servations, have restricted me to mere general views. Any omissions of mine, however, are of less consequence, since the region has been examined by Prof. Ducatel and his associates, who will undoubtedly, in their forthcoming report to the legislature of this state, bestow upon it the attention it deserves. In conclusion, I cannot avoid reverting to the extremely interesting character of the line of country, to which the preceding remarks have been applied. To the practical man, it is recommended by its mineral treasures and its agricultural resources. Its quarries of marble, of granite, of freestone, of slate, of soapstone-its mines of copper, iron, manganese, chrome and lead, its inexhaustible beds of bituminous coal, the recently discovered deposits of anthracite in the graywacke slate of Virginia, and the unrivalled fertility of its limestone vallies, offer tempting rewards to industry and enterprise. To the geologist it is no less interesting, as offering to his research, one of the best fields on our continent, for obtaining a correct knowledge of our transition strata. Here every thing is seen upon an immense scale; deposits that would be appealed to as general strata, if seen in almost any other connexion, are here viewed only as subordinates; formations considered as distinct, when examined on a more limited scale, are here seen alternating with and passing into each other, in such a manner as to leave no doubt of their identity. It were to be wished that the labor of exploring so fruitful a soil, had devolved upon some one better fitted for the task than the writer of these notes, but until other laborers are found, he will endeavor to collect and collate from time to time, some few of the many interesting facts connected with this interesting region. EXPLANATION OF THE SECTION.-The original section, was drawn on the scale of two miles to an inch, but when that came to be reduced within the present limits, it was found impracticable to preserve all the minutia. Consequently there may be in the preceding remarks, occasionly an inappropriate reference. The coloring is also omitted, to prevent confusion, and the different formations distinguished-the limerock by dots, and the other formations by lines, that are intended to show the inclination of the strata. The line between the primitive strata, and the adjoining graywacke is not defined, because I have not satisfied myself exactly where it should be placed-nor is it important for my purpose, that it should be located. The section is supposed to run a little north of west, and a little south of east, generally at right angles to the direction of the strata, and the spectator is supposed to stand on the south side, looking towards the north. It is intended to convey a pretty correct idea of the relative extent of each formation, viewed transversely; as the height of the different mountain chains, was not known, their comparative elevation could only be approximated. ART. II.-On Porcelain and Earthenware. THE art of pottery has been practised by mankind from the remotest periods. The ingenuity of the savage has shapen vessels of earth for domestic uses, on the plains of Tartary-in the rocky caverns of ancient Greece-and on the sultry banks of the Oronoco. In the progress of science and refinement, it has advanced from the sun-dried bricks in the tower of Babel, to the beautiful and splendid porcelains of Dresden and Sevres-is now an important object in one department of manufactures-and in the present state of society is a necessary of life. Its fabrication combines the skill of the chemist and the taste of the artist, with the dexterity of the mechanic, and many of the choicest specimens are entitled to a distinguished rank in the fine arts. The subject may be considered in four sections. I. A history of the origin and progress of the art; IV. A description of the various kinds of ware. I. A History of the Art. The most ancient specimens of this art, are the bricks found in the ruins of Babylon. That city built by Nimrod, 2,200 years B. C. is now a series of mounds, overspread by the dust of its own decomposition, and lying in huge masses of undistinguishable ruin. Long narrow rifts and channels between the hills, indicate the ranges of its once populous streets; and the great tower of Babel, the witness and the cause of the confusion of languages, stands highest among the hills: a monument and a record of the advances made in some of the arts, as well as of the ambition of the inhabitants in that early age of the world. The city is given over to desolation-the Euphrates annually overflows all but its highest summits; but when the waters retire, the mounds are perforated in every direction for building materials, and in the hope of finding hidden treasures.* Mr. Rich a late traveller describes the Birs Nemrood the largest of the mounds, as seven hundred and sixty two yards in circumference, and one hundred and ninety eight feet high. It is supposed to be the tower of Babel, and consists of three receding stories. The interior of the * See Keith on the Prophecies. mass is filled up with unburnt bricks, set in clay, with layers of reeds between every five or six courses. The exterior wherever it remains entire, is faced with well burnt bricks set in bitumen. From the present appearance of the mound it is conjectured, that it was intended to consist of five stories-the three lower solid, and the two above to have contained chambers. At the top of this pile, there is another solid elevation thirty seven feet high, of burnt bricks set in lime mortar. Many of the heaps and hills are connected by galleries and passages of brick work, laid in lime mortar of exceeding toughness. In some of the excavations have been found earthen vessels which are presumed to be the most ancient specimens wrought by the potters wheel.* Bricks were made also by the Egyptians, and Herodotus states, that one of the pyramids was built of unburnt bricks made of clay and chopped straw, probably like those required by the taskmasters of the children of Israel, when they were subject to Egyptian bondage. Mr. Aikin remarks, that sunburnt bricks were rather artificial stone than earthenware; and Pliny mentions that at Utica no bricks were allowed to be used until they had been dried five years.