CLAYS OF SALEM COUNTY. 501 



Micaceous, talc-like Clay. 



As before indicated (p. 144), a soapy, micaceous, talc-like 

 clay underlies the Alloway clay in the vicinity of Woodstown. 

 It is exposed in the railroad cut just north of the town (Loc. 170) , 

 where 3 or 4 feet of the material is seen under several feet of 

 gravel and loam. Northeast of Woodstown where the road de- 

 scends to Old Mans creek, there is another exposure of the same 

 material from which a sample was taken, although at this locality 

 (172), owing to the heavy overburden of gravel (12 to 14 feet), 

 and the thinness of the deposit, 2V2 feet, it is not likely to have 

 any economic value. Although it has nowhere been seen to> occur 

 other than in thin beds, prospecting might develop a thicker bed 

 of this material, which may ultimately have some value. This 

 deposit is not similar to the micaceous sand, mined in the Woo'd- 

 bridge district, and erroneously termed kaolin. The latter has 

 less mica and much more coarse sand. 



In its raw condition the micaceous, talc-like clay is a whitish, 

 loose clayey mica sand. It digs readily, but on account of its 

 open character, is easily penetrated by water and therefore is 

 readily stained by iron from the overlying sands and gravels. 

 In its crude condition it might perhaps serve as a filler for as- 

 bestos. When mixed with water, molded and burned, the sample 

 from locality 172 behaved as follows: Water required for tem- 

 pering, 45.2 per cent. ; air shrinkage, 3.3 per cent. It is not hard 

 burning at low or moderate temperatures. Thus at cone 8, the 

 fire shrinkage was only 5.3 per cent., the bricklet not steel-hard,, 

 color white and absorption 24.73 P er cent - 



At cone 10, the fire shrinkage was 7.3 per cent. ; color yellowish 

 white, bricklet barely steel-hard, and absorption 19.23 per cent. 

 The mica scales were still visible at cone 8, and had not in most 

 cases fluxed with the other particles of the clay. 



A test of another sample is given in the description of the clays 

 from Gloucester county. 



The Cohansey clays are not worked in Salem county, nor were 

 any exposures seen, but they may occur, as the formation probably 

 extends across southeastern Salem county. They are worked just 



