370 Oh Metallic Mmerals. 



MINBRALOGICAL CHARACTERS. 



Colour on a fresh fracture, steel grey externally, sometimes 

 rusted; opaque; structure, laminarly compact; fracture, 

 uneveu,somewhat conchoidal; ]ustreshining,almostsplendid 

 metallic. Its hardness is a little variable ; some portions 

 yeild to the knife, strikes fire when struck with the 

 hammer ; colour of the powder, glimmering black ; 

 specific gravity 4-6. No change in nitric acid, strongly 

 magnetic with polarity. Infusible alone before the blow- 

 pipe, but fuses with borax, in the exterior flame, into a 

 greenish yellow glass ; if the heat be increased it intumesces 

 and becomes green, and ultimately when the essay is 

 sufficient in quantity it forms an opaque black globule. 



Sixty per cent, of iron may be expected from this ore. 



The difficulty of extracting this ore is considerable, it 

 would otherwise be better worth exploring than, perhaps 

 any other in the township. 



ARGILLACEOUS OXIDE OP IRON.— >-BOG ORE. 



Bog ore apparently of the sub species called meadow ore, 

 is found in alluvium on the banks of a small stream at the 

 foot of the hill on which is found the ore last described ; 

 much of it is of so dark a colour and earthy a fi-acture as to 

 be mistaken for an ore of manganese^ (wad.) It occurs in 

 bullet shaped and reniform pieces varying from the size of a 

 grape shot to that of a large potatoe, mixed up with sand ; 

 occasionally it resembles the excrement of some animals. Mr. 

 Manahan informs me that similar deposits exist in several 

 places in the neighbourhood, but as they have not been 

 sought for particularly, they are not unlikely to occur in 

 many others. In this opinion I agree with him, as there is 

 uot perhaps a portion of any country abounding in rock 



