156 QUARTERLY JOURNAL. 



of Russia and Brazil, he has no doubt but that we shall find gold 

 and diamonds in them. 



Prof. Olmsted said that twenty years ago he saw two specimens 

 of this flexible sandstone at a farm house in Lincoln county, 

 Georgia, five miles s'juth of Graham's Iron Works ; this was also 

 in the gold region. One piece was as flexible as an eel ; it was 

 six inches long and two inches diameter ; it was cylindrical and I nl 

 shaped like an old fashioned pestle. I asked the farmer to give iti w 

 to me, but he refused, and he must have had the organ of firmnesii » 

 largely developed, for when T asked him to sell it to me, he said 

 he had concluded to keep it ; but he consoled me with this remark, 

 that if he could have made up his mind to part with it, he would 

 not have charged me a cent for it. (Laughter.) 



Dr. Jackson said there was a mineral very much like it that was 

 used instead of granular quartz at the glass w^orks in Keene, New- 

 Hampshire. Was it possible that gold might be found in situ 

 in that region. Native gold has been found in Vermont. i 



Prof. Shepard said it was doubtful if the native gold said to I 

 have been found in Vermont came from that State originally. It 

 might have been washed to the spot. 



Dr. Jackson alluded to Gen. Field's specimen, which undoubt- 

 edly was found in situ in New-Hampshire. 



Prof. Dewey — Well, but gold has been washed out of the sand 

 in Vermont. 



Professor Shepard — Yes, sir, but it is believed the sand had first 

 been salted with gold. (Laughter.) 



Dewey — Well, I should like to know who can be salting iht 

 earth in this w^ay. 



Prof. Hall said he always looked upon the flexible sandstone tc 

 be a sedimentary rock. 



Prof. Shepard — That agrees with the opinion of the French tra 

 veller. He was a little confused where to place it ; but some o: 

 it was evidently a transition rock ; and the diamonds and gold ir 

 Brazil are found only in sedimentary rocks. 



Prof. Booth said that there was a large diamond in Philadcl , 

 phia that had been found in a pudding stone with oxide of iroii' 

 and manganese. 



Prof. Shepard said that those found in the gang were not coi 

 sidcred genuine. 



TAKING SILICA OUT OF VEGETABLES. 



Dr. Jackson then related a very interesting process he hi 

 invented of depriving vegetables of their silex. This was resorted 

 to in order to use common reed poles to make paper and cordage 

 &c. He used for this the fluohydric acid. 



For this purpose he used a lead cylinder full of reed poles^ 

 crushed and moistened ; he placed some fluor spar in a lead retort 



