Vermont farmer. [volume] (Newport, Orleans County, Vt.) 1870-1877, 1871-12-16


dissolved by the triturating action ofdew, rain,
snow and frost, is separated into its compo
nent parts, oxyd of iron and sulphuric acid
the former is deposited in the form of iron
rust, while the latter unites with the potash
and the lime of the fcldspar, and form sui
pilates of potash and of lime-valuable and
necessary elements of good soil. If the
matriX is of II schistose character, containing
with other minerals magnesia, alumina, oxyd
of iron, &C., the sulphuric acid combines
with these bases and form other salts and
chemical compounds of more or less value
rs plant food. Thus this disintegrating proc
ess continues until the whole rock in which
this mineral existed is crumbled down and
converted into common soil. But the action
does not cease here. The washing and
weathering of these acids. alkalies, salts and
minerals, by being exposed to the elements,
cause them to act and react upon each other
and the adjacent substances in the soil to an
almost endless extent, by which means sill
Gates, sulphates, clorides. Huorides, nitrates,
acids, alkalies, &C., are eliminated continual
ly. These are some of the general changes
titt tOuStthtll tthluS pEtCC III lilc SItil
laboratory of Nature wherever this mineral
exists Now let us look ut some of the par
ticular results arising in Orleans County from
the presence of sulphuret of iron in her
rocks.
In the western part of the county, or in
the Missisquoi Valley, the rocks in place
consist for the most part of talcosc, alumni
Ill ...k, IL. IL
chrome, and their compounds; together with
other rocks which would be clnssed as alu-
minous and magnetism. These rocks con-
tain, with others, the minerals silica, alu-
nina. magnesia and oxyd of iron, but were
it not for the presence of iron pyrites, they
would furnish these elements to the soil but
slowly, rs some of them, such rs the talcose
states, are but little affected by decomposi-
ton. Much of the argilite probably contains
a small quantity of potash, thus forming with
the iron pyrites II sort of alum shale which
quickly crumbles into earth. There are also
in this part of the county many other miner
ais, less in quantity than those above mem
by the oxidation of the pyrites may unite and
form valuable salts and other chemical
compounds. Although there are no strata
of limestone visible in the Missisquoi Valley,
yet there is quite a large amount of lime
scattered through the rocks and soil. | have
seen clay and chlorite states here thckly
studded with rhombohedral crystals of cal
cite; and also considerable masses of nearly
pure carbonate of lime in the form of nail
head spar in argillaceous bouders. These
schists often contain other minerals composed
of lime, alumina, magnesia, potash, soda,
oxides of iron and manganese, tluoric acid,
boracic acid, &C., such as mica, hornblcnde,
scapolite, garnet and tourmalne. 1t does
not require II very extensive chemical knowl-
edge to get an inkling of the important re-
suits that would arise from the action of de-
composing pyrites upon the last mentioned
minerals. Hence it will be seen that this
apparently nearly worthless mineral is ST.
ently celebrating wealth for the farmers of
the western towns of the county, in fact, is
doing vastly more than is ever credited to it.
Greater results are probably produced,
however, by the presence of pyrites in the
northern and central portion of the county