MINERAL PRODUCTS.
45
sinking of a well, the walls of which caved in, revealing a cavern in
limestone. The floor, ceiling, and walls of the cave were found to be
composed of celestite, and the owner reported that the mineral was
found to a depth of 22 feet below the floor.
In 1904 a deposit of celestite was developed 5 miles north and a
little west of Austin, Tex., in the Mount Donnell and Mount Barker
district. The celestite is associated with strontianite, Epsom salts,
and other minerals, and occurs in a flat-lying arenaceous and argilla
ceous magnesian limestone bed in the Glen Itose limestone (Lower
Cretaceous).
An occurrence of celestite has been noted near Cedar Cliff, Mineral
County, W. Va. The rock in which the celestite crystals occur is a
thickly bedded, nearly horizontal argillaceous limestone. The celes
tite occurs in crystalline form in flattened lenticular cavities or
pockets from a foot to a yard in diameter and from 3 to 7 inches in
height. In the adjacent limestone strontium sulphate was found so
abundantly as to indicate that the rock was strongly impregnated.
Celestite is known to occur at Drummond, Chippewa County, Mich.
In Monroe County of the same State it is found disseminated through
dolomite, and at the point especially studied the upper layer of the
rock contained over 14 per cent of celestite. Below this layer there
is a porous stratum with cavities containing celestite and free sul
phur. The sulphur is found in considerable quantities and was prob
ably formed by reduction of the sulphate.
Celestite has also been found near Frankstown, Blair County, Pa. ;
in Brown County, northeastern Kansas; in Larimer County, Colo.;
in cavities in limestone near Nashville, Tenn. ; and associated in fine,
clear crystals with the colemanite of Death Valley, San Bernardino
County, Cal. Strontianite occurs with celestite in New York, as
already noted, and is also found in Mifflin County, Pa.
OTHER PRODUCTS.
The demand for several of the minor mineral products will be
•stimulated by the changes in trade with Europe, with the result of
increasing materially the production for 1914 and following years.
In the case of pottery this movement toward a stronger hold of the
domestic market is already well under way. The production in 1913
was the largest in the history of the industry. The underlying
cause of this prosperity is no doubt the improvement in the charac
ter of the American product in texture, finish, color, decoration, and
the prevention of crazing, some of the higher grades of American
pottery equaling if not surpassing some of the best imported ware.
The imports of pottery have always been more or less interesting.
Por many years the value of the imported pottery exceeded the
value of that made at home, but about the close of the nineteenth