BERKELEY
LIBRARY
i'vi'r^iir^M
MINERALOGY-,
INCI '-DINO
OBSERVATIONS ON MINES, ROCKS,
REDUCTION OF ORES,
AND THE
APPLICATIONS OF THE SCIENCE TO THE ARTS.
WITH 260 ILLUSTRATIONS.
DESIGNED FOR THE USE OF SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES.
BY JAMES D. DANA, A. M.,
Member of the Soc. Cms. Nat. Cur. of Mosc6w. the Soc. Philomathique of Pari,
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences at Boston, etc. ;
Author of " A System of Mineralogy."
THIRD EDITION.
NEW HAVEN :
PUBLISHED BY DURRIE & PECK,
PHILADELPHIA : HORACE C. PECK.
1851.
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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1848, by
DURRIE & PECK
in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Connecticut
Stereotyped by
J. H. BENHAM,
New Haven, Ct
iff
EARTH
PREFACE. ?f' BNC
LIBRARY
IN the preparation of this Manual, the author has endeavored to meet
a demand often urged, by making it, as far as possible, practical and
American in character.
Prominence has been given to the more common species, while others
are but briefly noticed in a smaller type, or are mentioned only by name.
The uses of minerals and their modes of application in the arts have
been especially dwelt upon. The value of ores in mining, their modes
of reduction, the yield of mines in different countries, and the various
applications of the metals, have been described as minutely as was con-
sistent with the extent of the work. The various rocks are in like
manner included.
At the same time, the subject has been presented with all the strict-
ness of a scientific system. The classification adopted throws together
ores of the same metals, and associates the earthy species as far as
possible in natural groups. This order is preferred by very many
teachers of the science, and has advantages which for many purposes
counterbalance those of a more perfectly natural system. The account
of the ores of each metal is preceded by a brief statement of their
distinctive characters ; and after the descriptions, there follow general
remarks on mines, metallurgical processes, and other useful information.
As the rarer mineral species are not altogether excluded, but are
briefly mentioned each in its proper place in the system, the student,
should he meet with them, will be guided by the Manual to some knowl-
edge of their general characters, and aided in arranging them in his
cabinet.
IV PREFACE.
The list of American localities appended to the work, the descriptions
of mineralogical implements, and the notice of foreign weights, mea-
sures and coins, will be found convenient to the student.
The author must refer to his larger work for more minute information
on the localities of minerals and the associations of species for full lists
of synonyms for tables for the determination of minerals a more
complete account of crystallography and its details chemical formulas
of species, and more numerous analyses, with their authorities and a
list of mineralogical works and journals. He has there expressed his
indebtedness to the various Geological Reports of the different States,
and also to the scientific journals of the country, for information on
American minerals. In addition to these acknowledgments, he would
mention his obligations to Prof. C. B. ADAMS, of Amherst, Mass., and
Prof. M. TUOMEY, of Alabama, authors of Reports, the former on the
Geology of Vermont, and the latter on that of South Carolina. Aid
has been received in various ways from Prof. B. SILLIMAN, Jr., and
much valuable information from Mr. A. A. HAYES of Lowel, Mass.,
H. KING of St. Louis, and S. S. HALDEMAN of Columbia, Pennsylvania.
Ure's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures, and Mines, has been a work
of frequent reference, and the figures of a zinc furnace are from that
volume.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAP. I. GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MINERALS,
13
CHAP. II. CRYSTALLOGRAPHY: OR THE STRUCTURE OF MINERALS, 19
Fundamental forms of crystals, . .
Cleavage, .
Secondary forms, ....
Compound crystals, . . .* .
Dimorphism, . .
Irregularities of crystals, .
Measuring angles of crystals, '. . .
Massive minerals, ....
Columnar structure, . . .
Lamellar and granular structure, .
Pseudomorphous crystals. . . .
CHAP. III. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS.
Luster, . . . .
Color, .....
Diaphaneity, Refraction, and Polarization,
Phosphorescence, . ". . .
Electricity and Magnetism, . > .
Specific gravity, . . i * .
Hardness, . . . -
State of aggregation Fracture, . ,
Taste Odor. ....
CHAP. IV. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS,
Action of acids, ....
Blowpipe, . . , . '
CHAP. V. CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS,
CHAP. VI. DESCRIPTION OF MINERALS, . -,
1. Gases, .
2. Water, .
3. Carbon and compounds of carbon,
4. Sulphur, .
5. Haloid minerals,
1. Ammonia,
2. Polassa,
3. Soda,
4. Baryta,
5. Strontia,
6. Lime,
7. Magnesia,
8. Alumina,
vi
CONTENTS.
6. Earthy minerals, (silicates or aluminates,)
1. Silica, , , - ,.
2. Lime,
3. Magnesia, .
1. Hydrous silicates, ^ ^ ,
2. Anhydrous silicates,
4. Alumina, . 'V
^, j%v 1. Uncombined, . ' " .
2. Combined, as aluminates,
3. Hydrous combinations with silica,
4. Anhydrous combinations with silica,
5. Combinations of a silicate and fluprid,
6. Combination of a silicate and sulphate,
7. Silicate with a chlorid.
5. Glucina.
6. Zirconia.
7. Thoria.
7. Metallic ores.
1. Easily oxydizable metals, . f .' : ,
1, 2. Cerium and Yttrium, .
3. Uranium, . . .
4. Iron, . . . /-'.
5. Manganese, .
6. 7. Chromium, Nickel, . .
8. Cobalt,
9. Zinc, ....
10, 11. Cadmium, Bismuth, .
12. Lead, . ...
13. Mercury, . . .
14. Copper, . . .
15. Titanium, . . .
16. Tin, ....
17. Molybdenum, . . .
18. Tungsten, . . .
19,20. Vanadium, Tellurium, .
21. Antimony,
22. Arsenic, . . .
2. Noble Metals.
1. Platinum, Iridium, Palladium,
2. Gold, ....
3. Silver, ....
8. Supplement to the description of minerals,
CHAP. VII. ROCKS OR MINERAL AGGREGATES,
CHAP. IX. BRIEF NOTICE OF FOREIGN MINING REGIONS,
CHAP. X. MINERALOGICAL IMPLEMENTS, .
CHAP. XI. WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND COINS,
TABLES FOR THE DETERMINATION OF MINERALS, .
INDEX, . '"A'*
132
132
141
143
143
150
158
160
160
161
172
194
196
202
206
209
211
233
243
247
250
257
259
270
273
290
294
298
299
300
301
304
307
311
319
329
335
CHAP. VIII. CATALOGUE OF AMERICAN LOCALITIES OF MINERALS, 358
377
382
384
388
415
GLOSSARY AND INDEX OF TERMS.*
ACICULAR, [Lat. acus, a needle,] 53
Adamantine, 56.
Adit. [Lat. aditus, an entrance.]
The horizontal entrance to a
mine.
Alkali. An oxyd having an acrid
taste, and caustic ; as potash,
soda.
Alkaline. Like an alkali.
Alliaceous, [Lat. allium, garlic,] 66.
Alloy. A mixture of different met-
als (excluding mercury) by fusion
together. Also, the metal used
to deteriorate another metal by
mixture with it.
Alluvial. [Lat. alluo, to wash over.]
Of river or fresh-water origin.
Amalgam. [Gr. malagma, a sof-
tened substance ] A compound
of mercury and another metal.
Amalgamation, 326.
Amorphous, [Gr. a, not, and morphe,
shape,] 54.
Amygdaloidal, 339.
Anhydrous. [Lat. a, not, and
hudvr, water.] Containing no
water.
Arborescent. [Lat. arbor, tree.]
Branching like a tree.
Arenaceous. [Lat. arena, sand.]
Consisting of, or having the gritty
nature of, sand.
Argentiferous. [Lat. argcntum,
silver.] Containing silver.
Argillaceous. [Lat. argilla, clay.]
Like clay ; containing clay
Arsenical odor, 66.
Asparagus green. Pale green, with
much yellow.
Assay. [Same etymology as essay.]
To test ores by chemical or blow-
pipe examination ; said to be in
the dry way, when doue by means
of heat, (as in a crucible,) and in
the wet way, when by means of
acids and liquid tests.
The material under chem-
ical or blowpipe examination.
Astringent, 66.
Asteriated. [Gr. aster, star.] Hav-
ing the appearance of a star
within.
Augitic. Containing augite.
Auriferous. [Lat. aurum, gold.)
Containing gold.
Axes, 24 ; of double refraction, 59.
Basaltic, 339.
Bath stone. A species of limestone ;
called also Bath oolite ; named
from the locality, in England.
Bevelment, beveled, 35.
Bitter, 66.
Bittern, 106.
Bituminous. Containing bitumen ;
like bitumen.
Bladed. Thin blade-like.
Blast furnace, 233.
Blowpipe, 67 ; tests, 69, 70 : imple-
ments, 68, 69.
Blue-John. Narrfe for fluor spar,
used in Derbyshire, where it oftea
has a bluish-purple color.
Botryoidal, [Gr. botrus, a bunch of
grapes,] 53.
Boulder, bowlder. Loose rounded
mass of stone.
Breccia.
Brittle, 53, 65.
Calcine. [Lat. calx, burnt lime-
stone.] To heat, in order to drive
off volatile ingredients, and make
easy to be broken or pounded.
Calcination. The process of cal-
cining.
Carat, 62.
Carbon. Pure charcoal.
Carbonate. A salt containing car-
bonic acid. Carbonated ; con-
taining carbonic acid, as carbo-
nated springs.
* The number after a word signifies the page where it is explained.
The etymology i? given in brackets, wherever it was deemed important.
Vlll
GLOSSARY AND INEEX OF TEEMS.
Carbonize. To convert into char-
coal.
Carburet. A compound of an ele
ment with carbon, not acid.
Catalan forge, 237.
Celandine green. Green with blue
and gray ; from the plant called
celandine.
Cementation, 238.
Chalybeate. Impregnated with
iron, 80.
Chert. A siliceous stone containing
some lime ; also, hornstone.
Chlorid. Combination of an ele-
ment with chlorine.
Chloride. Containing chlorite.
Chromate. A salt containing chro-
mic acid.
Cinereous. [Lat. cinis, ashes.]
Resembling ashes.
Cleavage 33.
Coke, 90.
Columnar, 52.
Compound crystals, 42.
Conchoidal, 65.
Coralloidal. Having a resemblance
to coral.
Cretaceous. [Lat. creta, chalk.]
Pertaining to chalk.
Cropping out. The rising of layers
of rock to the surface.
Crucible. [Lat. crux, a cross.] A
pot made of earth or clay for
melting, or reduction.
Cruciform, [Lat. crux, a cross,]
43.
Crystal, [ Greek krustallos, ice,] 19 ;
systems of crystallization, 24,
32.
Cube, 25.
Cupel, cupellation, 317, 328.
Cupreous. [Lat. cuprum, copper.]
Containing copper.
Curved crystals, 42.
Decrepitate. To crackle and fly
apart when heated.
Deflagrate. To burn with vivid
combustion.
Deliquesce. To change to a liquid,
on exposure ; arising from the
attraction of moisture.
Dendrites. [Gr. deridron, tree.]
Delicate delineations branching
like a tree ; due to infiltration of
oxyd of iron or manganese.
Density. Specific gravity.
Desiccate. To dry, to exhaust of
moisture.
Diaphaneity, 58.
Dichroism, 57.
Dimetric system, 32.
Dimorphism, 44.
Divergent, 53.
Disintegrate. To fall to pieces ; a
result of exposure and partial de-
composition.
Disseminated. Scattered through
a rock or gangue.
Dodecahedron, rhombic, 25 ; isos-
celes, 39, fig. 65 ; pentagonal 37 ;
scalene, 40.
Dolomitic. Pertaining to dolomite.
Dressing of ores. The picking and
sorting of ores, and washing pre-
paratory to reduction.
Drusy, 54.
Dull, 56.
Earthy. Soft like earth, and with-
out luster.
Ebullition. The state of boiling.
Effervescence, 67.
Effloresce. To change to a state
of powder, by exposure ; arises
from the escape of water.
Elastic, 53, 65. Electricity of min-
erals, etc., 62.
Elements, 72.
Ellipsoid, 42.
Elutriation. [Lat. elutrio, to pour
from one vessel to another.]
Mixing a powdered ^substance
(as powdered flint) with water,
and then after the coarser parti-
cles have subsided, carefully de-
canting the liquid and putting it
away to settle, in order to obtain
the impalpable powder which is
finally deposited.
Elvan, In Cornwall, the granite
masses forming broad veins in
the killas, and containing the
stockwerks.
Enamel. A glass having an ap-
GLOSSARY AND INDEX OF TERMS.
ix
pearance like porcelain, or like
the surface of a tooth.
Evaporate. To become a vapor ;
to cause to become a vapor.
Even fracture, 65.
Exfoliate. To separate into thin
leaves, or to scale off.
Fault. Dislocation along a fissure,
as often in coal beds, 87.
Feldspathic. Containing feldspar
as a principal ingredient ; con-
sisting of feldspar.
Ferruginous. [Lat. ferrum, iron.]
Containing iron.
Fetid, 66.
Fibrous, 52.
Filament. A thread-like fiber.
Finery furnace. A furnace used
in the conversion of cast iron into
bar iron.
Filiform, [Lat.Jilum, a thread,] 53.
Flexible, 53, 65.
Fluate. Containing fluoric acid.
Fiux. [Lat.fluo, to flow,] 69.
Foliaceous, 53.
Forct ps, Platinum, 69.
Fracture of mineral?, 65.
Friable. Easily crumbling in the
fingers.
Fundamental forms, 23.
Furnace, blast, 233 ; reverberatory,
327 ; Catalan, 237.
Gallery. A horizontal passage in
mining.
Gangue, 204.
Gelatinize, 67.
Geniculate. [Lat. genu, knee.]
Bent at an angle, 43.
Geode. [Gr. gteodes, earth-like.]
A cavity studded around with
crystals or mineral matter, or a
rounded stone containing such a
cavity.
Glance. [Germ, glanz, luster.]
Certain lustrous metallic sulphu-
rets of dark shades of color.
Glimmering. Glistening, 56.
Globular, 53.
Goniometer, common, 47 ; reflect-
ing, 50.
Granular. Consisting of grains.
Granulate ; to reduce to grains.
Hackly, 65.
Hardness, scale of, 64.
Hemihedral forms, 37.
Hepatic. [Gr. hepar, liver.] Hav-
ing an external resemblance to
liver.
Hexagonal prism, 27.
Hexagonal system, 33.
Homogeneous. Of the same tex-
ture and nature throughout.
Hyacinth red. Red with yellow
and some brown.
Hyaline. [Gr. hualos, glass.] Re-
sembling glass in transparency
and luster.
Hydrated. [Gr. hudor, water.]
Containing water.
Ignition. [Lat. ignis, fire.] The
state of being so heated as to give
out light ; at a red or white heat.
Impalpable, 53.
Implanted crystals. Attached by
one extremity.
Incandescence. White heat.
Incrustation. A coating of mineral
matter.
Indurated. Hardened or solidified.
Infiltrate. To enter gradually, as
water, through pores.
Infusible. In mineralogy, not fusi-
ble by means of the simple blow-
pipe.
Inspissate. To thicken.
Intumesce. To froth.
Investing. Coating or covering, as
when one mineral forms a coat-
ing on another.
Irised. [Lat. iris, rainbow ] Hav-
ing the colors of the spectrum.
Iridescence, 57.
Isomorphism, isomorphous, 74.
Juxtapose. To place contiguous.
Killas. In Cornwall, the schistose
rock in which the lodes occur.
Lamellar, 53.
GLOSSARY
INDEX OF TERMS.
Lapidification. [Lat. lapis, a stone.]
The process of changing to s'one.
Lapilla. Small volcanic cinders.
Lavender-blue. Blue with some
red and much gray.
Leek-green. The color of the
leaves of garlic.
Lenticular. Thin, with acute edges
something like a lens, except that
the surface is not curved.
Leucitic. Containing U-ucite.
Levigation. [Lat. levis, light.] The
process of reducing to a fine
powder.
Liquation. [Lat. liquo, to melt ]
The slow fusion of an alloy, by
which the more fusible flows out
and leaves the rest behin 1, 328.
Lithographic stone. A compact
grayish or yellowish-gray lime-
stone of very even textuie and
conchoidal fracture ; used in lith-
ography. That of Solenhofen,
near Munich, is mo?t noted.
Lithology. [Gr. lithos, stone, and
logos, a discourse.] Mineralogy.
Lixiviate. [Lat. lixivium, lye.]
To form a lye, by allowing water
to stand upon earthy or alkaline
material, and draining it off be-
low, after it has dissolved the sol-
uble ingredients present.
Lode. [Sax. Icedan, to lead.] In
mining, a vein of mineral ?ub-
stance ; usually a vein of metallic
ore. The lode is said to be dead
when the material affords no
metal.
Lodestone, 217.
Made. A compound crystal, or one
having a tesselated structure.
Magnesian. Containing magnesia.
Magnetism of minerals, 63.
Malleable, [Lat. malleus, a ham-
mer,] 65.
Mammillary, [Lat. mammilla, a
little teat,] 53.
Manganesian. Containing man-
ganese.
Marly. Having the nature of marl
containing marl.
Massive. Compact, and having no
regular form.
Matrix. [Lat. matrix, from mater,
mother.] The rock or earthy
material, containing a mineral or
metallic ore.
Metallic, 55, 56. Metallic-pearly,
55. Metallic-adamantine, 56.
Metalliferous. Yielding rnetal.
Metallurgy. [Gr. metallon, and
ergon, work.] The. science of
the reduction of ores.
Micaceous, 53.
Mineralized. Changed to mineral
by impregnation with mineral
matter. Also being di-guised in
character by combination with
other substances ; thus used with
regard to metals when in combi-
nation with sulphur, ar enic, car-
bonic acid, or anything that affects
their malleability and other qual-
ities.
Molecules, 42.
Molybdate. A salt containing
molybdie acid.
Monoclinate, 33.
Monometric, 32.
Mountain limestone. A limestone
of the lower part of the coal se-
ries ; called also carboniferous
limestone.
Muffle, 317.
Nacreous. Like pearl.
Native metal, 202.
Nitrate. A salt containing nitric
acid.
Nitriary, 102.
Nucleus. The center particle or
mass around which matter is ag-
gregated.
Ochreous. Like ocher.
Octahedron, pp. 23, 25, 26.
Octahedral. Having the form of an
octahedron.
Odor of minerals, p. 66.
Oolite. [Gr. oon, egg,] p. 349.
Opalescence, p. 57.
Opaline. Like opal.
Opaiized. Changed to opal.
GLOSSARY AND INDEX OF TERMS.
XI
Opaque, p. 58.
Ore, 202. Also, by miners, a dis-
seminated ore and the including
stone together ; the term met-
al is often used for the pure ore.
Oxyd, 73.
Oxydizable. Capable of combining
with oxygen.
Oxydating flame, 68.
Pearly 55.
Percolate. To pass gradually
through pores.
Phosphorescence, 61.
Pisolitic, [Lat.pisum, a pea,] com-
posed of large round grains or
kernels, of the size of peas.
Pistachio-green. Green with yel-
low, and some brown.
Plastic. Adhesive, and capable of
being moulded in the hands.
Plumose. Having the shape of a
plume, or feather.
Polarisation, 60.
Polarity, 62.
Polychroism, 57.
Piay of colors, 57.
Plutonic rocks. Granite and allied
crystalline rocks.
Polyhedral. [Gr. polus, many, and
Aet/raface.) Having many sides.
Polymorphism, 44.
Porous. Having minute vacuities,
visible or invisible to the naked
eye ; a loose texture, allowing
water to filtrate through.
Porphyritic. Like porphyry, 340.
Prisms, 23.
Pseudomorphous, 54.
Puddling Furnace. A reverbera-
tory furnace, used in converting
cast into bar iron, after the finery
furnace.
Pulverize. [Lat. pulvis, dust,] to
reduce to powder.
Pulverulent. Like a fine powder
slightly compacted.
Pyritous. Having the nature of
pyrites, 212.
Pyro-electric, 62.
Quartation, 318.
Quartzose. Containing quartz as
a principal ingredient.
Radiated, 53.
Rake-vein. A perpendicular min-
eral fissure.
Rectangle, 24.
Reduction of ores, 204.
Reduction flame, 68.
Refraction, 58.
Refractory. Resisting the action
of heat ; infusible.
Refrigerate. To cool.
Regulus. The pure state of a
metal, as regulus of antimony.
Reniform. [Lat. ren, kiduey,] 53.
Replacement, 35. Resinous, 55.
Resplendent. Having a brilliant
luster.
Reticulated. [Lat. rete, a net,]
52,54.
Reverberatory furnace, 327.
Rhombohedron, 27.
Riddling or sifting of ores. Put-
ting the broken or pulverized ore
in a seive, and plunging the seive
into water, by which, the whole
powdered material is raised by
the water and the metallic part
sinking first, may be separated
to a great extent from the rest.
Roasting. Exposing to heat in
piles, or in a furnace, and thus
" driving offany volatile ingredient.
Saccharoid. [Gr. sakchar, sugar.]
Having a texture like loaf sugar.
Saline, (Lat. sal, salt.) Salt like ;
containing common salt.
Salt. In chemistry, any combina-
tion of an acid with a base, 74.
Scale of hardness, 64.
Schlich. The finely pulverized ore
and gangue.
Schistose. Having a slaty structure.
Scopiform, (Lat. scopa, a broom.)
Like a broom in form.
Scoria, (L. scoria, dross,) 205, 341.
Secondary forms, 34. Sectile, 65.
Semitransparent, 58.
Shaft. A vertical or much in-
pit, cylindrical in form.
lii
GXOSSART AND INDEX OT TERMS.
Shale, 341. Shining, 56.
Silicate, 74.
Siliceous. Consisting of, or con-
taining silex, or quartz.
Silky, 56.
Silurian. A term applied to the
fossiliferous rocks, older than
the coal series.
Slag, 205.
Smelting of iron ores, 233.
Spathic, (Germ, spath.) Like spar.
Spar. Any earthy mineral having
a distinct cleavable structure and
some luster, as calcareous spar.
Stalactitic, (Gr. stalazo, to drop or
djstil,) 54, 116.
Stalagmite, 116.
Specific gravity, 63.
Splendent, 56.
Splintery. Having splinters on a
surface of fracture.
Stamping. Reducing to coarse
fragments in a stamping mill.
Stellated, (Lat. stella, star,} 52.
Strata. A series of beds of rock.
Streak, streak-powder, 56.
Striated. Lined or marked with
parallel grooves, more or lets
regular.
Stockwerks. In Cornwall, works
in beds and veins of ore. The
works in alluvial deposits are dis-
tinguished as stream-works.
Sub. In composition, signifies be-
neath ; also, somewhat, or imper-
fectly, as submetallic, means im-
perfectly metallic.
Sublimation, (Lat. sublimis, high.)
Rising in vapor, by heat, to be
again condensed.
Submetallic, 55.
Subtranslucent, 58.
Subtransparent, 58.
Subterbrand. A name given to
Bovey coal, or brown coal.
Subvitreous, 55.
Sulphate. A salt containing sul-
phuric acid.
Sulphureous, 66.
Sulphuret. Combination of a met-
al with sulphur.
Tarnish, 57.
Tertiary strata. Strata more re-
cent in age than the chalk, and
antecedent to the recent epoch.
Tesselated, (Lat. tessttatus, che-
quered.) Chequered.
Tesseral system, (Lat. tessera, a
tour square tile, or dice,) 32.
Tetrahedron, (Gr. tetra, four, he-
dra, face,) 37.
Titaniferous. Containing titanium.
Transition rocks. The older silu-
rian, which were formerly sup-
posed to contain no trace of fos-
sils.
Translucent, 58.
Transparent, 58.
Triclinate, 33.
Trimetric, 33.
Trimorphism, 44.
Truncation, truncated, 35.
Tufaceous. Like tufa, 347.
Tuyeres, or twiers, 234.
Twin crystals, 42.
Unctuous. Adhesive, like grease.
Ustulation. [L. ustulatus, scorch-
ed, or partly burnt.] Roasting
of ores.
Veins. In miner's use, small lodes.
In geology, any seams of rock
material, intersecting strata crocS-
wise.
Vein-stone. The gangue of a met-
al or mineral.
Verdigris-green. Green inclining
to blue ; the color of verdigris.
Vesicular. Containing small va-
cuities.
Viscous, 65.
Vitreous, (Lat. vitrum, glass,) 55.
Vitrification. Conversion to glass.
Volatile. Capable of passing easi-
ly to a state of vapor.
Washing of ores. Exposing them
after stamping, (or before if in
fragments,) to running water,
which carries off the earthy ma-
terial, it being lighter than the
ore.
Zeolitic. Having the nature of a
zeolite, 163.
MINERALOGY.
CHAPTER I.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MINERALS.
Relations of the three Depar'men'sof Nature. Viewing
the world around us, we observe that it consists of rocks,
earth or soil, and water ; that it is covered with a large va-
riety of plants, and tenanted by myriads of animals. * These
three familiar facts lie at the basis of three primary branches
of knowledge. The animals, of whatever kind, from the
animalcule to man, give origin to that branch of science
which is called Zoology; the various plants, to the sci-
ence of Botany ; and the rocks or minerals, to Mineral*
ogy. The first two of these departments embrace all natu-
ral objects that have life, and treat of their kinds, their vari-
ties of structure, their habits, and relations.
The third branch of knowledge, Mineralogy, relates to
inanimate nature. It describes the kinds of mineral material
forming the surface of our planet, points out the various
methods of distinguishing minerals, makes known their uses,
and explains their modes of occurrence in the earth.
Importance of the Science of Mineralogy. To the un-
practiced eye, the costly gem, as it is found in the rocks,
often seems but a rude bit of stone ; and the most valuable
ores may appear worthless, for the metals are generally so
disguised that nothing of their real nature is seen. There is
an ore of lead which has nearly the color and luster of Glau-
ber salt ; an ore of iron that looks like sparry limestone ;
an ore of silver that might be taken for lead ore, and an-
other that resembles wax. These are common cases, and
What classes of natural objects exist ? Of what does Zoology treat t
What Botany ? Of what does Mineralogy treat ? What advantages
result from the study of minerals ?
2
14 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MINERALS.
consequently much careful attention is required of the student
to make progress in the science. Moreover, a great pro-
portion of the mineral species are of no special value, and
they occur under so many forms and colors that close study
is absolutely necessary in order to be able to distinguish the
useless, and avoid being deceived by them; for such decep-
tions are common and often lead to disastrous consequen-
ces in mining.
The science of Mineralogy is, therefore, eminently prac-
tical. Moreover, the very existence of many of the arts of
civilized life, depends upon the materials which the rocks
afford. Besides the metals and metallic ores, we here find
the ingredients for many common pigments, and for various
preparations used in medicine ; also the enduring material so
valuable for buildings and numberless other purposes : more-
over, from the rocks comes the soil upon which we are de-
pendent for food. At the same time, the student of Miner-
alogy who is interested in observing the impress of Infinite
wisdom in nature around him, finds abundant pleasure in
examining the forms and varieties of structure which miner-
als assume, and in tracing out the principles or laws which
Creative power has established even throughout lifeless mat-
ter, giving it an organization, though simple, no less perfect
than that characterizing animate beings.
What is a Mineral 1 It has been remarked that Miner-
alogy, the third branch of Natural History, embraces every
thing in nature that has not life. Is, then, every different
thing not resulting from life, a mineral ? Are earth, clay,
and all stones, minerals ? Is water a mineral ?
All the materials here alluded to properly belong to the
mineral series. The minute grains which make up a
bank of clay or earth, are all minerals, and if their charac-
ters could be accurately ascertained, each might be referred
to some mineral species. It is evident, however, that the
clay itself, unless the grains are all of one kind, is not a dis-
tinct species, though mineral in composition : it is a com-
pound mass or an aggregate of different mineral grains ; and
this is true of all ordinary soil and earth. In the same manner
very many rocks are aggregates of two or more minerals in
intimate union. Mineralogy distinguishes the species, and
enables us to point out the ingredients which are mixed in the
constitution of such rocks. It searches for specimens that
Is clay a mineral ? What is the nature of many rocks ?
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MINERALS. 15
are pure and undisguised, ascertains their qualities and their
varieties, and thus prepares the mind to recognize them
under whatever circumstances they may occur.
Water has no qualities which should separate it from the
mineral kingdom. All bodies have their temperature of fu-
sion ; lead melts at 612 F. ; sulphur at 226 F. ; water at
32; mercury at 39. No difference therefore of this
kind can limit the mineral departments. Ice is as properly a
rock as limestone ; and, ;~e re the temperature of our globe
but a little lower than it is, we should rarely see water
except in solid crystal-like masses or layers. Our atmos-
phere, and all gases occurring in nature, belong for the same
reason to the mineral kingdom. Several of the gases have
been solidified, and we can not doubt that at some specific
temperature each might be made solid. We can not, there-
fore, exclude any substance from the class of minerals be-
cause at the ordinary temperature it is a gas or liquid.
Quicksilver with such a rule would be excluded as well as
water.
A mineral, then, is any substance in nature not organized
by vitality, and having a homogeneous structure. Thejirst
limitation here stated not organized by vitality excludes
all living structures, or such as have resulted from vital pow-
ers ; and the second a homogeneous structure excludes
all mixtures or aggregates. The different spars, gems, and
ores are minerals, while granite rock, slate, clay and the
like, are mineral aggregates. This compound character is
apparent to the eye in granite, for there is no difficulty in
picking out from the mass a shining scaly mineral, (mica,)
and with more attention, semi-opaque whitish or reddish par-
ticles {feldspar) will be easily distinguished from others
(quartz) that have a glassy appearance.
It is a popular belief, that stones grow. Yet the absence
of any proper growth is the main point distinguishing min-
erals from objects that have life. Plants and animals are
nourished by the circulation of a fluid through their interior ;
in plants, we call the fluid sap ; in animals, blood ; and in-
crease or growth takes place by means of material secreted
from this circulating fluid. The living being commences
with the mere germ, and grows through youth to maturity ;
Why should water and gases rank with minerals. What is a min-
eral? What limkations are here implied? What is the nature of
graoite f
16 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MINERALS.
and when this fluid finally ceases to circulate, it dies and
soon decays.
Minerals, on the contrary, have no such nourishing fluid.
The smallest particle is as perfect as the mountain mass.
They increase in size only by additions to the surface from
some external source. The deposit of salt forming in an
evaporating brine, has layer after layer of particles added to
it, and by this mode of accumulation, its thickness is at-
tained.
Beds of an ore of iron, called bog iron-ore, are some-
times said to grow. They do in fact increase in extent.
Rills of water running from the hills wash out the iron in
the rocks they pass over, decomposing and altering the condi-
tion of the ore, and carry it to low marshy grounds. Here the
water becomes stagnant, and gradually the iron is deposited.
This bog ore, as the name implies, is found mostly in low
marshy places, and often contains nuts, leaves, and sticks,
changed to iron ore. The increase here is obviously by ex-
ternal additions.
In limestone caverns, and about certain lakes and streams,
the water contains much carbonate of lime. As it evapo-
rates, layer after layer of the lime is deposited, till thick
beds are sometimes formed. In caverns, the water comes
dripping through the roofj drop by drop, and each drop
as it dries, deposits a little carbonate of lime. At first it
forms but a mere wart on the surface ; but it gradually
lengthens, till it becomes a long tapering cylinder, and
sometimes the pendant cylinder, or stalactite, as it is called*
reaches the floor of the cave, and forms a column several
feet in diameter.
It thus appears that minerals increase, or enlarge, by ac-
cretion, or additions to the surface only. They decrease,
or the surface is worn away, by the action of running water
and other agents. When they decay, as sometimes happens
from contact with air and moisture, or some other cause, the
change begins with the surface, and results in producing
one or more different minerals. The line of demarkation,
therefore, between living beings, and minerals or inorganic
matter, is strongly drawn.
Characters of Minerals. In pursuing the subject of min-
What are the different modes of increase in the animate and mineral
kingdoms? Mention examples of increase in mineral substances, and
explain the mode.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MIXERALS. 17
erals, there are various qualities presented for our study.
We observe that stones or minerals have color ; they have
hardness in different degrees, from being soft and impressi-
ble by the nail, to the extreme hardness of the diamond ;
they have weight ; they have luster, from almost a total ab-
sence of the power of reflecting light to the brilliancy of a
mirror. Some are as transparent as glass and others are
opaque. A few have taste. These are the most obvious
characters, and characters to which the mind would at once
appeal in distinguishing species.
Other characters of equal importance are found in the
internal and external structure of minerals. On examining
a piece of coarse granite, we find that each scale of mica
may be split by the point of a knife into thinner leaves.
Here is evidence of a peculiar structure, called cleavage;
and wherever mica is found, this peculiarity is constant.
The feldspar in the same rock, if examined with care, will
be found to break in certain directions with a smooth, or
nearly smooth plain surface, showing a luster approaching
that of glass, though somewhat pearly. It is true of feldspar
also, that this cleavage is a constant character for the spe-
cies, as regards direction and facility. In nearly all miner-
als, this kind of structure, more or less perfect in quality,
may be distinguished. In a broken bar of iron the irregu-
larity of the grains proceeds from this cause. In granular
marble, although the mass as a whole has no such structure,
the several grains if attentively examined will be seen to
present a distinct cleavage structure and consequent angu-
lar forms. In finer varieties, the grains may be so small
that the characters cannot be observed ; or again the tex-
ture of the mass may be so compact that not even grains
can be distinguished.
This cleavage, then, is a peculiarity of internal structure.
It is intimately connected with another fact, that these same
minerals often occur under the form of some regular solid
with neat plane surfaces ; and are finished with a symmetry
and perfection which art would fail to imitate. These forms
are their natural forms, and every mineral has its own dis-
tinct system of forms. The beauty of a cabinet of min-
erals arises to a great extent from the variety of forms and
What physical characters are to be observed in the study of min-
erals ? What character depends on internal structure? Mention ex-
amples and explain. What other character depends on structure ?
2*
18 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF MINERALS.
high finish of these gems of nature's workmanship. The
mineral quartz sometimes occurs in crystals consisting of two
pyramids united by a short six-sided prism, and they have
generally the transparency and almost the brilliancy of the
diamond, whose name they bear in common language. The
" diamonds" of central New York, and many other localities,
are of this kind. In other cases a large surface of rock
sparkles with a splendid grouping of the pyramidal glassy
crystals. We might draw other illustrations from almost all
the mineral species. But this will suffice to show that in ad-
dition to the physical characters above mentioned, there are
others dependent on structure, which afford distinctions of
species, apparent both in external form and internal clea
vage.
Still other characters are derived from subjecting species
to the action of heat, and to acids or other re -agents. One
mineral, when heated, melts ; another is infusible, or fuses
only on the edges ; another evaporates. By such trials, and
others hereafter to be described, we study minerals in a dif-
ferent way, and ascertain their chemical characters. This
mode of investigation more minutely pursued, leads to a
knowledge of the constitution of minerals, a branch of study
which belongs properly to Analytical Chemistry : the results
are of the highest importance to the mineralogist.
It is perceived, therefore, that the learner may (1) exam-
ine into the peculiarities of structure among minerals ; (2)
he may attend to the physical characters depending on light)
hardness, and gravity ; (3) he may acquaint himself with
the effects of heat and chemical re-agents the chemical char-
acters. These are three sources of distinctions giving mu-
tual aid, and a knowledge of all is necessary to the miner-
alogist. To learn to distinguish minerals by their color,
weight, and luster, is so far very well ; but the accomplishment
is of a low degree of merit, and when most perfect, makes but
a poor mineralogist. But when the science is viewed in the
light of Chemistry and Crystallography, it becomes a branch
of knowledge, perfect in itself, and surprisingly beautiful in
its exhibitions of truth. We are no longer dealing with
pebbles of pretty shapes and tints, but with objects modeled
by a Divine hand ; and every additional fact becomes to the
mind a new revelation of His wisdom.
Mention examples. What other characters are there ? Enumerate
the kinds of characters presented by minerals,
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY. 19
In the study of this science, the learner will be introduced
first to the structure of minerals. The subject is treated of
under its usual name, crystallography.
CHAPTER II.
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY : OR THE STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
Crystals : Crystallization. The regular forms which
minerals assume are called crystals, and the process by
which their formation takes place, is termed crystallization.
Crystallization is the same as solidification. Whenever
a liquid becomes solid there is actual crystallization. Under
favorable circumstances regular crystals may form ; but
very commonly the solid is a mass of crystalline grains, as
is the case in statuary marble, or a loaf of white sugar. In
the case of the marble, crystallization commenced at myri-
ads of points at the same instant, and there was no room for
any to expand to a large size and regular outline. When
on the contrary, the process is slow, simple crystals often
increase to a large size.
We may understand this subject of crystallization by
watching a solution of salt, as it evaporates over a fire. Af-
ter a while, if the process is not too rapid, minute points of
salt appear at the surface, and these continue enlarging.
They are minute cubes when they begin, and they increase
regularly by additions to their sides, till finally they become
so heavy as to sink. In other cases, if the brine is boiled
aw r ay too rapidly, a mass of salt may be formed at the bot-
tom of the vessel, in which no regular crystals (cubes) can
be seen. Yet it is obvious that the same power of crystal-
lization was at work, and failed of yielding symmetrical
solids, because of the rapidity of the evaporation. Crystals
of salt have been found in the beds of this mineral a foot
or more in breadth, which had been formed by natural evapo-
ration ; and the whole bed is in all cases crystalline in the
structure of the salt. However finely the salt may be ground
Explain the terms crystal and crystallization. Are solidification and
crystallization the same process ? Explain the different results of crys-
tallization by the example of salt. Is every grain, however minute,
crystalline 1
20 STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
up, as that for our tables, still the grains were crystalline in
their origin and are crystalline in structure.
This subject may be farther illustrated by many other sub-
stances. A hot solution of sugar set away to cool, will form
crystals upon the bottom, or upon any thread or stick in the
vessel; and these crystals will continue increasing till a
large part of the sugar has become crystals. It is a com-
mon and instructive experiment to place a delicate frame-
work of a basket or some other object, in a solution of su-
gar or alum ; after a while it becomes a basket of finished
gems, the crystals glistening with their many polished facets.
Again, if a quantity of sulphur be melted, it will crystallize
on cooling. To obtain distinct crystals, the surface crust
should be broken as soon as formed, and the liquid part
within be poured out ; the cavity, when cold, will be found
to be studded with delicate needles. The crust in this case
is as truly crystallized as the needles, although but faint tra-
ces of a crystalline texture are apparent on breaking it.
This was owing to too rapid cooling. Melted lead and bis-
muth will crystallize in the same manner. There is a sub-
stance, iodine, which when heated passes into the state of a
vapor; on cooling again, the glass vessel containing the
vapor is covered with complex crystals, as brilliant as pol-
ished steel. During the cold of winter, the vapors constitu-
ting clouds, often become changed to snow ; this is a similar
process of crystallization, for every flake of snow is a con-
geries of crystals, and often they present the forms of regu-
lar six-sided stars. So also, our streams become covered
with ice ; and this is another form of the crystallization of
water.
The power which solidifies, and the power which crystal-
lizes, are thus one and the same. Crystallography, there-
fore, is not merely a science treating of certain regular so-
lids in Mineralogy; it is the science of solidification in
general.
Modes of Crystallization. In the above examples we
have presented three different modes of crystallization. In
one case, the substance is in solution in water, (or some sol-
vent :) the particles are thus free to move, and as the solvent
passes off by evaporation, they unite and form the crystal-
Explain the case of sulphur. Give instances of crystals forming from
vapor. What does the science of crystallography embrace? What
are the modes of crystallization alluded to in the examples given ?
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY. 21
lizing solid. In a second case, the substance is fused by
heat ; here again the particles are free to move as long as
the heat remains ; and when it passes off solidification com-
mences, under the power of crystallization. In a third case,
the substance is reduced to a vapor by heat ; and from this
state also one of freedom of motion among the particles
it crystallizes as the heated condition is removed.
In the hardening of steel, it is well known that the coarse-
ness of the grains varies with the temperature used, and the
manner in which the process is conducted. An increased
coarseness of structure, implies that certain of the crystal-
line grains were enlarged at the expense of others. It
teaches us that in some cases the powers of crystallization
may act at certain temperatures, even without fusion or so-
lution. The long continued vibration of iron, especially
when under pressure, produces a similar change from a fine
to a coarse texture ; and this fact has been the cause of ac-
cidents in machinery, by rendering the iron brittle : it has
led to the fracture of the axles of rail cars and of grind-
stones, and even the iron rails of a road may thus become
weak and useless.
By these several processes, the various minerals and very
many of the widely extended rocks of our globe, have been
brought to their present state.
Perfect crystals are usually of moderate size, and gems of
the finest water are quite small. As they enlarge they be-
come less clear, or even opaque, and the faces lose their
smoothness and much of their luster. The emerald, suffi-
ciently pure for jewelry, seldom exceeds an inch in length,
and is rarely as large as this ; but a crystal of this species
(of the variety beryl) was obtained a few years since at
Acworth, New Hampshire, which measured 4 feet in length
and 2 feet in circumference ; it was regular in its form, yet,
except at the edges, opaque. The clear garnets, fit for set-
ting, are seldom half an inch through ; but coarse crystals
have been found 6 inches in diameter. Transparent sap-
phires also, over an inch in length, are of extreme rarity ;
but opaque crystals occur a foot or more long.
Quartz crystals attain at times extraordinary dimensions.
There is one at Milan which is 3 feet long and 5^ in cir-
cumference, and it weighs 870 pounds. From a single cav-
Is fluidity essential to the process of crystallization 1 What is said
of steel and iron ? What is said of the size and perfection of crystals 1
22 STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
ity at Zinken, in Germany, 1000 cwt. of crystals of quartz
were taken above a century since. These facts indicate im-
perfectly the scale of operations in the laboratory of nature.
The same process by which a single group, like that just alluded
to, has been formed, has filled numberless similar cavities over
various regions, and distributed the quartz material through
vast deposits in the earth's structure. The same power
presides alike over the solidification of liquid lavas, and the
formation of a cube of salt, producing the crystalline grains
constituting the former, and the structure and symmetrical
faces of the latter.
Constancy of Crystalline Forms. Each mineral may be
properly said to have as much a distinct shape of its own, as
each plant or each animal, and may be as readily distin-
guished by the characters presented to the eye. Crystals
are, therefore, the perfect individuals of the mineral kingdom.
The mineral quartz has a specific form and structure, as much
as a dog, or an elm, and is as distinct and unvarying as re-
gards essential characters, although, owing to counteracting
causes during formation, these forms are not always assumed.
In whatever part of the world crystals of quartz may be col-
lected, they are fundamentally identical. Not an angle will
be found to differ from those of crystals obtained in any part
of this country. The sizes of the faces vary, and also the
number of faces, according to certain simple laws hereafter
to be explained ; but the corresponding angles of inclina-
tion are essentially the same, whatever the variations or dis-
tortions.
Other minerals have a like constancy in their crystals, and
each has some peculiarity, some difference of angle, or some
difference of cleavage structure, which distinguishes it from
every other mineral. In many cases, therefore, we have only
to measure an angle to determine the species. Both quartz and
carbonate of lime crystallize at times in similar six-sided
prisms with terminal pyramids ; but the likeness here ceases ;
for the angles of the pyramids are quite different, and also
the internal structure. Idocrase and tin ore crystallize in
similar square prisms, with terminal pyramidal planes ; but
though similar in general form, each has its own character-
istic angles of inclination between its planes, which angles
What is said of the generality of the power of crystallization ? What
is said of the constancy of the crystalline forms and structure of minerals ?
Explain by the mineral quart/, as an example.
\
CRYSTALLOGRAPHY. 2d
admit of no essential variation. Upon this character, the
constancy of crystalline forms, depends the importance of
crystallography to the mineralogist.
FUNDAMENTAL FORMS OF CRYSTALS.
The forms of crystallized minerals are very various. To
the eye there often seems to be no relation between different
crystals of the same mineral. Yet it is true that all the va-
rious shapes are modifications according to simple laws of
a few fundamental forms. There is perhaps no mineral
which presents a greater variety of form than calc spar.
Dog-tooth spar is one of its forms ; nail-head spar, as it is
sometimes called, is another ; the one, a tapering pyrimadal
crystal, well described in its name, the other broad and thin,
and shaped much like the head of a wrought-nail. Yet both of
these crystals and many others are derived from the same fun-
damental form. After a few trials with a knife, the student
will find that slices may be readily chipped off from the crys-
tals of this mineral in three directions ; and the process will
obtain a solid from each, the one identical with the other in
(ts angles. They consequently have the same nucleus or
fundamental form.
The fundamental forms are those from which all the other
forms of crystals are derived. The derivative forms, are
called secondary forms, and their planes, secondary planes.
The number of fundamental forms indicated by cleavage,
is thirteen. They are either prisms,* octaJiedrons or dode-
cahedrons.
The prisms are either four-sided or six-sided. The prisms
are denominated right prisms, when they stand erect, and
oblique prisms, when they are inclined. Figures 4, 5, 7, 8,
are right prisms, and figures 12, 14, are oblique prisms.
The sides in each case are called lateral planes, and the
extremities bases.
An octahedron^ has eight sides, and consists of two equal
How do the crystals of different minerals differ ? Mention exam-
ples. What is said of the forms of crystals of the same mineral ?
What is understood by fundamental forms ? What by secondary forms
or planes ? How many fundamental forms are there ? What kinds of
prisms are there ] Explain the terms lateral planes and bases.
* Any column, however many sides it may have, is called a prism,
t From the Greek okto, eight, and hedra, face.
24
STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
four-sided pyramids placed base to base. (Figs. 2, 6, 9.) The
plane in which the pyramids meet is called the base of the
octahedron ; (bb, fig. 6 ;) the edges of the base are called
the basal edges, and the other edges the pyramidal.
The dodecahedron* has twelve sides (fig. 3.)
The axes of these solids are imaginary lines connecting
the centers of opposite faces, of opposite edges, or of oppo-
site angles. The inclination of two planes upon one another
is called an interfacial angle. f
The figures here added represent the forms of the bases
and faces referred to in the following paragraphs.
A B C DBF
A, a square, having the 4 sides equal ; B, a rectangle, dif-
fering from A, in having only the opposite sides equal ; C, a
rhomb, having the angles oblique and the sides equal ; D, a
rhomboid, differing from the rhomb in the opposite sides only
being equal ; E, an equilateral triangle, having all the sides
equal ; F, an isosceles triangle, having two sides equal.
The lines crossing from one angle to an opposite are called
diagonals.
The fundamental forms of crystals, though thirteen in num-
ber, constitute but six systems of crystallization, as follows :
What is an octahedron ? What is its base ? How are the basal and
pyramidal edges distinguished ? What is a dodecahedron ? What are
axes? What are interfacial angles? Explain the terms square ; rect-
angle ; rhomb ; rhomboid ; equilateral triangle ; isosceles triangle ;
diagonal. How many systems of crystallization are there?
* From the Greek dodeka, twelve, and hedra, face,
t An angle is the amount of divergence of two straight lines from a
given point, or of two planes from a given edge. In the annexed figure,
ACB is an angle formed by the divergence of two
lines from C. If a circle be described with the
angular point C as the center, and the circumference
DABFE be divided into 360 equal parts, the number
of these parts included between A and B will be the
number of degrees in the angle ACB ; that is, if 40
of these parts are included between A and B, the
angle ACB equals 40 degrees (40). DF being
perpendicular to EB, these two lines divide the whole into 4 equal parts,
and consequently the angle DCB equals 360-f-4 equals 90. This is
termed a right angle. An angle more or less than 90 is called an
oblique angle ; if less, as ACB, an acute angle ; if more, as ACE, an
obtuse angle.
FUNDAMENTAL FORMS OF CRYSTALS.
I. The first system includes the cube (fig. 1 or la, the lat-
ter in outline ;) regular octahedron (fig. 2 ;) and the rhombic
1 la 2
dodecahedron (fig. 3 or 3a.) They are symmetrical solids
throughout, in all positions, being alike in having the height,
breadth and thickness equal ; their three axes, represented by
the dotted lines in the figures, are at right angles with one
another and equal. In the cube, the axes connect the cen-
ters of opposite faces ; in the octahedron and dodecahedron,
they connect the apices of solid angles. This is more fully
explained on a following page.
The cube has its faces equal squares, and its angles all
right angles.
The octahedron has its 8 faces equal equilateral triangles :
its edges are equal ; its plane angles are 60 ; its interfacial
angles (angles between adjacent faces) 109 28'.
The dodecahedron has its 12 faces equal rhombs ; the
edges are equal; the plane angles of the faces are 109 28'
and 70 32' ; its interfacial angles are 120.
II. The second system includes the right square prism
456
(figs. 4 and 5,) and square octahedron (fig. 6.) They have
two equal lateral axe?, and a vertical axis unequal to the
What forms does the first system include ? How are these forms
related ? Describe the forms. What forms does the second system
include, and how are they related 1 Describe the forms.
3
STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
lateral : that is, the width and breadth are equal, but the
height is varying. All the axes are at right angles with one
another. Fig. 4 is a square prism higher than its breadth,
and fig. 5 is one shorter than its breadth.
The right square prism and square octahedron may be of
any height, either greater or less than the breadth ; but the
dimensions are fundamentally constant for the same mineral
species. The square prism has its base a square. The
square octahedron has its base (bb) a square, and its 8 faces
equal isosceles triangles. The lateral edges of the prism
differ in length from the basal ; and the terminal or pyra-
midal edges of the octahedron differ in length from the basal.
III. The third system includes the rectangular prism
(fig. 7,) the rhombic prism (fig. 8,) and the rhombic octahe-
789
dron (fig. 9.) They are similar in having the three dimen-
sions, or the three axes, unequal ; and the axes at right an-
gles with one another.
The rectangular prism has a rectangular base, and the
axes connect the centers of opposite faces. The rhombic
prism and rhombic octahedron have each a rhombic base,
the angle of which differs for different species. The lateral
axes of the prism connect the centers of opposite edges,
and in the octahedron they connect the apices of opposite
angles.
IV. The/our^ system includes the right rhomboidal prism
10 11 12 13
(figs. 10, 11,) and the oblique rhombic prism (figs. 12, 13.)
The lateral axes are unequal, and at right angles as in the
What forms are included in the third system and how are they rela-
ted ? Describe the forma. What forms does the fourth system include
and how are they related ?
FUNDAMENTAL FORMS OF CRYSTALS.
27
last system ; but they are oblique to the vertical axes. Their
positions are shown in the figures.
The right rhomboidal prism. stands erect when on its rhom-
boidal base, as in fig. 11 ; but is oblique when placed on
either of the other sides, as in fig. 10. The oblique rhombic
prism is shown in a lateral view in fig. 12, and a front view
in fig. 13.
V. The fifth system includes the oblique rhomboidal prism
which has the three axes unequal, 14 15
and all are oblique in their intersec-
tions. Fig. 14 represents a side
view of this form, and fig. 15 a
front view.
VI. The sixth system includes
the rhombohedron and hexagonal prism, in which there are
16 16a 17 17a 18
m ^~JLL_
~H
three equal lateral axes and a vertical axis at right angles
with the three. Fig. 16 is an obtuse rhombohedron, and I6a
is the same in outline, showing the axes. Figs. 17, 17a,
represent an acute rhombohedron. Fig. 18 is a hexagonal
prism ; it is bounded by six equal lateral planes ; the lateral
axes either connect the centers of opposite faces, as in the
figure, or of opposite lateral edges.
To understand the rhombohedron, the student should have
a model before him. On examining it he will find one solid
angle made up of three equal plane angles, and another op-
oosite one of the same kind ; all the other solid angles are
different 'from these. These two solid angles are called the
vertical solid angles, and a line drawn from one to the other
is the vertical axis of the rhombohedron. The rhombohe-
dron should be held with this line vertical ; it is then said to
be in position. Thus placed, it will be seen to have six lat-
eral angles, six equal lateral edges, and also six equal termi-
nal edges, three of the terminal above and three below.
What forms does the fifth system include, and how does this system
differ from the preceding 1 What does the sixth system include ?
What is said of the rhorabohedron ? of its position ? its solid angles?
23 STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
The lateral edges in figure 17a, are distinguished from
the terminal by being made heavier. Figure 19 repre-
sents a vertical view of fig. 16 ; 19 19a
the three edges meeting at center
are the terminal edges of one ex-
tremity : the exterior six are the
lateral edges ; and the six lateral
angles are seen at their intersec-
tions. In fig. 19a, the same is
seen in outline, and the dotted lines represent the three late-
ral or transverse axes, connecting the centers of opposite
lateral edges. The lateral and terminal edges differ in one
set being acute and the other obtuse ; in the obtuse rhombo-
hedron (fig. 16) the terminals are obtuse, and in the acute
rhombohedron (fig. 17) they are acute.
Several of the primary forms are easily cut from wood or
chalk. Cut out a square stick, and then saw off a piece
from one end as long as the breadth of the stick : this is the
cube. Saw off other pieces longer or shorter than this, and
they are different right square prisms. Shave off a piece
of more or less thickness from one side of the square stick,
and it then becomes a rectangular stick. From it, pieces
may be sawn off, of different lengths, and they will be right
rectangular prisms. Next cut a stick of a rhombic shape,
(a section having the shape in figure C, page 26,) from it
right rhombic prisms may be cut, of any length. Shave off
more or less from one side of the rhombic stick, and it is
changed to a rhomboidal form, (section as in fig. D, page 26 r )
and rhomboidal prisms may be sawn from it of any length.
Take a rhombic stick again ; and instead of sawing it off
straight across, as before, saw off the end obliquely from one
side-edge to the opposite ; the base thus formed is oblique
to the sides : then saw the stick again in parallel oblique di-
rections, (accurately parallel.) and an oblique rhombic prism
will be obtained. If the oblique direction is such that the
basal plane equals the lateral, the solid is a rhowbohedron,
Proceeding in the same way with a rhomboidal stick, oblique
rhomboidal prisms maybe made. The student is advised to
make these solids, either from wood, raw potatoes, or chalk,*
in order to become familiar with them.
What is said of the lateral edges and angles of the rhombohedron 1
* Models made of chalk become quite hard if washed over with a
strong solution of gum Arabic, or varnish.
FUNDAMENTAL FORMS OF CRYSTALS. 29
By means of such models, the student may trace out im-
portant relations between the fundamental forms.
Take a cube, and cut off each angle evenly, inclining the
knife alike to the adjacent faces ; this produces figure 20.
Continue taking slice after slice equally from each angle,
and the solid takes the form in fig. 20<z, (called a cubo-octahe-
dron ;) still continue taking off regular slices from each angle
alike, and it finally comes out a regular octahedron, the form
represented in fig. 205. The last diminishing point in each
20 20a 206
face of the cube is the apex of each solid angle of the octa-
hedron. It is hence apparent why the axes of the cube con-
nect the opposite solid angles of the octahedron.
Take another cube (one of large size is preferable) and
pursue the same process with each of the edges, keeping the
knife, in cutting, equally inclined to the faces of the cube,
and we obtain, in succession, the forms represented in figs.
21 21o 216
21 and 21a ; and finally as the plane P disappears, it comes
out the rhombic dodecahedron, (fig. 215.) Hence the same
axes which connect the centers of opposite faces in the cube,
connect opposite acute solid angles in the dodecahedron.
So the cube, by reversing the process, may be made from
an octahedron by cutting off its solid angles, passing in suc-
cession through the forms represented in figures 20Z>, 200,
20, to figure 1. The dodecahedron also yields a cube in a
similar manner, giving as the process goes on, the forms rep-
resented in figures 215, 21a, 21, 1.
Moreover, the octahedron and dodecahedron are easily de-
How can you make an octahedron from a cube ? How make a do-
decahedron from a cube 1 How the cube from an octahedron ? the
cube from a dodecahedron 7 What relation hence exists between the
solids of the first system ?
3*
30
STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
rived from one another. Figure 22 represents an octahedron
22 22a w ith the edges truncated. On
continuing this truncation, the
planes A are reduced in size,
and the form in figure 22a is
obtained ; and another step be-
yond, we have the dodecahedron,
(fig. 211.) Figure 22a repre-
sents a dodecahedron with the obtuse solid angles replaced ;
and this replacement continued, produces finally an octahe-
dron, the reverse of the preceding.
These solids are, then, so related that they are all deriva-
ble from one another ; and the three actually are often pre-
sented by the same mineral. All the figures above referred
to, occur as forms of galena, fluor-spar, and several other
species. Instead, therefore, of considering the three solids,
the cube, regular octahedron, and dodecahedron, as indepen-
dent forms, we properly speak of them as constituting to-
gether one system, or as belonging to the same series of
forms.
Again : pursue the same mode of dissection on the angles
of a square prism, taking care to move the knife parallel to a
23 23a diagonal of the prism ; the form in
figure 23 is first obtained, and final-
ly a square octahedron, figure 23a.
The square prism and square octa-
hedron (like the cube and regular
octahedron) belong to one and the
same system. The two often oc-
cur in the same mineral.
Again : remove with a knife the basal edges of a rhombic
24a prism, moving the knife parallel to a
diagonal plane of the prism, figure 24
is at first obtained, and then a rhombic
octahedron, (fig. 24a.) Remove the
four lateral edges of a rhbmbic prism,
(see fig. 26a s ) keeping the knife paral-
lel to a vertical diagonal plane : the
form in figure 25 will first be obtained, and then a right rectan-
gular prism, (fig. 25a) ; and conversely cut off the lateral edges
How can you make a square octahedron from a square prism ? How
a rhombic octahedron from a rhombic prism 1 How a rectangular prism
from a rhombic ?
FTTNTDAMENTAL FOHMS OF CRYSTALS.
a right rectangular prism, with the knife parallel to the ver-
25 25a 26
26
tical diagonal planes of this prism,
(as is seen in fig. 26 ) and a right
rhombic prism (fig. 26a) is the re-
sult. The relations of these two
prisms is shown in figure 26b,
which represents a rhombic prism
within a rectangular prism. It is
obvious on comparing these figures, that the lateral axes
which connect the centers of opposite faces in the rectangu-
lar prism, connect the centers of opposite lateral edges in
the rhombic prism.
These three forms, the right rhombic prism, rhombic oc-
tahedron, and rectangular prism, are so closely related, that
one may give origin to the other, and all may occur in the
same mineral. This is often the case, as in the minerals
celestine and heavy spar.
Again : set the right rhomboidal prism on one of its lat-
eral faces, and then slice off each lateral edge, (lateral, as so
situated,) keeping the knife parallel with the diago- 27
nal plane, and an oblique rhombic prism is obtained.
Figure 27 represents the process begun, and figure
13, as well as the interior of figure 27, the com-
pleted oblique rhombic prism.
Lastly : take a rhombohedron, and after placing
it in position, fig. 16.) look down upon it from above, (fig.
19 ;) the six lateral edges are seen to form a regular six-sided
figure around the axis. If these edges be cut off parallel
to the axis, a six-sided prism (having a three-sided pyra-
mid at each extremity) must, therefore, result. This pro-
cess is shown begun in figure 28, and completed in figure
How is a rhombic prism derived from a rectangular ? What relation
hence between these prisms? How can yen make an oblique rhom-
bic prism from a right rhomboidal ? How a right rhomboidal from an
oblique rhombic ? Explain the relation b^tw tn the rhombohedroa and
hexagonal prism, and how one is reduced to iie other.
32
STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
28fl. Looking down again on the model as before, the 7af-
eral angles are seen to form six equi-distant points around the
axis ; and if these angles are removed in the same manner,
another six-sided prism is obtained, differing, however, from
the former in having the faces of the pyramid at each end,
five-sided, instead of rhombic. Figures 29, 30, illustrate the
process. Conversely, we may make a rhombohedron out of
28 28a 29 30 31
a hexagonal prism, by cutting off three alternate basal edges
at one extremity of the prism, and similarly, three at the
other extremity alternate with these, as in figure 31. In fig-
ure 30, the process is farther continued, and the rombohedron
is shown as a nucleus to the prism. By cutting off slices
parallel with R, the rhombohedron is at last obtained. The
close relation of the rhombohedron and hexagonal prism is
hence obvious. Calcareous spar has the rhombohedron as its
primary, and very often occurs in hexagonal forms. The
same is true of quartz and many other species.
From the above transformations, the study of which, with
the aid of a knife and a few raw potatoes or lumps of chalk,
may afford some amusement as well as instruction, the stu-
dent will understand more fully the six systems of crystalli-
zation.* These six systems have received the following
names :
1. Monometric ortesseral system, (from the Greek monos,
one, and metron, measure, alluding to the three axes being
equal in length.) Includes the cube, octahedron and dode-
cahedron, (figs. 1, 2, 3.)
2. Dimetric system, (from dis, two times, and metron, al-
luding to the vertical axis being unequal to the other two.)
Give the names of the systems of crystallization, and mention the
forms each includes.
* In some text books, the student may read about certain integral
forms, the cube, the three-sided pyramid and three-sided prism, from
which it is stated all the other forms may be made. The idea of such
forms has -nothing to do with crystallography, or the actual constitu-
tion of crystals. '.' .......-
CLEAVAGE. 83
Includes the square prism and square octahedron, (figs. 4,
5,6.)
3. Trimetric system, (from iris, three times, and metron,
alluding to the three axes being unequal.) Includes the right
rhombic prism, right rectangular prism and rhombic octahe-
dron, (figs. 7, 8, 9.)
4. Mon&clinate system, (from monos, one, and klino, to
incline, one axis being inclined to the other two which are
at right angles.) Includes the right rhomboidal prism and
oblique rhombic prism, (figs. 10, 11, 12, 13.)
5. Triclinate system, (from tris and klino, the three axes
being oblique to one another.) Includes the oblique rhom-
boidal prism, (figs. 14, 15.)
6. Hexagenal system. Includes the rhombohedron and
hexagonal prism, (figs. 16, 17, 18.)
CLEAVAGE.
It has already been stated that crystals of calcareous spar
may be chipped off easily in three directions, and by this
means, the fundamental form, a rhombohedron, may be ob-
tained. In all other directions only an irregular fracture
takes place. This property of separating into natural layers,
is called cleavage, and the planes along which it takes place,
cleavage joints.
Cubes of fluor spar may be cleaved on the angles, with a
slight pressure of the knife, and the process continued affords
successively the forms represented in figures 20, 20#, and
finally the completed octahedron, as already explained. A
lead ore, called galena, yields cubes by cleavage. Mica
often improperly called isinglass may be torn by the fingers
into elastic leaves more delicate thun the thinnest paper.
In many species cleavage is obtained with difficulty, and in
others none can be detected. Quartz is an instance of the
latter ; yet it may sometimes be effected with this mineral by
heating it and plunging it while hot into cold water.
The following are the more important laws with respect to
this property :
Cleavage is uniform in all varieties of the same mineral.
It occurs parallel to the faces of a fundamental form or
along the diagonals.
It is always the same in character parallel to similar faces
What is cleavage ? How does it differ in different minerals ? What
are die laws relating to cleavage.
34 STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
of a crystal, being obtained with equal ease, and affording
planes of like luster : and conversely, it is dissimilar paral-
lel to dissimilar planes. It is accordingly the same, parallel
to all the faces of a cube ; but in the square prism, the basal
cleavage differs from the lateral, because the base is unequal
to the lateral planes. Often there is an easy cleavage par-
allel to the base, and none distinct parallel to the sides, as
in topaz ; and so the reverse may be true.
The thirteen fundamental forms enumerated, are the solids
obtained from the various minerals by cleavage.
Some minerals present peculiar cleavages of a subordinate
character, independent of the principal cleavage. Calc spar,
for example, has sometimes a cleavage parallel to the longer
diagonal of its faces. The facts on this subject are of con-
siderable interest, yet not of sufficient importance to be dwelt
on in this place.
SECONDARY FORMS.
If crystals always assumed the shape of the primary form,
there would be comparatively little of that variety and beauty
which we actually find in the mineral kingdom. Nature
first taught to heighten the brilliancy of the gem by covering
its surface with facets. To the uninstructed eye, these cubes
and prisms with their numberless brilliant surfaces, often
appear as if they had been cut and polished by the lapidary -,
yet the skill and finish of the work, most perfect in the
microscopic crystal, has but feeble imitation in art. Not
unfrequently, crystals are found with one or two hundred dis-
tinct planes, and occasionally even a much larger number ;
and every edge and angle has the utmost perfection, and the
surfaces an evenness of polish, that betrays no rude work-
manship, even under the highest magnifying glass. Cavities
are occasionally met with in the rocks, studded on every
side with crystals a crystal grotto in minature sparkling
when brought out to the sun like a casket of jewels. Even
amid the apparent confusion, there is wonderful order of
arrangement in the crystals : the corresponding planes gen-
erally face the same way, so that the sparkling effect appears
in successive flashes over the surface, as every new set of
facets comes in turn to the light. Add to this view, their
delicate colors the rich purple of the amethyst, the soft
yellowish shades of the topaz, the deep green of the erne.
On what does the beauty of crystals to a great extent depend '?
MODIFICATIONS OF CRYSTALS. 85
raid and it will be admitted that the powers of crystalliz-
ation scarcely yield to vitality in the forms of beauty they
produce.
These results are not more wonderful than the simplicity
of the laws that lead to them.
The various secondary forms proceed from the occurrence
of planes on the angles or edges of the fundamental forms,
which planes are called secondary planes. Figures 20,
21, are secondaries to the cube, and the planes a and e are
secondary planes ; figures 28, 29, 30, are secondaries to
the rhombohedron, and the planes e and a are secondary
planes.* These secondary planes however numerous, con-
form in their positions to a certain law called the law .of
symmetry. Previous to stating this law a few explanations
are added.
The cube, it has been remarked, has six equal square faces.
The twelve edges are therefore all equal, and so also the
eight angles. In the square prism the vertical edges differ
in length from the basal, and are therefore not similar. In
the rectangular prism, not only the vertical differ from the
basal, but two of the basal at each extremity differ from the
other two basal. This will be seen at once in the models.
In the right rhombic and rhomboidal, two of the lateral edges
are acute and two obtuse ; these then are not similar to one
another. In the oblique prisms some of the basal edges are
acute and some obtuse. After tracing out the similar and
dissimilar angles and edges in the primaries, with the models,
the following laws may be easily applied : Either
1. All the similar parts of a crystal are similarly and,
simultaneously modijied ;* or,
Explain the relation of secondary planes to the fundamental form.
What is said of the,<cube ? of the square prism ? the rectangular prism ?
the right rhombic and rhomboidal ] the oblique prisms 1 What is the first
law repecting secondary planes ?
. What is meant by replacement, bevelment, and truncation 1 ?
* To avoid circumlocutions, the following technical terms are employed
in describing the modifications of crystals.
Replacement. An edge or angle is replaced, when cut off by one or
more secondary planes, (figs. 20, 21, 32.)
Truncation. An edge or angle is truncated, when the replacing
plane is equally inclined to the adjacent faces, (figs. 20, 21.)
Bevelment. An edge is beveled, when replaced by two planes, which
are respectively inclined at equal angles to the adjacent faces, (fig. 32.)
Truncation and bevelment can occur only on edges formed by the meet-
ing ofequ*l planes.
36
STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
2. Half the similar parts of a crysial, alternate imposition,
are modified independently of the other half.
In the cube, octahedron, or dodecahedron, if one edge is
replaced, all the other edges will be replaced, and by the
same planes. If there are two planes on one edge, (fig. 32}
there will be two on every other edge ; and the two on each
will have the same inclinations. If there are three planes
on one angle, (fig. 33) there will, in the same manner, be
three on the other seven angles. Perfect symmetry is thus
preserved, however numerous the added planes. The fol-
lowing figures illustrate this principle, that all the edges, and
all the angles are modified alike.
32 33 34 35
This symmetry is well seen in the solids which the secon-
dary planes, in the above figures, produce, if enlarged till
the primary planes are obliterated. Thus from figure 32,
comes the form in figure 36, the planes e' being enlarged till
the planes P are obliterated ; from 33, comes the form in
fig. 37 ; from 34, the form in 38 ; and from 35, the form in
39. The form in figure 37 has 24 faces, and is called a
trapezohedron. It is common in garnet and leucite.
36 37 38 39
In figure 35, there are six planes on each angle, and as there
are eight angles in the cube, the solid represented in figure
39 has forty-eight faces. Both 38 and 39 are forms of the
diamond.
In connection with the law above given, it is stated that
half the similar parts may be modified independently of
the other half. The parts thus modified are alternate with
one another and still produce symmetrical solids. Thus the
What second law is mentioned ? Explain the first law by examples.
MODIFICATIONS OF CRYSTALS.
37
cube may have only the alternate angles replaced ; or only
one of the two beveling planes shown in figure 32 may occur
on each edge ; or three of the six on each angle in figure 35.
The following are examples ; and each figure in the lower
line, represents the completed form, produced by extending
the secondary planes in the figure above, to the obliteration
of the primaries, as explained on the preceding pages.
40 41 42 43
The replacement begun in figure 40, continued to the oblit-
eration of the Ps, produces figure 44, which is a tetrahedron,
or three-sided pyramid. So the planes a in figure 41, give
rise to fig. 45 ; the planes e in 42, to figure 46, which is a
pentagonal dodecahedron, so called because it has twelve
pentagonal (or five-sided) faces. The forms represented in
figures 40 and 41 are common in boracite, and those of figures
42, 43, in iron-pyrites. These forms with half the full num-
ber of planes are called hemihedral forms, from the Greek
words for half and face.
The tetrahedron is sometimes placed among the primary
forms ; but it is properly a secondary form, derived from the
cube, in the manner here explained, or from the octahedron
by the extension of four faces to the obliteration of the other
four. (Compare figs. 2 and 44.)
In the right square prism, the basal edges being unequal
to the vertical, (because the prism, unlike the cube, is higher
than broad,) these two kinds of edges are not replaced by
similar planes, and the basal may be modified when the
lateral are not modified, (figs. 48, 49.) The lateral edgei
may be truncated, because their including planes are equal ;
Explain the second law. What are the resulting forms called ?
What is said of the tetrahedron ?
4
38
STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
the terminal cannot be truncated, lout are replaced by planes
unequally inclined to the including planes. The solid angles
48 49 50
of the square prism are of one kind and are replaced alike, as-
in figures 23, 50 ; all the angles in these figures have the
same number of planes, and the two adjacent planes in figure
50 are similar in their inclinations, because the lateral planes
M, M, of a square prism, are equal.
In the rectangular and rhombic prisms the lateral axes are
unequal. Consequently in the rectangular prism, two basal
edges differ from the other two, and are therefore modi-
fied independently (figs. 51, 52.) The planes e extended to
the obliteration of T and P, would produce a rhombic prism
(in a horizontal position,) as shown in figure 53, and another
horizontal prism may be formed by the extension of the
planes e, fig. 52. In the rhombic prism the basal edges cor-
51 52 53 54
respond to the angles of the rectangular prism
(see fig. 26J) and are similar and simultaneously
replaced as in figure 24. The basal angles are
unlike, one being obtuse and the other acute, and
the planes of the two (fig. 54) differ in their in-
clinations. The lateral* edges differ in the same
manner, two being obtuse and two acute, and they are inde-
pendently replaced, as in figure 55. The two planes e are
similar planes, because, in a rhombic prism, M and M are
equal ; and the extension of these planes may produce another
rhombic prism.
In an oblique rhombic prism the superior basal edges dif-
Explain these laws from the square prism ; the rectangular and
rhombic.
MODIFICATIONS OF CRYSTALS.
fer from the inferior in front, two being obtuse and two acute ;
consequently, they are independently replaced. Figure 56,
shows the replacement of the obtuse basal. So also the front
angles differ in the same manner, the upper (left side in fig.
57) being independent <Df the inferior in its modifications.
56 57 58 59
But the four lateral angles are similar (fig. 58.) Two of the
lateral edges ure obtuse and two acute, as in the right rhom-
bic prism, and their secondary planes are therefore unlike
(fig. 59.)
In the oblique rhomboidal prism,
7-only two diagonally opposite edges
or angles are similar, and the modi-
fications of one edge are therefore
independent of those of all the other
edges, except the one diagonally;
opposite : the same is true of the
angles- The difference between this prism and the oblique
rhombic will thus be seen on comparing figures 56 and 60,
and also figures 58 and 61 :
In the rhombohedron, the distinction of vertical and lateral
solid angles has already been explained, and also the differ-
ence between the terminal and lateral edges. The figures
given will show how these distinctions are carried out in the
63 64 5
modifications. In figure 62, the terminal solid angles are
replaced, but none of the lateral. In figures 64, 65 and 29,
the lateral angles are replaced, but not the terminal. Figure
63, has the terminal edges replaced, and figures 68 and 28.
the lateral edges.
Expiain the laws with regard to secondary planes from th6 oblique
riioinbic prism ^ oblique rhomboidal ; the rhombohedron.
40
STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
When the planes a' in figure 64 are a little more extended,
the form is changed to figure 65, or a double six-sided pyramid.
It is in this way that the pyramidal form of crystals of quartz
is produced from the primary rhombohedron. In figure 66,
66 67 63 69
', as is seen, is a different plane from a" in figure 64. By
enlarging the planes a', till the planes R are obliterated,
figure 67 is obtained, an acute rhombohedron. This may
appear a singular result : but it will be understood on con-
sidering that there are six lateral angles ; and three of the
planes a' incline upward, and three, alternate, incline down-
ward ; they must therefore produce an oblong solid, bounded
by six equal faces, which is nothing else than a rhombohedron.
In figure 68, the lateral edges are beveled by the planes e*.
The planes e enlarged to the obliteration of the faces
R, lead to the form in figure 69 a twelve -sided figure, or
dodecahedron, and called from the shape of its faces, a
scalene dodecahedron. It is the form of dog-tooth spar, a
variety of calcareous spar. In figures 28, 29, the planes e
and a are each parallel to the vertical axis, and they con-
sequently produce prisms when extended, as explained on
pages 31, 32.
In figure 3, under Tourmaline, we have an instance of a
Itemihedral modification in the hexagonal system. The ex-
tremities of the prism, as will be observed, have different
secondary planes, there being in addition to the three faces
R, three small triangular planes above, and three narrow
linear planes below. Topaz crystals are also differently
modified at the extremities, and are examples of hemihedral
modifications in a right rhombic prism.
Another law gives still greater interest to the study of
crystallography : but it can only be briefly alluded to in this
place. When speaking of the right square prism it was
Mention some instances of hemihedral modifications, and explain.
MODIFICATION OF CRYSTALS.
41
r
stated that the basal edges were never truncated, but, when
modified, were replaced by planes unequally inclined to the
basal and lateral faces of the primary. These secondary
planes do not however occur at random, at any possible in-
clination ; but there is a direct relation, in all instances, to
the comparative neight and breadth of the fundamental form
of the mineral. The same is true of planes on the angles,
and in secondaries to all the fundamental forma.
Take a cube and cut off evenly one of the edges : this
removes parts of two other edges, at each end of the plane.
It is found that in cubic crystals these parts are either equal
to one another, or one is double of the other, or treble ; or
iii some other simple ratio. The same is true in the other
fundamental forms, except that, as stated, the relative height
and breadth of the prism come into account, and influence
the result.
For example : in figure 70, 70 71
(a section of a cube,) P M and y .">.'>- ir
P N are equal edges, divided
into equal parts ; now a plane *
on an edge of a cube, as a b tft
removes, as is seen, equal parts
of P M and P N ; another, as \
a c, removes twice as many parts of one
edge as of the other ; and so other planes have like simple
ratios. In figure 71, a section of a prism, the lines P M and
Ti^Wtotd^jhd breadth of the prism) are unequal : let them
be dlvKBH^lHike number of parts ; then a plane on an
edge>jas a % &V;wiil v cut off as many parts of P M as of P N ;
others, as a c, b d, twice as many parts of one as the other :
and so on. a ^truncates the edge in figure 70 ; but not so
in figure 71. It is evident to the mathematical scholar that
the inclination of a plane a b to P N or P M, is sufficient to
determine the relative dimensions of P a and P i, or the rela-
tive height and breadth of the fundamental form.
These principles give a mathematical basis to the
science.
Thus we perceive that the attraction which guides each
particle to its place in crystallization, produces forms of
Mathematical exactness. It covers the crystal with scores
f facets of finished brilliancy and perfection ; and these
What other law is there, respecting the occurrence of secondary
planes 1 Explain by the figures.
4*
STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
facets are not only uniform in number on similar parts of a
crystal, but are even fixed in every angle and every edge.*
COMPOUND CRYSTALS.
In the preceding pages, we have been considering simple
crystals, and their secondary forms. The same forms are
occasionally compounded so as to make what have been
called twin or compound crystals. They will be understood
72 73 74 75
at once from the annexed figures. Figure 72 represents a
crystal of snow of not unfrequent occurrence. It consists, as
What is a twin or compound crystal 1
* On a preceding page, it has been explained that in monometric cys-
tals the axes are equal ; in dimetric and hexagonal crystals the lateral
axes are equal, and the vertical is of a different length, shorter or longer.
In the other systems, the trimetric and the two oblique systems, the
three axes are all unequal. In the above paragraphs it has been shown
that the relative lengths of the axes in a fundamental form of a crystal
are fixed, and may be determined by simple calculations. These fixed
relative dimensions are supposed to be the relative, dimensions of" thp
particles or molecules constituting crystals ; that is if -h r -
form of a crystal is twice as long as broad, the saSl^Hi^^ratsmole-
eules. The molecules of a cube must therefore be equal in different
directions,.; those of a square prism must be longer -or shorter than
broad, but equal in breadth and thicknesss ; those of a rectangular prism
must be unequal in three
directions ; and the relative
inequality is determinable as
just stated. The simplest and
most probable view of the
forms of molecules is that they
^^^ are spheres for monometric
solids ; and ellipsoids of different axes for the other forms. Figure 1
represents a sphere.
Figure 2 represents an ellipsoid with the lateral axes equal, as seen
in the cross section 2a ; it is the form in the dimetric and hexagonal
systems.
Figure 3 represents an ellipsoid with the lateral axes unequal (fig. 3a),
as in the trimetric and oblique systems ; a variation in the length of the
axes will vary the dimensions, according to any particular case.
COMPOUND CRYSTALS.
43
77
is evident to the eye, either of six crystals meeting in a point,
or of three crystals crossing one another. Besides, there
are numerous minute crystals regularly arranged along the
rays. Figure 73 represents a cross (cruciform) crystal of
staurotide, which is similarly compound, but made up of
fewer crystals. Figure 74, is a compound crystal of gypsum,
and figure 75, one of spinel. These will be understood from
the following figures.
Figure 76 is a simple crystal of gyp-
sum ; if it be bisected along a ft, and
the right half be inverted and applied
to the other, it will form figure 74,
which is therefore a twin crystal, in
which one half has a reverse position
from the other. Figure 77, is a simple
octahedron ; if it be bisected through w
the dotted line, and the upper half, after being revolved half
way around, be then united to the lower, it produces figure
75. Both of these therefore are similar twins, in which one
of the two component parts is reversed in position.* Com-
pound crystals are generally distinguished by their re&ntering
angles.
Besides the above, there are also geniculated crystals, as
in the annexed figure. The bending has here 78
taken place at equal distances from the center
of the crystal ; and it must therefore have
been subsequent in time to the commence-
ment of the crystal. The prism began from
a simple molecule : but after attaining a certain
length, an abrupt change of direction took place. The angle
of geniculation is constant in the same mineral species ; for
the same reason that the angles of secondary planes are
fixed ; and it is such that a cross section directly through the
geniculation is parallel to the position of a common secon-
dary plane. In the figure given, the plane of geniculation is
parallel to one of the terminal edges.
Mention illustrations. Explain their structure in the case of gypsum
and spinel. What is said of geniculated crystals'?
* Such crystals have proceeded from a compound nucleus in which one
of the two particles was reversed. Compound crystals of the kind
above described, thus differ from simple crystals in having been formed
from a nucleus of two or more united molecules, instead of from a simple
nucleus.
44 STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
DIMORPHISM. POLYMORPHISM.
It was formerly supposed that the same chemical com-
pound could have but a single mode of crystallization. But
later researches have discovered that there are many in-
stances of substances crystallizing according to two distinct
systems. Thus sulphur at different times crystallizes in ob-
lique prisms and right rhombic octahedrons, or according to
the two systems monoclinate and trimetric. Carbonate of
lime at one time takes on the rhombohedral form, and is
then called calc spar ; at another, that of a rhombic prism,
and it is then termed arragonite. Again, sulphuret of iron
presents us both with cubical (monometric) crystals and
rhombic prisms (trimetric.) As far as investigation has gone,
it has appeared that one of these forms is assumed at a lower
temperature than the other ; and this takes place uniformly,
so that the temperature attending solidification, in certain
cases at least, determines the forms and system of crystal-
lization. How far other causes operate is unknown.
This property is termed dimorphism, (from the Greek dis,
two or twice, and morphe, form,) and a substance presenting
two systems of crystallization is said to be dimorphous. In
addition to the above, garnet and idocrase, the one dodeca-
hedral, and the other square-prismatic, are different forms
of the same substance. Rutile, which is dimetric, anatase,
dimetric also, but of different dimensions, and Brookite, which
is trimetric, are three distinct forms of the same substance,"
oxyd of titanium. In this last case, the property has been
called trimorphism, (from the Greek tris, three times, and
morphe, form.) As the number of forms may be still greater,
the more general term polymorphism (polus, many, and
morphe) has been introduced to include all cases, whatever
the number of forms assumed.
A polymorphous substance in its different states presents
not merely difference of form. There is also a difference in
hardness, specific gravity and luster, in fact, in nearly all
physical qualities. Arragonite has the specific gravity 2'93,
and calc spar only 2'7 ; the hardness of arragonite is 3,
and that of calc spar but 3.
May the same substance crystallize under more than one fundamen-
tal form "? -Mention examples. What is this property called 1 What
is said of oxyd of Titanium 1 What is trimorphism 1 polymorphism 1
What other differences beside that of form are connected with poly-
morphism 1
IRREGULARITIES OF CRYSTALS.
45
The forms of a dimorphous substance differ in stability.
Arragonite when heated gently falls to powder, arising from
a change in the condition of its particles. Arragonite has
been obtained by evaporating a solution of lime over a water
bath, and calc spar when the same was evaporated at the ordi-
nary temperature. When a right rhombic prism of sulphate
of zinc (which is dimorphous) is heated to 126 F. certain
points in its surface become opaque, and from these points,
bunches of crystals shoot forth in the interior of the speci-
men ; and in a short time the whole is converted into an
aggregate of these crystals, diverging from several centers on
the surface of the original crystal. These small crystals
are oblique rhombic prisms ; and the same form may be ob-
tained by evaporating a solution at this temperature or above
it. Many other similar cases might be cited, but these serve
to explain the principle in view.
IRREGULARITIES OF CRYSTALS.
Before concluding this subject, a few remarks may be
added on the irregularities of crystals.
Crystals of the same form vary much in length, and in the
size of corresponding faces. The same mineral may occur
in very short prisms, or in long and slender prisms : and
some planes may be so enlarged as to obliterate others ;
a few figures of quartz crystals will illustrate these pecu-
liarities.
79 80 81 82
Figure 79 is the regular form of the crystal. Figure 80 is
the same form with some faces very much enlarged, and
others very small. Figure 81 is a very short prisrn and
pyramid of quartz, such as is often seen attached to the
surface of rocks ; and figure 82 is a similar form .very much
elongated. Notwithstanding all these variations, every angle
What are some of the irregularities of crystals?
46
STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
of inclination remains the same : and this is a general fact
in all crystals, that whatever distortions take place, the angles
are constant. Greater diversity is given to the shapes of
crystals by these simple variations, without multiplying the
number of distinct forms. 'Figure 83 is a tapering prism of
the same mineral, with a minute pyramid at the apex. The
faces 'of this pyramid have exactly the same inclinations as
those of figure 79.
The constancy of the angles shows that the fundamental
form of the crystal, or, in other words, the form of its mole-
cules, is constant, amid all these variations of size and shape.
Crystals have sometimes curved faces. The faces of
diamonds are usually convex, and some crystals are almost
84 spheres. Figure 84 is one of these diamond
crystals. It is the same form as is represented
in figure 45. For cutting glass, they always
select those crystals that have a natural curved
edge, as others are much inferior for the purpose
and sooner wear out. In figure 85 a different
kind of curvature is represented. It is a curved rhombohe-
85 dron, in which the opposite faces are parallel in
their curving : it is a common form of spathic iron
tnd pearl spar. The latter mineral from Lock-
port, New York, is always curved in this way.
Si ill more singular curvatures are sometimes
met with. In the mammoth cave of Kentucky,
leaves, vines and flowers are beautifully imita-
ted in alabaster. Some of the " rosettes" are
a foot in diameter, and consist of curving leaves,
clustered in graceful shapes. The frostings on
our windows in winter are often miniature pic-
.tures of forests and vines with rolled tendrils.
I It is one among the many singular results of
k crystallization. On the cool mornings of spring
;or autumn, in this climate, twigs of plants are
I occasionally found encircled by fibrous icy
curls, (fig. 86,) which are attached vertically to
the stem. They are formed during the night,
and disappear soon after the appearance of the
sun.
What is said of curved crystals ?
gypsum ? of ice ?
What of curved crystallizations of
MEASUREMENT OF CRYSTALS.
47
ON MEASURING ANGLES OF CRYSTALS.
As the angles of crystals are constant, minerals, as has
been stated, may often be distinguished by measuring these
angles. This is done by means of instruments called goni-
ometers, a term meaning, literally, angle-measurers.* These
are of two kinds ; one is called the common goniometer, the
other the reflecting goniometer.
The common goniometer depends on the 87
very simple principle that when two straight
lines cross one another, as A E, C D in the
annexed figure 87, the parts will diverge
equally on opposite sides of the point of in- '
tersection (O) ; that is, in mathematical language, the angle
A O D is equal to the angle C O E, and A O C is equal to D O E.
The instrument in common use is here represented.
It consists of two arms, a &, c d, moving on a pivot at o : the arms
open and shut, and their divergence, or the angle they make
with one another, is read off on the graduated arc attached.
In using it, press up between them, the edge of the crystal
whose angle is to be measured, and continue opening the arms
thus till the inner edges lie evenly against the faces that include
How are the angles of crystals measured? Explain the principle of
the common goniometer from the figure. Explain the common goni-
ometer and its use.
* From the Greek gonu, angle, and meiron, measure.
48 STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
the required angle. To insure accuracy in this respect, hold
the instrument and crystal between the eye and the light,
and observe that no light passes between the arm and the
applied faces of the crystal. The arms may then be secured
in position by tightening the screw at o ; the angle will then
be measured by the distance on the arc from k to the left
or outer edge of the arm c d, this edge being in the line of
o, the center of motion. As the instrument stands in the
figure, it reads 45. The arms have slits at g h, n p, by
which they may be shortened so as to make them more con-
venient for measuring small crystals.
In some instruments of this kind the arc is detached from
the arms. When this is the case, after the measurement is
made and the screw at o tightened, the arc (which has the
shape ofafb in the annexed figure, except that from a to b
is a solid bar) is adjusted to the upper edge of one of the
arms, bringing the mark at o, the center, exactly to the center of
divergence of the arms. The angle is then read off as before.
With a little ingenuity the student may construct a goni-
ometer for himself that will answer a good purpose. A semi-
circle may be described on mica or a glazed card, of the
shape in figure 88 : it should then be divided into halves at
y, and again each half subdivided into nine equal parts.
Each of these parts measures 10 degrees ; and if they are
next divided into ten equal parts, each of these small divisions
will be degrees. The semi-circle may then be cut out, and
is ready for use. The arms might also be made of stiff card
for temporary use ; but mica, bone or metal is better. The
arms should have the edges straight and accurately parallel,
and be pivoted together. The instrument may be used like
that last described, and \vill give approximate results, suffi-
ciently near for distinguishing most minerals. The ivory
rule accompanying boxes of mathematical instruments, having
upon it a scale of sines for measuring angles, will answer
an excellent purpose, and is as con- 89
venient as the arc. The annexed
figure will illustrate the mode of
using it. The scale is graduated
along the margin, the middle point
marking 90, and the divisions
either side 10 degrees (as in the figure) and also single de-
How is it used when the arms are detached 1 How may a temporary
goniometer be made ? How may a scale of sines be used ?
MEASUREMENT OF CRYSTALS. 49
grees. The arms are so applied to the scale, that the center
of motion is exactly at the extremity of the middle line,
marked 90 ; and the leg crossing the scale (or that edge of it
in the line of the center of motion) will then indicate by its
position over the graduated margin, the angle desired.*
In making such measurements it is important to remember
that
1. An angle A O D (figure 87) and A O C, together,
equal 180 ; so that if A O C be measured, A O D is ascer-
tained by subtracting A O C from 180.
2. In a rhomb or rhomboid, b a b and a b a, to-
gether, equal 180 ; and one may be ascertained
by subtracting the other from 180. If an obtuse
angle of a rhombic prism has been measured and
found to be 110, and the acute angle on measurement is as-
certained to be 60, the student should add the two together
to find whether the sum is 180 ; for if not, there is some
error in the measurement^ and it should be repeated. IIO^
added to 60 makes 170 J , showing in this case an error
of 10.
3. In any polygon, the sum of the angles is equal to twice
as many right angles as there are sides less two. Let the
number of sides, for example, be 6 : 6 less two is 4 ; and
tfie angles together equal twice 4, (or 8,) right angles, which
is equivalent to 8 X 90 =720. If we have a prism of six
sides, and wish to ascertain the angles between these sides,
the angles should be measured successively, and the whole
added together to ascertain whether the measurements are
correct. If the sum is 720, there is good reason to confide
in them. Crystals are at times a little irregular ; and this
should be looked to, as part of the apparent error may at
times be thus accounted for. This general principle and the
What three points must be observed in making measurements ?
* Another mode for approximate results consists in holding the crys-
tal with the two faces (whose inclination is to be measured) in an
exactly vertical position over a piece of paper : then place a small rule
parallel, as near as the eye can judge, to one face, and draw a line ; next
do the same for the other face. The angle between the two lines,
measured either by an arc or the ivory rule just mentioned, is the
desired inclination. With practice, much skill may be acquired in
such trials. They may be made with microscopic crystals under a
microscope.
50
STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
preceding, which is only a simpler case of the same, are of
great importance in the measurements of crystals.
Reflecting Goniometer. The reflecting goniometer affords
a more accurate method of measuring crystals that have
luster, and may be used with those of minute size. The
principle on which this instrument is constructed will be un-
derstood from the annexed figure (fig. 90) representing a
crystal, whose angle a b c is required.
The eye, looking at the face of the
crystal b c, observes a reflected image
of m, in the direction P n. On revolving,
the crystal till a b has the position of
b c, the same image will be seen again in
the same direction P n. As the crystal
is turned, in this revolution, till a b d has the present position
of b c, the angle d b c measures the number of degrees
through which it is revolved. But d b c, subtracted from
180, equals the angle of the crystal a b c. The crystal is
therefore passed in its revolution through a number of de-
grees, which, subtracted from 180, give the required angle.
This angle, in the reflecting goniometer of Wollaston, is
measured by attaching the crystal to a graduated circle which
revolves with it, as here represented (fig. 91.)
A B is the graduated cir-
cle. The wheel, m, is at-
tached to the main axis, and
moves the graduated circle
together with the adjusted
crystal. The wheel, n, is
* connected with an axis
which passes through the
main axis, (which is hollow
for the purpose,) and moves
merely the parts to which
the crystal is attached, in
order to assist in its adjust,
ment. The contrivances for
the adjustment of the crystal
are at p, q, r, s. To use the instrument, it must be placed on
a small stand or a table, and so elevated as to allow the ob-
server to rest his elbows on the table. The whole, thus
Explain the principle of the reflecting goniometer,
of using the instrument.
Explain the mode
MEASUREMENT OF CRYSTALS. 51
firmly arranged, is to be placed in front of a window, distant
from the same from six to twelve feet, and with the axis of
the instrument parallel to it. Preparatory to operation, a
dark line must be drawn below the window near the floor,
parallel to the bars of the window ; or, what is better, on a
slate or board placed before the observer on the table.
The crystal is attached to the movable plate, ^, by a piece
of wax, and so arranged that the edge of intersection of the
two planes forming the required angle, shall be in a line with
the axis of the instrument. This is done by varying its
situation on the plate, , or the situation of the plate itself, or
by means of the adjacent joints and wheel, r, s, p, as will be
readily understood from the instrument.
When apparently adjusted, the eye must be brought close
to the crystal, nearly in contact with it, and on looking into
a face, part of the window will be seen reflected, one bar of
which must be selected for the trial. If the crystal is cor-
rectly adjusted, the selected bar will appear horizontal, and
on turning the wheel, n, till this bar, as reflected, is observed
to approach the dark line below, seen in a direct view, it will
be found to be parallel to this dark line, and ultimately to
coincide with it. If there is not a perfect coincidence, the
adjustment must be altered until this coincidence is obtained.
Continue then the revolution of the wheel, n, till the same
bar is seen by reflection in the next face, and if here there
is also a coincidence of the reflected bar with the dark line
seen direct, the adjustment is complete ; if not, alterations
must be made, and the first face again tried. A few succes-
sive trials of the faces, will enable one to obtain a perfect
adjustment.
The circle A B is usually graduated to half degrees, and
by means of the vernier, t>, minutes are measured. After
adjustment, 180 D on the arc must be brought opposite 0, on
the vernier. The coincidence of the bar and dark line is
then to be obtained, by turning the wheel, n. When ob-
tained, the wheel, m, should be turned until the same coinci-
dence is observed, by means of the next face of the crystal.
If a line on the graduated circle now corresponds with on
the vernier, the angle is immediately determined by the
number of degrees opposite this line. If no line corresponds
with 0, we must observe which line on the vernier coincides
with one on the circle. If it is the 18th on the vernier, and
the line on the circle next below on the vernier marks 125,
52 STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
the required angle is 121 18' ; if this line marks 125 30',
the required angle is 125 48'.
Some goniometers are furnished with a small polished re-
flector, attached to the foot of the instrument below the part
s, q, which is placed at an oblique angle so as to reflect a bar
of the window. The reflected bar then answers the purpose
of the line drawn below the window, (or on a slate,) and is
more conveniently used.
Other modes of adjustment for the crystal, are also used ;
but they will explain themselves to the student acquainted
with the above explanations, and need not here be dwelt
upon.
MASSIVE MINERALS, OR IMPERFECT CRYSTALLIZATIONS.
Massive or imperfectly crystallized minerals either consist
of fibers or minute columns, of leaves or laminae, or of grains :
in the fast, the structure is said to be columnar ; in the
second, lamellar ; in the third, granular. We have a familiar
example of the lamellar structure in slate rocks and many
minerals that occur in masses made up of separable laminae.
The fibrous or columnar structure is common in seams of
rocks, and sometimes in incrustations covering exposed sur-
faces ; the material of the seam or crust is made up of mi-
nute fibers or prisms closely compacted together, produced
by a rapid crystallization on the supporting surface. The
granular structure is well seen in loaf sugar and statuary
marble.
1. COLUMNAR STRUCTURE. The following are explana-
tions of the terms used in describing the different kinds of
columnar structure.
Fibrous ; when the columns are minute and lie in the
same direction ; as gypsum and asbestus. Fibrous minerals
very commonly have a silky luster : a fibrous variety of
gypsum, and one of calc spar, have this luster very strongly,
and each is often called satin spar.
Reticulated ; when the fibers, or columns, cross in various
directions, and produce an appearance having some resem-
blance to a net.
Stellated ; when they radiate from a center in all direc-
tions, and produce a star-like appearance. Ex. stilbite,
gypsum.
What kinds of structure exist in massive minerals ] Explain the dif-
ferent varieties of columnar structure, fibrous; reticulated, &c.
IMPERFECT CRYSTALLIZATIONS. 53
Radiated, divergent ; when the crystals radiate from a
center, without producing stellar forms. Ex. quartz, gray
antimony.
2. LAMELLAR STRUCTURE. In the lamellar structure, the
laminae or leaves may be thick, or very thin ; they some-
times separate easily, and sometimes with great difficulty.
