they form in the rivers, and over which the water tumbles in a series of picturesque cascades, varying in height from ten to eighty feet."

Mr. Tuomey considers these not as "uplifts," but as the result of the alternation of more destructible beds washed away.

Gneiss composes the spurs of the Blue Ridge, which are known in the north-western part of the State as the Saluda mountains. He thus describes the Table Rock, which is of gneiss.

"The enormous mass known as the Table Rock, stands on the summit of a mountain on the west side of the valley of the Saluda. Aterrace passes round the base of the rock, made up of loose fragments that have fallen from above, making a slope that extends into the valley, and which completely hides the mountain side. From this terrace the relation of the underlying rocks to this stupendous mass, can be better examined than elsewhere. The rock, itself, is undoubtedly an outlyer from the stratum at Cæsar's Head, and which is found clasping the entire range. The escarpment exposed by this rock, is vertical, or even a little overhanging, and measures, as I was informed, in perpendicular height, 800 feet. It rests unconformably on the edges of the hornblende slates already mentioned. The dip of the latter is 30°, while that of Table Rock is not more than 10 or 15°."

The wood cut accompanying the description of these rocks, and the mountain range, gives a good illustration of the valley of the Saluda, separating Cæsar's Head from Table Rock, which were no doubt once continuous. The engraved frontispiece to the volume affords a fair idea of the Table Rock, but not of the mountain elevation on which it stands. The ascent from the little stream, near the position of the Hunter's Spring, is very gradual, and the road is thence fully three miles to the base of the rock. The slope of the mountain is but imperfectly represented by the drawing in the engraving referred to.

Hornblende slate passes into gneiss and alternates with it, and is only conspicuous in its relation to the soils of those districts in which it occurs.

Mica slate, in the north-west corner of the State, is the prevailing rock. It once occupied a large portion of the upper part of the State. It alternates with gneiss and hornblende, and passes into talcose slate by the substitution of talc for mica, and, when both are present, forms talcomicaceous slate. These are only found in what is called

the gold region, and in a belt in York and Spartanburg, containing magnetic iron ores.

Limerock of the gneiss and mica slate is noticed as occurring on Saluda and in Spartanburg, at Limestone Springs, and is used for lime and building. Other localities are given, where it is used for iron works.

Quartz rock, Mr. T. says, is readily distinguished from common or massive quartz by its granular structure, and always by distinct planes of stratification; and seems to be the result of the gradual disappearance of the talc or mica, and introduction of more silicious matter during its deposition. From a solid rock it passes into a variety which crumbles between the fingers, and in one of its forms constitutes itacolumite, or flexible quartz. He gives the most remarkable locality of this latter form as near the Limestone Springs, and mentions another in Pickens dis trict, which he states has attracted public attention in consequence of Professor Shepard's allying it with the diamond-bearing rocks of Brazil.

In North-Carolina this flexible quartz is abundant, and we learn from Dr. Daniell, of Savannah, that it extends for one hundred miles in Georgia.

Mr. Tuomey notices several diamonds as having been found-one by Mr. T. G. Clemson; another by Mr. Simms, at the Portis mine, in North-Carolina, another; described by Professor Shepard, was found at Twitty's mine, NorthCarolina; and two were found in Hall County, Georgia, one of which we have seen. It is in possession of Dr. Daniell of Savannah, and is valued at $120.

Iron ores. "The iron ores of the State, that have been explored and used at the iron works, are the magnetic oxide, or gray ore, specular oxide, or red ore, and the brown species' known as hematite, limonite, or hydrous peroxyde of iron. The magnetic and specular ores are chiefly confined to a narrow belt of slates in York, Union and Spartanburg districts, extending along the northern side of King's Mountain, crossing Broad river at Cherokee Ford, and terminating at People's Creek, in Spartanburg, a distance of six or eight miles, being underlaid by the limerock and surmounted by the mica slate of the King's Mountain range. Strike north, 50 east, dip 45° to 70° southeast."

"The magnetic oxide or gray ore occurs in a band of talcose slate, which, at its widest extremity, scarcely exceeds one-half a mile. It is found in a series of beds between the slates, following their foldings VOL. XVI.-No. 31.

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and irregularities-swelling out to a thickness of fifteen or twenty feet, and again contracting to the dimensions of one foot, or thinning out altogether. These beds often occur side by side, separated by a portion of the slate, and so completely insulated, that a bed may be worked within a few inches of another without affording any clue to its presence. The thinning out takes place both vertically and horizontally, so that the masses of ore are generally somewhat lentiform." "Through the whole of this range the ore appears to be contemporaneous with the slates, being frequently intermingled with them in such a manner as to make it difficult to distinguish one from the other, excepting by the greater specific gravity of the ore-a circumstance not readily to be explained upon any other supposition than that both slates and iron were deposited together."

"The topography of the country, along the iron region, is quite favorable to mining operations, being broken and rather hilly. On the right and left banks of Broad river the hills rise boldly, and the ore has been traced on their sides almost to the water's edge; yet I have not perceived that any advantage has been taken of this circumstance, presenting, as it does, so many facilities, both as to drainage and other operations connected with the successful exploration of the mines. On the contrary, the ore is taken out along the surface, in an open trench, and, with one or two exceptions, only to the depth of a few yards."

