xt7zcr5n9g55 https://exploreuk.uky.edu/dips/xt7zcr5n9g55/data/mets.xml Hall, Frederick, 1780-1843. 1840  books b92-158-29919239 English F. Taylor and W.M. Morrison, : Washington City : Contact the Special Collections Research Center for information regarding rights and use of this collection. United States Description and travel. Letters from the East and from the West  / by Frederick Hall. text Letters from the East and from the West  / by Frederick Hall. 1840 2019 true xt7zcr5n9g55 section xt7zcr5n9g55 














LETTERS



    FROM THE EAST AND FROM TIE WEST.











                BY FREDERICK HALL, M. D.


Formerly Professor Math. and Nat. Philosophy in Middlebury College, Vt. and la"
President Mount Hope College, Maryland; Member of the Conn. Acad. Sci.;
   American Geol. Society; Acad. Arts and Sci. Mass., Cor. Mem. Lyceum,
     N. Y., Columbian Institute, Washington, and of several Foreign Socie-
           ties, Cor. Sec. American Historical Society, Washington.















                          PUBLLISHED
NV V. TAYLOR ALn WV. 1. tOURRISON, WASaINoTON CITYVB-LL AND 5WTW15s8L,
     ALEXANDRIA, P. C.-'. LUCAS, JR. AND PUBLICAT1ON 11005, No. 7, SOUTr
                     LISIRTX STREET, BALTIMOR,.

 





























































         TENTERED ACCORDING TO LAW, MAY 6, 1840.3


_ . _ ==

 




frO THE PUBLIC.



     DEAR FRIEND:-Being about to send you a Book, it is deemed very
important to say a word to you about it, in the manner of a Preface, and
this may be all, which you will wish to read. The work is small, and
this circumstance, being in the present age, accounted a high recommen-
dation, may procure for it a limited persual.
     The "1Lettcrs from the East, or from the valley of the Connecticut
river," were first published in the National Intelligencer of this city.
These letters, it was reported, a few individuals, of your large family,
would be glad to preserve, provided they were in the form of a book.
For their gratification, they are now reprinted in the desired shape.
  The history of the "Letters from the West" is brief. They were
written more than two years ago, and transmitted, by mail, to the writer's
wife, to cheer her loneliness. He cannot say, that they were composed
for her amusement, only. It was his design to spend a part of the follow-
ing winter in re-writing, and preparing them for the type. Sickness con-
fined him, the whole of that dreary winter, to his couch. His health kind
Heaven, in the spring, restored, and he set himself to the work of trans-
cription. When the business was completed, the manuscript was offered,
for sale, to three or four publishers, but they would not buy it. " We are
willing," said they, "ito print it, at our own risk. But the world is full
of books; none sell, except novels; the taste of the age is so dainty, it will
accept of nothing, which is not strongly peppered; times aire hard; mo-
ney is scarce, and we cannot run the hazard of buying a work of travels."
The author, like every tender hearted father, fancying his offspring too
good to give away, concluded to lock up the scroll in his scrutoir, where
it has had a long sleep.
  When the other Letters come to be printed, it was found that they forni-
ed a bulk, too diminutive for a bound volume. What was to be done 
After mature cogitation, it was resolved, to enlarge the volumne, by the
addition of a few of the "1 Letters from the West."  Now, as an elephant
flings out his proboscis to learn, if there is any thing tor him to eat or

 


