348 
GVPSUM* 
a ton of coal. As coal costs but $6 per ton at ther 
kiln, the expense of fuel is less than one cent pef 
bushel ; whereas, where wood is usedj the expens© 
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 annual ly^ 
worth $93,750, at a nett profit of at least $30,000.* 
Gypsum. — Sulphate of lime, or gypsum, gccurg 
under a variety of forms, viz., in large, transpa- 
rent, crystalline plates, or radiated fibres, or snow* 
%vhite 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 afe 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. 