When the laminae are thin and separate easily, the struc-
ture is said to be foliaceous. Mica is a striking example,
and the term micaceous is often used to describe this
structure.
When the laminae are thick, the term tabular is often ap-
plied ; quartz and heavy spar afford examples.
The laminae may be elastic, as in mica., flexible, as in talc
or graphite, or brittle, as in diallage.
Small laminae are sometimes arranged in stellar ghapes ;
this occurs in mica.
3. GRANULAR STRUCTURE. When the grains in the
texture of a mineral are coarse, it is said to be coarsely gran-
ular, as in granular marble ; when fine, finely granular, as
in granular quartz ; and if no grains can be detected with
the eye, the structure is described as impalpable, as in
chalcedony.
Granular minerals, when easily crumbled by the fingers,
are said to be friable.
IMITATIVE SHAPES. Massive minerals also take certain
imitative shapes, not peculiar to cither of these varieties of
structure. The following terms are used in describing imi-
tative forms :
Globular; when the shape is spherical or nearly so : the
structure may be columnar and radiating, or it may be con-
centric, consisting of coats like an onion. When they are
attached, they are called implanted globules.
Eeniform ; kidney-shaped. In structure, they are like
globular shapes.
Botryoida,L ; when a surface consists of a group of rounded
prominences. The prominences or globules usually consist
of fibers radiating from the center.
Mammillary ; resembling the botryoidal, but consisting of
larger prominences.
Filiform ; like a thread.
Acicular ; slender like a needle.
Explain the varieties of lamellar structure ; of granular structure ; the
several imitative shapes, globular ; reniform, &c.
5*
54 STRUCTURE OF MINERALS.
Stalactitic ; having the form of a cylinder, or cone, hang-
ing from the roofs of cavities or caves. The term stalactite
is usually restricted to the cylinders of carbonate of lime
hanging from the roofs of caverns : but other minerals are
said to have a stalactitic form when resembling these in their
general shape and origin. Chalcedony and brown iron ore
are often stalactitic.
Reticulated ; net-like.
Drusy ; a surface is said to be drusy when covered with
minute crystals.
Amorphous ; having no regular structure or form, either
crystalline or imitative. The word is from the Greek, and
means without shape.
PSEUDOMORPHOUS CRYSTALS.
A pseudomorphous* crystal is one that has a form which is
foreign to the species to which the substance belongs.
Crystals sometimes undergo a change of composition from
aqueous or some other agency, without losing their form ;
for example, octahedrons of spinel change to steatite, still
retaining the octahedral form. Cubes of pyrites are changed
to red or brown iron ore.
Again : crystals are sometimes removed entirely, and at the
same time and with equal progress, another mineral is sub-
stituted ; for example, when cubes of fluor spar are trans-
formed to quartz. The petrifaction of wood is of the same
kind.
Again : cavities left empty by a decomposed crystal, are
refilled by another species by infiltration, and the new
mineral takes on the external form of the original mineral,
as a fused metal the form of the mould into which it is cast.
Again : crystals are sometimes incrusted over by other
minerals, as cubes of fluor by quartz ; and when the fluor is
afterwards dissolved away, as sometimes happens, hollow
cubes of quartz are left.
The first kind of pseudomorphs, are pseudomorphs by al-
teration ; the second, pseudomorphs by replacement ; the
What is a pseudomorphous crystal ? What is the first, the second,
the third and the fourth mode of pseudomorphism 1 What are they
called]
* From the Greek pseudes, false, and morphe, form.
LUSTER OF MINERALS. 55
third, pseudomorphs by infiltration ; the fourth, pseudomorphs
by incrustation*
Pseudomorphous crystals are distinguished by having a
different structure and cleavage from that of the mineral
imitated in form, and a different hardness, and usually little
luster.
A large number of minerals have been met with as pseu-
domorphs. The causes of such changes have operated very
widely and produced important geological results.
CHAPTER III. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF
MINERALS.
CHARACTERS DEPENDING ON LIGHT.
The characters depending on light are of Jive kinds, and
arise from the power of minerals to reflect, transmit, or emit
light. They are as follows :
1. Luster; 2. Color; 3. Diaphaneity; 4. Refraction;
5. Phosphorescence.
LUSTER.
90. The luster of minerals depends on the nature of their
surfaces, which causes more or less light to be reflected.
There are different degrees of intensity of luster, and also
different kinds of luster.
a. The kinds of luster are six, and are named from some
familiar object or class of objects.
1. Metallic : the usual luster of metals. Imperfect me-
tallic luster is expressed by the term sub-metallic.
2. Vitreous : the luster of broken glass. An imperfect
vitreous luster is termed sub-vitreous. Both the vitreous and
sub -vitreous lusters are common. Quartz possesses the
former in an eminent degree ; calcareous spar often the lat-
ter. This luster may be exhibited by minerals of any color.
3. Resinous : luster of the yellow resins. Ex. opal, zinc
blende.
4. Pearly : like pearl. Ex. talc, native magnesia, stil-
bite, &c. When united with sub-metallic luster, the term
metallic -pearly is applied.
How are pseudomorphous crystals distinguished 1 What characters
depend-on light ? Explain the varieties of luster, metallic, vitreous, &c.
* This subject is farther treated of by the author in the Araer. Jour,
of Science, vol. xlviii, pp. 66, 81, 397.
56 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS.
5. Silky : like silk ; it is the result of a fibrous structure.
Ex. fibrous carbonate of lime, fibrous gypsum, and many
fibrous minerals, more especially those which in other forms
have a pearly luster.
6. Adamantine : the luster of the diamond. When sub-
metallic, it is termed metallic-adamantine. Ex. some varie-
ties of white lead ore.
b. The degrees of intensity are denominated as follows :
1. Splendent : when the surface reflects light with great
brilliancy, and gives well defined images. Ex. Elba iron
ore, tin ore, some specimens of quartz and pyrites.
2. Shining : when an image is produced, but not a well
defined image. Ex. calcareous spar, celestine.
3. Glistening : when there is a general reflection from
the surface, but no image. Ex. talc, copper pyrites.
4. Glimmering : when the reflection is very imperfect,
and apparently from points scattered over the surface. Ex.
flint, chalcedony.
A mineral is said to be dull when there is a total absence
of luster. Ex. chalk.
COLOR.
In distinguishing minerals, both the external color and the
color of a surface that has been rubbed or scratched, are
observed. The latter is called the streak, and the powder
abraded, the streak-powder.
The colors are either metallic or non-metallic.
The metallic are named after some familiar metal, as
copper-red, bronze -yellow, brass-yellow, gold-yellow, steel-
gray, lead-gray, iron-gray.
The non-metallic colors used in characterizing minerals,
are various shades of white, gray, Hack, blue, green, yellow,
red and brown.
There are thus snow-white, reddish- white, greenish-white,
milk-white, yellowish-white ;
Bluish-gray, smoke-gray, greenish-gray, pearl-gray, ash-
gray ;
Velvet-black, greenish-black, bluish-black ;
Azure-blue, violet-blue, sky-blue, Indigo-blue ;
Emerald-green, olive-green, oil-green, grass-green, apple-
green, blackish-green, pistachio-green (yellowish) ;
What is observed respecting color?
COLOR OF MINERALS. 57
Sulphur-yellow, straw-yellow, wax-yellow, ochre-yellow,
honey-yellow, orange-yellow ;
Scarlet-red, blood-red, flesh-red, brick-red, hyacinth-red,
rose-red, cherry-red ;
Hair-brown, reddish-brown, chesnut-brown, yellowish-
brown, pinchbeck-brown, wood-brown.
A play of colors : this expression is used when several
prismatic colors appear in rapid succession on turning the
mineral. The diamond is a striking example ; also precious
Change of colors : when the colors change slowly on turn-
ing in different positions, as in labradorite.
Opalescence : when there is a milky or pearly reflection
from the interior of a specimen, as in some opals, and in
cat's eye.
Iridescence : when prismatic colors are seen within a
crystal ; it is the effect of fracture, and is common in
quartz.
Tarnish : when the surface colors differ from the interior ;
it is the result of exposure. The tarnish is described as
irised, when it has the hues of the rainbow.
Polychroism :* the property, belonging to some prismatic
crystals, of presenting a different color in different directions.
The term dichroism^ has been generally used, and implies
different colors in two directions, as in the mineral iolite,
which has been named dichroite because of the different
colors presented by the bases and sides of the prism. Mica
is another example of the same. The more general term has
been introduced, because a different shade of color has been
observed in more than two directions.
These different colors are observed only in crystals with
unequal axes. The colors are the same in the direction of
equal axes, and often unlike in the direction of unequal axes.
This is the general principle at the basis of polychroism.
What is a play of colors 1 change of colors 1 opalescence? irides-
cence ? tarnish ? dichroism and polychroism ? Mention examples of
this last property ; also the law relating to it.
* From the Greek polus, many, and chroa, color.
tFrom the Greek dis, twice, and chroa.
58 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS.
DIAPHANEITY.
Diaphaneity is the property which many objects possess
of transmitting light ; or in other words, of permitting more
or less light to pass through them. This property is often
called transparency, but transparency is properly one of the
degrees of diaphaneity. The following terms are used to
express the different degrees of this property :
Transparent : a mineral is said to be transparent when
the outlines of objects, viewed through it, are distinct. Ex.
glass, crystals of quartz.
Subtransparent, or semitransparent : when objects are seen
but their outlines are indistinct.
Translucent : when light is transmitted, but objects are not
seen. Loaf sugar is a good example ; also Carrara marble.
Subtranslucent : when merely the edges transmit light
faintly. When no light is transmitted, the mineral is de-
scribed as opaque.
REFRACTION AND POLARIZATION.
Light is always bent out of its course on passing from one
medium into another of different density : as from air into
water, or from water into air. This bending of the rays of
light is called refraction. Thus if a ray of light, as R S,
pass into water at S, it becomes changed
in direction to S U, instead of going
straight in its course, R S T. The line
a S c is a perpendicular to the surface of
the water, and the greater refraction of
the water is seen by the bending of the
ay toward this perpendicular. If a
circle be described about S as a center,
and the lines R a and U b be drawn perpendicular to a c, or
parallel to the surface of the water, we see by these lines
the exact relation between the amount of refraction in these
two cases ; for the refraction in water is as much greater than
in air as U b is less than R a.* This relation is called the
What is diaphaneity ? Explain the terms transparent, &c. What
is meant by refraction ] Explain from the figure.
* In mathematical language, U b is the sine of the angle of refrac-
tion, and a R the sine of the angle a S R, the angle of incidence ; the
ratio between the two sines is constant, it being alike for every angle of
incidence.
REFRACTION AND POLARIZATION OF LIGHT. 59
index of refraction. It is about 1 J for water, or more accu-
rately, 1*335. With diamond, the ray would be bent in the
direct S V, which indicates a much greater amount of re-
fraction ; its index is nearly 2, or correctly, 2.439. The
eye at R, looking into a diamond in the direction R S, would
see an object in the direction of S V, and not in that of S T.
The index of refraction has been obtained for many sub-
stances, of which the following are a few :
Air, 1-000 Calc spar, 1-654
Tabasheer, 1-211 Spinel, 1-764
Ice, 1-308 Sapphire, 1-794
Cryolite, 1-349 Garnet, 1-815
Water, 1-335 Zircon, 1-961
Fluorspar, 1-434 Blende, 2-260
Rock salt, 1-557 Diamond, 2-439
Quartz, 1-548 Chromate of lead, 2-974
DOUBLE REFRACTION. Many crystals possess the pro-
perty of refracting light in two directions, instead of one, and
objects seen through them consequently appear double.
This is called double refraction. It is most conveniently
exhibited with a crystal of calc spar, and was first noticed
in a pellucid variety of this mineral from Iceland, called from
the locality Iceland spar. On drawing a line on paper and
placing the crystal over it, two lines are seen instead of one
one by ordinary refraction, the other by an extraordinary
refraction. If the crystal, as it lies over the line, be turned
around, when it is in one position the two lines w T ill come
together. Instead of a line, make a dot on the paper, and
place the crystal over the dot : the two dots seen will not
come together on revolving the crystal, but will seem to re-
volve one around the other. The dot will, in fact, appear
double through the crystal in every direction except that of
the vertical axis, and this direction is called the axis of double
refraction. To view it in this direction, the ends must be
ground and polished. The divergence increases on passing
from a view in the direction of the axis to one at right angles
with it, where it is greatest. In some substances, the re-
fraction of the extraordinary ray is greater in the latter
direction than that of the ordinary ray, and in others it is less.
What is double refraction 1 What takes place on revolving a trans-
parent rhomb of calc spar over a line or dot ? In what direction is there
no double refraction, and in which is it greatest ?
60
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS.
In calc spar it is less, it diminishing from 1'654 to 1-483.
In quartz it is greater, it increasing from 1*5484 to T5582.
The former is said to have a negative axis, the latter a
positive.
This property of double refraction belongs to such of the
fundamental forms as have unequal axes ; that is, to all except
those of the monometric system. Those forms in which the
lateral axes are equal, (the dimetric and hexagonal systems,)
have one axis of double refraction ; and those in which they
are unequal, (the trimetric, monoclinate and triclinate sys-
tems,) have two axes of double refraction.*
Both rays in the latter are rays of extraordinary refraction.
In niter, the two axes are inclined about 5 to each other ;
in arragonite, 18 18 ; in topaz, 65. The positions of the
axes thus vary widely in different minerals.
POLARIZATION. The extraordinary ray exhibits a pecu-
liar property of light, termed polarization. Viewed by means
of another doubly-refracting crystal, or crystalline plate,
(called from this use of it an analyzing plate,) the ray of light
becomes alternately visible and invisible as the latter plate
is revolved. If the polarized light be made to pass through
a crystal possessed of double refraction, and then be viewed
in the manner stated, rings of prismatic colors are developed,
93 94 95
and on revolving the analyzing plate, the colored rings and
What is meant by positive and negative double refraction ? What
crystalline forms exhibit double refraction ? which have one and which
two axes of double refraction 1 What are the effects due to polarization ?
* The figures in the note to page 42, represent the form of the mole-
cules corresponding to these three conditions : 1, a sphere; 2, an ellip-
soid with equal transverse axes ; 3, an ellipsoid with unequal lateral
PHOSPHORESCENCE. 61
intervening dark rings successively change places. If crys-
talline plates, having one axis of double refraction, be viewed
in the direction of the axis, the rings are circles, and they
are crossed by a dark or light cross. Figure 93 shows the
position of the colored rings and cross in calc spar, and
figure 94, the same at intervals of 90 3 in the revolution of
the plate. With a crystal having two axes of double refrac-
tion, there are two series of elliptical rings, as in figures 95,
96 ; these figures show the character of the rings in niter,
the latter alternating with the former in the revolution of the
plate.
The same results are produced when the light is polarized
by other means. For example, if a ray of light be reflected
from a plate of glass at a certain angle, (56 D 45',) it is polar-
ized ; and on causing this ray to pass through crystals, as
above, similar rings are shown with the same succession of
changes on revolving the analyzing plate.
There are some monometric
crystals which have the property
of polarization. The accompany-
ing figure of a crystal of analcime,
by Sir David Brewster, exhibits a
singular symmetrical arrangement
of lines of prismatic colors and
dark alternating lines with cross
bands, producing a very brilliant
effect. An irregular polarization
has also been detected in some
diamonds.
PHOSPHORESCENCE .
Several minerals give out light either by friction or when
gently heated. This property of emitting light is called
phosphorescence.
Two pieces of white sugar struck against one another give
a feeble light, which may be seen in a dark place. The
same effect is obtained on striking together fragments of
quartz, and even the passing of a feather rapidly over some
specimens of zinc blende, is sufficient to elicit light.
Fluor spar is the most convenient mineral for showing
phosphorescence by heat. On powdering it, and throwing
What is said of the appearance of certain crystals in polarized light 1
What is phosphorescence I Mention examples explaining the different
modes of exhibiting it.
6
62 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS.
it on a shovel heated nearly to redness, the whole takes OH
a bright glow. In some varieties, the light is emerald green ;
in others, purple, rose, or orange. A massive fluor, from
Huntington, Connecticut, shows beautifully the emerald .
green phosphorescence.
Some kinds of white marble, treated in the same way,
give out a bright yellow light.
After being heated for a while, the mineral loses its
phosphorescence ; but a few electric shocks will, in many
cases, to some degree, restore it again.
ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM.
ELECTRICITY. Many minerals become electrified on
being rubbed, so that they will attract cotton and other light
substances ; and when electrified, some exhibit positive, and
others negative electricity, when brought near a delicately
suspended magnetic needle. The diamond, whether polished
or not, always exhibits positive electricity, while other gems
become negatively electric in the rough state, and positive
only in the polished state. Friction with a feather is suffi-
cient to excite electricity in some varieties of blende. Some,
minerals, thus electrified, retain the power of electric attrac-
tion for many hours, as topaz, while others lose it in a few
minutes.
Many minerals become electric when heated, and such
species are said to be pyro-electric, from the Greek pur, fire,
and electric.
If a prism of tourmaline, after being heated, be placed on
a delicate frame, which turns on a pivot like a magnetic
needle, on bringing a magnet near it, one extremity will be
attracted, the other repelled, thus indicating the polarity al-
luded to. The same is better shown if the ends of the crystal
be brought near the poles of a delicately suspended magnetic
needle. The prisms of tourmaline have different secondary
planes at the two extremities, or, as it is expressed, are hemi-
hedrally modified (page 37.)
Several other minerals have this peculiar electric property,
especially boracite and topaz, which, like tourmaline, are
hemihedral in their modifications. Boracite crystallizes in
Will electricity restore the phosphorescent property when it is lost by
heating a mineral ? What two modes are there of exciting electricity
in minerals 1 What is said of the diamond as compared with other
gems ? What is a pyro-electric 1 What is said of tourmaline 1 what
of topaz and boracite 1
SPECIFIC GRAVITY. 63
cubes, with only the alternate solid angles similarly replaced
(figs. 40, 41, page 37.) Each solid angle, on heating the
crystals, becomes an electric pole ; the angles diagonally
opposite, are differently modified and have opposite polarity.
MAGNETISM. Lodestone includes certain specimens of an
ore of iron, called magnetic oxyd of iron, having the power
of attraction like a magnet ; it is common in many ore beds
where this ore of iron occurs. When mounted like a horse-
shoe magnet, a good lodestone w r ill lift a weight of many
pounds. This is the only mineral that has decided magnetic
attraction. But several ores containing iron are attracted by
the magnet, or, when brought near a magnetic needle, will
cause it to vibrate ; and moreover, the metals nickel, cobalt,
manganese, palladium, platinum and osmium, have been
found to be slightly magnetic.
Many minerals become attractable by the magnet after
being heated, that are not so before heating. This arises
from a partial reduction, developing the protoxyd of iron.
SPECIFIC GRAVITY.
The specific gravity of a mineral is its \veight compared
with that of some substance, taken as a standard. For solids
and liquids, distilled water at 60' F. is the standard ordinarily
used ; and if a mineral weighs twice as much as water, its
specific gravity is 2 ; if three times, it is 3. It is then
necessaiy to compare the weight of the mineral with the
weight of an equal bulk of water. The process is as follows :
First weigh a fragment of the mineral in the ordinary way,
with a delicate pair of scales : next sus- 98
pend the mineral by a hair or fiber of ,
silk to one of the scales, immerse it thus
suspended in a tumbler of water, (keep-
ing the scales clear of the water,) and
weigh it again : subtract the second weight
from theirs/, to ascertain the loss by im-
mersion, and divide the first by the dif- afca
ference obtained : the result is the spe- DM
cific gravity. The loss by immersion is
What ore is at times possessed of magnetic attraction ? What is
said of other minerals as regards magnetism ? What is specific gravity 1
Explain. Mention the mode of ascertaining specific gravity.
64 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS.
equal to the weight of the same bulk of water as the
mineral.*
A better and more simple process than the above, and one
available for porous as well as compact minerals, is per-
formed with a light glass bottle, capable of holding exactly a
thousand grains (or any known weight) of distilled water.
The specimen should be reduced to a coarse powder. Pour
out a few drops of water from the bottle, and weigh it ; then
add the powdered mineral till the water is again to the brim,
and reweigh it : the difference in the two weights, divided
by the loss of water poured out, is the specific gravity sought.
The weight of the glass bottle itself is here supposed to be
balanced by an equivalent weight in the other scale.
HARDNESS.
The comparative hardness of minerals is easily ascer-
tained, and should be the first character attended to by the
student in examining a specimen. It is only necessary to
draw the file across the specimen, or to make trials of scratch-
ing one with another. As standards of comparison, the
following minerals have been selected, increasing gradually
in hardness from talc, which is very soft and easily cut with
a knife, to the diamond, which nothing will cut. This table
is called the scale of hardness.
1, talc, common foliated variety ; 2, rock salt; 3, calc spar,
transparent variety ; 4, fluor spar, crystallized variety; 5,
apatite, transparent crystal ; ,6, feldspar, cleavable variety ;
7, quartz, transparent variety ; 8, topaz, transparent crystal ;
9, sapphire, cleavable variety; 10, diamond.
If on drawing a file across a mineral, it is impressed as
easily asfluor spar, the hardness is said to be 4 ; if as easily
a.sfeldspar,ihe hardness is said to be 6 ; if more easily than
What other mode is fitted for porous as well as compact minerals 1
How is the hardness of minerals ascertained ? What is the scale of
hardness 1 Explain its use. What directions are given for trials of
hardness ?
* For perfectly accurate results, the most delicate scales and weights
should be used, and great care be observed in the trial. The purity and
temperature of the water should also be attended to, and the height of
the barometer. For the latter, an allowance is made for any variation
from a height of 30 inches. The temperature of water at its maximum
density, or at 39 1 F., is recommended as preferable to 60 F.
FRACTURE. 65
I
feldspar, but with more difficulty than apatite, its hardness is
described as 5 or 5'5.
The file should be run across the mineral three or four
times, and care should be taken to make the trial on angles
equally blunt, and on parts of the specimen not altered b}
exposure. Trials should also be made by scratching the
specimen under examination with the minerals in the above
scale, as sometimes, owing to a loose aggregation of particles,
the file wears down the specimen rapidly, although the par-
ticles are very hard.
STATE OP AGGREGATION.
Solid minerals may be either brittle, sectile, malleable,
flexible or elastic. Fluids are either gaseous or liquid.
1. Brittle : when parts of the mineral separate in powder
on attempting to cut it.
2. Seclile : when thin pieces may be cut off with a knife
but the mineral pulverises under a hammer.
3. Malleable : when slices may be cut off, and these slices
will flatten out under the hammer. Example, native gold
and silver.
4. Flexible : when the mineral will bend, and remain bent
after the bending force is removed. Example, talc.
5. Elastic : when after being bent, it will spring back to
its original position. Example, mica.
A liquid is said to be viscous, when on pouring it the drops
lengthen and appear ropy. Example, petroleum.
FRACTURE.
The following are the several kinds of fracture in minerals :
1. Conchoidal : when the mineral breaks with a curved,
or concave and convex surface of fracture. The word con-
choidal is from the Latin concha, a shell. Flint is a good
example.
2. Even : when the surface of fracture is nearly or quite
flat.
3. Uneven : when the surface of fracture is rough with
numerous small elevations and depressions.
4. Hackly : when the elevations are sharp or jagged, as
in broken iron.
Explain the use of the term brittle ; sectile ; malleable, &c. Explain
the use of the term conchoidal ; even ; uneven.
6*
66 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS.
TASTE.
Taste belongs only to the soluble minerals ; the kinds are
1. Astringent: the taste of vitriol.
2. Sweetish-astringent : the taste of alum.
3. Saline : taste of common salt.
4. Alkaline : taste of soda.
5. Cooling : taste of saltpeter.
6. Bitter : taste of epsom salts.
7. Sour: taste of sulphuric acid.
ODOR.
Excepting a few gases and soluble minerals, minerals in
the dry, unchanged state, do not give off odor. By friction,
moistening with the breath, the action of acids and the blow-
pipe, odors are sometimes obtained, which are thus designated :
1. Alliaceous : the odor of garlic. It is the odor of burn-
ing arsenic, and is obtained by friction and more distinctly
by means of the blowpipe from several arsenical ores.
2. Horse-radish odor : the odor of decaying horse-radish.
It is the odor of burning selenium, and is strongly perceived
when ores of this metal are heated before the blowpipe.
3. Sulphureous : odor of burning sulphur. Friction will
elicit this odor from pyrites, and heat from many sulphurets.
4. Fetid : the odor of rotten eggs or sulphuretted hydrogen.
It is elicited by friction from some varieties of quartz and
limestone.
5. Argillaceous: the odor of moistened clay. It is given
off by serpentine and some allied minerals when breathed
upon. Others, as pyrargillite, afford it when heated.
CHAPTER IV. CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF
MINERALS.
ACTION OF ACIDS.
Acids are used in distinguishing certain minerals that are
decomposed by them. The acids employed are either the
sulphuric, muriatic, or nitric. Carbonate of lime, (calca-
What taste is astringent 1 sweetish astringent 1 saline ? What will
develop odor in some minerals ] What is understood by an alliaceous
odor ? What mineral when heated produces this odor 1 What is the
odor of fumes of selenium 1 How is a sulphureous odor obtained from
certain minerals 1 What gas has a fetid odor 1 What is an argilla-
ceous odor ?
CSE OF THR BLOWPIPE.
67
reous spar,) when dropped into either of these acids gives off
bubbles of gas, which effect is called effervescence. The
same result takes place with some other minerals. The
acid used in these tests, should be half water ; and to avoid
error, it is best to put a little of it in a test tube, and drop in
small fragments of the coarsely powdered mineral. Some-
times heat will cause an effervescence, which does not take
place with cold acid. Often effervescence arises from some
impurity present, which is discontinued before the solution
of the mineral in the acid is complete.
Other minerals, that do not effervesce in the acids, be-
come changed to a jelly-like mass. For trials of this kind,
the strong acids should generally be used. The powdered
mineral is allowed to remain for a while in the acid, and
gradually a jelly-like mass is formed. Often heat is required,
and in that case, the jelly appears, as the solution cools.
The minerals belonging to the zeolite family more especially
undergo this change from the action of acids, and it arises
from the separation of their silica in a gelatinous state.
100
BLOWPIPE.
To ascertain the effect of heat on minerals, & small instru-
ment is used called a blow-
pipe. In its simplest form,
(fig. 100,) it is merely a bent
tube of small size, 8 to 10
inches long, terminating at
one end in a minute orifice,
not larger than a pin hole.
it is used to concentrate the
flame of a candle or lamp on
a mineral, and this is done
by blowing through it while
the smaller end is just within
the flame.
Figures 101 and 102 are
other forms of the blowpipe,
containing air chambers (o)
to receive the moisture which
is condensed in the tube
What is effervescence, and how produced ? How should the acid be
used ? How are, some minerals made to gelatinize ? On what does
iiis property depend ? What is the object of a blowpipe ?
68 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS.
during the blowing ; the moisture, unless thus removed, is
often blown through the small aperture and interferes with
the experiment. The air chamber in figure 102 is a cylin-
der, into which the tube a b c is screwed at c, and the small-
er piece d e f, at d. For the convenience of packing it
away, there is a screw at b. The part b c, after unscrewing
it, may be run into the part a I, through the large end, (a,)
and screwed up again, and thus it is half the length it has
when arranged for use. The mouth piece e f screws off,
and is made of platinum in order that it may be cleaned when
necessary by immersion in an acid. The best material for
the blowpipe is silver, or if a cheaper material is desired,
tinned iron with the piece efof brass. Brass gives a dis-
agreeable smell to the moist fingers.
In using the blowpipe, it is necessary to breathe and blow
at the same time, that the operator may not interrupt the
flame in order to take breath. Though seemingly absurd,
the necessary tact may easily be acquired. Let the student
first breathe a few times through his nostrils, while his cheeks
are inflated and his mouth closed. After this practice, let
him put the blowpipe to his mouth, and he will find no diffi-
culty in breathing as before ; while the muscles of the in-
flated cheeks are throwing the air they contain through the
blowpipe. When the air is nearly exhausted, the mouth may
again be filled through the nose without interrupting the
process of blowing.
A lamp with a large wick, so as to give a broad flame,
and fed with olive oil, is best ; but a candle is more conve-
niently carried about when travelling. The wick should be
bent in the direction the flame is to be blown.
The flame has the form of a cone, yellow without and blue
within. The heat is most intense just beyond the extremity
of the blue flame. In some trials, it is necessary that the
air should not be excluded from the mineral during the ex-
periment, and when this is the case, the outer flame is used.
The outer is called the oxydating* flame, and the inner the
reducing flame.
Explain the structure and mode of use. Whai, is said of the flame
of a candle before the blowpipe ? Which is the oxydating, and which
the reducing flame 1
* It is so called because when thus heated, oxygen, one of the con-
stituents of the atmosphere, combines in many cases with some parts
of the assay (or substance under experiment.)
USE OF THE BLOWPIPE. 69
The mineral is supported in the flame, either on charcoal,
or by moans of steel forceps, (fig. 103,) with platinum ex-
tremities {a b) ; the forceps are opened by pressing 103
on the pins p p. The charcoal should be firm
and well burnt. Charcoal is especially necessary
when the reduction of the assay needs the presence
of carbon ; and platinum when simple heat is re-
quired. Platinum foil for enveloping the mineral,
and small platinum cups are also used. When
nothing better is at hand, the mineral mica or kyan-
ite may be employed. The fragment of mineral
under trial should be less than half a pea in size,
and often a thin splinter is required.
To test the presence of water or a volatile ingre-
dient, the mineral is heated In a glass tube or test
vial. The tube may be three or four inches long
and as large as a quill. The flame is directed
against the exterior of the tube beneath the assay,
and the volatilized substance usually condenses in
the upper part of the tube. By inserting into the
upper end of the tube a strip of litmus or other
lest paper, it is ascertained whether the fumes are
acid or not.
Some species require for fusion the aid of what are
ca\\edf,uxes. Those more commonly used are borax,
salt of phosphorus, and carbonate of soda. They
are fused to a clear globule, to which the mineral is
added; or powdered and made up into a ball with
the moistened mineral in powder. In this way
some minerals are fused that cannot be attacked
otherwise, and nearly all species, as they melt, un-
dergo certain changes in color, arising from changes
in composition, which are mentioned in describing
minerals.
The above mentioned fluxes also are often required in
order to obtain the metals from the metallic ores. On heat-
ing a fragment of copper pyrites with borax, a globule of
copper is obtained ; and tin ore heated with soda yields a
globule of tin.
What instruments of appliances are used for holding minerals before
the blowpipe ? How is the presence of water ascertained ? How may
its acidity be tested ? How are the common fluxes employed, and
what is their .:e 2
70
CHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF MINERALS.
The following table contains the reactions of some of the
metallic oxyds with the ordinary fluxes :*
Borax.
Salt of Phosphorus.
Soda.
Titanic acid
O, colorless or
O, colorless, trp
Deep yw, hot ;
milky
worgyh,cold
Oxyd of iron
0,red,hot;ywh
or colorless,
O, red, hot; paler or
colorless, cold
cold
R, green or bh
Oxyd of cerium
gn
O, r ; yw on
O, fine r, hot ; col-
cooling ; w
orless, cold
enamel on
flaming
R, colorless or
w enamel
Oxyd of manga-
0, amethystine
O. amethystine
PL trp gn,hot;
nese
bh-gn, cold
Oxyd of cobalt
O, trp blue
O, blue
PI. pale r, hot ;
gray, cold
Oxyd of chrome
O,bn,hot; pale
O, green
O. PI. dull or-
gn, cold
ange ; op & y w
R, emerald-gn,
R, green
on cooling
cold
Oxyd of copper
O, green
R, colorless,
O, green
R, colorless, hot ; r
PZ.gn,hot; col,
op, cold
hot ; but sud-
on solidifying
denly opaque
and rdh on
cooling
The following are other reactions :
Nitrate of cobalt in solution added to the assay after heat-
ing to redness, and then again heated, produces before fusion
a blue color for alumina and a pale-red for magnesia.
Boracic acid fused with a phosphate produces a globule,
into which if the extremity of a small iron wire be inserted,
and the whole heated in the reduction flame, the globule at-
tached to the wire will be brittle, as proved by striking it
with a hammer on an anvil. Before this trial it should be
ascertained that no sulphuric or arsenic acid is present, which
also may form a brittle globule with the iron ; nor any
metallic oxyd reducible by the iron.
For what is nitrate of cobalt used 1
acid used 1
How and for what is boracio
* O stands for oxydating flame ; R for reducing flame ; Ch for char-
coal ; trp for transparent ; bh bluish ; yw yellow ; gn green ; r red ;
gyh grayish ; w white ; PI in platinum forceps ; op opaque.
CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS. 71
Tin-foil is used to fuse with certain peroxyds of metals to
reduce them to protoxyds. The assay, previously heated in
the reducing flame, should be touched with the end of the
tin foil ; a very minute quantity of a metallic oxyd is thus
detected.
Saltpeter added along with a flux to a compound contain-
ing manganese, gives the amethystine color, when the quan-
tity is too small to be detected without it.
Potash salts, if there is no soda present, give a slightly
violet tinge to the flame.
Soda salts give the flame a deep yellow color.
LUhia salts give the flame a reddish tinge ; the silicates
require the addition of some fluor spar and bisulphate of pot-
ash. By adding soda and heating on platinum, the lithia
stains the platinum brown.
Sulphurets, Sulphat.es. A glass made of soda and silica
becomes red or orange yellow when sulphur is present.
Heated on charcoal with soda, and then adding a drop of
water, they yield sulphuretted hydrogen, which blackens a
test paper containing acetate of lead. Sulphurets heated in
a glass tube closed below, with litmus paper above, redden
the litmus paper, and yield usually a sulphureous odor.
Seleniets give off a horse-radish odor.
Arseniurets give off an odor like garlic, which is brought
out by heating with soda in the reduction flame, if not other-
wise perceptible ; heated in a tube, orpiment is condensed.
Fluorids. Heated with salt of phosphorus, previously
melted in a glass tube, the glass is corroded ; and Brazil
paper placed in the tube becomes yellow. The salt of
losphorus for this trial should be free from all chlorids.
r itrates detonate on burning coals.
CHAP. V. CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS.
Under the term mineral, as explained, are included all
inorganic substances occurring in nature. These substan-
ces have been found to consist of various elements, some few
How and for what is tin-foil used ? saltpeter 1 What is said of the
constitution of minerals 1
* For full information on the use of the blowpipe and its reactions,
there is no better work than Berzelius on " the Use of the Blowpipe,"
translated by J. 0. Whitney. 238 pp. 8vo. Boston, 1845.
72 CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS.
species being each a simple element alone, and others con-
sisting of two or more elements in a state of combination,
The various native metals, as native gold, silver, copper,
mercury, are some of the elements. Iron ores are com-
pounds of the element iron with some other element or
elements, as oxygen, sulphur, or oxygen and carbon, &e,
Marble is a compound of three elements, calcium, oxygen
and carbon. Water consists of two elements, hydrogen and
oxygen. Diamond is the simple element carbon, which is
identical with pure charcoal. All the so-called elements of
matter are found in the mineral kingdom, either in a pure or
combined state ; and it is the object of chemical analysis
to ascertain the proportions of each in the constitution of
the several minerals. Upon these results depends to a great
degree our knowledge of those relations of the species upon
which the classification of minerals is based.
The number of elemental substances in nature, according
to the most recent results of chemistry, is fifty-nine. Of
these, forty-three are metals, and five are gases ; the re-
mainder, as, for instance, sulphur and carbon, are solids
without a metallic luster, excepting one (bromine) which is
a liquid at the ordinary temperature. Of these fifty-cine
elements, very much the larger part are of rare occurrence
in nature. The rocks of the globe, with their most common
minerals, are made up of about thirteen of the elements.
These are the gases oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, chlorine ;
the non-metallic elements carbon, sulphur, silicon j the metals
calcium, (basis of lime,) sodium, (basis of soda,) potassium,
(basis of potash,) magnesium, (basis of magnesia,) aluminium,
(basis of alumina, the principle constituent of clay,) with
iron. The element silicon combined with oxygen, forms
silica. In this state, it is the mineral quartz, the most
common in the constitution of the rocks of the globe : it
is a constituent of granite, mica slate and the allied rocks,
of the hard granular quartz rock ; and it is the essential part
of all sandstones and millstone grits, as well as the principal
ingredient of the sands of the sea shore and of most soils.
Combined with lime, potash or soda, magnesia or alumina,
and often with iron, it forms nearly all the other mineral in-
What is the number of elements, and how many nre metals ? How
many constituents are essential to the rocks of the globe, and what are
they 1 What is said., of quartz ?
CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS. 73
gradients of granite, mica slates, volcanic rocks, shales,
sandstones and various soils. No element is therefore more
important than this in the constitution of the earth's strata :
and it is specially fitted for this preeminence by its superior
hardness, a character it communicates to the rocks in which
it prevails. Next to silica, rank lime and carbon ; for carbon
with oxygen constitutes carbonic acid, and this combined
with lime, produces carbonate of lime, the ingredient which,
when occurring in extended beds, we call limestone and
marble. Again, lime combined with sulphur and oxygen,
(sulphuric acid,) makes sulphate of lime, or common gypsum.
Iron is very generally diffused ; it is one of the constituents
of many siliceous minerals, and forms vast beds of ore.
Oxygen, as has been implied, is a constituent in all the rocks
above mentioned, and besides, is an essential part of the
atmosphere and water ; it is the most universally diffused of
the elements. It is united with hydrogen in the constitu-
tion of water, and with nitrogen in the constitution of the
atmosphere. Chlorine combined with sodium constitutes
common salt, which occurs in sea water and brine springs,
and is also found in vast beds in some rock strata.
It is thus seen how few are the elements essential to the
framework of our globe. The various metallic ores, of less
general diffusion, are however of vast economical importance
to man, and multiply considerably the number of mineral
species. Those important to the general student, however,
are comparatively few. The whole number of well estab-
lished species in the mineral kingdom is about 500 ; of these,
more than two-thirds are known only to the mineralogist-
It is the province of chemistry to discuss fully the nature
of the elements, and their modes of combination* It is suf-
ficient to add here, for the benefit of any who may not have
the requisite elementary chemical knowledge, how the chem-
ical names of minerals indicate their composition. Terms
such as oxyd of iron, chlorid of iron, express a combination
of iron with the element oxygen, or chlorine ; so also sul-
phuret of iron is a compound of iron with sulphur. The
force of the terminations id or uret is always as here ex-
plained. Protoxyd and peroxyd imply different proportions
Which are the next most common ingredients of rocks 1 Mention
the other ingredients alluded to. What is an oxyd 1 a chlorid ? a il-
phuret ? a carbonate ?
7
74 CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS*
of oxygen, the latter the highest. Terms such as carbonate
of lime, sulphate of lime, indicate that the substance is com-
posed of an acid carbonic acid, or sulphuric acid in the
instances cited, with lime. So silicate of soda is a com-
pound of soda and silicic acid (or silica) ; and all such com-
pounds are theoretically said to consist of an acid and a base
lime and soda, in the cases mentioned, being bases.
The true foundation of a species in mineralogy must be
derived from crystallization^ as the crystallizing force is funda-
mental in its nature and origin ; and it is now generally admit-
ted that identity of crystalline form and structure is evidence
of identity of species. This principle unites certain distinct
chemical compounds into the same species : for example, a
silicate of magnesia and a silicate of iron crystallizing alike,
constitute but one species in mineralogy, though chemically
so different. Oxyd of iron and magnesia are themselves
nearly identical in molecular form and size, and on this fact
depends their power of replacing one another even in com-
plex compounds. They are therefore said to be isomorphous
(from the Greek isos, similar, and morpfte, form.)
There are many groups of these isomorphous substances!,
and some knowledge of them is necessary to enable the
reader to understand why different varieties of a mineral
species may differ so widely, as they often do, in composition.
Some of these groups are as follows :
1. Alumina, peroxyd of iron, peroxyd of manganese.
2. Lime, magnesia, protoxyds of iron, manganese and zinc.
3. Baryta, strontia, oxyd of lead.
4. Sulphur, selenium, tellurium.
5. Tungsten, molydenum.
6. Phosphoric acid, arsenic acid.
In cpidota the alumina may be replaced by peroxyd of
iron or manganese, and the magnesia in part or wholly by
lime, or the protoxyds of iron or manganese. The same is
true of garnet and several other minerals. The rhombohe-
drons of carbonate of lime, carbonate of iron, and carbonate
of magnesia, are very nearly identical in angle, because the
bases are ismorphous. This subject is illustrated by the
greater part of mineral species.
What is a sulphate ? a silicate ? What is the test of identity of
species in mineralogy? What are isomorphous substances? What
are the common groups of isomorphous substances in minerals ? Ex-
plain by examples.
CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS. 75
GENERAL VIEW OF THE CLASSIFICATION OF MINERALS.
The classification adopted in this work is based on the
constitution of minerals. The following is a general view
of it:
CLASS I. Gases : consisting of or containing nitrogen or
hydrogen.
CLASS IJ. Water.
CLASS III. .Carbon, and compounds of carbon.
CLASS IV. Sulphur.
CLASS V. Haloid minerals : compounds of the alkalies
and earths, with the soluble acids (sulphuric, nitric, carbonic,
&c. or water,) or of their metals with chlorine or fluorine.'
1, Salts of ammonia ; 2, of potash^ 3, of soda ; 4, of baryta;
5, of strontia ; 6, of lime ; 7, of magnesia ; 8, of alumina.
CLASS VI. Earthy minerals : silica and siliceous or alu-
minous compounds of the alkalies and earths 1, silica ; 2,
Hme ; 3, magnesia ; 4, alumina ; 5, glucina ; 6, zirconia ;
7, thoria.
CLASS VII. Metals and metallic ores, (exclusive of the
metals of the alkalies and earths) : 1, Metals easily oxydiz-
able cerium, yttrium, uranium, iron, manganese, chromium,
nickel, cobalt, zinc, cadmium, bismuth, lead, mercury, copper,
titanium, tin, molybdenum, tungsten, tellurium, antimony,
arsenic ; 2, Noble metals : platinum, indium, palladium, gold,
silver.
Explain the classification adopted.
GASEOUS MINERALS.
CLASS I. GASES.
The gases occurring native are as follows : 1. containing
or consisting of nitrogen : atmospheric air, nitrogen. 2.
containing hydrogen : carbureted hydrogen, phosphureted
hydrogen, sulphureted hydrogen, muriatic acid. 3. contain-
ing carbon or sulphur : carbonic acid, sulphurous acid.
ATMOSPHERIC AIR.
1. Atmospheric air is the air we breathe. It consists of
oxygen 21 per cent, by weight, and nitrogen 79 per cent.,
with a small proportion of carbonic acid. It has neither color,
odor, nor taste. It supports life and combustion through the
oxygen which it contains, this gas being used or absorbed
in respiration as well as in the burning of wood or a candle.
The oxygen thus consumed is restored to the air again by
vegetation which gives out oxygen through the day, and in
this way the quality of the atmosphere requisite for life is
sustained. It is about 815 times lighter than water, and
11,065 times lighter than mercury. A hundred cubic inches
weigh about 31 grains.
NITROGEN GAS.
Nitrogen destroys life, and has neither color, odor nor
taste. It is one of the constituents of the atmosphere. It
bubbles up through the waters of many springs, having been
derived from air by some decompositions in progress within
the earth, by which the oxygen of the air is absorbed.
Lebanon springs in Columbia county, New York, and a
region in the town of Hoosic, Rensselaer county, afford
large quantities of this gas. There is another locality at
Canoga, Seneca county, where the water is in violent ebul-
lition from the escape of the gas ; its temperature is 40 F*
There are other nitrogen springs in Virginia, west of the
Blue Ridge at Warm and Hot Springs ; in Buncombe-
county, N. C. ; and on the Washita in Arkansas. At Bath, in
England, nitrogen is escaping from the tepid springs at the
What gases occur in nature 1 What is the constitution of the at-
mosphere? its general characters? the weight? What is said of th&
characters of nitrogen 1 ? Where does nitrogen occur in nature 1
-
GASES CONTAINING HYDROGEN. 77
rate of 267 cubic inches a minute, or 222 cubic feet a day.
The gas from these nitrogen springs contains only 2 or 3
per cent, of oxygen, and often a very little carbonic acid.
CARBURETED HYDROGEN.
Carbureted hydrogen consists of carbon 75, hydrogen 25;
burns with a bright yellow flame. It is the same gas nearly
that is used for lighting the streets in some of our cities. It
issues abundantly from some coal beds and beds of bitumi-
nous slate. At Fredonia, in western New York, near Lake
Erie, it is given out so freely from a slate rock, that it is
used for lighting the village. A vessel containing 220 cubic
feet is filled in about 15 hours. A light-house at Portland
harbor, on Lake Erie, four miles from Fredonia, is also
lighted with the same gas from other springs.
Another carbureted hydrogen, burning with a pale blue
flame, rises in bubbles through pools of water, owing to
vegetable decomposition in the soil beneath.
PHOSPHURETED HYDROGEN.
Phosphureted hydrogen consists of phosphorus 91*29, and
hydrogen 8'71. It takes fire spontaneously. The phos-
phoric matter, called Jack-o'-lantern, sometimes seen float-
ing over marshy places, is supposed to be phosphureted
hydrogen.
SULPHURETED HYDROGEN.
Sulphureted hydrogen consists of sulphur 94'2, hydrogen
5*8. It has the odor and taste of putrescent eggs and burns
with a bluish flame. . It is abundant about sulphur springs,
issuing freely from the waters, as in western New York and
in Virginia. It is sometimes found about volcanoes. It
blackens silver and also a common cosmetic made of oxyd
of bismuth.
MURIATIC ACID. Hydrochloric Acid.
Muriatic acid gas consists of hydrogen 2*74, chlorine
97*26. It has a very pungent odor and is acrid to the skin.
What is the composition of carbureted hydrogen 1 its general charac-
ters ? mode of occurrence in nature 1 What is said of Fredonia 1
Mention the characters of phosphureted hydrogen ; the characters of
eulphureted hydrogen ; its mode of occurrence. What is said of muri-
atic acid ?
7*
78 WATER.
It is rapidly dissolved by water. If passed into a solution
of nitrate of silver, it produces a white precipitate which
soon blackens on exposure. It is given out occasionally by
volcanoes.*
CLASS IL WATER.
Water (oxyd of hydrogen) is the well known liquid of our
streams and wells. The purest natural water is obtained by
melting snow, or receiving rain in a clean glass vessel ; but
it is absolutely pure only when procured by distillation. It
consists of hydrogen 1 part by weight, and oxygen 8 parts.
It becomes solid at 3*2 Fahrenheit, (or Centigrade) and
then crystallizes, and constitutes ice or snow. Flakes of
snow consist of a congeries of minute crys-
tals, and stars like the annexed figure may
often be detected with a glass. Various
other allied forms are also assumed. The
rays meet at an angle of 60, and the
branchlets pass off at the same angle with
^^ perfect regularity. The density of water is
greatest at 39 1 F. ; below this it expands as it approaches
32, owing to incipient crystallization. It boils at 212 F.
A cubic inch of pure water at 60 F. and 30 inches of the
barometer, weighs 252*458 grains. A pint, United States
standard measure, holds just 7342 troy grains of water,
which is little above a pound avoirdupois (7000 grains troy.)
Water as it occurs on the earth, contains some atmos-
pheric air, without which the best would be unpalatable.
This air, with some free oxygen also present, is necessary
to the life of water animals. In most spring water there
is a minute proportion of salts of lime, (sulphate, chlorid
or carbonate,) often with a trace of common salt, carbo-
nate of magnesia and some alumina, iron, silica, phospho-
ric acid, carbonic acid, and certain vegetable acids. These
impurities constitute usually from T V to 10 parts, in 10,000
parts by weight. The Long Pond water, used in Boston,
Of what does water consist ? What is said of snow and ice ? What
of the density of water 1 its boiling temperature ] the weight of a pint 1
What are the usual impurities of common spring or river water I
* Carbonic acid and sulphurous acid gases, are described, one under
carton, and the other under sulphur.
GASES CONTAINING HYDROGEN. 79
contains about a part in 10,000 ; the Sch'.iylkill of Phila-
delphia, about 1 part in 10,000; the Crotoa, used in New
York city, 1 to 1 parts in 10,000. In the Schuylkill
water the constituents of the 1 part of solid ingredients were,
chlorid of sodium 1'47, chlorid of magnesium 0'094, sulphate
of magnesia 0*57, silica 0'8, carbonate of lime 18'72, car-
bonate of magnesia 3*51, carbonate of soda and loss 16'44.*
The water towards the surface is always purer than that
below.
Sea water contains 32 to 37 parts of solid substances in
solution in 1000 parts of water. The largest amount in the
Atlantic, 36*6 pails, is found under the equator, away from the
land or the vicinity of fresh water streams ; and the smallest
in narrow straits, as Dover Straits where there are only 32*5
parts. In the Baltic and the Black Sea, the proportion is
only one-third that in the open ocean. Of the whole, one-
half to two-thirds is common salt (chlorid of sodium.) The
other ingredients are magnesian salts, (chlorid and sulphate,)
amounting to four-fifths of the remainder, with sulphate and
carbonate of lime, and traces of bromids, iodids, phosphates
and fluorids. The water of the British channel affords, water
964-7 parts in 1000, chlorid of sodium 27-1, chlorid of pot-
assium 0'8, chlorid of magnesium 3*7, sulphate of magnesia
2 - 30, sulphate of lime 1*4, carbonate of lime 0*03, with some
bromid of magnesium, and probably traces of iodids, fluorids
and phosphates. The bitter taste of sea water is owing to
thfe salts of magnesia present.
The waters of the Dead Sea contain 200 to 250 parts of
solid matter in 1000 parts, (or 20 to 25 per cent.,) including
7 to JO per cent, of common salt, the same proportion of
magnesian salts principally the chlorid, 2^ to 3^ per cent,
of carbonate and sulphate of lime, besides some bromids and
alumina. The density of these waters is owing to this large
proportion of saline ingredients. The brine springs of New
York and other states south and west, are well known
sources of salt, (see beyond under common salt.) Many of the
springs afford bromine, and large quantities of it are manufac-
tured for making daguerreotype plates and other purposes.
What proportion of solid substances in sea water, and of this what
proportion is common salt ? What proportion magnesian salts ? What
is the bitter taste of sea water owing to ?
* Chem. Exam, by B. Sillunan. Jr., Jour. Sci., ii ser., ii, 218.
80 CARBON.
Mineral waters vary much in constitution. They often
contain carbonate of iron, like those of Saratoga and Balls-
town, and are then called chalybeate waters, from the ancient
name for iron or steel, cJialybs, derived from the name of a
country on the Baltic. The water of Congress Spring, ac-
cording to Dr. Steel, contains in a pint, chlorid of sodium
48*1, bicarbonate of magnesia 1 2 '0, carbonate of lime 12*3,
carbonate of iron 0'6, silica 0'2, iodid of sodium nearly 0.5,
with a trace of bromid of potash ; of carbonic acid 39*0 cubic
inches and nearly 1 cubic inch of atmospheric air.
Minute traces of salts of zinc and arsenic, lead, copper,
antimony and tin, have been found in some waters. What-
ever is soluble in a region through which waters flow, will of
course be taken up by them, and many ingredients are
soluble in minute proportions, which are usually described
as insoluble.
CLASS III. CARBON AND COMPOUNDS OF
CARBON.
Carbon occurs crystallized in the diamond. In a massive
form, and more or less pure state, it constitutes the various
kinds of mineral coal. Combined with hydrogen, or hydro-
gen and oxygen, it forms bitumen, amber, and a number of
native mineral resins.
DIAMOND.
Monometric. In octahedrons, dodecahedrons and more
complex forms. Faces often curved, as in the annexed
figures. Cleavage octahedral ; highly perfect.
1234
Color white or colorless ; also yellowish, red, orange,
What are chalybeate waters ? What is the difference between the
diamond and charcoal 1 What is the crystallization of the diamond 1
What other characters are mentioned ?
THE DIAMOND. 81
green, brown or black. Luster adamantine. Transparent;
translucent when dark colored. H = 10. Gr = 3*48
3-55.
Composition. Pure carbon. It burns and is consumed at
-a high temperature, producing carbonic acid gas. Exhibits
vitreous electricity when rubbed. Some specimens exposed
to the sun for a while, give out light when carried to a dark
place. Strongly refracts and disperses light.
Dif. Diamonds are distinguished by their superior hard-
ness ; their brilliant reflection of light and adamantine luster ;
their vitreous electricity when rubbed, which is not afforded
by other gems unless they are polished ; and by the prac-
ticed ear, by means of the sound when rubbed together.
Obs. Diamonds occur in India, in the district between
Golconda and Masulipatam, and near Parma, in Bundel-
cund, where some of the most magnificent specimens have
been found ; also on the Mahanuddy, in Ellore. In Borneo,
they are obtained on .the west side of the Ratoos mountain,
with gold and platina. The Brazilian mines were first dis-
covered in 1728, in the district of Serra do Frio, to the north
of Rio de Janeiro ; the most celebrated are on the river
Jequitinhonha, which is called the Diamond river, and the
Rio Pardo ; twenty-five to thirty thousand carats are export-
ed annually to Europe from these regions. In the Urals of
Russia they had not been detected till July, 1829, when
Humboldt and Rose were on their journey to Siberia. The
river Gunil, in the province of Constantine, in Africa, is re-
ported to have afforded some diamonds. In the United
States, the diamond has been met with, in Rutherford county,
North Carolina, (fig. 4,) and Hall county, Georgia.
The original rock in Brazil appears to be either a kind of
laminated granular quartz called itacolumite ; or a ferruginous
quartzose conglomerate. The itacolumite occurs in the Urals,
and diamonds have been found in it ; and it is also abundant
in Georgia and North Carolina. In India, the rock is a
quartzose conglomerate. The origin of the diamond has
been a subject of speculation, and it is the prevalent opinion
that the carbon, like that of coal, is of vegetable origin.
Some crystals have been found with black uncry stall ized
particles or seams within, looking like coal ; and this fact
has been supposed to prove their vegetable origin.
How is the diamond distinguished ? What are its principal localities ?
82 CARBON.
Diamonds with few exceptions are obtained from alluvial
washings. In Brazil, the sands and pebbles of the diamond
rivers and brooks (the waters of which are drawn off in the
dry season to allow of the work) are collected and washed
under a shed, by a stream of water passing through a suc-
cession of boxes. A negro washer stands by each box, and
inspectors are stationed at intervals. When a diamond is
found weighing 17| carats, the negro is entitled to his
liberty.
The largest diamond of which we have any knowledge is
mentioned by Travernier, as in the possession of the Great
Mogul. It weighed originally 900 carats, or 2769*3 grains,
but was reduced by cutting to 861 grains. It has the form
and size of half of a hen's egg. It was found in 1550, in the
mine of Colone. The diamond which formed the eye of a
Braminican idol, and was purchased by the Empress Catha-
rine II. of Russia from a French grenadier who had stolen
it, weighs 193 carats, and is as large, as a pigeon's egg.
The Pitt or regent diamond is of less size, it weighing but
136'25 carats, or 41 9^ grains; but on account of its un-
blemished transparency and color, it is considered the most
splendid of Indian diamonds. It was sold to the Duke of
Orleans by Mr. Pitt, an English gentleman, who was gover-
nor of Bencolen, in Sumatra, for 130,000. It is cut in the
form of a brilliant, and is estimated at 125,000. Napoleon
placed it in the hilt of his sword of state. The Rajah of
Mattan has in his possession a diamond from Borneo, weigh-
ing 367 carats.
The diamonds of Brazil are seldom large. Maure men-
tions one of 120 carats, but they rarely exceed 18 or 20.
The famous diamond, weighing 1680 carats, belonging to
the emperor of Brazil, is supposed to be a topaz.
Diamonds are valued according to their color, transpa-
rency and size. When limpid (of pure water) and no ex-
traordinary magnitude, the value of a wrought diamond is
estimated by first ascertaining the weight in carats.* The
How are diamonds obtained 1 How are diamonds valued ?
* A carat is a conventional weight, and is divided into 4 grains,
which are a little lighter than 4 grains troy ; 74 1-16 carat grains are
equal to 72 troy grains. The term carat is derived from the name of
a bean in Africa, which, in a dried state, has long been used in that
country for weighing gold. These beans "were early carried to India,
and were employed there for weighing diamonds.
THE DIAMOND. 83
rule given is as follows : double the weight in carats, and
multiply the square of the product by 2. Thus a wrought
diamond weighing 1 carat, would be worth 8 ; one of 4
carats, 128; one of 10 carats, 800. Above 20 carats,
the prices rise much more rapidly. A flaw, however mi-
nute, or the slightest smokmess, diminishes very much the
value. The average price of rough diamonds, of first
quality, of 1 carat, is 2; of 2 carats, 8, since it loses
half its weight in cutting, and becomes then one of 1 carat
wrought.
The rule just given is scarcely regarded in market, as
so much depends upon the purity of water. In different
countries, moreover, the standard of taste as regards dia-
monds is very different, the market in England demanding
the very first quality, while in other countries a somewhat
inferior kind satisfies the purchaser.
The rose diamond is more valuable than a snow-white
diamond, owing to the great beauty of its color and its rarity.
The green, diamond is much esteemed on account of its
color. The blue is prized only for its rarity, as the color is
seldom pure. The black diamond, which is uncommonly
rare and without beauty, is highly prized by collectors. The
brown, gray and yellow varieties are of much less value than
the pure white or limpid diamond.
The diamond is cut by taking advantage of its cleavage,
and also by abrasion with its own powder and by friction
with another diamond. The flaws are first removed by
cleaving it ; or else by sawing it with an iron wire, which is
covered with diamond powder a tedious process, as the
wire is generally cut through after drawing it across five or
six times. After the portion containing flaws has thus been
cut off, the crystal is fixed to the end of a stick, in a strong
cement, leaving the part projecting which is to be cut ; and
another being prepared in the same manner, the two are
rubbed together till a facet is produced. By changing the
position, other facets are added in succession till the required
form is obtained. A circular plate of soft iron is then charged
with the powder produced by the abrasion, and this, by its
revolution, finally polishes the stone. To complete a single
facet often requires several hours. Diamonds were first cut
in Europe, in 1456, by Louis Berquen, a citizen of Bruges;
How are diamonds cut 1
84 CARBON*
but in China and India, the art of cutting appears to have
been known at a very early period.
By the above process, diamonds are cut into brilliant, rose
and table diamonds. The brilliant has a crown or upper
part, consisting of a large central eight-sided facet, and a
series of facets around it ; and a collet, or lower part, of pyr
amidal shape, consisting of a series of facets, with a smaller
series near the base of the crown. The depth of a brilliant
is nearly equal to its breadth, and it therefore requires a
thick stone. Thinner stones, in proportion to the breadth,
are cut into rose and table diamonds. The surface of the
rose diamond consists of a central eight-sided facet of small
size, eight triangles, one corresponding to each side of the
table, eight trapeziums next, and then a series of sixteen tri-
angles. The collet side consists of a minute central octagon,
surrounded by eight trapeziums, corresponding to the angles
of the octagon, each of which trapeziums is subdivided by a
salient angle into one irregular pentagon and two triangles.
The table is the least beautiful mode of cutting, and is used
for such fragments as are quite thin in proportion to the
breadth. It has a square central facet, surrounded by two
or more series of four-sided facets, corresponding to the sides
of the square.
Diamonds have also been cut with figures upon them. As
early as 1500, Charadossa cut the figure of one of the
Fathers of the church on a diamond, for Pope Julius II.
Diamonds are employed for cutting glass; and for this
purpose only the natural edges of crystals can be used, and
those with curved faces are much the best. Diamond dust
is used to charge metal plates of various kinds for jewelers,
lapidaries and others. Those diamonds that are unfit for
working, are sold for various purposes, under the name of
bort. Fine drills are made of small splinters of bort, which
are used for drilling other gems, and also for piercing holes
in artificial teeth and vitreous substances generally.
The diamond is also used for lenses for microscopes.
When ground plano-convex, they have but slight chromatic
aberration, and consequently a larger field, and but little loss
of light, compared with similar lenses of other materials.
They often have an irregularity of structure when perfectly
What are the three forms usually given the diamond 1 For what
purposes are diamonds used 1
MINERAL COAL. 85
p-^ir-H wMch nnfit* thorn for this purpose, and such lenses
therefore are seldom made.
MINERAL COAL.
Massive. Color black or brown, opaque. Brittle or
sectile. H = 12-5. Gr = 1-21 '75.
Composition. Carbon, with usually a few per cent, of
silica and alumina, and sometimes oxyd of iron ; often con-
tains a large proportion of bitumen. The bituminous varie-
ties burn with a bright flame and bituminous odor ; while
those destitute of bitumen afford only a pale blue flame,
arising from the decomposition of the water present and the
formation of the gas called carbonic oxyd.
VARIETIES. 1. Without bitumen.
Anthracite. Anthracite (called also glance coal and stone
coal) has a high luster, and is often iridescent. It is quite
compact and hard, and has a specific gravity from 1-3 to
1'75. It usually contains 80 to 90 percent, of carbon, with
4 to 7 of water, the rest consisting of earthy impurities.
There is often some bitumen present, in which case it burns
with considerable flame.
Besides the use of anthracite for fuel, it is often made into
inkstands, small boxes, and other articles, which have a high
polish, and fine specimens of this kind of ware may be ob-
tained in Philadelphia.
2. Bituminous varieties.
Bituminous coal varies much and indefinitely in the
amount of bitumen it contains, and there is a gradual pas-
sage in its varieties into varieties of anthracite. It is softer
than anthracite and less lustrous. The specific gravity does
not exceed 1'5.
Pitching or caking roaZ, as it is distinguished in England,
at first breaks when heated, into small pieces, which, on
raising the heat, again unite into a solid mass. Its color is
velvet or grayish black. It burns readily with a lively yel-
low flame, but requires frequent stirring to prevent its caking,
and so clogging the fire. The principal beds at Newcastle,
England, afford this kind of coal. Clierry coal resembles
pitch coal in appearance, but does not soften and cake. It
Of what does mineral coal consist 1 How does anthracite differ
from other varieties ?
8
63 CARBON.
is very brittle, and in mining there is consequently much
waste. It burns with a clear yellow flame. It occurs at
the Glasgow coal beds, and is named from its luster and
beauty. The splint coal (or hard coal) of the same region
is harder than the cherry coal.
Cannel coal is very compact and even in texture, with
little luster, and breaks with a large conchoidal fracture. It
takes fire readily, and burns without melting with a clear
yellow flame, and has hence been used as candles whence
the name. It is often made into inkstands, snuff-boxes and
other similar articles.
Brown coal, wood coal, lignite, are names of a less perfect
variety of coal, usually having a brownish black color, and
burning with an empyreumatic odor. It has often the struc-
ture of the original wood. The term brown coal is, how-
ever, applied generally to any coal more recent in origin
than the era of the great coal beds of the world, although it
may not have any distinct remains of a woody structure, or
burn with an empyreumatic odor. The name lignite has
sometimes the same general application, though without
strict propriety.
Jet resembles cannel coal, but is harder, of a deeper black
color, and has a much higher luster. It receives a brilliant
polish, and is set in jewelry. It is the Gagates of Dioscor-
ides and Pliny, a name derived from the river Gagas, in
Syria, near the mouth of which it was found, and the origin
of the term jet, now in use.
Obs. Mineral coal occurs in extensive beds or layers,
interstratified with different rock strata. The associate
rocks are usually clay shales (or slaty beds) and sandstones ;
and the sandstones are occasionally coarse grit rocks.
There are sometimes also beds of limestone alternating with
the other deposits. In a vertical section through the coal
measures as the series of rocks and coal seams are usually
called there may be below, sandstones and shales in alter-
nating layers, or sandstones alone and then shales; there
may next appear upon the shale a bed or layer of coal, one,
two or even thirty feet thick ; then above the coal, other
layers of shale and sandstone ; and then another layer of
coal ; again shale and sandstones in various alternations, or
What is cannel coal ] brown coal or lignite 1 jet ] How do beds of
coal occur, and what are the associated rocks ?
MINERAL COAL. 87
perhaps layers of limestone; and then a third bed of coal,
and so on. By such alternations the series is completed.
Immediately in the vicinity of the coal, the rock is generally
rather a shale than a sandstone, and these shales are usually
full of impressions of leaves and stems of plants. The clay
shales are sometimes quite soft and earthy, and of a light
clay color ; but in most coal regions they are hard and firm,
with a brownish or black color, in the vicinity of the coal
layer. The sandstones are either of a grayish, bluish, or
reddish color.
These various layers constituting coal beds, are some-
times nearly or quite horizontal in position, as in New Hol-
land and west of the Appalachians. They are very often
much tilted, dipping at various angles and sometimes verti-
cal, as is generally the case throughout central Pennsylvania ;
an*! in some cases the beds are raised in immense folds, as
the leaves of a book may be folded, by a side wise pressure.
They are very commonly intersected by fractures, along
which the coal seam on one side is higher or lower than on
the other, owing to a dislocation, (then said to be faulted) ;
and miners working in a bed for a while, in such a case,
find it to terminate abruptly, and have to explore above or
below for its continuation. These are points of great im-
portance in the mining of coal.
There is no infallible indication of the presence of coal
distinguishable in the mineral nature of rocks ; for just such
rocks as are here described occur where no coal is to be
found, and where none is to be expected. The presence of
fossil leaves of ferns, and of plants having jointed stems or a
scarred or embossed surface, in the shales or sandstone, is a
useful hint ; the discovery of the coal itself a much better
one. The geologist ascertains the absence of coal from a
region by examining the fossils in the rocks ; these fossils
being different in rocks of different ages, they indicate, at
once whether the beds under investigation belong to what is
called the coal series. If they contain certain trilobites,
and other species which are found only in more ancient
rocks, there is no longer a doubt that coal is not to be ob-
tained in any workable quantities ; and he arrives at the
same conclusion if the remains are those of more recent
What is said of the position of the beds 1 How do the rocks indicate
whether coal is to be expected in a region or not ?
88 CARBON.
rocks, such as fossil fish of certain genera, or the remains or
traces of birds or quadrupeds, or of such species of shells as
never occur as low in the rocks as true coal beds. But if
the fossils are such as have been described as characterizing
a coal series, there is then reason for exploration. It is
impossible in this place to give such knowledge as will be
practically useful. The inquirer must refer to treatises on
geology, or better to the practical geologist, whose judgment
in such questions might often have saved much useless
mining and wasted expenditure.
Mineral coal is very widely distributed over the world.
England, France, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, Aus-
tria, Sweden, Poland and Russia, have their beds of mineral,
coal. It is also abundant in India, China, Madagascar, Van
Dieman's Land, Borneo and other East India Islands, New
Holland, and at Conception in Chili. But no where is the
coal formation more extensively displayed than in the United
States, and in no part of the world are its beds of greater
thickness, more convenient for working, or more valuable in
quality. There are four extensive areas occupied by this
formation. One of these areas commences on the north, in
Pennsylvania and southeastern Ohio, and sweeping south
over western Virginia and eastern Kentucky and Tennessee,
to the west of the Apalachians, or partly involved in their
ridges, it continues to Alabama near Tuscaloosa, where a
bed of coal has been opened. It has been estimated to cover
63,000 square miles. It embraces several isolated patches
in the eastern half of Pennsylvania. A second coal area (the
Illinois) lies adjoining the Mississippi, and covers the larger
part of Illinois, the western part of Indiana, and a small
northwest part of Kentucky; it is but little smaller than the
preceding. A third occupies a portion of Missouri west of
the Mississippi. A fourth covers the central portion of
Michigan. Besides these, there is a smaller coal region (a
fifth) in Rhode Island, which appears near Portsmouth, not
far from the railroad to Boston, and also in Mansfield, Massa-
chusetts. Out of the borders of the United States, on the
northeast, commences a sixth coal area, that of Nova Scotia
and New Brunswick, which covers 10,000 square miles,
What is said of the distribution of coal over the globe ? How many
coal areas are there in the United States, and what their positions?
What is said of ihe Nova Scotia and New Brunswick coal beds I
MINERAL COAL.
89
2500 square miles of which are in Nova Scotia. At Cape
Breton is still another field of coal.
The coal of Rhode Island and eastern Pennsylvania is
anthracite. Going west in Pennsylvania, the anthracite
becomes more and more bituminous ; and at Pittsburg, at its
western extremity, as also throughout the western states, it
is wholly of the bituminous kind. The Rhode Island variety
is so hard and compact and free from all volatile ingredients,
that for many years it had been deemed unfit for use. The
anthracite of eastern Pennsylvania affords 3 to 6 per cent,
of aqueous vapor, and 1 to 4 per cent, of volatile combustible
matter. In the Bradford coal field, lying near the eastern
limits of the bituminous coal deposits, Prof. Johnson obtained
1 to 8 per cent, of moisture, 9 to 15 per cent, of inconden-
sable gas, 5 to 17 of earthy matter, and 62 to 75 of carbon.
In the bituminous coal of the Portage railroad, Cambria
county, Penn., he obtained 18-2 per cent, of volatile com-
bustible matter ; in that of Caseyville, Ky., and Cannelton,
Indiana, 30 to 34 per cent. ; and in a coal from Osage river,
Missouri, 41-35 per cent. The general fact that the pro-
portion of bitumen increases as we go westward, is here well
exhibited.
Some of these results, derived from an extensive series of
experiments, are thus averaged by Prof. Johnson :
Moisture.
Vol. Combustible< Ashes and
Hatter. \ Clinker.
Fixed
Carbon.
Pennsylvania anthra-
134
384
7-37
87-45
cites,
Maryland free burn-
ing bituminous coal
125
1580
9-94
7301
Pennsylvania free i
burning bituminous >
coal, )
0-82
1701
1335
68-82
Virginia bituminous,
1 64
36-63
10-74
50-99
Cannelton, Indiana,
bituminous,
220
3399
4-97
58 : 44
It has also been shown that this fact is connected with the
geological condition of the country, the anthracite occurring
in the east w r here the rocks are variously uplifted and thrown
out of position by subterranean forces, evincing also other
What is the relative geographical position of the anthracite and bitu-
minous coal in the United States ? What has probably made the dif-
ference in these two kinds of coal 1
8*
90 CARBOX.
effects of heat besides this debituminisation of the coal ;
while the bituminous coal occurs where such disturbances of
the rocks have not taken place : and the amount of bitumen
increases as we recede from the region of greatest distur-
bance. The heat and attendant siliceous solutions have
therefore been the means of giving unusual hardness to the
Rhode Island coal.
Owing to the various upliftings or foldings of the strata and
subsequent denudations, the beds are often exposed to view
in the sides of hills or ridges, and the coal in Pennsylvania is
in most cases rather quarried out than mined. The layers
are at times 20 to 35 feet thick, without any slaty seams, and
the excavations appear like immense caverns, whose roofs
are supported by enormous columns of coal, " into which a
coach and six might be driven and turned again with ease."
Besides the great coal beds of the coal era, as it is signifi-
cantly called, there are small beds, sometimes workable, of
a more recent date. The bed near Richmond, Va., belongs
to a subsequent period ; there are also beds in Yorkshire,
and at Brora in Sutherland. Tertiary coal occurs in
Provence, and also in Oregon on the Cowlitz. These beds
of more recent coals are seldom sufficiently extensive to pay
for working, and are often much contaminated by pyrites.
The amount of anthracite worked in 1820, in Pennsylvania,
was only 380 tons; in 1847, it amounted to more than
3,000,000 tons ; and the whole amount of both anthracite
and bituminous coal worked in that state, in 1847, was not
Jess than 5,000,000 tons. In Great Britain, the annual
amount of coal mined is about 35,000,000 of tons.
The uses of mineral coal are well known. The Pennsyl-
vania anthracite was first introduced into blacksmithing in
1768 or 1769, by Judge Obadiah Gore, a blacksmith, who
early left Connecticut for Wilkesbarre. It is now employed
in smelting iron ores, and for nearly every purpose in the
arts for which charcoal was before employed.
The formation of coke from pit coal, for smelting iron, is
done in close furnaces or ovens. After heating up, the coal
(about two tons) is thrown in at a circular opening at top,
and remains for 48 hours ; the doorway is gradually closed
to shut off the air as the combustion increases, and finally
the atmosphere is wholly shut off, and in this condition it
How is coke prepared ?
GRAPHITE. 91
remains for 12 hours. The volatile matter is thus expelled,
and the cokes produced are ponderous, extremely hard, of a
light gray color, and having a metallic luster. To make
another kind of coke, like charcoal, the pit coal is placed in
a receptacle more like a baker's oven, and the air has
more free access. Both of these kinds of coke are used in
smelting.
GRAPHITE. Plumbago.
Occasionally in six-sided prisms, with a transversely foli-
ated structure. Usually foliated, and massive ; also granu-
lar and compact-
Luster metallic, and color iron black to dark steel gray.
Thin laminae flexible. H = l 2. Gr = 2'09. Soils paper,
and feels greasy.
Composition. 90 to 96 per cent, of carbon, with the rest
iron. Some specimens from Brazil contain scarcely a trace
of iron. It is often called carburet of iron, but is not a
chemical compound. It is infusible before the blowpipe,
both alone and with reagents ; it is not acted upon by acids.
Dif. Resembles molybdenite, but diners in being unaf-
fected by the blowpipe and acids. The same characters
distinguish the granular varieties from any metallic ores
they resemble.
Obs. Graphite (called also black lead) is found in crys.
talline rocks, especially in gneiss, mica slate and granular
limestone ; also in granite and argillite, and rarely in green,
stone. Its principal English locality is at Borrowdale, in
Cumberland, lire observes that this mineral became so
common a subject of robbery, a century ago, as to hate en-
riched many living in the neighborhood ; a body of miners
would break into the mine and hold possession of it for a
considerable time. The place is now protected by a strong
building, and the workmen are required to put on a working
dress in an apartment on going in and take it off on coming
out. In an inner room two men are seated at a large table
assorting and dressing the graphite, who are locked in while
at work and watched by the steward from an adjoining room,
who is armed with two loaded blunderbusses. This is
deemed necessary to check the pilfering spirit of the Cum-
What is the appearance of graphite ? What is its prominent char-
acteristic ? its composition 1 Where does it occur ? Where is it worked
in England ?
92 GRAPHITE.
berland mountaineers. In some years the net produce of
the six weeks 1 annual working of the mine, has amounted
to 40,000.
In the United States, graphite occurs in large masses in
veins in gneiss at Sturbridge, Mass. It is also found in
North Brook field, Brimfield and Hinsdale, Mass. ; at Roger's
rock, near Ticonderoga ; near Fishkill landing in Dutchess
county ; at Rossie, in St. Lawrence county, and near Amity,
in Orange county, N. Y. ; at Greenville, L. C. ; in Corn-
wall, near the Housatonic, and in Ashford, Ct. ; near Attle-
boro, in Buck's county, Penn. ; in Brandon, Vermont ; in
Wake, North Carolina ; on Tyger river, and at Spartanburg,
near the Cowpens furnace, South Carolina.
For the manufacture of pencils the granular graphite has
been preferred, and it is this character of the Borrowdale
graphite which has rendered it so valuable. At Sturbridge,
Mass., it is rather coarsely granular and foliated, and has
been extensively worked ; the mine yields annually about
30 tons of graphite. The mines of Ticonderoga and Fish-
kill landing, N. Y. ; of Brandon, Vt. ; and of Wake, North
Carolina, are also worked ; and that of Ashford, Ct., for-
merly afforded a large amount of graphite, though now the
works are suspended.
The material for lead pencils, when of the finest quality,
is first calcined and then sawn up into strips of the requisite
size and commonly set in wood, (usually cedar,) as they ap-
pear in market. It is much used now in small cylinders
without wood for ever-pointed pencil cases. Graphite of
coarser quality, according to a French mode, is ground up
fine and calcined, and then mixed with the finest levigated
clay, and worked into a paste with great care. It is made
darker or lighter and of different degrees of hardness, by
varying the proportion of clay and the degree of calcination
to which the mixture is subjected ; and the hardness is also
varied by the use of saline solutions. Lampblack is some-
times addded with the clay.
A superior method in use at Taunton, Mass., where the
Sturbridge graphite is extensively employed, consists in
finely pulverising it, and then by a very heavy pressure ob-
tained by machinery, condensing it into thin sheets. These
How are the best lead pencils made 1 How are they manufactured
from the Sturbridge bed ?
AMBER. 93
sheets are then sawn up of the size required. The pencil is
pure graphite, and the foliated variety is preferred on account
of its being freer from impurities.
Graphite is extensively employed for diminishing the
friction of machinery ; also for the manufacture of crucibles
and furnaces, and as a wash for giving a gloss to iron stoves
and railings. For crucibles it is mixed with half its weight
of clay.
CARBONIC ACID.
Carbonic acid is the gas that gives briskness to the Sara-
toga and many other mineral waters, and to artificial soda
water. Its taste is slightly pungent. It extinguishes com-
bustion and destroys life. Composition : carbon 27'65,
oxygen 72-35.
Besides occurring in mineral waters, it is common about
some volcanoes. The Grotto del Cane (Dog cave) near
Naples, is a small cavern filled to the level of the en-
trance with this gas. It is a common amusement for the
traveler to witness its effects upon a dog kept for the purpose.
He is held in the gas a while and is then thrown out appa-
rently lifeless ; in a few minutes he recovers himself, picks
up his reward, a bit of meat, and runs off as lively as ever.
If continued in the carbonic acid gas a short time longer life
would have been extinct.
Carbonic acid combined with lime forms carbonate of lime
or common limestone ; with oxyd of iron it constitutes spathic
iron, one of the common ores of iron ; with oxyd of zinc, it
forms calamine, the most profitable ore of zinc. It is found
in combination also in various other minerals.
AMBER.
In irregular masses. Color yellow, sometimes brownish
or whitish ; luster resinous. Transparent to translucent.
H = 2 2-5. Gr = 1-18. Electric by friction.
Composition. Carbon 70'7, hydrogen 11 '6, oxygen 7*8.
Burns with a yellow flame and aromatic odor.
Obs. Occurs in alluvium and on coasts, in masses from
a very small size to that of a man's head. In the Royal
Museum at Berlin, there is a mass weighing 18 pounds. On
For what other purposes is it used ? What is carbonic acid ? Com-
bined with lime, what does it form ? What is the appearance of amber 7
Where does it occur?
94 MINERAL RESINS.
the Baltic coast it is most abundant, especially between
Konigsberg and Memel. It is met with at one place in a
bed of bituminous coal ; it also occurs on the Adriatic, in
Poland, on the Sicilian coast near Catania, in France near
Paris in clay, in China. It has been found in the United
States, at Gay Head, Martha's Vineyard, Camden, N. J.,
and at Cape Sable, near the Magothy river, in Maryland.
It is supposed with good reason to be a vegetable resin,
which has undergone some change while inhumed, a part of
which is due to acids of sulphur proceeding from decompo-
sing pyrites or some other source. It often contains insects,
and specimens of this kind are so highly prized as frequently
to be imitated for the shops. Some of the insects appear
evidently to have struggled after being entangled in the then
viscous resin, and occasionally a leg or a wing is found some
distance from the body, having been detached in the struggle
for escape.
Amber is the elektron of the Greeks ; from its becoming
electric so readily when rubbed, it gave the name electricity
to science. It was also called succinum, from the Greek
succum, juice, because of its supposed vegetable origin.
Uses. Amber admits of a good polish and is used for or-
namental purposes, though not very much esteemed, as it is
wanting in hardness and brilliancy of luster, and moreover
is easily imitated. It is much valued in Turkey for mouth-
pieces to their pipes.
Amber is the basis of an excellent transparent varnish.
After burning, there is left a light carbonaceous residue, of
which the finest black varnish is made. Amber affords by
distillation an oil called oil of amber, and also succinic acid ;
and as the preparation of amber varnish requires that the
amber be heated or fused, these products are usually obtained
at the time.
MINERAL CAOUTCHOUC. Elastic Bitumen.
In soft flexible masses, somewhat resembling caoutchouc
or India rubber. Color brownish black ; sometimes orange
red by transmitted light. Gr = 0'9 1 -25.
Composition : carbon 85*5, hydrogen 13*3. It burns
readily with a yellow flame and bituminous odor.
What is said of the origin of amber] What term has it given to
science? For what is amber used 1 What is mineral caoutchouc ?
MINERAL RESINS. 95
Obs. From a lead mine in Derbyshire, England, and a
;oal mine at Montrelais. It has been found at Woodbury,
tit., in a bituminous limestone.
RETIMTE. Retinasphaltum.
In roundish masses. Color light yellowish brown, green,
red ; luster earthy or slightly resinous in the fracture. Sub-
transparent to opaque, Often flexible and elastic when first
dug up, but loses these qualities on exposure. H = 1 2*5.
Gr = 1-135.
Composition : vegetable resin 55, bitumen 41, earthy
matter 3. Takes fire in a candle and burns with a bright
flame and fragrant odor. The whole is soluble in alcohol
except an unctuous residue.
Obs. Accompanies Bovey coal at Devonshire ; also found
with brown coal at Wolchow in Moravia, and near Halle.
BITUMEN.
Both solid and fluid. Odor bituminous. Luster resinous ;
of surface of fracture often brilliant. Color black, brown or
reddish when solid ; fluid varieties nearly colorless and trans-
parent. H=0 2. Gr=0-8 1-2.
VARIETIES :
Mineral pitch or Asphaltum. The massive variety, often
breaking with a high luster like hardened tar. The earthy
mineral pitch includes less pure specimens.
Petroleum. A fluid bitumen of a dark color, which oozes
from certain rocks and becomes solid on exposure. A less
fluid variety is called maltha, or mineral tar.
Naphtha, or mineral oil. A limpid or yellowish fluid,
lighter than water ; specific gravity 0'7 0*84. It hardens
and changes to petroleum on exposure. It may be obtained
from petroleum by heat, which causes it to pass oflf in vapor.
Composition of naphtha : carbon 82*2, hydrogen 14'8. The
above varieties burn readily with flame and smoke.
Obs. Asphaltum is met with abundantly on the shores of
the Dead Sea, and in the neighborhood of the Caspian. A
very remarkable locality occurs on the island of Trinidad,
where theje is a lake of it about a mile and half in circum-
ference. The bitumen is solid and cold near the shores ;
but gradually increases in temperature and softness towards
Describe bitumen. What is asphaltum ? petroleum ? naphtha ? What
is said of the asphaltum of Trinidad ?
96 MINERAL RESINS*
the center, where it is boiling. The appearance of tf*a
solidified bitumen is as if the whole surface .had boiled up in
large bubbles and then suddenly cooled. The ascent to the
lake from the sea, a distance of three quarters of a mile,
is covered with the hardened pitch, on which trees ami
vegetation flourish, and here and there about Poi-nt La
Braye, the masses of pitch look like black rocks among thf
foliage.
Large deposits of asphaltum occur in sandstone in Albania.
It is also found in Derbyshire, and with quartz and fluor in
granite in Cornwall ; in cavities of chalcedony and calc spar
in Russia and other places.
Naphtha issues from the earth in large quantities in Persia
and the Birman empire. At Rangoon, on one of the branches
of the Irawady river, there are upwards of 500 naphtha and
petroleum wells which afford annually 412,000 hogsheads.
In the peninsula of Apcheron on the western shore of the
Caspian, naphtha rises through a marly soil in vapor, and is
collected by sinking pits several yards in depth, into which
the naphtha flows. Near Amiano in the state of Parma, there
is an abundant spring.
In the United States petroleum is common. The salines
of Kenawha, Va. ; Scotsville, Ky. ; Oil creek, Venango
county, Penn. ; Duck creek, Monroe county ; near Hinsdale
in Allegany county, N. Y., and Liverpool, Ohio, are among
its localities. It was formerly collected for sale by the Sen-
eca and other Indians ; the petroleum is therefore com-
monly called Genesee or Seneca oil, under which name it is
sold in market.
Uses. Bitumen in all its varieties was well known to the
ancients. It is reported to have been employed as a cement
in the construction of the walls of Babylon. At Agrigentum
it was burnt in lamps and called Sicilian oil. The Egyp-
tians made use of it in embalming.
The asphaltum of Trinidad mixed with grease or common
pitch is used for pitching (technically, paying) the bottoms
of ships ; and it is supposed to protect them from the Teredo.
Two ship loads of the pitch were sent to England by Admi-
ral Cochrane ; but it was found that the oil requited to fit it
for use exceeded in expense the cost of pitch in England ;
Where is naphtha obtained? What is Seneca oil? For what is
asphaltum used ?
RESIXS. 9t
and consequently the project of employing it in the arts was
abandoned.
Asphaltum is a constituent of the kind of black varnish
called Japan. It is used in France in forming a cement for
covering the roofs and lining water cisterns. A limestone,
thoroughly dried, is ground up line and stirred well in a ves-
sel containing about one-fifth its weight of hot melted bitu-
men. It is then cast into rectangular moulds, which are first
smeared with loam to prevent adhesion. When cold, the
frame of the mould is taken apart and the block removed.
Petroleum is used in Birmah as lamp oil ; and when
mixed with earth or ashes, as fuel. Naphtha affords both fuel
and light to the inhabitants of Batku on the Caspian. The
vapor is made to pass through earthen tubes and is inflamed
as it passes out and used in cooking. The spring near
Amiano is used for illuminating the city of Genoa. Both
petroleum and naphtha have been employed as a lotion in
cutaneous eruptions, and as an embrocation in bruises and
rheumatic affections. Naphtha is often substituted for oil in oil
! paint, on account of its drying quickly. It is also employed
Tor preserving the metals of the alkalies, potassium and
sodium, which, owing to their tendency to unite with oxygen*
jcannot be kept in any liquid that contains this gas.
The petroleum or Seneca oil of western New York, Penn-
isylvania and Ohio, as it appears in the market, is of a dark
^ brown color, and a consistency between that of tar and
molasses.
The following are the names of other kinds of fossil resin or wax :
'.Fossil Copal, Middletonite, Piauzite, which are resinous and nearly or
wjuite insoluble in alcohol ; Guyaquillite and Berengelite, from South
{America, resinous and soluble in alcohol like Retinite ; Scheererite,
Hatchetine, Dysodile, Hartite, Ixolyte, Ozocerite, Fichtelite, Konlite,
'Branchite, found with coal, especially brown coal, and resembling wax
or tallow. Idrialine is grayish or brownish black with a grayish luster,
'and occurs at the Cinnabar mines of Idria.
CLASS IV. SULPHUR.
Sulphur exists abundantly in the native state. It occurs
combined with various metals, forming sulphurets and sul-
phates ; and the sulphurets especially are very common ores.
fThe sulphuret of iron is common iron pyrites ; sulphuret of
copper is the yellow copper ore of Cornwall and other re-
gions ; sulphuret of mercury is cinnabar, the ore from which
9
NATIVE SULPHUR.
mercury is mostly obtained ; sulphuret of lead is galena, the
usual ore of lead. It is also sparingly met with in the con-
dition of sulphuric and sulphurous acids.
NATIVE SULPHUR.
Trimetric. In acute octahedrons, and secon*
daries to this form, with imperfect octahedral
cleavage. Also massive.
Color and streak sulphur yellow, sometimes
orange yellow. Luster resinous. Transparent
to translucent. Brittle. H = 1'5 2'5. Gr =
2-07.
Native sulphur is either pure or contaminated with clay
or bitumen. It sometimes contains selenium, and has then
an orange yellow color.
Dif. It is easily distinguished by burning with a blue
flame and a sulphur odor.
Obs. The great repositories of sulphur are either beds
of gypsum and the associate rocks, or the regions of active
or extinct volcanoes. In the valley of Noto and Mazzaro in
Sicily, at Conil near Cadiz in Spain, Bex in Switzerland,
and Cracow in Poland, it occurs in the former situation.
Sicily and the neighboring volcanic islands, Vesuvius and
the Solfatara in its vicinity, Iceland, Teneriffe, Java, Hawaii,
New Zealand, Deception island, and most active volcanic
regions afford more or less sulphur. The native sulphur of
commerce is brought mostly from Sicily, where it occurs in
beds along the central part of the south coast and to some]
distance inland. It is often associated with fine crystals of
sulphate of strontian. It undergoes rough purification by
fusion before exportation, which separates the earth and clay
with which it occurs. Sixteen or seventeen thousand tons
are annually imported from Sicily into England alone.
Sulphur is also exported from the crater of Vulcano, one of
the Lipari islands, and from the Solfatara near Naples^-
On the Potomac, 25 miles above Washington, fine speci-
mens of sulphur are found associated with calc spar in a gray
compact limestone. Sulphur is also found as a deposit about
springs where sulphureted hydrogen is evolved, and in cavi-
ties where iron pyrites have decomposed. Localities of the
What is the crystallization of sulphur 1 Mention its other characters .
Where is the sulphur of the arts obtained?
NATIVE SULPHUR. 99
former kind are common in the state of New York, and of
the latter in the coal mines of Pennsylvania, the gold rocks
of Virginia and elsewhere.
The sulphur of commerce is also largely obtained from
copper and iron pyrites, it being given off during the roasting
' of these ores, and collected in chambers of brick work con-
nected with the reverberator)' furnace. It is afterwards
purified by fusion and cast into sticks.
Sulphur when cooled from fusion, or above 232 F., crys-
tallizes in oblique rhombic prisms. When poured into
water at a temperature above 300 F. it acquires the consis-
tency of soft wax, and is used to take impressions of gems,
medals, &c., which harden as the sulphur cools.
The uses of sulphur for gunpowder, bleaching, the manu-
facture of sulphuric acid, and also in medicines, are well
known. Gunpowder contains 9 to 20 per cent. 9 or 10
t per cent, for the best shooting powder, and 15 to 20 for
mining powder.
SULPHURIC AND SULPHUROUS ACIDS.
Sulphuric acid is occasionally met with around volcanoes,
j and it is also formed from the decomposition of sulphureted
hydrogen about sulphur springs. It is intensely acid. Com-
position, sulphur, 40-14, oxygen 59'86. It is said to occur
in the waters of Rio Vinagro, South America ; also in Java,
I and at Lake de Taal on Luzon in the East Indies.
Sulphurous acid is produced when sulphur burns, and
causes the odor perceived during the combustion. It is com-
mon about active volcanoes. It destroys life and extinguishes
combustion. Composition, sulphur 50*14, oxygen 49*86.
SELENIUM, ARSENIC. Selenium has close relations to sulphur. Its
most striking characteristic is the horse-radish odor perceived when it ia
heated. It occurs in nature combined like sulphur with various metals,
and these ores, called seleniets or seleniurets, are at once distinguished
by the odor when subjected to the heat of the blowpipe flame.
Arsenic is also near sulphur in a chemical point of view, although
metallic in luster. It forms similar compounds with the metals and
metallic oxyds, which are called arseniurets and are often highly im-
portant ores. The arseniurets of nickel and cobalt are the main sources
of these metals. Its ores are distinguished by giving off when heated
an odor resembling garlic.
What is said of sulphuric acid 1 What is said of sulphurous acid 7
100 SALTS OF AMMONIA.
Tellurium and Osmium are other metals having chemical relations
to sulphur. They form similar compounds with the metals. They are
of rare occurrence.
The minerals containing the elements arsenic, selenium, tellurium and
osmium, are described under Class VII, including metals and metallic
ores.
CLASS V. HALOID MINERALS.
1. AMMONIA.
The salts of ammonia are more or less soluble, and are
entirely and easily dissipated in vapor before the blowpipe.
By this last character they are distinguished from other
salts.
SAL AMMONIAC. Muriate of Ammonia.
Occurs in white crusts or efflorescences, often
yellowish or gray. Crystallizes in regular
octahedrons. Translucent opaque ; taste sa-
line and pungent. Soluble in three parts of
water.
Composition : ammonia 33'89, chlorine 66'11. Gives off
the odor of hartshorn when powdered and mixed with
quicklime.
Dif. Distinguished by the odor given off when heated
along with quicklime.
Obs. Occurs in many volcanic regions, as at Etna,
Vesuvius, and the Sandwich Islands, where it is a product
of volcanic action. Occasionally found about ignited coal
seams.
But the sal ammoniac of commerce is manufactured
from animal matter or coal soot. It is generally formed in
chimneys of both wood and coal fires. In Egypt, whence
the greater part of this salt was formerly obtained, the fires
of the peasantry are made of the dung of camels ; and the
soot which contains a considerable portion of the ammonia-
cal salt is preserved and carried in bags to the works, where
it is obtained by sublimation. Bones and other animal mat-
ters are used in France, and a liquor condensed from the gas
works, in England.
What are general characters of the salts of ammonia ? What is a
distinctive character of sal ammoniac ? What is its composition ? From
is it manufactured ? How is it manufactured in Egypt ?
SALTS OF POTASH NITER. 101
Uses. It is a valuable article in medicine, and is em-
ployed by tinmen in soldering ; also, mixed with iron filings
or turnings to pack the joints in steam apparatus.
Mascagnine Sulphate of Ammonia. In mealy crusts, of a yellow-
ish-gray or lemon-yellow color. Translucent. Taste pungent and
bitter. Composition, sulphuric acid 53'3, ammonia 22'8, water 23 9.
Easily soluble in water. Occurs at Etna, Vesuvius, and the Lipari Is-
lands. It is one of the products from the combustion of anthracite coal.
Phosphate of ammonia, bicarbonate of ammonia, and phosphate of
magnesia and ammonia have been found native in guano, by E. F.
Teschemacher. The last is named guanite. It occurs in brilliant
rhombic prisms of 122 30'. Gr=l'5. H=2.
Struvite. A phosphate of ammonia and magnesia like the guanite,
but containing 13 per cent, of water. It occurs in yellowish subtranspa-
rent rhombic crystals. G=1'7. H=l. Slightly soluble in water.
Found on the site of an old church in Hamburg.
2. POTASSA.
NITER. Nitrate of Potash.
J
Trimetric. In modified right rhombic prisms. M : M
about 120. Usually in thin white subtransparent crusts,
and in needleform crystals on old walls and in caverns.
Taste saline and cooling.
Composition : potassa 46*56, nitric acid 53*44. Burns
vividly on a live coal.
Dif. Distinguished readily by its taste and its vivid
action on a live coal ; and from nitrate of soda, which it most
resembles, by its not becoming liquid on exposure to the air.
Uses. Niter, called also saltpeter, is employed in making
gunpowder, forming 75 to 78 per cent, in shooting powder,
and 65 in mining powder. The other materials are sulphur
(12 to 15 per cent.) and charcoal, (9 to 12 for shooting
powder, and 20 for mining.) It is also extensively used in
the manufacture of nitric and sulphuric acids ; also for pyro-
technic purposes, fulminating powders, and sparingly in
medicine.
Obs. Occurs in many of the caverns of Kentucky and
other Western States, scattered through the earth that forms
the floor of the cave. In procuring it, the earth is lixiviated,
and the lye, when evaporated, yields the saltpeter. India is
its most abundant locality, where it is obtained largely for
What does niter consist of? What effect is produced when it ia
put on a live coal ? What are its uses? Where does it occur ?
9*
J02 SALTS OF SODA,
exportation. It is there used for making a cooling mixture ,
an ounce of powdered niter in five ounces of water reduces
the temperature 15 F.
Spain and Egypt also "afford large quantities of niter for
commerce. This salt forms on the ground in the hot weather
succeeding copious rains, and appears in silky tufts or efflo-
rescences ; these are brushed up by a kind of broom, lixiviated,
and after settling, evaporated and crystallized. In France,
Germany, Sweden, Hungary and other countries, there are
artificial arrangements called nitriaries or niter-beds, from
which niter is obtained by the decomposition mostly of the
nitrates of lime aud magnesia which form in these beds.
Refuse animal and vegetable matter putrified in contact with
calcareous soils produces nitrate of lime, which affords the
niter by reaction with carbonate of potash. Old plaster
Jixiviated affords about 5 per cent. This last method is much
used in France.
Chlorid of potassium, or sylvine, has been observed with salt at
{Saltzburg.
3. SODA.
The following salts of soda are all more or less soluble :
they are in general distinguished by giving a deep yellow
light before the blowpipe. Hardness below 3 ; specific
gravity below 2*9.
GLAUBER SALT. Sulphate of Soda.