VI



drink, so these letters are thrown out to ascertain, whether you, friend, have
any mental appetite for Ouch food. Should they suit your taste, five
chances to one, another parcel of the same series, relating to the farther
west, will follow these. But the author expects no such thuing. The balance
of the manuscript is rolled up, and packed away, in a tin box, there to re-
main incog-how long forever Perhaps not. Who can say, that it will not
be read and lauded, a thousand lustrums hence Who knows but the hid-
den fires of Vesuvius, or Mouna Kea, or Cotopaxi, are, at this moment,
forming a subterranean passage to our "1 Federal City" Who knows but
"1 Capitol Hill " will, one day, become the crater of a physical, instead of a
political volcano, and that the veiy spot, on which the Temple of Legisla-
tion nor rears its bold and beautiful front, will send forth torrents of molten
rock, to deluge the city, and even the "s White House," mountain high,
with floods of red hot lava Who knows but Washington, the "Icity of
magnificent distances," will be a desolation, a literal "amer de glace," a
seat of solitude,- a place of owls and snakes, through the long period of a
Platonic year, or twenty-five thousand of our puny years Who knows
but some future vine dresser, or, more probably, some Maryland tobacco
grower, will, while sinking a well in the solid lava, strike on one of the
splendid pillars of breccia marble, which now adorn the chamber of confu-
sion, or on the bust of Marshall or Madison
- The marvelous incident will be announced. The report flies on the
wiligs of the wind, "that the ancient, long lost city of Washington has been
discovered." The nations, which will then be, will all be agog to learn
what works of art, what historic lore, what riches lie here entombed. The
literati, and the artists, from beyond the Rocky mountains will be here. Le-
gislators from the new Republics of Kamtschatka and Patagonia will be
here, in quest of wisdom from the records of their long extinct sister.
Hither will come a balloon, driven by lightning, from the Sandwich Islands,
and another from the refined city of Tombuctoo, filled with swarthy virtu-
osos, and with money-seekers, eager to lay hands on the "forty millions
in the vaults of the Treasury," an account of which they will have read
in ancient history.
  Some future Napoleon sets his troops to the work of excavation. All
eyes watch their operations. Every object thrown out is closely examined.
Numberless articles, which produce staring are disclosed. A pick-axe strikes
the black statue of Jefferson. It is carried off, and converted to its proper

 



V



use-into kitchen stoves. Next come forth the portraits of Washington
and La Fayette, uninjured and bright, not having even the smell of fire.
They are carefully preserved for other generations to gaze at, and admire,
and worship, as demigods. A crow-bar sinks into a chamber of documents,
which are so crisped, and yielding, that it goes through them, and falls into
the room below, breaking many brandy bottles. The excavators now com-
mence laying open the broad Pennsylvania avenue, where they Aind a mot-
ley mass of dead bodies, long strings of hackney coaches, pastry-shops,
whose shelves are covered with charred cakes-older than the loaf from
Pompeii, now in the Museo Barbonico at Naples-billiard tables, cham-
pagne bottles, ten-pin-alleys, card-rooms, c. c. all revelators of the doings
of other days. At length the workmen reach the Treasury Building, furn-
ished with long rakes, with which they expect to draw out of the dark
vault, bushels of dollars and eagles. An opening is made. A rake is let
down. It scrapes, and scrapes, and scrapes, but nothing rattles. The
wielder, wearied and vexed, draws out the instrument, and finds on one of
its teeth a mouldy bundle of Treasury notes, without signature.
  The diggers next turn their attention to other streets, and at length, in
the drawer of a case of minerals in C street, they come across the little
round tin box. It is opened. Its contents are taken out, and handled with all
the caution, with which an Italian antiquary unrolls a papyrus manuscript.
The work is every where announced, in glaring capitals, Letters from the
West. The whole world reads it with devouring avidity, and extols it to the
stars. It is copied and placed in every library in the land, as one of the
best records of the men and deeds of old times. And who knows, but all
this will yet be real, bonqfide history Who knows, but the author him-
self will be present, an eye and ear-witness of this rather posthumous re-
nown. Now, friend, will not this be "glory enough"  Exulting in the
full anticipation of it all, he bids you a long farewell.
    WASHINGTON, APRIL 24, 1840.

 
This page in the original text is blank.



 




CONTENTS OF LETTERS



                             FROM

      'TIlE VALLEY OF THE      CONNECrICUT RIVER".



