234 G. P. GRIMSLEY — GYPSUM DEPOSITS OF KANSAS. 



struck 30 feet down, or 20 feet below the top of the dirt. No trace of gyp- 

 sum was found in the hills above the dirt deposit. 



A number of years after the discovery on the Tinkler farm a similar 

 deposit was found near Dillon station, 14 miles eastward. This' was 

 purchased by the Agatite Cement Company, and the material closely 

 resembles that at Gypsum City. Its extent is at least- 40 acres, and it 

 lies in swampy ground near a small creek. The greatest depth is 18 

 feet, and there is a surface cover of dirt of slight depth. Water from 

 springs is very troublesome in working this deposit. The rock gypsum 

 outcrops a quarter mile away at the same level. 



A similar deposit is located 3? miles southwest of Dillon, in a low 

 place near a small stream, and here again springs prove troublesome. 

 There is a soil covering of about 10 feet, and the gypsum dirt is 5 feet 

 thick. Gypsum rock is not reported below this, but a heavy deposit is 

 found on the hill about 30 feet above the dirt. The material is hauled 

 to the mill close by and is the property of the Dillon Cement Plaster 

 Company. Mingled with the dirt were shells and some bones, which 

 were thought by the superintendent to be buffalo bones. Unfortunately 

 they were lost, thus rendering identification impossible. 



In Marion county, about* 7 miles south of Banner City, the Acme 

 Cement Plaster Company own a mill and a dirt deposit similar to the 

 others. It is from 6 to 10 feet in depth and is near a small creek. The 

 dirt rests upon sand, in which recent shells were found. Eighteen feet 

 below the top of the dirt is a well marked gypsum ledge. 



The Agatite Company have another mill near a dirt deposit at Long- 

 ford, Clay county, 35 miles northwest of the Dillon mill. The deposit, 

 which is near a creek, covers an area of 60 acres and varies from 2 to 10 

 feet in thickness. Other dirt deposits are reported from the same region 

 near Manchester. 



COMPARISON WITH FOREIGN MATERIAL. 



These dirt deposits undoubtedly belong to the earthy variety of gyp- 

 sum called by the Germans " Gyps-erde "or " Himmel's mehl," "HimmePs 

 mjol " by the Swedish, and " gipsowaya muka " by the Russians. These 

 varieties are described as loose, slightly cohering dust-like particles of yel- 

 low or gray color. The deposits are found near Neustadt, in Saxony ; 

 near Frankenhausen, Bohemia, Norway, and near Paris. The material 

 in those places is thought to be identical with the u chaux sulfatee nivi- 

 form " of Haiiy. Its origin in these regions is ascribed to the solution of 

 gypsum in water, and it is found often in fissures and is more abundant 

 in wet than in dry seasons. At Frankenhausen it was observed on top 

 of a gypsum mountain as a superficial stratum of about 1£ feet in thick- 



