80 



ether considerations than the quality of the rock. Chief among 

 these will be the facilities for transportation, cheapness of fuel, 

 cost of labor and abundance of it at command. 



Examinations have consequently been confined to those lo- 

 calities which appear to be most favorably situated in these re- 

 spects, and especially to those localities which are on navigable 

 streams or on north-south railroad lines, or on both. 



The first place considered on Tombigbee River is Gainesville, 

 where the limestone appears on the river bluff in a thickness of 

 30 to 40 feet, beneath a heavy covering of Lafayette sands and 

 pebbles. (Plate III.) A short distance inland from the river, 

 how r ever, the rock appears at the surface, and may be quarried 

 without difficulty. Specimens have been taken from the differ- 

 ent parts of the bluff near the ferry, which will show the com- 

 position of the limestone here (see analyses i, 2, 3, and 4, Table 

 E). Other specimens are from the Roberts place, 3 miles easi 

 of Gainesville one of which was taken from the top of a 30- 

 foot bluff ; others from the surface I mile and 5 miles from the 

 river (analyses 5 and 6.) 



At Jones' Bluff, on the Tombigbee, near Epes station, on the 

 Alabama Great Southern Railroad, the white limestone of re- 

 markably uniform composition shows along the river bank for 

 a distance of a mile or so, with an average height of perhaps 60 

 feet. (Plate IV.) Here the bare rock forms the surface, so 

 that there would be no overburden to be removed in quarrying. 

 The railroad crosses the river at this locality, which thus has the 

 advantage of both rail and water transportation. From the 

 lower end of this exposure down to Bluffport the white rock is 

 seen at many points, e. g., below Lees Island, Hillman's (Plate 

 V), Martin's Ferry, Braggs, etc. It generally has a capping 

 of 15 to 20 feet of red loam and other loose materials. 



Specimens have been analyzed from Epes and Hillman? 

 (analyses 7, 8 and 9, Table E.) 



At Bluffport (Plate VI) the white rock in places forms a 

 bluff 100 feet or more in height along the right bank of the 

 river for a distance of a mile or more. This is the counterpart 

 of Jones' bluff, above mentioned, and the character of the ma- 

 terial is shown by analysis No. 10. As at Epes. the rock ex- 

 tends up to the surface, so that the quarrying would be attended 

 with little or no difficulty. Below the Bluffport bluffs the east- 

 erly course of the river brings it into the territory of the lower 



