '/ Glay Iron Ore. In thin beds or bands, and nodules, chiefly in the lower coal formation : contains from 20 to 35 per cent, of metal. It occurs in Cape Breton in larger quantities than any other portion of the province, and of richer quality. Nowhere, ho'wever, have I seen it equal in abundance to similar deposits in the United King- dom, where it is the chief ore smelted, and there it occurs in the same formations as observed here. Owing to the rich deposits of other ore I doubt much if this class will pay to work for many years, unless used as a mixture in the furnace with richer ore to produce different grades of pig iron. *' Brown Hematites, ( Z,imQr\ite and Goethite.) Those orep are by It ^aj ,%-. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) V A ^ <^i 4^« V c^x ^"^ w- &< ^^(5 1.0 I 2.8 1^ ,56* 1^ .If IM I.I M 2.0 1.25 IIIIM U III 1.6 — A" Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 %^ i\ Si. ^ >-q\ n\ 9) .5^^. '' % 4"^ % V '^' /. ^ c -^ 84 BROWN HEMATITE. far the most abundant and productive in the province, occurring in veins, beds, and masses at the base of the lower carboniferous strata. " Bed Hematite and Specular Ore. These aro more widely spread through the province than any other class of ore I know of: they occur in rocks of greater age than the brown ores. Although I heve examined these ores in many and widely separate localities I have never seen but a scanty and unimportant body of them." (A arge specimen of specular iron ore is shewn in the Provincial Ex- hibition from Guysboro' Co. ; th« ore is said to be abundant.) "Iron Sand. (Ilmett/ite) occurs in several localities in Cape Bre- ton, and also universally in the surface grave) along the Atlantic coast. It is not at present used but may hereafter be made avail- able. Some varieties that I have seen are almost identical with the Taranaki sand of New Zealand largely imported into England." Magnetic Iron Ore. This may be added to the ores existing in useful amount, as shewn hereafter. i i; ! :! I! !1 Black-bund Iron Stone. This may also perhaps be included a^ a use- ful ore as Mr. J. Campbell thinks he has found abundance of it in beds 3 or 4 fast thick ; it is an impure carbonate of iron. I place here for I'eference ux analysis of a specimen taken from an English work : — ANALYSIS OF BLACK-BAND IRON STONE. Protoxide of iron 63 .03 Lime 3.80 Magnesia 1-11 Silica.. 1.40 Alumina 0.63 Peroxide of iron . 23 Calcareous and bituminous matters ... 3 . 03 Water and loss 1 *44 Carbonic acid 35 . 17 100.00 MetaUicIron c ...41.24 Acadia Charcoal Iron Works. This is the name given to the only iron mining and smelting establishment in the province. The works ACADIA CHARCOAL IRON WORKS. 86 are situated at Londonderry, Colchester county, and a detailed description of the nature and mode of occurrence of the ores is given in Dawson's Acadian Geology, from which I proceed to take some of the more immediately impoiiiant statements ; to these I add some account of the works kindly furnished in part to myself by Mr. Jones, the manager, after a visit I paid the establishment in 1861, and some analytical and other details of interest. The iron ore worked is for.nd in a vein of ferruginous magnesian limestone, a variety of ankerite, which extends along the south slope of the Cobequid Hills, and which has been most carefully ex- ploited in the vicinity of Folly and Great Village Rivers. At the site of the Acadia Mine furnace, in the western bank of the Great Village River at the junction of the carboniferous and metaraorphic rocks, a thick series of grey and brown sandstones and shales, dip- ping to tlie south at an angle of 65° and 10°, W. meet black and olive slates, nearly vertical and with a strike N. 55° E. The vein is well seen in the bed of the stream, and also in excavations in the western bank which rises abruptly 327 feet above the river bed. In the stream-bottom it presents the appearance of a complicated net work of fissures penetrating quartzite and slate and filled with ankerite, with which is a smaller quantity of red ochrey iron ore and of micaceous specular ore. In ascending the western bank of the stream the vein appears to increase in width and in the quantity of the ores of iron. In one place a trench shewed a breadth of 120 feet. In £ jme parts of the vein, the ankerite is intimately mixed with crystals and veinlets of yellowish spathose iron. The red ochrey iron ore occurs in minor veins and irregular masses dis- persed in the ankerite. Some of these veins are two yards thick and the shapeless masses are often of much larger dimensions. Specular iron also occurs in small irregular veins, and in dissemi- nated crystals and nests. At one part of the bank there appears to be a considerable mass of magnetic iron ore mixed with specular ore. The general course of the vein at the nrine and further to the east is S. 98° W., the variation being 21° west. At the mine the course deviates about 33° from . that of the containing rock, else- where the deviation is less, and there is an approach to parallelism between the course of the vein and that of the rock formation of the hills as well as that of the junction of the carboniferous and meta- morphic systems. The vein for a space of 7 miles along the hills !E> 1 English Bar Iron (Staflfbrdshire) >t 9 Acadian ,, ,, >t 15 10 ,1 ! As compared with Swedish iron, our bars rank with the best qualities, there being but one iron which is considered superior for steel ; our bars are all used fo^ this purpose and the demand is steadily increasing. The pig iron is used principally for making railway wheel tires, for which purpose it is well suited, being, when converted into malleable iron, very compact and not liable to wear by attrition. This year we have for the first time shipped to the United States, where the bars are coming into demand for making steel. Dr. Percy has found titanium in our ^ron in considerable u la P' w ACADIA CHARCOAL IRON WORKS. 89 quantity. I may add that we have purchased a neighbouring pro- perty on the same mineral range, with a view to extending our manufacture." In 1865 there were 250 men and boys and 25 horses employed un a daily average. The following statement shews the make of pig and bar iron for several years: — Pig Iron Made. Bar Iron Mado, 1862 1150 tons. 945 tons. 1863 1251 „ 911 „ 18(»4 '. 1663 „ 1198 „ 1865 1784 „ 1633 „ 1866 2124 „ 1093 „ 1867 2068 „ 421 „ The falling ofiF in bars for the last two years is due to the de- pressed state of the iron trade in England. In all there have been made at the Acadia Works 15000 tons of pig and 7000 tons of bar iron, of the aggregate value of $1,000,000 (one million dollars). The following analytical details will be found of great interest. Analysis of Pig Iron made at the Acadia Mines published in Percy's Metallurgy : — I. II. Carbon 3.50 3.27 Silicon -. 0.84 0.67 Sulphur 0.02 0.01 Phosphorus 0.19 0.28 Manganese 0.44 0.37 Iron ....94.85 95.70 99.84 100.30 The manganese contained a sensiole amount of cobalt. No. 1 was a coarse grained. No. 2 a fine grained, metal. Mr. Jones understands that Dr. Percy said titanium had been found in his laboratory but he has no figures or definite information on this point. Analyses of ores from Acadia Mines made in 1865 by Messrs.. Woodhouse and Jeffcocke, of Derby ; No. 1 is from Martin's Brook, where the ore now worked has been chiefly extracted ; No. 2 from a different part of the property ; 90 AOADIA CHARCOAL inON WORIfS. 2.36 3.20 99.51' Phospbric acid none - 99».03 r„o ;:n:i.*^^°^'«^^^^'^<'^t.v.'v^,j,.r.r80.36 84.,13;^ , Carbonate of lime 4.80 4.70 - ....... .. Carbonate of magnesia 2.26, li80 , ,i <•:..•■- 1 i"«rr — -^ MetalUci Iron pvtf<*>>. .56.25 58.90 The material now used as a tli^xis one which I analysed for the company last autumn ; I found in it: — , u , ■ Carbonate of lime .. .p. ...>......«.... .51. 01 , „.. Carbonate ,01 n^agr^esia.*, .28.69 , rrotocarbonate of iron, and some ,Rer-) ja cj* oxide of iron. ),. . .... Ganffue and Silica. »,••••».»•!••,'.>,♦•.•• ••• 0.18 iti f>fuf«{Mjt> ' :: _■■ ■' ■■• 100.00 ' "' Of this Mr. Jones says there is an extensive deposit in the neighbourhood and that it is very valuable as a mixture in fluxing- clay or silicious ores. '""^'. ., "The v^ins of or^; which 'ave now (l«6S')pfCtl!;^"'Wll defined, are two in number, and continue as we go deeper with out workings much the same as they were found on the surface. We have now one adit 2S0 yards in the ore at a depth of 40' yai'ds belbw the sur- face, and 'another 160 y&'rds " acro^' the mtjasures towards the ore at a depth. of, 80 yards. I do not know that I can add anything more, except perhaps to say that the Intercolonial Railway will pass, thrqugh the iron ore district and couhe(Jt it with the Spring- hili coal ifield, a distance of 24 miles, which will assist very mjach in .developing the iron interest." ; ,• *" The laWst" particulars 'with regard'H'o the oi-es, some of which will explain the passage in Mr. Jones's letter which I have, put in italiijs, are. given In a paper by iRev! Dr. Honeyman on Hie 'geology of the mihes 'in the TraiisactionsN. ,S. Institute for 1867. They are to the effect that the ore wArfeed tm receritly was specular ore derived from a bed about 3 feet thick, artd'heinatite from a bed ol II will L-ing- ACADfA 'dii'A^o At^h'K^ii wofeitrs. m id ot variable thickness and tn^kn^-WTi depth. Th(i b'rb^h herfiab'tcJ is iidw'thc only ore'ltivailalblo, the spfecular heaving; ' bedi ' dppare^'ify Gxha\iteted, A^-liile ^ai\otHeT 'g'reat' btid of hematite" •'h'i^''beetif6tind eai'y as large as the bod' already refoiTcd to. The tV/tl Tieds are 'fib\V known as tlid tiorlh and ^bi\thv*their strike is lil, and W., t^cir (Kp 80° S. At M'arfin's'firook 'tlibj^'liiipear about' 30 fe6t apaft. TH'e? rn^irnuiti thickness of' each bed is 20'fe6t, the average 6?' the nol-th is*5 feet, of the south '4 fbet." "Vlery often "the bedij ai^e ihtef-- rupted a' d dis'a'[)pear ; they have been traced for 12 miles.' 'it^p^as fiupposcd that the' "hcmatke%a^"an Altered ahkerlte' and that it ■vf6ttld i:!frily be found in the top of the vein. It is-now ce^jtainihat the hematite at I'OO foet depth' ife 6f pfecife'diy the' s'am6'bhayaeter at* ih excavations 'nea!t tile' ftii'rfaci^. Cavities with botryoidal crystal- izaiioiis were found i'nthcJbdfdf the Tevclds well as iti excavaiiohf* above ' ' Tfj'jhq * to.ttiuiT if^rh^ri.'!: »rtt III F»Kii*ff»i hmhi Mr. A. Rbes inform^ me "that abdut 4 milefe east of the Ac^ftia Miners about 500 tons of the best iron oi'e have b'eeh raised from a l^it and shaft sunk to a depth of 46 feet. ' ' "''■'■' ' ; '• " ' '"•;''' As mentioned above the iron made at LoiidftVi'aefiy *lft'feyp^cfa1fy adapted to the i^anufactui'e of fe'teei ; for this application the corii- pany has an establishment at ShefBeld, in England. Articles made at these latter wotks hate been f^hdWntiistibcessiW Great Exhibitions, fr9m that of 185l't<^ thdt^of ^aris 1867, dlon^ withth6 ore^'found and irtM p^ducedih 'N'ova S'Cbtia.'"'''lVi;'lli51' 'the com- pany received' a Gold Mb'dal xhLdMo^for t'liefr^ikdirffi cUtfl'6i-y. Tft 1854 a prize was obtained at the Lofcill Exhibitio'n held in ilalifax, for ores' arid irdii. rri 1862, kt the Interriatiorial Exhibition of London; Di*. Hoheyman reported ; "The exc'ellbnt' speciniferis 'of iroii sdnt by Mr. Jones' did wot" i-eceive at the' h'a'rtds (if the jutors thd consideration they app'^a.Ted'tb deserve, if we are to be guideaby the opinion of those who pi-6^s^e'd!'to fee judged '6f' their qnatity. tf the' pig iron bal't^anil ores sent by Jffr.^Jones h'ad' booh a'cconi- pani'dd by a roprcsentiatlbn of the ch'dracter, 4tifiiity, and appliCatloii of the Londonderry iron, Lhavip not the least doubt that the uriitdd rdpresentatioh Would hkV^Vdceived thh jut'di's' award. I inay sfat6 ill this connection that' th^ Time^ Con'espbndyit ib ok 0cca;si6n when'wHting on thes6 oreS'to'malc^ a i*udc altack oh' the Board 6i ■Proviiicial GommiSsioiiers' for havin'g''^ent to our court thd'sp'edi- mens' bf our ores 'of iron. Trepilied, but the journal did 'oioi IW .92 ACADIA CHARCOAL IRON WORKS. condescend to insert my reply. The correspondent of the Morning Star in an excellent article on our court, took up the question and severely reproached the ignorance of the IHmes Correspondent. R. G. Haliburton, Esq., Sec. to the Commissioners, reported: "It is to be regretted that ono^of the Directors of the Acadia Charcoal Iron Co. was elected juror on iron, as the specimens ol its cutlery as well as of the ores employed were excluded from the competition. It is satisfactory to know, however, that a medal would have been awarded but for the circumstance referred to. The acting com- missioner in England, A. M. Uniacke, Esq., on seeing the article in the Times respecting the iron sliewn by us, wrote to that paper to explain that none of the ore to which it objected was to be seen in the Nova Scotian court. The specimens that were decried in no very measured terms were in reality the best in our depart- ment and realize in the English market a price second only to the very best Swedish brands. Mr, Uniacke in an oflScial letter asked the Times to correct the mistake, but his communication was not honored with an insertion nor war its receipt acknowledged. It might naturally have been expected that a request so reasonable would have been readily granted, not as a favour to the colony, but as a concession to truth." The ore objected to was some from a distant part of the province, viz : Nictau, which as will be mentioned hereafter, contains phosphorus in greater quantity than is desirable for naaking the best iron. At the Dublin International Exhibition of 1865, Dr. Honeyman reported : "E. A. Jones, Esq., manager of the Acadian Iron Mines, is awarded a medal for Pig Iron and Hematite. It certainly adds to the value of this metal that the decision of the jury was facilitated through the kindness of Lady M'Donnell in permitting us to exhibit a beautiful case of cutlery made of Acadian eteel, presented to ber by Mr. Livesey. It was a fortunate circumstance that this case was exhibited as we did not receive the large case of cutlery from Sheffield which we had expected. There was another fortunate circum- stance connected with this article of exhibition. One of the jurors adduced the objection and misrepresentation in regard to the manufacture and quality of the Acadian iron which had been oflfensively set forth by the Times, in 1862. In this case, however, I succeeded satisfactorily in meeting the objection and the medal was unaaimously awarded and the Acadian iron ACADIA CHARCOAL IftOK WORKS. 08 restored to its proper position." As for the Paris Kxhibition, of 1867, it appears from the catalogue that the representation, though small, was instructive. The ore, brown hematite, was shewn in a great variety of interesting and curious forms. The quality of the metal was seen in pig iron, the malleable being represented by a bar. In this state it is found to be as well adapted for shoeing sleds and sleighs as a great proportion of the steel imported to the province. Specimens of cast and puddled steel, also exhibited, manifested superior density and tenacity. These were a part of the first results on attempting to make steel. The axe and chisel shewn were also made at the works from iron and steel represented. It is not surprising to find Dr. Honeyman, Secretary to the Pro- vincial Commissioners, reporting. " I am rather disappointed at not finding the admirable illustration of the Acadian Iron Works in the list of awards, especially as I have heard these contributions much commended by the jurors when they were in process of examination." Hematite of Brookfield, Colchester Co. A deposit of iron ore in some respects apparently similar to that at Londonderry is found in another part of the same county. This I shall describe chiefly from the report of Mr. Barnes, some portion of my own report made after prospecting the locality, and the results of h.' , analysis of the ore, being added. Mr. Barnes sajj : " Oct. 20th 1866 ; I am happy to afford any information I can from the results of my investigations of a tract of iron land, controlled by Charles Annand, Esq., at Brookfield, in the township of Truro and county of Colchester. The land is on the " Nelson form " wh'ch consists of three blocks of land and contains on the whole about 400 acres ; it is situated about 2| miles from the Brookfield Station on the Halifax and Truro Railway, and ten miles from the town of Truro. The strata of the surrounding locality aie lower carboniferous limestoAes, shales And coarse conglomerates, resting on red, yellow, and dark sandstones of a similar character to those of Londonderry in the same county, and of Springville, Piotou county, where brown hematites also occur. Masses of ore of remarkably rich quality lie scattered over part of the land in great profusion ; they vary from pieces as small as a marble to blocks weighing 3 and 4 tons. Detached fragments in equal profu- sion mark the underlying deposits in Londonderry and Springville. \' 94 ,85«: BROOKriELD OBE. Ami.3/ The openings at prcBent made shew tliQ bed rock to ,b(^a.t^^^^^^^ for the p.||j|fjq9§ of siqeltipg or t^^ 9r,e, ,90.uj(^ J^^9 ta^en by a |iramway,^| nail^.ilmig a lev^l U^^ tp th^ BrjC|o]tofiel4! Stf^^iop aj^^ t^lf^^ttp.^ ,9M .i^sTf^Hrpa^^^^ tU^ neighboU|i|^i99d,9f the- Aj^iwi Hinep/a.distanpe, of 30 mil^^^^j wh«r9 coal and; cpkQ, cpiiWfi)!?. pi:o,9J^re4 ^^ ^u^dance • and , coke iron ^ IMPORT OF IRON ASD. STBEF,, 95 a triflo n»oio if delivered at the. Albioi* Miue^ but as, when the mine is worked, it wiU be rQqnired jipobablj to moke luoro «co]^) than charcoal irui\ a Biueltiug. vi^urk at or near, the ^u^ rivei^ of Pictou would, be ingyt adyinMible^. Besidca the abundauqw, of, fuel,, an eitra advu*jtage would, accrue from thq faqility of obtainiugr other classiea, qf ore for mixing, and eapier and ch^apcv; outlet for the iron made, not only to various pai'tsjpf.thiB; province but to the other North American provinces The importation of Scotch^n4, , English charooal iron into this provinGoie annually abottit,3(f00 tons and the cost, freight and duty (6 per cent,) paid, $19 to $23. per.,, ton. I have carefully .gone over the expenaos incidout^ ,tfl ikJ^i\ manufacture of both charcoal and coke pig^ ,aud belieyc thii^^ bpt^,. varieties could be made JiVom the ore of Brpokfield and 8ol|i at.$$:., or $7 under present import prices, after payiqg a djl,vi(}oud of 20= per cent, upon »Qy capital that might be required jn. tlie erection ) of furnaces and developing the miuq,',' .ai.wriihiUMi) tx^u-A v r .v in -n The importation of iron of Varioiis 'fcindi^ is vcfry'rtipidly in- (;reasing:'mucb of course iis imp'orted for railway purposes aud^ ill . addition to i\io large foundries and machine shops in Halifax, there-, are several toundrtes through6trt "the pravince at which much, iron l8 consumed^ there are aleo forir nail fadtoried in Halifax and Dart- mouth. • ' • !> '

?>fja ia^uHii oiir ('/' Amount of Iron and,. Steelimpor led. The following , ^tatip^ent, shews the value, p.f iroii a^id stcjel imported into, the ,^?oyinc^.. .ul^kx is tak^n frowrtho Tuade Return^ where the, ainount is given some- times in toQs^ [soipetimes in .pieces and. packages, so that I c^nnqt , give the,qu;^tity :— , .^ ,>r .>Mb.>(vI)« ' .Ui blij.. ,1a bni; FAitie of Trbn und Steel M^oi^Wd into Nobii Scotia, in the years en4^ i^pSOthSept'.', und^^^'headdfHari' '^^^f n- i)90j*,t.io Class I;'euttery,SheffieldWafe,.i>oi; ^^.^^g 664,847 «'6ri;Sr4'- otDTes, et0.f>M.<*« •'«f'i»«t»wf,i Class. II. Iron and QteeMfl l^arsi ) , ,i, ^ - , .t - Wire, and Machinery for J- '^m^€i 4^3:497 ffl6,496'^ Steamboite,Mili8y etc' ?:i/P;'f v:'^;nrl^ofiM ., ., ,f >'.x , .v.iHon^r.m Clas^ nit ^^l^>^^^^^^^ ■ijcrap lr»i,iifc}i.v,wi)iu(>7q 7x fnoun'^yfii niM-/ u'l-bi? Total $63^60 1,409,489 1,610,419 M »)ROOKFIKLn ORB. To the Foregoing report on the Brookficld deposit I may add from my own the following extracts : " The great appearance of the ore is in the form of masses and boulders lying in great profusion in about an east and west line on the south side of the hill. About 10 chains east from Nelson's house an opening has been made in hard sandstone which is evidently the bed rook in position, and ha« an east and west course and almost vertical dip to the north or into the hill. This rock contains u good deal of iron ore in strings and irregular veins and stalactitic masses in cavities. One side of the opening showed the rock for about 6 feet in thickness. Judging from the appearances here the rock should contain about 40 or 60 per cent, of ore. The character of some of the ore was precisely similar to that of the loose masses which extended for about 6 chains. From what I saw there must be very many tons lying on the surface. The masses are of various sizes, two in particular be- ing of very large dimensions ; one of them measured 3 feet in length, and 2 feet 3 inches in breadth and the same in depth. I was assur- ed that the summer growth of weeds and brush prevented a great proportion of the surface samples being seen. The ore is evidently very rich, many of the masses, probably the majority, appearing to consist of nearly puru limonite, which contains about 60 per cent, iron. The poorest specimens, some of which are mixed with barytes, would yield a large per centage of iron. The geological position and appearance of the ore are very similar to those of the Londonderry Mine in the same county. It appears to me there must be a large body of ore in the hill The position of the ore is fevourable for mining purposes, being in the slop^ f^f a hill, and should it be deemed advisable to smelt the ore on the spot, any desired quantity of charcoal and limestone can be readily obtained in the vicinity, and sandstones in abundance aic at hand for building purposes. I carefully examined a sample of the fibrous variety of ore taken from a large piece, and found it remarkably pure. The amount of phosphoric acid present was a mere trace ; there was a doubtful trace of c-ulphuric acid ; lime, magnesia, except in exceedingly small traces, and mftnganese were absent. The quantity of alujnina was so small that I did not con- aider it worth separation ; it probably did not amount to oae half a pejr cent^ The result of analysis was :— arl th[ thi ng 60 eiy it 6 ■be- gth, 48ur- jreat 3ntly ng to cent, with gical f the there bf the a hill, Bpot, eadily hand f the ♦ ttd it was a lime, ,e were lot con* ne half RRMATITE. Vt Water - 11.36 .ii Silica and ganguc ^ 1 .64 Phosphoric acid trace. Magnesia trace. Peroxide of iron with a very little alumina. 87 .10 miA 100.00 The oxide of iron obtained is equal in round numbers, sllowiog one-half a per cent, for alumina, to 60 per cent, metallic iron. ■'' Although manganese was not found in the particular sample analysed it was proved to exisf in small quantities in another spe- cimen of the ore; the presence of this metal, in certain quantity, is rather advantageous in making steel, an application for which this ore is especially adapted." Ores of East River, Pictou Go. Various iron ores are found in the vicinity of East River, Pictou. From some of these iron was for- merly made to a small extent at Webster's, about five miles above the mills on M'Lellau's Brook, from ore obtained at M'Donald's. Last summer I had given me at the Albion Mines a piece of iron from a mass which was smelted in a small furnaoe there thirty years ago : a portion of the same had been used in making the stampers of a quartz mill at Waverlo3' and had been pronounced to bo " ton times more durable than Belgian iron." ' ,.,,. Dr. Dawson describes the ores of this locality to the following effect : — " From the abundance of boulders of brown hematite scat- tered over the surface of the lower carboniferous rocks in the East River it would appear that veins of that rich ore exist in these rocks. The outcrop of these veins has not yet been observed, and as the country is much covered by drift matenals it may prove somewhat diflScult to discover them. The presence of these ores in connection with a large bed of peroxide of iron in the older elates leaves little doubt that were other circumstances favourable iron works might be established on the East River without any fear of deficiency in the raw material. The bed of ore in the older slates at East River appears to be of great magnitude. Though the ores are less rich than those of the Cobequid Mountains, being siliceous, the deposits are likely to be more continuous and persistent. The great bed of ore on the East River of Pictou is especially woiihy the attention of capitt^Usts as it is only ten miles distant from the a ■ I r !i i. im i \M i,if I t! J« I ll 98 ORES OF EAST RIVER. Albion Coal Mines and is in the vicinity of abundance of limestone and building stone. The hematite and clay iron ores found In the caiboniforous rocks might be used with the ore of the great con- formable bed in the slates which consists of specular iron firmly cemented together and intermixed with siliceous and calcareous matter." This district was examined by Dr. Honeyman, in a Geo- logical Survey commenced for the Provincial Government in 1864, and a few details from his report will be useful, " Dr. Honeyman devoted the greater part of the season favourable for field work, to the east branch of East River, Pictou Co., and the Lochaber district, Antigonish Oo. These regions are peculiarly interesting, as they present unmistakeable indications of the existence of metallic deposits of economic value. These have long been the objects ot anxious search. The General Mining Association and others have spent much time and money in attempts to wia the more important metallic veins. With a view of ascertaining the exact position of the veins attention was turned first of all to the great vein of brown hematite at the east branch of East River. Indications of its existence were found through a course of 5 miles where rights of search had been secured by Nova Scotian and American companies. The geological position of this vein is upper Silurian, being different from the veins of peroxide of iron and sulphide of copper of the Lochaber district, which are devonian, and apparently so from the vein of similar ore on the southern skirt of the Cobequid." In connexion with this survey several minerals were submitted to me for analysis, a report on which was published in the Journals of the House of Assembly for 1866. One specimen was brown hematite from East River of Pictou which I found to be very pure ore, it gave me the following results : — Peroxide of iron, with trace of phosphoric acid. ...84.54 Alumina and phosphoric acid .......0.19 Sesquioxide of manganese r ^.....,0.76 Magnesia .43 Water 11 .41 Siliceous gangue ^. .... ... 2.22 Carbonic acid and loss .'. '.U . , . . 0.45 100.00 ' Metallic iron per cent. . ♦ 60. IT The ore is obviously rich and valuable, it contains within one per BROWN IRON ORE. 99 cent, less than the amount of iron that, as mentioned in speaking of the Brookfield ore, characterizes the class to whic"h it belongs. Brown Iron Ore from Lochaber. a specimen of ore was at the same time sent from the district ju it spoken of in Dr. Honeyman's report ; it gave me : — Peroxide of iron and traces of alumina 68.45 Water 11.12 Sesquioxide of manganese 4.73 Phosphoric acid .33 Lime 0.34 Magnesia 0.32 Silicr ous gangue 13 . 86 Carbonic acid and loss • .85 100.00 Metallic iron, nearly '. 