370 
HUBBARD AND CRONEIS 
Thus while the county has a good deal of iron ore and much 
more ferruginous rock which may some day be leached to make 
valuable ore, yet there is really no deposit of iron ore known 
that can compete with the producing regions of the United States. 
Limestone and Cement 
The limestones of Giles County are of great importance since 
they may be used either in the manufacture of lime or cement, 
or as building or road making stone. The New Eiver Lime 
Company has a quarry to the northwest of Ripplemead, along 
the river, from which is taken some forty car loads a day. Clay 
Mason has a considerable lime making establishment across and 
a little upstream from this quarry. At various times, the lime- 
stone has been used in other places but the industry has not 
been developed nearly to the limits of its possibilities. Cement 
could be manufactured quite to advantage here, since the Chicka- 
mauga exposures are all well served by railroads, and the neces- 
sary shale is usually found close at hand in the Sevier formation. 
Clays and Shales 
These are of little importance here and have not been exploited. 
Sands and Gravels 
These belong in the same category as the above list. Some 
sand is taken from the New River for local use, but it promises 
no importance. Tertiary gravels occur, but are of little use, be- 
ing composed of large boulders, of cobble stone size, for the 
most part. 
Water Supply 
As would be expected in a mountainous, limestone area, re- 
ceiving considerable rainfall, there is an abundance of water. 
This supply is very liable to contamination, however, on account 
of the great development of under-surface drainage. There are 
several places along the New, where water power could be ob- 
tained by tunneling, but an abundance of cheap electric power, 
due to the nearness to the coal fields, has so far, hindered this. 
Sulfur and mineral springs occur at Eggleston and at other 
points. 
