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■ I > > "rH'i ^ ( »V

The EDITH and LORNE PIERCE
COLLECTION o/CANADIANA

S^ueen's University at Kingston

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From the Piiilohopiiicai. Maoazini; for Jmiu lrtC)7.

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CONTllinnTIONS

TO IHK

MIMilRALOGY OF NOVA SCOTIA

.-":-

11 Y

PR0FE8S01I now, D.C.L.,

L'NIVKHSITY Ol'- KINO's COLUlitilO, WINUSOil, NOVA SCOTIA.

II.

J/E/'lCllTYN E. — A niiiici'iil which I refer to tliis spccios was
brought to iiic by a fanner from Cornwallij^, King's co.,
where it had attracted attention as something |)()ssibly vahial)le,
and was known as " little ])rbblcs," a name whioh, in the absence
of information upon the geological situation of the muu'ial, gives
some clue as to the mode of its occurrence. What 1 received
consisted of several small pieces, either rounded and bean-like
with smooth dull sufaces, (ir irregular in form with angular
prismatoidal outline and of lustre somewhat glassy. This lustre;
was nuich more distinctly seen on breaking tlie j)ieces ; these were
brittle, and had a conchoidal fracture. The greatest hardness
observed was about 7*5 ; the speciHc gravity in three experiments
was res])ectively 2*775, 2'815, and ^'SHl, the mean of which
numbers is 2'823. In colour it was indigo-bhie, blue-black, and
greenish black, with a grey tint in some j)arts ; the streak and
powder were white. Jiefore the l)l()W|)ii)e, fragments frothed and
fused to a dark enamel. As might be expected from the dilFer-
ences in colour and the varying specific gravity, the comjjosition
of the "pebbles" is not uniform ; the constituents appear to be
the same ; but their relative projjortions are not constant, as is
shown by the following analyses vbich were made by fusion with
carbonated alkalies for the constituents other than potash and
soda, these being estimated after treatment with fluor-spar and
sulphuric acid. The iron was found to exist both as peroxiele
and protoxide, the latter being by far the more abundant ; no
attempt, however, was made to ascertain the exact relative pro-
portions on the small amount of mineral in my possession. The
nature of the alkalies present was made out by fusion with car-

^"^ Fso^^

l«<b7 MS47

2 Dr. How on the Mineraloyij of Nova Scotia.

boiiate and cliloride of l)arium and subseqiuiut testing with bi-
chloride of platinum dissolved in strong alcohol. The results
obtained were — j, n m

Silica 56-85 57-47 55- 12

Alumina 11-53 1517

Protoxide of iron* .... M.-71) 10-62

Protoxide of manganese . .. 057 0-19

Lime 201 512

Magnesia 7*21 3-33

Water 0-02

Potash and traces of soda. . . . . 3-03

98-58
Since the iron exists in small proportion as peroxide, there is
a close general accordance between the numbers found, especi-
ally in the third analysis, and those given for Wichtync by Lau-
rent (Dana's 'Mineralogy,' 4th edit. p. 177), viz. : —

Silica 56-3

Alumina 13-3

Peroxide of iron .... 4-0

Protoxide of iron . . . 13-3

Lime ,..-... 6-0

Magnesia 3-0

Potash and a little soda . 3-5

99^

The physical characters of Wichtyne, as stated by Laurent,
agree upon the whole tolerably well with those givf;n above ;
they are — specific gravity 3-03, hardness sufficient to scratch
glass, colour black, lustre dull. There is therefore little doubt
that the Nova Scotian mineral now described is rightly referred
to the species Wichtyne, which, taking all its characters and its
composition into consideration, it resembles more closely than it
does any of the allied minerals, glaucophane, violan, Sordawalite,
and tachylite. The whole group is of extremely rare occurrence,
none of the members of it apparently being found at more than
one or two localities. The only locality given for Wichtyne ia
Wiehtis in Finland, whence Hausmann changes Laurent's de-
signation to Wichtisite, which seems preferable. The matrix of
the mineral at Cornwallis, N.S., is, as I found on examination
of small adherent portions, a soft yellowish mineral containing
peroxide of iron and carbonate of lime, the latter being appa-
rently most abundant ; it is possibly a limestone.

