UC-NRLF 
 
 B M 17D bflS 
 
EARTH 
 
 SCIENCE*; 
 UBRAR- 
 
[EXECUTIVE DOCUMENT, No. 13.] 
 
 REPORT 
 
 OF PROFESSOR EMMQNS, 
 
 ON HIS 
 
 (T EG LOGICAL SURVEY 
 
 F 
 
 NORTH CAROLINA. 
 M 
 
 RALEIGH: 
 
 SEATON GALES, PRINTER TO THE LEGISLATURE. 
 1852- 
 
tfi 
 
 EARTH 
 
 SCIENC 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 [Message and Report communicated to the House of Com- 
 mons. Transmitted to the Senate with a proposition to print 
 3000 copies. Ordered accordingly . 
 
 To the Honorable the General Assembly 
 
 of the State of North Carolina : 
 
 1 herewith transmit the Report of Prof. E. EMMONS, 
 who was appointed, under the Act of the last Session, to 
 make a Geological, Mineralogical, and Agricultural Survey 
 of the State. 
 
 DAVID b r . REID. 
 KXECUTITE DEPARTMENT, ~> 
 
 Raleigh, November 22d ; 1852. j 
 
 
REPORT. 
 
 To His Excellency, DAVID S. REID, 
 
 Governor of North Carolina : 
 
 SIR : 
 
 1. Agreeably to the requirement of the Act of the 
 Legislature, passed the 24th January, 1851, authorising a 
 Geological Survey of the State, I herewith present the First 
 Annual Report. 
 
 In the discharge of this duty, I have deemed it advisable, 
 at this time, and at this stage of the work, to confine my com- 
 munication to two principal subjects : the Soils and Agri- 
 culture of the Lower Counties ; and the Coal Fields of Rock- 
 iugham. Stokes, Chatham, and Moore Counties : the two 
 former occupying the Northern, and the latter the Central, 
 portions of the State. I deem it, however, relevant to the 
 subjects before me, to introduce the statement of such 
 principles of Agriculture and Geology as may be required for 
 the better understanding of these departments ; or which are 
 suggested by, or flow immediately from, facts which I have 
 observed. 
 
 I hope this course will be approved of, as the subjects are 
 beginning to excite public attention, and are probably among 
 the most important matters to which the public attention has 
 been turned for many years. 
 
 M134G 
 
many points which have been established, of 
 y^ars; thejtfe:arV /our of very great importance, namely : 
 That soils must contain a sufficiency of certain inorganic 
 dements ; that these elements are necessary to the life of the 
 plant that no seed can be perfected without them ; and-, 
 finally ', that they are essential to the life of the animal sub- 
 sisting on vegetable food. It follows, from these established 
 points, that some, at least, of the important products of life 
 are derived from the soil ; it being possible to trace them back 
 from the animal, through the plant, to the soil. From this, it 
 also follows, that the true method of determining the important 
 elements of a soil, is, to analyse the products of life as found 
 in the plant and animal. That \Uiich is constantly found in 
 those products, and which can be traced to no other source 
 than the soil, must, of necessity, be regarded as the essential 
 elements of the soil. We can arrive at no other conclusion . 
 and furthermore, by no other method can we reach a correct 
 conclusion. This method has been followed ; and it has 
 resulted in (he discovery that the following substances are the 
 essential ones which have been alluded to, namely : Phos- 
 phoric acid, Sulphur, Potash, Soda, Lime, Magnesia, Oxyde 
 of Iron, Silica, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Hydrogen, Carbon, Water, 
 Ammonia, Chlorine, and small quantities of Fluorine. 
 
 I might have left out of this list oxygen, hydrogen, nitro- 
 gen, carbon, and ammonia, inasmuch as there are, it is sup- 
 posed, other sources of supply than that of the soil. It is no!, 
 however, fully established that, in the arrangements of nature, 
 there is a full provision for this supply, when soils are subject- 
 ed to high culture, and are required to produce more than five 
 times the amount which they produce spontaneously. It is 
 undoubtedly true, that the vegetable kingdom can sustain 
 itself by the instrumentality of the common sources of supply ; 
 yet, when a species of this kingdom, as Corn, for example, 
 is required to yield its sixty bushels to the acre, we can see no 
 provision for this result in its wild and uncultivated state. 
 
 Hence, under culture, where the soil is thus heavily (axed to 
 meet the demands of civilized life, there it fails, in process of 
 
time, to supply them, and means to supply them are called 
 for, and even required, in order to sustain the soil undei its 
 increased products. Those elements, then, which constitute 
 parts of the atmosphere, as carbonic acid and ammonia, which 
 are furnished in sufficient quantities to plants, growing spon- 
 taneously, are not supplied, as I have already hinted, when 
 soils are put under heavy culture 5 or, they may not be sup- 
 plied in sufficient quantities to meet the demands of a succes- 
 sion of crops. 
 
 3. As I shall have frequent occasion to refer to those 
 elements of soil, generally known as inorganic elements, 
 I propose, in this place, to speak of them ; and to state some 
 of their properties, uses, and the sources whence they are de- 
 rived. 
 
 1. PHOSPHORIC ACID. In its separate state, insulated 
 from other bodies, it is an exceeding sour substance. It is 
 solid, and resembles flakes of snow, when freshly prepared ; 
 but, in consequence of its avidity for water, it soon becomes, 
 in the atmosphere, a limpid fluid. Like other sour or acid 
 bodies, it readily combines with potash, soda, lime, and many 
 other bodies ; and forms, with them, new compounds, which 
 are called phosphates. Hence we have phosphate of lime, 
 which exists both as a natural substance in rocks, and in the 
 animal kingdom in bones ; and it is mainly in this form or 
 combination that it is known in the animal and vegetable 
 kingdom. Animal bodies all contain more or less of phos- 
 phate of lime, and probably it is among the most important. 
 The bones, however, contain more of it than other parts ; and, 
 in its absence, and when it is diminished in quantity, they are 
 soft and flexible, and unfitted to sustain the weight of the body. 
 
 The source of phosphate of lime is the mineral kingdom. 
 Probably all the rocks contain it, sometimes in large masses ; 
 but, usually, it seems to be diffused through them in fine 
 particles. When they decompose and disintegrate, it is, of 
 course, mixed with (he soil. It is more abundant in granite, 
 greenstone, trap dykes, and volcanic products, than in othe^ 
 rocks. This fact seems to show thai igneous rocks, the pyro- 
 
chrystalline, are the true sources of this important substance. 
 In New York, I discovered, in 1837, a vein of it subordinate 
 to a trap dyke, and in connexion also with the primary or the 
 pyrochrystalline limestone all of which may be classed toge- 
 ther as igneous products. This vein, in one place, was seven 
 feet wide ; and hence furnished a large amount of lime for 
 agricultural purposes. In the same section, I discovered the 
 same substance associated with the magnetic oxyde of iron, in 
 small clustered crystals, forming, in many places, more than 
 one-half of the mass. 
 
 In the trap dyke, this mineral phosphate is green, less hard 
 than feldspar ; and, in the iron bed, in reddish, six-sided prisms. 
 1 am careful to mention these facts for this important sub- 
 stance may exist in the pyrocrystalline rocks of North Oarolina ; 
 and, if in quantity, would be of great value to the agricultural 
 interests of the State. It should be sought for in rocks of 
 igneous origin ; and especially where the magnetic ores of 
 iron exist. In this state it occurs in the marl beds, at the bot- 
 tom of the shell marl ; though it is also diffused through the 
 beds, in masses of small size; ic is in dark rounded and some- 
 times spiral masses. In this form, it is known under the name 
 of coprolite. It is the excrement of marine animals, and coir 
 tains rather more than 50 per cent, of phosphate of lime ; or 
 about the same proportion as it exists in bone. These copro- 
 lites are very valuable, and 1 have indicated the place where 
 they abound the most. They seem to have been collected at 
 the bottom of the shell marl, and to have been subjected to 
 attrition by the waves of the sea. They are associated with 
 quartz pebbles, and generally are black or brown, and almost 
 as hard as quaitz. Coprolites are found also in the coal 
 stratas of Rockingharn, Stokes, Chatham, and Moore. They 
 have a similar origin to those of the marl beds but they 
 do not exist in sufficient abundance, as 1 have seen in either 
 formation, to warrant the expense of extracting them. Still 
 the facts are important, and should not be forgoaen. The 
 importance of this substance cannot be doubted, when it is 
 known that Indian corn, wheat, rye, oats, barley, all the 
 
cereals, potatoes, and all the tubers and tap-rooted plants con- 
 tain it ; and especially the cereals. A soil destitute of it is 
 totally barren. 
 
 2. SULPHUR. It is a substance too well known to require 
 a description. It is not so well known, however, that it is an 
 important element in the vegetable and animal kingdoms. It 
 is found in the animal tissues. Peas and clover belong to a 
 family of plants in which it is always found. It is an element 
 of oil of vitriol, and hence one of the elements of gypsum. A 
 class of minerals called sulphurets also contain it. 
 
 3. POTASH. Equally well known is potash. It is a con- 
 stituent of granite, existing in the feldspar of the rock in the 
 proportion of 16 per cent. Owing to its presence, this mineral 
 is subject to decomposition , and then forms kaolin; a substance 
 employed in porcelain. Other minerals contain it. The 
 green sand, one of the varieties of marl in the Eastern Coun- 
 ties, owes its fertilizing properties to potash. It plays an im- 
 portant part, both in the organic and inorganic world. It is 
 instrumental in giving solubility to silex ; and hence prepares 
 this substance to be taken up into the tissues of plants. In com- 
 bination with potash, silex is taken up, and made a part of 
 the straw of wheat, rye, and oats, and imparts that strength 
 which is necessary to enable the plane to stand up. When 
 deficient in silex, wheat, rye, and other grains fall, and are 
 injured or destroyed. 
 
 Potash is an expensive fertilizer, ranking, in this respect, 
 with phosphate of lime. To this, more than any other ele- 
 ment, ashes owe their value as fertilizers. Argilaceous soils 
 contain it, in combination with silex ; but the combination is 
 insoluble, and requires the addition 01 lime to free it from a 
 portion of silica, in order to bring it into a soluble condition. 
 
 4. SODA. This alkali is more abundant than potash, and 
 beds of nitrate of soda exist in climates where no rain falls. 
 Its office, in plants and animals, is not very dissimilar to that 
 of potash. The great source of it is the sea, and beds of 
 rock salt. 
 
s 
 
 5. LIME. Lime, in some form or combination, is found in 
 all parts of plants and animals. The bark of trees abounds 
 in it, where it serves to protect the wood from injury ; and the 
 testaceous covering of shell-fish, oysters, and clams, together 
 with the integuments of crabs, and the substance of corals. In 
 bones, it is in combination with phosphoric acid ; while, in 
 the bark of plants, it is probably in combination with organic 
 acids ; and, in the testaceous covering, it is combined with car- 
 bonic acid. It is more generally diffused in the mineral 
 world than either of the alkalies, or alkaline earths ; and still 
 it is one of those substances which is wanting in soils, and 
 that, too, when they exist in the vicinity of limestone rocks. 
 
 Lime also exists in the bones of man, in the proportion of 
 about twelve per cent. From its .universal diffusion in the 
 vegetable and animal kingdoms, it is evident it is one of the 
 important elements of the soil. Its presence in the soil, 
 however, is not so common as might be expected from its 
 great abundance m the mineral kingdom. We have no cal- 
 careous soils, even upon our limestone, though there may be 
 patches of a few yards in extent where lime is the principal 
 substance. Much uncertainty prevails in the use of lime. I 
 shall, however, reserve what I have to say, under this head, 
 until I have occasion to speak of the use of marls. 
 
 6. MAGNESIA. It is often maintained that magnesia is 
 hurtful to soils. When caustic, it does not become mild so 
 soon as lime ; and hence is liable to absorb the water which is 
 requiied ly plants. Yet the phosphate of magnesia is a con. 
 stant element of the wheat, rye, and corn, as well also as in 
 all vegetable food, [t exists in soil; is important to fertility : 
 but is less so than lime. Its source is in the magnesian rocks, 
 as they are termed, such as soapstone and steatite talcose slate. 
 It is far less soluble than lime. When barrenness appears 
 in connexion with serpentine, it is not because magnesia is 
 injurious, but because other earths are wanting or absent. 
 Magnesian limestones have rarely, if ever, injured vegetation 
 in this country, though prejudices exist abroad. 
 
7. SILICA. In flint and rock crystals, we have examples 
 of this earth. It is harder than glass ; and, in the common 
 form in which it is found, is insoluble. It appears, in this 
 form, to he one of the most indifferent of all bodies. Yet it 
 is found in such combinations that it is freely taken up by the 
 roots of grasses, and plants of this family. It constitutes a 
 very large proportion of the earth's crust. In soils, it varies in 
 quantity. Its proper proportion is about 85 per cent, ; but 
 good soils often contain less, and two 01 three per cent. more. 
 The office which silex performs is to preserve a due amount 
 of the coarser matter : for, when a soil is composed of impal- 
 pable matter, it is comparatively barren ; and silex, from its 
 excessive hardness, resists the wear and action of the elements. 
 By being commingled with clay, it imparts porosity and loose- 
 ness ; permits the roots to ^penetrate deeply; while, at the 
 same time, air and moisture permeate through the mass as far 
 us roots can find their way. The use of silex is, therefore, 
 partly mechanical and partly physiological ; being necessary 
 m soils to preserve porosity, and particularly necessary to the 
 cereals to protect the straw and kernels, and give elasticity and 
 strength to the whole plant. So abundant is this substance, 
 however, that it is never necessary to add it to the soil, except 
 for mechanical use ; potash and lime are often added for the 
 purpose, of freeing it from its insoluble combinations, when 
 the grains are special objects of culture. 
 
 8. OXIDE OF IRON. Analyses of organic bodies, prove the 
 existence of iron in them ; and in those animals which have 
 red blood, it is satisfactorily demonstrated that it serves to main- 
 tain the heat of the body. In addition to this, its salutaiy ef- 
 fects upon the human system prove, also, that it performs 
 
 ^ome other office besides. It is, then, an important element, 
 physiologically. In the soil, however, it is supposed to be 
 concerned in developing or forming ammonia. Iron, by it- 
 self, is rarely used as a fertilizer. The oxide, however, taken 
 from the smith's forge, intermixed witli refuse matter collect- 
 ing about a smith's shop, is often highly beneficial to fruit 
 trees ; and pear trees, especially, have derived essential benefit 
 by the application. 
 
10 
 
 9. AMMONIA. It is known by everybody, under the name 
 of hartshorn. In this State, however, it is not applied to 
 plants, or to soils. It belongs both to the soil and atmosphere. 
 Nitrogen, an element of the atmosphere and ammonia, is an 
 essential constituent of the cereals, being one of the compo- 
 nents of gluten, or the pasty part of flour. It is supposed 
 that the salts of ammonia are the media, through whkh nitro- 
 gen gains access to the grain and there are results of experi- 
 ments which go to prove that, if it is wished to increase the 
 wheat crop, it requires the addition of substances which will 
 furnish ammonia that the fertilizers 1 have noticed in the 
 foregoing paragraphs are not sufficient, or are inefficient, in the 
 case of wheat, unless they are mingled with ammoniacal com- 
 pounds. Phosphate of lime will greatly increase the turnip 
 crop j yet, if applied to \vheat, when the soil is unexhausted, 
 with a view to increase the product, it fails, unless ammonia 
 is furnished also. Yet, on poor and exhausted lands, phos- 
 phate of lime is known to produce surprising effects. In fiesh 
 soils, plaster and charcoal readily absorb ammonia. 
 
 WATER. This element is the great solvent of the different 
 inorganic bodies upon which I have been speaking. Nothing 
 can act and become beneficial to vegetation, until it is dissolv- 
 ed in water. It is, therefore, the medium through which all 
 the essential substances find their way into animal and vege- 
 table tissues. The effect of much is injurious. Standing, as 
 it frequently does upon soils, it diminishes their temperature, 
 and maintains them in a state permanently too low to admit 
 of the cultivation of the valuable plants. Draining lands of 
 superfluous water is, in effect, raising their temperature several 
 degrees. Where there is too much water, another condition* 
 exists incompatible with that cultivation which the cereals re- 
 quire ; the soil is too compact, and it cannot be made po- 
 rous while in that condition . Draining, therefore, makes the 
 soil warm and loose ; conditions essential to the growth of 
 the most important productions. 
 
 Water is indispensable, and no seed can germinate without it. 
 Soils differ as to the force with which they retain or absorb it. 
 
11 
 
 Silicious soils part with it readily, and absorb it slowly. Of 
 all substances which retain water, finely divided peaty matter 
 is the strongest ; it exceeds clay und marl. Next to peaty 
 marl, fine marl, containing some organic matter, ranks the 
 next. 
 
 10. CARBONIC ACID. The atmosphere is regarded as the 
 source from which it is obtained by plants. In this combina- 
 tion, it is always produced, and it is generated in the soil. 
 Carbonic acid is a solvent. Water charged with k dissolves 
 rocks. The almost insoluble phosphate of lime is thus dis- 
 solved in water by its aid. 
 
 Leaves are supposed to absorb it from the atmosphere ; and 
 to obtain, in this way, the carbon required to build up their 
 structure. Still, the water in the soil holds it in solution ; and 
 it is, under those circumstances, furnished the. plant by its 
 roots. This seems to be the channel through which carbonic 
 acid may more naturally course through its tissues, when it is 
 assimilated. Carbonaceous, or peaty matters, also supply it. 
 
 11. CHLORINE. Common salt is a combination of soda 
 and this substance. The term chloride is applied to such 
 combinations. By itself it is a poison ; in combination with 
 soda, it is a fertilizer. Its true value, however, is not well 
 settled. Some esteem it highly ; others do not. On wheat 
 its effects are scarcely perceptible. It promotes the growth 
 and yield of plums, and it may be taken up in sufficient 
 quantity to give them a saline taste. 
 
 12. FLUORINE. li is found in combination with lime, con- 
 stituting the mineral called fluor spar. Although it is a rare 
 substance, yet it is found in the enamel of teeth, in bones, and 
 in milk. It is an associate of phosphate of lime. It is never 
 added to soils by itself ; but, as it accompanies phosphate of 
 lime. 1 believe, in all cases, it is applied when phosphate of 
 lime is used. * 
 
 * In the foregoing pages, I have used the word clement iu 
 a different sense from (hat in which it is employed in chemical 
 works. Real elements, or simple bodies, are never employed 
 as fertilizers. They must be compounded, before they are 
 received as elements. 
 
12 
 
 The foregoing substances are detected in the ash of plantst 
 When plants, wood, coal, &c. dre burned, the ash tha 
 remains is called the inorganic part of the plant. If they 
 are burnt carefully, in a proper flame, we find that the 
 particles composing the inorganic part preserve a reticulated 
 structure, and often appears as woven. It seems, theiefore, 
 to be designed to perform the part of a skeleton to the plant, 
 and give it firmness and elasticity. Even the delicate petal of 
 a plant has its fine woven skeleton. Two things should be 
 observed of the inorganic part : plants differ among them- 
 selves in the quantity they contain ; and the parts of the same 
 plant differ also in this respect. These two facts lie at the foun- 
 dation of an improved and refined system of agriculture. 
 That improved system would consist in adapting the quantity 
 of the inorganic elements to the special wants of the plant. 
 In the present state of our knowledge, something can be done, 
 but it must be done imperfectly. Hundreds of acres under 
 cultivation can receive only rough and imperfect tillage. Spe- 
 cial agriculture, that which is conducted to meet the special 
 wants of the crop, must limit and confine the operations to 
 small plantations. This special agriculture is, inpait, observ- 
 ed, when the planter and farmer puts his wheat on soils best 
 adapted to wheat ; or when his Indian corn and potatoes are 
 cultivated on soil best adapted to them. But when the sys- 
 tem of artificial farming is undertaken, it is necessary that 
 more knowledge of the soil should be obtained than can be 
 procured by simple inspection. A full knowledge of the com- 
 position of soils is the first step towards veal improvement in 
 the right direction. To carry the improvement to perfec- 
 tion, -a full knowledge of the composition of plants is also 
 necessary But plants vary much in their relations to light, 
 and shade, heat and cold, to dry and wet soils. The condi- 
 tions of vegetation best adapted to plants, or to crops, must 
 receive study ; the reasons why they vary should be deter- 
 mined. All these points require a knowledge of the economy 
 of vegetation, or of its physiology. The range of knowledge 
 required for the practice of a special agriculture, or where spe- 
 
13 
 
 cial adaptations are attempted, is by no means confined to a 
 small compass. This is not to be regarded as a discouraging 
 feature. To progress, however, requires the utmost patience, 
 and the great danger is, that discouragements will spring up at 
 the slow progress which is made, and a right road will be 
 abandoned, because it can be seen only for short distances ; the 
 end is yet hid in mist and doubt. 
 
 The organic part of a plant, is that which is consumed dur- 
 ing combustion : the products being volatile, are all dissipated. 
 It forms by far the greatest part of the vegetable. Its source is 
 regarded, by Liebig, as the atmosphere. Still, the soil no 
 doubt furnishes it, in the form of organic salts, which are 
 known under the names of crenic and apocrenic acids in combi- 
 nation with alkaline matters. These are derived from humus 
 originally, plants first changing in water into peat, which, in 
 itself, is scarcely soluble, but which becomes so, in part, by 
 the action of lime. 
 
 4. It has been stated that certain elements are essential to a 
 productive soil. Knowing before hand what those elements 
 are, it seems to be plain what course our enquiries should take 
 when directed to the improvement of any given soil. If a 
 crop is defective in quality, and falls short of its former yield, it 
 is evident thas there isa want of those elements which have Just 
 been described ; the course to be taken then, is to analyze the 
 soil, especially those patches where the failure in quantity is 
 the greatest. If it is found deficient, in some of those ele- 
 ments, we are put in a way to correct the evil. It is possible 
 that this report may fall into the hands of a few who may 
 wish to know the chemical composition of soil, really poor, 
 as well as those which are rich. I shall proceed to give the re- 
 sults of an analysis of several kinds of soil, in order to make 
 my readers better acquainted with their composition, that they 
 may be used for a comparison hereafter ; and as they are taken, 
 from well known plantations in different parts of the State, 
 the results may also be regarded with more interest than if se- 
 lected from books. The planter wants to know the reason of 
 the 'failure of his soil to produce its customary crops. But til- 
 
14 
 
 lage must be taken into the account, as well as the season : 
 and, indeed, all those variations in seasons, time of planting, 
 favorable conditions of soil, &c. which are necessary to arrive 
 at a true conclusion. If the failures belong to successive sea- 
 sons, equally favorable to the crop, there can be no doubt 
 they arise from a deficiency of one or more of the inorganic 
 elements of I he soil. There may be a kind of a priori deter- 
 mination of the cause of failures by looking back for several 
 years, and calling to mind the kind of crops taken from it. 
 If they have been cereal, then it is highly probable that the 
 phosphates and potash have been deficient. If tobacco has 
 been cultivated several successive seasons, much potash has 
 been carried away ; or, if the potash is deficient in the soil 
 originally, lime may take its place. 
 
 It is proper to say, in this place, that a registry of crops will 
 be found useful ; for, if the quantity removed from the soil 
 is noted, the number of pounds removed of either potash, 
 phosphate of lime, or lime, may be calculated. 
 
 5. I shall proceed now to give a number of analyses of 
 soils, for the double purpose I have stated. The first class be- 
 long to {he poorer soils, and have their representatives too com- 
 mgn upon the Atlantic slope of this State. It would be un- 
 just to attribute the faults of the soil entirely to culture and 
 bad husbandry. The truth is, they have a sandy basis, and 
 when cultivated for several years in succession, without return- 
 ing something in the way of fertilizers, a fine marine sand is 
 exposed, which, in some places, is so loose in its texture as 
 to permit the vegetable matter to be blown from its surface. 
 
 The first examples of soil show a deficiency in several ele- 
 ments j and from these deficiencies others have followed, 
 whjch affect it mechanically. 
 
 The samples were taken from an elevated part of the 
 Panola plantation at Tarboro'. The proprietors are R. Dancy 
 and Norrleet, who are pursuing agriculture as a profession. 
 Their success is proof that I hey are pursuing the right road. 
 
15 
 
 SURFACE. SUBSOIL. 
 
 Water, 1.13 0.92 
 
 Organic matter, 2.93 1.72 
 
 Silex, 93.70 94.40 
 
 Alumina and peroxyde of liron, 1.33 2.40 
 
 Carbonate of lime, .28 .20 
 Phosphate of lime, inappreciable 
 
 in 100 grains, .00 .00 
 
 Magnesia, .14 .06 
 
 Soluble silica, .11 .09 
 
 Potash, .03 .04 
 
 Soda, .01 .03 
 
 The palpable deficiencies, both in the surface and subsoil, 
 are : 1. Alumina and per oxyde of iron $ 2. Lime ; 3. Phos- 
 phate of lime ; 4. Potash and soda ; 5. Organic matter. 
 
 These deficiencies leave a great excess of fine sand. It is 
 proper to remark, that the samples do not represent the cha- 
 racter of the field, but simply an acre or two which overlooks 
 it. It is a sandy knoll, and its soil is one of those extremes 
 which are often met with. Such eminences suffer more by 
 cultivation than the lower parts , and, hence, are liable to be- 
 come bare, unless more care is bestowed upon their cul- 
 tivation. 
 
 The system formerly pursued, or until the plantation was 
 purchased by its present proprietors, was the common one ; 
 a system which, if carried out, would end in total barrenness : 
 for that is the tendency when fields are cultivated until they 
 fall off greatly in their products, when a period of rest is al- 
 lowed for their restoration. The rest being the only mode by 
 which its restoration is expected, for, if it is true that certain 
 elements are necessary to fertility, and these exist only in the 
 soil, and they are removed in the crops, then, rest cannot 
 restore them, the only effect of rest is to give time for the 
 growth of trees, whose roots penetiate deeply, and bring up 
 from greater depths than the cultivated plants can, these inor- 
 ganic elements, which,when assimilated and formed into leaves 
 and other parts, either fall again to the ground in due time, 
 
16 
 
 and give back to the earth what had heen taken from it. By 
 this process, the inorganic matter is transferred from the depth 
 of many feet to the surface. Hence, after years of rest, there 
 is an appearance of renovation. But, let the cropping re-com- 
 mence, and the result will be seen ; for it will require only 
 half the time to exhaust the soil. It will require, in a shorter 
 time than before, its period of rest. By this course, or this 
 rest system, the soil loses more of its fertilizing matter, until, 
 finally, it will be so far exhausted, that only the most obscure 
 plants can find a foothold. 
 
 To return to the consideration of the soils. Knowing their 
 deficiency, how can they be corrected ? or what course do f he 
 proprietors propose to renovate this field? seeing that they 
 reject the rest system as a means to this end, being satisfied 
 that they would only entail a barren lot to posterity. One 
 of the means resorted to was to furnish or supply ashes. The 
 plantation bordering upon Tan river supplied decaying logs, 
 brush and leaves. These were burnt, and gave them about 
 5000 bushels, at a trifling cost. The ashes contain all those 
 elements which have been removed in the crops in former 
 years. It is this fact which makes ashes valuable for this pur- 
 pose. I notice this fact, not so much that this method was 
 resorted to. in this instance, for a special purpose ; but because, 
 in all parts of the State, it is possible to pursue the same plan. 
 The decaying vegetable matter on the borders oi plantations 
 is enormous ; and while the ashes of refuse matter can be 
 procured at a cost so trifling, it is folly to purchase bone? or 
 guano. But the soil is deficient in organic matter. To sup- 
 ply this, various means may be resorted to. Anything which 
 has lime contains it, and will supply it. Straw, leaves, chips of 
 the wood-yard, peat, or peaty soils hauled to the yards and 
 trod by cattle, are the cheapest. To carry out a syst< m of 
 supply, for losses of all kinds sustained upon a plantation, the 
 most effectual means will be to give to one or two laborers 
 the business of collecting ferilizers of all kinds. It is a labo r 
 which the disabled and inflfrm can perform, especially if aided 
 by a team consisting of a single mule and cart. 
 
17 
 
 By this plan, the capital required to be expended in the 
 purchase of guano and bones is muc^ diminished ; for in the 
 ashes we find phosphate of lime, carbonate of lime, iron, 
 potash, soda, and magnesia. In all these substances the soil 
 is deficient. It will produce sassafras and high briars, because 
 .their roots penetrate deeply, and find a store of food uncon- 
 sumed by cultivation. But the cereals, the plants most valua- 
 ble to man, though they might exist and produce a small crop, 
 yet they cannot pay the planter, in its present state, the cost of 
 tillage. The proprietors are pursuing, therefore, the most 
 judicious and the cheapest plan to make this field again fertile. 
 They have no marl ; but, in the ashes of useless logs and 
 brush, they find a better material. 
 
 Similar to the foregoing soil is one which I analyzed for Mr. 
 Benjamin Brown, of Pitt County, near Greenville. Its com- 
 position is as follows : 
 
 Water, . 1.20 
 
 Organic matter, 1.30 
 
 Silex/ 94.75 
 
 Alumifta and per oxyde of iron, 1 48 
 
 Lime, 1.02 
 
 Phosphates inappreciable, .00 
 
 Magnesia, trace. 
 
 Potash,, .01 
 
 Soda, .02 
 
 Soluble Silica, .05 
 
 This soil is less fertile than that of a portion of the Panola 
 farm. Its color is a light ash, and the sand quite fine, and 
 uniformly so over a large field . The same plan is proper for 
 the latter as the former. I may here suggest that, along with 
 similar means for its restoration, the cheap material of bogs and 
 wet places, clay sand unexhausted surface soils, will meet some of 
 the wants of the case. Their use turns however, upon the 
 value of labor, or the cost of transportation. 
 
 Of the same class is a soil obtained at Mr. Swift's, Ring- 
 wood, near Halifax. It is an ash gray sandy soil j but th 
 
 2 
 
18 
 
 particles are angular and sharp. I found its composition to 
 be similar to that of the J wo preceding. 
 
 Water, 1.30 
 
 Organic Matter, 1 .35 
 
 Silex, 94.15 
 
 Alumina and per oxyde of Iron, 1.80 
 
 Lime, .15 
 
 Magnesia, .01 
 
 Potash, .01 
 
 Soda, .01 
 
 So, also, I may add to the foregoing a soil taken from the 
 plantation of Mr. Cromarty, near Elizabeth, on the Cape 
 Fear, as it contains : 
 
 Water, 1.250 
 
 Organic Matter, 1.500 
 
 Silex, 94.800 
 
 Alumina and Iron, .650 
 
 Lime, .010 
 
 Magnesia, trace. 
 
 Potash, .006 
 
 Soda, .004 
 
 This soil was not tested for phosphoric acid. There is a 
 remarkable deficiency of alumina and iron, in which the 
 phosphoric acid, or phosphate of lime, would be found, if 
 found at all. It is highly probable that it exists only in an 
 extremely small per centage. 
 
 Some portions of the plantation of Mr. Pope, in Halifax, 
 and of Dr. Eppes, have the same excess of =and, and a defi- 
 ciency of the most important elements, as may be seen by the 
 following statement of their composition : 
 
 Tope Sub-Soil. Dr. Eppas. 
 
 Water, 1.26 1.39 
 
 Organic matter, 2.20 2.70 
 
92.08 92.56 
 Alumina and Per Oxide, 
 
 Of Iron 1.64 2.70 
 
 Garb. Lime, .08 .13 
 
 Magnesia, .86 .24 
 
 Soluble Silica, .27 ..10 
 
 Potash, .01 traces. 
 
 Soda, .00 .18 
 
 The field of Dr. Eppes was in rye. 
 
 There is less exhaustion in these two soils, than in some of 
 the foregoing examples. It is evident, however, that there 
 is a great excess of sand, and a deficiency of Alumina and 
 Iron. Their presence is required to form a suitable basis 
 upon which to apply soluble fertilizers. The foregoing ex- 
 amples of soil belong, it will be conceded., to one class. There 
 are, in all of them, both excesses of one element and defects in 
 others. They are strictly poor soils from deficiency, and 
 must be improved by addition of those elements which 
 are evidently, in a measure, absent. While upon this 
 subject, it is quite necessary to add, that, although soils of 
 the composition, which the foregoing possess, are unsuited to 
 the cultivation of the cereals, still another class of vegetables 
 find in such soils sufficient nutriment. Bordering the coast 
 of the State, the surface is undulating, and rises at intervals 
 into rounded eminences, and sinks into slight depressions, 
 with tolerably well defined borders or rims, forming, as a 
 whole, a roiling surface. This border is always formed of a 
 marine sand, which, in the driest parts, is intermixed with 
 vegetable matter, upon the slopes and tops of the eminences^ 
 while in the bottom of the bowl, from depressions, the vegetable 
 matter occurs in much greater quantities, and even beds of 
 peat are often found some two or three feet in thickness. 
 Marine sand, however, is the basis of the soil, and when 
 washed and dried, is often pure enough for glass. The tops 
 of the rounded eminences are generally whitened with oys- 
 
20 
 
 ter and clam shells, which are bleaching, and slowly disinte- 
 grating. This light sandy soil^which, under careless cultivation, 
 would be converted into blowing sand in a few years, yields 
 large profits in the culture of the ground-pea. This plant, 
 like the common pea and clover, is constiutionally adapted 
 to this soi^ and yet the inorganic matter, which is found in 
 the ash of the pea, is by no means inconsiderable. 
 
 The plantation of Mr. JNixon is about ten miles east 
 of Wilmington. Lt is situated immediately upon the 
 coast, with a soil and surface I have just described. This 
 gentleman cultivates the ground pea. The annual value of 
 the crop rarely falls below six thousand dollars. This pea 
 soil has ninety-five per cent, of silica, and from one and a 
 half to two per cent, of organic matter, and less than one per 
 cent of alumina and per oxyde of iron, and about ten hundred 
 per cent of lime. I have not stated, 1 perceive, that beneath 
 the sands there is a stratum of brick clay : it is sometimes 
 within two feet of the surface, and at others ten feet. It is 
 no doubt a layer which exerts an important influence upon the 
 cultivation of the loose surface sands. It holds water, and 
 hence aids in supplying water to the sands which vest upon it. 
 
 The pea husbandry has to be conducted with care. It 
 consists of an alteration of crops and a rest of one year. Thus 
 to. the pea crop succeeds rye, oats or millet ; the latter is re- 
 commended ; and then rest for one year. The soil should be 
 disturbed as little as possible ; even cattle should not be al- 
 lowed to roam and feed upon the field, inasmuch as they 
 break up the surface sand. The roller is an admirable instru- 
 ment for these lands. The pea is planted in hills about two 
 and a half to 3 feet apart. One pea is sufficient for a hill. 
 ^They are hoed sufficiently to keep out the gras?. The yield 
 is from fifty to seventy-five bushels per acre. One hand can 
 cultivate five acres, The ash or inorganic matter of the pea 
 vine is large, amounting to 10.25. The amount of lime, un- 
 combined with phosphoric acid, shows that it is a lime plant. 
 INo doubt the comminuted shells constitute an important ele- 
 ment in this sandy soil. The lime is of averagable quality. 
 
21 
 
 The decomposing oyster shells on the summits and slopes 
 furnish lime slowly to th< soil by Ihe aid of carbonic acid. 
 
 In this connection, it will be instructive to exhibit the com- 
 position of a good soil one which is adapted to a general 
 cultivation : one which produces corn, oats, potatoes, and 
 even wheat. I find soils of this description in many places, 
 and have several analyses of them : I shall select from my 
 note book the following. The first is from Mr. Swift's plan- 
 tation, in Halifax county. Its color is brown, and it is com- 
 posed as follows : 
 
 Water, 4.50 
 
 Organic Matter, 5.20 
 
 Silex, T4.30 
 
 Alumina and per oxyde of iron, 14.00 
 
 Phosphoric acid appreciable. 
 
 Carbonate of lime ; 
 
 Magnesia. 
 
 Potash, 
 
 Soda, 
 
 98.68 
 
 If this soil is compared with the gray sandy soil of the same 
 .plantation, the differences are too striking to escape notice. 
 To remark upon each element: The water which is obtain- 
 ed by drying, at 406 of fahrenheit, is the quantity which 
 experience and observation prove to be about right. The 
 organic matter, which is afterwards obtained by heating to 
 redness, is an essential material, from which organic salts, 
 soluble salts of lime, and the alkalies are formed, and which., 
 under the forms of the so called crenates, may be introduced 
 into the tissues of plants. It is in those forms, and in these 
 combinations, that organic matter, at least in part, is intro- 
 duced into the system of plants. Where organic matter is 
 absent from a soil,. experiment proves that ripe seed fail to be 
 produced. Silex is really the basis of all -soils, and is an 
 indestructible and almost unchangeable substance : it becomes 
 
soluble in the presence of the alkalies, and gives strength to 
 the stalks of the cereals. It is rarely deficient in quantity in 
 soils proper,, for it seems to me that deposites of vegetable 
 matter, alone, can scarcely be called soils ; still y as certain 
 plants are produced upon such deposits, they must be ranked 
 with soils. 
 
 6. Alumina never enters into the composition of plants or 
 of animals, yet it is an essential element of all soils. The 
 function it performs is that of a cement ; as it obviates or di- 
 minishes the porosity of soils, and prevents the too speedy 
 percolation of water through them. It is often in excess ; in 
 many others too little, as in the first examples given of the 
 composition of one class of soils. 
 
 The function which iron performs in a soil is not well de- 
 termined. It is, however, an element of considerable impor- 
 tance to living bodies, and is always present in them. Bwt 7 
 it is supposed by some physiologists, that it is instrumental in 
 furnishing nitrogen. It exists in two states protoxyde and 
 deuotoxyde, and is readily changed from the latter lo the 
 foimer state, in the presence of water and organic matter. 
 . Water is decomposed by the first, it is supposed, and.the hydro- 
 gen of the water is set free, which combines with nitrogen of 
 the air and forms ammonia. There is a mutual action also, 
 between the organic matter and the deatox} r de, by which the 
 deuotoxyde is changed to the protoxyde. In this last change 
 there is a step preparatory to its, change into an acid, which it 
 combines with lime and alkalies. These chemical changes 
 are by no means improbable: indeed, they are quite agreeable 
 to what is known in analogous cases. 
 
