Transcribe Ward, Henry A. Letter to Orton, James (1852-09-30)

a good deal. He had a number of specimens which were to go to the State Geological rooms. Some of them (usually the smaller ones) upon being broken show the same slatey ^or rather clagey</u> composition clear through- out, while ^others^ which I suppose are more truly Septaria</Uu> are beautifully divided by white streaks or sections of carbonate of lime, while about 10% of them contain beautiful "Geodes" having a sprinkling of rich & perfect <u>Iron Pyrites among the crystals. Oh Orton it was enough to make me cry, after

seeing their beauty, to roll one over &

see how heavy it was. I however got half of one, about 16 18 inches in diameter showing the divisions well, & containing a beautifulGeode, & put it aboard the Packet & took it home. I prize it at $100,000 In several that I broke, I found Bitumen in a waxy state & this gentleman has a large vial ^of^ a liquid as pure as water, with a sweetish taste, which he found in some