Monoclinate. In oblique rhombic prisms. Occurs in
efflorescent crusts of a white or yellowish-white color ; also
in many mineral waters. Taste cool, then feebly saline and
bitter. Composition, soda 1 S'38, sul.acid 24*85, water 55*77,
Dif. It is distinguished from Epsom salt, for which it is
sometimes mistaken, by its coarse crystals, and the yellow
color it gives to the blowpipe flame.
Uses. It is used in medicine, and is known by the famil-
iar name of " salts."
Obs. On Hawaii, one of the Sandwich Islands, in a cave
at Kailua, glauber salt is abundant, and is constantly forming.
It is obtained by the natives and used as medicine. Glauber
What is a nitriary 1 What effect is produced on the blowpipe flame
by soda 1 What is its composition ? How, is it distinguished from
Epsom salt 1 Where does Glauber salt occur native ?
CARBONATE OF BODJL. 103
ealt occurs also in efflorescences on the limestone below
.Genesee Falls, near Rochester, N. Y, It is also obtained
in Austria, Hungary and elsewhere in Europe.
The artificial salt was first discovered by a German
chemist by the name of Glauber. It is usually prepared for
the arts from sea water.
NITRATE OF SODA.
Rhombohedral ; R: R=106 33'. Also in crusts or
efflorescences, of white, grayish and brownish colors ; taste
cooling. Soluble and very deliquescent,
Composition : nitric acid 3*40, soda36-*60 . Burns vividly
on coal, with a yellow light.
Dif. It resembles niter, (saltpeter,) but deliquesces, and
gives a deep yellow light when burning.
Obs. In the district of Tarapaca, the dry Pampa for an
extent of forty leagues is covered with beds of this salt, mixed
with gypsum, common salt, Glauber salt and remains of
recent shells. The country appears to have been under the
sea at no very remote period.
Uses. It is used extensively in the manufacture of nitric
acid or aqua fortis.
NATRON. Carbonate of Soda.
Monoclinate. Generally in white efflorescent crusts,
sometimes yellowish or grayish. Taste alkaline. Effloresces
on exposure, and the surface becomes white and pulverulent.
Composition : a simple hydrous carbonate of soda. Effer-
vesces strongly with nitric acid.
Dif. Distinguished from other soda salts by effervescing,
and from Trona, by efflorescing on exposure.
Obs. Abundant in the soda lakes of Egypt, situated in a
barren valley called Bahr-bela-ma, about 30 miles west of
the Delta. Also in lakes at Debrezin in Hungary ; in
Mexico, north of Zacatecas, and elsewhere. Sparingly dis-
solved in the Seltzer and Carlsbad waters.
Trona is a sesquicarbonate of soda. In the province of
Suckena in Africa, between Tripoli and Fezzan, it forms a
How does nitrate of soda differ in composition from niter? What
are other peculiarities distinguishing it ? For what is it used ? Where
does it occur native ] What are the distinctive characters of carbonate
of soda ?
}04
SALTS OF SODA,
fibrous layer an inch thick beneath the soil, and several hunt
dred tons are collected annually. At a lake in Maracaiboy
48 miles from Merido, it is very abundant.
Uses. Carbonate of soda is used extensively in the manu-
facture of soap. The powders put up for making soda water
consist of this salt and tartaric acid. On mixing the two,
the tartaric acid unites with the soda and the carbonic acid
of the carbonate of soda escapes as a gas producing the effer-
vescence. In Mexico, this salt (or the sesquicarbonate,
trona) occurs in such abundance over extensive districts that
it is employed as a flux in smelting ores of silver, especially
the chlorid of silver which is a common ore.
COMMON SALT.
Monometric. In cubes (fig 1) and its secondaries, as the
following. Sometimes crystals have the shape of a shallow
1 234
cup like figure 4, and are called hopper shaped crystals. They
were formed floating ; the cup receiving its enlargement at
the margin, this being the part which lay at the surface of
the brine where evaporation was going on. Common salt
is usually white or grayish, but sometimes presents rose red,
yellow and amethystine tints. H=2. Gr= 2-257. Taste
saline.
Composition : chlorine 60*3, sodium 39*7. Crackles or
decrepitates when heated.
Dif. Distinguished by its taste, solubility, and blowpipe
characters.
Obs. Salt is usually associated with gypsum, and clays or
sandstone. It occurs in extensive beds in Spain, in the Pyre-
nees, in the valley of Cardona and elsewhere, forming hills
300 to 400 feet high ; in Poland at Wieliczka ; at Hall in the
Tyrol, and along a range through Reichenthal in Bavaria,
For what is it used ? What happens when tartaric acid and carbon-
ate of soda are mixed ? What are the forms of crystals of common
salt ? Of what does It consist 1 Where are some of the most remarkable
deposits of rock salt ?
COMMON SALT. 105
Hallem In Saltzburg, Hallstadt, Ischel and Ebensee in Upper
Austria, and Aussee in Stiiia ; in Hungary at Marmoros and
elsewhere ; in Transylvania ; Wallaehia, Gallicia and Up-
per Silesia ; at Vic and Dieuze in France ; at Bex in Swit-
zerland ; in Cheshire, England ; in northern Africa in vast
quantities, forming hills and extended plains ; in northern
Persia at Teflis ; in India in the province of Lahore, and in
the valley of Cashmere ; in China and Asiatic Russia ; hi
South America, in Peru and the Cordilleras of New Grenada.
The most remarkable deposits v are those of Poland and
Hungary. The former, near Cracow, has been worked
since the year 1251, and it is calculated that there is still
enough salt remaining to supply the whole worid for many
centuries. Its deep subterranean regions are excavated into
houses, chapels and other ornamental forms, the roof being
supported by pillars of salt ; and when illuminated by lamps
and torches, they are objects of great splendor.
The salt is often impure with clay, and is purified by dis-
solving it in large chambers, drawing it off after it has settled
and evaporating it again. The salt of Norwich (in Cheshire)
is in masses 5 to 8 feet in diameter, which are nearly pure,
and it is prepared for use by crushing it between rollers.
Beds of salt have lately been opened in Virginia in Wash-
ington county, where as usual it is associated with gypsum.
The Salmon mountains of Oregon also afford rock salt.
Salt beds occur in rocks of various ages : the brines of
the United States come from a red sandstone be low the coal;
the beds of Norwich, England, occur in magnesian lime-
stone ; those of the Vosges in marly sandstone beds of the
lower secoadaiy ; that of Bex in the lias or middle secondary ;
that of the Carpathian Alps in the upper oolite ; that of
Wieliczka, Poland and the Pyrenees, in the cretaceous for-
mation or upper secondary ; that of Catalonia in tertiary :
and moreover there are vast deposits that are still more re-
cent, besides lakes that are now evaporating and producing
salt depositions.
Vast lakes of salt water exist in many parts of the world.
Lake Timpanogos, or Youta, called also the Great Salt
Lake, has an area of 2000 square miles, and is remarkable
for its ettent, considering that it is situated towards the sum-
What is said of the beds of Cracow? How is this salt purified?
Where do beds -occur in North America ? What is said of salt lakes t
106 SALTS OF SODA.
mit of the Rocky Mountains, at an elevation of 4200 feel
above the sea. The dry regions of these mountains and of
the semideserts of California abound in salt licks and lakes.
There is a small spring on the Bay of San Francisco. In
northern Africa large lakes as well as hills of salt abound,
and the deserts of this region and Arabia abound in saline
efflorescences. The Dead and Caspian seas, and the lakes-
of Khoordistan, are salt. Over the pampas of La Plata and
Patagonia there are many ponds and lakes of salt water.
The greater part of the salt made in this country is obtained
by evaporation from salt springs. Those of Salina and
Syracuse are well known ; and many nearly as valuable are
worked in Ohio and other western states. At the best New
York springs a bushel of salt is obtained from every 40 gal-
lons. (Beck.) The springs of Onondaga county, New York,
afforded in 1841 upwards of three millions of bushels of salt,
and it is estimated that three hundred and twenty-two millions
of gallons of brine were raised and evaporated during that
year. (Beck.) To obtain the brine, wells from 50 to 150
feet deep are sunk by boring. It is then raised by machinery,
carried by troughs to the boilers, which are large iron kettles
set in brickwork, and there evaporated by heat. As soon as
the water begins to boil, the water becomes turbid from the
deposit of calcareous salts which are also contained in salt
waters, and are less soluble than the salt. These are re-
moved with ladles, called bittern ladles, with the exception
of what adheres firmly to the sides of the boiler. The salt is
next deposited; it is then collected and carried away to drain,
The liquid which remains contains a large proportion of
nragnesian salts, and is called bittern from the bitter taste of
these salts. Some of the brine is also evaporated by expo-
sure to the sun in broad, shallow vats.
This last process is extensively employed in hot climates
for making salt from sea water, which affords & bushel for
every 300 or 350 gallons. For this purpose a number of
large shallow basins are made adjoining the sea ; they have
a smooth bottom of clay, and all communicate with one an-
other. The water is let in at high tide and then shut off foi
the evaporation to go on. This is the simplest mode, and is
What is the source of the salt manufactured in the United States ?
How much water is necessary to procure a bushel of salt ? How is
the salt obtained from the brine ? How much salt is afforded by sea
r, nnd how is it obtained I
BORAX. 107
used even in uncivilized countries, as among the Pacific
Islands. It is better to have a large receiving basin for
the salt water, which shall detain the mechanical impurities
of the water.
Martinsite is a compound of 91 per cent, of chlorid of sodium and 9
of sulphate of magnesia. It is from the salines of Stassfurth.
BORAX. Borate of Soda.
Monoclinate. In right rhomboidal prisms, (see fig. 11,
page 26) ; M : T = 106 J 6'. Cleavage parallel with M per-
Feet. The crystals are white and transparent with a glassy
luster. H=2 2*5. Gr= 1-716. Taste sweetish-alkaline.
Composition : soda 16*37, boracic acid 36*53, water
47*10. Swells up to many times its bulk and becomes
opaque white before the blowpipe, and finally fuses to a
glassy globule.
Obs. Borax was originally brought from a salt lake iu
Thibet, where it is dug in considerable masses from the
edges and shallow parts of the lakes. The holes thus made
in a short time become filled again with borax. The crude
borax was formerly sent to Europe under the name oftincal,
and there purified for the arts. It has also been found in
Peru and Ceylon. It has of late been extensively made
from the boracic acid of the Tuscany lagoons by the reaction
of this acid on carbonate of soda.
Uses. Borax is used as a flux not only by the mineralo-
gist in blowpipe experiments, but extensively in metallurgi-
cal operations, in the process of soldering, and in the manu-
facture of gems.
Boracic acid. Occurs in small scales, white or yellowish. Feel
smooth and unctuous. Taste acidulous and a little saline and bitter.
G=l-48. Composition, boracic acid 56'38, water 43'62. Fuses easily
in the flame of a candle, tinging the flame at first green.
Found at the crater of Vulcano, and also at Sasso in Italy, whence it
was called Sassolin. The hot vapors of the lagoons of Tuscany afford
it in large quantities. The vapors are made to pass through water,
which condenses them ; and the water is then evaporated by the steam
of the springs, and boracic acid obtained in large crystalline flakes. It
What are some of the characters of borax 1 What is its composition ?
What are its effects before the blowpipe 1 What is it used for 1 Where
was it originally obtained 1 How is it procured in Tuscany ? What
is boracic acid I What is said of the boracic acid lagoona of Tuscany ?
108 SALTS OP BARYTA,
still requires purification, as the best thus procured contains but 50 per
cent, of the pure acid.
It is employed in the manufacture of borax. Boron occurs in nature
also, in datholite, tourmaline and borate of lime, but these are not a
sufficient source to be employed in the arts.
Thenardite. Thenardite is an anhydrous sulphate of soda from Es-
partine in Spain.
^Gay-Lussite. Occurs in oblong crystals, in a lake in Maracaibo
S. A. ; it is a hydrous compound of the carbonates of lime and soda.
Glauberite. In oblique cystals, (usually flatien-ed, wish sharp edges,)
nearly transparent and yellowish-gray in color. Taste weak, slightly
saline; consists of 49 per cent, of sulphate of lime and 51 of sulphate of
soda. Occurs in rock salt at Villa Rubia, Spain, and also at Aussee in
Upper Austria, and Vic in France.
4. BARYTA.
The salts of baryta are distinguished by their high specific
gravity, which ranges from 3*5 to 4'8. They resemble the
salts of strontia, and some of the metallic salts* From the
latter they are distinguished by giving no odor nor metal-
lic reaction before the blowpipe, when pure. Hardness
below 4.
HEAVY SFAR. Sulphate of Baryta.
Trimetric. In modified rhombic and rectangular prisms,
(figs. 1, 2) M : M = 10140 ;
P : a = 141 10 ; P : cz = 127 D
18'. Crystals usually tabular.
Massive varieties often coarse
lamellar ; also columnar, fibrous, granular and compact.
Luster vitreous ; color white and sometimes tinged yellow,
red, blue or brown. Transparent or translucent. H =2*5
3*5. Gr=4'3 4*8. Some varieties are fetid when rubbed.
Composition : sulphuric acid 34, baryta 66. Decrepitates
before the blowpipe and fuses with difficulty.
Dif. Distinguished by its specific gravity from celestine
and arragonite, and also by not effervescing with acids from
the various carbonates ; from the metallic salts, by no metal-
lic reaction before the blowpipe.
Obs. Heavy spar is often associated with the ores of
What is a striking character of the salts of baryta ? How are they
distinguished from salts of the metals ? What are the forms of the crys-
tals of heavy spar 1 What are the colors ? What is the composition ?
SALTS OF BARYTA. 109
metals. In this way it occurs at Cheshire, Conn, ; Hat-
n'eld, Mass. ; Rossie and Hammond, New York ; Perkio-
men, Pennsylvania, and the lead mines of the west. At
Scoharie and Pillar Point, near Sackett's harbor, are other
localities. Also near Fredericksburg and elsewhere, Vir-
ginia. The variety from Pillar Point receives a fine polish
and looks like marble, the colors being in bands or clouds.
Uses. Heavy spar is ground up and used as white paint,
and in adulterating white lead. When white lead is mixed
in equal parts with sulphate of barytes it is sometimes called
Venice white, and another quality with twice its weight of
barytes is called Hamburgh white, and another, one-third
white lead, is called Dutch white. When the barytes is very
white, a proportion of it gives greater opacity to the color,
and protects the lead from being speedily blackened by sul-
phureous vapors ; and these mixtures are therefore preferred
for certain kinds of painting. There are establishments for
grinding barytes near New Haven, Ct., where the spar from
Cheshire, Ct., Hatfield, Mass., and Virginia, is used. The
iron ore or ferruginous clay usually mixed with it, is separated
by digestion in large vats of dilute sulphuric acid.
WITHERITE. Carbonate of Baryta.
Trimetric. In modified rhombic prisms, (fig. 8, p. 26.)
M : M = 118 30'; M : e = 149 15'. Also in six-sided
prisms terminated with pyramids. Cleavage imper-
fect. Also in globular or botryoidal forms: often
massive, and either fibrous or granular. The mas-
sive varieties have usually a yellowish or grayish
white color, with a luster a little resinous, and are
translucent. The crystals are often white and nearly trans-
parent. H =3 3-75. Gr=4-29 4-30. Brittle.
Composition : baryta 77'6, carbonic acid 22'4. Decrep-
itates before the blowpipe and fuses easily to a translucent
globule, opaque on cooling. Effervesces in nitric acid.
Dif. Distinguished by its specific gravity and fusibility
from calcareous spar and arragonite ; I y its action with
acids from allied minerals that are not carbonates ; by yield-
ing no metal from white lead ore, and by not tinging the
flame red, from strontianite.
What are the uses of heavy spar ? How is witherite distinguished
from other minerals ?
10
110 SALTS OF BARTE*.
Obs. The most important foreign localities of witnerife
are at Alstonmoor in Cumberland, and Anglezark in Lan-
cashire.
Uses. This mineral is poisonous, and is used m the north
of England for killing rats. The salts of baryta are made
from this species : these safts are much tfsed rn chemical
analysis ; the nitrate affords a yellow light in pyrotechny ;
the prepared carbonate is a common water color,
JSarytoealcite occurs at Alstonrooor ID CHnj-berland,- England, ifi
whitish oblique rhombic crystals, M : M=10654'. H=4. G=3'6
3'7. Consists of the carbonates of lime and baryta.
Bromlite is a mineral of the same composition from Brom'ley Hili
near Alston, and from Northumberland, England. Its crystals are right
rhombic prisms.
Drcelite is a compound of the sulphates of baryta and lime, oecurrin-g
in small white crystals in France.
Sulphato-carbonMc of Baryta occurs in six-sided prisms.
5. STRONTIA.
The salts of strontia have a high specific gravity, it
ranging from 8*6 to 4'0r In this respect they most resemble
the salts of baryta, and they are distinguished by the same
characters as the baryta salts from the salts of the metals,
Hardness below 4.
CHLESTINM. Sulphate of Strontia.
Trimetric. In modified rhombic prisms. M : M = 104
to 104 30'. Crystals sometimes flattened ; often long and
slender, a : a = 103 58'. Cleavage distinct
parallel with M. Massive varieties : columnar
or fibrous, forming layers half an inch or more
thick with a pearly luster ; rarely granular.
Color generally a tinge of blue, but sometimes clear white.
Luster vitreous or a little pearly ; transparent to translucent.
H = 3 3-5. Gr 3-9 4. Very brittle.
Composition : sulphuric acid 43*6, strontia 56'4. De-
crepitates before the blowpipe, and on charcoal fuses rather
easily to a milk white alkaline globule, tinging the flame
red. Phosphoresces when heated.
How is witherite distinguished from strontianite 1 What are its uses ?
What is said of the salts of strontia 1 What is the usual color and
appearance of celestine ] What is the composition ?
SALTS OF STRONTIA. HI
Dif. The loiag slender crystals are distinguished at once
from heavy spar, as the lattej- does not occur in such elon-
gated forms- From all the varieties of heavy spar, it differs
in a lower specific gravity and blowpipe characters ; from
the carbonates it is distinguished by not effervescing with
the acids.
Ob&. A bluish celestine, in long slender crystals, occurs
at Strontian island, Lake Erie ; Scoharie, Lockport and
Rossie, N. Y., are other localities. A handsome fibrous
variety occurs at Franktown, Huntington county, Pennsyl-
vania. Sicily affords very splendid crystallizations associ-
ated with sulphur : the preceding figure represents one of the
crystals. The prisms are attached by one end, and being
crowded over the sarface, they are in beautiful .contrast with
the yellow sulphur beneath.
The pale sky-Hue tint so common with the mineral, gave
origin to the name celestine.
Uses. Celestine i used in the arts for making the nitrate
of strontda, which is -employed for producing a red color in
fire-works. Celestine is changed to sulphuret of strontium
by heating with charcoal, and then by means of nitric acid
the nitrate is obtained.
STRONTIAXITJE. Carbonate of Slrontia.
Trimetric. In modified rhombic prisms- M : M = 117
19'. Cleavage parallel to M, nearly perfect. Occurs also
fibrous and granular, and sometimes in globular shapes with
a radiated structure within.
Color usually a light tinge of green; also white, gray and
yellowish-brown. Luster vitreous, or somewhat resinous.
Transparent to translucent. H = 3'5 4. Gr=3*6 3'72,
Brittle.
Composition : strontia 7fH, carbonic acid 29*9. Fuses
before the blowpipe on thin edges, tinging the flame red;
becomes alkaline in a strong heat"; effervesces with the
acids.
Dif. Its effervescence with acids distinguishes it from
minerals that are not carbonates ; the color of the flame before
the blowpipe, from wifherite ; and this character and the
For what is celestine used 1 How do strontianite and celestine dif-
Wtatare distinguishing charactersof strontianite !
112
SALTS OF LIME.
fusibility, although difficult, from calc spar. Calc spar s *e
times reddens the flame, but not- so deeply.
Obs. Strontianite occurs in limestone at Scoharie, New
York, in crystals, and also fibrous and massive. Strontian
in Argyleshire, England, was the first locality known, and
gave the name to the mineral and the earth strontia. It
occurs there with galena in stellated and fibrous groups and
in crystals.
Uses. This mineral is used for preparing the nitrate of
strontia, which is extensively employed for giving a red color
to fire-works.
6. LIMB.
With the exception of the nitrate of lime, none of the
native salts of lime are soluble, unless in minute propor-
portions. They give no odor, and no metallic reaction before
the blowpipe, except such as may arise from mixture with
iron or manganese. The specific gravity is below 3*2, and
hardness not above 5. The few metallic salts of lime
(arsenate of lime, tungstate of lime, &c.) are arranged with
the metallic ores.
GYPSUM. Sulphate of Lime.
1 Monoclinate. Usually in right rhom-
boidal prisms, with beveled sides. M :
T = ll 114 a : a== 14328 4 ; e : e
110 36'. Figure 2 represents a com-
mon twin (or arrow head) crystal. Emi-
nently foliated in one direction and
cleaving easily, affording laminae that
are flexible but not elastic. Occurs also
in laminated masses, often of large size ; in fibrous masses,
with a satin luster ; in stellated or radiating forms consisting
of narrow laminae ; also granular and compact.
When pure and crystallized it is as clear and pellucid as
glass, and has a pearly luster. Other varieties are gray,
yellow, reddish, brownish, and even black, and opaque.
Whence the name of the mineral and earth strontia? For what is h
nsed ? What is said of the salts of lime 1 What are the prominent
characters of gypsum 1
113
H=1'5 : 2, or so soft as to be easily cut with a knife.
Gr=2-31 2-33. The plates bend in one direction and are
brittle in another.
Composition ? lime 32'9, sulphuric acid 46*3, water 20'8.
Before the blowpipe it becomes instantly white and opaque
and exfoliates, and then falls to powder or crumbles easily in
the fingers. At -a high heat h fuses with difficulty. No
action with acids.
The principal varieties are us follows :
Selenite, including the transparent foliated gypsum, so
called in allusion to its color and luster from selene, the Greek
word for moon.
Radiated gypsum, having a radiated structure.
Fibrous gypsum or satin spar, white and delicately fibrous.
Snowy gypsum and alabaster, including the white or light-
colored compact gypsum having a very fine grain.
Dif. The foliated gypsum resembles some varieties of
Heulandite, stilbite, talc and mica ; and the fibrous, looks like
fibrous carbonate of lime, asbestus and some of the fibrous
zeolites ; but gypsum in all its varieties is readily distin-
guished by its softness ; its becoming an opaque white powder
immediately and without fusion before the blowpipe, and by
not effervescing nor gelatinizing with acids.
Obs. New York, near Lockport, affords beautiful selenite
and snowy gypsum in limestone. At Camillus and Manlius,
N. Y,, and in Davidson county, Tenn., are other localities.
Fine crystals of the form represented in figure 1, come from
Poland and Camfield, Ohio, and large groups of crystals from
the St. Marys in Maryland. Troy, N. Y., also affords crys-
tals in clay. In the mammoth cave, Kentucky, alabaster
occurs in singularly beautiful imitation of flowers, leaves,
shrubbery and vines. Alabaster comes mostly from Caste-
lino in Italy, 35 miles from Leghorn. Massive gypsum oc-
curs abundantly in New York, from Syracuse westward to
the western extremity of Genesee county, accompanying the
rocks which afford the brine springs ; also in Ohio, Illinois,
Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Nova Scotia. It if
abundant also in Europe.
Uses. Gypsum, when burnt and ground up forms a whit
What is the composition of gypsum 1 What is alabaster 1 What
effect is produced by heat ? How is gypsum distinguished from talc,
mica and other minerals ?
10*
114 GYPSUM.
powder, which, after being mixed with a little water, be-
comes on drying, hard and compact. This ground gypsum
is plaster of Paris, and is used for taking casts, making
models, and for giving a hard finish to walls. Alabaster is
cut into vases and various ornaments, statues, &c. It owes
its beauty for this purpose to its snowy whiteness, translu-
cency and fine texture. It is moreover so soft as to be cut
or carved with common cutting instruments. Gypsum is
ground up and used for improving soils.
ANHYDRITE. Anhyd?'ous Sulphate of Lime.
Trimetric. In rectangular prisms, cleaving easily in three
directions, and readily breaking into
square blocks. The figure is a side view
of a crystal; M : a=I24 D 10'; M : a =
153 50 ; M : e = 135 15'. Occurs
also fibrous and lamellar, often contort-
ed; also coarse and fine granular and
compact.
Color white or tinged with gray, red, or blue. Luster
more or less pearly. Transparent to subtranslucent. H =
2-53-0. Gr.-=2-9 3.
The crystallized varieties have been called muriacite.
Vulpinite is a siliceous variety containing 8 per cent, of
silex, and a little above the usual hardness, (3'5.)
Composition : lime 41-5, sulphuric acid 58-5. It is a sul-
phate of lime like gypsum, but differs in containing no water.
Whitens before the blowpipe, but does not exfoliate like
gypsum, and finally with some difficulty becomes covered
with a friable enamel. No action with acids.
Dif* Differs from gypsum in being harder and not ex-
foliating when heated ; from carbonate of lime and the
zeolites which it sometimes resembles, in the non-action of
acids, and its action before the blowpipe. Its square forms of
crystallization and cleavage are also good distinguishing
characters.
Obs. A fine blue crystallized anhydrite occurs with gyp-
sum and calcareous spar in a black limestone at Lock-
port. Foreign localities are at the salt mines of Bex in Swit-
What is plaster of Paris, and how is it used ? For what is alabaster
used 1 How is gypsum employed in agriculture 1 How does anhydrite
differ in composition from gypsum ? Mention other distinguishing
characters.
CALCAREOUS SPAR.
115
zerland, at Hall in the Tyrol, at Ischil in Upper Austria,
Wieliczka in Poland and elsewhere.
Uses. The vulpinite variety is sometimes cut and polished
for ornamental purposes.
CALCITE Calcareous Spar Carbonate of Lime.
Rhombohedral, (fig. 1.) R : R = 105 5'. Cleavage easy
parallel with the faces of the fundamentar rhombohedron.
1 2 345
Figure 1, is the fundamental rhombohedron ; figure 2, is a
flat rhombohedron with the lateral angles removed, sometimes
' called nail-Jiead spar ; figure 3, is a six-sided prism ; figure
4, an acute rhombohedron ; figure 5, a scalene dodecahedron,
f the form of the variety called dog-tooth spar. Figures 28,
28a, 30, 31, page 32 ; 62, 63, page 39 ; and 66, page 40, are
other forms. Calcareous spar also occurs fibrous with a
i silky luster, sometimes lamellar, and often coarse or fine
granular and compact.
The purest crystals are transparent with a vitreous luster ;
the impure massive varieties are often opaque, and without
luster, or even earthy. The colors of the crystals are either
white or some light grayish, reddish or yellowish tint, rarely
deep red ; occasionally topaz yellow, rose or violet. The
massive varieties are of various shades from white to black,
generally dull unless polished. H=3. Gr=2*5 2'8.
Composition: lime 56-3, carbonic acid 43'7 : sometimes
impure from mixture with iron, silica, clay, bitumen and
othor minerals. Infusible before the blowpipe, but gives
out an intense light, and is ultimately reduced to quicklime.
Effervesces with the acids. Many varieties phosphoresce
t when heated.
What is the fundamental form of calcite or calc spar?
colors and appearance ? What is its composition ?
What are its
116 SALTS OF LIME.
This species takes on a great variety of forms and colors,
and has received names for the more prominent varieties.
Iceland spar. Transparent crystalline calc spar, first
brought from Iceland. Shows well double refraction.
Satin spar. A finely fibrous variety with a satin luster
Receives a handsome polish. Occurs usually in veins
traversing rocks of different kinds.
Chalk. White and earthy, without luster, and so soft as
to leave a trace on a board. -Forms mountain beds.
Rock milk. White and earthy like chalk, but still softer,
and very fragile. It is deposited from waters containing
lime in solution.
Calcareous tufa. Formed by deposition from waters like
rock milk, but more cellular or porous and not so soft.
Stalactite, Stalagmite. The name stalactite is explained
on page 54. The deposits of the same origin that cove*
the floor of a cavern, are called stalagmite. They gen
erally consist of different colored layers, and appear banded
or striped when broken. The so-called " Gibraltar rock''
is stalagmite from a cavern in the rock of Gibraltar.
Limestone is a general name for all the massive varieties?
occurring in extensive beds.
Oolite, Pisolite. Oolite is a compact limestone, consist-
ing of small round grains, looking like the spawn of a fish ;
the name is derived from the Greek don, an egg. Pisolite, a
name derived from pisum, the Latin for pea, differs from
oolite in consisting of larger particles.
Argentine. A white shining limestone consisting of
laminae a little waving, and containing a small proportion of
silica.
Fontainebleau limestone. This name is applied to crystals,
of the form in figure 4, containing a large proportion of sand,
and occurring in groups. They were formerly obtained at
Fontainebleau, France, but the locality is exhausted.
Granular limestone. A limestone consisting of crystal-
line grains. It is called also primary limestone. The
coarser varieties when polished constitute the common white
and clouded marbles, and the material of which marble
buildings are made. The finer are used for statuary, and
What is Iceland spar ? What is chalk ? How does satin spar under
this species differ from that which is a variety of gypsum ? What is
calcareous tufa 1 How are stalactites and stalagmite formed ? What
is limestone 1 What is oolite 1 What is said of granular limestone ?
CALCAREOUS SPAR. 117
called statuary marUe. The best is as clear and fine grained
as loaf sugar, which it much resembles.
Compact limestone. The common secondary limestones,
breaking with a smooth surface, without any appearance of
grains. The rock is very variously colored, sometimes of
a uniform tint, and frequently in bands, blotches or veinings,
and always nearly dull until polished. The varieties form
marbles of as many kinds.
Stud-stone, Anthracanite. A limestone, either columnar
'or compact, which gives out a fetid odor when struck.
Plumbocalctte, from Cornwall, contains 2*34 per cent, of
carbonate of lead.
/>//'. The varieties of this species are easily distinguished
by their being scratched easily with a knife, in connection
with their strongly effervescing with acids, and their com-
plete infusibility. Calc spar is not so hard as arragonite,
and differs entirely in its cleavage.
Obs. Crystallized calcareous spar occurs in magnificent
forms in the vicinity of Rossie, New York. One crystal
from there now at New Haven weighs 165 pounds. Some
rose and purple varieties from this region are very beautiful.
Splendid geodes of the dog-tooth spar variety occur in lime-
stone at Lockport, along with gypsum and pearl spar. Ley-
den and Lowville, N. Y., are other localities. Bergen Hill,
N. J., affords beautiful wine-yellow crystals in amygdaloid.
1 Argentine occurs near Williamsburg and Southampton, Mass.
Rod' milk covers the sides of a cave at Watertown, N. Y.,
and is now forming. Stalactites of great beauty occur in
Weir's and other caves in Virginia and the Western States ;
also in Ball's cave at Scoharie, N. Y. Chalk occurs in
"England and Europe, but has not been met with in the Uni-
'ted States. Granular limestones are common in the Eastern
! ;and Atlantic States, and compact limestones in the middle
and Western, and some beds of the former afford excellent
marble for building and some of good quality for statuary.
Uses. Any of the varieties of this mineral when burnt,
1 form quid-lime. Heat drives off the carbonic acid and leaves
the lime in a pure or caustic state. Some limestones con-
i f tain a portion of clay disseminated throughout it, and these
;biirn often to hydraulic lime, a kind of lime, of which a
"VVlmt is said of compact limestone! How is this species distin-
guu-ned from other species? What are the uses oflimestone ?
118 SALTS OF LIME.
cement or plaster is made that " sets" under water. See -
further, the chapter on Rocks, for the uses of limestone.
ARRAGOT\ITE.
Trimetrie. In rhombic prisms, (see fig. 8, page 26);;
M : M=116 10'. Cleavage parallel with M. Usually.
in compound crystals having the form of a hexagonal prism, ,
with uneven or striated sides, or in stellated forms consisting;
of two or three flat crystals crossing one another. Also inn
globular and coralloidal shapes ; also in fibrous seams in*
different rocks.
Color white or with light tinges of gray, yellow, greens
and violet. Luster vitreous. Transparent to translucent..
H=3-5 4. Gr=2-931.
In composition^ it is identical with calcareous spar, and in
its action before the blowpipe it differs only in falling to
powder readily when heated. Effervesces also with the
acids. Phosphoresces when heated. Some varieties eon-
tain a few per cent, of carbonate of strontia, but this is not.
an essential ingredient
Dif. The same distinctive characters as calcareous spar,
except its crystalline form and superior hardness, and its
falling to powder before the blowpipe.
Obs. Arragonite occurs mostly in gypsum beds and de-
posits of iron ore ; also in basalt and other rocks. The
coralloidal forms are found in iron ore beds, and are called
flos-ferri, flowers of iron. They look like a loosely inter--
twined or tangled white cord.
' The flos-ferri variety occurs at Lockport with gypsum ;
also at Edenville, at the Parish iron ore bed in Rossie, and
in Chester county, Pennsylvania. Arragon in Spain affords-
six-sided prisms of arragonitej associated with gypsum. This*
locality gave the name to the species.
6, DOLOMITE Magnesian Carbonate of Lime.
Rhombohedral. R : R 106 15'. Cleavage perfect
parallel to the primary faces. Faces of rhom-
bodedrons sometimes curved, as in the annexed
figure. Often granular and massive, constitu-
ting extensive beds.
Color white or tinged with yellow, red, green,
What are the usual forms of arragonite ? Does it differ in composi-
tion from calcite? What are its colors and luster? What effect is
produced by the blowpipe ?
DOLOMITE. 119
brown, and sometimes black. Luster vitreous, a a little
pearly. Nearly transparent to translucent. Brittle. H==
3-54. Gr=2-8 2-9.
Composition. Dolomite is a compound of carbonate of
magnesia and carbonate of lime. The common variety con-
sists of 54'2 of the latter to 45*8 of the former. Infusible
before the blowpipe. Effervesces with acids, but more
slowly than calc spar.
The principal varieties of this species are as follows :
Dolomite. White crystalline granular, often not distin-
guishable in external characters from granular limestone,
except that it crumbles more readily.
Pearl spar. This variety occurs in pearly rhombohe-
drons with curved faces.
Rhomb spar, Brown spar. In rhombohedrons, which
become brown on exposure, owing to their containing 5 to
10 percent, ofoxyd of iron or manganese.
Micmite. A yellowish brown fibrous variety from Miemo
in Tuscany.
Gurhofite. A compact white rock, looking like porcelain
and containing a few per cent, of silica.
Dif. Distinctive characters, nearly the same as for cal-
careous spar. It is harder than that species, and differs in
the angles of its crystals, and effervesces less freely ; but
chemical analysis is often required to distinguish them.
Obs. Massive dolomite is common in the Eastern States,
and constitutes much of the coarse white marble used for
i building. Crystallized specimens are obtained at the Quar-
; antine, Richmond county, N. Y. Rhomb spar occurs in talc
at Smithfield, R. I., Marlboro, Vt, Middlefield, Mass. ; pearl
spar in crystals of the above form at Lock port, Rochester,
Glen's Falls ; gurhofite on Hustis's farm, Phillipstown, N. Y.
Dolomite was named in honor of the geologist and traveler,
J Dolomieu.
Uses. Dolomite burns to quicklime like calc spai, and af-
fords a stronger cement. The white massive variety is used
extensively as marble. The magnesian lime has been sup-
posed to injure soils ; but this is believed not to be the case
i if it is air-slaked before being used. It is also employed in
'the manufacture of Epsom salts or sulphate of magnesia.
What is the composition of dolomite ? How does it differ from cal-
cite ? What are its u^es ?
120 SALTS OP LIME.
The mineral is subjected to the action of sulpha: ic acid ; the
sulphate of lime being insoluble is deposited, leaving the sul-
phate of magnesia in solution. A more economical method
is to boil the calcined stone in proper proportions in bittern ;
the muriatic acid of the bittern takes up the lime.
Ankerite. This species resembles brown spar, and like that becomes
brown on exposure. The primary is a rhombohedron of 106 12'. It
consists of the carbonates of lime, magnesia, iron, and manganese. The
Styrian iron ore beds and Saltzburg are some of its foreign localities.
It is said to occur in veins at Quebec and at West Springfield, Mass.
7, APATITE. Phosphate of Lime.
In hexagonal prisms. The annexed figure represents a
cr jstal from St. Lawrence county, New York.
Cleavage imperfect.
Usually occurs in crystals ; but occasionally
massive ; sometimes mammillary with a compact
fibrous structure. Small crystals are occasionally
transparent and colorless, but the usual color is
green, often yellowish-green, bluish-green, and grayish-green ;
sometimes yellow, blue, reddish or brownish. Coarse crys-
tals nearly opaque. Luster resinous, or a little oily. H=5.
Gr=3 3 '25. Brittle. Some varieties phosphoresce when
heated, and some become electric by friction.
Composition: phosphate of lime 92*1, fluorid of calcium
7'0, chlorid of calcium 0*9. Infusible before the blowpipe
except on the edges. Dissolves slowly in nitric acid without
effervescence. Its constituents are contained in the bones
and ligaments of animals, and the mineral has probably been
derived in many cases from animal fossils.*
Asparagus stone is a translucent wine-yellow* variety oc-
curring in talc at Zillerthal in the Tyrol. Phosphorite is a
massive variety from Estremadura in Spain, and Schlacken-
wald in Bohemia. Moroxite is a greenish-blue variety from
Arendal. Eupyrchroite (Emmons) is a fibrous mammillary
variety from Crown Point, Essex county, N. Y.
What is the common form of apatite ? is colcrs and appearance?' Is
it harder than calc spar 1 What is the principal constituent in its com-
position 1 What is a probable origin of this mineral in many cases 1
* Bones contain 55 per cent, of phosphate of lime, with some fluorid
of calcium, 3 to 12 per cent, of carbonate of lime, some phosphate of
magnesia and chlorid of sodium, besides 33 per cent, of animal matter.
FLUOR SPAR.
121
Dif. Distinguished by its inferior hardness front beryl, it
being easily scratched with a knife ; by dissolving in acids
without effervescence from carbonate of lime and other car-
bonates ; by its difficult fusibility, and giving no metallic
reaction before the blowpipe from phosphate of lead and
other metallic species. Its phosphorescence is also an im-
portant characteristic.
Obs. Apatite occurs in gneiss and mica slate, granular
limestone, and occasionally in ancient volcanic rocks. The
finest localities in the United States occur in granular lime-
stone. The crystals from the limestone of St. Lawrence
county, N. Y., are among the largest yet discovered in any
part of the world. One from Robinson's farm measured a
foot in length and weighed 18 pounds. But they are nearly
opaque and the edges are usually rounded. They occur with
scapolite, sphene, &c. Edenville and Amity, Orange county,
N. Y., afford fine crystals from half an inch to twelve inches
long. At Westmoreland, N. H., fine crystals are obtained in
a vein of feldspar and quartz ; also at Blue Hill bay in Maine.
Bolton, Chesterfield, Chester, Mass., are other localities. A
beautiful blue variety is obtained at Dixon's quarry, Wil-
mington, Delaware.
The name apatite, from the Greek apatao, to deceive, was
given in allusion to the mistake of early mineralogists re-
specting the nature of some of its varieties.
8. FLUOR SPAR Fhtorid of Calcium, Fluate of Lime.
Monometric. Cleavage octahedral, perfect. Secondary
forms, the following :
Rarely occurs fibrous ; often compact, coarse or fine gran-
ular. Colors usually bright ; white, or some shade of light
green, purple, or clear yellow are most common; rarely
-red and sky-blue ; colors of massive varieties often
rose-
How is apatite distinguished from beryl? how from carbonates? how
from phosphate of lead ? What is said of the crystalline form and
cleavage of fluor spar ? What is said of its colors and appearance ?
11
122 SALTS OF LIME.
banded. The crystals are transparent or translucent. H=4.
Gr=3-14 3-18. Brittle.
Composition : fluorine 47*7, calcium 52*3. Phosphoresces
on a hot iron, giving out a bright light of different colors ;
in some varieties the light is emerald green ; in others, pur-
ple, blue, rose-red, pink, or an orange shade. Before the
blowpipe it decrepitates, and ultimately fuses to an enamel.
Pulverised and moistened with sulphuric acid, a gas is given
off which corrodes glass.
The name chlorophane has been given to the variety that
affords a green phosphorescence.
Dif. In its bright colors, fluor resembles some of the
gems, but its softness at once distinguishes it. Its strong
phosphorescence is a striking characteristic ; and also its
affording easily, with sulphuric acid and heat, a gas that cor-
rodes glass.
Obs. Fluor spar occurs in veins in gneiss, mica slate,
clay slate, limestone, and sparingly in beds of coal. It is the
gangue in some lead mines.
Cubic crystals of a greenish color, over a foot each way,
hav^ been obtained at Muscolorige Lake, St. Lawrence
county, N. Y. Near Shawneetown on the Ohio, a beautiful
purple fluor in grouped cubes of large size is obtained from
limestone and the soil of the region. At Westmoreland,
N. IL, at the Notch in the White Mountains, Blue Hill Bay,
Maine, Putney, Vt., and Lockport, N. Y., are other locali-
ties. The chlorophane variety is found with topaz at Hun-
tington, Conn.
In Derbyshire, England, fluor spar is abundant, and hence
it has received the name of Derbyshire spar. It is a common
mineral in the mining districts of Saxony.
Fluorid of calcium is also found in the enamel of teeth,
in bones and some other parts of animals ; also in certain
parts of many plants ; and by vegetable or animal decompo-
sition it is afforded to the soil, to rocks, and also to coal beds
in which it has been detected.
Uses. Massive fluor receives a high polish and is worked
into vases, candlesticks and various ornaments, in Derbyshire,
England. Some of the varieties from this locality, consisting
of rich purple shades banded with yellowish white, are very
What is said of the phosphorescence of calc spar? Of what does it
consist? What is chlorophane ? How is fluor spar distinguished from
the gems? What arc its uses ?
FLUOR SPAR. 123
beautiful. The mineral is difficult to work on account of be-
ing brittle. It is usually turned in a lathe, and worked down
first with a fine steel tool ; then with a coarse stone, and
afterwards with pumice and emery. The crevices which
occur in the masses are sometimes concealed by filling them
with galena, a mineral often found with the fluor. Fluor
spar is also used for obtaining fluoric acid, which is employed
in etching. To etch glass, a picture, or whatever design it
is desired to etch, is traced in the thin coating of wax* with
which the glass is first covered ; a very small quantity of the
liquid fluoric acid is then washed over it ; on removing the
wax, in a few minutes, the picture is found to be engraved on
the glass. The same process is used for etching seals, and
any siliceous stone will be attacked with equal facility. Fluor
spar is also used as a flux to aid in reducing copper and
other ores, and hence the name fuor.
Hayesine or Hydrous Borate of Lime. Occurs in snowy white inter-
woven fibers, with gypsum and alum on the plains of Iquique, S. A.
Hydroboracite. A hydrous borate of lime and magnesia resembling
somewhat a white fibrous gypsum. It is of Caucasian origin.
Oxalate of Lime. Observed on calc spar in small oblique crystals.
Locality unknown.
Nitrate of Lime. In white delicate efflorescences ; deliquescent.
Also in solution in some waters. The salt is formed in calcareous
caverns and covered spots of earth where the soil is calcareous. It ia
extensively used in the manufacture of saltpeter, (nitrate of potash.)
Occurs in the caverns of Kentucky and other Western States.
7. MAGNESIA.
The sulphates and nitrate of magnesia are soluble, and are
distinguished by their bitter taste. The other native mag-
nesian salts are insoluble. The presence of magnesia when
no metallic oxyds are present is indicated by a blowpipe
experiment : after heating a fragment, moisten it with a solu-
tion of nitrate of cobalt, and then subject it again to the heat
How is glass etched by means of fluor spar 1 What is the origin of
the name fluor 1 What is said of the occurrence and uses of nitrate
of lime ? What is the taste of soluble salts of magnesia ? What blow-
pipe test distinguishes them 1
* The best material is a mixture of bees wax and turpentine resin
melted together.
124 SALTS OF MAGNESIA.
of the blowpipe, and it will become pale-red, and deepen in
color by fusion.
Specific gravity of the species in this family, below 3.
Hardness of some species as high as 7.
EPSOM SALT. Sulphate of Magnesia.
Trimetric. In modified rhombic prisms, (fig. 8, page 26.)
M : M =90 38'. Cleavage perfect parallel with the shorter
diagonal. Usually in fibrous crusts, or botryoidal masses,
of a white color. Luster vitreous earthy. Very soluble,
and taste bitter and saline.
Composition : magnesia 16*7, sulphuric acid 32'4, water
50'9. Deliquesces before the blowpipe. Does not effer-
vesce with acids.
Dif. The fine spicula-like crystalline grains of Epsom
salt, as it appears in the shops, distinguish it from Glauber
salt, which occurs usually in thick crystals.
Obs. The floors of the limestone caves of the West often
contain Epsom salt in minute crystals mingled with the
earth. In the Mammoth Cave, Ky.,it adheres to the roof in
loose masses like snow-balls. It occurs as an efflorescence
on the east face of the Helderberg, 10 miles from Coeymans.
The fine efflorescences suggested the old name hair salt.
At Epsom in Surrey, England, it occurs dissolved in min-
eral springs, and from this place the salt derived the name
it bears. It occurs at Sedlitz, Arragon, and other places in
Europe ; also in the Cordilleras of Chili ; and in a grotto in
Southern Africa, where it forms a layer an inch and a half
thick.
Uses. Its medical uses are well known. It is obtained
for the arts from the bittern of sea-salt works, and quite
largely from magnesian carbonate of lime, by decomposing
it with sulphuric acid. The sulphuric acid takes the lime
and magnesia, expelling the carbonic acid ; and the sulphate
of magnesia remaining in solution is poured off from the sul-
phate of lime, which is insoluble. It is then crystallized by
evaporation.
MAGXESITE. Carbonate of Magnesia.
Rhombohedral ; R:R = 10722. Cleavage rhombohe-
dral, perfect. Often in fibrous plates the surface of which
Of what does Epsom salt consist? Where does it occur? Whence
the name Epsom ?
CARBONATE OF MAGNESIA. 125
frequently consists of minute acicular crystals ; also granular
and compact and in tuberous forms. Color white, yellow-
ish or grayish-white or brown. Luster vitreous ; fibrou3
varieties often silky. Transparent to opaque. H = 3 4.
Gr = 2.8 3.
Composition: carbonic acid 51*7, and magnesia 48*3.
Infusible before the blowpipe. Dissolves slowly with little
effervescence in nitric or sulphuric acid.
Dif. Resembles some varieties of carbonate of lime and
dolomite ; but effervesces more feebly in acids, does not burn
to quicklime, and the light before the blowpipe is less intense.
The fibrous variety is distinguished from amianthus and other
fibrous minerals associated with it, by its greater hardness
and more vitreous luster, and from siliceous minerals gen-
erally by its complete solubility in acids.
Obs. Magnetite is usually associated with magnesian
rocks, especially serpentine. At Hoboken, N. J., it occurs
in this rock in fibrous seams ; similarly at Lynnfield, Mass. ;
and at Bolton, imperfectly fibrous, traversing white lime-
stone.
Uses. When abundant it is a convenient material for the
manufacture of sulphate of magnesia or Epsom salt, to make
which, requires simply treatment with sulphuric acid.
BRUCITE. Hydrate of Magnesia.
In foliated hexagonal prisms and plates. Structure thii.
foliated, and thin laminae easily separated and translucent
flexible but not ela tic. Color white and pearly, often gray-
ish or greenish. H = 1-5. Gr = 2'35.
Composition: magnesh 69-7, water 3O3. Infusible be-
fore the blowpipe, but becomes opaque and friable. Entirely
soluble in the acids without effervescence.
Dif. It resemb'es talc and gypsum, but is soluble in acids ;
it differs from heulandite and st'lbite, also by its infusibility.
Obs. Occurs in serpenti.ie at Hoboken, N. J., and Rich-
mond Co., N. Y., also at Sw'naness in Unst, one of the
Shetland Isles.
Nemalite is a fibrous hydrate of magnesia or brucite. The
following are its charicters ;
Of what does magnesite consist? How is it distinguished from most
earthy minerals ? How from calc spar 1 For what use is it fitted ?
What is the appearance of nemalite ? its composition ? its locality ?
11*
128 SALTS OF MAGNESIA.
Neatly fibrous and silky ; fibres brittle and easily sepera-
ble. Color whitish, grayish or bluish white ; transparent,
but becomes opaque and crumbling on exposure. H = 2.
Gr = 2-35 2-4.
Composition : magnesia 62'0 ; protoxyd of iron 4-6 ; water
28'4 ; carbonic acid 4'1 ; (Whitney.) In the flame of a
candle the fibres become opaque, brownish and rigid, and in
this state easily crumble in the fingers. Phosphoresces with
a yellow light when rubbed wish a piece of iron.
Dif. Resembles abestus or amianthus, but differs in
becoming brittle before the blowpipe.
Obs. Occurs in serpentine at Hoboken, N. J., in green-
stone at Piermont, Rockland Co., N. Y., and Bergen Hill,
N. J.
Hydromagnesite. This name is given to an earthy white pul-
verulent hydrous carbonate of magnesia, from Hoboken, N. J.
BORACITE. Borate of Magnesia.
Monometric. Cleavage octahedral ; but only in traces.
Usual in cubes with only the
alternate angles replaced ; or
having all replaced, but four
of them different from the oth-
er four. The crystals are
translucent and seldom more than a quarter of an inch
through. Color white or grayish ; sometimes yellowish or
greenish. Luster vitreous. H=7. Gr=2'97. Becomes
electric when heated, the opposite angles of the cube be-
coming of opposite poles, one north and the other south.
Composition : boracic acid 62*8, magnesia 37'2. Intu-
mesces before the blowpipe and forms a glassy globule,
which becomes crystalline and opaque on cooling.
Dif. Distinguished readily by its form, high hardness,
and pyro-electric properties.
Obs. Boracite is found only with gypsum and common
salt. It occurs near Luneberg in Lower Saxony, and near
Kiel in the adjoining dutchy of Holstein.
Nitrate of Magnesia. Occurs in white deliquescent efflorescences,
having a bitter taste, associated with nitrate of lime, in limestone cav-
What is Brucite? What is its appearance ? How is it distinguished
from talc, gypsum, and other minerals ? What is said of the crystals of
boracite ? What is stated of its electric properties? What is its coir
position 1 What is its mode of occurrence 1
SALTS OF ALUMINA. 127
erns. It is used, like its associate, in the manufacture of saltpeter
(see page 102.)
Polyhalite. A brick-red saline mineral, with a weak bitter taste,
occurring in masses which have a somewhat fibrous appearance. Con-
sists of the sulphates of lime, potash and magnesia, with six per cent,
of water.
Wagnerite. A fluo-phosphate of magnesia, occurring in yellowish
or grayish oblique rhombic prisms. Insoluble. H=5 5'5. Gr=3 1.
From Saltzberg, Germany.
Ehodizite. Resembles boracite in its crystals, but tinges the blow-
pipe flame deep red. Occurs with the red tourmaline of Siberia.
8. ALUMINA.
The compounds of alumina may often be distinguished by
a blowpipe experiment. If a fragment of alumina after
having been heated to redness be moistened with a solution
of nitrate of cobalt and again heated, it assumes before fu-
sion a blue color. This is a good test, and distinguishes
aluminous from magnesian minerals, except when the oxyds
of the metals are present.
The sulphates, fluorids and some of the phosphates, (tho
salts included in this family,) are soluble with more or less
difficulty, in the acids ; and some of the sulphates (tho vari-
ous alums) dissolve readily in water.
The solution in acids takes place without effervescence,
and without forming a jelly like many silicates of alumina
(the zeolites, &c.)
Specific gravities of the species below 3*1. Hardness of
some species as high as 6.
NATIVE ALUM.
^, ;>.'---. ~ *
Monometric. Cleavage octahedral. Occurs in octahe-
drons ; but usually in silky fibrous masses, or in
efflorescent crusts. Taste sweetish astringent.
There are several kinds of native alum, dif-
fering in one of the ingredients in their consti-
, tution, but resembling one another in crystalli-
, zing in octahedrons, and in containing the in-
gredients in exactly the same proportions. They all contain
What blowpipe experiment distinguishes alumina ? What is said of
the sulphates of alumina 1 What is the composition of the alums ?
128 SALTS OF ALUMINA.
24 parts of water to 1 part of sulphate of alumina, and 1 part
of some other sulphate. In potash-alum, this sulphate is a
sulphate of potash. This is the common alum of the shops.
The corresponding sulphate in the other alums is as fol-
lows :
Soda-alum, sulphate of soda ;
Magnesia-alum, sulphate of magnesia ;
Ammonia-alum, sulphate of ammonia ;
Iron-alum, sulphate of iron ;
Manganese-alum, sulphate of manganese.
Besides these there is also a hydrous sulphate of alumina
without any other sulphate ; it is called feather-alum, and is
even of more common occurrence than any of the true
alums.
These alums are formed from the decomposition of pyrites,
in contact with clay. Iron pyrites is a compound of sulphur
and iron ; in decomposition, its sulphur and iron unite with
oxygen derived from the moisture present, and it then be-
comes sulphate of iron, or a compound of sulphuric acid and
oxyd of iron. This sulphuric acid, or part of it, by uniting
with the alumina of the clay rock, produces a sulphate of
alumina. To form a true alum, a little potash, or soda, &c.
must be present in the clay. The iron of the iron alum pro-
ceeds from the pyrites which undergoes the decomposition.
These compounds differ but little in taste and appear-
ance.
Obs. Potash alum and more abundantly the sulphate of
alumina (or feather alum), and sulphate of alumina and iron,
impregnate frequently clay-slates, which are then called
aluminous slates or shales. These alum rocks are often
quarried and lixiviated for the alum they contain. The rock
is first slowly heated after piling it in heaps, in order to de-
compose the remaining pyrites and transfer the sulphuric
acid of any sulphate of iron to the alumina and thus produce
the largest amount possible of sulphate of alumina. It is
next lixiviated in stone cisterns. The lye containing this sul-
phate is afterwards concentrated by evaporation, and then
the requisite proportion of potash (sulphate or muriate, alum
containing potash as well as alumina) is added to the lix-
What is the composition of common potash alum ? What of a soda
alum 1 What are alum shales'? Whence the alum or sulphate of alum-
ina they contain 1 How is alum obtain from alum shale ?
ALUM STONE 129
ivium. A precipitate of alum falls which is afterwards wash-
ed and re-crystallized. The mother liquor left after the pre-
cipitation is also treated for more alum. This process is
carried on extensively in Germany, France, at Whitby in
Yorkshire, Hurlett and Campsie, near Glasgow, in Scot-
land. Cape Sable in Maryland, affords large quantities of
alum annually. The slates of coal beds are often used to
advantage in this manufacture, owing to the decomposing
pyrites present. At Whitby, 130 tons of calcined schist
give one ton of alum. In France, ammoniacal salts are
used instead of potash, and an ammoniacal alum is formed.
Soda alum has been observed at the Solfataras in Italy,
near Mendoza in South America, on the island of Milo in
the Grecian Archipelago. Magnesia alum forms large fib-
rous masses, delicately silky, near Iquique, S. A. This is
the Pickeringite of Mr. A. A. Hayes. Ammonia alum oc-
curs at Tschermig in Bohemia.
ALUM STONE.
Rhombohedral, with a perfect cleavage parallel with a,
(fig. 62, p. 39.) R : R=92 50'. Also massive. Color
white, grayish or reddish. Luster of crystals vitreous, or a
ittle pearly on a. Transparent to translucent. H=5. Gr=
2-58 2-75.
Composition : sulphuric acid 25*0, alumina 43*9, silica
34*0, potash 3*1, water and loss 4*00=100. Decrepitates
n the blowpipe flame and is infusible both alone and with
soda. In powder, soluble in sulphuric acid.
Dif. Distinguished by its infusibility, in connection with
ts complete solubility in sulphuric acid without forming a
jelly.
Obs. Found in rocks of volcanic origin at Tolfa, near
Rome, and also at Beregh and elsewhere in Hungary.
Uses. At Tolfa, alum is obtained from it by repeatedly
roasting and lixiviating it and finally crystallizing by evapo-
ration. The variety found in Hungary is so hard as to ad-
mit of being used for millstones.
Websterite. Another sulphate of alumina, in compact reniform
masses and tasteless. From Newhaven in Sussex, Epernay in France,
and Halle in Prussia. It is called also aluminite.
What is the color and appearance of alum stone? What its compo-
eition ] What its use, and where is it extensively employed ?
130 SALTS OF ALUMINA.
WAVELLITE.
Trimetric. Usually in small hemispheres a third or half
an inch across, attached to tho
surface of rocks, and having a
finely radiated structure within ;
when broken off they leave a
stellate circle on the rock.
Sometimes in rhombic crystals.
Color white or yellowish arid brownish, with a somewhat
pearly or resinous luster. Sometimes -green, gray or black,
Translucent. H=3'5 4. Gr=2-23 2-37.
Composition: alumina 37'2, phosphoric acid 35*1, watei
28-0. Whitens before the blowpipe but does not fuse. In
powder, dissolves in heated nitric or sulphuric acid.
Dif. Distinguished from the zeolites, some of which it
resembles, by giving the reaction of phosphorus and also by
dissolving in acids without gelatinizing. Cacoxene, to which
it is allied, becomes dark reddish-brown before the blowpipe,
and gives the reaction of iron.
Obs. Near Saxton's River, Bellows Falls, is the only
locality known in the United States. It was first discover-
ed by Dr. Wavel, in clay slate in Devonshire. Occurs also
in Bohemia and Bavaria.
Fischerite is another hydrous phosphate of alumina containing less
phosphoric acid. Gr=2'46. Color dull green. Translucent. Some-
times in six-sided prisms. From the Ural.
TURQUOIS.
In opaque reniform masses without cleavage, of a bluish
green color and somewhat waxy luster. H=6. Gr=
2-83.
Composition: phosphoric acid 30*9, alumina 44'5, oxyd of
copper 3-7, protoxyd of iron 1-8, water 19-0=99-9.
Before the blowpipe it is infusible, but colors the flame green
and in the inner cone becomes brown. Loses its blue color
in muriatic acid.
Dif. Distinguished from bluish green feldspar, which it
resemble?, by its infusibility and the reaction of phosphorus.
Obs. Turquois is brought from a mountainous district in
What is the usual appearance of Wayellite? What is its composi-
tion ] What distinguishes it from the zeolites ? What is the color and
appearance of turquois ? Its constituents ? Huw is it distinguished
from a variety of feldspar 1 Where is it found {
OIBBSITE. 131
Persia, not far from Nichabour, and according to Agaphi
occurs in veins, that traverse the mountain in every direc-
tion.
The callais of Pliny was probably turquois. Pliny, in
his description of it, mentions the fable that it was found in
Asia, projecting from the surface of inaccessible rocks,
whence it was obtained by means of slings.
Uses. Turquois receives a fine polish and is highly os-
teemed as a gem. In Persia it is much admired, and the
Persian king is said to retain for himself, all the large and
more finely tinted specimens. The occidental or bone Tur-
quois, a much inferior and softer stone, is said to be phos-
phate of lime, colored with oxyd of copper. Green mala'
chite is sometimes substituted for turquois, but it is much soft-
er and has a different tint of color. The stone is so well
imitated by art as scarcely to be detected except by chemi-
cal tests. The imitation is much softer than true turquois.
GIBBSITE. Hydrate of Alumina.
In small stalactitic shapes or mammillary and incrusting.
Color grayish or greenish white ; surface smooth but nearly
dull. Structure sornetim'es nearly fibrous. H=3 3*5.
Gr=2-3 2-4.
Composition : alumina 64'8, water 35'7. (Torrey.) Re-
cent examinations have detected a large por-centage of phos-
phoric acid in some specimens ; but Prof. B. Silliman, Jr. has
also found, in specimens examined by him, as impurity a
proportion of silica without phosphoric acid. The mineral
has resulted from the decomposition of feldspar or some
aluminous mineral, and probably varies in composition. It
whitens but does not fuse before the blowpipe.
Dif. Resembles chalcedony but is softer.
Obs. Occurs in a bed of brown iron ore at Richmond,
Mass., and at Unionvale, Dutchess county, N. Y. This
species was named in honor of Col. George Gibbs.
Lazulite. In compact masses ; rarely in prismatic crystals. Color
fine azure blue, and nearly opaque, 'with a vitreous luster. H=5 6.
Gr=3'057. Brittle. Contains phosphoric acid 41-8, alumina 35'7,
magnesia 9'3, silica 21, protoxyd of iron 2'6, water 6'1=97'7. It in-
What is said of its use? How is it distinguished from false or arti-
ficial turquois ? What is the appearance of Gibbsite ? What is said
of its composition ? How is it distinguished from chalcedony 1 Wha
is the constitution of lazulite? its color ?
132
SILICA.
tumesces before the blowpipe without fusing. Occurs in veins in clay
slate at Saltzberg and in Styria ; in the United States, near Crowder
Mountain, Lincoln county, N. C.
Mellite or Honey stone. In square octahedrons, looking like a honey-
yellow resin ; may be cut with a knife. It is mellate of alumine.
Found in Prussia and Austria.
Cryolite. In snow white masses, having rectangular cleavages, and
remarkable for melting easily in the flame of a candle, to which its
name (from the Greek kruos, ice,) alludes. H=2 25 25. Gr=2'95.
It is a fluorid of aluminium and sodium. From Greenland.
Chiolite is near cryolite in composition and characters. H=3 - 5.
Gr=2-6 2-77. From Siberia.
Fluellite. From Cornwall, in minute white rhombic octahedrons.
Contains fluorine and aluminium.
Childrenite. Found in Derbyshire, Eng., in minute yellowish brown
crystals coating spathic iron. Supposed to consist of phosphoric acid,
alumina and iron.
Amblygonite. A compound of phosphoric acid, alumina and lithia.
Found in Saxony, in pale green crystals.
Diaspore, or Dihydratc of Alumina. Occurs in irregular lamellar
prisms, having a brilliant cleavage ; color greenish gray or hair brown.
H 6 6*5. Gr==3'43. It decrepitates with violence before the blow-
pipe. From the Urals, in granular limestone.
CLASS VI. EARTHY MINERALS.
1. SILICA.
QUARTZ.
Rhombohedral. Occurs usually in six-sided prisms, more
or less modified, terminated with six-sided pyramids : R ; R=
94 15'. No cleavage apparent, seldom even in traces ; but
sometimes obtained by heating the crystal and plunging it
into cold water. The following are some of its forms :
1 2 3 4 5
Occurs sometimes in coarse radiated forms ; also coarse
and fine granular ; also compact, either amorphous or pre-
senting stalactitic and mamillary shapes.
Crystals are often as pellucid as glass, and usually color-
What is the usual form of quartz crystals ?
QtTARTZ. 133
less ; but sometimes present topaz-yellow, amethystine, rose
or smoky tints. Also of all degrees of transparency to
opacity, and of various shades of yellow, red, green, blue and
brown colors, to black. In some varieties the colors are in
bands, stripes, or clouds. H=7. Gr=2'6 2'7.
Composition : quartz is pure silica. Opaque varieties of-
ten contain oxyd of iron, clay, chlorite or some other mineral
disseminated through them. Alone before the blowpipe infu-
sible, but with soda melts readily with a brisk effervescence.
Dif. Quartz is a constituent of many rocks, and composes
most of the pebbles of the soil or gravel beds. There is no
mineral which takes on so many forms and colors, yet
none is more easily distinguished. A few simple trials
are all that is required.
1. Hardness scratches glass with facihty.
2. Inf usability not melting in any heat obtained with the
blowpipe.
3. Insolubility not being attacked, like limestone, in any
way, by the three acids.
4. Absence of any thing like cleavage. One variety ap-
pears to be laminated, but it consists merely of apposed
plates, which are the result of having been formed or de-
posited in successive layers, and cannot be mistaken for
cleavage plates-
To these characteristics, its action with soda might be
added. In the crystallized varieties, the form alone is suffi-
cient to distinguish it.
VARIETIES. The varieties of quartz owe their peculiar-
ities either to crystallization, mode of formation, or impuri-
ties, and they fall naturally into three series.
I. The vitreous varieties, distinguished by their glassy
fracture.
II. The chalcedonic varieties, having a subvitreous or
a waxy luster, and generally translucent.
III. The jaspery varieties, having barely a glimmering
faster and opaque.
I. VITREOUS VARIETIES.
Rock Crystal. Pure pellucid quartz.
This is the mineral to which the word trystal was first
t applied by the ancients ; it is derived from the Greek krus-
What is said of the color and appearance of quartz ] How is it dis-
tinguished ? What are the three classes of varieties ? What is the
Origin of the word crystal ?
12
134 SILICA.
tallos, meaning ice. The pure specimens are often cut and
used in jewelry, under the name of " white stone."
It is often used for optical instruments and spectacle glass,
and even in ancient times was made into cups and vases.
Nero is said to have dashed to pieces two cups of this kind
on hearing of the revolt that caused his ruin, one of which
cost him a sum equal to $3000.
A?nethyst. A purple or bluish-violet variety of quartz-
crystal, often of great beauty. The color is owing to a
trace of oxyd of manganese. It was so called on account
of its supposed preservative powers against intoxication.
The amethyst, especially when large and finely colored,
is highly esteemed as a gem. It is always set in gold.
Rose Quartz. A pink or rose -colored quartz. It seldom
occurs in crystals, but generally in masses much fractured,
and imperfectly transparent. The color fades on exposure
to the light, and on this account it is little used as an orna-
mental stone, yet is sometimes cut into cups and vases.
The color may be restored by leaving it in a moist place.
False Topaz. This name is applied to the light yellow
pellucid crystals. They are often cut and set for topazes.
The absence of cleavage distinguishes it from true topaz.
The name citrine, often applied to this variety, alludes to its
yellow color.
Smoky Quartz. A smoky-tinted quartz crystal. The
color is sometimes so dark as to be nearly black and opaque
except in splinters. Crystals of the lighter shades are often
extremely beautiful and are used for seals and the less deli-
cate kinds of jewelry. It is the cairngorum stone.
Milky quartz. A milk-whi'e, nearly opaque, massive
quartz, of very common occurrence. It has often a greasy
luster, and is then called greasy quartz.
Prase. A leek-green massive quartz, resembling some
shades of beryl in tint, but easily distinguished by the ab-
sence of cleavage and its infusibility. It is supposed to be
colored by a trace of iron.
Aventurine Quartz. Common quartz spangled throughout
with scales of golden-yellow mica. It is usually translucent,
and gray, brown, or reddish brown, in color. The artificial
What use is made of rock crystal ? What is the color of amethyst ?
Why was it so called 1 What is rose quartz 1 What is said of its
color 1 What is false topaz 1 How is it used 1 What is smoky quartz ?
What is milky quartz ? What is prase ? What is aventurine quartz ?
QUARTZ. 135
imitations of this stone are more beautiful than the natural
aventurinc.
Ferruginous Quartz. Includes opaque, yellow, brownish-
yellow, and red crystals. The color is due to oxyd of iron.
These crystals are usually very regular in their forms, (fig-
ure 2,) and not distorted like the limpid crystals. They are
sometimes minute and aggregated like the grains of sand in a
sandstone.
II. CHALCEPONIC VARIETIES.
Chalcedony. A translucent massive variety, with a glis-
tening and somewhat waxy luster ; usually of a pale grayish,
bluish, or light brownish shade. It often occurs lining or
filling cavities in amygdaloid and other rocks.
These cavities are nothing but little caverns, into which
siliciceous waters have filtrated at some period. The stalac-
tites are " icicles" of chalcedony, hung from the roof of the
cavity. Some of these chalcedony grottos are several feet
in diameter.
Chrysoprase. An apple -green chalcedony. It is colored
by nickel.
Cornelian. A bright red chalcedony, generally of a clear
rich tint. It is cut and polished and much used in the more
common jewelry. The colors are deepened by exposure of
several weeks to the sun's rays. It is often cut for seals and
beads. The Japanese cut great numbers into beads of the
form of the fruit of the olive.
Sard. A deep-brownish red chalcedony, of a blood-red
color by transmitted light.
Agate. A variegated chalcedony. The colors are dis-
| tributed in clouds, spots, or concentric lines. These lines
I take straight, circular, or zigzag forms ; and when the latter,
it is called fortification agate, so named from the resemblance
j to the angular outlines of a fortification. These lines are
I the edges of layers of chalcedony, and these layers are the
successive deposits during the process of its formation.
Mocha stone or Moss agate is a brownish agate, consisting
of chalcedony with dendritic or moss-like delineations, of an
opaque yellowish brown color. They arise from dissem-
inated oxyd of iron ; all the varieties of agate are beau-
What is ferruginous quartz? Describe chalcedony. What is said
of its formation ? What is chrysoprase ? What is carnelian ? How is
its color deepened? For what is it used ? What is sard? Describe
agate.
136 SILICA.
tiful stones when polished, but are not much used in fine
jewelry. The colors may be darkened by boiling the stone
in oil, and then dropping it into sulphuric acid. A little oil
is absorbed by some of the layers, which becomes blackened
or charred by the acid.
Onyx. This is a kind of agate with the colors arranged
in flat horizontal layers. They are usually light clear brown
and an opaque white. When the stone consists of sard
and white chalcedony in alternate layers, it is called sar-
donyx.
Onyx is the material used for cameos, and is well fitted
for this kind of miniature sculpture. The figure is carved
out of one layer and stands in relief on another. The most
noted of the ancient cameos is the Mantuan vase at Bruns-
wick. It was cut from a single stone, and has the form of a
creampot, about 7 inches high and 2 broad. On its out-
side, which is of a brown color, there are white and yellow
groups of raised figures, representing Ceres and Triptolemus
in search of Proserpine. The Museo Borbonico contains an
onyx measuring .eleven inches by nine, representing the
apotheosis of Augustus ; and another exhibiting the apothe-
osis of Ptolemy on one side and the head of Medusa on the
other. Both are splendid specimens of the art, and the
former is supposed to be the largest in existence.
Cat's eye. This is a greenish-gray translucent chalcedo-
ny, having a peculiar opalescence, or glaring internal reflec-
tions, like the eye of a cat, when cut with a spheroidal sur-
face. The effect is owing to filaments of asbestus. It
comes from Ceylon and Malabar, ready cut and polished, and
is a gem of considerable value.
Flint, Hornstone. Flint is massive compact silica, of dark
shades of smoky gray, brown, or even black, and feebly trans-
lucent. It breaks with sharp cutting edges and a conchoid-
al surface. It is well known as the material of gun-flints.
It occurs in nodules in chalk : not unfrequently the nodules
are in part chalcedonic. Hornstone resembles flint, but is
more brittle, and therefore unfit for making into flints. It is
found in limestone, and one of these rocks is called cherty
limestone, from the abundance of it.
Plasma. This is a faintly translucent variety of chalcc-
Hovv may the colors of agate be deepened ] What is onyx? For
what is it used ? What are some of the remarkable canieus ? What
is cat's eye ? What is flint ? How does it diiier from horaslone.
QUARTZ. 137
dony approaching jasper, of a greenish color, sprinkled with
yellow and whitish dots.
III. JASPERY VARIETIES.
Jasper. A dull red or yellow siliceous rock, containing
some clay and yellow or red oxyd of iron. The yellow
jasper becomes red by heat, owing to its rendering the iron
anhydrous. It also occurs of green and other shades. Ri-
band jasper is a jasper consisting of broad stripes of green,
yellow, gray, red or brown. Egyptian jasper consists of
these colors in irregular concentric zones, and occurs in no-
dules, which are usually sawn across and polished. Ruin
jasper is a variety with delineations like ruins, of some
brownish or yellowish shade on a darker ground. Porcelain
jasper is nothing but a baked clay, and differs from jasper in
being fusible before the blowpipe. Red porphyry resembles
red jasper; but this is also fusible, and consists almost purely
of feldspar.
Jasper admits of a high polish, and is a handsome stone
for inlaid work, but is not used as a gem.
Bloodstone or Heliotrope. This is a deep green stone,
slightly translucent, containing spots of red, which have
some resemblance to drops of blood. It contains a few per
cent, of clay and oxyd of iron mechanically combined with
i the silica. The red spots are colored with iron. There is
a bust of Christ in the royal collection at Paris, cut in this
stone, in which the red spots are so managed as to represent
drops of blood.
Lydian stone, Touchstone, Basanite. A velvet-black si-
I liceous stone or flinty jasper, used on account of its hardness
and black color for trying the purity of the precious metals ;
j this was done by comparing the color of the tracing left on
it \vith that of an alloy of known character.
Besides the above there are also two or three other varie-
\ ties, arising from structure.
Float stone. This variety consists of fibres or filaments,
aggregated in a spongy form, and so light as to float in wa-
ter. It comes from the chalk formations of Menil Montant,
near Paris.
Tabular quartz. Consists of thin plates, either parallel
i or crossing one another and leaving large open cells.
Granular quartz. A rock consisting of quartz grains
compactly cemented. The colors are white, gray, flesh-red,
What is plasma ? What is jasper ? What is bloodstone? Lydian stone?
12*
138 SILICA.
yellowish or reddish brown. Sandstone often consists of
nearly pure quartz*
Silicfad wood. Petrified wood often consists of quartz.
Some specimens, petrified with chalcedony or agate, are
remarkably beautiful when sawn across and polished, re-
taining all the texture or grain as perfect as in the original
wood.
Penetrating substances. Quartz crystals are sometimes
penetrated by other minerals. Rutile, asbestus, actinolite,
topaz, tourmaline, chlorite and anthracite, are some of these
substances. The rutile often looks like needles or fine hairs
of a brown color passing through in every direction. They
are cut for jewelry, and in France pass by the name of Flcches
d* amour, (love's arrows.) The crystals of Herkirner county,
N. Y., often contain anthracite. Other crystals contain
cavities filled with some fluid, as water, naphtha or some
mineral solution.
Loc. Fine quartz crystals occur in Herkimer county,
New York, at Middlefield, Little Falls, Salisbury and New-
port, in the soil and in cavities in a sandstone. The beds of
iron ore at Fowler and Hermon, St. Lawrence county, af-
ford dodecahedral crystals. Diamond rock near Lansing-
burg is an old locality, but not affording at present good
specimens. Diamond Island, Lake George, Pelham and
Chesterfield, Mass., Paris and Perry, Me., and Meadow Mt.,
Md., are other localities. Small unpolished rhombohedrons,
the primary form, have been found at Chesterfield, Mass.
Rose quartz is found at Albany and Paris, Me., Acworth,
N. H., and Southbury, Conn. ; smoky quartz at Goshen,
Mass., Paris, Me., and elsewhere ; amethyst at Bristol, R. I.,
and Kewenaw Point, Lake Superior ; chalcedony and agates
of moderate beauty near Northampton, and along the trap of
the Connecticut valley but finer near Lake Superior, upon
some of the Western rivers, and in Oregon ; chryroprase
occurs at Belmont's lead mine, St. Lawrence county, N. Y.,
and a green quartz (often called chryroprase) at New Fane,
Vt., along with fine drusy quartz ; red jasper occurs on the
banks of the Hudson at Troy, and at Saugus near Boston,
Mass. ; yellow jasper is found with chalcedony at Chester,
Mass. ; Heliotrope occupies veins in slate at Blooomingrove,
Orange county, N. Y.
What is granular quartz ? What is said of silicified wood ? What
are common penetrating substances 1
13TLICA, 139
OPAL.
Compact and amorphous ; also in reniform and stalactitic
shapes. Presents internal reflections, often of several colors,
and the finest opals exhibit a rich play of colors of deli-
cate shades when turned m the hand. White, yellow, red,
brown, green and gray are some of the shades that occur,
and impure varieties are dark and opaque. Luster sub-
vitreous. H=5'5 6-5. Gr,=2*21.
Composition ; opal consists of silica and 5 to 12 per cent.
of water,
VARIETIES.
Precious opal, Noble opaL External color usually milky,
but within there is a rich play of delicate tints. Composi-
tion, silica 90, water 10, (Klaproth.) This variety forms a
gem of rare beauty. It is cut with a convex surface. The
largest mass of which we have any knowledge is in the im-
perial cabinet of Vienna ; it weighs 17 ounces, and is nearly
as large as a man's fist, but contains numerous fissures and
is not entirely disengaged from the matrix. This stone was
well known to the ancients and highly valued by them.
They called it paideros, or child beautiful as Love, The
noble opal is found near Cashau in Hungary, and in Hon-
duras, South America ; also on the Faroe Islands.
Fire opal, Girasol, An opal with yellow and bright hya-
cinth or fire-red reflections. It comes from Mexico and the
Faroe Islands.
Common opal, Semiopal. Common opal has the hardness
of opal and is easily scratched by quartz, a character which
distinguishes it from some silicious stones often called semi-
opal. It has sometimes a milky opalescence, but does not
reflect a play of colors. The luster is slightly resinous, and
the colors are white, gray, yellow, bluish, greenish to dark
grayish green. Translucent to nearly opaque. Phillips
found nearly 8 per cent, of water in one specimen.
Hydrophane. This variety is opaque white or yellowish
when dry, but becomes translucent and opalescent when im-
mersed in water.
Cacftolong. Opaque white, or bluish white, and usual!
Describe opal. How does it differ from quartz in composition ? What
is said of the appearance and value of noble opal ? What is fire opal 1
common opal ?
140 SILICA*
associated with chalcedony. Much of what is so called fs
nothing but chalcedony ; but other specimens contain water,
and are allied to hydrophane. It contains also a little alum-
ina and adheres to the tongue. It was first brought from
the river Cach in Bucharia.
Hyalite, Mutter's glass. A glassy transparent variety,
occurring in small concretions and occasionally stalactitic.
It resembles somewhat a transparent gum arabic. Com-
position, silica 92-00, water 6-33, (Bucholz.)
Menilite. A brown opaque variety, in compact reniform
masses, occasionally slaty. Composition, silica 85 '5, water
ll'O, (Klaproth.) It is found in slate at Menil Montant,
near Paris.
Wood opal. This is an impure opal, of a gray, brown or
black color, having the structure of wood, and looking much
like common silicified wood. It is wood petrified with a
hydrated silica, (or opal,) instead of pure silica, and is dis-
tinguished by its lightness and inferior hardness. Specific
gravity, 2.
Opal jasper. Resembles jasper in appearance, and con-
tains a few per cent, of iron ; but it is not so hard owing to
the water it contains.
Siliceous sinter has often the composition of opal, though
sometimes simply silica. The name is given to a loose
porous siliceous rock usually of a grayish color. It is de-
posited around the Geysers of Iceland in cellular or compact
masses, sometimes in fibrous, stalactitic or cauliflower-like
shapes. Pearl sinter, or fiorite occurs in volcanic tufa in
smooth and shining globular or botryoidal masses, having a
pearly luster.
Tdbasheer is a siliceous aggregation found in the joints of
the bamboo in India. It contains several per cent, of water,
and has nearly the appearance of hyalite.
Dif. Infusibility before the blowpipe is the best character
for distinguishing opal from pitchstone, pearlstone, and other
species it resembles. The absence of anything like cleav-
age or crystalline structure is another characteristic. Its
inferior hardness separates it from quartz.
Obs. Hyalite is the only variety of opal that has yet
been found in the United States. It occurs sparingly at the
What is hyalite ? wood opal ? siliceous sinter 1 tabasheer 1 How is
opal distinguished from pitchstone and quartz 1
TABtJLAR SPAR. 141
Phillips ore bed, Putnam county, N. Y., and in Burke and
Scrivrn counties, Georgia. The Suanna spring in Georgia
atl'urds siuall quantities of siliceous sinter.
2. LIME.
The silicates and borosilicate of lime gelatinize readily
and perfectly with muriatic acid. In hardness they are nci
above feldspar, (6,J and their specific gravities do not exceee
3. They fuse before the blowpipe with different degrees of
facility, affording no metallic reaction.
TABULAR SPAR.
TricKnate. Rarely in oblique rhombotdal prisms. Usual-
ly massive, cleaving easily in one direction, and showing a
lined or indistinctly columnar surface, with a vitreous luster
inclining to pearly.
Usually white, but sometimes tinged with yellow, red, or
brown. Translucent, or rarely subtransparent. Brittle.
11=45. Gr=2-75 2-9.
Composition : silica 52, lime 48. Fuses with cUfficulty to
a subtransparent, colorless glass ; forms with borax a clear
glass.
Dif. Differs from any carbonates in not effervescing with
| acids ; from asbestus and nenaalite in its more vitreous ap-
pearance and fracture ; and from these and treraoHte in its
forming a jelly with acids; from natrofite, scolecite and dys-
clasite in its very broad s^fr-fibrous cleavage surface and
more difficult fusibility ; from feldspar in the lined appear-
ance of a cleavage surface and the action of acids.
Obs, Usually found in granite or granular limestone ;
occasially in basalt or lava.
At Willsboro', Lewis, Diana, and Roger's Rock, N. Y.,
it is abundant, of a white color, along with garnet. At
Boonville, it is found in boulders with garnet and pyroxene.
Grenville, Lower Canada, and Bucks county, Pennsylvania,
are other localities. Occurs s.lso at Kewenaw Point, Lake
Superior.
What are the prominent characters of the silicates and borosilicate
<tf lime ? Wkat is the color and appearance of tabular spar ? Of what
does it consist? How does it difler from the carbonates? how -from
asbestos, treuiolite, and feldspar 2
142 LIME.
DATHOLITE BorosUicatc of Lime,
Monoclinate. In modified oblique rhombic prisms. M :
M=77 30'. Crystals without distinct cleavage ; small and
glassy. Also botryoidal, with a columnar structure, and then
called boiryoUte. Color white, occasionally grayish, green-
ish, yellowish or reddish. Translucent. H = 5 5-5.
Gr=2-9 3.
Composition: silica 37 '4, lime 35*7, boracrc acid 21 '3,
water 5*7. Botryolite contains twice the proportion of water.
Rendered friable in the flame of a candle. Before the blow-
pipe becomes opaque, intumesces and melts to a glassy
globule coloring the flame green. Forms a jelly easily Math
nitric acid.
Dif. Its small glassy complex crystallizations without
cleavage are unlike any other mineral that gelatinizes with
acid, except some chabazites, from which it is distinguished
by tinging the blowpipe flame green, and having greater
hardness.
Obs. Occurs in amygdaloid and gneiss. In Connecticut,
the finest come from Roaring brook, 14 miles from New
Haven. The Rocky Hill quarry near Hartford, Berlin, Mid.
diefield Falls, Conn., and Bergen Hill and Patterson in New
Jersey, are other localities ; also in great abundance at
Eagle Harbor in the copper region, Lake Superior.
Uses. Where abundant, as near Lake Superior, it may
be profitably employed in the manufacture of boracic acid'.
It is suggested by Dr. C. T. Jackson as a good flux for the
copper ores.
Dysdasite. In white fibrous seams or masses consisting of delicate
fibers, and singularly tough under the hammer ; color whitish, yellowish
or bluish. H=4'5. Gr=2'28 2 36. Composition, silica 57'0, time
26'4, water 16'6. Fuses on the edges. Gelatinizes- easily in muriatic
acid. From the Faroe Islands in trap. The variety okenite is from
Greenland.
Pectohte. Divergent, fibrous and resembling dysclaslte. Luster weak
pearly. H=4 5. Gr=2 69 Composition, silica 51'3, lime 33' 8,
soda 8'3, potash 1*6, water (hygrometric '?) 3" 9. Fuses to a white trans-
parent glass. From the Tyrol and Fasi-a-thal. A mineral fromBergea
Hill, which has been called stellite is near pectolite in appearance, and
chemical composition.
What is said of the crystals of datholite ? How much boracic acid
does datholite contain I Haw is it distinguished 1
TALC. 143
Edelforsite. A fibrous or feathery silicate of lime, consisting of silica
61-8, lime 38 2. From Aedelfors in Smalaiid.
3. MAGNESIA.
The blowpipe test for distinguishing magnesia when not
disguised by the presence of a metallic oxyd, is given on
page 123. None of the silicates of magnesia gelatinize with
acids. The species vary in hardness from 1 to 8.*
1. Hydrous Silicates of Magnesia.^
TALC,
Trimetric. In right rhombic or hexagonal prisms. M :
M = 120 Usually in pearly foliated masses, separating
easily into thin translucent folia. Sometimes stellate, or
divergent, consisting of radiating laminae ; often massive, con-
sisting of minute pearly scales ; also crystalline granular, or
of a h'ne impalpable texture.
Luster eminently pearly, and feel unctuous. Color some
: shade of light green or greenish white ; occasionally silvery
; white ; also grayish green and dark olive green. H = 1
; 1*5 ; easily impressed with the nail. Gr = 2*7 2*9. Lam-
ina? flexible, but not elastic.
VARIETIES.
Foliated talc. The purest talc, occurring in foliated masses,
of a white or greenish white color, and having an unctuous
feel.
Soapstone, or Steatite. A gray or grayish green massive
' talc, showing when broken a fine crystalline texture.
Potstone, or Lapis ollaris. An impure talc, of grayish
green and dark green colors and slaty structure. Feel
, unctuous.
Do any silicates of magnesia gelatinize with acids? Describe talc.
What is steatite ? What is potstone 1
* The base magnesia is replaceable by protoxyd of iron, protoxyd of
manganese, or lime, as illustrated in the species pyroxene, and conse-
quently this group embraces compounds which are not purely silicates
of magnesia.
t Talc is often anhydrous ; but since the discoveries of Scheerer with
regard to the peculiar isomorphism of water and magnesia, there is no
sufficient reason for removing this species from chlorite and the allied
hydrous species which follow.
144 MAGNESIA,
Indurated talc. A slaty talc, of compact texture, and
above the usual hardness, owing to impurities. Feel some*
what unctuous. This passes into talcose slate, still less-
pure and less unctuous in its feel, and coarser in its slaty
structure-,
Rensselaerite. This name has been given by Professor
Emmons to a kind of soapstone from St. Lawrence, Jeffer-
son county, N. Y., which has a very compact structure, af
soapy feel, slight transluceney, and hardness 3 to 4. It oc-
curs of white, yellow, or grayish white colors, and even
black. It works up with a very smooth and handsome sur-
face, -and is made into inkstands.
Composition of foliated talc, silica 62'&, magnesia 32-4 7
with protoxyd of iron 1-6, alumina 1-0, water 2-3. Water
is considered by some chemists an essential ingredient, and
4 per ent. have been detected in some talcs.
Composition of steatite, silica 63*1, magnesia 34 '3, pro-
toxyd of iron 2'9f. Before the blowpipe talc loses it color
and fuses with great difficulty.
Dif. The unctuous feel, foliated structure, and pearly
luster of talc are good characteristics. It differs from mica
also in being inelastic, although flexible ; from chlorite,
saponite and serpentine in yielding no water when heated
in a glass tube. Only the massive varieties resemble the last
mentioned species, and chlorite has a dark olive -green color.
Obs. Handsome foliated talc occurs at Bridgewater, Vt, ^
Smithfield, R. I. ; Dexter, Me. ; Lockwood, Newton ana.
Sparta, N. J., and Amity, N. Y. On Staten Island, near
the quarantine, both the common and indurated are obtained ;
at Cooptown, Md., green, blue and rose colored talc occur.
Steatite or soapstone is abundant, and is quarried at Graf-
ton, Vt., and an adjacent town ; at Francestown and Orford,
N. H. It also occurs at Keene and Richmond, N. H. ; at
Marlboro and New Fane, Vt. ; at Middlefield, Mass. ; in
Loudon county, Va., and at many other places.
Uses. Steatite may be sawn into slabs and turned in a
lathe. It is used for fire stones in furnaces and stoves, and
for jambs for fire-places. It receives a polish after being
heated, and has then a deep olive-green color. It is bored
out for conveying water, in place of lead tubes. Steatite is
How does talc differ from mica 1 Of what does talc consist 1 Why
is it useful for fire stones? What other uses has it 1
CHLORITE. 145
also used in the manufacture of porcelain , it makes the bis-
cuit semi-transparent, but brittle and apt to break with slight
changes of heat. It forms a polishing material for serpen-
tine, alabaster and glass ; and removes grease spots from
cloth. When ground up, it is employed for diminishing the
friction of machinery. Potstone is worked into vessels for
culinary purposes, at Como in Lombardy.
CHLORITE,
Usually in dark olive -green masses, having a granular
texture : rarely in hexagonal crystals, foliated like talc and
in radiated forms. Luster a little pearly. Rarely subtrans-
parent ; subtranslucent to opaque. Laminae inelastic. H =
1*5. Gr=2'65 2*85. Feel scarcely unctuous.
Composition: silica 30*4, alumina 17, magnesia 34*0,
protoxyd of iron 4'4, water 12'6. Fuses with difficulty on
the thinnest edges. Yields water when heated in a glass
tube.
This species has lately been subdivided on chemical
grounds, and the name Ripidolite applied to the new species
instituted.
Dif. Its olive green color and granular texture when
massive are characteristic, and the latter character will dis-
tinguish it from serpentine and potstone. From talc and its
varieties it is distinguished also by yielding water in a glass
tube ; from green iron earth in its difficult fusibility.
Obs. Chlorite and chlorite slate, the latter an impure
; slaty variety, form extensive deposits in primitive regions,
; and the latter often contains crystals of magnetic iron, horn-
blende or tourmaline.
Saponite. Soft and almost like butter, but brittle on drying ; color
white, or tinged with yellow, blue or red. Composition, silica 45-0,
, magnesia 24 - 7, alumina 9'3, peroxyd of iron TO, potash, 0'7, water
. 18-0=98-7. From Lizard's Point, Cornwall. It may be kneaded like
dough when first extracted.
SERPENTINE.
Rarely in right rectangular prisms. Cleavage indistinct.
Usually massive and compact in texture, of a dark oil green,
f olive-green, or blackish-green color. Occurs also fibrous
What effect has it in porcelain ? What is the color and usual appear-
ance of chlorite ? How is chlorite distinguished from green iron earth ?
What is the color and appearance of serpentine 1
13
146
and lamellar. The lamellar varieties consist of thm fblfa&
sometimes separable, but brittle ; colors greenish-white, and"
light to dark-green.
Luster weak ; resinous, inclining to greasy. Finer varie*
ties translucent ; also opaque. H=2^ 4. May be cut
with a knife. Gr=2'5 2'6. Becomes yellowish-gray on
exposure. Feel sometimes a Iktle unctuous.
VARIETIES AND COMPOSITION.
Precious serpentine. Purer specimens of a rich oil green
color, and translucent, breaking with a splintery fracture.
It is a beautiful stone when polished. Composition : silica
42*3, magnesia 44'2, protoxyd of iron 0*2, carbonic acid Q'9>,
water 12*4. Gives ofFwatef when heated ; becomes brown-
ish-red before the blowpipe, but fuses only on the edges.
Common serpentine. Opaque of dark green shade& of
color.
Picrolite, Schiller asbestus* A fibrous serpentine, of an
olive-green color, constituting seams in serpentine. The
fibers are coarse or fine, and brittle. Resembles some forms
of asbestus, but differs in its difficult fusibility. Thomson's
Baltimorite belongs here.
Marmolite. A foliated serpentine, of greenish white and
light green shades of color, and pearly luster, consisting of
thin folia rather easily separable. The folia are brittle, and
the variety is thus distinguished from talc and brucite.
Composition: silica 40*1, magnesia 41*4, protoxyd of iron
2*7, water 15-7, (Shepard.)
Kerolite. Near marmolite, but folia not separable.
Dif. Precious and common serpentine are easily distin-
guished from other green minerals by their dull resinous lus-
ter and compact structure, in connection with their softness,
being easily cut with a knife, and their low specific gravity,
Obs. Serpentine occurs as a rock, and the several varie-
ties mentioned either constitute the rock or occur in it.
Occasionally it is disseminated through granular limestone,
giving the latter a clouded green color : this is the verd an-
tique marble.
Good Serpentine is found in the United States at Phil-
What is the hardness of serpentine 1 Of what does it consist? What
is precious serpentine ? What are the peculiarities of marmolite and
kerolite? How is serpentine distinguished? How does serpentine
occur ?
XEPHRITE. 147
, Port Henry, Goirrerneur, Warwick, N. Y. ; New-
bun port, Westfield, and Blandford, Mass. ; at Kellyvale and
T\e\v Fane, Vt. ; Deer Isle, Maine; New Haven, Conn.;
Bare Hills, Md.", &c. Marmolite and kerolite, at Hoboken,
N. J., and Blandford, Mass., The quarries of Milford and
New Haven, Ct., afford a beautiful verd-antique, and have
been wrought ; but the works are now suspended.
Uses. Serpentine forms a handsome marble when pol-
ished, especially when mixed with limestone, constituting
rerd -antique marble. Its -colors are often beautifully clouded,
and it is much sought for, as a material for tables, jambs for
fire-places, and ornamental in -door work. Exposed to the
weather, it wears uneven, and soon loses its polish. Chromic
iron .is usually disseminated through it, and increases the
variety of its shades. Dr. C. T. Jackson of Boston has lately
shown that Epsom salts (sulphate of magnesia) may be prof-
itably manufactured from serpentine.
NEPHRITE. Jade.
Massive, and very tough and compact ; greenish or bluish
to white. Translucent to subtranslucent. Luster vitreous.
H =6-5 7-5. Gr = 2-9 3-03.
Composition : contains silica, magnesia, and some water,
with or without alumina, oxyd of iron, and lime. It varies
in constitution, and has been lately considered a massive
tremolite. Infusible alone before the blowpipe.
Dif. Differs from beryl in having no cleavage ; and from
quartz by its finely uneven surface of fracture, instead of
| smooth and glassy,
Obs. A sky-blue variety of nepTirite occurs at Smithfield,
, R. I., and a greenish and reddish-gray variety is found at
Easton, Pa., and Stoneham, Mass.
Nephrite is made into images, and was formerly worn as
a charm. It was supposed to be a cure for diseases of the
kidney, whence the name, from the Greek nephros, kidney.
In New Zealand, China and Western America, it is carved
by the inhabitants or polished down into various fanciful
shapes. Much of the mineral from China called jade is
1 prehnite.
What is verd-antique 1 What are the uses of serpentine ? What
*re the characters of nephrite 1 What is the origin of the name?
148 MAGNESIA.
MEERSCHAUM. Sea FrotJt.
Dull white, opaque and earthy, nearly like clay. H=2
Gr=2-6 3-4.
Composition of a variety from Anatolia : silica 42, mag-
nesia 30*5, water 23, lime 2-3, alumina 2, (Thomson.)
When heated it gives out water and a fetid odor, and be-
comes hard and perfectly white. When first dug up it is
soft, has a greasy feel and lathers like soap ; and on this
account it is used by the Tartars in washing their linen. It
is used f<jr making the bowls of Turkish pipes, by a process
like that for pottery ware. When imported into Germany,
the bowls of the pipes are prepared for sale by softening
them first in tallow, then in wax, and finally polishing them.
Aphrodite is another meerschaum from Longbanshyttan.
Quincite is a variety or related species of a reddish color.
SCHILLER SPAR.
Triclinate. Occurs massive, with cleavage in two direc-
tions, producing a thin foliated structure. Folia brittle and
separable. Color olive and blackish-green, inclining on the-
cleavage face to pinchbeck-brown. Luster metallic-pearly
on a cleavage face ; vitreous in other directions. H = 3'5
4. Sectile. Gr=2-5 2-7.
Composition: silica 43' 9^ magnesia 25*9, oxyd of iron and
chromium 13'0, water 12*4, alumina 1*3, lime 2'6, protoxyd
of manganese 5. Gives off water, and becomes pinch-
beck-brown and magnetic before the blowpipe, but fuses
only on the thinnest edges.
Dif. Distinguished from diallage, which also occurs irf
serpentine, and is the only species with which it can be
confounded, by its yielding water before the blowpipe.
Marmolite is much softer. Talc and mica are flexible.
Obs. Occurs imbedded in serpentine. Baste in the Hartz
is a foreign locality. Blandford and Westfield, Mass., and
Amity, N. Y., are given as American localities.