48.00 This is also a valuable ore, the aiiiount of manganese present is advantageous in neutralizing the phosphorus which however is not unfrequently found in ores of this class in much larger quantity than shewn in the analysis given. Of the iron ore here Dr. Honey- man reported that in the sedimentary rocks he 'found carbonate of iron, and in a series of brownish red strata of great thickness and width, of devonian age, micaceous iron ore was widely but thinly distributed and the blue slates of the same period at Poison's Lake and South River Lake contained numerous veins of carbonate of iron (ankerite ?) with sulphide of copper and veins of oxide of iron, the former being undoubtedly a continuation of the veins which produced the masses of cupriferous oxide of iron which have long attracted the attention of geologists. R. G. Haliburton, Esq., has lately discovered and tested a workable deposit of very rich specular iron ore on the line of Railway near East River, Pictou county. i i leper Ores of Annapolis County. At Moose River and Nictau River are beds of ore, which Dr. Dawson describes as of the same nature as that in the slate-bed of East River of Pictou, consisting of con- formable beds in the lower devonian slates. At Clementsport, Moose River, about six miles south-west of the town of Annapolis, the iron ore is found in a magnetic condition and holding fossil 100 0R8S OF ANKAPOIJS COUNTY. shells ; the bed is nine feet wide. Smelting operations were for- merly carried on here and just before the commencement of the late American 'var they were resumed after a stoppage of thirty- three years ; in 1862 five tons of iron a day were being turned out. (Knight's Prize Essay on Resources of Nova Scotia.) In a year or so the works were again closed on account it is said of the death of the senior ^ artner and the affairs being influenced by the war ; another reason assigned is that a lawsuit is pending. The hot blast system was used in a cupola furnance : it was said the largest wheel in the province, one of 75 feet in circumference, was in thiw establishment. At Nictau River, some 30 miles east of Clementsport, the ore is also fossiliferous : it consists of specular iron which has been in part rendered magnetic ; specimens which I have examined shew distinct polarity. In this ore (and no doubt the preceding) wc have a case where the magnetism depends on the state of aggrega- tion ana not on the chemical composition of the ore (Nicol's Min- eralogy, p. 398). This is a point of importance because true mag- netic iron ore is essentially different from specular ore, and fre- quently yields iron of a superior character ; it contains about 2^ per cepJ. more iron also, pure specimens being compared, the rest of the mineral in such cases being oxygen. I visited the locality some years ago when there was a great deal of iron being made. I am indebted to the Rev. Dr. Robertson, whose rectory is a few miles from the mines, for some valuable information respecting the minerals of this part of tl^e province ; on this subject he xavo somie in- teresting details of which the following is essentially tlie fmbstance : — " The Nictau mines have been worked for many years, and ex- tensive works have at great expense been erected for smelting the ore, but at present they are in a state of inaction. Some conjee- 'ture that the difficulty and expense of carrying the products of the furnaces to the landing place, 11 miles off, may have been the princi- pal reason of the present inactivity. The vein that has hitherto been worked is situated on the east side of the River Nictau, and is intermixed to a large extent with petrified marine shells. These shells still contain their natural calcareous properties. They are very clearly marked, leaving a well defined impression in the ma- trix of the minutest lines. They are often found in clusters so cotnpact and homogeneous that one might imagine the whole to be t ORES OF ANNAPOLIS COUNTY. IQI formed originally from one vast bed of shells. The vein is about ten feet wide or thick and is found to extend for some three or four miles. I once saw an analysis of the ore but I forget the exact proportions. There was however a small per centage of phosphor us detected and this fact is supposed to depress the marketable valup. An engineer from the United States was here looking at the mines and works some time so and he said that a corrective might easily be found for tljat." With reference to the phosphorus I have learn- ed from another source that the ore contains phosphorus, and, as mentioned before, the quantity is said to be injuriously large. It is in all probability one cause at least of the inferiority of the Nic- tau iron. The corrective mentioned above is no doabt manga- nese ore which as hereafter shewn is proved by Dr. Calvert to neu- tralize the injurious effects of phosphorus and of silicon, five or six per cent, of manganese making good mercantile pig iron even in the presence of one or two per cent, of phosphorus. The ores might be taken by rail, as soon as the Windsor and Annapolis line is opened, from near Wolfville or Kentville, Kings county, if those there met with should be found suflSciently abundant, or even from Hants, and the same results might be obtained as by the Cleveland iron smelters in England who overcome the cold short- ness of their iron, due to phosphorus, by the addition of manganese' ore. The Nictau iron ore has been examined chemically by Dr. Dawson who describes it as being siliceous and containing 55.3 per cent, of iron. In 1858 the quantity of iron exported yiras T44 tons, value $2,3t5, and in 1859, 1125 tons, of the value of 814,190, (fourteen thousand seven hundred and ninety dollars.) ; I ■ 1 1 : Magnetic Iron Ore. I was taken several years ago to see the out- crop of a deposit of this ore which Dr. Robertson now tells me is about 8 feet thick and runs north-east and south-west across the line of the mountain range. The locality at which I saw it was on a hill on the west side of Nictau Falls. Dr. Robertson is of opinion that the ore is far superior to the shell ore before meutioned. It appears to him to be, very compact and to contain a very lai>ge per centage of pure iron. It has never been analysed. I did not ob: tain specimens when I was there but I have received some from tK^ county, and perhaps the locality referred to, which are of excellent promise. 102 IRON ORE OP KINO'S COUNTY. ^ |!i I Iron Ore of King^s County . Magnetic iron ore is also said to bo ., abundant in thifa county. I have receivad several fine specimenK reported to be from near Blomidon and other parts of Cornwalli8 where trap rocks are found forming the North Mountain. One of these specimens weighed several pounds and was sent to the Paris Exhibition. The ore was, accord'^g to Dr. Gesner, formerly sent to the United States ; it was taken from a vein six inches wide, in the trap of Blomidon. Iron Ores of Digby County. Dr. Robertson tells me there are deposits of specular iron ore near the Sea-wall, which is an em- bankment on the north side of St. Mary's Bay, about ten miles west of Digby. The same ore occurs in veins about two miles to the east and is again seen at Sandy Cove, fourteen miles to the west. Of specular ore at this last place Dr. Dawson says the quantity is not suflBcient for mining purposes and that it occurs in brilliant little crystalline plates in a quartzose matrix pro- jecting fron the sides of cavities in fissures of the trap. Numerous veins of magnetic ore are met with at various localities in the trap of Digby Neck. Bog Iron Ore from Antigonish County. Among the specimens I examined in connection w'ith Dr. Honeyman's Geological Survey was one which indicates a valuable deposit if such ore is found in quantity. It contained nearly 65 per cent, peroxide of iron, equal to about 45 per metallic iron, with 18.30 water, about 7 of clay, and 5 per cent organic matter and a decided, but not unusually large amount of phosphoric acid. Hydrated Red Iron Ore. Turgite. In specimens of iron ore brought to me, I think probably from various parts of Hants county, I have observed a red ore which is different from red hema- tite inasmuch as though equally red it contains about 5 per cent, of water Which is entirely absent in true red hematite. It is of imp6rtance to be aware of the existence of this ore since the presence of it in brown hematite, with which it is often associated, will add to the percentage of iron while it contains less iron than red hematite and the results of analysis may not accord with the appearance of the ore. I ! < TITANIFER0U8 IRON OBE. 103 Titaniferoua Iron Ore. As before mentioned, this ore, iu the form of sand, is found in several parts of the province. It occurs also at Sable Island. I found titanium in the magnetic grains and Dr. Percy says the ferruginous portion, (the rest is quartz sand), is chiefly magnetic iron with a little titanium and a trace of chromium. A sample from Digby Co., procured by Mr. R. G. Haliburton, who understood the quantity to be large, I found to consist of grains of quartz sand and a mixture of magnetic and' non-magnetic iron ore in the following approximate proportions : Magnetic iron sand or Iserine. ....;... .30 Non-magnetic iron sand or Ilmeniio 56 Siliceous sand . ... , 14 100 I found titanium in both forms of metallic sand and contented myself with proving its presence in large quantity in the whole without attempting the separation of it from the iron and mag- nesia. The analysis of these ores given in Dana's Mineralogy shew a very great diflference in their respective richness in ti- tanium : thus they contain lierine. Ilmenite. Oxide of iron 91 Oxide of titanium 9 91.5 to 46.4 8.6 to 53.6 100 100.0 100.0 The amount of the last named ore found in my analysis of the Digby specimen, it will be observed, is about 66 per cent. 1 -■ ! II vA' Titaniferoua Iron Ore of Sable River, Shelburne Oo. : is reported to be found in a vein on the Atlantic Coast. I obtained a specimen from. Mr. R. G. Frascr reported from Musquodoboit as titaniferous ore. It consisted of a micaceoue schist thickly impregnated with small crystals of magnetic iron in which I proved the existence of titanium in considerable quantity. I conclude that the ore is in part ilmenite. ,i, The value of titaniferous iron ore for steel making has been of late years much insisted on in England though there are those who refuse to allow that it has any good effect. It was mentioned in Mr. Jones's last letter that Dr. Percy had found a good deal of 104 TITANIFEROUS IRON ORE. tifaniura in the Acadia iron ; this fact was brought out by a question of mine, my object being to ascertain how far this excellent steel- making iron agreed in this respect with Swedish and other irons noted for admitting of the same application. With regard to some of these Mr. Mushet states that if any chemist will be at the pains of analyzing the steel irons used in Sheffield, he will find that their market value is in exact proportion to their percentage of titanium ; also that the Dannembra magnetic iron ore contains a larger amount of titanic acid than any other ores giving inferior brands of Swedish iron ; that the celebrated Damascus blades are made from a highly titaniferous ore ; that the Wootz ore of India is more titaniferous than that of Dannemora ; that ironf alloyed with titanium possesses a degree of body and durability unknown in ordinary good bar, and, finally, that first rate steel can only be made from iron containing titanium. The durability of Acadia iron railway wheels may be recalled in this connection. Mr. Mushet even says one half a per cent of titanium may possibly constitute the excellence of steel, and that as all magnetic iron ores contain titanium the most impure ores of this class yield superior iron. This should be of interest to the owners of the magnetic iron ores in Annapolis and Kings counties before mentioned. Mr. Struson, also an English ironmaster, entertained much the same views as Mr. Mushet ; he said the remedy for certain difficulties in the working of titaniferous iron ores was to add more limestone and other fiuxes> and that iron of various qualities could be pro" duced at will, a soft malleable iron resulting from one assay, and from another, a fine grained silvery steel which when made into a chisel could cut any other steel in his possession. These experi- ments were made on titaniferous iron sand from Taranaki, in New Zealand, which is found in enormous quantities and no doubt closely i^sembles the iron sands of this province : by analysis this sand appears to consist of Protoxide of iron. .i'i'i Vi-i i . .'1^.88 .45 Oxide of titanium and silica • 11 .48 99.88 The numerous di£Scultics attendant on the smelting of this ore have hitherto prevented its being employed in the making of iroriv MINERAL PAINTS. 105 It is, however, stated that pood pig iron is now made from it by Mr. Martin, of London, by smelting ft in small furnaces with coke for fuel. The examples of iron atid sLeel made from it which have been exhibited are of a very high character, which ia supposed to be mainly due to the presence of titanium. (Quarterly Journal of Science, Jany., 1866). Mr. Hodges has also recently smelted iron sand by moulding a mixture of it with pulped peat into bricks and heating these in a proper J'urnace. By this means malleable iron is readily obtained by a single operation. The remarkable process of Mr. EUershausen for which patent rights have been or are being- secured for all the leading countries in which iron is manufactured was at first understood to have exclusive reference to the working of the titaniferous iron sand so abundant on the coast of Labrador. Mineral Paints. The name of mineral paints is given to the ochres and umbers consisting of peroxide of iron and manganese, existing in the hydrated state often mixed with sand clay and other minerals ; and also less frequently to marls and clays contaia- ing peroxide of iron. These mixtures have beeq largely used in the province and have been exported from time to time iu consid- erable quantity, occasionally in a manufactured state, from widely distant localities. The natural production of the soft powdery umbers and ochres can in some places be studied in every stage of alteration of the hard rocks from which they originate. Ochrey Iron Ores of Londonderry, OokJiester Co. These ar^ found of various colours and in great abundance in the vicinity of the Acadia Iron Works. The original material appears in most cases to be the ankerite forming the vein stone of the iron ores. The ankerite is a hard sparlik^ mineral either white, yellow or brown : an analysis of each variety has given these results : — J. W.Dawion. 0. T. J«ck»oo. C. T. Jackson. H. How. White. Yellow. Brown. Brown. Carbonate of lime., ^...54.0 43.80 49.20 61.61 Carbonatfi of iron 23.2 23.45) on 30 l^-^^ Carbonate of mangd£iese , • . • 0.80) ' . « . . . Carbonate of magnesia.. 22.0 30,80 30.20 28.6!l Siliceous sand 0.5 0.10. 0.13 99. t 98.95 99. to 100.00 ll I ill If !,'|i i I 106 . MINERAL PAINTS. In my analysis a little peroxide of iron wrs present with the proto- carbonate On elevated ground east of the Folly River the ankeritc is stated by Dr. Dawson to bo decomposed to the depth of eight feet, and westward of the Acadia mine a shaft sunk on the course of the vein passed through more than forty feet of yellow ochre containing a few rounded masses and irregular layers of ankeritc. The yellow ochre afforded Dr. Dawson Peroxide of iro n 74 . 52 Alumina 4.48 Carbonate of lime and magnesia. . .40 Silica and silicates 6.20 Water, mostly combined 14 . 40 100.00 whence we see that the original earthy salts have been almost en- tirely removed ; a little clay has been added, the iron has become oxidised and in that state has combined with water. The ankerite is sometimes mixed with spathic iron (which in its pure state con- sists of protoxide of iron 62.07 and carbonic acid 37 .93 parts in the hundred) and they are at the particular spot referred to decomposed to a much greater depth than usual. The oxidation of this would give rip to red ochre, consisting of peroxide of iron, and the ab- sorption of water might give rise to another red ore called turgite, or to yellow and brown iron ores : when manganese ores are pre . sent various other tints will be produced which will be further mo- dified by white or lighter coloured earthy minerals. An ore, proba- bly ochrey red ore, gave Jackson : — Peroxide of iron. . . .' 70 .20 Alumina 6.80 Carbonate of lime 5 . 60 Carbonate of magnesia ..«••;•.. 2.80 Silica ......14.40 Oxide of manganese .40 ;,,' . 100.20 Mr. A, Ross, of Polly, has been engaged in raising these ores for pigments ; he informs me that the deposit of paint is situated on the Folly Mountain, eight miles from the Bay of Fundy, and about three-fourths of a mile east of the Folly River, and less than one- IIINERAL PAINTS. 107 fourth of a mile north of the Intercolonial Railway. It consiBts of purple and yellow ochre, not in a regular bed but interaperHcd among rocks. A bright red is obtained by burning the yellow ochre. The most valuable is the purple which is worth about $5 a ton at the mine. The depth of deposit seems to range from five to twenty feet, but its extent is not known on account of its not having been sufficiently explored. The amount raised has been from five to forty tons a year. The purple ore has been made into a paint in Ilalifax, where I learnod that by particular manipu- lation a very durable preservative for wood and iron is obtained : the paint stands well when exposed to friction, and adheres very firmly to dry, not green, wood. The red is only used to alter the tint of the purple. Paints of Onslow, Colchester Co. The property of the OnsloW East Mountain Manganese and Lime Company contains several ma- terials suited for making paints and washes, some of them consist- ing of more or less ferruginous marls and other clayey mixtures. One is soft, of a red colour, and when burned gives an agreeable pink wash ; a second Is yellow ; a third cream coloured ; one hill furnishes five distinct kinds of these substances. The most impor- tant of the minerals will probably be found to be an umber formed from the weathering of a ferruginous limestone ; at about thirty feet from the base of one of the hills I saw a mass about two feet long and in some parts nine inches thick consisting of fine, soft, rich reddish brown umber upon a small nucleus of the rock ; about twelve feet higher up the hill the same kind of umber was obtained on digging a little below the surface, hence there is probably a considerable deposit. A portion of the mineral was examined and found to be practically free from lime and to contain but a moderate amount of sand ; from this the umber could readily be washed. The chief constituent is hydrated peroxide of iron, oxide of man- ganese is perhaps the next most abundant. Paint of Chester Basin, Lunenburg Co. Rock found abundantly about 5 miles from Chester was at one time largely used in the manufacture of paint, by Mr. R. D. Clarke, now of Halifax, under the name of Petro-metallic Paint. I examined the locality in 1866 for W. Sutherland, Esq., and found the rock cropping out at several 108 MINRRAI, PAINT8. ht rli points over a cunttidcrablo uiua of his property, and in its neighbor- hood ; in some places its thickness was seen to be 4 or 5 feet, and old pits wore pointed out from which it had formerly been taken at a depth of several feet. The exposed rocfc is of a rich brown colour and when fully decomposed furnishes a good and very soft umber which in some places is three or four feet thick. The original rock is very hard, of a deep blue colour somewhat lus- trous, and smooth ; it contains numerous very small specks of iron pyrites distributed pretty evenly throughout. It was found on analysis to consist of the carbonates of lime, protoxide of iron, oxide of manganese and magnesia, with bitumen or organic matter, pyrites, and sand. The umber consisted of hydrated peroxides of iron and manganese with re/T/ small amounts of lime and magnesia, sand was no doubt present to some extent. On a former occasion I had found about 20 per cent, of peroxide of manganese in a spe- cimen of paint from the neighbourhood. The origin of the umber and of that of Onslow is similar to that of the ochres at London- derry and a comparison of the quantitative analysis of these and of the rock from which they arc derived detailed in describing them may bp made in connection with the qualitative analysis just given of the umbers and tlio rock from which that of Chester comes. The changes consist, it vf ill be observed, in oxidation of iron and manganese, absorption of water, and the removal of soluble salts, Tb ecoraposit-ion of the umber accounts for its value as a durable paint. I have t^od it with oil and with turpentine and found it to work admirably, Mr, Clarke used to make paint also from the un- wea,th^red rock and considered it to be ' stronger and better every way;-' it was found to answer exceedingly well as ship-paint. While the prevailing colours are tints of red brown, the weathered rocks ip tlie district afford also a yellow and a red ochre. At the loca) Exhibitiqi^ of 1862 a shaving from a door coated with one of these paints 14 years before was shewn st^ remaining well covered, and also a piece of a cooper's adze from which the paint had not been worn by 10 years use, and it is well known that at Chester it h^s stood out8i4^/w:oo(i?n buildings. for forty years. It is esteem Hygrometric water * 1 .660 Water of composition ...3.630 Peroxide of iron .603 Soluble baryta 724 Gangue ; (barytes ?) 1.12S Oxygen (by loss) ..'7.035 Peroxide of manganese .....,••••• f ••••• 84 . 620 100.000 It is obviously a valuable ore consisting to a great extent of pyrolusite, the rest of the manganese ore is psilomelane. The carboniferous district here lying between the basin of Miuas and the metamorphic rocks of Douglas and Rawdon is from 15 to 20 miles broad and at its northern edge, as seen above, manganese is found for 15 miles from east to west; so far as Iknow it has only been met with in place at one locality on the southern edge, but it will probably be found in all limestones underlying the plaster of Maitland, Newport, and Windsor. The locality I refer to is W. Lyons's, on the west arm of the Avon River, in Falmouth, a few miles from Windsor, where I found it in the side of a bank. This locality is about 30 miles south west of the Gore, Douglas, where Mr. Mosher found the boulders of which the analysis is given above. The amount of ore stripped Jrom Hants county, chiefly from the Teny Cape mines, is probably about 1200 tons English. Of that sent by Nash, Mosher and Co., the per centage of peroxide varied from 73 to 96, the average being about 80 per cent, by analysis made in Dnglaud : it is worth observation that, as Mr. Nash, to whom I am indebted for much information as to quality and price of ores, tells me, a great difference was found when the assay was I HF^ p t' I 116 ORES OF HANaAKESR. niade bh TuSgrbtiiHd ^rid Oh g^biihd ore. Thus assay made on tin- ground ore in Liverpool gave a result some 15 per cent, below that got from the same ore' when grbiind altbgether in London. Where barytesis present an unfortunate selection of a small specimen for analysis may give a very unfavorable opinion of a cargo of ore. As regards price it varied within a ffew pounds per ton, the highest price obtained being £9 10s. sterling per English ton. Mr. NaiSh has a standing offer of £6 12«. 614: .„f Oxide of Iron, soluble baryta and loss. .. . 2.05 T ;m 100.00 » Available oxide of manganese. >«4» •;.... .4T.T8 ..>% Uses of ihe foregoing Ores of Manganese. — These ores are employeiS for a great variety of purposes in certain arts and manufactures of a purely chemical character, or in which the aid of chemistry is necessary, and according to the application to be made of them • iiV/j.-..i ,;; I if:,' 1 '7 J I '( ' SKI 120 ORES OF MAN0ANR8E. ill'!' HI I ill tncy'a^b I'eqiiireii'of different qualities. In most cases a rather high percentage of available oxide is necessary, and for certain uses there must be little else in the ore and especially iron must be either absent or present in very small amount. The bres are used chiefly in making bleaching powder, glass, pottery, iron and steel, and in dyeing and calico printing, in the preparation of manga- uate8,and permanganates, and boiled oil; they have been recom- mended also as deodorizers and purifiers of water, and a» cheap agents in the extraction of gold from quartz by a process which is carried on at several establishments on a small scale near Grass Valley, in California, with satisfactory results. The following is abridged from Dr. Calvert's account of his process : — ,?,'. It may bo advantageous to persons interested in gold mining to be made acquainted with anew and simple method of extracting gold fiom its ores which pres^"t«5 the advantages of not only dis- pensing with the costly use of mercury, but also of extracting the silver and copper, as well as the gold, which the ore may contain. Furtheir, it may be stated that the process can .be profitably adopt- ed in cases where the amount of gold is small, and the expense of mercury consequently too great. I propose the following plan for extracting the gold on a commercial scale : — The finely reduced quartz should be intimately mixed with about one per cent, of peroxide of manganese ; and if salt be used it should be added at the same time as the manganese, in the proportion of three parts of salt to two of manganese. The whole should then be introduced into closed vats, having false bottoms upon which is laid a quan- tity of small branches covered with staw so as to prevent the re- duced quartz from filling the holes in the false bottom. Muriatic acid should then be added if manganese alone is used, and diluted sulphuric acid if manganese and salt have been employed ; and, after having left the whole in contact for twelve hours, water should be added so as to fill up the whole space between the false and true bottoms with fluid. This fluid should then be pumped up and al- lowed to percolate through the mass ; and after this has been done several times, the fluid should be run off into separate vats for ex- tracting the gold and copper it may contain. To effect this, old iron is placed in it to throw down the copper ; and after this has been removed, the liquor is heated to drive away the excess of free chlo- rine, and a strong solution of green vitriol or copperas is added, which throws down the gold as metal. If silver is present in the ore, it is necessary to use the sulphuric acid and salt with the man- j^nese, takihg care to employ six parts of salt instead of three as above directed. The use of this salt ia to take up the chloride of silver that may be formed, and blades of copper must be placed in the solutions to throw down the silver," then blades of iron to throw down the copper : the gold being extracted as before." ORES OF MAXGANiJIi.' iM It 18 perhaps impossible to learn the tbtal consnrnption of the ores for the vai-ious purposes to which they arc applied ; wo know, how- over that Great Britain is the great seat of the chemical manufac- tures and that' manganese ores not being raised there in sufficient quantity or of the rcfqnisite purity for all uses they are largely im- ported. The quantity prodiiced in the kingdom is not more than perhaps three or four thousand tons a year at the most, and the ores are of an inferior quality. What facts I have been able to get as guides to the amount consumed in Britain and the Uhitied States aire of groat interest. The most extensive use of manganese is in the making of bleaching powders, chiefly chloride of lime. Accord- ing to a report of Mr. Gething to the British Associatioir, in 1868, the amount imported into the Tyne district alohe fbr this purpose wks given as 11,400 tons per annum. Although this district i« a Very considerable seat of chemical manufactures, there are other parts of the kingdom where very large quantities of manganese are required; the most important are Liverpool, the locality of Messrs. Mush'pratt's, and Glasgow, of Messrs. Tennant's, gigantic chemi- cal niianufactories. Accordingly we find in the Statistics of the Alkali Trade of the United Kingdom for' 1862, "that the annual (Jousumption of manganese was then 33,000 tons for the manufac- tures depending on the pTbducts of the alkali trade, viz, : soap, glass, paper, cotton, linen, woollens, colours, and all chemical manufactures of any m'agnitude." This estimate, however, takes no account of the oi'e used iti making iron and steel, and the quahtity used for the making of bleaChirlg poWdef h^s been in- creasing of late years partly owing to the use of grass and other materials in making paper. The London Mechanic^ Magazine iti drawihg attention to the ores of thanganese in this province as de-^ scribed in my paper in tihe Transactions of the Institute fl'om whteh I have been extracting, said, in 1866, — " Apart from what is used in sted making and other brianches of the iron manufafctiire, th«re are dlinually consiiined in Great Britain' somewhere between 40,000 and 60,000 tons of mahganese ores.^' The attiount used in th6 United States was given to me two or threie years ago as from 500 to 1000 toils a yetir, arid was considiered to be probably on the in- crease. With regard to the quality of ored used for particular pufpoBes and the pric^ tvhi(!h may be expected according to their pilrity and richness, some information had been iklready given and 122 ORBS or MAN0ANR8E. i 11' a few further remarks may be added. It ia found that iu making bleaohiug powder the ordinary ores^ containing from 65 to 75 per cent, available oxide along with water, oxide of iron, carbonate of lime, barytes, etc., unawerso w(;ll that the ricli pure ores like those of Teny Capo are not bought for thi^ use unless at a price far below that given by those who, like the flint-glass makers, require only such ores. One of the Me^srp. Tcunant, for example, said ho could not afiurd to use Teny Cape ore ; Spanish ore of soiqe 70 per cent, could be bought two or three years ago. for a|)out £3 sterling a ton, and the 11,400 tons mentioned as used la the Tyne district were valued at £4 sterling ; the considerable ad- mixture of oxide of , iron which these ores contain is of no conse- quence in this manufacture. It results from the existence of ores such as answer the purposes of the bleaching powder makers in Britain, Spain and Germany, that they will not give more than about £5 sterling for the rich pure ores of Teny Cape. It is from th^ glass makers especially who require the manganese for rcmpy- iug the colour imparted toiglass by iron that the high prices before mentioned, (sometimes amounting to £9 . )«. sterling) have heert obtained. To them, as the London Mechanics' Magazine in th^ notice before referred to is careful to point out, "these Nova Scotian ores, so much freer from iron th^n any yet found in Europe, will be a great boon." i These ores are also used in the making of fine pottery. The demand for these ores would not of course be equal to that for those le^s pure, but probably some hundreds of tons a year might be called for. If ia the g^lass works to be estab- lished in the province ):^e ipanufacture of flint-glass should fprm a part of the operations, thQ exii^teuce of tho^e ores close at hand would be a great advantage. As an illustration of the way in which the ores are used in this manufacture and also in that pf inferior glass I may state that Mr. Hobbs, of Boston, who has had a gppd deal of experience iu the t^se, of these ores frpm^ New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, ha^ the ore. washed clean at the mine, and sent to Boston. It is 'there sorted into three good qualities and refuse ; the former are ground ia separate mills till fine as flour, put in barrels papered inside, an4; the, contents of ej^ph are assayed and sold apcpr^ing to assay. The %^t quality, free P of irop and containing about 98 per cent oxide,, is used for making the finest flint-gl^s. The second quality, also no doubt pretty »/ ORBS or If AN0ANB8I. 128 free from iron, contains about 75 or *'0 oer cent, oxide ; it is used for making white phials. The third of about 70 per cent, oxide, is employed for common glass bottles ; while the refuse, containing {Terhaps 25 or 80 per cent, iron, is used in making clear amber« coloured bottles for brandy, etc.