Mr. Tuomey thinks the specular iron was originally the sulphuret or pyrites, and observes:

"It is not a little curious that pyrites will resist decomposition when placed under water, while, if it be exposed to the atmosphere, it is readily acted upon and reduced to an oxide. Nearly every gold mine in the State offers examples in illustration of this fact. For, wherever oxide of iron is found mingled with the ores, when water is reached it is invariably found in the form of iron pyrites. At the depth mentioned above, the bed is mixed with iron pyrites, and the ore may be traced through every stage, to the red oxide, of which the bed is composed near the surface."

"We have, first, the sulphuret or iron pyrites, which, by decomposi tion, becomes probably the protoxide, a portion of which combines with another atom of oxygen and forms peroxide, the mixture of the two now existing together producing the magnetic oxide. The remaining protoxide is converted into peroxide, and the whole is now the specular oxide or red ore, which we find towards the surface. And if, during this change, water enter into combination with the ore, we shall have the hydrous peroxide or brown ore, which, I have already remarked, is found in this mine. Every step in this process may, in like manner, be observed at the furnace bed, on People's Creek."

"With these facts before one, and supported, as they are, by nume. rous analogies in other mines, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that these ores are the result of the decomposition of iron pyrites."

Mr. Tuomey no where observed iron ore, in a true vein, but in the upper part of Pickens, near Oconee mountain. Clay Slate. This extends above the edge of the tertiary from the Savannah river to Chesterfield District, where it sinks under the new Red Sandstone.

Of the Gold Formation, Mr. T. remarks:

"I believe that it is now satisfactorily settled that the gold formation of the United States is confined to a band of schistose rocks, extending from the Rappahannock, in Virginia, to the Coosa river, in Alabama. In North and South-Carolina and Georgia, where the auriferous rocks are best developed, they seldom exceed the breadth of sixty to eighty miles. Talcose rocks abound so much throughout this region, that they have been considered the only true gold-bearing rocks; but gold is found in veins in granite, sienite, gneiss, hornblende and mica slate, both in North and South-Carolina."

He gives a very full account of the two classes of mines which are worked, "the deposit or branch" mines where the gold is found in irregular particles, and of larger size and of greater purity than the gold extracted from the veins and the vein mines" which are discovered by tracing the beds of the branch mines to their sources. The mines of Chesterfield, Lancaster, Union and Spartanburg are those chiefly worked, but nothing is said of the value of the results. We must refer our readers who have a special interest in "the noble metal," to the work itself, for much valuable and practical information. We have only to say, that, from all accounts, our mines do not afford quite as much gold as the sand and gravel of the Sacramento. It is difficult to get at the produce of the mines, as we know from personal experience, having once made a special tour through the gold region of South-Carolina and Georgia, some years since. The gold-fever was then raging strongly and much speculation going on. One prominent fact we particularly noticed, viz: that every valuable mine was for sale-but it was our luck to be unfortunately present on bad days, when less than usual was removed from "the rockers." "The mining, as hitherto conducted here, is most deplorable."

The lapse of sixteen years had effected no change in the

habits or the industry of these laborers. Our experience, at that period, was fully confirmed by that of Mr. Tuomey at present. His presence, his personal, practical counsels, and this volume, may bring their fruits in future improve

ments.

Mr. Tuomey found at Brewer's mine, in Chesterfield district, masses of Bismuth ochre, which, if in any quantity, would be a valuable addition to our mineral resources. But he very justly observes that "gold engrosses every one's attention, and I could induce no farther search for this valuable ore."

He says nothing of the neglect of agricultural matters, in the immediate vicinity of the gold mines, more particularly, we should say, of those in the mountain regions. There is little attention given to raising even the ordinary comforts of life; and the daily fare of the mining population, is, in their own language "only just tolerable." A commentary on their mode of life is well expressed in an anecdote of Mr. T's. "little nigger" who travelled with him through the gold region. After getting down into the neighborhood of a wealthy planter, who was also the worker of a mine, the boy's diet improving, his experience was at fault. "Maussa," said he, emerging from a brown study, "these people lib mighty well, considerin' they keeps a gold mine!"

Mr. Tuomey's chapter on disintegration and denudation. of the primary and metamorphic rocks contains facts and inferences of interest, more especially to the geologist. Having given a cursory notice of the older deposites we now come to those formations, in which the evidence remains of the existence of animal life on our globe while they were in process of subsidence.

Of the paleozoic or older secondary rocks our author found none, excepting some highly inclined strata more silicious than the clay slate, and of a coarser aspect, which exist in Chesterfield, near the North-Carolina line. He found no fossils in them. He notices a small strip of the new red stone lime formation on Clay Creek, in the same districts, which is composed of red and grey sand-stone passing into red clay.

The chapter on the "Geology of the upper districts" is an extensive and more particular account, in the several districts, of the primary rocks previously noticed.