 Phosphate of lime is one of the most essential elements of 
 soils. No living being, whether animal or vegetable, is desti- 
 tute of it. Bones, muscles, nerve, brain and blood, contain 
 it. Milk would be unsuited to the young or old if it. was not 
 rich in it. The quantity of food is always greater than the 
 system can take up. It becomes excrenientitious matters, 
 and hence their value as fertilizers. 
 
23 
 
 Lime and Magnesia are known in animal and vegetable 
 structures. Potash is equally essential with the phosphates- 
 Soda is undoubtedly essential also, but perhaps less so than pot- 
 ash ; at least it is not so expensive, and can be supplied at a 
 cheaper rate. Water is a solvent for all bodies which enter 
 into the structure of plants. All matters must exist in solu- 
 tion before they can be received into the structure of plants or 
 animals. There is no growth in the absence of water. It 
 <vill be observed, that the most important elements exist in the 
 smallest quantities. Hence it is, that they are liable to be re- 
 moved in many states, and as they are not at all abundant in 
 nature, they are expensive to supply. 
 
 7. The two following are examples of good soils, whose 
 elements exist at least in fair proportions, though the organic 
 matter is five times the amount usually present. They were 
 taken from the plantation of 3Ir. Purnell, of Halifax County. 
 The first is a dark brown soil the other a dark peaty soil : 
 both breaking into angular fragments when dried. 
 
 1. Cultivated 2. Uncultivated 
 Swamp Soil. Swamp Soil. 
 
 \Yater, 4.27 5.29 
 
 Organic matter, 12.16 10.30 
 
 Silex, 76.64 78.72 
 
 Alumina & per oxyde of iron, 5.69 3.7S 
 
 Lime, .12 .17 
 
 Magnesia, .6 
 
 Soluble Silica, 1.12 .36 
 
 Potash, .08 .20 
 Phosphates appreciable in both samples. 
 
 Soils of the foregoing descriptions are durable. . Still, in 
 process of time, the relations of the elements are changed the 
 organic matter gradually disappears ; and, with that change, 
 the capacity for retaining water is diminished, and the more 
 expensive elements, phosphoric acid, potash, and soda, will 
 have been removed in the crops. 
 
24 
 
 When any of the foregoing soils were submitted to the 
 action of pure water, they furnished soluble salts, consisting 
 of sulphates and chlorides, in the proportion of 2.50 per cent. 
 These salts are present in all soils. Sulphur and chloride 
 also are essential constituents of organized matter. 
 
 A soil from Mr. Bullock's plantation, near Tarboro', is 
 another example of a soil in good condition. It contains 
 
 Water 5 4.00 
 
 Organic niatter, 3.20 
 
 Alumina and per oxyde of iron, 5.50 
 
 Silex,* 86.80 
 
 Lime, .12 
 
 Magnesia, .24 
 
 Potash, trace 
 Phosphoric, not tested. 
 
 The deposits of the Roanoke, in Halifax County, are 
 sometimes used as fertilizers, and they answer very well the 
 end proposed. They may be regarded as having mainly the 
 chemical constitution contained in the following 
 
 Water, 5.784 
 
 Organic matter,- 8-160 
 
 Silex, 74.540 
 
 Alumina and per oxyde of iron, 10.560 
 
 Lime, .248 
 
 Magnesia, *360 
 
 Soluble Silica, .038 
 
 Potash, .220 
 
 Soda, ,100 
 
 The Honnoke brings down sediments of great value ; and 
 they may be profitably employed in enriching adjacent fields. 
 It is evident the upper country is wasted by its turbid branches; 
 and it is very desirable that some cheap, practicable means 
 might be devised, by which iis sediments may be diminished. 
 
25 
 
 A deposit, or sediment, of the Tar River, upon the Panola 
 plantation, does not differ materially from the Roanoke sedi- 
 ments at Halifax. 
 
 In this connection, i will introduce the composition of a 
 good wheat soil known to be good,, by observation and yield 
 of the crop. It is an example taken from the County of 
 Perquimans, and from a field of 30 acres at least. The sur- 
 face appearance is perfectly uniform, and so was the une 
 waving crop, as the wind played gently over it. 
 
 Water, 463 
 
 Organic matter, 4.69 
 
 Silex, 85.73 
 
 Alumina and iron, 7.40 
 
 Lime, .16 
 
 Magnesia, .2 
 
 Soluble Silica, .92 
 
 Potash, .06 
 
 Soda, .01 
 Phosphoric acid appreciable in 200 grains. 
 
 The soil is stiff, or of that charactei which is denominated 
 argillaceous. This large field was remarkable for the uni- 
 formity of the crop, both as to height and advancement ; and 
 it is one of the best examples of a good wheat soil in the 
 State equalling, in every respect, the soils of Genessee and 
 Monroe Counties in New York. This kind of soil, however- 
 would not have been noticed here, if it had been confined to 
 'a single field. A large proportion of the county has this ex- 
 cellent wheat soil. 
 
 Another example of a good wheat soil is that of Mr. Croni" 
 arty's, near Elizabeth, on the Cape Fear River. 
 
 Water, 5.20 
 
 Organic matter, 9.20 
 
 Silex, 74.03 
 
26 
 
 Per oxyde of iron and Alumina, 10.40 
 
 Lime, .40 
 
 Magnesia. .10 
 
 Potash, .03 
 
 Soda trace. 
 
 The phosphoric acid remains to be determined. 
 
 I proposed to state the composition of a good soil, adapted 
 to general cultivation. The wheat soils which have been 
 added to those thus regarded', will serve as an illustration of 
 the slight difference which is required to convert a good gen- 
 eral soil into one adapted to a specific use ; and this leads me 
 to remark, that it is not so much the chemical as the physical 
 constitution which produces the change. For the addition of 
 clay is what makes the difference ; and I have already sta-ted 
 the fact that clay, or alumina, never enters into the consti- 
 tution of a plant or animal. It is never assimilated in tbo 
 animal body, though taken into the digestive organs ; and it 
 is never taken up by the roots of plants. 
 
 As clay is regarded by some as a fertilizer and, indeed, 
 there can be no doubt of its good effects when applied to lands, 
 deficient in clay, we may understand the principle upon 
 which it operates. It is, however, true, that it may carry with 
 it potash, and other necessary elements of growth ; still we 
 should be slow to advise its use on that principle ; inasmuch 
 as they are usually in proportions too small to justify the ex- 
 pense of hauling. Oircumstances must be very favorable to 
 make such a procedure profitable, except in cases which will 
 come up soon for consideration. 
 
 We have seen, in some of the foregoing examples of the 
 composition of soils, that there are certain extremes 1 might 
 say anomalies, in soils : they may consist of sand, with a 
 trifle of organic matter ; and, when thus composed, they will 
 produce something, if the sands aie fixed. As there are 
 sandy soils at one extreme of the varieties, so there are peaty 
 soils, or really peats, at another. It has been general!)* sup- 
 posed that the latter are unsuited to cultivation, per se ; and 
 
27 
 
 in fact, this must be i egarded as a fixed fact ; yet it is surpris- 
 ing how .little inorganic matter is required to convert the peaty 
 soils into highly productive ones. If a seed is cast into a bed 
 of pure peat, a bed purely organic, or even a m4l bed, it 
 soon sends forth its blade ; it grows for a short time, and then 
 turns yeflow and dies : it is the last of the seed, and it fails to 
 reproduce itself in the midst of a magaziue of food. This 
 fact is applicable to the kind of soils of which I am about to 
 speak. 
 
 The State of North Carolina owns large tracts, of land, in 
 the Eastern Counties bordering the coast, the soil of which is 
 eminently of vegetable origin. The tract which I am to 
 notice is situated in the County of Carteret, and is known as 
 the Open Ground Prairie. It is within six or eight miles, 
 North, of the town of Beaufort, and contains over 80,000 
 acres. In form it is an oblong, being about twice as long as 
 broad, its longer axis extending E. N. E. On the S. E. 
 side, several creeks penetrate into it ; or, rather, Core Sound 
 sends into it three short arms, which are known as creeks. 
 The 1st is Ward's Creek ; 2. Willis Creek ,- 3. Oyster creek. 
 At the extreme S. E. border is the North river ; opposite to 
 which, on the other side, is Adams Creek, and then South 
 River. The creeks and rivers are channels which render 
 access to the Open Grounds more feasible ; for it should be 
 known that nature has fortified these grounds by thickets of 
 brambles. 
 
 Around, and upon the outskirts of the Opn Grounds, are 
 ridges, which seem to have enclosed, at no very distant day, a 
 body of water, which was probably shallow and fresh, and com- 
 municated with the Sound. By the special direction of His 
 Excellency, the Governor, 1 visited this tract, mainly for the 
 purpose of determining how far it is susceptible of reclamation 
 and cultivation. In this enterprise I was aided very effici- 
 ently, and indeed kindly, by gentlemen residing at Beaufort ; 
 especially by Dr. Arendell, Hr. Hellen, and Capt. Farrar. 
 
 We gained access to ihe Prairie through Ward's Creek, a 
 branch of the North River. In our course we passed over 
 
Piney Ridge, which has a breadth of one-fourth of a mile, and 
 which has vegetable mould to the depth of 3J feet, which 
 reposes up. clay. Beyond this ridge is a zone called the 
 Everglades, which are productive and rich. The soil is 
 between 5 and 6 feet., and reposes upon a sandy clay, and in 
 which there lies buned an ancient forest. Sounding at various 
 points as we passed over the Everglades, we found lottomat 
 various depths, varying from 3 to 10 feet, and frequently 
 the sound penetrated prostrate logs of considerable size. The 
 soundings in the Open Pi aide were sufficiently numerous to 
 prove a great uniformity in the covering of an ancient sea 
 bottom, which, no doubt, was finally changed into a fresh 
 water lake or sound, which, by the progress of slight eleva- 
 tions, from time to time, raised the bottom above high water 
 mark. In consequence of these changes, vegetables peculiar 
 to marshy districts sprang up. These vegetables, especially 
 the humble kinds, belong to the family of mosses, but consist 
 mainly of a sphagnum. Trees also grew upon this bottom, 
 particularly the bay ; and they evidently attained a large size. 
 But the moss growing luxuriantly, has finally raised the surface 
 in some places 10 feet upon the sand. This renders the pre- 
 sent surface less suitable for the growth of trees. The Open 
 Ground Prairie presents a level surface, so far as can be seen, 
 covered with an humble vegetation of sedge and moss, wilh 
 here and there a solitary pine. Surrounding, however, this 
 extensive field, there are lofty pines, interspersed with oaks 
 and chin co pin. The soundings prove a field far more pro- 
 ductive in trees than the present. This fact, taken by itself, 
 looks favorably towards (he soil which bore them. In gener- 
 al, however, they were probably bays, and these are not indica- 
 tive of good soil. The soil when brought up from the low- 
 est points we could reach, was, to the eye, composed of vege- 
 table matter, with some sandy soil . It. was found loose towards 
 the surface, at least to the depth of 18 or 20 inches. It is even a 
 s ponge, and holds and retains water like a sponge. The train 
 of argument which I was disposed to adopt was, if this soil has 
 been competent to produce trees and perfect seed, capable of 
 
29 
 
 reproducing species, itmay be put under successful culture.provl- 
 ded it is put into a favorable physical condition. Still this argu- 
 ment does not hold good. I was inclined to adoptit before I knew 
 the exact chemical composition of the soil . It is fully establish- 
 ed, as I have had occasion to say, that a soil, purely vegetable, 
 will not produce the ceieals ; neither will one of pure sand 
 or pure lime produce them. Organic matter is an essential con- 
 stituent, as is sand and clay and lime, and yet neither by itself 
 can produce a ripe seed. There must be a mixture of organic 
 and inorganic matter. The latter must also consist of sev- 
 eral elements. These are important principles which may be 
 applied to the question which was to be settled by this exam- 
 ination. The characterstics of the vegetable material weie 
 fouad uniform, and hence it did not require numerous analy- 
 ses for to determine the nature of the soil. Hence, only four 
 were taken for this purpose. 
 
 These samples were taken from a depth of eighteen o r 
 twenty inches. The chemical examination of the specimens 
 taken, resulted, uniformly, in this; One hundred grains gave 
 three per cent, only of inorganic matter, proving the almost 
 total absence of any earthy compound the three per cent, con- 
 sisting of the ash of the vegetable matter. This ash dontain- 
 ed silica, phosphate of lime andperoxydeof iron, lime, mag- 
 nesia and potash, or the same elements which are usually 
 found in the ash of plants belonging to marshes. A soil thus 
 constituted is not susceptible of a profitable cultivation ; cer- 
 tainly not competent to produce corn and other cereals, unless 
 it be rice. The question then comes up, is there a remedy? 
 Can the Open Ground Prairie be brought into a condition to 
 warrant an attempt at cultivation, for a reasonable expense? 
 It is plain enough, that the first step is to lay the prairie or 
 portions of it dry, by draining-. This is feasible, as it is prov- 
 ed by a competent engineer, to be sixteen feet above high wa- 
 ter, and to be also above the storm tides of the coast. The 
 first effect of draining will be to reduce the level of the prairie 
 about eighteen inches. The surface, and, indeed, the whole 
 bod 7 will becrme more compact and close, and the unchang- 
 
30 
 
 *d organic matter will, in time, decompose. Another effect 
 will be, to raise the temperature of the soil, which is now con- 
 stantly below that of the dry or drained fields. Both of these 
 results will promote a vegetation of better kind ; but they can- 
 not change materially the composition of the soil. There is 
 still something more which must be done. The method 
 which has hitherto been pursued with soils of this kind, is, to 
 add quick lime only, under the impression that it promotes 
 the speedy decomposition of t he vegetable matter, and con- 
 verts it into an element for plants. This practice, however, 
 is not founded upon just views : it is at least defective, and 
 besides, it is too expensive. The trials, too, of this, method, 
 have failed; not because lime is injurious. It does not go far 
 enough to add lime, as this is a single element. No\\ , it ispro- 
 vjed, I believe, that these soils are unproductive, for the want of 
 inorganic matter ; or, in other words, because the earthy 
 bodies are absent j not because lime is absent more than the 
 other earth, but because they are all absent. It follows, then, 
 jf the foregoing principles are true, that what is required, is 
 the addition of soil. Take airy of the uncultivated soils, 
 marsh .mud and sand, anything of the kind at hand, which 
 consists of earthy matter, and apply it as a dressing. Experi- 
 ence proves that the quamity required is not large ; that what 
 planters call a heavy dressing, is sufficient. In using soil, 
 instead of lime, as a fertilizer, there is added to the vegetable 
 mould, the elements necessary for the production of the higher 
 order of plants, the grains or cereals. Lime, magnesia, phos- 
 phoric acid, alumina and iron, potash, soda, etc., are all in- 
 corporated with the organic matier, which, together, constitute 
 a good foundation for cultivation. This method I propose 
 for treating those soils, which consist of nearly pure vegetable 
 matter. Of its success, I have no doubt, I legard this treat- 
 ment as an exception to the usual rule, for I regard the prac- 
 tice of hauling clay to ameliorate a sandy soil, or the hauling 
 of sand to ameliorate the clay, as generally too expensive. 
 But in the case of peats and peaty soils, the vast quantity of 
 fertilizing matter which they contain makes the improvement 
 
31 
 
 permanent, or at least quite lasting : the peat containing in it- 
 self lime, phosphate of lime, potash, soda, or those ele- 
 ments which are essential to all plants. The pealy soils fur- 
 nish many kinds or varieties, depending upon the amount of 
 vegetable matter they contain. The Open Grounds lie at the 
 extreme, inasmuch as they consist entirely of this matter ; es- 
 pecially near the surface. An addition of earths makes the 
 most productive corn soils known. " Some varieties of this soil 
 I have examined. Of these, the two following are from 
 Tyrrell county, taken from the new lands lying upon the 
 Croatan sound : the adjacent ones being at least moderately 
 productive. 
 
 One hundred grains gave 7.30 per cent, of inorganic mat- 
 ter. This 7.30 consisted of 
 
 Silex or sand, 6.02 
 Lime, .02 
 
 Phosphate of lime, alumina and iron, -90 
 
 Potash, .20 
 
 Soda, . .06 
 Magnesia, traces. 
 
 7.20 
 
 The silex obtained, consisted of rounded grains, and was 
 evidently sea sand. The per centage of organic matter is very 
 large in this sample, but less than that of the Open Prairie. 
 Still, this soil is productive for many years. 
 
 The cultivation of such soils, as the foregoing, results in the 
 end, in the consumption of the vegetable matter ; it is slowly 
 oxydated, or, in other words, burnt. T his chemical result, 
 however, is essential to the growth of the plant. In process of 
 time, so much of the vegetable matter is consumed, that the 
 sand begins to appear among the vegetable matter ; having be- 
 come light, blows away and exposes more of the sand. At 
 this stage, the productiveness diminishes. The land is found 
 to be benefitted, but slightly, if any, by barn-yard ^manures, 
 .and it has become an important question; what shall be clone.; 
 
32 
 
 or how shall the fertility of such soils be kept up. On thia 
 question; there is but little doubt what that method should be; 
 it is to add common soil from the road side, or from adjacent 
 hills, and from the most accessible points. It is to be under- 
 stood that they do not require organic matter; there is enough 
 of that ; and inorganic matter furnishes the requisite quantity 
 of phosphate of lime and potash, by its chemical changes. In 
 this condition,, is a part of. a large field near Greeneville, in 
 Pitt county , owned by Mr. Brown. It originally contained 
 more inorganic matter than the soil from Terrell county ; but, 
 in consequence of long cultivation, the sand begins to pre- 
 dominate, and the vegetable matter blows away. Decom- 
 posed slate rock would form the best application to such fields; 
 next to which clay and common soil or marl mixed with 
 earth. 
 
 Closely allied to the foregoing peaty soils are the two fol- 
 lowing: They were taken from the plantation of Captain 
 Farrar, of Beaufort, Carteret county. No. 1, I found com- 
 posed of the following substances : 
 
 Organic matter, 24.65 
 
 Water, 6.75 
 
 Silex, 55.37 
 
 Alumina, 7.62 
 
 Per oxyde of iron, 4.80. 
 
 Lime, .40 
 
 Magnesia, .29 
 
 Potash, .09 
 
 Soda, .03 
 
 The phosphoric acid was not determined. The soil was 
 dried in the open air, and still it retained 6.75 per ct. of wa- 
 ter, showing its retentiveness when charged with organic mat- 
 ter. 
 
 The other sample of soil, marked No. 4, was composed of 
 
 Organic matter, 24.94 
 
 Silex, 58.34 
 
33 
 
 Alumina and per oxyde of iron, 10.49 
 
 Lime, .27 
 
 Water, 4.47 
 
 Magnesia, .15 
 
 Potash, .06 
 
 Soda, -05 
 
 98.77 
 
 Both soils were taken from wet low grounds, recently re- 
 claimed by ditching. They show the composition of good 
 swamp lands, which, after reclamation by draining, will be- 
 come the most valuable of ail lands for corn. 
 
 The amount of organic matter varies constantly, and we 
 find a gradual approach to the common soils, or those furnish- 
 ing from three to six per cent, of organic matter. The two 
 following are of an intermediate variety. They were taken 
 from the plantation near Halifax. The first has been under 
 culture for a long time. 
 
 Organic matter, 14.14 
 
 Water, 4.27 
 
 Silex, 78.64 
 
 Alumina, 1.69 
 
 Per oxyde of iron, 1.40 
 
 Lime, .12 
 
 IVJagnesia, .10 
 
 Potash, .03 
 
 100.39 
 
 The last is a dark brown soil, breaking into angular frag- 
 ments or lumps after drying it. It is composed of 
 
 Water, 4.58 
 
 Organic matter, 12.00 
 
 Silex, 77.62 
 
34 
 
 Alumina, 4.25 
 
 Lime, J8 
 
 Magnesia, trace 
 
 Potash, .06 
 
 98.69 
 
 Phosphoric acid undetermined. 
 
 Upon the Cape Fear River, I examined many localities 
 where the soil would not differ from the two last. Among 
 them should be ranked a lanje tract of land owned by Mr. 
 E. M. McDowell. The soil alluded to has been partially 
 drained, and put in part under culture. The organic 
 matter varies from 12 to 24 per cent. It ranks among the 
 best lands on the south side of the Cape Fear. 
 
 Where organic matter abounds, the soil is dark colored, and 
 it requires no analysis to determine the fact. It will be ob- 
 served by many, that there is no determination or separation 
 of the coarse from the fine matters. The fact is, the soils 
 consist entiiely of fine matter ; it is frequently too fine : but 
 fine materials are better than coasre, inasmuch as a coarse 
 gravel, destitute of fine matter, is nearly barren, but a quanti- 
 ty of coarse with the fine improves the mechanical condition. 
 
 It may be interesting to give the analysis of two fertile soils, 
 which cover a large portion of Southern Russia, and which 
 stretch into Hungary. It is a vegetable mould, not much 
 unlike some of those soils the composition of which has been 
 given.* 
 
 Sand, 52.77 51.84 
 
 Silica, 18.65 ]7.80 
 
 Alumina, 8.85 8.90 
 
 Oxydeofiron, 5.33 5.47 
 
 Lime, 1.13 .87 
 
 Magnesia, .067 -00 
 
 * Booth's Geological Report of Delaware, p. 127. 
 
35 
 
 Water, 4.01 4.08 
 
 Phosphoric acid, 0.46 .46 
 
 Organic matter, 7.95 10.33 Hermann. 
 
 The insoluble matter in this analysis 71.42. 
 
 If this soil is taken as the standard for comparison with 
 other soils, it should be observed that the quantity of alumina 
 and iron might be diminished without impairing its fertility ; 
 and the quantity of insoluble matter also diminished or in 
 creased, without influencing its properties essentially ; that is, 
 it may contain 3 or 4 per cent, of silica, or less, and no per- 
 ceptible chance would follow from either. The quantity of 
 lime is large, if compared with any soil in this country, unless 
 we select a local one, resulting freai the disintegration of 
 a limestone rock, or one composed of marl. 
 
 1 may lake this opportunity to remark, that we have no 
 soils which can be called calcareous, or which are strictly en- 
 tiiled to that denomination. If we may appeal to observation 
 and experiment, it is established that a small per centage of 
 lime, only, is necessary to the highest degf ee of fertility ; and 
 yet this small per centage is necessary. If there is present 
 one-half of one per cent, it seems to be sufficient; for it is 
 rare to find a larger quantity in productive soils. 
 
 8. I have not yet examined the marshy lands of the East- 
 ern Counties, adjacent to the sea, sounds, and rivers, as I 
 design. I regard th-em, however, as among the most fertile 
 and valuable lands of the State. It is upon these low bottoms, 
 where the sluggish streams are partially dammed and obstruct- 
 ed by brush and logs, that the overflow of waters, bearing 
 more or less of sediment, that accumulation of organic mat- 
 ter, takes place. , 
 
 Centuries, however, have elapsed since this process began; 
 and though the bottoms are composed of more sand than clay, 
 still, they have accu ululated from three to ten feet of vege- 
 table matter ; which, by the operation of chemical and phy- 
 sical causes, is being conveited into the most productive of 
 soils. In some instances, we have seen, as in the Open Prai- 
 
36 
 
 ries of Carteret, a growth of vegetable matter, instead of a 
 deposit, as sediment ; in others, as in lands which are 
 overflowed during the wet seasons of the year a mixture of 
 both ; or growth commingled with sediments. The best 
 lands are the latter where a soil, with a magazine of food 
 for plants, has accumulated, that nature has made the best 
 provision f >r the planter. Notwithstanding a bountiful soil is 
 thus made, still it should not be forgotten that it can be ex- 
 hausted. The time, however, is so far ahead, that it seems 
 almost needless to express our fears and caution to the pro- 
 prietors of such lands. But yet the fertile lands of the West, 
 which appeared to the early settlers as inexhaustible, are 
 found now to have diminished in the burthen of their crops, 
 and to require the application of fertilizers to bring them up 
 to their original fertility. 
 
 9. The importance; which J have given to the elements of 
 soils, and the emphasis with which 1 have inculcated their 
 srveral uses, may lead my readers to infer that it is sufficient to 
 supply them, in order to secure large returns. I am, therefore, 
 inclined to correct any misapprehension of this kind, by sta- 
 ting somewhat in detail, the mechanical or physical proper- 
 ties which soils should possess, in order to insure their 
 fertility. 
 
 1. FINE AND COARSE MATERIALS. A productive soil has 
 usually a due admixture of coarse and fine materials. When 
 it is all coarse, it is so porous that water passes through it too 
 rapidly. A much larger quantity of fertilizing is required, 
 am! a large proportion is lost. Gravels have been called hun- 
 gi because they consume so much manure : besides, there 
 isiiule if any opportunity for chemical action. We must not 
 lose sight of the chemical forces. Coarse materials cannot 
 act upon each other. 
 
 2. THE OTHER EXTREME. A very fine soil has defects al- 
 most equally great : when impalpable, it borders upon barren- 
 ness. The disadvantages of a fine soil are, water finds its 
 way too slowly through it ; it intercepts the free passage of air, 
 
37 
 
 or, in other words, it is defective in its apparatus of circula- 
 tion, and obstructs the growth of roots. If a seed is closely 
 compacted in clay, it may be preserved for an indefinite time. 
 For germination, aii , moisture and heat are each necessary. 
 In an impalpable soil, air is excluded. Manures applied to 
 dose soils or fine compact ones, are deprived of the air they 
 require to fit them to act as food for the plant. 
 
 Taking the two extremes and comparing them together, we 
 find the former consume manures, while the latter retain them 
 unchanged: the first permit a rapid passage through them; 
 the latter, the passage is obstructed aiid water is not allowed to 
 enter. The impalpable and close soils are composed gener- 
 ally of clay $ it is sometimes a pot clay. As a soil, it is dffi- 
 cult to work : moreover, it is more difficult to secure the prop- 
 er time for working it. In the Spring, it is too wet for a time, 
 bat it is slowly drying, and in process of time it will be in the 
 best state for working, but it soon passes from a state of wet 
 to one in which it is too dry. If worked when wet, it is inju- 
 red for the whole season : indeed, it may be regarded as lost 
 for the year, if it is plowed in a stale when it is quite wet. But, 
 if too dry, it is hard and lumpy. To cultivate such soils suc- 
 cessfully, their constitutions must be well understood. 
 
 Ordinal y clay soils may be managed by draining and the 
 free use of lime. The forwardness in Spring of a wet ciay 
 soil, is a gain of two weeks by draining, and .1 diminution of 
 one-fourth of the labor in tillage, and an increase of crop 
 equal to one-half, and a total removal of the uncertainly in 
 the time of plowing. The use of lime breaks it up, and im- 
 parts porosity and lets in air, moisture, and the free penetration of 
 roots. The light colored clays are not so kind as the drab or 
 yellow ; the white are I ess productive. The common express- 
 ion is, they are cold, and it may be cited as one instance, \vh< re 
 a common expression is literally correct, for colored soils absorb 
 more heat than white ones ; their tem|>erature is absolut* !y 
 higher. The coloring matter, which is iron, diminishes ihc 
 cohesion of clays ; the colored ones are therefore less compact 
 and far more productive. 
 
38 
 
 From the foregoing remarks, it follows that the best soils 
 aie composed of both coarse and fine materials coarse, that 
 the air and moisture may penetrate them fine, that chemical 
 action and solution may be promoted,, and the fertilizing mat- 
 ter retained. Oyster and clam shells are useful, even if un- 
 changed, by promoting and preserving porosity in the midst of 
 finely divided matter. The principles laid down are practi- 
 cal and easy of application, provided accurate observations 
 are first made. 
 
 10. The mechanical properties of sand are directly oppo- 
 site to those of clay. But I need riot add to this head as it is 
 too well known to require additional comment. There is a 
 practice which should be recommended in cultivating sandy 
 soil ; it is to pass the heavy roller over them when moist. Seed 
 sown upon the surface and then rolled, ensures its germina- 
 tion ; if neglected, it is likely to fail. Light drifting sand 
 may be fixed by the roller.* The comparative value of clayey 
 and sandy soils have not been satisfactorily settled. The ex- 
 pense of working the former is 'always greater than that of the 
 latter, but greater crops are usually obtained. Sandy soil 3 
 have not stood so high as they deserve. Their easy tillage and 
 middling crops, which may be obtained for a succession of 
 years, pay well. They stand drouths better than clay soils, 
 and admit of early tillage. A plantation is more valuable if 
 it has both varieties of soil. 
 
 There are'some facts, which go to show that argillaceous soils 
 possess an affinity, if it may he so called, for ammonia, supe- 
 rior to a sandy soil. If so, it is one reason why argillaceous 
 soils are better adapted to wheat than sandy, though not the 
 only reason. The fact that clay absorbs ammonia, and re- 
 quires a strong heat to set it free, is an important agricultural 
 fact, tn order to make the most of the absorbative power of 
 argillaceous and other soils, fresh surfaces should be made by 
 
 NOTE. The effect of the roller is confined to the surface. 
 It does not press together the material below, which has been 
 loosened by the plow. Soils then are not compacted by ifc j, 
 it does not destroy the effect of the plough. 
 
39 
 
 ploughing, harrowing, or hoeing. New and fresh stirface g 
 are much more efficient absorbers of ammonia than those 
 which have remained unstirred for weeks. The late Professor 
 Eaton was in the habit of illustrating this fact, and applying 
 it to agriculture, by inserting fresh earth beneath a receiver filled 
 with ammonia. The absorption took place almost instantly. 
 The application of this fact to agriculture, was macre as long 
 ago as 1S20. One of the advantages of ploughing and hoe^ 
 ing was attributed to the increased power of absorption of 
 ammonia from the atmosphere, by the new surface thus made 
 and exposed. 
 
 There seems to have been a special provision for furnishing 
 a supply of ammonia, from which nitrogenous matters 
 in grain are derived, and although ammonia forms an incon- 
 siderable part of the atmosphere, yet bodies of various kinus 
 absoib it with the greatest avidity, and in such quantites that 
 it may be detected by chemical tests. I have already rpoken 
 of ammonia. (3.) and have there suggested that the natural 
 supply is adequate to the natural wants of the vegetable, and 
 that for the purpose merely of preserving and sustaining all 
 the species of plants now upon the earth, the atmospheric sup- 
 ply is sufficient. Even a luxuriant vegetation is sustained, 
 and may be for an indefinite period, where herbage is mainly 
 the product ; yet, when the large products of grain are drawn 
 from the soil, then the natural supply is insufficient, and the 
 farmer is obliged to resort to artificial supplies. 
 
 MEANING OF THE WORD, IMPROVEMENT. 
 COMPOSITION OF SHELL MARL, <fcc. 
 
 11. The soils of the eastern counties, it has been seen, 
 furnish several distinct varieties, some of which lie at the 
 extremes. The original constitution, which is sandy, 
 aided by long cultivation, without due attention to the ap- 
 plication of manures, has brough them to a condition, in 
 
40 
 
 many instances, of extreme poverty ; and hence, it has be- 
 come a question of great importance, how they shall be 
 restored in a measure to their original iertility. This is 
 not the only question, however, respecting the soils of the 
 lower counties how they shall be restored. Another comes 
 up of equal if not greater importance, viz : How are the 
 soils, which are now in a good condition, to be prevented 
 from becoming poor and exhausted, and yet be subject to 
 cultivation? Although we have presented two questions, 
 yet, if either is answered, the other is also in the main ; for 
 the same principles are applicable to the two cases. The 
 questions are not, how shall the crops be increased, for 
 methods are at hand for doing this, without a permanent 
 improvement of the soil. The crops of a plantation may 
 be greatly increased by deep ploughing, and yet the soil is 
 not virtually and essentially improved. Many are making 
 a mistake in this respect. So, the system of clovering, or 
 the use of green crops, might be followed out on a system 
 combined with an alteration of crops. This, too, has been 
 regarded as an improvement of the soil ; yet, it is not so, 
 unless, indeed, it is accompanied with such additions of 
 inorganic matter, which the soil require, and which are 
 removed in the crops. The crops may be greatly increased 
 without an improvement of the soil, and planters cannot 
 learn this fact too soon. I do not object to the plan of, 
 increasing the crops ior the seasons, by deep ploughing, 
 subsoiling, and the use of green crops ; but each and all, 
 by themselves, cannot be regarded as an improvement of 
 the soil. There is something more, and it consists in the 
 application, along with deep ploughing, subsoiling, and 
 green crops, of all the elements which fertilizer, and are 
 necessary to supply the losses in the removed elements ; and 
 it is only by pursuing this method that the spirit of the 
 word Improvement will be realized. 
 
 In one sense, it is true, that any system, which adds a 
 stock of essential elements to a soil, is an improvement ; 
 thus, by the use of green crops, or clover, or peas, we ob- 
 
41 
 
 tain from the atmosphere organic matter in the plants, 
 which is ploughed in. and added to the soil. If the culti- 
 vation, however, goes on, this new accession of organic 
 matter shortens the time during which the inorganic mat- 
 ter will last ; for more of the latter is used in the increased 
 crops. There must be preserved a balance between the two 
 kinds of matter : if, for example, there is too much organic 
 matter in the straw of wheat, as there frequently is, when 
 cultivated on new grounds, it is weak and fulls down ; or 
 else, there is an excessive development of the herbaceous 
 part, and but little grain or seed. 
 
 But I shall leave this question to take care of itself for 
 the present: it is time to speak of the real sources of im- 
 provement in the soils, as found in the lower counties: 
 
 The first substance requiring attention, is marl, a term 
 which was originally applied to substances, which consis- 
 ted in part of carbonate of lime ; but, as oftener used, it 
 includes calcareous clays, with or without shells, and 
 argillaceous matters, containing silica, iron and potash, and 
 probably, phosphate of lime, but destitute of carbonate of 
 lime. The former are the marly clays, and shell marl the 
 calcareous matter is in the form of a carbonate ; the latter 
 is the green sand, and contains potash, as its principal 
 fertilizer, though it is now rendered highly probable that 
 phosphate of lime is always present, and active in produc- 
 ing the results which follow from its use. In the green 
 sand, however, there is no carbonate of lime, or but a trace, 
 and hence, it may be better never to apply the term marl 
 to the green sand, as it is so different in composition from 
 the true marls, and so different in its geological position 
 and age. But both are found in the part of the State of 
 which I am speaking, one or the other being found in beds 
 from Currituck to Brunswick, and from Wake to Carte- 
 ret. The beds are not continued over very large areas : 
 the green sands, however, are less isolated and more con- 
 tinuous than the shell marl beds. 
 
42 
 
 12. The materials which are employed on the Atlantic 
 slope, in Virginia, Norih and South Carolina, and other 
 States still farther South, helong to two great sections or 
 systems of rocks. The superior is the tertiary ; the in- 
 ferior system the cretaceous, occupying, in the latter, the 
 lowest position in the system. It is that pait known as the 
 green sand, trom the circumstance, that the beds are green 
 or greenish, from the presence of numerous grains of sili- 
 cate of iron and potash. 
 
 I propose to describe the first or tertiary beds. These, 
 so far as my observation extends, are always isolated, or 
 confined comparatively within narrow limits. They are 
 not spread out so as to form a continuous bed ; but limited 
 usually to a few acres, perhaps many acres, arid complete- 
 ly disconnected or separated from other beds. This view 
 of them is important, inasmuch as it does not follow, that, 
 because a bed appears in a branch, on one side of the plan- 
 tation, that it will be found on the other side of it, though 
 very desirable that it should. Some beds are confined to 
 an area of an acre. Some are but a lew rods, square, and 
 others are still smaller, and appear like nests of shells in the 
 midst of sands. The beds of oysters arid clams are, indeed, 
 good representatives of marl beds, as to extent: some larger, 
 others smaller. If we examine the bed or floor of the 
 ocean, by soundings, we shall find it composed of materials, 
 especially along the coast, very much the same ; but its 
 surface is not evenly spread out. In some places it is 
 smooth and level ; in others, it rises in ridges and hills, with 
 their vallies. This disposition of the materials, forming 
 the ocean's bottom, provider, if it may be so called, a va- 
 riety of climates some adapted to the wants of living 
 beings ; others incompatible with Iffe. Some are sheltered, 
 and others are exposed to the lashing of the waves. It is 
 in these sheltered abodes that we find life in its various 
 conditions and stages of development. While upon shores 
 and in soundings, where the waves and the elements are at 
 strife, life is absent, from its exposures. So, when the 
 
43 
 
 beings whose remains constitute and form these marl beds, 
 peopled the waters, there were sheltered places, quiet and 
 still bays, which favored the development of life, and it is 
 upon such areas that these deposits were made, while 
 other areas, exposed to sudden changes, separated those, 
 teeming with life, from each ether. We have reason to 
 infer, then, from observations upon the ocean's bottom, that 
 the areas of the marl beds would not be found spread out 
 continuously; though marl beds, possessing characters in 
 common, furnishing the same kinds of shells, will occur at 
 wide and distant points. Not only, too, are the beds 
 characterized by similarity of forms and kinds, but the 
 accompanying sediments, sediments of the same mineral 
 character, would be found with them. This would be 
 necessary: it is one of the provisions of life the medium 
 which conveys their food and the habits and habitants 
 must and should agree. 
 
 13. We re;ison, then, from life to things, and things to 
 life. Wherever the conditions for the life of the clam and 
 oyster were favorable, or, to be more general, where the 
 canditions of life were favorable to a larger number of 
 Molusca, there they would be congregated, because this 
 food, the climate and all, would conspire to favor develop- 
 ment and growth. Similarity oi organic forms, then, he- 
 come indicative of the value of marl deposits, over wide 
 and extended areas. Marls which contain similar shells 
 will be found to possess nearly the same agricultural value. 
 
