720 



FARMERS' REGISTER. 



[No. 12 



dering them almost inaccessible, or incapable of 

 being farther wrought. 



In the operation of washing at what are called 

 the "buddies," though conducled more judiciously 

 than the mining — there is evidently a larger pro- 

 portion of useful material carried off, than ought to 

 be allowed to escape. This fact 1 ascertained by 

 an examination ol" the ochreous earth deposited 

 by the stream at some distance below the buddies. 



The positioi\ of the veins in a hill near the south 

 bank of the New river, makes it obvious that a 

 tunnel driven through the base of the hill into the 

 veins, would atfbrd jjreat liicility to the operations 

 under ground, whilst, it would open up a great ex- 

 tent of the ore, and would dispense with the ex- 

 pensive and inetiicient process of raising the ore in 

 buckets. JBy locating the buddies and the furna- 

 ces at the mouth of such an adit, a combination of 

 advantages would be secured. It is estimated, 

 that 25 per cent, of the material, as it is procured 

 in the crude state from the mines, is removed by 

 washing at the buddies, and that 100 lbs. of the 

 rough, or 15 of the washed ore, will yield 50 lbs. 

 of metal. A result so very high ought to invite 

 attention to this interesting region, especially when 

 it is considered that this is the only available body 

 ot lead ore, in any of the Atlantic states. 



The fact, that by flir the larger portion of the 

 lead, which these mines furnish, is carried in wa- 

 gons to Baltimore, is a striking proof of the lucra- 

 tive nature of the manufacture, and stronixly indi- 

 cates the benefit which, in reference to this product, 

 the public may be expected to reap fi-om the exten- 

 sive works of improvement whicli have been so 

 wisely projected; in this portion of the state. 



The plaster banks, in the North Holston and 

 Walker's creek valleys, are another of the gifts 

 which liberal Nature has bestowed upon this tii- 

 vored region. The geological structure of the 

 valley of the Holston, is li-auiiht with peculiar 

 interest. Alter descending the northern slope of" 

 Walker's mountain, we come in view of the lofty 

 hmestonc hills, forming the southern boundary of 

 the valley, and taking our station upon some "ele- 

 vated knoll, we see spread out before us a scene ot 

 singular variety and beauty. Hills of limestone, 

 apparently arranged in rows, presentinif conical 

 and rounded outlines of surprising symmetry nnd 

 elegance, are stationed along the valley at nearly 

 equal intervals. The rich verdure that spreads to 

 their very summits, darkened by the thick foliage 

 of the sugar trees growing on their steep sides, 

 softens the picturesque vvildness of the landscape, 

 and convejs the idea of a soil of exuberant fertility. 

 In the three first ranges of these hills, the southern 

 dip of the rocks in Walker's mountain and the 

 intervening country is preserved, but nearer to the 

 river the limestones are seen dipping in the oppo- 

 site direction. The anticlinal axis marked, as oc- 

 curing in a black slate, is in the immediate vicinity 

 of the plaster banks and the wells from which the 

 brine is obtained. This axis extends far to the 

 east and west, and constitutes an important feature 

 in the geology of this region. The plaster has 

 been found along this valley, and in that of Walk- 

 er's creek, which joins it to the east, for a distance 

 of about forty miles. Whether it extends in the 

 latter direction, beyond the termination of this line, 

 cannot as yet be known — but even should it not 

 surpass this limit, the value of the deposite would 

 bailie calculation. It docs not occur as is some- 



times supposed, like the other rocks of the coun- 

 try, in a regular stratum, having a fixed relation 

 to the rest, but in masses of irregular ibrm imbed- 

 ded in dark colored or ochreous clays. These 

 masses are often of enormous magnitude, and are 

 either partially exposed at the surliice, or covered 

 with a variable depth of earth. The excavation 

 at M'Call's quarry, which is nearly all in solid 

 irypsum, is about 25 leet deep, 50 feet long, and 

 15 wide; and from borings, it would appear that 

 this solid mass ol" gypsum, is more than 100 feet 

 in depth. In the neighborhood of Buchanan's 

 banks in the valley of Walker's creek, extensive 

 exposures of it occur upon the surface, but no 

 very large excavations have yet been made. Small 

 openings have been made at various other poin's, 

 and though the plaister lias always been found in 

 great abundance, the want of capital has prevent- 

 ed extensive operations from being attempted. 



Some idea may be for.med of the immense 

 amount of gypsum contained in these valleys, from 

 the lact that in the borings for salt water wfiicli 

 have been li'equently made near the Ilulston, frag- 

 ments of this rock have been brouglit uplrom the 

 depth ol 700 feet. Indeed, there seems to he every 

 reason for believing that it extends to great depths 

 throughout a large portion of the region in winch 

 it is lound — sometimes in masses of enormous 

 dimensions, and sometimes in small fragments and 

 thin beds, mingled with ochreous clays and de- 

 cotTiposed pyriious slate. 



In speculating upon the origin of the gypsura of 

 this region, the readiest explanation that suggests 

 itself, is that which ascribes its production to simi- 

 lar causes with those which gave birth to the 

 gypsum of the tertiary strata of lower Virginia. 

 It has been incidentally remarked above, that 

 pyritous slate occurs in fragments mingleil with the 

 gypsum and clay, at the salt vvelis and other 

 places. Supposing the valley to have once been 

 filled with thedebris of this slate, and ol'ihe neiirh- 

 boring limestones, we would have all the materi- 

 als brought together which are neccftsary lor the 

 production of the gypsum, while the slate, after 

 decomposition, would become the clayey matrix 

 in whicli the crystals would collect. This view is 

 rendered more probable from the occurrence, even 

 in tlie midst of the solid masses of plaister, of frag- 

 ments of the siliceous rock which skirts the valley 

 on the south. It is at least certain, that the gyp- 

 sum has not been deposited here as in some other 

 pans of the world, from the waters ol' thermal 

 springs holding it in solution, since, in that case, it 

 would be f )und disjiosed in layers as travertin, and 

 not in the irregular and scattered condition which 

 has been described. 



The brine springs constitute anoiher valuable 

 and interesting feature in the geology of the Hol- 

 ston valley. Of the stratum from which the salt 

 water is derived, nothing certain is thus lin- known, 

 although speculations have not been wanting on 

 the subject. By some it has been imagined, that 

 salt, in the solid Ibrm, exists at a great ile|)ili below 

 the level of the wells; and this idea has been 

 countenanced by the fact, alhrmed by many, that 

 granules of rock salt, are sometimes seen in the 

 water as it is |)umped up. On this point, however, 

 it may be remarked, that these irranules miglit 

 have existed, dis()ersed through the mass of a sali- 

 ferous sandstone, as is the case in some other parts 

 of the world. Be this as it may, the borings and 