LETTER I. Haddam-Granite and Gneiss quarries Iolite-Schorl-
            Adularia-Beryl,                                 1
LETTER II. Chrysoberyl-Mode of obtaining it-Albite-Talc,  -  3
LETTER III. Middletown-China-Stone quarry-Feldspar, its uses-
            Mica in crystals-Apatite-Zircon-Uranium-Colum-
            bite or tantalite,-  -   -    -    -    -    -    5
LETTER IV. Westfield-Bituminous Shale- Bird tracks in Sandstone
            -Wesleyan University-Its site beautiful-Its prosper-
            ous condition,  -    -   -    -    -    -    -    8
LETTER V. Weathersfield-The place of onions-Its gardens-Hart-
            ford-Mrs. Sigourney-Rev. T. H. Gallaudet-Asylum
            for the Deaf and Dumb-Charter Oak-Asylum for the
            Insane-Sulphate of barytesMalachite,  -    -   12
LETTER VI. Bellows Falls-Telegraph stage-Bridge-Village; scen-
            ery around it,  -    -                          15
LETTER VII. Wavellite-Plumbago-Granite-Its numerous applica-
            tions-Asbestos, -    -    -   -    -    -    -  20
LETTER VIII. Plymouth-Its Great Cave-Black river-Marble, of a
            fine quality-Micaceous oxide of iron-Tyson's Iron-
            works-Heated air furnace-Brown hematite-Oxide of
            manganese-Sulphuret of molybdena-Carbonate of iron 2'
LETTER IX. Cavendish-Serpentine-Its manufacture into tables, side-
            boards, c. c.-Steatite, abundant-Its uses-Potstone
            -Chlorite-Octaedral iron,                       26
LETTER X. New Hampshire-Its soil-Character of its inhabitants-
            Acworth-Mr. Powers-Rose-quartz-Beryl-Feldspar,
            made into artificial teeth,-  -    -    -    -  29
LETTER XI. Catalogue of New England minerals,  -   -    -  33



 



CONTENTS OF LETTERS FROM THE WEST.



LETTER I. Mode of travelling-Vineyard-An old tavern-keeper-
            Gettysburg-Theological Seminary-College-Carriage
            making-Augite-Volcanoes,    -   -      -    -   39
LETTER II. Cove mountain-Temperance' tavern-Simplicity-Vul-
            gar dejeuner-Caoutchouc mantle-Bedford-Junietta
            river-Napier-Sunday-Suffering pedestrians-Iron-
            hearted landlord-Patient wife-Allegliany mountain-
            Manner of clearing land-Alpine cold-Stoyestown-
            Climate changed,    -    -    -    -   -    -   42
LETTER III. Pittsburg-Smoke-Fort Pitt-Rapid settlement-Busy
            workshop-Penitentiary-Water Works-Professional
            Men-Coal Hill-Price pf Coal-Iron Ore-Future
            prospects of Pittsburg, --    -    .           49
LETTER IV. Wretched turnpike-The half-way-house-Canonsburg-
            Washington-National road, an honor to the Nation and
            a blessing to thed country,                    54
LETTER V. Wheeling-McCrary's Hotel-Manufactories, c.-Coal
            -Port of Entry, -    -   -    -    -   -    -   56
LETTER VI. Enter the State of Ohio-Ferryboat, propelled by the
            force of the current-An ingenious contrivance-St.
            Clairsville-Sunday-Rev. Mr. Laird-A faithful guide, 59
LETTER VII. Face of the country-Productions-Italian cattle-Set-
            tlers from New England-Yankeeisms-No pine timber-
            Cambridge-Rich farmers-Domestic industry,  -   62
LETTER VIII. Zanesville-Population-Rev. Mr. S.-Judge Putnam
            -The Muskingum river, a lovely stream-Falls Water
            power-Public edifices-Mr. B.-Putnam Hill-Coal
            formations-Curious fossils-Cannel Coal in Ohio-
            Buhrstone, -    -    -   -    -    -   -    -  66
LErrTR IX. Uniontown-Porter's Inn-The hostess and her daughter
            -Cheap living-Somerset-Hornstone, Chalcedony,

 





