14 
ECONOMICAL MINERALOGY. 
The separating machine, or washing, would be required to render this ore fit for the forge. 
It would undoubtedly be valuable for the high furnace. 
On the land of Mr. Harris in Schroon, is a vein of magnetic oxide of iron, six or seven 
feet wide, which may be traced a number of rods. It is on the west side of Paradox lake. 
It is a coarse grained and pure ore, being mixed only with a small quantity of quartz. 
Beds of the same mineral exist also in the towns of Athol and Luzerne, and in Hyde town¬ 
ship.* The ore is usually pure, although that at the latter locality is sometimes mixed with 
sulphur. With little trouble they would all furnish a sufficiently pure iron. 
Deposits of the magnetic oxide of iron are also known to occur in the town of Hague, but 
their extent has not to my knowledge been determined. They cannot, however, at present be 
of much value. 
Essex County. This county is abundantly supplied with rich and extensive deposits of the 
magnetic oxide of iron, several of which are profitably worked. 
In the vicinity of Ticonderoga there occurs an ore of this kind, which consists of grains of 
various sizes, and which have a brilliant lustre, resembling polished steel. The precise locality 
is unknown. As it was so peculiar in its appearance, I was induced to analyze a portion of 
this ore, when it was found to be a nearly pure magnetic oxide of iron, containing only a very 
small admixture of silica and iron pyrites. It is strongly magnetic, and possesses polarity. 
There is an important deposit of the magnetic oxide in the town of Crown Point, known 
as the Penfield Ore Bed. It is extensively worked, and the ore is of an excellent quality. 
It is attracted by the magnet, and possesses polarity. The structure is usually compact, but 
the ore easily reduced to a coarse powder, in which form it is subjected to the action of the 
magnetic separating machine to free it from the silica with which it is mixed. One of the 
purest specimens of this ore had the following composition : 
Magnetic oxide of iron,. 92.97 
Silica and alumina,... 5.93 
On the immediate bank of Lake Champlain, near Port Henry in the town of Moriah, and 
known in the vicinity by the name of Crag Harbour, is a deposit of magnetic iron ore of 
about twelve feet in thickness. It dips to the southwest at an angle of about 35° or 40°, and 
is overlaid by a stratum of hornblende, which mineral is also a constant associate of the ore. 
It is probably owing to this that the resulting iron is hard and brittle, and unfit for many of the 
uses to which that metal is applied. This difficulty might perhaps be removed, by mixing 
the ore with one of a different kind, and by a proper adjustment of the flux. The advanta¬ 
geous situation of this deposit, and its probable extent, render it worthy of some effort to 
accomplish so desirable an end. 
The Crag Harbour ore is of a black colour and semi-crystalline structure; is tough and 
with difficulty broken into fragments. It is powerfully attracted by the magnet, and ordinarily 
Emmons. New-York Geological Reports , 1839. 