Clintonite. In oblique crystals : but usually massive, thin foliated,
and brittle, with a submetallic luster, and reddish or yellowish-brown,.
or copper-red color. Streak yellowish-gray. Composition, silica 17'0,
alumina 37'6, magnesia 24-3, lime 10-7, protoxyd of iron 5-0, water
What is meerschaum ? its appearance 1 What is the structure of
^chiller spar ? its luster ? What does it occur with 1 How does u
differ from diallage 1
SCHILLER SPAR. 149
3-6, (Clemson.) Infusible. Affords a transparent bead with borax,
Acied on by the acids when pulverised. Occurs in limestone with ser-
pentine at Amity, N. Y. It was named in honor of De Witt Clinton.
It has also been called Seybertitc.
Xanthophyllite is considered by Rose, its describer, as identical with
! Clintonite.
Pennine. Near chlorite ; occurs in hexagonal tables, secondary to
a rhombohedron of 118. From the Pennine Alps.
Picrosmine. A green or greenish-white mineral, either fibrous like
ssbestus, or in rectangular prisms. H=2'5 3. Gr=2*59 2 - 7. Gives
out water when heated, and has an argillaceous odor when moistened
with the breath. Near serpentine in composition. From an iron mine
in Bohemia.
Monradite is a cleavable yellowish mineral near picrosmine in com-
position.
Rttinalitc. A massive mineral, having a resinous appearance, found
; with and allied to serpentine. From Granville, Upper Canada.
Dermatine. Occurs massive, reniform or in crusts on serpentine, of a
resinous luster and green color. Feel greasy. Odor when moistened
I argillaceous.
Villarsite. Occurs in yellowish rhombic octahedrons in dolomite at
i Traversella, in Piedmont. Allied in composition to serpentine.
Antigorite. A brownish or leek green mineral, in foliated masses and
resembling Schiller spar,
Spadaite. A flesh-red mineral, near Schiller spar.
Pyrallolite. A white or greenish cleavable mineral, dull and a little
resinous in luster. Becomes black and then white again before the
blowpipe, whence the name, from the Greek pyr, fire, allos, other, and
lithos, stone. From Pargas, Finland.
Pyrosclerite. A hydrous silicate of magnesia and alumina, of a light
green color. From Elba. ^
Kammererite. A related species, occuring in six-sided prisms, red-
dish violet within. Transverse cleavage, perfect. H=2. Gr=2'76.
Pyrophyllite. Foliated and pearly like talc ; plates more or less
radiating ; very soft. Color white or greenish. It swells up and spreads
out in fan-like shapes before the blowpipe. Occurs in the Urals.
Yermiculite is probably identical with pyrophyliite. It looks and
feels like steatite ; but when heated before the blowpipe, worm-like
projections shoot out, owing to a separation of the thin leaves composing
the grains, arising from the vaporization of the water present. Occurs
at Milbury, Massachusets.
Periclase. Occurs at Vesuvius in small transparent octahedrons,
and is supposed to be pure magnesia. Luster vitreous ; nearly as hard
as feldspar. Gr=3'75.
Steatitic pseudomorphs. Pseudomorphous crystals often consist of a
kind of steatite. A pseudomorph of this kind from Warwick, N. Y.,
having the form of hornblende, but so soft as to be easily cut with a
knife, afforded Beck, silica 34 7, alumina 25 3, lime 5-1, magnesia 25'2,
water 9 1. These crystals have been produced by a change of the
original hornblende. Others have the form of spinel, &c.
The Eensselaerite of Emmons is believed to be a steatitic pseudd-
morph, or altered pyroxene.
13*
150 MAGNESIA,
2. Anhydrous Silicates of Magnesia) and Compounds
Isormorphous with them.
PYROXENE.
Monoclinate. In modified oblique rhombic prisms ; M :
87 6'. Cleavage perfect parallel with the sides of the
prisms, and also distinct parallel with the diagonals.
Usually in thick and stout prisms, of 6 or 8 sides,
terminating in two faces meeting at an edge ; a ;
a= 120 39', M: e = 133 33, M :,e = 136 D 27',
Occurs also in oblique octahedrons, much modified.
Massive varieties of a coarse lamellar structure ;
also fibrous, usually very fine and often long capillary ; also
granular, usually in coarse angular grains and friable, some-
times round ; sometimes fine and compact.
Colors green of various shades, verging to white on one
side and brown and black on the other, passing through blue
shades, but not yellow. Luster vitreous, inclining to resin-
ous or pearly; the latter especially in fibrous varieties.
Transparent to opaque. H=5 6. Brittle. Gr = 3*2
3-5.
Pyroxene consists of silica and magnesia, combined with
one or more of the bases, lime, protoxyd of iron, or protoxyd
of manganese. These bases replace one another in a com-
pound without changing the crystalline form, and have the
same form nearly in their own crystallizations, as explained
on page 74. The varieties of pyroxene arise from the va-
riations in composition dependent on this isomorphism, and
they differ much in appearance.
Varieties and Composition. The varieties may be divided
into three sections the light colored, the dark colored, and
the thin foliated.
I. White malacolite or white augite includes white or
grayish-white crystals or crystalline masses. Diopside ; in
greenish-white or grayish-green crystals, and cleavable
masses cleaving with a bright smooth surface. Sahlite ; of
a more dingy green color, less luster and coarser structure
than diopside, but otherwise similar ; named from the place
What is the character of the crystals of pyroxene ? What is a com-
mon form? What is said of its massive varieties? its colors and lus-
ter? What are the constituents of pyroxene?
PYROXEXE. 151
Sahla, where it occurs. Fassaite ; in crystals of rich green
shades and smooth and lustrous exterior. The name is de-
rived from the foreign locality Fassa. Alalite ; a diopsidc
from Piedmont. Coccolite is a general name for granular
varieties, derived from the Greek coccos, grain. The green
is called green coccolite, the white, white coccolite. The
specific gravity of these varieties varies from 3'25 to 3*3.
Composition : silica 55 '3, lime 27-0, magnesia 17'0, pro-
toxyd of manganese 1*6, protoxyd of iron 2*2. Fuse before
the blowpipe to a colorless glass ; with borax or soda form a
transparent glass.
Asbestus. This name includes fibrous varieties of both
pyroxene and hornblende ; it is more particularly noticed
under the latter species.
II. Augite includes black and greenish-black crystals,
mostly presenting the form figured above. Specific gravity
3' 3 3*4. Hedenbergite is a greenish-black opaque variety,
in cleavable masses affording a greenish-brown streak.
Specific gravity 3*5. Polylite, Hudsonite, and Jeffersonite
fall here.
The varieties in this section contain a large proportion of
iron or iron and manganese. Composition of one variety,
silica 54-1, lime 23-5, magnesia 11*5, protoxyd of iron 10-0,
protoxyd of manganese 0*6 = 99'7. Fuse like the prece-
ding, but the globule obtained is colored with iron.
III. Diallage is a thin-foliated, clear green variety, occur-
ring imbedded in serpentine ; folia thin, brittle, translucent.
Bronzite occurs in serpentine and greenstone, and is similar-
ly foliated ; its colors are dark green, or greenish brown,
with a metallic-pearly luster, or like bronze. Specific grav-
ity 3*25. Hypersthene is less thinly foliated than bronzite,
but cleaves readily ; color grayish or greenish black, and
luster metallic-pearly Gr=2'39. The Labrador hornblende,
and MetaUoidal diallage are here included.
Composition of hypersthene, silica 54*25, lime 1*5, magne-
sia 14*0, protoxyd of iron 24'5, protoxyd of manganese a
trace, alumina 2*25, water 1*0. The edges fuse with diffi-
culty to a grayish green semi-opaque glass ; some varieties
wholly fuse. Other hypersthenes contain much less iron and
a large proportion of lime.
Dif. Resembles hornblende, but is distinct in cleavage
What is coccolite ? What is the appearance of asbestus ? What
is diallage? What is hypersthene ?
ri*
152 MAGNESIA.
and in the angles of its crystals. Moreover, the crystals are
usually stout and thick, and never have the slender bladed
form common with hornblende. Some fibrous varieties,
however, can scarcely be distinguished except by analysis ;
yet it is a general fact, that asbestus occurring where pyrox-
ene abounds, belongs to this species, and that with hornblende
pertains to hornblende. White crystals of scapolite may be
mistaken for this species, especially where two of the pyra-
midal faces in a crystal of scapolite are enlarged so as to
resemble the oblique roof-like termination of crystals of py-
roxene ; but the angle between these faces in the former is
136 T, while it is 120 39 in pyroxene. Their relations
to schiller spar and serpentine have already been stated.
The species is never yellowish green like epidote.
Obs. Pyroxene is one of the most common minerals.
It occurs in granite, granular limestone, serpentine, basalt
and lavas. In basalt and lavas the crystals are generally
small and black or greenish black. In the other rocks, they
occur of all the shades of color given, and of all sizes to a
foot or more in length. One crystal from Orange county,
measured 6 inches in length, and 10 "in circumference.
White crystals occur at Canaan, Conn., Kingsbridge, New
York county, and the Singsing quarries, Westchester coun-
ty, N. Y., in Orange county at several localities; green
crystals at Trumbull, Ct., at various places in Orange coun-
ty, N. Y., Roger's Rock and other localities in Essex, Lew-
is, and St. Lawrence Go's. Dark green or black crystals
are met with near Edenville, N. Y., Diana, Lewis county.
Green coccolite is found at Roger's Rock, Long Pond, and
Willsboro, N. Y. ; black coccolite, in the forest of Dean,
Orange county, N. Y. Diopside, at Raymond and Rumford,
Me., Hustis's farm, Phillipstown, N. Y.
Pyroxene was thus named by Hauy from the Greek pur
fire, andxenos stranger, in "allusion to its occurring in lavas,
where, according to a mistake of Hafiy, it did not belong.
The name augite is from the Greek auge, luster.
HORNBLENDE.
Monoclinate. In oblique rhombic prisms more or
What is said of the occurrence of pyroxene ? How does it differ
from hornblende 1 how from scapolite 1 What is the derivation of the
names pyroxene and augite.
I
HORNBLENDE.
153
less modified; M : M = 124 30'.
allel with the sides of the prism. Of-
ten in long slender flat rhombic prisms,
(fig. 3) breaking easily transversely ; also
4, 6, and 8 sided prisms with oblique ex-
tremities, e : e= 148 30 . Occurs also
frequently columnar, with a bladed struc-
ture ; often fibrous, the fibers coarse or
fine and frequently like flax, with a pearly
or silky luster ; also lamellar ; also granu-
lar, either coarse or fine ; generally firmly
compact ; rarely friable.
Cleavage perfect
1
Colors from white to black passing through bluish green,
grayish green, greemf-and brownish green shades, to black.
Luster vitreous, with the cleavage face inclining to pearly.
Nearly transparent to opaque. H = 5 6. Gr = 2'9 3.4.
Varieties and Composition. This species, like pyroxene,
has numerous varieties, differing much in external appear-
ance, and arising from the same causes isomorphism and
crystallization. Alumina enters into the constitution of some
and replaces part of the other ingredients. The following
are the most important :
1. LIGHT COLORED VARIETIES.
Tremolite, Grammatite. Tremolite comprises the white,
grayish, and light greenish slender crystallizations, usually
in blades or long crystals, penetrating the gangue or aggre-
gated into coarse columnar forms. Sometimes nearly trans-
parent. Gr = 2'93. The name is from the foreign locality,
Tremola in Switzerland.
Actinolite. The light green varieties. Glassy actinolite
includes the bright glassy crystals, of a rich green color, usu-
ally long and slender (fig. 3) and penetrating the gangue
like tremolite. Radiated actinolite includes olive green
masses, consisting of aggregations of coarse acicular fibers,
radiating or divergent. Asbestiform actinolite resembles the
radiated, but the fibers are more delicate. Massive actino-
lite consists of angular grains instead of fibers. Gr = 3'02
3'03. The name actinolite alludes to the radiated struc-
What is the crystallization of hornblende 1 What are common forms?
What is said of the columnar and fibrous varieties? What are its col-
ors'? On what do the characters of its varieties depend ? What is tre-
molite ? what actinoiite ? Mention the characters of the varieties of
actinolite ?
154 MAGNESIA.
tare of some varieties, and is derived from the Greek dktin,
a ray of the sun. It is often mispelt actynolite.
Asbestus. In slender libers easily separable, and some-
times like flax. Either green or white. Amianthus in-
cludes the asbestus that occurs in narrow seams, with a rich
satin luster. Ligniform asbestus is compact and hard ; it
occurs of brownish and yellowish colors, and looks somewhat
like petrified wood. Mountain leather occurs in thin tough
sheets, looking and feeling a little like kid leather. It con-
sists of interlaced fibers of asbestus, and forms thin seams
between layers or in fissures of rocks. Mountain cork is
similar, but is in thicker masses ; it has the elasticity of
cork, and is usually white or grayish-white.
The preceding light colored varieties contain little or no
alumina or iron. Composition of glassy actinolite, silica
59-75, magnesia 21'1, lime 14'25, protoxyd of iron 3*9, pro-
toxyd of manganese 0'3, hydrofluoric acid 0'8, (Bonsdorf.)
2. DARK COLORED VARIETIES.
Pargasite. This name is applied to dark green crystals,
short and stout, (resembling fig. 1,) with bright luster, of
which Pargas in Finland is a noted locality. Gr = 3'll.
Hornblende. The black and greenish-black crystals and
massive specimens. Often in slender crystallizations like acti-
nolite ; also short and stout like figures 1 and 2, the latter more
especially. It contains a large per-centage of oxyd of iron,
and to this owes its dark color. It is a tough mineral, as is
implied in the name it bears. This character however is
best seen in the massive specimens. Pargasite and horn-
blende contain both alumina and iron.
Composition of hornblende, silica 48 '8, magnesia 13'6,
lime 10*2, alumina 7*5, protoxyd of iron 18*75, protoxyd of
manganese 1*15, hydrofluoric acid and water 0.9, (Bons-
dorf.)
Composition of pargasite, silica 46*3, magnesia 19*0, lime
14'0, alumina 11*5, protoxyd of iron 3'5, protoxyd of man-
ganese 0*4, hydrofluoric acid and water 2*2.
Amphibole is a name often given to this species.
The varieties of hornblende fuss easily with some ebulli-
tion, the white varieties forming a colorless glass and the
green a globule more or less colored by iron.
What is asbestus and amianthus'? mountain leather and mountain
C>rk 1 What is the peculiaiity in composition of the light colored va-
rieties of hornblende ] what of the dark varieties 1
HOllXBLEM'l.. 155
Dif. Distinguished from pyroxene as stated under thai
species ; the black variety from black tourmaline by its per-
fect cleavage, (tourmaline having none,) and also by the
form of its crystals ; the fibrous varieties from picrosmine,
nemalite, and tabular spar, as stated under those species ;
from the fibrous zeolites by not gelatinizing, and, when
in limestone or serpentine, by its gangue.
Obs. Hornblende is an essential constituent of certain
rocks, as syenite, trap and hornblende slate. Actinolite is
usually found in magnesian rocks, as talc, steatite or serpen-
tine ; tremolite in granular limestone and dolomite ; asbes-
tus in the above rocks and also in serpentine. Black crys-
tals of hornblende occur at Franconia, N. H., Chester, Mass.,
Thomaston, Me., Willsboro', N. Y. in Orange county, N.
Y., and elsewhere. Pargasite occurs at Phipsbufg and Par-
sonsfield, Me. ; glassy actinolite, in steatite or talc, at Wind-
ham, Readsboro', and New Fane, Vt., Middlefield and Bland-
ford, Mass. ; and radiated varieties at the same localites and
. many others. Tremolite and gray hornblende occur at Ca-
naan, Ct., Lee, Ncwburgh, Mass., in Thomaston and Ray-
mond, Me., Lee and Great Barrington, Mass., Dover, Kings-
bridge, and in St. Lawrence county, N. Y., at Chesnut Hill,
Penn., at the Bare Hills, Md. Asbestus at many of the
above localities ; also at Milford, Conn., Brighton and Shef-
field, Mass., Cotton Rock and Hustis's farm, Phillipstown,
f N. Y., near the quarantine, Richmond county, N. Y. Moun-
tain leather is met with at the Milford quarries, and also at
Brunswick, N. J.
Uses. Asbestus is the only variety of this species of any
I use in the arts. The flax-like variety is sometimes wo-
i ven into cloth ; it has been proposed of late to use clothes
of it for firemen, and patents have been taken out. Its in-
i combustibility and slow conduction of heat, render it a com-
plete protection against the flames. It is often made into
gloves. A garment when dirty, need only be thrown into
the fire for a few minutes to be white again. The ancients,
who were acquainted with its properties, are said to have
used it for napkins, on account of the ease with which it
was cleaned. It was also the wicks of the lamps in the an-
\ cient temples ; and because it maintained a perpetual flame
How does the species hornblende differ from tourmaline and other
minerals mentioned ? What is said of the occurrence of hornblende ?
What are the uses of asbestus ? Why was it so called I
156 MAGNESIA.
without being consumed, they named it asbestos, uncon-
sumed. It is now used for the same purpose by the native
of Greenland. The name amianthus alludes to the ease of
cleaning it, and is derived from amiantos, undefiled. Asbes-
tus is now extensively used for lining iron safes. The best
locality for collecting asbestus in the United States, is that
near the quarantine, in Richmond county, N. Y.
Anthophyllite. In oblong grayish, greenish, or brownish crystals, or
in needles, imbedded in mica slate, or penetrating it. Cleavage paral-
lel to the lateral surfaces of a rhombic prism, and also to both diago-
nals. Brittle ; fibers sharp. Gr=2'9 3'16. Resembles hornblende,
and may be a variety of it. Occurs at Hacldam and Guilford, Conn.,
and Chesterfield, Chester, and Blandford, Mass.
Cummingtonite. Fibrous ; the fibers divergent, stellular or scopi-
form. Rather incoherent. Color ash-gray. Luster a little silky.
Translucent tt> opaque. H=6 6'5. Gr=3'2. Considered a variety
of hornblende. From Cummington and Plainfield, Mass., in mica
slate.
CHRYSOLITE. Olivine.
Trimetric. In right rectangular prisms, having perfect
cleavage parallel with the smaller lateral plane. Usually
in imbedded grains of an olive green color, looking like green
bottle glass. Also yellowish-green. Transparent to trans-
lucent. H = 6'5 7. Gr = 3'3 3-5. Looks much like
glass in the fracture, except in the direction of the cleavage.
Composition : silica 38*5, magnesia 48'4, protoxyd of
iron 11*2, oxyd of manganese 0*3, alumina 0'2. Darkens
before the blowpipe but (except certain varieties) does not
fuse. Forms a green glass with borax.
Dif. Distinguished from green quartz by its occurring
disseminated in basaltic rocks, which never so occurs ; also
in its cleavage. On account of its gangue it cannot be mis-
taken for beryl. From obsidian or volcanic glass it differs
in its infusibility.
Obs. Occurs disseminated through basalt and lavas,
and is a characteristic mineral of some varieties of these
rocks.
Uses. Sometimes used as a gem, but it is too soft to be
valued, and is not delicate in its shade of color.
What is the crystallization of chrysolite ? what is its color and appear-
ance ? How does it act before the blowpipe 1 of what does it consist 1
What is its mode of occurrence ? How does it differ from green
quartz 1 from obsidian or volcanic glass 1
CUOXDRODITE. 157
CHONDRODITE.
Usually in imbedded grains or small rounded or flattened
kernels or nodules in limestone, and appearing brittle
Structure finely granular without cleavage. Color brownish
yellow, or brown ; sometimes reddish or greenish, and oc-
casionally black. Luster vitreous, inclining a little to resin-
ous. Streak rarely colored. Translucent or subtranslucent.
Fracture uneven. H=6 6*5. Gr = 3'l 3'2.
Composition : silica 33' 1, magnesia 55*5, protoxyd of iron
3*6, fluorine 7'6. From New Jersey. Fuses with difficulty
on the edges. With borax fuses easily to a yellowish-green
glass.
Dif. As it occurs only in limestone it will hardly be con-
founded with any species resembling it in color when the
gangue is present. The specific gravity is less than that of
tourmaline or garnet, some brownish-yellow varieties of
which it approaches in appearance ; moreover, it is seldom
in crystals, and when so, the faces are not polished. This
mineral has been called Brucite ; but chondrodite is of
prior authority ; it is from the Greek chondros, a grain.
Obs. Has been found only in granular limestone. It is
abundant in the adjoining counties, Sussex N. J. and Orange,
N. Y., occurring at Sparta, and Bryam, N. J., and in War-
wick and other places in JJew York.
Arfwedsonite. Resembles black hornblende and occurs massive with
one eminent cleavage. Gr=3 2 3'4. Perhaps a variety of horn-
blende. From Greenland.
Acmite. In long highly polished prisms, of a dark brown or reddish-
brown color, with a pointed extremity, penetrating granite, near Kongs-
berg in Norway. M : M=86 56'. Resembles pyroxene and may be
a variety of that species. Fuses easily before the blowpipe.
Babingtonite. Resembles some dark varieties of pyroxene. It oc-
curs in greenish-black splendent crystals in quartz at Arendal in Nor-
way. It has been said to occur at Gouverneur, N. Y.
Breislakite. In capillary crystallizations, looking like reddish or
brownish wool. It is supposed to be near hornblende. Occurs in lava
' at Vesuvius.
Forsterite. Near chrysolite. It occurs at Vesuvius, in small color-
i less prismatic crystals.
Boltonite. Massive with a granular structure or in yellowish or blu-
jish-gray grains. Cleavage in one direction. Luster vitreous. Trans-
What is the usual color and appearance of chondrodite ? What is its
'hardness? its composition? its mode of occurrence ? How does it
i differ from tourmaline and garnet?
14
158 ALUMINA.
parent to translucent. H=5 6. Gr=2'8 2'9. Composition : silica
46* 1 ; magnesia 38'1 ;alumina5'7 ; protoxyd of iron 8-6. Bleaches and
becomes transparent before the blowpipe, but does not fuse.
Occurs disseminated through limestone, at Bolton, Mass., also at
Boxborough and Littleton, Mass., and Ridgefield and Reading, Conn.
Resembles chondrodite in its cglor and mode of occurrence, but
differs in its infusibility, structure and color.
4. ALUMINA.
1. Uncombined.
SAPPHIRE.
Rhombohedral. R : Ri=86 8'. Cleavage sometimes
perfect parallel with a. Usual in six-sided
prisms, often with uneven surfaces, and
sometimes so irregular that the form is
scarcely traceable. Occurs also granular.
Colors blue, and grayish-blue most com-
mon ; also red, yellow, brown, and nearly
black ; often bright. When polished on the surface a, a star
of six rays, corresponding with the six-sided form of the
prism, is sometimes seen within the crystal. Transparent:
to translucent. H = 9, or next to the diamond. Exceed-
ingly tough, when compact. Gr=3*9 4' 16.
Composition : pure alumina. It remains unaltered before
the blowpipe both alone and with soda. Fuses with diffi-
culty with borax.
Varieties. The name sapphire is sometimes restricted in
common language to clear crystals of bright colors, used as
gems ; while dull, dingy-colored crystals and masses are
called corundum, and the granular variety of bluish-gray and]
blackish colors is called emery.
Blue is the true sapphire color. When of other bright
tints, it receives other names ; as oriental ruby, when red ;
oriental topaz, when yellow ; oriental emerald, when green ;
oriental amethyst, when violet ; and adamantine spar, when
hair-brown. Crystals with a radiate chatoyant interior are!
often very beautiful, and are called asteria, or asteriated
sapphire.
What is the usual form of crystals of sapphire ? What are their
colors ? hardness ? Of what does sapphire consist 1 What are the red,
yellow and green varieties called ? What the hair-brown variety ?
What are corundum and emery ? What is asteriated sapphire]
SAPPHIRE. 159
Dif. Distinguished readily by its hardness, exceeding all
species except the diamond, and scratching quartz crystals
with great facility.
Obs. The sapphire is usually found loose in the soil:
primitive rocks, and especially gneissoid mica slate, talcose
rock and granular limestone, appear to be its usual matrix.
It is met with in several localities in the United States, but
seldom sufficiently fine for a gem. A blue variety occurs at
Newton, N. J., in crystals sometimes several inches long ;
bluish and pink, at Warwick, N. Y. ; white, blue and red-
dish crystals, at Amity, N. Y. ; grayish, in large crystals in
Delaware and Chester counties, Pennsylvania ; pale blue
crystals have been found in boulders at West Farms and
Litchfield, Ct. It occurs also in considerable quantities in
North Carolina ; also in Chester county, Georgia, where a
fine red sapphire has been obtained.
The principal foreign localities are as follows : blue, from
Ceylon ; the finest red from the Capelan Mountains in the
kingdom of Ava, and smaller crystals from Saxony, Bohemia
and Auvergne ; corundum, from the Carnatic, on the Malabar
coast, and elsewhere in the East Indies ; adamantine spar,
from the Malabar coast ; emery, in large boulders from near
Smyrna, and also at Naxos and several of the Grecian
islands.
The name sapphire is from the Greek word sappheiros,
the name of a blue gem. It is doubted whether it included
the sapphire of the present day.
Uses. Next to the diamond, the sapphire in some of its
| varieties is the most costly of gems. The red sapphire is much
Imore highly esteemed than those of other colors. A crystal
weighing 3 carats, perfect in transparency and color, has
! been valued at the price of a diamond of the same size. They
i seldom exceed half an inch in their dimensions. Two splen-
i did red crystals, as long as the little finger and about an inch
in diameter, are said to be in the possession of the king of
: Arracan.
Blue sapphires occur of much larger size. According to
j Allan, Sir Abram Hume possesses a crystal which is three
', inches long ; and in Mr. Hope's collection of precious stones
How is the species sapphire distinguished ] In what rocks does the
r-np^hire occur ? What are some of the American localities I what are
i the principal foreign 1 What is said of the value of sapphires ?
160
ALUMINA.
there is one crystal formerly belonging to the Jardin de,
Plantes of Paris, for which he gave 3000 sterling.
The largest oriental ruby known was brought from China ,
to Prince Gargarin, governor of Siberia ; it afterwards came 1
into the possession of Prince Menzikoff, and constitutes now.
a jewel in the imperial crown of Russia.
2. Combined with bases, forming Aluminates.
SPINEL.
Monometric.
dodecahedrons.
1
In octahedrons, more or less modified, and!
Figure 1, is the octahedron with truncated!
234
edges ; figure 3, the same with beveled edges ; figure 2, the
dodecahedron. Occurs only in crystals ; cleavage octahedral,
but difficult. Figure 4 represents a twin crystal.
Color red, passing into blue, green, yellow, brown and
black. The red shades often transparent and bright ; the
dark shades usually opaque. Luster vitreous. H=8
Gr=3-5 3-6.
Composition : of a spinel, from Haddam, Ct., alumina 75*5,
magnesia 17*9, peroxyd of iron 4*1, silica 0*96. Essentially
alumina and magnesia. Infusible alone, and with difficulty
with borax.
Varieties. The following are the varieties of this species
that have received distinct names : The scarlet or bright!
red crystals, spinel ruby; the rose -red, balas-ruby ; the
orange-red, rubicelle ; the violet, almandine-ruby ; the green,
chlorospinel ; while the black varieties are called pleonaste. .
Pleonaste crystals contain sometimes 16 to 20 per cent, of
oxyd of iron.
Dif. The form of the crystals and their hardness dis-
tinguish the species. Garnet is fusible. Magnetic iron ore
What is the usual crystalline form of spinel? What is its hardness?
What are its colors ? Of what does it essentially consist 1 Mention the
colors and names of some of the varieties ?
SPINEL. 161
is attracted by the magnet. Zircon has a high specific
gravity and is not so hard.
Obs. Occurs in granular limestone ; also in gneiss and
| volcanic rocks. At numerous places in the adjoining coun-
Ities of Sussex in New Jersey, and Orange county, of various
i colors from red to brown and black ; especially at Franklin,
Newton and Sparta, in the former, and in Warwick, Amity
and Edenville, in the latter. The crystals are octahedrons,
and often grouped or disseminated singly in granular lime-
stone. One crystal found at Amity by Dr. Heron, weighs
49 pounds. The limestone quarries of Bolton, Boxborough,
Chelmsford and Littleton, Mass., afford a few crystals.
Crystals of spinel are occasionally soft, having undergone
a change of composition, and approaching steatite in all
characters except form. They are true pseudomorphs. They
I are met with in Sussex and Orange counties.
Uses. The fine colored spinels are much used as gems.
[ The red is the common ruby of jewelry, the oriental rubies
I being sapphire. Crystals weighing 4 carats have been
valued at half the price of a diamond of the same size.
Automolite. A variety of spinel, containing 34'8 per cent, of oxyd
of zinc. Color dark green or black. H=7'5 8. Gr=4"26. With
soda it forms at first a dark scoria, and when fused again frith more
'soda, a ring of oxyd of zinc is deposited on the charcoal. Infusible
; alone, and nearly so with borax.
Occurs in granite at Haddam with beryl, chrysoberyl, garnet, &c. In
! Sweden, near Fahlun, in talcose slate.
Dysluite. A variety of the species spinel, containing oxyd of
iron and zinc. Color yellowish or grayish -brown. H=7'5 8. G=
4'55. Composition, alumina 30'5, oxyd of zinc 16'8, peroxyd of iron
41*9, protoxyd of manganese 7'6, silica 3, moisture 0'4. Becomes red
before the blowpipe, but loses the color on cooling. Infusible alone;
jwith borax affords a translucent bead of a deep garnet-red color. The
name dysluite is from the Greek dus, with difficulty, and luo, to dis-
I solve. From Sterling, N. J., with Franklinite and Troostite.
Hercinite. A spinel consisting of alumina and protoxyd of iron, with
only 2~9 per cent, of magnesia.
3. Hydrous combinations with Silica.
HALLO YLITE. Hydrous Silicate of Alumina.
Massive and earthy, resembling a compact steatite.
'Yields to the nail, and may be polished by it.
How is spinel distinguished from magnetic iron ? from garnet ? from
zircon? For what are spinels used? What is automolite? What ia
the appearance of halloylite ?
14*
162 ALUMINA.
Color white or bluish. Adheres to the tongue, and small
pieces become transparent in water. Gr=l*8 2*1.
Composition : silica 39'5, alumina 34*0, water 26'5. DiS%
solves in sulphuric acid, yielding a jelly. Becomes milk-
white before the blowpipe.
Obs. From Liege and Bayonne, France. Named in
honor of the geologist, Omalius d' Holly.
NOTE. There are several other hydrous silicates of alumina allied to
halloylite, having the following names : Pholerite, kollyrite, cimolite,
bole, fetlbol, rock soap,rositc,groppite, malthacite, and smelite. They
are in general soft and earthy, often clay-like, and are distinguished
from similar magnesian species by the blowpipe test for alumina.
There are also stalactitic hydrous silicates, found in volcanic and other
igneous rocks, and formed by the decomposition of feldspar or other in-
gredients. Such silico-aluminous stalactites are not uncommon in the
Pacific Islands. They are of mixed composition, as necessarily results
from their mode of origin. Gibbsite is in some cases of this character.
When containing an alkali they become zeolites.
Allophane. Reniform and massive, occasionally with traces of crys-
tallization ; sometimes almost pulverulent. Color pale blue ; sometimes'
green, brown or yellow. Luster vitreous or resinous. Splendent and
waxy internally. Streak white. H=3. Gr=r85 1'90. Compo-^
sition, alumina 29'2, silica 21 '9, water 44'2, mixed clay 4- 7. Becomesi
opaque, colorless and pulverulent before the blowpipe, intumesces a lit-|
tie and tinges the flame green. Forms -a jelly with acids. In marl in
Thuringia and Saxony, and in chalk at Beauvais in France.
The name allophane is from the Greek alias, other, and phaino, to^
appear, alluding to its changes of appearance before the blowpipe.
Schraetterite, or opal allophane, resembles allophane ; it consists of )
silica 12'0, alumina 46'3, water 36-2, with some iron, copper and*
lime.
FINITE.
In hexagonal prisms. Color gray, greenish, brownishJ
Luster resinous, inclining to pearly. Opaque and nearly dullj
H=2-25. Gr=2-76 2-78.
Composition: silica 56, alumina 25'5, potash with some
soda 8, peroxyd of iron 5'5, magnesia with manganese 3*8,
water 1*4. Whitens before the blowpipe, and fuses on the
edges or not at all.
Obs. Occurs in Auvergne, in feldspar porphyry, and in
granite in Saxony and Cornwall.
CHLOROPHYLLITE.
In six and twelve-sided prisms, highly foliated, parallel to
Of what does halloylite consist ?
ZEOLITES. 163
I the base. Folia soft and brittle, of a grayish-green to dark
olive-green color, and pearly luster. Gr=2*7.
Composition: silica 45'2, alumina 27*6, magnesia 9'6,
protoxyd of iron 8*2, protoxyd of manganese 4*1, water 8'6,
(Jackson.) Yields water before the blowpipe and becomes
bluish-gray, but fuses only on the edges.
Dif. It is distinguished from talc by affording water be-_
fore the blowpipe, and readily by its association with iolite,
and its large hexagonal forms, with brittle folia.
Obs. Occurs with iolite in granite at Haddam, Ct., and at
g Unity, N. H. The iolite and chlorophyllite are often interlami-
nated, and the latter appears to result from the alteration of
', the former, in which the principal change is the addition of
>! water. A variety from Brevig, in Norway, has been called
1 esmarkite.
The name chlorophyllite, given to this species by Dr.
ji Jackson, is derived from the Greek chloros, green, and phul-
7o//, leaf.
The following species, like chlorophyllite in crystallization, appear
I also to have proceeded from the alteration of iolite.
Fahlunite. Color dull green, brown or black. H=3. Gr=2'6
I 2'79. Contains 13'5 per cent, of water. From Fahlun, Sweden.
G-igantolite. Color greenish to dull steel gray. Gr=2.85 $-88.
I From Tamela, Finland. Iberite is neargigantolite. Color pale grayish
I green. Gr=2 - 89. Hydrous iolite of Bonsdorf, differs from chlorophyllite
: in containing one per cent, more of water.
Aspasiolite is another hydrous mineral allied to the above, and found
I associated with iolite. It usually resembles a light green serpentine,
and occurs in six-sided prisms.
ZEOLITE FAMILY.
NOTE. The following species from heulandite to chaba-
zite, inclusive, constitute what has been called the zeolite
family, so named because the species generally melt and intu-
mesce before the blowpipe, the term being derived from the
Greek zeo, to boil. They consist essentially of silica, alum-
ina and some alkali, with more or less water. The most of
them gelatinize in acids, owing to the separation of the
silica in a gelatinous state.
They occur filling cavities in rocks, constituting narrow
seams, or implanted on the surface, and rarely in imbed-
ded crystals ; and never disseminated through the body of
a rock like crystals of garnet or tourmaline. All occur
What is the meaning of the word zeolite ? What is the constitution
of the zeolites ? their mode of occurrence ?
164 ALUMINA.
in amygdaloid, and some of them occasionally in granite or
gneiss. The first four, heulandite, laumonite, apophyllite,
stilbite, have a strong pearly cleavage, and do not occur in
fine fibrous crystallizations ; when columnar, the structure is
thin lamellar. Excepting laumonite, these species dissolve
in the strong acids, but do not gelatinize. The species
natrolite, scolecite, stellite, and thomsonite, are often fibrous,
and the crystallizations generally slender. The remaining
species, harmotome, analcime, sodalite, hauyne, lapis lazuli,
and chabazite, occur in short or stout glassy crystals, and are
seldom fibrous. To the second division above given might
be added the species dysclasite and pectolite, described under
Lime. They have a more pearly or silky luster than
natrolite.
HEULANDITE.
M onoclinate. In right rhomboidal prisms and their modi-
fications. P on M or T=90 J . M : T=130 30'.
Cleavage highly perfect, parallel to P. Luster of
cleavage face pearly, of other faces vitreous. Color
white ; sometimes reddish, gray, brown. Transpa-
rent to subtranslucent. Folia brittle. H=3 % 5 4.
Gr=2-2.
Composition : silica 59'1, alumina 17'9, lime 7'6,
water 15.4. Intumesces and fuses, and becomes phospho-
rescent. Dissolves in acid without gelatizing.
Dif. Distinguished from gypsum by its hardness and the
action of acids and the blowpipe ; from apophyllite and stil-
bite by its crystals.
Obs. Found in amygdaloid ; occasionally in gneiss, and
in some metalliferous veins.
Occurs at Bergen Hill, N. J., in trap ; at Hadlyme, Ct.,
and Chester, Massachusetts, on gneiss ; near Baltimore, on
a syenitic schist ; at Peter's- Point and Cape Blomidon,
Nova Scotia, in trap.
The species was named by Brooke in honor of Mr. Heu-
land, of London. Lincolnite is here included.
Srewsterite. Crystals right rhomboidal prisms, with a perfect
pearly cleavage like heulandite ; but M : T=93 40'. H=5 5.
Gr=2 - l 2- 5. From Argyleshire and the Giant's Causeway.
What is the appearance and structure of heulandite ? How is it
distinguished from gypsum 1 how from apophyllite and stilbite ?
APOPHYLLITE.
165
STILBITE.
In right rectangular prisms, more or less modified ; cleav-
age perfect parallel with M. The prism is usually
flattened parallel with the cleavage face, (annex-
ed figure,) and terminates in a pyramid ; a : a =
119 . Also in sheath like aggregations and thin
columnar.
Color white ; sometimes yellow, brown or red.
Luster of cleavage face pearly, of other faces vitreous. Sub-
transparent to translucent. H = 3-5 4. Gr=2-13 2-15.
Composition : silica 52'25, alumina 18-75, lime 7*4, soda
2*4, water 18*75. Before the blowpipe fuses with intumes-
cence to a colorless glass. Does not gelatinize except after
long boiling in nitric acid.
Dif. Distinguished from gypsum like heulandite ; and
from heulandite by its crystals, which are usually thin, elon-
gated rectangular prisms, with pyramidal terminations, often
uneven in surface.
Obs. Occurs mostly in amygdaloid ; also on gneiss and
granite.
It is found sparingly at the Chester and Charlestowh sy-
enite quarries, Mass., at Thatchersville and Hadlyme, Ct.,
at Phillipstown, N. Y., at Bergen Hill, N. J., in trap, in the
i copper region of Lake Superior, in amygdaloid. In beauti-
ful crystallizations at Partridge Island, Nova Scotia.
The name stilbite is derived from the Greek stilbe, luster.
APOPHYLHTE.
Dimetric. In right square prisms or octahedrons. Cleav-
age parallel with the base highly perfect. Prisms
often terminate in a sharp pyramid, (annexed fig-
ure,) a : a=104 2' and 121. Massive and fo-
liated. Color white or grayish ; sometimes with
a shade of green, yellow, or red. Luster of P
pearly : of the other faces vitreous. Transparent
! to opaque. H=4'5 5. Gr=2'3 2'4.
Composition: silica 51*9, lime 25'2, potash 5*1, water
16-0. Exfoliates and ultimately fuses to a white vesicular
glass. In nitric acid separates into flakes and becomes
i somewhat gelatinous and subtransparent.
What is the crystallization of stilbite 1 What are its general char-
j acteristics ? How is it distinguished ? What is the form and cleavage
', of crystals of apophyllite ? What are its other characters 1
166 ALUMINA.
Dif. The acute pyramidal terminations of its glassy
crystals at once distinguish it from the preceding, as also its
cleavage across the prism.
The name alludes to its exfoliation before the blowpipe.
Obs. Found in amygdaloidal trap and basalt.
Occurs in fine crystallizations at Peter's Point and Part-
ridge Island, Nova Scotia, and at Bergen Hill, N. J.
LAUMONITE.
Monoclinate. In oblique rhombic prisms ; M : M=86
15', P : M=66 30'. Cleavage parallel to the acute lateral
edge ; also massive, with a radiating or divergent structure.
Color white, passing into yellow or gray. Luster vitre-
ous, inclining to pearly on the cleavage face. Transparent
to translucent. H=3 % 5 4. Gr=2'3. Becomes opaque
on exposure, and readily crumbles.
Composition : silica 48-3, alumina 22*7, lime 12*1, water
16*0. Intumesces and fuses to a white frothy mass. Ge-
latinizes with nitric or muriatic acid, but is not affected by
sulphuric unless heated.
Dif. The alteration this species undergoes on exposure
to the air, at once distinguishes it. This" result may be pre-
vented with cabinet specimens, by dipping them into a solu-
tion of gum arable.
Obs. Found in amygdaloid and also in gneiss, porphyry,
and clay slate. Peter's Point, Nova Scotia, is a fine locality
of this species. Occurs also at Phipsburg, Me. ; Charles-
town syenite quarries, Mass. ; Bergen Hill, N. J. ; in the
amygdaloid of the copper region, Lake Superior.
Leonhardite resembles laumonite ; it contains silica 55, alumina 24- 1,
lime 10-5, water and loss 12-30.
NATROLITE.
Trimetric. In right rhombic prisms, usually slender and
terminated by a short pyramid ; M : M=91 10 ; e :
e=143> 14', M : e=116 37'. Cleavage perfect
parallel with M. Also in globular, stellated, and di-
vergent groups, consisting of delicate acicular fibers,
the fibers often terminating in acicular prismatic
crystals.
Color white, or inclining to yellow, gray, or red.
How is apophyllite distinguished ? What are the characters of lau-
monite ? What takes place when it is exposed to the air ? What is
the crystallization of natrolite ? mention other characters.
THOMSONITE. 167
Luster vitreous. Transparent to translucent. H=4*5 5*5.
Brittle. Gr=2-14 2-23.
Composition : silica 48*0, alumina 26'5, soda 16*2, water
9*3. Becomes opaque before the blowpipe and fuses to a
glassy globule. Forms a thick jelly in the acids, after heat-
ing as well as before.
Dif. Distinguished from scolecite by its action before the
blowpipe.
Obs. Found in amygdaloidal trap, basalt and volcanic
rocks. The name natrolite is from natron, soda.
Occurs iii the trap of Nova Scotia and Bergen Hill, N. J.
Scolecite resembles natrolite, and differs in containing lime in place
of soda. The luster is vitreous or a little pearly. Before the blowpipe
it curls up like a worm (whence the name from the Greek skolex a
worm) and then melts. From Staffa, Iceland, Finland, Hindostan.
Poohnahlite is a related species, from Poohnah, Hindostan. M : M =
92 20'.
Jlesole is another related species, occurring usually in implanted glo-
bules, having a flat columnar or lamellar radiated structure, with a
pearly or silky luster. Gr=2'35 2'4. Fuses easily before the blow-
pipe and gelatinizes readily with acids. From the Faroe islands and
Greenland. Harringtonite from the north of Ireland, and JBrevicite
from Brevig, Norway, appear to be identical with mesole.
Natrolite, scolecite, mesole, and some other zeolites, together corres-
>ond to the old species mesotype.
THOMSOXITE.
Trimetric. In right rectangular prisms. Usually in
nasses, having a radiated structure within, and consisting of
ong fibers or acicular crystals ; also amorphous.
Color snow-white. Luster vitreous, inclining to pearly.
Transparent to translucent. H=4'75. Brittle. Gr=2'3
2-4.
Composition : silica 38-3, alumina 30-7, lime 13-5, soda
1'5, water 13'1. Inturnesces and becomes ooaque ; but the
edges merely are rounded at a high heat. When pulverized,
t gelatinizes with nitric or muriatic acids.
Dif. Distinguished from natrolite and other zeolites by
ts difficult fusibility.
Obs. Occurs in amygdaloid, near Kilpatrick, Scotland ;
n lavas at Vesuvius ; in clinkstone in Bohemia. Also at Pe-
er's Point, Nova Scotia, in trap.
The species was named in honor of Dr. Thomas Thorn-
son, of Glasgow.
The species comptonite and mowenite are identical with thomsonite.
168
ALUMINA.
HARMOTOME.
Trimetric. In modified rectangular prisms ; and very
commonly twin crystals similar to the annexed
figure.
Color white ; sometimes grayish, yellowish,
or brownish. Subtransparent to translucent.
Luster vitreous. H=4* 4-5. Brittle. Gr==
2-39 -2-45.
Composition : silica 46-6, alumina 16-8, ba-
ryta 20-3, lime 0'3, potash I'O, water 15-0.
Fuses without intumescence to a clear globule. Phospho-
resces with a yellow light when heated. Scarcely attacked
by the acids unless they are heated.
Dif. Its twin crystals, when distinct, cannot be mistaken
for any other species except phillipsite. It is much more
fusible than glassy feldspar or scapolite ; it does not gelati-
nize in cold acids like thomsonite.
Obs. Occurs in amygdaloid, gneiss, and metalliferous
veins. Fine crystallizations are found at Strontian in Ar-
gyleshire, Andreasberg in the Hartz, and Kongsberg in
Norway.
The name harmotome is from the Greek harmos a joint,
and temno to cleave.
Phillipsite. Near harmotome in its cruciform crystals and other
characters ; but differing in containing lime in place of baryta. It dif-
fers also in gelatinizing with acids and in fusing with some intumes-
cence. It also occurs in sheaf-like aggregations and in radiated crys-
tallizations. From the Giant's Causeway, Capo di Bove, and Vesuvius.
Gismondine and zeagonite, from the last two localities mentioned, are
identical with Phillipsite.
ANALCIME.
Monometric. Occurs usually in trapezohedrons, (fig. 1.)
also fig. 2 ; cleavage cubic and 2
only in traces.
Often colorless and transparent,
also milk-white, grayish and red-
dish-white, and sometimes opaque.
The appearance sometimes seen
in polarized light is shown in figure 96, page 61.
Luster vitreous. H = 5 5'5. Gr=2'07 2'28.
What is the common form of harmotome ? what its color and ap-
pearance ? What are its distinguishing characters? What is the form
of crystals of analcime 1 the color and other characters 1
CHABAZITE. 169
Composition: silica 55*1, alumina 23, soda 13*5, water
8'3. Fuses before the blowpipe on charcoal wrthont intu-
mescence to a clear glassy globule. Gelatinizes in muriatic
acid.
Dif. Characterized by its crystallization, without cleav-
age. Distinguished from quartz and leucite by its inferior
hardness ; from calc spar by its fusibility, and by not effer-
vescing with acids ; from chabazite and its varieties by fu-
sing without intumescence to a glassy globule, and by the
crystalline form.
Obs. Found in amygdaloid and lavas ; also in gneiss.
Occurs in fine crystallizations in Nova Scotia ; also at
Bergen Hill, N. J. ; Perry, Me. ; and in the amygdaloid of
the copper region, Lake Superior. The Faroe Ids., Iceland,
Vicentine, the Hartz, Sicily, and Vesuvius are some of the
foreign localities.
The name analcime is from the Greek analJcis, weak, al-
luding to its weak electric power when heated or nibbed.
CHABAZITE.
Rhombohedral. Often in rhombohedrons, much resem-
bling cubes. (Fig. 1.) R : R = 94 46'. Cleavage paral-
12 3
lei to the primary faces. Also in complex modifications of
this form, and double six-sided pyramids or short six-sided
prisms terminating in truncated pyramids. (Fig. 2.) Also
in compound crystals, (fig. 3.) Never massive or fibrous.
Color white, also yellowish and red. Luster vitreous. '
Transparent to translucent. H = 4 4-5. Gr=2'06 2-17.
Composition : silic? 49'4, alumina 19*3, lime 8*7, potash
2-5, water 21-1.
This species includes gmelinite, occurring in small glassy
crystals of the form in figure 2 ; also levyne, occurring in
compound crystals (fig. 3 ;) also ledererite, which has the form
Mention some of the distinctive characters of analcime. What is
said of the crystallization of chabazite? mention other characters.
13
170 ALUMINA.
of gmelinite, but appears to differ in containing just one third 1
the proportion of water ; also phacolite, occurring in small i
glassy crystals having the form of double six-sided pyramids.
The acadiolite is a red variety from Nova Scotia. Herschel-
ite is another variety in small hexagonal tables.
The varieties intumesce and whiten before the blowpipe,
Gmelinite forms a jelly with acids.
Dif. The nearly cubical form often presented by the crystals
of chabazite is a striking character. It is distinguished from
analcime as stated under that species ; from calc spar by its
hardness and action with acids ; from fluor spar by its form
and cleavage, and its showing no phosphorescence.
Obs. Found in trap, gneiss, and syenite. Chabazite is
met with in the trap of the Connecticut valley, but in poor
specimens ; also at Hadlyme, and Stonington, Ct., at Charles-
town, Mass., Bergen Hill, N. J., Piermont, N. Y. Nova
Scotia affords common chabazite and also the ledererite. The
Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Giant's Causeway are some of
the foreign localities. Gmelinite comes from the Vicentine ;
also the county of Antrim, Ireland ; levyne from Glenarm,
Scotland ; also Iceland, Faroe, &c.
Haydenite. Resembles chabazite in the appearance of its crystals,
but is described as having an oblique rhombic prism ; P : M=96 5 f ,
M : M=98 22*. Occurs with heulandite at Jones's Falls, near Balti-
more.
PREHNITE.
Primary form aright rhombic prism; M : M = 99 56'.
Cleavage, basal. Usually in six-sided prisms, round-
ed so as to be barrel- shaped, and composed of a
series of united plates ; also in thin rhombic or
hexagonal plates. Often reniform and botryoidal ;
texture compact.
Color light green to colorless. Luster vitreous,
except the face P, which is somewhat pearly. Subtranspa-
rent to translucent. H = 6 6-5. Gr = 2*8 2-96.
Composition : silica 43'0, alumina 23*25, lime 26*0, pro-
toxyds of iron and manganese 2 '25, water 4*0. On char-
coal before the blowpipe froths and melts to a slag of a light
green color. Dissolves slowly in muriatic acid without ge-
latinizing, leaving a flaky residue.
How is chabazite distinguished from calc spar? how from fluorspar?
What is the usual form and structure of prehnite? What is ita
color ? 4uster I hardness ?
PREHNITE. 171
Dif. Distinguished from beryl, green quartz, and chalce-
dony by fusing before the blowpipe, and from the zeolites by
its superior hardness. The ordinary broken appearance of
its crystals is quite characteristic.
Obs. Found in trap, gneiss, and granite.
Occurs in the trap of Farmington, and Woodbury, Ct. ;
West Springfield, Mass., and Patterson and Bergen Hill, N.
J. ; in gneiss at Bellows Falls, Vt. ; in syenite at Charlestown,
Mass. ; and very abundant, forming a large vein, in the cop-
per region of Lake Superior, three miles south of Cat har-
bor, and elsewhere.
The Fassa valley in the Tyrol, St. Crystophe in Dauphi-
ny, and the Salisbury Crag, near Edinburgh, are some of the
foreign localities.
Uses. Prehnite receives a handsome polish and is some-
times used for inlaid work. In China it is polished for orna-
ments, and large slabs have been cut from masses brought
from there.
Epistilbite. A hydrous silicate of alumina and lime. Occurs in
i thin rhombic prisms, of a white color, with a perfect pearly cleavage
like stilbite. H=4 45. Gr=2'25. Before the blowpipe froths and
forms a vesicular enamel. Does not gelatinize. From Iceland and
Hindostan, and sparingly at Bergen Hill, N. J.
Stellite. In fibrous stellar groups like mesole ; luster silky and shi-
i ning. H=3 25. Gr=2'6l2. Fuses to a white enamel. Gelatinizes
, with muriatic acid. From Kilsyth, Scotland.
Antrimolite. A stalactitic zeolite, from Antrim, Ireland.
Edingtonite. In small right square prisms, with lateral cleavage.
! Kearly colorless ; luster vitreous. H=4 4'5. Gr=2 7 2- 75. Oc-
curs with thomsonite at Dumbartonshire.
Carpholitc. In minute radiated and stellate tufts of a straw yellow
' color, and silky luster. From the tin mines of Schlackenwald, Aus-
, tria , with fluor.
Diphanite. In six-sided prisms with a distinct basal cleavage ; vit-
reous luster, transparent. H=5 5'5. Gr=3 3.1. A silicate of
. alumina and lime, and near prehnite. From the Ural, with emerald.
Hydrous anthophyUite. In divergent fibers having a silky luster.
> H=2'5. Gr=2'91. Color white, greenish-yellow or bluish. Occurs
in a talcose rock at Fishkill, N. Y., and also above New York city.
Faujasile. A hydrous silicate of alumina, lime and soda. Crystals
square octahedrons. A : A=lll 30' and 105 30' Scratches glass.
I Occurs with augite, at Kaiserstuhl.
Glottahte. ~A hydrous silicate of alumina and lime, said to be mon-
ometric in crystallization. H=3 5. Gr=2'18. Color white. Luster
I vitreous. Translucent. From Scotland.
Where does prehnite occur ? How is it distinguished from the zeo-
L Htes and quartz ? What are it? uses ?
172 ALUMINA.
Zeuxite. A hydrous silicate of alumina and iron, in small brown
prismatic crystals, of a vitreous luster. H=4'25. Gr=3'05. From
Cornwall, in the Huel Unity Mine.
Datuouritf. Occurs in lamellar pearly crystals, a little harder than
talc. Gr=2'7 2-82. It is a hydrous silicate of alumina and potash.
Reported from Leiperville, Penn., and Chesterfield, Mass.
Chloritoid. A coarsely foliated mineral, folia beet, brittle ; color
greenish-black. H=5'5 Gr=3 55. Infusible before the blowpipe,
but becomes finally black and magnetic. From the Ural.
Masonite. Near chlorhoid ; coarsely foliated or tabular ; color dark
gray; luster nearly* pearly; folia brittle and often curved. H=6.
Gr=3'45. Fuses with difficulty on the edges. From the vicinity of
Natic village, Rhode Island.
4, Anhydrous combinations with Silica.
SILLIMANITE.
tn long, slender rhombic prisms, often much flattened,
penetrating the gangue. M : M = 11(P 98. A brilliant
and easy cleavage, parallel to the longer diagonal. Also in
masses, consisting of aggregated crystals or fibers.
Color hair-brown or grayish-brown. Luster vitreous, in-
clining to pearly. Translucent crystals break easily. H=
77-5. Gr=3-2 3-3.
Composition : silica 37 '70, alumina 62 -75, oxyd of iron
2'28, (Norton.) Identical therefore with kyanite. Infu-,
sible alone and with borax.
Dif. Distinguished from tremolite and the varieties gen-
erally of hornblende by its brilliant diagonal cleavage, and
its infusibility ; from kyanite by its brilliant cleavage, and a
rhombic, instead of flat-bladed crystallization.
* Obs. Found in gneiss at Chester, Ct., and the Falls of
the Yantic, near Norwich, Ct. The long, slender prisms
penetrate the gangue in every direction. Also in Yorktown,
Westchester county, N. Y.
This species was named by Bowen in honor of Prof. B.
SilKman of Yale College.
Bacholzite. This species is near Sillimanite in its acicular crystal-
lizations and physical characters. Composition, silica 46'4, alumina
52-' 9, (Thomson.) A specimen from Chester, Penn., gave Erdmann,
silica 40*1, alumina 58'9, protoxyd of manganese. From Fassa, Tyrol \
also from Chester, Penn. ; Munroe, Orange county, N. Y. ; Worcester,
Mass. ; and Humphrey sville, Conn.
What is the crystallization and appearance of Sillimanite ? What is
its hardness! How is it distingui .hod from tremolite and kyanite?
KYAXITE. 173
The analyses of bucholzite, if accurate, indicate that different species
are included under that name. The American mineral so called, is
evidently identical with Sillimanite.
KYANITE.
Triclinate. Usually in long thin-bladed crystals aggre-
gated together, or penetrating the gangue. The annexed
figure is a portion of one of these crystals. Crystals
sometimes short and stout. Lateral cleavage, dis-
tinct. Sometimes fine fibrous.
Color usually light blue, sometimes white, or a
blue center with a white margin ; sometimes gray,
green, or even black. Luster of flat face a little
pearly. H=5 7. Rather brittle, but less so than
Sillimanite. Gr=3'6 3.7.
Composition : silica 37*0, alumina 62*5. Unaltered alone
before the blowpipe. With borax forms slowly a transparent
colorless glass.
Dif. Distinguished by its infusibility from varieties of
the hornblende family. The short crystals have some re-
semblance to staurotide, but their sides and terminations are
usually irregular ; they differ also in their cleavage and
luster.
Obs. Found in gneiss and mica slate, and often accom-
panied by garnet and staurotide.
Occurs in long-bladed crystallizations at Chesterfield and
Worthington, Mass. ; at Litchfield and Washington, Conn. ;
near Philadelphia ; near Wilmington, Delaware ; and in
Buckingham and Spotsylvania counties, Va. Short crystals
(sometimes called improperly jibrolite) occur in gneiss at
Bellows Falls, Vt., and at Westfield and Lancaster, Mass.
In Europe, transparent crystals are met with at St. Goth-
ard in Switzerland, and in Styria, Carinthia, and Bohemia.
Villa Rica in South America, affords fine specimens.
The name kyanite is from the Greek kuanos, sky-blue.
It is also called sappar, a corruption of sapphire ; also dis-
ihene, and when white, rhcetizite.
Uses. Kyanite is sometimes used as a gem, and has
some resemblance to sapphire.
Warthite. Resembles kyanite, but gives off water before the blow-
pipe. It may be an altered kyanite. From St. Petersburg.
Describe kyanite ? What is the origin of the name 1 For what is
it used?
lo*
174
ALUMINA.
M
ANDALUSITE.
Trimetric. In right rhombic prisms. M : M=91 33'.
Cleavage lateral, distinct ; also massive and
indistinctly coarse columnar, but never fine
fibrous.
Colors gray and flesh-red. Luster vitreous,
or inclining to pearly. Translucent to opaque.
Tough. H=7-5. Gr=3-l -3-32.
Composition : silica 36*5, alumina 60*5, per-
oxyd of iron 4'0. [nfusible. With borax fuses with ex-
treme difficulty.
Varieties. Chiastolite and made are names given to
crystals of andalusite which show a tesselated or
cruciform structure when broken across and pol-
ished. The annexed figure represents one from
Lancaster, Mass. The structure is owing to im-
purities, (usually the material of the gangue,) disseminated
by the powers of crystallization in a regular manner along
the sides, edges and diagonals of the crystal. Their hard-
ness is sometimes as low as 3. The same structure has
been observed by Dr. Jackson in staurotide crystals.
Dif. Distinguished from pyroxene, scapolite, spodymene
and feldspar, by its infusibility, hardness and form.
Obs. Found in granite and gneiss.
Westford, Mass. ; Litchfield and Washington, Ct. : Ban-
gor, Me. ; Chester, Penn., are some of its American locali-
ties. Chiastolite occurs at Sterling and Lancaster, Mass.,
and near Bellows Falls, Vermont. This species was first
found at Andalusia in Spain.
STAUROTIDE.
Trimetric. In right rhombic and six-sided prisms. M :
1 M=129 20'. Cleavage imperfect. 2
P : a=124 38', M : e=115 20'.
Figure 2 is a common cruciform
crystal, (consisting of two prisms
crossing one another.) Never in
massive forms or slender crystalli-
zations.
What is the appearance of andalusite ? What is chiastolite or made 1
How is andalusite distinguished from pyroxene and spodumene '? What
crystalline forms are presented by staurotide ] Is it ever found massive 1
LEUCITE. 175
Color dark brown or black. Luster vitreous, inclining to
resinous ; sometimes bright, but often dull. Translucent to
opaque. H=7 7*5. Gr=3'65 3'73.
Composition: silica 37*5, alumina 41-0, protoxyd of iron
18*25, protoxyd of manganese and magnesia 1*0. Before
the blowpipe it darkens, but does not fuse.
Dif. Distinguished from tourmaline and garnet by its
infusibility and form.
Obs. Found in mica slate and gneiss, in imbedded
crystals.
Very abundant through the mica slate of New England.
Franconia, Vt. ; Windham, Me. ; Lisbon, N. H. ; Chester*
field, Mass. ; Bolton and Tolland, Ct. ; on the Wichichon,
eight miles from Philadelphia, and near New York city, are
some of the localities, St. Gothard in Switzerland, and the
Greiner mountain, Tyrol, are noted foreign localities.
The name staurotide is from the Greek stauros, a cross*
LEUCITE,
Occurs only under the form of the trapezohedron, as in the
annexed figure. Cleavage imperfect. Usually
in dull glassy crystals, of a grayish color ; some-
times opaque-white, disseminated through lava.
Translucent to opaque. H=5*5 6. Brittle.
Gr=2-48 2-49.
Composition : silica 54, alumina 23, potash 22, (Klaproth.)
Infusible except with borax or carbonate of lime, and then
with difficulty to a clear globule. A fine blue color, with
cobalt solution.
Dif. Distinguished from analcime by its hardness and
infusibility.
Obs. In lavas, especially those of Italy. Abundant at
Vesuvius. Crystals from a pin's head to an inch in di-
ameter.
The name leucite is from the Greek leukos, white.
Saccharite resembles a granular feldspar, of a white or greenish- white
color, but has the constitution of leucite. Infusible alone, and with
great difficulty with soda. From Silesia.
What are the colors and hardness of staurotide ? What is ita con-
stitution ? What is its mode of occurrence 1 How is it distinguished
from tourmaline ? Describe the forms and appearance of leucite. How
does it differ from analcime ?
176 ALUMINA r
FELDSPAR**
Monoclinate. In modified oblique rhombic prisms. T ',
T=118 D 49', P : T==67 J 15'; T -, e=120 40'. Usually
in thick prisms, often rectangular, (fig. 2,)
and also in modified tables, (fig. 1.)
Cleavage perfect parallel with e, the
shorter diagonal ; also distinct parallel
to P. Also massive, with a granular
structure, or coarse lamellar. Colors light ;
white, gray, and flesh-red common ; also greenish and bluish
white and green. Luster vitreous ; sometimes a little pearly
on the face of perfect cleavage. Transparent to subtranslu-
cent. H=6. Gr= 2*3.9 2-62.
Composition: silica 64*20, alumina 18*40, potash 16*95,
Fuses only on the edges. With borax forms slowly a trans-
parent glass. Not acted upon by the acids*
Varieties. Common feldspar includes the common sub-
translucent varieties ; adularia, the white or colorless sub-
transparent specimens. The name is derived from Adula,
one of the highest peaks of St. Gothard. Glassy feldspar
and ice-spar include transparent vitreous crystals, found in.
lavas. Some crystals called by these names belong to the
species anorthite, or ryacolite.
Moonstone is an opalescent variety of adularia, having
when polished peculiar pearly reflections. Sunstone is simi-
lar ; but contains minute scales of mica. Aventurine feld-
spar often owes its iridescence to minute crystals of specular
or titanic iron.
Dif. Distinguished from scapolite by its more difficult
fusibility, and by a slight tendency to a fibrous appearance
in the cleavage surface of the latter, especially in massive
varieties ;*from spodumene by its blowpipe characters.
Obs. Feldspar is one of the constituents of granite,
gneiss, mica slate, porphyry and basalt, and often occurs in
these rocks in crystals. St. Lawrence county, N. Y., affords
fine crystals ; also Orange county, N. Y. ; Haddam and
What is the crystallization and appearance of feldspar 1 What is its
hardness 1 what its composition ? Mention the principal varieties, with
their peculiarities ] In what rocks is feldspar an ingredient ?
t The following species, from feldspar to nepheline inclusive, form a
natural group called the feldspar family.
FELDSPAR* 177
Middlelown, Coim. ; South Royalston and Barre, Mass.,
besides numerous other localities. Green feldspar occurs at
Mount Desert, Me. ; an aventurine feldspar at Leyperville,
Penn, ; Adularia at Haddam and Norwich, Conn., and Par-
sonsfield, Me. A fetid feldspar (sometimes called necronite)
is found at Rogers' Rock, Essex county ; at Thomson's
quarry, near 196th street New York city, and 21 miles from
Baltimore. Carlsbad and Elbogen in Bohemia, Baveno in
Piedmont, St. Gothard, Arendal in Norway, Land's End, and
the Moarne mountains, Irelaad, are some of the more inter-
esting foreign localities.
The name feldspar is from the German word/e/J, mean-
ing field,
Uses. Feldspar is used extensively in the manufacture of
Porcelain. Moonstone and Sunst&ne are often set in jewelry.
They are pofished with a rounded surface, and look some-
what like cat's-eye, but are much softer.
Kaolin, This name is applied to the clay that results
from the decomposition of feldspar. It is the material used
for making porcelain or china ware. The change the feld-
*par undergoes in producing kaolin consists principally in a
removal of the alkali, potash, with part of the silica and the
addition of water. Composition of a specimen from Schnee-
foerg, silica 43-6, alumina 37*7, peroxyd of iron 1*5, water
12'6, (Berthier.) It occurs in extensive beds in granite re-
gions, where it has been derived from the decomposition of
this rock. A granite containing talc seems to be the most
common source of it. See farther, tfee chapter on Rocks.
ALBITE.
TricRnate, In modified oblique rhomboidal prisms.
M : T=117 53, P : T=115 5 ; P : M=93
50 . The crystals are usually more or less thick
and tabular. Also massive, with a granular or
lamellar structure. Laminae brittle.
Color white ; occasionally Hght tints of bluish
white, grayish, reddish and greenish. Luster
vitreous to pearly, and sometimes a bluish opalescence is
exhibited. Transparent to ssbtranslucent, H=6. Gr=
2-62-7.
What are the nses of feldspar ? Wbat is kaolin, and for what is k
oaed ? What is the crystaJ lization and appearance of albite 2
178 ALUMINA-
Composition: silica 68'5, alumina 19'3, peroxyd of iron
and manganese 0'3, lime 0*7, soda 9-1. Acts like feldspar
before the blowpipe, but tinges the ftame yellow.
Cleavelandite is a lamellar variety occurring in wedge-
shaped masses at the Chesterfield albite vein, Mass.
Dif. Albite differs from feldspar in containing a large-
proportion of soda. It may generally be distinguished when
associated with that species by its uniform* white color ; also
by the form of the crystals, which are more oblique and ir-
regular, often tabular, with two of the edges very acute ; also*
by the yellow tinge given the blowpipe Same.
Obs. Albite like feldspar is a constituent of many rocks,
replacing feldspar. Albite granite is commonly lighter
colored than feldspar granite, arising from the izsual white-
ness of the albite. Fine crystals occur at Middletown and
Haddam, Conn., at Goshen, Mass.,, and Granville, N. Y.
The name albite is from the Latin albus, white.
Myacolite. Resembles albite, occurring in transparent glassy crystals,
H=6. Gr=2'5 2'7. Crystals oblique rhombic, nearly like those of
feldspar. M : M=119 21'. Contains 10 per cent., of soda, and like
albite tinges the flame before the blowpipe yellow. It fuses rather more
easily than feldspar. From Mount So-mma and' the EifeL
Anorthite. Near albite. The primary is an oblique rhwnboidaj
prism, P : T=110 57' T : T=120 30'. Its crystals are glassy and
tabular in form. H=G. Gr=2'6 2'8. Differs from albite in noS
tinging the blowpipe flame deep yellow, nor affording a dear glass with
soda. From Mount Somrna, near Naples.
Loxoclase. Has the form of feldspar very nearly, but is distinguished
by a cleavage parallel with the longer diagonal, T : T=119 Q 30'.
H=6 6-5. Gr=2-6 2-62. Contains 8-8 per cent, of soda and 3 -a
of potash. From Hammond, N. Y., where it occurs with pyroxene,,
graphite and calc spar.
LABRADORITR.
Triclinate. P : M=9& 28-', P : T=114 4S', M : T~
119 16'. Cleavage parallel with P, nearly per-
fect ; M distinct. Usually in cleavable massive
forms.
Color dark gray, brown, or greerash brown ;
and usually a series of bright chatoyant colors
from internal reflections,, especially blue and green, with
more or less of yellow, red and pearl-gray. Translucent,
Hew does albite differ from feldspar ? What is clea-velandite 1 WkuJ
is peculiar in. die colors of labradorite I Mention oJker characters.
LABfiADORITE. 179
fobtranslucent. Luster of principal cleavage face pearly ;
other faces vitreous. H=6. Gr=2'69 2-76.
Composition : silica 55*75, alumina 26.5, peroxyd of iron,
1-25, lime li-0, soda 4'0, Water 0'5. Like feldspar before
the blowpipe, but fuses with a little less difficulty to a color-
less glass. Entirely dissolved by muriatic acid,
Dif. Differs from feldspar and albite in containing a
large percentage of lime, and it is farther distinguished by
dissolving in muriatic acid, and generally by its chatoyant
reflections.
Obs. A constituent of some granites, and was originally
from Labrador. It is abundant in Essex county, N. Y., at
Moriah, Westport and Lewis..
Uses. Labradorite receives a fine polish, and owing to
the chatoyant reflections of rich and delicate colors, the speci-
mens are often highly beautiful. It is sometimes used in
jewelry.
Glaucolite, Considered by Frankenheim identical with Labradorite.
Color lavender-blue, passing into green. From near Lake Baikal in
Siberia.
Oligoclasc. A feldspar-like mineral, with a distinct cleavage, nearly
white color, of imperfectly vitreous to somewhat greasy luster. H=6.
Gr=2-64 2 67. Composition, silica 3^5, alumina 23-1, lime 24,
potash 2"2, soda 9'4, magnesia 08. Fuses with difficulty, and not at-
tacked by acids. Occurs at Stockholm in granite, and at Arendal,
Norway, and elsewhere, in granular limestone.
Lime-oligoclase is an allied mineral from Iceland,
Couzeranite, another allied species from the Pyrenees, of a gray or
greenish gray color. Composition near that of Labradorite.
Latrobite. Resembles some reddish scapolites, but occurs in oblique
rhomboidal prisms, like the feldspars; P : M=91 9', P : T=98 30%
M : T=93 30'. Also in cleavable masses. H=6. Gr=2'7 2'8,
Composition, silica 41'8, alumina 32 8, lime 9'8, oxyd of manganese
with magnesia 5'8, potash 6'6, water, 2'0. Fuses with some intu-
mescence. From Labrador in granite.
Arnphodelite is united with the species anorthite-
NEPHELIXE.
In hexagonal prisms. Also massive; some-
times thin columnar.
Color white, or gray, yellowish, greenish, bluish-
red. Luster vitreous or greasy. Transparent to
opaque. H=5'5-^6. Gr=2'4 2'65.
Varieties and Composition. Nepheline includes
How does it differ from feldspar and albite ? For what is it used I
"What is the form of crystals of nepheline ? Mention its colors and luster.
180 ALUMINA*
glassy crystals from Vesuvius, which become eloodecf in
nitric acid. The name is from the Greek nephele, a cloud.
ElcBolite (from elaion, oil) includes the dingy translucent
or subtranslucent cleavable masses having a strong greasy
luster. Crystals from Greenland have been called giescckite*
Cancrinite is a bluish variety.
Nepheline contains silica 43'4, ahtmina 33'S, peroxydl
of iron 1*5, lime 0*9, soda 13*4, potash 7*1, water 1'4.
Rounded on the edges before the blowpipe : some varieties
fuse readily. In nitric acid, fragments become clouded and
gelatinize.
Dif. Distinguished from scapolite and feldspar by the?
greasy luster when massive, and forming a jelly with acids j
from apatite by the same characters, and also its hardness,
Obs. Nepheline occurs at Vesuvius and near Rome, irt
lava. ElcBolite is obtained at Brevig and other places in
Norway ; also in Siberia. It is also found in the Ozark
mountains in Arkansas, and at Litchfield in Maine,
SCAPOLITE.
Dimetric. In modified square prisms, often terminating in
pyramids; a : a = 136 7'. Cleavage rather
indistinct parallel with M and e. Also mas-
sive, sublamellar or subfibrous.
Colors light ; white, pale blue, green or red.
Streak uncolored. Transparent to nearly
opaque. Luster usually a little pearly. H=
56. Gr = 2-6 2-75,
Composition : silica 41*25, alumina 33*6,
lime 20*4, protoxyd of manganese 0*5, water 3*2. Before
the blowpipe it fuses slowly with intumescence. With borax
dissolves with effervescence to a transparent glass.
Dif. Its square prisms and the angle of the pyramid at
summit are characteristic. In cleavable masses it resembles
feldspar, but there is a slight fibrous appearance often dis-
tinguished on the cleavage surface of scapolite, which is
peculiar. It is more fusible than feldspar, and has higher
specific gravity. Spodumene has a much higher specific
gravity, and differs in its action before the blowpipe. Tabu-
What hav6 specimens with a greasy luster been called ? What is the
effect of nitric acid 1 What is the usual form of scapolite crystals?
What are its colors and hardness 1 What is its composition 1 How
does it differ from feldspar and tabular spar ?
SPODUMENE, 181
lar spar is more fibrous in the appearance of the surface,
and is less hard ; it is also phosphorescent, and gelatinizes
with acids,
Obs. Found mostly in the older crystalline rocks, and
also in some volcanic rocks. It is especially common in
granular limestone. Fine crystals occur at Gouverneur, N.
Y., and at Two ponds and Amity, N. Y. ; at Bolton,
Boxborough and Littleton, Mass. ; at Franklin and Newton,
N. J. It occurs massive at Marlboro', Vt. ; Westfield, Mass. ;
Monroe, Ct. Foreign localities are at Arendal, Norway ;
Warmland, Sweden ; Pargas in Finland, and also at Vesu-
vius, whence comes the small crystals called meionite.
Nnttallite, Wernerite, and Meionite are varieties of this species.
Dipyre from the Pyrenees, occurring in four or eight-sided prisms, has
also been considered one of its varieties. It however contains silica
55-5, alumina 24'8, lime 9' 6, with 9'4 per cent, of soda, and is more
allied in composition to the feldspars. Sp. gr.=2'65. Occurs with talc
and chlorite.
Geklenite. Crystals square prisms like meionite : color gray ; nearly
opaque. H=5'5 6. Gr=2'9 3'1. Composition, silica 29' 6, alum-
ina 24-8, lime 35 3, protoxyd of iron 6'6, water 33. Infusible. With
borax fuses with difficulty. Gelatinizes in muriatic acid. From the
Fassa valley, Tyrol.
Ifumboldtilite, Crystals as above. Cleavage basal, distinct. Color
brown or yellow ; luster vitreous. H=5. Gr=2 > 9 3'2. Composi-
tion, silica 44'0, alumina ITS, lime 32'0, magnesia 6 - l, protoxyd of
iron 2 - 3, soda 4'3, potash 0'4. Gelatinizes with nitric acid. From
Vesuvius in lava. Somermllite and mellilite are here included.
SPODUMENE.
In cleavable masses, yielding rhombic prisms of 93.
Surface of cleavage pearly. Color grayish or greenish.
Translucent to subtranslucent. H = 6-5 7. Gr=3'l
3-19.
Composition : silica 65*3, alumina 25*3, lithia 6-8, oxyd of
iron 2*8. Intumesces before the blowpipe, and fuses to
a transparent glass. In fine powder mixed with bisulphate
of potash and fluor, and fused on platinum foil, it tinges the
flame red, owing to the lithia contained.
Dif. Resembles somewhat, feldspar and scapolite, but
has a higher specific gravity and a more pearly luster, and
affords rhombic prisms by cleavage.
In what rocks does it occur ? Mention the characters of spodumene.
How much lithia does it contain ? How does it differ from feldspar and
ecapolite ?
16
J82 ALUMINA.
Obs. Occurs in granite at Goshen ; also at Chesterfield,
Chester and Sterling, Mass. ; at Windham, Me. ; at Brook-
field, Ct. It is found at Uton in Sweden, Sterzing in the
Tyrol, and at Killiney bay, near Dublin.
Triphane is another common name of this mineral.
Uses. This mineral is remarkable for the litk-ia it con-
tains, and has been used for obtaining this rare earth.
PETALITE.
In imperfectly cleavable masses, affording a prism of 95*.
Color white or gray, or with pale reddish or greenish shades.
Lusler vitreous to subpearly. Translucent. H 6 6'5.
Gr2-4 2-45.
Composition : silica 79*2, alumina 17*2, lithia 5'8. Phos-
phoresces when gently heated. Fuses with difficulty on the
edges. Gives the reaction of lithia like spodumene.
Dif. Its lithia reaction allies it to spodumene ; bat
it differs from that mineral in luster, specific guavity, and
greater fusibility.
Weissite. A somewhat pearly, massive mineral, of an ash-gray or
brownish color, consisting of silica 53' 7, alumina 21 '7, magnesia 9 - 0,
potash 4*1, sodaO'7, protoxyds of iron, manganese and zinc 2'1. From
Fahlun. Glaucophane affords nearly the same composition. Occurs
in cleavable masses of a dull bluish color, and in thin prisms. Trans-
lucent. Gr=l-08. H=5-5. Fuses easily. Contains silica 56-5,
alumina 12'2, protoxyd of iron IO9, protoxyd of manganese 05, mag-
nesia 8-0, lime 2-2, soda 9'3. From the Island of Syra.
Wichtine is a black mineral rectangularly cleavable in two direc-
tions. Contains silica 56'3, alumina 13 3, protoxyd of iron 13'0, pr-
oxyd of iron 4'0, soda 3'5, lim G'O, magnesia 3'0. From Wichty in
Finland.
EPIDOTE.
Monoclinate. In right rhomboidal prisms more or less
modified, often with six or more sides. M : T=115 C
T : e=128 19' ; a : a=109
27'; e : a=125 16'
Cleavage parallel to M ; less
distinct parallel to T. Also
massive granular and of a co-
lumnar structure.
Describe petalite. What is the proportion of lithia in its constitution ?
How does it differ from spodumene ? Where does it occur 1 What is
the form of epidote ?
EPIDOTE, 183
Color yellowish-green (pistachio-green) and ash or hair
brown. Streak uncoloredl Translucent to opaque. Lus-
ter vitreous, a little pearly on M ; often brilliant on the faces
of crystals. Brittle. H=6 7. Gr=3'25 3-46.
Varieties and Composition. There are three prominent
varieties of this species ; one of a yellowish -green color,
another called zoisite, of a grayish-brown or hair-brown ; a
third of dark reddish shades, which contains 14 per cent, of
oxyd of manganese, and is called Manganesian epidote*
Thulite is another red variety, of -paler <color.
The yellowish -green epidote is sometimes called Pistatite.
The mineral Bucklandite is an iron-epidote.
The green epidote consists of silica 37*0, alumina 26'o*,
It me 20 '0, protoxyd of iron 13 '0, protoxyd of manganese 0.6,
water T8.
Zoisite consists of silica 40*2, alumina 30'3, lime 22*5,
peroxyd of iron 4*5, water 2.0. Before the blowpipe, epidote
and zoisite fuse OR the edges and swell up, but do not liquefy.
The manganesian epidote and thulite fuse readily to a black
.glass.
Dif. The peculiar yelk>\vish-green color of ordinary ep-
idote distinguishes it at once. The prisms of zoisite are
often longitudinally striated or fluted, and they have not the
form or brittleness of tremolite.
Obs. Occurs in crystalline rocks, and also in some sedi-
mentary rocks that have been heated by the passage of dykes
;of trap or basalt. Splendid crystals, six inches long, and
> ! with brilliant faces and rich color, have been obtained at
Haddam, Ct. Crystallized specimens are also found at Fran-
*conia, N. H., HacRyme, Chester, Newbury and Athol, Mass^
^near Unity and Monroe, N, Y., Franklin and Warwick, N.
.J. Zoiske in columnar masses is found at Willsboro and
Montpelier, Vt, at Chester, Goshen, Chesterfield, and else-
where in Massachusetts ; at Milford, Ct.
The name epidote was derived by Hauy from the Greek
fpididomi, to increase, in allusion to the fact that the base of
:the primary is frequently much enlarged in some of the se-
condary forms. Zoisite was named in compliment to its dis-
coverer, Baron von Zois.
What are the colors and other characters of epidote ? What is the col-
ter of the variety zoisite ? What is the composition of epidote ? what
zse iie disUnguishJBg characters 1
184 ALFMI1NA.
IDOCRASE.
Dimetric. In square prisms usually modified. P : a
142 53'; a : a=129 28', a : e=l21 07.
Cleavage not very distinct parallel with M. Also
found massive granular and subcolumnar.
Color brown ; sometimes passing into green.
In some varieties the color is oil-green in the direc-
tion of the axis and yellowish-green at right angles
with it. Streak uncolored. Subtransparent to nearly opaque.
H=6-5. Gr=3-33 3.4.
Composition : silica 37*4, alumina 23*5, protoxyd of iron
4*0, lime 29*7, magnesia and protoxyd of manganese 5*2.
Before the blowpipe fuses with effervescence to a yellow
translucent globule.
Dif. Resembles some brown varieties of garnet, tourma-
line and epidote, but besides its difference of crystallization,
it is much more fusible.
Obs. Idocrase was first found in the lavas of Vesuvius,
and hence called Vesuvian. It has since been obtained in
Piedmont, near Christiania, Norway, in Siberia, also in the
Fassa valley. Specimens of a brown color from Eger, Bo-
hernia, have been called egeran. Cyprinc includes blue
crystals from Tellemarken, Norway ; supposed to be colored
by copper.
In the United States, idocrase occurs in fine crystals at
Phipsburg and Rumfbrd, Parsonsfield and Poland, Me. ;
Newton, N. J. ; Amity, N. Y., and sparingly at Worcester,
Mass. The xanthite of Amity is nothing but idocrase.
The name idocrase is from the Greek eido, to see, and,
JcrasiS} mixture ; because its crystalline forms have much re-
semblance to those of other species*
Uses. This mineral is of little value except as a minera-
logical curiosity. It is sometimes cut as a gem for rings.
GARNET.
Monometric. Common m dodecahedrons, (fig. I,} also in
trapezohedrons, (fig. 2,) and both forms are sometimes vari-
ously modified. Cleavage parallel to the faces of the dode-
What is the crystallization of idocrase ? its color, harcfoess, and Ins- .;
ter? its composition 1 How does it differ from garnet and tourmaline 1 ?
What is the usual form of garnet 1
CARPET. 185
cahedron rathef distinct. Also found massive granular, and
coarse lamellar.
Color deep red, prevalent; also brown, black, green,
1234
white. Transparent to opaque. Luster vitreous. Brittle.
H=6-5 7-5. Gr=3-5 4-3.
Varieties and Composition. Garnet is a compound of three
or four silicates, the silicates of alumina, lime, iron, and
manganese, and the varieties of color arise from their vari-
ous combinations. Oxyd of chrome is sometimes present, pro-
ducing an emerald-green variety,
Precious garnet or almandine is a clear deep red variety,
and is used much in jewelry. A specimen from New York
afforded Wachtmeister, silica 42'5, alumina 19*15, protoxyd
of iron 33'6, protoxyd of manganese 5*5.
Common garnet has a brownish red color, and is imper-
fectly translucent or opaque.
Cinnamon stone, called also essonite, is of a light cinna-
mon-yellow color and high luster. It differs from the pre-
ceding principally in containing but 5 or 6 per cent, of iron
and 30 to 33 percent, of lime. Topazolite is another yellow
variety, approaching topaz in color, and presenting the form
in figure 3.
Melanite (from the Greek melas, black) is a black garnet,
containing 15 to 25 per cent, of the oxyds of iron and man-
ganese. Pyrendite is another name for a black variety from
France.
Manganesian garnet has a deep red color, and is usually
quite brittle. A Haddam specimen afforded Seybert, silica
35-8, alumina 18' 1, protoxyd of iron 14*9, protoxyd of man-
ganese 31'0.
Grossularite occurs in greenish trapezohedrons ; and con-
tains 30 to 34 per cent, of lime with but little iron.
Ouvarovite is a chrome garnet, containing 22-5 per cent, of
oxyd of chromium, and having the rich color of the emerald.
What is the color and hardness of garnet? of what does it consist 1
what is precious garnet 1 What is cinnamon stone 1 What is ouvaro-
vitel
186 ALUMINA.
Colophonite (from the Greek kolophonia r a resin) is a
Coarse granular variety, usually presenting iridescent hues
and a resinous luster.
Aplome is a deep brown garnet, sometimes inclining to
orange. It presents the form in figure 4, and has a cleavage
parallel to the shorter diagonal of the faces. For this rea-
son it has been separated from the species garnet, and a cube
is considered its primary form.
The different varieties fuse with more or less difficulty to
a dark vitreous globule.
Dif. The vitreous luster of fractured garnet, without a
prismatic structure even in traces, and its usual dodecahedral
forms, are easy characters for distinguishing it. Staurotide
differs in being infusible ; tourmaline has less specific grav-
ity ; idocrase fuses much more readily.
Obs. Garnet occurs abundantly in mica slate, hornblende
slate, and gneiss, and somewhat less frequently in granite
and granular limestone ; sometimes in serpentine and lava.
The best precious garnets are from Ceylon and Greenland ;
cinnamon stone comes from Ceylon and Sweden ; grossularite
occurs in the Wilui river, Siberia, and at Tellemarken in Nor-
way ; green garnets are found at Swartzenberg, Saxony ;
melanite, in the Vesuvian lavas ; ouvarovife, at Bissersk in
Russia ; topazolite, at Mussa, Piedmont ; aplome, in Siberia,
on the Lena, and at Swartzenberg.
In the United States, precious garnets, of small size, occur
at Hanover, N. H. ; and a clear and deep red variety, some-
times called pyrope, comes from Green's creek, Delaware
county, Penn. Dodecahedrons, of a dark red color, occur at
Haverhill, N. H. ; some 1| inches through ; also at New
Fane, Vt., still larger ; also Lyme, Conn. ; at Unity, Bruns-
wick, Streaked Mountain, and elsewhere, Maine ; at Monroe,
Conn. ; Bedford, Chesterfield, Barre, Brookfield, and Brim-
field, Mass. ; Dover, Dutchess county, Roger's rock, Crown
Point, Essex county, Franklin, N. J. Cinnamon colored
crystals occur at Carlisle, Mass., transparent, and also at
Boxborough ; with idocrase at Parsonsfield, Phippsburg and
Rumford, Me. ; at Amherst, N. H. ; at Amity, N. Y., and
Franklin, N. J., ; at Dixon's quarry, seven miles from Wil-
mington, Del., in fine trapezohedral crystals. Melanite is
found at Franklin, N. J., and Germantown, Penn. Coloph-
What is colophonite ? What is aplome ? How is garnet distinguished ?
TOURMALINE. 187
onite is abundant at Willsborough and Lewis, Essex county,
N. Y. ; it occurs also at North Madison, Conn.
The garnet is the carbuncle of the ancients. The ala-
bandic carbuncles of Pliny were so called because cut and
polished at Alabanda, and hence the name Almandine now
in use. The garnet is also supposed to have been the hya-
cinth of the ancients.
Uses. The clear deep red garnets make a rich gem,
and are much used. Those of Pegu are most highly valued.
They are cut quite thin, on account of their depth of color.
An octagonal garnet, measuring 85 lines by 6 has sold for
near 8700. The cinnamon stone is also employed for the
same purpose. Pulverized garnet is sometimes employed as
a substitute for emeiy. When abundant, as in some parts of
Germany, garnet is used as a flux to some iron ores.
Pliny describes vessels, of the capacity of a pint, form-
ed from large carbuncles, " devoid of luster and transparen-
cy, and of a dingy color," which probably were large gar-
nets.
Pyrope or Bohemian garnet. Occurs usually in rounded grains, re-
sembling a rich garnet, but the primary form is supposed to be the cube.
Cleavage none. H=7 5. Gr=3 69 38. Composition : silica 43'0,
alumina 22 3, oxyd of chromium T8, magnesia 18'5, protoxyd of iron
8'7, lime 5'7 ; and, according to Apjohn, there are also 3 per cent, of
yttria. From Bohemia, in trap tufa.
Helvin, a wax yellow garnet-like mineral, occurring in tetrahedral
crystals. From Saxony and Norway.
TOURM ALINE.
Rhombohedral. Usual in prisms terminating in a low
pyramid. R : R = 133
26. R : e = 113 17';
:a = 141 D 40 ; e : e= [j
155 9 . The crystals are
hemihedrally modified, or
have unlike secondary
planes at the two extrem-
ities, as shown in figure
3. They are commonly long, and often there are but three
prismatic sides, which are convex and strongly furrowed.
How is garnet distinguished ? What are its uses? What is said of
the ancient carbuncle ? What is pyrope ? What are the usual forms and
appearance of tourmaline ?
188 ALUMINA.
Occurs also compact massive, and coarse columnar, the col-
umns sometimes radiating or divergent from a center.
Color black, blue-black, and dark brown, common ; alsc
bright and pale red, grass -green, cinnamon-brown, yellow,
gray, and white. Sometimes red within and green external-
ly, or one color at one extremity and another at the other.
Transparent ; usually translucent to nearly opaque. Luster
vitreous, inclining to resinous on a surface of fracture.
Streak uncolored. Brittle ; the crystals often fractured
across and breaking very easily. H=7'8. Gr = 3 3*1.
Electrically polar when heated, (page 62.) .
Varieties and Composition. Tourmalines of different col-
ors have been designated by different names, as follows :
Rubellite is red tourmaline.
Indicolite is blue and bluish-blacJc tourmaline.
Schorl, formerly included the common black tourmaline,
but the name is not now used.
A black variety afforded, on analysis, silica 33*0, alumina
38-2, lime 0'8, pi-otoxyd of iron, 23-8, soda 3-2, boracic acid
1*9.
A red variety from Siberia, silica 39'4, alumina 44*0, pot-
ash 1*3, boracic acid 4*2, lithia 2'5, peroxyd of manganese
5*0. The presence of boracic acid is the most remarkable
point in the constitution of this mineral. It is also observed
that lithia is sometimes present ; over 4 per cent, have been
obtained from a green tourmaline from Uton, Sweden.
Before the blowpipe the dark varieties intumesce, and fuse
with difficulty ; the red and light-green only become milk-
white and a little slaggy on the surface.
Dif. The black and the dark varieties generally, are
readily distinguished by the form and luster and absence of
distinct cleavage, together with their difficult fusibility. The
black when fractured often appear a little like a black resin.
The brown variety resembles zoisite, though very dis-
tinct in crystallization. The light brown looks like garnet
or idocrase, but is more infusible. The red, green, and yel-
low varieties are distinguished from any species they resem-
ble, by the crystalline form, the prism of tourmaline always
having 3, 6, 9, or 12 prismatic sides, (or some multiple of
What is the color and hardness of tourmaline ? what has been called
schorl? What is rubellite? What are the distinctive characters of
tourmaline ?
TOURMALINE. 189
3.) The electric polarity of the crystals, when heated, is
another remarkable character of this mineral.
Obs. Tourmalines are common in granite, gneiss, niica
slate, chlorite slate, steatite, and granular limestone. They
usually occur penetrating the gangue. The black crystals
are often highly polished and at times a foot in length, though
perhaps of no larger dimensions than a pipe-stem, or even
more slender. This mineral has also been observed in
sandstones near basaltic or trap dikes.
Red and green tourmalines, over an inch in diameter and
transparent, have been obtained at Paris, Me., besides pink
and blue crystals. These several varieties occur also, of less
beauty, at Chesterfield and Goshen, Mass. Good black tour-
malines are found at Norwich, New Braintree, and Carlisle,
Mass. ; Alsted, Acworth, and Saddleback Mountain, N. H. ;
Haddam, Conn. ; Saratoga and Edenville, N. Y. ; Franklin
and Newton, N. J. *
Dark brown tourmalines are obtained at Orford, N. H. ; in
thin black crystals in mica at Grafton, N. H. ; Monroe, Ct. ;
Gouverneur and Amity, N. Y. ; Franklin and Newton, N.
J. A fine cinnamon brown variety occurs at Kingsbridge,
Amity, and also south in New Jersey. A gray or bluish-
gray and green variety occurs near Edenville.
The word tourmaline is a corruption of the name in Ceylon,
whence it was first brought to Europe. Lyncurium is sup-
posed to be the ancient name for common tourmaline ; and
the red variety w r as probably called hyacinth.
Uses. The red tourmalines, when transparent and free
from cracks, such as have been obtained at Paris, Me., are
of great value and afford gems of remarkable beauty. They
have all the richness of color and luster belonging to the
ruby, though measuring an inch across. A Siberian speci-
men of this variety, now in the British museum, is valued at
500. The yellow tourmaline, from Ceylon is but little in-
ferior to the real topaz, and is often sold for that gem. The
green specimens, when clear and fine, are also valuable for
gems. A stone measuring 6 lines by 4, of a deep green
color, is valued at Paris at 815 to $20. The thin crystals
of Grafton, N. H. are transparent, and may be used as sug-
gested by B. Silliman, Jr., in polarizing instruments.
Where have fine specimens cf red and green tourmaline been fonnd
in the United States ? What is said of yellow tourmaline 1 What is
the value of tourmaline as a gun ?
190 A.LUMINA*
AXINITE.
Triclinate, In acute edged oblique rhomboidai prisms ;
P : M = 134^ 40, P : T = 115 5, M : T =
135 10'. Cleavage indistinct. Also rarely
massive or lamellar.
Color clove brown; differing somewhat in'
shade in two directfons. Luster vitreous. Trans-
parent to subtranslucent. Brittle. H = 6'5
7. Gr = 3-27. Pyro-electric.
Composition : silica 45, alumina 19, lime 12*5, peroxyd of
iron 12-25, peroxyd of manganese 9, boracic acid 2*0, mag-
nesia 0*2. In another specimen 5*6 per cent, of boracic
acid were found. Before the blowpipe fuses readily with in-
tumescence to a dark green glass, which becomes black in
the oxydating flame.
Dif. Remarkable for the sharp thin edges of its crystals,
and its glassy brilliant appearance, without cleavage. The
crystals are implanted, and not disseminated like garnet. In.
one or all of these particulars, and also in blowpipe reaction,
it differs from any of the titanium ores,
Obs. St. Cristophe in Dauphiny, is a fine locality of this
mineral. It occurs also at Kongsberg in Norway, Normark
in Sweden, and Cornwall, England ; also Thum in Saxony,
whence the name Thummerstein and Thumite.
In the United States, it has been found at Phippsburg in
Maine, by Dr. C. T. Jackson.
IOLITE. Dichroite, Cordierite.
Trimetric. In rhombic and hexagonal prisms. Usually
occurs in six or twelve-sided prisms, or disseminated in
masses without distinct form. Cleavage indistinct ; but
crystals often separable into layers parallel to the base.
Color various shades of blue ; often deep blue in the di-
rection of the axis, and yellowish-gray transversely. Streak
uncolored. Luster and appearance much like that of glass.
Transparent to translucent. Brittle. H = 7 -7-5. Gr =
2-62-7.
Composition of a specimen from Haddam, Ct. : silica 48-3,
What is the form and color of axinite ? What characters distinguish
it ? Why was it so called ? What are the forms of iolite I What
are its colors, appearance and hardness 1
MICA. 191
alumina 32-5, magnesia 10, protoxyd of iron 6'0, protoxyd
of manganese 0*1, water (hygrometric) 3'1. Before the
blowpipe fuses on the edges with difficulty to a blue glass
resembling the mineral.
Dif. The glassy appearance of iolite is so peculiar that
it can be confounded with nothing but blue quartz, from
which it is distinguished by its fusing on the edges. It is
easily scratched by sapphire.
Obs. Found at .Haddam, Conn., in granite ; also in gneiss
at Brimfield, Mass. ; at Richmond, N. H., in talcose rock.
The principal foreign localities are at Bodenmais in Bava-
ria ; Arendal, Norway ; Capo de Gata, Spain ; Tunaberg,
Finland ; also Norway, Greenland and Ceylon.
The name iolite is from the Greek iodes, violet, alluding
to its color ; it is also called dichroite, from dis, twice, and
chroa, color, owing to its having different colors in two
directions.
Uses. Occasionally employed as an ornamental stone ;
when cut it presents different shades of color in different
directions.
NOTE. Iolite exposed to the air and moisture undergoes a gradual
alteration, becoming a hydrate (absorbing water) and assuming a foli-
ated micaceous structure, so as to resemble talc, though more brittle
and hardly greasy in feel. Hydrous iolite, chlorophyllite, and esmark-
ite, are names that have been given to the altered iolite ; andfahlunite
and gigantolite are probably of the same origin. (See pages 162, 163.)
MICA. Muscovite.
Monoclinate. In oblique rhombic prisms of about 120
and 60 D , P on M 98 40' ; sometimes
114 115\ Crystals usually with the
i acute edge replaced. Cleavage eminent,
parallel to P, yielding easily thin elastic
laminae of extreme tenuity. Usually in thinly foliated masses,
j plates or scales. Sometimes in radiated groups of aggre-
gated scales or small folia.
