•Geology of North Carolina. 235 



The lignite is, in some instances, perfectly charred, exactly 

 resembling charcoal ; sometimes it is only partially charred, ex- 

 hibiting the remains of trees very perfectly. We uncovered a 

 trunk for five feet which was in a state of complete preserva- 

 tion, having the bark entire and unbroken. The diameter was 

 twelve inches by six, and its figure therefore ellipsoidal, a cir- 

 cumstance which is common to all the lignite I have seen. This 

 mass was horizontal, resting on its broader side, and coincident 

 with the general range of strata (viz. north east and south west.) 

 It burns readily on the fire. Fragments which are scattered 

 over the surface become petrified, the vegetable matter being 

 replaced by silex. In this collection were also fragments of fine 

 chlorite slate, containing octahedral iron, than which nothing 

 could be a greater stranger in this region. 



The wells of the eastern district are thus noticed. 



The wells of this region are a curiosity to a visitant from 

 the hilly and mountainous districts. They are rarely if ever 

 walled, but the compact clays which forrn the natural walls, give 

 a sufficient firmness to the strata of sand and gravel which they 

 enclose, to keep the sides from caving. During the wet season, 

 the water is usually found in these wells at no greater depth 

 than five or six feet. If means could be devised to penetrate to 

 the depth of a hundred feet or more, it is probable that a much 

 finer kind of water would be obtained, as is found to be the case 

 in many similar formations of sand, clay and gravel, in other 

 parts of the world. 



Bog iron ore is not unfrequently met with in the eastern 

 section of the state, and the brown hematite occurs abun- 

 dantly near the dividing line between the lower and upper 

 country ; and the magnetic exists in large beds in the mica 

 slate of the primary region. None of these, except the mag- 

 netic, are wrought to any extent. " In Lincoln," says the 

 Report, " there are ten forges, and four furnaces, where, in 

 the year 1 823 were made about nine hundred tons of bar 

 iron, and two hundred tons of castings." To encourage the 

 working of these ores more exclusively, Prof. O. devotes a 

 few pages to some judicious remarks upon the chemistry of 

 the subject, and to the suggestion of more economical and 

 effectual processes than are now employed. 



One of the specimens of iron ore sent to Prof. Olmsted, 

 from the slate formation, or gold region, proved to be native 

 iron. Another was afterwards discovered that weighed 

 twenty seven pounds, and a part of it was wrought by the 

 blacksmiths, pp. 31 and 108. 



