SALINE COUNTY. 197 
Analysis of Tertiary kaolin from Benton. 
[R. N. Brackett, analyst.] 
Silica (SiO,) 48. 34 
Alumina ( A1 2 3 ) 34. 58 
Iron (ferric) oxide (Fe 2 3 ) 1. 65 
Lime (CaO) 81 
Magnesia (MgO) Trace. 
Potash (K 2 0) 44. 
Soda (Na 2 6) 1 1.26 
Loss on ignition (water) 12. 94 
100.02 
Water at 110°-115° C 2.20 
It is to be hoped that other efforts will be made to turn this bed of 
kaolin to account. It should be remembered that no kaolin can be 
used just as it comes from the pit; each one requires a treatment of 
its own, .and he who experiments with this variety until he under- 
stands how to treat it will probably be well rewarded for his trouble. 
It must not be expected, however, that a kaolin that contains so high 
a percentage of iron will burn white. If mixed with a poor sandy 
clay it will probably make an excellent pottery clay. 
CLAY INDUSTRY. 
Eagle Pottery Company. — The plant of the Eagle Pottery Company 
is located H miles northeast of Benton. It has a capacity of 800 to 
900 gallons daily. Four turners are employed, some of whom turn 
300 gallons a day. Twenty-two pounds of clay are used in a 5-gallon 
vessel and 6^ pounds in a 1 -gallon vessel. The smaller the vessel 
the more clay is used per gallon. 
The ware is burned in a rotary up-draft kiln. Forty-eight hours 
are required to burn the ware. Twelve cords of wood, mostly pine, 
are used to each kiln. 
The principal vessels made are jugs, crocks, jars, and churns, which 
contain from 1 to 5 gallons each. The unglazed ware burns to a 
beautiful light buff color. Arkansas slip is used. 
The clay used by this factory is obtained in two places. The 
purest and best clay comes from a pit on the roadside one-half mile 
south of the kiln, between the kiln and Benton. When fresh the 
clay has a chocolate color, but becomes white when dry. It is plastic, 
free from grit or sand, and very similar in appearance to the clay from 
Holly Springs, Miss. It occurs in large lenses and is overlain by 
Lafayette sands and gravel, which in places rest directly on the clay. 
In some places the stratified sands of the Tertiary intervene between 
the clay deposits and the Lafayette. The clay, therefore, belongs to 
the older Tertiary sands and not to the Lafayette. Leaf impressions 
in the clay are reported to be of frequent occurrence. 
