The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1885-01-29

| lies Ill ArOOStOOk county. Inc ore III W due,
| Castle Hill, and Perham was examined some
| Years since by Mr.. o. w. Davis, now manager
of the kaahdin Iron Works Company, in con-
nection with an iron expert from Pennsylva-
| MIA, who pronounced it of excellent quality
and very favOrably situated for working.
| Large quantities of land were then bonded
with reference to commencing work. but the
| failure of certain contemplated railroad enter
| prses in the county prevented the work of de-
! velopment. With the new impetus now being
given to railroad building in Eastern Maine,
| tins valuable deposit Is sure to be worked at no
very distant day.
Limestone aDounds in Maine. and is found in
nearly every county. The quarries of Rock
land and Thorlaston are celebrated throughout
the United States. and it is scarcely possible for
| any lime to be of better quality.* The manu-
| facture Of lime at these two points reaches the
| large amount of d million and half casks an
| nually. The attendant industries of manufac
| turing casks and cutting and hauling the wood
needed al the kins. gives employment to large
! force of men, and is great aid to agriculture.
Mica is found at several points in Oxford
| County. and at one, Canton, Il mine has been
| opened which furnishes blocks of fine mica IA
inches square. Capital is needed for the sue
cesstu working of this mine.
| In BoWdoinham, Topsham, and Brunswick
are valuable and extensive deposits of fcldspar.
The Trenton Feldspar Company own and oper-
ate a large quarry in Topsham, where the
openings are worked in on levels, having pene-
trattd to "a depth of about 80 feet. AT this one
quarry or tons of feld>par are ground daily
and shipped by ears to Trenton. n. j., where ii
Is used III the manufacture of white stOneware,
which is so common and serviceable. This
quarry is within . miles of Topsham village,
where there is an abundant water-pOwer, and
factory for the making of this ware could be
most advantageously established at that place
During the past four or five years there has
existed no little speculative excitement over
copper and silver mining in Maine. AT one
time nearly thirty different companies were or
ganiZed in this State. the stock of which was
upon the market. Mining exchanges Were
formed. mining laws enacted. mining journal
established. AMI much work done to bring
Maine mines into notice. The chief locality of
these copper and silver mines was III that Pc
nin>ula extending between the waters of Pc
nohscot and Union River Bays, and composing
he towns of Penobscot, Blue Hill, Castine,
Brooksville, and Sedgwick. In these towns
many shafts were sunk, and many companies
operated for IA longer or shorter time At
present there are l3 mines in operation in these
different towns, the most noted of which is that
Of the Douglass Copper Company. Blue Hill,
now turning out an average of one ton of ingot
copper daily. The shaft has reached depth
of 213 feet. and the output of copper ore is in
crea>ing in value the more it is worked. EX-
perS believe the mine is now pay ing, and will
continue TO be worked at profit
Mount Mica, the celebrated locality which
has furnished the beautiful red green, light
azure, and dark blue tourmalines. and which,
according to DR. Hamiin,f is ''the most ren.a,k-
able locality of the tourmane in the United
States, and also one Of the most celebrated in
The world" is in the town of Paris. oxford
County. Says Dr. Ham in:
No other deposit in the world, yet known to
The lintraogist, has yielded tourmaneS Of
such Il variety of color Mount Mica. Some of
he fragments of the broken crystals rival in
beauty and limpidity, even surpassing in bril-
ilancN. he emeralds of Peru Others are al
most equal to the purest rubellites of Liberia,
which resemble the red sapphire; or they imi-
tate with ii degree of perfection the dark-greeh
cry ystais of Brazil, the lighl-green of St. Goth
ard, the pink OF EIba, the Lightly elbow Of Cey-
Ion, the blue of Sweden, and the rare white of
Ariuo."
over a hundred specimens have been welded
by Mount Mica, which would be considered as
nae and remarkable a> many Which enrich the
ruya cabinets Of Europe; while of the smaller
tdurmaiIne>. ranging in size from one inch
dow inward, the number is many thousands.
Mount Mica i now owned by DI. IIamin. and
is being operated with The reasonable tX ecla-
non Of obtaining still more rare specimens.
Many localities i'll Oxford County abound in
piu1n5ago, which exists in great purity and
capital could be protitably employed in its
working.
lii the vicinity of Perry, a coast town at the
extreme eastern part Of the State there is
tue deposit of red sandstone which belongs to
The highest part of the Devonan series. These
deposits have been examined by Prof j. w.
Dawson, the eminent geologi>t of Canada, who
says that proof OF their DeYonian age cannot be
disputed.
Copper ore has been found in Luhec, near
the eastern coast of Maine, of such purity that
were Ii on Lake superior the veins would he
taken III hand and operated at once."+
Mineral springs abound in Maine. though
there are none denominated warm The re-
suit, of the examinations by the Scientific Sur
vey determined mineral springs of value at
Bethel, New Limerick, West Newtield, katah-
din Iron Works, Frytburg, Waterford, Lubcc,
Scarborough. Mount Zrcon, and Poland The
Poland spring, and one recently discovered at
North Auburn. are among the most celebrated.
The salts of the Poland spring are principally
>illcatts of potash and soda, and the water has
given great relief in diseases of the kidneys.
In this brief outline of the geological and
mineral features of Maine the aim has been to
present lis economic relations and their mpor
lance, leaving the more technical and scientific
details entirely untouched. Our mineral wealth
oi granite, iron, Slate, marble, mica and lime
are OF lneNhauS1ibe extent and of the finest
quality sufficient to employ in ordinary times
an amount of capital nearly, if not quite
double that now employed in all these indus
tries. And while Boston and New York capi-
| lalsts are seeking investment all over the great
West in railroads and mines, manufacturing
and farming, we want to place before them
HE fact that here in Maine, within two or
three hundred miles of the great metropolis of
New England, are localities for the profitable
investment of capital in our mines, Quarries,
undeveloped water powers. and other oppOr-
| uhities for business, offering good and safe
returns as can be found in any portion of the
West. more minute examination of the
facts to be obtained will confirm this state
ment.
The following statistics from the tenth CEN
sus of the United States show the actual busi-
ness of the Maine mi es and quarries for the
year ending May 81, $780,
QUARRIES.
| Whole number quarries. "A
Cdpitdl lllNtSletl ,ZS.HU
lroduct IL census cubic feet. 2,465 $40
Value of same. ........... ,259 0S6
| Number of lahOrprs pmnloypt.