196 
[AsSEMBLr 
iiated with gneiss or any other rock, there is usually some evidence that 
the position is accidental, and the mass above is connected with an un- 
stratified mass beneath. 
Some of the most important localities of granite are in Gouverneur, 
Edwards and Fowler. The largest bed extends from Halesborough to 
Little- York, in the township of Fowler, a distance of four miles. It 
occurs also in Hermon, near the Teale settlement, in Rossie and Rich- 
ville. Much of the granite at Gouverneur contains albite. So far as 
any of the localities have fallen under my observation, none of them 
will furnish a good material for building. Its texture is usually too 
coarse to spilt well or to endure the weather. In many places, more 
or less carbonate of lime, or carbonate of lime and magnesia, is diffused 
through it, which converts it into a perishable rock. The same re- 
marks are applicable to the gneiss, so that neither rock is valuable, ex- 
cept for the coarser works, such as the underpinning of barns and out- 
houses. 
Primitive Limestone, 
Among the subordinate rocks, primitive limestone is among the most 
interesting and important. Having examined it minutely in this coun- 
ty, in Canada, and in many places in New-England, I am disposed to 
entertain different views of its character and origin than those taught in 
geological systems. These will be stated in the proper place. The 
primitive limestones are always coarse and crystalline, frequently fria- 
ble, and rapidly broken down by the action of frost and the weather. 
Colour, usually white, or clouded with blueish black. A handsome, 
green variety, which becomes a beautiful blue by exposure to the wea- 
ther, occurs in Keene, at Long Pond. Some of the more perfect varie- 
ties, and usually called calcareous spar or Iceland spar, are limpid, ame- 
thystine and straw coloured. Usually, the rock is coarse and opake 
or merely translucent in their particles. For use in the arts, or as a 
building material, this variety is too friable, and too subject to disinte- 
gration, to be esteemed; and besides, it abounds in minerals of different 
kinds, much harder than itself, some of which, on exposure to the air, 
decompose and leave an indelible stain, which destroys its beauty when 
polished. It, however, makes the best of lime when pure, and the fria- 
ble varieties may be employed to advantage on land in place of gypsum. 
Occurring, as this rock does, in irregular intertruded masses, it is im- 
possible to estimate its extent. The area it occupies in the county of 
St. Lawrence is considerable. It occurs in all the townships in the 
gneiss district, and in some of them in heavy thick beds, as in Gouver- 
