thrown into idleness at his whim or caprice, and thus a general depreciation of their condition and prospects ensues, while frequently industrious and virtuous families are exposed to want and suffering. Labor is not only degraded by such means, but it is robbed of its just reward, and, as a natural consequence, children of both sexes are driven, by the necessities of their condition, into the factory, where they earn a bare subsistence at the same time that they secure premature graves. It is impossible to contemplate the condition of these operatives without arriving at the conclusion that there is something morally wrong in the system, as well as socially inconsistent with the spirit of our institutions.

A short distance above Manayunk is one of the most extensive anthracite furnaces in Pennsylvania. It is situated on the east bank of the Schuylkill, and presents a spirited scene when viewed from the Reading Railroad, on the opposite side of the river, especially in the evening, when the flames issue from the chimneys illuminating the whole establishment in their red glare. These works have been in operation for several years, notwithstanding the recent depression of the iron market, which prostrated a large number of furnaces in the valley of the Schuylkill. As we shall elsewhere make some remarks in reference to the manufacture of iron, we must forbear touching upon that point in this connection.

With the exception of the natural scenery along the Schuylkill, there is little of interest or importance until we reach the great limestone region which traverses a large area of the south-eastern counties of Pennsylvania. This limestone formation is a continuation of the

great valley of Chester county, and constitutes, by far, its most important feature. It occupies a position in the stratified primary group, and teems with narrow belts and valleys, adapting it for successful culture as well as for excavation. The largest beds of limestone are met above Spring Mill, and alternate in subordinate ridges and valleys of denudation for some distance above Norristown, where the hills of the Mine Ridge, somewhat flattened down, rise through and cut off the basin. The limestone is not uniform in quality, but the lime produced from it is, upon the whole, highly esteemed, and probably the best argument in its favor is the immense quantity annually produced and shipped for the supply of Philadelphia and

other points more distant. At various points along the Schuylkill, especially near Spring Mill, Conshehocken, and Port Kennedy, there are very extensive quarries, where kilns have been erected for burning the stone-the canal and railroads, on both side of the river, affording excellent facilities for transporting the lime to market, as well as for supplying the kilns with fuel. The lime kilns are large and substantial, but erected without much regard to ornament. They are generally placed on the slope of a hill, so as to allow the limestone to be hauled to and thrown in at the top. The stones, as placed in the kiln, form an arch over the hearth, with sufficient space between the alternate layers of stone and coal to permit the heat to penetrate and decompose them. The stones are thus thoroughly roasted, and in due time crumble into powder or small white particles, in which state the lime is in a marketable condition.

SPRING MILL receives its name from a superb spring, which bubbles

up with great force in the midst of a beautiful grove of trees. The water is as clear as crystal, through which the pebbles at the bottom, some thirty feet, can be distinctly seen. It is quite cold in the warmest weather.

Limestone is the general name applied to all massive varieties of carbonate of lime, that form beds of great extent, or mountains. Calcspar is carbonate of lime in its purest state. It is generally transparent or translucent, the faces of the crystals sometimes very brilliant, but the bases of the hexagonal prism are always opaque. Its color varies, sometimes perfectly colorless, often of a topaz or honey yellow, and sometimes grey or reddish. Exposed to the blowpipe, carbonate of lime does not swell nor fall to powder, but becomes white and caustic-it is then quick-lime; some varieties are phosphorescent when heated, and shine with a pale yellow light. Satinspar consists of fine parallel fibres, either straight or waved, and has a silky lustre; it fills small veins in limestone rock, the fibres laying across the vein. There is a particular kind of limestone containing a large proportion of bitumen, which, when rubbed or scratched by any hard substance, or slightly heated, gives out a strong fetid odor. Chalk is carbonate of lime of an earthy texture. It forms the cliffs along the south-east coast of England, which acquired for that island the name of Albion. Chalk formations are not often met with in the United States, though it probably exists to some extent. Rockmilk resembles chalk, but it is much more tender. It is found in the clefts of mountains, where it is deposited by water containing calcareous particles. Stalactites are sometimes transparent, and have the crystalline structure of calcspar; sometimes they consist of parallel layers of different shades of color. This rock is often employed for vases and slabs, under the names of alabaster and onyx marble. Stalactites are constantly forming in nearly all rich limestone formations of a cavernous structure. In the district of Port Kennedy, a few years ago, an extensive cavern was reached, where the process of the accumulation of stalactitic matter was illustrated. They are produced from the drippings of minute particles of calcareous matter, from water which percolates through the roof or sides of the rocks. When a small quantity of moisture arrives at the inner surface of the roof, before a drop is formed sufficiently large to fall by its own weight, a portion of it evaporates, and a rim-shaped film of solid matter is left adhering to the rock. Every succeeding drop

