oe 
appted on the;Gold Mines of North Carolina. 
sic is oe level than any I bad heard of Balgrex 
The. idea of an aqueous deposit, which is apt to be 
pressed upon us whenever we either inspect the feeble 
or reflect upon its origin, would lead us to expect, on ac- 
= . 
is evident that the thin stratum which outcast ‘the metal, 
will be buried at different depths, by variable quantities of 
alluvial earth, that are accumulated over it by causes still in 
operation 5 and consequently, that the depth at which the 
stratum happens to be met with in any given place, is no 
criterion of its richness. Nor does the fact that this fortu- 
nate discovery was made at a lower level than ordinary, af- 
ford any encouragement to work lower than the usual 
depth. I might interest geological curiosity, however, to 
learn the nature of the strata below the gold Sonam, al- 
though I do not know that the existence of this furni 
any reasonable grounds for supposing that share are other — 
similar deposits below it. I could not find that any search 
had been made with such an expectation except in a single 
instance. Near the spot where the largest mass was 
found, the earth was penetrated a few feet below the gold 
bed. Immediately beneath this was a.thin layer of green 
sand, and next a similar layer of a bright yellow sand. 
These had a very handsome appearance, but neither of 
them seemed to contain any thing more precious than mica. 
The terms on which the proprietors of the mines per- 
mit them to be worked, vary nhl the productiveness of the 
earth which is worke d. Some of the miners rent for a 
fourth of the gold found ; some for a third, and others claim 
half, which is the bigh est premium hitherto paid. The 
’s mine was not more than sixty 
to abourer; but the undertakers are 
buoyed up with Sa hope of Some splendid Patan like 
those which have occasionally been made. 
The mines have given some peculiarities to the state of 
society in the neighbouring country. The precious metal 
ts a most favourite acquisition, and constitutes the common 
currency. Almost every man carries about with him a 
