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them being of considerable extent. It was believed by many persons 
before the war, and by officers of the confederate government during 
the war, that they would prove to be a valuable source of niter, and 
were worked for the extraction of this compound. Some of the attempts 
in this direction proved successful, but very many of them resulted dis- 
astrously, as might be expected from the low percentage of nitric acid 
‘in some of the samples, and its complete absence in others, and, at the 
close of the war, all enterprise in this direetion was abandoned. They 
will, however, be a profitable source of fertilizing material, since their 
mechanical condition is favorable to their ready removal and applica- 
tion to the soil. Most of them contain fair percentages of organic 
nitrogen, while some of them contain both actual ammonia and nitrates. 
Microscopical examination of the material shows it to consist of the 
remains of the hard parts of insects in a finely comminuted condition, 
which are the source of its nitrogenous constituents. Many of these 
remains are in such a fair state of preservation that the species of 
insects to which they belong may be determined. 
Before proceeding to further descriptions of the samples received by 
the Department, and a statement of their analysis, I will detail some of 
the information concerning the deposits, as furnished by our corre- 
spondents. 
Mr. J. Layne, McDowell, Highland Couhty, Virginia, reports caves 
containing deposits on the lands of the following gentlemen: John T. 
Armstrong, 2; Samuel Armstrong, 2; Jonathan Lirons,1; H.C. Jones’s 
property, on Cave Mountain, 2 or more; on property of James Woods, 
on Jackson’s River, 1. Mr. Layne states that from all of these caves 
large amounts of saltpeter were made during the war, and vast quanti- 
ties of fertilizing material could be obtained from them at any time. 
Mr. R.E. Talbot, Georgetown, Williamson County, Texas, sent samples 
of deposit, with the following statement: ‘‘I inclose a sample of bat 
excrement from the cave of William K. Foster, two and a half miles 
from Georgetown. The amount of the deposit is large, supposed to be 
hundreds of tons. Many apartments of the cave are filled to the 
mouth, making it impossible to tell how extensive the cave is, or the 
amount of excrement in it. For a space of about 100 yards long by 
20 yards wide, near the mouth, it is from 6 to 10 feet deep.” 
Mr. S. B. Thornton, Tuscumbia, Ala., reports ‘“‘a deposit in a cave 
three miles west of that place, worked by a gentleman, who considers the 
deposit worth $20,000. The cave is 80 or 90 feet deep. Material from 
it has been tried upon corn with very favorable results.” 
Mr. Hugh J. Brady, Spencer, Tenn., sent a-sample taken from an 
extensive deposit found in a cave, one division of which ‘*‘ measures one 
mile in length and 50 feet in width. This is the main room. The cave 
has been surveyed for a distance of three miles. A New York company 
manufactured saltpeter from the deposit for a number of years, but 
finally failed.”’? The deposit is believed to be of great value. 
Mr. H. Weir, San Antonio, Tex., writes: 
I sent you by express October 26, one can of “bat guano,” containing about ten 
pounds, taken from ny cave, about twenty miles northeast of this city. There is a 
large deposit in this cave, say fifteen or twenty thousand tons, and yearly increasing. 
J should be pleased to get your analysis of this sample, and will cheerfully give you 
in further information you may desire with regard to this cave, or others in this 
section, 
Mr. William H. Bayne, postmaster at Batesville, Ark., reports one 
cave in his vicinity which contains a large deposit of bat excrement, 
and is at present the resort of immense numbers of bats. 
Mr. P. A. Kendrick, Brierfield, Bibb County, Alabama, reported a 
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