METALS AXD THEIR ORES. 5 



ilar lithological features and dimensions. The metalliferous part is on the south-east 

 wall of the quartz, separated by a widtli .of eight inches of fuller's-earth from a trap 

 dyke. A shaft has been sunk 36 feet. The adjoining rock is granitic gneiss. The 

 ore is scantily disseminated through a width of four to seven feet, sometimes pinching 

 out entirely. It consists of galena, magnetite with blue stains, copper and iron pyrites, 

 and zinc blende. This opening was made in 1876. 



In the north part of Wakefield, on the land of Ira Hammond and S. B. Ames, is a 

 similar band of white quartz with scanty veins of galena, blende, iron and copper pyr- 

 ites. Mined in 1S76, and two shafts sunk to the depth of 10 and 17 feet. 



In the north-west part of Strafford there is another opening in one of these beds, 

 much talked of by the prospectors. I have seen the beds, but not the openings. The 

 quartz is of remarkable extent and purity. I should not expect any of these " mines" 

 to prove profitable. 



The following- is the report of Mr. Huntington upon the prospect of 

 finding gold in Pittsburg, made in 1871. There is reason to believe that 

 explorations for gold in this town may be successful : 



Alluvial Gold of Indian Stream. 



In that part of Quebec Province that lies between the St. Lawrence, 

 Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, the existence of gold in the allu- 

 vium has been known for many years. It is estimated that the area 

 over which it extends comprises more than ten thousand square miles. 

 The gravel containing gold rests generally upon metamorphic schists, 

 some of which are associated with diorites and serpentines. Mr. A. 

 Michel compares the gold deposits of Lower Canada with those of 

 Siberia. In the Ural and Altai mountains the auriferous gravels are 

 almost always found reposing on schistose rocks, very rarely granitic or 

 sienitic, as along the Pacific in North and South America. He further 

 says, that the gold in Quebec Province, "whether in large or small 

 grains, is generally so smooth, so much rounded and worn by friction, 

 that it appears to come from some distance." * * * "The condi- 

 tion of the gold shows it to have been, for the greater part, at least, 

 detached, rounded, and ground by erosive action of currents of water." 



In the town of Ditton, which borders on New Hampshire, and is 

 immediately north of the head waters of Indian stream, alluvial gold 

 washing, by sluicing, has been carried on for several years. The place 

 where the most extensive operations are is on a branch of Salmon river, 



