38 
[Assembly 
closely resembling those of Staten Island. Some of these are of so 
much interest to mineralogists that I doubt not this will become one of 
our most imDortant localities. 
Generally speaking the county of Rockland is not rich in minerals, 
at least so far as we can judge from what is at present known concern- 
ing it. Its great staple is the red s-andstone or freestone, of which it 
contains an inexhaustible supply, and which in consequence of its im- 
mediate vicinity to the Hudson must be a source of great wealth. Gra- 
nite for building purposes will also probably be obtained in large quan- 
tities ; and to these may be added a few quarries of limestone and 
ornamental marble. 
Our next excursion was from Newburgh into the counties of Dutchess 
and Putnam. A fine and probably extensive vein of graphite or black- 
lead in the Fishkill mountains was the first object of interest presented 
to us. We subsequently devoted several days to the thorough exploration 
of a celebrated locality on the farm of Mr. Joseph Hustis in Philipstown,' 
Putnam county. Here we collected specimens of beautiful serpentine, 
verd antique marble, asbestus, jade, tremolite, coccolite and other inter- 
esting and somewhat rare minerals. Then taking a circuit round by 
the way of Cold Spring, we visited the extensive and valuable deposits 
of magnetic iron ore in the interior of this county, such as the Denny 
mine, the Philips mine, &c. These veins or beds of iron ore extend 
for several miles traversing the highland range, but they have only here 
and there been wrought. The ore is usually of a good quality and is 
used, after mixture with some of the Orange county ores, at the Cold- 
Spring furnace. 
Our next halt was at Carmel, the county town of Putnam, and the 
centre of an important mineral region. Three or four miles N. W. of 
this place, there are extensive beds of black marble, which is suscepti- 
ble of a good polish, and only requires some easy mode of transport to 
the great market to bring it at once into notice. Near these beds of 
marble we found two old excavations for silver ore, but the minerals 
heretofore found in them are arsenical pyrites, iron pyiites, and small 
quantities of black lead. The arsenical pyrites appears to be abundant, 
and may turn out to be valuable for the arsenic which it contains. As 
the arsenical minerals are frequently associated with ores of silver, it 
is not surprising that these localities should have excited much atten- 
tion. I intend carefully to analyze the products of these mines for the 