^ .and carboys. That there is always a demand for the ores fit for making bleaching powder is^ not only evident from the anbouut oonsumod but from the patents taken out for the purpose of restoring to its original state the oxide chemically altered in the manufacture ; one is recommended by its owner as restoring 52 per cent, oxide and as beiu^ capable oi bringing the amount up to 70 per cent, which is known to be a very moderate per centage in these ores in this province. ib«i With regard to the other applications of manganese the making) of iron and steel is the most important. Even in 6m nil quantity^ the presence of manganese renders iron tough and steel better and more durable by removing silicon.r I appears also to be very valuable in counteracting the bad influence of phosphorus in mak> ing iron brittle. As this is important in view of some of the hoit ores in the western part of the province, at Nictau namely, cou<* taining phosphorus, it will be useful to give an abridgement of some statements of Dr. Grace Calvert on this subjeot. "Eight or nine years ago I observed that if manganese had not the property^ of removing phosphorus from iron it had that of biding that ele^ ment: in fact, I found that cast iron, containing as much as one or two per cent, of • phosphorus would yield good mercantile iron ii^ the pig iron contained at the same time 5 or 6 per cent, of mangah* ese ; and I have lately heard that manganiferoUs ores have been used with great advantage by the Cleveland iron smelters to over- come the " cold shortness " of their cast iron, due to the presence) of phosphorus.'' (Cantor Lectures, Chemical News, XIII. 94.) ,u Considerable quantities of manganese may be required if the al" loys recently announced as made in Germany, realiste the expecta- tions natuiiaily foimed in the following description given of their properties. M. E. Frieger has/ doromercially prepared alloys o$ manganese with icon, copper and tin, possessing valuable propep' ties and the applications of which are constantly improving int number and utility. ; : Of these alloys the most important are those containing 66.3 per cent^> and 79.7 per cent, of manganese. Both are harder than tdraper^d steel ; they are capable of receiving a very I ii; laii ORR« OP MAMOANMR. !> W hig*h poJiHli, thoy molt ut » r^d hoivtiuui (Min bo oiiHily poured ; Wwy do not oxidiHO in Hk^ air nnd ovon in waiter only mipiwfkjioily : thotr whilo colour in oi'a Hhado hoLwooii nti>«l ttnd flitvar.' Alloys ofoo})' por And maup:iUioMo rot^oiitblo brouK« but aro niuqb hardor uiid nior<« duraUlfti AIU\vk of tin and tnau^anoHO aro vory fusiblo, durahio, ..nd OH«y to work ; in ocdour antxM,'onco to irim or atool manufac- tiara. In thi8 provinco whero tho iroti and m(ing;ano!!i« oruij both aboiOnd it ih ob^vioun than an flxcolleut oppt>rtunity oxists for auch Applications as tb^ pr<»coding. Now that tho Windsor and Anna- ppha raihvay i« nvpidly advanoing to oompletiou tiio manganoBU ov^ of Ilant^ «iiunty will bo brought within praotioal reach of tho iron- oros of Annapolis county and the smelting honsea of Clonunits- fkort and NiotAu now lyiTig idlo may derive the full henoflt of tho ad¥ant«g«^ti rf'suUing from tho uso of manganoHo in making i^on,; ste^, and IViogt^r's alloys. Since oros of manganose are not found to any useful «ittent in Ontario or Quebec (Geology of Canada, p, 1M ) thoso of this province may be called for there in any such metallic manufacture as those in question. IHie extensive works just commencing at Montreal primarily for making iron and steel from titaniferotts irou sand under a patent taken out hf the direc- tor, Mr. F. Ellershausen, welt kno^n in tios province for his enter- prise and energy, every effort is likely to be made to produce the best results possible from the appUoatiqn of the latest fru^of eoientitio research. .t- A few words on tho manganese of other countries may be found iateresting. The ores of New Brunskwick, &ccor4in9 to Professoe Baitey, (Obserratioas on Qeology of N. B., 1865.) occur at the 0RK8 C,0 MANOANISi:. ISft ! h»NO of tlio lower oarboniAironti voiliB ftiid in thi? ovnrlying now rod Hiitidritonn. In IKfil, tlio ktiowtn aitiount. oi' nro riiimxl aixl moMtly Hold wiiH givon uh 1*250 totm, and a )a)>p qnantiiy tniiHt havfy bo(;rl to the Hritinh AHUociatinti, in 186H, It wamttatod tliat tlio riOlu^HtoPttH wero Hi. timt linio montly inipurtod to Britain frotn Spaiu, wlioro tlioy are ibiih»ooanionally by blaiittinj]^. The quality of the oro varieH from 60 to W) por <;(;tit. pproxido, and to obtain tlio riclH3r orn in«n and boy rt are ^ im .pmih aaiu ■ .1 im '«/dlf!H»' m CHAPTER VIII, GYPSUM- ANHYDRITK— BORATES— BRINK SPRINGS— SALT- MAGNESIA ALUM. Gypsum and Anhyd/rUe. These "minerals ^' are so closely associated that it will be convenient to consider them together. They are both known locally as plaster, the former being called soft, tho lat- ter hard ; in the official returns they are both classed under the uanbe of gypsum and, when ground, as plaster. Gypsum is com- posed of sulphate of Hme and water ; the pure mineral contains :~ ' Lime * 32.65 joiVv^b Sulphuric acid .^.^^itvAlG.Sl Water ,:.»».... ^20 .94 100.00 Anhydrite contains simply sulphate of lime, the absence of water being the circumstance indicated in the name ; the pure mineral is composed of: — Lime.'t:^i/i7^'Vi';]^'i^:'v:v*i.41.I8 - Sulphuric acid .''..':'./, i I ii '. 58 . 82 100.00 - These minerals occur together in alternating beds or masses forming immense deposits which have long been proved to be of great economic importance ; these occur exclusively in the lower carboniferous series in close association with the sedimentary lime- stones found in enormous quantities in the north eastern parts of the province including Cape'^Brcton. Geological details of the mOBt interesting nature respecting these rocks will be found in Acadian Geology. In comparatively small and often in absolutely small amount gypsum occurs in the fibrous state in the trap rocks es- pecially about BlomidoD, and I have seen beautiful specimens of i Is il I itr 128 GYP8UM. selenite in the trap of Two Islands. The exposure of the gypsum beds is often on a grand scale ; a few miles from Windsor on the Newport road lofty white cliflFs, chiefly of anhydrite, are seen, and in the same county, Hants, on the Shubenacadie, the Big Rock at one time presented a snowy front of gypsum nearly 100 feet high, and again, close to Walton, are white plaster cliffs of considerable height. At Ogden's Lake, Autigonish Co., is a beautiful cliff of white crystalline gypsum, 200 ft. in height, fronting the sea at St. George's Bay. Dr. Dawson also describes the bed of gypsum at Plaster Cove, on the Strait of T mseau, Cape Bretoq, as 50 yards thick, and as well exposed at l..e head of the Cove in a cliff of 80 feet in height. Near the mouth of the Mabou river, Cape Breton, there is another enormous bed of gypsum, which was being quarried when Dr. Dawson visited it, for the purpose of making road em- bankments, no other rock being available at the spot : very liarge Tpits had bben excavated in the outcrop of the mass;; one of them •formed a grassy amphitheatrer capable of c6ntaining hundreds of persons. These examples will suffice to shew the very extensive development in which these beds are to be seen, while the follow- ing tables conveyimportaut information qn the economic value of the minerals. From the-oonsus it appears that the amount of gy >- sum quarried was returned "as follows : GYPSUSI QUARRIED IN NOVA SvJOTIA. 1861 I 1 . . t < , I i ' -^ ''■' l8«i ■"♦'*'-'''-'-^ •.u:-u»\(rinA l!-"V,.;)r,-f;i,, The returns for the latter year shew that it was quarried in eleven out of the eighteen counties in the following quantities and also give its value : — ' "^ UIJ IgyPSUM quarried in 1860. Colchester. 6,026 ., ,|5,407 Countiea, '^oq^. <, .rfT^lie. Lunenburg. 300 |l20 Yarmouth . Digby....v '"""O Guy«b6ro.. 260 190 «;. Victoria . ..♦ «; i,.,ft,:) ..-i Queens. *.,;.,.,^.J;,„^ Shelburne. . , . * ■ --Richmond. " 1, if 0" ^''•"1,227 ■ Tl)ape Breton 30 ".:"''< 24 ' I' I I I I '' i 1 1 (j 'l > ' ■ — <•> «»»nn/f'ioqe {rrtitri.TotaU *..».*>«.. «r*w^.!.^ 126,400 ,86,076 ivxngs tJumberiand 25^ ^06 "Annapolis' i '■ ''li" "oioui-ji' ^ Pictou. . ... 70 "46 .ji .Hants,.,.. U8,316 . 7,7,883 n§y It »> >> »» it »» »> *t >t It »> »» 140 64 80 70 (185 bbls.) 30 5p5 848 196 168 To Cawaba— ' ^from Antigonish „ Arichat *• '^>V Halifax.. „ Fort flR*:ke»bugr, f ,• ft- • To NjEWFOUNDLAKP— . , i^ .'» vl'i From HaHifiix ..*.... .-J V* i .Vi|.s« . .'ii ,V.'. To Nbw BwwswioK— t,.,;; From Arichit ............. Antigoftish •'.•..•••.. Horton »»i^»»»«i%»»... Little River Maitland (groundin bbl.) ^ctou •••♦ Walton Yarmouth Pugwash. ........•••• . To Prinok Edwabd Island— From Antigoniflh Hsltfax^ FiQgirach PictoiL Port! Hawkesbury Port Mulgrare * Port Hood Little River NottliSydney W«iU,ace St. Ann's To BbitisP Wbst Indies— From HalijEfMC To St. Pimm*— FromHaliftx To United . States- FromAHdhat. Aaahent Five Islands Halifaif i Horton PortGreville London4err7 Batcbford's River Parrsboro' Truro Cocawallis' . ........... ChCTferlQ, H^nts Co • . • . HantSpOit, ' ' ,i «.«. VTUKIKNrf ' f» ••• it >» »> »» tt tt 11 »» It [ ^ tt It "n Tim*. Tons. 485 800 985 . 712 '5' Toh*. 383 790 • ••!••• •••• '.Mi. •r, r* 440 1,060' 8,220 5,180 1,4§0 84. 1,450 hS64 58,6^5 1886. (36 bbls.) "*1,045**' "**867 * 716 ""282 " 80 , iJi; 685 eo' 85 476 656 8,130 6,845 8;i30 1,876 81,4^4 i' > ' M i I 66.16^ 1886. '7 64 223 46 388 "so* 116 60 76 60 (66p'kgt8) 410 120 1,683 66 1,775 100 686 230 400 Wo 1^65 8,475 42,96$ 77,091 1867. Tont. 260 660 277 • ••• •••••• 100 85 10 826 79 36 30 40 636 8 835 100 646 820 711 13,895 7,786 1,866 7,400 67,86d 103,426 )VVM\'*(1f,ll Bf tl 'J'JdO'iw ,'11 i.' ;i ; fi GYPSUM. 181 in « ( From the foregoing table it appears that Hants is the chief gyp- sum raising county, and Windsor its principal port of shipment. In fact by far the largest quantity of the rock is quarried at Wind- sor or in its neighbourhood where operations haye been carried on for some 80 or 90 years. The quantitjes exported in former years were very large as they are now, as seen in thQ ^fpllc^wing table shewing the ;/ s r» AMOUNT AND VALUK OF GYPSUM BXPOBTED PROM WINDSOR. "'Year. Tons of 2240 lb. Value in Dollars. Price per ton in cents. 1838 52,460 32,786 62 1834 4s,no 31,180 64 1835 36,680 22,926 62 1886 47,935 29,955 62 1837 34,649 21,655 62 1838 36,422 ' 24,465 67- 1839 39,491 24,806 62 1840 48,693 30,430 62 ; 1^41 35,878 22,940 63 . 1842 38,450' 24,030 6ti 1843 28,316 U,07O 66 ' ,r«:1844 i nf 29,570 ' 18,636 66 ■■■• 1845 . -,..ol35,764 ., , ■r 20,910 68 1846^ ' '^,37,048 , 2^,750 ^ 184f 20,472 11,960 M 1848 38,428 24,090 62^ 1849 82,512 It 0' 20,315 62 1860 . 30,661; - . ,!i 10,165 62 1851 32,283 20,176. ,„, '.<,/ ,6i5) 1852 43,870 . , 29^065 «^ 1863 55,838 ' ,, 46,745 n 1854 48,268 " 41,070 85 1866 'i'60,015 '' ' 46,110 9i 1866 •■ .i»uiS4>098 88,345 98 .C9;'40,837 .36,966 91 M.a-.*'^'835 42,265 88 , '"'' 60,434 59,955 9^ 61,110 -^ " 62,580 86 1861 22,162 13,754 62 1862 1,,, 21,902 .. . 13,141 59 1863 ...-,.r|4,20i.;, iJr 23,912 69 1864 ii9,437 .., 22,502 - •■ !§ 1865 30,749 ■ 26,m ' u 1866 66,761 49,^66 88> 186t 63,66$ 1 ;>'■■ 54,218 ! .y...:9$y Totals. 1,404,376 ^r9?^,l^ ■ ^SlofwbSe. 132 GYPslJ'k."' ^- i ' On the wharfs of this port are collected the products of some 7 or 8 quarries, the most remote being those 6f Newport distant some 6 miles tilong the line of railway (to Ilalifax) by which thd plaster is brought in. The years of the late American war were a season of grdat depression, latterly however very great activity has prevailed V there wore CLEARED FROM THE COUNTY OF HANTS, N. S From Jiinuary Ipt, to Dec. Slat, 1807; Ports. Tons of 2240 lb. Hantaport "'^L:\ 9420 Maitland (9 months); ir;j : 2440 Waltou !:•. 9846 Cheverie (chiefly hard plaster) 14,799 .«> Windsor oai.'.J 63,655 T^h Totals . .'. (,«)4 .1.^ . . . 100,159 Value In Dollars. 9112 1708 7384 8190 54,106 80,500 The exportation would have been much larger but for the closing of navigation about a month earlier than usual. It is stated that the amount of plaster atone sent from jpranpe is "very large"; it was, in 1859,. upwards of 69J5 tons. This would not be thought even a large quantity from a port third in rank in Hants county. Hunt's Guide to the Musfeum of Practical Geology also ^ves the amount of gypiiyim imported ihto England, as. 17!81 tons and of Plas- ter of Paris 5,155 tons, , (probably groujjail,); "the aggregate con- sumption being! reckoned at 80,000 tons^(iralued at £10,000 ster- ling,) chiefly Used in moulding !at the pottwrtfeH. '■ The price of -gypsum at Windsor last ydiar was from 90^ cetits to a dollar a ton shipped : at ibiany other plaCes diffferent pTices ob- tain, generally from local qay^Qs. The price at the Grand River, the only part of the old "Oanftda" Where workable deposubs occur is about two dollars a ton at the mine. Thd^thickest deposit is about 7 feet only and the ani'e-diaft raised was in 1863 given as 14,000 tons. The deposits are quite ,tusignificant"<56tn|j)ared with those of Nova Scotia. .^The low (Valuc? here per toi), as remark?,d, by Dr. Dawson, shevtsthe facility v^itb which gypsum can be rsiised in a country wherd'the pi|ice ofillaWur is by nofiaeahs low. Ordinary quarrymen receive at Windsor ii dollar a d^y, 'those who Conduct the blasting ^|t.25 o)- $1,210. ^jThe average i^^lling price, in New York is $3. 25,. 'in gojid, pey tea of ordinary gypsum, expeptional qualities occaaSonally bringimudi higher prices ; it is boUgirt here by the British ton of 12240 lb. and sold in the United States no doubt by tlir:4taericah ton of.2(^ p'oWs. '♦-•!')Kl ..':.' qypsu^. 133 .^^n the district in(?lu4i«g a-few milqs about Windsor the quarries are worked on parallel beds running E. and W.,. the most northerly extending from Windpor through , ^pnt;w;Qrtl^ and Newport, and probably continuing in unbroken series in depth to. MMtland, 38 miles to the east, where plaster ,i8 alsp worked, and €ven beyond. The dfstance across the strike from .tlj^ porth at "V^indsor to the most southerly quarries is about threiQ wiles, at Windsor the dip is gently to the south. The largest qia,^ntity of gypsum is now raised at the Clifton quarry, formerly thq. property of Judge Hali- burton, now owned by Mr. Fellow, close to the town of Windsor, where operations have been carried, on some 40 yqars. The prin- cipal rock is gypsum, the anhydrite or hard plaster being found in lenticular masses from 2 to 10 feet;,tt^|ck in the centre and some- times fifty feet long ^jpabedded as it were jn the soft plaster. Mr. Fellow considers that the amount pf plaster got hero has varied for the last 30 years fron^ 10,000 to 30,000 tons a year, and for the last 10 or 12 years from 20,000 to 30,0^0 tons. The quarry is now roughly estimate^ as being 800 feet long, 150 ft. broad, and on an average 40 ft. deep. To the north the rock cropped out near the surface and to the south is now a f^e of some 30 ft. of plaster with a little limestone here and there. . 4>t. the east end of the quarry a face fully this height is now to be seen on t^e east and north sides also. Operations having now been, carried as far in depth as al- lowed by the natural drainage (of chiefly sy,rface water) into the neighbouring river, a steam pun^p is erected by which the workings into the unknown thickness of , the beds will be carried on in the approaching summer. On another i*angp ; of beds to the south are extensive quarries, owned resp^ptively by Messrs. Wilkins, M'Latchey, and Fellow, situated abf^n^ IJ mile from Windsor, Mr. Wilkins's quarry is olose to the linepf railway to the town. The rock here is the best soft blue, vqry free working, and a face can be got of from 15 to 40 feet. Mr. Fellow has 150 acres here nearly all plaster, he has traced the beds, across the strike for 300 feet, ue estimates that before thq quarry come into his possession 100,000 tons of plaster had been remoyed, .^t 60;me parts of this deposit a good deal of transparent selenite, or isinglass of the quarrymen, is found. , . j/fi-(.jriiu!WH'>ie-*ttriW' it-'Hiv/'fo,>^!^ On the last range south are the quarries of Mr. Black where soft blue and white and also hard plastpr are obtained ; directly south of these are the metamorphic rocks of the Ardoise Hills. ' Ik GYPSUM. At the Three Mile Plains, east of Windsor, is a very fine quality of soft white plaster, with some hard of a bltiisli colour. The rocks here do not seem to run in didtinct beds but so far as exposed ap- pear to be rather in separate masses extending over some 50 acres, Mr. Pellow further describelS Some t)f these as 50 feet in heigjit with no soil on thbm ; i railway is now being- made in from the station to a face of rock in Mr, Pfello\^^8 quarry about 80 feet in height from which about 1200 tons haVe been blown/"'"*^ .'" . ' From the Wentworth quarries, about two miles from Windsor, about 40,000 tons have been rdisdd the last two years. In February 1868 there were piled at the " Creek " 9,000 tons for exportation on the opening of navigation. The great distinctions made in the export trade are between hard and soft pi iter, and as regards the latter, between blue and white. The blue is furnished principally at Windsor and the immediate vicinity ; it is the kind chiefly used for agricultural purposes ; pro- bably the gi-eater part of the large amount returned as exported is BO employed ; it goes to Boston, Portland, New York, Philadelphia, and Richmond. The greatest consumption appears to be in Vir- ginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, where the ground plaster is applied as manure for tobacco and Indian corn ; before the late war it was beginning to come into favour with cotton growers and large orders were sent to the Northern States, but the war interfered with the attempts to use it And as yet I believe the trial of its merits has not been made to any extent. A considerable quantity is taken. Dr. Lawson tells rtie, from Portland to Upper Canada where it is ground and sold for top dressing at not less than a dol- lar a barrel. The white plaster, which is found chiefly perhaps, in this district, at Newport) Wentworth, and Falmouth where a very fine quality is met with, and now at Three Mile Plains, is sought for calcining. By this process, which consists of boiling or burn- ing, the water belonging to the mineral is expelled and the pow- dered residue mixed with water becomes the plaster which is used in very large quantities here as well as abroad in finishing walls and ceilings. Other well known applications are the making of casts, modelis, copies of valuable statuary, and of large and expen- sive fossils, of which an interesting illustration is afforded in the restoration of the extinct animals in the gardens of Sydenham, and in some museums. For particular purposes, as the making of fine GYPSUM. 185 ceilings, and their centrepioces and cornices, a very white plaster is required. Of course the best qualities of gypsum for such pur^ poses are the whitest, and of the varieties found thd purest is the selenite which is tolerably, abundant io some quarries and is often as transparent and colourless as thd filn^t flint-glass. A fdw years ago a cargo of .selenite wa0 taken hence to the United States, doubtless for such a purpose, and five dollars a ton were paid for it here. It has recently been announced that gypsum can be used instead of chiuaclay in the making of paper. The whitest varie- ties would no doubt answer best. ' '>i\l f>> •{!*«• It is obvious that the manufacture of all the cements of which gypsum is the basis could be carried on to the greatest advantage here so far as a perfectly inexhaustible supply of material of differ- ent qualities is concerned. These cements, such as Parian, Keene's, Martin's and Keiating's, differ from common plaster of Paris inas- much as they become much harder. It is well known that common plaster (of Paris so called) is got by calcining gypsum. The cal- cining is effected by boiling or burning, the former process being employed when the best plaater is required ; it is called boiling from the circumstance of the gypsum undergoing a peouliai- agi- tation (like that of water when boiling) when the water is es- caping from the gypsum heated in a caldron. The burning, which is the process followed here, consists in building up lumps of gyp< sum into a heap with cord-wood distributed through it, and keeping up a very moderate fire : the burnt gypsum when cold is beaten to powder with a hammer, and, mixed with water, forms the plaster which is used for walls and ceilings. The proper temperature for making the plaster which most rapidly becomes hardest with the proper amount of water is 600° Fahrenheit, if the heat attains red- ness the gypsum becomes much more dense but does not set with water. Now if a rathor small pekrcentage of certain salts, such as sulphate of potass, alum, or borax, is added most important quali- ties are gained : the gypsum so treated will endure a red heat with- out losing its power of setting with water. It becomes much more dense than common plaster, and n^hen. mixed with water sets in a few hours and becomes bo hard that it will take a fine polish. The cements called by the nunes before mentioned are prepared by these processes. Keene specifies his process to bo as follows. One pound of alum is dissolved in a gallon of water, this solution 136 OYPSUM. Vi IB uBcd for soaking 84 pounds of calcined gypsum in small lumps. These are exposed to the air for 8 days and afterwards calcined at a dull red heat. They are then ground and sifted. The fine pow- der thus produced is mixed with water into a paste which may be used as ordinary plaster ; upon setting it forms a compact and dur- able body which can be polished or coloured without difficulty. — If half a pound of common copperas bo added to the solution of alum the resulting paste has a fine cream colour and the hardened mass is said to resist the action of the air. Borax gives th6 Parian cement. Martin's cement is formed by combinin^^ pearl ashes and alum with the plaster, muriatic acid being sometimes added to prevent an alkaline reaction. Scagliola differs from these oements in being gypsum mixed with glue and then painted. Fictile ivory is made by dried plaster casts being aillowed to absorb melted spermaoeti wax and stearine. When the cast has drained, and before it has coolod, the superfluous wax is brushed off, and when quite cold the surface is polished by rubbing with a tuft of cotton wool. Stucco is coloured plaster mixed with size. Ano- ther valuable substance is obtained by miatiug gypsum with a cer- tain amount of water and then soaking it in hot pitch, it then parts with some water and takes up pitch and becomes so hard and sus- ceptible of polish that it can be made into a variety of useful and ornamental articles. What success would attend attempts to mako artificial stone fit for outdoor use from gypsum by action of soluble glass or silicate of soda remains to be seen. Some application of this kind (hardening gypsum) is understood to be in view in con- nection with orders that have been received here for large blocks of gypsum from the United States ; the exact nature of the process or of the material used has not transpired. No objection was made to the high prices it would be necessary to charge for quarrying blocks of the required dimensions. >HToy^Ch planter acquires a greater degree of solid- ity than any other known in Europe, and that this property is duo to its containing about 12 per cent, of carbonate of lime. Gay Lussac says that the purest plasters are those which harden least ; he does not, howeveF, consider this to be dependent upon the pre- sence of the carbonate of lime but upon the original hardness of the stone. I have examined several samples of gypsum from the neighboroood of Windsor and Newport, qualitatively, with the re- sults named above, those of grey and blue colour contained a con- siderable amount of foreign ingredients, chiefly carbonates, and in very white specimens I found notable quantities of carbonate of lime and magnesia in some eases. The hardness is very variable. An opinion seems to prevail that "rotten plaster'^ or that which has been exposed to the weather and become a crumbling mass has lost its " strength." I analysed such a gypsuiii on the property of Mr. 0. King, at Windsor, and found it to contain: — Water and trace of carbonic acid . .'. . 21 . 16 Ltme. ......................... .V.33 .02 si< ',m(*vJH ■v.iii.lufd .45.99 fi 2.8^. Bituminous matter ,..«..•»,*.,... 1.^3 Sand and clay* • * «:*i ^y»if > « rr*-»A V .94 Carbonates of lime and magnesia, with 1 ^o alumina and oxide of iron ..•) 100.00 With regard to gypsum varying very much in hardness, I examin- ed a specimen of white colour from Falmouth, which was much harder than some varieties ; on analysis it gave : — Watet ,.,....,.. 20.94 Sulphate of lime, by loss 79.06 100.00 hence it was really gypsum, it should according to Gay Luss^p give after burning good hard plater. , rtf:, , ; AnhydrUe (the composition and mode of occurrence of which have before been given), or dry sulphate of lime, is of various cor lours, as dark blue, purple, and grey j on exposure to the weather it becomes white with a peculiar roughness of surface which has obtained for it the name of sharkstone. Known as hard plaster it is always mucl^ harder than gypsum but varies very much in its hardness as a rock. Some samples give a very clear sharp sound under the hammer, others sound dull. True anhydrite can give no water, but hard plaster is often a mixtnre of anhy- drite and gypsum, and then of course will aflFord water. Hard plaster is used at Windsor as a building stone, viz : for the foundat'jns of houses and walls to support wooden fences. It makes apparently a good substitute for marble in .^oor work ; at the Paris Exhibition were shewn a small table tpp and a pedestal made and polished in Windsor by Mr. Woods : the latter especially was much admired at the preliminary local Exhibition. How far the beauty of the surface will be retained on exposure, or by what .-» ANHYDRITE. 01 T 189 means it could be pecured if not permanent ^''ithout some aid, re- mains to be proved. Blocks of almost any required dimensions could be obtained. Anhydrite does not admit of being made into plaster by burning but it is equally good with gypsum for agricultural purposes, in fact so far as its chemical composition goes it is some 21 per cent, more valuable as it is free from this amount of water held by gyp- sum. On account of its hardness it cannot bo ground in gypsum mills but is crushed by stamping. The plaster from Cheverie, Hants Co., is chiefly of this kind and is mostly shipped to Bridge- port, near New York, where it is almost the only sort employed. Its value at Cheverie is about 55 cents a ton. It is worth notice that probably anhydrite would answer as well as gypsam, instead of porc^laiji clay, in the manufacture of paper. I !i I 'Vl! Mint iif:>J ,'.■■) Borates and other Miri&rals fourid in Ch^psum and Anhydrite. No considerable amount of foreign minerals has been found in the deposits just described, but small quantities of various kinds have been met with from time to time which are very interesting iVom a scientific point of view and some of which will prove very valuable if found in abundance. Details respecting some of these minerals will be found in papers of mine contributed to the Nova Scotian Institute of Natural Science, Nov. 4th, 186*1, and the Philosophical Magazine, Jan. 1868, where references are made to former papers describing others of thetfi, and from these I give an abridged ac- count of such minerals as have so far been met with, here shewn in a tabular form : — Natroborocalcite, cryptpmorphite, sil- icoborccalcite, gl?iub^r salt, common salt, arragonite, caloite, apd selcnite, as distinct accessory minerals, ^.nd also, to be found on analysis, carbonates, partly of magnesia and protoxide of iron, per- oxide of iron, bituminous and carbon- aceous matters^ clay, and a very small quantity of silica. Hants Co., Nova Scotia, has deposits made up of Gypsum containing and Anhydrite containing " Silicoboroealcite, selenite, and arra. gonite or caloite, as accessory miiierals, and also, to be found on analysis, car- bonates, partly of magnesia, and a very little silica. I 140 BORATES IX GYPSUM. Kin ) .■•?!. Mil . :■ of the minerals here named the three first mentioned are those which will prove valualile if found in quantity. They are borates containing, when pure, by my analyses : — ..•'.., Natroborooalcite, . . Cryptomorphite. Sllleoborocalcitc. Lime...,.....U.20 "!" ^:' ;i5.55 28.69 '^^^' Soda.:;vli.i'.