77 
discovered several species of marble, 
which dissolved readily in muriatic acid* 
On the east side of the country, potters 5 
clay and gypsum have been found, and 
different specimens of talc, mica, and la¬ 
pis olearis, are to be met with. Phipps 
did not perceive any metallic ores in this 
country, nor, as far as I know, have other 
voyagers discovered any. The interior 
/ 
of the country, however, has been very 
little, if at all, explored, and it would, 
therefore, be wrong to conclude against 
their existence from this circumstance, 
more especially, as they are said to be 
found in Greenland. 
Solid as the rocks of this barren coun¬ 
try are, their disintegration has gone on 
to a considerable extent. The combin¬ 
ed effects of cataracts, formed of melted 
snow, of frosts, and tempests, are at once 
perceived in the quantity of grit, or 
coarse sand, worn down from the moun¬ 
tains. This sterile substance, (the only 
* 