Colors from white through green, yellowish and brownish
shades to black. Luster more or less pearly. Transparent
or translucent. Tough and elastic. H=2 2'5. Gr=
2-83.
Composition : silica 46-3, alumina 36-8, potash 9'2, per-
How is iolite distinguished from quartz and sapphire ? Why was it
j called iolite and dichroite ? Describe mica. What is its composition ?
192 ALUMINA.
oxyd of iron 4'5, fluoric acid 0*7, water 1-8. Before the
blowpipe infusible, but becomes opaque white.
Varieties. A variety in which the scales are arranged in
a plumose form is called plumose mica ; another, in which
the plates have a transverse cleavage, has been termed pris-
matic mica.
Dif. Mica differs from talc in affording thinner folia and
being elastic ; also in not having the greasy feel of that
mineral. The same characters, excepting the last, distin-
guish it from gypsum ; besides, it does not crumble so readily
on heating.
Obs. Mica is one of the constituents of granite, gneiss
and mica slate, and gives to the latter its laminate structure.
It also occurs in granular limestone. Plates two and three
feet in diameter, and perfectly transparent, are obtained at
Alstead, Acworth and Grafton, New Hampshire. Other
good localities are Paris, Me. ; Chesterfield, Barre, Brim-
field, and South Royalston, Mass. ; near Greenwood furnace,
Warwick and Edenville, Orange county, and in Jefferson
and St. Lawrence counties, N. Y. ; Newton and Franklin,
N. J. ; near Gerrnantown, Pa., and Jones's Falls, Maryland.
Oblique prisms from near Greenwood are sometimes six or
seven inches in diameter.
A green variety occurs at Unity, Maine, near Baltimore,
Md., and at Chestnut Hill, Pa. Prismatic mica is found at
Russel, Mass.
Uses. Mica, on account of the toughness, transparency
and the thinness of its folia, has been used in Siberia for glass
in windows : whence it has been called Muscovy glass. It
was formerly employed in the Russian navy, because not
liable to fracture from concussion. It is in common use for
lanterns, and also for the doors of stoves. It affords a con-
venient material for preserving minute objects for the micros-
cope, and is sometimes used for holding minerals before the
blowpipe flame.
The best localities of the mineral in this country for tho
arts, are those of New Hampshire.
Lepidolite, or Lithia mica. Occurs in crystals or laminae, of a pur-
plish color, and often in masses consisting of aggregated scales. A
specimen from the Ural consisted, according to Rosales, of silica 47' 7,
How does mica differ from talc and gypsum ? Of what rocks is
it a constituent? What are its uses? What is the peculiarity of
lepidolite ?
MICA. 193
alumina 20'3, l ; me 6'1, protoxyd of manganese 47, potash ll'O, lithia
28, soda 22, fluorine 10'2, chlorine 1-2.
Lepidolite occurs at the albite vein in Chesterfield, Mass., and at
Goshen in the same state ; also at Paris, Me., with red tourmalines, and
near Middletown, Ct.
Fachsite. A green mica from the Zillerthal, containing nearly 4
per cent, of oxyd of chromium.
From the crystallization of mica, two additional species have been
made out of the old species so called. The common mica, as above
described, has an oblique prism for its primary. Many micas, when in
perfect crystals, have the form of a hexagonal prism,
and but one axis of polarization, (see page 60,) this ^^ P
last fact proving the primary to be a regular hexago-
nal prism. This species is properly distinguished,
and has been called hexagonal mica. The mica of
Middletown, Conn., and of many other localities not yet particularly
ascertained, belongs to this species. So also the dark colored micas ot
Siberia, and the brilliant hexagonal crystals of Vesuvius.
There are also hexagonal crystals which have been found by Dove
to have two axes of polarization, this indicating that
the lateral axes of the primary are unequal, and that ^^ P
the form is a rhombic prism with the acute edges
truncated. These crystals are from Henderso/i, Jef-
ferson county, N. Y. The species is called rhombic
mica , or phlogophite,
Margarile, or Pearl mica. In hexagonal prisms, having the struc-
ture of mica ; and also in intersecting lamina;. Luster pearly, approach-
ing talc, but differing from that mineral in being a silicate of alumina
instead of magnesia. Color nearly white, or gray. It intumesces and
fuj-es before the blowpipe. From Sterzing in the Tyrol, associated with
chlorite.
Emeiylitc and Euphyllite arc new species related somewhat to mar-
ganite, an^j found asso-iated with poruridum in Pennsylvania and else-
where. They are rather brittle.
Nacrite. Different compounds are included under this name, which
agree in resembling a whitish soft earthy talc, with a greasy feel, and in
containing no magnesia, or but a few per cent, only of that earth. Occurs
massive, consisting of minute scales. A kind from Brunswick, Me.,
contains silica 64'5, alumina 28 9, protoxyd of iron 4*4 ; another from
the Alps, consists of silica 50'0, alumina 26'0, potash 17 '5, lime 1-5,
peroxyd ofiron 50.
Margarodite, or Schistose talc of Zillerthal is a variety of common
mica.
Lcpidomelane. A black iron-mica, occurring in six-sided scales or
tables aggregated together. It contains silica 374, alumina 11*6, per-
oxyd ofiron 277, protoxyd ofiron 12'4, magnesia and lime 03, potash
9 2, water 0-6. From Warmland. Ottrelite (which includes the phyl-
lite from Sterling, Mass.,) is an allied mineral occurring in black scales,
disseminated through the rock.
What are other kinds of mica ?
17
194 ALUMINA.
5. Combination of a Silicate and Fluorid.
TOPAZ.
Tri metric. In right rhombic prisms, usually differently
modified at the two extremities. Pyro-electric.
M : M=124 19'. Cleavage perfect, parallel to
the base.
Color pale yellow ; sometimes greenish, blu-
ish, or reddish. Streak white. Luster vitreous.
Transparent to subtranslucent. Fracture sub-
conchoidal, uneven.
Composition : silica 34-2, alumina 57*5, fluoric acid 7'8.
Infusible alone on charcoal before the blowpipe. Some
varieties are changed by heat to a wine yellow or pink tinge.
Dif. Topaz is readily distinguished from tourmaline
and other minerals it resembles by its brilliant transverse
cleavage.
Ohs. Pycnite has been separated from this species. I
differs from topaz mainly in the state of aggregation of the
particles, it presenting a thin columnar structure and forming
masses imbedded in quartz. The physalite or pyrophysalite
of Hisinger, is a coarse, nearly opaque variety, found in
yellowish- white crystals of considerable dimensions. This
variety intumcsces when heated, and hence its name from
phusao, to blow.
Topaz is confined to primitive regions, and commonly
occurs in granite, associated with tourmaline, beryl, occa-
sionally with apatite, fluor spar, and tin. With quartz, tour-
maline, and lithomarge, it forms the mixture called topaz
rock by Werner.
Fine topazes are brought from the Uralian and Altai
mountains, Siberia, and from Kamschatka, where they occur
of green and blue colors. In Brazil they are found of a deep
yellow color, either in veins or nests in lithomarge, or in
loose crystals or pebbles. Magnificent crystals of a sky-blue
color have been obtained in the district of Cairngorum, in
Aberdeenshire. The tin mines of Schlaggenwald, Zinnwald,
and Ehrenfriedersdorf in Bohemia, St. Michael's Mount in
What are the forms and cleavage of topaz crystals? .-What are their
colors 1 their luster and hardness ? their composition ? How is topaz
distinguished from tourmaline and other minerals'? How does topaz
occur ?
TOPAZ. 195
Cornwall, etc., afford smaller crystals. The physalite varie-
ty occurs in crystals of immense size at Finbo, Sweden, in
a granite quarry, and at Broddbo, in a boulder. A well
defined crystal from this locality, in the possession of the
<_ Village of Mines of Stockholm, weighs eighty pounds. Al-
tenberg in Saxony, is the principal locality of pycnite. It is
there associated with quartz and mica.
Trumbull. Conn., is the principal locality of this species in
the United States. It seldom affords fine transparent crystals,
except of a small size : these are usually white ; occa-
sionally with a tinge of green or yellow. The large coarse
crystals sometimes attain a diameter of several inches,
(rarely six or seven,) but they are deficient in luster, usually
of a dull yellow color, though occasionally white, and often
are nearly opaque.
The ancient topazion was found on an island in the Red
Sea, which was often surrounded with fog, and therefore
difficult to find. It was hence named from topazo, to seek.
This name, like most of the mineralogical terms of the an-
cients, was applied to several distinct species. Pliny de-
scribes a statue of Arsinoe, the wife of Ptolemy Philadelphus,
four cubits high, which was made of topazion, or topaz, but
evidently not the topaz of the present day, nor chrysolite,
which has been supposed to be the ancient topaz. It has
been conjectured that it was a jaspe-r or agate ; others have
imagined it to be prase, or chrysoprase.
Uses. Topaz is employed in jewelry, and for this purpose
its color is often altered by heat. The variety from Brazil
assumes a pink or red hue, so nearly resembling the Balas
ruby, that it can only be distinguished by the facility with
which it becomes electric by friction. The finest crystals for
the lapidary are brought from Minas Novas, in Brazil. From
their peculiar limpidity, topaz pebbles are sometimes denomi-
nated gouttes d'eau. When cut with facets and set in rings,
they are readily mistaken, if viewed by daylight, for diamonds.
The coarse varieties of topaz may be employed as a substi-
tute for emery in grinding and polishing hard substances.
Topaz is cut on a leaden wheel, and is polished on a cop-
per wheel with rotten stone. It is usually cut in the form
of the brilliant or table, and is set either with gold foil or a
jour. The white and rose -red are most esteemed.
What are the uses of topaz ? What is the effect of heat ?
196 ALUMINA.
6. Combination of a Silicate and Sulphate.
LAPIS-LAZULI.- Ultramarine.
Monometric. In dodecahedrons. Cleavage imperfect.
Also massive. Color rich Berlin or azure
blue. Luster vitreous. Translucent to opaque.
H=5-5. Gr=2-5 2-9.
Composition : silica 45*5, alumina 31'8,
soda 9'1, lime 3*5, iron 0'8, sulphuric acid
5'9, sulphur 0-9, chlorine 0'4, water O'l.
Fuses to a white translucent or opaque glass, and if calcined
and reduced to powder loses its color in acids. The color
of the mineral is supposed to be due to sulphuret of sodium.
Dif. Distinguished from azurite by its hardness and by
giving no indications of copper before the blowpipe ; and
from lazulite by its fusibility, hardness, and not giving the
reaction of phosphoric acid.
Obs. Found in granite and granular limestone, and is
brought from Persia, China, Siberia, and Bucharia. The
specimens often contain scales of mica and disseminated
pyrites.
Uses. The richly-colored lapis lazuli is highly esteemed
for costly vases, and for inlaid work in ornamental furniture.
Magnificent slabs are contained in some of the Italian cath-
edrals. It is also used in the manufacture of mosaics.
When powdered it constitutes the most beautiful and most
durable of blue paints, called ultramarine^ and has been one
of the most costly colors. The late discovery of a mode of
making an artificial ultramarine, quite equal to the native,
has afforded a substitute at a comparatively cheap rate.
This artificial ultramarine consists of silica 45'6, alumina
23-3, soda 21 '5, potash 1*7, lime trace, sulphuric acid 3'8,
sulphur 1-7, iron I'l, and chlorine a small quantity unde-
termined. It has taken the place in the arts, entirely, of the
native lapis-lazuli.
Hauyne, (including nosean and spinellane.} In dodecahedrons, and
allied to the preceding. Color bright blue, occasionally greenish.
Transparent to translucent. H=6. Gr=2'68 3 35. Composition,
What is the crystalline form of lapis-lazuli ? What is its color ? its
hardness? its composition 1 How is it distinguished from apatite and
lazulite 1 How does it cncur ? What are its uses? What is said of
the artificial ultramarine 1
BERYL. 197
silica 35-0, alumina 27'4, soda 9'1, lime 12 6, sulphuric acid 12'6, with
traces of chlorine, sulphur and water. The nosean afforded silica 35'9,
alumina 32'6, soda IT'S, sulphuric acid 9 - 2, with a small per-centage
of other ingredients. A variety from Litchh'eld, Maine, aJBbrded Dr.
Jackson nearly the same proportions silica 35'4, alumina 31'75, soda
176, sulphuric acid 65, with oxyd of manganese 4'4, and lime 1-8.
Hauyne comes from the Vesuvian lavas and near Rome. The nosean
is found in blocks with feldspar mica and zircon on the Rhine, near
the Laacher See. Also at Litchfield, Maine.
7. Silicate with a CJdorid.
SODALITE.
In dodecahedrons like lapis-lazuli. Color brown, gray, or
blue. H=i6. Gr=2-25 2-3.
Composition : silica 36, alumina 32'6, soda 26*5, muriatic
acid 5'3.
From Greenland, Vesuvius and Brisgau.
5. GLUCINA.
The minerals containing glucina are above quartz (7)
in hardness, excepting one. (leucophane,) which contains
largely of lime. The specific gravity is between 2'7 and
3*75. Excepting leucophane, they fuse before the blowpipe
with extreme difficulty, or not at all.
BERYL. Emerald.
Hexagonal. In hexagonal prisms. Usually in long, stout
prisms, without regular terminations. Cleavage
jbasal, not very distinct ; rarely massive.
Color green, passing into blue and yellow ;
color rather pale, excepting the deep and rich
green of the emerald. Streak uncolored. Luster
vitreous ; sometimes resinous. Transparent to
subtranslucent. Brittle. H = 7'5 8. Gr=
2-65 2-75.
Varieties and Composition. The emerald includes the
rich green variety; it owes its color to oxyd of chrome.
Beryl especially includes the paler varieties, which are col-
What is sodalite ? What is said of minerals containing glucina ?
What is the crystalline form of beryl ? it colors and hardness ?
17*
198 GLUCINA,
ored by oxyd of iron. Aquamarine includes clear beryls of
a sea-green, or pale-bluish or bluish-green tint.
The beryl consists of silica 66-5, alumina 16'8, glucina
15*5, peroxyd of iron O6. Emerald contains less than one
per cent, of oxyd of chromium. Before the blowpipe be-
comes clouded, but fuses on the edges with difficulty.
Dif. The hardness distinguishes this species from apa-
tite ; and this character, and also the form of the crystals,
from green tourmaline ; the imperfect cleavage, from euclase
and topaz.
Obs. The finest emeralds come from Grenada, where
they occur in dolomite. A crystal from this locality, two
inches long and about an inch in diameter, is in the cabinet
ef the Duke of Devonshire. It weighs 8 oz. 18 dwts., and
though containing numerous flaws, and therefore but partially
fit for jewelry, has been valued at 150 guineas. A more
splendid specimen, but weighing only 6 oz., is in the pos-
session of Mr. Hope of London. It cost .500. Emeralds
of less beauty, but of gigantic size, occur in Siberia. One
specimen in the royal collection of Russia measures 4
inches in length and 12 in breadth, and weighs 26f pounds
troy. Another is 7 inches long and 4 broad, and weighs 6
pounds. Mount Zalora in Upper Egypt, affords a less dis-
tinct variety.
The finest beryls (aquamarines,) come from Siberia, Hin-
dostan and Brazil. One specimen belonging to Don Pedro
is as large as the head of a calf, and weighs 225 ounces, or '
more than 18 pounds troy ; it is transparent and without a
flaw.
In the United States, beryls of enormous size have been
obtained, but seldom transparent crystals. They occur in
granite or gneiss. One hexagonal prism from Acworth, N.
H., weighed 240 pounds and measured 4 feet in length, with
the lateral faces 5 inches in breadth ; it color was bluish-
green, excepting a part at one extremity, which was dull
green and yellow. At Royalston, Mass., one crystal has
been obtained a foot long, and pellucid crystals are some-
times met with. Haddam, Conn., has afforded fine crystals,
What is the composition of beryl 1 What are the different varieties
and their distinctions? How is beryl distinguished from apatite and
tourmaline? Where are the finest emeralds brought from? What is
said of the Siberian emeralds ? What of the finest beryls ? What is
the size of some beryls found in the United States ?
EUCLASE,
199
(see the figure.) Other localities are Barre, Fitchburg,
Goshen, Mass. ; Albany, Norwich, Bowdoinham andTopham,
Me. ; Wilmot, N. H. ; Monroe, Conn. ; Leyperville, Penn.
The name beryl is from the Greek beryllos.
EUCLASE.
Triclinate. In right rhomboidal prisms; M : T = 130
50'. Cleavage in one direction highly perfect, affording
smooth polished faces.
Color pale green. Luster vitreous ; transparent. Very
brittle. H = 7-5. Gr = 2-9 3-1. Pyro-electric.
Composition : silica 43-2, alumina 30*6, glucina 21 '8, per-
oxyd of iron 2-2, oxyd of tin 0'7. Before the blowpipe with a
strong heat it intumesces, and finally fuses to a white enamel.
Dif. The very perfect cleavage of this glassy mineral is
like that of topaz, and at once distinguishes it from tourma-
line and beryl. It differs from topaz in its very oblique
crystals.
Obs. Occurs in Peru, and with topaz in Brazil.
Uses. The crystals of this mineral are elegant gems of
themselves, but they are seldom cut for jewelry on account
of their brittleness.
CHRYSOBERYL.
Trimetric. In modified rectangular prisms.
7'. M : e=125 J 20'. Cleavage
not very distinct, parallel to M.
Also in compound crystals, as in
fig. 2. Crystals sometimes thick ;
often tabular.
Color bright green, from a light
shade to emerald green ; rarely
raspberry or columbine red by transmitted light. Streak
uncolored. Luster vitreous. Transparent to translucent.
H=r8-5. Gr = 3-5 3-8.
Composition of a species from Haddam, according to
Seybert, alumina 73*6, glucina 15*8, silica 4*0, protoxyd of
iron 3 '4. Infusible and unaltered before the blowpipe.
Alexandrite is a name given to an emerald-green variety
from the Urals, which is supposed to be colored by chrome,
What is the form and cleavage of euclase ? what the color and luster ?
How is it distinguished ? What are its uses? What is the appearance
of chrysoberyl? its hardness? its composition ? What is alexandrite ?
200 ZISCONIA.
and to bear the same relation to ordinary chrysoberyl as
emerald to beryl.
Dif. Near beryl, but distinct in its often tabular crystal-
lizations, and its entire infusibility.
Obs. Chrysoberyl occurs in the United States in granite
at Haddam, Conn., and Greenfield, near Saratoga, N. Y.,
associated with beryl, garnet, etc.
The name chrysoberyl is from the Greek chrysos, golden,
and beryllos, beryl. Cymophane is another name of the
species, alluding to its opalescence, and derived from the
Greek kuma, wave, and phaino, to appear.
Uses. The crystals are seldom sufficiently pellucid and
clear from flaws to be valued in jewelry ; but when of fine
quality, it forms a beautiful gem, and is often opalescent.
Phenacite. Colorless or bright wine-yellow, inclining to red, of
vitreous luster and transparent to opaque. Crystals and cleavage rhom-
bohedral. H=8. Gr=2'97. Composition, silica 55'1, glucina 44'5,
with a trace of magnesia and alumina. Unaltered before the blowpipe.
From Perm, Siberia, with emerald.
Leucophane. Resembles somewhat a light green apatite. H=3'5.
Gr=2-97. Powder phosphorescent. Pyro-electric. Composition, silica
47'8, glucina 1T5, lime 25 - 0, protoxyd of manganese T01, potassium
0'3, sodium 7'6, fluorine 6'2. From Norway in syenite, accompanying
albite and dfeolite.
Hclvin. Helvin occurs in Saxony and Norway in tetrahedrons of a
wax yellow or brownish color. H=6 6'5. Gr=3'l 3 - 3. Luster
vitreous. It contains silica, oxyds of iron and manganese, sulphuret of
manganese, with glucina and alumina.
6. ZIRCONIA.
ZIRCON.
Dimetric. In square prisms and octahedrons. M : e =
132 10 ; e : e = 123 19'. Cleavage parallel to
M, but not strongly marked. Usually in crystals ;
but also granular.
Color brownish-red, brown, and red, of clear
tints ; also yellow, gray and white. Streak un-
colored. Luster more or less adamantine. Often
transparent ; also nearly opaque. Fracture con-
choidal, brilliant. H=7-5. Gi 4-54-8.
How does chrysoberyl differ from beryl ? Where and how does it
occur ? What is the origin of the name chrysoberyl ] What are its
uses? Describe zircon ?
ZIRCOX. 201
Varieties and Composition. Transparent red specimens
are called Jiyacinili. A colorless variety from Ceylon, hav-
ing a smoky tinge, is called jargon; it is sold for inferior
di.in.'w!s. which it resembles, though much less hard. The
name zirconile is sometimes applied to crystals of gray or
brownish tints. Consists of silica 33*5, zirconia 67"2. In-
fusible before the blowpipe, but loses color. Forms with
borax a diaphanous glass.
Dif. The hyacinth is readily distinguished from spinel
by its prismatic form and specific gravity, as well as its
adamantine luster and a less clear shade of red. Its infusi-
bility, hardness, and other characters, distinguish it from
tourmaline, idocrase, staurotide, and the minerals it re-
sembles.
Obs. The zircon is confined to the crystalline rocks, in-
cluding lavas and granular limestone. Hyacinth occurs
mostly in grains, and comes from Ceylon, Auvergne, Bohe-
mia, and elsewhere in Europe. Siberia affords crystals as
large as walnuts. Splendid specimens come from Greenland.
In the United States, fine crystals of zircon occur in Bun-
combe county, N. C. ; of a cinnamon red color in Moria, Es-
sex county, N. Y. ; also at Two ponds and elsewhere, Orange
county, in crystals sometimes an inch and a, half long; in
Hammond, St. Lawrence county, and Johnsbury, Warren
county, N. Y. ; at Franklin, N. J. ; in Litchfield, Me. ; Mid-
dlebury, Vt. ; Haddam and Norwich, Conn.
The name hyacinth is from the Greek huakinthos. But
it is doubtful whether it was applied by the ancients to stones
of the zircon species.
Uses. The clear crystals (hyacinths) are of common use
in jewelry. When heated in a crucible with lime, they lose
their color, and resemble a pale straw-yellow diamond, for
which they are substituted. Zircon is also used in jewelling
watches. The hyacinth of commerce is to a great extent
cinnamon sfone, a variety of garnet.
The earth zirconia is also found in the rare minerals eudialyte and
wQhlerite ; also in polymignite, aschynite, iBrstedite ; also sparingly in
fergusonite.
What is the composition of zircon ? What are its varieties? How
does it differ from spinel and other minerals? How does it occur?
What is said of its uses ? Does the earth zirconia occur in other min-
erals?
202 METALS.
Eudialyte. In modified acute rhombohedrons ; vitreous and of a red
color. R : R = 73 40'. Transverse cleavage, perfect; opaque of
nearly so. It is a silicate of zirconia, lime, soda and iron, and gelatin-
izes in acids. From West Greenland, in white feldspar.
Wohleriie. In tabular crystals of light yellow and brownish shades ;
sometimes transparent. Consists mainly of silica, columbic acid, zirco-
nia, (15 per cent.,) lime and soda. From Brevig, Norway.
JEschynite. A titanate of zirconia and oxyd of cerium, with some
lime and oxyd of iron. Black and subrnetallic, or resinous in luster.;
H=5 6. Gr=5- 15-7. From the Ural.
GBrstedite. A titanate and silicate of zirconia. Color brown.
H=6'5. Gr=3.629, In brilliant crystals from Arendal, Norway.
Malacone. Contains silica 3T3. zirconia 63'4, with water 3. Form
that of zircon. Gr=3'9. H=6. Appears to be a zircon containing
water. Color bluish white, brownish, reddish. Streak colorless.
7. THORIA.
The earth Thoria has been found only in a rare mineral
named from its constitution thorite, and in the ores monazife,
(p. 206,) and pyrochlore, (p. 208.)
Thorite is a hydrous silicate of thoria. It is a black
vitreous mineral resembling gadolinite. Gr 4*63. From
Norway.
CLASS VII. METALS AND METALLIC ORES.
General condition of Metals and Metallic Ores in nature.
Metals are found either native, or mineralized by combination
with other substances. The common ores are compounds
of the metals with oxygen, sulphur, arsenic, carbonic acid,
or silica. For example, the oxyds and carbonate of iron are
the common workable iron ores ; sulphuret of lead (called
galena) is the lead ore of the arts ; arsenical cobalt is the
principal source of cobalt and arsenic.
Only a few of the metals occur native* in the rocks. Of
these, gold, platinum, palladium, iridium, and rhodium, are
with a rare exception, found only native. The bismuth
What is said of thoria 1 How do metals occur ? What are ores 1
Give examples from ores of iron, lead, cobalt ? What metals occur
principally native 1
* By native is understood either pure, or alloyed with other metals, ex-
cluding those metals, like arsenic or tellurium, which destroy the mal-
leability of the metal and disguise i;s character. Native gold is much of
it an alloy of gold and silver. But a;iroteHitri1e,n. compound of gold and
te!l.:rium with some lead and silver, is properly mineralized gold.
METALLIC ORES. 203
of the shops is obtained from native bismuth. Native silver,
7iative mercury, and native copper, are sometimes abundant,
but are far from being the main sources of these metals.
The other native metals are mineralogical rarities. Perhaps
we should except from this remark native iron, which con-
stitutes large meteoric masses, though very rarely if ever
seen of terrestrial origin.
Their associations and impurities. The ores of the
metals are often much disguised by mixtures with one an-
other or with earthy material. Thus a large part of the
iron ore worked in England and this country is so mixed
with clay or silica, that its real character might not be sus-
pected without some experience in ores.
Occasionally ores contain phosphate of iron or some arsen-
ical ores or certain sulphurets, scattered through them ; and
i on account of the difficulty of separating the phosphorus, sul-
phur, or arsenic, the ore is rendered comparatively useless.
By this intimate mixture of species, tiie difficulties of reducing
ores is much increased.
When different ores are not intimately commingled, they
are frequently closely disseminated together through the
rock. We find ores of lead and zinc often thus associated ;
also of cobalt and nickel ; of iron and manganese ; the ores
of silver, lead and copper, and often cobalt and antimony ;
platinum, iridium, palladium and rhodium.
Position in rocks. Metals and their ores occur in the
rocks in different ways :
1. In beds orlayers between layers of rock, as some iron
ores ;
2. Disseminated through rocks in grains, nests, or crystals,
or extended masses, as is the case with iron pyrites, cinna-
I bar, or mercury ore, and much argillaceous iron ;
3. In veins, intersecting different rocks, as ores of tin,
lead, copper, and nearly all metallic ores ;
4. Very frequently, metallic ores, instead of occurring in
true veins, are found in rocks near their intersection with a
,mass or dike of igneous rock, as in the vicinity of a por-
iphyry or trap dike. This is the case with much of the cop.
per ore in Connecticut and Michigan, as well as with much
What i? siid of native iron 1 How are ores often disguised ] Explain
by example. How do they occur together I What is an effect of this
mixture } What are the positions of ores in the rocks I
204 METALS.
silver ore and mercury in South America and elsewhere ;
and often the igneous rock itself contains the same metals
disseminated through it.
Gangue. The rock immediately enveloping the ore is
called the gangue. A vein often consists for the most part
of the rock material called the gangue ; and the ore either
intersects the gangue in a continued band, or more com-
monly, is partly disseminated through it in some places, and
is continuous for long distances in others. Often a good
vein gradually loses its character, the metal disappears, and
the gangue alone is left ; but by following on for some dis-
tance, it will often resume its former character.
The usual gangue in metallic veins is either quartz, calc
spar, or heavy spar ; less frequently fluor spar. Calc spar
is the gangue of the Rossie lead ore ; heavy spar of much of
the lead ore of the Mississippi valley ; fluor spar in some
places of the lead of Derbyshire, England.
Reduction of Ores. In the reduction of an ore, the object
is to obtain the metal in a pure state. It is necessary for
this purpose to separate, 1, the gangue ; 2, the impurities or
minerals mixed with the ore ; and 3, the ingredient with
which the ore is mineralized as the sulphur, for example,
in the common ore of lead.
1. Much of the gangue will be separated in the process of
mining and selecting the ore. Another portion is in many
cases removed by pounding the ore coarsely, while a current
of water is made to pass over it; the water carries off the
lighter earthy matters and leaves the heavier ore behind.
This process is called washing. With a fusible native metal,
as bismuth, it is only necessary to heat the pounded ore injj
crucibles, and the metal flows out. A fusible ore, as gray
antimony, is separated from the rock in the same manner.
In the case of gold, which is usually in disseminated grains,
mercury is mixed with the pounded rock after washing,
which unites with the gold ; and thus the gold is dissolved
out from the gangue as water dissolves a salt ; by vapor-
izing the solvent, mercury, the gold is afterwards obtained.
With iron ores, there is no special effort to separate the
gangue beyond what is done in the process of mining.
What is the gangue 1 What is said of the ore in the gangue 1 What
are the common kinds of gangue ? What is meant by the reduction of
an ore ] What is necessary^for this purpose ? How is the gangue
separated ? How with a fu? ible metal or ore 1 How with gold 7
METALS. 205
2. The separation of the mineralizing ingredients when
the ore is pure, is sometimes effected by heat alone ; thus the
common ores of mercury and lead, both sulphurets, will give
up the sulphur in part when heated. In most cases, some
material is added to combine with the mineralizing ingre-
dient and carry it off; as when certain iron ores (oxyds of
iron) are heated with charcoal, the charcoal takes the oxygen
(forming the gas carbonic acid which escapes) and leaves
the iron pure.
3. When two or more metals are mixed in the ore, one is
sometimes removed by oxydation, or in other words, it is
burnt out. Thus lead containing silver, is heated in a draft
of air ; the lead unites with the oxygen of the air and forms
an earthy slag, while the silver, which is not thus oxydated,
remains untouched. Such a process, carried on in a vessel
of bone-ashes, or some material of the kind, which will ab-
sorb the oxyd of lead formed, is called cupdlation. (See
beyond under gold.) Much of the iron in the ordinary cop-
per ore (copper pyrites) is removed in the common process
of reduction in England by repeated fusions and stirring,
while exposed to a draft of air.
4. When there are impurities present, or a mixture of the
gangue, which is commonly the case, a material is sought
for which will form, when heated, a fusible compound with
the gangue and impurities ; and this material is called a flux.
Most iron ores are associated with quartz or clay, quartz be-
ing pure silica, and clay containing 75 per cent, of silica.
Common limestone readily fuses into a glass with silica,
when used in the requisite proportions, and hence it is gen-
erally employed as a flux in iron furnaces. A salt of soda
or potash would produce the same result, for these are the
ingredients which form with silica common glass. The
glass formed is more or less frothy, and is called slag or scoria.
Before reduction, the volatile impurities and any water
present, are often removed by a process called roasting.
The processes of reducing the ordinary metallic ores in
the arts are combinations of the different steps here pointed
out. There are other chemical methods for certain cases,
which it is unnecessary to allude to in this place.
How is the mineralizing ingredient separated in some cases? How
in others ? Explain by example?. How in cases of mixture. Ex-
plain the process of cupeliation. How in still other cases, and explain the
use of fluxes by an example. What is said in conclusion of the pro-
cesses of reduction ?
18
206 METALS.
1. 2. CERIUM AND YTTRIUM.
Cerium and Y r ttrium are not used in the arts. The spe-
cies are infusible alone before the blowpipe or only in the
thinnest splinters.
YTTROCERITE.
Massive, of a violet-blue color, somewhat resembling a
purple fluor spar; sometimes reddish-brown. Opaque.
Luster glistening. H = 4 5. Gr=3'4 3-5.
Composition : fluoric acid 25' 1, lime 47-6, oxyd of ceri-
um, 18-2, and yttria 9'1 . Infusible alone before the blow-
pipe.
Obs. From Finbo and Broddbo, near Fahlun in Swe-
den, with albite and topaz in quartz. Also from Massachu-
setts, probably in Worcester county, and from Amity, Orange
county, N. Y.
Flucerine and Basic Flucerine. These two fluorids of cerium have
a bright yellow or yellowish-red color. Infusible alone in the blowpipe
flame. They are from Sweden.
Carbonate of Cerium occurs in four-sided plates of a grayish-white
color at Bastnas in Sweden. Parisite is an allied species occurring in
bipyramidal dodecahedrons, (fig. 65, page 39,) of a reddish-brown color
and vitreous fracture. Cleavage easy parallel to the base. Gr=4'35.
Infusible alone. Composition : carbonic acid 23'5,protoxyds of cerium,
lanthanum, and didymium 59.4, lime 3'2, fluorid of calcium 1T5, water
2'4. From New Grenada.
Cerium Ochre occurs as a sulphur-yellow coating at Bolton, Mass.
It is a hydrated yellow oxyd of cerium, containing some oxyd of ura-
nium.
MONAZITE.
Monoclinate. In modified oblique rhombic prisms ; M :
M = 93 10, e on a=140 40, M : e=136 D
35'. Perfect and brilliant basal cleavage. Ob-
served only in small imbedded crystals.
Color brown, brownish-red ; subtransparent
to nearly opaque. Luster vitreous inclining
vr-g-i^ to resinous. Brittle. H=5. Gr = 4'8 5-1.
Composition : oxyd of cerium 26'0, oxyd of
lanthanum 23-4, thoria 17-95, phosphoric acid 28'5, with
What is said of the blowpipe action of ores of cerium and yttrium ?
What is the appearance and composition of yttrocerite 1 What 13
monazite ?
CERIUM AND YTTKIUM ORES. 207
oxyd of tin 2*1, protoxyd of manganese 1.9, lime 1'7. In-
fusible or nearly so. Decomposed by muriatic acid, evolving
chlorine.
Dif. The brilliant easy transverse cleavage distinguishes
monazite from sphene.
Obs. Occurs near Slatoust, Russia. In the United
States it is found in small brown crystals, disseminated through
a rnica slate at Norwich, Conn. ; also at Chester, Conn., and
Yorktown, Westchester county, N. Y.
Cryptolite. A phosphate of the oxyd of cerium in minute prisms,
(apparently six-sided,) found with the apatite of Arendal, Norway.
Color pale wine yellow. Gr=4'6.
ALLANITE.
Monoclinate. In oblique rhombic prisms ; M : M=128 :) .
Cleavage only in traces. Also massive and in acicular ag-
gregations, the needles sometimes a foot long.
Color pitch-brown, brownish-black, streak greenish or
brownish-gray, luster pitchy and submetallic. Opaque or
nearly so. Brittle. H=5-5 6. Gr=3-3 3-8.
Varieties and Composition. Allanite^ cerine, and orthite
are names of different varieties of this species. The last
occurs in acicular crystals as well as massive. They consist
of silica and alumina, with oxyds of iron, cerium, lanthanum,
and lime. They fuse before the blowpipe to a black glassy
globule or pearl.
Dif. Allanite differs from garnet, some varieties of which
it resembles, in its inferior hardness, and colored streak. Gad-
I olinite fuses with more difficulty and glows on charcoal, be-
sides gelatinizing in nitric acid.
Obs. Allanite was first brought from Greenland. It oc-
I curs in Norway, Sweden, and the Ural.
In the United States it has been found in large crystals in
I Allen's vein, Haddam Conn. ; at Bolton, Athol, and South
Royalston, Mass. ; at Monroe, Orange county, N. Y.
Pyrorthite. This appears to be an impure orthite, containing some
I carbon, in consequence of which it burns when heated. Hence the
naiiK' from the Greek pur, fire, and orthite. It comes from near Fah-
; lun, Sweden.
Cerite. A hydrated silicate of cerium. Color between clove-brown
and cherry-red. Luster adamantine. Crystals hexagonal. From
B;istniis, Sweden.
How is it distinguished from fphene? What is the appearance and
} composition of allanite ? what are iis varieties I
208 METALS.
Bodenite is a cerium ore, resembling orthite. From Boden in
Saxony.
TYROCIILORE.
In small octahedrons, with a cleavage parallel to the faces
1 of the octahedron sometimes dis-
tinct.
Color yellow to brown. Sub-
transparent to opake. Luster,
vitreous inclining to re-sinous.
H=5. Gr=3-8 4-3.
Composition : essentially co-
Kimbic acid, with oxyds of cerium, thorium, and lime.
tanic acid sometimes replaces part of the columbic acid.
Fuses with very great difficulty before the blowpipe.
The microlite of Prof. Shepard appears to be pyrochlore.
Dif. The color, difficult fusibility and colored streak
distinguish this species from others crystallizing in octahe-
drons. It is much softer than spinel.
Obs. Occurs in syenite in Norway, and also in Siberia.
In the United States it is found in minute octahedrons at the
Chesterfield albite vein, Mass.
The following species contain yttrium as a characteristic
ingredient :
Xenotime is a phosphate of yttria, having a yellowish-brown color,
pale brown streak, opaque, and resinous in luster. Crystals square prisms,
with perfect lateral cleavage. H=4 5. Gr=4 - G. Infusible alone
before the blowpipe ; insoluble in acids. From Lindesnaes, Norway.
Gadolinite has a black or greenish-black color, resinous or subvitre-
ous luster, greenish-gray streak. Crystalline form an oblique rhombic,
prism, with no distinct cleavage. H=6'5 7. Gr.=41 -4'4. Con-
sists mainly of silica, yttria, glucina, and protoxyd of iron, with also the
recently discovered oxyd of lanthanum. From Fahlun and Ytterby,
Sweden ; also from Norway and Greenland.
Fergitsonite is a columbate of yttria, crystallizing in secondaries to a
square prism. Color brownish-black ; luster dull, but brilliantly vitre-
ous on a surface of fracture. Infusible before the blowpipe but loses its
color. From Cape Farewell, Greenland.
Yttro-columbite is a columbate of yttria containing half as much
yttria as the preceding. There are three varieties, the black, the yel-
low., and the brown or dark colored. They are infusible. From Ytter-
by, Sweden, and at Broddbo and Finbo, near Fahlun.
Euxenile is a columbate of yttria with some titanic acid and oxyd of
uranium. Massive. Color brownish-black. Streak powder reddish-
brown. Infusible. From Norway.
What is the oppearanee and composition of pyrochlore ?
UBANIUM ORES. 209
Tschevkinitc. Resembles gadolinite. Color velvet-black. H=4
4-5. Gr=4'5 4.6. It is a variety of allanite
Polymignite is principally a titanate of zirconia, yttria, iron, and ce-
rium. It has a black color, a brilliant submetallic luster within, a dark
brown streak, and a concheidal fracture. Generally in slender striated
crystals, secondaries to a rectangular prism. H=6'5. Gr=4'7 4'9.
From Norway. Also, as observed by Prof. C. U. Shepard, from Bever-
ly, Mass.
Polycrase is near polymignite. Massive. Color black. Streak
grayish-brown. Gr.=5 1. With orthite, in Sweden.
Arkansite. This species, from the Ozark Mountains, Arkansas, oc-
curs in rather large modified rhombic prisms ; also massive. Color iron
black or steel black. Luster shining. Streak dark ash-gray. H=
7 7*5. Gr.=3'S5.. Some of the faces tarnished blue. It is identi-
cal vith brorkite, . 292,
Schorlomite. Black, and often irised tarnished. Streak grayish-
black. H=7 75. Gr=3'86. Fuses readily on charcoal. Easily
decomposed by the acids, and gelatinizes. Near gadolinite. From the
Ozark Mountains, Arkansas.
3. URANIUM.
The uranium ores have a specific gravity not above 7, and
a hardness below 6. The ores are either of some shade of
light green or yellow, or they are dark brown or black and
dull, or submetallic without a metallic luster when powdered.
They are not reduced when heated with carbonate of soda ;
and the brown or black species fuse with difficulty on the
edges or not at all.
PITCHBLENDE. Oxyd of Uranium.
Massive and botryoidal. Color grayish, brownish, or vel-
vet-black. Luster submetallic or dull. Streak powder
black. Opaque. H=5'5. Gr=6-47.
Composition : 79 to 87 per cent, of protoxyd of uranium
with silica, lead, iron, and some other impurities. Infusible
alone before the blowpipe, but forms a gray scoria with
borax. Dissolves slowly in nitric acid, when powdered.
Obs. Occurs in veins with ores of lead and silver in Sax-
ony, Bohemia, and Hungary ; also in the tin mines of Corn-
wall, near Redruth. In the United States, at Middletown
and Haddam, Conn.
Uranic ochre is a light yellow pulverulent mineral, be-
coming orange yellow when gently heated. It is believed
What is said of the ores of uranium ? Describe pitchblende. What
is its composition ?
10*
210 METALS.
to be peroxyd of uranium, sometimes combined with carbon-
ic acid. Accompanies pitchblende in Cornwall and in Bo-
hernia. It occurs sparingly in a yellow powder with colum-
bite and uranite at the feldspar quarry, near Middletown,
Conn.
Uses. The oxyds of uranium are used in painting upon
porcelain, yielding a fine orange in the enameling fire, and
a black color in that in which the porcelain is baked.
Coracite (Le Conte.) An ore resembling pitchblende but containing
alumina in place of part of the oxyd of uranium. Occurs massive, with
a resinous luster. H=4'5. Gr=4'38. From the north shore of Lake
Superior, in a vein 2 inches wide, near the junction of trap and syenite.
URANITE.
Dimetric. In short square prisms, thinly foliated parallel
to the base, almost like mica ; laminae brittle and not flex-
ible.
Color bright clear yellow and green ; streak a little pa-
ler. Luster of laminae pearly. Transparent to subtrans-
lucent. H = 2 2-5. Gr=3 3-6.
Composition. There are two ores here included, the yel-
low one containing phosphoric acid 15, oxyd of uranium 64,
and lime 6, with water 15 ; the other of a green color,
(sometimes called chalcolite,) containing oxyd of copper in
place of lime. They fuse before the blowpipe to a blackish
mass, and the green variety colors the flame green.
Dif. The micaceous structure connected with the light
color is a striking character. The folia of mica are not
brittle like those of uranite.
Obs. Occurs with uranium, silver and tin ores. It is
found at St. Symphorien, near Autun, and also near Limoges,
and in the Saxon and Bohemian mines. Cornwall affords
splendid crystallizations of the green variety.
Found sparingly at Middletown, Conn., and Chesterfield,
Mass., of a yellow color.
Samarskite (formerly named uranotantalite and yttro-ilmenite) is a
compound of oxyd of uranium with niobic and tungstic acids, from
Miask in the Ural. It is of a dark brown color and submetallic luster.
H=5-5. Gr=5-4 5-7.
Johannite or uranvitriol is a sulphate of uranium. It has a fine em-
erald-green color, and a bitter taste. From Bohemia.
What are the uses of the oxyds of uranium ? What is the color and
structure of uranite 1 its composition 1 How is it distinguished from
other species ?
IRON ORES. 211
4. IRON.
Iron occurs native or alloyed with nickel in meteoric iron,
ts most abundant ores are the oxyds and sulphurets. It is
folso found combined with other metals and with silica and
[carbonic and other acids. Its ores are widely disseminated.
They are the ordinary coloring ingredients of soils and many
rocks, tinging them red, yellow, dull green, brown and black.
The ores have a specific gravity below 8, and the ordina-
ry workable ores seldom exceed 5. Many of them are in-
fusible before the blowpipe, and a great part become attract-
able by the magnet after heating, when not so before. When
undisguised by other metals they afford, with borax, in the
inner flame, a bottle-green glass. By their difficult fusibil-
ity, the species with a metallic luster are distinguished from
ores of silver and copper, and also more decidedly from these
and other ores by blowpipe reaction and reduction.
NATIVE IRON.
Monometric. In regular octahedrons ; cleavage parallel
10 the faces of the octahedron. Usually massive, with a
more or less fine granular structure.
Color and streak iron-gray. Fracture hackley. Malleable
and ductile, H=4'5. Gr=7-3 7.8. Acts strongly on
the magnet.
Obs. Native iron, as it occurs in meteorites, is usually al-
loyed with nickel and other metals. Whether terrestrial na-
tive iron has been observed, is a question of some doubt. A
mass from Canaan, Conn., has been reported as of this
character, and it is said to have formed a plate or vein two
inches thick, attached to a mass of mica slate. Steinbach
and Eibenstock in Saxony, and the mine of Hackenberg
hav-fi been mentioned as foreign localities.
Meteoric iron occurs in nearly all meteorites, and al-
most wholly constitutes a large part of those that have been
discovered. A mass weighing 1635 pounds, is now in tho
cabinet of Yale College ; it came from Texas. It contains
What is said of the mode of occurrence of iron ? What characters
of its ores are mentioned ? What is the crystallization of iron ? its
hardness, gravity, and other characters? How does it occur native 1
What is said of meteoric iron ?
212 METALS.
90 to 92 per cent, of iron, and 8 to 10 per cent, of nickel,
the alloy not being uniform throughout. Meteoric iron often
has a very broad crystalline structure, long lines and triangu-
lar figures being developed by putting nitric acid on a polish-
ed surface. The coarseness of this structure differs in dif-
. ferent meteorites, and serves to distinguish specimens not
identical in origin. The Texas iron is remarkable for the
large size of the crystallization.
The most remarkable masses of meteoric iron occur in
the district of Chaco-Gualamba in South America, where
there is one whose weight is estimated at 30,000 pounds.
The large Pallas meteorite weighed originally 1600 pounds;
it contains imbedded crystals of chrysolite.
Besides nickel, which sometimes amounts nearly to 15
per cent., meteoric iron often contains a small per-centage
of cobalt, tin, copper, and manganese ; and frequently no-
dules of magnetic iron pyrites are imbedded in the mass.
Chlorine has been detected in some specimens, bv Dr. C.
T. Jackson.
Meteoric iron is perfectly malleable, and may be worked
like manufactured iron. The nickel diminishes much its
tendency to rust.
IRON PYRITES. Bisulphuret of Iron.
Monometric. Usually in cubes (fig. 1) simple or modifi-
1 2 ^3 4
ed, (2, 4,) or in pentagonal dodecahedrons (3) ; also in octa-
hedrons. Faces of cubes often striated as in figure 1. Oc-
curs also in imitative shapes, and massive.
Color bronze-yellow ; streak brownish-black. Luster of
crystals often splendent metallic. Brittle. H=6 6-5.
Gr=4-8 5-1. Strikes fire with steel.
Composition: iron 45-74, sulphur 54-26. Before the
blowpipe, gives off sulphur and ultimately affords a globule
attractable by the magne*
What is the crystallization of iron pyrites ? its color and other char-
acters? its composition ?
OR:ES,
Pyrites sometimes contains a minute quantity of gold, and
is then called auriferous pyrites.
Dif. Distinguished from copper pyrites in being too hard
to he cut by a knife, and also hi its paler color. The dres
of silver, ai all approaching pyrites, instead of having its
pale bronze-yellow color, are steel-gray or nearly black ;
und besides, they are easily cut with a knife and quite fusi-
t>le. Gold is sectile and malleable ; and besides, it does not
<ii\ e off a sulphur odor before the blowpipe, like pyrites.
Ob&. Iron pyrites is one of the most common ores on the
globe. It occurs in rocks of all ages. Cornwall, Elba,
Piedmont, Sweden, Brazil, and Peru, have afforded magnifi-
cent crystals. Alston Moor, Derbyshire, Kongsberg in Nor-
way, are well known localities. It has also been observed
ia the Vesuvian lavas,
In the United States, the localities are numerous. Fine
crystals have been met with at Rossie, N. Y. ; also in New
York state at Scoharie, at Johnsburg and Chester, Warren
county; at Champion and near Oxbow, in Jefferson county;
at Warwick and Deerpark, Orange county. In Vermont,
crystals occur at Shoreham ; in Massachusetts, at Heath,
liarre, and Boxborough ; in Maine, at Corinna, Peru, Wa-
terviile and Farmington ; in Connecticut, at Monroe, Orange,
Milford and Stafford ; in Pennsylvania, at Little Britain,
Lancaster county. Massive pyrites occurs in Connecticut at
Colchester, Ashford, Tolland, Stafford, and Union ; in Mas-
sachusetts, at Hawley and Hubbardston ; in Maine, at Bing-
ham, Brooksville, and Jewell's Island; in New Hampshire,
at Unify ; in Vermont, at Stratford, where there is a vein in
mica slate four rods wide, and also abundantly at Woodbury,
and other places; in New York, in Franklin, Putnam and
Orange counties, and elsewhere ; in Maryland, abundant and
worked at Cape Sable.
Uses. This species is of the highest importance in the
ail*, although not affording good iron on account of the diffi-
culty of separating entirely the sulphur. It affords the
greater part of the sulphate of iron (green vitriol or copper-
as) and sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol) of commerce, and alse
21 considerable portion of the sulphur and alum. The py-
How is iron pyrites disdnssiished from copper pyrites ? from silver
ores? from gold ? What is said of the occurrence of pyrites 1 Why
ixs not this ore afford good iron 1 What are its uses ? How is vitriol
Vi'inpd from it I
214 METALS.
rites is sometimes heated in clay retorts, by which about 17
per cent, of sulphur is distilled over and collected. The ore
is then thrown out into heaps, exposed to the atmosphere,
when a change ensues, by which the remaining sulphur and
iron become sulphuric acid and oxyd of iron, and form sulphate
of iron or copperas.* The material is lixivated, and par-
tially evaporated, preparatory to its being run off into vats
or troughs to crystallize. In other instances^ the ore is
coarsely broken up and piled in heaps and moistened. Fuel
is sometimes used to commence the process, which after-
wards the heat generated continues. Decomposition takes
place as before, with the same result* At Stratford, Ver-
mont, about 1000 tons of copperas have been produced an-
nually, valued at 2 cents a pound, or $40,000. The quanti-
ty manufactured might easily be much increased. The py-
rites of Cape Sable, Maryland, also affords large quantities
of copperas. The lixivated liquid is often employed in Ger-
many for the production of sulphuric acid ; at a red heat, the
acid passes off, leaving behind a red oxyd of iron r which is
called colcothar. Cabinet specimens of pyrites, especially
granular or amorphous masses, often undergo a spontaneous
change to copperas, particularly when the atmosphere is moist.
The name pyrites is from the Greek pur, fire, because, as
Pliny states, " there was much fire in it," alluding to its strik-
ing fire with steel. This ore is the mundic of miners.
White iron pyrites. This ore has the same composition, as common
iron pyrites, but crystallizes in secondaries to a right rhombic prism ;
M : M=106 36'. The color is a little paler than that of common py-
rites, and it is more liable to decomposition ; hardness the same ; spe-
cific gravity 4' 6 4- 85. Radiated pyrites., hepatic pyrites, cocks-
comb pyrites, (alluding t0 its crested shapes,) and spear pyrites are
names of some of its varieties. It occurs in crystals at Warwick and
Phillipstown, N. Y. Massive varieties are met with at Cummin gton >
Mass. ; Monroe, Trumbull, and East Haddam,. Conn. : and at Huvcr-
hill, N. H.
MAGNETIC PYRITES. Sulphuret of Iron.
Hexagonal. Occurs occasionally in hexagonal prisms,
which are often tabular ; generally massive.
Color between bronze-yellow and copper-red ; streak dark
How is sulphuric acid obtaine 1 ? and what is colcothar 1 What is the
origin of the name pyrites] What is the erystalrkatieft and appear-
ance of magnetic pyrites?
* This change consists in the unioo. of oxygen with the sulphur ami
iron.
IRON ORES* 215
grayish-black. Brittle. H=35 4-5. Gr=4*6 4-65.
Slightly attracted by the magnet. Liable to speedy tarnish.
Composition : sulphur 40'4, iron 59'6. Before the blow-
pipe on charcoal in the outer flame it is converted into a glo-
bule of red oxyd of iron. In the inner flame it fuses and
glows, and affords a black globule which is magnetic, and has
a yellowish color on a surface of fracture.
Dif. Its inferior hardness and shade of color, and its
magnetic quality distinguish it from common iron pyrites ; and
its paleness of color from copper pyrites. It differs from the
cobalt and nickel ores in affording a magnetic globule before
the blowpipe.
Obs. Crystallized specimens have been found at Kongs-
berg in Norway, and at Andreasberg in the Hartz. The
massive variety is found in Cornwall, Saxony, Siberia, and
the Hartz ; also at Vesuvius and in meteoric stones.
In the United States, it is met with at Trumbull and Mon-
roe, New Fairfield, and Litchfield, Conn. ; at Strafford and
(Shrewsbury, Vt. ; at Corinth, New Hampshire ; and in
(many parts of Massachusetts and New York. This ore at
Litchfield is quite abundant.
Uses. Same as for common pyrites*
MISPICKEL. Arsenical Iron Pyrites.
Trimetric. In rhombic prisms, with cleavage parallel to
the faces M ; M : M=lll 40' to 112. Crystals
isomethnes elongated horizontally, producing a
rhombic prism ("a : 'a) of 100 nearly, with M and
M the end planes. Occurs also massive.
Color silver-white ; streak dark grayish-black.
[Luster shining. Brittle. H=5*5 6. Gr=6'l.
Composition : iron 36*0, arsenic 42*9, sulphur 21*1. A
'cobaltic variety contains 4 to 9 per cent, of cobalt in place
of pail of the iron. The Danaite of New Hampshire, con-
sists of iron 32'9, arsenic 41 '4, sulphur 17'8, cobalt 6'5.
Affords arsenical fumes before the blowpipe, and a globule
lof sulphuret of iron which is attracted by the magnet. It
'gives fire with a steel and emits a garlic odor.
Dif. Resembles arsenical cobalt ; but is much harder,
What is the constitution of magnetic pyrites 1 How is it distinguish-
ed from common iron pyrites 1 how from copper pyrites ? from cobalt
and nickel ores. For what is it used ? What is the form and appear-
jance of mispickel ?
216 METALS,
it giving fire with steel ; it differs also in yielding- a mag-
netic globule before the blowpipe and in not affording the
reaction of cobalt with the Suxes.
Obs. Mispickel is found mostly in primitive regions, and
is commonly associated with ores of silver, lead, iron, or
copper. It is abundant at Freiberg, Munzig, and elsewhere
in Europe, and also in Cornwall, England.
It occurs in crystals in New Hampshire, at Franconia,
Jackson, and Haverhill ; in Maine, at Blue Hill, Comma,
Newfield, and Thomaston ; in Vermont, at Waterbury ; fn
Massachusetts, massive at Worcester and Sterling ; in Con-
necticut, at Chatham, Derby, and Monroe ; in New Jersey,
at Franklin ; in New York, in Lewis, Essex county, and near
Edenvflle and elsewhere in Orange county ; in Kent, Put-
nam county.
Lcucopyrite. This is the name of an arsenical iron, eontainining no
sulphur, or but few per cent. It resembles the preceding in color and
in its crystals ; M : M=122 26'. It has less hardness and higher spe-
cific gravity. H=5 5'5. Gr=7'2 7'4. Contains iron 32-4, ar-
senic 65*9, with some sulphur. From Styria r Siiesia,aml Carinthia, A
crystal weighing two or three ounces has been found in Bedford 1 county,
Penn. ; and in Randolph county, N. C., a mass was found weighing two
pounds.
MAGNETIC IKON ORE. Octahedral Iron Ore,
Monometric. Often in octahedrons and dodecahedrons,
Cleavage octahedral ; sometimes
distinct. Also granularly mas-
sive
Color iron-black. Streak black.
Brittle. H= 5-5 6-5. Gr=
5*0 5*1. Strongly attracted by
the magnet, and sometimes having polarity.
Composition: peroxyd of iron 69, protoxyd of iron 31 ; or
iron 71 '8, oxygen 28 '2. Infusible before the blowpipe.
Yields a bottle-green glass when fused with borax in the
inner flame.
Dif. The black streak and magnetic properties distin-
guish this species from the following.
What are the constituents of mispickel 1 What is the effect before
the blowpipe 1 How does it differ from arsenical cobalt ? What is
the crystallization of magnetic iron ? its other physical characters 1 its
composition 1 What is the action of magnetic iron before the blowpipfe 1
How is it distinguished from specular iron ]
IBON ORES. 217
Obs. 'Magnetic iron ore occurs in extensive beds, and
also in disseminated crystals. It is met with in granite,
gneiss, mica slate, clay slate, syenite, hornblende, and chlo-
rite slate ; and also sometimes in limestone.
The beds at Arendal, and nearly all the Swedish iron ore,
consist of massive magnetic iron. At Dannemora and the
Taberg in Southern Sweden, and also in Lapland at Kurun-
avara and Gelivara, there are mountains composed of it.
In the United States, extensive beds occur in Warren,
Essex, and Clinton counties, N. Y. ; also in Orange, Putnam,
Saratoga, and Herkimer counties ; at Mount Desert and
Marshall's Island, Maine ; in Somerset, Vermont ; in Bcr-
nardstown and Hawley, Massachusetts ; at Franconia, Lis-
bon, and Winchester, New Hampshire. The mountainous
districts of New Jersey and Pennsylvania afford this ore, and
also the eastern side of Willis mountain in Buckingham
county, Virginia. Crystals occur in New Hampshire, at
Franconia in epidote ; also at Swanzey, (near Keene,) Unity,
and Jackson ; in Vermont, at Marlboro', Bridgewater and
Troy, in chlorite slate ; in Connecticut, at Haddam ; in Maine,
at Raymond, Davis's Hill, in an epidotic rock ; in New York,
at Warwick, Orange county, and also at O'Neil mine ; in
New Jersey, at Hamburgh, near the Franklin furnace ; in
Maryland, at Deer Creek ; in Pennsylvania, at Morgantown,
Berks county ; also in the south part of Chester county.
Masses of this ore in a state of magnetic polarity, consti-
tute what is called lodestone or native magnets. They are
met with in many beds of the ore. Siberia and the Hartz
have afforded fine specimens ; also the island of Elba. They
also occur at Marshall's Island, Maine ; also near Providence,
' Rhode Island. The lodestone is called magnes by Pliny,
1 from the name of the country, Magnesia, (a province of an-
cient Lydia,) where it was found ; and it hence gave the
terms magnet and magnetism to science.
Uses. No ore of iron is more generally diffused than
the magnetic ore, and none is superior for the manufacture
of iron. The ore after pounding may be separated from im-
purities by means of a magnet ; and machines are in use in
northern New York and elsewhere, for cleaning the ore on
a large scale for furnaces.
How does magnetic iron occur ? What are its uses ? What is said
of lodestone t
19
213
SPECULAR IRON ORE. Peroxyd of Iron*
Rhombokedral. In complex modifications of a
dron of 85 58' ; crystals occasionally thin tabular. Cleavage?
usually indistinct. Often massive granular ;, sometime*
lamellar or micaceous. Also pulverulent and earthy.
Color dark steel-gray or iron-black, and often when crys-
tallized having a highly splendent luster ; streak-powder
cherry -red or reddish-brown. The metallic varieties pass*
into an eartny ore of a red color, having none of the external
characters of the crystals, but perfectly correspond nig to them
when they are pulverized, the powder they yield being of a
deep red color, and earthy or without luster. Gr=4.5
5*3. Hardness of crystals 5*5 6-5, Sometimes slightly
attracted by the magnet.
Varieties and Composition.
Specular iron. Specimens having a perfectly metallic
luster.
Micaceous iron. Specular iron, with a foliated structure*
Red hematite. Submetallic, or unmetallic, and of a brown-
ish-red color*
Red ocher. Soft and earthy, and often containing clay.
Red chalk. More firm and compact than red ocher, and
of a fine texture.
Jaspery clay iron. A bard impure ore, containing clay,,
and having a brownish-red jaspery look and compactness.
Clay iron stone. The same as the last, the color and ap-
pearance less like jasper.
This is one variety of what is called "clay iron stone. "
Much of it belongs to the following species, and a large
part also is spathic iron, as is the case with that of the Eng-
lish coal measures.
Lenticular argillaceous ore. A red ore, consisting of
small flattened grains, something like an oolite.
Oligiste iron, iron glance, and rhombohedral iron ore, are
other names of the species specular iron.
What is the crystallization of specular iron ? What are its physical
characters ? Describe the varieties.
TROT* ORES.
of the pure ore : iron 69*34, oxygen 30'66.
Tho varieties without a perfect metallic luster often contain
more or less clay or sand. Before the blowpipe alone infu-
sible ; with borax in the inner fiame gives a green glass,
,and a yellow glass in the outer flame-
Dif. This ore is distinguished from magnetic iron ore
>y its red -powder ; and from any silver or copper ores by
ats hardness and infusibility. The word hematite, from the
Greek kaima, blood, alludes to the color of the powder.
Obs. This ore occurs in "both crystalline and stratified
s-ocks, and is of -all ages. The more extensive beds of pure
ore abound in the piimary rocks; while the argillaceous
varieties occur in stratified rooks, being often abundant in
coal regions and other -strata. Crystallized specimens occur
also in some lavas.
Splendid c^stallizations of this ore come from Elba, whose
t>eds were known to the Romans; also from St. Gothard;
Arendal, Norway ; Langbanshyttan, Sweden ; Lorraine and
Dauphiuy. Etna and Vesuvius afford handsome specimens.
In the United States, this is an abundant ore. The two
iron mountains of Missouri, situated 90 miles south of St.
Louis, consist mainly of this ore, piled "in masses of all
sizes from a pigeon s egg to a middle size church." One of
them is 150 feet high, and the other, the " Pilot knob," is 700
feet. Both the massive and micaceous varieties occur there
together with red ochreous ore. Large beds of specular
iron have been explored in St. Lawrence aad Jefferson
.counties, N. Y. ; Plymouth, Bartlett and elsewhere in New
Hampshire ; Woodstock and Aroostock, Maine, .and Liberty,
Maryland, are other localities ; also the Blue Ridge, in the
western part of Orange county, Va. The micaceous variety
occurs at Hawley, Mass., Piermont, N. H., and in Stafford
^county, Va. Lenticular argillaceous ore is abundant in
Oneida, Herkimer, iMadison, and Wayne counties, N. Y., con-
stituting one -or two beds 12 to 2Q inches thick in a compact
sandstone ; it contains 50 per cent of oxyd of iron, with
^about 25 of carbonate of lime, and more or less magnesia and
<clay. The coal region of Pennsylvania affords -abundantly
the clay iron ores, but they are mostly the argillaceous carbo-
nate of iron or hematite.
What is the. composition of specular iron 1 What are its distinguish-
ing characters? What is its mode .of occurrence 1 What is said of
Soic icon mountains of -Missouri J?
220 METALS.
Uses. Valuable as an iron ore, though less easily worked
when pure and metallic than the magnetic and hematitic
res. Pulverized red hematite is used for polishing metals,
Red chalk is a well known material for red pencils.
BROWN IRON ORE, Brown Hematite,
Usually massive, and often with a smooth botryoicFal or
stalactitic surface, having a compact fibrous structure with in.
Also earthy.
Color dark brown to ocher-yellow ; streak yellowish-
brown to dull yellow. Luster sometimes submetallic ; often
dull and earthy; on a surface of fracture frequently silky.
H=5 5-5. Gr=3-6 4.
Varieties and Composition. The following are the princi-
pal varieties :
Brown hematite. The botiyoidal, stalactttic and associated
compact oa*e.
Brown ocher, Yellow acher. Earthy ochreous varieties,
of a brown or yellow color.
Brown and yellow clay iron stone. Impure re, hard and
compact, of a brown or yellow color.
Bog iron ore. A loose earthy ore of a brownish-black
color, occurring, in low grounds.
Composition when pure : peroxyd of iron 85*3, (seven-tenths'
f which is pure iron,) and water 14*7 ; or it rs a Tiydrous
peroxyd of iron, containing when pure about two-thirds its
weight of pure iron. Before the blowpipe, blackens and be-
comes magnetic. Gives with borax, in the inner flame a
green glass.
Dif. This is a much softer ore than either of the two pre-
ceding, and. is peculiar in its frequent stalactitic forms, and
in its affording water when heated in a glass tube.
Obs. Occurs connected with rocks of all ages, but ap-
pears, as shown by the stalactitic and other forms, to have
resulted in all cases from the decomposition of other iron ores,
probably the swlphuret.
This is an abundant ore in the United States. The fol-
lowing are a few of its localities. Extensive beds exist at
Salisbury and Kent, Conn., in mica slate; aU-oiii the neigh-
What is said of the uses of specular iron ? What is the appearance
of brown iron ore ? its composition ? Describe its varie ies. Wku
are distinguishing characters I II&w dws this ore occur I
OITEB.
feoring towns of Beekrnan, Fishkill, Dover, and Amenia, N.
Y. ; also in a similar situation north, at Richmond and Lenox,
Mass. $ alse at Bennington, Monktou, Pittsford, Putney, and
Ripton, Vermont. Large beds are found in Pennsylvania,
the Carolinas, near the Missouri iron mountains, and also in.
Tennessee, Iowa and Wisconsin,
Uses. This is one of the most valuable ores of iron. It
is also pulverised and used for polishing metallic buttons and
other articles. As yellow ocher, it is a common material
for paint.
Gdtkite, Lepidskrokite. These are names given to crystals 'of U hy-
drous pcroxyd of iron, differing in composition from brown iron ore by
containing half as much water. The crystals are of a brown color, and
blood -red by transmitted light when subtransparent. Streak brownish-
yellow to ocher-yellow. H==5. Gr=4 - 4-2. Occurs with hematite
et Eiser/eld in Nassau ; at CKften in Cornwall ; in Siberia and else-
where. Turgite from the Ural, appears to be identical with this species,
FRAXKLINITE*
Monometrlc. In octahedral and dodecahedral crystals,
and also coarse granular massive. Color iron-
black ; streak dark reddish-brown. Brittle.
H=5*5 6-0. Gr=4-85 5-1 ; acts slightly
on the magnet.
Composition : peroxyd of iron 66, sesquoxyd
of manganese 16, oxyd of zinc 17. Alone in-
fusible. At a high temperature zinc is driven off) and is
deposited on the charcoal ; with borax on a platinum wire,
in the outer flame, it gives the violet color due to manganese ;
and in -the inner flame on charcoal, the green color due to iron.
Dif. Resembles magnetic iron, but the exterior color is
a more decided black. The streak is not black, and the
blowpipe reactions are different.
Obs. This is an abundant ore at Sterling and Hamburgh,
in New Jersey, near . the Franklin furnace ; at the former
place, the crystals are sometimes 4 inches in diameter. It is
said to occur also in the mines of Altenberg, near ALx-la-
Chapelle.
Uses. The attempts to work this ore for zinc have not
been successful.
What is said of the uses of brown iron ore 1 What is the appear-
ance of franklinite ? What is its composition ? How is it distinguish-
ed from magnetic iron ore ?
19*
METALS*
ILMETTCTE. Titanic iron.
In crystallization near specular iron. K : R=g5 59^
Often in thin plates or seams in quartz ; also in grains.
Crystals sometimes rery large and tabular.
Color iron-black ; streak metallic. Luster metallic OT
submetallic. H=5 6. Gr=4'5 5 ; acts slightly on thtf
magnetic needle.
Composition : oxyd of iron, with a variable proportion of
titanic acid or oxyd of titanium. Infusible alone before the
blowpipe.
Crichtonite, ilmenite, menaccanite, fiysfatife, and iserine^
are names of some of the varieties of this species. The hys-
tatite variety includes the washingtontie of Professor Shepard.
Octahedral and cubic crystals of this mineral have been found
with titaniferous sand, which are supposed to be pseudo-
morphotts,
Dif. Near specular iron, but differs in the less luster of
its crystals, and its metallic streak.
Obs. Crystals an inch or so in diameter occur in War-
wick, Amity, and Monroe, Orange county, N. Y. ; also near
Edenville and Greenwood furnace ; also at South Royalston
and Goshen, Mass. ; at Washington, South Britain, and
Litchfied, Conn. ; at Westerly, Rhode Island.
Uses. Of no value in the arts.
CHROMIC IRON. Cliromate of Iron.
Monometric. In octahedral crystals, without distinct clea-
vage. Usually massive, and breaking with a rough un-
polished surface.
Color iron-black and brownish -black ; streak dark brown.
Luster submetallic ; often faint. H = 5'5. Gr = 4'3 4-5.
In small fragments attractable by the magnet.
Composition : green oxyd of chromium 60'0, protoxyd of
iron 20*1, alumina 11*8, magnesia 7-5. The alumina and
magnesia are variable. Infusible alone before the blowpipe.
Fuses slowly with borax to a beautiful green globule.
Dif. The little luster of this ore on a surface of fracture
is peculiar ; also its fine green glass with borax, which dis-
tinguishes it from ores of iron and other metals.
Describe titanic iron. Of what does it consist ? How does it differ
from specular iron ? What is the appearance of chromic iron 1 its com-
position 1 How is it distinguished from other ores?
IRON ORES. 223
Obs. Occurs usually in serpentine rocks, in imbedded
masses or veins. Some of the foreign localities are the
Gulsen mountains in Styria ; the Shetland Islands ; the de-
partraent of Var in France ; Silesia, Bohemia, etc.
In the United States, it is abundant in Maryland in the
Bare Hills near Baltimore, and also in Montgomery county,
at Cooptown in Harfbrd county, and in the north part of
Cecil county ; occurs also in Townsend and Westfield, Ver-
mont, and at Chester and Blandford, Mass. It is also found
at Hoboken, N. Y., and at Milford and West Haven, Conn. ;
in Pennsylvania in Little Britain, Lancaster county, and
West Branford, Chester county, and on the Wisahicon, 11
miles from Philadelphia.
Uses. The compounds of chrome are extensively used
as pigments. These compounds are obtained either from
chromic iron or the native chromate of lead, (see under
lead.) The chromate of lead and copper (vauquelinite) is
too rare to be employed for this purpose. The chromate 6f
potash is readily formed by mixing equal parts of nitre and
the powdered chromic iron and exposing the mixture in a
crucible to a strong heat for some hours. The soluble part
is then washed out, and the process is repeated with the in-
soluble portion (digesting it tirst in muriatic acid to remove
the free oxyd of iron and alumina) till all the ore is decom-
posed. The colored liquid obtained from the washings is
carefully saturated with nitric acid, and concentrated by
evaporation till crystals of nitre cease to be deposited. Being
then set aside for a week or two, it gradually deposits abun-
dant crystals of the yellow chromate of potash. Chromate
of lead, called also chrome yellow, is the most common chrome
paint used. It is made by adding to the liquid obtained as
above stated, before its crystallization, a solution of acetate
of lead (sugar of lead) till it is saturated. The yellow pre-
cipitate washed out and dried, is the chrome yellow of com-
merce. It is used as a yellow pigment both in oil and water
colors, calico printing, dyeing, and porcelain painting. This
material is largely manufactured at Baltimore, Md. The
native nitrate of soda of Peru, has been suggested as a sub-
stitute for nitre in the above process.
Another mode of this manufacture recently proposed, con-
Where does chromic iron occur ? What are its uses ? How is the
ore treated ? What is chrome yellow, and how is it made 1
224
METALS.
sists in making a chromate of lime from the chromic iron*
It is as follows : 1. Pulverize very finely chalk and chromic
iron, and mix the sifted material well by means of a revolv-
ing barrel. 2. Calcine for nine or ten hours at a bright red
heat in a reverberatory furnace, when, if complete, the whole
has a yellowish-green color, and dissolves entirely in muri-
atic acid. 3. The porous mass after being crushed under a
mill, to be mixed with hot water and kept agitated, adding
a little sulphuric acid till it slightly reddens blue litmus
paper. 4. Triturated chalk should then be added, and the
oxyd of iron is thus removed. 5. After being left quiet for
a while, the clear supernatant liquid is to be drawn off: it
contains bichromate, with a little sulphate of lime. Tho
chromate of potash may then be made from it by adding car-
bonate of potash ; the chromate of lead, by adding acetate
of lead ; chromate of zinc, by adding chlorid of zinc.
The bichromate of potash has a fine red color, and is much
used by calico printers. It is made from the chromate by
adding nitric or acetic acid to its solution, (enough to give it
a sour taste,) and setting it aside to crystallize. The green
oxyd of chromium gives the fine green color to glass of
borax in blowpipe experiments with chromic iron ; and it
is used to produce this tint in porcelain and enamel painting.
It is the coloring ingredient of the emerald, and the emerald,
colored chrysoberyl of the Urals ; and occurs in some varie-
ties of diallage and serpentine. It has been found native.
Chromic acid is said to be the coloring matter of the red
sapphire or ruby. With oxyd of tin, it affords a pink color,
which is used in porcelain painting.
COLUMBITE. Tantalite, of European Chemists.
Trimetric. In rectangular prisms, more or less modified.
Also massive. Disseminated in the gangue.
Cleavage parallel to the lateral faces of the
prism, somewhat distinct.
Color iron-black, brownish-black ; often
with a characteristic iridescence on a surface
of fracture ; streak dark brown, slightly red-
dish. Luster submetallic, shining. Opaque.
Describe another mode of treating chromic iron 1 What is the color-
ing ingredient of the emerald 1 what of the red sapphire 1 What are
the color, lusfter and form of columbite ?
IRON ORES. 225
Brittle. H=5 6. Gr=5'3 6-4. American 5-3 5-71 ;
Bavarian 5*7 6*4.
Composition of an American specimen : columbic with
niobic acid 80' 1, protoxyd of iron 12-6, protoxyd of manga-
nese 6-0, oxyd of tin 0*1, oxyds of copper and lead 0-4. The
Bavarian columbite' contains also pelopic acid, which is
sparingly found in the American, and from its high specific
gravity accounts, as Prof. Rose states, for the difference in
lii is respect in the varieties from the two countries.
Infusible alone before the blowpipe. With borax in a
fine powder fuses quite slowly, but perfectly, to a dark green
glass, which indicates only the presence of iron.
Dif. Its dark color, submetallic luster, and a slight iri-
descence, together with its breaking readily into angular
fragments, will generally distinguish this species from the
ores it resembles.
Obs. Occurs in granite at Bodenmais in Bavaria, and
also in Bohemia. In the United States, it is found in the
same rocks, feldspathic or albitic, at Middletown and Had-
dam, Conn. ; at Chesterfield and Beverly, Mass., and at
Acworth, N. H. A crystal was found at Middletown, which
originally weighed 14 pounds avoirdupois ; and a part of it,
6 inches in length and breadth, weighing 61bs. 12oz., is now
in the collections of the Wesleyan University of that place.
This mineral was first made known from American speci-
mens, by Mr. Hatchett, an English chemist, and the new
metal it was found to contain was named by him columbium.
Ferrotantalite. This is an allied mineral, often called, from its lo-
cality at Kimito in Finland, kimito-lantalile. It is a neutral colum-
bate of iron. H=5 6. Gr=7'2 80. A variety from Broddbo
contains 8 per cent, of oxyd of tin, with 6 of tungstic acid. Sp. gr.=
6-5.
y te. The metal columbium is also found in pyroehlore, and in the
yttria ores, yttro-columbite, euxenite, fergusonite, and wOhlerite. The
metals niobium and pelopium are usually associated with it.
WOLFRAM. Tungstate of Iron and Manganese.
Trimetric. In modified rhombic or rectangular prisms ;
sometimes pseudomorphous in octahedrons imitative oftung-
state of lime. Also massive. Color dark grayish-black;
Of what does columbite consist ! How does it differ from other ores ?
Describe wolfram.
PETAL'S.
streak dark reddish brown. Luster submetalllc, shining cr
dull. H=5 5-5. Gr=7-l 7-4.
Composition : tungstic acid 75-89, protoxyd of irm 19'24,
protoxyd of manganese 4-97. Fuses with difficulty. Gives
a green bead with borax, and a deep red globule with salt of
phosphorus.
Found often with tin ores. Occurs in Cornwall, and at i
Zinnwald and elsewhere in Europe. In the United States,
it is found at Monroe and Trumbull, Conn. ; on Camdage
farm near Blue Hill, Me.; near Mine la Motte, Missouri^
in the gold regions of North Carolina.
SILICATES OF IRC N.
There are several compounds of silica andoxyd of iron, none of whiclj
are of specia-1 interest in an economical point of view.
Hedenbergite is a variety of augite, consisting essentially of these in-
gredients, (see page 151.)
Iron chrysolite differs from ordinary chrysolite in containing oxyd of
iron in place of magnesia.
Isopyre is a black glassy amorphous mineral, found in granite. H=
6 6-5. Gr=2-9 3. Consists of silica 47" 1, alumina 13'9,peroxyd of
iron 20' 1, lime 15'4, oxyd of copper 1'9,
Yenite, (called also lievrite and ilvaite.} Occurs in rhombic prisms,
often with the sides much striated or fluted ; color black or brownish
black. Luster submetallic. Streak black, greenish or brownish. 11=.
55 6. Gr=3'8 4'1. Contains about 50 to 55 per cent, of oxyd of
iron with 14 of lime and 29 of silca. Fuses to a black globule. From
the island of Elba in large crystallizations; also from Norway, Siberia,
Silesia. At Cumberland, Rhode Island, yenite occurs in slender blade
or brownish-black crystals, in .quartz ^ also in Essex county, N. Y.
The following are hydrous species, giving off water when heated in
a tube before the blowpipe.
Nontronite and pinguite, are earthy almosi like clay, of a yellowisi
or greenish color.
Chloropal is a harder species, (H=3 4,) of a greenish-yellow or
pistachio-green color- Grengesite, thttringile, knebelite, and kirwan-
ite, are other allied species.
Green earth. Includes different compounds of a green earthy ap-
pearance. The green earth occupying cavities in amygdaloid is near
chlorite. It is a silicate of the peroxyd of iron with some potash, mag-
nesia and water ; often with other ingredients. The green grains of
<he green sand of New Jersey, consist of si iea 5H>, alumina G'4, pro-
toxyd of iron 24'3, potash 9'9o, water 7'7.
Hisingerite, cronstcdtite, anihosidtrile , pt lyhydrite, sideroschisolite,
chamoisite, stilpnomelane, and xyhte, are names of dark brown or
black species.
Of what does wolfram consist? With what ores is it usually associ-
ated I Whal is said of the compounds of oxyd of iron with silica]
IIZOST ORES. 227
Crocidotite hits a fibrous structure much resembling asbestus, and
ftfs been called blue asbestus. Color lavender-blue or leek-green
H=4. Gr=3 2 33. From Southers Africa,
Pyrosmalite occurs in hexagonal prisms with a perfect basal cleavage,
and pearly surface. Color pale liver-brown, grayish, or greenish. H=
4 1-5. Gr=3'8. Contains 14 per cent, of eWorld of iron, and gives
oil" fumes of muriatic acid before the blowpipe.
Iron -zeolite. A hydrous silicate of the oxyds of iron and manganese,
tinning incrustations at a mine near Freyberg.
COPPERAS. Sulphate of Iron, or Green Vitriol.
Monoclinate. In acute oblique rhombic prisms. M : M=
J82 21 ; P : M=80 37'. Cleavage parallel to P, perfect.
Generally pulverulent or massive.
Color greenish to white. Luster vitreous. Subtranspa-
<rent to translucent. Taste astringent, sweetish, and metallic.
Brittle. H=2. Gr = l-83.
GomposUi&n: oxyd of iron 25'42, sulphuric acid 29-01,
jwater 45'57. Becomes magnetic before the blowpipe.
Yields a green glass with blowpipe j and a black color with
a tincture of nut galls. On exposure, becomes covered with
a yilowish powder, which is a persalt of iron.
O65. This species is a result of the decomposition of
, pyrites, which readily affords it if moistened while exposed to
jthe atmosphere, as stated under pyrites. The old mine of
iRammelsberg in the Hartz, near Goslar, is its most noted
locality ; but it occurs wherever pyrites is found.
Copperas is much used by dyers and tanners, on account of
Jits giving a black color with tannic acid, an ingredient in nut-
Jgalls and many kinds of bark. It for the same reason forms
jthe basis of ordinary ink, which is essentially an infusion of
;jnutgalls and copperas. It is also employed in the manufacture
jof Prussian blue. With prussiate of potash, any soluble per-
jsalt of iron, even in minute quantity, gives a fine blue color
jto the solution, (due to the formation of Prussian blue,) and
this is a common test of the presence of iron.
About 1800 tons of copperas are used in the United States
annually. The colcotliar of v : triol is the browish-red oxyd
!of iron, obtained from copperas by calcination and other
processes. It is much used as a polishing powder.
i Coquimbite, or white copperas, and yellow copperas, are names of
Itwo sulphates of the peroxyd of iron. Pittizite,fibro-ferrite, are allied
"What is the appearance and taste of copperas ? its composition ?
(What is its origin in nature ? For what is it used ?
228 METALS.
compounds. Apalclite is still another, peculiar in containing bat 4 per
cent, of water.
Voltnitc is a double sulphate of iron, alumina, potash and water, crys-
tallizing like alum in octahedrons. From the Soifatara, near Naples.
SPATHIC IRON. Carbonate of Iron*
Hexagonal. In rhombohedrous and six-sided prisms, easily
cleavable parallel to a rhombohedron of 107 J .
Faces often curved. Usually massive, with a
foliated structure, somewhat curving. Some-
times in globular concretions or implanted
globules.
Color light grayish to brown ; often dark brownish-red, or
nearly black on exposure. Streak tmcolored. Luster pearly
to vitreous. Translucent to nearly opaque. H 3 4*5.
Gr=3-7 3-85.
Composition, when pure : protoxyd of iron 61-37, carbonic
acid 38'63. Often contains some oxyd of manganese or
magnesia, replacing part of the oxyd of iron. Before the
blowpipe it blackens and becomes magnetic ; but alone it is
infusible. Colors borax green. Dissolves in nitric acid, but
scarcely effervesces unless pulverized.
The ordinary crystallized or foliated variety is called
spathic or sparry iron, because the mineral has the aspect of
a spar. The globular concretions found in some amygda-
loids or lavas, have been called spherosiderite. An argilla-
ceous variety, occurring in nodular forms, is often called clay
iron stone, and is abundant in the English coal measures.
Dif. This mineral is foliated like calc spar and dolomite ;
but it has a much higher specific gravity. It readily becomes
magnetic before the blowpipe.
Obs. Spathic iron occurs in rock of various ages, and
often accompanies metallic ores. The largest beds are found
in gneiss and graywacke, and also in the coal formation.
In Styria and Carinthia, it is very abundant in gneiss, and
in the Hartz it occurs in graywacke. Cornwall, Alstonmoor
and Devonshire, are English localities.
A vein of considerable extent occurs at Roxbury, near
New Milford, Conn., in quartz, traversing gneiss ; at Ply-
mouth, Vt., and Sterling, Mass., it is also abundant. It oc-
Describe spathic iron. What is its constitution 1 What are its
chemical characters ? How does it differ from calc spar? What are
its varieties ? How does it occur?
1KO\ ORES. 229
curs also at Monroe, Conn. ; in New York state, in Antwerp,
Jefferson county, and in Hermon, St. Lawrence county. The
argillaceous carbonate in nodules and beds, is very abun-
dant in the coal regions of Pennsylvania.
Uses. This ore is employed extensively for the manufac-
ture of iron and steel.
Thomaite is a carbonate of iron occurring in rhombic prisms. Gr=
3-1. From the Siebengebirge mines. Junkerite has proved to be com-
mon spathic iron.
Mesitine spar, (Breunnerite.) A carbonate of iron and manganese,
occurring in yellowish rhombohedrons of 107^ 14'. H=4. Gr=3'3
3-6. This includes much of what is called rhomb spar, or brown spar,
which becomes rusty on exposure.
Oligon spar. A carbonate of iron and manganese. Angle of rhom-
bohedron 107 3'. Color yellow or reddish-brown. Gr=3.75.
VIVIANITE.
Monoclinate. In modified oblique prisms, with cleavage
in one direction highly perfect. Also radiated, reniform,
and globular, or as coatings.
Color deep blue to green. Crystals usually green at right
angles with the vertical axis, and blue parallel to it. Streak
bluish. Luster pearly to vitreous. Transparent to translu-
cent ; opaque on exposure. Thin laminae flexible. H =
1-52. Gr = 2-66.
Composition : protoxyd of iron 42'4, phosphoric acid 28'7,
water 23-9. Loses its color before the blowpipe and be-
comes opaque ; and if pulverized, fuses to a scoria, which is
magnetic. Affords water in a glass tube, and dissolves in
nitric acid.
Dif. The deep blue color connected with the softness,
are decisive characteristics. The blowpipe affords a con-
firmatory test.
Obs. Found with iron, copper and tin ores, and some-
times in clay, or with bog iron ore. St. Agnes in Cornwall,
Bodenmais, and the gold mines of Vorospatak in Transylva-
nia, afford fine crystallizations. In the United States, good
crystals have been found at Imleytown, N. J. At Allentown,
Monmouth county, and Mullica Hill, Gloucester county, N.
J., are other localities. It often fills the interior of certain
fossils. Occurs also at Harlem, N. Y., in Somerset and
For what is spathic iron used ? What is the color and structure of
vivianite 1 Of what does it consist ?
20
230 METALS.
Worcester counties, Md., and with bog ore in Stafford
county, Va.
The blue iron earth is an earthy variety, containing about 30 per
cent, of phosphoric acid. The mineral from Mullica Hill has been
called mullicite.
Anglarite, from Anglar, France, is a similar mineral, with less phos-
phoric acid.
Triphylinc occurs in cleavable masses, of a greenish-gray or bluish
color. H=5. Gr=3 6. It is an anhydrous phosphate of the pro-
toxyds of iron, and manganese, with some lithia. From Bodenmais in
Bayern.
Green iron stone, (kraurite,) alluaudite,melanchlor,nnd beraunite,are
names of phosphates of the peroxyd of iron. Color of the first two, dull
leek-green ; structure fibrous. Luster silky. Color of the third, black ;
of the fourth, hyacinth-red, becoming darker on exposure.
Cacoxene. This is a handsome species, occurring in radiated silky
tufts of a yellow or yellowish-brown color. H=3 4. Gr=3'38. It is a
phoephate of alumina and iron. It differs from Wavellite, which it re-
sembles in its more yellow color and iron reactions. It also resembles
carpholite, but has a deeper color. It occurs on brown iron ore in
Bohemia. Also with specular iron at the Sterling iron mines at
Antwerp, Jefferson county, New York, and at Mount Defiance, near
Ticonderoga.
Carphosiderite is another yellow phosphate of iron from Greenland.
It occurs in reniform masses.
ARSENATES OF IRON.
Cube ore. Occurs in cubes of dark green to brown and red colors.
Luster adamantine, not very distinct. Streak greenish or brownish.
H=2'5. Gr=3. It is a hydrous arsenate of the peroxyd of iron, con-
taining 38 per cent, of arsenic acid. From the Cornwall mines ; also
from France and Saxony.
Scorodite. Crystallizes in rhombic prisms, modified. M : M=119
2'. Color pale leek-green or liver brown. Streak uncolored. Luster
vitreous to subadamantine. Subtransparent to nearly opaque. H=
3 - 5 4. Gr=3'l 3-3. Scorodite is a hydrous arsenate of the per-
oxyds of iron, containing 50 per cent, of arsenic acid. From Saxony,
Carinthia, Cornwall, and Brazil.
It occurs in minute crystals near Edenville, N. Y., with arsenical
pyrites. The name of this species is from the Greek skorodon, garlic,
alluding to the odor before the blowpipe.
Iron sinter is a yellowish or brownish hydrous arsenate of the peroxyd
of iron, containing but 30 per cent, of arsenic acid. Arseno-siderite Is
another fibrous arsenate, containing 34 per cent, of arsenic acid.
Symplesite is a blue or green mineral, supposed to be an arsenate of
the protoxyd of iron. Its crystals are right rhomboidal, with a perfect
cleavage. H=2'5. Gr=2.96. From Voigtland.
Oxalate of iron. This is a soft, yellow, earthy mineral of rare oc-
currence. It blackens instantly in the flame of a candle. Occurs in
Bohemia ; it is supposed to have resulted from the decomposition of
succulent plants.
METALS. 231
GENERAL REMARKS ON IRON AND ITS ORES.
The metal iron has been known from the most remote historical
period, but was little used until the last centuries before the Christian
era. Bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was the almost universal sub-
stitute, for cutting instruments as well as weapons of war, among the
ancient Egyptians and earlier Greeks ; and even among the Romans
(as proved by the relics from Pompeii) and also throughout Europe, it
continued long to be extensively employed for these purposes.
The Chalybes, bordering on the Black Sea, were workers in iron and
steel at an early period ; and near the year 500 B. C., this metal was
introduced from that region into Greece, so as to become common for
weapons of war. From this source we have the expression chalybeate
applied to certain substances or waters containing iron.
The iron mines of Spain have also been known from a remote epoch,
and it is supposed that they have been worked " at least ever since the
times of the later Jewish kings ; first by the Tynans, next by the Car-
thagenians, then by the Romans, and lastly by the natives of the coun-
try." These mines are mostly contained in the present provinces of
New Castile and Aragon. Elba was another region of ancient works,
" inexhaustible in its iron," as Pliny states, who enters somewhat fully
into the modes of manufacture. The mines are said to have yielded
iron since the time of Alexander of Macedon. The ore beds of Styria
in Lower Austria, were also a source of iron to the Romans.
Iron ores. The ores from which the iron of commerce is obtained,
are the spathic iron or carbonate, magnetic iron, specular iron, brown
iron ore or hematite, and bog iron ore. In England, the principal ore
used is an argillaceous carbonate of iron, called often clay iron stone,
found in nodules and layers in the coal measures. It consists of car-
bonate of iron, with some clay, and externally has an earthy, stony
look, with little indication of the iron it contains except in its weight.
It yields from 20 to 35 per cent, of cast iron. The coal basin of
South Wales, and the counties of Stafford, Salop, York, and Derby,
yield by far the greater part of the English iron. Brown hematite
is also extensively worked. In Sweden and Norway, at the famous
works of Dannemora and Arendal, the ore is the magnetic iron ore,
-1 is nearly free from impurities as it is quarried out. It yields 50 to
per cent, of iron. The same ore is worked in Russia, where it
nds in the Urals. The Elba ore is the specular iron. In Germany,
ria, and Carinthia, extensive beds of the spathic iron are worked.
e bog ore is largely reduced in Prussia.
In the United States, all these different ores are worked. The local-
ties are already mentioned. The magnetic ore is reduced in New
~ngland, New York, northern New Jersey, and sparingly in Pennsyl-
What was the usual substitute for iron among the ancients? What
said of the Chalybes ? What of the working of the Spanish mines]
f hat of the Elba mines 1 What are the common ores of iron ? What
said of the most common in England ? in Sweden and Norway? at
Iba, Styria, and Carinthia ? What ores abound in the United States ?
232 METALS.
vania and other states. The brown hematite is largely worked along
Western New England and Eastern New York, in Pennsylvania, and
many states south and west. The earthy argillaceous carbonate like
that of England, and the hydrate, are found with the coal deposits, and
are a source of much iron.
The several kinds of ore differ somewhat in the quality of the iron
they afford ; but the greatest part of the supposed difference, if we ex-
cept the bog ore, depends on the mode of working, and the use of pro-
per fluxes in the right proportion. The bog ore (a bog formation) often
contains phosphorus from animal decomposition, and generally yielda
a brittle product, though from its fusibility good for some kinds of
casting.
Mode of Assay. In the assay of ores in the dry way, for economical
purposes, somewhat different means are used for the different ores. As
in the reduction in the large way, the object is to separate the iron from
the oxygen with which it is united, and from the impurities clay, lime,
or quartz, if such be present.
With the pure oxyds, or the carbonate in a pure state, a simple mix-
ture of the pulverized ore and charcoal strongly heated in a crucible,
will effect a reduction. But it is found better to add carbonate of lime
or burnt lime, with clay, or glass, or borax, which fuse into a slag, and
besides aiding the reduction, protect the reduced iron from combustion.
For specular iron, with 10 parts of the ore finely pulverized, mix as
much chalk or limestone, 6 to 8 parts of bottle glass, and sixteenth or
a twentieth of the whole by weight of charcoal. For a magnetic iron
ore, mix with 10 parts of the ore 12 of glass, and as much chalk, with
one part of charcoal ; or, say 3 parts of each burnt lime and burnt clay,
and 2^ of charcoal. For a brown hematite, 10 parts of burnt lime, as
many of burnt clay, and 3 of charcoal. These proportions, taken from.
Mushet, are not given as invariably necessary, but simply to guide the
experimenter. The fitness of the proportions is to be determined from
the result. If the slag is clear and nearly colorless, the reduction is
perfect. If dark colored, it contains unreduced oxyd, and too much
glass or clay may have, been added ; if opaque or porcellanous, too
much lime has been used. In the case of an argillaceous ore, the pro-
portions of lime and glass should be determined from the proportions of
lime and clay in the ore.
. The prepared ore with the fluxes, well mixed, is placed in a crucible
lined with moistened and well compacted charcoal dust ; the crucible is
filled with charcoal, and closed with a luted lid of fire clay. The
heat should be very slowly raised, not using the bellows for three quar-
ters of an hour, and finally sustained for a quarter of an hour at a white
heat, and then the crucible may be removed and the button of cast iron,
after cooling, taken out.
Redaction of ores. In the reduction of iron ores, the simplest and
oldest process consists in heating the pounded ore with charcoal in an
open forge, (see beyond, page 2.'J7.) By the improved process, the ore
is heated in a blast furnace along with charcoal, coke, or mineral coal.
What is said of the iron from different ores ? De cribe the general
mode of assaying iron ores ] What is the usual mode of reduction ?
Describe the blast furnace.
IRON ORES.
23
and also a certain proportion of some flux, usually limestone. The
lime forms a glass with the silicious impurities of the ore, while the
carbon (first becoming carbonic oxyd) takes the oxygen which is in
combination with the metal. A small proportion of the carbon also en-
ters into the metal after it is reduced, giving it the fusibility it has as
cast iron.
Before describing the process, a brief description may be given of a
blastfurnace.* The folio wing, figure (excluding the structure on the
right, to be afterwards explained,) represents the essential features of a
furnace, in an exterior side view.
1
It is essentially a broad truncated four-sided pyramid of brick and
stone, containing within a cavity where the ore is heated and reduced.
* I am indebted to Mr. S. S. Haldeman for the following figures and
their descriptions. They are l-20th of an inch to a foot. The furnace
was built for anthracite, as is explained beyond. It is a model of the
fine works near Columbia, Pa., owned by the Messrs. Haldeman.
20*
234
METALS.
The annexed figure 2, exhibits the interior laid open. The main
structure is called the stack. Of the interior cavity, the lower part,
2 H, h, is the hearth, H is four-
sided ; B B, the boshes,* having
nearly the shape of a funnel, ex-
cept that it is square below ; above
b, is the proper furnace, usually
about 30 feet high ; below the cru-
cible, lies the hearth, commonly of
refractory grit rock. The furnace
is circular, and is lined with fire
brick (/) ; next to this, is a layer of
dry sand (r,) and then one of brick
(r 1 ,} constituting the inner part of
the irtack. The layer of sand al-
lows the interior to expand by
heat, without cracking the exte-
rior ; and moreover, the whole, /,
r, r', may be removed for repairs
without injuring the exterior work.
At t, is one of the twiers, (or tuyeres,) the tubes by which the blast of
air is driven into the furnace. At m, is a partial partition of fire brick,
called the tymp, separating the back and front of the hearth, but not
extending to the bottom or hearth-stone. The hearth-stone is made of
a refractory grit rock.
In each side of the four-sided stack, at bottom, there is a door-like or
arched opening, (A, figs. J , 2,) which extends in to the stonework that en-
closes the hearth, 'i hree of these opening are called the twier-arches,
and the other is the front or working arch ; the twiers enter by the
twier-arches to the interior, and at t, (fig. 1,) is shown the place of en-
trance of one. The view in figure 1, gives a front view of a twier arch ;
and in figure 2, at A, there is a tide view, with the twier in place.
3 To p: event the melted metal,
which often rises above the
twiers, from flowing into the
blast pipe, in case of the b*last
being accidentally checked,
there is at V (fig. 2) a valve,
which is raised by the blast and
closes when it stops ; and at k,
a place for inserting a rod to
remove any slag that may cling
to the twier.
Figure 3, is a horizontal sec-
tion, at bottom ; A, A, A, are
the twier arches, separated by
the masonry of the stack ; H,
h, the position of the hearth or
crucible ; m is the tymp be-
tween H and h; t, t, t, are the
* This word is from the German word boschung, a slope. H.
