NORTH CAROLINA. 



303 



very mild The wheat harvest takes place in the beginning of June ; the maize harvest early 

 in September. 



9. Soils. In the level country generally, the soil is poor and sandy, with large, swampy 

 tracts. The banks of some of the rivers are tolerably fertile, and there are some glades of 

 moist l-md, possessing a black, fruitful soil. West of the hilly country, the soil is good, and 

 resembles that of the States further north. The Great Dismal Swamp lies in the northeastern 

 part of the State, and extends into Virginia. It is 30 miles in length, and 10 in breadth, and 

 covers an extent of 150,000 acres ; the soil is marshy, and the whole tract is overgrown 

 with pine, juniper, and cypress trees, with white and red oak in the drier parts. In the 

 centre of it is a pond 15 miles in circuit. Many parts of the swamp are impervious to man, 

 from the thickness of the woods and bushes. A canal is carried through it from Norfolk to 

 Albemarle Sound. Between Albemarle and Pamlico Sound is another, called Jllligator, or 

 Little Dismal Swamp, which also has a pond in the centre ; this has been partly drained by 

 means of a canal, and the land rendered fit for the cultivation of rice. It is estimated, that 

 there are 2,500,000 acres of swampy land within the State, capable of being drained at a 

 trifling cost, and fitted for the culture of cotton, tobacco, rice, and maize. These swamps 

 have a clay bottom, over which lies a thick stratum of vegetable compost. The drained lands 

 are found to be exceedingly fertile. 



10. Geology, JVIinerals. The low country consists of deposits of sand and clay, similai 

 to those of Eastern Virginia, and belonging to the same geological age ; these tertiary beds 

 are not rich in minerals, but they comprise extensive deposits of shell-marl, fossiliferous lime- 

 stones, copperas, and bog-iron ore. The line dividing the flat tertiary plain from the upper 

 country, crosses the Neuse near Smithfield, and the Cape Fear, near Averasboro, and is indi- 

 cated by a ledge of micaceous rock. West of this line is a belt of mica-slates, chlorite 

 slates, gneiss, and granites. Among the minerals of this tract are the hematitic iron ores of 

 Nash and Johnston, formerly wrought to advantage, and the plumbago or black-lead of Wake ; 

 soapstone, and serpentine also occur. A belt of sandstone succeeds to this primary strip, 

 extending southwesterly from Granville quite across the State ; coal has been discovered in 

 Orange and Chatham ; the sandstone furnishes good freestones and grindstones ; argillaceous 

 iron ore, the usual accompaniment of coal-measures also occurs in this formation. Parallel 

 with the freestone and coal formation, on the west, lies the great slate formation of North Car- 

 olina. It extends across the State from northeast to southwest, covering more or less of the 

 counties of Person, Orange, Chatham, Randolph, Montgomery, Cabarrus, Anson, and Meck- 

 lenbu'g. Its breadth is about 20 miles. Within this district are found numerous beds of 

 porphyry, soapstone, serpentine, greenstone, and hone or whetstone slate. Manganese, spec- 

 ular oxide of iron, and brown hematites occur here. The novaculite or honestone is of a su- 

 perior quality, and is preferred by the mechanics to the best Turkey hones of the market. A 

 second belt of primary rocks extends from the slate formation nearly to the Blue Ridge, and 

 comprises the Gold Regions of North Carolina ; most of the gold has been procured from 

 washings, and not from the veins in the quartzose rocks ; it has been found in Guilford, David- 

 son, Randolph, Montgomery, Anson, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Rowan, Rutherford, and per- 

 haps other counties, but we have no account of the actual quantity obtained. The famous 

 mass which weighed 28 pounds, was found at Reed's Mines in Cabarrus, and other large lumps 

 have been found, but they are rare. " Various marvellous stories are told respecting this rich 

 mass ; as that it had been seen by Gold Hunters at night, reflecting so brilliant a light, when they 

 drew near to it with torches, as to terrify them and deter them from further examination." 

 The gold from some of these mines is remarkable for its purity, and when found is kept in 

 goose-quills, and exchanged by weight, constituting a part of the currency of the country. Iron 

 ore is also found in Rockingham, Stokes, Surrey, and Lincoln, and has been pretty extensively 

 wrought ; it is chiefly the magnetic oxide. Of the mineral resources of the more western 

 counties we know little. 



11. Vegetable Productions. A great part of the country is covered with forests of pitch 

 pine. In the plains of the Low Country, this tree is almost exclusively the natural growth of 

 the soil. It much exceeds in height the pitch pine of the Northern States. The tar, turpen- 

 tine, and lumber afforded by this valuable tree, constitute one half the expoi ;s of the State. 

 The moisture of the air, in the swampy regions, loads the trees with long, spongy moss, which 

 nangs in clusters from the limbs, and gives the forest a singular appearance. The mistletoe is 

 often found upon the trees of the interior. This State also produces several \ nluable medicina 



