3. The veins on the Upper Mississippi do not pass through into the forma tions above and below the lead-bearing limestone; they stop when they come to the sandstone. In Missouri the veins cut through the sandstone above and below the lead-bearing limestones, as at the Mount Hope mines.

4. In Wisconsin and Illinois there appear to be no true veins, whereas in Missouri there are many veins like the true veins of Cornwall.

These and other marked differences indicate the more permanent character of the Missouri mines. That they belong to the same class as the more permanent mines of England and Wales, is clearly shown by the following characteristics, which they possess in common with the best mining regions of the world. No one who is familiar with the geological features of the principal mineral regions of the globe can fail to observe the striking characteristics which our mineral region has in common with many of the most important in other parts.

1. Proximity to igneous or eruptive rocks. It is a well-known fact that nearly all the great mining regions of Great Britain, Russia, Hungary, Germany, Norway, France, South America, Mexico, and this country, are in regions adjacent to igneous rocks, like the mineral region just described. There are, however, some productive localities which are far removed from any known or exposed igneous rocks. The localities occupied by the Kupfer Schiefer, at Mansfeldt, the lead region of the mountain limestone in England, the Upper Mississippi lead region, those in the southwestern part of this State, and some others, seem to be exceptions to this rule. The mines in the most of these exceptional regions, though often rich and vastly productive for a time, have not proved so extensive and durable, as their mineral deposits seldom occur in true veins.

It may be remarked that some portions of the mineral region of Southeast Missouri are somewhat removed from Iron and Madison counties, the principal center of igneous action in this State; but we have good reason to believe that igneous rocks underlie this whole mineral region at no great depth, since they come to the surface in a few places, even on the outer borders of it, as in Crawford, Washington, St. Genevieve, Wayne, Shannon, and Texas counties. This fact being understood, this whole region, in its relation to igneous and eruptive rocks, is the peer of the most favored mining districts in the world.

2. The sedimentary rocks have been more or less fractured, tilted, and metamorphosed by those intrusive or igneous rocks, as shown by the metamorphic slates at Pilot Knob and in several places in Madison county. The same results have been produced on Lake Superior, in Cornwall, and in many other rich localities.

3. The several kinds of igneous rocks have been forced to the surface at several successive periods. This is true of our region, of Cornwall, and of other favored mining districts.

4. The ores occur in true veins, as in Cornwall and nearly all the best mines in the world.

5. Gossan, a porous oxide of iron, occupies the upper part of many veins, especially those of copper, in this, the Cornwall, and many other districts of

great mineral wealth. This cap of gossan-chapeau de fer" of French miners, and "eiserne hut" of the Germans-is common in the best mining regions of Europe, Asia, and America-in France, Cornwall, Colorado, Montana, and Missouri. The German couplet expresses the popular opinion among miners:

"Es ist nie nicht Gang so gut,

Der trägt nicht einen eisernen Hut."

No vein is deemed so good

As one that has an iron hood.

6. Large eruptive masses of iron ore characterize many of the best mining regions, as in the Ural Mountains, Norway, Sweden, Lake Superior, and Missouri. These mountain masses are not always in the immediate vicinity of the other ores, but they are intimately connected with the disturbing forces which have produced the mineral veins.

7. As a general rule, the true veins of this region do not possess such wellmarked and extensive selvages as this variety of lodes usually do; but, like the true veins of Cornwall, their gangue is usually connected with or cemented to the wall-rock.

8. In many of the best mining regions there are two sets of veins - one running nearly north and south, and the other nearly east and west. One set is usually more productive than the other.

In Missouri there is an approximation to this. The true veins of Franklin county usually run north and south, but there are others which run east and west, as on Mineral Branch, or Lead Run, near the Bourbeuse. These east and west veins contain some galena and tiff, but they have not been sufficiently explored to prove their value.

In Cornwall the east and west veins are the most productive, whereas in Brittany the north and south veins are the richer.

Beside these eight most important characteristics of the best mining districts, our mining region has others in common with them all; but I will not enlarge upon this part of the subject further than to mention a few particulars in which this region is strikingly like that so renowned in Cornwall:

Igneous or eruptive rocks play a conspicuous part in each region. Both have granite knobs and ridges; both green stone and syenitic trap dykes. Both have metamorphic slates, the "killas" of the Cornish miners. Both have intrusive masses of porphyry, or porphyritic dykes, the "eleraus" of the Cornish miners. Both have true veins, in which the vein-stone is usually cemented to the wall-rock without any selvages. Both have veins with gossan caps. Both have veins containing copper, iron, lead, zinc, cobalt, nickel, and silver. Both have about the same varieties of the ores of copper and some other metals. Both have about the same elevation above the ocean. Both have similar topographical developments.

The lead mines of Arkansas and the Upper Mississippi send their products to St. Louis. The English mines also send their tribute, as will the ten thousand lead veins of Colorado and Montana.

COPPER.

This metal is found in many localities in the State. Several varieties of copper ore exist in the Missouri mines. The copper mines of Shannon, Madison, and Franklin counties have been known for a long time. Some of those in Shannon and Franklin were once worked with bright prospects of success, and some in Madison have yielded good results.

Deposits of copper have been discovered in Dent, Crawford, Benton, Maries, Green, Lawrence, Dade, Taney, Dallas, Phelps, Reynolds, and Wright counties. But the mines in Franklin, Shannon, Madison, Crawford, Dent, and Washington give greater promise of yielding profitable results than any other yet discovered. When capitalists are prepared to work these mines in a systematic manner, they may expect good returns for the money invested.

ZINC.