 14. The marls are distinguished by different names in 
 the vicinity where they occur. The red, blue, and shell 
 marl are names applied to beds occupying the same geo- 
 logical positions. Sometimes there are some differences 
 in their properties and value. The red marl owes its color 
 to a change in the oxyde of iron mingled with the shells. 
 It has changed from a state of protoxyde to the peroxyde. 
 It is due to exposure to the atmosphere, and is usu- 
 ally the superior part of the bed which has under- 
 
gone this change. The blue marl still holds the iron ia 
 a state of protoxyde, which imparts a bluish green color to 
 the mass. The lerrn blue marl, however, is frequently 
 given to the green sand, an inferior and older formation, 
 and which owes its fertilizing properties to potash, as. I 
 have already had occasion to say. We might make a dis- 
 tinction between the sandy marls and the argillaceous. In 
 the first, sand predominates: in the other, a bluish clay. 
 Both effervesce with acids ; -the latter is the most valua- 
 ble. The proportion of carbonate of lime is variable; or, 
 what would amount to the same thing, the amount of sand 
 is variable in the same bed, and in the distant beds which 
 occupy the same position ; though to the lime is due the 
 existence of the animal which inhabited the shells. 
 
 15. The marls of Cape Fear river furnish all the va- 
 rieties which have been noticed in the foregoing paragraphs. 
 The first beds which appear, upon the river, are about ten 
 miles above Elizabeth, in Bladen County. 
 
 Mr. Lassaine's, which is the highest point visited from 
 Elizabeth, is sandy ; Mr, Gillespie's is argillaceous ; and 
 Mr, Cromarly's is more calcareous, and parts of it are ce- 
 mented together. It is a mass of shells, and has been 
 found, by experience, a valuable fertilizer. It is seven 
 feet thick, and underlies many acres. 
 
 Mr. Cromarty's marl yields 
 
 Silex, 
 
 Alumina, phosphate of lime and iron, 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 
 
 Magnesia, 
 
 Potash and soda 
 
 100.90 
 
 16. The quantity of marl containing the per centage 
 of lime given above, requires, per acre, for soils not re- 
 markably sandy, about 200 bushels. The experience of 
 
45 
 
 planters is, that very poor soils are injured for a year or 
 more by the application of marl, except in small quantities. 
 One hundred bushels is regarded as sufficient for sandy 
 exhausted lands. When two or three hundred has been 
 used per acre, the land is said to be burnt, or the vegetation 
 is, in part, destroyed ; and the practice is to begin with the 
 lowest quantity, and proceed in marling by subsequent ad- 
 ditions ; being governed by the quantity of organic matter 
 restored to the soil. Many planteis have observed that 
 hetivy marling is injurious to poor lands, who do not at- 
 tempt to give a reason for the statement. If the common 
 opinion respecting the danger of applying too much marl 
 to poor soils is founded on correct principles ; or. if there 
 are lands upon which it would be hazardous to apply it in 
 larze quantities at first, we may be assured that it will be 
 sale, always, provided it is mixed with much organic mat- 
 ter. The prior mixture and incorporation of the materials 
 with leaves, bark, decayed wood, rich loam, peat, &c. 
 obviates the objection raised. The practice in New Jersey 
 is regarded as the best : namely, the prior mixing of marl 
 and vegetables. It is true that the Jersey marl is destitute 
 of I. me. Probably the great danger of bringing the use of 
 marl into disrepute, by representing its injurious effects 
 upo .1 poor soils, has more frequently arisen from too high 
 expectation of receiving great effects the firs* season that 
 it is applied : whereas, the better and safer course is to 
 bring the land back gradually to a good standard of fertility ; 
 pursuing that course which is calculated to increase the 
 vegetable matter in the soil for several successive seasons. 
 A plan like the following is deserving of trial : Spread 
 upon an acre seventy-five bushels of the fifty per cent, 
 marl, and put it down in peas. When in blossom, plough 
 in the crop, and sow rye or millet for the succeeding crop. 
 The land will have gained a sufficient amount of organic 
 or vegetable matter to admit of the use of ORC hundred 
 and fifty or two hundred bushels at the next marling time. 
 Some laud will require the loss of twc crops, perhaps, be- 
 
46 
 
 fore they can be treated with a fresh dose of marl. The 
 doctrine to be inculcated is, to exercise patience with light 
 and worn out soils, and not expect too much at first, when 
 the first step towards their fertilization is taken. When 
 the work has been properly conducted, the planter may 
 regard such lands as so much added to his possessions, of 
 durable and productive fields. 
 
 Abundance of the shelly marl lies in the bank about one 
 half a mile, probably less, below Elizabeth. It forms a 
 stratum from two to three feet thick, in the bank upon the 
 south side of the river. Coprolites and teeth of fish are 
 common. The latter are mixed in the bed with the shells, 
 more or less. Both teeth and coprolites lie at *he bottom 
 of the structure, intermixed with some bones, and rounded 
 pebbles of quartz. This layer at the bottom, intermixed 
 with pebbles and rolled coprolites, is an interesting feature 
 of the bed. I have been in hopes that in this position, in 
 some favored place, coprolites, in sufficient quantity, might 
 be discovered, to pay the expense of extracting them sepa- 
 rately. They possess a composition superior to bones, and 
 mav be used for the same purposes as bones. 
 
 The following results of an analysis represent, in the 
 main, their composition : 
 
 Silica, 9.68 . 
 
 Phosphate of lime, 71.59 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 11.28 
 
 Magnesia, .50 
 
 Potash, a trace 
 
 Organic matter and water, 4.40 
 
 97.35 
 
 The coprolites of this bed are all black, or dark brown. 
 They are quite hard, and may easily be mistaken for the 
 dark pebbles of quartz, with which they are associated. 
 They are generally broken, and are rounded; but some 
 retain their original spiral form. Trny are two and a half 
 to three inches long, and three-fourths of an inch in 
 diameter. 
 
47 
 
 17 Below Elizabeth in Bladen county, the marlscontinue 
 to be exposed at intervals. One of these exposures is Wal- 
 ker's bluff", nine miles below Elizabeth. It is the highest 
 upon the river. It presents a steep escarpment, which 
 consists of different colored sands, with a thick layer of 
 shelly marl. The marl is also more or less sandy. 
 Eighteen miles below Elizabeth, the bluffs appear upon the 
 river, with their strata of sands and marls. The strata are 
 also well exposed at Mr. Robinson's plantation, one mile 
 above Mr. Brown's landing. The following strata appear 
 in the banks at Robinson's, beginning at the top : L, twenty 
 feet of d'fferent colored sands, some yellow, brown and 
 viiite; 2. twenty feet of olue marl, more or Lss &andy, and 
 calcareous at the bottom ; 3, a single layer oi blue compact 
 clay, 8 inches ; 4, sand ; 5, yellow and brown sands : 6, 
 blue marl, containing a single species of ostrea. Most o( 
 this stratum is below water, and hence its thickness is not 
 ^terminable by inspection. The marl bed is very thick, 
 but contains considerable sand in its superior part; yet it is 
 found a valuable fertilizer. 
 
 The marl stratum, at Brown's landing; is three feet thick, 
 and contains many shells and much green sand, in grains, 
 and seems to have derived its materials from the green 
 sand of the cretaceous formation below. At Mr. McDow- 
 ell's, the green or blue marl appears in a low bank, one 
 mile from the river. Also, on the plantation of Messrs 
 Andrews. These beds are peculiar in their geological re- 
 lations, and merit a careful examination. 
 
 Ten miles below Mr. Brown's landing, at Black Hock, the 
 shell marl appears in the bank, but is quite sandy, and ap- 
 pears as if this stratum is discontinued, and ceases at or near 
 this place. It is scarcely more than one foot in thickness. 
 Immediately below it, the green sand is well developed, and 
 it is well characterized by its fossils. 
 
 On the road from Brown's landing, to Black Rock, beds 
 of marl appear, which are evidently isolated. The facts all 
 go to show that the strata of shell marl never form very ex- 
 
48 
 
 tensive beds: even that so conspicuous at Walker's bluff, 
 disappears suddenly, and its place is taken by the different 
 colored sands. 
 
 18. The strata of marl,which I have thus far spokencf, are 
 composed of many kinds of materials, intermixed irregular- 
 ly with each other. They possess many fossils in common, 
 but often rare kinds are found, in one or more of the beds, 
 which is not generally distributed. But again, there are 
 many places where the oyster shell is the principal one, 
 and which, instead ot crumbling in the hand, and by its 
 own weight, are firm and nearly as sound as those now 
 living upon their beds. The value of oysters, in this con- 
 dition, is lar less for immediate use, than those which are 
 decomposed : indeed, for spreading upon the soil, the prin- 
 cipal effect must be mechanical. If, however, five hundred 
 bushel? were used per aero, good effects might be expect- 
 ed ; for there is a slow disintegration, and there is a slow 
 solvent action, also, by which lime will be given to the 
 soil. Of this character, are those shell banks immediately 
 upon the coast. These, though they have been exposed to 
 atmospheric agencies for a much less time than those in 
 the interior, are, nevertheless, farther advanced in the pro- 
 cess of decay. The best method of employing the unde- 
 composed shells, will be to burn them; use the quicklime, 
 or after it has passed into a sub-caustic state. 
 
 19 The Neuse valley is deeper and lower than the 
 Cape Fear, and hence it furnishes a larger supply of Mar! 
 beds. The Chapony Hills have been known for a quarter 
 ot a century, to be rich in marls of different kinds The 
 vicinity of Goldsboro/ however, possesses most distincily 
 the characters of those upon Cape Fear. The beds which 
 are best known are upon the plantation of Messrs. Scott, 
 Ham and Peacock. The beds are identical in age and po- 
 sition, and belong the middle tertiary; they are from 
 twelve to fifteen feet thick. These shells are embedded *n 
 a green marly clay, which effervesces with acids. Mr. 
 
49 
 
 Ham's marl is filled with small shells, which have so far 
 decayed that it is difficult to find one entire. The cover- 
 ing to the different beds is quite varied. Mr. Ham's has 
 three feet of peat, which is probably the best substance, 
 considered economically, which could have been placed 
 there ; it is the very material wanted to secure the best ef- 
 fects of the marl, and to form with it a compost. It is not 
 determined what strata lies below these beds, occupying, as 
 they do, grounds which are low and depressed. The marl 
 of Mr. Ham's may be regarded as composed of 
 
 Sand or Silex, 45.60 
 Phosphate of lime, per oxyde of 
 
 iron and alumina, 8.25 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 44.15 
 
 Water and organic matter, 1.60 
 
 99.60 
 
 The marls, previous to analysis, have become dry by ex- 
 posure to the air. Some moisture and organic matter re- 
 mains, varying from one to three and four per cent. The 
 sanies always greater than appears from simple inspection, 
 and it ^isually consists of fine grains of pure quartz. There 
 is also, one-half of one per cer.t. of soluble silica, which is usu- 
 ally omitted. 
 
 19. It will be observed, that in making up a statement 
 of the analysis, I place the ammoniacal precipitate, the oxyde 
 of iron and alumina, under the head of phosphate of lime, 
 instead of placing it in analysis under the head of alumi- 
 na and per oxyde of iron. I have done this, because this 
 precipitate consists mainly of phosphates, though the exact 
 amount of phosphoric acid has not been fixed with accura- 
 cy ; yet, one-fourth of a grain of it gives a strong rendition 
 of phosphoric acid with molybdate of ammonia. 
 
 On the banks of the Sarpony hills, on Mr. Griswold's 
 plantation, marl of an excellent quality, and in great obun- 
 
 4 
 
dance, exists. The beds, however, are indurated, or have- 
 passed into that condition which is known as stone mar}. 
 The following is a correct description of a section of a 
 slope or bank, where excavations have been made for pro- 
 curing limestone ; beginning at the water's edge : 
 
 1. Stratum of marl extending beneath the water of the 
 Neuse, in a soft condition.. 
 
 2. Consolidated marl. 
 
 3. Sandy marl. 
 
 4. Granular and partially indurated marl. 
 
 5. Stone marl fifteen feet thick, and which has been 
 used for lime. 
 
 6. Sand. 
 
 The whole bank has a thickness of thirty or thirty-five 
 feet. It is one of the best locations on the river for the 
 manufacture of lime for agricultural purposes, and it is not 
 a little remarkable, that property, which might have been 
 very valuable, and at the same time useful, to a whole com- 
 munity, has been lying useless and unproductive. 
 
 20. At the Sarpony BluffJ the formation present^ an 
 interesting section to the Geologist. It would be expected 
 that the marl would appear here, as at Walker's Bluff, on 
 the Cape Fear; inasmuch as the height and formations do- 
 not materially differ. The Sarpony Bluff is between 75 
 and 80 feet high, and consists of the following strata: 
 
 1. Sand extending beneath the water, 4 feet. 
 
 2. Band of pebbles and sand, cemented by iron, with 
 
 casts of obscure vegetable stems, five feet. 
 
 3. Gray sand, thirty feet. 
 
 4. Ferruginous band, eight feet, 
 
 5. Light colored ferruginous layer. 
 
 C, Copperas beds, consisting of pyrites, clay and vege- 
 table matter, nearly black. It is properly a bed of 
 lignite, charged with pyrites. 
 
51 
 
 7. Sand, twenty-five feet. 
 
 8. Earth, sand, &c. compacted together. 
 
 These beds, it will be observed, are mostly ferruginous, 
 or those which are highly charged with the oxyde of iron ; 
 and it should be observed, that, where iron is thus in ex- 
 cess, the beds do not furnish animal remains, or marl beds. 
 Fossils are rarely distributed in them ; sulphuret of iron is 
 usually the source of the oxyde, in beds of this description, 
 and, in decomposing, forms an astringent salt of protosul- 
 phate of iron or copperas. The marl of Griswold's plan- 
 tation thins out before it reaches this, high bluff ; a change 
 which occurs also on the Cape Fear, where the marl sud- 
 denly disappears, being replaced by sand. 
 
 $ 21. The vicinity of Newbern has long been known as 
 abounding in marl. New beds ale frequently brought to 
 light by accident, and sometimes by careful exploration of 
 favorable places. Judge Donnell, during the past year, has 
 discovered shelly marl upon an old plantation ; proving 
 that most plantations, which are elevated considerably above 
 the river, are not destitute of this fertilizer. 
 
 22. The Tau river, in its banks and branches, is rich 
 in marls of the age of the middle tertiary, adopting the 
 views of the Geologists who have examined, with some 
 care, the fossils peculiar to these beds. 
 
 $ 23. Beginning in Nash, County, five or six miles above 
 Rocky Mount, we find the shelly marl at intervals as far 
 down as Washington. 
 
 The first I shall notice is from Mr. McDaniel's, 5 or 6 
 miles above Rocky Mount. This marl, like many other 
 kinds whose quality is equal to the average, is more or less 
 consolidated, and breaks up into masses. Thin lamince 
 of coal, or lignite, are mixed with the shells a fact which 
 indicates that the source of the earthy material was in the- 
 
coal formation, in part. This marl is regarded as consist- 
 ing of the two kinds : ihe brown or red, and the blue. 
 Practically, I think it well to keep up this distinction ; for 
 the red, thus far, has given better results in analysis than 
 the blue. I do not know what opinions are entertained by 
 planters of their comparative value, who use both kinds. 
 
 The analysis of two specimens of this marl gives very 
 good results for the red variety : 
 
 Silex, or sand, 16.25 
 
 Phosphate of lime and per oxydeofiron, 10.00 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 71.75 
 
 Organic matter and water, 2.15 
 
 100.15 
 
 The magnesia and potash were not sought for. 
 
 The appearance of this marl is quite unpromising, as it 
 is quite bumpy and hard, passing into an indurated marl. 
 Still, analysis shows it to be an excellent kind, and which, 
 I am confident, would yield 7 or 8 per cent, of phosphates, 
 over and above the alumina. 
 
 The blue marl which is found below, gives a good 
 analysis, but contains less lime : 
 
 Sand, or silex, 21.25 
 
 Phosphate of lime, and per oxyde of 
 
 iron and alumina, 10.00 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 64.65 
 
 Organic matter and water, 2.10 
 
 98.00 
 
 These marls, when tested, have always furnished a small 
 quantity of magnesia, and a trace, and sometimes a weigh- 
 able quantity, of potash. The two samples furnish the 
 same amount of the phosphates, and oxyde of iron. The 
 color of the ammoniacal precipitate is darker in the red, 
 than in the green variety, indicating a larger quantity of the 
 oxyde of iron. 
 
53 
 
 This bed, which furnished the foregoing samples of marl 
 for analysis, is the highest known to me upon the Tan 
 River. This fact, however, does not prove its non-exist- 
 ence still farther ; and I predict that careful examination 
 will reward the planters in that county, with many addi- 
 tional beds. Every bed must be regarded as a prize, if it 
 is limited to 50 loads. 
 
 24 The reputation of marl, as a fertilizer, in Edge- 
 combe County, has led most of the planters to search for 
 i. upon their premises. Probably there is no better proof 
 of the value of this substance than is furnished by the esti- 
 mation in which it is held by its citizens. Regarded, in 
 years which are past, as a county somewhat behind the 
 times in literature and science, she has, nevertheless, out- 
 stripped all other counties in the application of good sense 
 and common sense to her farming interests. Facts are 
 sometimes misunderstood, as well as misrepresented abroad, 
 when applied to the internal policy of a State. So, I sup- 
 pose, Edgecombe has been misunderstood; for agricultur- 
 al improvements are incompatible with ignorance and dark- 
 ness. If we find a people alive to their internal interests, 
 so vital as agriculture, we may be sure that mind has been 
 at work. But, however this may be, Edgecombe has the 
 reputation of being the first county in its agricultural im- 
 provements and agricultural prosperity. Her success has 
 been secured chiefly by her marl beds ; it would have been 
 secured, in the end, if marl had not existed ; but more time 
 and capital would have been required to have placed her in 
 her present enviable position. 
 
 Although the foregoing remarks may be regarded as out 
 of place and uncalled for,, yet I deemed if. right to give cre- 
 dit where it was so justly due ; without at all questioning 
 the ability of her neighbors to compete successlully with 
 her for the next five years. 
 
 There is another fact worth recording: Edgecombe has 
 many men who have been educated at her excellent Uni- 
 
54 
 
 versity, who regard agriculture a befitting profession for 
 an educated man an example which the friends of agri- 
 culture will be pleased to see imitated in other parts of 
 this Republic. 
 
 25. The Marl beds at Rocky Mount belong to the 
 same age as the preceding. They are the blue shelly bed* 
 frequently furnishing that large scollop or feature, which is 
 regarded as characteristic of the middle tertiary. The ap- 
 pearance of granite and sienite at Rocky Mount, has pro- 
 duced a series of falls in the Tau river ; and sometimes the 
 marl is found resting immediately upon those pyro-crystal- 
 line rocks. The beds are associated with the following 
 strata : 
 
 1. Above the marl, stratum of sand and rounded peb- 
 bles, which is ten feet thick. 
 
 2. Marl somewhat sandy, but impervious to water, and 
 hence, the surface water percolates through the upper 
 mass and is thrown out by the marl. The upper is 
 made up of fine or small shells, like that of Mr. Ham's 
 
 ' of Goldsboro'. The lower is intermixed with the 
 large scollops and clams ( Venus difformis.) 
 
 The marl, like that of other beds, is rich in lime, and of- 
 ten consolidated or cemented in different parts of the struc- 
 ture. The whole thickness of the shelly strata is seven 
 feet. The marl is sometimes charged with rounded peb- 
 bles of different sizes. The position of the marl is upon 
 the banks of the Tau ; several beds appearing in the banks 
 near the falls, or at one-half, and also, about one mile, below 
 the railroad bridge. There are points where excavations 
 have been made, but it is probably continuous for nearly a 
 mile. Whenever there is an undulation by which the 
 strata are elevated even a few feet, there the marl appears 
 in the banks. Rounded stone and pebbles are strewed over 
 . the surface in great abundance, but this fact is no indication 
 
that currents have swept over the country in a certain di- 
 rection. Some oi the soil at Rocky Mount is light and re- 
 quires the application of marl to give it more retentiveness, 
 as well as to furnish a fertilizer to supply the waste to which 
 the lands have been subjected. 
 
 The marl strata reappear at Tarhoro', at many points ; 
 sometimes on the river banks, and sometimes in the banks 
 of creeks. One of the important beds is near the vil- 
 lage, and belongs to Mr. Bullock. 
 
 The section which contains the marl, is made up of 
 
 1. Sand which extends below the water of the creek. 
 
 2. Clay with lignite, three or four feet. 
 . 3. Marl, seven or eight feet. 
 
 4. Sand and clay without fossil, or only a few casts. 
 
 5. Sand, gravel and soil. 
 
 The marl is intermixed with coprolites, a few bones, and 
 water- worn pebbles mostly at the bottom of the bed. There 
 is the same tendency to consolidation as at Rocky Mount, 
 and at other places on the Neuse and Cape Fear rivers: The 
 same shells, consisting of large pectens, (Pecten Madiso. 
 nius,) Venus Difformis, and two or three species of Pec- 
 tunculus. Masses of sulphuret of iron are not uncommon. 
 
 The marl of this bed is composed of 
 
 Sand or silex, 56.25 
 
 Phosphate of lime and oxide of iron 
 
 and alumina, 
 Carbonate of iron, 
 Organic matter and water, 
 ^Magnesia, 
 
 10056 
 Mr. Bridge* Marl. 
 
 It will be observed, that rather more than one-half must 
 be set down as useless matter. The analysis was made of 
 
56 
 
 that portion containing the small bivalve shells, and as 
 many of the shells are rejected as convenient ; there will, 
 therefore, be more lime than is given in the analysis, by 
 three or four per cent. It is, perhaps, unnecessary, to re- 
 mark, that the finer the material the better; that the marl 
 with small bivalves, is better than the marl with large ones. 
 The latter when abundant is better for quick lime. 
 
 Mr. Knight's mail bed is three miles from the village, 
 and has been extensively employed in marling : It is upon 
 the banks of the Tau. 
 
 I obtained the following section of its beds : 
 
 1. Sand and gravel at ihe river's edge. 
 
 2. Sandy marl. 
 
 3. Marl with shell, six feet. 
 
 4. Greenish or blue clay, six feet, containing casts of 
 shells only. 
 
 5. Sand. 
 
 The whole thickness is about thirty feet. 
 
 This bed has furnished many large bones, both of Saurians 
 and land quadruped, principally of the Mastodon. This 
 bed has been regarded as equal to the best of the varieties 
 of shell marl. Sand seems to be a constant associate of 
 the marls. It occurs both above and below the stratum 
 of shells. In this respect there is a general uniformity in 
 the marl deposits in the different vallies the Cape Fear, 
 tht Neuse, and the Tau. The intermixture of sand is the 
 material which diminishes or changes this value. Though 
 coarse shells, as the large scollops and clams, together with 
 certain species of oyster, constitute a poor kind of marl 
 these resist for a long time the action of the weather. 
 Where these have abounded, I have heard unfavorable re- 
 ports of the effects upon the soil ; or, at least, the good 
 and advantage expected were not realized. This all goes 
 to show the importance of a comminution of the material : 
 
57 
 
 it favors solubility. Those agents, as water and carbonic 
 acid, act with more energy, and the power oi absorption is 
 increased in the substances themselves. 
 
 
 2f. Where the coarser marls are necessarily employed, 
 
 the advantages of a crusher is obvious. Plaster is opera- 
 tive immediately, because it is ground fine ; if it were more 
 in the condition of coarse shot, its effects would not be ap- 
 parent on most of soils. The subject of comminution is 
 one of considerable interest in husbandry. It is not expec- 
 ted, however, that soils can be ground or comminuted, ex- 
 cept through and by the action o^ he weather. The marls 
 which are coarse, however, when made into composts, will 
 be improved materially, especially when these composts are 
 composed of organic matter, which liberates carbonic acid. 
 Frequent stirring is also important. Another mode is by 
 the application of marl. Exfoliation of the large shells 
 beo-iiis at once ; the loss of organic matter is replaced by 
 water, and the whole becomes porous. One fact worthy of 
 notice, is, that mixtures are always more valuable than sim- 
 ple bodies ; even phosphate of lime is more active and ben- 
 eficial when intermixed with materials constituting acorn- 
 post, or intermingled with a compost. The constitution of 
 man and animals requires mixture. We have seen that the 
 soil is eminently a compound mass; and when food is taken 
 into the stomach, there are agents which assist its recep- 
 tion in large quantities into the system. So long as we 
 have regard to the necessities of plants, we can hardly form 
 a mass of compost, too complex in its constitution, or which 
 shall consist of too many elements, and I think it highly- 
 probable that many failures have arisen from neglecting the 
 
 aid to be derived from intermixture. 
 
 ' 
 26. The marl of Mr. Bullock's, near Tarboro', and upon 
 
 his home plantation, has been fairly tested, and proves 
 valuable. 
 
 The section of the slope in which it occurs, is represen. 
 ted by the following beds, beginning with the lowest : 
 
58 
 
 1. Sand. 
 
 2. Marl, with shells, scollops, &c., 3^- feet. 
 
 3. Blue compact clay, which contains decomposing py- 
 rites. 
 
 4. Sand and clay, in alternating layers, mostly destitute 
 of fossils, 5 feet. 
 
 5. Sand. 
 
 The blue or greenish marl of Mr. Bullock's plantation 
 has the following composition : 
 
 Sand, 34.40 
 Phosphate of lime and oxide of iron, 3.20 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 54.52 
 
 Magnesia, 1.50 
 
 Potash, trace. 
 
 Soda, trace. 
 
 Organic matter, 4.88 
 
 Water, 1.38 
 
 99.88 
 
 Mr. Bullock's plantation consists of rather more than 
 one thousand acres. It lies in a great bend of the Tau 
 river. From the river, to the higher ground, there are four 
 distinct but low terraces. The average crop of seed cotton 
 is about twelve hundred pounds. The marl is, in part, 
 composted ; it is, however, allowed to be exposed to the 
 weather, and undergoes certain mechanical as well as 
 chemical changes, prior to use. Probably, it is always im- 
 portant to give the marl air, as it may be termed, before it 
 is spread upon the soil, even if no mechanical change is 
 effected by it. 
 
 Marl, which is a year old, is much better than when 
 taken from the pit, and spread immediately upon the soil, 
 especially if it is turned over three or four times during 
 the year. 
 
59 
 
 23 The improvements of the Panola plantation, under the 
 direct supervision of its intelligent proprietors, Messrs.. 
 Norfleet & Dancy, exhibit something of the spirit which 
 pervades Edgecornbe. * ^ 
 
 The plantation was old, and was purchased for $65 per 
 acre, and consists of 908 acres, 550 of which is now under 
 cultivation Its former proprietor had pursued the system 
 of rest so common in the South, without a thought of pro- 
 viding for the future, when the most valuable parts of the 
 soil had been converted into corn, cotton and bacon, and 
 sold in a distant market. Its new proprietors, on making 
 this purchase, were aware that the old system could not be 
 pursued, and they were well satisfied that the only system 
 which could renovate the soil, though originally good, 
 was to supply an abundance of fertilizers or manures. The 
 plantation rises in three or four terraces from the river, the 
 lowest of which is often overflown with the high water of 
 the river. Logs, flood wood and trash cover the lower 
 terrace, and occupy the low ravines. By a judicious ap- 
 plication of the force of only fcwo laborers, three thousand 
 bushels of ashes were made in two weeks from this refuse 
 wood. In addition to this important fertilizer, twenty 
 thousand loads of compost were made, consisting ol cotton 
 seed, stable manure and river sediment, and the m*uck of 
 ditches. Ample manures were taken for draining, by a 
 free opening and deepening of the old ditches. The main 
 body of the land is rolling, the higher parts are sandy, and 
 the lower formed of a clay loam. 
 
 The points worthy of notice, are the preparations for a 
 productive farming, and the expenditure of capital for this 
 purpose; and, although it would seem, that the plantation 
 itself had furnished a large amount of material, at a trifling 
 cost, still, bones and guano were also prepared at a cost of 
 $52 per ton, and bone dust, at fifty cents per bushel, in 
 New York. 
 
60 
 
 29. The first and important lesson, which the agricultu- 
 rist should learn, is, that he must supply his land with ma- 
 . nure, and if any planter will calculate the cost of a full- 
 supply of manure, and then the cost of new clearings, 
 required by the old system of husbandry, he will find it 
 cheaper, and hence, more economical to make atid buy 
 manures, than to clear up his plantation, for the purpose 
 of cultivating new lands, and those which have been par- 
 tially restored by rest. The improvements of the Panola 
 plantation do not terminate in furnishing an ample supply 
 of manures. The removal of the cabins to an airy, healthy 
 and central position, is one of the most important improve- 
 ments. The arrangements, too, of the out-houses and 
 water sinks, so as to save nitrogenous matter, with their 
 phosphates, is another step in improvement, worthy of imi- 
 tation by others. So, also, it is made the special business 
 of some one or two laborers, to collect all matters which 
 may be used as a fertilizer. But I need not dwell upon 
 other rninutiaB of the improvements designed to secure, in 
 the end, a profitable investment of capital. Considered in 
 the light of a speculation only, it does not require a 
 prophet's vision to predict the result. 
 
 In the foregoing, remarks, 1 have had in view the fact, 
 that information of what others are doing is one of the 
 best stimulants to improvement by others. The most im- 
 portant results will be brought about by the successful pro- 
 jects of enterprising men, when they are made known. It 
 is a principle which applies to all professions. 
 
 Now, the season having passed, and the crops been gather- 
 ed and weighed, it turns^out that the cotton fields have yield- 
 ed one 'bale of cotton, of four hundred pounds, to the acre, 
 which the year before did not amount to one half of that, 
 and the corn lands, which, before the improvement, would 
 not and did not yield three barrels to the acre, have yielded, 
 this year, eight: a well marked and decided improvement. 
 The season, it is true, has been favorable, and it should be 
 noticed in making up the results. 
 
61 
 
 30 I have one more remark to make in this connexion : it 
 relates to the effect on the product, when high cultivation 
 is resorted to. This effect is ot' the highest consequence, 
 and it does not end with a simple increase of product, but 
 also in a product of a better quality. We probably, how- 
 ever, understand the mode of increasing a production, bet- 
 ter than giving it a superior quality. The lint of cotton is 
 better, if produced byjiigh cultivation, than by an indiffe- 
 rent cultivation. Tn(iian_rftrn is better, when the land is 
 supplied sufficiently with its proper food. It is light, if it 
 lacks food in the soil. Wheat is heavier, by three or four 
 pounds to" the bushel, if grown on a rich soil. Barley is 
 sold by weight, for different;soils produce a grain lighter and 
 more chaffy than others. Oats vary much in their weight, 
 by being grown on soils differing in their fertility. 
 
 New lands are productive, and at the same time give a 
 superior quality of grain. Oil old lands, there is a dimi- 
 nution of weight, and a loss in the quality of the product : 
 there is more offal. Attention should be given, then, to 
 the quality of the cotton, as well as to the quantity. The 
 planter may control, in a manner^ both results, or, in other 
 words, he may modify results, by cultivation. It is well 
 known that cotton requires, a stiffer soil than corn. The 
 principles involved in a cultivation of these two staples of 
 the South, are not the snme. The object, in the cultivation 
 of ttiiQ:^BWi, is the development of cellular tissue. I do 
 not yet know the precise modes by which we can apply 
 principles successfully to practice. Yet, the cellular tis- 
 sue requires, for its development, more carbonate of lime 
 than phosphate of lime. Analysis of the different tissues 
 proves this. If this is true, it is an indication that the 
 marls are adapted, especially, to the growth of cotton; that 
 while it contains some phosphate of lime, as this is neces- 
 sary to all tissues, yet the lime in the cellular tissue is fur- 
 nished, originally, from the carbonate. 
 
Experiments might be devised for testing the truth of 
 these views ; the object being to increase the lint, and 
 improve its quality. Has any attention been given to the 
 selection of seed ?- -selecting from the field the seed which 
 has first ripened, and which has given the longest, finest, 
 and most silky staple ? 
 
 The marl beds of the Tau River are exposed at points 
 below Tarboro', from Greenville to Washington. 
 
 31. At Greenville they have been successfully used 
 it belongs to the middle tertiary. Just below Sparta, the 
 left bank is thirty ieet high, and there is exposed a remark- 
 able stratum of marl. Above Sparta, the bank is too low 
 to expose it. 
 
 In the vicinity of Greenville, the marl beds are numerous, 
 Mr. Brown's bed exhibits the .following strata : 
 
 1. Sand exposed at the bottom. 
 
 2. Two feet of sandy clay. 
 
 3. Three inches of yellow sand. 
 
 4. Eight feet of shell marl, with greer.ish grains, 
 
 5. Sand, with sandy clay, of a. green color. 
 
 Mr. Britton/s marl exhibits a section quite similar to the- 
 above : 
 
 1. Green indurated sand. 
 
 2. Marl, six to seven feet thick. 
 
 3. Sandy Marl, one loot. 
 
 4. Brick clay, four or five feet thick. 
 
 5. Sand. 
 
 This marl is reddish, and operates favorably and quickly. 
 The stratum of clay occupying this position is not uncom- 
 
63 . 
 
 mon. In fact, it is almost co ntinuous over the whole 
 country, though it is not always present as a covering to 
 the marl. 
 
 A bed on the plantation of Mr. Boyd, in the same neigh- 
 borhood, is about fifteen feet thick : it is overlaid by a 
 band of yellow clay, upon which there is sand five feet 
 thick. 
 
 32. Six miles below Greenville is Dr. Dixon's marl 
 bed, which had just been opened at the time of my visit. 
 It is blue shelly marl ; most of the shells are small; and the 
 mass is much disintegrated. 
 
 t The strata lie in the following order : 
 
 1. Marl 15 feet thick its bottom not certainly exposed. 
 
 2. Blue clay, 3 inches. 
 
 3- White loose sand, differing but little from drifting 
 sand. 
 
 This marl is composed of the following proportions in- 
 fifty grains : - 
 
 Sand, 15.70 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 27.30 
 Phosphate of lime and oxyde of iron, 1,60 
 
 Water, 1.69 
 
 Magnesia, .11 
 
 Potash, trace* 
 
 Organic matter, 2.94 
 
 49.34 
 
 In the ba^ks of the Tau, at Greenville, numerous flat- 
 tened masses are washed out of the bank. The color is a 
 drab, or light yellowish brown. They are frequently per- 
 forated by a round hole ; they have a close resemblance to 
 the ordinary clay stones. Coprolites are associated with 
 them : and I was inclined to regard them, all as coprolites : 
 
but it proved that many of the flattened bodies are not 
 . coprolites. Analysis of one of them g-ive the following 
 results : 
 
 Insoluble matter, .13 
 
 Phosphate of lime, 14.50 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 10.50 
 
 Magnesia* trace. 
 
 24.13 
 
 The coprolites have always given potash, when tests are 
 applied. These substances in the Greenville beds are soft } 
 and unlike coprolites which occur on the Cape Fear rivei. 
 They are unlike them in color and form*. Most of them 
 are, in their flattened cakes, not much unlike a cracker in 
 form; though, in this respect, there is much diversity. 
 
 The country around Washington is too low to give good 
 exposures of shell marl. It is, however, common in the 
 low banks, but liable to be overflowed. 
 
 33. Mr. -Myers* marl bed gives the following section : 
 
 1. Blue marl. 
 
 2. Shelly marl, 3 feet. 
 & Red marl, 8 inches. 
 
 4. Brick clay, 
 
 5. Sand. 
 
 Another bed, upon the plantation of the Sheriff of the 
 County, was too much concealed by water at the time of 
 my visit. A specimen of the marl furnished Tor analysis 
 gave the following proportions : 
 
 Water, 1.40 
 
 Organic matter, 2.70 
 
* 65 
 
 Sand, 28.30 
 
 Phosphate of lime and oxyde of iron, 5.13 
 
 Lime, 10.81 
 
 Magnesia, .11 
 
 48.45 
 
 The analysis contains less lime than was expected. The 
 shelly portions were .rejected in part ; which, had they been 
 included, would have given a larg r per centage of lime. 
 The effects, as they have appeared upon trial, were remark- 
 ably good and satisfactory. The absence of high banks in- 
 creases the Libor and expense of raising the marl. 
 
 I took occasion to visit Jones County, on my return 
 from the examination of the State lands in Carteret. The 
 Hon. Mr. Donnell, of Newbern, accompanied me, and laid 
 me under many obligations for the information received of the 
 country. 
 
 This County has an undulating surface ; the soil has more 
 clay than Edgecombe or Pitt. The foundation for the high- 
 est improvement in agiiculture exists in its soil. Less cotton 
 is cultivated than in Edgecombe ; but, when cultivated, it is 
 not difficult to raise it up to sixteen hundred pounds of seed 
 cotfon per acre. Marl of a peculiai kind exists in the waters 
 of Rainbow Creek, and on the banks of Miller's Creek. 
 The marl is formed of the debris of exceeding large oyster 
 shells, some of which are 14 inches long, and l^ inches thick. 
 They sometimes weigh 6 and 7 pounds. The surface shells 
 are decomposing ; those deep in the beds are quite sound. 
 The marl, however, of these beds, is less valuable than when 
 composed of small shells. The testimony of those who have 
 been acquainted with its use is of a negative kind ; but still 
 I could not learn all the circumstances attending its applica- 
 tion. At Pollocksville, on the Trent, this marl appears in 
 its banks, and presents the following section : 
 
 5 
 
1. Sand. 
 
 2. Oyster bed. 
 
 3. Sand. 
 
 4. Oyster bed. 
 
 5. Sand. 
 
 It is about 20 feet to the second bed of oysters. Beneath 
 these beds is the lime rock of the country, consisting of con- 
 solidated marl, having the same characters as that upon the 
 Trent near Newbern. In many places, its purity is such 
 that it makes a good lime ; in others it is iandy, and makes 
 a weak lime. 
 
 34. The marl of Little Oontentney Creek possesses the 
 same characteristics as that of the Tau and Neuse. 
 
 For the opportunity for making the examination of Little 
 Contentney, Tossnot, and a part of Nash County, I am in- 
 debted to the kindness of Mr. Myers, of Washington, Presi- 
 dent of the Greenville and Raleigh Plank Road. 
 
 The marl upon the plantation of Mr. Streeter was too 
 much concealed by water to admit only a slight examination. 
 The fossils, however, proved the deposits to be of the middle 
 tertiary. The large Pectunculus and Venus difformis, com- 
 mon at otjier places, were observed among other common 
 fossils f the formation. 
 
