SERPENTINE. 543 



village of Windham the same bed shows itself again in an enormous mass. Upon the same strike nearly 

 two miles northeast of the village, a still larger hill of serpentine appears, belonging to John Grreely & Co. 

 The rock of the ledge is generally very hard. It was so immense that we did not attempt to estimate its 

 dimensions. It is on the top of a high hill, overlooking the surrounding country for many miles. Its strike 

 is N. 10 E., and its dip 60 E. The serpentine upon Abel Putnam's bed in the north part of Windham 

 is represented in Fig. 286. 



We cannot state how extensive this range of serpentine is developed in Andover and the west and south- 

 west parts of Chester. Hills of it have been observed in the northwest part of Chester, extending into 

 Ludlow and Cavendish. The amount is as great as in Proctorsville. Mr. Hager regards this outcrop 

 of serpentine as commencing in Chester and continuing to some distance north of Proctorsville, and the 

 width of the mass is essentially the same throughout. There are at Proctorsville two grea t beds of the 

 serpentine. The most eastern is the largest, commencing at Freeman's steatite bed. It is separated by 

 a band of talcose schist from the smaller western bed. The eastern bed is half a mile wide and forms a 

 mountain mass. The beautiful Verd-antique serpentine is found in the larger of these bands near Proctors- 

 ville. It has been quarried somewhat, but not very extensively. Most beautiful slabs have been obtained 

 from it. 



There is much serpentine in Plymouth, in the northern bed of magnesian rocks, which will be described 

 elsewhere in the Eeport. At the River village in Warren there is a bed of serpentine some rods wide, and 

 of indefinite length. It forms quite a large hill. At its base there is the remnant of an old kiln where 

 formerly the serpentine was burnt for lime ! The fire had the effect of permanently destroying the green 

 color of the stone, changing it to white. 



At Roxbury there are two beds of the famous " Verd-antique marble." The larger one is about half 

 a mile south of the village, and has been worked by the American Verd-antique Marble Company. It is 

 unnecessary here to enlarge upon the beauty and durability of the serpentine which is here obtained, but 

 simply to describe its geological position. It stands nearly vertically between layers of talcose schist which 

 run N, 22 E., and dip 80 W. The bed is about thirty-five feet wide, and lies at the bottom of a hill 

 within a few rods of the Vermont Central Railroad. The rock is traversed by numerous white seams of 

 carbonate of magnesia, and hence perhaps the name of Verd-antique serpentine may be a misnomer, as car- 

 bonate of lime or dolomite is essential to the composition of the Verd-antique variety. Either dolomite or 

 calcite, however, is present, for we have collected numerous specimens of the former, some of which are in 

 the State Cabinet. We will speak more particularly of the character of this rock presently. Other minerals 

 present are white and green talc, chromic iron, nemalite, brucite (?), asbestus, actinolite, etc. 



There is another bed of this variety of serpentine about two miles north. Prof. Adams also speaks of 

 the same variety in the west part of Northfield. 



There is a large bed of serpentine connected with an iron ore, about a hundred rods north of Williams' 

 quarry in Rochester. Also at Williams' quarry, as illustrated in Fig. 288. In connection with the 

 steatite of Waitsfield and Moretown serpentine also occurs. Its relation to the steatite in Moretown, are 

 given in Fig. 289. In the northeast part of Waterbury, between the houses of J. Barnes and J. Prescott, 

 there is a large mass of rather porphyritie serpentine. Bowlders from it are found abundantly as far south 

 as Moretown, proceeding in a straight line from the bed. Rev. S. R. Hall has marked a bed of serpentine 

 upon a manuscript map in the east part of Middlesex. 



There are a few large beds of impure serpentine upon the eastern range of talcose schist in Norwich and 

 Thetford. 



Half a mile north of the Norwich depot on the railroad, there is a very compact serpentine rock, which 

 partially decomposes on exposure. The decomposing mineral may be a sulphuret, but the rock requires 

 further examination. 



A second bed is in the north part of the town. It is about half a mile wide where it crosses the town 

 line. Its eastern limit is just one mile from Connecticut River. It is probably of great length. 



There is serpentine connected with the steatite at Waterville, situated in the midst of the steatite, as if 

 it were resting upon a steatite basin. Jasper Curtis, of St. Albans, informs us that there is an immense 