            Carnalian, Jasper-ILancaster, pleasantly situated-Archi-
            tectural adornments-Hills, differ from those of the
            North, less lofty, less rocky, more tillable, more fertile
            Pine logs under ground-Succession of forrest trees-
            Plam tree-Logan-Canal-Hon. r. Ewing-( arbonate
            of iron-Nelsonville-Spapse settlements-Population of
            Ohio a century hence-Indian mounds-WA'ho made
            them-Their form and object-Human skeletons, -a  71
LETTER X. Coal abundaant-Sal l-works-Athens--Ohio University,
            the oldest in the Western States-Endowed by Congress
            -Trustees appointed by the Ohio Legislature-The
            author's notion about colleges-The Rev. President-
            College buildings, Apparatus, Library, Minerals-Athens
            unlike its name-sake of old,                      78
LETTER XI. The Sabbath well kept-Sermon by the Rev. Dr. Wilson
            -Sudden death-Satin spar-Funeral-Tornado-Its
            effec.,     -                                     83
tIFITTER XII. Rome-Influence of leading men, good and had-Confu-
            sion t;f names-Thirty-five townships in Ohio, namned
            Washington; more than thirty, Union; eighteen, Franklin
            - Bluff-Wilderness-No strearns or springs-View of
            the Ohio river-Changes in its banks-Grindstones-
            Marietta, the oldest settlement in, the State-Point Har-
            mar-M uskiingum river-Wyant of servants-Situation of
            Marietta-Origin of the name-Character of the citi-
            zens-Dr. H1ildreth, the geologist-Price of houses-
            Indian fortifications-Rev. Mr. B.-School for young
            ladies-Marietta College, without public patronage
            Ship-building-Anecdote,                            o-  8
L.TTER XIII. Leave Marietta-Steamboat Hunter-Its construction-
            Blennerhasset Island- What a change!-Where is Blen-
            nerhasset-Belpre-Fruit, a staple commodity-River
            scenery-Gambling-Coal-Curious mode of loading
            boats-Portsmouth-The Ohio Canal-First view of
            Kentueky-Maysville-Boat racing-Importaneo of the
            the Ohio river,                                  9
                            2

 



X



fJETTER XIV. Cincinnati-Pearl street Hotel; not what it ought to be-
            Mr. S.-Rev. Dr. Beeeher-Theological Seminary-
            Its officers-Dr. Drake, a man of science and an author
            -Cincinnati artists-Mr. Powers the Sculptor-The
            Museum-Mr. Stetson-Boston hospitality-Mechanic's
            Institute--The Academy of Natural Science-President
            McGuffey-NMedical College of Ohio-Manner of doing
            business in New York; the same in the west-Illustra-
            tion-Description of the city; its origin; rapid growth;
            present population; prosperity; its resemblance to Genoa, 106
LETTUR XV. Steamboat-Horse-ducking-North Bend-Gen. Harri-
            son, a candidate for he Presidency-Sketch of his life-
            First coup d' ail of Indiana-Soil-No pine timber-
            Louisville-Plan of the city-Cottage of Mr. S.-Fos-
            sils, Coral, Ammonite,   -    . -    -       -  I16
LETTER XVI. The Galt House Its company multitudinous-Stage-
            Fruit-trees-Fertility of the soil-Frankfort, a small, quiet
            city-Its handsome State-House-Residence of Senator
            Crittenden-The Rail-road--Few travellers-Lexington.
            a charming city-Bishop Smith-Col. Dunham--Green
            old age-Rev. Mr. D.-Transylvania University-Ash-
            land, the seat of Henry Clay-Woodland pastures-Mr.
            Clay, a model for farmers. as well as statesmen-His
            cattle-Late importation of English cows-Difference
            between slave-holding and non-slave-holding States,  12(
LETTER XVII. Face of the country-Kentucky river-Shaker's Ferry
            -Romantic   Scenery-Hemp     Harrodsburg-M incral
            springs, less attractive than those of Saratoga-Graham's
            hotel for seven hundred boarders-Harrodsburg, the first
            settlement in Kentucky-Stage proprietor-Greensburg
            -Steatite, its value -Glasa ow-Beautiful wheat fields
            Kentuckians whiskey-makers, but temperate drinkers-
            Dearness of stage-travelling-Horrible roads-The three
            Forks Bell's tavern-Charming landscape,  -    -  133
LETTER XVIII. Ride on hoseback-Guide-Lost in the woods-
             Turtle-doves-Buzzards-Cave House and i ave, owned
             by a Jew-Saltpetre, formerly made here-Entered the



 