Pencil-stone, — A mineral with this local designation is found
in a thin bed extending for a considerable distance through rocks ;

* Iron really found in small part as Fe^ 0\

Dr. How on the MineraLyy of Nova Scotia. 8

considered to be of the ago of the Hudson- River group, about
Merigomish in the eastern part of the province. It is of an ash-
grey colour, a soniewhut schistost structure and close texture,
adheres sHghtly to tlie tongue, and feels rather soapy on smooth
surfaces; it has a glinnnering lustre, and is most readily cut
with a knife; its hardness is !•."), its powder and streak are iirey-
ish white. From the circumstance of excellent soft but tirm
pencils, much prized for writing on slates, be ing made from it,
it receives its local name. Analysis shows it to belong to the
clay-slate family ; it was at first taken for pyrophyllite, the com-
pact variety of which, used in the United States for making \)m-
cils, it much resembles. It also in some rcs|)eets agrees with
agalmatolite, with which the compact p)'rophyllitc had been con-
founded before JJrush pointed out that they were really distinct
(Silliman's Journal, July 1858, p. GO). Its specific gravity is
2-7 1. In the following analysis, although the finely jjowdered
mineral was fused with about four times its weight of the mixed
alkaline carbonates, the alumina was not perfectly separated from
the silica, but the quantity retained was not large enough to be
material. The presence of potash and soda was proved by fusion
with chloride and carbonate of barium, and subsequent .esting
with bichloride of platinum in alcohol. The iron is given as
protoxide, because it was found that after fusion an exceedingly
small amount of peroxide was present, which might have been
formed in the process. The results obtained were —

Silica (retaining a very little Al^ 0^) 60-53

Alumina 23'()I

Protoxide of iron 5-30

Potash and trace of soda .... 4-39

Magnesia 1-42

Water 5-35

Tooiio

which have a general accordance with those found in the analyses
of clay-slate given by Dana (Mineralogy, 4th edit. p. 510), 'one
of which is as follows, the specimen examined being a bluish-
black clay-slate from Rothwaltersdorf : —

Silica 61-72

Alumina ...... 19*55

Protoxide of iron . . . 8*54

Lime 0-55

Potash ..... 4-81

Magnesia 1-08

Water 3-74

99 99

/S046/J

4 Dr. I low un t/ic Mitiernloi/;/ of Norn Scot in.

'I'licy »l() not tally with iIukso given as calculated iVoni the lor-
inuhi assigned to agalniatolitc by Nicol (Mineralogy, p- ~*7),

Ml. —

Silica 5500

Almninu S.'iOO

Potash 7'()0

Water 440

lOO'OO

with which mineral, however, tlie iMeri;;()inish peneil-stonc
agrees in its softness, texture, and colour. It is decidedly difl'er-
eiit IVoni the " j)encil-slate" of Von Cotta (lloeks ("la^silied,
p. 1204), wliich he describes as sepai-ated or si parable into jxii-
cils. Very characteristic specimens of this were found some
years ago by Dr. Dawson and my-elf in lower carboniU'rous
rocks at Ilorton DliifF, at the nuuitii of tin; Avon, N.S., in a
thin bed : the mineral or rock was of a blue-black colour, and
sej)arated into ])cncils in our hands in the most pirfect nnmner.

\'ai'U't)(ilnl Soft Slate. — Anioni: the Devonian rocks at IJeech
Ilili near Kentville, King's co., is I'ouud a very soft mineral which
somewhat resembles the pencil-stone just described; it is ex-
ceedingly easily cut with a knife, writes well on a slate, adheres t
slightly to the tongue, and has the same elements, as shown by
a {pnditative analysis, the peroxide of iron, howi'ver, being nuieli
more abundant (the alkalies were not tested for). It glistens on
a fresh surface as if from the presence of minute scales of mica.
Its characteristic quality is that of showinir, when cut to a smooth
surface, sets of concentric bands of different colours (which may
be described as white, grey, yellow, and red, and tints nnnle uj)
of mixtures of these) and varying thicknesses about a centre of
a long oval sha])e. The colours arise of course from variations
in the amount and state of oxidation of tlu; iron present. The
material is very uuieh admired, and would form hi.ndsome inlaid
work not subject to friction.

