HOW — ON MINERALOGY OF NOVA SCOTIA. 35 



can be made there, which, at the lowest estimate is five cents a 

 pound." (J. Ross Browne on Resources of States West of 

 Rocky Mountains, 1866, p. 187). However this may be, the 

 borate found here is itself valuable as a glaze, as seen from the 

 next letter of Mr. Outrim's. " Nov. 2ord, 1857. — I have just 

 put a portion of your mineral through the tests usually employed 

 here, and I have the pleasure to enclose you a small bit of 

 pitcher to which the borate has been applied as glaze, and, as 

 you will see, the result is really very good ; the borate was ap- 

 plied alone and simply passed through the potter's oven in the 

 usual way — of course the glazes in ordinary use, being composed 

 of various other ingredients, possess more evenness and opacity, 

 but the fact that your borate will of itself produce such a glaze 

 speaks strongly in favour of its quality. In short, it is as good 

 as any I have seen of the same mineral.'' 



A short time ago I observed in a heap of gypsum, consisting 

 of about 300 tons, from the quarry ol Mr. Black, at Brookville, 

 about 3 miles south of Windsor, the first that had been taken 

 out for some twenty years, a considerable intermixture of the 

 borate just spoken of. Scarcely a stone of a particular sort was 

 free from it, and in some specimens, in a few square inches of 

 surface, several lumps were present. Sometimes lumps the size 

 of hens' eggs were readily detached. I have found this borate 

 also in plaster from Newport, and from accounts received it 

 probably has been met with elsewhere. 



The second borate found here was in very small amount, but 

 it bore sufficient resemblance to the first to leave uo doubt that 

 it could be used for the same purpose. It is described (Edin. 

 Phil. Journ. and Silliman's Journ., 1861,) under the name of 

 cryptomorphite . 



The third borate, just discovered, is a most interesting addi- 

 tien to known mineral species as there is only one other mineral 

 which resembles it in chemical constituents, uamely datholite, 

 which also contains Avater, lime, silica and boracic acid, the 

 proportions, however, are very difterent. I am about publish- 

 ing an account of the new species under the name of silieoboro- 



