Newly Discovered Paint Deposits

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Professor De Bow recently visited the paint deposits lately discovered by Hugh White on his land near Liberty, Bedford county, Va., and furnishes the Richmond Inquirer with the result of his investigations, from which it appears thejtare the most extensive body of decomposed ochrou5 iron ores in the United States, if not the world. Though situated in juxtaposition with the decomposed granite in the form of porcelainwhich is beautiful and abundantand formed from the decomposition of the primitive order of silicious formation, this paint has all the features of a real pigment, pulverizes .easily, contains no foreign impurities, is soft and yielding to the touch, and though oily and compressible, is entirely free from clay, and indeed has all the properties of umber, which it resembles both in character and appearance. In color it varies from a light yellow to a dark brown, as taken from the bank. The small or loose umber is the lightest, both in density and color. The flake ranges from a chrome yellow to a brown black, aud when burned and properly prepared, forms the fine burnt umber of the arts, so valuable to painters and artizans generally. The hard smooth face presented by the common paint, as taken from the mine, and simply mixed with oil, give it a valuable character as a durable fire-proof paint, well adapted to railroad cars, bridges, buildings, &c. The bank containing it is admirably situated, in regard to availibiIity, both for transportation and mining, or preparing for market. It is near the Virginia and Tennessee Railroad, and situated on the side of a hill, from which the water drains naturally. The paint in the crude form, as it comes from the mines is well adapted to all common purposes, and is said to be much superior, both in appearance and utility, to Blake's paint, with which most of our readers are acquainted. We have no doubt but that this deposit will prove valuable to the owner, and of much utility to the community, since a good and cheap domestic article of paint is a desideratum of much importance.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 13 Issue 48This article was published with the title “Newly Discovered Paint Deposits” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 13 No. 48 (), p. 384
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican08071858-384a

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