210 Mineralogy and Geology of a part of Nova Scotia. 



tended, nearly obscures the two adjoining ones, and is twelve 

 inches in length. 



Having thus far described the appearances and produc- 

 tions of the South Mountains, we shall now advert to the 

 ore bed at Clement's, the last place along this range where 

 it is known to appear. This bed is three miles from the 

 mouth of Moose River, on which was erected, in 1826, an 

 extensive establishment for smelting the ore, which has since 

 gone into operation. Several extensive openings having 

 been made into this bed, during the past season, from which 

 many hundred tons of the ore have been removed, peculiar 

 facilities are afforded for its examination. Its width consid- 

 erably exceeds that of the Nictau bed, and perhaps ten feet 

 may be assigned as its average ; but from the intimate union 

 of the ore with the contiguous slate, it is very difficult to dis- 

 cover the line of separation between the one and the other. 

 In this respect it differs very materially from the ore of Nic- 

 tau, where to a much greater extent, all the lateral limits of 

 the ore are well marked, and the walls of the bed distinctly 

 presented. By the assistance of a compass, this ore may be 

 traced for the distance of two miles, towards Bear River, so 

 powerful is its magnetic influence on the needle. Indeed, 

 land surveyors are more or less perplexed by its influence, 

 while traversing the forests, in different parts of this range. 

 Their evidence, therefore, is in support of the continuity of 

 this bed from New Glasgow to Clement's. 



This ore is compact or fine granular, of a bluish grey or 

 steel grey color, and possesses a glistening metallic lustre. 

 When reduced to powder, its color is similar. It is highly 

 magnetic, strongly affecting the magnetic needle, as we have 

 before observed, and is in fact the magnetic oxide of iron, 

 or exists in the state of the protoxide of this metal, combined 

 with lime, alumina and silex. It resembles very much in ap- 

 pearance, the same species of ore from Franconia, New 

 Hampshire. Its specific gravity, when examined in a homo- 

 geneous mass, is 4.5 ; consequently it exceeds that of either 

 the Pictou or Nictau ore, and is considerably richer in the 

 quantity of its contained metal ; yielding by fusion in the 

 assay furnace, sixty five per cent of soft cast iron. But in the 

 large way, or when reduced in the smelting furnace, the per 

 centage obtained, has hitherto been considerably less, owing 

 to its admixture with the slate, from which it has been diffi- 

 cult to separate it. The pig iron obtained from this ore, is 