xl



            Cave 2t 2 o'clock, P. M.-Penetrated to the "Temple,"
            tw. miles-Passed the -Narrows," the -F'irst Hloppers,"
            thtl "Church," ihe ,Well Cave," the -Devil's Looking-
            glass," c.-Extent of the -remple"-Lateral branches
            --Solitarv  Cave"-" Alexander's Pit, Tecumseh's
            Grave, Fairy Grotto"-Stalactites, stalagmites, calcare-
            ous alabaster-Lamp extinguished-In the cave six hours
            -One of Nature's grandest works-Another Cave, - 142
LETTER XIX. Singular depressions in the earth's surface, called "Sinks"
                Barrens"-Tyree Springs-Limestone the prevail-
            in, rock-Nashville; Its conspicuous location -- In all
            respects, the second city of the West-Sundav morning
            -Quietness in the streets-Sunday school children-
            Rev. Dr. Lindsley-Professor Troost, the celebrated
            geologist-Trhe weather oppressively hot-Gen. Jack-
            son-Fourth of July, a universal jubilee-Barbacue--
            Brandance-Nashville, founded on a rock-No cellars,
            no wells, without blasting-Professor Troost's splendid
            cabinet of minerals-Wavellite, celestine, gypsum, fluate
            of lime-Healthiness of the city-A lover of snakes-
            Iron mines, -                                     149
LETTEB XX. Confluence of the Cumberland with the Ohio river-
             Smithland-Dram-shops-Lynch-law-Musketoes--
             Golconda-.Shawneetown-Counterfeiter's Cave-Death
             of two passengers-Rev. Dr. Weller-Description of
             the river and its bordering lands-Arrival at Louisville, 162





                           E R A TTA.
       Page 122, 15th line from the bottom, for 1 read J.
       Page 125, 8th line from the top, for laying read lying.
       Same page, 2d line from the bottom for I read J.

 
This page in the original text is blank.


 



LETTERS



                           FROM

   THE VALLEY OF THE CONNECTICUT RIVER,

                            ON

            MINILERALS, SCENERY, c.




                      LETTER I.

                         HADDAM, (CONN.) JULY 24, 1838.

   I took passage at New York, yesterday, in a steamboat bound for
Hartford. For a conveyance from one of these cities to the other,
by steam power, I have, many times, paid five dollars. Now the
demand was fifty cents! The distance is, I believe, about one
hundred and forty miles.
   I could not pass by Haddam-a place known all over the civiliz-
ed earth, for the richness and variety of its mineral productions.
I therefore begged the captain to put me on shore, that I might
have the pleasure of spending a few days in rambling among the
rocks, and examining the fine quarries of granite and gneiss, which
are very numerous, and are said to be extremely lucrative to their
proprietors. The barren hills are, indeed, alive with human be-
ings, hard at work, with the wedge, the crowbar, the drill, and the
sledge-hammer. Thousands of tons of the stone are already got
out, and prepared for the builder's hand, waiting to be transported
to New York. and other more Southern markets.

 


2



   To-day I have been to visit the locality of Iolite, situated on
what is here termed "Tim's Hill," about a mile north from the meet-
ing house. This beautiful gem is unequally distributed in an im-
mense mass of imperfect granite, constituted of all the ingredients
requisite to form good granite, but badly mixed. The quartz,
which is white, exists in too small proportion. The feldspar is
abundant and interesting, being principally of that variety called
albite, (from the Latin albus, white.) I found, also, in different
parts of the rock, fine specimens of adularia-a name derived
from one of the Alps, in Switzerland, once known by the name of
Adula, but which is now called Stella, where it was first discov-
ered. The mica is jet black, some of it a little inclining to green.
These articles, quartz, feldspar, and mica, are, you are aware, all that
is necessary to constitute granite; which is often, the repository of
many other minerals. Among these foreign substances are, in the
present instance, the Jolite and Schorl, the latter scattered with a
liberal hand, and in perfect crystals, terminated at each end by
three faces. The prisms sometimes have three, sometimes six, and
sometimes nine lateral faces, moderately striated. These crystals
are usually, short and small; most of them less than an inch in
length, and some smaller than a pea; but generally about the size
of a hickory nut. They are very beautiful, and so abundant, that
I obtained a quart of them in half an hour.
   The Iolite is procured by blasting the rock. There had been
so much of it torn to pieces by the force of powder, and so many
large fragments were left unbroken by the hammers of other min-
eralogists, that I did not deem it expedient to repeat the operation.
Aided by two individuals, who were accustomed to work among
the rocks, I was enabled, by means of the hammer and chisel, to
obtain a number of good specimens. The crystals, however, were
none of them complete. The name, formed from the Greek ion,
violet, and lithos, a stone, does not, in my apprehension convey to
the mind a full and accurate idea of its color. It exhibits, it is
true, a tinge of the violet, but several other colors, and particularly
the green, have lent their aid in making up the compound present-
ed. The lustre which it displays, when viewed in certain posi-



 


3



tions, is very peculiar, and cannot easily be described. An indi-
vidual who has once seen the stone will, ever after, be able to re-
cognize it.
   Haddam furnishes beryl of an excellent quality, in most of its
granite quarries, and particularly at those on Long Hill. and at one
on the eastern side of the river. From the quarry last mentioned,
I have just procured two of the finest crystals 1 ever had in my
possession. One of them is a perfect hexagonal prism, about two
inches long, and an inch and a half in diameter. The faces form-
ing its terminations are at right angles with the sides, and wear as
fine a polish as the hand of Nature can produce. The color is a
brilliant emerald green, and, indeed, the crystal appears to pos-
sess more of the characters of the emerald, than of the beryl. I
may write to you again to-morrow, if I feel in the humor for it,
after hard working.



