OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 287 
and is said to answer well. No excavation has been made, and it is difficult to say of what extent 
it_may be. 
Oxide of Titanium.—This mineral occurs in considerable quantity in Cheochee valley, and may 
be collected where gold deposits are worked; it is used in the manufacture of artificial teeth, for imi- 
tating the natural color. 
Sulphuret of Iron.—This mineral is found at many of the gold mines; at Hale’sit is thrown out 
in heaps, and forms by decomposition, sulphate of iron, or copperas. On Brass Town creek, Pickens 
district, it is also found in this last state, mixed with sulphate of alumina. 
BurtpinG Marertats. 
In building materials, durability and strength, combined with a certain facility of being formed 
into requisite shapes, are the principal requisites. 
In these respects, limestone and granite stand pre-eminent. Limestone is very durable, and re- 
sists external agencies remarkably well. 
The white crystalline limestones of Laurens and Spartanburg, if they were more accessible, would 
be prized for ornamental purposes. At the Limestone Springs some blocks have been saved, that 
prove the excellence of the stone at that locality. The color is white, with reddish streaks. In 
choosing granite, the tendency to decay should be examined closely. Where it has been long ex- 
posed to the weather, if the felspar has lost its lustre and become dull, it should be rejected, espe- 
cially if it absorbs moisture, or contain pyrites. The fine grained granite of uniform appearance 
and structure is to be preferred, where strength and durability are prominent objects. The granites 
around Columbia are of this character. ‘There is a granite in Newberry that possesses all the re- 
quisites of an excellent building material. In color and appearance it resembles, when dressed, 
a course gray marble; it may be split with ease into prisms of any dimensions, and it is worked 
with great facility. This beautiful granite cannot surely remain long unknown. ‘ 
There is little or no expense incurred in quarrying, for immense masses appear above the surface, 
from which slabs are split off by means of wedges. 
The sienites of Abbeville, Fairfield, and Lexington, would make excellent, building materials. 
The Abbeville sienite can scarcely be distinguished from the Quincy granite. 
The porphyritic granite, near Camden, is the most beautiful that I have seen, and if & cheap 
means of sawing and polishing it could be devised, it would make an elegant ornamental stone. 
Gneiss, also, furnishes a good building stone, and the coarse soap stones have also been employed 
with s.iccess; they are durable and easily worked. The silicious rock into which clay slate passes, 
on Stevens’ creek, is broken into cubic blocks, and would furnish a good material. The tertiary for- 
mation also furnishes some beds that may be used in construction. 
The white felspathic sand stone, and grits of the Buhrstone formation, have been long known, in 
Columbia, as a building stone. It has been quarried to some extent at Platte’s springs, and it occurs 
in abundance on Little Horse creek, Edgefield. It is, however, but a poor material, as it is subject 
to crumble and exfoliate, especially when the finer varieties are chosen. <A coat of paint or oil would 
protect it very much, but in all cases the coarser silicious stones should be used, as they are far.more 
durable. 
There is a fine silicious clay also in the buhrstone, which becomes quite hard and cherty, and for 
durability is unsurpassed, It is very light, and generally, when taken from the quarry, so soft as to 
