12 



abundant in and about those places where the iron and copper 

 met, or where different rocks came together, deranging the 

 regularity of the quartz veins. I have also been informed that 

 the iron ores of this county, — we speak of those near or in the 

 limits of the gold range, — all contained gold. The presence of 

 gold is by no means as rare an occurrence as many believe, 

 for many sands used for making glass contain a' small quantity 

 of this metal ; so little indeed is the proportion as only to be 

 sensible by long accumulation from large quantities of sand, 

 made evident in the manufacturing of glass. The crucibles 

 used for containing the liquid salts, after having served for 

 months this end, are cast off. On examination, small portions 

 of gold have been found in the bottom of the vase. The dis- 

 covery of the presence of this metal is of no importance; it is 

 the proportion only that must be considered, and this must 

 vary with the nature of rock, the surface of country, and a 

 multiplicity of other considerations which grow out of the na- 

 ture and mutability of things. Our object here was not to ex- 

 amine into the relative richness of any particular part or lo- 

 cality of this district, but to enable those to judge from a 

 description of the whole, the nature of these formations when 

 compared with those that characterize certain parts of those 

 states in which gold has been found in sufficient abundance to 

 interest capitalists, and which has now long since been an ob- 

 ject of public attention. From the imperfect descriptions we 

 have given, you will judge these formations to be similar. Gold 

 has been found in quartz, visible to the eye, and when in too 

 minute particles to be discovered by ocular inspection, it is 

 nevertheless frequently possible to separate, with advantage, 

 the gold by chemical means. 



The specimens of minerals and rocks of this country we ex- 

 pected to receive ere this ; had they arrived, we should now 

 have offered to the society the results of chemichal examina- 

 tion ; however, we place but little value upon the results of 

 such examinations ; assays of individual specimens are by no 

 means just expressions of the whole, still we hope shortly to 

 furnish these results to those who desire them. 



Of the prevalent rocks that are found in the lower portion, 

 or south-east part of the county, we can say but little, not hav- 



