42 The Ottawa Naturalist. [May 



to carry on a business with this material by paying five dollars 

 a ton, the same induitry ought to be a success here where we 

 have the raw material at our doors. What it requires is capital 

 and enterprise with a good amount of push. The felspar which 

 is being mined is found as a portion of some of the many granite 

 dykes that traverse our older crystalline rocks, and the proviso 

 for its usefulness is that it shall be free from iron and mica, its 

 shade of colour, either red or white, apparently not making any 

 difference in its market value. 



The brick clays of the district are widespread. Many of the 

 deposits are of excellent quality, and the quantity of bricks and 

 tiles already produced is very large and constantly increasing. 

 This may be seen at a glance by comparing the figures of 

 import in drain tiles, &c., for 1888 with those of 1895. Thus in 

 the former year these were imported to a value of over 100,000 

 dollars, while six years later so greatly had the home develop- 

 ment increased, that these figures had been reduced to 21,000 

 d )llars. The manufacture of terra-cotta has also grown to a 

 comparatively large industry, or from 50,000 dollars in 1888 to 

 nearly 200,000 in 1895. These manufactures from some of our 

 commonest and most widely spread materials show that even in 

 this direction there is yet great room for development ; yet on 

 the part of many persons the widespread nature of such raw 

 material is such as to cause them to be considered as almost 

 valueless as sources of mineral wealth. Even of such ordinary 

 things as sand and gravel there is a great possibility of develop- 

 ment if only the right characteristics can be found, as may be 

 inferred from the fact that- the increase in their export between 

 the years 1887 and 1895 has been no less than 90,000 dollars. 

 These last figures do not of course apply to the Ottawa district 

 alone, but are given as indicating possibilities for future develop- 

 ment along the line of some of the most common materials. 



The bottoms of many of our lakes in the area to the north 

 and south of the Ottawa are filled with great deposits of shell 

 marl which in some places is being exterrsively used in the manu- 

 facture of cement, and for which there is a large market for a 