 The beds upon the plantation of Mr. May were also cover- 
 ed with water. These, in part, were sandy, and a specimen 
 gave only a small per centage of lime in the analysis. 
 
 As for example : 
 
 Sand and silica, 81 -20 
 Phosphate of lime and oxyde of iron, 8-00 
 
 Magnesia, trace. 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 5.60 
 
 Water, 1.20 
 
 Organic matter, 2.60 
 
 Potash, trace- 
 
 98.60 
 
67 
 
 This marl, as poor as it is, containing less than twenty per 
 cent, of available matter, has increased the crops, according 
 to the statement of Mr. May, fourfold. It is probable, how- 
 ever, that this sample is not an average of the marl stratum. 
 The soil of Mr. May is sandy at least on parts of the plan- 
 tation. 
 
 35. The marl of Col. Barnes, upon the Tossnot, is 
 similar to that upon the plantation of Mr. Ham, near Gplds- 
 boro'. It is the blue marl, intermixed with innumerable 
 email bivalve shells, which have become very thoroughly de- 
 composed. The bed is eleven feel thick, covered with a 
 stratum of sand five feet thick. 
 
 36. The deposits of marl upon the Roanoke are no less ' 
 important than upon the Tan, Neuse and Cape Pear. My 
 examinations were confined chiefly to Halifax County. The 
 fceds, considered as one formation, consist of the following 
 members : 
 
 1. Layers of decomposed rock a coarse mica slate. 
 
 2. Marl loaded with fossils, five feet. 
 
 3. Marl of a green color, with only a few shells, eight to 
 
 ten feet. 
 
 4. Blue clay, from ten to fifteen feet thick. 
 
 5. Reddish clay, two feet. 
 
 6. Gravel, fine and coarse, twenty feet. 
 
 7. Gray sands and loam. 
 
 The marl lies deep 5 and is exposed only in ravines. It is 
 attended with much expense in raising it. Mr. Pope, of 
 Halifax, has used it upon his plantation, and has made pre- 
 parations for its extensive consumption, and the results huve 
 been favorable. The soils of Halifax, having been under 
 cultivation a century and a half, or more than a century, 
 have become exhausted. 
 
68 
 
 The soil of one of the oldest plantations gave the following 
 results on analysis : 
 
 Silex or sand, 95.38 
 
 Alumina and oxyde of iron, 1.44 
 
 Lime, .11 
 
 Magnesia, trace. 
 
 Organic matter and water, 2.45 
 
 Potash, .01 
 
 99.39 
 
 It is perfectly similar to the sandy soils of Cape Fear. 
 These examples of sandy soils are beyond the reach of the 
 overflowings of the Roanoke, which always leave a rich 
 sediment behind, and which is employed as a fertilizer, to a 
 limited extent. 
 
 The marl is also too much charged with sand, in parts of 
 the beds. The blue varieties gave the following compo- 
 sition : 
 
 Sand, 65.60 
 
 Phosphate of lime, and oxyde of iron,, 9.60 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 21.20 
 
 Magnesia> trace. 
 
 Water and organic matter, 2.60 
 
 99.20 
 
 Regarding the available matter in this marl as thirty per 
 cent., it should not be ranked with the inferior varieties 
 though the sand amount to sixty-five per cent. 
 
 37. The marl of Fishing Creek should not be passed 
 over unnoticed. It consists of the three varieties, the red, 
 blue, and consolidated marl. The blue has the following 
 composition : 
 
69 
 
 Silex, 72.50 
 
 Phosphate of lime and oxyde of iron, 6.25 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 20.00 
 
 Organic matter and water, 1.25 
 
 100.00 
 
 This blue variety underlies, or is beneath, the red or 
 brown variety. The latter is composed of 
 
 Sand, * 62.50 
 
 Phosphate of lime, and oxyde of iron, 10.00 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 25.60 
 
 Magnesia, .11 
 
 Organic matter and water, 1.30 
 
 99.51 
 
 Both varieties are more or less consolidated, indicating a 
 favorable composition for agricultural purposes. The parts 
 selected for analysis contained fewer shells than the general 
 mass. They are small bivalves, so common in Wayne, at 
 Goldsboro', and on the Tossnot, which is really of a better 
 kind than the varieties containing larger and less decompos- 
 able fossils. 
 
 The shelly portion contains more lime, which is derived 
 from the shells themselves ; but less precipitate, which con- 
 Cains phosphate of lime. This variety gives the following 
 composition : 
 
 Sand, 15.00 
 
 Phosphate of lime and oxyde of iron, 3.75 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 80.00 
 
 Organic matter, 1-25 
 
 100.00 
 
70 
 
 The average quantity of lime is above fifty, taking the 
 whole mass together. 
 
 Intervening between the two varieties, the blue and red, 
 there is a more consolidated portion a variety which answers 
 to the appellation of stone marl though it differs in its fossils 
 from that of the Trent at Newbern, as well as from that at 
 Wilmington. It gave me the following analysis : 
 
 Sad, 17.50 
 Phosphate of lime and oxyde of iron 
 
 and alumina, 7.50 
 Magnesia, 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 72.12 
 
 Organic matter and water, .50 
 
 97.74 
 
 This variety exceeds the bine and red in the quantity of 
 fime ; and it appears that, as the sand diminishes and the 
 lime is increased, there is an approach to the formation of a 
 solid substance. The solidity and toughness, however, often 
 depends upon a quantity of soluble silica, which, when pre- 
 sent, forms an exceeding tough deposit, possessing many of 
 the characteristics of a burr-stone. In this condition, the 
 stone is unfit for agricultural purposes ; but makes a durable 
 stone for walls and fences. It is also an excellent fire-stone, 
 and may be used for the backs of fire-places, though it is 
 charged largely with lime. 
 
 38. The foregoing samples of marl, derived from the 
 game geological series,, furnish, upon the whole, a uni- 
 formity of composition which was unexpected. It is true that 
 at few of them contain an excess of sand, which I think due 
 to accidental causes, and which does not belong to the depo- 
 sit as a whole. It often happens that currents bear along 
 sand in large quantities ; and the position which the shell- 
 fish are occupying, may receive, at times, large supplies f 
 
71 
 
 arenaceous matter. Sometimes, the lime has fallen to teD 
 per cent. the sand increasing in proportion. But the aver- 
 age proportion is thirty-three per cent. 
 
 The selections for analysis were not made with a view to 
 obtain a maximum quantity of lime in the several beds ; but 
 rather an average. It will be seen hereafter, that the shell- 
 marl differs materially in composition trom a formation upon 
 which it rests, or which is geologically older, and beneath it. 
 There is, perhaps, in this older formation, more calcareous 
 matter than is usually credited to it. The analyses which 
 have been made have excluded the matter composing the 
 shells, which it often contained in great abundance. They 
 are very frequently entire and unchanged. In the shell- 
 marl, the fossils, when small, decompose ; and, though the 
 matter in which they are imbedded is calcareous, still the 
 fossils furnish, by disintegration, a large share of it, which is 
 obtained by analysis. 
 
 The general aspect of the mail, as it lies in the beds, is 
 quite the same. The thickness is variable, exceeding, in 
 a few localities, fifteen feet : in others, it is less than three 
 feet. There is, I believe, but one stratum which contains 
 those fossils which have given it the appellation of middle 
 ter iary. I have not seen it divided into two, except the for- 
 mation upon the Trent. 
 
 THE GREEN SAND ITS COMPOSITION, ETC. 
 
 39. Beneath the shell marl and belonging to an older 
 formation, there are deposits which are of the age of the 
 cretaceous rocks of Europe. I have referred to this forma- 
 tion before, and have stated that, as a fertilizer, it is superior 
 
72 
 
 to the shell marls which I have described. Its color is green, 
 and when examined carefully, it is found to be composed of 
 irregular particles of sand, which, when crusted upon paper, 
 leave a greenish mark. The deposit is made up mainly of 
 this matter. The most characteristic masses are upon the 
 Cape Fear river, at a place called Black Rock, and upon 
 the river banks near Wilmington. These beds belong to the 
 same formations as those known in New Jersey as marl, and 
 which are highly esteemed in that State, and which deserve 
 all the praise which has been bestowed upon it. 
 
 The loss of the specimens collected for examination in the 
 lal oratory, rendered it impossible to furnish analyses of the 
 green sand. I shall, therefore, give two or three analyses of 
 the Delaware marl of the same age. It is important, to know 
 what it contains, and as there isa great uniformity of compo- 
 sition in all the beds both in New Jersey and Delaware, and 
 probably in those of this State, its composition will be a guide 
 to those who wish to use the same material upon the Cape 
 Fear or wherevei it occurs. 
 
 Its composition is represented by the following analyses : 
 
 Silica, 70.20 70.31 
 
 Potassa, 6.10 6. 51 
 
 Protoxide of iron, 15.25 1516 
 Alumina, 3.14 2.63 
 
 Water, 6.22 6.26 J. Rodgers. 
 
 100.91 J. Mansfield. 
 
 Professor J. C. Booth's Memoir of the geological survey of 
 the State of Delaware, p. 71, 1841. 
 
 Another analysis, upon the same page as the foregoing, 
 gave 
 
 Silica, 49.30 
 
 Potassa, 9.16 
 
73 
 
 Protoxyde of iron, 24.46 
 
 Alumina, 7.82 
 
 Water, 11.26 
 
 100.00 
 
 The percentage of potash in the last analysis is nearer 
 the average of the formation than the two preceding it. It is 
 to potash that its fertilizing effects have been attributed. Most 
 of this substance is entirely destitute of carbonate of lime. 
 Still, if the fossil shells were intermingled with the materiel 
 submitted to analysis, it would give a notable quantity of 
 carbonate of lime. When the fossils are decomposed and 
 intermixed with green sand, carbonate of lime is then found. 
 It will be noticed in the foregoing analysis, that phosphate 
 of lime does not appear in the list of substances which it 
 contains j notwithstanding this, 1 believe it will always be 
 found. 
 
 In a single specimen from Black Rock, consisting of the 
 inside cast of a shell common to the formation, I found a 
 remarkable amount of phosphate of lime. The substance 
 examined differed in no respect from the general mass, being 
 made up as usual of the grains of green sand, moulded to 
 the inside of a cucculloea : the outside was removed This 
 specimen contained 52 per cent, of phosphate of lime. This 
 was, no doubt, an accidental circumstance ; by sorm cause 
 or other animal matter had been preserved to that large 
 amount. If this amount should be found in the casts of the 
 shell so common in the formation, it will become an impor- 
 tant fertilizer ; not simply from the potash, but from the pre- 
 sence of an equally important element, phosphate of lime. 
 
 40. The green sand in Delaware frequently consists of 
 two porlions an uppei and a lower. The lower is the one 
 regarded as destitute of carbonate of lime. The upper is 
 calcareous, and approaches in composition to (he shell marl 
 of this State. 
 
74 
 
 Thus, the upper consists of- 
 Carbonate of lime, 18.6 
 Green sand, 33. 
 Sand, 35 
 Clay, 14 
 
 100.6 
 Another analysis gave 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 24.7 
 
 Green sand, 35 
 
 Sand, 31 
 
 Clay, 9 
 
 99.7 
 
 41. The foregoing furnishes the elements which may 
 be expected in the lower deposits of the Cape Fear and 
 Neuse. Black Rock is ten miles below Brown's landing. 
 The green sand at this place is consolidated to the water's 
 edge, and extends to an unknown depth beneath the water. 
 There are ten or twelve feet above water, extending along 
 the water's edge, against which boats may anchor. At this 
 place, the marl is so accessible, that when the navigation of 
 the river is practicable, boats may take in a cargo of it at a 
 trifling expense. It is yet to be tried, and yet to be determin- 
 ed, how far this material will admit of transportation. Should 
 the coal oi Deep river find its way down the Cape Fear, and * 
 boats are returning empty or with light loads, it is not at all 
 improbable that the green sand may be used in Chatham and 
 Moore counties as a fertilizer. This is rendered still more 
 probable, from the fact that fertilizers are rare upon the upper 
 waters of this river, and the lands require something of thii 
 kind. Should phosphate of lime constitute an important ele r 
 ment of this bed of green sand, it would bear transportation 
 still farther, and admit of its use m the interior of the countie* 
 bordering upon the river and its branches. 
 
75 
 
 The strata of rock at this place consist simply of the lower 
 mass already described, and a bed" of pebbles upon which 
 reposes a thin bed of shell marf and sand. The green sand 
 may be regarded as a continuous stratum, differing from the 
 shell marl in this respect. At Mr. J. Sykes's, 9 miles be- 
 low Black Rock, the formation appears again. 
 
 42. On the Neuse, in the vicinity of Goldsboro', a for- 
 mation appears of considerable extent, unlike the shell marl, 
 and unlike, also, the green sand. Its fossils do not yet declare 
 whether it is an upper mass of green sand or the lowest divis- 
 ion of the tertiary. Fragments of an ammonite have been 
 obtained from it, but the exogyra and belemnite,so characteris- 
 tic of the green sand, have escaped detection up to this time. 
 The formation is a consolidated marl or marl stone; of a light 
 gray and a yellowish brown. 
 
 The following strata belong to a section near Col. Collier's 
 plantation, to whom I^m greatly indebied for the interest he 
 manifested ai well as in aiding the survey. 
 
 1. Green marly clay. 
 
 2. Marl, eleven feet, containing spine of echine, dabs' 
 toes, &c. 
 
 3. Gray sandy clay. 
 
 4. Yellow clay intermixed with some gravel. 
 
 5. Sand. 
 
 The consolidated or stone marl lies upon a hill side. It 
 is about six feet thick. It is granular, and might be employ- 
 ed as a building material, as well as lime for agricultural pur- 
 poses. It is composed of 
 
 Silex or sand, 39.20 
 Phosphate of lime and oxyde of iron, 1.60 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 55.20 
 Magnesia, 60 
 
 Potash, trace. 
 
 Water and organic matter, 2.20 
 
 98.80 
 
76 
 
 The good effects of this marl appeared in its use upon an 
 exhausted patch of land : as a consequence, it gave a fine 
 growth of clover, which came in without sowing- the seed. 
 
 43. A stone marl at Wilmington, lying immediately upon 
 the green sand, is composed of 
 
 Silex, 20.00 
 
 Phosphate of lime and oxyde of iron, 5.00 
 
 Magnesia, .42 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 72.00 
 
 Organic matter and water, 2.00 
 
 99.42 
 
 Intermixed with this consolidated marl are many fragments 
 of coprolites, forming with it a very singular conglomerate. 
 If it should prove extensive, it would form an excellent ferti- 
 lizer. This specimen \\as obtained of Dr. Togno, at his ex- 
 perimental Vineyard. 
 
 Another specimen of stone marl gave the following results: 
 
 Silex, 27.40 
 
 Phosphate of lime and oxyde of iron, 1 .40 
 
 Magnesia. trace. 
 
 Carbonate of lime, 60.00 
 
 Water and organic matter, 11.60 
 
 100.40 
 
 44. The marl stones, the composition of which 1 have 
 just given, require grinding to fit them for use. When fine, 
 1 should regard their composition superior as fertilizers to the 
 shell marl. Careful burning in a kiln will fit them for use. 
 In doing this, caution should be exercised not to expose them 
 to a heat sufficient to fuse them. The greater eflect which 
 
77 
 
 materials have upon the soil, when fine, mi^ht pay the addi- 
 tional expense required to bring them to tne condition of a 
 fine powder. The beds of stone marl are quite limited 
 patches of ordinary marl, consolidated by (he calcareous mat- 
 ter they contain. In mass, and exposed to the air, after re- 
 moval from the quairy, they become haid ; and in that con- 
 dition they become quite good building stone, as well as 
 a stone capable of resisting the heat of a fire without losing 
 carbonic acid. 
 
 MODE IN WHICH MARL AND LIME PRODUCE 
 THEIR EFFECTS. 
 
 45. As the marls which have been described in the fore- 
 going pages exert their influence upon vegetation, in part, by 
 the carbonate of lime contained in them, it will not be out of 
 place to speak of the mode, or modes, by which it is supposed 
 to operate. Many theories have been proposed to account 
 for the action of lime upon vegetation. It is even true that 
 some maintain that its action is scarcely to be depended upon, 
 or that it has any action at all. 
 
 A gentleman remarked, at a meeting convened for the pur- 
 pose of discussing matters relating to agriculture, that he had 
 tried lime upon a sandy soil, and it did no good ; and he then 
 
78 
 
 tried It upon a clay soil, and there it did no good ; and hence 
 believed all that had been said upon the value of lime should 
 be received with considerable deduction from the statements. 
 Now, it so happened that both varieties of soil had been sub- 
 jected to analysis, and it was proved that the sandy soil was 
 quite deficient in organic matter, and that the clay soil was 
 rich in lime, containing some three or four per cent. Now, 
 it is conceded that one of the conditions icquired for the exhi- 
 bition of favorable effects of lime is. that there should be or- 
 ganic matter ; and, in the case of a soil already rich in an 
 element, it is also proved that further additions of that ele- 
 ment is not followed with visible results. Here were two 
 cases, then, which had failed for want of judgment and 
 knowledge in selecting the kind of soil upon which to apply 
 a remedy, and an ignorance of the condition required to se- 
 cure activity in the remedy itself. Undoubtedly, there are 
 many disappointments of a similar kind, where experiments 
 are tried, while ignorant of the condition necessary for the 
 action of the remedy, or ignorant of the kind of soil upon 
 which the experiment was tried. 
 
 I. So far as the plant is concerned, lime operates favora- 
 bly upon vegetation by supplying an element necessary to the 
 subsistence of the vegetable. Analysis of the ash of any 
 plant gives an amount of lime in the state of a carbonaie 
 not that a carbonate is the condition the lime is in when a 
 part of the living plant. Any of the organic acids, combined 
 with lime, become carbonates in burning. One of the uses 
 of lime is to supply one kind of nutriment. The amount re- 
 quired by different parts of plants varies with the part. The 
 outside integuments are richer in lime ihaa the seed or wooJy 
 part ; and some plants require more lime than others. It is 
 the food of the plant : and its use, so far as the plant is con- 
 cerned, is all its use. 
 
 But, 2. Its use and effects in the soil are not so simple as 
 has been stated with respect to the plant. As an alkaline 
 
79 
 
 earth, having a strong affinity for all acids, it combines with 
 them, and forms a neutral salt ; and this salt, being soluble, 
 is taken up by the roots. We need scarcely speak of its 
 power to decompose astringent salts the proto-sulphate of 
 iron, formed in those soils where pyrites exist, and which, 
 when formed, are decomposed ; and we may thus find sul- 
 phate of lime, gypsum, instead of sulphate of iron. 
 
 3. If, in soils abounding in peaty matter, organic acids are 
 formed, these will combine with lime, as already stated. 
 But these acids being formed, and coming in contact with the 
 matter of the same origin, act as preservatives ; or they are 
 termed antiseptic bodies, which prevent putrefaction. When 
 neutralized, they cease to be antiseptics, or preservers, and 
 the remainder of the unchanged matter goes speedily to decay. 
 In this way, time promotes the decay of vegetable matter, 
 and, at the same time, the salts formed become food for plants; 
 and the salts formed are called organic salts of lime. So far, 
 facts and theory support each other. 
 
 4. In the laboratory, lime acts as a solvent on silica ; but 
 it requires a high temperature. It is supposed by some that 
 it dissolves it in the soil. But a more rational explanation is, 
 that it decomposes silicates, consisting of silicate of alumina, 
 potash, and soda ; by which action, it brings silicate of 
 potash into a soluble condition, forming also one of the 
 elements necessary to the straw of wheat. These silicates 
 are essential to the strength of the stems of grasses and cereals 
 when deficient, they are weak and lodge. There is, how- 
 ever, considerable obscurity on these points The affinity of 
 lime for other bodies is strong, and it is rational to suppose 
 that, in the soil, its action is not unlike that I have attempted 
 to explain. 
 
 5. Resulting from its chemical action, there are physical 
 effects upon the soil itself. No one need be deceived as to 
 facts. Lime spread upon a stiff, well drained soil, makes it 
 
80 
 
 light and loose. Now, this does not result from a mechanical 
 mixture ; it comes from a prior chemical action, and the 
 looseness is an effect due to that. It can be in no other way 
 than that which results from decomposition. 
 
 6. Another effect of lime upon soils, especially when in 
 combination with organic matter, is to give to light soils an 
 increased retentiveness of water, and an increased power to 
 absorb water. This I have proved by direct experiment. 
 A merely pulverized limestone will not increase this power ; 
 but marl, which is in a state of extreme subdivision, will, 
 when it holds in combination organic matter. Hence, one 
 of the effects of fine marl upon a loose sandy soil, is to give 
 it a body, or a retentiveness of water. - Marl put into a hill of 
 growing potatoes becomes a fertilizer, while lime would de- 
 stroy the vitality of the seed by absorbing its organic water. 
 Marl will absorb ammonia, and thereby furnish fertilizing 
 matter. From the foregoing views, if correct, it appears that 
 lime acts vitally, chemically ai d physically. Vital, in being 
 a constituent element of plants ; chemical, in its action upon 
 silicates arid organic matter ; physical, in imparting friability 
 to argillaceous soils, and compactness to sandy ones. 
 
 7. The effects of quick lime and marl are not identical. 
 They have, however, a common condition of the soil which 
 is required foi their action. I have already spoken of this condi- 
 tion : it is the presence of organic matter. I hold that or- 
 ganic matter is essential to the formation of an organic ?alt y both 
 soluble and suitable to the nature of vegetating matter. It i s 
 proved by experiment, 1 believe, that thus far, the effect of marl 
 and a sub-caustic lime may be identical. But sub-caustic and 
 caustic limes are capable from their superior affinities for potash 
 and soda, to do more in the line of chemical action than marl, 
 especially upon argillaceous soils, where it may combine with, 
 or as it is frequently called, liberate, potash ; and it is probable 
 that marl may exert the same influence in a feeble degree. 
 Marl ; however, from its complex character, secures effects 
 of a different kind. Referring to the composition of any of 
 
81 
 
 the shell marls, it will be observed, that in addition to carbo- 
 nate of lime, it also contains phosphate of lime. It will be 
 observed, too, that some of the samples of marls are compara- 
 tively poor in carbonate of lime', but still they are represented 
 as strong fertilizers; as producing in some instances four limes 
 the amount of corn and cotton as would have been grown 
 without them. From these and other facts looking the same 
 way, it is probable that the effect ol mail is .as mucn due to 
 phosphate of lime as to the carbonate ; and it may turn out 
 that some of the argillaceous deposits which scarcely effervesce 
 with acids, may yield a still larger amount of the phosphates 
 than the marls, \vhicli give the largest quantity of lime. 
 Hence, it will be important to look farther than the marls, 
 and furnish chemists with all the varieties of deposits which 
 are not essentially sandy. Potash, also, even the shell marls, 
 should not be overlooked. 
 
 The beds associated with the marls proper, are various, and 
 they open afield of research and experiment for the planter 
 and chemist. Any of the argillaceous beds may be used in 
 experiment. It is an important circumstance, that, although 
 sand is predominant, in a large part of the lower country, there 
 are beds of clay and marl at hand, which may be employed' 
 to correct this peculiarity. 
 
 46. Some of the beds of marl, or those which are over, 
 or beneath them, are highly pyritous, or contain sulphuret of 
 iron. This substance, when it decomposes, under ordinary 
 circumstances, forms an astringent salt, which is injurious to 
 vegetation, certainly_if in large quantities. But this substance 
 is not to be thrown away and ejected into the streams. If its 
 decomposition is effected in the midst of marl, and especially 
 as a compost heap, it will give the farmer gypsum, a substance 
 really important in all kinds of soils. Marl or lime is always 
 the corrective of the astringent salts, such as copperas, or the 
 sulphate of iron,orthesulpnate of alumina and potash, which 
 may be furnished by stratas intermingled with pyrites. 
 But small doses of sulphate of iron I believe to be useful : 
 
 6 
 
82* 
 
 hence, when pyrites fs disseminated in a bed of marl, I should 
 esteem it so much the more ; and, if found to be too strong, it 
 is easily corrected or weakened, as it may be called, by inter- 
 mixture of pure marl, or the pure carbonate. 
 
 There is a small circu mstance worth a passing notice. The 
 marls contain bones, as all know very well ; and the laborers 
 are in the habit of committing them to the waters, if upon the 
 bank of the river or stream. As they are worth at least fifty 
 cents per bushel, it will be economy to save them.. If broken 
 into small pieces, and dissolved with oil of vitriol, the best of 
 fertilizers is made. When dry, one hundred pounds of bone 
 require twenty-five pounds of acid for solution. This amount 
 when well mixed with gypsum, or any neutral substance, to 
 dry it and give it bulk, is sufficient for half an acre. But the 
 bones, at present, are worth still more as objects of natural 
 curiosity, and should be preserved for that purpose. 
 
 Sulphuric acid will cost three dollars per hundred weight ; 
 it may be procured in the larger towns for two dollars and 
 fifty cents per hundred weight. The object, in using oil of 
 vitriol, is to make the bones soluble, by which immediate effects 
 follow. 
 
 47. The details relating to agriculture, which are spread 
 out upon the foregoing pages, embrace those general facts 
 which were observed and collected during a reconnoissance of 
 several months. Although they may not contain all the in- 
 formation which many, and perhaps most, of the readers of 
 this Report desire, and have reason to expect, still, I believe 
 the way is prepared for pursuing inquiries to better advantage 
 than before : and which will conduce to a system of agricul- 
 ture which shall be better adapted to the special condition of 
 the soil, climate, productions, and labor employed in the part 
 of the country and State under consideration. 
 
 Climate is a consideration which should not be disregarded, 
 It must always modify and change, more or less, thesystemsof 
 husbandry. If disregarded by the agriculturists, it will be afe 
 a cost aad sacrifice of something valuable. If the soil is dis- 
 
83 
 
 regarded, it will be a loss in the crop; and neither can the cha- 
 racter of the laborers, their capacities and strength, be left out 
 of the account in making up our minds on the best systems of 
 culture and of crops. It is of the utmost importance, to be 
 correctly informed of the systems of culture, and the kind of 
 crops most in use in foreign countries. But the entire system 
 of means and ends should also be brought together m this 
 information. 
 
 When we are told, for the first time, of the great value of 
 the turnip crop in England, it at once wakes up incentives to 
 adopt it here. When the system of agriculture, which ispui- 
 sued in England or Flanders, is lepresented to us, there are 
 strong temptations to adopt it, before we know the peculiar 
 causes which have led to its general adoption in those coun- 
 tries. The kind of labor, the cost of labor, the intelligence 
 and capacity of laborers, are important items of information, 
 before we can safely decide upon the question of adoption or 
 rejection. The culture of roots for feeding stock is carried to 
 perfection in England, and it is a means of wealth. But 
 whether the means would crown the end, in this country, is 
 quite questionable. England enjoys a humid climate ; and 
 vegetables, among which is corn, scarcely ripen at all. But, 
 supposing it would ripen occasionally, can an uncertain crop 
 become profitable ? If corn would ripen every season, would 
 the turnip and root system of husbandry prevail there? and 
 may not roots, as food, suit better in the climate of England, 
 than in the drier and less steady climate of America? 
 
 48. I wish to inculcate and enforce the following doctrine : 
 that every country, of sufficient extent to possess an individu- 
 ality, favors certain productions ; and, in order to carry these 
 productions to the highest points of perfection to which they 
 are susceptible, it may be done at a less cost in money and 
 labor there than anywhere else ; labor and money, laid out 
 when circumstances are favorable, than when they are unfa- 
 rorable. But systems, often, have certain advantages which 
 may be adopted ; and an eclectic 33 stem, properly methodized 
 and adapted to circumstances, may become, in every country,. 
 
 
84 
 
 the bes! of systems. English husbandry, fully adopted in 
 almost any part of our country, would fail in its ends ; but 
 there are points in it which may be adopted anywhere, and 
 should be everywhere. 
 
 The application of mind, and the bestowment of 
 thought, on husbandry and syslematic agriculture, is what is 
 most wanted. That, combined with facts and a knowledge 
 of the principles involved in husbandry, will give direction to 
 means and expenditure of labor and money to profitable 
 results. The pursuit of agriculture, thus conducted, places 
 the business on a level with the professions , and secures to the 
 individual the same standing and influence which they have, 
 and the mental ability to cope with them in the arena where 
 mind alone controls and governs. 
 
 GEOLOGICAL POSITION AND RELATION OF 
 THE TERTIARY BEDS GEOLOGICAL -TIME- 
 MEANING AND ORIGIN OF THE TERMS, 
 EOCENE, MIOCENE, ETC., AND USE OF THE 
 WORD SYSTEM, ETC. 
 
 49. The marls have been consideied thus far as deposi- 
 tories of those elements which only interest the agriculturist ; 
 or as bodies containing those fertilizers, which are adapted to 
 restore wasted lands to their original agricultural capacities. 
 But there are other points which interest many persons j other 
 inquiries relating to those deposits, in addition to thoso of 
 
85 
 
 which 1 have been speaking : it is their age, their relations to 
 each other, and to other deposits, which may be in immediate 
 proximity, or at a distance. Enquiries of this sort bring up 
 many questions questions which, at first sight, seem very 
 easy to be disposed of, but which, on closer inspection, are 
 found beset with many unexpected difficulties. However 
 this may be, I remark, that these enquiries relating to the age 
 of the strata, or to the system and series of rocks, and where 
 they geologically belong, are not, in this region, easily deter- 
 mined. Opinions upon the question I have stated, have 
 been expiessed by the distinguished Professor Mitchell, of 
 Chapel Hill, and by Mr. Conrad of Philadelphia, and others; 
 and it is highly probable that these gentlemen are right in 
 the main; but whether their views may not require a partial 
 modification is yet to be seen. It is to be recollected that these 
 strata of marl are scattered over an extended surface, and are 
 disconnected with each other : they are isolated beds, lying 
 in a belt of country, at least four hundred miles from North 
 to South, and two hundred miles in breadth, in its widest part ; 
 and that the slight disturbance which this belt has undergone, 
 since the era of the green sand, is too slight to show uncom- 
 formability. We are therefore obliged to settle the question, 
 by reference to the fossils of the beds, and the animals now 
 living in the Atlantic ; relying upon the determination of the 
 ratio of the dead to the living species. 
 
 50. But, before I proceed to speak of the age of 
 these deposits, it seems necessary to make some preliminary 
 explanation. When we sp^ak of age in geology, the 
 idea of time is involved, and the question might well be put, 
 how long a time, or how many years ago is it, since these strata 
 of marl were deposited. 
 
 Time, when it enters as an element in geological reasoning, 
 is not expressed absolutely, but relatively. Time, considered 
 as an. element in human affairs, is both absolute and relative. 
 It is absolute in all our calculations, because it has its units. 
 A rot ition of the earth upon its axis is the unit; and its revo- 
 
86 
 
 lution round the suri is three hundred and sixty-five and one- 
 fourth of this unit. As it is the movements of stars which 
 give us the unit, it is called sidereal time ; and all events 
 which have transpired since man was created, is measured by 
 this unit, obtained from the observations upon their motion. 
 We have data, therefore, for absolute time. In the history of 
 man, then, there are two facts not known in geological time, 
 a unit and a starting point. 
 
 Geologists have sought for a unit, but have failed. Sir 
 Charles Lyell has counted the layers in the 'sediments of 
 the Mississippi, and measured the suspended mud in its wa- 
 ters, which it annually brings to the sea. Rationally, it car- 
 ried him back forty thousand years, since they began to be 
 formed ; but the unit was still problematical. He has counted 
 the steps of the Niagara, as it has receded from a lower to an 
 upper lake; but the steps are unequal. It can give us no 
 unit in its march. Unlike the earth and planets, which ro. 
 tate in equal time, or which revolve in great circles, and re- 
 turn to the starting points in equal time, the geological move- 
 ments of all kinds are unequal, and their perturbations so 
 great that they give us no unit to measure geological revolu- 
 tions by. For us, space too is a unit, and it gives us a meas- 
 ure for time ; so that time is space, and space is lime bu* 
 geology cannot convert space into time, nor time into space. 
 
 51 . But geologists have sought for units in life ; the search 
 wa* foiled. Even man, whose life is most exalted, gives 
 no true measure, no unit, either in his individuality, or in the 
 sum and aggregate of his generations. Here, we can scarcely 
 refuse to inquire, why geology gives us no unit by which t o 
 count the years of the earth? But then the enquiry is futile : 
 and we can only say, that it can have no final cause it can 
 have no practical use. But the determination of relative 
 time is of immense use it is practical. 
 
 ft has a practical application to the relations of our corn 
 fields, our iron and our marls. Time then, in geology, is only 
 relative, as it has no unit. If we take geological movements 
 
ipward space, or horizontal space, we find these move- 
 ments have taken unequal times ; and, in equal times, the 
 movements have been unequal. Vertical elevations may 
 amount to three feet in a century, and the sediments may ac- 
 cumulate thirty feet in thickness in five centuries ; and yet, 
 when centuries are compared, both the sediment and the ver- 
 tical lise are unequal in equal times. The chronology, then, 
 of. the earth, is computed relatively: time, which measures its 
 history, is divided into unequal periods, and those periods have 
 visible representations in the sediments of its crust. Their 
 super- position upon one another, exhibits their relationship to 
 the eye, and the contemporaniety is proved by (he oneness of 
 their products, and the sameness of their representatives of a 
 former life the remains of the dead entombed in the rock-, 
 whose formation was in progress when they were the sole 
 possessors of earth. 
 
 52. Taking the visible representation alluded to, as time, 
 in i\ geological sense, our computations are made possible by 
 breaks in the series. The}' are not, however, like the contin- 
 ous and regular clicks of a chronometer, which divide out 
 the time into parts of a unit ; the breaks not only separate 
 physically the visible representations, but put to a stand- 
 still the currents then bearing onward humbler forms of life, 
 and their burthens of matter. The break is an upward 
 movement, and it marks the end of a dynasty. Strange as 
 it may seem, the earth's crust is marked by sychronous breaks, 
 almost universal. Breaks which pursue the directions of 
 mountain chains are sychronous; and parallel mountains are 
 formed by sychronous breaks and elevations. After all, 
 (here is the semblance of law in the movements and breaks, 
 which have seared the earth's crust, and brought to an end 
 the existing order of things. The area of sediments is changed 
 the direction of the rivers is changed the life, as it is re- 
 presented in species, is extinguished and changed. But, 
 again, after the turmoil attendant upon change has passed 
 life begins to be lit up in new abodes ; ami as each 
 
88 
 
 break is followed by new physical relations, the life which 
 appears is modified to fit the change. Species are, therefore, 
 ne\v ; typical forms remain ; and the great types upon which 
 life, and its various forms, were to be represented , are pre- 
 served. The great scheme upon which life and its phenomena 
 were to be displayed, has never been broken or departed from. 
 Each break, and the new sediments which follow, indicate 
 a new period, having its beginning in the lowest of the strata : 
 and, as these new sediments are going on, life is still ebbing 
 and flowing, and the individuals which are dying are en- 
 tombed in the accumulating wastes of the older continents. 
 The breaks,, then, mark the outgoing and the incoming of 
 new systems. The space spanned by two breaks is one of 
 the unequal periods in the earth's history and progress. The 
 distinguished French Geologist computes no less than twenty- 
 seven breaks, which have destroyed the existing and living 
 Saurians ; each break approaching to universality in their 
 effects. The earth's crust is a sepulchre. Its sediments, 
 which are ten miles thick ; are full of the relics of plants and 
 animals. 
 
 53 As we are unable then, to compute in years, when 
 the present order ol things began, or when the lower orders 
 of animals first appeared upon the earth, Sir Charles Lyell 
 has proposed to express the simple relations of the past to 
 the present, by words adapted to that purpose. Observing* 
 for example, that the chalk beds are destitute of any species 
 of animals and plants, which now exist, and that the succeed- 
 ing beds contain them, he takes his starting point from the 
 latter, and atte'mpts to express their relations to the present,, 
 by terms of comparison. The mode of proceeding, in order 
 to determine the comparative expression was, first to ascer- 
 tain the whole number of species of fossils in the beds, and 
 then ascertain how many are living in the seas of the pre- 
 sent day. In 1830, the number of species known and des- 
 cribed in the beds next above the chalk, was 1238. The 
 number, since that period,, has increased to 5000 at least. 
 
80 
 
 Of this large number, three and a half to four per cent., are 
 living now. The small number, then, ascertained as the 
 surviving species, which have resisted the change and revo- 
 lutions of the globe, indicate an approach to the condi- 
 tions which now exist upon the earth's surface, and it has 
 been regarded therefore, as the dawn of the present. The 
 word Eocene, which means literally the dawn, is applied to 
 those bed?, or that formation which has preserved from 
 three and a half to four per cent, of the species which now 
 live. It is applied to the lower beds of the tertiary system. 
 The beds which are typical ol this part of the system, un- 
 derlie Paris and London, and, being basin-shaped, they 
 have been called the Paris and London basins. The former 
 was the field in which the celebrated Cuvier labored, whose 
 name and labors have conferred honors upon the French 
 nation. But time moves on; and the next step in the suc- 
 ceeding series shows an advance ; they contain seventeen 
 per cent, cf species or kinds, which live in our present seas. 
 The strata containing this per centage, repose directly upon 
 the Eocene. As the proportion of ihe dead to the living, 
 bears still a small ratio to the living, or is a minor propor- 
 tion still, of the dead to the living, the formation is called 
 Miocene. The rocks which succeed and rest upon the lat- 
 ter, are called Pliocene meaning that the proportion &[ 
 the living is more than the dead. When the per centage 
 of living species is thirty-five and fifty per cent , the term 
 is qualified, and is called either "older or lower Pliocene; 
 aiid, as the per centage still increases, in the succeeding de- 
 posits, and rises as high as ninety- five, the portion of the 
 series is denominated newer or upper Pleiocene. Certain 
 beds which compose the Sub-Appenine hills, and which are 
 very thick, and attain an elevation of fifteen hundred feet, 
 belong to the latter. It would be interesting here, to illus- 
 trate the slow accumulations of those beds, for the purpose 
 of imparting a correct view of the great length of time 
 which passed while the beds were being deposited ; but,. I 
 can only state the fact j and then proceed to say, that ever 
 
90 
 
 since the full dawn of the present, beds of immense thick- 
 ness have accumulated in a slow manner, filled with marine 
 and terrestrial animals, most of which are identical with 
 the present. But it is found on careful exploration, that 
 oven in these modern deposits, one or more species out of a 
 hundred, have become extinct; and that some of the living 
 ones have undergone a slight change ; some which are quite 
 small now, were formerly large. Causes then still operate 
 which produce a change in a minor degree, and which 
 alter those characters which are the most susceptible of the 
 influence of physical agents. Those modern deposits, 
 which furnish evidences of slight changes, are called Post- 
 pliocene. 
 
