16&J potter's clay. 39 



such pipeclays as we now so commonly find in the Orange Sand ; and it may 

 be frequently noticed, where clays occur in the latter formation immediately 

 adjacent to similar ones belonging to the former (U25, 28), that while their upper 

 portion is of a cream color, the lower are bluish and not completely oxidized. 

 Instances of this kind may be frequently observed in S. Lafayette, on the 

 Yockeney-Patapha River, in Calhoun, and N. Yallabusha. 



It is in this position, viz : on the contact between the Orange 

 Sand, and the Lignitic clay formations, that the best clays for com- 

 mou potter's ware are usually found. The undisturbed clays of the 

 latter formations generally require, not only the admixture of sand 

 but also much more seasoning than those which have already been 

 worked up, as it were, by their re-deposition within the strata of 

 the Orange Sand. 



69. Good potter's clay is most frequently found, therefore, in 

 the flatwoods region and the hilly country to the westward of the 

 same, i. e., in W. Tippah, E. Marshall, W. Pontotoc, E. and S. 

 Lafayette, E. Yallabusha, Calhoun, W. Chickasaw, and probably 

 in E. Choctaw and Winston. So far as I know, however, two 

 potteries only, up to the present time, are availing themselves of 

 these deposits ; one being at Holly Springs, the other (Mr. Brush's) 

 in N. Tippah county, on S. 17, T. 2, R. 3 E. In both factories, 

 stone-ware of excellent quality is produced. — A third, according to 

 L. Harper, exists at Hartford, Calhoun county ; what is the nature of 

 the clay used there, I am not informed. A clay very similar 

 to that employed at Mr. Brush's pottery, but rather superior to it 

 both in color and plasticity, occurs on S. 7, T. 25, R. 7 E., Yalla- 

 busha county ; it has been used for tobacco pipes by the whites and 

 Indians both, and also in some cases for white-(or rather gray-) 

 washing houses. It might require the admixture of some sand. 



A deposit of cream-colored clay, sufficiently refractory for fire- 

 brick, occurs about two miles N. of Oxford, Lafayette county, in 

 a cut on the Mississippi Central R. R. I have for some time used 

 this clay for small crucibles, which resist both a high temperature, 

 and the action of fluxes, remarkably well. A similar depoai t 

 occurs on the Yockeney-Patapha River, near the bridge on the 

 Oxford and Water Valley road. 



On the territory of the Lower (lignitic clay) Cretaceous, also, 

 good potter's clay is found in several localities, especially in S. B. 

 Itawamba, where it has given rise to a pottery (B. Dorsey's) on S. 



