GEOLOGY. 263 



but as Descotils, on being appealed to, declared the mineral to be a 

 chromate of lead, Del Rio abandoned his own opinion in deference to 

 a higher authority. Thus have three persons noticed the existence 

 of vanadium, without the knowledge of each other's labors; but 

 the merit of being the first discoverer is fairly due to Sefstrom. 

 Editors. 



ON THE DEPOSITS OF IRON NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR. 



ACCORDING to Mr. Whitney, U. S. Geologist, the deposits of iron 

 ore in the regions bordering on Lake Superior are immense. It ex- 

 ists mostly in the form of fine-grained, almost chemically pure peroxide, 

 and occupies about 80 quarter-sections of the mineral country. At 

 the nearest point it is about 12 miles from the Lake. The quantity of 

 the ore is beyond all calculation, and the iron made from it is equal to 

 the best Swedish. It appears in the form of hills, ridges, and knobs, 

 evidently of igneous origin, the highest points being 1100 feet 

 above the level of the lake. In some cases the hills or ridges are 

 more than half a mile in extent. The cost of iron manufactured 

 from this ore is from 24 to 30 dollars per ton, while the price of 

 Swedish is about 90 dollars. The forests in the vicinity of the ore- 

 beds afford abundant materials for the production of charcoal, to be 

 used in smelting. 



ARGENTIFEROUS GALENA. 



LARGE bodies of this valuable mineral are found in Arkansas. Sil- 

 ver mines also exist in that State, some of which were worked by the 

 Spaniards prior to the year 1800. Gold mines appear recently to have 

 been found, and iron to an endless extent. The present workings of 

 argentiferous galena are on the estates of the " Southwestern and 

 Arkansas Mining Company," situate about ten miles from Little 

 Rock. The ore is said to be exceedingly rich. The highest assays 

 have exhibited as much as 140 pounds of silver to the ton of ore. 

 The lowest assays are about 33oz. The average of silver to a ton of 

 ore is supposed to be about 120oz., a presumption founded on the 

 price offered for the ore in England. The importance of even the 

 lowest assay (33oz.) can be estimated from the fact, that, in England, 

 it is considered worth separating for 3oz. 



ZINC MINES OF NEW JERSEY. 



THE Sussex Zinc and Copper Mining Company are now engaged 

 in active mining operations in the town of Monroe, Sussex County, 

 New Jersey. The mines owned by this company are among the 

 most valuable and productive in this country, and are the only ones in 

 the world where the red oxide of zinc is procured in quantity for prac- 

 tical purposes. The locality has been known for many years. It was 

 opened by Lord Stirling who first worked the iron mines in Orange 

 County, and constructed the first furnace there. He worked it proba- 