                       LETTER II.

                                   HADDAM. JULY 25, 1838.

   I had engaged two of the quarry men to work for me to-day at
the famous chrysoberyl locality. They were on the spot with
their blasting apparatus at an early hour. The rock to be opera-
ted on is situated four or five rods east from the meeting-house,
and is owned by a Mr. Brainard, whose house rests on a part of
it. Blasting has, in former times, been executed with success in
the cellar, where small particles of the chrysoberyl may now, by
close inspection, be discovered in the rock. Most of the digging
and blasting, however, has been effected on the north side of the
house, and within three or four feet from it. Here, directly under
the windows, I purchased the privilege of making an experiment
on the following conditions: I was to pay the owner five dollars
for a single blast, and to satisfy him for any damage which might
be done to the building. The preliminaries being settled, the

 


4



men set themselves, with good heart, to the work of boring; ths
one holding the drill, and the other plying the massy hammer.
   The rock to be penetrated is a sort of granite. Professor
Shepard calls it talcy granite. It might as well be named albitic
granite, for nearly all the feldspar belongs to the variety called
albite. The mode of operating is this: the orifice is sunk to the
depth of twelve -or fourteen inches; about a pound and a half of
powder is poured in and confined in the ordinary manner; planks
are placed before the lower windows; the upper ones are taken
out; poles are brought and laid over the digging, to diminish the
force of the rising fragments ; all is ready; the train is laid; the
family seem fearless; but I acknowledge myself a coward, and
have no liking for the smell of gunpowder; I retire into the corn-
field; away goes the charge; the solid granite is shattered; the
explosion was a heavy one; the fragments flew in all directions;
a mass, weighing, perhaps, a quarter of a ton, was thrown com-
pletely over the house, and lodged a rod or two beyond it, and yet
no injury was sustained by the edifice, except the fracturing of a
few panes of glass.
   The experiment proved to be a fortunate one. And here permit
me to remark, that this singular deposite of mongrel granite gives
lodgment, I hesitate not to affirm, to a greater number of stran-
gers and foreigners than any other rock in the United States. In
it have been found not only the chrysoberyl, but talc, bismuthine,
zircon, beryl, columbite, garnet, pinite, automolite, and I know not
how many others. Good samples of most of these substances, I had
the fortune to obtain. The chrysoberyl, however, was the mine-
ral which I was most solicitous to procure, and my exertions were
crowned with a good degree of success. It occurs massive; also
in hexagonal prisms, and hexagonal tables. The color is olive
green, sometimes slightly approaching to yellow. It ranks among
the hardest of the gers. It is translucent, and some of the thin-
nest and purest specimens are semi-transparent. I have done with
Haddam.



 


5



                       LETTER HII.

                       MIDDLETOWN, (CONN.) JULY, 26, 1838.

   On my way from Haddam, and about three miles before I
reached this city, I came to the China stone quarry, so called,
I suppose, on account of the feldspar it furnishes, havingbeen
employed, at New York and abroad, in the manufacture of china
or porcelain ware. This quarry has, within a few years become
much celebrated, in consequence of its being the repository of a
number of rare and interesting minerals. It is situated on land
a little elevated above the road, and but a rod or two distant
from it on the eastern side. The rock is of a very peculiar eharac-
ter. I was struck by its appearance. It is granite, but composed
principally of feldspar and mica; not minutely divided and inti-
mately blended together as in common granite, but almost entirely
separate, the one from the other, each presenting itself in distinct
parcels or nests, and in a state of unusual purity.
   The mica is of a greenish brown color, and occurs both in
crystals and in irregular masses. I obtained two specimens in.
regular six-sided tables, a form which, according to my observa-
tion, is of rather rare occurrence. Their surfaces exhibit a splendid
polish, and are somewhat iridesent. An oblique angled prismatic
crystal which I found here, and shall have the pleasure of show-
ing to you, has one of its acute angles truncated. Mica, you
know, is always foliated, and its folia are easily reducible by a knife
or other sharp instrument, to a degree of tenuity almost inconceiv-
able. I procured plates in this quarry of a large size, several of
them measuring ten inches each in length, and seven or eight in
width. It might be, and, I believe, has been, wrought to some ex-
tent as an article of commerce. It is used, you are aware, in the
place of glass in stoves, in lanterns, and by the RLssians in ships
of war.
   But the pecuniary value of this quarry is derived chiefly from
its feldspar. This substance constitutes the major part of the de-
posit. It is of a milky white color, and occurs under several

