95 



chemical examination, further than the mere determination of its 

 sjeneral features, and some of its qualities in the furnace. An ex- 

 amination of the composition of all the principal varieties now in 

 use, as well as the determination of the relations of the deposite geo- 

 logically with the rocks among which it is found, would furnish mat- 

 ters of inquiry, whose practical bearing upon a valuable branch of 

 industry in this region, will be promptly and fully recognised by all 

 who are interested in its success. For, although the tact of the ope- 

 rator, in this as in almost every department of the arts, is necessary 

 to the profitable pursuit of the manufacture, those engaged in the 

 smelting of iron have long been sensible, at least in other countries, 

 of the high importance of such suggestions as are furnished by a 

 chemical examination of the ores upon which they operate, and a 

 geological investigation of the positions in which the beds of ore oc- 

 cur. The ores almost exclusively in use are hematites of various 

 aspects, known under the names of honeycomb and pipe ores — 

 many of which yield a metal of the very finest character. The fa- 

 cility of smelting, as well as the quality and amount of product, va- 

 ries of course with the description of ore employed — and from the 

 want of such knowledge as has been just referred to, the difficulties 

 of the process in some places have almost put a stop to the opera- 

 tions of the fnrnace. 



A new interest attaches to this branch of industry, at least in some 

 portions of the valley, from the recent discovery in the immediate 

 neighbourhood of the iron, of beds of a semi-bituminous dry coal, 

 which, if we may trust to the indications of its composition, may 

 hereafter be employed as a most efficient and profitable substitute 

 for charcoal in the furnace. Of this coal, as it occurs in the Ca- 

 tawba mountain, and at other points in the valley, but little as yet 

 is known ; but should the hopes excited by analyses which I have 

 recently made of specimens from the former locality, prove to be 

 well founded, a new .impulse will be given to the iron manufacture 

 in that district of the state, and rich rewards be proffered to the en- 

 terprise of capitalists who engage in it. 



Of the various objects interesting to the mineralogist, which are 

 to be found in this region, but little definite knowledge has yet been 

 attained. We may, however, mention carbonate and sulphate of 

 baryta, octahedral and dodecaedral sulphuret of iron, pellucid quartz 

 and crystallized selenite, as occurring more or less abundantly in 



