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S' REGISTER. 



Vol. Vlir. 



MAY 31, 1840. 



No. 



EDMUlVfD RUFPIN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR. 



THE BIAHL, AND LIMESTONE OF THE BORDERS 

 OF THE NEUSE AND TREXT. 



To the Editur of tlio Famieis' Regislcr. 



jEgypt, Craven county, N. C. 

 March 24, 1840. 



It was a matter of regret to us that you were 

 uiiahle to visit our section ofllie state, [in Novem- 

 ber,] vvliilsl on your "joliing" expedition ; but we 

 are much consoled by ihe rctleclion tliat you have 

 not abandoned your intention ol" so doing. Your 

 trip might be made more interesting lo you, 

 to say nothing ofthe additional faciiilies and com- 

 forts the route would afliird you, by taking the 

 Wilmington rail-rond to VVaynesborough, on tiie 

 Neuse river. In ihe vicinity of Waynesborough, 

 you might be gratified by visiting and viewing the 

 hmestoiie Ibrmalions of the Sarponey hills, which 

 are thus described by Prolt'ssor Olmsted, in his 

 Geological Report : 



" In the eastern part of the county of Wayne 

 ks a high ridge of land, extending along the south 

 side o\' the river, (Neuse,) lor several miles, and 

 dividing the waters of this river from those which 

 pursue u longer course to the Cape Fear. These 

 kills are covered with large blocks of a fine stone 

 marl, beneath which, at the l)ed of the river, lies 

 a Ibrmalion of limestone, of the description called 

 by mineralogists oolitic limestone — diH'erent in its 

 appearance Irom all the other beds which occur on 

 ifns river. The most favorable view of these rocks 

 occurs at Mr. Griswold's, on the bank of the river, 

 nipe miles below Waynesborough, where a blufl, 

 finely leet high, exposes them fully to inspection. 

 Thirty-five feet above the limestone, in the side 

 of the hill, the blocks of marl above mentioned 

 made their appearance. It is of a close texture, 

 nearly or quite destitute of shells and other organic 

 remains, and does not, like the stone .marl lurther 

 down, fall to pieces on exposure to the weather. 

 It is ol'a lively gray color, and when first removed 

 from the bed it is so soft as to be easily cut with a 

 knile, or sawed into blocks ; but on becoming quite 

 dry it grows hard and firm, and assumes every ap- 

 pearance of a most elegant building stone. Indeed, 

 on comparing it with a specimen of the celebrated 

 Bath stone (which is used for the finest public 

 buildings of the city of London) lecently taken 

 li-om Westminster Abbey by the Rev. l)r. Cald- 

 well, (the late lamented president of the Univer- 

 sity of North Carolina,) the eye can hardly dis- 

 cern any dilierence between them, but the two ap- 

 pear equally well fitted in texture, color and beau- 

 ty, lor the finest purposes of architecture. It is com- 

 posed of sixty per cent, of lime and forty of a fine 

 gray clay, "it is therefore a true marl." This 

 country abounds in all the materiel, for becoming 

 a rich agricultural section, although the lands na- 

 turally are not rich, and possesses likewise tlie 

 great desideratum of being healthy. As you 

 progress lower down the Neuse, seven miles be- 

 low VVaynesborough, by land, you encounter the 

 beginning of a most extensive and singular de- 

 posite of copperas, which extends along the Neuse 

 lor more than one hundred miles— these forma- 

 Vor.. VIII— 32 



fions are so very extensive on the banks of the 

 Neuse river, that if necessity should ever compel 

 ourcitizens to the manufacture of this article, here 

 are depositee suffii:iei)t not only lor home con- 

 sumption, but (or very great exportation. You 

 will find all along the banks of the river evidences 

 of limestone formations until you reach the plan- 

 tation lately owned by Isaac Croom, esq., in Le- 

 noir county, where there are some very lich and 

 valuable deposiies of marl. These beds are of 

 extensive formation and have been sold at one 

 Imndrcd and twenty-five dollars per acre, a sum 

 far below their value, to their present owners, 

 if they are ever applied to their lands — they lie 

 immediately on the banks of the river, are of easy- 

 access, and the marl can be boated at little ex- 

 pense. Mr. John C. Washington, of Vernon, 

 near Kinston, in Lenoir county, has purchased an 

 acre of this formation, and intends to transport 

 marl down the river in boats some six or seven 

 miles, and then haul it in carts to his farm. You 

 will recollect that specimens of this marl were 

 submitted to your inspection and analysis, and 

 that the lower bed contains f'/^ of carbonate of 

 lime, and the upper one y^. Descending the 

 river about twenty-five miles, you will meet with 

 a most extensive and interesting f(:)rmation of 

 marl at Fort Barnweil, the residence of Col. Sa- 

 muel S. Biddle; in fact, all of his lands lying 

 along the river are more or less impregnated with 

 lime, and it is a singular fact, that whilst the lands 

 of nearly all of the old settlements in this section 

 of the country, are almost worn out and perlectly 

 impoverished, these limestone lands still retain 

 their heart and strength. Col. Bidille has mada 

 but limited applications of marl to his lands, but is 

 turning his attention to this interesting subject, 

 and I trust ere long will give you the results of 

 his experience and observation. Adjoining the 

 farm of Col. Biddle is my own. I have lately, 

 in my largest field, opened a pit of marl, which 

 has all the appearances of being extremely rich, 

 and of almost boundless extent. The Ibrmation 

 consists of a vast collection of scallops, oysters, 

 conchs, corals and madrepores, all blended toge- 

 ther in minute particles, except now and then you 

 may obtain specimens of entire shells of each de- 

 scription. I have sent to our university some very 

 interesting specimens of shelly and organic re- 

 mains taken from this pit, and hope thereby to 

 elicit much valuable information in relation to 

 them and {heir genealogy. From several indica- 

 cations about this pit, I liave been induced to be- 

 lieve, that with the proper apparatus for boring, £ 

 could soon obtain salt water, which, if it yielded a 

 brine of half the strength of the New York salt 

 wells, would be of great value. The well at Li- 

 verpool in New Y^ork, is eighty-two feet deep, 

 (only,) and contains the strongest brine in the 

 state, as 40.5 gallons yield a bushel of salt. D.". 

 Beck has given the strata found in digging this 

 well: "Shell marl twelve feet, fine sand fourteen 

 (i?et, very fine grayish clay (brty-three feet, below 

 this, a deep bed of gravel, in which the brine be* 

 gan to appear, and soon rose to near the surface." 