IRON ORES.
twiers, the three blast tubes of which connect with a common tube that
extends round, by the passage g g, (figs. 1, 3,) in the form of a semi-
circle, and receives the blast through the tube p. The dotted circle
within corresponds to the inner outline of the tire brick lining of the
widest part of the furnace.
The melted iron runs into the lower part of the hearth, and is covered
by the cinder. It is prevented from running out by the damstone c,
(figs. '2, 3) ; and farther to hinder the metal from being forced out by
the blast, clay is rammed beneath the tymp around the twiers and upon
the surface at h, where it is retained by heavy iron plates. These
plates are raised every few hours to allow the cinder to run off", which
passes out over the damstone, along the dust-plate, c i, (figs. 2, 3.) The
metal is drawn off every twelve hours at the lower level a, through an
aperture at the bottom of the dams-tone.
Great economy in making iron has of late been secured by heating
the blast to three to six hundred Fahrenheit. The cooling effect of the
vast volumes of air thrown into the furnace is avoided ;* and this is ab-
solutely necessary when anthracite coal is used, as is the case in many
works of recent construction. In the view above given, f, f, (fig. 2,)
represent two (out of three) passages in the upper part of the furnace,
by which the waste flame is led off", first to heat boilers at W, W, (fig.
1,) and then to a hot-oven chamber, o. In the last there is a great
number of iron pipes, arranged in series ; the blast by the action of the
engine, is thrown through all the pipes in succession, and after being
thus heated, flows on to p, (fig. 3,) whence it passses to the twiers, (t, f,
f.) When the engine is separated from the furnace, the oven is usually
placed upon the front side (instead of back) of the top, and the flame
passes in by a single aperture. The works here figured are situated
upon a side hill. It is important that the blast should not be too great,
as it wastes the metal by oxydation ; and at the same time it should be
ufficiently copious to supply the requisite qantity of oxygen.
The first step in the process of reduction, consists in roasting the ore
to drive oflfany volatile ingredients, and open its texture. This is effect-
ed by piling the ore in heaps, made of alternate layers of coal or coke
and ore, covering up the heap loosely with earth and firing it. The
carbonic acid, if it contains any, the moisture, and any sulphur present,
are thus expelled, and the ore is in a looser state for reduction. The
furnace is filled with coal and slowly heated up ten or twelve days
being required for this, to avoid the effect of too sudden heat on the fur-
nace. The charge, next to be added, consists of coal, the roasted ore,
and limestone, (if this be the flux,) in certain proportions, and it is car-
What is said of the hot blast ? Describe the method of heating the
engine, and air of the blast. Mention the several steps in the process
of reduction.
* The weight of air thrown into a Glasgow furnace in 24 hours, has
been estimated at 6192 cwt., or 6292 cubic feet per minute, while the
whole weight of coke, ore and limestone added in the same time, was
only 666^ cwt. In ordinary cases, the weight of the air is at least four
times as much as that of the charges.
236 METALS.
ried to the top of the furnace, often by a railway, and thrown in at inter-
vals of an half hour or so, as the coal sinks, so that the furnace is kept
full. The charge at the top of the furnace is two days or more in de-
scending to where it comes within the direct action of the blast. The
fusion of the ore finally takes place a short distance above the twiers, and
its reduction is completed at the same time by the burning coal and flux ;
in a few hours the hearth fills with metal and slag, and as it accumulates,
the fused iron displaces the slag which is continually running over and
conveyed off by the workmen : the metal being let out below by remov-
ing a luting of clay, is run into moulds of sand, to form pigs oblong
masses of about 180 pounds each. The slag in this process serves to
protect the metal from combustion as it is reduced. Its color and condi-
tion indicate the success of the reduction. If of a dark color and heavy,
it shows that all the ore is not reduced, and much metal lost; probably
owing to too little coal or too rapid working. If dark vitreous, with
streaks of green, there is some oxyd of iron carried off by the silica,
which may probably be remedied by adding more lime to take up the
silica. If light colored, all is going on well.*
The proportion of fluxes depends on the ore and its condition, and
no general rule can be given. With the argillaceous carbonate of iron
of Staffordshire, limestone alone is used, 10 to 12 per cent, being em-
ployed for 45 per cent, of ore, and 45 of coke. Even this addition is
unnecessary when the ore is associated with much lime. For the ordi-
nary argillaceous ores, the weight of limestone used is about one-fourth
the weight of the ore, or from one-third to one-sixth. When there is
no silica in the ore, it is added in nearly equal proportions with the
lime and other earthy ingredients present. Previous assays must de-
termine what is required for each variety of ore. The brown hematite
is easily reduced, and requires much coal with a slow process, or only
a white iron is produced ; 8 to 12 per cent, of limestone is added to a
charge as a flux.
Good metal is strong of a dark gray color, with a granular texture,
and runs fluid when melted ; while the bad metal is light colored and
brittle, and runs thick and sluggish. There are numbers 1*, 2, 3, 4, in
market, including the two kinds just described and two intermediate
grades. Number 1 is best fitted for castings, as it contains the most
carbon and is more fusible than the others. Cast iron sometimes con-
tains a trace of silicium without injury, and according to Berzelius, the
best Swedish iron contains after it is made into wrought iron 1-20 per
cent, of silicium. Sulphur and phosphorus are highly deleterious, ex-
cept when a fusible metal is desired with the strength comparatively
unessential.
Wrought or malleable iron. As cast iron owes its fusibility princi-
pally to the carbon present, the change of cast to wrought iron, called
What is said of the slag ? On what does the proportion of fluxes
depend 1
* The slag from Merthyr Tydvil, in South Wales, afforded Berthier on
analysis, silica 40-4, lime 38'4, magnesia 5'2, alumina 11 -2, protoxyd
of iron 3'8, and a trace of sulphur.
IRON ORES 2S7
refining, must consist in the removal of this carbon ana any remaining
impurities. This is done by burning it out, and for this purpose the
poorer kinds of cast iron answer as well as the best. Formerly the
metal was mehed three or four times, and then hammered with a large
forging hammer to remove the scoria. In the next improvement, the
metal while in fusion was stirred for a while to effect the more com-
plete combustion of the carbon ; and in this way it gradually lost its fusi-
bility and became stiff enough for forging. This process is called pud-
dling. The metal passes first through one fusion as preparatory. It ia
next placed on plates in a furnace of the reverberatory kind, the metal
being loosely piled in the middle of the horizontal furnace ; 3 cwt. is
an ordinary charge. The flame plays over it, and in half an hour it
begins to melt. The workmen now stir it about, occasionally dashing
in a scoopful of water. The metal gives off freely bubbles of gas, which
burn with a blue flame, (carbonic oxyd) ; in about twenty minutes the
whole falls to pieces like a coarse gravel, and a lurid flame appears over
it. The whole is still kept in motion and well heated, and soon it be-
gins to unite again, when it is separated into several lumps of the size
of three or four bricks. These masses as they assume a clotty consis-
tency (sometimes called " coming into nature,") are drawn from the
furnace and dolleyed or stamped into cakes with hammers. The plates
are thrown while hot into water, which renders them brittle ; they are
then broken into pieces, again placed togeiher in the furnace, heated to
a welding heat, and finally forged under a ponderous hammer, moved by
machinery, into short thick bars called blooms. 100 parts of cast iron
yield about 63 of blooms. Some of the steps in this process are often
neglected in making the ordinary iron.
It has been found that full 24 per cent, of the gas escaping from an
iron furnace is carbonic oxyd, and in the boshes this is the only gas.
This gas has been used as fuel in the refining of the iron, and by this
means the whole expense of fuel for refining is saved. (See the Amer.
Jour. Sci., vols. i. and ii.,2d ser., where the theory of the blast furnace
is well explained.)
The iron produced is said to be cold short if it is brittle when cold,
and this has been attributed to the presence of silicium. It is termed
red short when it becomes brittle on heating.
Cast iron is also changed to malleable iron by covering castings with
powdered hematite or other oxyd of iron, and exposing to heat below
fusion. The carbon is removed by the oxygen of the oxyd. The scales
of oxyd thrown off in the forging of iron are much used. This process
was first introduced in 1804, and is one of great importance in the arts.
Malleable iron is also obtained directly from the ore by a single fusion
in what is called a Catalan forge. It has a rectangular crucible or basin
below the fire, about 18 inches by 21 in width and J 7 inches deep. The
twier enters about 9 inches above the bottom and receives the blast
from a water-blowing machine ; and it admits of a change of position
so as to give a change of direction to the blast as is required in the
Describe the manufacture of wrought from cast iron. How is the
gas used in heating ? What are cold short and red short iron ? What
other mode is there of rendering cast iron malleable ? Describe a mode
of obtaining malleable iron direct from the ore.
238 METALS.
different stages of the process. The ore after a previous roasting in a
kiln, is pounded up and sifted ; the coarser part is piled up in the forge
on the side opposite the blast, and charcoal fills up the rest of the space.
After the heat is well up, the finer siftings are thrown at intervals upon
the charcoal fire. The basin below, which has been previously lined
with two or three coats of poundf d charcoal, or loam and charcoal, re-
ceives the iron as it is reduced and runs down. The slag is occasionally
removed from the surface of the basin through holes opened for "ft*
purpose. The iron, when sufficiently accumulated, is taken out in a
pasty state and at once forged. The process usually lasts five or six
hours. A lump or bloom of malleable iron is thus produced in three or
four hours. This cheap and simple process has long been used in Cat-
alonia, and it is hence called the method of the Catalan forge. By a
slow operation, and but a small quantity of siftings, worked with an
upraised twier, the proportion of steel obtained by the process is in-
creased. This mode of reduction is adapted only for the purer and
more fusible ores ; and moreover it requires a large consumption of fuel
and is attended by a considerable loss. The argillaceous ore of the coal
region would yield only an iron glass in a Catalan forge.
By another mode of reduction, the iron ore coarsely powdered is
mixed with coal in certain proportions, or a material containing the
requisite amount of carbon, and the charge is heated in a reverberatory
furnace till reduction has taken place. The carbon carries off the
oxygen of the ore, and if the proper proportions have been employed, it
leaves a mass of malleable iron behind.
Steel. Wrought iron is changed to steel by a process called cemen-
tation. The best iron is heated with charcoal ; a portion of carbon is
thus absorbed, and the iron at the same time acquires a blistered sur-
face, and becomes fine grained and fusible. When the blistered steel
is drawn down into smaller bars and beaten, it forms tilted steel; and
this broken up, heated, welded, and agrun drawn out into bars, forms
shear steel. Cast steel is prepared by fusing blistered steel with a flux
and casting it into ingots, and then by gentle heating and careful ham-
mering or rolling, giving it the form of bars.
Steel is al^o formed direct from certain ores of iron, more particularly
when oxyd of manganese is associated with them, and especially from
the spathic iron, which often contains a portion of carbonate of manga-
nese. The oxygen of the manganese is said to remove part of the car-
bon from the cast iron, and thus reduce it to the state of steel. There
are 1 or 2 per cent, of manganese in the metal thus obtained. The
product is of inferior quality as steel, but is largely manufactured in
Germany. The wootz of India is a steel obtained from a black ore of
iron, in a furnace even simpler than the Catalan forge. It is said to
contain a minute proportion of silicium and aluminium.
The amount of iron manufactured in the United States in 1847, (half
of it in Pennsylvania,) was 700,000 tons; in Great Britain, in 1846,
2,200,000 tons; in France, in 1845, 450,000; in Russia, in 1845,
400,000 ; in Sweden, in 1846, 145,000 ; other parts of Europe, (Aus-
tria, Belgium, Germany,) 700,000 tons.
How is steel made 1 Describe the kinds of steel. How i,s sfeel wade
direct from ores of iron ?
METALS. 239
5. MANGANESE.
The ores of manganese have a specific gravity below 5*2.
They afford a violet-blue color with borax or salt of phos-
phorus, in the outer flame of the blowpipe ; and on heating
the oxyd with muriatic acid, fumes of chlorine are given out
which are derived from the acid.
MANGANESE SPAR.
Monoclinate. In oblique rhomboidal prisms, with one
distinct cleavage ; usually large massive, with the cleavage
often indistinct
Color reddish, usually deep flesh-red ; also brownish,
greenish, or yellowish, when impure ; streak uncolored.
Luster vitreous. Transparent to opaque. Becomes black
on exposure. H = 5'5 6-5. Gr=3-4 3-7.
Composition : oxyd of manganese 52 '6, silica 39*6, oxyd
of iron 4*6, lime and magnesia 1*5, water 2'7. The impure
varieties, Rhodonite, Photizite, and Allagite, contain varia-
ble proportions of carbonate of iron, lime, or manganese,
beside alumina. Becomes dark brown when heated, and fuses
with borax in the outer flame, giving a hyacinth red globule.
Dif. Resembles somewhat a flesh-red feldspar, but dif-
fers in greater specific gravity, in blackening on long expo-
sure, and in the glass with borax.
Obs. Occurs in Sweden, the Hartz, Siberia, and else-
where. In the United States it is found in masses, at Plain-
field, and Cummington, Mass. ; also abundantly at Hinsdale,
and on Stony Mountain, near Winchester, N. H. ; at Blue
Hill Bay, Me. The black exterior is a more or less pure
hydrated oxyd of manganese.
Uses. Dr. Jackson has suggested the use of this ore for
1 making a violet-colored glass, and also for a colored glazing
on stone ware. The finely pulverized mineral, spread on
stone ware as a paste, will afford a permanent glazing,
which will have a black color if it be of considerable thick-
ness, and of a deep violet-blue if quite thin. It may be
used along with the usual salt glazing.
What is said of the ores of manganese ? What is the appearance
of manganese spar ? its composition and blowpipe characters? How
is it distinguished from feldspar I For what may it be used 'I
240 METALS.
It receives a high polish and is sometimes employed for
inlaid work.
Troostite. A silicate of iron and manganese occurring in six-sided
prisms ; R on R=115. Also massive. Color dull greenish to reddish-
brown. H=5-5. Gr=4. From Franklin, New Jersey. Tephroite
is a variety of it.
Bustamite. A silicate of manganese and lime occurring in spheri-
cal and reniform masses. H=s6 6'5. Gr=3'2. From Mexico.
PYROLUSITE Binoxyd of Manganese.
Trimetric. In small rectangular prisms, more or less
modified. M : M=93 40' ; M : e=s
136 50'. Sometimes fibrous and ra-
diated or divergent. Often massive
and in reriform coatings.
Color iron-black ; streak black, un-
\. .^ metallic. H=2 25. Gr=4-8 5-0.
X c^^ Composition: essentially the bin-
oxyd ot manganese, consisting of oxygen 36, and manganese
44. With borax it gives an amethystine globule. It yields
no water in a matrass.
Dif. Differs from psilomelane by its inferior hardness,
and from ores of iron by the violet glass with borax.
Obs. This ore is extensively worked in Thuringia, Mo-
ravia, and Prussia. It is common in Devonshire, Somerset-
shire, and Aberdeensliire, in England. In the United States
it is associated with the following species in Vermont, at
Bennington, Brandon, Monkton, Chittenden, and Irasburg ;
it occurs also in Maine, at Con way, and Plainfield, in Mas-
sachusetts ; at Salisbury, and Kent, in Conn., on hematite.
The name pyrolusite is from the Greek pur, fire, and /wo,
to wash, and alludes to its property of discharging the brown
and green tints of glass, for which it is extensively used.
Uses. Besides the use just alluded to, this ore is exten-
sively employed for bleaching, and for affording the gas oxy-
gen to the chemist.
TSILOMELANE.
Massive and botryoidal. Color black or greenish-black.
Streak reddish or brownish-black, shining. H = 56. Gr=
44-4.
Describe pyrolusite. What is its constitution ? What are its uses 1
Describe psitomelane 1 How does it differ from pyrolusite.
MANGANESE ORES. 241
Composition : essentially bmox yd of manganese with one
per cent, of water, and also some baryta or potassa. The
compound is somewhat varying in its constitution. Before
the blowpipe like pyrolusite, except that it affords water.
Obs* This is an abundant ore, and is associated usually
with the pyrolusite. Prof. Silliman, jr., has lately detected
oxyd of cobalt mixed with this ore. It occurs at the differ-
ent localities mentioned under pyrolusite, and the two are
often in alternating layers ; it has been considered only an
impure variety of the pyrolosite. The name is from the
Greek psilas, smooth or naked, and melas 1 black.
Uses. Same as with pyrolusite.
Heteroclin and marceline are similar ores, containing 10 to 16 pel
cent, of silica.
WAD. Bog manganese.
Massive, reniform or earthy ; also in coatings and dendri-
tic delineations.
Color and streak black or brownish-black. Luster dull,
earthy. H=l. Gr=3'7. Soils.
Composition. Consists of peroxyd of manganese, in vary-
ing proportions, from 30 to 70 per cent, along with peroxyd
of iron, 20 to 25 per cent, of water, and often several per
cent, of oxyd of cobalt or copper. It is a hydrated peroxyd,
mechanically mixed with other oxyds, organic acids and
other impurities, and like bog iron ore, is formed in low places
from the decomposition of minerals containing manganese.
Gives off much water when heated, and affords a violet glass
with borax.
Obs. Wad is abundant in Columbia and Dutchess coun-
ties, N. Y., at Austerlitz, Canaan Center, and elsewhere ;
also at Blue Hill Bay, Dover, and other places in Maine ; at
Nelson, Gilmanton, and Grafton, N. H. ; and in many other
parts of the country.
Uses. May be employed like the preceding in bleaching,
but is too impure to afford good oxygen. It may also be
used for umber paint.
TRIPLITE. Ferruginous Phosphate of Manganese.
Massive, with cleavage in three directions. Color black-
ish-brown. Streak yellowish-gray. Luster resinous ; near-
ly or quite opaque. H=5 5'5. Gr=3'4 3'8.
What is wad ? its coni|>oeition ? its origin ? For what may it be
used ? What is triplite I
21
242 METALS.
Composition: protoxyd of manganese 32'6, protoxyd
iron 31*9, phosphoric acid 32'8, with some phosphate of lime.
Fuses easily to a black scoria, before the blowpipe ; dis-
solves in nitric acid, and gives a violet glass with borax.
Obs. From Limoges in France. Rather abundant at
Washington, Conn., and sparingly found at Sterling, Mass.
Heterosite is another phosphate of the oxyds of manganese and
iron, of a greenish-gray or bluish color. Contains 41'77 per cent, ot'
phosphoric acid. Huraulite is a hydrous phosphate of the same oxyds,
containing 18 per cent, of water and 38 of phosphoric acid. Occurs
in transparent, oblique, reddish-yellow crystals. Gr=2'27. From the
commune of Hureaux, near Limoges.
Hausmannile. A sesquioxyd of manganese containing 72' 7 per
cent, of manganese, when pure. Brownish-black and submelallic, oc-
curring massive and in square octahedrons ; H=5 5'5. Gr=4'7,
From Thuringia and Alsatia.
Braunite. A protoxyd of manganese, containing 79 per cent, of
manganese when pure. Color and streak dark brownish-black, and
luster submetallic. Occurs in square octahedrons ; 11=6 6~5. Gr=
4'8. From Piedmont and Thuringia.
Manganite. A hydrous seequioxyd of manganese. Occurs mas-
sive and in rhombic prisms. Color steel-black to iron-black. H=4
4'5. Gr=4'3 4'4. From the Hartz, Bohemia, Saxony, and Aber-
deenshire.
Peloconite is an ore of manganese and iron, of a bluish-black color,
and liver brown streak, with a weak vitreous luster. From Chili.
Manganblendc, or Alabandine. A sulphuret of manganese, of ani
iron-black color, green streak, submetallic luster. H=3 5 4. Gr=
3'9 4'0. Crystals, cubes and regular octahedrons. From the gold
mines of Nagyag, in Transylvania.
Hauerite is a sulphuret, containing twice the proportion of sulphur in
the last. Color reddish-brown and brownish-black, resembling zinc
blende. H=4. Gr=3'46. From Hungary.
There is also an arseniuret of manganese, of a grayish-white color,
and metallic luster, which gives off alliaceous fumes. G=5'55. From
Saxony.
Diallogite. A carbonate of manganese. Color rose-red to brown-
ish ; streak uncolored.-* Luster vitreous, inclining to pearly. Translu-
cent to subtranslucent. Crystals rhombohedral. H=3'5. Gr=3'59.
Infusible alone. From Saxony, Transylvania, and the Hartz. Also
from Washington, Conn., with triplite.
GENERAL REMARKS ON THE ORES OF MANGANESE.
Manganese is never used in the arts in the pure state ; but as an oxyd
it is largely employed in bleaching. The importance of the ore for thia
purpose, depends on the oxygen it contains, and the facility with which
On what does the value of manganese ores depend in the art of bleach-
ing J
NICKEL ORES. 243
this gas is given up. As the ores are often impure, it is important
to ascertain their value in this respect. This is most readily done by
heating gently the pulverised ore with muriatic acid, and ascertaining
the amount of chlorine given off. The chlorine may be made to pass
into milk if lime, to form a chlorid, and the value of the chlorid then
.cording to the usual modes. The amount of chlorine derived
from a Driven quantity of muriatic acid depends not only on the amount
ot oxygen in the ore, but also on the presence or absence of baryta and
such other earths as may combine with this acid. The binoxyd of man-
ganese when pure, afibrds 18 parts by weight of chlorine, to 22 parts
tot the oxyd ; or 23 cubic inches of gas from 22 grains of the oxyd.
The bes-'t ore should give about three-fourths its weight of chlorine, or
about 7000 cubic inches to the pound avoirdupois.
The chlorine for bleaching is used commonly in combination with
lime. To make the chlorid of lime, the chlorine is generally obtained
either through the action of muriatic acid on the ore, (3 to 4 parts by
iweight of the former, to 1^ of the latter,) or more commonly by mix-
jmg 1 part of the ore with \\ parts of common salt, 2 or 2^ parts of con-
centrated sulphuric acid, and as much water. As the chlorine passes
ioff, it is conveyed into chambers containing slaked lime, by which it is
absorbed.
Manganese is also employed to give a violet color to glass. The
fenlphate and the chlorid of manganese are used in calico printing. The
sulphate gives a chocolate or bronze color.
The best beds of manganese ores in the United States, which have
been opened, are at Brandon, Chittenden, and Irasburg, Vt.
6. CHROMIUM.
The ores of chromium are the chromates of lead and
bhromic iron, which are described under Lead and Iron.
|There is also a native chromic ochre, supposed to consist of
silica chromic acid, alumina, and iron. Wolchonskoite is an
allied mineral. MHoschine or Serbian is considered a chro-
piiferous clay. r
7. NICKEL.
The ores of nickel, excepting one or two, have a metallic
lister, and pale color ; their specific gravity is between 3
md 8, and hardness mostly between 5 and 6, (in one, about
8.) They resemble some cobalt ores, but do .lot like {hem
feive a deep blue color with borax.
I How is manganese used 1 For what other purpose is man
tised ? What is said of the ores of chromium ] What is said o$ the
ores of nickel ?
244 HETA1S.
COPPER NICKEL Arsenical Nickel.
Hexagonal, Usually massive. Color pale copper-red ;
streak pale brownish-red. Luster metallic. Brittle. H=5
5-5- Gr=7-3 7-7.
Composition : nickel 44, and arsenic 54 ; sometimes part
of the arsenic is replaced by antimony. Gis r es off arsen-
ical (alliaceous) fumes before the blowpipe, and fuses to a
pale globule, which darkens on exposure. Assumes a green
coating in nitric acid, and is dissolved in aqua-regia.
Dif. Distinguished from iron and cobalt pyrites by its
pale reddish shade of color ; also from the former by its ar-
senical fumes, and from the latter by not giving a blue color
with borax. None of the ores of silver with a metallic lus-
ter have a pale color, excepting native silver itsel
O6*. Accompanies cobalt, silver, and copper ores m the
mines of Saxony, and other parts of Europe ; also sparingly
in Cornwall.
It is found at Chatham, Conn., in gneiss, associated with
smaltine and a tin- white ore of cobalt, where it has been
mined, but with only moderate proceeds.
White nickel is a second arsenical ore ; it has a tin-white color, and
contains 20 to 28 per cent, of nickel, with 70 to 72 of arsenic. Crys-
tals cubic. From ReLchelsdorf, in Hesse- Cassel, and Schneeberg, in
Saxony. Cloanthite is this pecies.
Placsdinc is a third arsenical ore, containing 57 per cent, of nickel.
Its crystals are tabular, secondaries to an oblique rhombic prism. Ils
color is bronze-yellow. H=5 55. Gr=7'9 8'1. From Muse n, in
Prussia.
Nickel glance is a fourth arsenical ore, occurring in cubes and mas-
sive. Color silver-white to steel-gray.. Contains 28 to 30 per cent, of
nickel with arsenic and sulphur. H=5 5. Gr=6'l. From Helsing-
Jand, in Sweden, and also in the Hartz. Also at Schladining, in Aus-
tria, containing 38 per cent, of nickel, and haying the speeilie gravity
6-66-9.
Amoibiie is a fifth arsenical ore, containing 14 per cent, of sul-
phur and 10 per cent, more nickel than nickel glance.. Crystals mono-
metric. Gr=6-Q8. From Lichtenberg, in the Fichtelgebirge.
Nickel Stibine. An antknoniai sulphuret, called sometime? Nickel-
ifxrous antimony or,(., containing 25 to 28 per cent, of niekei. Color
steel-gray, inclining to sihrer-white. In cubical crystals and also mas-
sive. H=5 55- Gr=6'45. From (he Ducby of Nassau.
Aixtimou.i&l nickel. Contains 29 per cent, of nickel and no sulphur.
What is the crystallization and appearance of copper nickel 1 of
what does it consist? How is it distinguished from iron and cobalt py-
rites 1 how from silver ores 1 Where tlotis k occur I
NICKEL ORES. 245
It has a pale copper-red color, inclining to violet. H=5'5 6. Gr=
7'5. Crystals hexagonal. From the Andreasberg mountains.
Nickel pyrites, or Capillary pyrites. A brass-yellow sulphuret of
nickel, occurring usually in delicate papillary forms ; also in rhombohe-
dral crystals. Gr=5 28. Contains 64 3 per cent, of nickel. From
Bohemia, Saxony, and Cornwall. A sulphuret of iron and nickel, of
a light bronze-yellow, has been reported from southern Norway. It con-
tains 22 per cent, of nickel. Gr=4'6. A similar compound, resem-
bling iron pyrites, containing 9 percent, of nickel, has been observed at
Mine La Motte, Missouri, by Wm. H. King. Still another sulphu-
ret (called bismuth nickel,) contains 14 per cent, of bismuth, with 40.7
of nickel. Color light steel-gray to silver-white ; often tarnished yel-
lowish. H=4'5. Gr=5 - 13. From the district of Altenkirchen, Prussia.
Nickel green. An arsenate of nickel, containing 36'2 per cent, of
oxyd of nickel. Color fine apple-green. Occurs with other nickel
ores in Dauphiny, Prussia, and elsewhere. It is found with copper
nickel at Chatham, Conn.
GREEN HYDRATE OF NICKEL.
Incrusting, minute globular or stalactitic. Color bright
emerald green. Luster vitreous. Transparent or nearly
so. H=3 3-25. Gr=3-05.
It is a hydrate of nickel, containing 38*50 per cent, of wa-
ter. Infusible before the blowpipe alone, but loses its color.
Obs. Occurs with chromic iron and carbonate of magne-
sia, on serpentine, in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.
An earthy oxyd of nickel and sulphuret occurs with black
cobalt, at Mine la Motte, Missouri.
Pimelite is a clay colored by green oxyd of nickel. Klap-
roth found 15*6 per cent, in one specimen. Quartz is some-
times colored by nickel. Chyroprase is a chalcedony thus
colored.
GENERAL REMARKS ON NICKEL AND ITS ORES.
The nickel of commerce is obtained mostly from the copper nickel,
or from an artificial product called speiss, (an impure arseniuret,) de-
rived from roasting ores of cobalt with which arseniuretted nickel ores
are mixed. The ores are no where very abundant, and the most pro-
ductive are those of Saxony and Germany.
Nickel also occurs in meteoric iron, forming an alloy with the iron,
which is characteristic of most meteorites. The proportion sometimes
amounts to 15 per cent. The great Texas meteorite, now in the Yale
College collections, contains 8'8 to 9- 7 per cent, of this metal.
Nickel is obtained in the pure state from the speiss, by the following
Describe the green hydrate of nickel. What is pimelite? What
ores afford the nickel of commerce 1 Where else is it found ?
21*
246 METALS.
process, proposed by Wohler : 1 part of the ore is fused with 3 of
pearlash and 3 of sulphur. The arsenic forms a soluble compound
with the sulphur and potash, and the nickel an insoluble sulphuret,
This is well washed with water and dissolved in nitric acid ; and the
solution, after any lead, copper, or bismuth, that may be present, have
been precipitated by a current of sulphuretted hydrogen, is precipitated
by caustic or carbonated potash or soda. The washed precipitate is
now acted on by an excess of oxalic acid, which forms with the peroxyd
of iron, that is generally present, a soluble, and with the oxyd of nickel
an insoluble, oxalate, which of course includes any cobalt that the ore
may have contained. The oxalate is now dissolved in an excess of am-
monia, and the solution exposed to the air. As the ammonia escapes,
the nickel is deposited as an insoluble double oxalate, while the cobalt
remains dissolved as a soluble double oxalate of the metallic oxyd with,
ammonia. The nickel salt, being ignited, leaves an oxyd which may
be reduced by heating with charcoal ; or it may be dissolved in acid and
again converted into oxalate, which this time is free from cobalt and
appears as an apple-green powder. The oxalate of nickel, being well
washed, dried and ignited in a closed crucible, with an aperture for the
escape of gas, leaves metallic nickel, which, if the heat be very intense,
is fused to a button. Its color is between that of silver and tin.
As nickel does not rust or oxydize, (except when heated,) it is supe~
rior to steel, for the manufacture of many philosophical instruments.
An alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc, has been much used for various
purposes, under the name of German silver, or argentane. Good Ger-
man silver consists of copper 8 parts, nickel 3, zinc 3J. An inferior
article is made of copper 8, nickel 2, zinc 3. Below the proportion
of nickel last stated, the alloy approaches pale brass and tarnishes
readily, while the better kind has the appearance of silver, and retains
well its polish. It is, however, easily distinguished from silver by a
somewhat greasy feel.
But " German silver" is not a very recent discovery. In the reign
of William III, an act was passed making it felony to blanch copper in
imitation of silver, or mix it with silver for sale. '* White copper" has
long been used in Saxony for various small articles ; the alloy employed
is stated to consist of copper 88' 00, nickel 8' 75, sulphur with a little
antimony 75, silex, clay and iron, T75. A similar alloy is well known
in China, and is smuggled into various parts of the East Indies, where
it is called packfong. It has been sometimes identified with iht
Chinese tutenugue. M. Meurer analyzed the white copper of China,
and found it to consist of copper G5'24, zinc 19 52, nickel 13, silver 2'5 :
with a trace of cobalt and iron. Dr. Fyfe obtained copper 40'4, nickel
31-6, zinc 25.4, and iron 2' 6. It has the color of silver, and is remark-
ably sonorous. It is worth in China about one-fourth its weight of sil-
ver, and is not allowed to be carried out of the empire.
Nickel alloyed with iron, as in meteoric iron, renders it less liable to
rust ; but with steel the tendency to rust is increased.
Articles are now plated with nickel, by galvanic precipitation from
the sulphate.
How is nickel obtained from the ore ? For what is nickel used 1
What is German silver ? What is the Chinese packfong?
8. COBALT.
Cobalt has not been found native. The ores of cobaft
having a metallic luster, vary in specific. gravity from 6'2 to
7'2 ; and -the color is nearly tin- white or pale steel-gray, in-
i dining to copper-red. Tlie ores wi&out a metallic luster
have a clear red or reddish color, and specific 'gravity of
nearly S. The ores are remarkable fjr giving a deep blue
color to glass of borai, even when tke proportion of cobalt
is smalk
SMALTINE. Tin^whvte Cobalt,
Monometric. Occurs in octahedrons, cubes, and dodeca*
Jiedrons, more or less modified, {See figs. 1, 2, ^, page 25,
and 32, 37, page 36.) Cleavage octahedral, somewhat dis-
tinct. Also reticulated ; often massive.
Color tin-white, sometimes inclining to steel-gray. Streak
grayish-black. Fracture granular and uneven. H=5*3
j <ir=6-4 7-2.
Composition : essentially cobalt and arsenic ; the cobalt
' varies from 18 to 23 -5 per cent, and the arsenic from 69 to
I 79 per cent. A variety contains 9 to 14 per cent, of cobalt
I and is called r&diated white cobalt.; another variety con-
tains bismuth.
Gives off arsenical fames in a candle. Colors borax and
; other fluxes blue, and affords a pink solution with nitric acid.
Dif. The arsenical cobalts are at once distinguished
from mispickel or white iron pyrites, by the blue color they
give with borax ; and also by their crystals and specific
gravity.
Obs. Usually* in veins with ores of cobalt, silver, and
, copper. Occurs in Saxony, especially at Schneeburg ; also
\ in Bohemia, Hessia, and Cornwall.
In the United States it is found in gneiss with copper
nickel, at Chatham, Conn.
Cobaltinc. This is another arsenical ore of cobalt, containing sul-
phur as well as arsenic. Color silver-white, inclining to red. Con
tains 33 to 37 per cent, of cobalt. Forms of crystals, figures 42, 4P
1 page 37. From Sweden, Norway, Siberia, and Cornwall. The mos
What is said of the ores of cobalt ? Describe tin-white cobalt 1
What is its composition ? its blowpipe characters ? How is it distin-
guished from mispicke) and white iron pyrites?
248 METALS,
productive mines are those of Wehna, in Sweden, which were ftrsl
opened in 1809.
Cobalt pyrites is a snlphuret of cobalt, of a pale reddish or steel-gray
color. H=5'5. Gr=6'3 6'4. Crystals cubic. From Sweden, and
also Prussia ; also Mine La Motte, Missouri.
Another sulphuret of cobalt, with a less proportion of sulphur thai*
in the last, has been observed in Hindostan. Color steel-gray, a little
yellowish.
EARTHY COBALT. Black oxyd of Cobalt.
Earthy, massive. Color black or blue -black. Soluble?
in muriatic acid, with an evolution of fumes of chlorine.
Obs. Occurs in an earthy state mixed with oxyd of man-
ganese, and in Missouri has been mistaken for black oxyd
of copper. It is quite abundant at Mine La Motte, Missouri,
and also near Silver Blu-ff, South Carolina. The analyses
vary in the proportion of oxyd of cobalt associated with the
manganese, as the compound is a mere mixture. Sulphuret
of cobalt occurs with the oxyd. The Carolina ores afforded
Dr. J. L. Smith, oxyd of cobalt 24, oxyd of manganese 76,
The ore from Missouri, as analyzed by Prof. Silliman, Jr.,
afforded 40 per cent, of oxyd of cobalt, with oxyds of nickel,
manganese, iron and copper. It has also been detected
with hematite, in Chester Ridge, Pa.
This ore has been found abroad in France, Germany,
Austria, and England, but much of it contains very little
oxyd of cobalt.
Uses. The ore of Missouri is exported to England in large
quantities, and there purified and made into smalt, for the arts.
COBALT BLOOM. Arsenote of cobalt.
Monoclinate. In oblique crystals having a highly perfect
eleavage and foliated structure like mica. Laminae flexible
in one direction. Also as an incrustation, and in reniform
shapes, sometimes stellate.
Color peach and crimson red, rarely grayish or greenish ;
streak a little paler, the powder dry lavender blue. Lus-
ter of laminae pearly ; earthy varieties without luster. Trans-
parent to subtranslucent. H = l*5 2. Gr=2'95.
Composition : oxyd of cobalt 39*2, arsenic acid 37'9, wa-
What is said of the black oxyd of cobalt 1 What is the appearance
and structure of cobalt bloom 1 of what does it consist 1
COBALT (TEES. 249
^^^ Gives arsenical fames when heated, .and fuses ;
yields a blue glass with borax.
The earthy ore as sometimes called peach blossom ore,
-from its color ; and also red cobalt ochre.
Dif. Jlesonibles red antimony, foul that species wholly
'volatilizes "before the blowpipe. From red copper ore it dit
frrs in giving a "blue glass with borax; moreover the color
of the copper ore is more sombre,
Obs. ^Occurs with ores of lead and sliver, and other co-
balt ores. Schneeberg, in Saxony, Saalfield in Thuringia,
and Riegels-JorfJ in Hessia, are noted European localities.
It is found ako in Dauphiny, Cornwall, and Cumberland.
Occurs in fhe U. States, at Mine La Motte, Missouri.
Uses. Valuable as an ore of cobalt, when abundant.
Rostlitf. A Fose-fedtmineral, related to, if not identical with, co-
Ibalt bloom.
Arseniic of cobalt is a compound of arsenous acid and oxyd of -cobalt,
and restlts fpomthe decomposition of other cobalt ores.
Sulphate of cobalt, >or<CobaU vitriol. It has a flesh or rose-red tint,
and astringent taste. .Consists -of salphucic acid, oxyd of cobalt and
water.
"GENERAL REMARKS ON COBALT AND ITS 'OHES.
The two arsenical oresx>f cobalt afford the greater part of the cobalt
of commerce. The earthy *rxyd is so -abundant in the United States,
ahat it promises to be a profitable souroe of this metal. Cobalt is never
employed in the arts in a metallic state, as its alloys arelmttle and un-
important, k is chiefly used for painting porcelain and pottery, and
is required ibr thispurpose in the stateof an'Oxyd,'Or the silicated oxyd
called smalt and azure.
Cooalt oomes from -Germany .mostly in die .fiilicated xjondition. The
zajfre is prepared by calcining the ores of cobalt in a reverberatory fur-
ace ; the sulphur and arsenic are thus volatilized, and an impure oxyd
remaias, which is nextanixed and -heated wkh aibout twice its weight
of finely powdered flinte.
By another process the ore is pulverized and roasted, to expel the
greater part of the arsenic ; --a sulphate is then formed by heating for
an hour -with concentrated sulphuric acid- The sulphate is dissolved in
water, and a solution of -carbonate of potash added to separate the iron-.;
-nd when the biue<;olor of the <xibalt begins to be thrown down, the
supernatant liquid is decanted and .filtered, and the cobalt is precipitated
oy means of a sofatifn of sweated potash, (prepared ; by heating to-
gether 10 parts of potash, 15 of finetp pulverized jquartz, and I of char-
coal, and afterwards treating the melted mass with boiling water.) The
*i:ieate of cobalt thus prepared is .said >to foe superior to that procured
How does cobalt bloom difler from red antimony ? From what ores
i the cdbalt of commerce obtained ? For what is cobalt used 1 la
condition is it imported from Germany ? What is zaffrfi 1
! Is th<
250 METALS,
in any other way, for staining porcelain, or for the manufacture of bltr*
glass.
Smalt and azure, which have a rich blue color, are made by fusing
zaffre with glass ; or by calcining a mixture of equal parts of roasted
cobalt ore, common potash, and ground glass-. The zaffre is used for
coloring glass, and for painting enamel and pottery ware. The arsenic
volatilized in the above process is condensed in chambers ; it consti-
tutes the greater part of the arsenic of commerce. The separation of
the nickel from ores rich in this metal, is sometimes effected by exposing
the moistened ore to the atmosphere. The nickel is unaltered, while
the other metals aie oxydized.
The annual yield of zaffre or smalt, in Saxony, amounts to 8000
wt. ; in Bohemia, mainly from Schlackenwald, 4000 cwt. ; m the
Reisengebirge, in Prussia, 600 ewt. : aft Kongsberg, in Norway,
4000 cwt.
9. ZINC.
Zinc occurs in combination with sulphur, oxygen, silica,
carbonic acid, and sulphuric acid- It is also found in com-
bination with alumina, constituting one variety of the spe-
cies spinel.
The ores of zinc are infusible, or very nearly so ; but
they yield on charcoal, with more or less difficulty, white
fumes of the oiyd of zinc. Specific gravity below 4*5.
BLENDE. Sulphuret of Zinc.
Monometrie.. In dodecahedrons, octahedrons* and other
allied forms, with a perfect dodecahedral cleavage. Also
massive ; sometimes fibrous.
Color wax-yellow, brownish-
yellow, to black, sometimes green
or red ; streak white, to red-
dish-brown. Luster resinous or
waxy, and brilliant on a cleavage
face ; sometimes submetallic.
Transparent to subtranslucent. Brittle. H = 3-5 4. Gr =
4*0 4*1. Some specimens become electric with friction, and
give off a yellow light when rubbed with a feather.
Composition : zinc 66-72, sulphur 33-28. Contains fre-
quently a portion of sulphuret of iron when dark colored ;
What are smalt and azure I How are they used in porcelain paint-
ing? What is said of the ores of zinc ? What is the crystallization
of blende. What are its luster, color* and other physical characters ?
Of what does it consist I
ZIXC ORES. 251
often also 1 or 2 per cent, of sulphuret of cadmium, espe-
cially the red variety. Infusible alone and with borax.
Dissolves in nitric acid, emitting sulphuretted hydrogen.
Strongly heated on charcoal yields fumes of zinc.
Dif. This ore is characterized by its waxy luster, per-
fect cleavage, and infusibility. Some dark varieties look a
little like tin ore, but their cleavage and inferior hardness
distinguish them; and some clear red crystals which re-
semble garnet are distinguished by the same characters and
also by their infusibility.
Obs. Occurs in rocks of all ages, and is associated gen-
erally with ores of lead ; often also with copper, iron, tin,
and silver ores. The lead mines of Missouri and Wiscon-
sin, afford this ore abundantly. Other localities are in
Maine, at Lubec, Bingham, Dexter, Parsonsfield ; in New
Hampshire, at Eaton, Warren, Haverhill, Shelburne ; in
Vermont, at Thetford ; in Massachusetts, at Sterling, South-
ampton, and Hatfieid ; in Connecticut, at Brookfield, Berlin,
Roxbury, and Monroe ; in New York, at the Ancram lead
mine, the Wurtzboro lead vein, at Lockport, Root, 2 miles
s. E. of Spraker's basin, in Fowler, at Clinton ; in Pennsyl-
vania, at the Perkiomen lead mine ; in Virginia, at Austin's
lead mine, Wythe county ; in Tennesse, near Powell's River,
and at Haysboro,
This ore is the Black Jack of miners,
Uses. Blende is a useful ore of zinc, though more diffi-
cult of reduction than calamine. By its decomposition,
(like that of pyrites,) it affords sulphate of zinc or white
vitriol.
RED ZINC ORE. Red oxyd of Zinc.
Trimetric. Usually in foliated masses, or in disseminated
grains ; cleavage eminent, nearly like that of mica, but the
laminae brittle, and not so easily separable.
Color deep or bright red ; streak orange-yellow. Luster
brilliant, subadamantine. Translucent or subtranslucent.
H=4 4-5. Gr=5-4 5-56.
Composition : ore of New Jersey, oxyd of zinc 93-5, pro-
toxyd of manganese, 5-5, peroxyd of iron 0-4, (Hayes.) In-
What is the action of zinc blende before the blowpipe ? How is it dis-
tinguished ? How do^s it occur ? What is the appearance of red ziuc
ore ? its composition ?
252
fusible alone, but yields a yellow transparent glass with fccr-*
rax. Dissolves in nitric acid, without effervesence.
Dif. Resembles red stilbitey bst distinguished by its in-
fusibility and 5 also by its mineral associations.
Obs. Occurs with Franklfrute at Franklm and Sterling,
N. J.
Uses. A good ore of zinc whefi abundant, and easily re-
duced. It may be readily and economically converted into-
sulphate of zinc, or white vitriol.
Voltziie. A compound of suphuret and oxycf of zfnc. Occurs in
implanted globules of a dirty rose-rerf coior, wish a pearly luster en
eleavage surface. Frofii France.
SULPHATE OF ZINC. - White VitrioL
Trimetric. Cleavage perfect in one direction. Crystal!
rhombic prisms, of $0 42'.
Color white. Luster vitreous. Easily soluble ; taste as-
tringent metallic,- and nauseous. Brittle. H^=2 2*5.-
Composition / oxyd of zinc 28-00, sulphuric acid 27'97,
tyater 43"94r Gives off fumes of zinc when heated on char* :
coal, which cover the coal.
Obs. Results from the decomposition of blende. Occurs |
in the Hartz, in Hungary, in Sweden, and at Holywell in
Wales.
Uses. Sulphate of zfnc is extensively employed hi medi-l
cine and dyeing. For these purposes it is prepared to a large
extent from blende, by decomposition Ifke pyrites, though '
this affords, owing to its impurities, an impure sulphate. It;
is also obtained by direct combination of zinc with sulphuric
acid ; zinc is exposed to the action of dilute sulphuric acid, and
the solution obtained is then evaporated for crystallization.
The red oxyd of zinc, of New Jersey, may become an abun-
dant source of this salt.
White vitriol, as the term is used in the arts, is one form
of sulphate of zinc, made by melting the crystallized sulphate,
and agitating till it cools and presents an appearance like
loaf sugar.
How does it differ from red siilhite ? For what Tnay it be
What is the appearance and lastr of white vitriol ? Of what does it
consist ? How is it formed ? For what is it u?ed ?
ZINC ORES. 253
CALAMINE. Carbonate of Zinc.
Rhombohedral. R : R = 107 D 40'. Cleavage rhombo-
hedral, perfect. Massive or incrusting ; reniform and stal-
actitic.
Color impure white, sometimes green or brown ; streak
uncolored. Luster vitreous or pearly. Subtransparent to
translucent. Brittle. H = 5. Gr = 4'3 4*45.
Composition : oxyd of zinc 64'54, (four-fifths of which is
pure zinc,) and carbonic acid 35'46. Often contains some
cadmium. Infusible alone before the blowpipe, but carbonic
acid and oxyd of zinc are finally vaporized. Effervesces in
nitric acid. Negatively electric by friction.
Dif. The effervescence with acids distinguishes this
mineral from the following species ; and the hardness, diffi-
cult fusibility, and the zinc fumes before the blowpipe, from
the carbonate of lead or other carbonates.
Obs. Occurs commonly with galena or blende, and usu-
ally in calcareous rocks. Found in Siberia, Hungary, Sile-
sia ; at Bleiberg in Carinthia ; near Ak-la.Chapelle in the
Lower Rhine, and largely in Derbyshire and elsewhere in
England. In the United States, it is abundant at Vallee's
Diggings in Missouri, and at other lead " diggings" in Iowa
and Wisconsin ; also in Claiborne county, Tenn. Sparingly
also at Hamburg, near the Franklin furnace, N. J. ; at the
Perkiomen lead mine, Pa., and at a lead mine in Lancaster
county ; at Brookfield, Conn.
Zinc bloom is an earthy carbonate of zinc, containing 69 per cent, of
oxyd of zinc, and 15 of water. From Bleiberg, Carinthia.
ELECTRIC CALAMINE. Silicate of ZlHC.
Trimetric. In modified rhombic prisms, the opposite ex-
tremities with unlike planes. M : M = 103 D 53'. Cleavage
perfect parallel to M. Also massive and incrusting, mammil-
lated or stalactitic.
Color whitish or white, sometimes bluish, greenish, or
brownish. Streak uncolored. Transparent to translucent.
Luster vitreous or subpearly. Brittle. H=4*5 5. Gr =
3*35 3-45. Pyro-electric.
What is the usual appearance of calamine 1 What is its constitution
and the effects before the blowpipe I What effect is produced by fric-
tion 1 What are distinguishing characteristics? How does it occur ?
What is electric calamine ?
22
254 METALS*
Composition: silica 26-2, oxyd of zinc 66-4, water 7*4,
Before the blowpipe it slowly intumcsces and emits a green
phosphorescent light ; but alone it is infusible. Forms a clear
glass with borax. In heated sulphuric acid it dissolves, and
the solution gelatinizes on cooling.
Dif. Differs from carbonate of lime or arragonite by its
action with acids ; from a salt of lead or any zeolite, by its
infusibility ; from chalcedony, by its inferior hardness and its
gelatinizing with heated sulphuric acid.
Obs. Occurs with calamine. In the United States, it is
found at ValleVs Diggings, at the Perkiomen lead mines on
the Susquehanna, opposite Selimsgrove, and abundantly at
Austin's mines, Wythe county, Va.
Uses. Valuable as an ore of zinc.
Willemite is an anhydrous silicate of zinc, of a yellowish or brownish
color. H=5 5-5. Gr=4 4'1. From Limburg. Also said to occur
at Franklin, N. J.
Mancinite is a dimple silicate of zinc, of a brown color, occurring
in plumose forms.
Hopeite is a rare mineral occurring in grayish-white crystals or mas-
sive, with calamine, and supposed to be a phosphate of zinc.
Franklinite, an ore of iron, manganese and zinc, is described under
Iron, on page 221.
Aurichalcite is a hydrous carbonate of zinc and copper, occurring in
drusy incrustations of acicular crystals, having a verdigris green color.
From Siberia.
GENERAL REMARKS ON ZINC AND ITS ORES.
The metal zinc (spelter of commerce) is supposed to have been un-
known in the metallic state to the Greeks and Romans. It has been
long worked in China, and was formerly imported in large quantities by
the East India Company. The ores from which it is obtained are the
carbonate and silicate of zinc, (calamine and electric calamine,) and to
some extent the sulphuret, (blende,) and .the oxyd. Blende, the black
jack of English miners, was considered useless until the year 1738, when
a mode of reducing it was introduced.
The principal mining regions of zinc in the world are in Upper Silesia
at Tarnowitz and elsewhere ; in Poland ; in Carinthia at Raibel and Blei-
berg ; in Netherlands at Limberg ; at Altenberg, near Aix-la-Chapelle
hi the Prussian province of the Lower Rhine ; in England, in Derby-
shire, Alstonmoor, Mendip Hills, etc. ; in the Altai in Russia ; besides
others in China, of which little is known. In the United States, the
calamine and electric calamine occur with the lead of the west in large
How is electric calamine distinguished from calc spar and chalcedony 1
From what ores is the metal zinc obtained ? What is zinc called in
commerce ? When was blende first used in England ? Where are
zinc mines in the United States ?
TIXC ORES.
255
qaantities, and till a recent period were considered worthless and thrown
aside under the name of" dry bone." In Tennessee, Claiborne county,
there are workable mines of the same ores. The red oxyd of zinc of
Franklin, New Jersey, contains 75 per cent, of pure zinc, and the ore
is a valuable one, although some difficulties attend its separation from
the associated material. Blende is sufficiently abundant to be worked
at the Wurtzboro lead mine, Sullivan county, N. Y. ; at Eaton and
Warren in New Hampshire ; at Lubec in Maine ; and at Austin's mine,
Wythe county, Virginia.
The calamine and electric calamine are prepared for reduction by
breaking the ore into small fragments, separating the impurities as far as
possible, and then calcining in a reverberatory furnace. This furnace
differs liule from that figured on a following page under SUver* except
that the sole is flat. The ore is frequently stirred, and after five or six
hours it is taken out ; by this process, water and carbonic acid are ex-
pelled. The prepared ore is then mixed with about one-seventh by
weight of charcoal, and in the English process, is reduced in large
crucibles.
Figure 1, represents a vertical section of the furnace, and figure 2,
1
half of a horizontal section across the line 1, 2. The oven has an arched
or cupola top, (*,) and contains 6 or 8 crucibles or pots, (A, A, A, A,)
2
placed upon the sole of the earth, (i, i, , .) The crucibles bar* a hole
How is ealamiae reduce I !
256 METALS.
at bottom, to which a sheet iron tube (&) is adapted, which tube extends
down to small vessels of water, or condensers, (Z, I) ; and the sole of the
hearth is perforated accordingly below each crucible. If one of the tubes
becomes clogged with metal, it is cleared by a hot iron bar. In charg-
ing, the hole in the bottom of the crucible is stopped by a wooden plug,
which afterwards becomes reduced to charcoal by the heat. The pots
are charged and cleared out through holes (d, d, d, d) in the cupola (a.)
The covers (of fire-tile, m) are placed on whenever a blue flame begins
to appear, as this indicates the vaporization of the zinc.
The fire is made on the grate e f through the door/; g is the ash-pit
below ; ?, m, m, m, in figure 2, show the position of the pots as seen in
a bird's-eye view. The smoke escapes from the oven by the apertures
d, (fig. 1,) into a conical chimney, (&,) by which a strong draught is
kept up. In this chimney there are as many doors (c, c f c f c) as there
are pots; and in the cupola there are the same number of openings for
inserting or removing the pots, which are afterwards closed up by
brickwork ; the pots are many times refilled without removal. The
refuse after an operation, is shaken out through the hole in the bottom
of each pot, after the tube k is removed.
The zinc as it is reduced, rises in vapor and passes down the tubes into
the condensers, where it collects in drops or powder with sorae oxydl j
the metal is afterwards melted and cast into bars ; and the oxyd which
is skimmed off is returned to the crucibles. A charge occupies about
three days, and the ore affords from 25 to 40 per cent, of zinc.
In Liege, where the ore from Altenberg is reduced, the ore is heated
in horizontal earthen tubes., 3 feet long and 4 to 6 inches in diameter,
set thickly across a furnace, and around which the heat circulates.
From the description given, it is obvious how the process might be
Taried, and larger combinations of pots or tubes arranged.
The blende is roasted in a reverberatory furnace, 8 or 10 feet square,
the ore being placed in the furnace several inches deep, and kept con-
stantly stirred for 10 or 12 hours. The roasted ore is then reduced ia
crucibles in the same manner as above explained. In England, the
roasted blende is mixed with as much calcined calamine and twice the
quantity of charcoal.
The annual production of zinc in different countries is as follows :
Great Britain, .... S.5,000 cwt.
Upper Silesia and Poland, uf, .-, 50,000 "
Aix-la-Chapelle, .... 35,000 "
Belgium, . . .,, .^, .'.. . 18,000 "
Carinthia, . V n V#V . . 3,400 "
Brass is made directly from the ore by heating copper with calcined!
ealamine and charcoal. At Holy-well, England, 40 pounds of copper
and 60 of calamine yield about 60 pounds of brass. It is also made
from copper and roasted blende, but the product is less pure. Dr. Jack-
son states that he has obtained brass of an inferior quality by heating
together in a crucible copper pyrites and blende after roaming- them.
Brass is commonly made in this country by melting together the metals
zinc and copper.
How is blende reduced I How is brass made I
BISMUTH. 257
The proportions of zinc in its alloys with copper are given in the re-
marks on copper. Zinc is a brittle metal, but admits of being rolled into
sheets when heated to about 212 F. In sheets it is extensively used for
roofing and other purposes, it being of more difficult corrosion, much
harder, and also very much lighter than lead. Its combustibility 13 a
strong objection to k as a roofing material.
The Biddery ware of the East Indies is made from an alloy of copper
I6oz., lead 4oz., and tin 2oz., which is melted together and then mixed
with I6oz. of spelter to every 3oz. of alloy.
The white oxyd of zinc is much used for white paint, in place of
white lead.
An impure oxyd of zinc called cadtnia, often collects in large quan-
tities in the flues of iron and other furnaces, derired from ores of zinc
mixed with the ores undergoing reduction. A mass weighing 600
pounds was taken from a furnace at Bennington, Vt. It has been ob-
served in the Salisbury iron furnace, and at Ancrarn in New Jersey,
where it was formerly called ancramite.
10. CADMIUM,
There is but a single known ore of this rare metal. It is
a sulphuret, and is called greenockite. It occurs in hexago-
nal prisms, with pyramidal terminations, of a yellow color,
high luster, and nearly transparent. H = 3 3'5. Gr =
4*8 4-9. From Bishopton, Scotland.
Cadmium is often associated in small quantities with zinc
blende and calamine. In a black fibrous blende from Przi-
brarn, Lowe found 1*5 to 1*8 per cent.
1L BISMUTH.
Bismuth occurs native, and also in combination with sul-
phur, tellurium, oxygen, carbonic acid and silica. The ores
fuse easily before the blowpipe, and an oxyd is produced
which stains the charcoal brownish or yellow, without rising
in fumes.* Specific gavity of the ores between 4'3 and
9-5.
,
What is said of the metal zinc 1 What ore is there of cadmium 1
With what ores is cadmium usually associated ? What is said of bis-
muth and its ores ?
* Tellurium produces a similar stain on charcoal, but on directing the
jnner flame on the coating, it colors the flai je strongly green, while
with bismuth no color is obtained. Antimony gives white fumes, pro-
ducing a white coating on charcoal, and the flame directed on it is
colored greenish-blue.
22*
METALS,
NATIVE BISMUTH.
Monometric. Cleavage octahedral, perfect. In cubes or
octahedrons generally massive, with distinct cleavage ; some-
times granular.
Color and streak silver white, with a slight tinge of red.
Subject to tarnish. Brittle when cold, but somewhat mal-
leable when heated. 11=2 2-5. Gr=&-7 9'8. Fuses
at a temperature of 476^ F.
Composition : pure bismuth, with sometimes a trace of
arsenic. Evaporates before the blowpipe, and leaves a
yellow coating on charcoal.
Obs. Bismuth is abundant w r ith the ores of silver and co-
balt of Saxony and Bohemia, and occurs also in Cornwall
and Cumberland, England. At Schneeberg, it forms arbo-
rescent delineations in brown jasper.
In the United States, it has been found at Lane's mine,
Monroe, where it occurs with tungsten, galena, and pyrites,
but is not abundant ; also at Brewer's mine, in Chesterfield
district, South Carolina.
There are other ores of bismuth, but none of them are common.
Sulphuret of bismuth. Massive and in acicular crystals, of a lead-
gray color. H=2 25. Gr=6'55. Contains bismuth 81, sulphur
18'7. Fuses in the flame of a candle. From Cumberland, Cornwall,
Johanngeorgenstadt, and Sweden.
Acicular bismuth. A sulphuret of bismuth, lead, and copper, con-
taining a trace of gold. In acicular crystals of a dark lead-gray color,
with a pale copper-red tarnish. Gr=6'l. Fuses easily, emitting fumes
of sulphur. From Siberia. A cupreous bismuth, of a pale lead-gray
color, contains 34' 7 per cent, of copper.
Tetradymite. Consists of tellurium and bismuth. It has a foliated
structure, a pale steel-gray color, and soils like molybdenite. Gr=7'5.
From Sc.hemnitz, and Retzbanya, and also from Brazil.
Bismutite. In acicular crystals and massive. Color greenish or yel-
lowish. H=4 4-5. Gr=6 - 8 6'9. It is a carbonate of bismuth.
From Cornwall and European mines. Bismuth ocher is another car-
bonate, occurring massive and earthy ; color greenish, yellowish, or
grayish- white. From Saxony, Bohemia, and Siberia.
Bismuth blende is a silicate of bismuth. Color dark hair-brown, or
yellow. H=3'5 4'5. Gr=5'9 6'0. In dodecahedrons and mas-
eive. From Saxony.
What are the color and physical characters generally of native bis-
muth 1 What is its temperature of fusion I With what ores is it usually
associated.
BISMUTH.
GENERAL REMARKS ON BISMUTH AND ITS ORES.
The first notice of the metal bismuth is in the writings of Agricola,
in 1529. It is known in the arts under the name of tin glass, from the
French name etain de glace. It is obtained for the arts from the native
bismuth alone, and much the greater part of the metal comes from
Schneeberg in Saxony. The American mine at Monroe, Conn., has
been but little explored, and has afforded only a few small specimens.
The metal is obtained by heating the powdered ore in a furnace, when
the bismuth melts, and separating from the gangue, is drawn off into
cast iron moulds.
Bismuth is employed in the manufacture of the best type metal, to
give a sharp, clear face to the letter. Equal parts of tin, bismuth, and
mercury form the mosaic gold used for various ornamental purposes.
Plumber's solder, used for soldering pewter wares and other purposes,
consists of 1 part of bismuth, 5 of lead, and 3 of tin. Bismuth is one of
the constituents of fusible metal, of which spoons are made, as toys, that
will melt on putting them into a cup of hot tea ; this fusible alloy con-
sists of 8 parts of bismuth, 5 of lead, and 3 of tin ; or better of 10^ parts
of bismuth, 5 parts of lead, and 3 of tin. It may be rendered more
fusible still by adding mercury. An alloy of tin and bismuth in equal
parts melts at 280 F. But with less bismuth tin is increased in
hardness.
The magestens of bismuth, a white hydrated oxyd precipitated by
adding water to a solution of the nitrate, is used as a cosmetic. It con-
tains a little nitric acid. Pearl powder is a similar preparation made in
the same way from a nitrate containing some chlorid of bismuth. These
powders blacken when exposed to an offensive atmosphere.
12. LEAD.
Lead occurs rarely native ; generally in combination with
sulphur ; also with arsenic, tellurium, selenium, and various
acids.
The ores of lead vary in specific gravity from 5'5 8*2.
They are soft, the hardness of the species with metallic lus-
ter not exceeding 3, and others not over 4. They are easily
fusible before the blowpipe, (excepting plumbo-resinite) ; and
with carbonate of soda on charcoal, (and often alone,) mal-
leable lead may be obtained. The lead often passes off in
yellow fumes, when the mineral is heated in the outer flame,
or it covers the charcoal with a yellow coating.
Where have we the first notice of the metal bismuth ? From what
source is it obtained for the arts ? What is it often called in the arts?
How is the metal obtained ? For what is bismuth used ] How does
lead occur in nature I What is said of the tests ?
260 METALS.
NATIVE LEAD.
A rare mineral, occurring in thin laminae or globules
Gi=ll'35. Said to have been seen in the lava of Madeira ;
at Alston in Cumberland with galena ; in the county of
Kerry, Ireland ; and in an argillaceous rock at Carthagena.
GALENA. Sulphur et of Lead.
Monometric. Cleavage cubic, eminent. Occurs under
the form of the cube and its secondaries.
TF
Cleavage cubic, perfect, and very easily obtained. Also
coarse or fine granular ; rarely fibrous.
Color and streak lead gray. Luster shining metallic.
Fragile. H = 2-5. Gr= 7.57-7.
Composition : when pure, lead 86*55, sulphur 13'45.
Often contains some sulphuret of silver, and is then called
argentiferous galena, and at times sulphuret of zinc is pres-
ent. Before the blowpipe on charcoal, it decrepitates un-
less heated with caution, and fuses, giving off sulphur, and
finally yields a globule of lead.
Dif. Galena resembles some silver and copper ores in
color, but its cubical cleavage, or granular structure when
massive, will usually distinguish it. Its sulphur fumes ob-
tained before the blowpipe prove it to be a sulphuret ; and
the lead reaction before the blowpipe show it to be a lead
ore.
Obs. Galena occurs in granite, limestone, argillaceous
and sandstone rocks, and is often associated with ores of
zinc, silver and copper. Quartz heavy spar, or carbonate
of lime, is generally the gangue of the ore ; also at times
fluor spar. The rich lead mines of Derbyshire and the
northern districts of England, occur in mountain limestone ;
and the same rock contains the valuable deposits of Bleiberg
Where has native lead been found 1 What is the structure of galena 1
its physical characters ? its composition and blowpipe characters ?
How is it distinguished from silver and copper ores 1 Where does, it
occur ]
LEAD OKES. 261
and the neighboring deposits of Carinthia. At Freiberg in
Saxony, it occupies veins in gneiss ; in the Upper Hartz, and
at Przibram in Bohemia, it traverses clay slate ; at Sahla,
Sweden, it occurs in crystalline limestone ; the ore of Lead-
hills, England, is in graywacke. There are other valuable
beds of galena, in France at Poullaouen and Huelgoet, Brit-
tany, and at Villefort, department of Lozere ; in Spain in the
granite hills of Lihares, in Catalonia, Grenada and else-
where ; in Savoy ; in Netherlands at Vedrin, not far from
Namur ; in Bohemia, southwest of Prague ; in Joachimstahl,
where the ore is worked principally for its silver ; in Siberia
in the Daouria mountains in limestone, argentiferous and
worked for the silver.
The deposits of this ore in the United States are remark-
able for their extent. They abound in what has been called
" cliff limestone," in the states of Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, and
Wisconsin ; argillaceous iron, iron pyrites, calamine, (" dry
bone" of the miners,) blende, (" black jack,") carbonate
and sulphate of lead, are the most common associated min-
erals, together often with ores of copper and cobalt. In
1720, the lead mines of Missouri were discovered by Francis
Renault and M. La Motte ; and the La Motte mine is still
known by this name. Afterwards, the country passed into
the hands of the Spaniards, and during that period a valu-
able mine was opened by Mr. Burton, since called Mine d
Burton. The mines of Missouri are contained in the coun-
ties of Washington, Jefferson, and Madison.
The lead region of Wisconsin, according to Mr. D. D.
Owen, comprises 62 townships in Wisconsin, 8 in Iowa, and
10 in Illinois, being 87 miles from east to west, and 54 miles
from north to south. The ore, as in Missouri, is inexhaust-
ible, and throughout the region, there is scarcely a square
mile in which traces of lead may not be found. The prin-
cipal indications in the eyes of miners, as stated by Mr.
Owen, are the following : fragments of calc spar in the soil,
unless very abundant, which then indicate that the vein is
wholly calcareous or nearly so ; the red color of the soil on
the surface, arising from the ferruginous clay in which the
lead is often imbedded ; fragments of lead (" gravel mineral,")
along with the crumbling magnesian limestone, and dendritic
specks distributed over the rock ; also, a depression of the
What ia said of the extent of the United States mines?
262 METALS.
country, or an elevation, in a straight line ; or " sinkholes ;"
or a peculiarity of vegetation in a linear direction. The
" diggings" seldom exceed 25 or 30 feet in depth ; for the
galena is so abundant that a new spot is chosen rather than
the expense of deeper mining. From a single spot, not ex-
ceeding 50 yards square, 3,000,000 Ibs. of ore have been
raised ; and at the diggings in the west branch of the Pecca-
tonica, not over 12 feet deep, two men can raise 2000 Ibs.
per day ; in one of the townships, two men raised 16,000 Ibs.
in a day ; 500 Ibs. is the usual day's labor from the mines
of average productiveness.
Galena also occurs in the region of Chocolate river and
elsewhere, Lake Superior copper region ; at Cave-in-Rock
in Illinois, along with fluor ; in New York at Rossie, St.
Lawrence county, in gneiss, in a vein 3 to 4 feet wide ; near
Wurtzboro' in Sullivan county, a large vein in millstone grit;
at Ancram, Columbia county ; Martinsburg, Lewis county,
N. Y., and Lowville, are other localities. All these mines
have been worked, but they are now abandoned. Dr. Beck
says of the Sullivan county and St. Lawrence mines, " in
the latter the ore is in small veins with good associates, and
Is easily reduced ; but the situation of the mines is bad.
In the former, the ore is in large veins with bad associates,
(zinc blende,) and is more difficult of separation and reduc-
tion ; but the mines are admirably situated, whether we re-
gard the removal of the ore or the facility of transporting
produce to them."
In Maine, veins of considerable extent occur at Lubec ;
also ofless interest at Blue Hill Bay, Birmingham and Par-
sonsfield. In New Hampshire, galena occurs at Eaton, Bath,
Tamworth and Haverhill. In Vermont, at Thetford ; in
Massachusetts, at Southampton, Leverett, and Sterling, but
without promise to the miner. In Virginia, in Wythe coun-
ty, Louisa county, and elsewhere. In North Carolina, at
King's mine, Davidson county, where the lead appears to be
abundant. In Tennessee, at Brown's creek, and at Hays-
boro', near Nashville, An argentiferous variety occurs
sparingly at Monroe, Conn., which afforded Prof. Silliman
by cupellation 3 per cent, of silver.
Uses. The lead of com H3rce is obtained from this ore.
It is often worked also for the silver it contains. It is also
employed in glazing common stone ware : for this purpose
it is ground up to an impalpable powder and mixed in water
LEAD ORES. 263
with clay ; into this liq li I the earthen vessel is dipped and
then bdked.
Cuproplmnbite is a galena containing 24' 5 per cent, of sulphuret of
copper. From Chili.
ARSEXURETS, SELEJTIDS, AND TELLUKIDS OF LEAD.
These various ores of lead are distinguished by the fumes before the
blowpipe, and by yielding ultimately a globule of lead.
Cobiltic lead ore is an ars^niuret of lead, containing a trace of cobalt.
From \\\f Hartz. Gives an alliaceous odor (from the arsenic) before
the blowpipe. Gi=*844.
Dufrenoysile is an arseniuret and sulphuret of lead ; in dodecahe-
drons of a dark steel-gray color. Gr=5~55. .From the Dolomite of St.
Gothard.
Clau9tfialite, or selenid of lead, has a lead-gray color, and granular
fracture. Gr=7'19. Gives a horse-radish odor (that of selenium) be-
fore the blowpipe. From the Hartz. There are three selenids of lead
and copper which give the reaction of all the different constituents be-
fore the blowpipe. The sp. gr. of one is 5'6 ; of the second 7'0 ; the
third 74. From the Hartz. There is also a selenid of lead and mer-
cury occurring in foliated grains or masses, of a lead-gray to bluish and
iron-black color.
Tdlurid of lead. This is a tin-white cleavable mineral. Gr=8'l6.
From the Altai mountains.
Foliated tellurium is a less rare species, remarkable for being foli-
ated like graphite. Color and streak blackish lead-gray. H=l 1-5.
Gr=7 085. It contains tellurium 32-2, lead 54'0, gold 90, with often
silver, copper, and some sulphur. From Transylvania.
MINIUM. Oxyd of Lead.
Pulverulent. Color bright red, mixed with yellow. Gr=
4'6. It is a sesquioxyd of lead. Affords globules of lead
in the reduction flame of the blowpipe.
Obs. Occurs at various mines, usually associated with
galena, and is found abundantly at Austin's mines, Wythe
county, Virginia, with white lead ore.
Uses. Minium is the red lead of commerce : but for the
arts it is artificially prepared. Lead is calcined in a rever-
beratory furnace, and a yellow oxyd (massicot) is thus
formed : the massicot is afterwards heated in the same fur-
nace in iron trays, at a low temperature, by which the lead
absorbs more oxygen and becomes red lead. A much better
material is obtained by the slow calcination of white lead.
Plumbic ocher is another similar ore, of a yellow color ; it is a pro-
toxyd of lead. Occurs in Wythe county, Va.
What is minium] What are its characters ?
264 METALS.
ANGLESITE. Sulphate of Lead.
Primary form a right rhombic prism, with imperfect lat.
eral cleavage. M : M 103 49 . Often in slender im-
planted crystals. Also massive ; lamellar or granular.
Color white or slightly gray or green. Luster adaman-
tine ; sometimes a little resinous or vitreous. Transparent
to nearly opaque. Brittle. H=2'75 3. Gr=6'25 6-3.
Composition : a sulphate of lead, containing about 73 per
cent, of oxyd of lead. Fuses before the blowpipe to a slag,
and yields lead with carbonate of soda.
Dif. Resembles somewhat some of the zeolite minerals,
and also arragonite and some other earthy species ; but this
and the other ores of lead are at once distinguished by spe-
cific gravity, and also by their yielding lead in blowpipe
trials. Differs from the carbonate of lead in not dissolving
with effervescence in nitric acid.
Obs. Usually associated with galena, and results from
its decomposition. Occurs in fine crystals at Leadhills and
Wanlockhead, Great Britain, and also at other foreign lead
mines. In the United States, it is found at the lead mines
of Missouri and Wisconsin. It has been met with sparingly
at the Rossie lead mine ; at the Walton gold mine, Louisa
county, Va. ; at Southampton, Mass.
Cupreous anglesite. A hydrous azure-blue sulphate of lead and
copper. It is remarkable for a very perfect cleavage in two directions,
inclined to one another, 95 45'. Gr=5'3 55. From Leadhills and
Roughten Gill, England. Very rare.
WHITE LEAD ORE. Carbonate of Lead.
Trimetric. In modified right rhombic prisms. M : M=
1 2 3
117 13'. M : e=121 24 ; a : = 140 15'. Often i
in
What is the appearance of anglesite ? its composition ? How is it
distinguished from arragonite and the zeolites ? What is the crystal-
lization of white lead ore ?
LEAD ORES. 265
compound crystals, either six-sided prisms like arragonite, or
wheel-shaped groups of 4 or 6 rays (fig. 3.) Also massive ;
rarely fibrous.
Color white, grayish, light or dark. Luster adamantine.
Brittle. H=3 3-5. Gr = 6-46 6-48.
Composition : oxyd of lead 83*46, carbonic acid 16*54.
Decrepitates before the blowpipe, fuses, and with care af-
fords a globule of lead. Effervesces in dilute nitric acid.
Dif. Like anglesite, distinguished from most of the
species it resembles by its specific gravity and yielding lead
when heated. From anglesite it differs in giving lead alone
before the blowpipe, as well as by its solution and efferves-
cence with nitric acid.
Obs. Associated usually with galena. Leadhills, Wan-
lockhead, and Cornwall, have afforded splendid crystalli-
zations ; also other lead mines on the continent of Europe.
In the United States, very handsome specimens are ob-
tained at Austin's mines, Wythe county, Virginia, and at
King's mine in Davidson's county, North Carolina. At the
latter place it constitutes a wide vein, and has been worked
for lead. It is associated with native silver and phosphate
of lead. The Perkiomen lead mine, Pa., has afforded good
crystals. It occurs also at " Vallee's Diggings," Jefferson
county, Missouri ; at Brigham's mine near the Blue Mounds,
Wisconsin ; at " Deep Diggings" in crystals ; and at other
places in the West, both massive and in fine crystallizations.
Rossie, N. Y., and Southampton, Mass., have afforded this
ore.
Uses. When abundant, this ore is wrought for lead. Large
quantities occur about the mines of the Mississippi valley.
It was formerly buried up in the rubbish as useless, but it
has since been collected and smelted. It is an exceedingly
rich ore, affording in the pure state 75 per cent of lead.
Carbonate of lead is the " white lead" of commerce, sc
extensively used as a paint. The material for this purpose
is, however, artificially made. In most manufacturing es-
tablishments, sheets of lead are suspended over a liquid made
of vinegar and wine lees, and a gentle heat is applied either
What are the color and luster of white lead ore? its composition and
blowpipe reaction ? How is it distinguished from anglesite ? How
from minerals not lead ores ? What use is made of white lead ? How
is white lead manufactured ?
23
266 METALS.
by stoves or from fermenting bark ; the re.sult is that the lead
becomes carbonated from the acid fumes that rise from be-
neath.* The carbonate is then removed by shaking the
plates smartly, and after washing and levigation, it is dried
for market. According to another good process, (Thenard's,)
carbonic acid, either from burning coke, brewers' vats, or
some other source, is made to pass through a solution of sub-
acetate of lead, the solution of subacetate being formed by
digesting litharge and neutral acetate of lead. In place of
this solution, litharge moistened slightly with vinegar, has
been proposed. In the processes in the arts more litharge
is made than is demanded in trade, and this use of it is con-
sidered more economical than its reduction to lead.
Carbonate of lead, mixed with sulphate of barytes, forms
what is called Venice white.
Carbonate and sulphate of lead. There are two whitish or grayish
ores of this composition called dioxylite and leadhillite, or respectively
sulphato- carbonate and sulphato-tricarbonate of lead. The former
contains 71 per cent, of carbonate of lead ; the latter 47. Dioxylite has
a perfect basal cleavage. Gr=6'2 6'5. Leadhillite cleaves into lami-
nae that are flexible like gypsum. Gr=6 - 8 7. From Leadhills.
Caledonite is a compound of the carbonates of lead and copper and
sulphate of lead, and is called the cupreous sulphato-carbonate of lead,
In crystals of a deep verdigris or bluish green color. Gr=6'4. From
Leadhills and Red Gill ; also from the Missouri mines.
PYROMORPHITE. Phosphate of Lead.
Primary form, a hexagonal prism. Cleavage lateral, in
traces. Usual in clustered hexagonal prisms,
forming crusts. Also in globules, or reniform,
with a radiated structure.
Color bright green or brown ; sometimes fine
orange-yellow, owing to an intermixture with
chromate of lead. Streak white or nearly so. Luster more
or less resinous. Nearly transparent to subtranslucent.
Brittle. H=3-5 4. Gr = 6'5 7-1.
Composition of a brown variety : oxyd of lead 78-58, mu-
riatic acid 1-65, phosphoric acid 19-73. Before the blow-
pipe on charcoal fuses, and on cooling, the globule becomes
Describe pyromorphite. Of what does it consist ?
* A subacetate is supposed to form first, and then to be immediately
decomposed by the rising carbonic acid.
LEAD ORES. 267
angular. In the inner flame, gives off fumes of lead. With
boracic acid and iron, gives a phosphuret of iron and metallic
lead.
Dif. Has some resemblance to beryl and apatite ; but is
quite different in its action before the blowpipe, and much
higher in specific gravity.
Obs. Leadhills, Wanlockhead, and other lead mines of
Europe are foreign localities. In the United States, very
handsome crystallized specimens occur at King's mine in
Davidson county, N. C. : other localities are the Perkiomen
lead mine near Philadelphia ; the Lubec lead mines, Me. ;
Lenox, N. Y. ; formerly, a mile south of Sing Sing, N. Y. ;
and the Southampton lead mine, Mass.
The name pyromorphite is from the Greek pur, fire, and
morphe, form, alluding to its crystallizing on cooling from
fusion before the blowpipe.
Mimetene. An arseoate of lead, resembling pyromorphite in crys-
tallization, but giving a garlic odor on charcoal before the blowpipe.
Color pale-yellow, passing into brown. H=2 75 3 5. Gr=6"41.
From Cornwall and elsewhere.
Hedyphane. An arseno-phosphate of lead and lime, containing 2
per cent, of chlorine. It occurs amorphous, of a whitish color, and ada-
mantine luster. H=3'5 4. Gr=5 - 4 5- 5. From Sweden.
CROCOISITE. Chromate of Lead.
Occurs in oblique rhombic prisms, massive, of a bright
red color and translucent. Streak orange-yellow. H=
2-53. Gr=6.
Composition : chromic acid 31*85, protoxyd of lead 68*15.
Produces a yellow solution in nitric acid. Blackens and
fuses before the blowpipe, and forms a shining slag contain-
ing globules of lead.
Obs. Occurs in gneiss at Beresof in Siberia, and also in
Brazil. This is the chrome yellow of the painters. It is
made in the arts by adding to the chromate of potash in so-
lution, a solution of acetate or nitrate of lead. The chro-
mate of potash is usually procured by means of the ore
chromic iron, which see, (p. 223.)
Melanochroite is another chromate of lead, containing 23'64 of chro-
mic acid, and having a dark red color ; streak brick red. Crystals
usually tabular and reticulately arranged. Gr=5 - 75. From Siberia.
How is pyromorphite distinguished from beryl and apatite ? What ia
the color of chromate of lead ? its composition ? What is it called in
the arts, and how used ]
268 METALS.
Vauquelinite-is a chromate of lead and copper, of a very dark green
or pearly black color, occurring usually in minute irregularly aggregated
crystals; also reniform and massive. H=2'5 3. Gr = 5 - 5 5'8.
From Siberia and Brazil. It has been found by Dr. Torrey at the lead
mine near Sing Sing, in green and brownish-green mainmillary concre-
tions, and also nearly pulverulent.
Cerasite. A chlorid of lead. Color white, yellowish or reddish,
nearly opaque. Luster pearly. Gr=7 7*1. Contains lead 83, chlo
rine 14. From Mendip Hills, Somersetshire. Cotunnite is another
chlorid of lead, occurring at Vesuvius in white acicular crystals. It con-
tains 74'5 per cent, of lead.
Corneous lead. A chloro-carbonate of lead, occurring in whitish
adamantine crystals. Gr=6 G'l. From Derbyshire and Germany.
Also said to occur at the Southampton lead mine, Massachusetts.
Molybdate of lead. In dull-yellow octahedral crystals, and also
massive. Luster resinous. Contains molybdic acid 34'25, protoxyd
of lead 64'42. From Bleiberg and elsewhere in Carinthia ; also Hun-
gary. It has been found in small quantities at the Southampton lead
mine, Mass., and also the Perkiomen lead mine, Penn.
Selenale of lead. A sulphur-yellow mineral, occurring in small
globules, and affording before the blowpipe on charcoal a garlic odor,
and finally a globule of lead.
Vanadinite. A vanadate of lead, occurring in hexagonal prisms
like pyromorphite, and also in implanted globules. Color yellow to
reddish brown. H=2 75. Gr=6'6 73. From Mexico ; also from
Wanlockhead in Dumfriesshire.
Tungstate of lead. In square octahedrons or prisms. Color green,
gray, brown, or red. Luster resinous. H=2'5 3. Gr=7 9 8*1.
Contains 52 of tungstic acid and 48 of lead.
Plumbo-rcsinite. In globular forms, having a luster somewhat like
gum arabic, and a yellowish or reddish-brown color. H=4 4-5.
Gr=6'3 6'4. Consists of protoxyd of lead 4O14, alumina 37'00,
water 18'8. From Huelgoet in Brittany, and at a lead mine in Beaujeu ;
also from the Missouri mines, with black cobalt.
GENERAL REMARKS ON LEAD AND ITS ORES.
The lead of commerce is derived almost wholly from the sulphuret
of lead or galena, the localities of which have already been mentioned.
This ore is reduced usually by heat alone in a reverberatory furnace.
The process consists simply in burning out the sulphur after the ore is
picked, pounded and washed. The galena is kept at a heat below that
required for its fusion, and air is freely admitted to aid in the combus-.
tion. The sulphur is driven off, leaving the pure lead, or an oxyd formed
in the process which passes to the state of a slag. The latter is heated
again with charcoal, which separates the oxygen. A portion of quick-
lime is often added to stiffen the slag. In England, the whole ope-
ration of a smelting shift takes about 4 hours, and four periods may
be distinguished : The first fire for roasting the ores, which requires
What is the source of the lead of commerce 1 How is the ore
reduced 1
LEAD ORES. 269
very moderate firing, and lasts two hours ; the second fire for smelt-
ing, requiring a higher heat with shut doors, and at the end the slags
are dried up with lime, and the furnace is also allowed to cool a little ;
the third and fourth fires, also for smelting, requiring a still higher
temperature.
A furnace for using the hot blast with lead has been contrived. The
heated blast is made to diffuse itself equally through the whole " charge,"
carrying with it the flame of the burning fuel, and the reduction of the
ore is effected with an economy and dispatch hitherto unknown in the
processes of reducing this metal.*
According to another mode which has been practised in Germany
and France, old iron (about 28 per cent.) is thrown into the melted ore,
heated in a reverberatory furnace of small size ; the iron acts by absorb-
ing the sulphur, and the lead thus reduced flows into the bottom of the
basin. There is here a gain of time and labor, but a total loss of the
iron.
The mode of obtaining the silver from lead ore, is mentioned under
Silver.
The principal mines of lead in the world are mentioned under Galena.
The following is a statement of the approximate amount of lead pro-
duced by the mines of Europe :
Great Britain and
Ireland, . . 1,000,000 cwt.
Spain, . . 250,000 "
Austria, . . 64,000 "
Russia and Poland, 10,000 "
France, . . 4,700 "
Sweden and Norway, 500 cwt.
Prussia, . . 71,000 "
Germany, . . 96,000 "
Belgium, . . 4,000 "
Piedmont and Switz-
erland, . . 4,000 "
The mines of the Upper Mississippi afforded the seven years from
1841 to 1847, as shown by the amount received at St. Louis, t
1841, 463,404 pigs, about 70 Ibs. 1845, 757,906 pigs
1842, 473,599 " " 1846, 763,289 "
1843, 581,431 " 1847, 767,656 "
1844, 621,900 "
The lower or Missouri mines yielded in 1846, about 145,000 pigs ;
and in 1847, only 125,000 pigs. The Missouri lead region is more ex-
tensive than that of the upper mines, but the latter have greater facili-
ties of exportation. The metal at St. Louis brings about 4 cents a
pound, and at Galena half a cent less.
What other method is mentioned ? What country affords the largest
amount of lead at the present time, and how much? What was the
yield of the mines of the Upper Mississippi in 1847 1 What of the Lower
or Missouri mines ?
* See Amer. Jour. Sci., xlii, p. 169.
t From a letter to the author, by H. King, of St. Louis. The amount
received at St. Louis varies somewhat each year, with the state of
navigation.
23*
270 METALS.
13. MERCURY
Mercury occurs native, alloyed with silver, and in coml
nation with sulphur, chlorine, or iodine. Its ores are com-
pletely volatile, excepting the one containing silver.
NATIVE MERCURY.
Monometric ; in octahedrons. Occurs in fluid globules
scattered through the gangue. Color tin-white. Gr=13-6.
Becomes solid and crystallizes at a temperature of 39 F.
Mercury, or quicksilver as it is often called, (a translation
of the old name " argentum vivum,") is entirely volatile be-
fore the blowpipe, and dissolves readily in nitric acid.
Obs. Native mercury is a rare mineral, yet is met with
at the different mines of this metal, at Almaden in Spain,
Idria in Carniola, (Austria,) and also in Hungaiy and Pern.
It is usually in disseminated globules, but is sometimes ac-
cumulated in cavities so as to be dipped up in pails.
Uses. Mercury is used for the extraction of gold and sil-
ver ores, and is exported in large quantities to South Amer-
ica. It is also employed for silvering mirrors, for thermome-
ters and barometers, and for various purposes connected with
medicine and the arts.
Native Amalgam. This mineral is a compound of mercury and sil-
ver, containing 64 to 72 per cent, of mercury, and occurring in silver-
white dodecahedrons. H=2 2'5. Gr=10'5 14. Principally from
the Palatinate ; also from Hungary and Sweden. The arqucrite of
Berthier is an amalgam from Coquimbo, containing only 13'5 per cent,
of silver.
CINNABAR. Sulphuret of Mercury.
^ Rhombohedral. R : R=71 47'. Cleavage transverse,
highly perfect. Crystals often tabular, or six-sided prisms.
Also massive, and in earthy coatings.
Luster unmetallic, adamantine in crystals ; often dull.
Color bright red to brownish-red, and brownish-black.
Streak red. Subtransparent to nearly opaque. H=2 2'5.
Gr=6-7 8-2. Sectile.
Composition : when pure, mercury 86'29, sulphur 13-71 ;
In what condition does mercury occur ? What is a characteristic of
its ores 1 Describe native mercury ? Where is it found ? For wha{
is it used 1 What are the physical characters of cinnabar ?
ORES OF MERCURY. 271
but often contains impurities. The liver ore, or hepatic cin-
nabar, contains some carbon and clay, and has a brown-
ish streak and color. The pure variety volatilizes entirely
before the blowpipe.
Dif. Distinguished from red oxyd of iron and chromate
of iron by evaporating before the blowpipe ; from realgar
by giving off on charcoal no allicaceous fumes.
Obs. Cinnabar is the ore from which the principal part
of the mercury of commerce is obtained. It occurs mostly
in connection with talcose and argillaceous shale, or other
stratified deposits, both the most ancient and those of more
recent date. The mineral is too volatile to be expected in
any abundance in proper igneous or crystalline rocks, yet
has been found sparingly in granite. The principal mines
are at Idria in Austria, Almaden in Spain, in the Palatinate
on the Rhine, and at Huanca Velica in Peru. Mercury oc-
curs also at Arqueros in Chili, at various places in Mexico,
in Hungary, Sweden, at several points in France, and at Ripa,
in Tuscany; also in China and Japan. A large mine has
been discovered in Upper California. See Appendix, p. 432.
Uses. This ore is the principal source of the mercury of
commerce. It is also used as a pigment, and as a coloring
ingredient for red sealing wax, and it is called in the shops
vermillion. It is prepared in the arts by first making the
black sulphuret of mercury, (or Ethiops mineral.) This
may be done by heating together the requisite sulphur and
mercury. This sulphuret is then heated in clay vessels,
with certain precautions, and the vermillion a bisulphuret
is finally formed and incrusts the clay vessels, which are
broken to remove it. To obtain a good product requires at-
tention to many circumstances. Another process is to tri-
turate together mercury (300 parts) and sulphur (114,) after
a while adding potash lye (equal to 75 parts of caustic pot-
assa,) and continuing the trituration until the black sulphuret
is formed. Then heat the mixture with care, to 130 F. in
iron vessels.
The vermillion of commerce is ofien adulterated with red
lead, dragon's blood and realgar. Its entire volatility, with-
out odorous fumes, will distinguish the pure material.
Horn Quicksilver, (chlorid of mercury.) A tough, sectile ore, of a
Of what does cinnabar consist ? Where are the principal mines ?
For what is it used ?
272 METALS.
light yellowish or grayish color, and adamantine luster, translucent or
subtranslucent, crystallizing in secondaries to a square prism. H:=l
2. Gr=6'48. It contains 85 per cent, of mercury.
lodic Mercury is a still rarer ore from Mexico. Color reddish-brown.
Selenid of mercury, a dark steel-gray ore, which is wholly evapo-
rated before the blowpipe. Occurs in Mexico near San Onofre.
GENERAL REMARKS ON THE ORES OF MERCURY.
The mines of Idria were discovered in 1497. The mining is carried
on in galleries, as the rock is too fragile to allow of large chambers.
The ore is obtained at a depth of about 750 fret, and is mostly a bitu-
minous cinnabar, disseminated through the rock along with native mer-
cury. The latter is in some parts so abundant that when the earthy
rock is fresh broken, large globules fall out and roll to the bottom of the
gallery. The pure mercury is first sifted out ; the gangue is then
washed, and prepared for reduction. For this purpose there is a large
circular building, 40 feet in diameter by 60 in height, the interior of
which communicates through small openings with a range of chambers
around, each 10 or 12 feet square, and having a door communicating
with the external air. The central chamber is filled with earthen pans,
containing the prepared earth, the whole is closed up and heat is ap-
plied. The mercury sublimes and is condensed in the cold air of the
smaller chambers, whence it is afterwards removed. After filtering, it
is ready for packing. These mines afford annually 3000 cwt.
The above mode of reduction is styled by Ure " absolutely barba-
rous." He observes that the brick and mortar walls cannot be ren-
dered either tight or cool ; and that the ore ought to be pounded, and
then heated in a series of cast-iron cylinder retorts, after being mixed
with the requisite proportion of quicklime, (the lime aiding in the re-
duction of the cinnabar by taking its sulphur,) and the retorts should
communicate with a trough through which a stream of water passes,
for the purpose of condensing the mercury. An apparatus of this kind
planned by Ure, is used at Land&berg, in Rhenish Bavaria.
The mines of the Palatinate, on the Rhine, and those of other parts
of Germany, are stated by Burat to yield 7.600 quintals.
The mines of Almaden are situated near the frontier of Estremadu-
ra, in the province of La Mancha. They have been worked from a
remote antiquity. According to Pliny, the Greeks obtained vermillion
from them 700 years before our era, and afterwards imported annually
100,000 pounds. The mines are not over 300 yards in depth, although
so long worked. The rock is argillaceous schist and grit, in horizontal
beds, which are inteisected by granitic and black porphyry eruptions.
The mass of ore at the bottom of the principal vein, is 12 to 15 yards
thick, and yields in the aggregate 10 per cent, of mercury. It is taken
to the furnace without any kind of mechanical preparation. There are
many veins in the vicinity, several of which have been explored. The
furnaces of Almadenejos are fed almost exclusively by an ore obtained
just east of the village, which is a black schist, strongly impregnated
What is said of the Idria mines ? How is the ore reduced ? What
is a better process ] What is said of the mines of Almaden ?
COPPER ORES. 273
with native mercury and cinnabar, with but little visible. These mines
afford annually about 20.000 cwt. of mercury. The granitic and por-
phyritic eruptions of the region have been supposed to account for the
presence of the mercury in the rocks : the heat produced exhalations
of mercury and sulphur, which gave origin both to the cinnabar and the
native mercury.
The mines of Huanca Velica, in Peru, have afforded a large amount
of mercury for amalgamation at the Peruvian silver mines. Between
the years 1570 and 1800, they are estimated to have produced 537.000
tons ; and their present annual yield is 1800 quintals.
The Chinese have mines of cinnabar in Shensi, where the ore is re-
duced by the rude process of burning brushwood in the wells or pits
dug out for the purpose, and then collecting the metal after condensa-
tion.
14. COPPER.
Copper occurs native in considerable quantities ; also
combined with oxygen, sulphur, selenium, and various acids.
The ores of copper vary in specific gravity from 3*5 to 8*5,
and seldom exceed 4 in hardness. Many of the ores give to
borax a green color in the outer flame, and an opaque dull-
red in the inner. With carbonate of. soda on charcoal,
nearly all the ores are reduced, and a globule of copper ob-
tained ; borax and tin foil are required in some cases where
a combination with other metals conceals the copper. When
soluble in the acids, a clean plate of iron inserted in the so-
lution becomes covered with copper, and ammonia produces
a blue solution.
NATIVE COPPER.
Monometric. In octahedrons ; no cleavage apparent.
Often in plates or masses, or arborescent and filiform shapes.
Color copper-red. Ductile and malleable. H=2'5 3.
Gr==8-58.
Native copper often contains a little silver, disseminated
throughout it. Before the blowpipe it fuses readily, and on
cooling it is covered with a black oxyd. Dissolves in ni-
tric acid, and produces a blue solution w'th ammonia.
Obs. Native copper accompanies the ores of copper, and
usually occurs in the vicinity of dikes of igneous rocks.
How does copper occur 1 How are copper ores distinguished ? What
are the characters of native copper]
274 METALS*
Siberia, Cornwall, and Brazil, are noted for the copper
they have produced. A mass supposed to be from Bahia,
now at Lisbon, weighs 2616 pounds. The vicinity of lake
Superior is one of the most extraordinary regions in the
world for its native copper, where it occurs mostly in ver-
tical seams in trap, and also in the enclosing sandstone. A
mass weighing 3704 Ibs. has been taken from thence to Wash-
ington city : it is the same that was figured by Schoolcraft,
in the American Journal of Science, volume iii, p. 201.
Masses from 1000 to 3700 pounds, from this region, have
been exposed on the wharves of Boston, Mass. This is
small compared with other pieces which have since been
laid open. One large mass was quarried out in the " Cliff
mine," whose weight has been estimated at 80 tons. It was
50 feet long, 6 feet deep, and averaged 6 inches in thickness.
This copper contains intimately mixed with it about T 3 per
cent, of silver. Besides this, perfectly pure silver, in strings,
masses, and grains, is often disseminated through the cop-
per, and some masses, when polished, appear sprinkled with
large white spots of silver, resembling, as Dr. Jackson ob-
serves, a porphyry with its feldspar crystals. Crystals
of native copper are also found penetrating masses of preh-
nite, and analcime, in the trap rock.
This mixture of copper and silver cannot be imitated by
art, as the two metals form an alloy when melted together.
It is probable that the separation, in the rocks, is due to the
cooling from fusion being so extremely gradual as to allow
the two metals to solidify separately, a,t their respective
temperatures of solidification the trap being an igneous
rock, and ages often elapsing, as is well known, during the
cooling of a bed of lava, covered from the air.
Small specimens of native copper have been found in the
states of New Jersey, Connecticut, and Massachusetts, where
the same formation occurs. One mass from near Somerville
weighs 78 pounds, and is said originally to have weighed
128 pounds. Near New Haven, Conn., a mass of 90 pounds
was formerly found. Near Brunswick, N. J., a vein or sheei
of copper, from a sixteenth to an eighth of an inch thick,
has been observed and traced along for several rods.
Where has native copper been found in the United States ? What
is said of its associations with silver ] What explanation is given of
this mixture of copper and silver I
COPPER ORES. 275
VITREOUS COPPER ORE.
Trimetric. Cleavage parallel to the faces of a right rhom-
bic prism, but indistinct. M : M=119 1 35'. Secondary
forms, variously modified rhombic prisms. Also in com-
pound crystals like arragonite ; often massive.
Color and streak blackish lead-gray, often tarnished blue
or green. Streak sometimes shining. H=2'5 3. Gr=
5.55.8.
Composition : sulphur 20'6, copper 77-2, iron 1-5. Be-
fore the blowpipe it gives off fames of sulphur, fuses easily
in the external flame, and boils. After the sulphur is driven
off, a globule of copper remains. Dissolves in heated nitric
acid, with a precipitation of the sulphur.
