62 Mr. Kain on the Geology and 



is more or less slaty in its structure. It is interspersed with 

 veins of the crystallized carbonate of lime, more or less per- 

 fect, and of a pure but opaque white. Another variety of this 

 limestone, not so abundant, is that which is white and red, 

 having the white and red spots intimately mingled. Its struc- 

 ture is similar to the other kind. 



Lying in beds of this Hmestone, parallel to, and imbedded in, 

 its strata, is a stone, which, from its globular form, its hardness, 

 and its colour, has been usually mistaken for flint On com- 

 paring it with the flint of chalk-beds, we find it much less trans- 

 lucent, its colour darker, and its hues duller ; and its rough 

 and irregular fracture, compared with the easy, smooth, and 

 conchoidal cleavage of the true flint, decides it to be horn- 

 stone. It is found also forming considerable distinct beds on 

 the hills ; and is seen in detached pieces, aud irregular peb- 

 bles, covering many of the ridges. 



Alternating with the beds of limestone, and possessing the 

 same formation, is a soft clay slate. Soapstone is found in it. 



As soon as we ascend the mountains, we meet with a slaty 

 sand-stone of various compactness, as it possesses more or less 

 iron, often forming an excellent iron ore. A variety of this 

 iron ore has been lately turned to a good use, in the manufac- 

 ture of a red paint, near Knoxville, Tennessee. Different 

 varieties of this sandstone possess different qualities. It is 

 converted by the inhabitants into millstones, grindstones, and 

 whetstones. Interspersed among the sandstone of the moun^ 

 tains we often find very beautiful and interesting specimens of 

 hornstones, assuming a resemblance to all the siliciou* 

 stones, from the chalcedony to the jasper. In this extensive 

 range of mountains, many other minerals exist, of which we 

 shall treat more particularly hereafter. The limestone, slate, 

 and sandstone, as far as the writer's knowledge extends, so to 

 speak, ybrm the country; the limestone and clay slate dipping 

 under the sandstone. Gypsum, coal, sulphate of barytes, &,c. 

 are found in these, and we shall now speak of their locaUties. 



Gypsum. — This valuable mineral production exists in Wash- 

 ington County, Virginia, 20 miles north of Abingdon, in the 

 vicinity of Saltville, It is similar, in every respect, to the 



