Geology of North Carolina. 239 



still farther improved by boiling in oil, a process which is said 

 to be practised with the Turkey hones when they happen to be 

 too soft. 



The excellence of the hones obtained at M'CauIey's quarry, 

 is attested by this fact, that our carpenters lay aside, for them, the 

 best Turkey hones of the market. They combine two qualities 

 that are particularly esteemed, namely, they wear away fast, and 

 set a fine edge; that is, their grit is both fine and sharp. Some 

 of them answer well for razors ; but their principal use among 

 us is for carpenters' tools. Their value has not yet been settled 

 by actual trial ; but several mercantile gentlemen whom I have 

 consulted, have been of opinion, that if properly faced and sha- 

 ped, their price would not be less than fifty cents per pound by 

 wholesale. 



tiPPhersoti's quarry, in Chatham five miles west of Woodin's 

 ferry, on Haw River, is next in importance. among the whet-stone 

 quarries that I have visited. It is lighter colored than the pre- 

 ceding, softer, and has a still finer grit. There are several va- 

 rieties in the same bed. Some are transparent when in thin 

 pieces, and resemble horn ; others are opaque and of a duller as- 

 pect. The former are better fitted for oil, the latter for water. 

 The prevalent colors are a bluish and yellowish white. The 

 grit of these stones is exceedingly fine, and probably razor hones 

 of the best quality may be found amongst them. The bed is ex- 

 tensive : I have observed it crossing the Salisbury road, a little 

 north of the quarry, where the quality is apparently the same. 



On the same road in Randolph, near Deep River, there is found 

 a bed of a similar kind, and also highly valued by the inhabitants. 



In the immediate vicinity of Chapel-Hill are several excel- 

 lent quarries of whet-stone slate. At Barbee's mill, two miles 

 south of this village, is a hill containing a great quantity of this 

 article. It is of a yellowish straw color and highly transparent. 



A great number of other localities might be mentioned ; but 

 almost every inhabitant of the district now under consideration 

 is acquainted with such beds as have been noticed, in his own 

 vicinity. 



The extent of these beds is commensurate with the great 

 slate formation. I have noticed the genuine hone slate, at in- 

 tervals, from Flat River, in the eastern part of Person to the 

 Narrows of the Yadkin. They are, therefore, quite inexhaus- 

 tible, and may become, with suitable enterprise, objects of traf- 

 fic that will well reward the industrious. The great quantities 

 of this article required to supply the market; the abundance 

 and variety of our quarries ; the facilities with which they may 

 be wrought ; and above all, their acknowledged excellence and 

 superiority, conspire to invite our attention in no ordinary de- 

 gree, to this object of enterprise. 