Dif. The vitreous copper ore resembles vitreous sil-
ver ore ; but the luster of a surface of fracture is less bril-
liant, and they afford different results before the blowpipe.
The solution made by putting a piece of the ore in nitric
acid, covers an iron plate (or knife blade) with copper, while
a similar solution of the silver ore covers a copper plate
with silver.
Obs. Occurs with other copper ores in beds and veins.
At Cornwall, splendid crystallizations occur. Siberia, Hesse,
Saxony, the Bannat, Chili, &c., afford this ore.
In the United States, a vein affording fine crystallizations
occurs at Bristol, Conn. Other localities are at Wolcott-
ville, Simsbury, and Cheshire, Conn. ; at Schuyler's Mines,
and elsewhere, N. J. ; in the U. S. copper mine district,
Blue Ridge, Orange county, Virginia ; between New Mark-
et and Taneytown, Maryland ; and sparingly at the copper
, mines of Michigan and the Western states ; abundantly at
some mines north of Lake Huron.
Blue Copper is a dull blue-black massive mineral. Gr=3'8 . It
contains 65 per cent, of copper.
Digenite is a dark lead-gray sulphuret containing 70'2 per cent, of
copper. Gr=4'6 4'68. Streak black. From Chili, and also Thu-
ringia.
COPPER PYRITES. SuJphuret of Copper and Iron.
Dimetric. Crystals tetrahedral or octahedral ; sometimes
What are the physical characters of vitreous copper 1 its constitution
and chemical characters ? How does it differ from silver ores ?
276 META1S.
compound. A : A=109 53', and 108 40'. Cleavage in-
distinct. Also massive, 2
and of various imitative /^^\
shapes. / 7 X
Color brass-yellow,
often tarnished deep yel-
low, and also iridescent.
Streak unmetallic, greenish-black, and
but little shining. H==3*5 4. Gr=
4-15 4-17.
Composition : sulphur 36*3, copper
32*1, iron 31*5. Fuses before the blowpipe to a globule
which is magnetic, owing to the iron present. Gives sul-
phur fumes on charcoal. With borax affords pure copper.
The usual effect with nitric acid.
Dif. This ore resembles native gold, and also iron py-
rites. It is distinguished from gold by crumbling when it is
attempted to cut it, instead of separating in slices ; and from
iron pyrites in its deeper yellow color and in yielding easily
to the point of a knife, instead of striking fire with a steel.
Obs. Copper pyrites occurs in veins in granitic and al-
lied rocks ; also in graywacke, &c. It is usually associated
with iron pyrites, and often with galena, blende, and carbon-
ates of copper. The copper of Fahlun, Sweden, is obtained
mostly from this ore, where it occurs with serpentine in
gneiss. Other mines of this ore are in the Hartz, near
Goslar; in the Bannat, Hungary, Thuringia, &c. The
Cornwall ore is mostly of this kind, and 10 to 12,000 tons
of pure copper are smelted annually. The ore for sale at
Redruth is said to be by no means a rich ore. It rarely
yields 12 per cent, and generally only 7 or 8, and occasion-
ally as little as 3 to 4 per cent, of metal. In the latter case
such poverty of ore is only made up by its facility of trans-
port, the moderate expense of fuel, or the convenience of
smelting. Its richness may generally be judged of from the
color : if of a fine yellow hue, and yielding readily to the
hammer, it is a good ore ; but if hard and pale yellow it con-
tains very largely of iron pyrites, and is of poor quality.
In the United States there are many localities of this ore.
What forms are presented by copper pyrites 1 What is its color and
streak 1 its composition? How is it distinguished from iron pyrites and
gold 1 What is said of the modes of occurrence of this ore and of it
mines 1
COf'l'EK QRES. 277
It occurs in Massachusetts, at the Southampton lead mines,
at Turner'* Falls on the Connecticut, at Hatfield and Ster-
ling ; in Vermont, at Straffbrd, where it is now profitably
worked, and at Shrewsbtiry, Corinth, Waterbury ; in New
Hampshire, at Franconia, Sheiburn, Unity, Warren, Eaton,
Lyme, Havcrhill ; in Maine, at the Lubec lead mines, and
Plater ; in New York, at the Ancram lead mine, also near
Rossie, and at Wurtzboro ; in Pennsylvania, at Mcrgantown ;
in Virginia, at the Phenix copper mines, Fauquier county,
and at the Walton gold mine, Luzerne county ; in Maryland,
in the Catoctin mountains, between Newmarket and Taney-
town ; in North Carolina, in Davidson and Guilfbrd coun-
ties. In Michigan, where native copper is so abundant, this
is a rare ore ; but it occurs at Presque isle, at Mineral Point,
and in Wisconsin, where it is the predominating ore.
The ore of Strafford, Vt., is at the present time carried to
Boston.
Uses. This ore, besides being mined for copper, is ex-
tensively employed in the manufacture of blue vitriol (sul-
phate of copper.) in the same manner that sulphate of iron
(copperas) is obtained from iron pyrites.
Cuban is a sulphuret of copper and iron, containing sulphur 34'8,
iron 42'5, copper 23 0.
VARIEGATED COPPER PYRITES.
Monometric. Cleavage octahedral, in traces. Occurs in
cubes and octahedrons. Also massive.
Color between copper-red and pmehbeck-brown. Tar-
nishes rapidly on exposure. Streak pale grayish-black and
but slightly shining. Brittle. H=3. Gr=5.
Composition : specimen from Bristol, Conn., sulphur 25'7,
copper G2'8, iron 11 '6. Fuses before the blowpipe to a
globule attractable by the magnet. On charcoal affords
names of sulphur. Mostly dissolved in nitric acid.
Dif. This ore is distinguished from the preceding by its
pale reddish-yellow color.
Obs. Occurs with other copper ores, in granitic and al-
lied rocks, and also in secondary formations. The mines
of Cornwall have afforded crystallized specimens, and it is
there called from its color " horse-flesh ore." Other foreign
What is the appearance and composition of variegated copper py-
rites ? How is it distinguished from the preceding species ]
24
278 METALS.
localities of massive varieties are Ross Island, Rillarney,
Ireland ; Norway, Hessia, Silesia, Siberia, and the Bannat.
Fine crystallizations occur at the Bristol copper mine,
Conn., in granite ; and also in red sandstone, at Cheshire, in
the same state, with malachite and heavy spar. Massive va-
rieties occur at the New Jersey mines, and in Pennsylvania.
GRAY COPPER ORE.
Monometric. Occurs in modified tetrahedrons, and also
in compound crystals. Cleavage octahedral in traces.
Color between steel-gray and
iron-black. Streak nearly as the
color. Rather brittle. H 3
4. Gr=4-75 5-1.
Composition : sulphur 26*3,
copper 38'6, antimony 16'5, arsenic 7-2, along with some
iron, zinc, and silver, amounting to 15 per cent. It some-
times contains 30 per cent, of silver in place of part of the
copper, and is then called argentiferous gray copper ore, or
silver fahlerz. The amount of arsenic varies from to 10
per cent. One variety from Spain included 10 per cent, of
platinum, and another from Hohenstein some gold ; another
from Tuscany 2'7 per cent, of mercury.
These varieties give off, before the blowpipe, fumes of ar-
senic and antimony, and after roasting yield a globule of cop-
per. Dissolve, when pulverized, in nitric acid, affording a
brownish-green solution.
Dif. Its copper reactions before the blowpipe and in so-
lution in nitric acid, distinguish it from the gray silver ores.
Obs. The Cornish mines, Andreasberg in the Hartz,
Kremnitz in Hungary, Freiberg in Saxony, Kapnik in
Transylvania, and Dillenberg in Nassau, afford fine crystal-
lizations of this ore. It is a common ore in the Chilian
mines, and it is worked there and elsewhere for copper, and
often also for silver.
Bournonite contains sulphur 20'3, antimony 26'3, lead 40'8, cop
12.7. Its crystals are modified rectangular prisms, of a steel-gray colon
and streak, and are often compounded into shapes like a cog-wheel,
whence it is called wheel-ore. H=2 5 3. Gr=5'766. From the
Hartz, Transylvania, Saxony, and Cornwall. Another allied ore, con-
taining 47 per cent, of antimony, is called antimonial copper; it oc-
Describe gray copper ore. Mention its composition and blowpipe
characters. How is it distinguished from silver ores 1
COPPER ORES. 279
cars in slender aggregated prisms, of a dark lead-gray color. Another
containing also arsenic, is called antimonial copper glance.
Tennantitc is a compound of copper, iron, sulphur, and arsenic. It
occurs in dodecahedral crystals, brilliant, with a dark lead-gray color,
and reddish-gray streak. From the Cornish mines near Redruth and
St. Day.
Selenid of Copper, is a silver-white ore, affording the horse-radish
odor of selenium before the blowpipe. It contains 64 per cent, of cop-
per. From Skrikerum, Sweden.
RED COPPER ORE.
Monometric. In regular octahedrons, and modified forms
of the same. Cleavage octahedral. Also massive, and
sometimes earthy.
Color deep red, of various
shades. Streak brownish-red.
Luster adamantine or submetal-
lic ; also earthy. Subtranspa-
rent to nearly opaque. Brittle.
H=3-5 4. Gr=6.
Composition : copper 88*88, oxygen 12. Before the blow-
pipe, on charcoal, it yields a globule of copper. Dissolves
in nitric acid. The earthy varieties have been called tile
ore, from the color.
Dif. From cinnabar it differs in not being volatile before
the blowpipe ; and from red iron ore, in yielding a bead of
copper on charcoal, and copper reactions.
Obs. Occurs with other copper ores in the Bannat, Thur-
ingia, Cornwall, at Chessy near Lyons, in Siberia, and Bra-
zil. The octahedrons are often green, from a coating of
malachite.
In the U. States, it has been observed crystallized and
massive, at Schuyler's, Somerville, and the Flemington cop-
per mines, N. J. ; also near New Brunswick, N. J. ; at
Bristol, Ct. ; also near Ladenton, Rockland county, N. Y.
Black Copper. Tenorite. An oxyd of copper, occurring
as a black powder and in dull black masses, and botryoidal
concretions, in veins or along with ether copper ores- From
Cornwall, and also the Vesuvian lavas. It is an abundant
ore in some of the copper mines of the Mississippi valley,
and yields 60 to 70 per cent, of copper. But part of what
What is the crystallization of red copper ore ? Of what does it con*
Bis; i How does it differ from cinnabar and red iron ore?
280 METALS.
was considered black copper in the west is an ore of cobalt.
If absolutely pure, it contains 80 per cent, of copper. It is
also found of excellent quality in large veins, in the Lake
Superior copper region.
The oxyds of copper are easily smelted by heating with
the aid of charcoal alone. They may be converted directly
into the sulphate or blue vitriol, by means of sulphuric acid,
but are more valuable for the copper they afford.
BLUE VITRIOL. - SlllpkatC of
Triclinate. In oblique rhomboidal prisms. Also as au
efflorescence or incrustation.
Color deep sky-blue. Streak uncolored, Subtransparent
to translucent, Luster vitreous. Soluble, taste nauseous
and metallic. H=2 2-5. Gr=2-2U
Composition: sulphuric acid 31'7, oxyd of copper, 32*1,
water 36-2. A polished plate' of iron in a solution becomes
covered with copper.
Obs. Occurs with the sulphurets of copper as a result of
their decomposition, and is often in solution in the waters
flowing from copper mine?. Occurs in the Hartz, at Fahlun
in Sweden, and in many other copper regions.
Uses. Blue vitriol is much used in dyeing operations and
in the printing of cotton and linen ; also for various other
purposes in the ails. It has been employed to prevent dry
rot, by steeping wood in its solution : and it is a powerful
preservative of animal substances ; when imbued with it and
dried, they remain unaltered. It is afforded by the decom-
position of copper pyrites, in the same manner as green vit-
riol from iron pyrites, (p. 213.)
It is manufactured for the arts from old sheathing copper,
copper turnings, and copper refinery scales. The scales are
readily dissolved in dilute sulphuric acid at the temperature
of ebullition ; the solution obtained is evaporated to the point
where crystallization will take place on cooling. Me allic
copper is exposed in hot rooms to the atmosphere after it has
been wet in weak sulphuric acid. ]$y alternate wetting and
exposure, it is rapidly corroded, and affords a solution which
What is blue vitriol 1 Describe it. What is said of its mode of oc-
currence ? For what is it used ? How ie it manufactured in the arts?
How is copper obtained from solutions iu some mines ? Describe
green malachite.
COPPER ORES. 281
is evaporated for crystals. 400,000 Ibs. is the annual con-
sumption of blue vitriol in the United States.
In Frederick county, Maryland, blue vitriol is made from
a black earth which is an impure oxyd of copper with cop-
per pyrites. The black oxyd of copper, which was found
in the Lake Superior copper region, may be directly con-
verted into blue vitriol.
In some mines, the solution of sulphate of copper is so
abundant as to afford considerable copper, which is obtained
by immersing clean iron in it, and is called copper of cemen-
tation. At the copper springs of Wicklow, Ireland, about 500
tons of iron were laid at one time in the pits ; in about 12
months the bars were dissolved, and every ton of iron yielded
a ton and a half, and sometimes nearly two tons, of a pre-
cipitated reddish mud, each ton of which produced 16 cwt.
of pure copper. The Rio Tinto Mine in Spain, is another
instance of working the sulphate in solution. These waters
yield annually 1800 cwt. of copper, and consume 2400 cwt.
of iron.
Brochantite. An insoluble sulphate of copper, containing 17'5 per
cent, of sulphuric acid. Color emerald green. In tabular rhombic crys-
tals, at Katherinenberg, in Siberia. Blackens before the blowpipe with-
out fusing. Krisuvigiie and Konigite are the same species.
GREEN MALACHITE. Green Carbonate of Copper.
Monoclinate. Usual in incrustations, with a smooth tube-
botryoidal or stalactitic surface ; structure finely and
firmly fibrous. Also earthy.
Color light green, streak paler. Usually nearly opaque ;
crystals translucent. Luster of crystals adamantine incli-
ning to vitreous ; but fibrous incrustations silky on a cross
fracture. Earthy varieties dull. H=3*5 4. Gr=4.
Composition: carbonic acid 18, oxyd of copper 70'5, wa-
ter 11 '5. Dissolves with effervesence in nitric acid. De-
crepitates and blackens before the blowpipe, and becomes
partly a black scoria. With borax it fuses to a deep green
globule, and ultimately affords a bead of copper.
Dif. Readily distinguished by its copper-green color and
its association with copper ores. It resembles asiliceous
ore of copper, chrysocolla, a common ore in the mines of
the Mississippi valley ; but it is distinguished by its complete
What is the composition of green malachite ? How is it distin-
guished ?
24*
282 METALS.
solution and effervescence in nitric acid. The color also
is not the bluish-green of chrysocolla.
Obs. Green malachite usually accompanies other ores
of copper, and forms incrustations, which when thick, have
the colors banded and extremely delicate in their shades and
blending. Perfect crystals are quite rare. The mines of
Siberia, at Nischne Tagilsk, have afforded great quantities
of this ore. A mass partly disclosed, measured at top 9
feet by 18 ; and the portion uncovered contained at least
half a million pounds of pure malachite. Other noted for-
eign localities are Chessy in France, Sandlodge in Shetland,
Schwartz in the Tyrol, Cornwall, and the island of Cuba.
The copper mine of Cheshire, Conn., has afforded hand-
some specimens ; also Morgantown, and the Perkiomen Lead
Mine, Penn. ; Schuyler's mine, and the New Brunswick
copper mine, N. J. : it occurs also in Maryland, between
Newmarket and Taneytown, and in the Catoctin mountains ;
in the Blue Ridge, Penn., near Nicholson's Gap, and it is
found more or less sparingly with all kinds of copper ores.
At Mineral Point, Wisconsin, a bluish silico-carbonate
of copper occurs, which is for the most part chrysocolla, or
a mixture of this mineral with the carbonate. An analysis
of the rough ore afforded Mr. D. D. Owen, copper 35-7,
carbonic acid 10*0, water 10*0, iron 15*7, oxygen 7, sulphur
8, silex 13-0. Specific gravity 3-693-87. The vein ap-
pears also to the northwest on Blue River, and southeast on
the Peccatonica. This ore is abundant ; it has been smelted
on the spot and also exported to England.
Uses. This mineral receives a high polish and is used
for inlaid work, and also ear-rings, snuffboxes, and various
ornamental articles. It is not much prized in jewelry.
Very large masses are occasionally obtained in Russia,
which are worked into slabs for tables, mantel-pieces and
vases, which are of exquisite beauty, owing to the delicate
shadings of the radiations and zones of color. At Versailles,
there is a room furnished with tables, vases, and other arti-
cles of this kind, and similar rooms are to be found in many
European palaces. At Nischne Tagilsk, a block of mala-
chite w,s obtained weighing 40 tons.
Malachite is sometimes passed off in jewelry as turquois,
though easily distinguished by its shade of color and much
How does green malachite occur 1 What are its uses ?
COPPER ORES. 283
inferior hardness. It is a valuable ore when abundant ; but
it is seldom smelted alone, because the metal is liable to es-
cape with the liberated volatile ingredient carbonic acid.
AZTJRITE. Blue Carbonate of Copper.
Monoclinate. In modified oblique rhombic prisms, the
crystals rather short and stout $
lateral cleavage perfect. Also
massive. Often earthy.
Color deep blue, azure or Ber-
lin-blue. Transparent to nearly
opaque. Streak bluish* Luster
vitreous, almost adamantine.
Brittle, H=3-5 4-5. Gr=
3-53-85.
Composition : carbonic acid 25*5, oxyd of copper 69.1,
water 5*5. Before the blowpipe and in acids, it acts like
the preceding.
Obs. Azurite accompanies other ores of copper. At
Chessy, France, its crystallizations are very splendid. It is
found also in Siberia, in the B a mi at, and near Redruth in
Cornwall.
As incrustations and rarely as crystals, it occurs near
Singsing, N. Y. ; near New Brunswick, N. J. Also near
Nicholson's Gap, in the Blue Ridge, Penn.
Uses. When abundant it is a valuable ore of copper. It
makes a poor pigment, as it is liable to turn green.
CHRYSOCOLLA. Silicate of Copper.
Usually as incrustations ; botryoidal and massive. Also
in thin seams and stains ; no fibrous structure apparent, nor
any appearance of crystallization.
Color bright green, bluish-green. Luster of surface of in-
crustations smoothly shining ; also earthy. Translucent to
opaque. H=2 3. Gr = 2 2*3. Composition:
SIBERIAN.
V. Kobell.
NEW JERSEY.
Berthier. Bowen.
Beck.
Oxyd of copper
40-0
55-1
452
426
Silica
36-5
35-4
373
40-0
Water
20-2
28-5
17-0
16-0
Carbonic acid
2-1
loss 1-0
.
.
Oxyd of iron
1-0
1-4
Describe blue malachite. How does it differ from green malachite
in composition ] What is the appearance of chrysocolla 1 its composi-
tion?
284 HETACSV
The mineral varies much in the proportion of its constitu-
ents, as it is not crystallized. It blackens in the mner flame
of the blowpipe without melting. With borax it is partly
reduced. No effervescence nor complete solution in nitric
acid,, cold or heated.
Dif. Distinguished from green malachite as stated under
that species.
Obs. Accompanies other copper ores in Cornwall, Hun-
gary, the Tyrol, Siberia, Thuringia, &c. In Chili it is
abundant at the various mines. In Wisconsin and Missouri
it is so abundant as to be worked for copper- It was for-
merly taken for green malachite. It also occurs at the Som-
erville and Schuyler's mine, N. J., at Morgantown, Penn.,
and Wolcotville, Conn.
Uses. This ore in the pure state affords 30 per cent, of
copper ; but as it occurs in the rock will hardly yield one-
third this amount. Still when abundant, as it appears to be
in the Mississippi valley, it is a valuable ore. It is easy of
reduction by means of limestone as a ffux.
Dioptase is another silicate of copper, occurring in rhonabohedral
crystals and hexagonal prisms. R : R=126 17". Color emerald-
green. Luster vitreous. Streak greenish. Transparent to nearly
opaque. H=5. Gr=3'28. From the Kirghese Steppes of Siberia.
Besides the above salts of copper, there are the following species,
which are of little use in the arts.
Ar senates of Copper. Euchroite has a bright emerald -green color,
and contains 33 per cent, of arsenic acid, and 48 of oxyd of copper.
Occurs in modified rhombic prisms. H=3'75. Gr=3 4. From Li-
bethen, in Hungary. Aphanesite is of a dark verdigris-green inclining
to blue, and also dark blue, H=2 5 3. Gr=4'19. It contains 30
per cent, of arsenic acid and 54 of oxyd of copper. From Cornwall.
Erinite has an emerald-green color, and occurs in mammilated coat-
ings. H=4'5 5. Gr=4'04. Contains 338 of arsenic acid and 59'4
of oxyd of copper. From Limerick, Ireland, Liroconite varies from
eky-blue to virdigris-green, It occurs in rhombic prisms, sometimes
an inch broad. H=2'5. Gr=2'8 2 9. Contains 14 per cent, of
arsenic acid, 49 of oxyd of copper. Olivenite presents olive-green to
brownish colors, and occurs in prismatic crystals or velvety coatings.
H=3. Gr=4'2. Contains 36'7 per cent, of arsenic acid, to 56'4 of
oxyd of copper. Copper Mica is remarkable for its thin foliated or
mica-like structure. The color is emerald or grass-green. H=2.
Gr=2'55. It contains 21 per cent, of arsenic acid, 58 of oxyd of cop-
per, and 21 of water. From Cornwall and Hungary. Copper Froth
is another arsenate of a pale apple-green and verdigris green color. It
How does chrysocolla differ from green malachite 1 Where is it
abundant in the U. States ? What is its use 1
COPPER OTTES. 285
kas -a perfect cleavage. It contains 25 per cent, of arsenic acid, 43 9
of oxyd of copper, 17'5 of water, with 13 6 of carbonate of lime. From
Hungary, Siberia, the TyrL, and Derbyshire. Condvrrite has a brown-
ish-black r blue color. From Cornwall. These different arsenates of
copper give an aUicaceous odor w-hen heated on charcoal before the
blowpipe.
Phosphates of -Copper. Pseudo-malachite occurs in very oblique
crystals, or .massive and incrusting, and has an emerald or blackish-
green color- H=4'5 5. Gr=4-2. Contains 68 per cent, of oxyd
of copper. From near Bonn, on the Rhine, and ako fim Hungary.
Libethenite has a dark or olive-green color, and occurs in prismatic
crystals and massive. H=4. Gr=3 6 3'8. Contains 64 per cent,
of oxyd of copper. From Hungary and Cornwall. Tkrombolitc is a
green phospate occurring .massive in Hungary. Contains 39 percent,
of oxyd of copper. These phosphates give no fumes before the blow-
pipe ; and have the reaction of phosphoric acid.
Chlorid of Copper. Atacamite. Color green to blackish-green,
Luster adamantine to vitreous. Streak apple-gpeen. Translucent te
ubtranslucenL Occurs tn rig lit rhombic prisms and rectangular octa-
hedrons, ako .massive. Consists of oxyd of copper 76'6, muriatic acid
iO-6, water 12-8. -Gives off fumes of rmariatic acid before the blowpipe
and leaves a globule of -copper. Fcom the Atacama desert, between
Chili and Peru, and elsewhere in Chili ; also from Vesuvius and Sax-
ony. It is ground up in Chili, and sold as a powder for letters under
the name of arsenlllo.
A Sulphato-chlorid of Copper hasibeen observed in Cornwall, in olue
acicular crystals, apparently hexagonal.
Beaumontite of C. T. Jackson, is a- hydrous c Ferrate-silicate of cop-
per, containing 15*8 per cent, of crenic acid. It is bluish-green to
greenish-white, and pulverulent when dry. From Chessy, France.
Vanadate of copper. Massive and foliated, or pulverulent ; folia
citron-yeHow, pearly. From the Ural,
Buratite. A kydrous carbonate of copper, zinc, and lime, occurring
in bluish radiating needles. Gr=3 2. From Chessy, France ; the Al-
tai mountains ; and Tuscany.
Velvet Copper Ore. In velvety druses or coatings, consisting of
fihort fine fibrous crystaliizatioa. Color fine smalt blue.
GENERAL REMARKS ON COPPER AND ITS ORES.
The metal copper has been .known since the earliest periods. It in
obtained for tke arts mostly from pyriloua copper, the gray stdprrurets,
and the carbonate ; also to some ^extent from the black oxyd, and from
solutions of the sulphate, (page 28L)
Assay of Ores. For tie assay of copper ores by the dry way, tk^
following is a common method. A portion of the prepared ore, roasted
in a closed tube, will -show by the garlic or sulphurous smell of the
fomes, and by die depositions on the t*be, whether arsenic, sulphur, or
both, be the mineraliaers- If this last is the case, which often happens,
100 or 1000 grains of the ore are to be mixed with one half of its
weight of sawdust, then imbued witk oil, amd heated moderately in a
VVLat is the mode of assaying copper ores in ithe dry way 2
METALS,
crucible, till all the arsenical fumes are dissipated. The residuum,, be-
ing cooled and triturated, is to be exposed in a shallow earthen dish,
made of refractory material, to a slow roasting heat, and stirred till the
sulphur and charcoal are burned away ; what remains being ground and
mixed with half its weight of calcined boraa, or carbonate of soda, one-
twelfth its weight of lamp black, (finely pulverized charcoal will an-
swer,) and next, made into a dough with a few drops of oil, is then to
be pressed down into a crucible, which is to be covered with a luted;
lid, and subjected in a powerful air-furnace, first to a dull red heat, then
to vivid ignition for -seven to!wenty minutes. On cooling and breaking
the crucible, a button of metallic copper will be obtained, which may
be refined by melting again with borax in an open crucible. Its color
and malleability indicate pretty well the quality, as does its weight the
relative value, of the ore. It may be eupeiled with lead to ascertain
if it contain silver or gold ; or it may be treated for the same purpose
with nitric acid.
If the blowpipe trial show no arsenic, the first calcination may be
omitted. ; and if neither sulphur nor arsenic are present, a portion of the-
pulverized ore should be dried and treated directly with borax, lamp-
black, and oil.
The ores of copper, (the sulphuret as well as the oxyds, carbonates,
&c.) may be reduced in the wet way, by solution in strong nitric acid.
The solution, if made from the sulphuret,. will contain sulphuric acid
and free sulphur, as well as all the bases, (iron, nickel, cobalt, lead, sil-
ver, &c.) which may have been present in the original ore. If silver
is present it will be found as a heavy white curdy precipitate, at the
bottom, if the nitric acid employed contained any hydrochloric acid ;
and if the addition of this acid to the solution occasions no such pre-
cipitate, no silver is present. If the solution is free from lead, anti-
mony,, arsenic,. and oiher metals precipitable by sulphureted hydrogen,.
the copper may be thrown down as sulphuret by means- of a current of
this gas, the black precipitate, collected on a filter washed with water,,
and redissolved in aqua regia, largely diluted, and finally precipitated by
caustic, potash, which throws down the black oxyd of copper. This:
dried and weighed will yield the true value of the are in metallic cop-
per. If only iron and capper are present, (which may be previously de-
termined by the blowpipe,) they may be separated tiewn their solutions
in nitric acid by ammonia, which throws down the iron as hydrated
peroxyd, bat redissolves the copper precipitated by the first additions of
ammonia. The determination of the weight of the iron may then give
the amount of copper by the difference of weight, or the copper may
again be thrown down by potash as before directed.
Reduction of Ores. Copper ores are seduced in England in a rever-
feeratory furnace, and the process consists in alternate calcinations and
fusions. The volatile ingredients are carried off by the caic naik-ns>
and any metals in combination with the copper are oxydized. The
fusions serve to get lid of the various impurities, and finally bring out
the pure metal.
The calcinations ar roasting.; are performed either in a furnace,- OF
by making piles in the open air. In this latter mode,, which is in use
What is the mode of assaying copper ores in, the wet way 1 IIov*
are copper ores reduced ? Describe the process of calcination 1
COPPER ORES. 287
on lire continent of Europe, the ore, after being pounded and assorted,
is piled np in high pyramidal mounds, which mounds are covered with
mortar, sod, &c., and have a chimney at the center. Hemispherical
cavities are dug on the upper surface for the purpose of receiving the
sulphur during the roasting, which arrives liquified at the surface. This
process lasts about six months. In England, at Swansea, where the
ores are carried for reduction, the calcinations are performed more rap-
Idly in a reverberatory furnace ; and this is especially necessary when
the ores do not contain a sufficient proportion of iron pyrites to famish,
(enough sulphur to sastain the combustion. After calcination, the ore is
black and powdery. In the Swansea establishments, the calcined ore
is introduced into the furnace, (a reverberatory smaller than that used
for calcination,) and is spread over the bottom, 1 cwt. at a time. The
heat is raised-, and the furnace closed. When fusion has taken place,
the liquid mass is well rabbled or stirred, so as to allow of the complete
separation of the slairs from the metal ; afterwards the slags are skimmed
off. Then a second charge is added, and after a similar process, a
third charge, if the furnace is deep enough to receive it without the
metal's flowing from the door. After the last charge is reduced also,
the tap-hole is opened, and the metal flows out into water, where it is
granulated. The slags if not free from metal are again returned to the
furnace, when other charges are put in. This granulated metal is
usually about one-third copper ; it contains sulphur, copper, and iron.
This coarse metal is next calcined, just as the ore was first calcined ;
by which the iron is oxydized. The charge remains in the furnace 24
hour;, and is repeatedly stirred and turned.
It is then transferred to the furnace for melting, and there melted
along with some slags from the previous fusion. The sulphur reduces
any oxyd and the whole fuses down. The slags are skimmed off and
the furnace tapped : the metal is again drawn off into water. In this
state it contains about 60 per cent, of copper, and it is called fine
metal. The fine metal is then calcined like the coarse metal ; and next
it is melted as before. It results in a coarse copper containing 80 to 90
per cent, of pure metal.
The coarse copper is then roasted in the melting furnace ; the air
drawing in large quantities over the copper in incipient fusion, oxydizes
the iron and the volatile substances are driven off. The metal is fused
toward the end of the operation, which is continued from 12 to 24
hours, and is then tapped into sand beds. The pigs formed are cov-
ered with black blisters and they are cellular within. The copper is
then remelted in a melting furnace ; it is heated slowly to allow of any
farther oxydizing that may be necessary. The slag is removed and the
metal is examined from time to time, by taking out some of it, and
when it is in the right condition, it is next subjected to the process of
toughening. It is now brittle, of a deep red color inclining to purple,
with an open grain and a crystalline structure ; the copper in this state
is what is termed dry. The surface of the melted metal is first cov-
ered with charcoal ; a pole, commonly of birch, is held in the liquid
matter, causing considerable ebullition ; and this poling is continued,
with occasional additions of charcoal, till it is found in the assays taken
What are the several steps in reduction ?
288 METALS,
out that the crystalline grain has disappeared, and the copper when en?
through has a silky polished appearance, and the color is light red,
It is then ladeled out into moulds, usually 12 inches in width by 18 long,
Lead is sometimes added" in the purification, to aid by its own oxyda-
titon in the oxydation of the iron present.
The process of melting copper on the continent is done hy blast fur-
naces instead of the reverberatory, and they are sakf to be more eco-
nomical in fuel, and produce a less waste of copper in the slags. This?
mode is used at the works at Boston, while the Swansea mode hag
been adopted at the Baltimore furnaces, Maryland, At the Ha'ford
works, South Wales, a furnace of three tiers of hearths has been intro-
duced, which answers the double purpose of calcination and fusion afc
the same time.
Galvanism has been turned to account in the reduction 1 of copper
ores. The ore is converted inta a sulphate by roasting with the free
access of the atmosphere. From this sulphate the copper is deposited
in a pure state by galvanic decomposition. See on this subject Ameri-
can Journal of Science, ii ser,, volume iv, p. 278, or Franklin Journal,
volume xi, p. 128.
Copper Mines. The principal mrrres of copper in the world are those
of Cornwall and Devon, England ; of the island of Cuba ; of Copiapo,
and other places in Chili ; Chessy, near Lyons, in FiiJne'e ; ifl the
Erzgebirge, Saxony ; at Eisleben and Sangerhausen, in Prussia ; at
Goslar, in the Lower Hartz ;. at Scheminitz, Kremnitz, Kapnik, and
the Bannat, in Hungary ; at Fahkn, in Sweden ; at Turinsk and Nisch-
ni-Tagilsk, and other places in the Urals ; also in China and Japan,
Lately extensive mines have been opened in Southern Australia.
In the United States, considerable, quantities have been raised from
the mines of New Jersey, and those of Simsbury, Conn. At Bristol,
Conn., is a fine vein of vitreous copper, now under exploration. Straf-
ford, Vermont, affords some tons of pyritous copper at the present time
for the Boston furnace.
The most extensive deposits are those of Northern Michigan and
Wisconsin. The Michigan mines are vertical veins mostly in the trap
fock which intersects a red sandstone, probably identical in age with
the red sandstone of Connecticut and New Jersey. The first discov-
eries of copper ore in this place were made at Copper harbor, where the
chrysocolla and carbonate occur. Near Fort Wilkins the black oxyd
was afterwards found in a large deposit, and 40,000 pounds of this ore
were shipped to Boston. On farther exploration in the trap, the Cliff
mine, 25 miles to the westward, was laid open, where the largest masses
of native copper have been found, and which still proves to be highly
productive. Other veins have since been opened in various parts of the
region, at Eagle harbor, Eagle river, Grand Marais, Lac La Belle,
Agate Harbor, Torch Lake, on the Ontonagon, in the Porcupine moun-
tains, and elsewhere. At Mineral Point, Wisconsin, a blue siliceous
carbonate is abundant. Other mines are opened in Missouri. The
country north of Lakes Superior and Huron, also abound in copper ores.
What is the process of reduction on the continent of Europe ? Where
are the principal foreign mines of copper ? Where is copper found in
the United States?
COPPER ORES. 289
In the Lake Superior Region, Michigan, the amount of ores and
metals raised and shipped during the year ending September 30, 1847,
is stated by the Mineral Agent as follows :
Ores and metaL Am't shipped.
Lake Superior Company, 1,114,841 Ibs. 31,441
Eagle Harbor Company, 321,000 61 154
Copper Falls Company, 317,050 15^26*3
Pittsburg and Boston Company, 7,283,340 1,497,481
North West Company, 190,000 7,264
Lac La Belle Company, 200,000 1,328
Suffolk Company, 300,000 383
Algonquin Company, 120,000 11,135
Bohemia Company, 80,000 4,049
All others making reports, 1,327,969 40,206
10,214,200 1,693,805
The amount of copper produced by different mining countries in Eu-
rope, is as follows:
Great Britain, 360,000 cwt.*
Russia, 50,000 "
Austria, 50,000 "
Denmark, 8,500 cwt.
Prussia, 6,400 *
France, 1,000 "
Spain, 300 "
Germany, 25,000
Sweden and Norway, 30,000
Large quantities of ore are now imported from Southern Australia
into England ; and Chili and Cuba have long furnished copper ores to
England, and to some extent, to this country. What will be ultimately
the proceeds of the copper region of Lake Superior, cannot now be fully
determined. But there is every prospect that the country will prove
boundless in its resources,
Uses. The metal copper was known in the earliest periods and was
used mostly alloyed with tin, forming bronze. The mines of Nubia
and Ethiopia are believed to have produced a great part of the copper
of the early Egyptians. Eubaea and Cyprus are also mentioned as af-
fording this metal to the Greeks. It was employed for cutting instru-
ments and weapons, as well as for utensils ; and bronze chisels are at
this day found at the Egyptian stone-quarries, that were once employed
in quarrying. This bronze, (chalkos of the Greeks, and as of the Ro-
mans,) consisted of about 5 parts of copper to 1 of tin, a proportion
which produces an alloy of maximum hardness. Nearly the same ma-
terial was used in early times over Europe ; and weapons and tools
have been found consisting of copper, edged with iron, indicating the
scarcity of the latter metal. Similar weapons have also been found in
Britain ; yet it is certain that iron and steel were well known to the
Romans and later Greeks, and to some extent used for warlike weapons
and cutlery.
Copper at the present day is very various in its applications in the
1 How did the ancients use copper? What is the proportion of alloy
in the ancient bronze ?
* 5-6 of the whole from Cornwall.
25
290 METALS'.
arts. It is largely employed for utensils, for the sheathing of ships, and
for coinage. Alloyed with zinc it const' tutes brass, and with tin if
forms bell-metal as well as bronze.
The best brass contains 2 parts of copper to 1 of zinc ; the propor-
tion of 4 of copper to 1 of zinc, makes a good brass. Pinchbeck
contains 5 of copper to 1 of zinc ; and tombac and Dutch gold, are
other allied compounds Bath metal consists of 9 of zinc to 32 of
brass. A whitish metal" nsed by the button-makers of Birmingham, and
called platina, is made of 5 pounds of zinc to 8 of Brass.
fironze is an alloy of copper with 7 to 10 per cent, of tin. This is
the material used for cannon. With 8 per cent, of tin, it is the bronze
for medals. With 20 of tin, the material for cymbals. With 30 to 33
parts of tin, it forms speculum metal, of which the mirrors for optical
instruments are made. Lord Rosse used for fhe speculum of his great
telescope, 126 parts of copper to 57^ parts of tin.
The brothers Keller, celebrated for their statue castings, used a metal
consisting of 91 -4 per cent, of copper, 5'53 of zinc, 1'7 of tin, and T37
of lead. An equestrian statue of Louis XIV, 21 feet high, and weigh-
ing 53,263 French pounds, was cast by them in 1G99, at a single jet,
Sell-metal is made of copper with a third to a fifth as much tin by
weight, the proportion of tin varying according to the size of the bell
and sound required. The Chinese gong contains 80 parts of copper tor
20 or 25 of tin ; to give it its full sonorousness, it must be heated and
suddenly cooled in cold water.
Sheet copper is made by heating the copper in a furnace and rolling
it between iron rollers. Copper is also worked by forging and casting,
In casting, it will not bear over a red heat without burning.
15. TITANIUM.
Titanium occurs in nature combined with oxygen, forming
titanic acid or oxyd, and also in combinations with different
bases. It has rarely been met with native.
The ores are infusible alone before the blowpipe, or nearly
so. Their specific gravity is between 3*0 and 4*5. With
salt of phosphorus, in the inner flame on charcoal, a globule
is obtained with some difficulty, whi< .h is violet blue when
cold.
Native titanium occurs in cubes, of a copper-red color, in
Cornwall. It is a frequent product of furnaces, having been
often met with in slags.
What is the composition of brass ? of pinchbeck ? of bronze for can-
non and medals ? bronze for statuary ? speculum metal ? How does
titanium occur ? What is said of its ores ?
rRr.s OF TITANIUM. 291
RUT1LE.
Dimelric. In prisma of eight, twelve, or more sides,
with pyramidal terminations, and often bent
as in the figure,; a : a = 1172'. Crystals
often acicular, and penetrating quartz. Some-
times massive. Cleavage lateral, somewhat
distinct.
Color reddish-brown to nearly red; streak very pale-
brown. Luster submetallic-adamantine. Transparent to
opaque. Brittle. H=6 6 '5. Gr=4'15 4'2.
Composition : titanium 6 1 , oxygon 39. Sometimes contains
iron, and has nearly a black color ; this variety is called
rrigrine. Unaltered alone before the blowpipe. Forms a
hyacinth-red bead with borax.
Dif. The peculiar subadamantine luster of Tutile, and
brownish-red color, much lighter red in splinters, are striking
characters. It differs from tourmaline, Idocrase, and augite,
! by being unaltered when heated alone "before the blowpipe ;
and trom tin ore, in Rot affording tin with soda ; from sphene
iii its crystals.
Obs. Occurs imbedded in granate, gneiss, iica slate,
syenite, and in granular limestone. Sometimes associated
i with specular iron, as at the Orisons. Yrieix in France,
! Castile, Brazil, and Arendal in Norway, are some of the
i foreign localities.
In the United States, H occurs in crystals in Maine, aft
I Warren; in New Hampshire, at Lyme and Hanover; in
| Massachusetts, at Barre, Windsor, Shelburne, Leyden, Con-
! *vay ; in Connecticut, at Monroe and Huntington ; in New
York, near Edenville, Warwick, Amity, at Kingsbridge, and
i in Essex county at Gouverneur ; in the District of Columbia,
at Georgetown ; in North Carolina, in Buncombe county;
: an the gold district of Georgia.
Uses. The specimens of limpid -quartz, penetrated by long
acicular crystals, are o&en very elegant when polished. A
; remarkable specimen of this kind was obtained at Han-
! -over, N. H., and less handsome ones are not uncommon.
Polished stones of this kind are called fleches <T amour (love's
' arrows) by the French.
Describe rutHe. Of what does it consist? How is it distinguished
fcom ether minerals? WJi at are its -uses .2
292
METALS.
This ore is employed in painting on porcelain, and qorte
largely for giving the requisite shade of color and enamel
appearance to artificial teeth.
Anatase. Brookite. These species have the same composition as
rutile. Anatase occurs in slender nearly transparent octahedrons, of a
brown color. A : A=97 56'. H=5'5 6. Gr=3'8 3>9. From
Dauphiny, the Tyrol, and Brazil. Said to accompany native titanium
in slags from the iron furnaces of Orange county,, N. Y.
Brookite is met with in thin hair-brown crystals, attached: by one
edge. H=5~5 6. The crystals are secondaries to a rhombic prism.
From Dauphiny, and Snowdon in Wales. Said to occur at the Phenix-
ville tunnel on the Reading railroad, Fa. See Arkansite r p. 209,
SPHENE.
Monoclinate. In very oblique rhombic prisms ; the lat-
eral faces having angles either of 76 1', 1I3 J 27' (r : r)
1 3
136 &' (n : n), or 133 48*. The crystals are usually thin
with sharp edges. Cleavage in one direction sometimes
perfect. Occasionally massive.
Color grayish-brown, gray, brown or black ; sometimes
yellow or green ; streak uncolored. Luster adamantine to
resinous. Transparent to opaque. H = 5 5.5. Gr =
Composition: silica 34-2, titanfc acid 44*7, lime 21 !.
Before the blowpipe, the yellow varieties are unaltered in
color, and others become yellow ; on charcoal, they fuse on
the edges with a slight intumescence to a dark glass.
The dark varieties of this species were formerly called
titanite and menaccanite, and the lighter spJiene. The name
sphene alludes to the wedge-shaped crystals, and is from the
Greek sphen, a wedge.
What is said of the crystals of sphene I What are the color, luster,
and hardness ? the composition 1
ORES OF TITANIUM, 293
Dif. The crystals, in general, by their thin wedge shape,
readiiy distinguish this species when crystallized ; but some
crystals are very complex. From garnet, tourmaline, and
idocrase, this species is distinguished by its infusibility before
the blowpipe.
Obs. Sphene occurs mostly in disseminated crystals in
granite, gneiss, mica slate, syenite, or granular limestone. It
is usually associated with pyroxene ai*d scapolite, and often
with graphite. It has been found in volcanic rocks. The
crystals are commonly J to an inch long ; but are some*
times 1 to 2 inches.
Foreign localities are Arendal in Norway ; at St. Gothard
and Mount Blanc } in Argyleshire and Galloway in Great
Britain.
In the United States, it is met with in good crystals in
New York, at Rogers' Rock on Lake George, with graphite
and pyroxene, at Gouverneur, near Natural Bridge in Lewis
county, (the variety called lederite,) in Orange county in
Monroe, Edenville, Warwick, and Amity, near Peekskill in
Westchester county, and near West Farms. In Massachu-
sets, at Lee, Bolton, and Pelham. In Connecticut, at Trum-
bull. In Maine, at Thomaston. In New Jersey, at Frank-
lin. In Pennsylvania, near Attleboro', Bucks county. In
Delaware, at Dixon's quarry, 7 miles from Wilmington. In
Maryland, 25 miles from Baltimore, on the Gunpowder.
GreenovUe is a sphene containing manganese,
Perovskite. This is a titanate of lime. It occurs in minute modified
cubes, grayish to iron-black in color. Gr=4'0l7. H=5'5. From the
Urals.
Pyrrhite. In minute regular octahedrons, of a yellowish color.
Transparent ; vitreous. H=6. From near Mursinsk, Siberia ; also
from the Western Islands, as first detected by Mr. J. E. Teschemacher
of Boston. Supposed to contain titanic acid.
Keilhauite,oryttro~titanite. Massive; cleavable. Brownish-black,
with a grayish-brown powder. Gr=3'69. H=6 5. Fuses easily.
Contains silica 30'0, titanic acid 29'0, yttria 9*6, lime 18'9, peroxyd of
iron 6'4, alumina 6'1. From Arendal, Norway.
Warwickite. It occurs in prismatic crystals, of a brownish to an iron-
gray color, often tarnished bluish or copper-red. Luster metallic pearly
to imperfectly vitreous or resinous. H=5 6. Gr=3 3'3. Infusible
alone before the blowpipe. From magnesian limestone, with ilmenite
and spinel, at Amity, Orange county, N. Y.
What are distinctive characteristics of the species sphene? In what
rocks does it occur ?
294 MITTAL9,
The analysis of warwfckit'e-, by Prof. Shepard, made ft a fluo-titanat*
of iron, with some yttria. It has since been examined by Mr. T. Sv
Hunt, who found it to contain no fluorine, and to be a silicate and ti-
tanate of iron, magnesia, and alumina, with 7 per cent, of water. Mr,
Hunt named the specks examined by him enceladite. He states the
hardness as between 3 and 4.
Besides the ores here described, titanium is an essential
constituent also of ihnenite, (titanic iron) ; also in the zir-
conia and yttria ores <z$chynite, cerstedite, and polymignite^
and in some other rare species j sometimes in pyrochlore.
The metal titanium has seldom been obtained in the me-
tallic state, and is not used in the arts. The uses of the
oxyd have been mentioned.
16. TIN.
Tin has been reported as occurring native. There are
two ores, the oxyd and a sulphured It also occurs in some
ores of columbium. The specific gravity of the sulphuret is
between 4'3 and 4*4 ; that of the oxyd, between 6-5 and 7*1.
With carbonate of soda on charcoal, a globule of tin is ob-
tained. When the tin is in minute quantities in a mineral,
it is well to add also some borax, and by this means, especi-
ally if any iron present be first removed, or if it be only in
small quantaties, even a | per cent, of tin may be detected.
Native tin is found in gray metallic grams in the gold
washings of the Ural. The crystals of pure tin are either
tesseral (cubic), or dimetric, this metal being dimorphous.
TIN PYRITES. Sulplwret of Tin.
In cubes and massive. Color steel-gray or yellowish.
Streak black. Brittle. H=4. Gr = 4-3 4-4.
Composition : sulphur 25, tin 34, copper 36, iron 2.
Obs. This rare ore has been found only in Cornwall,
where it is often called bell-metal ore, from its frequent
bronze appearance.
How does tin occur in the mineral kingdom 1 How is it detected
by the blowpipe? What is the appearance and composition of tin
pyrites ?
TIX
295
TIN ORE. 'Oxyd of Tin.
Dimetric. In modified square prisms and octahedrons ;
often compound : e : e=121
35' ; a : a (over the summit)
112 01' ; a : a (over a ter-
minal edge) 132 53' ; M :
e=133 38' ; M : e=135.
Cleavage indistinct. Also
massive or in grains.
^^^^ Color brown or black, with
a high adamantine luster when in crystals. Streak pale
gray to brownish. Nearly transparent to opaque. H =6
7. Gr=6-5 7-1.
Composition : when pure, tin 78'62, oxygen 21*38 ; often
contains a little oxyd of iron, and sometimes oxyd of colum-
bium. Before the blowpipe alone, infusible ; with soda,
affords a globule of tin.
Stream tin is the gravel-like ore found in debris in low
grounds. Wood tin occurs in botryoidal and reniform shapes
with a concentric and radiated structure ; and toad's-eye tin
is the same on a small scale.
Dif. Tin ore has some resemblance to a dark garnet,
to black zinc blende, and to some varieties of tourmaline. It
is distinguished by its infiisibility, and its yielding tin before
the blowpipe on charcoal with soda. It differs from blende
also in its superior hardness, and in giving no fumes on char-
coal before the blowpipe.
Obs. Tin ore occurs in veins in the crystalline rocks
granite, gneiss, and mica slate, associated often with wolfram,
copper and iron pyrites, topaz, tourmaline, mica or talc, and
albite. Cornwall is one of its most productive localities.
It is also worked in Saxony, at Altenberg, Geyer, Ehren-
friedersdorf and Zinnwald ; in Austria, at Schlackenwald and
other places ; in Malacca, Pegu, China, and especially the
Island of Banca in the East Indies. It has also been found
in Galicia, Spain ; at Dalecarlia in Sweden ; in Russia ; in
Mexico, Brazil, and Chili ; in the United States, at Chester-
field and Goshen, Mass., in some of the Virginia gold mines,
What is the crystallization of tin ore ? Mention its other physical
characters? What is its composition and blowpipe reactions ? What
is stream tin ? wood tin, and toad's eye 1 How is tin ore distinguished
from garnet, blende, and tourmaline ?
296 METALS.
and in Lyme and Jackson, N. H. At the last mentioned
place, where this ore was discovered by Dr. C. T. Jackson,
there are sufficient indications to warrant exploration.
GENERAL REMARKS ON TIN AND TIN ORES.
The principal tin mines now worked, are those of Cornwall, Banco
and Malacca, Saxony, and Austria.
The Cornwall mine's are supposed to have been worked long before
the Christian era. Herodotus, 450 years before Christ, is believed to
allude to the tin islands of Britain under the cabalistic name cassiterides,
derived from the Greek kassiteros, signifying tin.* The Phoenicians
are allowed to have traded with Cornubia, (as Cornwall was called, it
is supposed from the horn shape of this western extremity of England.)
The Greeks residing at Marseilles were the next to visit Cornwall, or
the isles adjacent, to purchase tin ; and after them came the Romans,
whose merchants were long foiled in their attempts to discover the tin
market of their predecessors.
Camden says: " It is plain that the ancient Britons dealt in tin mines
from the testimony of Diodorus Siculus, who lived in the reign of Augus-
tus and Timaus, the historian in Pliny, who tells us that the Britons
fetched tin out of the Isle of Icta, (the Isle of Wight,) in their little
wicker boats covered with leather. The import of the passage in
Diodorus, is that the Britons who lived in those parts dug tin out of a
rocky sort of ground, and carried it in carts at low water to certain
neighboring islands ; and that from thence the merchants first trans-
ported it to Gaul, and afterwards on horseback in thirty days to the
springs of Eridanus, or the city of Narbona, as to a common mart.
JEthicus too, another ancient writer, intimates the same thing, and adds
that he had himself given directions to the workmen." In the opinion
of the learned author of the Britannica here quoted, and others who have
followed him, the Saxons seem not to have meddled with the mines, or
according to tradition, to have employed the Saracens ; for the inhabi-
tants of Cornwall to this day call a mine, that is given over working
Altai- Sarasin, that is, the leavings of the Saracens.t
The Cornwall veins, or lodes, mostly run east and west, with a dip
hade, in the provincial dialect varying from north to south ; yet they are
very irregular, sometimes crossing each other, and sometimes a prom-
ising vein abruptly narrows or disappears ; or again they spread out into
a kind of bed or floor. The veins are considered worth working when
but three inches wide. The gangue is mostly quartz, with some chlo-
Where are the principal tin mines 1 What is said of the Cornwall
veins?
* This term and the stannum of. the Romans, or plumbum candidum,
are supposed to include the white compounds of lead and other metals ;
and it has even been doubted whether the metal tin was ordinarily
included.
t Manuf. in Metals ; London, 1834, iii, 2.
TIX ORES. 297
rite. Much of the tin is also obtained from loose stones ; (called shodes,)
and courses of such stones or tin debris are called streams, whence the
name stream tin.
The ore taken from the mines is first pounded or stamped in a stamp-
ing mill, and then washed by running water, which carries off to a great
extent the lighter impurities and leaves the heavy ore behind, with still
some of the gangue. It is next roasted in a reverberatory furnace, to
expel any arsenic or sulphur derived from the presence of other ores, and
then again washed. After being thus purified as far as possible, the ore
is usually mixed with pit-coal and a little lime, and strongly heated in
either a reverberatory furnace or what is called a blowing furnace. A
state of fusion is kept up for about eight hours. The metal is then
drawn off into iron vessels. As it contains still some slag or earthy
matters, it is remelted at a lower temperature, which does not fuse the
impurities, and kept agitated for a while by wet charcoal or carbonized
\vcod ; it is then skimmed and run into blocks, weighing from 275
to 325 pounds each. The tin thus made from the ore derived from the
mines, is called block tin, and is less pure than that from the stream ore ;
the latter was formerly called grain tin, though now this is a general
term applied to the purest kinds of tin in commerce.
In an assay of tin ore, after pulverizing, washing, roasting, and weigh-
ing, the ore should be mixed with lampblack or charcoal, and heated
quickly in a covered crucible to a white heat. On removing the crucible
from the fire, a button of tin will be found in it. If the ore is not pure,
carbonate of soda or borax may be added to the lampblack. The result
is good if the tin obtained is malleable and not brittle. The tin may be
farther purified by fusing it in a ladle, and pouring it into another ves-
sel whenever the cooling has hardened the alloys, or just before the tin
itself begins to harden ; it will flow out, leaving the impurities behind.
The best tin ores afford 65 to 70 per cent, of tin in the large way.
The annual production of tin in different countries, is as follows :
Great Britain, . . . 80,000 to 100,000 cwt.
Banca and Malacca, . . 90,000
Saxony, .... 3,500
Austria, .... 380
Sweden, ..... 750
Tin is used in castings, and also for coating other metals, especially
iron and copper. Copper vessels thus coated were in use among the
Romans, thongh not common. Fliny says that the tinned articles could
scarcely be distinguished from silver, and his use of the words incoquere
and incoctilia, seems to imply, as a writer states, that the process was
the same as for the iron vares of the present day, by immersing the
vessels in melted tin. Tne sheets of iron for tinning are cleaned with
acid, heated, and then cold-rolled ; again subjected to dilute acid, and
afterwards scoured with sand in pure water : then two or three hundred
What are the steps in the process of reduction ? Describe the mode
of assaying tin ore. What is the yield of Great Britain in tin ? What
the whole amount from the tin mines of the world 1 How is iron
tinned 1
98 METALS,
sheets in a vertical position are immersed, first in a vat of grease, and
then in a cast iron bath containing about 5 cvvt. of melted tin ; they
remain in the tin for an hour and a half, and are then taken out. As
there is now two or three times too much tin on the plates, they are
made to undergo a process called washing, in a vessel of melted grain
tin, by which the excess of tin is removed ; after which they are cleaned
and rubbed in bins of dry bran until they receive the characteristic sil-
ver polish.
When tin plate slightly heated is sponged over quickly by an acid,
(nitro-rnuriatic,) the crystalline character of the tin is brought out, and
the ware so treated is called moire metallique. The plate before sub-
jecting it to the acid should be well washed with alkali ; and after the
action it shoald be immediately washed in clean water and dried.
Tin is also used extensively as tinfoil, the sheets of which are about
1000th of an inch thick ; also with quicksilver it is used to cover glass
in the manufacture of mirrors. It is alloyed with copper in various pro-
portions, constituting thus 7 to 10 per cent, of bronze ; 20 per cent, of
the ancient bronze for weapons ; 20 per cent, of the metal for cymbals
and the Chinese gong ; 20 to 30 per cent, of bell metal ; and 30 to 40
per cent, of speculum metal, (see page 290,)
The oxyd of tin, as obtained by chemical processes, is employed on
account of its hardness for forming a paste for sharpening fine cutting
instruments. The chlorid of tin is an important agent in the precipi-
tation of many colors as lakes, and in fixing and changing colors in
dyeing and calico printing. The bisulphuret of tin has a golden luster,
and was termed aurum musivum, or mosaic gold? by the alchemists.
It is much used for ornamental painting, for paper hangings and other
purposes, under the name of bronze powder.
Pins are tinned by boiling them for a few minutes in a solution of 1
part of crearn tartar, 2 of alum, 2 of common salt, in 10 or 12 of waler,
to which some tin filings or finely granulated tin are added.
Tin medals or castings, are bronzed by being washed over with a
solution of 1 part of protosulphate of iron, I of sulphate of copper, in 20
of water; this gives a gray tint ; they are then brushed over with a
solution of 4 parts of verdigris in 11 of distilled vinegar, and then
polished with a soft brush and colcothar.
17. MOLYBDENUM.
Molybdenum occurs in nature as a sulphuret, and sparingly
as an oxyd. Also as molybdic acid, in molybdate of lead.
1. MOLYBDENITE. Sulphuret of Molybdenum.
In hexagonal crystals, plates, or masses, thin foliated like
graphite, and resembling that mineral. Color pure lead-
gray ; streak the same, slightly greenish. Thin laminae
very flexible ; not elastic. H=l 1-5. Gr=4*5 4'75.
In what other way is tin used ? What alloys are made with it ?
What are the characters of molybdenite I
JlOLYBDETfUM TUXGSTEN. 299
Composition : molybdenum 59'8, sulphur 40*2. Infusible
before the blowpipe, but when heated on charcoal, sulphur
fumes are given off, which are deposited on the coal. Dis-
solves in nitric acid, excepting a gray residue.
Dif. Resembles graphite, but differs in its paler color
and streak, and also in giving fumes of sulphur when heated,
as well as by its solubility hi nitric acid.
Obs. Occurs in granite, gneiss, mica slate, and allied
rocks ; also in granular limestone. It is found at Numedahl
in Sweden, Arcndal in Norway, in Saxony, Bohemia, at
Caldbeck Fell in Cumberland, and in the Cornish mines.
In the United States, it occurs in Maine at Blue Hill
Bay, Camdage farm, Brunswick, and Bowdoinham ; in New
Hampshire at Westmoreland, Landaff, and Franconia ; in
Massachusetts at Shutesbury and Brimfield ; in Connecticut
at Haddam and Saybrook ; in New York, near Warwick ; in
New Jersey, near the Franklin furnace.
Molydic ocher. An earthy yellow or whitish oxyd of molybdenum,
(or rather molybdic acid,) occurring only as an incrustation. Occurs
at Westmoreland, N. H.
For molybdate of lead, see page 268.
18. TUNGSTEN.
Tungsten is found in combination with iron, lead, and lime,
constituting wolfram, (p. 225,) tungstate of lead, (p. 268,)
and tungstate of lime. It also occurs sparingly in some ores
of columbium, as in certain varieties of the minerals pyro-
chlore, columbite, and yttro-columbite. It is met with in
very small quantities as an ocher, or as tungstic acid, form-
ing a yellow powder on other tungsten ores.
Lane's mine, Monroe, Conn., the adjoining town of Hunt-
ington, and Camdage farm, Blue Hill Bay, Me., are the only
American localities of tungsten ores yet discovered. Lane's
mine affords wolfram and the calcareous tungsten, and also
the tungstic ocher. These ores are frequent associates of
tin ore.
No use in the arts has been made of this metal or its com-
What is its composition ? How does it differ from graphite ? What
are the principal ores of tungsten ] Has any use been made of them in
the arts ?
300 METALS.
pounds. Tungstic acid is a fine yellow, even brighter than
chrome yellow ; but it turns green on exposure to the sun's
rays.
The metal tungsten was so called from the Swedish word
tung, meaning heavy, the calcareous tungsten being pecu-
liarly heavy for an earthy looking mineral. It has also been
called scheelium, in honor of the chemist Scheele.
Tungstate of lime. In square octahedrons ; A : A=100
8' and 130 J 20'. Cleavage octahedral, perfect. Color yel-
lowish-white, or brownish. Brittle. H 4 4-5. Gr=
6-075. Composition, tungstic acid 7-8, lime 19-06. Infu-
sible alone, or only on the thinnest edges. Found with wol-
fram at Lane's mine, Munroe, Conn.
19. VANADIUM.
Vanadium is a rare metal. It is found in nature as vanadic
acid in the vanadate of lead (p. 268), and vanadate of cop-
per (p. 285), and also combined with lime. The last men-
tioned has a brick-red color, a foliated structure, and a bright
shining luster.
20. TELLURIUM.
Tellurium occurs native, and also in combination with
gold, silver, lead, and bismuth.
The metal is distinguished from arsenic and selenium
by giving no odor before the blowpipe ; from antimony
and bismuth by affording fumes in a glass tube below
the temperature of fusing the glass ; and when heated on
charcoal, the oxyd covers the coal with a brownish-yellow
oxyd, like bismuth ; but the inner flame directed on this oxyd
is tinged bright green, while bismuth gives no color. This
last test distinguishes also the ores of tellurium.
Native tellurium occurs in six-sided prisms, of a tin-white color, and
also massive. Brittle. H = 2 25. Gr = 576-1. Composition,
tellurium 92 - 5. iron 7'2, gold 03. From Transylvania.
Herrerite is a green mineral from Mexico, containing carbonic acid
31-9, tellurium 55'6, pejoxyd of nickel 12'3. It is supposed to be a
mechanical mixture.
In what minerals is vanadium found ? How does tellurium occur in
nature? How is this metal distinguished from arsenic and selenium ?
OHES OF ANTIMONX 301
21. ANTIMONY.
The metal antimony is occasionally found native. It is
usually combined with sulphur, or sulphur and lead. It is
also found in combination with arsenic, oxygen, and lime ;
also with nickel, silver, and copper.
It rises easily in white fumes before the blowpipe with-
out odor, and in one or both of these particulars, it is dis-
tinguished from other vaporizable metals. The ores fuse
very easily, and all evaporate, some giving off fumes of sul-
phur. Specific gravity below 7.
NATIVE ANTIMONY.
Rhombohedral. .Usually massive, with a distinct lamellar
structure. Color and streak tin-white. Brittle. H = 3
3-5. Gr=6-6 6-75.
Composition : pure antimony, often with a little silver or
iron. Fuses easily and passes off in white fumes.
Obs. Occurs in veins of silver and other ores in Dau-
phiny, Bohemia, Sweden, the Hartz, and Mexico.
GRAY ANTIMONY. Sulphuret of Antimony.
Trimetric. In right rhombic prisms, with striated lateral
faces. M : M = 90 45'. Cleavage in the direction of the
shorter diagonal, highly perfect. M : e = 145 29'
e : e = 109 16'. Commonly divergent, columnar or
fibrous. Sometimes massive granular.
Color and streak lead-gray; liable to tarnish.
Luster shining. Brittle ; but thin laminae, a little
flexible. H=2. Gr=4'5 4-62.
Composition : antimony 73, sulphur 27. Fuses
readily in the flame of a candle. On charcoal it is absorbed,
giving off white fumes and a sulphur odor.
Dif. Distinguished by its extreme fusibility and its vapo-
rizing before the blowpipe.
Obs. Gray antimony occurs in veins with ores of silver,
lead, zinc, or iron, and is often associated with heavy spar
How does antimony occur in nature ? What are its blowpipe char-
acters ? What are the characters of native antimony ? What is the
crystallization and appearance of gray antimony ? What is its compo-
sition ? How is it distinguished ? How does this ore occur ?
26
302 METALS.
or quartz. Its most celebrated localities' are at Schemnitz,
Kremnitz, and Felsobanya, in Hungary. It also occurs in
the Hartz, Auvergne, Cornwall, Spain.
In the United States, it has been found sparingly at Car-
mel, Me., Lyme, N. H., and at " Soldier's Delight," Md.
Uses. This ore affords nearly all the antimony of com-
merce.
SULPHURETS OF ANTIMONY AND LEAD.
There are several sulphurets of antimony and lead, all of which fuae
very easily, giving off white fumes, with a sulphur odor, and covering
the charcoal with yellowish oxyd of lead. The color and streak are
between lead-gray and dark steel-gray.
Jamesonite. Occurs in right rhombic crystals, and also fibrous or
columnar. M : M=101 20'. Streak and color steel-gray. H=2
2'5. Gr=5 5 5 - 8. Contains antimony 35 per cent., lead 41, and
sulphur 23. From Cornwall, Siberia, and Hungary.
Feather ore. In fine capillary crystallizations, like a cobweb, or plu-
mose. Color dark lead-gray. Contains antimony 31, lead 47, sulphur
20. From the Eastern Hartz.
Boulangerite. In plumose masses. Color bluish lead-gray. H=
2'5. Gr=5'97. Contains antimony 25 4 4, lead 55- 6, sulphur 19. From
Molicres in France ; also from Lapland and Russia.
Plagionite. In oblique rhombic crystals. M : M=120 49'. Color
blackish lead-gray. Brittle. H=2 5. Gr=5 4. Contains antimony
38, lead 41, sulphur 21. From Wolfsberg in the Hartz.
Zinkenite. In hexagonal prisms ; also fibrous and massive. Color
steel-gray. H=3 35. Gr=5'3. Contains antimony 45, lead 32,
sulphur 23. From Wolfsberg in the Hartz.
Geocronite, Kilbrickenite. Massive, with an imperfect cleavage, and
also granular. Color light gray. H=2 2'5. Gr=5'9 6'4. Con-
tains antimony 14'5, (which is sometimes partly replaced by arsenic,)
lead 69, sulphur 16'5. From Gallicia, Kilbricken in Ireland, and Sala
in Sweden.
Kobellite. Radiated like gray antimony. Gr=6'3. Contains 33
percent, of sulphuret of bismuth, along with 46 of sulphuret of lead, and
13 of sulphuret of antimony. From Hvena in Sweden.
Steinmannite. In cubes with cubic cleavage, and massive. H=2'5.
Gr=6'83. Color lead-gray. Affords before the blowpipe fumes of
sulphur and antimony, and a globule of lead containing silver.
Besides these, there are also
Berthierite, (called also haidingerite ,} which resembles gray antimony,
but contains 27 per cent, of sulphuret of iron with sulphuret of antimony.
Another species contains 15 per cent, of sulphuret of iron. From
Chazelles in Auvergne.
Arsenical antimony. Granular, massive ; color tin-white or reddish-
gray. H = 2 4. Gr=6'2. Composition, antimony 37'9, arsenic
62' 1. From Allemont and Bohemia.
Are there other ores of antimony ] What is their general constitution I
ORES OF ANTIMONY
WHITE ANTIMONY.
In white, grayish, or reddish rectangular crystals, with
perfect cleavage, affording a rhombic prism of 136 38 .
Also in tabular masses, and columnar and granular. H =
2'5 3. Gr=5'57. Luster adamantine to pearly. From
Bohemia, Saxony, Hungary, Dauphiny. It is an oxyd of
antimony containing 84*3 per cent, of antimony.
The antimonic and antimonous acids have been observed in a
white pulverulent form. Stiblite is the name of a compound of oxyd
of antimony and an antimony acid, (an antimonate of antimony.)
Red antimony is a compound of oxyd and sulphuret of antimony.
Occurs usually in tufts of capillary crystals, or in flakes. Color cherry-
red ; streak brownish-red. Luster adamantine. H=l 1-5. Gr=4'4
4'6. From Hungary, Dauphiny, Saxony, and the Hartz.
Romeine is an antimonate of lime. It occurs in Piedmont in groups
of minute square octahedral crystals, of a hyacinth or honey-yellow
color. Scratches glass.
Antimojiate of lead. A rare mineral consisting of antimonic acid
31*7, oxyd of lead 61'8, water 6'5. Amorphous, compact. Color yel-
low ; also grayish, green, or black. Luster resinous. Gr=4.6 4*76.
From Nertschinsk, Russia.
Antimonophyllite occurs in grayish-white, thin, six-sided prisms.
Contains oxyd of antimony.
GENERAL REMARKS ON ANTIMONY AND ITS ORES.
The antimony of commerce is obtained from the sulphuret of anti-
mony. This ore is worked at Schemnitz and Kremnitz in Lower Hun-
gary, where it is associated with ores of silver, copper, lead, zinc, and
manganese, and some gold. This region affords 6000 qointals of an-
timony annually. It has also been brought in considerable quantities
from Borneo to Boston and then reduced. Several mines have been
opened and abandoned in Auvergne and Dauphiny, but they are not now
worked. There are also mines in France and Great Britain.
To obtain the crude antimony of the shops, the ore is placed in
crucibles having a hole at bottom, and these are inserted in other ves-
sels : heat is applied above, and the ore melts from its gangue and flows
into the vessel below, where it becomes solid. It is not altered in com-
position. It is reduced by carefully roasting the crude antimony in a
reverberatory furnace, and thus obtaining a gray oxyd. This oxyd is
then mixed with a tenth of its weight of crude tartar, placed in large
melting pots, and heated in a wind furnace. The metal antimony
(called regains of antimony) is thus obtained pure, excepting generally
some little iron. By melting it again with one-Fourth its weight of the
oxyd of antimony, the impurities separate and form a slag above, leav-
ing the metal beneath. It is a silver- white, brittle metal, coarsely crys-
talline in texture. It fuses at about 800 F.
What ore affords the antimony of commerce ? Where is it mostly
obtained ? How is crude antimony obtained, and how reduced ?
304
The sulphuret may be reduced also by heating it with iron filings ;
the iron takes the sulphur and liberates the antimony.
Antimony forms an important part of type metal. The proportions
vary in different establishments ; they have been stated at 1 of antimony
to 4 to 12 of lead. A liltle tin is sometimes used, and also bismuth for
the best type. The alloy is specially fitted for this purpose because
it expands a little on cooling, filling well the mould and making a
sharp, clear letter. The Britannia metal, which has superseded the
use of pewter, consists of 100 parts of the best block tin, with & parts of
the metal antimony, and either 2-J^ parts of each copper and brass, or 2
parts of copper and bismuth. A soft solder is used in the manufacture
of Britannia ware, consisting of fine tin alloyed with about 30 per cent, of
lead. Antimony with tin, forms the metal on which music is engraved.
The glass of antimony, which is much used for making pharmaceu-
tical preparations, is a mixture of the sulphuret and oxyd of antimony,
usually 85 of the latter to 15 of the former ; it is formed by partially re-
ducing the sulphuret to an oxyd by roasting, and then raising the heat
till the whole melts.
Antimony in the condition of tartrate of antimony and potassa, is the
tartar emetic of the apothecary.
22. ARSENIC.
The metal arsenic occurs native, and united with oxygen
or sulphur. It also occurs in combinations with various
metals, as iron, cobalt, nickel, silver, copper, manganese, and
antimony ; also as an acid in combination with the oxyds of
iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, lead, and with lime. Its ores are
distinguished readily by giving off an odor like garlic when
heated on charcoal before the blowpipe. Its compounds with
the metals and bases have already been described.
NATIVE ARSENIC.
Rhombohedral. R : R = 114 26'. Cleavage basal, im-
perfect. Also massive, columnar, or granular.
Color and streak tin-white, but usually dark grayish from
tarnish. Brittle. H = 3'5. Gr=5-65 5-95.
Volatilizes very readily before fusing, with the odor of
garlic ; also burns with a pale bluish flame when heated just
below redness.
Obs. Occurs with silver and lead ores. It is found in
considerable quantities at ihe silver mines of Freiberg and
How is crude antimony reduced 1 For what is antimony used 1
What is Britannia metal ? How does arsenic occur in the mineral
kingdom 1 How is it distinguished ? Describe native arsenic. With
what is it found ?
ORES OF ABSENIC. 305
Schneeberg ; also in Bohemia, the Hartz, at Kapnik in Up-
per Hungary, in Siberia in large masses, and elsewhere.
In the United States, it has been observed at Haverhill,
N. H., in juica slate, and also at Jackson in the same state.
The name arsenic is derived from the Greek arsenikon,
or arrenikon, masculine, a term applied to orpiment, a sul-
phuret of arsenic, on account of its potent properties.
WHITE ARSENIC. Arsenous Acid.
In minute capillary crystals, and botryoidal or stalactitic.
Color white. Soluble; taste astringent, sweetish. H =
1*5 Gr==3'7. Composition, arsenic 75-8, oxygen 24*2.
This is the same compound with the common arsenic of
the shops. It is found but sparingly native, accompanying
ores of silver, lead and arsenic in the Hartz, Bohemia, and
elsewhere.
Uses. It is a well known poison.
Pharmacolite, is an arsenate of lime, occurring in white or grayish
crystals. H=2 2 5 ; Gr=2 6 2'8.
Haidingerite. Haidingerite is another arsenate of lime.
SULPHURETS OF ARSENIC.
There are two sulphurets of arsenic.
Orpiment or the yellow sulphuret of arsenic. In foliated
masses, and sometimes in prismatic crystals,
with a perfect diagonal cleavage. Color and
streak fine yellow. Luster brilliant pearly,
or metallic pearly on the face of cleav-
age. Subtransparent to translucent : sectile.
H=l-5 2. Gr=3-4 3-5. Composition,
sulphur 39' 1, arsenic 6O9. Wholly evapo-
rates before the blowpipe with an alliaceous
odor, and on charcoal burns with a blue
flame. From Hungary, Koordistan in Turkey in Asia,
China, and South America. Occurs at Edenville, N. Y., as
a yellow powder, resulting from the decomposition of arseni-
cal iron.
Realgar, or Red sulphuret of arsenic. In oblique prisms,
and also massive : cleavage much less perfect than in orpi-
ment. Color fine clear red, aurora red to orange. Luster
resinous. Transparent to translucent. H=1'5 2. Gr =
What is white arsenic ? What are the characters of orpiment 1
vhat of realgar ?
26*
306 METALS.
3 -35 3*65. Composition, sulphur 30, arsenic 70. Like
the preceding before the blowpipe. From Hungary, Bohe-
mia, Saxony, the Hartz, Switzerland, and Koordistan in
Asiatic Turkey. It has been observed in the lavas of
Vesuvius.
GENERAL REMARKS ON ARSENIC AND ITS ORES.
Arsenic is most used in the state of arsenous acid, called also white
arsenic. This substance is prepared principally at Joachimstahl in Bo-
hemia, and in Hungary, and is obtained from arsenical cobalt and iron.
These ores are roasted in reverberatory .furnaces, (the cobalt ores for the
cobalt they contain,) and the vapors (which are white arsenic) are con-
densed in a long horizontal chimney ; after undergoing a second subli-
mation, usually with a little potash, it is ready for commerce. The
manufacture is very destructive to life, and those engaged in it seldom
live over 30 or 35 years.
White arsenic, besides its use as a poison, is employed as a flux for
glass, and also to give a peculiar milky or porcelain-like hue to glass
ware. When too much is added, the glass becomes unsafe for domestic
use.
The sulphurets afford valuable pigments. Orpiment is the basis of
the pigment called king's yellow. The ammoniacal solution of orpi-
ment is recommended tor dyeing. It affords a yellow which is perma-
nent, but is injured by soap. Realgar is used in the preparation of the
pyrotechnical compound called white Indian fire, which consists of 24
parts of saltpeter, 7 of sulphur, and 2 of realgar, finely powdered and well
mixed. It burns with a white flame and great brilliancy.
The sulphurets are obtained for commerce by distilling arsenical
pyrites and iron pyrites, (sulphuret of iron,) or from white arsenic and
rough brimstone ; the product is realgar or orpiment according to the
proportions employed.
A combination of the arsenous acid with oxyd of copper, obtained by
mixing arsenite of potash and sulphate of copper, produces a fine green
pigment called Scheele's green.
Arsenic is mixed in a small quantity (less than 1 per cent.) with lead,
in the manufacture of shot, as it renders the metal more ready to break
up into minute drops when caused to fall through a sieve from a height,
as in the shot tower, and the grains assume a more spherical form
on the descent, besides being less malleable than if of pure lead. In
shot towers, the melted lead falls usually about 150 feet into a vessel
of water at the bottom of the tower. They are afterwards sifted in
sieves of different degrees of fineness, from No. 1, the finest, to No. 12,
and thus the several sizes of shot are separated and assorted. There
are still some imperfect shot among them ; and to separate them the
shot are made by a shake to roll from trays a little inclined into a bin ;
those that are imperfect roll sluggishly and are behind in the movement,
and are thus separated to be melted over again.
How do orpiment and realgar differ in composition ? From what ores
is arsenic obtained ? How is white arsenic prepared 1 For what is
arsenic used ] How are shot made 1
PLATINUM. 307
2. NOBLE METALS.
1. PLATINUM. IRIDIUM. PALLADIUM.
NATIVE PLATINUM.
In flattened or angular grains or irregular masses. Crys-
talline form cubic, and also rhombohedral, the metal being
dimorphous. Cleavage none.
Color and streak pale or dark steel-gray. Luster metallic,
shining. Ductile and malleable. H=4 4*5. Gr = 16
19.
Composition. Platinum is usually combined with more or
less of the rare metals Iridium, Rhodium, Palladium, and
Osmium, besides copper and iron, which give it a darker
color than belongs to the pure metal, and increase its hard-
ness. A Russian specimen afforded, platinum 78'9, iridium
5'0, osmium and iridium 1-9, rhodium 0'9, palladium 0'3,
copper 0*7, iron 11'0 = 98'75.
Platinum is soluble in heated aqua regia. It is one of
the most infusible substances known, being wholly unaltered
before the blowpipe. It is very slightly magnetic, and this
quality is increased by the iron it may contain.
Dif. Platinum is at once distinguished by its malleabil-
ity and extreme infusibility.
Obs. Platinum was first detected in grains in the alluvial
deposits of Choco and BarbaQoa in South America, where it
received the name platina, a diminutive of the word plata,
meaning silver. It was discovered by Ulloa, a Spanish
traveler in America, in the year 1735, and was made known
in Europe in 1748. It has since been found in the Urals,
on Borneo, in the sands of the Rhine, and in those of the river
Jocky, St. Domingo ; and recently traces have been observed
in the United States, in North Carolina.
The Ural localities of Nischne Tagilsk, and Goroblagodat,
have afforded much the larger part of the platinum of com-
merce. It occurs, as elsewhere, in alluvial beds ; but the
courses of platiniferous alluvium have been traced to a great
extent up Mount La Martiane, which consists of crystalline
What is the condition and appearance of native platinum? What
is said of its crystallization ? What is its specific gravity ? With what
is it usually combined ? Where and when was it first found ? Where
else does it occur ?
308 METALS.
rocks, and is the origin of the detritus. One to three pounds
are procured from 3700 pounds of sand.
Though commonly in small grains, masses of considerable
size have occasionally been found. A ma&s weighing 1088
grains was brought by Humboldt from South America and
deposited in the Berlin Museum. Its specific gravity was
18*94. In the year 1822, a mass from Condoto was de-
posited in the Madrid museum, measuring 2 inches and 4
lines in diameter, and weighing 11,641 grains. A more
remarkable specimen was found in the year 1827 in the
Urals, not far from the Demidoff mines, which weighed ll
(more accurately, 11*57) pounds troy; and similar masses
are now not uncommon. The largest yet discovered weighed
21 pounds troy; it is in the Demidoff cabinet.
Russia affords annually about 80 cwt. of platinum, which
is nearly ten times the amount from Brazil, Columbia, St.
Domingo, and Borneo. Borneo affords six or eight hundred
pounds per year.
The North Carolina platinum was found with gold in
Rutherford county. It was a single reniform granule, weigh-
ing 2*54 grains. Other instances are reported from the
southern gold region.
Uses. The infusibility of platinum and its resistance to
the action of the air, and moisture and most chemical agents,
renders it of great value for the construction of chemical and
philosophical apparatus. The large vessels employed in the
concentration of sulphuric acid are now made of platinum, as
it is unaffected by this corrosive acid. It is also used for
crucibles and capsules in chemical analysis ; for galvanic bat-
teries ; as foil or worked into cups or forceps for supporting
objects before the blowpipe. It alloys readily when heated
with iron, lead, and several of the metals, and is also at-
tacked by caustic potash, and phosphoric acid, in contact with
carbon ; and consequently there should be caution when heat-
ing it not to expose it to these agents.
It is employed for coating copper and brass ; also for
painting porcelain and giving it a steel luster, formerly highly
prized. It admits of being drawn into wire of extreme ten-
uity: Dr. Wollaston obtained a wire not exceeding a two-
thousandth of an inch in diameter.
Platinum is coined in Russia, but is not a legal tender.
What are the uses of platinum 1
PLATINUM. 309
The coins have the value of 11 and 22 rabies each. The
amount coined from 1826 to 1844 equals 2 millions of
dollars.
For many years after its discovery, platinum was almost a
useless metal on account of the difficulty of obtaining it in
masses. The grains weld when heated, but because of their
small size, this was interminable labor, and moreover the
metal wa^ not pure. Dr. Wollaston introduced the process
now in use, which consists in dissolving the metal in nitro-
muriatic acid, and throwing down from the solution an orange
precipitate by means of muriate of ammonia. This precipi-
tate (a double chlorid of platinum and ammonium) is then
heated and thus reduced to the metallic state ; the platinum is
now in an extremely minute state of division. This black
powder (" spongy platinum") is next compressed in steel
moulds by the aid of heat and strong pressure ; and when
sufficiently compact, is forged under the hammer and then re-
duced at last to solid masses.
This metal fuses readily before the " compound blowpipe ;"
and Dr. Hare succeeded in 1837 in melting twenty-eight
ounces into one mass.* The metal was almost as malle-
able and as good for working as that obtained by the other
process ; it had a specific gravity of 19*8. He afterwards
succeeded in obtaining from the ore masses which were 90
per cent, platinum, and as malleable as the metal in ordinary
use, though somewhat more liable to tarnish, owing to some
of its impurities.
Platin-iridium. Grains of indium have been obtained at Nischne
Tagilsk, consisting of 76'8 indium, and 19'64 platinum, with some
palladium and copper. A similar platin-iridium has been obtained at
Ava in the East Indies. Another from Brazil contained 27'8 iridium,
55'5 platinum, and 6'9 of rhodium.
Iridosmine. A compound of iridium and osmium from the platinum
mines of Russia, South America and the East Indies. The crystals
are pale steel-gray hexagonal prisms : occurs usually in flat grains.
H=6-7. Gr=195 2M. Malleable with difficulty.
The composition varies. One variety contains iridium 46'8, osmium
49 3, rhodium 3'2, iron 0'7. Another, iridium 25' 1, osmium 74'9 ;
another, iridium 20, osmium 80. They are distinguished by their su-
perior hardness from the grains of platinum, and also by the peculiar
odor of osmium when heated with niter.
What is the value of Russian platinum coins 1 How is platinum
worked into masses?
* Amer. Jour. Sci., xxxiii, 195 ; xxxvlii, 155, 163, and ii ser. iv, 39.
310 METALS.
The metal iridium is extremely hard, and is used as well as rhodium
for nibs to gold pens. Its specific gravity is 2T8. Rhodium (1 to 2 per
cent.) gives great hardness to steel, and would be a useful metal were
it more abundant.
NATIVE PALLADIUM.
Form supposed to be the regular octahedron. Occurs
mostly in grains, apparently composed of divergent fibers.
Color steel-gray, inclining to silver-white. Ductile and
malleable. H. above 4*5. Gr=ll'8 12-2.
Consists of palladium, with some platinum and iridium.
Fuses with sulphur, but not alone.
Obs. Occurs in Brazil with gold, and is distinguished
from platinum with which it is associated by the divergent
structure of its grains. Selenpalladite is nothing but the
native palladium ; and eugenesite is a similar compound.
Uses. This metal is malleable, and when polished has a
splendid steel-like luster which does not tarnish. A cup
weighing 3 pounds was made by M. Breant in the mint at
Paris, and is now in the garde-mcuble of the French crown.
In hardness it is equal to fine steel. 1 part fused with 6 of
gold forms a white alloy ; and this compound was employed,
at the suggestion of Dr. Wollaston, for the graduated part of
the mural circle, constructed by Troughton for the Royal
Observatory at Greenwich. Palladium has been employed
also for certain surgical intruments.
Quite large masses of the metal palladium are brought
from Brazil. Ijt is extracted from the auriferous sands by
first fusing it with silver, and consequently forming a quater-
nary alloy of gold, palladium, silver and copper, which is
granulated by projecting it into water. By means of nitric
acid all but the gold is dissolved ; and from the solution, the
silver is first precipitated by common salt as an insoluble
chlorid, and then, after separating the chloric!, the palladium
and copper are precipitated by plates of zinc. This pre-
cipitate is rcdissolved in nitric acid, an excess of ammonia
added, and then hydrochloric acid sufficient to saturate ; a
double chlorid of palladium and ammonia is deposited as
a crystalline yellow powder, which on calcination produces
spongy palladium.
Describe native palladium 1 Where and how does it occur ? How is
it t'sed 1
METALS. 311
2. GOLD.
Gold occurs mostly native, being either pure or alloyed
With silver and other metals. It is occasially found miner-
alized by tellurium.
NATIVE GOLD.
Monometric. In cubes, without cleavage. Also in grains,
thin laminse and masses ; sometimes filiform or reticulated.
Color various shades of gold-yellow ; occasionally nearly
silver- white, from the silver present. Very ductile and mal-
leable. H = 2-5 3. Gr=12 20, varying according to
the metals alloyed with the gold.
Composition. Native gold usually contains silver, and in
very various proportions. The finest native gold from Rus-
sia yielded gold 98-96, silver 0'16, copper 0'35, iron 0'05 ;
Gr= 19-099. A gold from Marmato afforded only 73-45
per cent, of gold, with 26*48 percent, of silver ; Gr=12-666.
This last is in the proportion of 3 of gold to 1 of silver. The
following proportions also have been observed : 3 to 1 ; 5
to 1 ; 6 to 1 ; 8 to 1, and this is the most common ; 12 to 1,
also of frequent occurrence.
Copper is often found in alloy with gold, and also palla-
dium and rhodium. A rhodium-gold from Mexico gave the
specific gravity 15*5 16'8, and contained 34 to 43 per cent,
of rhodium.
Dif. Iron and copper pyrites are often mistaken for gold
by those inexperienced in ores. Gold is at once distinguished
by being easily cut in slices and flattening under a hammer.
The pyrites when pounded are reduced to powder ; iron
pyrites is too hard to yield at all to a knife, and copper pyr-
,ites affords a dull greenish powder. Moreover, the pyrites
give off sulphur when strongly heated, while gold melts with-
out any such odor.
Obs. Native gold is to a large extent obtained from allu-
vial washings. It is also found disseminated through certain
rocks, especially quartz and talcose rocks, and it is often
In what condition does gold occur in nature ? What is the crystal-
lization of native gold? What are its common forms in the rocks?
Mention its characters. With what is it alloyed ? How is gold dis-
tinguished from iron and copper pyrites? How is gold obtained, and
from what rocks ?
312 METALS.
contained in pyrites, constituting the auriferous pyrites ; the
detritus affording gold dust has proceeded from some gold-
bearing rocks.
Gold is widely distributed over the globe. It occurs in
Brazil (where formerly a greater part of that used was ob-
tained) along the chain of mountains which runs nearly par-
allel with the coast, especially near Villa Rica, and in the
province of Minas Geraes ; in New Grenada at Antioquia,
Choco, and Giron ; in Chili ; sparingly in Peru and Mexico ;
in the southern of the United States. In Europe, it is most
abundant in Hungary at Konigsberg, Schemnitz and Felso-
banya, and in Transylvania at Kapnik, Vorospatak, and Of-
fenbanya ; it occurs also in the sands of the Rhine, the
Reuss and the Aar ; on the southern slope of the Pennine
Alps from the Simplon and Monte Rosa to the valley of
Aosta ; in Piedmont ; in Spain, formerly worked in Asturias ;
in the county of Wicklow, Ireland ; in Sweden at Edelfors.
In the Urals are valuable mines at Berezof, and other
places on the eastern or Asiatic flank of this range, and the
comparatively level portions of Siberia ; also in the Altai
mountains. Also in the Cailas mountains in Little Thibet.
There are mines in Africa at Kordofan, between Darfour
and Abyssinia ; also south of Sahara in the western part of
Africa, from the Senegal to Cape Palmas ; also along the
coast opposite Madagascar, between the 22 and 35 degrees
south latitude, supposed to have been the Ophir of the time
of Solomon. Other regions are China, Japan, Formosa,
Ceylon, Java, Sumatra, western coast of Borneo, and the
Philippines.
Nearly all the gold of commerce comes from Asiatic Rus-
sia, Brazil, Bohemia and Transylvania, Africa, the East
India Islands, and the United States : the whole amount an-
nually obtained has been estimated at 36 tons.
The Russian mines are at present the most productive in
the world. They are principally alluvial washings, and these
washings seldom yield more than 65 grains of gold for 4000
pounds of soil; never more than 120 grains. The alluvium
is generally most productive where the loose material is most
ferruginous. The mines of Ekaterinburg are in the parent
rock a quartz constituting veins in a half decomposed
What is said of the distribution of gold over the globe ? What coun-
tries afford the greatest part of the gold of commerce ? What country
yields the most gold at the present time?
GOLD. 313
granite called " beresite," which is connected with talcoso
and chloride schists. The shafts are sunk vertically in the
beresite, seldom below 25 feet, and from them lateral gal-
lories are run to the veins. These mines afforded between
the years 1725 and 1841, 679 poods of gold, or about 30,000
pounds troy. The whole of the Russian mines yielded in
1842, 970 poods of golds, or 42,000 pounds troy, half of
which was from Siberia, east of the Urals. In 1843, the yield
was nearly 60,000 pounds troy, or about $13,000,000; in
1845, it amounted to 813,250,000; and in 1846, to 1722-746
poods, equal to 75,353 troy pounds, and $16,500,000.*
At the Transylvania mines of Vorospatak, the gold is ob-
tained by mining, and these mines have been worked since
the time of the Romans.
The annual yield of Europe, exclusive of Russia, is not
above $1,000,000. Austria afforded in 1844, 6785 marks.
The sands of the Rhone, Rhine, and Danube contain gold in
small q'lantites. The Rhine has beerr most productive be-
tween Bale and Manheim ; but at present only $9000 are
extracted annually. The sands of the richest quality con-
tain only about 56 parts of gold in a hundred millions ; sands
containing less than half this proportion are worked. The
whole amount of gold in the auriferous sand of the Rhine
is estimated at $30,000,000, but it is mostly covered by soil
under cultivation.
Africa yields annually at least 4500 pounds troy, ($850,000,)
and Southern Africa 1250 pounds, ($235,000.)
The mines of South America and Mexico were estimated
by Humboldt to yield annually about $11,500,000 ; but the
amount has much diminished. Brazil of late has furnished
about 17,500 pounds troy. It is estimated that between
1790 and 1830, Mexico produced $31,250,000 in gold, Chili
$13,450,000, and Buenos Ayres $19,500,000, making an
average annual yield of $16,050,000.
The mines of the United States have produced of late about
a million of dollars a year. They are mostly confined to the
What amount was furnished by Russia in 1846 ? What is the an-
nual yield of the mines of the United States I
* The value of gold, silver, and platinum coined in Russia from 1644
to 1844, at present rates, equals 545..360,317 silver rubles, or 409,020,000
|- dollars ; in addition to which, during the same period, the value of
37,500,000 dollars in copper was coined.
314 METALS.
states of Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia,
or along a line from the Rappahannock to the Coosa in
Alabama. But the region may be said to extend north to
Canada ; for gold has been found at Canaan, N. H., DecU
ham, Mass., Albion, Maine, and on the Chaudiere river in
Canada.
In Virginia, the principal deposits are in Spotsylvania
county, on the Rappahannock, at the United States mines and
at other places to the southwest ; in Stafford county, at the
Rappahannock gold mines, ten miles from Falmouth ; in Cul-
pepper county, at the Culpepper mines, on Rapidan river ; in
Orange county, at the Orange grove gold mine, and at the
Greenwood gold mines ; in Goochland county, at Moss and
Busby's mines ; in Louisa county, at Walton's gold mine ;
in Buckingham county, at Eldridge's mine. In North Car-
olina, the gold region is mostly confined to the three ranges
of counties between Frederick and Charlotte, which are sit-
uated about in a line running NE. and sw., parallel nearly
with the coast. The mines at Mecklenburg are principally
vein deposits ; those of Burke, Lincoln, and Rutherford, are
mostly in alluvial soil. The Davidson county silver mine
had afforded $7000 gold in 1844. In Georgia, the Shelton
gold mines in Habersham county have long been famous ;
and many other places have been opened in Rabun and
Hall counties, and the Cherokee country. In South Caro-
lina, the principal gold regions are the Fairforest in Union
district, and the Lynch's creek and Catawba regions, chiefly
in Lancaster and Chesterfield districts ; also in Pickens
county, adjoining Georgia. There is gold also in eastern
Tennessee.
Viewing the gold region of the United States as a whole,
it is perceived that it ranges along the Appalachians, par-
ticularly the eastern slope, from Maine to Alabama, having
nearly a northeast and southwest course.
The table here given, from the records of the United
States mint at Philadelphia, shows the amount of gold af-
forded by the gold mines of the country since 1824.* For
an account of the California mines, see Appendix, p. 430.
* This table was kindly furnished the author by R. M. Patterson,
Esq., Director of the U. S. Mint at Philadelphia.
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ig|3S
ft 3r<^
nil
"K
in nun Illllltill
^i-H t rH fH C< r-H rH W
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1 1 1 1 1 1 ii i ii i 1 1 1 ' 1 1
O~ OOO OO"*"?
, .iiS2 |5l8Sa
' I ' rH i-l t~ SO ' r-t r-T
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I I I I
316 IffETALS,
The gold rock of the United States is to a great extent a
micaceous or taicosc schist, with veins or beds of quartz.
The gold is mostly confined to these veins, though also found
to some extent in the rock either side. The schist is often
half decomposed or rusted. The quartz is usually more or
less cellular, or wanting in perfect compactness, and some-
times tabular ; yet it is at times quite solid. Iron pyrites is
frequently present, and by decomposition it stains the rock
with iron rusL Other minerals often associated with the
gold, are copper pyrites, blende, galena, anglesite, sulphur,
(in minute yellow crystals, proceeding from the decomposi-
tion of pyrites.) Heavy spar is sometimes a large consti-
tuent of the vein, and fluor spar is now and then present.
The peculiar appearance of the quartz, somewhat cellular,
more or less rusted, and its position in veins though an im-
perfect shale, and generally not firmly attached to the en-
closing walls, affords the best indication of the presence of
gold, though the absence of all these conditions is not evi-
dence that no gold is to be found. The grains of gold may
sometimes be seen iu the cavities of the quartz, or it sparkles
on a surface of fracture. But very commonly a mass of
quartz that shows nothing to the eye, yields gold on trial.
Masses of gold of considerable size have been found in
North Carolina. The largest was discovered in Cabarras
county ; it weighed twenty-eight pounds avoirdupois, (" steel-
yard weight," equals 37 Ibs. troy,) and was 8 or 9 inches long
by 4 or 5 broad, and about an iiich thick. In Paraguay, pieces
from 1 to 50 pounds weight were taken from a mass of rock
which fell from one of the highest mountains. Several
specimens weighing 16 pounds have been found in the Ural,
and one of 27 pounds : and in the valley of Taschku-Tar-
ganka, in 1842, a mass was detached weighing very nearly
100 pounds troy. This mass is now in the musuem of the
Institute of Mining Engineers at St. Petersburgh.
An examination of a gold roclc for gold is an extremely
simple process. The rock is first pounded upjfine and sifted ;
a certain quantity of the sand thus obtained is washed in a
shallow iron pan, and as the gold sinks, the material above is
allowed to pass off into some receptacle. The largest
part of the gold is thus left in the angle of the pan ; by a re-
petition of the process a further portion is obtained ; and when
What is said of the gold rock of the United States ?
GOLD. 317
the bulk of sand is thus reduced to a manageable quantity,
the gold is amalgamated with clean mercury ; the amalgam
is next strained to separate any excess of mercury, and final-
ly is heated and the mercury expelled, leaving the gold. In
this way by successive trials with the rock, the proportion
of gold is quite accurately ascertained. It is the same pro-
cess used with the larger washings, though on a small scale.
Mercury unites readily with gold, and thus separates it from
any associated rock or sand ; and it is employed in all exten-
sive gold minings, though much gold may be cften obtained
by simple washing without amalgamation.
The operation of hand washing is called in Virginia pan-
ning. With a small iron pan, they wash the earth in a tub or
in some brook, and thus extract much gold from the gravel or
soil, which is said to pan well or pan poorly according to the
result. Masses of quartz, with no external indications of
gold, examined in the above way at a Virginia mine, afford-
ed an average of more than eight dollars to the bushel of
gold rock.
