H. S. POOLE ON THE GOLD-LE.U)S OF NOVA SCOTIA. 309 



Mr. Selwyn, Director of the Canadian Geological Survey, states that 

 some of these sandstones contain pebbles of a grey quartzite, and 

 that he is inclined to believe that these rocks will be found to occupy 

 the position of some division of the Quebec group. Of the relative 

 age of the gold-bearing veins that are associated with the rocks of 

 this section there can be no doubt ; for when they are exposed by 

 the tide at Gegoggan and Cranberry Head, they are seen to angle 

 across the beds, to swell out into masses 6 and 8 feet wide, to pinch 

 within a distance of a few feet into less than as many inches, and again 

 expand and contract. Such veins have been found to contain a little 

 gold ; and one at the Cream-pot, Cranberry Head, while not so irre- 

 gular as some at Gegoggan, yielded as much as one ounce of gold to 

 the ton of quartz. 



Mining Experience. 



Mining-operations have not been confined to the bedded leads ; 

 for rich streaks of quartz have been worked in cross leads and in 

 the so-called angling leads. The angling leads are true veins, gene- 

 rally very small ; tbey have the general east-and-west course, but 

 break across the strata at slight angles. In depth they gradually 

 steal across a bed of slate, but, on meeting quartzite, break short 

 across to the next stratum of slate, and so on downwards. In nearly 

 all cases the angling leads have been found to contain more gold 

 when they passed through a quartzite bed. 



The true cross leads as yet proved are barren, and of later age 

 than the interstratified leads ; but besides them there are bands of 

 quartz connecting two parallel leads, and there are offshoots which 

 are often called cross leads. They in some cases appear to affect the 

 productiveness of the regular leads. For instance, at the junction of 

 a cross lead with the belt lead at Montagu some spots gave as high 

 as 40 ounces of gold to the ton. And at Cariboo (area 629, block II.) 

 an offshoot appeared to govern the direction of the richest portions 

 of the lead ; the stope which cut it, 40 feet wide and 20 fathoms 

 deep, yielded 12,000 ounces, chiefly from parcels taken on the line 

 of the offshoot. Whether the yield from the bedded leads is in 

 reality affected by the position of cross leads and offshoots may be 

 doubted ; for there are many more offshoots, and perhaps cross leads, 

 than there are gold streaks. But it appears to be a rule that the 

 dips of the gold streak and offshoot are in the same direction. One 

 thing is certain, that the contents of the leads are irregularly distri- 

 buted, and that their metallic minerals are not uniformly mixed, but 

 are aggregated about certain spots and in certain directions. The 

 paying beds are generally small, of a few inches only ; many will 

 not average 4 inches in width ; and one of 8 inches is regarded as 

 of good size, though some thicker have been worked. Regularly 

 interstratified stringers, threads, and offshoots of quartz may be 

 seen extending from them into the walls. A stringer from the Wel- 

 lington lead proved rich when it passed through the slate footwaU, 

 but barren in the succeeding bed of quartzite. The Murray lead in 

 the same district of Sherbrooke showed at one spot a number of 