increases the thickness of this film, until at length a slender tube is formed, which is constantly increased in thickness as well as in length. In general, the interior is quickly filled up, and becomes perfectly solid; but sometimes the stalactites are hollow throughout a great part of their length. At Port Kennedy, where the process of formation had been interrupted while yet in its incipient stages, the stalactites coated the interior rocks with irregular thin fibres, in some cases forming conical arches, with borders of variegated color, and in others forming pyramids on the floor. The cavern was an object of considerable curiosity during the brief period it was open to visitors, and its numerous chambers presented an aggregate area fully equal to many of our largest public buildings. A concert was held in one of its largest saloons, on the fourth of July, 1846, at which several hundred persons were present.

The limestone formations of this State, at numerous points, afford several varieties of superior marble. The eastern portion of the state, drained by the Schuylkill, is particularly rich in this valuable mineral, and finds a cheap and easy outlet to market. Much of the marble used for building purposes, as well as for monuments and articles of furniture, is obtained within a range of from ten to twentyfive miles around Philadelphia. The extensive buildings comprising the Girard College, were in part constructed from marble obtained in this neighborhood. There are several productive quarries in Lancaster and other counties; but those of Chester and Montgomery are the most extensive and abundant. Some of these quarries are over one hundred and fifty feet in depth, and powerful levers are used to hoist the massive pieces from their beds. At Conshehocken there is an extensive marble mill, where the rough pieces are sawed into patterns to suit the demands of the market. It is worthy of remark, that the edges of our limestone basins usually afford a marble of conglomerated character, beautifully variegated in color, similar to a variety of the Potomac marble, or to that constituting the interior pillars of the House of Representatives at Washington. This marble is a sedimentary deposit, the various pebbles being cemented together by the calcareous matter of which it is composed. Though extremely hard, it is, in some places, susceptible of the finest polish, and the reflection of the atoms upon the polished surface, at first glance, gives the impression of roughness, which is only dispelled by rubbing your hand upon it. A fine deposit of this peculiar rock lies

near Bainbridge, in Lancaster county; also near Reading, in Berks county, while it is elsewhere met with along the borders of our limestone beds, in the vicinity of slate and shale.

This extensive region of limestone, which occupies, in numerous distinct belts or basins, a large portion of the area of what is termed the Atlantic slope is also associated with several useful metals, as the ores of copper, iron, lead, chrome, &c. The region of copper is principally north of the Mine Ridge-(the first chain of elevation met with proceeding in a north-west course,) and outcrops at various points in Pennsylvania, between New Jersey and Maryland, which States it also penetrates. The most extensive deposit is probably in Adams county, where ample preparations for mining have recently been made, in the immediate vicinity of Gettysburg. Mining exploitations were also conducted, until lately, in the vicinity of Pottstown, but the ore was not found to be sufficiently productive to justify the continuation of the enterprize. More recently, operations have been commenced near Valley Forge, and the probability is, that they will prove successful. In various other points attention has been directed to this vast mineral formation, and the time is evidently not far distant, when the eastern portion of Pennsylvania will be as noted for its mines of copper and lead, as other parts of the State now are for their inexhaustible and extraordinary deposits of coal and iron.

Native Copper.-Like most of the native metals, it crystallizes in the octahedral system; but perfect crystals are seldom met with. It occurs sometimes in very large masses, but most frequently in branching and leaf-like forms, scattered among the veinstone, or penetrating it; and the surface of these ramifications is often thinly coated with green carbonate of copper, or tarnished with a brown color. In general it is very nearly pure copper, and has the color, hardness, and malleability of the refined metal, as we are accustomed to see it-sometimes it contains a minute proportion of silver.-(Varley's Mineralogy) Lake Superior is the most extensive region in the world for the production of native copper. In some parts of that region, the copper is penetrated by threads of pure silver, and grains of the same metal are scattered through it—a circumstance which has never been observed elsewhere. Its softness and ready solubility in every kind of acid, and in ammonia, distinguish copper from the few metallic minerals which at all resemble it. Copper is one of the metals that has been known and worked from the earliest period;-alloyed with tin, its hardness is much increased; and this alloy proved the various kinds of bronze of which armor,