 54. The names, the origin, meaning and application of 
 which I have given, are subordinate beds of the tertiary 
 system. It has been separated from the older upon which 
 it reposed, because all of its beds or sub divisions contain 
 some few species which are not extinct ; the lowest or old- 
 est furnishing (he smallest proportion, yet constant, of all 
 the others which succeed ; the newest, the largest propor- 
 tion; and, as succession is proved by the position of the bed, 
 one above the other, so we may infer that there has been, 
 or was progress also. This is shown, by facts which have 
 not been stated, viz : the increase in number and rise in 
 rank of the terrestrial 'animals, which only began to figure 
 in the tertiaries. This progress is indicated by the increase 
 of those kinds of animals whose physical constitutions ap- 
 proximate very closely to man. 
 
 55. Notwithstanding the plausibility of the arrange, 
 ment, and sub divisions of the tertiary beds and the eupho- 
 ny of the terms, Eocene and Miocene, &c., applied to them 
 respectively, it cannot fail to impress us that it is artificial 
 and arbitrary. For this reason, probably, we find it diffi- 
 cult to apply it to the tertiaries of the Atlantic coast. It 
 seems to be more applicable to European tertiaries ; and, it 
 
91 
 
 is very possible, that it is because they are better known 
 than ours. It is' not impossible to apply the scheme to our 
 formations, when considered by themselves; but, we do not 
 succeed as yet in fixing the relations which our tertiaries 
 bear to those of Europe. It is, however, a popular scheme, 
 and has been adopted by our Geologists and writers; and 
 hence, it will be difficult to replace it by any other, even if 
 ( it should be founded upon characters more natural and less 
 arbitrary. 
 
 56. In this connexion, it will not perhaps be amiss, to 
 explain the word systemmoTQ fully than I have yet; though 
 its geological meaning will not probably be misapplied. A 
 geological system is a series of rocks, forming a subordinate 
 part of the earth's crust, which were formed and consolida- 
 ted during a period when the physical conditions were the 
 same, or nea'rly so. As there are many systems; it is im- 
 plied in this definition, that the earth's crust has* been sub- 
 ject to change; and that the periods are marked, in the be- 
 ginning and ending of these periods, by certain changes 
 which they have undergone. We know thein-comings and 
 out-goings of periods, by phenomena visible in the rocks ; 
 they are tablets containing the recoids ; and it is a remark- 
 able fact, that the records are not confine'd to physical chan- 
 ges ; they also extend to, and embrace, those which concern 
 the species of plants and animals of each, 
 
 57. It is agreeable to observation, that a vertical move- 
 ment of the rocks is accompanied by a decided change in 
 the kinds of animals and plants which had previously lived ; 
 they becoming mostly extinct, while their successors will 
 differ from them in kind. Now, our definition of a system, 
 and the remarks following it, seem to make the vegetable 
 and animal kingdoms subordinate to the physical or inor- 
 ganic kingdom; in other words, that both are controlled by 
 physical forces ; and that these forces beii-g modified in in- 
 tensity, are the causes which are instrumental in destroy- 
 
92 
 
 ing. the existing kinds ; and, also, of favoring certain, spe- 
 cial kinds in the succeeding system ; or, th-at the latter are 
 consequents of the antecedents referred to. 
 
 The changes of species, resulting, as is supposed, from move- 
 ments of the earth's crust, will not appear strange, when we 
 are informed that it at once involves a changejin climate ; a 
 change in the humidity and dryness of the atmosphere ; a 
 change as to heat and cold ; all of which exert, upon all 
 kinds of living matter, important effects. Life requires the 
 presence of certain elements, as oxygen, carbon/ etc., and 
 also, an apparatus upon which the elements act, as the lungs, 
 stomach, etc. These must remain, in some form, whatever 
 change takes place- But life may continue under an infin- 
 ity of modification of apparatus, and we may suppose, that 
 the modifications of this kind are intended to adapt species 
 to the minor conditions of life and their fluctuations aris- 
 ing from changes in the earth's crust. All the important 
 and controlling elements still in force species of both king- 
 doms live on the minor changes n'ot affecting life in the 
 abstract, but only the form of the apparatus. Minor fluc- 
 tuations affect only external forms of apparatus ; the differ- 
 ent species are characterized by these modified external 
 forms. The origin of species is consistent with changes ia% 
 the position of the earth's crust, and its relations to water, 
 which modify th'e condition of the atmosphere, the temper- 
 ature of the ocean, and its depth. These conspire to modify 
 the causes which fit the media, in which organic bodies 
 live and move, to execute the functions of life on the best 
 and easiest terms. * 
 
 Sir Charles has proved that the temperature and humidity 
 of any given place are modified by proximity to the ocean or to 
 waters, and by height; and the creation of new species is 
 required to fit them for those alterations consequent on the 
 change in vertical height. 
 
 58. Vertical rno'/ements are indicated by breaks in the 
 series, which for the most part run in certain directions 
 
93 
 
 for great distances. The Appalachian chain of mountains, 
 the Blue Ridge, are instances which show a vertical move- 
 ment at some former period, accompanied with breaks, or 
 fractures of the earth's crust. Both the range and fractures 
 are parallel, and extend through many degrees of latitude. 
 \ut many chains traverse the earth's crust; all accompanied 
 with breaks of the strata. These pursue different direc- 
 tions: and it seems that there is a law involved in these facts: 
 for example : those chains which run in the same direction 
 were elevated at the same time ; the force beneath, which 
 produced the breaks, or whatever that form may have been,, 
 operated simultaneously in one direction. The forces have 
 been operative continuously, or in paroxysms. When in 
 paroxysms, the period of activity is short, followed with 
 long intervals of repose ; when operative continuously, the 
 period of activity is long. The paroxysmal modify the 
 minor conditions of life speedily; while the slow scarcely 
 produce distinguishable effects in the historical era, and 
 not at all in the life of man. 
 
 I see no objections to the foregoing views, the subjection 
 of species or life to physical forces and elements; for it does 
 not imply that final causes, respecting those forces, had no 
 reference to life. They precede life in the order of time ; 
 but the entire machinery may have been devised, and put 
 in operation, with the sole reference to life which was to 
 come, and to give dignity and importance to those forces, 
 and to the arena upon which life, and its attributes, were 
 to be displayed. 
 
94 
 
 BEDS AND STRATA BELONGING TO THE TER- 
 TIARY OF THE LOWER COUNTIES. 
 
 60. The periods represented by the shell marl befas, 
 or the fossiliferous deposits being included, and except the 
 green sand, are : 1st. Post Pliocene; 2d. Pliocene;, 3d. Mio- 
 cene; 4th Eocene ' r beneath which, repose the green san.js, 
 which belong to the system known as the cretaceous, or 
 chalk or cretaceous system. 
 
 1. POST PLIOCENES. -Under this head, I include all those 
 beds ranging along the sea margin of the Atlantic slope. 
 They consist of isolated beds of the recent oysters, con- 
 taining, also,, the more common molusca of the coast ; but 
 the most common by far, are the common oyster, (Ostrea 
 edulis,) and common clam, (Venus rnercenaria.) They are 
 known as oyster beds. They are usually regarded as col- 
 lections and accumulations oi shells by the Indian tribes 
 formerly occupying the coast. This view may be sustain- 
 ed in some instances, but it often happens, that the-accu- 
 mulation or beds are too extensive, and contain, withal, a 
 mixture more accordant with that view which ascribes them 
 to the operations of nature which regards them as bds 
 made up of individuals which grew upon the spots where 
 \ve now find them, and which .have suffered a vertical 
 movement which has raised them above the level of ths- 
 ocean. The beds occupy the more eleva f ed points, or the 
 rounded eminences ;. which, while submerged, were the 
 summits of low hills, below the agitations of the waves, 
 It is needless now to dwell upon the characteristics of 
 these beds. They are clearly, and without doubt, to be 
 refered to the Post Pliocene ; and, though they may be 
 regarded as possessing the characters of the present species 
 now occupying the coast, still 5 it is not difficult to n.d in-- 
 
95 
 
 dividuals which are very large among tbe^'common-sized 
 ones; and there are even' beds, all the individuals of which 
 are larger than those now living upon the coast. Near 
 Newbern, beds of very large oysters occur, especially on 
 the plantation of Mr. Pasteur. 
 
 It is highly probable, that different beds were elevated 
 'at different times ; and hence those farther inland, all things 
 being equal, are older than those immediately upo-n the 
 beach. 
 
 61. It may, at first, appear a startling statement, that 
 our coast is subject ta variations of level. Of the truth of 
 this view, however, there can be no doubt; so numerous 
 are the phenomena indicating vertical movements, that it 
 has, at many points, become common belief. 
 
 A subject of so much interest is worthy of tarther con- 
 sideration. I spoke of a vertical movement, as if this com- 
 prehended all the facts of the case. This is not so. The 
 facts go to show that there are oscillations that there 
 have been both upward and downward movements. The 
 upward movement is proved by the existence of raised 
 beaches of sand and shingle, and beds of oysters and clams 
 50 or 75 feet below low water mark. The downward move- * 
 ment is proved by the remains of submerged forests, con- 
 sisting mostly of the stump of the present pine which grows 
 along the coast. This downward movement is far from 
 being confined t-o a few miles of coast ; it affects both 
 Sounds their entire length. The stumps are now to be 
 seen in shore : some at high water mark ; others at low 
 water : and more standing far in, and constantly submerged. 
 So common are these old stumps, that the fishermen are 
 obliged to incur a great expense in clearing off these sub- 
 merged stumps from the bottom of both Sounds as there is. 
 no fishing ground which is free of them. At the present, it 
 is perhaps impossible to determine which way the Sounds are- 
 moving. I am of opinion that there is not a uniformity in 
 
96 
 
 this respect ; that, while parts 41137 be actually sinking, 
 others are rising, or stationary. The street along the wa- 
 ter's edge, in Beaufort, was laid out many years ago, and 
 marked by cannon, set as posts, deeply in the sand. 
 One portion of this street is constantly beneath water now, 
 as if there had been a change of level since the street 
 
 was laid out. 
 
 
 
 62. While upon the subject of change of level of the 
 great Sounds, Albemaile and Pamlico, it will not be foreign 
 to the subject, to notice the change which has taken plac^ 
 in the saltness of the waters of the Sounds. This is not sup- 
 posed to arise from a change of level a subsidence though 
 subsiding is not to be left out of view. It is attributed 
 mainly to the opening of new inlets, by which the ocean's 
 waters have a freer communication with the sounds. The 
 freshness of these waters had become such, that marine 
 shell-fish had died out ; but since the opening of the new 
 inlet, the waters are in the act of being peopled again with 
 marine animals. We cannot but notice, in these facts, what 
 has taken place in other parts of the world, and other times 
 than our own where many alternations of fresh and salt 
 water had occurred, each containing the fossils peculiar to 
 that state. 
 
 63. But to return to the Post Pliocene deposits. I remark, 
 that they do not contain the bones of extinct land quad- 
 rupeds, such as the mastodon, elephant, horse, &c. that 
 is, none have as yet been discovered in them, though 
 sought for. It goes to prove that these quadrupeds had 
 already become extinct, prior to their formation ; or, I may 
 say, the evidence leans strongly that way, when all the 
 facts are told. The coast oyster banks are the latest form- 
 ations the newest : -and probably their elevation or re- 
 clamation from the oceanic waters has been effected in 
 times only just anterior to the historical period. 
 
97 
 
 64. There is what may be called a deposit upon the 
 banks of the Koanoke, which is worthy of notice, for this 
 reason: it marks distinctly the difference of deposits, which 
 have been made in geological time, from those made in ab- 
 solute time. This deposit consists of fresh water shells, and 
 contains along with them the bones oi the turtle, alligator, 
 turkey, dog, deer, and those of man ; together with the rude 
 utensils common to the savage state. It is a bank, one 
 fourth of a mile long, and twelve rods wide, and raised 
 eight feet above the adjacent plain. The part abounding in 
 these remains, is about four feet thick. This notice of a 
 formation is important only as illustrative of the distinction 
 between the ancient beds and the modern, containing the 
 bones of man, together with his implements of war. and his 
 apparatus for cooking. It is characteristic of all deposits, 
 the world over, which contain the remains of man. blended 
 with the remains of animals, all of which are now living; 
 all going to prove that man has not been nn inhabitant of 
 the earth only for a short period; inasmuch, too, as his re- 
 mains are found in none of the formations containing ex- 
 tinct species f either land or marine animals. 
 
 65. The Post Pliocene beds are co-extensive with the 
 Atlantic coast. They are naked beds; or with the slight 
 covering of vegetable mould which rarely exceeds eighteen 
 inches usually less I have seen large trees growing over 
 the beds ; but, in many places, they are naked wastes as 
 at 'Nagshead. These wastes are often exposed to the 
 furious Northeast winds which sweep over the sands and 
 hills, and bear them inland It will be seen, then, that a 
 beach is not wholly raised by vertical movements effected 
 by a subterranean force. Upon the Carolina coast, the 
 breakers carry forward the sand ; and, when they flow up 
 the inclined plane, the sand is spread out with great even- 
 ness, and then left there by the receding or retiring wave. 
 
The wind, when strong, sweeps overt he dry and loose sand, 
 and bears it still farther : when it becomes drifting sand. 
 The coast gains more than it loses; and not only are the 
 sands brought up, but pieces of wrecks of vessels, iron bolti, 
 spikes, etc,; and even silver coins, from the sunken wrecks, 
 are sometimes found. A spear or fishing tackle, which is 
 lost overboard some 20 or 30 rods out, will be sure to be 
 found upon the beach in two or three days. This, perhaps 
 will not happen on all shores ; but those formed and acted 
 upon, like those at Nagshead, favor such a result. 
 
 66. PLIOCENE. Anterior to the post pliocene, the beds 
 which were deposited, whether in small basins, or in the 
 form of irregular belts skirting the seashore, or in caverns, 
 where terrestrial remains of extinct quadrupeds are found, 
 have received the name pliocene. The pliocene admits of 
 a sub-division; and has been designated, according to 
 position : the oldest and inferior, as it contains a larger pro- 
 portion of extinct species than living ones, is called older 
 pliocene : the superior, which contains fewer extinct than 
 living ones, is the newer pliocene. 
 
 Pliocene beds are not unfrequent in North-Carolina ; 
 but the beds which I now regard as pliocene, are not fully 
 determined as such : as the evident intermixture of fossils 
 of pre-existing formations, and the present uncertainty of 
 the species now living upon the coast, renders the appli- 
 cation of the rule of per centage uncertain : And I may 
 go farther, and question whether it is not impracticable to 
 draw lines of demarkation between the pliocene and the 
 miocene strata, lor the same reasons. 
 
 Following, however, the guides which have preceded me, 
 I shall refer certain beds to boih divisions of the tertiary 
 the pliocene and miocene without attempting, however, 
 to show to which division of the pliocene any of the marl 
 beds belong. 
 
99 
 
 67. To the pliocene, I refer certain beds near Newberm 
 -those upon the plantation of Mr. Donnell. To the 
 miocene, I refer the beds upon the Tossnot and Little Coa- 
 tentney Creeks, in the upper part of the valley of the Neuse, 
 and between the Neuse and Tau rivers. 
 
 In the beds upon the Tossnot and Little Contentney, 
 I found the ear bones of whales, (cetacea,) probably true 
 whales, of the family Balcenidoz. and their vertebrae ; and 
 also bones of the mastodon ; and a species of Orbicula, 
 differing from the only recent one I know. Those of Fish- 
 ing Creek, a tributary of the Tau, may, also, be referred, 
 perhaps, to the older pliocene; but not certainly. Those 
 of Fishing Creek contain pectens, which are referred to the 
 miocene by Mr. Coarad. The investigation requires to 
 be continued. 
 
 To the miojene, also, I refer the beds at Rocky Mount, 
 Tauboro', and Goldsboro'. The bones of vertebrated ani- 
 mals are found in all of the beds at the localities, particularly 
 those belonging to the mastodon. We are obliged to refer 
 the mastodon giganticum to the miocene : the tooth, or 
 portion of one I procured at Tossnot is not the tooth of 
 the N. Augustidens : but we have associated, with these 
 bones, the large pectens, P. MADISONIUS, &c. 
 
 The section at Tauboro' exhibits the following strata : 
 
 1. Sand, at the water's edge. 
 
 2. Clay, containing lignite. 
 
 3. The shell marl, with abundance of pectens, 
 
 P. Madisonius, eight feet, contains the 
 fossils ; and three or four feet of clay, 
 without fossils. 
 4. Sand and gravel intermixed. 
 
 The marl contains coprolites. Rocky Mount furnishes 
 a similar section, with similar fossils, resting on granite. 
 
100 
 
 Near Newbern, the beds which have been referred to as 
 pliocene, contain fulgur canaliculatus, and fusus quadricos. 
 tat us, (mioccne fossils,) astarte uatica, fissurella, calyptrea, 
 pectusculus, &c. ; the large beds of the other pectens be- 
 ing absent. The fossils of the Newbern beds, already spo- 
 ken of, on the plajitatior of the Hon. Mr. Donnell, contain a 
 large number of shells which 1 am unable to distinguish 
 from those of the coast. Mr Donnell's beds are white, 
 loose beds with crumbling shells, more or less chalky, in 
 consequence of being above water. The opening is re- 
 cent the bottom had not been reached. A fragment of 
 a bone of the mastodon was found also in this place. 
 
 We can scarcely avoid comparing this marl, with its 
 accompanying fossils, with the crag of Suffolk. The re- 
 markable display of sands, gray, red and brown, embraced in 
 these beds, assimilate the entire formation of ihis age upon 
 our coast to the crags of Suffolk, (England,) and the 
 fohluns of Touraine, in France 
 
 68. The beds of marl, upon the Cape-Fear, at Eliza- 
 beth ; at Walker's Bluff; those of Messrs. Lassai^ne, Cro- 
 marty, and others, have also been reienul to ihe miocene 
 period. At Elizabeth, the strata are various; consisting 
 of sand, clay, with light sandstone, marl, &c. &c., termin- 
 ating with colored sands, as follows : 
 
 1. Sands at the bottom of the cliff; gray and 
 
 thin seams of clay, and some lignite. 
 
 2. Bluish and sandy marl, pyritous. 
 
 3. Thin btds of coprolites, pebbles mixed 
 
 with shells and sand. 
 
 4. Consolidated sand, with fossils, area. 
 
 5. Marl, three or four feet thick. 
 
 6. Ferruginous sand, with diverse stratifi- 
 
 cation. 
 
 7. Blue clay. 
 
101 
 
 8. Surface sands, of various colors, twenty- 
 
 five feet. 
 
 9. Between ihe clay and surface, same red 
 
 conglomerate of Fayetteville. It thins 
 out before it reaches Elizabeth, being the 
 surface sand, which is very thick in the 
 pine forests, and rests upon tno thin stra- 
 tum of blue clay. 
 
 It is probable that the marl rests upon the upper eocene. 
 The changes from the sands below, the rolled pebbles and 
 coprolites at the bottom of the marl, indicate a change, and 
 show the propriety of separating the upper from the lower 
 beds of the blutf or bank. The beds of Elizabeth, Bladen 
 County, abound in teeth of placoid fishes a single tooth 
 of chacharodon mealodon, saurian teeth, and a middle 
 portion of thigh bone of a large saurian But, as the teeth 
 and bones are more abundant among the rounded stone, 
 it looks highly probable that they may have been derived 
 from some older rock. 
 
 $ 69. At Brown's Landing, the b?d of marl in the bank 
 contains fossils of the same kind as at Elizabeth arid Wal- 
 ker's Bluff; and also contains many individuals of the 
 exogyra costala, a fossil regarded as characteristic of the 
 green sand, (cretaceous.) These individuals are in a fine 
 state of preservation some large, and others small but 
 none of them have been rolled on a beach. Both valves 
 are together, and the fossil is in a perfect condition. No 
 belemnite, an almost constant associate, has as yet been 
 lound at this olace. Notwithstanding the presence of ihe 
 exogyra, I am disposed to regard this bed. .as well as those 
 above, as miocene ; on the ground that these beds are de- 
 rived from the green sund. This view is supported by the 
 fact, that one fourth of the bed is made up of the particles 
 of this cretaceous rock. In the same position I place the 
 marl of Mr. McDowell, one mile from Brown's Lauding, 
 
102 
 
 the marl of Miss Andress, where the exogyra abounds, 
 both young and old, associated with an oliva, identical* 
 I believe, with the one living on our coast, near the Fort 
 at Smithville. 
 
 $ 70. Whatever may be the result of inquiries respecting 
 the age of the shell marl deposits, it is plain that the only 
 mode by which satisfactory results can be reached, is, by 
 a copious collection from all the beds ; and, from the coast, 
 ot all living species. This should be undertaken ; tor the 
 questions are involved in obscurity and doubt ; and although 
 this course does not appear to advance the economical 
 objects of the Survey, still, it usually turns out, that what 
 appears, at firsU only a scientific interest, does, in the end, 
 promote, also, the practical application of the facts discov- 
 ered, or already known. 
 
 The majority of the shell marls of North-Carolina are 
 referred to the miocene period, by Professor Mitchell who 
 is sustained by Mr. Conrad, of Philadelphia. Those of this 
 subdivision of the tertiary, which are far inland, as those 
 at Elizabeth, contain very few, if any, of the molusca of 
 the green sand, and, perhaps, very few of the eocene; while 
 farther below, as at Brown's Landing, the lower fossils are 
 very common, and they appear as much at home there as 
 any ef their associates. It is probable, then, that this oc- 
 currence is due to the proximity of the beds to which they 
 belong. It should be observed, that these deposits of shell 
 marl are in banks which does not favor the view gener- 
 ally entertained that they reposed in and upon the strata 
 upon which they lived and died. They seem, rather, to 
 be beds formed by the action of waves, which have piled 
 them together in great disorder though .hey are not 
 water worn 
 
 71 EOCENE The lowest, or oldest bed, which I am 
 able to refer to this formation, consists of pebbles rounded 
 by attrition. They are beds from fifteen to twenty feet 
 
108 
 
 thick ; and, at their western outcrop, form rounded hills, 
 as at and in the vicinity of Carthage, in Moore County. 
 
 Similar beds and eminences traverse the State. In the 
 vallies of the Koanokeand Dan rivers, they extend beyond 
 Leaksville. They overlap the pyrocrystalline rocks, the 
 granites, and gold slates, lying beyond the fossiliferous 
 beds, which succeed them in the ascen< ing order. 
 
 The extension, eastwaidly, towards the coast, cannot 
 be marked or determined very satisfactorily. Thin beds 
 of rounded pebbles are known beneath the fossiliferous beds i 
 but nothing interesting has been elicited concerning them. 
 The pebbles are pure quartz ; derived from the quartz 
 veins of the gold slates. In many places, the pebbles are 
 cemented together by iron ;-*-the coarser and finer sands 
 are also cemented, forming a pudding stone. These 
 cemented masses have taken various imitative forms : as 
 tubes, balls, cups, &c. The quantity of iron investing the 
 clay and sand is sufficiently large to pay for extracting it 
 for working. It olten furnishes good lirnonite. The 
 origin of tie cemented beds must be due to ferruginous 
 springs, which have ceased to flow; but which bring up 
 the carbonated oxyde, and flowing 1 subsequently through 
 and over the beds, have filled the intf rstices with ferrugin- 
 ous matter. This, adhering strongly to the stones and 
 sand, by this means has formed, finally, a pudding stone, 
 by cementation.* The ancient beds, which consist of 
 rounded stones and coarse gravel, with only obscure lines 
 of stratificaiion, are called shingle beds. They mark the 
 beginning of a new order of things ; and, hence, are impor- 
 tant, as a means for defining the boundaries of systems or 
 formations. 
 
 The term pudding stone has long 1 been in use j and I 
 apply the word to cemented masses formed above water; 
 while the term conglomerate is applied to those cemented 
 masses, or cohering peobles, which have been formed be- 
 neath the water. 
 
104 
 
 Thin beds should never be regarded as similar, in their 
 origin, to norther drift, or transported rocks, or transport- 
 ed gravels and sand ; at least, in the mode in which mate- 
 rials, which have the same form, at the North, have been 
 transported. There is not a boulder or a drift bed in 
 North-Carolina. The masses which have been moved in 
 this and other Southern States have been by means of 
 rivers and oceanic waves those means which exist now, 
 and are in operation under our eyes. 
 
 But, to return to the ancient shingle beaches I observe 
 that they form the outer rim of all the ternary deposits a 
 rim which, it is true, may be interrupted in places; but 
 they range in a line, and cross the State to the westward 
 of the first fell of the principal rivers which drain the 
 Atlantic slope. 
 
 72. The beds which succeed the former, are clays 
 and sands of a greenish color, cherty clays and marls, to- 
 gether with interrupted beds of consolidated marl. The 
 latter assumes the condition of a porous rock, sufficiently 
 hard to form a building stone. It is an impure limestone 
 carbonate of lime forms about three-fourths of the rock. 
 Soft marl underlies the rock. 
 
 The tlrckness of all the beds which I now regard as 
 eocine, is not well determined the limestone, or upper 
 part of it, is only five, six. and perhaps ten feet, in some 
 places. At Col. Collier's plantation, near Goldsboro', 't is 
 only five or six feet. The lithologicnl characters vary 
 very much at different points; and sandy beds are replaced 
 by cherty ones, or the cherty clays and liVnestone. 
 
 At Wilmington the rock is extiemely tough and hard 
 though porous It is highly silicious. Beneath this, is a 
 softer portion, made up of carbonate of lime, which is in- 
 termixed with broken and rolled cnprolites; forming a 
 conglomerate. This portion of it is highly valuable as a 
 fertilizer, and has been employed as such by Dr. Togno, 
 
105 
 
 at his vineyard near Wilmington. This gentleman's en- 
 terprise is one of great importance; and the results of his 
 experiments will be, to throw lioht, not only on the marls 
 as fertilizers, but upon the vine and other fruits which will 
 bear cultivation in this State. 
 
 73. At Wilmington, the fossils consist of scutilloe 
 royersi ; one or two species of echinodens ; teeth of the 
 genus charcharodon sulciiens, galeocerda pristodontus* 
 lamna elegans, &c. the latter of whish are by far the most 
 numerous. The teeth of sharks, which are so numerous, 
 and of which I procured many species, lie in greater num. 
 bers at the bottom of the higher and newer deposits. 
 They should be regarded here as characteristic only of 
 the oldest formations in which they are found. Their 
 hardness and form favors very much this removal from the 
 older to the newer rocks, wherever the latter derive a por- 
 tion of their materials from the former. 
 
 74. Some of the eocene, as well as the miocene, beds, 
 contain numerous bones ; these are generally broken 
 even the thickest are broken to pieces, some six or eight 
 inches in length ; thus , the femur of a saurian, one 
 and a half inches in diameter, was broken into three 
 pieces the ribs of a whale into pieces about eight inches 
 long. In these fractures, we observe the spicula of bone, 
 still sharp, and never rounded or worn. These fragments 
 are found embedded with delicate unbroken shells a fact 
 which throws considerable obscurity upon the causes 
 which have broken them ; for it does not appear, irorn 
 any phenomena, that these beds are subjected to a disturb- 
 ance, or to a force, since deposited in the beds in which 
 the' now repose, which could possibly break such strong 
 bones into such short pieces; especially when delicate 
 shells are presented entire. And it does not appear that 
 they have been subjected to attrition, to the action of 
 waves or stones. 
 
106 
 
 75. It has been generally supposed, that the bones of 
 the whale, and mastodon, are found in the superficial cov- 
 erings, in those beds which are of the same age with 
 those at the North. 
 
 Now, the mastodon is found in the fresh water marl of 
 New York, and other localities ; or in beds which repose 
 upon that stratum called drift; and which is entirely 
 wanting here. But, in North Carolina, they are found in 
 the miocene, or older pliocene. The species of mastodon 
 seems to be the one which is found in New York. 
 
 The question comes up, are these Southern beds of the 
 same age with the fresh water marl beds of the North ? 
 
 The latter are regarded as post pliocene. The bones of 
 the horse and deer are also found in the same beds with 
 the mastodon, and belong to the same age. I procured 
 a grinder of the horse, at Greenville, in the sandy strata, 
 just above the miocene marl. All the extinct deer and 
 oxen, in New York, are found, also, in the fresh water 
 marls; associated with the freshwater shells; the species 
 of which are now living in our lakes and ponds ; and 
 yet, the quadrupeds, in both formations one in the South, 
 the other in the North are all entirely extinct. 
 
 If it should turn out, that the mastodon in the North 
 Carolina marls is a species, specifically different from that 
 of the fresh water marls of the North, the case would not 
 involve the question of comparative age of the beds in which 
 they occur. If the species are the same, it is difficult to 
 reconcile the fact with the present views of Geologists upon 
 that subject ; the age of deposits as deduced from their fos- 
 sils. 
 
 76. It is impossible to define at this time, the limits of 
 the eocene beds It is difficult to sub-divide the formation 
 clearly, though it appears, that, it admits of the same di- 
 vision, as in Alabama and Mississippi the cherty portion 
 beneath, and the consolidated marl, or the marl stone above. 
 But this part furnishes very few fossils. There is still a 
 
107 
 
 mass, quite sandy, similar in outward appearance to the 
 green sand, which forms a feature, which should not be 
 overlooked, in making the natural division of the strata* 
 For agricultural purposes, the best beds are the marl stones ; 
 or those immediately beneath, which are sprinkled with 
 fragments of coprolites. When first removed from their 
 beds, they are soft, and easily crushed. When they have 
 been exposed to the atmosphere, and have lost their water, 
 they become hard, and crush with difficulty. They may 
 perhaps answer a good purpose in building and construe, 
 lion. 
 
 THE GREEN SAND AND ITS GEOLOGICAL RE- 
 LATION. 
 
 77. A substance which is well known to every person, 
 in the form and under the name of chalk, is a rock which 
 has given the name to the system, of which the green sand 
 is a member. But the chalk itself does not exist in the 
 United States. And the system, to which the green sand 
 belongs, has its principal representative, in the inferior or 
 oldest deposits. While no true chalk is found in the United 
 States, possessing the characters of the writing chalk of 
 Europe, there are still deposits, which nearly correspond 
 in age, wilh it. This view is supported by the numerous 
 fossils, which certain beds contain, identical with those of 
 the chalk of Europe, 
 
108 
 
 This formation is very extensive in the United States. 
 From New-Jersey, South, to Alabama, it is one of the most 
 continuous deposits. 
 
 In North-Carolina, it is concealed by the soil, except in 
 favored positions. Upon the Cape-Fear, and its tributaries, 
 it is probably better exposed, and more accessible, than at 
 any point, known to me, farther North. 
 
 It consists of a series of beds, mostly sandy, alternating 
 with a few inconsiderable beds of argillaceous sand, colored 
 with chloritine matter. There are beds along the green 
 sandy formation, which are calcareous, and which I now 
 class with the eocene; but which may hereafter furnish 
 facts, which will place those calcareous beds in the creta- 
 ceous system. These calcareous beds, however, are desti- 
 tute of many, if not all, the characteiistic fossils of the 
 green sand, or cretaceous system, unless the single species 
 of ammonite should prove to be one -of them ; though, I 
 believe it will constitute a new species. 
 
 $ 78. The green sand beds are not distinguishable 
 from the eocene, by the presenceof I he green matter, which 
 has given it this name, as it is, also, quite common in the 
 overlying beds. This formation is beneath the shell marl, 
 which contains those large scollops, and generally with 
 beds, which are composed of aggregations of shells, closely 
 resembling those living bordering on the Atlantic. The 
 beds, of green sand may, however, be known by the 
 presence of a cylindrical fossil, of a yellowish color, and 
 which is 3 inches or more in length, and tapering to a con- 
 ical point at one end. When unbroken, it has a conical 
 cavity at the other end. It is called by s >me a thunder 
 bolt. Its name is belemnite It occurs upon the Cape 
 Fear, at Sykes' landing, some distance below Black Rock, 
 and it should be found at the latter place also. Another 
 fossil which is very common is the exogyra costata. It 
 is something like a thick rounded oyster shell. This is 
 abundant at Black Rock. 
 
109 
 
 1 do not attempt, at this time, to speak of the extent or dis- 
 tribution of this lonnition or its thickness. But, I wish it 
 should be known, that it is an important rock; that it is one 
 of the best fertilizers, among the mineral manures. I have 
 spoken of the locality at Black Rock, as easy of access, and 
 probably, other places below may be equally so. It was, 
 in connection with rocks of this size, that beds, rich in 
 phosphate of lirne were discovered in England, only a 
 few years since, which have been a source of immense 
 profit, to the proprietors or owners. 
 
 This formation extends South of Wilmington, more than 
 twenty miles; but, generally, lies concealed beneath a thick 
 coveringfof sand and clay, and vegetable debris At Rocky 
 Hill, it has been known for many years Nine miles from 
 Wilmington, upon the Railroad, the green sand is twenty 
 feet from the surface. Where the strata of green sand are 
 exposed, in a vertical section, the surface is worn into un- 
 dulations ; and exhibits in consequence of the wearing ac- 
 tion of water, which has passed over, rounded ridges, alter- 
 nating regularly, with depressions. Several in succession 
 occur upon Dr. Togno's plantation three miles North of 
 Wilmington. 
 
 As yet, the inferior part of this rock has not been opened 
 in this State. It rests probably upon the granite ; but 
 what composes the lower mass is unknown. It may yet 
 turn out, that the mass of pebbles, which border the series 
 of tertiary, upon the west, pass beneath the green sand, and 
 belong to it, rather than to the eocene, where I have placed 
 it. 
 
110 
 
 CONCLUDING REMARKS UPON THE AGRICUL- 
 TURE OF THE LOWER COUNTIES. 
 
 While a bountiful use ol manures is one of the main 
 instruments of success, in agriculture, there are others, 
 which cannot be left unemployed The remainder may be 
 comprised, under the head of tillage. Proper tillage is 
 necessary, to prepare the way, for the action of manures. 
 When the plow has not broken the turf, or the harrow 
 pulverized and leveled the surface, these fertilizers are 
 left, comparatively, inert. When the land is heavy and 
 impervious, the roots of plants remain unsupplied with 
 nutriment. Where the hoe is neglected, weeds will choke 
 the corn and cotton, and consume the nutriment. Where 
 water stands upon the surface, then, the corn, is dwarfed 
 and yellowed by cold. Tillage, then, consists in the use of 
 the plough, the harrow, the roller, and the hoe, and cultiva- 
 tor. The drain comes in, to complete the work of a per- 
 feet system of tillage. That makes the other modes effec- 
 tual and perfect. I might dwell upon each instrument of 
 tillage, and point out the nature and effect of each oper- 
 ation but I choose, now, to limit my remarks, to ttoe 
 draining of soils. 
 
Ill 
 
 DRAINING. 
 
 The experience of the most intelligent of the agricul- 
 tural profession, in this country, and in Europe, is highly 
 favorable to draining. Supported as this agricultural 
 measure is by expsrience, and sustained by chemical and 
 physical principles, it seems to me, that one word should 
 be said, in recommending the practice, to farmers of North 
 Carolina. I hive no reference here, to the swamp lands 
 of the State, or wet lands generally ; there can be but one 
 opinion, as to the necessity of draining such lands, anywhere. 
 But my remarks are intended for those uplands, and mea- 
 dows, which are always in a condition to be cultivated; 
 those from which the farmer has taken both corn, hay and 
 cotton, and which do not present any very remarkable ne- 
 cessity of the measure to the eye; unless it be a preserva- 
 tion of surface water for many days after a rain or showers. 
 Leaving out of view the sandy lands of the Atlantic slope, 
 it will be found that there is, in all the red soils of the State* 
 a very strong affinity for water ; or, what is bette r ex- 
 pressed when I say, that it holds water too long in the 
 Spring. The effect of this fact is to delay the Spring 
 work ; to postpone the time when it may be plowed and 
 planted. This is an important matter; for I think I shall 
 be, and am, in fact, sustained in the position, that a good 
 harvest is generally dependent upon early planting. It 
 may be called in question in the South, where long seasons 
 are the order of the day ; but, when it is considered that 
 all plants obey the seasons, and acquire habits from the 
 impress of the seasons, the rule will hold good for the South 
 as well as the North : that more may be expected from 
 early, than late planting. The obstacle in the way is Uie 
 condition of the soil ; it is wet, and, therefore, cold. It 
 
112 
 
 is not so much that the genial warmth of the sun is want- 
 ing: but this warmth has to be expended, first, in evapora- 
 ting a superabundance of water, or in drying the surface. 
 Now, if this water, which keeps the surface cold, is allowed 
 to dram through the soil, and to be carried off by drains, 
 the genial warm.h of the sun administers, at once, to the 
 end so much wished, ike immediate warming of the soil. 
 The principle is obvious and well settled. The application 
 which I wish to make, is, to the lands which are regarded 
 as tillable, and capable of producing very good returns ; but, 
 after all, they do not give those returns which the labor 
 expended seems to demand. 
 
 I design, in these remarks, to call the attention of planters 
 to the question of draining, and then leave the matter for 
 their consideration. I state the object to be, to secure an 
 early planting ; though the benefits derived are not confined 
 to that single result. The planter may experiment upon one 
 acre. Drain one acre well ; and then compare the con- 
 dition of the soil of that acre, in April, with an undrained 
 acre adjacent to it. 
 
 When I speak of draining. I have no reference to open 
 ditches ; not that they are without t eir advantages. 
 pen ditches, upon the slopes of many plantations, woul^i 
 be ruinous. I mean, by ditching, a three foot drain laid in 
 tile or stone, and covered. A drain, properly laid, will not 
 wash, or be undermined ; indeed, they will save the sur- 
 face fr>m gullies, and those dead patches, too common in 
 the South. 
 
