348 



GYPSUM. 



a ton of coal. As coal costs but $6 per ton at the 

 kiln, the expense of fuel is less than one cent per 

 bushel ; whereas, where wood is used, the expense 

 is considerably more. Lime is sold on the wharf 

 at six cents a bushel. The limekilns of Dutchess 

 county yield 1,500,000 bushels of lime annually, 

 worth $92,750, at a nett profit of at least $30,000.* 



Gypsum. — Sulphate of lime, or gypsum, occurs 

 under a variety of forms, viz., in large, transpa- 

 rent, crystalline plates, or radiated fibres, or snow- 

 white masses : most usually it is found in fine or 

 coarse grained compact masses, forming rocks, and 

 constituting large and extensive strata. Its colours 

 are white, red, brown, bluish white, &c. It is the 

 last variety of this mineral that constitutes the beds 

 so often met with among secondary rocks, particu- 

 larly the salt and coal formations. It rarely occurs 

 among primary or transition rocks, and is almost 

 always associated with salt. It contains but few 

 organic remains, and those that occur are chiefly 

 bones of quadrupeds, amphibia, fresh-water shells, 

 and vegetable remains. Caves are of frequent oc- 

 currence in gypsum. The purer semi-transparent 

 specimens of gypsum are used for ornamental 

 works, as vases, urns, &c, and for statuary; for 

 which purposes its softness makes it very useful 

 and easy to work : but this quality renders it diffi- 

 cult to polish. In this last form, it is the alabaster 

 of the arts. It constitutes the material used in 

 making the fine plastering for the internal finishing 

 of costly edifices, and gives the walls a most beau- 

 tiful whiteness. It is also used, after being burned, 

 for the composition of stucco-work of all sorts. 

 But the great and important use of gypsum, or 

 plaster, as it is usually called, is for manuring grass 

 and grain lands, for which it is truly invaluable. 



Gypsum occurs abundantly in New-Brunswick 



* Professor Mather's Report, &c. 



