122 Mr. E. T. Hardman, 



ing a much larger quantity, being in fact so far only limited by 

 the amount of labour obtainable, and the state of the market. 

 Owing to the cost of carriage also, the price of the mineral is 

 necessarily rather high. 



The next locality for Barytes is a little more than a mile south- 

 east of Bantry, in the townlands of Ardargh and Darreengreanagh, 

 and so far as I know of, has not been mentioned in any list of 

 localities of that mineral ; although the occurrence of the lode is 

 marked in the field maps of the Geological Survey. And the 

 mode in which it occurs is sufficiently curious to deserve a passing 

 notice. 



This deposit occurs in similar grits and slates to those enclos- 

 ing the first named, but instead of forming a lode it consists of a 

 thick pipe-like mass of nearly pure Barytes. This pipe is about 

 thirty feet long, and fifteen wide, and it has been proved to 

 extend downwards for at least ninety feet, having been entirely 

 excavated to that depth. At the corners it throws off small 

 branches or veins, from two to five feet thick, and some of these 

 have been found at the surface some distance from the main body, 

 but appear to thin away on every side. 



This great mass is almost entirely composed of the very purest 

 sulphate of Baryta. An analysis of it showed it to contain over 

 ninety-five per cent, of sulphate. The " seconds" or " cawk" 

 (which forms but a very small proportion of the lode, being prin- 

 cipally confined to the walls), contain various copper ores, the 

 green carbonate, Peacock ore, and copper pyrites, as well as galena, 

 all in very small quantity. The walls of the lode are coated in 

 some places with steatite, or chlorite. The rocks enclosing 

 it strike N. 80° E., with a high dip of 75° to 80 Q . 



This deposit has been worked for a considerable time by the 

 Scart Barytes Mining Company, and the principal mass of ore has 

 been removed to the depth above stated — ninety feet. 



There is always an amount of mystery kept up as to the uses 

 for which Barytes is intended, arising from the fact that it is 

 chiefly in demand for purposes of adulteration, its high specific 

 gravity being taken advantage of. Thus it is principally in re- 

 quest for the adulteration of white lead and other paints ; and 

 some even say that it is employed as a commercial substitute for 



