1836.J 



FARMERS' REGISTER, 



315 



impossible to say ; but so it is*. Other facts op- 

 posed to the scientific theory of lime, arc aflbrtled 

 by the interestiiiir commnnicatioii alhuletl to in the 

 first part of this letter, respectinn; the plaster beds 

 of Chillenaniro, Phelpstown, Wheatland and Ca- 

 yu<ia, in New York, in connection vvitii the expe- 

 riments which have been recently made upon the 

 calcareous rock taken ironi JMoore's well ; facts 

 which, if true, involve a contradiction, while they 

 confirm the impression in this nei<Thborhood, that 

 the rotten limestone is as eiBcacious as plaster. 



Your New York correspondent calls upon you 

 to clear awa}' the funj which surrounds him and his 

 fellow citizens on this subject. With equal pro- 

 priety, may we of Botetourt call for aid in this tru- 

 ly perplexing matter — not onl}^ perplexin<r, but 

 deeply inlerestinrr; for, if it be true, as your cor- 

 respondent suggests, " that the mechanical opera- 

 tion of grinding or pulverizing crude or unburnt 

 hmestone, renders it equally fertile with gypsum," 

 the benefits which will flow to this country, from its 

 discovery, can scarcely be estimated. 



W. M. PEYTON. 



P. S. Since writing the above, I have received 

 your 4th No., and find that the opinion of your 

 New York correspondent respecting the rock from 

 Aloore's well, is confirmed by the analysis of Pro- 

 fessor Silliman. I am surprised that the singular- 

 ity and importance of the circumstances connected 

 with his experiment, did not attract his attention. 

 He has left us, from our confidence in his skill and 

 science, in a most inextricable labyrinth. He suf- 

 fers the anomalous character claimed for it to pass 

 without comment; and proves, by analysis, that it 

 is not only a mere carbonate, but that it contains 

 only 50 percent, of lime, the residue bemg an alu- 

 minous residuum, without the least plaster of Paris. 

 I hope the remarks in your 4th No. will meet his 

 eye, and induce him to investigate and treat the 

 subject with that fulness and perspicuity for which 

 his abilities and science so eminently- qualify himf. 



W. M. P. 



August 7th, 1836. 



* The carbonate of lime is indeed, as stated by our 

 correspondent, insoluble imcater — but is soluble in wa- 

 ter impregnated with carbonic acid. Besides the va- 

 rious other natural means of carbonic acid being given 

 to earth and water, all rain water contains some, as it 

 falls to the earth — and therelore, there are abundant 

 means thus furnished, by which carbonate of lime, 

 (then become the super-carbonate, by being combined 

 with excess of carbonic acid,) may be dissolved, and 

 held in solution in water. It is in this state that all 

 limestone water holds lime. And when the excess of 

 carbonic acid is expelled, (as is easily done,) by heat, 

 or by exposure to the atmosphere — which last occurs 

 mostly at the water-falls and ripples — then the lime, 

 restored to the state of carbonate, being insoluble, is 

 precipitated, and forms a deposite of soft limestone, or 

 travertin. 



fWe concur heartily in the wish of our correspon- 

 dent to obtain light from this abundant source. As the 

 matter now stands, with Professor Silli man's state- 

 ments of the analysis of the earth in question, the facts 

 are incomprehensible — and would be to us incredible, 

 except for the supposition that there are causes of ac- 

 tion not yet discovered. Ed. 



PROCEEDINGS OF THE MtNERALOGICAL SO- 

 CIETY OK VIRGINIA. 



To Uie Kditor of the Farmers' Register. 



Ky order of the Mineralogical Societ)- of Vir- 

 ginia, I send you the enclosed extracts from its 

 minutes, respectfully requesting that they may be 

 published in the Register. 



Most respectfully 



your most obt. &c. 

 w. s. BioiiTON, Sec. 

 jlugust IGih, 1836. 



At a meeting of several gentlemen, held at 

 Prince Edward Court House, on Saturday, July 

 •23d 1836, for the purposes hereinafter mentioned, 

 !)r. W. 13. Smith was appointed Chairman, and 

 Dr. B. F. Wilson Secretary. 

 The objects of this meeting were, to consider, what 

 measures are most likely to develope an intimate 

 and extensive knowledge of the mineral wealth of 

 the state of Virginia, and to put into operation such 

 means as may tend to render those resouixes avail- 

 able to the purposes of public good. 



E \'ery day adds its testimony to the great amount 

 of the mineral wealth of this state, both in the 

 precious metals, and also in those which are more 

 common, but not the less valuable — as coal, iroa 

 and copper. In all sections, there are abundant 

 indications of the presence of rich ores, which 

 were either formed in situ, or rolled from the high- 

 lands by water courses. The discovery of gold is 

 an example, and the careless but profitable man- 

 ner in which mining operations for obtaining it are 

 conducted, is an earnest of the value of a more 

 rigid and accurate survey. All over the country, 

 tlij inhabitants are continually finding various min- 

 eral specimens, upon their own estates, and for want 

 of that species of knowledge, requisite for deter- 

 mining the composiiion and value of such speci- 

 mens, they are thrown aside and forgotten, or only 

 referred to as matters of curiosity. There is no 

 kind of institution in existence, wdiere such mine- 

 rals might undergo a faithful chem'cal analysis, 

 and the owners of" the lands on which they are 

 found, informed of their real worth. 



Geological surveys are for the purpose of defi- 

 ning the great and more striking features of the 

 structure of a countr}'. Operating over a large 

 extent of surface, they are necessarily of too su- 

 perficial a character to be of benefit to private per- 

 sons, and the owners of smaller estates. Nor is 

 it possible, however liigh ma}' be the scientific ac- 

 quirements cf those who conduct them, that they 

 should become acquainted with all the minor fea- 

 tures of the mineralogy of a district, a knowledge 

 which however is of Ihe greatest interest to indi- 

 viduals. To obtain an enlarged, and at the same 

 time, a very intimate knowledge of this kind, every 

 citizen must become his own geologist — he must 

 collect the minerals in his own neighborhood — an- 

 nex to them a clear and distinct account of the 

 circumstances under which they are found, or their 

 locality. And the next point in, to have them 

 identified, or chemically analyzed, and their value 

 ascertained. 



This important point M\ under the considera- 

 tion of the meeting. Analytical chemistry, which 

 is the science furnishing the knowledge necessary, 

 is not taught as a branch of education in any of 

 the public' institutions of the United Slates, and 

 those persons who are acquainted with it, have 



