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stores of phosphoric rocks had been found in Russia, Spain, 

 France, the United States, and to some extent in England. 

 During all the centuries, down to the last half of the present, 

 these repositories of phosphoric acid had remained unrecog- 

 nized. In Russia it is known that the very stones used for 

 building purposes, paving streets, and for wells, and which 

 were regarded as detestable ground incumbrances in some 

 sections, contained in great abundance the precious elements 

 of plant nutrition. In this country, in the region near Charles- 

 ton, South Carolina, the phosphatic nodules had long been 

 noticed on the surface of the low basin lands, and the farmers 

 whose fields were suffering for the food these rocks contained 

 treated them as nuisances to be got rid of in the easiest way 

 possible. In Russia, the extent of country covered by these 

 stones is estimated by Prof. Englehardt to exceed 10,000 

 square miles. In Spain there are mountains of phosphatic 

 rocks not easily reached at present, and at Charleston, the 

 area of nodule beds is larger than the whole state of Rhode 

 Island. 



THE CHARLESTON PHOSPHATE BEDS. 



A visit to this locality two years ago, gave me great pleasure 

 and a fund of interesting information. Geologically speaking, 

 the region is in every respect remarkable. It is a vast basin, 

 covered with mud and silt, and formerly open to the inflow of 

 the tide. In this region are found the most wonderful remains 

 of ancient and extinct species of animals. There are whole 

 acres richly studded with fossils. Among these have been rec- 

 ognized the bones of the mammoth, mastodon, megatherium, 

 mylodon, magalonyx, phocodon, several varieties of the sauri ; 

 also teeth and bones of the shark and numerous other fishes 

 3 