\Tl21 5.61 none. ♦^""•"Water r.".'".34.49 -'19.12 11.84 Silica. ..... .none. none. 15.25 BoraciC acid..44.10 59.10 42.22 .■■(IiM „ , ,-i 100.00 100.00 100.00 The last two are entirely new minerals which have not yet been found elsewhere ; the first I described in 1857, it is identical with the mineral called tiza, in Peru, which is imported largely into England, and to some extent into the United States for the manu- facture of borax or for immediate use in the potteries. Soon after I had made the mineral known to occur here, I received a letter from a gentleman connected with the Staffordshire Potteries, in which inquiries were made about it, and a short correspondence ensued, the nature of which will appear from a few abridged extracts from Mr. Outram's letters containing interesting information. "Stoke- upon-Trent, June, 1857. I take the liberty to ask what this mineral is as I observe it is stated to contain boracic acid to the amount of 40 per cent. As this district, the seat of the pottery trade, is by far the largest consumer of this article either in its form of an acid or in the statv. of borax, and as its present price makes it an exceedingly heavy article in our trade any prospect of an additional source of supply will be looked to with anxious interest." " Sept. 21st, 185T ; Your mineral contains nearly the same amount of acid as a specimen of the same in my possession from South America. There has lately been a large importation of borates into this dis- trict, and more of the manufacturers have been induced to use it in this state, so that although in the state of borax it is more generally used, yet it oan now be pretty readily sold in the state of borate of lime. Of course it is not so valuable in this latter state and the current price in this market has lately been such that it should be delivered at Liverpool, free of charges, at something near £20 a ton. May I ask you to send me about an ounce by post, to make such a trial of it as will enable me to judge if it bo BORATES IN GYPSUM. Ul suitable for the purposes of potters." The discoveries of borax in California since this letter was written must have piateiially altered the prices formerly obtained if it is the case that the company working there can, as they profess to be able to do, " place borax in London cheaper than it can be made there, which, at the lowest estimate, is five cents per pound.". (J. R099 Browne's Report on Resources of States west of Rocky Mouutains, 1866, p. 18T). , However this may be, the borate found here is itself valuable as a glaze, as appeavs from the next let^ier of Mr. Outra,i)a'a, received soon after I had .sent him a specimen. "November, 1851. I have put a portion of your mineral through the te^ts usually employed in our local manufacture, and I haVe the pleasure to enclose you a/ small bit of pitcher to which the borate has been applied slb a glaze ; as you will see, the result is really very good : the borate was ap-u plied alone, and simply passed through the, potter's oven in the ,, usual way — of course, the glazes in ordinary use, being composed •» of various other ingredients, possess more evenness ^nd opacity but the fact that the Nov^ Scotian borate will of itaelf produce such a glaze speaks stron^jy in favour of its quality. In short it is as good as any I have seen of the same miueral." The mineral ^v as taken from Peru is found to be an ex client flux for metallurgic purposes, and has been employed with success in the porcelain manufactory of Sevres. A good glaze ha^ been made thereby melting together one part of the borate, two of sand, and four of j red lead. In fact the mineral wher<|ver found is essentially the,j samP! and appears to be capable of effectually replacing^ borax in various applications while borax and boracic acid themselves can readily be obtained ft-om it. The same is true of cryptomorphite, which has the same constituents. As regards the third li^ineralj , , sili6oborocalcite, (only discovered last year),; it wQuld, also nq ^ doubt form a good glaze and indeed might prove exceediftg'ly use- q ful for a special purpose. It appears that in glaaing isvrought and cast iron vessels with enamel two compositions are generally en^-' ployed, one having for a base silicate of le^d, the pther boro-silicate of soda, "th^ latter possesses great superiority oyer the former ^^j for it is not attacked by vinegar, sea-salt, or the greater number of • acid or* saline solutions even when concentrated, arid it resists the„ action of the agents ei;nployed in cooking, Or chemical pp^ratiyus^r., while lead glaze gives lead to vihegar and common salt, and. w^ 0^ 142 BORATES IM GYPSUM. darkened by cabbage, fish and stale eggs. The new mineral would probably be found to answer for this purpose just as it is found; it melts readily in the flame of a lamp to a colourless glass. I have found it in soft plaster from Newport, about six miles from Windsor, and more abundantly in both soft and hard plaster from Mr, Black's, Brookville, about 3 miles south of Windsor ; the amount so far obtained is not large, the mineral is found in nodules imbedded ii^, the plaster ; from the fact of its being more abundant at Brookville where the beds of plaster are nearest the metamorphic rock it is probable any large quantity o^it existing in the district will be found at the lowest part of the plaster beds. The natroborocalcite has been found at ihe Clifton quarry, close to Windsor, and at Newport, but is, like the silicated borate, most abundant at Brook- ville. In a cargo of plaster of about 300 tons, the first quarried at the latter place for 20 years, shipped last autumn, nearly every stone of a certain quality contained more or less of it, and it was found in other varieties of soft plaster ; it does not occur in the hard. In some specimens of a few square inches in surface several lumps of the borate were present. The lumps were sometimes as large as an egg. I think it probable the mineral has also been found in a quarry on the Newport road, about 3 miles from Wind- sor. I have received an account from a quarry man there of a " stuff softer than plaster, about the size of eggs, coming clear out, and smelling like sulphur or the stones of a grist mill ;" the difficulty I feel about this description being that of the borate is that odour is attributed to the " stuff." Cryptomorphite has only been found at Clifton — in small quantity. '. '^ Borate of magnesia is found lii b^ds of gypsum and anhydrite ^ at Stassfurth in Prussia, it also forms part of the rock at the Salt* mine of the same place ; the quantity is probablyxonsiderable as the mineral was shdwn iti masses weigliing 20 lb. or so at the \bAq Paris Exhibitidii:^** ^l'^' .uf.^,JfHi.Pp.; With regard to the other minerals mentioned as existing in the plaster-beds, glauber salt is frequently found ; . it goes by the name of " salts " among the quarrymen, it sometimes occurs in beautiful crystals. Common salt I have seen only on one occasion, it was in a transparent crystalline crust, it is probably often met with, but the amount is, so far as I know, not at [all large : it is abundant however in the brine springs which are about to be de* scribed. ~^ ' " 'diJ.Aj SALT. 143 Salt from the Brine Springs of the Ossiferous Districts. It has been long known that brine springs exist in many parts of the pro- vince where the deposits of plaster abound, but it was not till some few years ago that any attempt was made to turn them to useful account on a large scale. Salt has been made at two or three places and there are prospects of an extension of the indus- try on a considerable scale. In a paper read before the N. S. Institute, in March, 1866, I gav© the results of my analysis of some of the brines in question and what facts I had then obtained as «to localities of others ; from this paper and from information since received the following account is drawn up. Brine Springs of Hants County. The water of a spiing flowing near the gold diggings at Renfrew I found to contain 14.39 graints of solid matter to the gallon consisting chiefly of salt, there was a small proportion of earthy salts. On the west bank of the Petite river at Walton a spring issues a short distance from the bridge which has always a considerable flow of clear water, it has never been known to freeze ; on a warm d^y in winter, the air being at 46° Fab., the water was at 44°. I found the water to contain in the imperial gallon of 10,000 grains :— - ..UMlH •<• ' Grains. Carbonate of lime 14 . '73 Carbonate of magnesia (small) undet. Carbonate of iron. .4'«'4/^v v. <'ii«V.. ... traces Phosphoric acid, decided traces Chloride of magnesium. . . . »Vi i% ^v«'k'v Carbonate of lime. ./•'•• 'ip»t,'«i.^ •••'•.... 3.7*75 Carbonate of magnesia* •••••*..••«••• 2 .932 ,^ .»-' t^j* "^l*!' '^>'M^ 'I-'-*' ■ .i rk'i- Carbonate of iron. ••••>• •.•^•^•••o.,* .181 Silica l.^Jv...;^'.;'^';';^;'. .Seo Sulphate of lime! :.;':;:.::!r::'i :::.:: i54.t3o Chloride of magnesium 27.330 Chloride of calcium ', ... • f • • 51 ..^10 Phosphoric acid, boracic acid. ...»»". ) ,, Bromine, and organic matter::. V'^vt ^^^^rmiiieA. ■ Common salt ..i. .. ...4133.500 ' 1^ 4374.917 , Specific gravity , at 63Tah 1046 . 69 "tlie amount of salt found is equal to 6.9 per cent, or about a bushel to the hundred gallons. The water w believed to cure rlieu- ° . ' .t.-sii-.n f.jjiii.. ii-'Ji<. iJ 1...," rrT!.-. lirt matism on external application. „^,.„ • „■ „ „ ., «/ , * Sit/ft^torKfa i?tt5^! ^A Mft« spHn'g'i'ssriesf* ifl'the''bea"*6f 'this river its outlet being a little above the falls ; it can only be got at in the dry season, it is much resorted to, its Waters being drunk for a variety of diseases : it was discovered by pet^ons ob- serving cattle drinking at the spot. Brine Spnngs of G.unTL^^rlfbnd County. A spring issuing at River Philip has been used in tbe manufacture of salt of which a very good specimen, dry^, a^.d qf. ^qod ta^t^ and colourj was sent to the London Exhibition of 1362 mnn">ff«ttnt In shhofilO ' ' ' ' f , - . . - '■'',■ i i I ' ** Springhilt. ' "Fine Sdtti Messrs. W. A. Marsters Wnd Co., of North Wharf, have on exhibition some bags of salt manufactured at Springhill, Cumberland Co., N. S., of a remarkably fine quality, very white and pure. It resembles Ashton's fine etioresalt, but isi) probably a better article than any imported being impregnated with nitre. We understand that the salt-works at Springhill are favpur^ ably situated for manufacture, that the supply of brine is inex- haustible, and that tb^ manufacture now in its infancy is likely to, prove attractive, to capitalists, the naargjn of profit being good, while the demj^nd for the tiirticle is pyaotically unlimited." St. John Journal, i867|j ' ''' '^ ' ' ' ' SALT. 146 "Srine Springs of Antigonish County. Salt was formerly made from the Salt Pond near the town of Antigonish, where a bathing house wa? also established. Quito recently extensive boring oper- ations have been carried on here which have resulted in the finding of an abundant supply of brine which is to be manufactured into salt by the Nova Scotia Salt Works and Exploration Company. Mr. Josiah Deacon, the manager of the Works, wrote to me in Jan. 1866 for information respecting brine springs. I replied, and sometime after received a letter which contains the following inter- esting information on the subject of the boring operations he had conducted. "Antigonish, May 22nd, 186t. You were so obliging as to furnish me with some information relative tp brine springs ; and as I presume you take some interest in the question as to the probability of making them available I give you the details of our last boring here. Our first difficulty and one which caused much delay and trouble was to drive by force a cast iron pipe of 9-inch bore through a bed of gravel 16 feet de6p whi6h was full of weak surface brine from the^ upper country. We then came to marl, red, blue, and brown, interspersed by thin bands of fibrous gypsum, but not one marine fossil of any kind. We had three boulders of magnesian limestone to cut through and nothing else to a depth of 122 feet : we did not find one drop of water. On the 12th Dec. we began to bore, for which I had fitted up a shed and a boring tower. 36 feet high, so that with the aid of a stove we could comfortably work all winter. Having lost m7 foreman I examined every auger full brought up. The marl was so hard we were obliged to drill it with chisels and then to bring it up with the auger, but it was so dry that it would not hold in our SJ-iu. auger. I found the u^e of snow thrown into the bore-hole was the only means ol keeping this dry marl in the auger, for water was not to be had. We then pen- etrated a stratum of magnesian limestone 1 ft. 2 in. and ihen struck a bed of gypsum into which we have now penetrated 18 feet, hav- ing bored 11^ all l59 feet 4 inches. On the 2Tt^ last w^e had a flow of brine from a mere cleft in the gypsum ; and now brine jstands only 7 ft. 6 in. from the surface which we can only lower a few feet by pumping^. I think I hav6 otAf tapped ^ small vein of thfe great fio'^ which I hope yet to find, arid am now boring thfough th6 bed of gypBtfm. The brinie iB refy pure wid limpid : salt made^ flhoto it is said to be of superior ^tiaHtj r I send you a sample. We 'triMe J ifT ■:•■ U9 Sf^T. wooden pipes of if in9he9 bore, and sunk them to the rock." The company above named was incorporated in May 1866. An an- nouncement was made in June that an abundant supply of brinc^ had been found, yielding 14^ per cent pf salt, which would become stronger, as was the case at Syracuse, I^ew York State, wli^re the yield was then 14 per, cent. The fuel to be used was coal from Pictou county: salt was to be sold at first at $3 a ton, or *l6 cent^ per hhd., and later at 50 cents. A profit of 40 per cent, was to be realized when working only on a small scale. The English system of working by large and shallow ev«.r,orating pans is adopted, by which, with but few hands, more thaj^ ton tons of salt a day will be made. The|re were in ^January last eight or nine buildings being erected, three of which were finished, and all the necessary ma- chinery was being fitted up. Operations were to be commenced with vigour in the spring,, and employnfient would be, given tq eL large number of men, ' .t .< ,- *, Brirte Spriyvga .of Gtiipe Breton, Ab<)ut 12 mi!«a frotoi Baddeeky Mr. Geslier tells me,i a very strong bnine^ ^givihg about One bushel of salt to the hundred gaJlon^^ iasueei .on.. the. north ei4^.pf8t.i Patrick's Ghannelj huil o7/ .iiTii;.? v.?n lo n>*«i.l nn ; i;i Oi: hv\ JvMque. Mr. Barnes informs me that here, where the coai's6^ sandstones, shal'ds, and other rock's beTo'v^ the pldstet come to sur- face, several Sj^rltigs issuel which are strongly impreghated with' salt, and ft'drti ohe (/f these iSalt wiis'made by the edi-ly Scotch settlers. It' ran6t now used. • ' - ' '"'^ A'''" -'^ > '"'i^' » ^••>'' Whycogoniah. From the same soiirce I Iqarn Itiat j^t' Salt Mouhtajn there are four springs issuing n:dm the congtomeraie, all of whi6h are stronigty impregnatdd wi'lih salt. That on the lowest b^nch of the m6u4tai):\ is l^e . strongest, it issues in a consider;ible stream, incrastiii^ :|^e ^ou^^ ; ip summer with a heavy deposit; haying a very, strong paline ffavour. At the time of observation the spri4g waSj rioVai its full strength owing io tie,avy falls pf iraiii'iri the. aiitumh.' Salt has ,l)een made herQ as J, understand jfrom I^. ) rn i; iuv.'.-i '{lao n.yj ow d'Hifw 80Stii;a 'idi hkmI .ni d .ii T vino ,,' It is prop«i; to.cp(Ui*ttflirti(w,;tp tb^.byQmiqe.'wirfcli will 4pubtle8S; be fou94 ^a«xaminationip^ll,th9se bfi^^s.,) I haye sbe'^nAisS e^-*, i^teace iu the w^r of 3alt ^prwgt^ ") ipflj^^t^d in ikf. ^^^y^if &^^^- ' Ij4i4.PQt^scQg^||ii,.^ jM9^uaV.(i« tii.i*ifi cti^i« SALT IMPORTED INTO JfOVA 8U0TIA IN TEEK YEARS ENDING 30th SEPT: XLl 1864 1865 1866 Quantity. 1,022,969 bushels 1,004,333 „ 1,086,735 Quantity. 1059 packages iOtl YaJup "U'\U Ht,668 doliors 334,134 189,458 >» u iD'^^yjnc]^ »h^«.fl«7 The whole of this salt was entered for home consumption. Magnesia Alum. In the spring of 1862 I received fiom Dr. Weeks, of Brooklyn, a mineral which had been found at Parker's Mills, on the Meander River, about 15 miles from Windsor, Hants county ; I found it to contain :— Oxide of copper 0.02 Protoxide of iron . 13 Oxide of cobalt 0.06 Oxide of nickel . 14 Oxide of manganese .45 Potash 0.23 Slate 0* 72 Alumina 10.64 Magnesia 4.79 Water 46 .06 Sulphuric acid 36.33 99. 1& 1, 148 IfAONESIi ALUll. The eisential coDstituents are the last four which are those of common alum, except that magnesia is present in place of potash. The inineral has been used in the neighbourhood of the mills in some domestic process of dyeing, and might no doubt be employed instead of commoti alum in various other applications : it could readily be made from the rock which contains it. This X found to be a shale or slate apparently some 60 feet, thick, on the side of the river, to which it showed a nearly perpendicular face. Some of the rock was of a rusty colour, compact, and tolerably hard, this contained little or no alum ; some of a blueish black colour, which readily crumbled between the fingers, showed plenty of it, partly apparently disseminated throughout and partly as a rather deilEie yellowish crust on the edge : the crust was in places half an inch thick, there were other more open and crystaline masses made up of perfectly white silky needles. The mineral had no doubt been formed by the action of air s id moisture on the rock, and there may be deposits of it left by the evaporation of rainwater which had held it in solution ; if I remember rightly the rocks dip away from the river. In the making of a large quantity of alum even the small percentage of cobalt and nickel shewn above, if con- stant and accumulating as a residue or by-product, would be verjL valuable as an additional source of remuneration. .id - ''M. • . ■■ , ■ . Iti ^}Lrf^ ' i, : .■} 'if'ji ';•. ■.>hi*/.oic'.f'i no. i) jtfidoo.'^o afi't./'.? /.r . ■ ■•;;i.';ii; »;' ')' J'iJ.O .., ,.l\- I • . , ; , , , . , .....««••••,' f 1 i ' )0.l. , h(f(lUl»i.'. rii^.^ ,.i.'MT.».':' . . , (■iJi«k[u..< I U9 U<^i « •oinil ;l,. LIMESTONES— MARBLES- BARTTE8— MOULDING SAND— CLAYS. v.nd'rr I'j'f CHAPTER IX. Limestones. These, with the marbles, were treated of in a paper of mine read before the N. S. Institute, and published in its Trans- aotions in 1866. In giviag aa abstract of this paper the London Mining Journal said : " The desire to turn every particle of mine- ral to profit becomes greater year by year, yet limestones and marbles have hitherto received considerably less attention than they aro entitled to." The province contains perfectly inexhaust- ible quantities of limestones, presenting a great variety of qualities, of which but very few have been fully examined. These are found for tne most part in the same districts as the gypsum, in the lower carboniferous beds which consist largely of them and measure 6000 feet in thickness. This system is developed almost exclusively to the N. and N, E. of Halifax, in which part of the province Dr, Dawson marks on his map upwards of 80 beds of limestone : there are only \wo small patches of carboniferous rocks along the whole western and southern shore : . one of these contains curious and valuable limestones. In the metamorphic districts crystalline lime- stones are found often converted into marble of which many va- rieties are known. , , Since the province abounds in freestones and granites which have proved excellent, for house-building purposes the limestones have not so far been often applied in the same way : some have been em- ployed in railway construction, as that at Wickwjre's, near Enfield Station, where, on the aid^ of the Truro railway, the stone was quarried to a considerable extent duripg the building of the exten- sion to Pictou and u^ed ii| rnaking culverts and bridges. Lime- stone from Kennetcook, Hants Co., has been used at Windsor, in the foundation of the Neyr Library of JCing's College which is en- 160 LIMESTONES. I I i iii' '^ I!i: tirely of that rock. Limestone is quarried for building purposes at several places in Antigonish county between Marshy Hope and Morristown. The economic value of the limestones will probably be always chiefly found in the making of lime for washes, mortar, cement, and agricultural purposes, and as fluxes in iron smelting for which a considerable quantity is employed at Londonderry. As regards the use in agriculture, a large portion of the best farm- ing districts of the province lies in the formation affording lime- stone and except for special purposes lime will not be required in their cultivatipn, but it must find profitable applioatiou in such parts as are deficient in its rocks. Until recent years in which atone bridges have been made on the railways and wooden buildings have to a greatetxtent been replaced in Halifax by those of brick 'ind stone there could have been little demand for I'me which must tiavie been nsed chiefly for buildirg fbundiations and chimneys b#* oaudse the walla and ceilings are almost everywhere made from gyplsum-plastcr. .-J vJ*-'j .!.*.... o .:,.■,•:-... i ..;:,mt. -a •.•";; i^ On oomparlLg the owi'BUB fetUftiS of Y1S51 and 1^1 w^ flhdtilP course that with the progress of the country there is increased tfiire of lime. (In the former year there were bur/ied in the province 28,603 casks; taking four bushels to the cask, the amount will be as fallows): — kvakfii ' \\n>(htVi i v; Lime burned in Nova Scotia in 1851 ; 114,412 bushds. .1(1 joiv '■'•i/^Hi ^' ViJ*4, 11 :i.;v/ j^ 1861; 1'38,848' ' ,^1 > '' ' '- ■No'dotilSt the next censiis will give a greatly increased ^uaiftlfiy. The details of the last returns are ihterbsting, showing that fiv6? cowntiies only burned no lime, and that thd rest of the eighteen gave very different quantities, it must be slated that the Halifax returri is probably to a great extent from foreign limestone and the rest from rock brought from Lunenburg county ; Yarmouth also probJ^- bly butns only imported rodk. ■-''' "' •• -ii' ^'- --i^ • ' ^| ' Oebsus return of lime burned in Nova 'Scotia i6'l86aiBiip *oraU . Anilapolit.Vi';wi'/*«iy"'^v'i.W.l'^%vJ'''' ii(^' -ii ^-k an\^. ■' ■ ■'■■' Hant8';.V.-.'ViV;'..*..;...^'.'.;..-;..'*.ii,4H ■•'•'""•' "'* rntes }at >'< Bydncy (AntigcmRsh)* .....••'* ^^fw.. 3,282 «tumjr> 4 1... I ''t •>»tfln'i t( Inverness ."/. »'Vi'. t't^^' J • 6,466 Helifaxw', 4) MUji// ,iurt Ouysfoorough....'^-^*** A-«>Jw»*4'*wU.«^ '820 ''' '•'Victoria ....-...•;(;« .vv ivi H . a'i'; /iJt'i' 4,T0O " ' '.• " • •«*- Queens. ...i'.. .i-ii .'.i'4i«#. «'•'.«'«. k'.'«' m' (0;,iii ^>^^ (**' Shelburne..'.J.'. .'.. *j,...'.vJi i..'^w !.'."•■' '-' '0^ ^'^mi^j frvly RiohmondJ. i'l'iUi Ji-.'^^WWi y4ii.'i^4W'. ^ 406 ^ni! zk^^q•\^c Cape Breton. . V. fl'l J/. .t'4'ifi'.'.V jm>o •./»>Ja LIMESTONE AND LIME IMPORTBD WtH 'N'OVi^ ^OOfTTA, ' ^Ui;U-.'^ »lo^; ,..: ..■. j:: ■; nlaithtyeara ending 80th September. .iftj] ii/v Liiqe. fJitiH] "LiM'^f 6.8 J08 bushels. 8 „ 65,404 ,, . .. ,: "1866.. ..;.':;. ..'.182 „ 133,084 'fj >fl«^^^ii> S'^I*"- The price of lime varies at different ports, but that pfj New Bruns- wick averages about a dollar a barrel of 4 to 5 bi^hels, that from the United States, about 70 c^nts a package, probably a barrel ,c)f about 3i to 4 bushels. There is no doubt thit the. native rocks yield excellent lime for building purposes and in some cases indeed theirs haft been preferred to that from New Brunswick, while,.euvi- ttOR '^iftlfl {f'l'jijtion mHi (ti LJmc^tono. j,j 1864. .. ,11,^. «.,,.. ,251 tons. 152 LIHSSTON«;i^. I ; I ously enough, the latter has in one instance been ui^ed iu a locality abounding in rock affording excellent lime which could have been got at less cost. Thus lime was offered at the kiln at 85 cents a barrel, with a deduction on larga demand, while New i Brunswick lime was said to cost more : for some reason, however, the latter was preferred in building the new Library of King's College, at Wind- sor, within a short distance of the rocks whence the lime offered would have come. On the other hand, in the construction of the Railway bridges between Windsor and Halifax (one of which is 8i feet high) lime from the, former place was used and found to give great satisfaction to the Engineer who pronounced it a very strong lime.* A limtjstone found at Indian Point, Cheater, Lunen- burg Co., of a deep blue colour, yields a lime which becomes as hard and lasting as cement ; it is much valued in Halifax for build- ing up the arches of kilns, a situation in which poor rock crumbles away while this remains quite hard. The lime from this was pre- ferred to that from New Brunswick in building the extensive Wel- lington Barracks in Halifax, by Mr. Peters, who informed me that it is the only one yet found to his knowledge fit to use in making concrete. On Chester Basin, about 7 miles to the N. W. of Indian Point, another fine limesto&e is found which affords strong lime and cement, also, by its decay, umber> aa mentioned under the head of paints. At Frail's, about 3 miles east of Chester, is a limestone which in some parte shews umber ; it is quarried ; it giveb a brown lime, which sells at the wharf at two shillings per barrel. A black limestone found at St. Peter's, Cape Breton, is said to giveexcellent lime, and limeislargely made from the limestone of East River, Pictou Co., and exported: it is highly valued at the neigh- bouring town of New Glasgow, An important fact is mentioned in Mr. Poole's report on the Gold Fields, 1862, viz : that at two places in the northern slate and quartzite district of Queen's county, Bryden's and MbLeod's, six miles distant from each other N. and .S., boulders" of shelly lime- stone were fpund. The limestone being easily brokpu could not have travelled far : search for the solid rock wAs recommended as in that part- of the country it would be of great value for agri- cultural and building purposes as well as interesting from a geolp- gic&l pomt of view. , , , . * Portland aement is being .aed In t'lo Windsor and Aonapolls Railway bridge over the rlT«rAi)on. 1 LIMESTONES. 153 Limestones as Cement Stones. Some limestones which contain ii li,mited proportion of certain foreign minerals, a^s clay, magnesia, and silica, have properties not found in pure limestones. AO-er these are burned at a proper temperature they either do not slake at all or very slightly a^d slowly,; when afterwards moistened, but especially if pulverized, they absorb water without becoming hot or swelling up and after a length of time varying fipom hours to days they become hard, and when this takes place under water they are called hydraulic cements. ,i]^nglish cement stonrs are stated usually to consist of,:— r^ j. , ,,_ ia (v-.u Carbopate of lime< i<.«.*«j* V**f.<%f *i*^«65.T0' ••tiof^nL oil) Protoxide of ifon,.,,, pj^-^ ,,♦,»...,« Ha ^f.»i 6,00 j,,,,{ ,^.i , , Silica, .....^........ 18.00 ^"" Alumina :'J.;;i.^;^i'iv.-i;. 6.60 ' ' an fii if>ti\ ;>d'i' .ootfivv. .96.30 mi xltiv/ • - or, generally, to contain from 8 to 25 per cent, of the foreign sub-i stances named. (Robert Hunt.) According to Deville* a dolomite rich in carbonate of magnes^ (the Tl st being carbonate of lime) when calcined below a dull red- heat, powdered and made into a paste, forms under water a stone of extraordinary hardness. Sotne stones exposed to the action of the sea remained Unaltered. Dr. Calvert about the same time gaVe f the following analyses of rocks employfed by the Great Dinorben Mining and Cement Company, in Anglesea, where some magnesian limestones are worked which make excelienit hydraulic cement and stucco. The results were:— r ,f-tr "i* 'MiLuii. i onii ' .. Hydraulic oeraeiit. Hydraulic lime. Stucco. Carbonate of magnesia .61.15 55.23 15.85 , Carbonate of lime ..21.41 33.99 , 72.23 Caibonate of iron....... .i.. 8.*J6 3.85 3.21 Silica.. .V.';.'iH;.;^'^'.V.w;.. 5.58 • 1.26?) „ ^^ Alumina.. ' L ........ 2.0T 2.2T' > ^^ Organic u^atter and water. *.. 1.10. 8.40 (( !>n> 6.00' /'J "fir , ^/ J. .;' • .. • — -■ — ^.