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ANNUAL OF SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY. 



time, and had attracted various mineralogists to the spot. There may 

 he seen a single crystal at the house of Gov. Dickinson, which must 

 have been more than 18 inches in length. The massive phosphorite 

 was discovered by Dr. C. T. Jackson and Mr. Alger while on an ex- 

 cursion into New Jersey during the past surnmer. Several tons of it 

 have been removed, and its value is now to be tested as a substitute 

 for animal phosphate and guano, as an agricultural fertilizer, after 

 grinding and undergoing other suitable preparations, to render it more 

 readily solvent and active in the soil. So pure indeed is this mineral 

 phosphate, that Dr. Jackson considers that it may and will be profita- 

 bly used for tbe extraction and preparation of phosphorus, in preference 

 to obtaining it from other sources. It is the intention of Mr. Alger to 

 send to the great Exhibition of 1851 a nearly pure mass from the 

 Hurdsville vein, weighing over 400 pounds. 



So important is the substance deemed, that a few years since the 

 British government sent commissioners to Estremadura in Spain, for 

 the purpose of exporting it to England, and Prof. Daubeny made a 

 report on the subject, the result of which was, that it did not occur in 

 sufficient quantities ; so that the only mineral phosphate now used by 

 the agriculturists in England is obtained from the crag on the coast of 

 Suffolk. But this is very impure, containing carbonate of lime and 

 other earthy matter, which are objectionable in several ways, while the 

 mineral phosphate of New Jersey is perfectly pure. Prepared bone- 

 dust, however, is very largely used in England, and in this country 

 the demand for it is considerable. It contains several soluble phos- 

 phates besides lime, as magnesia and soda, all of which are important 

 to the growth of plants. Besides the use of bone-dust for agricultural 

 purposes, several thousand tons of it are annually used in England for 

 the manufacture of china-ware, at a cost of from 1 to jClO per ton. 

 When we consider the bearing of phosphate of lime upon the animal 

 and vegetable economy, we cannot but regard the discovery of this 

 substance in such large quantities, and so easily accessible, as one of 

 the most valuable of the sources of wealth which has been added to 

 the country during the past year. 



Phosphate of Lime in New York. During the geological survey 

 of New York some years since, the occurrence of phosphate of lime 

 in considerable quantities was noticed by Dr. Emmons near Crown 

 Point, and its employment for agricultural purposes recommended. 

 This locality within a comparatively recent period has been explored 

 and a vein opened under the direction of Dr. Emmons. This vein 

 has been traced for a distance of 30 or 40 rods, and opened continu- 

 ously for 30 feet. In some places it has a width of six feet, varying 

 from two to six. About sixty tons have been already raised, which 

 it is proposed to grind and prepare for agricultural purposes. This 

 phosphate of lime differs considerably from apatite, and is called by 

 Dr. Emmons eirpyrchroite. In color it is a dirty malachite green, ap- 

 parently formed in concretions under botryoidal forms, exhibiting on 

 the cross fracture a fibrous structure like some forms of limonite. It 

 is foliated or laminated, the laminee lying upon each other and forming 

 with themselves segments of spheres. Exposure to the air changes 



