MINEKALS OF THE COAL-FIELD OF NEW BRUNSWICK. 249 



Ijrook, in the parish of Upham in Westmoreland, and on the Tobiquc 

 in Victoria. No beds of rock salt liave been observed, nor is it known 

 at what depth the saliferous strata may be found. Salt has long been 

 made by the evaporation of the brines from Upham and Sussex, and 

 is of excellent quality, but the works have heretofore been conducted 

 upon a very limited scale. 



Gypsum (Sulphate of Lime). — This is a very abundant mineral in 

 New Brunswick, the deposits being numerous, large, and in general 

 of great purity. They occur in all parts of the Lower Carboniferous 

 district, in King's, Albert, Westmoreland, and Victoria, especially in 

 the vicinity of Sussex, in Upham, on the North River in Westmoreland, 

 at Martin Head on the Bay shore, on the Tobiquc River in cliffs over 

 100 feet high, and about the Albert Mines. At the last-named locality 

 the mineral has been extensively quarried from beds about sixty feet in 

 thickness, and calcined in large works at Hillsborough. 8646 barrels 

 of plaster were exported in 1863, principally to the United States; 

 but the trade has declined since the outbreak of the American war, 

 and during the last year the buildings employed by the company 

 were consumed by fire. 



Anhydrite (Anhydrous Sulphate of Lime). — This mineral occurs with 

 the last at Hillsborough, and the two are employed in connexion. 



Alum. — This important substance frequently results spontaneously 

 from the weathering of pyritous shales, and has been observed in 

 small quantities at Grand Lake and elsewhere, resulting from these 

 causes. As pyrites is abundant in the province, it may prove a source 

 of the future supply of this substance. Alum was a few years ago 

 manufactured in considerable quantities at Shcpody Mountain, but the 

 works have been abandoned, and are now in ruins. 



Freestones are abundant in the Lower Carboniferous rocks of Albert 

 and Westmoreland, and numerous quarries have been opened. They 

 are of red, yellowish, and olive tints, often so soft as to be readily cut 

 when freshly dug, but hardening on exposure, and are highly prized for 

 building purposes, both in the province and in the United States, 



Grindstones are found in the same quarries, and are of siq)erior 

 character. In 1864, 6814 tons of stone, including building and grind- 

 stones were exported from the province, while in 1860 the amount 

 was over 13,000 tons. 



Limestones are abundant in the Lower Carboniferous scries, 

 especially in the counties of King's, Queen's, Charlotte, St John, 

 Albert, Victoria, and Westmoreland. The beds of this scries arc 

 dark and more or less bituminous, yielding lime inferior to that of 

 the older formations [Laurentian and Silurian) in St John and Char- 



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