 


6



diffefent forms. The crystals found here are of wonderful mag-
nitude. Professor SHEPARD says, "imperfect crystals of the sex-
decimal figure exist here one foot in length, and six or eight
inches in thickness." With my hammer and chisel I removed
from the rock a number of crystals, some of which were nearly
or quite perfect, but none of them of the enormous size above
mentioned.
    The feldspar is quarried with great facility. Much of the
rock lies above the surface. Little or no digging is yet required.
Masses of it are obtained, weighing many hundred pounds, entirely
free from quartz or mica. Such cases, however, are, it is believed,
of unfrequent occurrence. It is seldom found in large sections
wholly unmixed with one or the other, or both of its sister sub-
stances, mica or feldspar. The fragments when dislodged from
the rock by the force of gunpowder or by other means, are broken
into pieces of the size of a man's fist or smaller, and the feldspar
carefully separated from the other substances, with which it may
be connected, and thrown into a heap by itself. It is now fit for
the market. "Seven hundred tons were conveyed to Middletown
the year before last, of which six hundred were shipped to Liver-
pool, and one hundred to the porcelain factory at Jersey City, near
New York."-(Prof. Shepard's report.) The material exists in
this locality in vast abundance-enough to supply any demand for.
the article which our own country, or even Europe, will make for
centuries to come.
   What, you will ask, is the particular use to which this feldspar
is applied  Is it made to form a part of the body of the porcelain
ware, or is it employed in its glazing or enamel  The latter only.
It is, in fact, the petunze of the Chinese. The body of the china
or porcelain ware is formed of kaolin or porcelain clay, which, it
is now universally acknowledged, is produced by the decomposi-
tion of graphic granite, a substance composed of quartz and feld-
spar. I have witnessed the process by which this clay (brought
from the vicinity of Limoges) is converted at the famous porcelain
manufactory of Sevres, in France, into superb vases and other
elegant articles. But I have no time, at present, to describe it, nor

 
7



would you have, to read the description. It is enough to sat, that
when the vessel made of porcelain clay, has received from the
wheel or the potter's hand its proper form, it is placed in an oven and
partially baked. It is thus brought into what is called its biscuit
state-white nearly as snow, porous, destitute of beauty, and easily
destructible. Here the feldspar comes in play. It is reduced to
a fine powder, made into a paste of about the thickness of cream, and
applied to the biscuit ware, which now undergoes an additional
baking. The paste, formed principally of feldspar, is completely
fused, fills up the pores, rendering the vessel impermeable to water,
and imparting to it a degree of beauty and durability of which no
other species of pottery can boast. I have now told you theuse of the
porcelain earth, and also of the Middletown feldspar. I said too,
that other interesting minerals exist in this quarry.
   I found several perfect crystals of albite, and some of them nearly
transparent. This substance differs from feldspar in only one res-
pect: it contains soda instead of potash. It occurs here not only
in crystals, but also massive and granular. In no other locality in
this country, have I met with it in its crystalized state.
   Apatite, which is a variety of the phosphate of lime, exists in
short regular hexaedral prisms in various parts of this china stone
quarry. The colors are quite different in different specimens;
some a bluish white, some a pale red, and others asparagus green.
I procured a number of very pretty samples.
   Zircon and pitchblend or black oxide of uranium, are said to
have been detected in this locality, but I was not fortunate enough
to obtain a view of either of them.
   The mineral the most interesting to mineralogists, which has
been discovered in this quarry, and which is by no means of un-
frequent occurrence here, is the columbite. A sample of this ore
was, in old time, w