-uv'TMrr— -tr- . ■ . . „ 100.07 100.00 f , r 100.00 ' til -yon Of. ,ii »'■ i>r > Xhe analyses shew that the hydr^ulicity of the rocks is in pro- portion to the amount of carbonate of magnesia t^ey contain. The ♦ChemlcftI News, XII., 287. i: t CbemicolKe'ra, XIII., 6, whore the amount of aillcain the aecond i^ialytiai is clveja JW 6.5S, t have ve^.tured to altui- this as then; Is ovidehtly an error, and, from the remark of H. Deville yivea cfler, it is probably in the silicfi. J f r,:i iv n si^ mi i^ xMM6^U. tock best fbr' each jjurpose coWaiitis the ataotint of this ingredlient fltdted above. Tb6 author states that he has cdrhpared th6 tetren^h of tfiese prodtict'^'With the best Portlatid eetnent and blue lias lim6- sttihe and found them quite equal, thoii^h vier7"difrdrent in cherti'i- cal dotnpdsitiori. Dr. Calvert supports M. Devilfe in the stateinen't that the catcittiatiou must be effected carefollV. "I'hie K^at must be faisdd to redness gradually and'fc^^t there tillall the carbonic acid is driven off, a higher temperature de8tr6y^ the hydrauliclty. The' calcined product must be ground very fine : the finer the powder the better the cement sets. M. Deville ivas of opinion that while the magnesia'in the hydraulic oement above was the mfi,in cause of the hydrauHcit^ l^e' silica* present must also be beneficial. In view of t^e preceding statements it is important to see what is known of the composition and qualities of the various limestones met with in ;tiife province. The fact is an exceedingly small num- ber of them hate' been analysed, even qualitatively, but several have been reported to possess hydraulic properties and some are h}lQwn to make excellent cements. TheJimestonesbf Walton and Teny Cape, Hants county, found holding, or in the neighbourhood ofj manganese often contain magnesia but in what quantity is not known; their hydrauliclty has not been tested. I have been told that some of the limfestones of Windsor afford hydraulic lime, and the same i»'said of some from St. Peter's, Cape Breton. Tho?, "paint stone" of Chester Basin, an impure limestone mentioned at another page as weathering to umber, consists of carbonates of lime, protoxide of iron, manganese, and magnesia, with other in- gredients among which are pyrites, sand, and apparently bitumen ; it is dark blue, nearly black, when first extracted^ and when care- fully burned becotaes dark brown in part&. Iii oho specimen I tried the bi^rnt mass quickly absorbed a sniall amount of water, grew warm, biit did not fall to powder *, when brokeji it shewed some white portions ; on grinding-, a uniform brown powder was easily obtained which when mixed with water to a stiff paste be- camie solid in half ari hour and in 6ne hour or so a cake of it was dropped from a height of five orsix feet and only a small fragment was detached. The next day the cake was thrown to the ceiling' and only broke on falling a fourth time to the floor. The cement appeired to g«t harder on exposure in the air. The addition of sand gave me only a crumbling mass. I understand that by pro- 1 per treatment TiydrauHc cement has be6n vdMe iEVdm somel of the rocfes of thic locality which We fbuhd at differeiit points fdr some mhfefe in' an east and' west direction albn'gth'e'Bksin. ' ■' SfA'nie of the M'liiestbnes on the pi'operty of the OAfelliW'illa^if MA'tihtain Lime ana Man^anes^ Company contain foreign ingi'e- dients and may he foUnd to be hydraiiWc. iPhe chief imputfty appears to be clay, there is a small q,uantity of magnesia in sojme of them, some are bituminous. ISfr. Barnes, who as well as my- self reported on this property, says the limestone is very similar to the Canadian limestonis affording strongly hydraulic liirie, a,nd, that .while the water cements used here are imported at an expense of $4 or $5 a barrel, if the lime found here should prove a gpod cement, it could be sold at from 50 to 76 cents a barrel. The soft blue limestone from Kehnetcopk, Hants Co., used in building the f* ndation of the new library of King's College, I find to contain a co d6i'able amount of magnesia, with somfe protoxide of iro' and soiue siliceous matter A limestoijie from Arisaig, Antigonish county, examined. in connection with Dr. Hior.eyman's geological survey, afforded me :— . • . ' Carbonate of lime 74 . 64 Car'bonate of magnesia .4.84 Oxide of iron, with a little alumina i'i I :VV. 'S.oif"' ^^^ '"'^ Water ^lV;^..;";.-;i'iV;'.^';v.i-.v;vVii'A^/b^W^'^' '"'^'^*'' Clay and sahd/J.l; .:!'l'i^r/.'.':';:vvJi^.:-.i^.§2^-*''' """' 98.51 ; and it was stated in my report that the am mnt and nature of the* irigredients other than carbonate of lime are iid "fevour of a certara' amount of hydrauUcity. • ' ' "• ^'f '■>^''*' > " '^^" ' *'" ' =^i'*'«» '^--^'^ Mr. G. Lang informed me that ^htibSenacadfe afforas a limestone^ from which lime was used twelve years previously in building a chimney for a steam-fengine, and that after the lapse of that time the work under water Could not be separated. Hei believed that th6 lime takes the first place' on this continent for masonry and all exterior work. It slacks with unusually little water, and takes as mitCfh sand again as ahy Other tised in the country, making a nioi-tar which is better than any cement*^efxcopt the Portland and resists the^evere frosts ■ id SUdd6h thiiWa much 'better than chat made' with lime from St. John or West Indian limestone. Mr. Handle^, :\ : ]\ ri Xb^ LIMESTONES. of Halifax, shewed me a cement he had used ia putting together firebricks, which ho had made from a rock found near St. Peter's, Cape Breton, by careful burning, grinding, and mixing with sand : he found it a very strong cement. During the construction of railways and other public works in (old) Canada one manufact,ur«r made on the average 8000 bi^ahels of cement annually. _ .,,.,;!, jAviestones for Manure/' Y^ile magnesia is found to be so valuable a constituent in limestones to be used in making hydraulic cement, its presence is considered prejudicial in lime for manuring purposes, and I have heard the limestones of Windsor objected to on this account. Some of the deposits in this neighbourhood are certainly nearly pure carbonate of lime. I analyzed a specimen from the fossiliferous blu£f on the Avon, on the property of Otis King, Esq., and found it to contain : — Carbonate of lime 97.64 Carbonate of magnesia 1 . lO Oxide of iron * 0.07 Phosphoric acid * trace. Clay, sand, and silica .68 99.49 For the sake of comparison I n^ay state that in Prof. Anderson's recent work on Agricultural Chemistry, the analyses of two com- mon limestones are given as examples of the composition of these rocks and 1.61 and 'jf.45 are the respective per centagcs of carbo- nate of magnesia. There are many limestones in the province as at other parts of the banks of the Avon near Windsor, at Stewiacke, and at Brookfield and Gay's river, Colchester county, which closely resemble that above analyzed in being made up almost exclusively of mfl'rine shells ; they are all probably equally pure. , The presence of phosphoric acid in some of the limestones at dif- ferent localities, occasionally apparently in notable quantity, may add much to their value for agricultural purposes as Dr. Dawson , mentions with regard to some found in the coal measures of Jog- gins, Cumberland Co. . I examined a specimen which I got from a bed on the beach there and found a very decided amount of phos- phoric acid, it was from a dark coloured bituminous ropk. These would, as stated in Acadiau Geology, be worth about three times as much as ordinary limestone, and the richea^ UARBLES. 167 of the beds might possibly be sufficiently appreciated on trial to allow them to be profitably worked. I found a small quan- tity of phosphoric acid in some of the bituminous limestone of Onslow, and a veiy small quantity in some not bituminous. fr> '. oj ' l/iniestone as a Ftux. At Londonderry the amount of limestone Used was in 1 861 given as 200 bushels required to smelt every ton of iron, of which there were at that time about 1,5^00 tons annually produced. When the Nictau works were In operation limestone was imported from New Brunswick and then conveyed by land car- riage a distance of some eleven miles over a mountain road. In the event of the works being reopened railway transportation of the limestones of the carboniferous districts at the east end of the Windsor and Annapolis line may be fou,nd of great advantage. Marbles. These have long been known to exist in various local- ities but none of them have been actually worked ; attempts have been made to bring two of them into use but the results have not been satisfactory, from the fact that the specimens obtained, whil^j very beautiful, have not proved to be free from flaws. T^is may be due to the circumstance of the rocks being found in metamorphic and disturbed regions; also, however, as none of the marble de-' posits have been worked in depth, to the actions which are found to influence all rocks near the surface. On this latter point Prof. Ansted says : "All building materials ofthe nature of stone, forming part of the earth's crust as a mass of rock, if they come to the sur- face at all, are invariably injured and altered near the surface." In the case of marble, which is not absorbent of water on account, of its close texture, the flaws might . be caused by thie expansive action of frost on water in crevipes. ^ Tfie marble best known here is thjat found in the fnetamorphic, rocks of Five Islands, Colchester Co., near the Basin of Minas. It is situated on the side of a steep mountain §t the base of which runs a brook in whose bed are, many fragments of marble^ of at least two kind^. The marble found in largest quantity is pure white in colour, of excellent grain, surpassing in beauty when polished, according to Messrs. Wesley and Sanford, marble- workers, of Halifax, the Italian marble. About 1852 a gentlemai^ was sent from England with two quanymen to extract a block. •lis ji i( m i l&S HABBLES. The party vemaiued some ii^ont^hs and, finally a block of consid- erftW^ size was shipped, at an expense, it is stated, of about £1000. !)[he exploreji? is reported to have stated that the marble was supe- rior to any he had seen frpm jQarrara, but on the arrival of .the block in England it was pronounced to be unserviceable from being shattered. The co^ndition is considered here to. have been brought about, in p^t at all, events, by the block having been , blasted out. I ^aye been tol4 bjf a resident in the neighbourhoiod at the time qf tke operations that a good deal more might have been done at the pame ^xpense, and, on the whole, the rocjc can h3,rdly be said tOk have had a fair trial. Even if better conducted operations do not show that large masses of good quality can be got, at least it is prpbable that smaller blocks suitable for busts and like sized ob- jects may be obtained. The other marble found here is greeiji a^d white ; it is not very well thought of by marble-workers. The second trial made on marble wasin C^pe Breton, in the neighbourhood of Bras d'Or Lake. Here the rocjt is found on the top of a mountain for ,a distance of about six mjles. Samples were tajien out about three years ago, polished, and sent to New York, they were p;:onounQed shattered, and operations weije given up. It is curious, however, that, as Mr. Lordley, who was one of the com- pany concerned, tells me, the boulders found in the district are solid. The colour was white with red stains, a green stained white variety is also found in the same, region. One great advantage . of the locality is that a gently descent of two and a half miles lead^ to a shipping place. The. best djpplay of the inai^les of the province was made at the I^ondon Exhibition of 1865^;, when thirteen specimens were sheyrn, from eleven Ipcalii^es. Parrshorc^, in Cumberland county, furnish- ed a pufple coloured marble with green spots of serpentine,; Che^- erj^ in Hants county,, a red l^aijided variety ; F%ve lBla.n,ds, the ^i^o kinds described abpye y Ohslo^, (jJolc^hpatjer pounty, a red and , white mottled, and a ch6cola|te variety ; Pictou county a greenish coloured ffom East River, and a gyey patterned variety from Fraser Mountain^ near JJafiit River; Cape Bretpn sent a white with black veins fi^om Whycocomah, a red anja a clouded grey from Craignish, a VHite aiid green 'from Geofge's Rivjer, and a black marble jfrom some other locality unnamed, . The grey marble .from Eraser's Mpunliam is cpncretionarv, it was shewn ii^ a polished specimen, BARYTE3. 1^9 of about a sq,uare foot in surface, (due to the firm of Wesley and Sanford, of Halifax, before, mjentioiied, wjio v^ry liberally polighed various otherspecimens for the E^hibitioi^ CoramissioijejrB) itexhjl- bited poi)centriQ T?^^v,^d bands in separate sets whose outlines sonjiQ- what resembled expanded flowera. So far a^ I knoyy |;hia mai'ble is unique, and a specimen I have, a present from the firm named, is. an object of great adipiration to miuieralogical visitors, it would make fine inlaid work. TUhe quantity of the material, I underst^^^ i^ considerable but it is ^ot all equally b^autjifwl wjieii^ polished.^.^^ri ,,^iPary .85?.4,6 , ftirw fl. odi lamtii' 3ilic»/ sulphate of lime, etc. . . « . . ..17, Hi,' ; 1,- ; ■ ■ Til a , note |)eiog ; adde^ .that the mineral was veyy^ , fi;eQ j^ppHj ,Yf^J^ aad tl^at spme portions pf it >iv;9^i}jk}, iipt, reqiiirp bleaching. T^g^ an»9Uint',(^J:|M rai^d in the Upit^d Kingdoiin in ^8^^ .ly;^ X\A^1 tons. . .^j|,)^ ^,1 j^i^g g| i^^^yaiJiif'j loJJal ihli ; HienoAuv, i«6 BARVTGS. t'fe ; i ii' Barytes of Five Islands, Colchester County. The mineral occurs here in numerous irregular veins or pockets in the slates of East or Bass Kivers. It is sometimes found in veky beautiful crystalline masses, one of these, weighing perhaps 150 lb, wag sent to the Piaris Exhibition. It is associated with calc spar and carries in parts a little Ispeculfll' iron and copper pyrites. It has been worked to some extent. I visited the mine, which is two or three miles from the high road, in the summer of 1866 and found it in opera- tion. The veins from which the mineral was being taken were nearly vertical, one had a thickness of a few inches and a good deal of barytas was Being taken out, another, ih the opposite side of a high hill, from w'hich much had been feiiioved was about three feet wide in parts, I learned there was another exposure from which a large iquAtttity had been got. The mineral was extracted from the fac of the rock by simple quiarrying. Abbirt 30 tons had been got ott In three weeks ^ s6'me"of the mineral was quite white, some had a red tinge, and soJ^e cohtained specks of c6pper pyrites. It is estimated that about 500 tons in all have been ex* ported to the United States. Since my visit fVesh discoveries have been made, three new veins having been found iabove the old ones. The mineral, of which I have seen a specimen of excellent quality, is said to' be much superior td that formerly obtained. Th6 Colchester Baryta Company has issued a prospectus containih^ favourable reports by Professor Wyckoff and others. '^ji>j> ^ jiaryt'es Sf'Stcmdcke, CotdJiesier uown^l— -On 'the 'banks of'i^e Stewiacke river, about 4 miles from the Brookfield railx^ay station threb veins of barytes are exposed on the' silrfaCe, iti ^ boiintiy rock of red sandstone, having an' average thickness of IS inches. The mihoral has been got out in some (Quantity, the largest amotitit having been renibVed several years ago. A shaft of about 40 fedt was sunk on the first workings by (JiA'ati^ing atld one vein was found to thicken very considerably in depth. Last summer the shaft was emptied of water and a few tons of mineral raised the greater part of which is said to have been perfectly white. A speci- men of some pounds weight feliewn to me, rejibrted toi have been taken frorti the surikoe, was white throughout, ' dr with a greyidh! tiifi^e lii part, bui perfectly' free frotn pyfttes and- other metallic minerals; this latter character is said to belong to the wliolb |H^1 BARYTES. 161 deposit. Mr, R. G, Fraser, to whom I am indebted for those de- tails, says he has no doubt of the mineral being abundant and he adds that there is a mill within 500 yards of the shaft at which the mineral could be ground; the rtfad to the mill is on an incline from the shaft. It is estimated that 1200 tons, in all, have been taken cot. Barytes of Brookfield, Colchester County. On the mining property controlled by Mr. C. Annand, in the neighbourhood of the large boulders of iron ore described in a former page, is a deposit of barytes, probably of some 15 feet in thickness, exposed on the side of the hill. It is mixed with iron ore and most of it as seen has a reddish colour but one specimen I obtained was quite white. Banjtes of other localities. I have specimens of impure mineral from the bank of the west arm of the River Avon, Hants county ; from the peninsula of Halifax ; from the Onslow East Mountain Company's property where I found it in a detached mass ; and from Frenchman's Brook, Arisaig. This last was among the minerals examined in connection with Dr. Honeyman's survey, it was mixed with red oxide of iron ; the broken mineral showed a red colour partly in the mass and partly in layers on the surface of fracture, and, when ground, gave a white powder with a decided tinge of pink ; the colour was partly removed by acid. These last named being all surface specimens can hardly be taken as shewing the true nature of the deposits. Mr. Barnes informs me that about 14 miles north east of Cheticamp, Cape Breton, a vein of barytes more than 18 inches thick occurs in a highly contorted black slate. Huge masses of the mineral containing an admixture of small particles of slate are lying on the beach. Barytes is found, per- haps invariably, though not in quantity to be worth working, with the manganese ore of Hants and Colchester. Moulding Sand. This is a material of the first importance in metal casting, a good quality of it being eagerly sought for and sometimes obtained from distant places, of course at consider- able expense. What is required at the foundry is a sand having sufficient cohesive power when moist to remain firm in the flask and this quality is found not in a pure siliceous powder but in a lft2 MOULDING SAND. aand contaiuiug au admixture of foreign substances such as clay and oxide of iron. It has been thought that much of the beauty of the famous Berlin iron-castings, which arc unrivalled for delicacy and exquisite finish, depends upon the sand employed in forming the moulds. Ilcncc the sand collected about an ornamental casting shewing the perfec- tion to which the processes have been brought was analyzed at the Royal School of Mines, in London, with these results : — J,.,^l' Silica.. 19.02 Alumina 13. t2 Protoxide of iron * •tt:*; 2.40 , .... Lime -• trace Magnesia 0.71 Potash 4 . 58 100.43 it was probably a decomposed granite. Different qualities of sand are required, respectively, in the casting of iron, of brass, and the fine kinds of brass-casting, such as tubes. For the former purpose, the foundry of Messrs. Dimock, at Windsor, uses to some extent sand from near the railway depot about half a mile distant, sand from New York being also employed. Dartmouth affords beds of sand one of which is used by the brass founders of Halifax. Promising beds of sand are found at Onslow, Colchester county, and at Chester Basin, Lunenburg county. Some time ago, the American Tube Works Company, in Boston, having been in the habit of using sand from near Birmingham, England, and from Baltimore, U. S., which last contained 4 per ceut. peroxide of iron and 3 per cent, clay and cost $10 per ton, were anxious to find some sand in this province which would answer as well and cost less money. After the trial of several qualities one found in abundance on the property of Mr. Pellow, at Windsor, Hants county, was proved to give satisfaction and, in 1866, a shipment to the amount of 250 tons was made. The sand is red, it occurs in a bed some 8 feet thick, about three feet beneath the surface, overlying a thin bed of grey sandstone which rests upon the great bed of gypsum Mr. Pellow is now working in the Clifton quarry. Only 60 cents a ton were charged, but on another occasioi^ it would be necessanr to make the price T5 ox 80 cents. CLAYS. 163 Bath-brick Sand. — The sand above mentioned as occuninp at Chester Basin I am led to consider promising for moulding purposes I'rom its fine grain and from its having sufficient cohosivo power to admit of being made into bath-bricks. Mr. K. D. Clarke, who, as before mentioned, used to make paint from the "limestone" of this neighbourliood, pressed the sand into bricks which he dried in the sun and sold as bath-bricks with the mark of " Douglas Brick," about 1850. The sand, of a light yellow colour, is in a bed of some feet thick close to the road which passes within a short distance of the shore of Chester Basin, * Mortar-sand. — Sands for making mortar exist in many places, but the district through which the coach-road passes in Kings and Annapolis counties is particularly rich in sand which seems especially adapted for this purpose. With regard to the quality of that in the neighbourhood of Kentvillo, the engineers of the railway from Windsor to Annapolis have found that from its hard- ness and cleanness it is the best for making mortar they have ever met with. Clays. — Large deposits of clay, suitable for making bricks and pottery, are found in many parts of the province and the numerous coal fields afford abundance of fine clay, some of which is under- going trial for the manufacture of fire-bricks. Extensive brick yards have been in operation for some years and potteries have been added to these at which a variety of ware has been made. The census returns of 1851 and 1861 gave the following : — Number of bricks made in the province, 1850 2,845,000. I860 T,659,000. The subjoined table from the last census, 1861, gives the number and value of the bricks made in each county, and affords an index to the localities of the clay districts, as then recognised. BRICKS MADE IN NOVA SCOTIA IN 1860. Counties. Number. Vulne in Dollars. Halifax 1,092,000 7,944 Colchester 160,000 4,905 Cumberland 335,000 2,465 Pictou 411,000 3,286 Sydney 180,000 1,309 i t k^' 164 CLAYS. Countlof. Number. Guysborougli 160,000 Inverness 47,000 Richmond. Victoria 6,000 Cape Breton 6,000 Hants 1,555,000 Kings 775,000 Annapolis 880,000 Digby 148,000 Yarmouth 1 ,200,000 Shelburnc Queens 25,000 Lunenburg 90,000 Vulup In Dollar*. 1,212 237 80 80 13,590 4,818 4,253 919 6,000 150 555 Total 7,659,000 51 ,703 The following statement from the Trade Returns shews the number and value, when this is given apart from that of other " manufactured stone," of the bricks imported and expoi*ted in the years ending 30th September. BRICKS IMPORTED TO N. 8. KXl'ORTED FROM N. S. Year. Number. Value. Number. Value. 1864 1865 1866 1867 (9 months) 1,188,685 1,764,662 869,500 377,050 $11,565 17,743 not given 48,000 19,480 740,000 28,000 $451 not given 455 392 The average value of bricks appears to be ten dollars a thousand, though there are wide departures from this price upwards and downwards both in imports and exports ; portion of the totals is no doubt fine brick. Of course there is not so large a demand now as there was a few years ago when the burnt houses of Halifax were being restored iok brick and stone and the side walks were being paved with brick ; from this cause and the importations from New Brunswick and "Canada" together with the large home produc- tion the market has lately been overstocked and a large proportion of the bricks made the last year or two remains unsold, though the price of those made along the eastern railway was reduced to 7| dollars the thousand delivered at Richmond. As appears from the census returns, brick-clay beds are found in I 3 ■ 1^ CLAY3. 166 455 392 many parts of the province. Some of the most extensive occur ia the eastern part of Hants county ; along the line of railway to Truro, from Windsor Junction to some miles beyond the Shuben- acadie station, these beds are* worked by various companies at different points. At Mr. Malcom's works, situated close to tho railway, both bricks and pottery are made. The brick-clay covers a largo tract to an average depth of nine feet on the side of the Shubenacadio river ; in 1867 about 1,300,000 bricks were made. The fire clay also found close to the railway appears to run in bods, of no great thickness, dipping at a considerable angle. J^iroclay from Nine Mile River was formerly used here extensively, it was in a bed 12 feet thick, mixed with vegetable remains and resting on a quartz gravel. The fireclay now used is brought from Musquo- • doboit where it occurs in a bed known to be 25 feet thick, and of unascertained further depth, in bands of various colours ; it is blue on the top, below arc seams of white, black, and yellow clays. The distance is 18 miles by road and other 10 by rail ; tho clay costs the company about $3 per ton : some 500 tons were used last year in making fire-bricks (to the number of about 10,000) drain-pipes, chimney-pots, stone-tubes and other large articles. Operations commence the first week in May. Mr, Malcom sent fire-bricks, drain pipes and pottery ware to the London Exhibition of 1862. Of the bricks exhibited the report of Rev. Dr. Honey- man, agent for the Nova Scotia Commissioners, states : "All the bricks were considered as excellent and well-made, and were highly approved of both by Englishmen and foreigners." Nash's Brick and Pottery Company have works one mile beyond tho preceding. They have 8 or 10 acres covered with 10 feet of clay without a stick or a stone. About 1,000,000 house-bricks were made in 1867 : they have means of turning out three times that amount. A few thousand fire-bricks were also made, and used chiefly in building their pottery ovens ; 5000 only were sent to the Albion Coal Mines. Mr. Lang has a brick yard 12 miles N. E. of tho last named ; ho has 23 acres of clay bed 60 feet thick and of which the bottom has not been reached ; he made in 1867 about 600,000 bricks. By his neighbour, Mr. Murray, there were made that year about 400,000. Near Windsor Junction a brickyard has been established by Mr. Grove : he has a thickness of clay in one part of 25 feet, and has 166 CLAY?!, I ■ III found no liottom. In 1867 about 300,000 bricks and a few flower- pots and chimney pots were made. On the eastern shore of ITalifax harbour is situated the Welling- ton Brickyard, a largo establishment under the management of Mr. T. Scarfe, who has kindly furnished me an account of the works as they were before they were destroyed by fire about three years ago and as they now are : with reference to the present condition he says: '"l^'eb}'. 4th J868. — We have during the last two years been erecting new buildings and iitcing up new and improA^ed steam engine and machinery. We cavi Uc v manufacture upwards of 40,000 tnicks a day, and have facilities for extension should a greater demand arise. Our w;)rks are about three and a half miles from the city by water, the sh jre is very bold with good anchorage and with our extensive wharfage we have every facility for loading ships of any burden. The clay which is intermixed with sand, fine gravel, and large stones, (but little or no limestone) is taken from a hill running N. W. and S. E. parallel to the Iiarbour, and ap- parently one of the most prominent lateral moraines which abound all along the eastern shore. We work tho whole face of the hill in order to combine the various ingredients and by that means greatly improve our manufacture. The face of oui work'ngs is about 150 yards long with an average height of 10 feet, the base being 11 feet above high water level and on the same plane wilh the upper portion of our yard. The deposit extends for about 400 yards be- yond our present face. We manufacture about 2,800 cubic ya^d^'. into 1,500,000 bricks yearlj-. We have several other hill forma- tions on our premises but tl^eir material is not so good as that wo ara now using. " The clay having been dried is passed through large revolving screens to ("reo it from the stones, it is ground by powerful rollers which thoroughly pulverize and incoi >rate the various minerals previously to their being ground witl. ■ ixer in the pug-mills : tho bricks are thus rendered honugoneous t?iroughout. We are still burning our bricks in open kilns with soft wood which gives the most satisfactory r-esults with our stock. This method of burning by open kilns ii? n^t practised in England but is much in vogue in Canada* aiul the Northern States ; the fuel is fed in from timt; to time during tho burning as to the furnace of a closed kiln. "Oar kiln sheds are capable of holding 1,000,000 bricks. We I)! CLAY3. 16T Wo claim for our manufacturo superiority in cohesion, solidity, and colour, above any others made in this province. About 40 men are employed upon the works and we could often give t^ork to a much greoter number if they could be procured when required." At the local exhibition held in Halifax preliminary to that of London, 1862, Mr. Scarfe obtained a prize for bricks of which the* following is his description. No. 1. Pressed bricks made expressly for the ftice of buildingp and passed through a powerial combina- tion press after the greatest amount of the shrinkage has taken placQ in the moulded chiy, whereby a fine, nmooth surfaoo with pharp outlines is obtained, combined with increased density, render- ing them more durable and less porous. No. 2. Slop stocks, being moulded with water and struck by hand, forming a very clean and excolloat brick suitable for the ex- terior of buildings. No. 3. Drain bricks, moulded for 12 inch barrel drains, the beds of which radiate from lie centre, whereby a gred,t sa/ing of cement or mortar is obtained. No. 4. Common or sand stocks made by machinery , a thorough- ly ucll burned brick Wi.oh from the roughed «: STONES. 171 less largely and perfectly crystalline. In the Cobequid Mountains, in Cumberland and Colchester counties, masses of red, flesh-colour- ed and grey syenite, seen rising rapidly to the height of several hundred feet, have often been described as granite, some of the varieties are often fine grained and appear to pass into greenstone. It may be conveniently mentioned here that these rocks and the porphyries of the district are suitable for building and ornamental purposes. I have had a few specimens of the syenite and green- stone roughly polislied and the results were such as to shew that the qualities of tlicse rocks are well worth trial on a large scale.* Syenite when polished forms, according to Dr. Feuchtwanger, the most splendid of all ornamental rocks. 