113 
 
 COAL FIELDS OF NORTH CAROLINA. 
 
 $ 78. Various opinions have been expressed concerning 
 the Coal Fields of this State. Some, whose opinions are 
 entitled to respect, speak unfavorably of their value and 
 importance. Others, on the contrary, entertain a high 
 opinion of their value Parties entertaining these discord- 
 ant opinions have not embraced them without facts which 
 favor their own views, respectively. 
 
 Hence, when it became my duly to enter upon an 
 examination, as the Geologist of the State, from whom it 
 was expected that the questior.s at issue would undergo a 
 careful scrutiny, I determined, therefore, to put those 
 questions to a strict test. It appeared to me that the first 
 point to be established was ; that the series of rocks in which 
 coal was known to exist, actually form, of themselves, such 
 a succession of rocks as to entitle them to the rank of 
 the regular coal-bearing deposits, analogous, at least, to 
 what has been determined in other fields, where coal con- 
 stitutes a part of the series themselves. 
 
 To determine this single point, required a detailed examin- 
 ation of all the members of the group, especially, of those 
 deposited in the immediate proximity of the coal itself. It 
 is, however, never expected that every member of a group 
 will be present in all localities ; or that they will, if present, 
 possess the same characters as to color, thickness, minera* 
 
 8 
 
114 
 
 composition, &c. Still, certain characteristics will be found 
 m common ; and their determination became the first subject 
 for examination. 
 
 In order that my readers may be put in the way of form- 
 ing opinions for themselves, I propose, first, to speak of the 
 common characteristics of a coal field ; what rocks belong to 
 a coal field ; and what position they occupy ; and what 
 fossils they should furnish. 
 
 The coal fields of our own country are made up of the 
 following succession of rocks : 
 
 1. Limestone, called the carboniferous lime- 
 stone ; variable, however, and not always 
 present. 
 
 2. Conglomerates ; made up of rounded peb- 
 bles, interstratified, it may be, with coarse 
 and fine sands. 
 
 3. Sandstone, of various colors and degrees 
 of fineness- 
 
 4. Black slates ; or slates of various colors. 
 
 5. Fire clay and coal. 
 
 6. Argillaceous oxyde and carbonate of iron ; 
 variable in quantity ; generally nodular. 
 
 7. Sandstones, and repetitions of the foregoing 
 rocks. 
 
 The thickness which the series attain is variable ; in 
 some it exceeds 14,000 feet. 
 
 79. The position, in the general series of the coal-bearing 
 rocks, is above what is known as Devonian, and extends 
 upwards to those known as the Oolite recks, including the 
 latter. They occupy a position not far from the middle 
 of the series of sediments, or hydroplastic rocks, the water- 
 formed or water-moulded rocks. There seemed to have 
 been a period fitted to the production of those plants which 
 form the coal itself. 
 
115 
 
 Observation sustains the view now prevalent among Geol- 
 ogists, that this middle period furnishes the best workable 
 beds ; and that, neither below, nor above, though the sedi- 
 ments are very thick, do they, bear coal. This conclusion, 
 I have said, is the result of observation, extended over all the 
 accessible portions of the earth's crust. We do not assign a 
 cause. It is the fact , which is important. Still, the fact, 
 itself, implies that the condition of the atmosphere, its tem- 
 perature and humidity, favored the production of vegetables 
 of those kinds ; and in sufficient abundance to give origin 
 to the coal. t 
 
 More than half a century has elapsed since attentien has 
 been given to the coal-bearing rocks ; and no new country 
 has been visited, but the subject has received attention. The 
 time has passed by when persons who have studied the 
 subject require to be enlightened upon the questions con 
 cerning the coal rocks. 
 
 What I wish to inculcate, is, that the position which these 
 rocks occupy is not theoretical; but has been determined 
 by observations, extended over a large portion of the earth's 
 crust. The Siberian rocks, for example, are found in Ame- 
 rica, England, and Russia ; but they furnish no coal. 
 So it may be said of the Devonian, which is found in these 
 and other countries ; and yet 110 coal is found in this 
 system . 
 
 80. The thickness of all the systems of coal-bearing 
 rocks is great. Room and space are thereby given for con- 
 taining coal ; and time, also, for the growth of the material 
 which is to be converted into coal. The senes.in Pennsyl- 
 vania are several thousand feet thick. 
 
 T : ie Geological position of the coal-bearing rocks of this 
 State is another point which required attention. As it is 
 conceded that they are not. of the age of the Pennsylvania 
 coal rocks, we have to look about for those which we may 
 satisfy ourselves are of the same age as those in this State, 
 
116 
 
 and which have been proved to contain a large supply of 
 coal. We are not left without examples in point, and which 
 establish an important fact, that rocks newer than those 
 referred to are coal-bearing. I allude to those of the Rich- 
 mond coal field ; which have been shown, by Professor 
 William B. Rodgers, to be of the age of the Lias, of an age 
 newer than the rocks of Pennsylvania. 
 
 81. This coal-field, though by no means extensive, 
 when compared with the older, to which allusion has been 
 made, has been productive and profitable ; and furnishes 
 seams which are remarkable for their thickness a seam, for 
 example, which is no less than forty feet thick. 
 
 I do not regard this great thickness as a favorable feature ; 
 but, as an example of the accumulation of vegetable matter, 
 in this period, which proves a geological fact of great conse- 
 quence, the adaptednessof the climate of this period to pro- 
 duce the material which has been changed into coal. 
 
 We have, in the periods prior to the coal of the Upper Appa- 
 lachian rocks, negative proof that the climate was not adapted 
 to such results ; for they contain no coal. But, as we ap- 
 proach the carboniferous system, we see signs of preparation ; 
 plants appear, which were allied to those which characterised 
 the coal period. These increase, till, finally, they reach 
 the maximum,, in point of numbers, in this particular period, 
 when we find all the necessary materials and circumstances 
 for the formation of coal ; and it is not until we reach the 
 rocks called carboniferous, that it is found. 
 
 Which succeed the latter? or which can be proved to 
 heve been deposited duving the subsequent periods? 
 
 Again ; the coal- bearing rocks, as they occupy the same 
 relative position, and the same relations as to time, may be 
 supposed to contain a peculiar class of plants, and of animals. 
 All this is true ; and it is as much expected to find certain 
 plants and animals, in this series, as to find the sandstones 
 
117 
 
 and slates. These facts are well known by miners, who 
 are well informed ; and they avail themselves of the facts 
 to guide their examinations. 
 
 These facts are so constant, that capitalists do not hesitate 
 to invest money where the characteristics of a coal-field have 
 been determined. 
 
 The Appalachian coal-fields, of which the S.ate of Penn- 
 sylvania forms a part, are about nine hundred miles long, 
 and about two hundred miles wide ; and yet, throughout 
 this great extent of territory, the general characteristics are 
 found the same. And the same may be said of the Illinois 
 and Michigan coai-fields. 
 
 82- Now, the application of these facts to the coal-fields 
 of Nor; h Carolina. The members composing the series, in 
 which coal is known to exist, may be arranged as follows : 
 
 1. Conglomerate, made up of rounded pebbles 
 of quartz, and other hard rocks; united and 
 held together, in the condition of a rock. 
 
 2. Sandstones, of different colors, mostly red, 
 of various degrees of fineness. 
 
 3. Slate ; black, and green, and mottled. 
 
 4. Fire-clay and coaL 
 
 5. Argillaceous oxyde and carbonate of iron, 
 in nodules. 
 
 7. A succession of the series ; and finally ter- 
 minating in heavy beds, and olive-colored 
 sandstones. 
 
 In the foregoing series, we find, on comparison, an agree- 
 m nt with those of other coal-fields the conglomerate, the 
 sa Istone, shales, fire-clay, and nodules, of argil laceous-oxyde 
 of i.-on. All of which, when put together, render it probable 
 th; :< the seiie? actually form a coal-field ; or a series, which 
 are truly carboniferous, or coal-bearing rocks. 
 
 
118 
 
 The members, then, which may be regarded as common 
 and, indeed, essential, to a coal bearing series, are present 
 in the North Carolina formation ; but, in order to give just 
 confidence in them, 1 do not deem it necessary to prove that 
 they are of the same age as the Richmond coal-fields. It may 
 be, that the Richmond I eds are not of the age of the lower 
 Oolite it muy be, that they belong to ihe Permian* or 
 New Bed. 
 
 All the fields furnish one or two fossils in common a kind 
 of proof which is of some value, as far as it goes. 
 
 The question which ! attempted to solve, in a way which 
 may be regarded as independent of an actual exploration of 
 the coal-seams, was decided favorably ; all the facts going 
 to prove a distinct coal series ; though not of the age of the 
 Pennsylvaaia coal ; but belonging to one during which coal 
 has been abundantly produced. 
 
 So, when the inquiry is taken up, in dctnil, though still 
 pursuing a mode independent of the facts accompanying the 
 known seams themselves, we shall corne to the same results. 
 The slates, ihe fire-clay, iron, and the fossils, all point to the 
 existence of coal. 
 
 83. Probably more money has been wasted in searching 
 for coal, than any other mineral. It is no uncommon thing 
 for foreign miners, who have just skill enough to take down 
 a breast of ore, to induce the expenditure of capital in sink- 
 ing shafts, in any black slate, without the least regard to the 
 presence of coa' The consequence has been, that all the 
 money expended in the operation has been lost. In New 
 York, it has been one of the most common mining failures. 
 Wherever black slate appears, it is perforated, somewhere, 
 with a shaft in search of coal. All these explorations, in that 
 State, have been in the Siberian system, below the coal- 
 bearing rocks. One of the great benefits of the New York 
 Survey, was, the determination that there was no coaljhere ; 
 
119 
 
 and it has put a stop to the useless expenditure of money in 
 this way. All these mistakes and errois were committed 
 from inattention to the special and general characteristics of 
 a coal-fi< Id. 
 
 GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON THE DEEP RIVER 
 COAL FIELD. 
 
 84. The Deep River coal field is in the form of a trough ! 
 The inferior rocks extend farther than the superioi . They 
 may be regarded as beginning in Granville County, in a 
 wedge- form, or pointed mass. The northwest and wes* 
 outcrop runs, at first, west of south ; and passes through a 
 part of Wake, and sends up a short arm to within three miles 
 of Chapel Hill. 
 
 The direction of the outcrop has gradually changed to 
 south, 50 west. This direction is very nearly preserved to 
 the South Carolina line. The outcrop is about six miles 
 west of Carthage. 
 
 In this coal-field, the uplift has been made upon the north- 
 west side. Its line of demarkation is distinct ; while, upon 
 the southeast side, there is no outcrop. All that is in view, 
 is, the superior rocks, still dipping southwest, their lower 
 edges being concealed beneath a thick mass of soil. 
 
120 
 
 The dip is slightly variable ; being, on the south side of 
 Deep River, south 60 east. North of the river, it is south 
 50 east. At the easterly end, at Farmville, south 10 west. 
 At Hornsville, south 45 west. These last were taken from 
 the coal-slates, where a change has taken place, which is 
 due to the position of the outer and easterly edge of the 
 trough, as it is turning westwardly ; and where the uplifting 
 forces have acted upon the other side, the angle of dip 
 varies from 10, in the upper strata of the sandstone, to 
 25 in the inferior beds ; and may, probably, exceed 30, 
 at some points of the outer edge, near the rocks upon which 
 they repose. 
 
 The lithological characters of the whole system furnish 
 considerable variety. But they may be classed as conglom- 
 erates ; sandstones, soft and hard, grey, red, and variegated, 
 or mottled ; and green and black slates ; with certain subor- 
 dinate beds. 
 
 The coal seams of Deep River may be described, under 
 three grand divisions, proceeding from the inferior, to the 
 superior beds. 
 
 1. Inferior conglomerates, and sandstones. 
 
 below the green and black slates. 
 
 2. Black slates, with their subordinate beds 
 
 and seams. 
 
 3. ^Sandstones, soft and hard, with the free- 
 
 stones, grindstone grits, and superior 
 conglomerates. 
 
 85 The lowest arid oldest, as appears from the fore- 
 going subdivisions, is a conglomerate. It is formed of 
 rounded quartz pebbles, derived from the neighboring rocks, 
 the gold slates; and contains the entire series of minerals, 
 which they contain. The most conspicuous part of the 
 conglomerate is quartz. This minenil is rounded by attri. 
 lion, and occurs in oval masses, rirely spherical, standing out 
 of the rock, in strong relief These pebbles have, in pro- 
 
121 
 
 cess of time, become consolidated, without the aid of any 
 cementing substance, and they are so strongly held together, 
 that in breaking the rock, they are broken through, with- 
 out being broken out, or loosened from their b^-ds. 
 
 The origin of these pebbles is evidently in the slatei, 
 and from the quartz seams in the slates. This rock being 
 schistose, and largely intermixed with talc and mica, and 
 frequently thoroughly impregnated with pyrites, is subject 
 both to disintegration and decomposition. The quartz by 
 these processes is set free, or disengaged from its matrix 
 When exposed to the action of waves upon a beach, it is 
 rounded, and while still in their beds are subjected to pres- 
 sure which results in the formation of this interesting and 
 curious rock. 
 
 86. The conglomerates, in their best and perfect forms, 
 are free from soft interstratified matter, which would dimin- 
 ish their solidity, and hence, the mass is exceedingly well 
 adapted for grinding corn, when properly prepared. The 
 beds are two feet, and sometimes three feet thick. The su- 
 perior are less solid or consolidated ; the lower, in their 
 lithological characters, are the perfect millstone grits of geol- 
 ogists. Between the thick bedded masses, there intervenes 
 thinner and less perfect layers, composed of finer materials. 
 These are perishable, and are unsuited to the purposes to 
 which the harder are applied. 
 
 The colors are gray, brown, and red ; generally, the con- 
 glomerates are gray. They have not furnished fossils, except 
 lignite, which sometimes has been found near these lower 
 masses ; but even this is never found, except in the softer 
 portions. 
 
 The whole thickness of the inferior conglomerates do not 
 probably exceed sixty feet. As a whole, the mass is made up 
 of rounded pubbles in beds of variable thickness, and separ- 
 ated by finer and softer varieties. 
 
 This mass rests immediately upon the stratified pyrocrys- 
 talline rocks, the talcost! slates, hornblende, gneiss with their 
 subordinate beds, and veins of quartz. They rest upon the 
 
122 
 
 edges of the inferior and older rocks which proves, that tho 
 inferior had been elevated more or less, prior to the deposition 
 of this system, and sufficiently to raise up their edges upon 
 which the conglomerates rest. 
 
 87. The sandstones succeed the conglomerates, in the 
 ascending order. They consist of variously colored strata, 
 red, gray, and olive. Their texture is not uniform. Exten- 
 sive beds are made up of the softest of materials, and hence, 
 are constantly undergoing decomposition, and frequently, it 
 is difficult to distinguish the rock from that which has already 
 become soil. 
 
 The description of a seiies of beds will give a better idea 
 of these sandstones, considered as parts of a great formation 
 than I can convey by any other mode. The following sec- 
 tion of the lower sandstone extends North, from Evans' 
 bridge, about three miles, to its junction, \\ith the inferior 
 rocks. 
 
 1. The inferior conglomerate is concealed by 
 
 soil. 
 
 2. Sandstone which may be called a hard free- 
 
 stone, dark brown. Near this mass, and 
 to the North, the gold slates appear, which 
 are in t erst ratified with hard green porphy- 
 ries, alternating with fine lalcose slates. 
 
 3. Thick bedded brown sandstones, but softer 
 
 than the proceeding . 
 
 4. Gray sandstones or freestones, in which 
 
 some beds form the grindstone grit. 
 
 5. Hard red sandstone. 
 
 6. Soft red sandstone, forming a mass, frequent- 
 
 ly called red marl, but improperly. 
 
 7. Gray and olive green sandstones. 
 
 88. The series, then, which succeed the conglomerates 
 are made up, as 1 have already observed, of various strata, 
 some hard, others soft. The predominant color is red, pas- 
 
123 
 
 sing iuto brown. The gray, and (hose tinged slightly brown, 
 are intersi ratified with the former ; but the former are the 
 most common, and are much thicker than the latter. 
 
 89. The slates rest upon the sandstones, I have just des- 
 cribed. These slates are thin bedded strata. They arc 'en- 
 der and easily broken, and fall into angular fragments, but 
 not sufficiently hard to form a flat gravel, and hence, from 
 their composition, they are constantly becoming a soil wher- 
 ever exposed to the weather. 
 
 The beds are quite uniform in their mineral characters, 
 and composition. They are green and black ; rarely red - 
 but, the latter arises from a kind of bleaching, which 
 they have undergone, by exposure to the weather. 
 
 The slate may be described as consisting of 
 
 1. Green slates adjoining the sandstones. 
 
 2. Black, which frequently alternate with the 
 
 green. 
 
 3. Calcareous beds, in which silica predomin- 
 
 ates, or in which silica forms more than, 
 fifty per cent. These divide the slates 
 into two parts or divisions. 
 
 4. Thin beds of impure black limestone. 
 
 The coal, fire clay, and argillaceous iron ore, belong 
 to this division of the formation, and the whole series may be 
 described as consisting of 
 
 1. Slates of various colors. 
 
 2. Coal seams, accompanied with its fire clay, 
 
 argillaceous iron stone. 
 
 3. In proximity to the coal, an impure gray 
 
 magnesia n limestone frequently occcurs, 
 to which succeeds the upper sandstone. 
 
 THE FIRE CLAY is a mass of argillaceous matter ; quite 
 fine, of a greenish color. Near the surface, it is a clay, and 
 easily moulded, or cut into any form ; but at the depth of 
 
124 
 
 twenty-five or thirty feet, it is of! en hard, and more like 
 stone : still, by exposure to the weather, it becomes soft and 
 shows the character of the element of which it is formed. 
 It is often traversed by roots of ancient vegetables, which 
 gave origin to the coal. 
 
 2. IRON. The iron occur in nodules, or concretions, some 
 of which will weigh between three and four hundred pounds. 
 It is the common argillaceous oxyde, mixed with the carbo- 
 nate. It does not, therefore, form a regular stratified mass ; 
 but seems to be a constant associate of the coal-seams. 
 
 3. THE COAL SEAMS. There are fine coal seams ; the 
 order and relation of which to the other beds is illustrated by 
 the following section : 
 
 1. The first indications of the coal seam is by 
 
 the appearance of micaceous sandstone 
 alternating a few times with the slates. 
 
 2. Fire clay. Its greatest thickness is about 
 
 ten feet. A bed of this thickness was 
 perforated by Mr. Campbell, of Moore Co. 
 
 3. Coal seam. 
 
 4. Slaty beds, with argillaceous iron ore. 
 
 It seems to be established by observation, that the fine 
 seams of coal are quite constant. 
 
 If we take an illustration from the Parmville and Horn- 
 ville mines, the following order of deposits will be obser- 
 ved : 
 
 1. Shaly sandstone, with fire clay. 
 
 2. Seam of coal, three feet thick. 
 
 3. Four feet sandstone. 
 
 4. One foot of coal, and fire clay beneath. 
 
 5. Shale. 
 
125 
 
 These lower beds dip southwest, and pass beneath the 
 seams of coal at FarmviiJe, which are upon the adjoining 
 lot: 
 
 6. Coal, three feet thick. 
 
 7. Fifteen feet of slate. 
 
 8. Coal seam two feet. 
 
 9. Slate tea inches. 
 
 10. Coal seam four feet, and fire clay. 
 
 11. Slate of various colors with their fossils. 
 
 90. There seems to be a slight variation in the materials 
 composing the coal slates. Thus ; 
 
 The Taylor mine furnishes the following section : 
 
 1. Slate below-the coal seams. 
 
 2. Coal seam eighteen to thirty inches. 
 
 3. Slate three to five inches. 
 
 4. Coal two and a half to three feet. 
 
 5. Slate ten inches. 
 0. Coal four feet. 
 
 7. Fire clay, apparently succeeded by gray 
 
 sandstone and Slate. 
 
 8. Soil ; the Taylor mine is three miles west of 
 Farmville. 
 
 The eighteen inch coal seam, at the Taylor mine, has 
 been struck ; but not so exposed, as to determine its exact 
 thickness. 
 
 The lower seams at Farmville are found at the Taylor 
 mine, which shows a persistence of these thin seams, which 
 are better known at the extreme eastern outcrop. 
 
 The seams, at the Gulf, are supposed to corres pond very 
 nearly with those already described. 
 
 At Willcox's, still farther to the southwest, the seams are 
 not so easily recognized, as the openings are imperfectly 
 
 
126 
 
 made, and were filled with water, when I visited them. 
 The Wilcox seams, it should be observed, are non- bitumin- 
 ous. 
 
 The Murchison seams, at the outcrop, con-lain more slate ; 
 but the seam is said to be eight or nine feet thick. The 
 lower seams have not been sought for, at this point. 
 
 The fact, that fire ciay overlies the highest coal seam, at 
 the Taylor mine, indicates the existence of another seam 
 above it. And, we may expect, that deeper in the basin or 
 trough, others will be struck. 
 
 Of the number of coal seams, then, the five noticed in the 
 section, embrace all which have been as yet, brought to light. 
 I shall take occasion, to give my views, hereafter, more fully, 
 of the prospects of this coal field. 
 
 91. Slates overlie all the coal seams. Their thickness 
 above them, is about three hundred and fifty feet. The coal 
 strata lie below the midst of Ihe strata beds. The strata 
 above the coal consist of greenish slates, with hard layers 
 occasionally alternating with them. There is, then, taking 
 the slates as a whole, a great sameness in their appearance 
 and composition, and a great degree of uniformity in their 
 thickness, at the different places, where they have been ex- 
 plored. From this fact, it follows, that, they are not to be 
 regarded as subordinate to the sandstone, that they are con- 
 stituent parts of a great formation, which required an exten- 
 ded period, for their deposition. 
 
 1 have spoken of the associated coal strata, as slates ; but, 
 abroad, a formation possessing their characters would be 
 denominated marly of marl slate; and the name is highly 
 proper. When their composition and liability to decomposition 
 is taken into the account, they are similar to marls, having 
 lime as a constituent part of their composition 
 
 In adopting the term, marl slates., we should follow the 
 designation of the English and German authorities ; but, as 
 coal is a constant accompaniment of the slates, it seems as well 
 to call them coal slates. It is an important fact, which 
 
127 
 
 should be remembered, that the coal is associated with these 
 slates ; that, although the sandstones, above and below, are 
 much thicker, and mineralogically, more important, still, 
 they contain no coal ; there is no recurrence of slate beds, 
 which can be regarded as repetitions of the one I have descri- 
 bed. The shaly sandstones, which are mostly red, some- 
 times green, but never black, show very conclusively, that, 
 vegetable matter is only sparingly disseminated through the 
 beds, and that the conditions, required for the growth of coal 
 plants, were not repealed, during the era of these sandstones. 
 This fact is practical, and shows in what part of the system 
 we may expect to find coal. 
 
 92. I have refrained from speaking of certain unimpor- 
 tant beds, which have been regarded by many as coal seams. 
 I allude to lignite which is found in the sandstones, just 
 above the conglomerate. It consists, merely, of trees, of the 
 era of the sandstones which have been converted into coal ; 
 and, in consequence of the great pressure to which they have 
 been subjected, they have been flattened, and made to assume 
 the form of a thin coal seam. 
 
 There is no confidence to be placed in these thin seams 
 either as seams, or as indications of seams. They are not 
 coal blossoms ; nor beds of the least economical importance. 
 They are instructing, as sreolngical facts. They furnish UB 
 examples of plants growing in an interesting period of the 
 earth's history; arid, /is historical data, which record the 
 events which have transpired in former tunes, they are 
 invaluable. 
 
 lam thus particular in speaking, in this place, of these 
 unimportant seams of li^aire, or wood changed into coal, 
 still retaining its structure, for the purpose of saying that 
 they are of no value. 
 
 There is a still -nore important point, in this connection, 
 which should be spoken o f : Ii is, that coal occupies certain 
 positions ; and I would not allude to it again, in this place, 
 were it not that searches and explorations are being made, 
 
 
128 
 
 at the present time, for Coal in Lincoln County , a field, 
 which, of all others in the State, presents the poorest prospect 
 for finding the substance sought. 
 
 The only rocks in which coal will ever be found, in North 
 Carolina, are the sandstones and slate I have been speaking 
 of. The primary slates, though they may be dark colored, 
 and even black, do not derive their color from vegetable 
 matter ; but from fine sulphur, diffused through the rock, and 
 \vhich has been derived from the decomposition of sulphuret 
 of iron. Hence, it may happen, that certain black slates 
 may exhibit a feeble combustion upon the fire, it is no un- 
 common thing. 
 
 The fact should be more generally known in the commu- 
 nity, that coal has been formed, exclusively, from vegetable 
 matter ; and that coal is found subordinate to certain rocks. 
 Any well informed American Geologist, upon hearing a 
 statement respecting the locality of a supposed coal-bed, can 
 decide the question at once j at least, so far as this : the 
 probability of its existence, if the locality is in a district of 
 known coal-bearing rocks ; and the certainty of its non-exist- 
 ence in parts of country underlaid by rock older than the 
 Devonian pystem. 
 
 Lignite beds occur, also, in the tertiary ; and, as it. appears, 
 when dried, like coal, it is not singulai that it should be re- 
 garded as such. My attention has been frequently directed 
 to these beds, on the Cape Fear River, by individuals who 
 regarded them as coal beds of some value. 
 
 The outlines of all the geological system are now toleta- 
 bly well settled, and all that part of the United States, wh; h 
 is underlaid with Primary, Taconic, Siberian or Devon n 
 rocks, are totally destitute of any workable beds of co 1. 
 1 leave out of view, a debateable ground ; that of tl er 
 
 Devonian, as the late Richard C. Taylor favored : v, 
 
 that some of the lowest and oldest coal beds may U- ad 
 in connection with that system. 
 
129 
 
 There ure two modes of misleading men, in this mailer ; 
 the first and most common is by the representation of Comiah 
 and o' her European miners, who are out of woik, or who 
 are totally ignorant of all the essential characters of a coal 
 mine. The second, is from the representations of clairvoiy- 
 ants. To a sensible man, it is scarcely necessary, to guard 
 and caution him, by advice, in regard to the latter. Iu 
 cither case, however, it is proper to ask proof; for it is a 
 matter, which admits of proof, visible proof; at leas', so 
 far as probabilities are concerned. There is evidence, al- 
 ways at hand, for or against. When there is evidence for, 
 it will be proper to investigate its claims, but when there is 
 no evidence, as there can be .one in all the rocks older and 
 beneath the true carboniferous, no ignorant miner nur im- 
 postor, who pretends to look into a stone, should be allowed 
 to swindle us. 
 
 NOTE. It is difficult to determine the number of seams of 
 coal which exist in this system of rocks. The explorations 
 by boring require to be made, on the line of out croprf, before 
 the number can be determined. <|ftve have already been ex- 
 posed. But as the Wilcox veins are nearly south from ^lur- 
 ch ison's, and upon one side of the out crop of the Horlun, 
 Taylor and Farmville, it indicates that there are seams still 
 above those, and near the junction of the slate with the up- 
 per sand stone. The Murchison dips in a direction which 
 will carry it beneath ihe Wilc.x antlnacite seams unless 
 there is an uplift which has brought up the latter from a great 
 depth. At the out crop, the Wilcox is also connected with 
 layers of sand stone and lime siuue, which do not elsewhere 
 appear. From these facts it may be reasonably inferred that 
 the coal seams are more numerous than has usually been 
 supposed, 
 
 9 
 
130 
 
 QUALITY OF THE DEEP RIVER COAL. 
 
 i 93. The two varieties of coal, the bituminous and semi- 
 bituminous, passing into anthracite, are known in this coal- 
 field. The bituminous is scarcely equalled for fineness 
 and excellency, in this country, and it has been said b* a 
 gentleman, who is well acquainted with Liverpool coal, 
 that it will burn twice as long. A direct comparison has 
 not been made, to my knowledge, but that the assertion has 
 much truth in it, 1 have no doubt 
 
 The Deep River coal is, in the first place, quite free from 
 smut; it does not soil the ringers, but in a trifling degree. 
 It butns freely, and forms a cake; or it undergoes a semi- 
 fusion, and agglutinates, and forms a pariially impervious 
 hollow cake, within which combustion goes on for a long 
 time. When a small pile of it is made upon the ground, 
 it may be ignited by a match and a few dry leaves or 
 sticks. It may be ignited in the blaze of a lamp or candle. 
 The coal is, therefore, highly combustible, easily ignited 
 and burns with a bright feme like light wood, for a long 
 time. It may be burnt upon wood fire. It may be burnt 
 in the common fire-place, and it is not a little strange, that 
 gentlemen, who have used it for many years, in a black 
 smith's forge, should not have used it in their parlors, in- 
 stead of green black oak. 
 
 This coal is adapted to all the purposes, for which the 
 bituminous coals are specially employed. Thus, for the 
 manufacture of the carburetted hydrogen, for lighting streets 
 and houses, there i* no coal superior to it. It \\ill require 
 less expense for furrishing it ; because, it contains so little 
 sulphur, from which sulphuretted hydrogen is formed. So, 
 
131 
 
 also, in the grate, it will be far less offensive, for the same 
 reason. But, as it is rich in bitumen, it will furnish a large 
 amount of gas, and that which is, comparatively, pure. 
 This advantage is one of great importance. It should, 
 also, be stated, that it furnishes an excellent cake, which 
 may be used for manufacturing purposes, and as it is left 
 very porous, it is in a condition to absorb a large quantity 
 of the solution of cyanide of potassium ; aad hence, is 
 well adapted to the work of reducing the rnetals. It is 
 scarcely necessary to add, that it is admirably adapted to 
 steamings^ inasmuch as its flame is free and durable. For 
 forge use, it is not surpassed by any coal in market ; and 
 for parlor grates, it is both pleasant, economical, and free 
 from dirt. If a chimney has a poor draft, it is liable to the 
 objection common to all eoals of this kind, the escape 
 of soot into the room. 
 
 The qualities of the Deep River coal are of that char- 
 acter, then, which will give it the highest place in the mar- 
 ket. The localities which have been best explored, and 
 where coa! of adacUeJ character has bc?e;i attained, are at 
 Hornesville and Farmville, both in the same neighborhood. 
 The Taylor mine, the Gulf or Horton, and the Murchison 
 mines, all furnish a bituminous coal, which may vary 
 in some minor points, yet is quite similar as a whole 
 The Horton mine has been used the longest. It was 
 known in the revolution, aud a report made to Congress, 
 respecting it, is still extant. Had the propositions or views 
 been carried out, which were expressed in that report, we 
 can scarcely tell, what the results would have been, not 
 only ujSron the population of Deep River, but ateo, upon 
 the enterprise of the State. Lt must be aoticed. that Deep 
 River is central, and in the interior of a country, abound- 
 ing in iron ; that it is navigable, by aid of certain im- 
 provements ; that it comnamunujates with the ocean, and 
 finds a market abroad, for a surplus of the products of 
 man u fact tires and agriculture ; that a use of the natural 
 advantages, to a partial extent only, makes a ho.?.e market. 
 
132 
 
 But the time had not come, for improving the resources 
 of this district. The* are, therefore, reserved entire for 
 the present, and they cannot be neglected longer, unless 
 a suicidal State policy is pursued. 
 
 But however fine and excellent a coal may be, it is ne- 
 ce.^ary that it should form extensive beds, in order to have 
 a commercial value. 
 
 $ 94 The next question, then, of interest to the com- 
 munity is, (for the community is interested as much as 
 tlh; owners,) will it bear mining. ;md the expenditure of 
 the necessary capital, to take it fo narket. To answer this 
 question, it is necessary to m<ke some calculations, by 
 which v\e may form some ju>t view of its quantity ? In 
 doing this, we may venture tuassiM.e, on a geological basis, 
 that the coal seams, which outcrop from beneath the sami- 
 si< its. xiend beneath tlum, and for what appears to th-j 
 contrary, the slates, with their coal bets, are coextensive 
 with I he under and overly I g MM dMones. his foiniaii< n is 
 known to form a belt of rocks, from 12 to 14 miles wide. 
 The line of outcrops of the slates, upon which coal has 
 been raised, is about 20 miles Bu; the line of o tcrop of 
 the unexplored slate, which embraces the coal, is at least 
 60 miles withio the .State, on a line running south ol west. 
 We mny assume the following data, viz : that the coal beds 
 extend from 'heir northern outcrop, three miles beneath the 
 sandstone ; which is about one third their natural extent ; 
 and that the line of outcrop, upon which coal is, and will 
 be found, is thirty mile*. If the thickest sea. u of co is 
 worked, which has a thickness of 6 feet, exclusive of a 
 thin band of slate, it will give 'for every square yard.of 
 surface, two square yards of coal. A square acre has 
 4.900 superficial yards; hence, there will be 9 : 800 c.qunre 
 yards of co.l. in each an<, and as H square \ r ^rd of coal 
 weighs a ton, there will be for every acre, 9,800 tons of coal. 
 A thousand acres will give ( J,800,000 tons ol coal, or a 
 
133 
 
 square mile, 6,272,000 tons This coal field is known to 
 extend thirty miles, in the direction of outcrop, and to be 
 workable, fora breadth of three miles. We may from this 
 data, calculate how much accessible coal we may expect 
 to find, in this quite limited field If the field covers oniy 
 43 .square miles, tha lowest esti-note to be taken, we may 
 calculate its value, by the following mode : 
 
 If one hundred tons of coil ar- taksn out daily, thirty 
 thousand tons would be remove;! annually, reckoning three 
 hundred working days to the year. I. would, at this rate, 
 require over three hundred years, to remove the coal from 
 a thousand acres, or, over two hundred years, to remove 
 that which underlies a square mile, or, eight thousand six 
 hundred years, to remove the cojl of forty three square 
 miles. If in estimating the value of this coal field, we base 
 our calculations upon time, they should satisfy us; or if we 
 base them upon quantity, they will warrant the investment 
 of capital In these calculations, ve have both time arid 
 quantity, ai d the State, in encouraging improvements i\s 
 well as individual", may look forward with confidence, on 
 the permanency and safety, in investments, in thn ki d ot 
 property. The wants of the world are with the pop- 
 illation indeed, they keep ahead of simple increase of 
 individuals. The quar.tity to be removed annually may ba 
 increased, and leave the time sufficiently long, to satisfy 
 the investment of capital; or the time may be increased, by 
 diminishing the qu mtity, and still the annual profits of the 
 iims!iue:it shoul i satisfy the capitalist. But while popula- 
 tion increases at a rapi I rate, the resources of the forest 
 tor fujl arrt di ni.ii<h ng t a greater ratio, than the simple 
 increis3 of p >,> ilati > i : ill rfore, there is no way in 
 which capital can be so sat" l\ invested, as in c >al lands. 
 
 If the foreg >ing calculations are correct, they justify tlia 
 work which ins b?^n un.lert.-tk;?n (o improve thi naviga- 
 tion of L) ep R vef. It is prud -nee, to be cautions in 
 sciie.nes of this kin:!, but in this case, the amount of pro- 
 
perty beneath the surface or in llie rocks, upon this river, 
 is enormous it should be dug out ; arid what it costs to 
 do this, will be turning materials and labor into money. 
 If the whole enterprize is begun, and carried on in a proper 
 spirit, every nook and corner of the State, from Cnrrituck 
 to Buncombe, will feel an invigorating ii fluence. 
 
 But the calculation, as to the quantity of coal, will pro- 
 bably far exceed, than fall short of the estimates. In the 
 first p^ace only a part of the area is taken into the calcu- 
 lation, and then, in assumirg the thickness f ihe principal 
 beds, as only six feet, it may be regarded as only the mini- 
 mum thickness. It will rather increase than diminish \ 
 this view of the matter is supported by observation. For 
 as the slopes have been carried along the dip, there ha* 
 been a perceptible increase already. It is also to he con- 
 sidered, that at the outerop, when vegetable matter forming 
 the coal is only upon the outer vein, it should be twice that 
 at a distance from the outcrop; for we may suppose, that, 
 in. the middle only, of a coal basin, do we obtain the max- 
 imum thickness. Thus, one of the coal seams in the Rich- 
 mond basin is forty feet thick. The Deep River beds, not 
 having been broken up, or not having suffered an urtift 
 through the middle of its trough or basin, exhibits nowhere 
 near the surface, an outcrop of coat, except vpon the rim, 
 or outer edge of the basin. As we penetrate into it. we 
 h;ive grounds which justify the view, that the seams will 
 increase steadily in thickness, as the slope penetrates into* 
 the basin, towards the centre and then the se <ms, which 
 row appear only upon the outer rim, will thick n and per- 
 haps unite and Conn one di.stir:ct heavy seam towards the 
 middle of the basin or trough. 
 
 The foregoing views <is to quantity are founded upon 
 data di-rived from observation, the phenomena oi c< al 
 fields, and theory, \\h>h is well sustained, respecting the 
 manner hi which successive seams of coal have been form- 
 ed. 
 
135 
 
 The calculations as to the quantity of coal in the Deep Hi- 
 coal field are hased upon what is known, and without ref- 
 erence to what we may possibly find by exploration here- 
 after. These calculations must be regarded as satisfactory, 
 and such as will jusiify the hopes and expectations of the 
 owners, and those who are interested in the improvements 
 of the day. 
 
 THE SAi\ 7 DSTONES ABOVE THE SLATES. 
 
 The unper division of this system of rocks is made up 
 of a series of sandstones, which differ only slightly from 
 those below. They are hard and red, brown and motrlejd, 
 or variegated rocks, which are frequently separated from 
 each other by soft greenish clays. There are to be repeti- 
 tions of the inferior members, so fur as this composition 
 and origin is concerned. Among the different reri and 
 brown strata, it is very common to find those which con- 
 tain many small irregular cavities. Probably these civi- 
 ties contained imperfect crystals of salt, or other soluble sub- 
 stance, which has b'en removed !>\ solution. 
 
 These sandstones, like the inferior, are destitute of fnssi!s y 
 excepting a few obscure vegetable casts, which are indeter- 
 minable. Near and just above the coal slates, a stratum 
 of impure limestone is filled with the posidonia mimita 
 which disappears with the commencement of the red rocks. 
 
