b JOURNAL OF THE 



Piedmont plateau-reg'ions, there are deposits of clay 

 resulting' from the decay of g-ranites, o"neisses and 

 crystalline schists. Many of these have a structure 

 which would indicate that the materials have been 

 transported for g-reater or less distances. But in, per- 

 haps, many other cases, the materials have evidently 

 decayed in place, since the g-radations can be traced 

 from the cla}^ down into the partly altered rock below. 

 These clays, of course, var}^ in composition with the 

 character of the rocks from which they have been formed. 

 They have frequently a reddish or yellowish color, due 

 to the oxides of iron present, thoug-h in many places 

 the colors are much lig-hter, the iron having* been re- 

 moved througfh the action of org-anic matter. As will 

 be seen from the above statement, these may be classed 

 as partl}^ residual clays and parLly transported clays. 

 They have been worked on a small scale in many plac- 

 es for brick; and in a few places, as at Biltmore (Bun- 

 combe County) and at Pomona (Guilford County) they 

 have been used in the manufactvire of tile-, drain-, and 

 sewer-pipes; also at Pomona for lire-brick; and near 

 Grover (Gaston County) for fire-brick and vitrified or 

 paving-brick. 



The ag*e of these transported clays of the mountain- 

 and Piedmont plateau-counties is unknown. Some of 

 them, upon careful investig-ation, may be shown to be- 

 long* to certain definite recent g-eologic periods; but 

 most of them, probably, cannot be ascribed to any def- 

 inite g'eolog'ic time, but must be attributed simply to 

 local conditions; and their ag*e is probably recent. The 

 clay and brick-loam deposits alon^- the river terraces 

 of the mountain and Piedmont counties which, in many 

 places, are well adapted to the manufacture of brick, 

 may be Columbian or older in ag-e, 



