654 FOSSIL LEA VES IN KANSAS. 



Noster bed previously spoken of, was traced for several miles, and found to 

 underlie not less than five square miles. It varies from a lean, yellow ochre 

 to a richer, and was also found as a firm, hardened limonite of good quality. 

 Further examinations showed it to be originally a ferruginous fire-clay 

 containing the well known stigmaria ficoides. Four feet above it lies a 16- 

 inch coal bed, 



Beds of limonite are of common occurrence in the eastern part of Vernon, 

 and are also found at many places in Barton. Ochrey and concretionary 

 beds overlie a certain coal near Calhoun, Henry county. But the best expo- 

 sure was observed in the southwest part of Cedar county, where are two 

 beds of good limonite ore, one bed of red ochre and a bed of coal, all occur- 

 ring in the same section thus ; 



1. — Hilltop and slope. 



2. — 28 feet of sandstone. 



3. — 5 feet of porous limonite. 



4. — 1^ feet of soft, reddish brown litnonite, with coal plants. 



5. — 7 inches of ochre, 



6. — 4 inches of red sandy shale. 



7. — 1 foot of sandstone. 



8, — 6 inches of coal. 

 No. 3 of this section, according to Mr. Chanvenet, yielded fifty -seven 

 per cent, metallic iron; No. 4 yielded fifty-four and eighty one-hundredths 

 per cent. These ores occur in regular horizontal layers, extending into 

 the hill, and do certainly underlie much of the neighboring country, and 

 being soft are easy to take out. Besides the six inch coal seam there are 

 other thicker beds in the vicinity. 



If we compare the analyses of these ores withj similar ones of Indiana, 

 Pennsylvania or Ohio, we find ours are equally as good, and while the main 

 working ores of those States will not average over 35 per cent, of metallic 

 iron, and some are worked that contain less than 30 per cent., and but few 

 reach as high as 45. 



A clay iron stone frojn Barton county. Mo., yielded 33 per cent.; another 

 44; our brown hematites d3 and 58, and red hematites have even yielded 

 as high as 62 x>er cent, of metallic iron. We have many bands of ore that 

 will yield from 25 to 35 per cent, and there arejalany other thin strata that 

 I have not mentioned in this article. 



FOSSIL LEAVES IN KANSAS. 



The Kansas Academy of Science at its late meeting adopted the follow- 

 ing resolution : 



Resolved, That a committee to be composed of three members of this 

 body be appointed, whose duty it shall be to promote, by all proper means, a 

 diffusion of a knowledge of the facts of elementary science in respect to 

 their application to the affairs of common life; and to encourage among the 



