ECONOMICAL GEOLOGY. 315 



A tine article of stone pottery is now turned out at this place 

 which, because of its excellence, has a large sale. The third sec- 

 tion now furnishes the greater part of the clay that is used in the 

 manufacture of pottery. It is not quite so light colored as that 

 from the first, but fewer cracks occur in burning. Similar beds 

 that can be utilized in this way no doubt occur elsewhere in the 

 huge beds of blue clay that abound in the State. 



Kaolin has been reported from various parts of the State. The 

 best that I have seen is that from Webster County, and from 

 Louisville, in Cass County, on the line of the Burlington & Mis 

 souri Railroad. The latter is in conjunction with the potters' clay 

 already spoken of. From its chemical constitution it will no doubt 

 stand the test of expeiience. 



Gypsum (sulphate of lime) exists in many places in the Cretace- 

 ous measures of the State. In Northern Nebraska, and especially 

 in Dakota, Dixon, Cedar and Knox Counties, along the Missouri 

 bluffs, there are innumerable crystals in leaf-like forms. Often 

 they assume the shape of a cross. No other localities in the Union 

 furnish more beautiful forms. Generally they are transparent, 

 though occasionally coated with oxides of iron. In the Fort Pierre 

 Group, exposed on the hill tops near the town of Niobrara, and on 

 the Republican, these crystals glimmer in the distance, and have 

 ^iven the name of Shining Hills to the country further up the 

 Missouri. 



Mineral Paint — Ochre. — Along the Missouri from Plattsmouth 

 to Brownville, and further down, there are immense dejDOsits of 

 mineral paint, or ochre. It is of different hues — dull red, various 

 shades of brown, yellow, and other colors, according to the amount 

 of iron that is present. Some of the beds are from three to five 

 feet thick, and of as fine a quality as any in the market. There are 

 also large beds of ochre in the Cretaceous deposits along the Re- 

 publican and on the Missouri in northwestern Nebraska. As flax 

 culture is one of the most successful industries in the State, because 

 of the ease with which it is grown and its superior quality, the 

 manufacture of mineral paint can be inaugurated on a large and 

 profitable scale, especially as oil mills and white lead works are in 

 successful operation in Omaha. 



Silica. — Although silica is one of the most abundant of minerals, 

 it is rarely found in so fine a state as in some sections of Nebraska. 

 Some most remarkable deposits of it exist along the Republican. 