Sulphuret of zinc is very abundant in nearly all the lead mines in Southwestern Missouri, particularly in those mines in Newton and Jasper, in the mountain limestone. The carbonate and the silicate occur in the same localities, though in much smaller quantities. The ores of zinc are also found in greater or less abundance in ail the counties on the southwestern branch; but the distance from market and the difficulties in smelting the most abundant of these ores, the sulphuret, have prevented the miners from appreciating its real value. It often occurs in such large masses as to impede very materially the progress of mining operations. For this reason black-jack is no favorite with the miners of the Southwest. Many thousand tons have been cast aside with the rubbish as so much worthless matter; but the completion of the Southwestern railroad will give this ore a market value and convert into valuable merchandise the vast quantities of it which may be so easily obtained in Jasper, Newton, and other counties of the Southwest. Considerable quantities of the sulphuret, carbonate, and silicate also occur in the eastern lead regions. At Perry's mine, at Mount Hope mine, and at a locality near Potosi, these ores exist in some considerable quantities.

Little has been done to test the value of the ores of zinc in these and other localities in the State; but a beginning has been made with promising results. There is an extensive vein of calamine in Taney county, which will doubtless prove very valuable.

COBALT

Exists in considerable quantities at Mine La Motte. It has been found in one other locality. It will doubtless be discovered in other places.

NICKEL

Is also worked at Mine La Motte in considerable quantities.

MANGANESE.

The peroxide of manganese has been found in several localities in St. Genevieve and other counties.

SILVER

Occurs in small quantities in nearly all the lead mines in the State, in combination with the ores of that metal.

GOLD,

Though often reported in large quantities in sundry localities, has never been worked to any considerable extent in any part of the State.

TIN.

Ores said to have large quantities of tin have attracted much attention, and much money and labor have been spent in efforts to mine and reduce them; but the results are unknown to the writer. Flattering reports have been made of the yield at some localitie

PLATINUM.

Some parties have reported platinum in small quantities in the dykes of Madison county.

MARBLE.

Missouri has numerous and extensive beds of marble of various shades and quantities. Some of them are very valuable, and will become a very important item in our resources.

Fort Scott Marble is a hard, black, fine-grained marble, with veins of yellow, buff, and brown. It receives a fine polish, and is very beautiful. It belongs to the coal measures, and is found in several places in Kansas near the Missouri line, and doubtless extends into Missouri. There are several beds in the St. Louis limestone, in St. Louis county, which have attracted some attention as fine marbles. Some of them are very beautiful and durable.

The fourth division of encrinital limestone is a white, coarse-grained, crystalline marble of great durability. It crops out in several places in Marion county. One of the best localities is in the bluffs of the Mississippi, between McFarland's branch and the Fabius. The lithographic limestone will furnish a hard, fine grained, bluish-drab marble, that would contrast finely with white varietics in tesselated pavements for halls and courts.

The Cooper marble of the Onondaga limestone has numerous pellucid crystals of calcareous spar disseminated through a drab, or bluish-drab, fine, compact base. It exists in great quantities on the La Mine, in Cooper county, on Lee's creek, and in some other places in Marion county. It is admirably adapted to many ornamental uses. There are many extensive beds of fine variegated marbles in the upper silurian limestones of Cape Girardeau county. They crop out in many places extending from Apple Creek, on the northern boundary of the county, to Cape Girardeau, and thence along the bluffs facing the swamps to the southwest. Cape Girardeau marble is also a part of the Trenton limestone located near Cape Girardeau. It is nearly white, strong and durable.

There are several beds of very excellent marble in the magnesian limestone series. In sections thirty-four and thirty-five of township thirty-four, range

hree, east, are several beds of semi-crystalline, light-colored marbles, beautifully clouded with buff and flesh colors. They receive a fine polish; are durable and well fitted for many varieties of ornamental work and building purposes. But one of the most desirable of the Missouri marbles is in the third magnesian limestone, on the Niangua. It is a fine-grained, crystalline, silico-magnesian limestone, light drab, slightly tinged with peach blossom, and beautifully clouded with deep flesh-colored shades. It is twenty feet thick, and crops out in the bluffs of the Niangua for a long distance. This marble is rarely surpassed in the qualities adapted to ornamental architecture.

There are also several other beds in this and the other magnesian limestones. Some are plain, while others are so clouded as to present the appearance of breccias. The beautiful Ozark marbles are well known. Some of them have been used in ornamenting the Capitol at Washington and for other purposes. Wherever the magnesian limestones come near the igneous rocks we may expect to find them so changed as to present beds of these beautiful variegated marbles.

LIMESTONES.

There is a great variety of excellent limestones in all parts of Missouri and in many localities in the adjacent States, which will furnish any quantity of the best materials of that class for building purposes. Some of these limestones have been much used, and others will supply the increasing demand as the means of transportation are extended to interior localities.

HYDRAULIC LIMES

Are abundant in numerous localities. Some of them have been tested with good results. The middle beds of the vermicular sandstone in Cooper and Marion counties are hydraulic.

The upper beds of the lithographic limestone in Marion, Ralls, and Pike counties possess marked hydraulic properties; and several limestones in Cape Girardeau county appear to be hydraulic.

The upper beds of the Chouteau limestone in Boone, Cooper, Moniteau, Pettis, and other counties, are in the highest degree hydraulic. They resemble the hydraulic strata at Louisville. The upper and lower strata of the Hudson river group have the same properties. The same is true of some portions of the magnesian limestone series as developed in some parts of South Missouri. From some of these sources we may confidently expect an abundant supply for home consumption and all demands for exportation.

GYPSUM.

Though no extensive beds of gypsum have been found in Missouri, there are vast beds of the pure white crystalline variety on the line of the Kansas Pacific railroad, on Kansas river, and on Gypsum creek. It is also found in several other localities accessible to St. Louis by both rail and boat, as at Fort Dodge in Iowa, and on the Republican and Blue rivers in Kansas.