Indian P'ljie-stone. — I mention here as probably in comi)osition
analogous to the preceding, a dark-coloured nearly bhiek mi-
neral, found on the Montengan shore in the district of Clare,
Digby CO., in the extreme west of the province, which was used
by the Micnnac Indians for making their stone pipes. The rocks
at Montengun Cave, Poole describes (Report on Gold Fields, Nova
Scotia, 18G2) as slates of varying hardness : he could not find
the seam from which the specimen of pij)e-stone given him, to
which I am now referring, was obtained. The pipe-stone of
Dana (Mineralogy, p. 252) is clay-slate, a greyish-coloured
variety from Oregon having been analyzed by Thomson, and is
inentioned in connexion with Catlinite, described as a reddish
claystone.

Dr. How on the Mineralogy of Sova Scotia. 6

liiliirr.vn in Cnlcitv. — This iiitcrcstijif; addition to the minerals
of the province was niadc; by \\ , Uarnts, Ksq., Mining; Knir'ncer
of iliilit'ux, who kindly i'lirnislu-d nie with specinicns, and gave
nu- Honu; dtttaiis as to its i lodc of occuiTence. It is found in
Inverness eo., Ca|)i! Breton, in an elevatt il range of altered I'oeks
in whieli the lower earhoniferons strata are apparent. Limestone
is aljundant hut very nnieh altered, and rests at a high angle of
inelination on altered black shales containing much pyrites;
gypsum also occurs in the neighbourhood.

'V\\v mineral is dull black externally ; it breaks with a con-
choidal fracture, giving a very brilliant jet-black surface, it is
scattered in separate masses on the surface oi" a highly silicc^ous
rock, cf)ntaining pyi'ites among calcite in six-sided j)risms and
in dog-tooth crystals. Some of these masses an; an lUch (»r
more in length, of rounded outline, and lie free, others, smaller,
are nearly surrounded by groaps of crystals; in one case a muss
is imbedded in a nearly transparent crystal ; and sometimes the
calcite when broken exposes a brilliant surface of enclosed mi-
neral. These masses look occasionally like a drop of black wax
melti'd on to a crystal of calcite, and are sometimes jjcrfectly
globular. It is brittle and afl'ords a .lack powder. In a closed
tube it softens, swells, gives a bituminous odotw and a little oil.
On ])latinunj it swells up and burns with a smoky llame to a
bulky black porous residue, not having the coherence of coke,
•if and finally leaves a very small ash. It sinks in benzine and

lloato in bisulphide of carbon ; so that its specific gravity is pro-
bably about 1*1 : it dissolves to a snuill extent only in these
menstrua, and after being boiled in them is readily jjowdered
under a glass rod. It cannot be distinguished in appearance
from the Albertite of New Brunswick, the mineral which has
been called Albert coal and Ncw-IJrunswick asphalt. It resem-
bles this mineral also in being slightly affected by benzine; but
r it dissolves somewhat less freely in bisulphide of carbon, which I

find to become rapidly coloured on Albertite, especially when
heated (this property docs not seem to have been noticed in the
discussion as to the character of this mineral). Side by side
with Albertite on an iron plate on which tin had been melted
for a short time, it smelt of bitumen, became tough and some-
what elastic, and finally rubbed down to a brownish-black powder,
while the Albertite scarcely smelt, but also became tough and
somewhat elastic under a glass rod, and rubbed down to a black
powder. I regret not being able to compare the composition of
these minerals : Professor Anderson of Glasgow was kind enough
to undertake an ultimate analysis of the Cape-lJreton bitumen,
but at the close of the combustion an unfortunate accident de-
prived him of the results. There appears unquestionably to be

Dr. I low on the Minornloyij of Xuva Scotia.

a close relutionship bi;twcen this mineral and Albcrtitc; and
the occurrcnci! of the loriiur imbedded in a gloltular form iti
calcite i« absolute proof that it is not coal. This nunlc of oc-
currence is precisely simihir to that given for some bitumen by
Andrews, in a very interestmg paper on Petroleum in its Cieo-
logieal Relations (Silliman's Journal, July 180(5, p, lO), who
found " among the crystals of calc-spar globular masses of pure
bitumen, showing that the bitumen was at least in a semiriuid
state. This bitumen originated in the shales."

With regard to the origin of the Cape-Breton bitumen now
under consideration, since it is altered by strong heat, and is
found underlying and overlying calcite as well as imbedded in
the same, tlic formation of both must have resulted from alter-
nating action other than distillation, and it was probably of a
chcmicai nature and took place at an elevated temperature.