348 



has far exceeded the idea of any thing profitable. It is 

 occasionally made use of for coarse pottery, and many of 

 the poorer class of our citizens make use of it, with a so- 

 lution of glue, for washing the walls of their dwellings. 



From the central portion of this formation, and from 

 amid the various colored strata, is obtained the material 

 so much in value at the earthen-ware factories in our 

 neighboring States, for the purpose of glazing their nume- 

 rous productions ; they pay for it at the rate of one dollar 

 the barrel, and it is most admirably adapted to the use. 

 All that is necessary, is to dip the article to be glazed into 

 a solution of this clay, formed with water to the consist- 

 ency of cream ; the lime constituting one of the ingredi- 

 ents, readily performing the action of a flux to the alumin- 

 ous portion; and when the article is subjected to the 

 heat required, it produces all the effects that become ne- 

 cessary to accomplish the object. 



This blue clay, in a moist state, is a most admirable ar- 

 ticle for the preservation of the seeds and roots of plants, 

 particularly during long journeys by land and distant sea 

 voyages. All that is necessary, is to cut it into thin sli- 

 ces, and deposit the seeds and roots between them, at the 

 same time packing the whole mass firmly together. In 

 this way, these vegetable productions will retain their vi- 

 tality for a number of years, in consequence of the exclu- 

 sion of air, and the retention of a sufficiency of moisture 

 for their preservation. 



The finest portions of the imbedded brown sands and 

 gravel are much employed, when united with lime, in the 

 composition of mortars and other plasterings, and they are 

 also used for moulding purposes in furnaces ; while the 

 boulders and other angular masses, are broken up for the 

 construction of roads. 



The calcareous concretions have not, to my knowledge, 

 been appropriated to any practicable purpose but it has 

 been suggested, from tiieir chemical composition, that 



