and other Mountains of the Dutchy of Nassau. 269 



Many of the grauwacke mountains appear to have been rent from top to 

 bottom, exhibiting complete sections of the strata. Along the beautiful and 

 ever-varying valley of the Lahn, from its mouth near Coblentz to the city of 

 Dietz, fine sections occur. Partial contortions and faults are frequent in these 

 strata, which, in general, lie at a high angle. 



These mountains are rich in metals, especially in argentiferous lead ores. 

 Near the village of Ems are two productive mines of this description. Half 

 way between Ems and Holzapfel is another ; and at that town is a fourth, 

 rich in argentiferous galena, which belongs to the princess of Schomburg. 

 Many veins of carbonate of iron and ferriferous carbonate of lime, besides co- 

 balt and copper, are associated with the lead ores. 



In following the Lahn towards its source, we do not meet with any other 

 variety of rock on its borders than grauwacke, until we reach Baldouin- 

 stein. Here transition limestone first appears. The ruins of Count Baldwin's 

 Castle stand on an insulated rock of this substance. A mountain stream has 

 laid bare the basset edges of the grauwacke slate at this place ; and on ascend- 

 ing the road to Schomburg, the limestone again appears on the right of the 

 road. A little higher up is a dark-coloured porphyry. Still higher on the road 

 to Dietz, there is a thick but not extensive bed, of a pulverulent substance, 

 which is generally yellowish white, but in some places violet-coloured, or of a 

 reddish hue. The highly coloured parts are chiefly in the ravines. This 

 bed lies on the surface, extending about half a mile on the road to Dietz. 

 It contains numerous rounded pebbles of pure quartz, of various sizes, from 

 that of a large garden-pea to that of a full-grown Swedish turnip. From some 

 experiments I have made, it seems to be almost pure silex coloured by iron. 

 It is highly phosphorescent. 



If, instead of following the road to Dietz the traveller ascends the moun- 

 tain of Schomburg, and then, keeping to the right, crosses over to its opposite 

 brow, he meets with a quarry of stone of a very peculiar character, to which 

 the old miners of the dutchy have given the name of Schalstein, which, lite- 

 rally translated, means plated stone. The chief ingredients of this rock are 

 chlorite, carbonate of lime, and silex, the proportions of which are by no 

 means constant. Its prevailing colour is a pale apple-green. It is compact 

 and hard in some quarries, and very foliated and fragile in others. When 

 combined with much silex it strikes fire with the hammer, and requires re- 

 peated blows to be broken. Where the carbonate of lime and chlorite pre- 

 vail, it is imperfectly slaty ; and after it has been long exposed to atmospheri- 

 cal influence it may be broken by the fingers. In aU cases it effervesces with 

 acids, but in its very compact state it must be previously pulverized in order 



