128 HOW ON ORES OF MANGANESE AND THEIR USES. 



searching for bii-ds' nests, in some Avild spot, I have suddenly come 

 upon an adder basking in the sun, and one half the pleasure of a 

 day's wanderings in search of specimens was always sacrificed to 

 the fear of this serpent's bite. In the northern States of America, 

 the dreaded rattlesnake swarms in some parts, the bite of which is 

 frequently fatal in twenty minutes ; while here, in our little half- 

 island home, our children may ramble wherever they list, and meet 

 with nothing more fonnidable than the bite of the common striped 

 snake, which at the v\^orst can only inflict a slight wound in no Avay 

 dangerous to a healthy frame. Therefore, while in other climes 

 which boast of the grandeur of theii" scenery, the beauty of theii* 

 vegetation, or the vast area of their fertile lands, deadly foes are 

 ever ready to spring upon the incautious, here in our northern 

 home we may roam through the forests, scale our boulder ridges, 

 or bathe in the limpid lake, without hindrance from any reptile 

 form. Surely we ought, therefore, to consider how blessed we are 

 in this respect, and while considermg the blessing let us not forget 

 the beneficent hand that has so blessed us ; and as we roam in 

 security amid Nature's pleasantest scenes, let us lift our eyes in 

 gratitude to Him who has spared us the horrors of the serpent's 

 fans:. 



Art. XIII. Notes on the Economic Mineralogy of Nova 



Scotia; Part II. The Ores of Manganese and their 



Uses. By Henry How, D. C. L., Professor of Chemistry and 



NaXural History, University of King's College, Windsor. 



{Read May 2, 1865.) 



A VERY interesting, and to all present appearances, valuable 



addition to the mining industry of the Pro\ance, has been made 



Avithin the last three years by the working of the ores of manganese. 



Having been engaged in examining and reporting on the quality of 



these ores for those originally concerned, and having \asited the 



scenes of operation, I requested and obtained permission to include 



such information I had gathered by these means in a general account 



of the manganese ores of the Province ^t present known to me. 



Having been, inoreover, kindly furnished with sundiy details of 



interest from various sources, I propose now to continue, on this 



subject, my Notes on the Economic Mineralogy of Nova Scotia, of 



1 



