ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY. ;J47 



sedimentary rocks ; licncc the opinion wliicii lias been sometimes expressed, that the specular 

 ore is more nearly connected with the potsdam sandstone than the primary, is not supported 

 by the facts of these two veins. 

 The following cut will serve to illustrate the relation of the veins of ore under consideration : 



m. 



b. Tale vain ; a, Serpentine : d, Gneiss ; c, Policy vein. 



The similarity of these veins to those of Parish and Kearney, is carried out by the pre- 

 sence of serpentine. 



Another vein of the specular oxide has been found upon the farm of Mr. Hitchcock, about 

 three miles west from Dekalb village. At this place only a few openings have been made ; 

 they were insufficient to enable me to form an opinion of the amount of ore. It is in gneiss, 

 and unconnected with the potsdam sandstone. 



Magnetic Ores. 



This species of ore is found only in the eastern part of the county, where, in the circuit 

 of fifteen or twenty miles, several veins are known to exist. They are all in the unsettled 

 parts of this district, and have not been examined with a particular reference to their value. 

 They are of course in a region which is well wooded, and favorable in all respects to the 

 manufacture of iron, except the distance from market, and the heavy expenses which must 

 be met in so much land transportation. At present it seems unwise to attempt the manufac- 

 ture of iron so distant from water communication, unless the ore possesses more than ordi- 

 nary value. 



Magnetic Ore of Chamont. 



In the township of Chamont, in the southeast part of this county, one of the largest ore 

 beds in the county has long been known. Twenty-two or three years since, a large quantity 

 of the ore was transported to Canton for reduction. It is situated upon the Oswegatchie river, 

 near the crossing of the Albany road. The vein is in a hill or rocky eminence running east 

 and west, about one hundred feet high on the south side, and fifty on the north side. The 

 top of the ridge is a naked and smooth rock, about fifty rods wide, and near a mile in' length. 

 The whole of the hill is magnetic iron and quartz or white flint, a pepper and salt mixture. 

 Some parts are richer in iron than others, but none are destitute. Some portion of the mass 

 is nearly a pure oxide, a magnet taking up about ninety per cent. ; while others yield, by this 

 mode of trial, only fifty per cent. The ore is fine-granular, the grains being only of the size 

 of white mustard seed. , 



