40 
from various places. The clay is procured from the bank3 
of the Delaware, near Burlington. The siliceous sand em* 
ployed in the crown glass factories, is brought from Lanes* 
borough (Mass.) In Oneida county, it is found in several 
places of sufficient purity for the making of cylinder glass. 
That used at the Hamilton factory is obtained near Port 
Elizabeth, (New-Jersey,) on the bank of a small river which 
empties into Delaware Bay. The mineral used is potash, 
and the colouring matter, manganese, which is preferred on 
account of its cheapness, to cobalt.* 
I have, I fear, exhausted your patience, without doing jus* 
tice to my subject. Its extensive nature will plead my ex* 
cuse, for the many mistakes and omissions that doubtless 
have been observed. 
Such is the state of American mineralogy in its infancy. 
Such the progress of science and the arts in that country 
from which two centuries ago micaceous sand was exported 
as gold dust .f Its manhood may proudly be anticipated, by 
recurring to the persevering industry, the unconquerable 
enterprize and the extraordinary ingenuity of our citizens. 
On a review of the subject, one deduction appears mani* 
fest. It is the intimate connexion that subsists between ag¬ 
riculture, commerce and manufactures. They are mutual¬ 
ly dependant on each other. Conjointly, they form the pil¬ 
lars of the temple of society, and are in fact, the foundation 
of human enjoyment. Through their united effects, fish¬ 
ermen’s huts have been transformed into emporiums of 
the world, nations have arisen from obscurity, and the earth 
has been made a fit dwelling place for the destined sons of 
immortality. The man who would overthrow the one, in 
For the information respecting the Hamilton and Rensselaer 
factories, I am indebted to Messrs. James Kane, and John Reid,, 
of this city ; for that concerning the western establishments, to 
George Huntington, Esq. member of assembly from Oneida 
county. 
t “ In 1607, vessels were loaded by miners with a glittering 
earth dug from a bank of sand near Jamestown (Virginia) which 
they vainly hoped contained gold.” Holmes’ American Annals, 
vol. 1, p. 157. I have called this substance micaceous sand , as I 
am acquainted with no other mineral that answers more nearly 
to the above description. 