5,000 houses are supposed to be built of it in the city of New York, where it is often called gianite ; the distinction generally observed is that of the former has hornblende in place of the mica of the latter. Granite is quarried at Shelburne, and is much approved in Halifax as being very fvee from iron stains. In the neighbourhood of Halifax granite is quarric-^ at the go- vernment quarries near the North West Arm and at private quar- ries at Birch Cove, Mr. Gossip saya : " there are two descriptions of granite within a short distance at the ibrmer locality, one is much harder and finer grained than the other, and they differ in colour. The granite nearest the blue rock and slate becomes some- what porphyritic and acquires a light greyish blue tint ; wherever it approaches the lower rocks it grows harder and, though in some places of good quality, is more difficult to work. There appears to be a well defined line of division between the two kinds of gi^a- nite. A natural gully leading from the south government wharf to to the granite quarry in the Mil beyond has on one side the purer description of which it is but truth to say that there is nothing su- perior anywhere to be found of granite rock. Blocks of the largest dimensions may be quarried here, and the supply seems inexhaust- ible." From the Board of Works renort for 1864 it appears that the cost of rough granite at the rcniientiary, where it is cut by criminals, is $2.30 per ton, the cost of cutting is given as averag- ing 25 cents per superficial foot, 1 visited the quarry at Birch Cove belonging to Mr. R. Davis in * I have since been Informed 'hat four columns in front Of Moleon'a Bank at Montreal, much admired for their L.;autiful appearance, arc made of polished red syenite from this province. 1;^ 172 STONES. company with that gentleman in 1861 and there also the supply of granite is very large and the quality excellent : a specimen of one foot cubic dimensions was exhibited by Mr. Davis, in London, the next year ; it was cut and polished, and was very handsome. % ;|i: Freestones. These are found in the greatest abundance : valuable varieties exist in many parts of the carboniferous districts of Nova Scotia proper and Cape Breton, some of which have been largely quarried for home use and for exportation. Pictou County. Gray Freestone fit for building purposes is found in a great number of places in the coal formation and is quarried at present chiefly at two points on the Saw Mill Brook at the head of Pictou harbour, the "Acadia Quarry,"' and " M'Kcn- zie's Quarry." These quarries have yielded large quantities of stone, and a railway and loading pier three quarters of a mile in length have been constructed. Many structures have been built of the stone in the large cities in the United States ; that from the M'Kenzie quarry was used in the lower part of the New Post Office in Halifax : it is cheap, durable, and of x pleasant reddish colour. •The price of the stone depends much on the dimensions, for the usual size of building stones the price is about $4 a ton shipped. Previous to the late war in the United States the amount annually shipped was, Mr. Ross informs me, from 4080 to 5000 tons ; the war destroyed the trade and since 1861 the Acadia quarry has scarcely been worked. Last year, 1867, the quantity taken from both quarries did not exceed 400 tons. In the seven years ending 30th September, 1866, there has been exported from Pictou, stone, chiefly building, to the value of 25,094 dollars. Cumberland County. At River Philip quarries have been worked for three years by Messrs. M'Donald, who have shipped annually about 1,500 tons of stone, worth $5 a ton at the quarry. le stone has been used at the new Post Office, Halifax ; the Baul^ >f Yarmouth ; the Volunteer Monument, Toronto ; the R. -. Cathedral, Harbour Grace, Newfo mdland ; in P. E. Island; in Montreal ; and in Portland, Maine. There is a deposit of stone of beaut i I colour on this river not yet opened. At Wallace valuable bods have been quarried for many years by STONES. 113 Mr. Batty. Tlie stone is light in colour, easily worked, of good quality, and admits of very elaborate and delicate sculpturing. It has been largelj'' used in Halifax ; the Union Bank and parts of the new Post Office are of this material. The price is $2 a ton at Wallace, the amount exported is, when given in the returns, not separated from that of grindstones. At Tatamagouche freestone is also quarried and to a small ex- tent exported. In the seven years ending 30th September, 1866, there have been exported from Cumberland county, exclusive of the Joggins, stone, chiefly for building, to the v.ilue of 21,211 dol- lars. Hants County, Sandstones suitable for building purposes occur at Shubenaca^ie, Falmouth, Windsor, Kennetcook, and no doubt other places. The Kennetcook stone is not of very fine grain, but it is easily worked, is close to the river, and its colour which is yellow, and rather brown in parts, is warm and agreeable. This stone was used in building the new Library of King's College, Windsor, and the Bishop of Predericton, whose architectural taste is well known, exprr^,':3d, in my hearing, great admiration of its colour. The Falmouth stone and that from Ker nctcook are being used for the new bridge over the Avon, at Windsor, for the railway thence to Annapolis ; the former is raised about 2 or 3 miles from the river. The amount required is estimated at from 8,000 to 12,- 000 tons. Colchester County. A valuable quarry of building stone exists about 4 miles from Folly Village. Cape Breton. Freestone of good quality is obtained at Port Hood Island, Margaree, Whycocomah and Boulardarie. I Flag Stone. A large quantity of stone has been quarried at the North West Arm, and used as a flagstone. Mr. Gossip says the Flag Quarry lies nearly opposite the Chain Battery, a short dis- tance from the wharf where the stone is shipped. On the top the rock is a good deal broken ; at a depth of 6 to ? feet excellent building material is found in beds from 3 to 6 feet thick, it is a m STONES. 'r; ,. ^.. bluish grey quartzite, is often micacoous, and I.s cnrlously lami- nated, the laminoo being in the direction of the main bedding and having a decided influence over the woriiable and merchantable character of the rock. The thinnest markings make the best cleavage and are divisions of the best stones. Mr. Gossip says also that " while looking at this excellent material for pavement, and considering the little difficulty there is in quarrying it, and its apparent abundance I could not but feel mortified at the spectacle exhibited in Halifax of a large importation of Caitliness flag when an imperishable article, as good at least, if not much superior, may be found at our very doors." Under the name of ironstone a quartzite, perhaps the same as the last, is largely used in building walls in Halifax. Large quantities of coarse slate for pavements and foundations have for some time been quarried close to the railway station at Beaver Bank, 16 miles from Halifax ; and on the shore about four miles cast from Lunenburg an arenticeous rock probably of the same nature is got for the same purpose. Mr. Poole mentions the occurrence of slates for flags, under-pinning, and foundations at Clare and other places in the western counties, where large slabs may be obtained and good materials for various building purposes may be found wherever gneiss, mica slate and the more compact forms of clay slate appear.in the southern metamorphic district of the province, and the slates of the newer metamorphic regions. Roofing slates have been made to some considerable extent in Eawdon, and at the Gore, Douglas, Hants county ; at the latter place the beds are vertical and slates of any dimensions, Mr. Lang informs me, can be obtained. Dr. Lawson has since reported fa- vourably on the deposit as containing a variety of slates useful for various purposes ; "the supply is not likely to be exhausted for several generations even if extensively worked." In Digby county, Mr. Poole saw bands of good roofing slate at Avour's Head. I have seen a good specimen from near Wey- mouth. Rev. Dr. Robertson informs me that on the south mountain near the line which separates the county of Annapolis from that of Kings there is a large quantity of excellent slate. SrONBS, 115 Variegated Clay Slate, Kings County. As a material suited for internal decorative purposes must be mentioned the beautiful soft clay slate which is found at Beech Hill, near Kentville, and is said to bo abundant. It may be readily cut with a knife and furnishes surfaces most agreeably variegated with concentric bands of differ- ent colours in long oval patterns, It was discovered I believe by the late Dr. Webster, of Kentville, who first shewed me specimens. Pencil Stone. Under this name Rev, Dr. Iloneyman submitted to me for examinat'on a clay slate found i" quantity, I believe, in Antigonish county, where it is much value )r the making of pen- cils for writing on slates. Oven-Stone. The new red aajidstone of Cornwallis is used in the neighbourhood of Kentville for . Uuildiug ovens, it exists in abun dance and may be obtained with the greatest ease, it is sometimes called river-stone, from being found in convenient blocks in the Cornwallis river. It is very easily cut to any desired shape with an axe and answers admirably for the purpose to which it is put. The blocks are sold at Kentville at 50 cents each, whew containing about two cubic feet of stone. Stones and Materials for Grinding and Polishing. — Grindstones. At several of the places before mentioned as affording freestones for building some of the sandstones arc found suitable for grind- stones, this is especially the case at the Joggins in Cumberland county. In 1836 Dr. Gesncr described the making of grind- stones at the Bank Quarry at the South Joggins from sandstones consisting of minute grains of quartz united by an argillaceous ce- ment into a compact rock capable of being split into tabular masses. Grindstones made of the finer varieties of this rock were then an ii jportaut article of commerce with the United States. The smaller were the most valuable, but stones were made of six feet in dia- meter and a foot in thickness. In the census of 1861 a steam grindstone factory was given as one of the factories of the county. The principal localities in Cumberland for grindstone making are Seaman's Cove and Ragged Reef. The following statement from the census of 1861 gives at a glance the number of stones then maf'e, in what counties, and their value : — * ■7 176 ^ BTONES, 0UINDST0NK8 MADE IN NOVA SCOTIA IN I860. Counties. Number. Vnluc In DoUiirH. Halifax 16 14 Colchester 606 608 Cumberland 42706 40166 Pictou 1293 990 Antigonish 49 49 Guysborough 703 1106 Inverness 128 188 Richmond 4 6 Victoria 45 85 Cape Breton 47 68 Hants 893 818 Kings... 1 1 Annapolis « 3 8 Lunenburg 2 8 Totals 46496 44100 in the four remaining counties ncnie were made. At present grindstones are shipped from Pugwash by Messrs. McDonald, to the extent of about 100 tons annually, the value being 12 dollars per ton ; as mentioned previously, they are included with the freestones in the official returns so that we cannot get at the quantity sent away even : however, as regards the Joggins the export is chiefly, if not entirely, grindstones, and the value of stone exported thence during six years ending Sept. 30th 1866, was 63,620 dollars. I have no information as to the relative qualities of the stones made but no doubt in the great number of beds from which they are taken varieties exist corresponding more or less closely with certain stones noted for particular applications, such as the York- shire grit used for polishing marble and copper plates for engravers, and the Sheffield blue stone, a fine grained stone used in finishing fine goods. Millstones. Dr. Gesner montioned in 1836 that millstones were then made from granite at W hite Point, Canseau, which was pre- ferred to any other in the vicinity for stones used in grinding all kinds of grain. Boulders of granite are employed in making mill- STOXKS. stones ia various parts of the province and the syenite of the Cob- equids has been highly spoken of sis excellent for the same purpose. HonestoncH. A collection of hones was shewn in the Provincial Exhibition of 1854 for which a certificate of merit was av/arded to Mr. Adam Bower, of Shelburne. Mr. Poole reports that honestone was found on Pleasant River, Queens county, and again at Whet- stone Lake, in Shelburne county, where he met with loose pieces all along the south and west sides of the lake and also saw a piece apparently in fiitu. These stones are valuable when of particular quality and the deposits deserve invcstigatfon ; a good idea may be obtained of the different kinds of hones in request from Hunt's Guide to the Museum of Practical Geology. Burnuhers. Agates and some kinds of jasper are used as bur- nishers ; abundance of these minerals exists in the trap districts of the Bay of Fundy and Basin of Minas. At- Blomidon a mass of agate of 40 lb. weight was obtained by Dr. Gesner, Several kinds of jasper are also found In the localities affording agates : very largo quantities occur at Digby Neck, some of the varieties are said by Dr. Gesner to be very compact, these would be suitable for the purpose in question. Gutting Material. The garnet sand found on the shores of Lake George, Shelburne county, used in the neighbourhood for dust- ing over the outsides of houses, consists of very small brilliant garnets of pale lilac colour. A similar mineral found near Pesaro, on the shores of the Adriatic, is employed for cutting hard stones, sawing marble, and like purposes. Infusorial Earth. Deposits of the minute siliceous coverings of infusoria exist at Earltown and Cornwallis. The earth, met with at the last named locality, discovered by the late Dr. "Webster, of Kentville, is perfectly white, I believe it was found in some quan- tity. It was used very successfully by Messrs. Wesley and Sanford in polishing specimens of marble sent to the Exhibition in London In 1862. There is practically no means of learning the amount of stone quarried in the province of late years but it must have been very large. The following table shews the value of the stone exported from 1860, before which year the returns were given under the head of " miscellaneous," to the last full financial year for which L ' n*3=. <^:4^ ^?>, o^. \*^>Tv% p> ,% .^. ^ / /J IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I '"IIIM IM 'him |||||^ IM 1.8 Photograpliic Sdences Corporation ''/ P. /, is Jp /£?. :/. f/i fA 1.25 1.4 ||<> • "^ 6" - ► # :0^ «- ^ \ \ 9) ^V .V^. c^ ^*^ ^ V 'i^ % V 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 r^^' &? 178 EXPORT OF STONE. retnrns were made to the local government. I have excluded all such entries as referred in whole or part to ores, quartz, and in fact to any "stone" but that appatently used for building, and making gnndstones. ,f.\f VJ^XI^ (jtJP.^^CiJf^^Sfq^TJSp FROM NOVA SCOTIA IN THE YKAES J^JNCXNGj rt*4 t ilOii ^ M i l' — r- -M h^,■. Port*. Amherit..<«,>w ..t^.*> •.••!.• Arichat •• .» Barrington ! '. i . . . ;. Clemcntaport' . . i-i^M^ v* • •!• ^ . Halifax.... ........... .... Hantspott. ....'. .''.'.. . . . ... . LaHave! • «.....i..'.....j...;. .* Joggins Fictou ]Poi;t.Mulgta>:«, . • •(,• •r^ -^iV S?S:**:ri*-f.'*A-r-r Pu^ash Tatama^puche :>•../.. t ; . r a • • Thorne'B Cove Wallace-.'..... '^../ivl'. ;;:... > 1 tl ' ,K Totals,. I860. • • • • • 9,839 6,084 330 4,289 20,542 1861, 29 5.863 4,896 •■••'■'4 196 580 1,523 12,590 1862. , ..i.'l 250 57^ 3,748 14,668 1,740 • '• • * '• 52 1,200 22,223 1863. 920 1,730 660 841 9,089 2,206 240 116 1,894 17,536 1864. 1,800 .i... 18,060 5.380 20 354 256 52 3,776 29,698 1865. 1,600 125 9,691 8,165 18 1,410 12 1,899 17,923 1866. ;w 6,420 2,13& 2,240 802 11,667 The aggregate value for the seven year's is 132,228 dollars. ■'r'li' iiij ' - 'i'i '" ' I ■, n ' ',r, .. : i i.«.-i< iiiilii : , , ihitii y.fci ■i>5 tiitl r- ' .'■so&oqin'i • p rfiiV Hxn littfi-i MsfT .HUlK^rmoVI> IftxB r iv t'iOJffeJuV/ .lU. oiiil fjrfvt 7* ' '--rovn'^aH, ^y. J pniii'ijsyl u> 3«j6ia«i on ^fl4?;>ij 'uA n'mrritlui M jnom l ,.,1. iJ ., ; Her". "a n ,1 nolo J ! .vyr«iil'>!!^; AUvtavr MINEfeALSii'OE, JEWELLERY AND ORNAMENTAL PURPOSES NOT BBFORB MidiNTlONto. (tj-ytlioq J I honirmotoh HI Btoanre^ ^o onL'i • S& far as yet known the only minerala in the province available for jewellery and ornamental purposes othef* thaatho^e already spoken of are the different members of the quartz family, of Which several interesting varieties are found, and the minerals tOpaz and garnet concerning which we have rather scanty information. Topaz. Specimens of this; st jne were exhibited in London, in 1862, one piece was rough, the otter cut and polished, the exhibitor was Mr. McI)on3.ld, cjie locality given was Cape Breton, and, ^he cutting w^§, reported as. done ia Pictou.. 'l^he. cut stope was aboi^> half an inch in length or rather more, ite colour yellow. No infor- m^tioq was, given as to the precise locs^lity of ^he mineral or t^ie quantity in which it waa found. The value of .this stone and si^p^ others as are, t^fterwards raqnt|pned I givej unless otherwi^ie stat?4>, from the very interesting TreqMse on O^rns by Bx. h. Feu;chtw»|ir. ger, of New York, ( Third Edition, 1867). Tog^? is generally of less value now than formerly owing to the yearly supplies from Brazil which amount to ^bout^ 4J0 p6\Xtidi. The colo'fttt most esteemed ai-e rose red and white. A' topaz al:K>iit the siiddf i^'..;,, rt- Quartz. Many beautiful minerals belonging to this family are found at numerous places in the trap districts especially along the shOi'es of the Bay of Pundy and Basin of Minas. The action of surface water, frost, and thfe sea is cohtiiinally changing the cha- racter of localities, specimens are brought to vifew, removed, and frest supplies take their place. Dr. 'Sesn^r's desferiptfon of the varieties of minerals and 6f some of the localities at which ey were found in 1836 may b6 taken as a guide : the best marked: varieties \^*tb their chief localities ohiy can be specified here, the' g^ileral list 6f localities, given as a subsequent chapter, can be cdti-'' suited for iunher InfbrmAtion: ' ' ''^• Bock Cry9tQ.l. JJarge, geodqs of crystallizied quartz, have been found but the mineral is not frequently met) with im Isurge crystc^is. Amethyst: Purple quartz is found in binds and' geodes at Vefry mttn^ places, somtetim'fes in considerable qiiantity. One of the best localities is thooight to b6 Partridge Island, Cumberla'nd county, whete, however, the mineral has been removed so thoroughly tha^* a fresh supply can orfly b6 got after a riew fell of trip rodk. It was from this spot ihat, )cU3 Di*. Gesner reports, DeMohts took some amethyeita to Henfy I'V. of Prance, who Was much pleisedyith fhera. At Gape 8hlat«{>, da the sim« shore,' nearly opposite ' Blbmidon, a geode was found described as fja^able of cbntainrag, before it V^^as broken, two gallons. Its inner surface was studded over with , QUARTZ. 181 large and regular crystals of a deep violet colour, over which was a light incrustation of siliceous sinter. Amethyst is found at many places on the opposite shore from Blomidon to Digby. Blomidon aifords large masses often of deep colour, frequently in the form of geodes. Dr. Gesner says "it occurs in cavities in the atnorphous trap ; a single block pfesented a surface of a foot square perfectly covered with splendid crystals some of which rheasured an inch in diameter. Some of the amethyst found on this shore is seldom surpassed in beauty, a crystal from Blomidon is in the crown of tke French King, and other pieces hare been much admiried in England and the United States." I have seen a band of amethyst of some feet in length and perhaps two inches thick, a mile or two east of Hall's Harbour, and a considerable quantity of fine mineral was got three or four years ago at Harbourville, also in Kings county. Some years ago Dr. Webster of Kentville had more than a bushel of good specimens found in digging a well in Cornwallis, in which township amethyst occurs occasionally with magnetic iron. Near Sandy Cove, Digby county, a geode of more than forty pounds weight ^i^as found by Jackson and Alger. The amethyst is valued by the jeweller in proportion to the depth, richness, and uniformity of its colour; it forms when perfect a stone of exquisite beauty, its colour being perhaps more generally attractive than that of any other gem. The best amethysts now in commerce come from Ceylon, Siberia, and Brazil ; the Srst are commonly called oriental amethysts which however must be carefully distinguished from a much ,'more valu- able gem, the true oriental amethyst, which is the violet sapphire. Good-> well cut amethysts, such as now spoken of, of one carat are worth from three to five dollars, and so on in proportion to their size : an amethyst 1 J in. long and nearly an inch broad, exquisitely fine, was va,lued at 500 dollars. ■! ■!i Smoky Quartz. This mineral, called Cairn Gorm in Scotland, where it is found in mountains of that name, is met with in several localities, of which the moist noted are near Paradise River, and the neighbourhood of Bridgetown and Laurencetown, Aniiapolis Co. Immense crystals have been found het-e, some almost as transpa- rent as glass, of a rich yellow colour, while otheri have the charac- teristic dark smoky appearance. I have seen a crystal, a six-sided \Hl JjB9 ilohl'fr y. .:.)■« ;k"i3 CHALCEDONY. prism, about thirteen inches iu height and six in diameter, in the posaession of Rev Dr. Robertson, rector of Wilmot: when at Para- dise, goifte years ago, fine specimens were oflFered me at Several dollars apiece. In 1836 Dr. Gesner said the crystals were easily Qbtained from the decomposing granite, but the great demand for them had rendered them scarce and they could not then be bought under their full value, whilQ a few years before they had been jpiled up among the common stones of the field whence many had been taken to the United States. Crystals of 100 lb. weight arc reported to have been found. Nichol mentions (Mineralogy, p. ill,) t^ftt when the cairn gorm was niuch esteemed a lapidary in Edinburgh cut £400 worth of jewellery from a single crystal. In the rapid and incomprehensible, mutations of fashion this stone may again become a favpurito, and no doubt there, is a large c^uantity to be found in the district mentioned. , , . /JSmoky quartz, is also found at Mill. Village, Lunenburg .county.; and at Margaret's Bay, Halifax eounty, where it occurs in crystals of two inches in length, of which I have had specimens composed partly of chlorite at their summits, the lower part being transparent. The cabinet of King's College contains a specimen of exceedingly dark colour, almost bla^k, such as is called morion, in crystals abojjthalf an ^nch across, from Little River, about five miles from Chalcedony. This mineral is found in many ,parts of the trap district before mentioned. Near Trout Cove, in Digbyoounty, it is milk-white and of fijip quality well adapted for seals and rings. Gesner found near the head of St. Mary's Bay in the same county, the peculiar kind of chalcedony called, f^om its appearance, when polished, " cat's eye ;" Partridge Island is also given as a locality by (Marsh, who says the mineral i^raxe. This stone is much v allied ; of the neafly opaque, varieties, the xed and the almost wjiite are most esteemed, and auc^i, are, usually sold at fiom 10 to 20 doUai's ; a stone of an ijnch square, perfect, ^n propqrties, .is worth frpm 80 to 100 dollars. .Carnelian ia the uano^ generally confined tq, the red variietjies o^ tl^e pjriepeding, though it is some- times given tp those of whijie. qolour. . The, red; coloured mineral is found at Blomidon, Kings county, at Trout Cove, Digby county, and the north shore .of Granville, Annapolis county. Polished •riifi. AGATE. 183 specimens fi-om Blomidon are in the collections df ISh^' Halifiix Mechanics' Institute. . Agate. This is the name given to mixtures of chalcedony and carhelian with other quartz minerals, such as hbrnstone, jasper, amethyst, quartz, heliotrope, cacholong and -flint, and according to the predominating substances it is somptirpes called chalcedony, ^'asper or carneliau agate. Many beautiful varieties are found in the trap regions of the province some of which are particularly described in Dr. Gesner's work so often mentioneid. The agates on the shore extending from Siandy Cove t,o the head of St. Mary's Bay, Digby county, e?chibit several varieties : among thdm is for- tification agate, some are con^posed of alternate layers of transpa- rent and white chalcedony, jasper, and quartz, curiously waved, and often lined crosswise with rays, sometimes jasper amethyst ^nd chalcedony are united in such a way as to form brecica and dotted agate. These mixtures woiilid be verybeai^tiful in the polished state. Near Trout Cove are abates' having a^base of semi-tran ^patent chalcedony, studded wiln irregular fragments of jasper and horn- stone ; sometimes the jasper is curiously striped with zigzag lines of red carhelian forming a kind of agate not elsewhere observed. The agates are in veins of basaltic trap from half an inch to two inches in width. Near Blomidon large blocks of agate have been found, one desciibed by Gesner, weighing upwards of 40 lb., consisted of semi-transparent chalcedony with curved fortifi- cations of white chalcedony interlaced with li'nea of red Cameliail. 6n one side a perfect onyx was formed. Anbttefrnass, of 80 lb. weight, was found a few miles east of Cape Spb't, which (iihibited distinct and parallel zones of different colours : th^se zones con- eitted of circles of white cacholong with small rings of chalcodbuy and pale red carnelian : when polished these were extremely beautiful, arid resembled the eyes of certain animals, ^uch agates are called eyestone. Sometimes there were white Ui;ies of cacjip- iping and grey circles of chalcedony. .' Among other quriou^ figures presentpd was one imiiative of the gay figures of Jn^ian qtfill-worfe. Beautiful moss agates are found at Two Isla^^tj,' Cumberland county, and near Ca,pe Split. p,nd at Scot's Bay, Kings county. The last named place was considered by the late Dr. Webster^ who was familiar with most of the localities, to aflford the finest «■) I 184 AGATE. I ! specimens : Partridge Island also and other places are localities of this variety. • , jr^,^ r • ra Agate is used not only for jewellery and simple ornamental pi^t*- poses, but for numerous useful objects, such as slabs, mortars f< r the analytical chemist, pestles, burnishers, handles of knives and forks, etc. Immense quantities of the mineral are worked up in Germany, for example, at Oberstein, in Rheaish Bavaria, there are five larffc manufacturing establishments where more than 100,000 dollars worth of work is turned out annually for export. The objects are very low priced, the best workmen receiving only a dollar and a half of weekly wages. Agate though much reduced in value as compaifed with former days still commands a tolerably good price : it is particularly onyx which is still at high prices. This variety consists of numerous layers, often as many as ten, of distinct, and diflferent colours and a certain thickness, running parallel with' the larger surface, whereas the common ribbon agates display their various layers on the sarface without being parallel. The predominating colours are usually greyish white, brown, and black. Sardonyx has one layer or more of carnelian, and this is the most esteemed. The finest cameos and intaglios of the ancients are of these materials, which have also been wrought into cups, urns, and other objects at enormous cost, in modern times. ^, Jfasper. In the same localities as the preceding are found many varieties of jasper. It c^iists in very large masses on Digby Neck, whefe it p,]^esents red and purple striped, and red and yellow striped, varieties, Lon^ Island has veins of red jasper. Near the he^d of St. Mary's Bay are large irregular blocks of red a^d yellowish red jasp^y, some of which is very compact. Some pieces are curiously striped with, different colours, in others rounded pebbles of .ch^lcedpny are united by a siliceous cement. Large pieces of this breccia would afford an agreeable imitation of Mosaic pavemc?nt when polished. A large mass of Digby jasper was exhibited in Halifax, in 1862, which was much admired. Blomidon affords masses of jasper of several varieties, as does also Partridge Island, among w;hich may be named a green from the fonner and a pale yellow with minute mossy markings of a black pplour froni tlie latter, place. Jasper is principally used in making seals, snuff boxes, vases, tj o ik, OPAL. 185 table-tops, and for architectural purposes. It is worked at enorm- ous cost in the Imperial workshops of Russia. It is hard to work and has no great value in commerce unless it is of exquisite quality. Heliotrope, or blood-stone was found in small nodules or fragments of rock on the beach of Chute's cove, Annapolis county, by Dr. Gesner, who says they may be picked out of the sand where they accumulate from the wearing away of the rock which had contained them. It is leek-green in colour with yellow and red spots. It is much admired ; its value depends on the colour and quantity of the red spots : from one to twenty dollars is the usual price for good and large specimens. Opal 19 mentioned by Gesner among the minerals of Partridge Island, two specimens were obtained in nodules resembling wax. It is well known that this is a gem of very considerable value when of good size and perfect character. Semi-opal or commdn opal is found at a fewloealfties: itis generally white or nearly so in colour, some of the mineral so called may be cacholong, which is white or bluish in colour and sometimtss constituted of layers a quarter of an inch in thickness, of diflTer- ent degrees of hardness, alternating with chalcedony. (Peucht- wanger.) Generally, however, as found here, cacholong is chalky white and quite soft, it frequently covers geodes of amethyst and agate externally ; it adheres to the tongue. The price of semi- opal is low, that of cacholong when of the character suitable for the lapidary is rather considerable. One specimen which I con- sider to be opal agate was found at Beech Hill, near Kentville, Kings county ; a portion of it was given to Mr, Cornelius, Halifax, who had it cut and polished and the i-esult was the pro- duction of handsoto'e seal ok ring stones composed of white and bluish white stripes about the sixteenth of an inch th'ck. 186 7tff. .ia CHAPTER XII. MINERALS NOT INCLUDED IN THE FORBGOINQ OLASSBS AND CUIBFLY ADAPTED FOR THE CABINET. Ev?p since Jacksop and Alger described to the American Aca- demy in 1833 the results of their expedition to Nova Scotia, made in 182Y, on which occasion it is said they carried oflf a schooner load of specimens, the province has been celebrated among mineral- ogists, especially of North America, for the abundance and beauty of the minerals found in the trap districts before spoken of in. des- cribing the varieties of quartz. The collection referred to must, fropi what I have heard, have been very fine, it was only last autumn indeed that I was told "Alger's Nova Scotian specimens were magnificent; on his dtJaith his whole cabinet sold for some trifling ten thousand dollars or so, but it was really worth n>uch more ; his friends, however, were rich and perhaps thought, the minerals were Iumb(,'r." Numerous collectors from the Ui^ited States as well as residents in the Province h^je since visited the Ippalities a,nd year after year, possibly without interruption, large quantities of fine specimens have been gathered. It is the object of the present chapter to give a brief accoant, a^ full one would be in^possible. in narrow limit^.and must be sought in treatise^ on mineralogy, pf the most chafacteristic trap minerals and of others, suited for the cabinet of the mineralogist, which have not yet been mentioned in this Report. The fullest popular description of the trap minerals is given along with those of the quartz family by Dr. Gesner ; since his book was written, however, some progress has been made by myself and Prof, Marsh, of Yale College, towards the accurate discrimination of the zeolites and other minerals and some new species have been distingushed as shewn in the papers on these minerals referred to in the Introduction. On this point Pi til z^ fi) ti| et d\ re Al fo" c\ tH .r.7i.