 Among the softer la.ers oxyde of iron o. curs in small 
 nodules. It is not in sufficient quantities to be of much ac- 
 count. It has been employed in dying woollens, and 
 hence has received the name of dye stone. 
 
136 
 
 But, 10 much of the upper sandstones are concealed by 
 soil, that even plaster might be hid within the strata. 
 
 AGRICULTURAL CHARACTERS OF THE UPPER 
 AND LOWER SANDSTONES. 
 
 95. The softer strata disintegrate, anr pass into the 
 condition of soil. These soils are always red. but the red 
 inclii.es more to a brown than the soils, which are formed 
 from the gold slates, which, from the presence of sulphuret 
 of iron, become red also. The sandstone soil is derived 
 mainly from the argilh ceous parts of the formation, and 
 hence it bears the characters ot an argillaceous soil, a de- 
 gree of stifft.ess which suits the cotton and wheat plant. 
 Its stiffness and comparative impermeability give it re- 
 tentivem-ss : but it also holds too much water, and especial- 
 ly where the land is flat, it is far too compact to admit of 
 high cultivation without the aid of draining. The ele- 
 ments of the soil are adapted to the highest and best culti- 
 vation But as the surface water is compelled to flow 
 over the surface, and into channels cf it* own forming.it 
 is very liable in the end to score the soil deeply with gorges, 
 and ravines, and thereby injure very much the plantation. 
 These red soils, also, when cultivated to exhaustion, or even 
 before they bec< me bare, render it extrerr.ely difficult In res- 
 tore to the surface its lost vegetation. 'I he only mode in 
 which it can be effected, is to cover and protect those 
 places with straw or brush. The heat ot the sun shoul I be 
 so lie tied, and the surface protected from washing anew by 
 rains. Bv ptM severing in this way, these ill looking and 
 barren spots may be removed from a plantation. 
 
137 
 
 THICKNESS OF THE FORMATION. 
 
 96 It is difficult to obtain the data by which the 
 thickness ot this formation can be determined. It is con-' 
 cealed by its own debris so generally, that it is only from 
 the subordinate parts that its thickness can be inferred 
 Taking the subordinate beds, dip and width all into the ac- 
 count, the whole thickness ol the formation cannot be I ss 
 than five thousand feet. The interior mass, or that bel"W 
 the slate, is about fifteen hundred, the slate five hundred, 
 and perhaps six hundred, and the superior division three 
 thousand. This last estimate is below the mark rather 
 than ab^ve it. In forming an estimate of the thickness 
 of this formation. I have been careful to guard agains 1 de- 
 ception which often arises from a repetition of strain in 
 consequence .of a sue 'ession of uplifts. In this formation 
 the danger may be greater than in many others, as the stra- 
 ta are concealed by soil. But the indications upon the sur- 
 face go to prove that the strata have been disturbed only 
 at one period. A single trap dyke traverses the entire for- 
 mation from the South-west towards the North-east. This 
 trap appears at numerous points along: the line, as at 'he 
 Gulf. m;d Evans' mill, crossing the river twice, and f< r us 
 at ach place a considerable ledge of rocks The falls :e 
 du", Mm fore, to the trap dyke. At another plnce near Ktr- 
 ai s' mills, in the road by Mrs. Uoberts,' the dip of ihe s:r ta 
 is it-versed lor a short distance. But this is only l<~c; I, id 
 does not affect the great mass of strata of which the forma- 
 tion is composed. South ol the river, they preset ven great 
 uniWmity of dip, as to direction, and amount, and no , rt 
 has come to light, which indicates an instance of repetition* 
 
138 
 
 97. Having briefly noticed nnd described the three 
 m mbers, composing this formation, a few remarks upon 
 the origin of the materials will be in place. 
 
 The materials, conside d in their mineralogicTl charac- 
 ters, were derived fpim two distinct sources : the common 
 sou ce was undoubtedly the slaie of the gold series. Of 
 the correctness of this view, there can be no doubt, as 
 they even contain a mail quantity of gold, and the quartz 
 retains the peculiar characteristic of that of the slates ; 
 it is best f-en in the conglomerates, where the masses of 
 quartz are larger than in sandstone. The color of the 
 sandstones is due to the presence of oxyde of iron. The 
 iron came from the same source as the sandstones. These 
 slates are highly charged with pyrites, which have been 
 thoroughly decomposed; the sulphur dissipated, or probably 
 it has formed rew combinations. The oxyde of iron, being 
 insoluble, has remained with the particles composing the 
 rocks ; and it has formed, of itself, no combination with 
 other bodies, unless it is wnh carbonic acid. The iron 
 forms a superficial coa ng upon the angular grains of 
 sands, an<J niay be removed by washing, when it leaves 
 a perfectly pure white sand. In the other case, it is inter- 
 mixed with clay and a smailt-r proportion of fine sand, and 
 forms the softer beds, whioh are sometimes called red marls. 
 It seems, therefor*., that the materials of this group of rocks 
 were brought from the northwest side of it, or from that por- 
 tion of t? e gold rocks which lie in that direction. As, 
 however, the area of deposit must have been basin shaped, 
 or trough shaped, he materials must have been derived, 
 also from all sides o( it; but our examinations are facili- 
 ta:ed upon the nor th west side by a vertical movement; 
 her*ce. we are able to test the truth of ihese views, rather 
 upon that side, than upon the southeast. 
 
 98. It is more difficult to determine the origin of the 
 materials composing the coal slates. These contain lime, 
 but no sand, except in combination with alumina. The 
 
139 
 
 slates, therefore, differ so much from the sandstones, that 
 there can be no doubt, that the origin and source, fiom 
 whence they were derived, was different also They indi- 
 cate a total change in the direction in which the sediment 
 came, nnd as there is no formation to the northwest, cr 
 southwest, to which their oiigin can be attributed. lam 
 inclined to regard the source as concealed by the present 
 ocean. 
 
 The sandstones in the United States, of the ages closely 
 approximating to those under consideration, were deposited 
 in shallow water. The ripple marks, the loo! prints, which 
 have been preserved, are regarded as proofs of this position. 
 Taking the same ground and kind of evidence, I have not yet 
 been able to furnish the same ground of proof for their deposi- 
 tion in sh illow water. I have not yet discovered footprints, or 
 ripple marks, and the only fact, which goes to support the 
 vi%w entertained, of the depth of wate,, in which the strata 
 were deposited, is. a single layer, which had cracked in dry- 
 ing. These cracks were subsequently filled with sediment. 
 Still, but few opportunities for a disclosure of the inte- 
 rior of these deposits have been furnished. The blocks 
 of sandstone, which have been employed jn building, 
 have been procured from the surface, and which were 
 already loosened from their beds; besides this, the strata 
 have not been laid oare by an inundation. The means, there- 
 fore, for obtaining a series ot facts, bearing upon the.-e 
 questions , are insufficient. They throw but little light 
 upon them, and we must, therefore, wait until railroads 
 and internal improvements have laid open the series to in- 
 spection. 
 
 The evidence, as it now stands, favors the view, that 
 these rocks were deposited in deep water; the absence of 
 all tipple marks, the great thickness of the deposits, and 
 thickness of the deeper layers, indicate for the sandstones 
 dtep oceanic deposits. 
 
140 
 
 AGE AND EQUIVALENCY OF THE FORMATION. 
 
 $ 99. The age of a rock, or of a formation, is determined 
 without difficulty, provided it contains fossils ; especially 
 those belonging to the molusca; or, if its relations to 
 other systems can be seen ; whether those systems are 
 above or below. But the sandstones and coal -stones rest 
 upon a series ot gold-bearing: rocks, whose age dates buck 
 farther than any fossiliferous rocks ; hence they cannot 
 be employed for comparison. The only rocks which rest 
 upon them are the sands of the tertiary. We have no 
 way boards by which their relations to other formations 
 can be determined, excepting those of the most general 
 character. 
 
 The fossils are exceedingly scarce; and their spe3 : es 
 few in number, and not very distinctive. They are confined 
 to one species of molusca: a small posidoma or cypris ; 
 which is regarded as a crustacean, and which is only the 
 size of a grass-seed ; the teeth of two or three si>uri:ms 
 and the scales and teeth of one or two fish. The p'-*i- 
 doniu does not differ from the posidoma of the Richmond 
 beds, except in size : it is smaller, and resembles the 
 P. minutice of Gold fuss. 
 
 This iossil is remarkable for its numbers ; every layer 
 in portions ol ;he slate is crowded with them, and t y 
 range from the top to the bottom. It is usually one-eighth 
 of an inch in diameter ; The largest rar.ly ever exceed one- 
 quarter. It is always fl it, in the slates, from pressure, and 
 always round and plump in the thin beds of impure lime- 
 stone. The cypris, or it may be a cytherin >, is ohnut 
 one line in lengih and pointed at both ends, and sun- '\. 
 li re>etnbK j s a hny -e d ; and so numerous is this 
 minute fossil, that thick layers are made up nlmosi \- 
 tirely of it. It is scarcely possible to touch a point with a 
 pin. and not mutilate one. 
 
141 
 
 The presence of the cypris indicates that the slates are 
 a fiesh water formation they go to prove that a remark- 
 able change tuok pi ace alter the lower sandstones were 
 deposited that the ocean, in which the sandstones were 
 formed, was removed a.d the basin, to which sediment 
 hai been brought from a distant quarter, ceased to be 
 brought to it as formerly, and from the same as they had 
 been ; ari'' f in fine, thai what had been sea became a fresh 
 water lake. It was not until this change from red sandy 
 sediments to.>k | lace, that the fossils peopling the waters 
 appeared ; and then ihey were confined to a very limited 
 number of specks 
 
 Jf, however, this small tossil is a cytherina, the change 
 which it is suppose,! may have occuned at the close of the 
 oceanic sandstones, \yas only in the direction of the sedi- 
 ments ; a change which appears to have been sudden for 
 the sandstones scarcely alterr.ate with the lower slates. 
 They begin, as it were, at once ; but the basin or trougL 
 w;ts stili ocear.ic. 
 
 Ut saurian remains, in the formation, 1 can speak only 
 of two species in the sandstones: one below the slates, 
 ai.d of the crocodilian type; and one above, with long 
 curved teetii. And, probably, three species in the slaie 
 the teeth of one aie long, slcndtr, an J curve four inches; 
 the teeth ot another, ol a medium length, and only slightly 
 flatici ed, and very finely serrated on one edge ; the teeth 
 of she other, Distinctly serrated on both edges, and agrees 
 with figuies of the tkecodontu saurus of Owen. 
 
 The latter p<-i.iLs to the Permitn age ; and Sir Charles 
 Lyeil has observed, that tins saurian was regarded as the 
 oidcst animal known of that type; and, irom its pre- 
 sei ce in th-j older deposits, Mr. CKveii has shown that it 
 militates ag iit.si the doctrines of Hie Author of the Y'esti- 
 g > ol Creation. It ranks v\ith the highest animals of that 
 t \ pe ; proving that rank is not determined by the periods 
 in which animals have lived. The most remarkable saurian, 
 
142 
 
 if saurian it is, is the species furnished with the long slen- 
 der teeth, of which I have seen no figures resembling them 
 in form or length. Tfcey are slightly flattened, giving an 
 oval in a transverse section ; but their sides are not armed 
 with serratures. 
 
 The bones in the rocks above the coal, are black. The 
 sandstone had become concretionary, and exfoliated in 
 their coats, like those of an onion; and hence, it was im- 
 possible, to obtain them in a good condition ; besides, the 
 rock had, also, become exceeding hard and tough. 
 
 The iossils, being in my opinion, new. throw no positive 
 light upon the age of the rocks, in which they occur. 
 
 The fish scales are quite small and smooth. Their form 
 is rhomboidul, some acute, others obtuse. The teeth are 
 small, slender and pointed, and seem to fork slightly, at 
 their roots. Another fossil, which might be mistaken for 
 a vegetable, is, undoubtedly, an appendage to a fish. 
 
 The vegetables are few in number, and differ from those 
 of the coal rocks of Pennsylvania, or the flora of the car- 
 boniferous system. An IJquiselites, differing from E Corn- 
 munis, is the only one of this genus 1 have seen. A lyco- 
 podites, and other allied forms, are all I have yet found, ex- 
 cept a naked aud rather spinous vegetable, which is unknown 
 in the carboniferous rocks. It is a cellular crytognmwus 
 plant. This is very common and abundant at Madison, 
 aud one or two layers of sJate are covered with it at 
 Evans' Mills. 
 
 The roots of vegetables, in the fire clay, are thin, nar- 
 row, ribbon-like tissues ; and have tost their vegetable 
 structure*. Their thinness and compressibility show, how- 
 ever, that the roots were spongy, of a loose texture, and 
 were aquatic. 
 
 The meagre list of plants and animals, then, deposited in 
 the slates furnish only grounds for conjecture, to what 
 age the formation belongs. My opinion* derived from all 
 the facts and circumstances known to me, inclines me to 
 
143 
 
 adopt the belief, that it is the upper new red sandsstone 
 Still, if the Richmond coal basin is of the same age, as the 
 eoal rocks of North Carolina, Geologists will be disposed 
 to place the series along with the Oolites or Lias, a ' > 
 Wm B. Rodgers and Sir Ch. Lyell have done on the 
 ground, that the fossils are, in part, identical in species 
 with those of Whitby, in Ksigland, where those rocks are 
 well developed. Mr Lyell observes, that the sandstones 
 containing fish, of the Connecticut river, are of an older 
 date than the strata containing coal near Richmond. The 
 higher antiquity of the Connecticut beds cannot be proved 
 by direct supposition ; but the fact is presumed from the 
 structure of the country. That structure proves them to 
 be newer than ihe movements .o which the Alleghany 
 chain owes its movements or flexures; and this chain in- 
 cludes the ancient coal formations among its contorted rocks, 
 The uriconfonitalve position of this new red with the pri- 
 mary is often seen. He regards the sandstones of the 
 Connecticut valley as triassic ; but. to what portion of 
 the triassic;, which division, whether upper or lower, is 
 not determined 
 
 In Europe, the triassic is rich in fossils ; and different 
 parts oi the series are so well characterised by fossils, that 
 the determinations are not difficult. But here, in this 
 country, the Connecticut valley, the New Jersey beds, tlie 
 sandstones of the Potomac, and Fredericksburg, and North 
 Carolina, ate illobscire. from their relations, and from the 
 absence of characteristic fossils. 
 
144 
 
 THE DAN RIVER COAL FIELD. 
 
 100. In Rockingham and Stokes Counties, a series of 
 rocks have been known for a quarter of a century, as coal- 
 bearing. These rocks are similar to those of Deep River, 
 and consist of the same members. They lie in the 
 sa:ne order, and have the same relations to each other, as 
 ti,'>se ol'Cnalham and Mnre, <>r Deep liiver. 
 
 While theie can he no doubt respecting the age and re- 
 lations of the entire series, compared wish tliose of Deep 
 River, still I have observed a fe\v peculiarities worthy ol 
 Donee. 
 
 The. Dan river coal deposits may be divided, for the 
 convenience of description, into five parts: 
 
 1. Imperfect conglomerates and breccias. 
 
 2. Lower sandstones, including the soft and 
 hard. 
 
 3. Coal slates, with their subordinate de- 
 
 4. Uuper sandstones; including the soft and 
 hard kn;ds. 
 
 5. Conglomerates ; cr brecciated conglom- 
 erates. 
 
 The several parts, constituting a complete and perfect 
 system, occupy a synclinal trough, and lie in the primary 
 or stratified pyro crystalline tocks. Its direction is r.orih. 
 east, and southwest. The axis may be defined by uniting 
 Leak*?! He and Germanton by a line. This line will repre- 
 sent the direction of the coal slates 
 
145 
 
 The general dip of the system is to the northwest ; the 
 
 angle of dip lies within 15 and 40. The dip is usually 
 above 20. In North Carolina, the rocks extend 40 
 miles. The breadth is between four and seven miles. The 
 system extends into Virginia on the north ; but how far,! 
 am uninformed. 
 
 This field, it will be observed, covers a smaller area than 
 Deep River. It is similar, in some respects, to the Rich- 
 mond coal fields, but is disconnected by the intervening 
 primary rocks. 
 
 If we consult a map of the United States, and mark 
 upon the map the position of the coal- field to which refer- 
 ence has been made, we cannot fail to notice the singular 
 fact, that there are three small troughs, formed in synclinal 
 dips of the primary slates^ and all lying with their axes di- 
 rected to the southwest, or nearly parallel to the present 
 Atlantic coast. 
 
 These troughs are now disconnected, and an examination 
 of the series, their outcrops, &c. go to show that each was 
 formed in a trough by itself, and totally disconnected with 
 each other. Each was formed in the bosom of its own sea, 
 and each remarkably deep.. The area? upon which these 
 rocks were deposited, have never suffered from denudation, or 
 from great fracture ; but are traversed by moderately sized 
 trap dykes- The Richmond coal beds have been disturbed 
 more than those of Dan River, and the Dan River lie in- 
 clined at a greater angle than Deep River, 
 
 When oui examination is extended to the Hudson and 
 Connecticut Rivers, similar rocks are found. The sandstone 
 is accompanied with conglomerates and slates. The latter, 
 however, are hard, and retain the impression of (he fish and 
 fossils better: than those of the Dan or Deep River. All 
 these beds of sandstone lie parallel to each other. They are 
 comparatively long, but the breadth is inconsiderable. That 
 these several isolated series represent one period,, is highly 
 probable, though not geologically proved. 
 
 1Q 
 
146 
 
 Four of these isolated troughs are characterised bv out- 
 bursts of the pyroplastic rocks, or igneous. The Trap or 
 Palisades of the Hudson ; the vast fields and mountains of 
 trap in the Connecticut Valley, extending more than a hun- 
 dred and fifty miles ; and the heavy trap dykes of Deep 
 River, and the minor trap dykes of the Dim, belong to one 
 era. They all cut throng 1 ! the sandstone and slates, and 
 send lateral blanches of th'e once molten mass both between 
 and upon the layers, baking and hardening those which are 
 in contact or in proximity with them. 
 
 Geologists are now very much inclined to adopt, the view- 
 that outbursts of igneous matter, though ui distant points, but 
 found upon and through the same formation, happen at one 
 and the same period. 
 
 Proceeding still farther North, our attention will be arrested 
 again by a still more extensive outburst of trap in Nova 
 Scotia. It is not satisfactorily determined whether I he traps 
 of Nova Scotia are connected with the new red sandstones. 
 Still, it seems to have happened at a period subsequent to the 
 carboniferous ; and the trap lies upon, and has intruded 
 itself into, a rock, whose mineral characters are similar to 
 those of New Jersey, Deep River and Connecticut. 
 
 But the foregoing remarks may be regarded as digressions. 
 My object in these remarks is, to identify age by means of 
 phenomena, and show that, when rocks possess characters in. 
 common, and where certain phenomena are of the same kind, 
 and are observed to be common to them also, it is an indica- 
 tion that the rocks belong to the same period. 
 
 It is remarkable, too, that all these troughs of red sandstone 
 repose directly upon the primary rooks. The junction of 
 sandstone with primary is very distinct at Blomidon, Nova 
 Scotia, in the Connecticut Valley, in the Hudson River 
 Valley, in the Richmond basin, the Dan River, and the 
 Deep River. The most Southern troughs of red sandstone 
 are the least disturbed, and the smallest quantity of trap ha 
 been ejected. In Nova Scotia it has reached its maximum. 
 The whole outburst has extended through twenty degrees of 
 latitude. 
 
147 
 
 Whether the foregoing facts do really prove that the 
 rystetns are one in age, and belong to the same period or not,, 
 may still require proof. The facts themselves are interesting. 
 We may require many additional particulars to enable us to 
 interpret phenomena aright, and assign to those sandstones 
 and sl.xtes their true age. 
 
 101. The lowest mass upon the Dan River, which 
 belongs to the sandstone series, is a conglomerate, quite im- 
 perfect, at least, where it has fallen under my observation. 
 At Leaksville, i have not seen the lower conglomerates ; but 
 at Germanton, an imperfect mass, occupying the lowest place 
 in the series, is formed of angular pins of granite, mixed with 
 a gray and reddish sediment, in very unequal propor- 
 tions. Its appearance might easily deceive an inattentive 
 observer. It has an exceeding close resemblance to some 
 varieties of granite. After a close inspection of many large rocks 
 lying near the small creek at this place, rounded pebbles 
 were found ; and, by still farther search, roots of trees in 
 beds of lignite were found, also branching into the rock. 
 This represents the fine beds of millstone on the Deep River. 
 The mass is thin, and of little importance. 
 
 Immediately above this bed of brecciated conglomerate, 
 there is one of the finest exhibitions of an ancient forest in 
 this country. It consists partly of roots of trees changed into 
 lignite, arid partly of perfectly silicified trunks of trees, exceed- 
 ing two feet in diameter. The soil in which the majority of 
 these trees grew, is still concealed. Segments of their trunks 
 stand out of the soft rock, inclining at an angle to the horizon, 
 but lean in a direciion contrary to the dip of the vock. A 
 road cuts through the strata in which the forest grew. All 
 that remains of it are the trunks ; it was impossible to find a 
 leaf or stem of herbage or fruit. The softer and more per- 
 ishable parts and organs are destroyed by unknown agencies. 
 Perhaps some fortunate blow of the hammer may bring to 
 light the leaves and fruit. The structure of these trunks 
 prove them to belong to the natural family of conifers, or 
 the family to which the pi nes, spruces and hemlocks belong 
 
148 
 
 The frees extend for half a mile or more, and no one, on 
 seeing the number, can doubt that here grew a forest when 
 the rocks were forming. Similar trunks have been found at 
 Madison, and pieces of trunks occur upon Deep River, near 
 Evans' bridge, and another forest of the same character 
 upon Drowning Creek, in Richmond County. They occu- 
 py the sa*me position in the series. These trunks are geolo- 
 gically important, and may be employed to assist m identify- 
 ing the system with any other at a distance. Numerous 
 fragments of trunks, also, occur in all the subsequent forma- 
 tions, especially with tertiaries, and in the superficial cutting 
 for rail-ways. I was at a loss to account for their occurrence 
 in positions where agencies could not be supposed to exist, 
 competent to silicify wood. I have been satisfied that most 
 of the scattered trunks were derived from the red sandstone 
 formation. They have been transported by rivers, and by 
 various agencies, which have also carried the slate rocks, and 
 deposited them in the green sand, and the various subsequent 
 beds of the tertiary. Their direction of transport is east- 
 wardly. 
 
 102. In connection with the strata I have described, (the 
 breeciated conglomerate,) there occurs no clay or argillaceous 
 formation, which has a perfect concretionary structure. Large 
 concentric circles are formed ; some of which are two feet in 
 diameter. This part of the rock is extremely soft, and is 
 nothing more, nor less, than clay of a light green color. It 
 is rare to find a series of perfect concentric circles, and ter- 
 minating in a nucleus of the size of a two shilling piece, as at 
 this place. They are due to molicular movements^ which 
 have taken place, subsequent to the time of deposition. We 
 are obliged, from phenomena of this kind, to reckon mo- 
 licular force, as one of the silent geological forces, which 
 have been instrumental in effecting important changes in the 
 earth's crust. 
 
 103. These argillaceous beds lie beneath the common 
 sandstones of the formation, which consist of variegated and 
 
149 
 
 gray masses of rock. They terminate with the coal shales. 
 At Leaksvil'e, a hard silicious slate intervenes between the 
 lower beds of sandstone and the slates. It is bluish and 
 flinty, approaching, however, a sandstone in its composition. 
 His at least two hundred feet thick. It also contains a few 
 layers, which externally resemble a mixture of carbonate 
 oxyde of iron. It was in one of these layers, I discovered 
 the fragments of the skeleton of a saurian. 
 
 The middle part of this formation of sandstone is occu- 
 pied with a soft marly slate the coal slate of the system. 
 It differs in no respect, from that of Deep River, bearing the 
 same fossils, the posidonia and cypris, in equal abundance, 
 through all the strata, of which il is cpmposed. 
 
 The coal beds of Leakiville lie in these slates ; the beds 
 in which the coal seams are exposed are two miles from the 
 village, on ihe plantation of Mr. Wade. 
 
 The coal appears in a long ridge, rising about sixty feet 
 above the meadow, which lies in the bend of the Dan, at 
 this place. The following section is partially exposed at 
 Wade's coal mine 
 
 1. Shale below the coal seams. 
 
 2. Shaly micaceous sandstones, two feet. 
 
 3. Shaly coal at the outcrop, eighteen inches 
 
 to two feet. 
 
 4. Micaceous shale, two feet. 
 
 5. Coal, two to three feet. 
 5. Shale, 110 feet. 
 
 7. Seams of a hard blue magnesian limestone, 
 
 intermixed with silex, four to six feet. 
 
 8. Soft, green, bluish and black shales, filled 
 
 with posidonia, sixty feet. 
 
 The shales still continue covered with soil ; the thickness 
 of the shales is not less than five hundred feet. 
 
 The hard calcareous layers are separated by slate at the 
 surface. 
 
150 
 
 The calcareous layers lie above the coal seams, and as 
 they extend nenrly if not entirely through the formation, 
 they may be observed as way boards in searching for coal. 
 The same layers appear in Madison, and contain abundance 
 of septaria of the size of a goose egg. 
 
 Dip of the co.il slates at the coal mine : N. 35 W.; anglo 
 of dip 25; strike S. 80 VV. It is not improbable, that thb 
 angle of dip will diminish as the seam is penetrated. 
 
 104. The section of rocks lying between Eagle Bridge 
 and Gov. Morehead's factory, is exhibited in the following 
 section ; though, it should be observed, that the rocks ay* 
 concealed, at some points, between the bridge and factory. 
 
 1. Sandstones and conglomerates, concealed at 
 
 the bridge 
 
 2. Flinty black slates, two hundred feet, with 
 
 saurian remains. 
 
 3. Coal slates, consisting of the usual green and 
 
 black slates, with the posidoniaand cypris, 
 and a few obscure species of plants, (Ly- 
 copcdiacaCj) fifty to six hundred feet. 
 
 4. Red and gray sandstones. 
 
 5. Conglomerates. 
 
 6. Shaly and green variegated sandstone. 
 
 7. Conglomerates, at least five hundred feet. 
 
 These conglomerates are hard, and contain many angular 
 fragments, or those which are but slightly rounded; and some 
 of these fragments are quite similar to the flinty slate below. 
 Tne beds resemble hard gray wackes of New York, except 
 that the masses of rounded quartz are much larger. The 
 superior beds of sandstone occur at the factory, and have 
 been employed as a building stone. 
 
 106. The series of sandstones which lie between the 
 bridge and the conglomerates, are better exposed upon Fac- 
 tory creek, about, four miles from Madison, on the road to 
 
151 
 
 Martins' lime kilns. The latter predominates at this local- 
 ity. The creek has uncovered the strata, for half a mile. 
 
 The section upon Factory creek is represented by the fol- 
 lowing strata, the strike of which is S. 7U W. dip 20. 
 
 1 Soft greenish slates and shales above the 
 coal slates. 
 
 2. Coarse sandstone with pebbles. 
 
 3. Red and brown sandstones. 
 
 4. Porous red sandstones, or sandstone with 
 
 angular cavities, similar to those in other 
 rocks, which have contained a soluble 
 salt. 
 
 5. Green and gray hard sandstones. 
 
 6. Coarse sandstones containing rounded pel - 
 
 hies. 
 
 7. Conglomerates similar to those at Gov. More- 
 
 head's factory, at Leaksville. 
 8 Soft sandstones, like the red marls. 
 9. Slates with quartz veins, dipping beneath 
 
 the sandstones. 
 The thickness of the series above the coal 
 
 slates, is between four and five thousand 
 
 feet. 
 
 At Madison, the series below the coal slates, on the East 
 side of the Dan, at the new bridge, is represented by the 
 following sections : 
 
 1. Gneiss dipping beneath the sandstones. 
 
 2. Soft variegated sandstones, with mien, and 
 
 imperfectly bedded ; at least two hundred 
 feet thick, east of the site of the bridge. 
 
 3. About one thousand feet of green shaly 
 
 sandstone, with drab colored sandstone, 
 interlaminated with the series ; strike N. 
 65 E. angle of dip 45. 
 
 4. Red sandstones, with cavities. 
 
 5. Green and dark colored coal shales. 
 
 
152 
 
 106. The coal has been exposed about four i dies from 
 Germanton, on the plantation of Mr. Mathews. The strata 
 as exposed, are arranged in the following older. 
 
 1. Slate below. 
 
 2. Fire clay. 
 
 3. Coal, eighleen inches, 
 
 4. Slaie, one foot. 
 
 o. Coal, eighteen inches. 
 
 6. Black slate, five feet. 
 
 7. Sandstone and state. 
 
 The coal at the outcrop is not pure, or it contains some 
 pyrites. Still, at a new locality on this plantation, discovered 
 by Dr. McClenahan, at the time of our visit, the prospecU 
 are better than at the shaft, where the coal was first taken 
 out. 
 
 The attention, which has been given to the Dan River 
 
 coal field, has as yet been too inconsiderable, to develope its 
 
 riches. It appears, that fro.n Leaksville to Germanton, coal 
 
 s exposed at several points, besides at the extremes of the 
 
 formation, leaving out of view its extension into Virginia. 
 
 107. The foregoing descriptions of several subordinate 
 sections will convey to the reader a correct idea, (so far as 
 description will convey.) of the conglomerates, sandstones, 
 and slates of the Dan Ri\er coal field. From the observa- 
 tions which I have made, I am inclined to regaid the con- 
 glomerate as the least constant mass, and the most variable 
 in its characters. It exists at Germanton, but is imperfectly 
 developed ; whilst at Madison, it is replaced by a soft mass 
 of the red sandstone. 
 
 At Leaksville, and also, not far from Madison, this series 
 contains some remarkable beds of brecciated conglomerates 
 which are probably absent or wanting upon the Deep River. 
 
 The shales or marls, appear to be the most constant mass. 
 It preserves its thickness and all its characters unchanged, 
 
153 
 
 and most, if not all the subordinate beds, are developed, both 
 upon (he Dan and Deep Rivers. 
 
 The fossils in variably appear wherever the slates are found ; 
 so, also, (he impure limestones, with their concretions, are 
 equally constant, (hough they are quite inconsiderable in 
 mass. In the Dan River coal field, (he lower rock if fully 
 disclosed is much thinner, and less important, than the same 
 mass in the Deep River, in whkh,as I have already observed, 
 the slates seem (o be equal in importance in each. The con- 
 glomerates of Deep River are very prominent, and quite im- 
 portant. 
 
 But, if we compare the thickness of the sandstone above 
 the slates, they seem to be thicker, and more fully developed 
 upon ihe Dan. I am also inclined to estimate the entire 
 thickness of the sandstone series, as greater on the Dan, thaa 
 pon the Deep River. 
 
 PRODUCTS OF THE UPPPER NEW RED SYSTEM, 
 OR TRIAS, OF TOE DAN AND DEEP RIVERS. 
 
 108. 1. FIRE CLAY. The fire clays of the Trias arc 
 well adapted to the manufacture of fire bricks. The clays 
 connected *\vith coal seams have long been used for this pur 
 pose ; and hence the name, ./fre clay. The clays being free 
 from iron, lime, and magnesia, are highly refractory in the fire; 
 and hence are well adapted, from their composition, for the man- 
 ufacture of such articles as are required or designed to be subject- 
 ed to a high heat. The seams of fire clay are, in a few in- 
 stances, ten feet thick ; others are only two feet. They are 
 always found in seams, subordinate to the s'ate. Some 
 seams of fire clay do not bear coal at their outcrop. The 
 material is very fine and even-grained ; the silex is never 
 coarse or concretionary. The only obstacle which stands in 
 
154 
 
 the way of mining this clay, is, that it often becomes hard in 
 the deeper parts of the seam. It is abundant upon the Dan 
 and Deep Rivers. It is entirely distinct from the ordinary 
 clays of the country. It is confined to this formntion ; and 
 is, in fact, a subordinate part of it : and is never absent, it ia 
 said, wherever a coal seam exists : though it may occur, and 
 coal be absent. It appears to be fine enough for the manu- 
 facture of articles much finer than fire brick. 
 
 2. OXYDE OF IRON, OR ARGILLACEOUS CARBONATE OF 
 
 IRON. The coal series appear to furnish always more or less 
 of this variety of iron ore. It occurs, usually, in nodules, 
 from the size of an egg up to a barrel. Generally, their form 
 is an oval or flattened sphere. The strata are part s of the 
 coal series, and subordinate to the formation, and are depended 
 upon, to a great extent, for the supply of ore for iron. It s 
 qualities, especially when manufactured with coal from the 
 beds, is not of the first order ; but, as it is made into iron 
 cheaply, it is valuable ore. 
 
 3. LIMESTONE. The limestone, 'which has hitherto been 
 exposed in mining, is of an inferior quality, and only small 
 in quantity. The layers do not exceed a foot in thickness. 
 At the Wilcox Mine, and at an opening on the plantation of 
 Mr. Campbell, on Deep River, layers of tolerably pure gray 
 and granular limestone occur. 
 
 The seams and thin beds of limestone lying in and divid- 
 ing the slate, is impure from silex, and is probably magne- 
 sian. Septana are formed in this band, which, taking the 
 whole, and including some intervening slate, is from four to 
 five feet thick. It may serve a good purpose in making 
 hydraulic lime. It should be tried. It occurs at Leaksville 
 and Madison. The Deep River band, though it occupies ap. 
 parently the same position, seems to be more silicious than at 
 the other places mentioned. When limestone is so scarce, 
 the inferior kinds will pay for burning; and, as wood is 
 cheap, there can be little risk trying the lime at some of the 
 localities, both for agricultural purposes, and hydraulic ce- 
 ment. 
 
 
155 
 
 4. PLASTER AND SALT. The first has not been found at 
 ail, except in some few instances, in the tertiary clays. 
 
 The suit is frequently a mineral subordinate to the rocks of 
 this series. It exists. Some of the waters issuing from these 
 sandstones con ain a small quantity of sal', muriate of soda, 
 or, more properly, chloiide of sodium. 1 have obtained it in 
 small crystals, by evaporation. The question of the exist- 
 ence of muriate of soda, in quantity, can only be settled by 
 boring 1 . There is one fact which seems to be unfavorable to 
 its presence in sufficient quantities to become valuable. If 
 the indications are to be relied upon, the rocks were deposited 
 in deep water ; and it appears (hat salt or brine springs are 
 more commonly found in those which are formed under shal- 
 low wafer, and where the water itself evaporates under tho 
 sun sufficiently to ciysiall/ze out of the liquid, and occasion, 
 ally leaves a large area uncovered with water. But, however 
 this may be, boring is justifiable : and, as numerous places 
 are known where water furnishes salt, the expense attending 
 the operation will not form a serious objection to such a 
 project. 
 
 5. FREE STONE. Dan and Deep Rivers both furnish, and 
 may furnish, inexhaustible quantities of free stone, admirably 
 adapted to all works of construction. The material is soft, 
 when first removed from the beds, and hence is easily wrought 
 into suitable forms ; it hardens by exposure to the weather, 
 and is therefore durable ; its colors are bright, and the stone 
 is therefore beautiful. 
 
 The taste and fashions of the times give a preference to 
 building stones of this description ; but durability has also 
 had something to direct and settle public opinion. Chimneys 
 \\hich have been built of these stones have stood for fifty 
 winters and summers ; and yet (heir corners are as sharp as 
 ever. Besides, it is not so subject to acquire mouluiness as 
 granite. Granite, like some poor soils, encourages the growth 
 of fungi; b)i giving them potash, or the alkalis ; and hence. 
 
156 
 
 i 
 
 building 1 , made of smoothly wrought granite, becomes dingy, 
 especially if shaded. The expense of working free stone is 
 much less than granite. Quarries may be opened on or neat 
 the navigable waters. 
 
 6. GRINDSTONE. The kind of stone which is predomin- 
 ant is a sandstone. The grain is variable, from a coarse to 
 a very fine grit. Among the grits, that kind which is suit- 
 able for grindstones is common. The series below the coal, 
 as well as those above, furnish them. Among the grits, 1 have 
 observed some very fine ones upon the south side of Deep 
 River, not far from Mr. Campbell's. They appear to be 
 adapted !o the purpose of grinding finer cutlery. Experi- 
 ence, I beli v( , proves the value of these stones for the ordi 
 nary uses of the farmer, the grinding of axes, &c. 
 
 Very little attention, however, has been given to inquiry 
 respecting the best beds. Should a market be opened, grind- 
 stones of the best quality can be obtained. 'J heir color is 
 both brown and gray. Their grit is very sharp, and the grade* 
 of hardness required for different purposes may be easily sup- 
 plied. 
 
 7. MILLSTONES. I am not sufficiently well informed, a? 
 to what state of perfection the millstones of Deep River may 
 be brought. They are among the best stones for grinding 
 corn. Whether art can make them best, or as good as the 
 French burr stones, will be better determined by those ac- 
 quainted with the manufactory of them than myself. They 
 are esteemed for corn, and this fact has given them creak 
 and a market to almost any extent ; and it will increase, pro- 
 vided means of cheap transport are provided : as they can 
 be furnished much cheaper than French burr stone, and 
 
 are equally good for some purposes. 
 
 8, SHALE. The slate of the coal series, being fragile, 
 and easily decomposed, may be employed upon the soil, ns a 
 fertilizer. It is composed of alumina, silex, a little lime, 
 phosphate of lime, and some potash. 
 
157 
 
 Those layers, which abound in the cypris, and posidonia, 
 are richest in phosphate of lime. 
 
 The composition adapts the use of it to sandy or loamy 
 soils ; and, though I do not venture to recommend their trans- 
 portation far, yet, on the plantations, which have a poor soil, 
 which are adjacent to this marl, it will pay well for hauling. 
 It should he ground and sown freely, broad cast. These 
 slates contain many hard oval bodies, which consist of silica, 
 lime, and phosphate of lime: the latter, in the proportion of 
 more than one half. These long oval bodies are the excre- 
 ments of fish, or liz irds, which swarmed in the sea, in the 
 days during the deposit of the system. 
 
