326 Geology of Lewis County. [June, 



they are often found lying entirely upon the surface, as if they 

 had been deposited there but yesterday. 



The recent deposites of the county consist of calcareous tufa, 

 bog iron ore, and black oxide of manganese. 



Tufa occurs in limited quantities, petrifying moss and lichens 

 below the falls on Roaring brook; below Lowville village on the 

 south bank of the creek, and on the north branch of the same 

 about one and a half miles north west of the village. Other lo- 

 calities of less note occur, but in no case does it exist in sufficient 

 quantity to merit particular notice. 



Bog iron ore occurs in the cedar swamps along Black river in 

 Lowville and Watson, from which it has been procured in consid- 

 erable quantities for the furnace at Carthage; but the quantity of 

 pyrites that it contained being supposed to impair its quality, it is 

 not now employed. The ore at this locality often replaced roots 

 and sticks, preserving their form and structure with fidelity. The 

 strata of this ore are often exposed along the alluvial banks of 

 streams, which flow from the slate, mingled with logs of wood 

 and gravel, but not in useful quantities. 



In Diana, about two miles from the Louisburg furnace, a loamy 

 ore is found, which is employed with the specular ore at the fur- 

 nace. It also exists about one mile from Louisburg. 



The ore of manganese occurs on the summit of Tug Hill, in the 

 south western part of Martinsburgh, in a swamp, and forms a de- 

 posite about two feet in thickness, consisting of nodules dissemi- 

 nated through the soil. 



When freshly broken, it has a glossy black color, like anthra- 

 cite coal, for which it was at first mistaken, but it soon crumbles 

 on exposure to the air into a coarse black powder. 



Its extent has never been determined, but it probably does not 

 occur in useful quantities; besides its impurity would render it 

 unfit for the purposes for which this mineral is used. It would be 

 difficult to procure it free from the clay with which it is mixed, 

 even if it could be procured in quantities. 



It has also been found in swamps in the town of Greig, but 

 only in small quantities. 



There are several sulphur springs in the county, which main- 

 tain a local celebrity as a cure for cutaneous diseases, the principal 

 of which occur in Lowville, near the Number Three road, and 

 about four and a half miles north of the village. 



The water issues from the south bank of a stream, and is highly 

 charged with sulphurated hydrogen. The rock at this place is 

 the Trenton limestone. Numbers resort hither for the purpose of 

 procuring the water, which is highly prized as a wash for old 

 s'ires, scrofulous affections, and ill conditioned ulcers. Another 

 sulphur spring occurs in the Loraine shales, on Whetstone creek, 