\>hXU Prof. Marsh says, after stating that there is probaDly no part of the world, except the trap district of India, which is richer in zeolites than the i^hore^ of the Bay of Fundy, and that much con- fusion exists in regard to what species exist at the different locali- ties, the entire group is well worthy of study and he has been for [Several years collecting materials for a full 6Xaraiination of the different species and he hopes at some future time to embody the results of his investigation in a monograph on the subject. (Mineral Localities, N. S., etc., Silliman's Journal, Jany. 1863.) A general list of the localities of the minerals of the province founded on that given in the paper just quoted forms a subsequent chapter of this Report, and may be referred to in connection with the following descriptions;' '•^'■^ ' • Analcime. Occurs in trapezohedrons, also massive granular. Colojjr white, occasionally grayish, greenish, yclloyvisU or reddish- white, sometimes red ; streak white, transparent or qpaque, brittle. Fine crystals of tljis found in trap, sometimes an inch in diameter ; often associated with natrolite. At Two Islands I have found large crystals partly consisting of chlorite lying loose in a cavity, above high water. mark, "''e specimens on the shelf of a cabiaet. 1 have ouv large crystal of which about half consists of chlorite.' ji- Chabazite. tlstial fofms are rtionllioftedrons, whicli 'mAy"''be 'ttiistaken for cube^ Colbiir ^hite and flesh red. Streak uncolonred. Transparent-translucent, brittle. Very frequently found ; often in Ijeautiful crys' als,' sometimes much inodified: The deep red variety is called acadiolite, probably from being found 6rst in this province ; (it is met with in Pennsylvania, T. D. Rand). ■>'*•>" <-i «"'* »" n«lit«q 'Ledererite or ■Chjn.eliniie. Prof. Mafsh ha? just shewn (Silliman's Journal, Nov. 186,7,.); that .these minerals are jdent^0|il, : the ^ppci- Riens examined, were found, after many an unsuccessful sear(ih> at ,|pape Blomid on, nearly oppp^ite Cape Sh(irp, in a loc^litjf supposed to,, be exh^iusted f , tl^ey \Yere in, short hexagpna^, prisms with pyramidal terminqitions pf from i^ tp J of an incb^ Jin diameter, ^^pme of them, ,?s|jecially^tl3^.8ffl^Upt,,^pxe CQ,^u^ ,an(Vne^i:ly transparent ; others were yellowish white or faint salmon red, and translucent. I think a specimen answering to this description was sent to Paris last year among the Nova Scotia minerals. « 188 UESOLITE. Meaolite. A mineral in columnar and radiated masses often mistaken for thomsonito which probably has not been found in the province in its common form. I first recognized mesolite here in 1858. It is found in largo masses in the North mountains of An- napolis in glassy and in opaque crystals. It is a variety of " needlestone." Nalrolite Qwa only be distinguished from the foregoing by chemical analysis when in closely compacted crystals. It however, often forms bunches of nearly separate transparent crystals alone or with analcime, its crystals are sometimes hair-like and beautifully silky. FaroelUe. This mineral I detected here in 1869 in its common association with mesolite. It occurs in hemispherical masses un- derlying the mesolite, that is, next the matrix, and may at once be distinguished by its pearly appearance. At Bishop's Brook, near Margaretville, I obtained, in 1863, masses of this mineral shewing the termination of the crystals. (Dana now considers this to be a variety of thomsonite. Mineralogy, Fifth Edition.) Heulandite. Oblique rhombic prisms with modifications. Colour various shades of white passing into red, grey, and brown. Streak white. Transparent — subtranslucent. Brittle. This beautiful mineral occurs in great abundance, sometimes in crystals an inch and a half in length. It frequently lines geodes, one of these I saw in the possession of the late Dr. Webster, pf Kentville, about nine or tQ*i inches in height and nearly half as wide, its walls were about an inch thick, the interior was covered with large, brilliant colourless crystals of heulandite. The specimen was much valued by Dr. Webster and much coveted by his visitors; found by a com- panion of the Doctor's on a mineralogical expedition it passed to him on the death of the latter according to arrangement. Stilbite. Common in sheaf-like aggregations, globular, divergent, and radiated forms, also thin lamellar and columnar. Its colour is %hite, occasionally honey yellow, brown or red. Streak uncolour- ed^ Subtranspdrent — translucent. Brittle. This is perhaps the best known of the zeolitic minerals. It is found in very many lo- calities, and iot seldom in masses of very large size beautifully crystallized dn the surface : these masses sometimes wei;?h hun- dreds of pounds. " cri wl Bi eyj aul fuf lat col m£ ZCil ap APOPHYLUTK, 189 Apophyllite. In four8ide4 prisms, with pyramidal terraiiiations : crystals sometimes nearly cylindrical or barrel-shaped. Colour white or jjrayish, occasionally greenish, sometimes of a beautiful green, also yellow or red. Streak white. Transparent — ^opaque. Brittle. Distinguished by its white pearly aspect resembling tho eye of a fish after boiling. Not so common as the two preceding and not very frequently met with in fine crystals, but very beauti- ful at certain Icoalities, especially Isle Haute. I have seen very large crystals, an inch and a half across, at Port George, Annapolis county. An American collector offered tho late Professor Chip- man, of Acadia College, who unfortunately wasf drowned in his zeal for collecting trap minerals, two sovereigns for a specimen of apophyllite about the size of tho palm of tho hand, but in vain. Gyi'olite. Occurs in spherical concretions having a lamellar radiated structure, white and pearly. Originally found some years ago in Skye, it was detected here in 1861 by myself. It is a rave mineral, met with on apophyllite and some other minerals. Cmtrallasm\'''^iBiB tt' mlnerii'yw^ fi^e ' te''^¥gc^'(i'i'iig aki' close to it in chemical composition, which I described as new in 1859. It appears ^o me tha,t the mineral described by Gesner a« Prehnite (Jtemark^i p. 202) was either one or.tfep ojther of the two> preceding. , ;., IntiJj/.'j^r' .'.u.: ;)ni^:if; ' CyanolUe. A bluish mineral 80iftewha ^SiKoeous Sinter. This is the name given t<> irregularly cellulai* or porous quartz formed by deiyesition from tvatef . ' Herie it is often' miaapplied to opaque quartz, of a milk white or pink colour, m distinct and beautiful crystals. ' ' The preceding are all trap minerals ; there are a few others met with in the same district^, as notei i" the list of localities, which do not call fpr special remark, i Among the other; minerals it will not be necessary specially tq notice $ny but the few following other- wise than in the general list. WiciUisite. A very rare mineral brought to mo by a farmer from CorhivalHb, in which township ' I undersiood it to have occurred. It ik kiiOWrt only at oiie other ideality, iamely at Wichtis in Fin: l«lnd. ■ I t^^B ioiatt'lid rec'Mved the naiiie of "tVe little pebbles^*' the fejtclcittietig bifotight me werVsoinething like oWidian, of grej. attd deej) bltie liblours. (9ee ConiHhutidm to Mineralogy of K. 8^.. li:}rr^red t6 iil'ih^ttitroivi^ri:) -^ ' "f" .•/'. :..J,^ />..:.• ff fHo son In^ Ga cry (tit an( Ha RED FELSPAR. 191 Mr, Barnes informs me that perfect crystals of Jlesh red felspar, sometimes 8 inches in length, are lound in syenite, at Cheticamp, Inverness coiinty, C. B., also, that he has found Apple Green * Calcite of great beauty, and octahedral fiuor spar of blue colour in crystals more than an inch across in the same county ; ana^tase (titanic acid,) in small but fine crystals, in quartz, at Sherbrooke, and fine chiastoUte in slate at Chaplin's saw mill in the north-east of Halifax county. '■JUlii i viw, ( ^y^i:,. ■ '. ' ;-V:i ■'i.ii Mf;. .,'.'. !((!■>■ U;>\ .iWi-viilih, I,-.-,, ■inh ■<\rMtt\ .aiyJajBifjiio 'gniJpjjisJ I '. /I' i.i ; • i . . i!«i8 ff^giu /J di'tju '['(41 l)'j'»^- 1? ij^iiif.!'':) i:.i; ! ad JiiU O fT'""''" i 'r '0 auoJlfi^ urA ' ' . • -iiij j^i >.. , , t\ ^- ^: i< t flit^i* 1 ' id} •t9!w f; ' ::Miii . . j_ ' ' ' ' '-'' "• "' ■. - » ji* ■Am (iMim 'o W»o ,7 «9jjifj;fr{:! i!t»»« 7- nq '■ ,. '■'•■ .■ . .'ttJ dlirfvf diiow fetoM^ • ' 1\ '• - ' ■ • ^ "^iJ"CTO I , ii l(.. 192 J.. .;tuii.- :-F'>J«vn' ..utili CHAPTER XIII. MINERAL WATERS. Ik addition to the brines before described many mineral waters in diflferent parts of the province have attracted attention. Although several have long had the reputation of possessing considerable medicinal virtue, and some have undoubtedly been found of great value, few of them have been examined chemically. I have made detailed analyses of thi'ee or four of the best known (see papers on Waters referred to in the Introduction) and partial examinations of others : besides the results so obtained there exists very little in- formation on the subject. Such as is known to me is given in the following account which contains also such general descriptions of the localities and nature of the waters as I have been able to fur- nish from observations made by myself and from sources specially mentioned. It will appear that the waters present varied and in- teresting characters. Saline Water of Bras J^Or, Cape Breton. This is the most remarkable water in the province, as regards chemical composition, BO far examined. It had at the. time I analyzed it (1859) an extra- ordinary and well grounded reputation as being very eflBcacious in various maladies, authentic cases being known of much benefit resulting from its use in rheumatism and severe headaches. A gentleman of high standing and scientific reputation informed me that he had obtained a good appetite and increased strength by taking about five gallons of it and by further use a moderation of the violence of asthmatic attacks to which he was subject, in fact that its employment had been a real blessing to him. A water possessing such qualities would of course be much resorted to and it was considerod worth while to erect a house for the accommoda- tion of visitors soon after its merits became somewhat known. MINIRAL WATERS. 193 Tjiere ftre three springs mentioned as affording the water oxailaiiied ; they are situated near Kelly's, on the high road from Sydney to St. loter's, in a brook which empties into the Salmon River and i^ distant about two or three miles from the source of the river a jd six or seven from the southern shpre of Bras d'Or lake. The waters rise in syenitic rocks and the flow is not more than a gallon per minute. The amount at my disposal did hot enable me to make the most perfect examination possible so that the following results do not express with rigid accuracy the com- position .of the water ; they are calculated for the iodperial gallon of 70,000 grains. The water was clear and of neutral reaction; it afforded: - . , . , i . ^^ , J, ,. Grain* In a gallon^ Iron and phoiBphbnc acid.. ...«i.^,,. .traces. Carbonates of lime and magnesia. •...../•••• 0.60 Sulphate of lime ,. ., .V.'^. .'....' 0.94 ' . . i . , , . . ' ■] ^ ' f , , -,'.,. Chloride of sodium •••• * ....»•.•.... .313.11. Chloride of potassium •• ..•.••^••.*«, 4.55 . Chloride of calcium « * ;^ , . • ^.. . .^. . . . ; 30d .90 j' ' "' 1 - '" i 1 HHii JflOlll 81 T) *i' V Chloride of magnesium .......••........•••• 4 .47 , •■ ■■ -^ " "'5'^V •• ••662.67' Specific gravity at 54'' Fah . . .'. v i i'i^^'i ♦1,007 . 897 No iodine was detected in the residue left by 1,500 grains of the water. The composition brought out is very remarkable and at the time my analysis was made , the only similar , waters found were those from certain springs in Canada (as it wa^ then) described by Dr. Hunt in Geolpgy of Canada, 1863, p. 531^ The great, feature in the case is the large proportion of chloride of calcium arudthe small quantity of sulphate pf esent. Since the date of mj analysis English waters have bee^ ex:^mined approaching tbe foregoing, in composition (Chemical News, X., 181 and XIV. 244) buttheclooest resemblance is still with those of the upper provinces formiijig the first of the six classes ii^to , which Hunt haSvthr At Cheticamp, Inverness Cotinty/0. B., a spririg isnueB, Mt. BarniBs informs me> from lower carboniferous limestone v/ith an oily matter on its surface having a^^rong odour of petroleum : the ^.'likhestone has tha same peculiar sihell. At t'.ic coppet* mine, before mentioned, a/t the i same fxlace, a spring aficr-is water highly im- pregnated with sulphate of ooppery it flows trom the mountain. At Grand Anse, at the mouth of the M'Kenzie River, in the same district two springs issue from the metamorphic lower carboniferous rocks resting on the flanks of a mountain of g,^anite and syenite. The first is highly sulphurous and contains sulphate of magnesia, it sfrongly resembles the sulphur springs of Harrow- gate and the water has very decicied aperient qualities. The little pool in which il rises is coated with a white earthy deposit : gas is evolved, pa'"ticularly when the neigKbouring ground is trodden on. The second water'is mentioned as having a strong taste of magnesia not having any sulphurous odour, and as being much used as a gentlasin filled With the Water Wasestiraated io4>e about dightfdet Equate; the toud at the bottom was fdH of •** fitoill holb» from whicii gas was contHiWally rising. The water Was 5 'J>ftb«liariy soft so that it felt more lilrt oil thtln Water in the motith, -9'it was thought alstt io be slightly letter. Fi'ottt the descriptibn ^'"I'l^ittett tJie watttt iB'pitohAbly-of the alkaline daes.' ^■" ' " ' * ; ' .;grtiiit£v/ -JLu^^'j^vJlo ot»Ti''> ,'•■•! ';rn/:":^ ajnui'u v.i;»v n'l "..lOi-.mi t<»iiti9 :s.iO ^^ Sipring ^nt^r, Windsor^ \ JBfaafe ^u»%* This water rises in •;{£,afield, on t1^ gr9^Q4s of 0. B; Qowman, Esq.^'olose to the F^rks ^M UINBRAL WATBR8. I9S Road : gypsum is one of the prevailing rooks of the district the geological age of which is lower carboniferons. The water has long been considered chalybeate and is still sometimes takeo medicinally. It is well known to be a very favourite drink "tt-ith horses and cuttle. The chalybeate character of the w er !#as inferred from a certain red deposit fuund in the pipes through which it was made to run, and from its strongly inkji ta6te. Hiae iron to which these eflFects are due, however, does not exist in the wa-ter as it issues from its outlet, as is shewn i )tf , 'irji: r jilt Carbonate of lime .,,..j,...., i»,|,i»»* J1 »^Q Carbonate of iron ,....'...»'..*... .1.. 0.40 Carbonate of magnesia ':i':^mi:i:Vi^i'.V''^-ii ^^ "P- 4 Sulphate of lime* .^t'.-i ;«vu iWj'A ;>i-; .^i iiV. Il«l8 .2I«^'^ -f^^' Sulphate of soda. ..<'t i..-c.«.-«. .w^*. .kv-.i J< -0*618 .i; w Sulphate of potassa. .*,« f...p.^. *....» .vt..^,,jQv98 ,, y^i SulphMe of magnesia, .,..;^. . ^n^f^r^T-fjf ri^^ r.i4i'X^^ Chloride of sodium *f**r Oi90 ^ Phosphoric acid and organic niatter. . . . V . '. . . ttitce^ '* Silica. .>....... 4. i»«D...r.*^i.^«wviUv«.i**ii»i';>t'^'«9J©()^ -T^c-ff* Total., ..... .. * . . .,T ••• • ♦.?(• 'f^* .138.00 .., . 35 cnbic. ijjL^l^ , (^]b 38° ). . 64 ; . ^t, Specific gravity at 49° Fah ;»,i*^ i, .,,,. .f^..l,Q0il,.868 r This water would be placed in the sitth class oif Hunt from its richness in sulphates (Geok Canada, IBSB, p>: £i£2). The> Bulphatie of 'ime, which is the characteristic iiigredien[t> hk present in larger amount in one only of the fifteen waters of Cheltenhtoi, in England, and is by no means a common constituent of waters ih such lar^e proportion. The water i$ fcaown to possess aperient qualities when taken freely. The inky tasde^nd red deposit above spoken of are due to its action on' the soil through which it is allowed to fioW and to its admixture with sprfaoe water, aad the idnpre^nation thm obtained, t)nly oWerved when precatttiQns are not taken to keep the spring water pure, is of course subject to variatioti. ^!>T t ' II i 196 IftNSRAL WATKR9. . Water of Wilmot Springs, Annapolis Co. About 40 years ago this water Wttis in high tepate, as an abridgement from Dr. Gesner, writing in 1836, will shew, " In the township of Wilraot about 8 miles from Qibbons's, on the high road to Annapolis, there is a mineral spring possessing medicinal properties of considerable im- portance. When the discoveiy was first announced numerous per- sons, without reference to the nature of their diseases, and at every stage of their complaints, hastened to the waters and hoped, and Tainly hoped, to iobt«in relief. The little village near the pool Was iA\ bustle and conftjsidn, while many for want of accommodation w«re obliged to dtpart and few of the requisite comforts and .conveniences could be procured for those who remained. Many and great were the cur6s reported but experience shewed that the powers of the waters were not sufficient to remove all the ailments of its visitors; hence the springs were soon abandoned, but were they surrounded by the pleasing scenery and cheerful society of the European watctirig places, the waters' wo aid be found at least equal to many at the celebrated resorts : and even now the time is not far distant when the public mind will react and many find relief at the deserted pool. The waters of the spring have been analysed by Dr. Weibster; of Boston, and were found to contain iodine, lime, sulphulid acid arid taaagnesia. They will doubtless be beneficial in all scrofulous and glandular diseases, and probably in the first stages of tubercular .consumption. They are gently aperient and cannot fail to be serviceable in dyspepsia and other diseases of the digestive organs; This might be supposed from their coniposition and has been c6nfirmed by experience." I visited th^springs in 1855 and copied from the register of vis- itors an analysis by Dr. Webster, no douibt the same as referred to by Drj G«Siier, which will* be mentioned again. I paid a second visit in 1863, on which occasion I collected some water from two basins and analysed them with results which will be given imme- diately. When engaged in writing my account of the water I asked the ReiT. Dr. I(obertson^ rector of Wilrtiot, for information on the lubject and recvnved in reply a letter containing the following : M No correct ans^ysis of the water, I rather think, has as yet been made. Itis raid to contain a small proportion of iodine. In former •^imes the SfA-ihgs were much resorted to but of late years very few visitors haVe been near them. The water, however, is remark- UIKERAL WATERS. m ably efScacious in curing cutaneous complaints or eraptioni. : JA- my own opinion the Wilmot springs deserve to be better known and more frequented than they are at present. If the proprietors were men of substance and energy I have not a doubt that this locality would be one of the best known in Nova Scotia." On the ocasion of my recent visit I was driven to the spot by a very intel- ligent young man belonging to Margaretville, a viillage about 5 miles from the springs, who told me that popple ,h^ ^en in the habit of coming from the United States, and. reeiditig for months at Wilmot on account of the springs, and that the wat^r had been frequently exported to order to the States or New Brunswick or both, also, that he had himself drunk the water for a twelvemonth and though he fbund it rather unpleasant at first he cam6 to prefer it to any other ; the effects were described as being decidedly pur* gative on the first use. When at the springs I had evidence that the water was still l>elieved in for I saw a young man who had just finished applying to his leg, which had been badly cut with an axe, a thick coating of mud from the spring as a healing plaster. Several bathing housea. were seen. jcaavjeaiently.AixaQ|^9d, but ap- parently not much used. .j'^' Mi^r. Jr*!) I found the spriijgs situated under lofty itee6, ti few feet off an excellent road, filling two basins. ' Oiie of these was at>out six feet in diameter, affording a considerable overflow in a rapid stream about an inch in diameter running from a trough found very con- venient for collecting the water. • The' other basin was at a distance of three or four yards and was not'ftithisned With a trough, whence I concluded that it is not, generally at any rate, made use of, nevertheless, thinking it possible the two waters, though so close at their outlets, might be dissimilar, I collected at thts basin alflo. The waters were beautifully clear, cold, uttA without smel) or particular taste. It is proper to mentfon that the summer of 1863 was very wet and that heavy rains had fallen for a day or tr*0' before my visit which however had entirely ceased for seven or eight hours when I collected the waters. How far this raitt faJl' would affect these copious springs would, only be slwJwn by the results of analysis made in a dr^ season for* the sake of i;c"Sipar:3on. On proceeding to analyse t^e waters.some w^el^e affter collection, that from the larger basin was observed ta have undergond alteration from the presence of organic matter, it smelt of sulphur-^ ri j 1 ]\ ;l I I IM MINCBAL WATCRS etied hydrogen and some sulphate of lime was deposited : the results of the analyses of both were as follows : — , ^ Qrftint iu » Oallpn. ' ' ' Larger Basin. Smaller Basic :ui) istdi JUme.*ii9,'4'Jliiii,l,-i.,b4:.Q9 51.74 :>iiniO '']y|iagn^^ Sdlica.'. .'!■<'. V^i.ivUM'^d. to .55 ua^'luv. J« hu.ijiuiK Phosphoric itoid .'<.*. ;-tracefl traces v/f /! (.if •I'-ff.V/' !<'"t -^ ■ ' ^ ^ _i ^'>h■^q oiomr 143.25 139.80 wl^ich qI^qf: ttiat the waters are essentially the same. , >,j^,j ^, ,, ,,j 4i9 the water frotn,tb« smaller basin had remained almost entirely UQJi'lH)iUng.: I i-t T.Ia '■ ©O^ITTJINTe OP THJP WATBftIN 79,WO ORAIKfib ;•> -i-^--' '^ Grain*. 1* Oarbonate of Ume .> .i^^.t> v vv^ .r«iv^ 2.70 Carbonate of magnesia •>.» 0.37 iifi fk) i0f»iP*^'^9'*^® Pf ^^^^ f • »^ ♦ ^ • • 1 r* ♦♦•••'• . 14 . ^. . . Sulphate of'lime. ...*•....... .....121 '98 , ,, ^^^^ =^^» *^'Sulpfiateor9b^a;i'!!..?l'i^^'!:'.'i!^' 8.85f^ ift«»iJa t»"BiiliihdteGfmagnfe8ia.'riiii';^i'i;.v;i'i' 6.35 foloaui' ao-y -^107 Bhiotido of potassiitac..;.' a •;*;.* rf.i^vj 1.60 ' ■" m »anfij«jj»fi Hi¥f>ii9dw ,:{.J^o»P?l?r^c,^cifJ.M.An'rffrfti»vf*rM- {r^ce,9 . ,t)rgamc matter,. ..* ,...«. ..traces '>H'.»ia o;i ifijifrKii ,frjM)ji.v/- o ';J oiii aJfUr '■■" j 141 .04 r&il0djitp 4Pl6ot lodipoun llhe ¥f9&id:ue of 7,000 grains from each b«Aiq; ThQ :ree!Qfi»^l|b]i^9je of this water to that of Spa Spdng at Wiads^s M)> #^f)ivrent^ l^he at^alysis before referred to as copied by mjmUSr^Bk a book; 9A the Springs where it wp>s attributed to Dr. Webster, Qf ;Qo«^n, was as follows, calculatejd for the imperial ^^OR,: — !i -i-A :• owirt*-. ■ .^ UirboQate pf liipe. ......<: 1 .92 «""»•' CaHK)i»ateof itiagnesia.;;v;f.'i;..V^..1.10 GAWyohke 6f lrt)tf.'t; ^i'i\ MK JUWi". . ■ .75 Iodine..... . •<..'^vi>..«'»«..<*i««w.«>t *.»8.06 j ^TF'i.. S;Ulpha1)9 of SQdA.r;t.f,* •;».«••'•»•••*,... 3. 47 16.69 HIirXtAL WATEB8. IW These results aro entirely difierent from niinfi, aod there moafe • either be some mistake about Ibem cir the wates. must have tmdfr? gone one of those radicat changeft which have boen obsetvetl &Mm< time to time in mineral waters in differeut obunivien. The quaniii^ > of iodine given is enormously large t thus in the water richest: m.: iodine mentioned by Dr. Hunt( ib Geology of Oaaada, the amotunt of iodide of sodium is under oai grain to the g|aUon, and the iodine can be detected in the watov itself without evaporation whUe[)£ > failed to find ir in the residue of 7,000 grains of each of the WUmot waters as mentioned above. With respect to the changes which waters undergo several are described by Dr. Hunt in the report on the Geology of Canada, 1866 ; for the most part they consist in the reduction of the amount of sulphates and the increase of that of carbonates, especially of alkalies, or just the reverse of what must have occurred if there has been change in the Wilmot water. The Harrowgate waters in England have also been found to under- go changes similar to those observed iu the Canadian waters in question. Several of the Harrowgate waters, all of which were found by Dr. Hofmann in 1854 to contain sulphate of lime, were examined by Mr. Davis in 1866 and proved with one exception to be free from sulphate and to contain instead ealts of baryta even in sulphuretted waters. (Geology of Canada, 1866, p. 279). From a recent analysis of the Montpelier saline chalybeate spring at Har- rowgate, by Dr. Muspratt, it appears that the water was much stronger in 1861 than it was two years previously as regards its saline constituents, and that it had acquired chloride of barium, etc., while many years before it had contained as much as 20 grains of sulphate of soda to the gallon, which of course could not be present at all with salts of barium. (Chemical News, XV, 244). As remarked by Dr. Hunt, often repeated analyses are of course necessary to determine whether the changes in water are permanent or whether they are periodical and dependant on the changes of the seasons. j Other Mineral Waters, A water with a strong acid reaction is reported to exist near Gair Loch, Pictou county. Springs, locally famous, are found at Earltowo, Shubenacadie, Hants county, and at a place about a mile and a half east of the county town of Shelburne. A sulphur spring is reported to exist at Cranberry 200 UINKRAL VlkmB. \ Cove, Oole Harbour, Halifax county. The water Hupplied to the citj'Of Halifkx, contained in the galloD, according to the analysis of Mr. Bickard, in September 1862, inorganic matter, O.tO grains, copaisting chiefly of chloride of sodium with traces of sulphuric acid^ magnesia, aad iron, and 1.66 grains of organic matter, a quantity of such impurity pointed oilt t> be large and as arising no' doubt from decomposing vegetable matter in the lake whence the supply is taken : the earthy matter was remarkably small ia iiniii w «!>%MtjKh» od} oi J'>f>'|»<'n ■/O'f'r f . .iii gfi a. ,. aro Itoq?'! Qili a'l iirull .1(1 7/f boilivjitttb ouu ' JHtu ^T+irv ai ittmiuj \fjoi hi5»| iworn «iii •»<>! ;■ 'ciil to o:-{floi*)Cfi 9ill Liii) Jaotfiilqluu lu .Jwijuui*> •• -«l(V^ ': ";>'l Mil) iHf/j 1..> ,>'>l{j(/t|j? 1f» A^II'tfM- lor'- h // i>il^ ni t)3»n;j!> jf-.jJ .i"r<.«li[n bo-!firi.''>«i>iiJ.tl UfAit bim . .H lioum Si; b»iiuiiu>u iMtil Ji viio .}flO«;nq oa Jon hliioo (».ji'c)v '<» jioiriv/ .nofffig ' i: ;iA. .'''