ANNUAL REPORT-MINERAL INDUSTRIES. 3S 
Four plants have been engaged in mining plastic kaolin 
during 1907. Two of these, under the management of the 
Edgar Plastic Kaolin Co., are located at Edgar in Put¬ 
nam County. The two other plants are the Richmond 
Kaolin Co., of Richmond, Florida, and the Florida Clay 
Co. of Yalaha, Florida, both in Lake County. The total 
output of kaolin during the year, as reported by the pro¬ 
ducers, was 19,615 tons, valued at |97,690. 
Brick Making Clays. 
The surface deposits of north and central Florida con¬ 
tain many clay beds. These clay deposits are often of local 
extent, and usually of variable character. The sandy 
clays of the Lafayette and Grand Gulf formations make 
up the surface deposit over much of the northern tier of 
counties west of the Suwannee River. Less well defined 
clays of local extent and variable character occur widely 
in peninsular Florida. In part these are doubtless the 
residuum of a former southward extent of the Lafayette ; 
in part of other formations. Many of the clay beds: of this 
area are too sandy for brick material. For this purpose 
a clay should mold easily, and burn hard at a low tempera¬ 
ture without excessive loss from warping and cracking. 
Such beds as occur in Florida suitable for brick making- 
are confined to no particular geological horizon. 
Fuller’s Earth. 
Fuller’s earth is a term applied to a variety of clays. 
These differ from other clays principally in that they are 
less plastic and possess in a high degree the quality of 
absorbing greasy substances. This earth was formerh 
used by fullers to remove greasy spots from cloth, from 
which usage it received its name of fuller’s earth. 
Minerals of Fuller’s Earth:—The clays, as has been 
stated, are as a rule complex, both chemically and miner- 
alogically. They consist not of a single mineral, but of a 
mixture of minerals. Owing to the minute size of the 
mineral particles, it is usually impossible to identify the 
3-GeoRepl 
