No. 50.] 
97 
SCHOHARIE COUNTY. 
In this fertile and well cultivated county, there are several minerals 
of great interest. The labors of the mineralogist and geologist are 
moreover greatly facilitated by the assistance of the Messrs Gebhard, 
vv^ho have so long and so well explored the rich field which is here pre- 
sented to the student of nature. I can only repeat in this place my 
acknowledgments to those gentlemen, for their liberality and kindness 
in advancing the cause to which we are devoted. 
If I were to characterize the mineralogy of Schoharie county by a 
single remark, it would be in reference to the number of caverns which 
it contains and the various forms of calcareous spar which these caverns 
exhibit. Stalactites and stalagmites are often found here of enormous 
size, and with a structure of great beauty. Ball's cave is the most cele- 
brated on this account as well as of its extent, but there are many 
others within a circuit of a few miles, and probably more will hereafter 
be discovered. 
In the immediate vicinity of Schoharie Court-House is a stratum of 
water limestone, which according to my analysis has the following 
composition, viz : 
Carbonate of lime, 56 . 25 
Carbonate of magnesia, 30 . 75 
Silica and alumina, 11. 50 
Oxide of iron, 1 .50 
So that it does not differ essentially from the specimens obtained in 
Ulster county and elsewhere. A remarkable fact, connected with the 
water limestone at Schoharie, is the abundance of sulphate of barytes 
and carbonate of strontian which it contains. The latter mineral some- 
times occurs massive when it resembles white marble, although much 
heavier. It is believed to be the only locality in the United States. 
The sulphate of barytes, which is here also found in considerable 
abundance, is often mixed in various proportions, with the carbonates 
of lime and of strontian. Several new minerals have been described 
as from Schoharie, and I might perhaps have added others to the list ; 
but careful observation constrains me to say that all these supposed new 
species are nothing more than mixtures of the various substances so 
abundantly diffased through the rocks in this vicinity. This remark, 
will, I think, especially apply to the Calstronbaryte of Shepard and 
[Assembly, No. 50.] 13 