■■■ "''' .f.w:j»^ f •■•■!';» .i«i/nU •;.. ...». ■jo uwol . '•" lo IfejiM iliiil « f>»u: t»n!u J. futdbii .'Jka\ ...201 -r ^•I'r ■ Iff / i>fl 'If nv, • ,1 ilv -vjifuli fli fitr; CATALOGUE OF LOCALITIES OF MINERALS. Tnft following list conta?nfl th6 pfihii|)jff (Wlien very numerous) and in some cases all the known localities of valuable and interesting minerals in the province. As regards th« minerals of the trap dis- tricts the localities are chiefly those given by Prof. Marsh in his "Catalogue of Mineral Localities in New Brutiswick, Nora Scotia, and Newfoundland." (Silliman's Journal, Jan. 1863.) This cata- logue the author^escribes as " the first that has been published and, though necessarily imperfect in many't^espects, has been pre- pared with considerable care. The list of minerals occurring at many of the places mentioned (in N. S.), especially those in the trap district of the Bay of Fundy, are copied from the writer's notes taken at the localities '^irring several excuri^ioiis to the provinces, the first in 1854. Even these lists may, id some cases, be found imperfect since the destructive tides of that region are continually changing the outlines of the coast and thuB exhauitmg the old localities, but at the same time bringing to light others equally rich in mineral treasures. The notices of localities which the author has not visited are derived from the best sources of information to which he had access. A few w^re taken from the publications of Jackson and A%er, and Davison, which contain much that is val- uable with regard to the mineralogy of the province. The author ' is also indebted to P. C. Hartt, Esq., of St. John, for important information in regard to localities." Reference is then made to doubts as to the existence of thomsonite and prehnite to which I have already adverted and finally the plan of the catalogue is thus stated . ' ' The catalogue is arranged according ix> the plan used in Dana's Mineralogy. Only localities which afford cabinet specimens are in general included. The names of those minerals which can 202 LOCAUTIES or MINERALS. be obtained in good specimens are printed in italics. When the specimens are remarkably good an exclamation mark (I) is added, and two of these are given (!!) if the specimens are unique." In making additions to the list of Prof. Marsh the same indica- tions arc employed in similar cases, and as regards economic " min- erals" the names of localities, or sometimes of the substances them- selves, are put in italics where there is known or believed, on good grounds, to be workable vjuaotity. My own observations and the sources before mentioned in this Report have furnished most of the information now for the, first time put together. Frequent commu- nication with the late enthusiastic collector of specimens Dr. Web- ster, of JECentvijm, with whoin I h^ the privilege of visiting some localities in the Bay of Fuudy a^4 whose collections I hayo often ex^iQ,ed, larailiairiz^d (ne witli soveval interesting particulars, others hfive been obtained frqm Prof. F. C. Ilaxtt, formerly of Ud^ province, where h^ collected minerals for ^ series: of years. My experience in opm^ection with th^ Fxhibitions before spoken of has been of essential service. I am indebted to Mr. Bafnes for several very interesting ff^:t/^ r^cept^y pomn^unicated. Jr. 'anmr»r)oo p!i»*rirti: > ' > 'JJii*^)f>i8n<^i u;ly." h^yuui GOicsBRLANJ) Co. Amherst. — Pyrolueite (of fthe 'qoality.) Miii- udie to Pugwash eax^ W9\iekCQ,-r-lAme^i0m, freentone, j/rindsione, gypeum ; French Biver, vUreoua oOpper ore in sandstone : Napan River, jrj^suTn, limestone; Miacan R., Hebert R., Springhill, coai. \ h^ -. - iftivr iffiM Spencer's laland.r— .Jfij^ice cQppear, siliceotiB sinter^ jasper, quart* (in peifect orjBtals)k i'l)-i^'>H ".8'jrtlla*c>l oi bac^jm ni n n/um , Cape Sharp.r-rrStilbite, amethyst, magnetite, ophyMt9 11 vXhvxt caJcit*!, hsulanddte ! ! natrolite, mesotite, stabile. FarrdbofQughir-Augite, ainianthUB, dalcite, gypsUm, hemt^jl^*. iron pyritoa, magnetite, quartz, w»d, earthy plumbago. y -' t* ..OOALITtia or MUfERALB. 2DS Parti'idgo Island. — Analoime, apophyUitef (rare), atnelkyat! agate, apatite (rare), oalciie! I (abundant in large and bigbly modi- fied crystals, often straw yellow), chabazite (acadialite), chalcedo- ny, cat'H eye (rar^), gypeum, hematite, /leukindli/e / roagnotrte, 8til- bitell {very ubundant), jaaper, cacholong, opnl, semi*opal, gold in quartz. Clarke's Head'.>^Analciine, anhydrite, chlorite, dalcite, hematite, (epeoular orQ)^.prebAite.?i;tre(aoUte»..p9eudQmoq[iboua quarts after stilbite; ■ ' ■''■' '.■»♦•"•'»*.>) r,.j,,.,,v,>„rvf^. v>.vs .■ .•^'i '• s-y .'!■;'! r*<>'v>,vi Swan Gi^eek. —West side, near the Point, calcite, gypsum, lieu- landite, iron pyrites ; east side, at Wasson's Bluff and in vicinity, anaZcnme// (occasionally enclosing native copper and malachite), natrolite / 1 apophyllite t {vwe), calcite,^ ohabazite 1 1 (white, witio yellow, red, [acadialito] in large and very perfect cryatala), gyp- sum, Jteulandite, malachite, native copper* rod copper (tv«re), silice- ous sinter. ' Two lalandis. — 'Mom agate, analdme (sometimes in crystals partly chlorite, lying loose in cavity of trap), oalcite, chabazite, heulandiie, Belomtt. .ji*iti jtwilHiniiUm .dimi--- . .N>r,' yvxyu M'Kay's Head. — Analcimoi (Mlcfte^ heulandite, gilioeotis sinter t Stronix Bro.ok»--^LaumoDite. , > , .. . . i,. ., Kings County. Cape Blomidon. — On the coast between tlie^ Cape and Capo Split the following occur in many places, some of the best localities are nearly opposite Cape Sharp, analoitMfh agate, ameihyetl apophyUiie! caloite, chalcedony > ohobazite,- gmeliuite (ledererlte) (rare); f'aroelite, hematite, magnetite, heulein ditet laumonito, fibrous gypstttn, tiialachite, nM«C'2t^> native copper (rare), natroliieft 9tUbite! psilomelaue, ttiomsonite ? (^uar^z^ Scot's Bay. — Agata ; {j&b^QidXLj moss), amethyst, dtaloedimy, mesolite, natrolitd; *' 'nt Woodworth's' Oore.— A few ittiles west of Scot's Bay, agat»i (^kdkedony, ja»pbr. *0 Ad Hall's Harbour. — Amethyst, cenitaX\skSB\ieyredheuh,ndfit>e, sti^ite. Harbour ville. -^5 - ''i hong Point.— Five, n»^Ie» "west of Black Rock, heulcmdits, UuvMn' itel I stiUntell iq iiuiLnl 204 LOCALITIES OF HTErERALS ' Morden or French Cross. — Mor demte, BtiUnle f North Mountains. — Amethyst, bloodsto&e (rare), ferruginous quartz, mesolite (in soil).'' , •r«Tf-* n^fj. CornwalHs. — At the bridge, manganese (in conglomerate); mouth of river, Long Is., Boot Is., sandstone, ovenstone; Canning? wichtisite! Aylesford, peat-bog. Greenwich. — Manganese (pyrolusite and ](>sil6me1ane). Little Chester, and several places on South Mountain.— Gold. Beech Ilill. — Bog iron and manganese (expoiied for pigment)^ opal-agate (loose), slates for roofing and others beautifully variega- ted and soft. II , i i :«9Jiiv.; . New Canaan.-* Slates. ■ .IJiJooi .M\':i Annapolis County. Chute's Cove. — ApophyU&e, natrolite. »/x^*>it Gates's Mountain.— Analcime, magnetite, mesolite! natrolUkt stilbite, thomsonite ? Hadley's Mountain. — Chlorophoeite, heulan- dite. Margaretville or Peter's Point — Lanmonite (abundant, some coloured green by copper), stilbite ; west side of Stonock's Brqok, apophijllite ! calcite, heulandite, native copper, stilbite; near the pier, anahime, mordenite, sometimes with gyrolite ; near Bishop's Brook, about three miles east of pier, native copper (in crystals in vein of zeolite). Marshall's C,aYeuT7r.ii}Mt/c^me(cn„cl()siQ|p native iQappeK)«ohabazite, heulandite. /rtr-'^ -:;:;.0 nrr::!;qi" vl-rr- rr r^tr 5")iti'-"f : - Moose River.—r^etfe ofir,; , DiQBY County. Clare. — Avour's Head, gold in quartz, talcqee. slate, gamete in chlorite, slate, arsenigi^ pyrites ; MetegUau, Indian pipe-stone.' LocALinia or hlverals. 205 Briar Island.— Native cdpper in trap, ja'^per, magnetite. Digby Neck:— Sandy Cove and vicinity, agate, amethyst, calcite, chaJbazite, liematite, (in perfect ciystals), micaceous iron, laumonile (abundant), magnetite, stilbite, quartz crystals, cat's eye, jasper (abundant, yellow and red, striped), gold in quaftz ? Gulliver's Hole, magnetite, stilbito. Mink Cove, magnetite, amethyst, chaba- zitel (crystals an inch in diameter), quartz crystals. Trout Cove, six m. east of Sandy Cove, agate, chalcedony. Sea-wall, specular iron ore at Johnson's. Nichol's Mountain.-^South side, amethyst, magnetite t (in large and perfect crystals). Cowan's, jasper, agate, iron ore. Timpany's, hematite, amethyst, ferruginous quartz. P^ters's, magnetic iron ore. Williams's Brook. — Near the source, chabazite (green ),heulandite, stilbite, quartz crystals. ^Vn \ ,i»Wm'>v«\ Marshalltown and Bear River.— ^(Jold. Yarmouth County. Tusket. — Crosby, IJ mile from town of Tus- ket, lead ore, arsenical pyrites, in quartz. Yarmouth. — Jebogue Point, copper pyrites ; Cat Rock, Fourchu Point, calcite, asbestus ; Foot's Cove, garnets in chlorite slate ; Crannbery Head, smoky quartz ; Cream Pot, gold in quartz. Shelburnk County. Shelburne. — Near the town, pebbles of rose quartz ; near Birchtown Bay, peat bog ; Jordan and Sable Rivers, staurotide [abundant in gneiss and mica slate] , schiller spar ; Stokes's Head, graphic granite, garnets ; Port Herbert, red ochre, garnets in gneiss ; Kail's Point, green quartz [six feet] ; Shelburne Road and Wharf, gan»ets in gneiss ; Falls, granite> with mica [in large plates] ; Fifteen miles up the river, east side, bog iron ; Indian Fields, talcose slate ; Whetstone Lake, honestones ; near Clyde Ri- ver, peat bog. Barringtou. — Clyde River, tourmaline ; Fresh Pond, vein of fel- spar ; Port LaTour, audalusite, bog iron ; Upper Pubnico, andalu- aite ; Argyle, slates for underpinning. " Queens County. Liverpool. — Five Rivers, near Big Fall, gold in quartz, smoky quartz, ferruginous quartz, bog iron ; Little Port Joli, smoky quartz. North Quebns. — Westfield, gt)ld in quartz, rose quartz, copper pyrites in chlorite slate; Pleasant River, honostono; Harmony, slate, [hard and strong] ; Hibercia, limestone [loose] ;. ^rookfieMl, limestone [loose] ; Hillsborough, white irop pyrites. « ' ^ !.m".a .^.loiH t'. .T-!'! LOCALITIES OF HINBRALS. LuNENBUBo County. Bridgewater.r— LaHave, iron pyrites [large crystals] ; Ilebb's Bridge, bog iron ore*; Hebb's Road, steatite *, Mill Village, smoky quartz ; Three Mile Lake, aznrite in slate ; Lap- land, Seaman's Farm, bog iron ore ; Petite Riviere, gold ; Indian Brook, gold; Branch Lake, gold. Chester. — Gold River, gold in qnartz and sand, argentiferous ga- lena in quartz, molybdenum ; Chester Basin, cenient aaid paint stone, umber. Near Chester, thermal spring. Lunenburg. — The Ovens, Cross Island, Long Island, and other places not named, gold in quartz and washings, p^riYes, mi^piokelt [in perfect crystals occasionally] ; near Lunenburg town, horn- blende; Waterman's Lake, vicinity of, manganese; Ritchie's Cove, feiTuginous quartz. Hants County. Renfrew, Uniacke, Birch Bark Lake, Ellcrshouse, Stillwater, Ponhook ? River Ilebert, goldy etc., in quartz. Uniacke. — Sulphur [rare, crystals] ; Douglas, manganese ; Raw- don, slatea. P Chevcrie, — Anhydrite, gypsum, manganite, pyroluslte. Walton.— Qypsum, manganife, pyroluslte, hematite, near the bridge, brine spring; Anthony's Nose* Vaiytes,. [traaaluoent crys- tals], red chalk. •!'r<!"io'^ '^v.i\or^ Pembroke— PyroZusite, manganite, cateiV' ')arytefe.' - Teny Cape. — -Pyrolusite 1 inangan'te! [auundant, especially for- mer, both oiten in fine crystalline masses], nailiiead calcite, dog- tooth spar, barytes. ; ' r ... -: Noel. — G'jipsum, limestonfe. Maitilaindv '99p«ttm. : / Shubenacadie River.-— (7i/y)sum. ■ ' ; Kennetcook. — Freestone, grindstone, lizneitone, gypsum, coal [thin seam]. -' iNewport.; — Gypsum, anhydrite, natrob'c\>— -^^ ' Waverley. — Soda felspar in quartz. Beaver Bank. — Slates for building and paving. ^: >• , , i, Tangier. — Graphic gvanite, tourmaline, peat bogs ; four mile's N., ' tin ore. in y -^n- > : -mi ;.;' I ,:aj.l « -i'.M ..•;,i^i, Musquodoboit.-^Qjrpaum,^r6£rfay, Mllingahe«d,.pZitm6a(7d, titaaiif- crous iron ore in schist, molybdenum. Jeddore. — Wad. 3hip Harbour — ^Wad. Caledonia. — Chaplin's Saw Mills, chiasiolite. Nelson's, talcose schist. • .{ aariQlJCKj i CoLCHESTEh County. Five Islands. — East RiT6r, barytesl calbite, dolomite, [ankerite] , hematite, copper pynites, plumbago. Ih- dian Point, ma^chite, magnetite^ red copper^ teto^faedrite. ' PinttPcle Island.-r-J4naictme, calcite, cAoita,;^ in atfoMte, siliceous wbter. > Moose Island) stilbite. ui' :. Aiew miles from the shore, in slates, marble [wkiiel and varie- ni hematite; limonite dften as odhres worked for pigments ; seven miles fVom outlet of Folly R. , copper 208 LOCALtnKS OF UIKERALS. ore [small veins] ; five miles from Folly Village, valuable quarry of building stone and grindstone. Onslow. — Mountain, marble, [red and chocolate] ; East Moun- tain, pyrohmte, mangauito, gypsum, clays and marls, umber. Hoar's, wad. Tatamagonche, /rees/one, grindfttone. Kempt-town. — Salt-spring. Earltown, mineral spring ? Salmon River. — Earthy plumbago ; south of, coal, copper pyrites, . hematite. ^ .Li^u,!. Brookfield. — Two miles from station, limonite [in numerous boulders, some of huge dimensions], barytes. Shubenacadie River; — Border of Hants county, anhydrite, gyp- sum, calcite, barytes, hematite, manganese; at the canal, iron pyrites ; near railway station and for miles in vicinity, clay beds [brick yards, potteries]. '■''', ' ' '^^'^ ''"-• ''■^Ml -^ .i!-!* 1^ ■>Ar..' Stewiacke. — Oypsum, barytes. Upper Stewiacke, gold. Gay's River. — Oold in conglomerate, argentiferous galena in limestone, gypsum holding quartz sand. *-~.A> PicTou County. Pictou. — Freestone, clay bM^ ['potteries], jet, manganese ; Roder's Hill, barytes ; Carribou River, grey copper and malachite io lignite ; West River, near Durham, copper ores in lignite; Little Harbour, grey marble. ' '"'''I •* or -n • • li -(•<•;■> New Glasgow. — Albion Coal Basin, coal [extensively worked by several compaiiies], oil-coal, clay ironstone, hematite, clay beds [potteries]. ,;,. East River. — Moulding sandj^ve miles from New Glasgow, limestone ; Fiehpools, copper ores in sandstone ; T miles, gypsum and green copper ore; Springville, 11 miles, gpecular iron ore, broum hematite, manganese; Brddgeville, 12 miles, M'GilKvray's, iron ores; west side of E. River, g^j^sum; Elmsville, 14 miles, marble [green, containing pyrites, and drab with green streaks]. Eraser's Mountain. — Marble [grey, curiously waved]. Middle River.—Slates. Sutherland's BiVer,.r^Xyoal. Merigomish.— pencil stone [clay elate]. ^. ■■■ . ' ^ :A' : :<' :i t ■. ' , French River.— Gold. M 9^'i;f!J7 Jm--ir> i ' .io.uil Salt Springs^-^Dense Brine. Gairloch. — Acid water? — New ^Lairg. — Iron ore. Antiqonish Oountt. Antigonish. — Oypsum, alabaster, fibrous gypsum, viviatiite> limestone [building^stone] ; brint [worked], near LOCALITlKS OF JflKERALS. 209 the town? coal, oil-coal; Lochabor Uo'dd, brown ochre; Braley's Jirook, copper pyrites in ochre ; Morristown, opiLJoto in trap ; Ugden's Lake, gypsum; Ballantyue's Core, gypsum; Strait of Canseau, Tracadio, liviestone, gypsum. Lochaber and Poison's Lakes. — Iroti and copper pyrites, brown hematite ; Polson^s Lake, garnets, iron pyrites [modified crystals, not I'ft 8ilu\. South River, quai'tz [large colourless crystals.} Arisaig. — Galena with lignite, jasper [striped], iron pyrites [fine crystals] copper ore, steatite. Frenchman's Barn, barytes. GoYSBORouGH CounTy. -Guysborough. — Galena, hematite. Country Harbour, Isaac's Harbour, Shei'brooke, Wine Harbour, and other places not named, gold, etc., in quartz, and sometimes in washings. Miiford River, Shore of Chedabucto Bay, gold. Sherbrooke. — Anatase [fine but small crystals] in quartz, peat bogs. Capo Canseau, — Chiastolite in slate, granite, gneiss, mica slate, clay slate. Port MulgTave, Strait of Canseau. — Qypsum exported. ous ear C.VPE BRETON ISLAND. , Richmond CoaNXY, — Little River, Garribou, Inhabitants Basin, coal. Little River, Arichat, St. Peter's, Lennox Passage, limestone, gypsum ; River Inhabitants, limestone. Inveunkss Couxty. — Port Hood, Mabou, Broad Cove, Chimney Corner, coal. Judique, Smith's Island, Mabou Harbour, Margarie, Plaster Cove, limestone, gypsum; Port Hood Island, Margarie, freestone; west of Plaster Cove, barytes, calcite ; nearer the Cove, calcite, chalybite, fluor [blue, small crystals]. M'Kenzie's River. — Bitumen in calcite* apple green calcite, sil- ver in nuggets and in sparry mineral veins, fluor spar [octahedral crystals more than an inch across], galena ; Limbo Cove, talcose schist [abundant] full of garnets ; Chcticarap, green and blue car- bonate of copper, grey and yellow copper ore in calcite, chryso- colla, redfehpar ! ! [perfect crystals, 8 inches long] in syenite ; fourteen miles N. E. of Cheticamp, barytes ; between this and Grand Anse, hematite ; Grand Anse, sulphur spring ; between Graud Anse and Cape St. Lawrence, magnetic iron ; Bay St. Lawrence, coal ? Jerome River, native copper, vitreous copper, poonah earth in trap. Table lands, north east of county, peat bogs. 210 LOCALITIES OF MINERALS. Between Strait of Ganseau and Port Hood. — Long Point River and a second river, not named, gold ; west of Choticamp, Margarie R. and another, gold ; east of Cheticamp, Steep Mountain or Little River, and Lazar or Red Point River, gold. VicToriA County. — Wagamatcook, or Middle River, gold, in quartz and washings, bismuth in nuggets, up to size of pigeon's eggs, with gold and titaniferous iron sand ; Baddeck R., gold ; Watchabuckt, Little Bras d'Or, gold and sulphuret of silver, iron and copper py ites in quartz, argentifei'ous galena in quartz, gold in conglomerate ; Cape North, copper ore, gold ? syenite and por- phyry, peat hoc/s on table lands in C, North district. St. Ann's, North River. — Soap stone with white marble and quartz. Whycocomagh. — Freestone, marble. New Campbellton. — Goa^. Cape Breton County. Little Bras d'Or, Sydney, Lingan, Little Glace Bay, Big Glace Bay, Cow Bay, Mira Bay. — Coal [extensivel}'- worked by several companies] ; Sydney district, clay iron stone in nodules. St. Andrew's Channel, Sydney, Boulardaric Island, Mira Bay, etc., limestone, gypsum., freestone, grindstone. East of Bras d'Or. — Syenite, porphyry. Near Bras d'Or. — Mar- ble, mineral springs. ' • Gabarus Bay. — Molybdenum [crystals] in quartz. In the Island of Cape Breton, no locality specified, topaz report- ed ; also native sulphur. ADDITIONAL IN N. S. King's County. Starr's Point. — Magnetic iron, gypsum, [sele- nite?], Iceland spar, [all in sandstone?]. Colchester County. Five Islands. — Manganese, umber. 211 ■ 1 CHAPTER XV; NOTES ON THE RESERVATION OF MINERALS. t- The mineral reservations not being uniform throughout the province I thought it desirable to give some account of them and applied to W. A. Hendry, L £,, Deputy Commissioner of Crown Lands, who very kindly undertook to furnish the information re- quired, and has favoured me witluthe statements in this chapter. These have not been obtained without considerable trouble and Mr. Hendry found that it would be an endless work to make i complete return of the mineral reserves, partly in consequence of the counties having been so often divided : for example, Digby and Annapolis once formed a single county ; Shelburno included Yarmouth ; Halifax included Pictou and Colchester. What he has furnished, however, is perhaps sufficient to give a general idea of the extent of land granted with the reservation only of the Royal Mines and the addition of lead, copper, and coal, in some instances. After the grant to the Duke of York in 1826 of all the mines and minerals of the province the reserves included every mineral substance whatever, but in 1858, when the arrangement was made by which the mines were surrendered to the Crown, an act was passed by the Legislature giving up to the grantees of land all the minerals previously reserved excepting gold, silver, tin, lead, copper, coal, iron, and precious stones, and, in the words of the act passed 28th March, 1858, "all other mines, minerals, ores, and earths, including ironstones, limestones, slate stone, slate rock, gypsum and clay " are now granted with lauds. With regard to grants made in earlier years, those previous to 1169 have no reserves of minerals, with the exception of a single lot in 1752, where, perhaps, there may be an error in the date. Of the grants in 1759 some reserve no minerals ; others reserve gold, 212 RESERVATION OF MINERALS, silver, precious stones, and lapis lazuli.* Prom July 12th 1764, lead, copper, and coals were added to the reserved minerals in all grants of moderate size but nearly two million acres were granted in very large tracts (mostly in October 1*765) to Alexander M'Nutt and others on certain conditions with respect to settling and culti- vation. In those grants, gold, silver, and coals are the only minerals reserved. After the 4th of November 1 766 the precious stones were omitted, and gold, silver, lead, copper, and coals only reserved. All mines and minerals with the exception of the reserves are expressly granted, consequently the proprietors of land held by grants antecedent to July 12th 1164 own all the minerals except gold, silver, precious atones, and lapis lazuli. Those who hold under the M'Nutt class of grants own all except gold, silver, and coals. Those who hold under common grants between the ^2th July 1'?'64 and November 4th 1766 own all except gold, silver, precious stones, lapis lazuli, lead, copper, and coals, and those whose grants are later than the date last given are the owners of all except gold, silver, lead, copper, and coals. It is provided in the act of 1858 that it shall apply to no mines or minerals which, at the time of its coming into operation, shall not, by virtue of the surrender or otherwise, be vested in the Crown, or be under the control' of the Legislature of this province, nor to any mines or minerals which shall be subject to any grant, sale, lease, or disposition thereof, in force and subsisting at the time of its coming into operation, and that it shall not affect the then existing rights of any person or body corporate. Most of the grants to the old townships were given to the com- mittees of the persons who designed to settle them. These cora- raittees brought lists of the names of the intending settlers, return- ed to New England after they had received the grants, and brought back the settlers and their cattle. These first grants either reserve no minerals, or else gold, silver, precious stones, and lapis lazuli, but the greater part of them were resigned and new ones procured, the old grants being stated to be insecure ; many persons, how- ever, procured separate grants for shares in these townships during the period that elapsed between the first and second grants. It * Lapis laztli ia a mineral found In granite, syenite, and crystalline Umeit-ono, The richly coloured varieties are highly esteemed for various ornamental pnrposcs but the value of thqae has diminished of late years. The expensive pigment ultramarine was not long ago prepared exclusively from lapis lazuli but it is now made artificially of quality equal to that from the mineral at about one two hundredth part of the cost, Lapia lazuli has not been found in the provinoe so far aa I am aware. M ^ 1 ■ 1 RESRRVATION OF MINERALS. ' . 21o does not appear certain that these persons gave up their rights when the township grants were surrendered, if they did not they would, in most cases, hold a right to all minerals except gold, silver, and precious stones. In each county there remain large tracts of ungianted land : the following are the most important grants of earlier years. A.: TAIX)LI8 06UNr\'. -j! '* Annapolis township, granted in 1765, with reservation of) gold, silver, lead, copper, coal, precious stones, and [• 65,000 lapis lazuli , , , , ) Oranville township, reservations as before . . ../..'. .:..... 52,600 AVilmot township, granted at different times, some of the ) grants reserve no minerals, while others reserve gold, [• 56,000 silver, lead, copper, coals, and precious stones ; about ) 113,600 AN'riGOXISIt AND GUYSnORO' COUNTIES. Ilollowell grant, reserved, gold, silver, and coal.,^,*^.. ...20,000 ^yro" » .» „ ,, „ „ .»..*, 10,000 Montgomery,, „ „ „ „ „ , 20,000 Ad'ml. Lord Colville grant, reserved, gold, silver, and coal. .20,000 MilfordBay „ „ „ „ ;, ,, ..20,000 90,000 Several smaller grants reserve lead, copper, coal, gold, silver, and precious stones : to sum up, these two counties stand thus ; Grant reserving gold, silver, and coal. 250,000 >> ,, gold, silver, lead, copper, and coal 248 >> ,, gold, silver, lead, copper, coal, precious stones, and lapis lazuli 8,t78 259,026 COLCHESTER COUNTY. Onslow township, granted 21st Feb., 1759, with reserva- ) .^ „^ tion of gold, silver, lead, copper, and coal j oO,000 Tatamagouche, Desbarres grant, 25th Aug. 1765, reserved, ) ^a nnn gold, silver, and coal j ''"'^00 Londonderry township, grant 30th Oct., 1765, reserved, ) ,^^ „„ gold, silver, precious stones, lead, copper, and coal, j ^""'""" Truro Township, grant Slst Oct., 1765, reserved, gold. | .^ .. silver, precious stones, lead, copper, and coal j ^"»M*'" Upper Stewiacke, grant 29th July, 1769, reserved, gold, ) , ^a aaa silver, and coals j ^"">ouu 320,00 314 RESERVATION OF MINERALg. CUMBERLAND COUNTY. Acrer. Q^nmberland grant, 12th Oct., 1 ^63, reserved, gold, ailver, ) ,., ^^ precious stones, and lapis lazuli j ' ^'^^ Amherst, reserved, gold, silver, and coal 100,000 1T5,000 DIGBY COUNTY. St. Mary's Bay grant, 31st Oct., 1765, reserved, gold, ) ,oc nnn silver, and coal [ ^^^,000 , HALIFAX COUNTY. No large township grants : the grants rarely exceeded three or four thousand acres and they may be classed as follows : — Acrat, Between 1752 and 1754, without any mineral reserves 32,90!> „ 1759 and 1764, reserved, gold, silver, precious i „, „„ . stones, and lapis lazuli J ' ,, 1764 and 1766, reserved, gold, silver, lead, cop-) «. ,g^ per, coal, precious stones and lapis lazuli. . . • j ^'^^' „ 1766 and 1782, reserved, gold, silver, lead cop- ) i , ^ h,., per, coal | ^^^'^^^ „ 1765 and 1773 468,000 773,176 HANTS "OOUNTY. Falmouth grant, 11th June, 1761, reserved, gold silver,) ka qa,, precious stones, and lapis lazuli ) ^"'""*^ Newport grant, reserves gold, silver, precious stones 68,000 ©ther small grants, reserving gold, silver, precious ) , nq oa^' stones and lapis lazuli, making a total of. j i^y,6K>() 227^ KINOS COUNTY. Horton, reserved, gold, silver, precs. stones, & lapis lazuli. .100,000 Cornwallis, „ „ „ „ „ ,, ,, ..100,000 Between 1764 and 1866 grants reserving gold, silver, lead, ) ^j. j.-^ copper, precious stones, and lapis lazuli ) oH,»o i 258,857 QUEENS COUNTY. Liverpool township, reserved, gold, silver, precious | , a-v nai\ stones, lapis lazuli | 1"0,000 Korth-west side of Liverpool, reserved, gold, silver, coal. 200,000 South-west „ „ „ „ ,, ,, . 100,000 400,000 KESERVATTON OF k.NERALS. 2lf LUNENBURG COUNTY. Aero*. (.'heater township, reserved, gold, silver, precious ) ^nn nna stones, lapis lazuli f 100,00© Xew Dublin, reserved, gold, silver, precious stones, I onn aaa lapis lazuli } ^00,000 Jietween 1752 and IISS, with no mineral reserves 4,12© Between 1759 and 1766, reserved, gold, silver, precious ) „. stones, and lapis lazuli j ' ** Between 1766 and 1782, reserved gold, silver, lead, cop- \ .^ ..,q per, coal f 4U,4iii 2\& APrENDIX. A.IITEB the foregoing rqaort waa prenonted I received : Rnport on the (lold Regions of Nov:. Sdotia, by Dr. Slorry Hunf, F.R.S., addroBKod to Sir W. E. Logan, F.R.S., Director of the (jcolocical Survey of Canada,, OOl.n PRODUCT OI-' THE PBOTINRK, The atnount of gold officially reported from Jan. 1st to Sep. 30th, 1868, was 15,459 oz. G dwt. 17 grs., making the total product so given at the latter date 140,712 oz. 8 dwt. 20 grs. There have Hince been receipts of bar gold in Halifax to the amount of 2,467 oz. up to Dec. HvA, 186S. giving in rouiid nun>bcrs, as the partial yield up to latter date, the total of 143,179 ounces. COPPEH ORE OF CAPE NOKTH, CAPE BRETON. A vein has lately been reported, as traced for six miles in this didtrict, consisting of eight feet thickness of gangue containing copper ore attered throughout, with a centre of eighteen inches composed ol good yellow ore. PROVINCIAL SALT AT THE I-ATE EXHIBITION. EXHIBITS. No. 1. Nova Scotia Salt Works — Prize awarded. No. 2. J. H. Hewson, Pictou. EXPORT OF MINERALS FROM WINDSOR IN 18C8. Tone of 2,240 lb. Value. Gyi>sum up to Dec. 12th 52,310 $47,079 MouldingSand 290 290 Manganese ,... 12 30O MARBLE IN CAPE BRETON, A recent article (Dec. 7th) in the P. E. I Summerside Progress states that large deposits of marble have been found nearer Bras d'Or Lake than those mentioned in the report. Mr. Brown, of St. Eleanor's, P. E. I., has secured quarrying rights over about 1600 ^ acres containing beds of marble of 7 or 8 varieties, (black, white, veined, spotted, and of rare flesh colour ; some of SHperior quality), practically inexhaustible, and within a few rods of deep water. The marble hill, called North Mountain, is on the N. shore of the lake, or West Bay, 25 miles E. of Ship Harbour, and in sight of St. Peter's canal. Mr. Brown is pushing forward such operations as will enable him to begin shipping marble in the coming season. cny Huiif, tor of the Sep. 30th, product 80 There have It of 2,46Y the partial iile8 in tliis containing teen inches Value. $47,079 290 300 ie Progress nearer Bras own, of St. about 1600 ack, white, or quality), Jeep water, bore of the in sight of 1 operations Ing season. APPKMDri. COAL MINKS. 217 No o(Ti« irtl retuniH rolativt? f(» coal have been made nince those re- ferred ft) in the Report. Iiiiportiint operutiouK liuvebeen in progrewH and it is Inlly e.\peeted that next spring- will see increased H(!tivity in tilt' df.'velopiuent of tin- coiil mines. (JonI 7. and since that time a double HJiafl luiK been sunk on the Heani (Report, table p. 10) to a depth of 7;{0 feet, with latend j>-allerie.s at intervnls of from 200 to 300 feet, and mMffr< T"".vr'-'