52 Office of the Nitrogen of the Air, 



linuous in a south westerly direction along the east side of the High- 

 land range, crossing New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, 

 and the Carolinas. It passes into novaculite in many places. The 

 Rev. John C. Keeney sent me specimens of novaculite from Sparta in 

 Georgia, which is directly in the gold range. I wish not to press 

 any unsupported hypothesis upon the scientific republic ; but shall I 

 be deemed extravagant in the following opinion ? If Gen. Field's 

 specimen of gold, found in Newfane, Vermont, was a native speci- 

 men ; We may anticipate the discovery of gold in the talcose slate 

 from Georgia to Canada, along the east side of the Green Mountain 

 range. 



I am aware of the danger of deciding geological questions from 

 hand specimens. But these are so well characterized, that I do not 

 hesitate to commit myself fully on this statement — 1 have hefoi'e me 

 gold from JYorth Carolina, connected with a gangue of quartz, semi- 

 translucent, which is embraced in talcose slate.^ 

 Rensselaer School, Troy, Nov. 7, 1829. 



Art. VII. — On the Office of the Nitrogen of the air, in the process 

 of Respiration ; 6w Lewis C. Beck, M. D. Professor of Chemis- 

 try, &;c. in the Vermont Academy of Medicine, 



The part, which the large proportion of nitrogen in our atmos- 

 phere performs during respiration, has often excited the attention of 

 chemists and physiologists. But until recently the investigations up- 

 on this point have not been attended with much success, and even at 



* Remarks. — The above paper was mislaid, which prevented its appearance 

 in the January number of this Journal. In a communication from Prof. Eaton, dated 

 Feb. 18, 1830, it is mentioned that a little gold has been lately found in talcose slate 

 in Maryland. 



He mentions also that two of his pupils have recently crossed the Carolina 

 gold region, and from their report and other concurrent testimony, he concludes 

 " that the gold is in the talcose slate." He adds — 



" At p. 35-3, of Vol. 17, under Minerological Journey, &c. I observe that the 

 " soapstone quarry" is not referred to the talcose slate stratum. It seems, that the 

 doubt thrown upon this subject in the treatise on the geology of Connecticut River, 

 still remains. It is too important a point in the geology of North America to remain 

 in doubt ; especially as it is so easily determined. I have traced the talcose slate 

 from Savoy and Florida, Mass. to the great soapstone quarries of Windham, Vt. and 

 found the soapstone there to be a continuous variety of the very same individual tal- 

 cose rock of Massachusetts." 



