G8 



contains gold in a state of minute division. Sulphuret of iron, (Py- 

 rites,) is another accompanying mineral, which in many mines oc- 

 curs in considerahle quantities. At Morton's mine, (Buckingham,) 

 it is peculiarly abundant, and there, as in other places, generally 

 contains a portion of combined gold. In the Union mine, near the 

 Rappahannock, some of the auriferous veins consist largely of the 

 Pyrites, which here contains so much of the precious metal as to 

 render the extraction of it an object of profit. This Pyrites, in all 

 probability, was at some former period, more generally diffused 

 throughout all the auriferous veins, and by its decomposition, gave 

 rise to the per oxide of iron, with which the quartz is always more 

 or less imbued, while the gold existing in it was deposited in the 

 cells and fissures of the quartz. Silver is occasionally found in con- 

 nexion with the gold, and the sulphurets of copper and lead have 

 been discovered in a few instances in the auriferous rock. 



The rocks forming the boundaries of the auriferous veins, vary 

 very much in different localities. Talcose slate, chlorite slate, and a 

 variety of these, abounding in garnets, are the most usual. They are 

 commonly of a soft texture, yielding readily to the blast, and even 

 to the pick or spade sometimes. Instances occur, however, in which 

 the walls of the vein are of such hardness as to greatly increase the 

 expense and difficulty of procuring the ore. Of this a striking ex- 

 ample is exhibited in Morton's mine, where the rock is removed 

 with difficulty even by the blasting process, while at Bookers and 

 some other mines, its texture is so rotten that it rather presents the 

 appearance of earth than rock. Veins like the latter, under favour- 

 able circumstances, would give rise to what are technically called 

 deposite mines, in other words, collections of clay .and sand and gra- 

 vel, enclosing a portion of gold, all which materials have been re- 

 moved by the action of torrents or streams from their original posi- 

 tion in the vein, to some adjacent ravine or hollow, in which they 

 have been quietly deposited. The rocks adjacent to the quartz are 

 often auriferous, and in some instances have been found as produc- 

 tive as the quartz itself. Of this, several striking instances occur in 

 the mines of Buckingham ; and I believe that in many other locali- 

 ties the same condition would be found to exist. 



It has already been stated that nearly all the rocks of this region 

 dip steeply to the east, and it is found that the auriferous quartz 

 veins conform in the main to the inclination of the enclosing strata. 

 The quartz is not, however, to be regarded as an interstratiflcd por- 