† Many buildings of high antiquity were formed of brick-such were the palace of Croesus king of Lydia, of Mausolus of Halicarnassus, and of Attalus at Tralles. The walls of Athens, which look towards mount Hymettus are also of brick, and some of the ancient temples of that city. The Romans were skilful in their methods of making and burning bricks, and in all the remains of Roman walls, forts, and buildings in Great Britain, they are of an excellent quality, of a deep red color, very hard and well burnt. Throughout the wide valley of the Ganges, bricks appear to have been used from the highest antiquity; and in Nipaul, a hilly country north of Bengal, they are of such remarkably compact texture, and their ornamented surfaces so elegant, as to be peculiarly fitted for the decorations of architecture. In China bricks are made of a blueish clay, and after burning are of a semiporcelainous texture. After the Romans left England, bricks were not used for architectural purposes before the middle of the 14th century; and until lately they have been fabricated in a very rude manner. They are Annals of Commerce. + See a paper on pottery in the Transactions for the Encouragement of Art, by A. Aikin, Esq. § Idem. + Idem. now made of various kinds, and of superior quality in England, not only for home consumption, but largely for exportation. It could not have been long after the discovery of the plastic quality of clay; and that by drying or burning it became impervious to water; before the wants and ingenuity of man suggested the application of it to vessels for domestic and culinary uses. Earthenware being peculiarly adapted to keeping water pellucid and cool, jars and vases for holding it, soon became articles of first necessity, where it was not plentiful, as in Syria, and many of the middle and eastern parts of Asia. Allusions to earthen vessels-to the potter's clay and the potter's wheel, occur in the most ancient writers. The plastic properties and consequent uses of clay are noticed in the book of Job, the most ancient book now extant; and the potter's wheel is referred to by Homer in his description of Achilles shield.* Earthen vessels were in use among the Hebrews when they received the law from Moses; and the prophets often refer to the power of the potter over that most ductile material the clay, as illustrating the relative position of man in the hands of him, who moulds our purposes at his will. The arts flourished soon after the deluge, to a surprising extent in Sidon the capital of Phenicia, a narrow country, between mount Lebanon and the most eastern coast of the Mediterranean sea. This city was nearly coeval with Babylon, being founded soon after the confusion of languages, more than 2000 years before Christ. It excelled in manufactures of fine linen, embroidery, tapestry, metals and glass; of the latter there were many varieties; such as colored, figured, turned by the lathe, painted, cut or carved, and even mirrors; but no mention is made, at this date, of porcelain, unless the article named as painted glass was a species of that manufacture. To this people is ascribed the invention of boats of navigation-of the application of astronomy to nautical purposes of book-keeping-of writing-of arithmetic and of weights and measures. They sent colonies to Greece, and Italy, and with their little boats of wicker work, covered with leather, they coasted the Mediterranean, and made various settlements in the south and west of Europe, and on the northern shores of Africa. At a very early period a colony of Phenicians settled on the west coast of Italy, and carried the perfection of their arts and manufactures to Etruria ; * Moses wrote 1452 B. C. Homer in 907 B. C. VOL. XXVI.-No. 2. 31 but Pliny ascribes the introduction of those beautiful earthen vases into Etruria, of which admired specimens have come down to our own times, to two artists from the isle of Samos. The Samians were famous 500 or 600 years before Christ, for their manufactures of gold and silver and for a fine earthenware resembling the modern porcelain, which Herodotus states was in great demand at Rome, for the service of the table. Although the coarser kinds of earthenware were invented in the earliest periods, yet there are no records of a manufacture so elegant and complicated as porcelain, until near the christian era; unless the Samian vases claim that distinction.* The celebrated Murrhine cups or vases, which were introduced into Rome 14 years B. C., have divided the opinions of antiquaries. Propertius speaks of them as baked in Parthian furnaces. Martial alludes to them as filled with heated wine. Pliny thought them made of a fossil substance, and says "they were first brought by Pompey to Rome, in his great triumph over Asia and Pontus. Murrha comes from Parthia and Caramania, and unwrought specimens together with the cups, were dedicated to Jupiter Capitolinus, and placed in his temple. They were not translucent, but peculiarly splendid, from the great variety of hues reflected from them in spots and waves -changing from white to purple-sometimes edged with a tint of flame color, and interspersed with variable irridescent rays." If they were not a variety of oriental porcelain, they were probably made of the adularia,† which is found in Arabia, Persia, and Ceylon. They were in such esteem at Rome, in the first ages of the Christian era, that two of them were bought by one of the emperors at the price of 300 sestertium, more than £2000 sterling each. A cup capable of holding three sextarii, (4 pints,) was sold for seventy talents; and a dish for three hundred, a talent being equal to £.180 English. The author of the Periplus of the Erythrean sea, says they were made at Diospolis in Egypt. In the time of Herodotus, vessels of earthenware were very scarce and highly esteemed by the nations around. "Twice in every year" says he, "there is exported from different parts of Greece to Egypt, *The term porcelain, is of European origin. Whittaker derives it from the herb purslaine; the most ancient china brought to Europe, being the exact color of its purple flower. Mr. Aikin thinks it an Italian word, signifying an arched univalve shell, remarkable for its white, smooth texture and vitreous gloss. t In its finest specimens, sometimes used as a gem. It was the opinion of Scaliger, that they were Chinese porcelain. § Aikin on Pottery. Trans. Soc. Arts, &c. |
