WOODMAN: GOLD-BEARING SLATES OE NOVA SCOTIA. 291 
tests have not been made to show relations between the presence 
of gold in the whin and the proximity of veins. In the latter gold 
is more erratic than in the country-rock, and often a whole region 
is characterized by. the presence of “pockets” with lean places 
between. Below the drainage level of the reedon most of the metal 
is in sulphides; and this proportion increases downward for some 
distance, as less and less water penetrates the rock. The free gold 
here, in the veins, occurs in the same forms and positions as in those 
nearer the surface. Within the oxidized zone above, some o-old is 
free in the country-rock, and a large proportion in the veins. In the 
latter it occurs along the walls, tonguing into the gangue, or dis¬ 
seminated in fine particles through the latter. Where the metal 
lines the sides of rolls, it is usually bounded toward the country- 
rock by a rusted zone. From here it runs inward in stringers, often 
aloim distinct fractures. So far as I am aware, no analyses or 
assays have been made systematically, to discover how much is still 
imprisoned within the influence of water action. As a rule the free 
gold appears without distinct crystallization; but one crystal, having 
a dodecahedral form, has come to my notice, and a few others have 
been reported in years past. The one noted above came from Cow 
Bay, Avhere it probably has a deep-seated origin. 
The method of occurrence of gold in the veins of this series, its 
distribution in the country-rock, and its relations to sulphides point 
strongly to the conclusion that at least a large part was deposited 
in the sediments and has been long in process of concentration 
in the veins by water which comes downward from the surface. 
It is 'possible that not all the gold in a region of so complicated a 
history has the same source; but while some may have been brought 
up with the quartz, the facts so far observed do not show that more 
than a small share of it had that origin. 
An exception to the sedimentary origin of the gold must be made 
in the productive fissure-veins observed thus far. Of these Cow Bay 
affords the best example. Here the metal occurs chiefly near the 
walls, but is not confined to that position. There is a local belief, 
well founded for certain veins, that values are higher in “ rough ” 
or cellular quartz. Examination of many specimens shows that 
the most frequent attitude is in planes parallel to the vein-walls, in 
quartz the crystals of which are not visible, or between layers of 
crystals. Where the veins cut across intercalated slate bands there 
is no corresponding change in the “carry” of the ore. This is 
