16 



GYPSUM. 



Gypsum is found in great abundance for a distance 

 of about thirty-five miles along the Grand River in 

 western Canada, and large beds of it are opened at 

 Cayuga, York, Seneca, Brantford, and Paris. About 

 14,000 tons of gypsum are annually raised from 

 these quarries, and are for the most part consumed 

 in that portion of the province, as a dressing for the 

 soil. It is chiefly ground at mills in the neighbour- 

 hood, and sold in that state at from three dollars 

 and a half to four dollars the ton, ( fourteen to sixteen 

 shillings sterling). Some of this gypsum is however 

 pure and white, and being fitted for use as stucco, 

 commands a higher price. These quarries are si- 

 tuated in the immediate vicinity of railways, which 

 afford facilities for transportation. The gypsum con- 

 sumed in Lower-Canada is chiefly brought from the 

 Magdalene Islands in the gulf of St. Lawrence. 

 These contain abundant deposits of this mineral, 

 which is brought by water to Quebec and Montreal. 

 The consumption of gypsum for agricultural pur- 

 poses in Lower-Canada is however less than in the 

 west, and might be increased with advantage. 



PHOSPHATE OF LIME. 



Among the most important discoveries of modern 

 scientific agriculture is that of the" value of phos- 

 phates as a manure. The beneficial effects of ground 

 bones, and of Peruvian guano, of which last about 

 300,000 tons are annually brought to Great Britain, 

 are in a great measure due to the phosphates which 

 these manures yield to the soil ; and within a few 

 years, the use of a soluble phosphate, or superphos- 

 phate of lime as an application to the soil, has been 

 so much extended, that its manufacture has become 



