CLAYS, 235 



be easily shipped. Occasional car-load lots have, however, been dug and 

 shipped to the smoking pipe factory at Pamplin City. As for this line of 

 Avare, a small quantity of clay will go a long way, so that the amount that 

 has been dug has produced little impression. 



The characters of the clay (No. 1339) are given in the table opposite 

 page 225. Its chief advantage is convenient location for shipment by rail, 

 an advantage not possessed by most deposits along the James Eiver. 



The Sturgeon Point Area. 



The AV. C. Mayo and Sons brick plant is located along the river's edge 

 at the base of the bluff, while the clay is obtained from near the top of the 

 bluff. The section at this point involves : 



Feet 



Loam 1 to 2 



Clay 7 to 8 



Sand 2 



Mottled clay with iron streaks 9 



Sand 20 to 30 



Blue sand 3+ 



The sand mentioned in the lower part of the section extends down to the 

 river's edge, and at that point it is underlain by a bed of dark bluish-gray, 

 highly plastic clay, which is about 3 feet in thickness. The upper layer of 

 clay was formerly worked and a considerable quantity of it has been dug. 

 The clay was found, however, to be so variable in character and burning 

 qualities that it was undesirable for use, consequently the raw material for 

 the yard is taken from the middle clay bed given in the section, which yields 

 a more uniform product. 



It is claimed that this deposit of clay extends more or less continuously 

 for at least twelve miles back from the river. 



The Oldfield Area. 



This locality lies about four miles south of Sturgeon Point and on the 

 same side of the river. The Oldfield Brick and Tile Company is engaged 

 in the manufacture of common brick. The clay here, as at Sturgeon Point, 

 underlies the terrace wliich borders the river, and the brick yard is located 

 at the base of the terrace escarpment on the river's edge. It may be said 

 that the materials underlying the terrace consist of dense or alternating beds 

 of sand and clay overburden, and an upper bed of loamy clay underlain by 

 a siliceous clay, which weathers to a whitish color and contains many cylin- 



