27 



of iron ore here described, we are forcibly impressed with the 

 belief, that while they are of a moderate length, taken individually, 

 they are to be regarded as constituting but one long and exten- 

 sive belt of closely connected metalliferous injections, contempo- 

 raneously produced. 



It appears from what has been detailed, that the ore in its 

 course to the north grows more uniform and undisturbed. The 

 general quality of the ore along much of the line here traced is 

 excellent, answering well for the bloomery or the furnace. Much 

 of it is coarsely granular, which is a good feature ; a portion, how- 

 ever, is too compact — being somewhat refractory and red short — 

 especially a particular band or subdivision of the vein. 



Near the openings first mentioned, the second or northwestern 

 vein has been penetrated throughout a length of about one hun- 

 dred feet, and to a depth not exceeding thirty. Its ore makes an 

 iron highly cold short, a circumstance which has caused the vein 

 to be less explored than the other, though it is probable that it 

 ranges over a considerable distance. Its position is parallel to 

 the first. The dip is to the southeast, and its width about ten 

 feet. The ore in these veins is highly magnetic, some of it pos- 

 sessing magnetic polarity. It is a coincidence which deserves 

 at least to be alluded to, that in another even richer locality of 

 magnetic iron ore, namely, that of Mount Pleasant and Succa- 

 sunny, in Morris county, there exist two extensive veins or series 

 of veins, the predominant character of the western vein in that 

 neighbourhood being just as at Ringwood, that of producing a 

 cold short iron. 



About midway between Ringwood and Pompton, or six miles 

 from each place, a vein occurs in a similar position to the above, 

 on the west side of the Ringwood Valley, having exactly the 

 same bearing, namely, north-northeast. 



Westward of the iron range here laid down, there would appear 

 to occur between this and the vein of Franklinite and zinc of the 

 valley beyond the Wallkill Mountain, more than one considera- 

 ble and valuable vein of magnetic ore. We may mention the 

 veins of Charlottesburg and those of the Wallkill Mountain, four 

 miles east of Franklin Furnace, as examples. 



The next district in the primary region, remarkable for an 

 abundance of magnetic iron ore, is a range of country extending 