 The recommendation is eno tinged on the ground, that 
 fertilizers are expensive in that region of country vvhe-'e this 
 formation exists; and if it should be found useful, the 
 country through which these shales pass, can be supplied, to 
 any extent which is desirable. 
 
 It is rare, that a formation, which looks so tmpiomising 
 on its first ar.qaintance, should turn out so rich in products, 
 which will encourage industry and contribute so much to the 
 advancement of wealth and prosperity. 
 
 The English new red sandstone, which is certainly closely 
 allied to this formation, supports no less than nineteen large 
 cities. It is true, that in that country, rock salt is one of the 
 products of the red sandstone formation, which has been dis- 
 covered here; but there is coal, which is still betttr, and which 
 can promote the wealth of the Dan and Deep Rivers, to a far 
 greater extent, than salt alone. The climate, and the 
 health of the country, too, is in its favor. The navigable 
 waters, or thos? susceptible of being made so ; the value 
 of the forests, in pines and oaks ; the iron ; all of which 
 mark the Dan and Deep River, places these districts, in a 
 position, equal to that of the country referred to, and if that 
 can support and cherish the inhabitants of nineteen cities, 
 certainly, this formation should give origin at least to four 
 or five large and flourishing towns. 
 
 A careful survey of our own country, and others abroad, ac- 
 companied with an inquiry into the causes of the rise of cities 
 
158 
 
 and towns, will probably show, that those causes are mainly 
 geological. It will show, thru, the productsof the soil and the 
 mine lie at the foundation of all the operations which have 
 given rise to their establishment and subsequent prosperity. 
 PiUsburg, in Pennsylvania, owes her origin to the iron 
 and coal in her neighborhood. Rochester, in New York, 
 owes her origin to the peculiar rocks there, whose constitu- 
 tion produces the Falls upon the Genessee, at this place, and 
 those peculiar rocks give the surrounding country a wheat 
 soil. Upon these facts, fRoch ester has become one of the 
 most flourishing cities in the Union ; and yet all these causes 
 are geological. Deep River and the Dan have all these ad- 
 vantages and more. 
 
 REASONS WHY THE NEW RED SANDSTONES 
 
 OF THIS COUNTRY DIFFER FiiOM THOSE 
 
 OF EUROPE. 
 
 109. The new red sandstone, in England, is underlaid 
 by limestones, or calcareous rocks, to a greater or less ex- 
 tent. Some of them are magnesia ; and hence, in the series^ 
 one of the members is strongly marked, and is known as 
 the magnesia limestone. The origin and source of the 
 materials appear to be entirely different ; and hence, the 
 lithological character of th3 series; and new red sandstone 
 is quite different, at least in its subordinate parts. 
 
159 
 
 In the United States, the materials are deficient in lime and 
 lyscer.csifc ; and on account of the presence of certain minerals 
 t'ilhiJu: in the waters, and forming deposits, and thereby 
 imparting a character to the whole sen, these circumstan- 
 ces cannot fail to influence both animal and vegetable life; 
 The sea-bottom will favor, or it will be unfriendly to the 
 existence of certain species. To facts of this kind \ve 
 may look for an explanation of certain modifications which 
 are known to exist in the fossils of those rocks. 
 
 The marl slates resemble those of the Permian system. 
 In Germany, they contain copper. Here, they are entirely 
 destitute of copper. In other respects, they aie quite simi- 
 lar. While it cannot be proved that rocks which contain 
 the coal of Deep and Dan Rivers are Permian ; still reasons 
 are not wanting which favor this view : though the Rich- 
 mond coal field is now regarded as belonging to the Oolite. 
 I am, however, upon the whole, and on consideration of all 
 the facts, inclined to adopt the opinion, that the whole 
 series belongs to the upper new red sandstone. I am 
 sure the great abundance of coal favors the view that this 
 series should be regarded as Permian. So, also, the tooth of 
 the Thecodontosaurus, or a saurian closely allied to it but 
 the most abundant fossil, the posidonia minuta, (Goldf.) 
 favors more strongly the opinion I have adopted under the 
 existing facts. 
 
160 
 
 MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES OF MINERAL DE- 
 POSITS AND VEINS. 
 
 IRON ORE. In Nash County, I visited a deposit of Iron 
 which had been worked, but now abandoned. It resem- 
 bles the bog ores ; should be classed with them ; being 
 simply a superficial deposit, of no great depth. This, in 
 fact, is of no value. It is one of those formations which, 
 1 believe, has originated from ancient mineral springs, 
 whose waters were charged with bicarbonate of iron: or an 
 oxyde held in solution in a carbonated water. When 
 combinations of this character reach the surface, the car- 
 bonic acid escapes. When the iron is no longer soluble 
 in water, it is precipitated upon the surface. There will 
 then be found a deposit of oxyde of iron, intermixed with 
 clay, sand, &c. Some of these deposits may contain suffi. 
 cient iron to become valuable ; this will not. The extent 
 should be determined by sounding with a slender bar of 
 iron or steel, before expenditures are made. 
 
 MAGNETIC ORE, IN GUILFORD COUNTY. Magnetic ore 
 of a fine quality, exists at Mr. C. Coffin's, ten miles from 
 Greensboro'. It is free from sulphate of iron. It had not 
 been examined, when I visited it, in a shaft. The surface 
 ore presents a favorable indication of two or more veins of 
 a fine quality. 
 
 SPECULAR ORE, ON THE PLANTATION OF WM. JONES. 
 This ore is also a fine kind of this^species ; but its extent 
 has not been determined by actual exploration. 
 
161 
 
 SPECULAR ORE o\ THE PLANTATION OP MR. GLASS. 
 This location is six m ; les north of Evans's Mills. I regard 
 this as the peroxyde, or the specular ore ; as it is un-mag- 
 netic, and gives a red streak. It is abundant, and, being: 
 in the vicinity of water power, it will come into use when 
 the Deep River improvements are completed. 
 
 STITH'S CUPPER MINE, IN GUIL 
 
 ,FQRD. 
 
 time. iBfft 
 
 111. It has been known for a very long time,iBh the 
 auriferous pyrites consisted in part of the sulphuret of iron, 
 and, in part, of the sulphuret of copper. In extracting 
 the gold from the sulphurets, the latter has been neglected 
 and allowed to rlow away in the washings. Lately, how- 
 ever, attempts have been made, not only to save the copper 
 of the auriferous pyrites, but to work the veins exclusively 
 for copper. Stith's mine had been worked for its gold for 
 many years. It was profitable ; but its owner, Mr. Fen- 
 tress, had given up the business of working it for gold, and 
 it was lying useless to himself, when Mr. Stith proposed 
 working the sulphuret for copper. Two shafts had been 
 sunk upon the vein, at a distance of 316 feet j and, for 
 some distance from each shaft, the ore had been removed 
 and worked for gold. The vein runs N. 30 degrees E. ; dip 
 N. W. At the depth of almost 72 feet, the vein of pyrites 
 is divided into two, [a flat vein, which dips about5 degrees, 
 and a vein dipping between 60 and 70 degrees.] The flat 
 vein consists of a gangue of quartz, arranged somewhat 
 in columns, and the vein of sulphuret, ranging in with from 
 4 to 12 inches : the whole width of the quartz and copper 
 is from 2J to 5 feet. This flat vein dips towards the steep 
 dipping vein, and finally becomes incorporated with it, 
 when it becomes the main and important vein of the mine. 
 11 
 
162 
 
 The progress of the work becomes more and more favora- 
 ble, and a fine vein of sulphuret of copper is likely to be 
 disclosed, and, indeed, is so, by the present operations. 
 The double sulphurets are changed to the single suiphurets, 
 and it is found to yield from 32 to 40 per cent, of 
 copper. The mine is valuable, and its success will operate 
 favorably in producing a change in the working of the 
 auriferous pyrites. The probability is, that many others, 
 in which the copper has been lost, from ignorance of the 
 value of the substance, will be worked so as to save the 
 copper, or to work them as copper mines exclusively. 
 
 LIMESTONE. 
 
 112. The great value and importance of limestone has 
 created a demand for it, both as an article essential in con- 
 struction, as well as in agriculture. In a very large part 
 of North Carolina, this rock seems to be absent, and hence 
 it has been difficult to supply lime sufficient only to meet 
 the ordinary wants ot the community. It has been always 
 too expensive to warrant its employment for agriculture, 
 and much of the loss in agricultural products maybe at- 
 tributed to the scarcity and expense of lime. Probably all 
 the soils of this State will be benefit ted by the application, 
 of lime. I have visited only the two well known localities 
 of limestone in Stokes, the limestone belonging f o Mr. Mar- 
 tin of , and Mr. Bolejaek of Germanton. These 
 
 beds of limestone belong to thepyro crystalline rocks. The 
 stratification of Mr. Martin's beds is quite obscure, while 
 that of Mr. Bolejack's is quite distinct. Both belong to the 
 same kind of rocks. 
 
163 
 
 The thicknes? of both exceeds forty feet, and lie between 
 strata of coarse talcose slates or talco-micaceous slate. 
 Both beds make good lime. These beds may become in 
 the hands of enterprising men both profitable to the owners 
 and highly the useful to community . Mr. Bolejack's is located 
 very conveniently for cheap mining, and wood being abun- 
 dant and cheap, I have no doubt it may be furnished at 15 
 cents per bushel and perhaps 12J. At those prices tha far- 
 mer can afford to use lime. 
 
 The beds seem to be in range with others crossing the 
 State from N. E. to South West. 
 
 SOME OF THE GEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS 
 OF THE SLATES OF STOKES, SI T RRY, &c. 
 
 The predominant rock of these Counties is Talcose Slates 
 with a variety which may be called talco-micaceous slate. 
 The rock has the usual silvery lustre, and thin lamination, 
 which is frequently undulating. The rock is generally cov- 
 ered with soil. The ridges and mountains are sharp and 
 narrow, and present in out line a singular and picturesque 
 appearance. This is especially the case with the Pilot 
 mountain. From Germanton and other points, it presents 
 the appearance of a high isolated rounded knob, bearing 
 upon its summit a square tower. Seen from the residence 
 of its owner, Mr. Guillam, it becomes a sharp ridge sur- 
 mounted by two pinnacles the eastern the greater of the 
 two. The mountain sides are steep and precipitous. The 
 pinnacles are bounded by perpendicular sides. The highest 
 and most prominent one is ascended by means of ladders, 
 and rises about 70 feet above the crest of the mountain. 
 
164 
 
 These magnificent pinnacles have been formed by a very 
 simple geological operation. The rocks were thrust up- 
 wards in such a manner as to produce a decided curvature 
 of the crest of the mountain, and so much of a curvature, as 
 to produce a cross fracture of the strata between the pinna- 
 cles, which are 250 yards apart. The slow operation of at. 
 mospheric agents have done the rest These operations 
 consisted in the disintegration of the softer slates, especial- 
 ly along the line of parture between the pinnacles. The un- 
 dermined strata form the debris of the mountain sides. The 
 harder strata of the pinnacles have withstood the action of 
 the elements, and will stand and battle them for thousands o^ 
 years to come. The strata of the pinnacles differ from each 
 other. Some of the strata consist of pure granular quartz, 
 especially those which form the pinnacles. These strata, 
 however, should not be regarded as a sandstone, but simply 
 a very quartzose variety of talcose slate. The Pilot and 
 other mountains of the range belong to the first and most 
 easterly of the Blue Ridge or Alleghanies ; but unlike other 
 ridges, they are steepest on the eastern slope. The Pi- 
 ot mountain is one of the greatest places in North Carolina. 
 Nature has performed a work here, which seems to have 
 been designed to give health and pleasure to those who have 
 become debilitated or worn down under the burning and sul- 
 try atmosphere of the South. It is a pity, when so little is 
 left to be done, to make the Pilot a place of great resort, 
 nothing but a rough path way and a few ladders have yet 
 been contributed to promote objects of so much importance. 
 The geological structure of much of North Carolina >s char- 
 acterized by low anticlynal and synclynal axes. Some of 
 the synclynal are deep and form troughs in which the coal 
 fields lie. The axes are formed by normal dips, being equal 
 on both sides of the rounded ridge. 
 
165 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 1 hire introduced a greater amount of elementary matter 
 perhaps, than is required in a simple Report, designed to give 
 a statement of what has been done to carry out the plan of 
 the survey. I have done this because many of the persons 
 into \vh'"se hands this report will fall, wish something of the 
 kind. Much of the elementary matter of the foregoing re- 
 port iiris been published before, but I have proposed to make 
 a direct application of these elements to the agriculture of 
 the State. 
 
 The State of North Carolina might be divided into two 
 great districts, the Agricultural and Mining the former 
 embraces those Counties which lie immediately upon the 
 Atlantic slope, extending to the first fall of the rivers, where 
 they enter the tertiary formation. The latter embraces all 
 west of these falls. While the former, however, is eminent, 
 ly agricultural, the latter is both agricultural and mining. 
 Usually, a mining district is rough and comparatively un- 
 productive : here, however, while mining gives, or is capa- 
 ble of giving, magnificent return, the agricultural is equally 
 productive with other districts. The means of living are 
 therefore cheap, and while a portion of its citizens are en- 
 gaged in those pursuits which neither make a blade of grass, 
 or potatoes grow, yet their labor always secures an abun- 
 dance of bread and meat from the very surface beneath which 
 the mineral wealth is drawn. 
 
 In pursuing the work up to the present time, I have 
 scarcely touched upon the mining wealth of the State. The 
 most I have attempted to do, is to to develop the value of 
 the coal mines. The gold, copper, lead and iron mines, 1 
 propose t3 examine the ensuing year. 
 
 It is a remarkable fact, that, while lead and zinc are com- 
 paratively rare, gold and silver are abundant. I had occa- 
 sion to notice a fact of like kind, in my Report of the 
 
166 
 
 Geology of New York. In the Northern Counties of that 
 State, iron is the great mining product ; it is accompanied 
 with neither copper, lead, zinc or gold. I mean that it pre- 
 ponderates over every other metal. Iron occupies an im- 
 portant place in North Carolina ; and I may here say that 
 the advantages for making bar iron of the best quality are 
 very great. The ore in the first place is abundant and of 
 an excellent quality ; and in the second place, wood for 
 charcoal is equally abundant, and as the growth of trees is 
 rapid, fuel will never fail if system is observed in its cutting 
 and preservation of young timber. The resources of the 
 forest in North Carolina are immense, notwithstanding a 
 terrible disease has infested certain portions of it for some 
 time past. The famous long leaf pine is a magnificent 
 tree of the forest. It yields its turpentine and rosin in pro- 
 fusion one of the great staples of the South ; its leaf makes 
 an elegant hat, its cone an ornamental basket, its heart the 
 most durable of posts, and its wood the cheerful fire and 
 light, both of the kitchen and parlor. The great variety of 
 Oaks and Walnut are no less important. The Tulip in beau- 
 ty is rarely excelled, and the Magnolia among the trees of 
 the forest is like a gigantic rose. 
 
 The water power is also immense. The improvements 
 on Deep River and Cape Fear will furnish water for sever- 
 al Lowells. In fine, the elements of wealth and prosperity 
 have been dealt out with a liberal hand, and its people have 
 only to put forth their energy and enterprize. to stand with 
 the first States in this repubiic. 
 
167 
 
 DRIFT-DILUVIAL ACTION. 
 
 116. In the Northern Stales and Canada, the surface of 
 the country is overspread with a coating of soil stones, gravel 
 boulders, etc., which are foreign to spots and places upon 
 which they now rest. These materials have been transpoit- 
 ed from distant points, either North, or Northeast, from the 
 spots we now find them, and, in many cases, more than one 
 hundred miles from their parent beds. F wish merely to al- 
 lude to this fact. It is a practical one"; for, as the surface has 
 not been disturbed, and as the disintegrations of rocks have 
 gone on quietly, the debris remain in place. Hence, a mass 
 of iron ore, or of copper, gold, etc., which lies upon the sur- 
 face and in the debris, the parent bed or vein of each, will be 
 found below, or at most, but a short distance from the spot ; 
 wheieas, at the North, it is common to find a mass of iron ore 
 which is one hundred miles from its bed or vein. In the lat- 
 ter instance, we know only the direction the mass has been 
 transported, [n North Carolina, we may always expect to 
 find the ore in the immediate vicinity in which it is found, 
 except in those cases where the loose mass has been removed 
 by aqueous causes now in operation. 
 
168 
 
 [As I was unable to incorporate the observations and remarks 
 of Dr. McClenahan, one of my assistants, with my own, 
 I deem it proper to give them a separate place in the re- 
 port. They are, as will be seen, addressed to me in the 
 form of a letter. They were made during my absence 
 from the field, and while engaged in the laboratory :] 
 
 LETTER OF DR. McCLENAHAN. 
 
 DEAR SIR : 
 
 After parting with you at Goldsborough, and arri- 
 ving on the Coal Field, I commenced the survey of the 
 underlying sandstone, at Captain Elias Bryan's, on the, 
 Deep River, one mile above Hay wood. The dip at that 
 point is South, 45 degrees East, at an angle of 20 degrees : the 
 strike South, 45 degrees West. The sandstone and con- 
 glomerate are both properly exposed at this place, the sand- 
 stone resting immediately on the conglomerate. I commen- 
 ced by running South, 45 degrees West, to Womble's : thence 
 across the Hay wood road, by Mrs. Gilmour's : thence by 
 Mrs. Reddle's : thence due West, to Mathew Wicker's, (dis- 
 tant from the starting point, ten miles) : thence North, 35 
 degrees West, crossing the river, to Watson's, on the North 
 side of the river : thence North, 70 degrees West, to Burns' 
 Spring : thence due West, by J. Hasley's : thence South, 
 50 degrees West, by Richard Dowd's : thence South, 55 de- 
 grees West, by John Dowd's : thence South, 45 degrees 
 West, crossing Indian Creek just above William Hays' : 
 thence South, 50 degrees West, to Deep River, in Mrs. 
 Street's plantation : thence South, 60 degrees West, crossing 
 the river to the mouth of William Hancock's lane, in Moore 
 county : thence South, 45 degrees West, to Sewel's quarry 
 of conglomerate : thence by Davis' quarry : thence by Neil 
 Dunlap's : thence by Allen McDaniel's : thence by Jesse 
 Thomas', on Drowning Creek, in Montgomery county : 
 thence South, 60 degrees West, by Calvin Rush's, on Moun- 
 tain Creek : thence South, 45 degrees West, by David Har- 
 
169 
 
 riss' : thence by Lucas' store : thence by John C. Cham- 
 bers' : thence across Little River, two miles above Steel's 
 bridge, in Richmond county : thence across Pe-Dee River, at 
 the mouth of Brown's Creek, in Anson county . thence up 
 the Northwest side of Brown's Creek, by the Carolina Col- 
 lege : thence South, 60 degreed West, to the South Caiolina 
 l -ie, in the Southeastern corner of Union county. 1 took 
 Cross sections, at nearly all the public roads which crossed the 
 Sandstone transversely, and found it varying: in width, from 
 ; vjt to fourteen miles. 1 frequently got the dip where the 
 
 .ie was well exposed, and it varies from 10 degrees to 60. 
 * ^Iso made cross sections fiorn six coal pits, oul to the out 
 
 p of the underlying sandstone, and found it varying from 
 mile and three-fourths, to three miles : the greater the 
 
 >, the shorter the distance. 
 
 After running the line, to the South Carolina line, 1 return- 
 til to the starting point (Capi. E. Aryan's), and commenced 
 t* lining Northeast, across Deep and Haw Rivers, one mile 
 Itvthwest of the town of Hay wood : thence North, 30 de- 
 grees East, by Willam Crump's and William Bland 'a : thence 
 bg Neill Womble's, in whose field the conglomerate is well ex 
 posed : thence by Mrs. Amsled's, on New Hope Creek : 
 thence across the creek, by William Clark's, Thos. Womble's, 
 John Eland's, Causby Stone's, in whose plantation it again 
 crosses the Creek : thence up the Northeast side of the Creek, 
 but occasionally crossing and re-crossing, by Mooring's, by 
 Herndon's old store> in Orange county: thence by Pratt 's 
 store, crossing the Central Railroad half a mile Northwest of 
 the store : thence across Eno and Flat River, in Benehan's 
 plantation ; after which, it could be but indistinctly traced. 
 Although this is the direction of the great body of the stone, 
 there is, occasionally, points which run off in various direc- 
 tions : one of the principal poin'.s which make off in this way, 
 is one that continues up New Hope, to Morgan's creek, and 
 up that creek to within two miles of Chapel Hill. 
 
 There is a formation of sandstone on Tau River. I saw it 
 at Thos. Miller's plantation, six or seven miles Southwest of 
 Oxford. I had understood that coal had been found there ; 
 
170 
 
 but, when I examined the spot, which is in the river bank, I 
 found it to be lignite. I have samples of it in Raleigh, and 
 also of the micaceous sandstone in which it is embedded. My 
 attention has been frequently culled to the subject of lime, 
 and I have been frequently told, that there was limestone on 
 certain lands, which 1 was going to examine ; but, as yet, I 
 have not been enabled to discover lime in sufficient quantities 
 to render it of much value, East of Germantoa. 1 have seen 
 small deposit es of limestone in the upper stratum of what I 
 have called the newer red sandstone. I found it at Mr. Fow- 
 ler's, in Chatham, near Mooring's, and on the Hillsborough 
 road, near Brassfield's, sixteen miles from Raleigh, and itv 
 Granville county, on the plantation of Mr. Worthara : it isi>v 
 greater abundance at this point than at any I noticed. Mr 
 Wortham has hauled out on his farm a considerable qunntitv 
 of it, and informed me that the land on which he spread it j 
 produced much better. Lime in great abundance, and of 
 excellent quality, is found stretching across the State, from 
 Danbury, in Stokes county, to King's Mountain, in South 
 Carolina. I saw it at Williams' kiln, on the Yadkin, at 
 PofT 's, ten miles above Salem, at Hoosertown, at Germanton? 
 and at Martin's, near the Virginia line. I procured a piece 
 near Germanton, at Mr. Bolejack's, which is an excellent 
 marble, and receives a fine polish. The quantity of limestone 
 at this point, appears to be inexhaustible, and of good 
 quality ; in fact } all the lime I saw at all the kilns appeared 
 to be of good quality. I have procured samples of the stone 
 from all the kilns, for your inspection. This section of the 
 State abounds in iron ore of good quality. I have specimens 
 from several places. Magnetic iron ore of good quality is 
 found two miles West of the Pilot Mountain, on the lands of 
 Mr. Guillam. I examined the place and saw it scattered oveif 
 a large surface. 
 
 After examining the limestone, I commenced the survey of 
 the coal field on the Dan River. I commenced at German - 
 ton : the out crop of sandstone is near that place. The dip 
 is Northwest, at an angle of 35 degrees, and the strike North- 
 east. I was able to trace the out crop of sandstone as far a 
 
171 
 
 Madisoa, and have procured samples of the coal and slate, at 
 various points ; but, in consequence of high waters, I was 
 unable to ascertain the thickness of the coal seam. The fos- 
 s ils are of * he same kind we find on the Deep River, but the 
 coal is anthracite. I should have continued the survey down 
 fa Iv^k^viHe, or as far as the coal continued in the State, but 
 Ler. 
 
 crop of black shale, on the coal field, is in great 
 &*u ; and the direction of the seams can easily be tra-, 
 fiie end of the field to I he other, with the appropriate 
 ATeal. abundance. I found but few points on the 
 coal field, South of Deep River, where the shale 
 V** easily traced. I found it on Drowning Creek, in 
 -*uvy county, about one mile Northwest of the sand- 
 . A ., wtah contains lignite : the dip at this point is not 
 fcfr%v 10 degrees. I also found it at the Pe-Dee River, 
 fcto*tation of Mrs. McCloud. 
 
 ^|aing with you at Halifax, I visited the Northwes- 
 of Edgecombe county, for the purpose of ascer- 
 ft* truth of what I had heard of a large skeleton 
 mbedded in Fishing Creek. I ascertained it to be 
 ^ ttm*ti of an enormous whale, some of the vertebrae of 
 which cifeaBiiied twenty-two inches in diameter. It had been 
 so much mulilated, that I was deterred from attempting to 
 disinter but a small portion of it. I learned from the gentle- 
 man, who owns the land in which it is embedded, that the 
 largest portion of the bones had been taken away by various 
 persons, some of whom lived at a great distance ; and he also 
 informed me that a large number of the bones had been 
 washed away by the " freshets." I ascertained, by finding 
 one or two vertebree in place, that the animal had been deposi- 
 ted on his back, and as the water is not more than two or 
 three feet above the vertebrae, which is just covered with marl 
 and sand, I could readily account for the absence of all the 
 ribs, by freshets, which swept them down the stream. 
 
 This animal is lying on a bed of marl, -vhich is twelve or 
 fifteen feet thick, and the silicious shelly limestone, which is 
 found between the green sand and shell marl, is just above 
 
172 
 
 the remains : above that is a bed of yellow sand and shell 
 marl, which is about seven or eight feet thick. Mr. Knight, 
 the gentleman who owns the lands, told me that there was a 
 portion of the head still embedded in the bank, and but for 
 the rise which took place in the creek, while I was there, I 
 should have procured it. The animal lay diagonally across 
 the creek the head in Edgecombe and the tail in Halifax, 
 the creek being the line dividing the two counties. I picked 
 up a good many of the bones, and requested Mr. Knight to 
 take care of them lor me, which he promised to do, and gave 
 me the balance, if I could procure them. I procured someo^ 
 the marl below the remains, and some of the upper bed, wlii 
 is above it. I also procured a specimen of the shell re t K 
 which is between the two beds. 1 have a piece of the j; 
 bone in Raleigh, which I got out of the water near the sp * V 
 where Mr. Knight told me the head was embedded in the 
 bank. 
 
 After passing over the tertiary system, which continues, in 
 the direction to Raleigh, about twenty-five miles above Nash- 
 ville, I discovered the primary slates, talcose and micaceous, 
 with a great many quartz veins running through them, show- 
 ing strong indications of gold. The dip of these slates is to 
 the South, 70 degrees East, at an angle varying from 25 de- 
 grees 10 60 degrees ; the strike South, 20 degrees West. 
 After passing over this formation, I came to a formation of in- 
 ferior granite, composed chiefly of feldspar and quartz, with 
 a very small proportion of mica. This stone readily dis- 
 integrates when exposed to the frost, producing a coaise gra- 
 velly soil, which is an excellent land for corn, cotton and oats. 
 This granite gradually increases until it reaches Raleigh, 
 where it has a sufficient amount of mica to form a very good 
 building stone. At Raleigh, the dip of the slate is changed 
 fron S -uheast to Northwest, at angles varying from 25 de- 
 gree to SO degrees ; in fact, the dip near the Plumbago veins, 
 four or '-ve miles Northwest of Raleigh, is nearly perpendicu- 
 lar. The strike being South, 20 degrees West. I have pro- 
 cured :.,) cimens of this graphite for your inspection, from 
 seve : points: some ol it is of good quality, but the most 
 
173 
 
 of it that I saw was out crop, and, therefore, was full of 
 dirt. I think these veins of graphite, by proper manage- 
 ment, might be made immensely valuable. I should expect 
 to find the mineral of much better quality, after going 
 down to water scale. The stratum of Plumbago is of good 
 i?<? ^w-all appearances, but I was not able to measure it 
 acy, in consequence of the pits being filled with 
 
 Johnson Busbee's, ten miles Southeast of 
 there are strong indications of marl. I found 
 jilicious shelly limestone, scattered over a large 
 same which we have usually found between 
 nd and shell marl. I have a piece for your ex- 
 This point, I think, should be particnlarl . ex- 
 Vlarl,as far up the country as this, would be very 
 v%\M*.y^t*iconsequence of the scarcity of lime in that sec- 
 H ew ( K S ta te . 
 
 lignite in the Cape Fear River, about eighteen 
 3 Fayetteville, on Silver Run creek, and the 
 vft vvhich it is embedded, resembles that at Eliza- 
 we found between the two beds of marl. At 
 \v*'; 3 also found petrified wood. I think ynu would 
 find this neighborhood an interesting one for examination, 
 and the citizens are exceedingly anxious you should visit 
 them, for that purpose. 
 
 I have samples of iron ore procured at various points in 
 Cumberland county, which is all verysilicious ; probably too 
 much so, to be of much value. 
 
 The above, I believe, constitutes all the information I 
 have been able to procure during your absence. You will 
 please examine the contents, make corrections of any mis- 
 take, and use it as you may think most advisable. 
 I remain your obedient servant, 
 
 S. McLENAHAN. 
 Professor EMMONS, 
 
 State Geologist, N. C. 
 
 fty* * 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 I have been obliged to refer to the different syste 
 rocks, in the foregoing report. I am induced, theref 
 furnish a tabular view of those systems, that the reader 
 be able, at a glance, to see the relations in which they 
 to each other. I make three principal classes of rocks, w'- 
 hold an equal rank. These three classes are subdivi *v 
 These subdivisions are based upon facts and 
 which are peculiar to each, and on characters which are . 
 common to each division. The names of the principal 
 are new, and are simply expressive of facts, upon which all 
 geologists are agreed. 
 
 The three classes : 
 
 I. Pyrocrystalline crystallized by the agency of 
 
 fire. Primary of authors. 
 II. Pyroplastic moulded by fire. Ancient and 
 
 modern volcanic rock of authors. 
 III. Hydroplastic moulded by water. Sediments 
 of authors. 
 
 The first class is divided into two sections : 
 
 1. Unstratified pyrocrystalline, as granite, Hyper- 
 
 thene rock, pyrocrystalline limestone, sie 
 nite, magnetic iron ores. 
 
 2. Stratified pyrocrystalhne gneiss, mica slate, 
 
 talcose slate and hornblende steatite. 
 
 The second class is divided in two sections, also : 
 
175 
 
 1. Modern pyroplastic rocks, lavas, luffs, pumice 
 
 and all the products of volcanoes, which are 
 cooled in the air. 
 
 2. Ancient pyroplastic rocks, the ancient lavas, 
 
 cooled under water, basalt, porphyry and 
 green stone. 
 
 *- 
 ^^HlvCMass is divide! into systems, most of which are 
 
 ^Hl Vv geologists of the day. 
 
 ^^H^as belonging to the class of hydroplastic rocks, 
 &*S|0'U4uOed and loovse sediments, aie exhibited in the fol- 
 
 \ Tertiary system : 
 
 1. Postpliocene. 
 
 2. Pliocene. 
 
 3. Miocene. 
 
 4. Eocene. 
 
 Z/- . Cretaceous system : 
 
 1. Upper cretaceous, including the true 
 
 chalk, with flints. 
 
 2. Lower cretaceous, including the 
 
 green s ind, iron sands, &c. 
 
 III. Wealden, unknown in the U. S. 
 
 IV. Oolite and Lias. 
 
 V. New red Sandstone or Trias : 
 
 1. Upper. 
 
 2. Middle. 
 
 3. Lower. 
 
 VI. Permian system . 
 VII. Carboniferous system . 
 VIII. Devonian system. 
 IX. Silurian system : 
 
 1. Upper. 
 
 2. Lower. 
 
 X. Taconie system. 
 
176 
 
 The tenth is the oldest of the sediments, and is more close- 
 ly allied to the primary or pyrocrystalline slates, limes, ores, 
 etc. Any of the foregoing systems may rest on the primary, 
 and any of the foregoing may be traversed by the unstnitified 
 pyrocrystalline rocks ; particularly granite, which is then said 
 to be of the age of the deposit in which it is found. As any 
 of the foregoing systems may rest upon the primary, so either 
 may form the surface rocks over large areas. 
 
 
GLOSSARY 
 
 -XTIF1C TERMS USED IX THIS REPORT. 
 
 Amorphous shapeless, destitute of a regular form. 
 Arenaceous sandy, composed of sand. 
 Argillaceous composed of clay. 
 
 Basalt a rock mostly homogeneous, of an igneous origin, 
 
 and cooled under water. 
 
 Basin a depression in the strata, of a circular form. 
 Belemnite a fossil of acylindrical form, tapering rapidly 
 
 to a point, and at one end or the other it has a conical 
 
 cavity: it is the back-bone of an extinct animal, allied 
 
 to the cuttle fish. 
 
 Bitumen a combustible substance, combined with coal. 
 Breccia a compound rock, consistingof angular fragments. 
 
 Calcareous bearing or containing lirne. 
 Calcedony a compact variety of quartz, of a milky white- 
 ness. 
 Carbon the element of charcoal. 
 
ITS 
 
 Carbonate of Lime a compound of carbonic acid and 
 
 lime. 
 Carboniferous coal bearing : a term applied to a syftem 
 
 of rocks which bear coal. 
 Cetacea an order of animals, of which the whale is the 
 
 type. 
 
 Chert a variety of amorphous quartz, much like flint. 
 Concretion a union of particles, forming rounded and' 
 
 bodies. 
 Conformable a term applied to strata, which lie pa$ cdlel 
 
 with each other. 
 Conglomerate A rock composed of rounded jfHtVvSLS^ 
 
 formed under water. 
 Coniferse trees which bear cones, with naked sei^.^ Q^ 
 
 pines and the fir. 
 Cretaceous belonging to chalk : the name of the dystew\ 
 
 to which common chalk belongs. 
 Crustacea an order of animals which are provided with 
 
 a crust or external integument similar to the lobster 
 
 and crab. 
 
 Dikes, or Dykes a vein of rock or stony matter, which 
 
 has been injected into a fissure, while in a melted 
 
 state. 
 Diluvium a term which was applied to a stratum, which 
 
 was supposed to have been spread over the earth by 
 
 the deluge. 
 Dip strata, when inclined to the horizon, are said to dip. 
 
 Eocene dawn of the present : a term applied to the old- 
 est of the tertiary deposits. 
 
 Escarpment the steep side of a hill. 
 
 Estuary the mouth of a river, which is occupied, in part 
 by fresh, in part by salt, water, or by brackish water. 
 
 Faults the dislocation of strata, by which one side is ele- 
 vated above the other. 
 
179 
 
 Fauna the aggregate of the animals which inhabit csr- 
 
 tain districts. 
 Formation a series or group of rocks, which belong to 
 
 one period. 
 
 Fossils the remains of animals and plants entombed in 
 rocks. 
 
 rock or mineral, composed of oil of vitriol and 
 li. 
 
 Y\ ' 
 
 u Cb VI &scensu minerals or rocks, in a state of fusion. 
 
 Hftd a mineral or rock, composed of thin plates. 
 * ' ; 4|^<xS-iuPP ose d to be derived frern layers: a system be- 
 
 Vw^sn the oolite and new red sandstone. 
 f 5iv^C- wood caibonizec! or changed partly into coal. 
 \*tW/) logical denotes the stony characters of a mass. 
 
 belonging to the shore. 
 
 k\*.a mixture of sand, clay and vegetable matter. 
 "Lvta * o ^ tes ft fossil plant, allied to club masses or ground 
 
 Mammalia animals which furnish glands for the se- 
 
 cretion of milk. 
 Mammoth an extinct thick-skinned animal, allied to the 
 
 elephant. 
 
 Marl a mixture of lime and clay. 
 Mastodon see mammoth. 
 
 Miocene the middle deposits belonging to the tertiary., 
 Molusca an order of animals generally covered with shells* 
 
 as the oyster and clam. 
 
 Nodule a rounded mass. 
 
 Out crop the appearance of the edges of rocks at (he sur- 
 face. 
 
ISO 
 
 Oxygen -a. gaseous body, which is essential : it changes 
 the blood from a black to a scarlet color, in respiration; 
 combines, with metals, and forms a class of bodies call, 
 ed oxides, etc. 
 
 Pachydermata an order of animals with thick skins, as 
 
 the elephant, hog, tapir, horse, camel. 
 Palaeontology the science which treats o^f extinct animals 
 
 and plants. 
 Porphyry an igneous rock, cooled beneath water, - 0mA- 
 
 which contains irregular pieces ot feldspar. 
 Pyrites sulphur and iron in combination. 
 
 Rodentia an order of snimals, supplied with front 
 teeth, similar to the squirrel and rabbit; gnawer as 
 rat. 
 
 Ruminants, Ruminantia an order of animals which ch 
 the cud, as cow, sheep, deer. 
 
 Saurian a lizard-like animal. 
 
 Schist a rock made of three parallel layers. 
 
 Sediments, Sedimentary mud, sand, etc., deposited under 
 
 water. 
 Septaria nodules composed of clay, lime, etc., divided into 
 
 parts or partitions of crystalline matter. 
 Shale indurated clay. 
 Silex silica, flint. 
 Stratified divided into layers. 
 
 Strike the line of the bearing of rocks which lies at a right 
 , angle to their dip. The ridge-pole of a house shows 
 
 the strike: the inclination of the roof, the dip; and it 
 
 forms, in this illustration, an anticlynal axis. 
 Syenite a variety of granite, in which hornblende takes 
 
 place of mica. 
 Synclynal Axis the reverse of anticlynal, when the strata, 
 
 on two sides, plunge towards each other, or to a line 
 
 below their out crop. 
 
1S1 
 Trap volcanic rocks. 
 
 Veins Fissures filled with mineral matter, differing from 
 the rock in which the Assure has been found. 
 
 Unconformable Strata reposing upon the edges of strata 
 or when the layers are not parallel to each other. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 In section 30, instead of reading " Indian Corn" , 
 Cotton. 
 
 In section 27, instead of .$65 per acre, read $15 peir CLt V C *, 
 and instead of " two laborers,'' read "'twelve laborey J, 
 
 In section 28, fourth line from the bottom of thft |?G.Y(X- 
 graph, for manures read measures. In same section,^ VV 
 line from the bottom oi the paragraph, for prepared ^ V 
 purchased. 
 
 [The PUBLIC PRINTER thi-nks it probable that some typ6^ 
 graphical inaccuracies occur in the foregoing re ; >< rt. 
 The unavoidable absence of the author, in the prosecution 
 of his labors, devolved upon the publisher the duty of re- 
 vising the proof-sheets. His want of familiarity \\ith most 
 of the technical terms employed, renders it probable that 
 errors exist, so for as those terms are concerned.] 
 
14 DAY USE 
 
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