SMITH COUNTY. 219 



springing up all over the county, and local capital has established in the last 

 few years three canning factories, the capacity of each being twenty-five hun- 

 dred cans of fruit daily. 



CLAYS. 



No deposits of the finest grade of procelain clays were found in Smith 

 County, though in many ^ localities clays were seen that would do for the 

 manufacture of coarse pottery. Careful chemical analyses which I made of 

 various samples of these clays show them to contain large amounts of free 

 sands, iron, and alkalies, all of which are highly injurious to good pottery 

 clays. While they can not be used for -making procelain ware, with judicious 

 selection and management they will make coarse pottery. This fact has been 

 demonstrated by practical tests, and jugs, sewer pipes, churns, flower pots, 

 and tiling have been manufactured from them. 



In 1883 a jug factory was in operation on the E. B. Ragsdale headright, 

 west of Garden Valley, which made a very good grade of pottery, though for 

 some reason they suspended operations in a short time. The clay used in 

 this factory is of a light gray color, which becomes nearly white when dry. 

 It is very plastic, and is overlaid by from one to fifteen feet of red sandy and 

 clayey strata. At the locality where I examined it about five feet of it was 

 exposed to view. It is very similar both in physical and chemical properties 

 to the pottery clays used in Henderson and Rusk counties. For the sake of 

 comparison, I give below the clay from Garden Valley and also those used in 

 Henderson, Rusk County: 



No. 1. No. 2. 



Silica 69 .05 Silica 64.40 



Alumina 22.60 Alumina 24.17 



Iron (ferric oxide) 1 . 40 Iron 3.23 



Potassa 2 . 03 Alkalies as chlorides 3.50 



Soda 99 Lime Trace. 



Sulphuric acid Trace. Magnesia Trace. 



Lime Trace. Sulphuric acid Trace. 



Magnesia Trace. Water 7.25 



Water 4.12 



No. 1 is from Garden Valley and No. 2 from Henderson, Rusk County. 



Three miles east of Lindale, one mile west of Tyler, three miles east of 

 Tyler, and ten miles southwest of Tyler the same character of clay was again 

 met with. The clay west of Tyler is on the land of W. L. Watkins, of Ty- 

 ler. The bed is quite extensive, and is overlaid by from ten to twenty feet of 

 soil and red sandy clay, though it is exposed to view in several places where 

 ravines have cut through it. The sample which I obtained from this localitj 

 is quite sandy. Below is the analysis of it, made on the specimen dried at 

 115° centigrade: 



