Pennsylvania Fire Clay (267d73df-3230-4a3f-98e3-847e48c9fdd6)

Discussion of the paper of L. C. MORGANROTH, presented at the New York meeting, February, 1916, and printed in Bulletin No. 110, February, 1916, pp. 475 to 481. DAVID B. REGER, Morgantown, W. Va.-I notice in the third paragraph of the first page of the paper, that in mentioning the clays of the Pottsville series, the author says: "The bed of clay found in the latter formation is unique in that flint clay is practically restricted to it. (A variety of flint clay is occasionally found in these upper deposits but this is in such small amounts as to be negligible."). If the author wishes to confine himself to the fire clays of Pennsylvania, as the title seems to indicate, I have nothing to say, but if he wishes to include a discussion on fire clays of the adjoining States which the. subsequent paragraphs of his paper seem to indicate, then I wish to call attention to the fact that there are large and extensive deposits of fire clay in the Allegheny series, immediately overlying the Pottsville in the northern counties of West Virginia. These fire clays have been studied carefully, and described in several reports of the West Virginia Geological Survey, first in the report on Ohio, Brooke, and Hancock Counties, in the northern part of the State; described later ,in the report on Monongalia, Marion, and Taylor Counties, and in the report on Preston County, which followed. In these latter counties (Monongalia, Marion, Taylor, and Preston) there are some beds of fine fire clay, varying in thickness from 6 to 10 or 12 ft., with a content of only 2 or 3 per cent. of fluxing ingredients, and these are of the typical Savage Mountain appearance and also have the typical Savage Mountain fracture. They have been prospected, but not mined a great deal. Several of them have been tested in blast furnaces and furnaces for other purposes, in glass-manufacturing plants, also for firebrick, arid have been found to be very good. They are simply awaiting development, and I merely want to call attention to the fact that there are plenty of them in the Allegheny series still above the Pottsville in West Virginia. There are two or three valuable seams which I have seen in person and have had analyzed in our laboratory.