When gold is alloyed with copper or silver, the mode of
assay for separating the copper depends on the process of
cupellation ; and that for separating the silver, on the
power of nitric acid to dissolve silver without acting on the
gold.
The process of cupellation consists in heating the assay
in a small cup (called a cupel,) made of bone ashes, (or in
a cavity containing bone ashes,) while tJie atmosphere has
free access. The heated metal is oxydated by the air pass-
ing over it, and the oxyd formed sinks into the porous cup,
1 leaving the precious metal
behind. The shape of the
cupel is shown in fig. 1. In
order to fuse the alloy and 3;j3
still have the atmosphere \ i
circulating over it, the cupel is placed in a small oven-shaped
vessel, called a muffle (fig. 2 :) it is of infusible stone ware,
and has a number of oblong holes, through which to admit
, the flame from the fire, and give exit to the atmosphere
i which passes into it. The muffle is inserted in a hole fitting
it in the side of a vertical furnace, with the open mouth out-
How is a rock examined for gold ? What are the processes for sepa-
rating gold from silver or copper ? Describe the process of cupeliation.
27*
318 METALS.
ward and even nearly with the exterior surface of the fur.
nace. The fire is made within the furnace, below, around,
and above ; and after heating up, the cupel is put in the muffle
with the assay in its shallow cup-shaped cavity. It thus has
the heat of the furnace to fuse the assay, and the air at the
same time is drawn in over it through the large opening of
the muffle. The oxygen of the atmosphere unites with the
lead of the assay, and produces an oxyd, which oxyd sinks
into the cupel, leaving the silver or gold behind. The com-
pletion of the process is at once known by the change of the.
assay suddenly to a bright shining globule*
In the cupellation of gold containing copper, lead is melted
with the assay. The lead on being fused in a draft of air oxy-
dizes, and also promotes the oxydation of the copper, and
both oxyds disappear in the pores of the cupel leaving the
gold behind, and the silver alloyed with it. In this process
the gold is melted with three times its weight of silver, (a
quartation as it is termed, the gold being one part out of four
of the alloy,) in order by its diffusion to effect a more com-
plete removal of the silver as well as the contained copper.
The cupel is placed in the heated furnace, and the gold, sil-
ver, and lead, on the cupel ; the heat is continued until the
surface of the metal is quiet and bright, when the cupella-
tion is finished ; the metal then is slowly cooled and re-
moved. The button obtained, after annealing it by bringing
it to a red heat, is rolled out into a thin plate and boiled in
strong nitric acid. This process is repeated two or three
times with a change of the acid each time, and the silver is
thus finally removed. At the United States mint, half a
gramme of the gold is submitted to assay. The assay-gold
and quartation. silver are wrapped in a sheet of lead weigh-
ing about ten times as much as the gold under assay. After
cupellation, the plate of gold and silver, loosely rolled into a
ooil, is boiled for 20 minutes in 4 oz. of nitric acid, of 20 to
22 ~' Beaume ; the acid is then poured off and another por-
tion of stronger acid is added, about half the former quantity,
and boiled 10 minutes ; then the same again. The gold
thus purified is washed and exposed to a red heat, for the
purpose of drying and annealing it, and then weighed.
Uses. The uses of gold are well known ; and also that
it owes a great part of its value to its extreme malleability,
and the fact of its not tarnishing on exposure. Although a
costly metal, it is one of the cheapest means of ornament,
SILVER ORES, 31i
<on aecxmat of the thinness of the leaves into which it
is beaten. A grain, of the metal may be made to cover
56 1 square inches of surface, and tlie thinnest leaf is but
1 -280,000th of an inch thick.
Perfectly pure gold is denominated gold of 24 carats^ or
Jine gold. If it contains 22 parts of pure gold to 2 of silver,
or to 1 of copper and 1 of silver, it is said to be 22 carats fine ;
so also for 20 carats fine, it contains 20 parts of pure gold.
The carat is c&vided into 1, , T ' F , ^ parts, for a more min-
ute specification of the quality of gold.
The standard gold of the United States consists of 900
pails of gold to 100 of an alloy of copper and silver. Th
eagle (10 dollars) contains 232 grains of fine gold.
Avrotcllnrite, and Graphic T-ellariitm, are two species containing
gold combined with Tellurium.
3. SILVER.
Silver occurs native and alloyed ; also mineralized with
sulphur, selenium, arsenic, chlorine, bromine, or iodine, and
| in combination with different acids.
The ores of silver fuse easily and decompose before the
blowpipe, affording a globule of silver either alone or with
soda ; the globule is known to be silver by its flattening
out readily under a hammer, and also by its sectility. The
species vary in specific gravity from 5*5 to 10'5.
NATIVE SILVER,
Monometric. In octahedrons. No cleavage apparent
Occurs often in filiform and arborescent shapes, the threads
having a crystalline character ; also in laminae.
Color and streak silver- white and shining. Sectile. Mal-
leable. H=2-5 3. Gr=10-3 10-5.
Composition : native silver is usually an alloy of silver and
copper, the latter ingredient often amounting to 10 per cent.
It is also alloyed with gold, as mentioned under that metal.
A bismuth silver from Copiapo, S. A., contained 16 per cent,
of bismuth.
What surface may a grain of gold be made to cover ? How much
pure gold is there in the American eagle ? What is the use of the
term carat 1 What is the condition of silver in nature ? Describe na-
tive silver.
320 METALS,
Before the blowpipe it fuses easily and affords a globule
which becomes angular on cooling. Dissolves in nitric acid,
from which it is precipitated by putting in a clean piece of
copper.
Dif. Distinguished by being malleable ; from bismuth
and other white native metals by affording no fumes before
the blowpipe ; by affording a solution with muriatic acid,
which becomes black on exposure.
Obs. Native silver occurs in masses and string-like ar-
borescences, penetrating rocks, and is found in igneous rocks
and in sedimentary strata, in the vicinity of dikes of trap
and porphyry.
The mines of Norway, at Kongsberg, formerly afforded
magnificent specimens of, native silver, but they are now
mostly under water. One specimen from this locality, at
Copenhagen, weighs five hundred pounds. Other European
localities are in Saxony, Bohemia, the Hartz, Hungary,
Dauphiny. Peru and Mexico also afford native silver. A
Mexican specimen from Batopilas, weighed when obtained,
400 pounds; and one from Southern Peru, (mines of Huan-
tajaya,) weighed over 8 cwt. In the United States, elegant
specimens are associated with the native copper of Lake Su-
perior. The silver generally penetrates the copper in masses
and strings, and is very nearly pure, notwithstanding the
copper about it.
Much of the galena of the west contains a very small per
centage of silver, and that of Monroe, Conn., yields nearly 3
per cent.
Native silver has also been observed near the Sing Sing
state prison ; at the Bridgewater copper mines, N. J. ; and
in handsome specimens at King's mine, Davidson county,
North Carolina.
Uses. The uses of silver are, for the manufacture of va-
rious articles of luxury, for plating other metals, for philo-
sophical instruments, for coinage, and also various purposes
in the arts. For coins, it is alloyed in this country with
copper, and is thus rendered harder and more durable ; 1000
parts of the coin contains 100 parts of copper. When this
alloy is boiled with a solution of cream of tartar and sea-
salt, or scrubbed with water of ammonia, the superficial
How is native silver distinguished ? How does it occur and in what
rocks 1 Where does silver occur in the U. States, and how 1 What
are the uses of silver 1
SILVEH DEES. 321
pnrticles of copper are removed, and a surface of fine silver
is left. Silver is much less malleable than gold, and can-
not be beaten Into unbroken leaves less than 160,000th
part of an inch thick.
In expressing in the arts the purity of silver, if absolutely
pure, it is said to be silver of 12 pennyweights ; if it con-
tain y 1 ^ of its weight of alloy it is caHed silver of 11 penny-
weights ; if 2-12ths be fclloy, it is called silver of 10 penny-
weights, and so on.
VITREOUS sii.yER. Sulpkuret of Silver*.
Monotnetric. In dodecahedrons more or less modified.
Fig. -22a, page 30, and *Jso t>ther modifications. Cleavage
sometimes apparent parallel to the faces of
4he dodecahedron. Also reticulated and mas-
sive.
Luster metafile. C^lor tmd streak black-
ish lead-gray ; streak shining. Brittle. H =
22-5. Gr=7'19 7-4.
Composition: when pure, silver 87'04, sulphur 12'96L
Before the blowjApe it intumesces, gives off .n odor of sul-
phur, and finally affords a :gk>bale of silver. Soluble in di-
lute nitric acid.
Dif. Resembles some ores of copper and lead, and other
ores of silver, but is distinguished as a sulphuret by giving
the odor -of sulphur before the blowpipe, and as an ore of
silver by affording a globule of this metal, by heat alone,
Its specific gravity is much higher than any copper ores.
Obs. This important ore of silver occurs in Europe,
principally at Annaberg, Joachiaistahl, and other mines of
the Erzgebirge ; at Sdhemmtz, and Kremnitz, in Hungary,
and at Freiberg in Saxony. It is a common ore at the Mex-
ican silver mines, and also in the mines of South America.
A mass of sulphuret of silver, is stated by Troost, to have
feeen found in Sparta, Tennessee. It also occurs with na-
tive silver and copper in Northern Michigan.
Uses. This is a common and highly valuable ore of sil-
ver.
Besides this salphuret of silver there are two o&ers, which contain
abo sulphuret of iron or coffer.
What is the appearance of vitreous silver ? What is its composition!
What is ita value ? How io dt distinguished 2
322 METALS.
Stromeyerite. This is a steel-gray sulphuret of silver and copper,
containing 52 per cent, of silver. Gr=6'26. Before the blowpipe il
fuses and gives an odor of sulphur ; but a silver globule is not obtained
except by cupellation with lead. A solution in nitric acid covers a
plate of iron with copper, and a plate of copper with silver indicating
the copper and silver present. From Peru, Siberia, and Europe.
Sternbergite. A sulphuret of silver and iron containing 33 per cent,
of silver. It is a highly foliated ore resembling graphite, and like it
leaving a tracing on paper ; the thin Iamina3 are flexible and may be
smoothed out by the nail. Luster metallic, color pinchbeck brown.
Streak black. It affords the odor of sulphur and a globule covered
with silver on charcoal, before the bio wipe. With borax a globule of
silver is obtained. From Joachimstahl, in Bohemia.
BRITTLE SILVER ORE. Sulphuret of Silver and Antimony*
Trimetric. In modified right rhombic prisms. M : M=^
115 39'. No perfect cleavage. Often in compound crys-
tals. Also massive.
Luster metallic ; streak and color iron-black. H = 2 2*5.
Gr=6-27.
Composition : Sulphur 16*4, antimony 14*7, silver 68*5,
copper 0'6. Before the blowpipe it gives an odor of sulphur
and also fumes of antimony, and yields a dark metallic glob-
ule from which silver may be obtained by the addition of
soda. Soluble in dilute nitric acid, and the solution indi-
cates the presence of silver by silvering a plate of copper.
Dif. The black color of this ore distinguishes it from
the preceding ; and more decidedly the fumes of antimony
given off before the blowpipe. By the trial with nitric acid
as well as by soda and the blowpipe, it is ascertained to be
an ore of silver.
Obs. It occurs with other silver ores at Freiberg, Schnee-
berg, and Johanngeorgenstadt, in Saxony ; also in Bohe-
mia, and Hungary. It is an abundant ore in Chili, Peru,
and Mexico. It is sometimes called black silver.
An antimonial sulphuret of silver is said to occur with
native silver and native copper, at the copper mines in
Michigan.
Uses. This is a very important ore far obtaining silver,
especially at the South American mines.
Besides this there are other anthnonial, and also arsenical and sele-
niferous ores of silver.
What is the composition of brittle silver cxre 1 its color and appear-
ance ? For what is it valued I
SILVER ORES. 323
Antimonial Silver, consists simply of silver and antimony, ,(84 parts
to 16,) and has nearly a tin-white color. Gr=9'4 9'8. Before the
blowpipe gray fumes of antimony pass off, leaving finally a globule of
silver.
Polybasite is near brittle silver ore in color, specific gravity, and com-
position, but contains some arsenic and copper, with 64'3 per cent, of
silver. The crystals are usually in tabular hexagonal prisms, without
cleavage. From Mexico and Peru.
Miargyrite is an antimonial sulphuret of silver, containing but 36 - 5
per cent, of silver, and having a dark cherry-red streak, though iron-
black in color. Before the blowpipe gives off fumes of antimony and
an odor of sulphur ; and with soda, a globule is left, which finally yields
a button of pure silver.
Dark Red Silver Ore, and Light Red Silver Ore, are two allied ores
rhombohedral in their crystals. The former contains silver (59 per
cent.,) antimony, and sulphur, and has a color varying from black to
cochineal red, a metallic adamantine luster, and red streak. H=2'5.
Gr=5-7 -9.
The latter consists of silver, (64- 7 per cent.) arsenic, and sulphur.
Its color and streak are cochineal red. H=2 2'5. Gr=5'4
5'6. Before the blowpipe these species fuse easily, give off fumes, one
of antimony, the other of arsenic ; and finally a globule of silver is ob-
tained. They are abundant ores in Mexico, and occur also in Saxony,
Hungary, and Bohemia. These ores have been called ruby silver.
Eucairite is a seleniferous ore of silver and copper occurring in black
metallic films. It gives before the blowpipe fumes of selenium, having
an odor like that of decaying horse-radish. From Sweden. Another
eeleniferous ore, from the Hartz, called selensilver, contains silver
and selenium, with a little lead, and crystallizes in cubes.
Telluric Silver is a Russian ore, of a steel-gray color, containing
silver 62*3, and tellurium 36'9. Another variety contains 18 per cent,
of gold. Gr=8'3 8'8. With soda, silver is obtained.
Carbonate of Silver is a rare ore of an ash-gray color, consisting of
carbonic acid and oxyd of silver. It is easily reduced before the blow-
pipe.
HORN SILVER. CldoTld of
Monometric. In cubes, with no distinct cleavage. Also
, massive, and rarely columnar ; often incrustiug.
Color gray, passing into green and blue, and looking
somewhat like horn or wax. Luster resinous, passing into
adamantine. Streak shining. Translucent to nearly opaque.
Cuts like wax or horn.
Composition: when pure, silver 75-3, chlorine 24-7.
Fuses in the flame of a candle, and emits acrid fumes. Af-
fords silver easily on charcoal. The surface of a plate of
iron rubbed with it is silvered.
Describe horn silver. Of what does it consist ?
824
Obs. A very common OFO snd extensively worked in the
mines of South America and Mexico, where it occurs with
native silver. It also occurs at the mines of Saxony, Sibe-
ria, Norway, the Hartz, and hi Cornwall.
lodic Silver. Bromic Silver. Silver also seeurs in nature anitej
with iodine and bromine. These rare orfs occur with the preceding
in Mexico, and the latter in Chile, and at Huelgoet, in Brittany.
Chenocoprolite, (gansekothig-erz of the Germans.) Mammiilary, of a
yellow or pale green color ; luster resinous. Yields silver and allia*
ceous fumes before the blowpipe, and is supposed to be aa arseaate of
silver and iron.
REMARKS ON SILVER AND ITS OREB.
The ores from which the silver of commerce is mostly obtained are
the vitrcovs silver, brittle or black silver ore, red silver ore and horn
silver, in addition to native silver. Besides these, silver is obtained in
large quantities from galena, (lead ore,) and from different ores of cop-*
per : and some galenas are so rich in silver that the lead is neglected
for the more precious metal. This metal occurs in rocks of various
ages, in gneiss, and allied rocks, in porphyry, trap, sandstone, lime-
stone, and shales ; and the sandstone and shales may be as recent as the
middle secondary, as is the case in Prussia, and probably also in our
own Michigan mining region. The silver ores are associated often
with ores of lead, zinc, copper, cobalt, and antimony, and the usual
gangue is calc spar or quartz, with frequently fluor spar, pearl spar, or
heavy spar.
The silver of South America is derived principally from the horn sil-
ver, brittle silver ores, including aiseniuretted silver ore, vitreous silver
ore, and native silver. Those of Mexico are of nearly the same charac-
ter. Besides, there are earthy ores called colorados, and in Peru pacos,
which are mostly earthy oxyd of iron, with a little disseminated silver ;
they are found near the surface where the rock has undergone partial
decomposition. The sulphurets of lead, iron, and copper, of the mining
regions, generally contain silver, and are also worked.
The mines of Mexico are most abundant between 18 and 24 north
latitude, on the back or sides of the Cordilleras and especially the west
side ; and the principal are those of the districts of Guanaxuato, Zaca-
tecas, Fresnillo, Sombrerete, Catorce, Oaxaca, Pachuca, Real del Monte,
Moran, and Pasco. The veins traverse very different rocks in these
regions. The vein of Guanaxuato, the most productive in Mexico, in-
tersects argillaceous and chloritic shale, and porphyry ; it affords one-
fourth of all the Mexican silver. The Valencian mine is the richest in
Guanaxuato, and has yielded for many years, from one to two millions
of dollars annually. In the district of Zacatecas the veins are in gray-
Where is horn silver a common ore ? From what ores is the silver
of commerce mostly obtained ? How do they occur? What are the
common ores of South America ?
SILVER ORES. 325
wacke. In Sombrerete they occur in limestone ; and there are exten-
sive veins of the antimonial sulphuret, one of which gave in six months
700,000 marcs, (418,000 Ibs. troy) of silver. The Pachcca, Real del
Monte, and Moran districts, are near one another. Four great parallel
veins transverse these districts, through a decomposed porphyry. From
the vein Biscaina, in Real del Monte, $5,000,000 were realized by the
Count de Regla, in twelve years.
In South America the Chilian mines are on the western slope of the
Cordilleras, and are connected mostly with stratified deposits, of a shaly,
sandstone, or conglomerate, character, or with their intersections with
porphyries. The chlorids and native amalgams are found in regions
more towards the coast> while the su(phurets and antimonial ores
abound nearer the Cordilleras. The mountains north of the valley of
Huasco contain the richest silver mines of Chili. The mines of Mt.
Chanarcillo produces at the present time more than 80,000 marcs of
silver per year. The veins abound in horn silver, and begin to yield
arsenio-sulphurets at a depth of about 500 feet. The mines of Punta
Brava, in Copiapo, which are nearer the Cordilleras, afford the arseni-
uretted ores.
In Peru, the principal mines are in the districts of Pasco, Chota, and
Huantaya. Those of Pasco are 15,700 feet above the sea, while those
of Huantaya are in a low desert plain, near the port of Yquique, in the
southern part of Peru. The ores afforded are the same as in Chili.
The mines of Huantaya are noted for the large masses of native silver
they have afforded.
The Potosi mines in Buenos Ayres, occur in a mountain of argilla.-
ceous shale, whose summit is covered by a bed of argillaceous porphyry.
The ore is the red silver, the vitreous ore along with native silver. It has
been estimated that they have afforded since their discovery $1,300,-
000,000. These mines have diminished in value, though they still rank
next to those of Guanaxuato.
In Europe the principal mines are those of Spain, of Kongsberg in
Norway, of Saxony, the Hartz, Austria, and Russia. The mines of
Kongsberg occur in gneiss and hornblende slate, in a gangue of calc
spar. They were especially rich in native silver, but are now nearly
exhausted. The silver of Spain is obtained mostly from galena, and
principally in the Sierra Almagrera in Grenada.
The mines of Saxony occur mostly in gneiss, in the vicinity of Frey-
> berg, Ehrenfriedensdorf, Johangeorgenstadt, Annaberg and Schneeberg.
The ores of the Hartz are mostly argentiferous copper pyrites and
I galena, yet the red silver, vitreous silver ore, brittle silver ore, and ar-
isenical silver, occur, especially at Andreaekreutz, and the mines of that
j vicinity. The rock intersected. by the deposits is mostly an argillace-
i ous shale. Carbonate of lime is the usual gangue, though it is some-
times quartz
In the Tyiol, Austria, sulphuret of silver, argentiferous gray copper,
I and mispickel occur in a gangue of quartz, in argillaceous schist. The
j Hungarian mines at Schemmitz and Krenmitz, occur in syenite and
I hornblende porphyry, in a gangue of quartz, often with calc spar or
lieavy spar, and sometimes fluor. The ores are sulphuret of silver,
Where are the principal mines in Europe ?
28
326 IflETAtS.
gray copper, galena, blende, pyritons copper and" iron ; and the galenar,
and copper ores are argentiferous,
The Russian mines of Kolyvan in the Altai, and of Nertchinsk in the
Daouria mountains, Siberia, (east of Lake Baikal,) are increasing in
value, and yield annually 76,500 marcs (47,800 troy pounds) of silver,
The Daouria mines afford an argentiferous galena which is worked for
its silver. It occurs in a crystalline limestone. The silver ores of the?
Altai occur in silurian schists in the vicinity of porphyry, which con-
tain besides silver ores, gold, copper, and lead ares.
In England argentiferous galena is worked for ks silver. 40,000
tons of the ore were reduced in 1837, one half of which contained 8 to
8 oz. of silver to the ton of lead, and the other half only 4 to 5 oz. of
silver,
In the United States, the Washington silver mh>e, in Davidson coun-
ty, N. Carolina, had afforded i>p to 1845, 30,000 dollars of silver. The
native silver of Michigan is associated with copper in trap and sand-
atone. These mines promise to be highly productive.
The silver mines of the world hate been estimated to yield at the
present time $20,000,000 annually.
The annual product of the several countries of Europe is nearly as
follows ;
pounds troy. pounds troy.
British Isles. 7,500
France, 4,150
Austria, 63,000
Sweden and Norway, 13,000
Spain, 130,000
Saxony, the Hartz, and
other parts of Germany,
Belgium, 440
Piedmont, Switzerland and
Saxony,
making in all 298,150 troy pound's, or about 4,500,000 dollars annually.
With the sum from Russia, about 730,000 dollars, it becomes 5,230,00j|
a year. This is small compared with the amount from America, which
at the beginning of the present century equalled 2,100,000 pounds, or
31 millions of dollars, nearly six times r the above sum ; and it is prob-
able that these mines will again yield this amount when properly
worked. The whole sum from Russia, Europe, and America, makes
nearly 2,000,000 pounds avoirdupois.
The common modes of reducing silver ares in the large way arc two ;
by amalgamation, and by smelting. Both mercury and lead have a
strong affinity for silver, and these reducing processes are based on this
fact. In amalgamation, the silver ore is brought to the state of a chlo-
rid by a mixture of the powdered ore (or " schlich,") with about ten per
cent, of common salt ; the chlorid is reduced by means of salts or sul-
phurets of iron, or metallic iron in filings, and at the same time mer-
cury which has been added, combines with the liberated silver, and thus
separates it in the condition of an amalgam, (a compound of mercury
and silver.) The mixture of salt and "schlich" requires several days to
become complete. Heat is employed at the Saxon mines, but not at
those of Mexico, where the climate is tropical. After the mercury is
put in, (6 or 8 parts to 1 of silver,) the mixture is kept in constant agi-
Where are the Russian mines? What is the yield of the silver
mines of the world] What was afforded by South America at the be-
ginning of this century ? Describe the process of amalgamation.
SILVER ORES.
327
tafian rnitil the process is finished. In the best arrangements, as ia
Saxony, this agitation is performed in revolving barrels, and the result
is accomplished in ^i few hours ; but in Mexico it is effected by the
treading of mules or oxen, and requires two or three weeks or more.
The amalgam, separated from the muddy mass, by a current of water
or washing, is then filtered of the excess of mercury ; as -a last step it is
subjected to heat in a distilling furnace, by which the silver is left be-
liind, the mercury passing off in^. state of vapor to-be condensed in a
condensing chamber or receptacle. The Joss -of mercury by the pro-
cess is often large.
In case of the ordinary sulphupeis and arseniiireis of silver, or the
chlorid, in Mexico and .South America, the poorer ores are first fused
with a flux, and the result, .(.called the ".matt") is then roasted to expel
the sulphury afterwards it is mixed with -better ores, again fused, and
on cooling, again roasted. This fusion and roasting is again repeated
with the best ores. Tiie result from this fusion is next mixed thorough-
ly with melted lead ; the lead separates the silver ; and the impurities
which float on fhe surface, are removed in plates as a -crust cools, to be
tgain melted with new ores, as the slag is apt to contain some of the
River.
When the argentiferous galena is the ore, it is reduced by roasting ia
% reverberatory furnace in the ordinary way for lead OK ; the resulting
ead contains aleo the silver.
The accompanying sketch represents the essential characters of a
teverberatory furnace. It is a transverse section. A is tae .grate on
which the fire is made,
nd from which the flame
proceeds through the hor-
izontal chamber or gen-
eral cavity of the furnace,
^usually very low,) to
fhe flue at e. b is the
sole of the hearth, for re-
receiving the ore or as-
say, having an elliptical or circular form according to the shape of
fhe furnace; jc is the fi f e bridge, separating the fire from the sole;
<i is the arched roof. The flame plays horizontally over the charge of
ore, and as the air may be made to pass freely with it, we may have ia
uch a /amaee combined effect derived from the heat and the pres-
ence of the atmosphere ; the ore, or its metal, if capable of uniting with
the oxygen of the atmo^>here, may be oxydated by the process, pre-
cisely as in -the outer or oxydating flame of the blowpipe. In an or-
dinary blast furnace, (page 233,) the ope and its flux are confined from
the atmosphere, (except the .air that -enters wkh the blast,) and the re-
sult is the reduction x>f an ore or its deoxydation, as in -the inner or re-
ducing flanae of the blowpipe. This latter effect may in many cases
*be obtained also with a reverberatory furnace, when the atmosphere is
excluded except what ie essential to feeding the fire.
In the reverberatory furnace, there is a small door near the fire-grate,
r, for putting in fuel. There is also an opening either at top, or on the
Describe .a reyejberato/y fumaae-
328 METALS.
side, for introducing the charge ; also there may be one or .nore doors
on each side for working the charge while exposed to the heat. There
may also be a tap hole for drawing off the reduced metal into one or
more pots attached for the purpose ; another in some cases- for the es-
cape of slag as in cupellation, and where there is a vaporizabfe ingre-
dient to be condensed, one or two flues leading to a condensing cham-
ber. In large establishments several of these reverberatory furnaces
connect with a single chimney. They are actually like large elliptical
or circular ovens, of brick or stone, communicating with a common
flue.
In reverberatory furnaces adapted lor melting metals, the hearth is
a gently inclined plane, sloping to a spot towards one end, in order that
the fused metal may flow down together and be convenient for drawing
off. For many other purposes, the sale is flat, and the depth is greater
than in the above figure.
To separate the silver from the lead, the lead is heated in a reverbe-
ratory furnace, the hearth of which is covered with wood ashes and
clay, so as to give it the nature of a cupel. The air received through
an aperture on one side, passes over the metal in fusion, in a constant
current, oxydizing it and changing it to litharge, which is from time to
time drawn out ; finally the lead is thus removed, and the silver remains
nearly pure. The completion of the process is known by the metal be-
coming brilliant. It is again subjected to another similar operation, and
thus rendered quite pure. The litharge from the latter part of the pro-
cess is also subjected to another operation for the silver it usually con-
tains.
According to Pattinson's new process, adopted in England, the silver
is separated by melting the lead, and* as it begins to cool, straining ouil
the crystals with an iron strainer. The portion left behind contains
nearly all the silver. This is several times repeated, each time the re-
maining lead becoming richer in silver. This is then cupelled. An
ore containing only 3 ounces of silver to the ton of lead, (or but 1-
10,000th part,) may thus be profitably worked, and with little loss of
lead.
When the ore containing silver is a copper ore, as is often the case
with gray copper ore, the calcined ore is mixed with lead or lead ore,
and fused and calcined, and the resulting products are either liquated to
sweat out the silver or cupelled. In liquation, the copper is run into
iDJgs, (called liquation cakes,) and kept above a red heat for two or three
days ; the lead first melts and flows in drops into cast iron troughs, car-
rying with it the silver, which is afterwards obtained by cupelling.
The copper still contains some of the lead.
In trials by cupellation, a piece of lead of known weight is placed in
a cup of bone-ashes, and this is subjected to heat in a small air cham-
ber or oven, and placed in a furnace so that the air shall have free ac-
cess. The lead is oxydized, and the oxyd sinks into the cupel, leaving
a globule of silver behind. The globule being then weighed, and com-
pared with the weight of lead, the proportion of silver is aseenained.
Silver may thus be found in. almost any specimen of the lead of com-
What is the process of amalgamation with an argentiferous lead are ?
"What is the mode of trial by cupellation I
SIITER ORES, 32$
, howrver small the .proportion. The weight of the globule, es-
pecially when qnite minute, may be afeo ascertained by measurement,
according to a scale given by Prof. W. W. Mather, in the American
Journal of Science, volume iii, second series, page 414. Much that
has been mentioned in fhe preceding pages on the American mines of
silver, has been derived from au article by Prof. Mather, in volume
xxiv, of ihe same Journal.
Other modes of reducing silver eres without quicksilver, have been
proposed. According to one, the ore is calcined with common salt, as
in Mexico, and converted thus Xo a chlorid. It is then removed to some
proper vessel, and a hot solution of salt poured over it ; this takes up
the chlorid of silver and holds it in solution. The liquid is transferred
lo another vessel, and by means of metallic copper the silver is de-
posited.
Another process consists i roasting the sulphurets nd converting
them in a reverberatory furnace to sulphates ; then by boiling watec,
dissolving the sulphates in a proper vessel, and finally precipitating as
above by copper. This process requires the presence of a good deal of
sulphur, and is the best when there is much iron and copper pyrites
present.
In the assay to separate copper from silver, the alloy is dissolved in
nitric acid, and the silver precipitated in the state of a chlorid by com-
mon salt. The amount of -silver may then be ascertained by weighing
the precipitated chlorid, and observing that 75'33 per cent, of the chlo-
rid is pure silver.
SUPPLEMENT TO THE DESCRIPTION OF MINERALS.
Bamlite. White or grayish-white ; columnar. H=6. Gr=2 - 98.
Contains silica 56-9, alumina, 42, and 1 per cent, of peroxyd of iron.
From Norway.
Berzeline. In minute white crystals from the Roman states. Ge-
latinizes.
Beudantite. A black mineral, with resinous luster : crystals rhom-
bohedral; R: R=92 30*. Contains oxyds of lead and iron. From
Horhausen on the Rhine.
Castor. A colorless transparent, feldspar-like mineral, from Elba,
H=6'5. Gr=2'38 2'4. Angle between two distinct cleavages,
128 or 129. Contains silica 78-0, alumina 18'9, oxyds of iron and
manganese 1*6, lithia, potash, and soda, 2*8.
Cereolite. A hydro-silicate of magnesia and alumina, occurring in
globules in wacke, and resulting from its decomposition.
Christianite. This is one of the names of anorthite. It has also
been recently applied to a mineral near Phillipsite, from Iceland, with
which the Marburg phillipsite is said to be identical.
Danburite. Honey-yellow, vitreous. A hydrous silicate of lime.
A doubtful species.
Gilbertite. In aggregated plates ; white or yellowish ; silky ; trans-
lucent. H=2-75. Gr=2-65. Composition: silica 45'2, alumina
40-1, lime 4'2, magnesia 1-9, peroxyd of iron 2'4, water 4 25. With
fluor spar, in Cornwall.
Hydrotalcite. A steatitic mineral from Snarum, consisting of mag-
nesia, alumina, peroxyd of iron, carbonic acid, and water.
28*
330 SUPPLEMENT.
KalipJiite. Fragile, feathery, resinous, opaque; powder lecfcfisfo-
brown. G=2 8. Contains oxyds f iron, manganese, and zinc, with
water and silica.
Liebigite. Carbonate of uranium and lime, in mammillary concre-
tions of an apple-green color. From near Adrianople, Turkey.
Medjidite. Sulphate of uranium and lime, of a dark amber color.
From near Adrianople, Turkey.
Monticellite. In small prismatic crystals at Vesuvius. M : M==
132 34'. Color yellowish; transparent. Fuses with difficulty. Gela-
tinizes. Near chrysolite.
Ozarkite. Massive, of a white or reddish- white color, and feeble vi-
treous to resinous luster. H=4'5.. Gr=2'75. Very easily fusible. Asso-
ciated with elseolite in veins and small masses, in the Ozark mountains,
Arkansas.
Pigotite. Massive ; brownish ; powder yellow. Insoluble. Burns
with difficulty. Consists of an organic acid, called mudescous acid,
combined with alumina.
Pollux. Resembles castor, but has only traces f cleavage. Gr=
2-85 2-9. Contains 46 per cent, of silica, 165 of potash, 14"5 of aoda,
and is hydrous.
Porcelain spar. In square prisms and allied to Scapolite. In gran-
ite in Bayern.
Praseolite. Imperfectly crystallized. Color light or dark green*,
with a weak luster, clear green streak. H=3'5. Gr=2'75. Frac-
ture splintery. Composition : silica 40'9, alumina 28*8, protoxyd of
iron 7'0, magnesia 13'7, water 7'4. From Brevig, Norway, in granite.
Saussurite. A tough, massive mineral, cleavable and affording a
prism of 124. Color white, greenish, or grayish. Luster pearly,
sometimes resinous. Composition : silica 49, alumina 24, lime 10 5,
magnesia 3'75, peroxyd of iron 6'5, soda 5'5. Fuses with great diffi-
culty before the blowpipe. Resembles nephrite, but contains largely
of alumina with but little magnesia. It constitutes in part the rocks
called gabbro and euphotide, and comes from the borders of the lake of
Geneva, where it was first observed by Saussure Senior. It is also
found in Corsica, Greenland, and Madras.
Stroganowite. Near scapolite. Said to have the constitution of
scapolite, with the addition of carbonate of lime.
Tachylite. A doubtful glassy black mineral, resembling obsidian,
found on trap. Consists of silica and alumina, with lime, potash, soda,
and protoxyd of iron.
Tautolite. Velvet black and vitreous. H=6"5 7. Gr=3'8G5.
A siliceous mineral, containing oxyd of iron, besides magnesia and
alumina. Occurs in volcanic feldspathic rocks.
Botryogen. A hydrous sulphate of iron and magnesia, of a deep
hyacinth-red color. From Fahlun, Sweden.
Forms of Gems. Gems are cut either by cleaving, by sawing with
a wire armed with diamond dust, or by grinding. Some remarks on the
cutting of the diamond are given on page 83. The harder stones, as
the sapphire and topaz, are cut on a copper wheel with diamond powder
soaked with olive oil, and are afterwards polished with tripoli. For
other gems, less hard, a lead wheel with emery and water is first used,
and then a tin or zinc wheel with putty of tin or rotten stone and water.
SUPPLEMENT.
The following are some of the common forms. It will be remem-
bered that the upper truncated pyramid is called the table, the lower part
or pyramid, the collet, and the line of junction between the two pans,
the girdle. Figures 1 and 2 represent the brilliant, the best form of" the
diamond, used also for other stones, as well as pastes. Figs. 3 and 4
are views of a variety of the rose diamond. Figs. 5 and 6 the same of
an emerald. The cut in steps is called the pavilion cut. Fig. 1 is an
1 23
xAx
/MVlyK
tipper view of a mode of cutting the sapphire. A side view would be
nearly like figure 6, except that the collet is -more like that of figure 8.
Fig. 8 represents a side view of an oriental topa$. The table has the
brilliant cut, like figs. 1 and 2. Figure 9 represents a Bohemian gar-
net, which is made thin because its color is deep. The common topaz
is cut like figure 8 ; often also like figure 9 but much thicker, and fre-
quentl/ having the table bordered by two or more rows of triangular
facets. Figure 10 is a very simple table. Figures 11 and 12 represent
the form " en cabochon" given the opal; and figures 12 and 13, "en
cabochon" with facets, a mode of cutting the chrysoberyl.
332 ROCKS.
CHAP. VII. ROCKS OR MINERAL AGGREGATES.
General Nature of Rocks. In the early part of this vol-
ume it is stated that the rocks of the globe are mineral in
their nature, and consist either of a single mineral in a mas*
sive state, or of intimate combinations of different minerals.
Limestone, when pure, is a single mineral, it is the spe-
cies calcite or carbonate of lime ; common granite is a com-
pound or aggregate of three minerals, quartz, feldspar, and
mica. Sandstones may consist of grains of quartz alone, like
the sands of many sea-coasts, being such a rock as these
sands would make if agglutinated ; it is common to find along
with the quartz, grains of feldspar, and sometimes mica.
Clay slates consist of quartz and feldspar or clay, with some-
times mica, all so finely comminuted, that often the grains can-
not be observed. Conglomerates or puddingstones, may be
aggregates of pebbles of any kind : of granite pebbles, of
quartz pebbles, of limestone pebbles, or of mixtures of differ-
ent kinds, cemented together by some cementing material,
such as silica, oxyd of iron, or carbonate of lime.
Texture or structure of Rocks. Rocks differ also in tex-
ture. In some, as granite, or syenite, the texture is crys-
talline : that is, the grains are more or less angular, and
show faces of cleavage ; the aggregation was the result
of a cotemporaneous crystallization of the several ingredi-
ents. Common statuary or white building marble, consists
of angular grains, aad is crystalline in the same manner.
But a pudding-stone is evidently not a result of crystalliza-
tion ; it consists only of adhering pebbles of other rocks with
a cementing material which is often not apparent. Sand-
stones also are an agglutination of grains of sand, just such
rocks as would be made from ordinary sand by compacting
it together ; and clay slates are often just what would result
from solidifying a bed of clay. There are therefore crystal-
line and uncrystallitie rocks. It should be remembered,
however, that in each kind of rock the grains themselves
are crystalline, as all solid matter becomes solid by crystal,
lization. But the former kind is a crystalline aggregation
of grains, the latter a mechanical aggregation.
In crystalline rocks it is not always possible to distinguish
the grains, as they may be so minute, or the rock so com-
ROCKS. 333
pact, that they are not visible. Much of the crystalline rock
called basalt is thus compact.
Positions, or modes of occurrence of Rocks. A great part
of the rocks of the earth's surface constitute extensive beds
or layers, lying one above the other, and varying in thick-
ness from a fraction of an inch to many scores of yards.
There are compact limestones, beds of sandstone, and shales
or clay slates, in many and very various alternations. In
some regions, certain of these rocks, or certain parts of the
series, may extend over large areas or underlie a whole
country, while others are wholly wanting or present only in
thin beds. The irregularities in their geographical ar-
rangement and in the order of superposition are very nume-
rous, and it is one object of geology to discover order amid
the apparent want of system. Thus in Pennsylvania, over a
considerable part of the state, there are sandstones, shales,
and limestones, connected with beds of coal. In New York
there are other sandstones, shales, and limestones, without
coal ; and the geologist ascertains at once by his investiga-
tions, (as was observed in the remarks on coal,) that no coal
can be expected to be found in New York. These rocks
contain each its own peculiar organic remains, and these
are one source of the confident decision of the geologist.
The stratified rocks bear evidence in every part in their reg-
ular layers, their worn sand or pebbles, and their fossils,
that they are the result of gradual accumulations beneath wa-
ter, marine or fresh, or on the shores of seas, lakes or
rivers.
Besides the slratified rocks alluded to, there are others
which, like the ejections from a volcano, or an igneous vent,
form beds, or break through other strata and fill fissures often
many miles in length. The rock filling such fissures, is
called a dike. Such are the trap dikes of New England
and elsewhere ; they are fissures filled by trap. Porphyry
dikes, and many of the veins in rocks, are of the same kind.
Similar rocks may also occur as extensive layers ; for
the lavas of a single volcanic eruption are sometimes con-
tinuous for 40 miles. They may appear underlying a wide
region of country, like granite.
The stratified rocks, or such as consist of material in reg.
ular layers, are of two kinds. The worn grains of which
they are made are sometimes distinct, and the remains of
shells farther indicate that they are the result of gradual accu.
334 ROCKS.
mulation. But others, or even certain parts of beds that
elsewhere contain these indications, have a crystalline tex-
ture. A limestone bed may be compact in one part, and
granular or crystalline, like statuary marble, in another.
Here is an effect of heat on a portion of the bed ; heat,
which has acted since the rock was deposited. Other rocks,
such as mica slate, gneiss, and probably some granites, have
thus been crystallized.
In these few general remarks on the structure of the globe,
we have distinguished the following general facts :
1. The great variety of alternations of sandstone, conglo-
merates, clay shale, and limestones.
2. The existence of igneous rocks in beds and intersect-
ing dikes or veins.
3. The mechanical structure of sandstone, conglomerate,
and shales.
4. The crystalline character of igneous rocks.
5. The crystalline character of many stratified or sedi-
mentary rocks, arising from the action of heat upon the beds
of rock themselves, after they were first formed.
We follow this comprehensive survey of the arrangement
and general nature of rocks, with descriptions of the more
prominent varieties and a mention of their applications in
the arts.*
* One of the most important uses of stone is for architectural pur-
poses. The character of the material depends not only upon its dura-
bility, but also its contraction or expansion from changes of tempera-
ture. This latter cause occasions fractures or the opening of seams,
and produces in cold climates serious injuries to structures. The fol-
lowing table, by Mr. A. J. Adie, gives the rate of expansion in length
tor different materials, for a change of temperature of 180 F. Proc.
Boy. Soc. Edinb., i, 95, 1835.
Granite, -0008968 -0007894
Sicilian white marble, -00110411
Carrara marble, -0006539
Black marble, from Gal way, Ireland, -00044519
Sandstone, (Craigleith quarry, Scotland,) -0011743
Siate, Penryhn quarry, Wales, -0010376
Greenstone, -0008089
Best brick, -0005502
Fire brick, -0004928
Cast iron, -001 14676--001 102166
Red of wedgewood ware, -00045294
335
GRANITE. SYENITE.
Granite consists of the three minerals, quartz, feldspar,
and mica. It has a crystalline granular structure, and usual-
ly a grayish-white, gray, or flesh-red color, the shade vary-
ing with the color of the constituent minerals. When it
contains hornblende in place of mica, it is called syenite ;
hornblende resembles mica in these -rocks but the laminae
separate much less easily and are brittle.
Granite is said to be micaceous, feldspathic, or quartzose,
according as the mica, feldspar, or quartz, predominates.
It is called porpJiyritic granite, when the feldspar is in
large crystals, and appears over a worn surface like thickly
scattered white blotches, often rectangular in shape.
Graphic granite has an appearance of small oriental cha-
racters over the surface, owing to the angular arrangement
of the quartz in the feld-
spar, or of the feldspar in
the quartz.
When the mica of the
granite is wanting, it is *& \
then a granular mixture
of feldspar and quartz,
called granulite or lepty-
"lie* Graphic Granite.
When the feldspar is replaced by albite, it is called albite
granite. The albite is usually white, but other%vise resem-
bles feldspar.
Granite is the usual rock for veins of tin ore. It con-
tains also workable veins of pyritous, vitreous, and gray,
copper ore, of galena or lead ore, of zinc blende, of specu-
lar and magnetic iron ore, besides ores of antimony, cobalt,
nickel, uranium, arsenic, titanium, bismuth, tungsten, and
silver, with rarely a trace of mercury. The rare cerium and
yttria minerals are found in granite, and mostly frequently in
The experiments of W. H. C. Bartlett, Lieut. U. S. Engineers, led
to the following results. Amer. J. Sci., xxii, 136, 1832.
Granite,
Marble,
Sandstone,
Hammered copper,
For 1F.
000004825
000005668
000009532
000009440
For 180 F.
00086904
00102024
00171596
.00169920
336 ROCKS.
albitic granite. It also contains emerald, topaz, corundum,
zircon, fluor spar, garnet, tourmaline, pyroxene, hornblende,
epidote, and many other species.
Granite is one of the most valuable materials for build-
ing. The rock selected for this purpose, should be fine
and even in texture, as the coarser varieties are less dura-
ble ; -it should especially be pure from pyrites or any ore of
iron, which on exposure to the weather will rust and destroy,
as well as deface, the stone. The only certain evidence of
durability, must be learned from examining the rock in its na-
tive beds ; for some handsome granites which have every
appearance of durability, decompose rapidly from some cause
not fully understood. The more feldspathic are less en-
during than the quartzose, and the sycnitic (or hornblendic)
variety more durable than proper granite itself. The rock,
after removal from the quarry, hardens somewhat, and is less
easily worked than when first quarried out.
Massachusetts is properly the granite state of the union.
New Hampshire and Maine also afford a good material.
The Quincy quarries in Massachusetts, south of Boston,
have for many years been celebrated. Besides this locality,
there are others in the eastern part of this state, between cape
Ann and Salem, in Gloucester, at Fall River, in Troy, in
Danvers ; also south between Quincy and Rhode Island, where
it is wrought in many places, as well as in Rhode Island,
even to Providence. The so-called Chelmsford granite comes
from Westford and Tyngsborough, beyond Lowell, and an ex.
cellent variety is obtained at Pelham, a short distance north
in New Hampshire. Masses 60 feet in length are ob-
tained at several of the quarries. They are worked into
columns for buildings, many fine examples of which are
common in Boston, New York, and other cities.
Good granite is also quarried in Waterford, Greenwich,
and elsewhere, in Connecticut.
The granite is detached in blocks by drilling a series of
holes, one every few inches, to a depth of three inches, and
then driving in wedges of iron between steel cheeks. In this
manner masses of any size are split out. There is a choice
of direction, as the granite has certain directions of easiest
fracture. Masses are often got out in long narrow strips, a
foot wide, for fence posts. The granite in a rough state
brings 12 to 15 cents the superficial foot; ordinary hewn
granite 20 to 40 cents the foot ; worked into columns 50
cents to 1 dollar the foot, according to the size.
GNEISS MICA SLATE. 337
Granite is also used for paving, in small rectangular blocks
neatly fitted together, as in London and in some parts of
New York and other cities. The feldspathic granite is of
great value in the manufacture of porcelain, as remarked
upon under Feldspar.
Granite was much used by the ancients, especially the
Egyptians, where are obelisks that have stood the weather
for 3000 years.
GNEISS.
Gneiss has the same constitution as granite, but the mica
is more in layers, and the rock has therefore a stratified ap-
pearance. It generally breaks out in slabs a few inches to
a foot thick. It is hence much used both as a building ma-
terial and for flagging walks. The quarries in the vicinity
of Haddam, Conn., on the Connecticut river, are very exten-
sively opened, and a large amount of stone is annually taken
out and exported to the Atlantic cities, even as far as New
Orleans. There are also quarries at Lebanon and other
places, in Connecticut , at Wilbraham, Millbury, Monson,
and manyot her places in Massachusetts.
MICA SLATE.
Mica slate has the constitution of gneiss, but is thin slaty,
and breaks with a glistening or shining surface, owing to the
large proportion of mica, upon which its foliated structure
depends. Gray or silvery gray is a common color.
The thin even slabs of the more compact varieties of mica
slate are much used for flagging, and for door and hearth
stones ; also for lining furnaces. The finer arenaceous va-
rieties make good scythe stones.
It is quarried extensively of fine quality, in large even
! slabs, at Bolton in Connecticut ; also in the range passing
through Gosheri and Chesterfield, Mass. It is worked into
whetstones in Enfield, Norwich, and Bellingham, Mass., and
. extensively at Woonsocket Hill, Smithfield, R. I. The south
part of Chester, Vt., affords a slate like that of Bolton. Mica
slate is used at Salisbury, Conn., for the inner wall of the
' iron furnace.
Hornblende slate resembles mica slate, but has not as
glistening a luster, and seldom breaks into as thin slabs. It
is more tough than mica slate, and is an excellent material
for flagging.
29
338 ROCK.S.
TALCOSE SLATE. TALCOSE ROCK.
Talcose slate resembles mica slate, but has a more greasy
feel, owing to its containing talc instead of mica. It is usu-
ally light gray or dark grayish-brown. It breaks into thin
slabs, but is generally rather brittle, yet it often makes good
fire-stones.
A talcose slate in Stockbridge, Vt., is worked for scythe
stones and hones, and is of excellent quality for this purpose.
Talcose rock is a kind of quartzose granite, containing
more or less talc, and often quite compact. It is usually very
much intersected by veins of white quartz. Much of it
contains chlorite (an olive-green mineral) in place of talc,
here and there disseminated : and there is a chlorite slate, of
a dark green color, similar in general characters to talcose
slate. Talcose rock passes into a flinty quartz rock.
The talcose rocks are to a great extent the gold rocks of the
world, especially the quartzose veins, as mentioned under
Gold. It contains the topaz of Brazil, and also euclase, and
many other minerals.
STEATITE, OR SOAPSTONE.
Steatite is a soft stone, easily cut by the knife and greasy
in its feel. Its color is usually grayish-green ; but when
smoothed and varnished it becomes dark olive -green. It
occurs in beds, associated generally with talcose slate.
Owing to the facility with which soapstone is worked, and
its refractory nature, it is cut into slabs for fire stones and other
purposes, as stated on page 144. The powder is employed
for diminishing friction, and for mixing with blacklead in the
manufacture of crucibles. It is also used, as observed by
Dr. C. T. Jackson, for the sizing rollers in cotton factories,
one of which is 4 feet long and 5 to 6 inches in diameter.
The most valuable quarries in Massachusetts are at Middle,
field, Windsor, Blanford, Andover, and Chester ; in Vermont,
at Windham and Grafton ; in New Hampshire, at Frances-
town and Oxford ; in Orange county, North Carolina. The
Francestown soapstone sells at Boston at from 36 to 42 dol-
lars the ton, or from 3 to 3 dollars the cubic foot.*
Steatite often contains disseminated crystals of magnesian
carbonate of lime, (dolomite,) and brown spar ; also crys-
tals of pyrites and actinolitc.
* Geol. N. II., by C. T. Jackson, 1844 ; p. 168.
SERFEN TINE. TRAP. 339
Potstone is a compact steatite. Rensselaerite is another
compact variety, (page 144,) found in Jefferson and St. Law-
rence counties, N. Y., and used for inkstands.
SERPENTINE.
This dark green rock is ussually associated with talcose
rocks, and often also with granular limestones. It has been
described on page 145, where its uses are alluded to. It
often contains disseminated a foliated green variety of horn-
blende called diallage. A compound rock consisting of dial-
lage and feldspar, has been called diallage rock or euphotide.
TRAP. BASALT.
Trap is a dark greenish or brownish-black rock, heavy
and tough. Specific gravity 2*8 3'2. It has sometimes
a granular crystalline structure, and at other times it is very
compact without apparent grains. It is an intimate mixture
of feldspar and hornblende. It is often called greenstone ;
and when consisting of albite and hornblende, it is called
diorite.
Amygdaloid, (from the Latin amygdalum, an almond,) is
a trap containing small almond-shaped cavities, which are
filled with some mineral : usually a zeolite, quartz, or chlorite.
Porphyritic trap is a trap containing, like porphyritic gran-
ite (p. 335,) disseminated crystals of feldspar.
Basalt is a rock resembling trap, but consisting of augite
and feldspar. It varies in color from grayish to black.
In the lighter colored, which are sometimes denominated
graystone, feldspar predominates ; and in the darker, iron, or
a ferruginous augite. It often contains chrysolite (or olivine)
in small grains of a bottle-glass appearance. Magnetic or
titanic iron are also frequently present in the rock. When
feldspar crystals are coarsely disseminated, it is called 'por-
phyritic basalt; and when containing minerals in small
nodules, it is amygdaloidal basalt; when consisting of labra-
dorite and augite, it is called dolerite.
WacJfe or toadstone is an earthy basalt, or a sedimentary
rock of trap or basaltic material.
Both trap and basalt occur in columnar forms, as at the
Giant's Causeway and other similar places.
Trap and basalt are excellent materials for macadamizing
roads, on account of their toughness. Trap is also used for
buildings. It breaks into irregular angular blocks, and is
340 ROCKS.
employed in this condition. For a Gothic building it is well
fitted, on account of an appearance of age which it has.
PORPHYRY. CLINKSTONE. TRACHYTE.
Porphyry consists mainly of compact feldspar, with dis-
seminated crystals of feldspar. Red or brownish-red and
green, are common colors ; but gray and black are met with.
The feldspar crystals are from a very small size to half or
three quarters of an inch in length, and have a much lighter
shade of color than the base, or are quite white. It breaks
with a smooth surface and conchoidal fracture. The specific
gravity and other characters of the rock are the same nearly
as for the mineral feldspar ; the hardness is usually a little
higher than in that mineral.
Porphyry receives a fine polish, and has been used for
columns, vases, mortars, and other purposes. Green por-
phyry is the oriental verd antique of the ancients, and was ,
held in high esteem. The red porphyry of Egypt is also a
beautiful rock. It has a clear brownish red color, and is
sprinkled with small spots of white feldspar.
Clinkstone or Phonolite is a grayish-blue rock, consisting,
like porphyry, mainly of feldspar. It passes into gray basalt,
and is distinguished by its less specific gravity. It rings
like iron when struck with a hammer, and hence its name.
Trachyte is another feldspathic rock, distinguished by
breaking with a rough surface, and showing less compact-
ness than clinkstone. It sometimes contains crystals of
hornblende, mica, or some glassy feldspar mineral. It occurs
in volcanic regions.
LAVA. OBSIDIAN. PUMICE.
The term lava is applied to any rock material which has
flowed in igneous fusion from a volcano. Basalt is one kind
of lava ; and when containg cellules, it is called basaltic
lava. Trachyte is also a lava. There are thus both feld-
spathic and basaltic lavas. The feldspathic are light colored,
and of low specific gravity, (not exceeding 2'8) ; the basaltic
vary from grayish-blue to black, and are above 2'8 in specific
gravity. The general term basaltic sometimes includes
doleritic lava, which is closely allied. Chrysolite is often
present in basaltic lavas ; and they are not unfrequently por-
phyritic, or contain disseminated crystals of feldspar.
SHALE 341
The light cellular ejections of a volcano are called scoria
or pumice.
Pumice is feldspathic in constitution ; it is very porous,
and the fine pores lying in one direction make the rock ap-
pear to be fibrous. It is so light as to float on water. It is
much used for polishing wood, ivory, marble, metal, glass,
etc., and also parchment and skins. The principal localities
are the islands of Lipari, Ponza, Ischia, and Vulcano, in the
Mediterranean between Sicily and Naples. Both scoria
and pumice are properly the scum of a volcano.
Volcanic asJies are the light cinders, or minute particles
of rock, ejected from a volcano in the course of an eruption.
Obsidian is a volcanic glass. It resembles ordinary glass.
Black and smoky tints are the common colors. In Mexico,
it was formerly used both for mirrors, knives and razors.
Pitchstone is less perfectly glassy in its character, and has a
pitch-like luster. Otherwise it resembles obsidian. Pearl-
stone has a grayish color and pearly luster. Spherulite is a
kind of pearlstone, occurring in small globules in massive
pearlstone. Marekanite is a pearl-gray translucent obsidian
from Marekan in Kamschatka.
ARGILLACEOUS SHALE, OR CLAY SLATE. ARGILLITE.
Slate is an argillaceous rock, breaking into thin laminae ;
shale a similar rock, with the same structure usually less
perfect and often more brittle ; schist includes the same va-
rieties of rock, but is extended also to those of a much coarser
laminated structure. The ordinary clay slate has the same
constitution as mica slate ; but the material is so fine that
the ingredients cannot be distinguished. The two pass into
one another insensibly. The colors are very various, and
always dull or but slightly glistening.
Roofing slate is a fine grained argillaceous variety, com-
monly of a dark dull blue or bluish-black color, or some-
what purplish. To be a good material for roofing, it should
split easily into even slates, and admit of being pierced for
nails without fracturing. Moreover, it should not be ab-
sorbent of water, either by the surface or edges, which may
be tested by weighing, after immersion for a while in water.
It should also be pure from pyrites and every thing that can
undergo decomposition on exposure.
Roofing slates occur in England, in Cornwall and Devon,
Cumberland, Westmoreland.
29*
342 ROCKS.
In the United States, a good material is obtained in Maine
at Barnard, Piscataquies, Kennebec, Bingham and elsewhere
also in Massachusetts, in Worcester county, in Boylston,
Lancaster, Harvard, Shirley, and Peperell ; in Vermont, at
Guilford, Brattleborough, Fairhaven, and Dummerston ; in
Hoosic, New York ; on Bush creek and near Unionville,
Maryland ; at the Cove of Wachitta, Arkansas. At Rutland,
Vt., is a manufactory of slate pencils, from a greenish slate
These slate rocks are also used for gravestones ; and we
cannot go through New England cemetries without frequent
regret that a material which is sure to fall to pieces in a few
years, should have been selected for such records.
Drawing slate is a finer and more compact variety, of
bluish and purplish shades of color. The best slates come
from Spain, Italy, and France. A good quality is quarried in
Maine and Vermont.
Novaculite, hone-slate, or whet-stone, is a fine grained slate,
containing considerable quartz, though the grains of this
mineral are not perceptible. It occurs of light and dark
shades of color, and compact texture. It is found in North
Carolina, 7 miles west of Chapel Hill, and elsewhere ; in
Lincoln and Oglethorpe counties, Georgia ; on Bush creek,
and near Unionville, Maryland ; at the Cove of Wachitta,
Arkansas.
Argillite is a general term given to argillaceous or clay
slate rocks. Many shales or argillites crumble easily, and
are unfit for any purpose in the arts, except to furnish a
clayey soil.
Alum shale is any slaty rock which contains decomposing
pyrites, and thus will afford alum or sulphate of alumina on
lixiviation. (See under Alum, page 128.)
Bituminous shale is a dark colored slaty rock containing
some bitumen, and giving ofFa bituminous odor.
Plumbaginous schist is a clay slate containing plumbago
or graphite, and leaving traces like black lead.
The Pipestone of the North American Indians was in part
a red claystone or compacted clay from the Coteau de
Prairies. It has been named catlinite. A similar material,
now accumulating, occurs on the north shore of Lake Supe-
rior, at Nepigon bay. Another variety of pipestone is a dark
grayish compact argil lite ; it is used by the Indians of the
northwest coast of America.
Agalmatolite is a soft mineral, impressible by the nail,
A~ -*-.
iQUARTZ ROCK.J 343
and waxy in luster when polished, presenting grayish and
greenish colors and other shades. Gr=2*8 2'9. It has a
greasy feel. It consists of silica 55*0, alumina 30*0, potash
7'0, water 3 to 5 per cent., with a trace of oxyd of iron. It
is carved into images, and is hence called Jigure-stone.
QUARTZ ROCK.
Quartz rock is a compact rock consisting of quartz, and
often appearing granular. Its colors are light gray, reddish
or dull bluish ; also sometimes brown.
When the granular quartz contains a little mica, it often
breaks in slabs like gneiss or mica slate. The itacolumite
of Brazil, with which gold and topaz are associated, is a
micaceous granular quartz rock of this kind.
Flexible sandstone is an allied rock of finer texture. Gran-
ular quartz graduates into the proper sandstones, which are
treated of for convenience on a following page. The two
rocks are properly parts .of one series.
Granular quartz is one of the most refractory of rocks. It
is consequently used extensively for hearthstones, for the
lining of furnaces, and for lime kilns. At Stafford, Conn.,
a loose grained micaceous quartz rock is highly valued for
furnaces ; it sells at the quarry for 16 dollars a ton.*
Granular quartz is also used for flagging, and a fine
quarry is opened in Washington, near Pittsfield, Mass. ; it
also occurs of good quality at Tyringham and Lee, Mass.
In the shape of cobble stones, it is a common paving material.
A highly important use of this rock is in the manufacture
of glass and sandpaper, and for sawing marble. In many
places it occurs crumbled to a fine sand, and is highly con-
venient for these purposes. In Cheshire, Berkshire county,
Mass., and in Lanesboro', Mass., it occurs of superior qual-
ity, and in great abundance. It is also in demand for the
manufacture of glass and pottery. In Unity, N. H., a gran-
ular quartz is ground for sandpaper and for polishing powder ;
the latter is a good material for many purposes.
A fine variety of granular quartz is a material much
Valued for whet-stones.
BUHRSTONE.
Buhrstone is a quartz rock containing cellules. It is as
hard and firm as quartz crystal, and owes its peculiar value
* Rep. on Connecticut, by C. U. Shepard p. 78.
344 nocks.
to this quality and the cellules, which give it a very rough
surface. In the best stones for wheat or corn the cavities
about equal in space the solid part. The finest quality
comes from France, in the basin of Paris and some adjoin-
ing districts.
The stones are cut into wedge-shaped parallelepipeds called
panes, which are bound together by iron hoops into large
millstones. The Paris buhrstone is from the tertiary forma-
tion, and is therefore of much more recent origin than the
quartz rock above described.
Buhrstone of good quality is abundant in Ohio, and others
of the western states. It is associated there with proper
sandstones, as more particularly mentioned on page 346.
The quartz rock of Washington, near Pittsfield, Mass., is
in some parts cellular, and makes good millstones.
A buhrstone occurs in Georgia, about 40 miles from the
sea, near the Carolina line ; also in Arkansas, near the
Cove of Wachitta.
SANDSTONES. - GRIT ROCKS. - CONGLOMERATES.
Sandstones consist of small grains, aggregated into a com-
pact rock. They have a harsh feel, and every dull shade of
color from white through yellow, red and brown to black.
Many sandstones are very compact and hard, while others
break or rub to pieces in the fingers. They usually consist
of siliceous sand ; but grains of feldspar are often present.
In many compact sandstones there is much clay, and the
rock is then an argillaceous sandstone.
Sandstones are of all geological ages, from the lower Silu-
rian to the most recent period. The older rocks are in
general the most firm and compact. The " old red" sand-
stone is a sandstone below the coal in age ; while the so
called " new red" is more recent than the coal. But these
terms beyond this particular point, are of somewhat indefi-
nite application. The sandstone of the Connecticut valley
is called the new red sandstone.
Grit rock. When the sandstone is very hard and harsh,
and contains occasional siliceous pebbles, it is called a grit
rock, or millstone grit.
Conglomerates. Conglomerates consist mostly of pebbles
compacted together. They are called pudding stone when
the pebbles are rounded, and breccia when they are angular.
They may consist of pebbles of any kinds, as of granite t
SANDSTONES. 345
quartz, limestone, etc., and they are named accordinglygrem-
j/ir, quartzose, calcareous, conglomerates.
The use of sandstone as a building material is well known.
For this purpose it should be free, like granite, from pyrites
or iron sand, as these rust and disfigure the structure. It
should be firm in texture, and not liable to peel off on ex-
posure. Some sandstones, especially certain argillaceous
varieties, which appear well in the quarry, when exposed for
a season where they will be left to dry, gradually fall tc
pieces. The same rock answers well for structures beneath
water, that is worth nothing for buildings. Other sandstones
which are so soft as to be easily cut from their bed without
blasting, harden on exposure, (owing to the hardening of
silica in the contained moisture,) and are quite durable.
These are qualities which must be tested before a stone
is used. Moreover it should be considered that in frosty
climates, a weak absorbent stone is liable to be destroyed in
a comparatively short time, while in a climate like that of
Peru, even sunburnt bricks will last for centuries.
Mr. Ure observes, that " such was the care of the ancients
to provide strong and durable materials for their public edi-
fices, that but for the desolating hands of modern barbarians,
in peace and in war, most of the temples and other public
monuments of Greece and Rome would have remained
perfect at the present day, uninjured by the elements during
2000 years. The contrast in this respect of the works of
modern architects, especially in Great Britain, [much more
true of the United States,] is very humiliating to those who
boast so loudly of social advancement ; for there is scarcely
a public building of recent date which will be in existence
a thousand years hence." Many splendid structures are
monuments (not endless) of folly in this respect. He ob-
serves also that the stone intended for a durable edifice ought
to be tested as to its durability by immersion in a saturated
solution of sulphate of soda, and exposure to the air for some
days : the crystallization within the stone will cause the same
disintegration that would result in time from frost.
The dark red sandstone (freestone) of New Jersey and
Connecticut, when of fine gritty texture and compact, is gen-
erally an excellent building material. Tiinity Church in
New York is built of the stone from Belville, New Jersey.
At Chatham, on the Connecticut, is a large quarry, which
supplies great quantities of stone to the cities of the coast ;
846 ROCKS.
and there are numerous others in the Connecticut valley,
both in Connecticut and Massachusetts. A variety in North
Haven, at the east end of Mount Carmcl, has been spoken
of as excellent for ornamental architecture. That of Long-
meadow and Wilbraham, in Massachusetts, is a very fine
and beautiful variety and is much used. A freestone occurs
also at the mouth of Seneca creek, Maryland, convenient for
transportation by the Chesapeake and Ohio canal ; white
and colored sandstones occur also at Sugarloaf mountain,
Maryland.
The sandstone of the Capitol at Washington, is from the
Potomac ; it is a poor material.
Sandstones when splitting into thin layers, form excellent
flagging stones, and are in common use.
Hard, gritty sandstones and the grit rocks are used for the
heartJis of furnaces, on account of their resistance to heat.
They are also much used for millstones, and when of firm
texture, make a good substitute for the buhrstone.
The true buhrstone has been described as a cellular
siliceous rock, without an apparent granular texture. The
buhrstone of Ohio approaches this character ; it is in part
a true sandstone containing fossils in some places, and over-
lying the coal. Much of it contains lime ; and it is possible
that the removal of the lime by solution, since its deposition,
may have occasioned its cellular character. It has an open
cellular structure where quarried for millstones. It occurs
in Ohio, in the county of Muskingum, and the counties south
and west of south, on the Raccoon river and elsewhere.
The manufacture commenced in this region in 1807, and in
Richland, Elk, and Clinton, and in Hope well, the manufac-
ture is now carried on extensively. Stones 4 feet in diame-
ter bring 8150.*
The " green sand" of the cretaceous formation contains
grains of silicate of iron and potash, to which it owes its
greenish tint. It occurs abundantly in New Jersey as a soft
rock, and is much used for improving lands : a value it owes
mostly to the alkali it contains.
Pudding stones and breccias are fitted, in general, only for
the coarser uses of stone, as for foundations, butments of
bridges. Occasionally when of limestone, they make hand-
some marbles, as the "Potomac breccia marble" on the
* S. P. Hildreth, Geol. Report, Ohio.
LIMESTONES. 347
Mouocacey, of which the columns in the Hall of Represen-
tatives at Washington.
Porphyry conglomerates, basaltic conglomerates, pumiceovs
conglomerates, consist respectively of pebbles or fragments of
porphyry, basalt, pumice.
Tufa is a sandrock consisting of volcanic material, either
cinders or the comminuted lavas. Pozzuolana is a kind of
tufa found in the vicinity of Rome, Italy. It consists of
silica 34*5, alumina 15, lime 8'8, magnesia 4*7, potash 1*4,
soda 4' 1, oxyds of iron and titanium 12, water 9'2. Pepe-
rino is a coarse sandrock, made up of volcanic cinders or
fine fragments of scoria, partially agglutinated.
LIMESTONES.
Limestones consist essentially of carbonate of lime, and
belong to the species calcite, (p. 1 15,) or of the carbonates of
lime and magnesia. They are distinguished by being easily
scratched with a knife, and by effervescing with an acid.
They are either compact or granular in texture : the com-
pact break with a smooth surface, often conchoidal ; the
granular have a crystalline granular surface, and the fine
varieties resemble loaf sugar.
Granular limestone. The finest and purest white crystal-
line limestones are used for statuary and the best carving,
and are called slaluary marble. A variety less fine in texture
is employed as a building material. Its colors are white, and
clouded of various shades. It often contains scales of mica
disseminated, and occasionally other impurities, from which
the cloudings arise.
The finest statuary marble comes from the Italian quarry
at Carrara ; from the Island of Paros, whence the name
Parian ; from Athens, Greece ; from Ornofrio, Corsica, of
a quality equal to that of Carrara. The Medicean Venus
and most of the fine Grecian statues are made of the Parian
marble. These quarries, and also those of the Islands of Scio,
Samos and Lesbos, afforded marble for the ancient temples of
Greece and Rome. The Parthenon at Athens was con-
structed of marble from Pentelicus.
Statuary marble has been obtained in the United Sates,
but not of a quality equal to the foreign. Fine building
material is abundant along the Western part of Vermont,
and south through Massachusetts to Western Connecticut
and Eastern New York. In Berkshire county, Mass., mar-
348 ROCKS.
ble is quarried annually to the value of $200,000 ; the prin*
cipal quarries are at Sheffield, West Stockbridge, New
Ashford, New Marlborough, Great Barrington, and Lanes-
borough.* The columns of the Girard College are from
Sheffield, where blocks 50 feet long are sometimes blasted
out; the material of the City Hall, New York, came from
West Stockbridge ; that of the Capitol at Albany, from Lanes-
boro'. At Stoneham is a fine statuary marble ; but it. is dif-
ficult to obtain large blocks. The variety from Great Bar-
rington is a handsome clouded marble. Some of the West
Stockbridge marble is flexible in thin pieces when first taken
out. There are Vermont localities at Dorset, Rutland,
Brandon, and Pittsford. In New York extensive quarries
are opened not far from New York, at Sing Sing ; also at Pat-
terson, Putnam county ; at Dover in Dutchess county, N. Y. ;
in Connecticut there are marble quarries at New Preston ;
in Maine at Thomaston : in Rhode Island at Smithfield, a
fine statuary ; in Maryland, a few miles east of Hagerstown ;
in Pennsylvania, a fine clouded variety, 20 miles from
Philadelphia. A fine dun colored marble is obtained at New
Ashford and Sheffield, Mass., and at Pittsford, Vt.
The granular limestone when coarse usually crumbles
easily, and is not a good material for building. But the
finer varieties are not exceeded in durability by any other
architectural rock, not even by granite. The impurities are
sometimes so abundant as to render it useless. For statu-
ary, it is essential that it should be uniform in tint and with-
out seams or fissures ; the liability of finding cloudings within
the large blocks would altogether discourage their use for
statuary.
The common minerals in this rock are tremolite, asbestus,
scapolite, chondrodite, pyroxene, apatite, besides sphene,
spinel, graphite, idocrase, mica.
Verd antique marble verde antico is a clouded green
marble, consisting of a mixture of serpentine and limestone,
as mentioned under Serpentine, page 147. It occurs at
Milford, near New Haven, Connecticut, of fine Quality ; and
also in Essex county, N. Y., at Moria and near Port Henry
on Lake Champlain. A marble of this kind occurs at
Genoa and in Tuscany, and is much valued for its beauty
A variety is called polzivera di Genoa and vert d'Egypte.
* Hitchcock's Geol. Rep., p. !G2.
LfMESTOTfES. 349
The Cipolin marbles of Italy are white, or nearly so, with
shad ings or zones of green talc. The bardiglio is a gray
variety from Corsica.
Compact limestone usually breaks out easily into thick
plabs, and are a convenient and durable stone for building
and all kinds of stone work. It is not possessed of much
beauty in the rough state. When polished it constitutes a
variety of marbles according to the color ; the shades are very
numerous, from white, cream and yellow shades, through
gray, dove-colored, slate blue or brown, to black.
The Nero-ant ico marlile of the Italians is an ancient deep
black marble ; the paragone is a modern one, of a fine black
color, from Bergamo ; and panno di morte is another black
marble with a few white fossil shells.
The rosso-anlico is deop blood-red, sprinkled with minute
while dots. The giallo anlico, or yellow antique marble, is
drep yellow with black or yellow rings. A beautiful mar-
ble from Sienna, brocalello di Siena, has a yellow color, with
huge irregular spots and veins of bluish-red or purplish.
The mandclato of the Italians is a light red marble, with
yellowish-white spots ; it is found at Luggezzana. At
VITOIKI, there is ;i red marble, inclining to yellow, and ano-
ther with large white spots in a reddish and greenish paste.
The black marble used in the United States comes mostly
from Shoivham, Vt., and other places in that state near Lake
Chumplain. '\\vBristol marble of England is a black mar-
hie containing a few white shells, and the Kilkenny is another
similar. There are several quarries at Isle La Motte. It
is quarried also near Pittsburgh and Glenn's Falls, N. Y.
The parlor is a Genoese marble very highly esteemed. It
is deep black, with elegant veinings of yellow. The most
beautiful comes from Porto-Venese, and under Louis XIV a
great deal of it was worked up for the decoration of Versailles.
Gray and dove-colored compact marbles are common
through New York and the states West.
The bird's-eye marble of Western New York is a compact
limestone, with crystalline points scattered through it.
Ruin marble is a yellowish marble, with brownish sha-
dings or lines arranged so as to represent castles, towers or
cities in ruins. These markings proceed from infiltrated
iron. It is an indurated calcareous marl.
Oolilic marble has usually a grayish tint, and is speckled
with rounded dots, looking much like the roe of a fish.
30
350 4 ROCKS.
Shell marble contains scattered fossils, and may be of dif-
ferent colors. It is abundant through the United States.
Crinoidal or encritiital marble differs only in the fossils being
mostly remains of encrinites, resembling thin disks. Large
quarries are opened in Onondaga and Madison counties, N.
Y., and the polished slabs are much used. Madreporit
marble consists largely of corals, and the surface consists of
delicate stars : it is the pietra stellaria of the Italians. It is
common in some of the states on the Ohio. Fire marble, or
lumachelle, is a dark brown shell marble, having brilliant
fire or chatoyant refections from within.
Breccia marbles and pudding stone marbles are the pol-
ished calcareous breccia or pudding stone, alluded to on
page 346.
Stalagmites and stalactites (page 116) are frequently pol-
ished, and the variety of banded shades is often highly beautiful.
The Gibraltar stone, so well known, is of this kind. It comes
from a cavern in the Gibraltar rock, where it was deposited
from dripping water. It is made into inkstands, letter-holders,
and various small articles.
Wood is often petrified by carbonate of lime, and occasion-
ally whole trunks are changed to stone. The specimens
show well the grain of the wood, and some are quite hand-
some when polished.
Marble is sawn by means of a thin iron plate and sand,
either by hand or machinery. In polishing, the slabs are
first worn down by the sharpest sand, either by rubbing two
slabs together or by means of a plate of iron. Finer sand is
afterwards used, and then a still finer. Next emery is ap-
plied of increasing fineness by means of a plate of lead ; and
finally the last polish is given with tin-putty, rubbed on with
coarse linen cloths or baggings, wedged tight into an iron
planing tool. More or less water is used throughout the
process.
Quicklime. Limestone when burnt produces quicklime,
owing to the expulsion of the carbonic acid by the heat.
The purest limestone affords the purest lime, (what is called
fat lime.) But some impurities are no detriment to it
for making mortar, unless they are in excess. Hydraulic
lime, which is so called because it will set under water, is
made from limestone containing some clay, silica, and often
magnesia. The French varieties contain 2 or 3 per cent,
of magnesia, and 10 to 20 of silica and alumina or clay. The
LIMESTONES. 351
varieties in the United States contain 20 to 40 per cent, of
magnesia, and 12 to 30 per cent, of silica and alumina. A
variety worked extensively at Rondout, N. Y., afforded Prof.
Beck, carbonic acid 34*20, lime 25*50, magnesia 12*35, silica
15*37, alumina 9*13, peroxyd of iron 2*25.* Oxyd of iron
is rather prejudicial than otherwise.
In making mortar, the lime is mixed with water and
siliceous sand. The final strength of the mortar depends
principally on the formation of a compound between water,
the silica (or sand) and the lime ; of course therefore the
finer the sand, the more thorough the combination. In
hydraulic lime, there is silica and alumina present in a thor-
oughly disseminated and finely divided state, which is favor-
able for the combination alluded to ; and to this fact appears
to be mainly owing its hydraulic character. Much less sand
is added in making mortar from this lime than from that of
ordinary limestone.
Pozzuclana (page 347) forms a hydraulic cement when
mixed with a little lime and water. Similar cements may be
made with tufa, pumice stone, and slate clay, by varying the
proportions of lime ; these materials consist essentially of
silica and alumina or magnesia with alkalies, and often some
lime, and therefore produce the same result as with hydrau-
lic li me stone.
In the burning of lime, the most common mode is to erect
a square or circular furnace of stone, with a door for manag-
ing the fire below. An arched cavity for the fire is first
made of large pieces of limestone, and then the furnace
is filled with the stone placed loosely so as to admit of the
passage of the flame throughout : the carbonic acid is ex-
pelled by the heat, and when the fires are out, the lime now
in the state of quicklime, or in other words, pure lime, is
taken out. Great economy of fuel is secured by means of
what is called a perpetual kiln. The cavity within is best
made nearly of the shape of an egg with the narrow end
uppermost. The inner walls are of quartz rock, mica slate,
or some refractory stone or fire brick, and between the inner
and outer there is a layer of cinders or ashes, as in the iron
furnace, page 233. Below are three or more openings for
furnaces which lead into the main cavity, a few feet from the
bottom ; and alternate with these are other openings at a
* Mineralogy of New York, page 78.
352 ROCKS,
lower level for withdrawing the lime. The lime is taken
out below and the stone thrown in above, and this may be
kept up without intermission as long as the kiln lasts. Be-
neath the furnaces there are also ash pits. Such a kiln is
most convenient for being filled and emptied when situated
on a side hill.
The localities of limestone in the United States are too
common to need enumeration. Hydraulic limestone is also
abundant.
Quicklime is much used for improving lands ; also for
clarifying the juice of the sugar cane and beet root ; for puri-
fying coal gas ; for clearing hides of their hair in tanneries,
and for various other purposes.
SAND. CLAY.
The loose or soft material of the surface of the earth con-
sists of sand, clay, gravel or stones, and what we call in general
terms, "soil or earth. These materials are either in layers
or irregular beds. Most clay beds, and many of gravel,
when cut through vertically, show indications of horizontal
layers, a result of deposition, or distribution* by water.
In geological language, these stratified deposits are often
classed with rocks, as they graduate into true rocks, and dif-
fer only in the amount of cementing material.
The ordinary constituents of earth are quartz, feldspar or
clay, oxyd of iron and lime ; but these vary with the source
from whence they are derived When the rock that has
afforded the soil is granite, mica slate, or the allied rocks,
mica is usually present, as well as feldspar and quartz ; so
a quartzose rock will furnish siliceous gravel ; a magnesian,
will give magnesia to the soil ; calcareous, lime ; trap, the
ingredients of decomposed feldspar or hornblende. The
material will be coarse or gravelly, or fine earthy, according
to the nature of the rock, or the condition under which it is
worn down, or its subsequent distribution by flowing waters.
Besides the prominent constituents mentioned, there are
small proportions of phosphates, nitrates, chlorids, etc., toge-
ther with the results of vegetable decomposition ; and these
comparatively rare ingredients are of great importance to
growing vegetation. The pebbles of a soil are commonly
siliceous, as this kind resists wear most effectually.
Sand is usually pulverized quartz, often with some feldspar.
Clay is a plastic earth, consisting mainly of alumina on#
SAND. 353
third part, and silica (quartz) two thirds. It owes its plas-
ticity to the alumina, and ceases to be called clay when the
proportion of silica is too great for plasticity. It is afforded
by the decomposition of feldspar and all argillaceous rocks.
Oxyd of iron, carbonate of lime, and magnesia are often
present in clays.
Sand for glass manufacture should be pure silica, free
from a taint of iron. This purity is apparent in the clear-
ness of the grains, under a lens, or their white color. The
sand of Cheshire and Lanesboro', in Massachusetts, is a
beautiful material.
In the manufacture of gluss, the object is to form a trans-
parent fusible compound, and not an opaque infusible one as
in pottery. This result is secured by heating together to
fusion, silica (quartz sand or flint powder) and the alkali pot-
ash or soda. The ingredients combine and produce a sili-
cate of potash or soda in other words, glass.
Besides these ingredients, lime or oxyd of lead are added
for glass of different kinds. A small proportion of lime in-
creases the density, hardness, and luster of glass, producing
a specific gravity between 2*5 and 2' 6 ; while with lead a
still denser material is formed called crystal or Jlint glass
whose specific gravity is from 3 to 3'6.
From 7 to 20 parts of lime are added for 100 of silica, and
25 to 50 of calcined sulphate or carbonate of soda; common
salt (chlorid of sodium) may also be employed. A good
colorless glass has been found by analysis to consist of silica
76*0, potash 13'6, and lime 10*4 parts, in a hundred. For
coarse bottle-glass, wood-ashes and coarse sea-weed soda,
called kelp, or else pearlashes, are used along with siliceous
sand and broken glass. For a hard glass, the proportion of
alkali is small.
The best English crystal glass analyzed by Berthier, af-
forded 59 parts of silica, 9 of potash, 28 of oxyd of lead, and
1 '4 of oxyd of manganese. Crown glass contains, in general,
less alkali than crystal glass, and is superior in hardness.
The alkali, moreover, in England, is soda instead of potash.
Plate glass also contains soda, and this soda (the carbonate)
is prepared with great care. The proportions are 7 parts of
sand, 1 of quicklime, 2 of dry carbonate of soda, besides
cullet or broken plate.
The materials are first well pounded and sifted, and mixed
into a fine paste ; they are then heated together in pots made
30*
354 nocKS.
of a pure refractory clay, until fusion has taken place and the
material has settled. The glass is afterwards worked by
blowing, or moulded, into the various forms it has in market ;
and it is finally annealed or in other words, is very slowly
cooled to render it tough. A little oxyd of manganese is
usually employed to correct the green color which glass is
apt to derive from any oxyd of iron present. But if the man-
ganese is in excess, it gives a violet tinge to it.
The following chemical distribution of glasses has been
proposed :
Soluble glass. A simple silicate of potash or soda, or of
both of these alkalies.
Bohemian or crown glass. Silicate of potash and lime.
Common window and mirror glass. Silicate of soda and
lime ; sometimes also of potash.
Bottle glass. Silicate of soda, lime, alumina, and iron.
Ordinary crystal glass. Silicate of potash and lead.
Flint glass. Silicate of potash and lead ; more lead than
in the preceding.
Strass. Silicate of potash and lead still more lead.
Enamel. Silicate and stannate, or antimonate of potash
or soda and lead.
Glass was manufactured by the Phoenicians, and the later
Egyptians. According to Pliny and Strabo, the glass works
of Sidon and Alexandria were famous in their times, and
produced beautiful articles. The Romans employed glass
to some extent in their windows, and remains of this glass
are found in Herculaneum. Window glass manufacture was
first commenced in England in 1557.
Sand for casting is a fine siliceous sand, containing a little
clay to make it adhere somewhat and retain the forms into
which it may be moulded. It must be quite free from lime.
Tripoli is a fine grained earthy deposit, having a dry,
harsh feel and a white or grayish color. It contains 90 per
cent, of silica, mostly derived from the casts of animalcules.
It is valuable as a polishing material.
Marl. Marl is a clay containing carbonate of lime. The
material is valuable as manure. The term is also improper-
ly applied to any clayey earth used in fertilizing land. The
green sand in New Jersey is sometimes called marl.
Fuller's earth is a white, grayish, or greenish-white earth,
having a soapy feel, which was formerly used for removing
oil or grease from woolen cloth. It falls to pieces in water,
35*
and forms a paste which is not plastic. A variety consists
of silica 44'0, alumina 23*1, lime 4*1, magnesia 2*0, pro-
toxyd of iron 2-0. Gr=2'45.
Lithomarge is a compact clay of a fine smooth texture,
and very sectile. Its colors are white, grayish, bluish- white,
reddish- white, or ocher-yellow, with a shining streak. Gr=
2*4 2-5. The tuesite of Thomson, a white lithomarge from
the banks of the Tweed, is said to make good slate pencils,
Clay for bricks is the most ordinary kind ; it should have
slight plasticity when moistened, and a fine even character
without pebbles. It ordinarily contains some hydrated oxyd
of iron, which when heated turns red by the escape of the
water in its composition, which reduces it to the red oxyd of
iron, and gives the usual red color to the brick. It also fre-
quently contains lime ; but much lime is injurious, as it
renders the brick fusible. A clay is extensively employed
at Milwaukie, in Michigan, which contains no iron, and
produces a very handsome cream-colored brick. About
9,000,000 of this kind of brick were made at that place in
1847.
In making bricks, the clay is first well worked by the tread*
ing of cattle or by machinery : after this, it is moulded in
moulds of the requisite size, (9| inches, by 4| and 2$,) and
then taken out and laid on the ground. A good workman
will make by hand 5000 in a day, and the best 10,000.
After drying till stiff enough to bear handling, the bricks are
trimmed off with a knife when requiring it, and piled up in
long walls for farther drying. They are then made into a
kiln by piling them in an open manner, (so that the flame
and heated draft may have passage among them,) and leav-
ing places beneath for the fires. The heat is continued 48
hours or more.
The best brick are pressed in moulds. They have a
smooth, hard surface. Near Baltimore, Md.j^bricks are thus
made by a machine, worked by a single horse, which will
mould 30,000 bricks in 12 hours ; the bricks are dry enough
when first taken from the mould for immediate burning.
Burnt bricks were not used in England before the elev-
enth century, when they were employed in the construction
ef the abbey of St. Albans. But they date historically as
far back as the city of Babylon. Unburnt bricks have also
been used in all ages. Those of Egyptian and Babylonish
times were made of worked clay mixed with chopped straw,
SAND CLAY.
to prevent it from falling to pieces* The- adobies of Perm,
are large sun-baked bricks or blocks of clay ; and in that
dry climate they are very durable.
Clay for Fire-bricks should contain no lime, magnesia,,
or iron, as its value depends on its being very refractory.
There is a large manufactory in the United States, at Balti-
more, from the tertiary clays of eastern Maryland* In Eng-
land a slate clay from the coal series is employed.
Potter's clay andpipe < lay are pure plastic clays, free from
iron, and consequently burning white. The clay of Mil-
waukie, from which the cream-colored bricks are made r
is much used also for pottery.
In the manufacture of coarse pottery, the clay is worked
with water and tempered ; and then the required form of a
pot or pan is given on a wheel. The ware is dried under
cover for a while, and nest receives the glaze in a cream-
like state. The glaze for the most common ware consists
of very finely pulverized galena, mixed with clay and water.
The waro after drying again is next placed in the kiln,
which is very gradually heated ; the heat causes the baking
of the clay, and drives off .the sulphur of the galena, thus
producing an oxyd of lead, which forms a kind of glass (or
glaze,) with the alumina. For a better stone ware, common
salt is used, and it is put on after the baking has begun.
For the finer earthenware, a mixture of red and white
lead, feldspar, silica and flint-glass, is used for a glaze, the
proportions differing according to the ware. The clay for
this ware is mixed with flint powder (ground flints or sand,)
to render it less liable to contract or break, and it is worked
with great care, and through various processes to prepare it
for moulding. The ware is usually baked to a biscuit, be-
fore the glazing is put on, as in the manufacture of porcelain.
Kaolin or porcelain clay, is derived from the decomposi-
tion of feldspar, as stated on page 117. The foreign kaolin
occurs in Saxony ; in France at St. Yrieux-la-Perche, near
Limoges ; in Cornwall, England ; also in China and Japan.
The kaolin used at the Philadelphia porcelain works comes
mostly from the neighborhood of Wilmington, Delaware.
The name kaolin is a corruption of the Chinese Kau-
ling, meaning high-ridge, the name of a hill near Jauchau
Fu, where this material is obtained.
In the manufacture of porcelain, the kaolin, and also the
other ingredients, are first ground up separately to an im-
A^D CLAY.
357
palpable powder. The kaolin is mixed with a certain pro-
portion #f feldspar, iilnt and lirae. The whole are worked
up together in water, by mallets and spades, and well knead-
ed by the hands and sometimes the feet of the workmen.
The plastic material is then laid aside m masses of the size of
a reaii's feexd, and kept damp till required ; ihe dough, as it is
called, is now ready for the potter's lathe, (or other means,)
by which it is moulded into the varioas forms of china ware.
After moulding, they are slowly arid thoroughly dried, and
them taken to the lain, for a preliminary baking. They come
out in the state of bisc&it, and are ready for painting and
glazing. The colors are metallic oxyds, which are put OH
either from a wet copper-plate impression on bibulous paper,
or by meaes of a brush. The former is used for flat sur-
faces ; the paper is rubbed on carefully to transfer the im-
pression to the porcelain, and is then wet and washed off.
It is tfeen carefully heated to evaporate any oil or grease era-
ployed in the printing. The glaze is made of a quartzose
ieldspar; it is ground to a very fine powder and worked into
a paste with water, and a little vinegar- The articles are
dipped for an Instant into this milky fluid, and as they absorb
the water they come oat with a delicate layer of feldspar in
a dry state. They atre touched with a brush wherever not
well corered. They are then ready to be finally baked in
the kiln, for which purpose each vessel is placed in a sepa-
rate baked clay ease or receptacle, called a sagger. In this
process the material undergoes a softening, amounting al-
most to a partial fusion, and thus receives Uae translucency
which distinguishes porcelain from earthen or stone ware.
The blue color of common china is produced by means
of oxyd of cobalt ; carmine, purple and violet, by means of
chlorid of gold ; red of all shades by oxyd of iron ; yellow
fcy oxyd of lead, or white oxyd of antimony and sand ; green
by oxyd of copper or carbonate of lead ; brown by oxyd of
iron, manganese, or copper. A steel luster is produced from
chlorid of platinum.
The best Sevres ware is made from 63 to 70 parts of
kaolin, 22 to 15 of feldspar, nearly 10 of flint, and 5 or 6 of
chalk. In China the kaolin is mixed with a quartzose feld-
spar rock, consisting mainly of quartz, called peh-tun-tsz.
Soapsforue is sometimes used in this manufacture ; and as
it substitutes magnesia for a part of the potash* it makes a
harder ware ^ but it is also more brittle-
Z58 LOCALITIES &F MINERALS.
CATALOGUE OF AMERICAN LOCALITIES OF
MINERALS.
The following catalogue may aid the mmeralogical tourist
in selecting his routes and arranging the plan of a journey.
Only important localities, affording cabinet specimens, are in
general included. The names of those minerals which are
obtained in good specimens at the several localities, are dis-
tinguished by italics. When the specimens are remarkably
good 1 , an exclamation mark (!) has been added, or two of
these marks (!!) when the specimens are c^uke unique.
MAINE.
Mt. Abraham. AndSalusite, staurotid'e.
Albany. Beryl ! green and black tourmalines, fddspar, ross (fwirt .
Albion. Iron pyrites.
Aroostook. Red hematite.
Bingham. Massive pyrites, galena, blende, andalusite.
Blue Hrh" Bay. Arsenical iron, molybdenite! galena, apatite*! fluoy
spar! black tourmaline, (Long Cove,), biack oxyd of manganese, (Os~
good's farm,) red manganese, bog manganese, wolfram.
Bowdoinham. Beryl, molybdenite.
Brunswick^-Gree/i mica, garnet ! black tourmaline ! molybdenite-.
Buckfield. Garnet, (estates of Waterman and Low,) iron ore.
Camdage farm. (Near the tide mills,) molybdenite, wolfram.
Camden. Made.
Garmel, (Penobscot county.) Ch:ay antinwny^
Corinna. Iron pyrites, arsenical pyrites
Deer Me. Serpentine, vetd antique, asbestus, diailage.
Dexter. Galena, pyrites, blende, copper pyrites,, green tale.
Dixfield. Native copperas, graphite.
Farmington. (Norton's ledge ^. pyrites, graphite, bog ore-.
Georgetown. (Parker's island,) beryl ! blak tourmaline.
Greenwood. Graphite, black manganese.
Hart well . Staurotide .
Lenox. Galena, pyromorphite.
Lewiston. Garnet.
Litchfield. flaityne, neyheline, zircon.
Lubec lead mines. Galena, copper pyrites, llgnde-, pyr0mer]jfeite,a*
re of bismuth.
Newfield, (Bond^s mt.) Mispickel, olive phosphate of iron in botry,-
eidal masses.
Paris. Green.' rod.'.' biack^and blue tourmaline ! inUa ! lepidolite!
feldspar, allnte, quartz crystals! rost quartz,. blende:
Parsonsfield. Idocrase .' yellow garnet, pargasite t adularia, scapo*
lite, galena, blende, copper pyrites.
Perry. Prehnite and calc t-par, (above Loring's cove,) quartz crystal,
calc spar, aaaLcuae, apoplwllite^agtkte, (Gin cove.);
LOCALITIES OF MINERALS, 359
Peru. Crystallized pyrites.
Phipsburg. Yellow garnet-! manganesian garnet, idecrase, parga-
vite, axinitt, laumonite-! chabazile, an ore of cerium,
Poland. Idocrase.
Raymond. Magnetic iron, scapolite, pyroxene, lepidolite,tremolitte t
, hornblende.
Rumford. Yellow g<trnet, idacrase, pyroxene, apatite, scapolite,
graphite,
Searsmont, Andalusitc.
Streaked mountain. Beryl '. black tourmaline, mica, garnet.
Thomaston. Calc spar, tremolite, hornblende, sphene> arsenical iroH,
(Owl's head,) black manganese, (Dodge's mountain.)
Warren. Galena, blende.
Waterville. Crystallized pyrites.
Windham, (near the bridge.)- Stauretide! spodumene, garnet.
Woodstock, (New Brunswick.) Graphite, specular iron,
NEW HAMPSHIRE.
Acworth, Beryl! mica .'/ tourmaline, feldspar, albitc, rise quartz,
i solumbite !
Alstead, Mtcall albite, black tourmaline.
Aniherst. Idocrase ! yellow garnet, pargaske, calc spar,
Bartlett. Magnetic iron, sf scalar iron, brown iron ore in large veins
near Jackson (on " Bald face mountain") quartz crystals, smoky
{\iartz.
Bath. Galena.
Bellows Falls. Kyanite, wavellite, near Saxton's river.
Benton. Quartz crystals,
Canaan. Gold in pyrites.
Charlestown. Staurotide made i andalusite-macle, bog iron ore,
Cornish. Gray antimony, antimonial argentiferous gray copper, rtt-
tile in quartz !!
Eaton, (3 m. S. of.) Galena, blende! copper pyrites, limonite, (six
mile pond.)
Franccstown. Soapstone, arsenical pyrites.
Franconia. Hornblende, staurotide ! epidote ! zoisite,. specular iron,
magnetic iron, black and red manganesian garnets ! mispickel! (Dana~
itc,) copper pyrites, molybdenite.
Gilford. (Gunstock mt.) Magnetic iron ore, (native " lodestone,")
Goshen. Graphite, black tourmaline.
Grafton. Mica ! (extensively quarried,) albite ! asparagus stone, blue,
green, and yellow beryls, tourmaline.
Grantham. Gray staurotide !
Hanover. Garnet, a boulder of quartz containing rutile! black tour-
maline, quartz.
Haverhill. Garnet I arsenical pyrites, native arsenic, galena, blende,
> iron and copper pyrites, magnetic and white iron pyrites.
Hillsboro, (Campbell's mountain.) Graphite.
Hinsdale. Manganese spar, black oxyd of manganese, (photozite
' and rhodonite.)
Jackson. Drusy quartz, tin ore, arsenical pyrites, native arsenic,
360 [LOCALITIES OF
fluor spar, apatite, magnetic iron ore, molybdenite, wolfram, copper
pyrites, arsenate of iron.
Jaffrey, (Monadnock mt.) Kyanite.
Keene. Graphite, soapstone, milky quartz.
Landaff. Molybdenite, lead and iron ores.
Lebanon. Bog iron ore,
Lisbon. Staurotide, garnets black and red, granular magnetic iron
ore, hornblende, epidote, zoisite, specular iron.
Lyme. Kyanite, (N. W.part,) black tourmaline, rutile, iron pyrites
eopper pyrites, (E. of E, village,) sulphuret of antimony. .
Merrimack. Rutile ! (in gneiss nodules in granite vein,)
Moultonborough, (Red Hill.) Hornblende, bog ore, pyrites, tour
maline.
Newport, Molybdenite.
Orange. Slue beryls !
Orford. Brown tourmaline ! steatite, rutile, kyanite, brown iroi
ore, native copper, green malachite, galena,
Pelbam. Steatite.
Piennont. Micaceous iron, heavy spar, green, white, and browa
mica, apatite.
Richmond. lolite I rutile, soapstone, iron pyrites.
Saddleback mt. Black tourmaline, garnet, spinel.
Sheiburne. Argentiferous galena, crystalline black cupreous Mendel
copper pyrites, iron pyrites, manganese.
Springfield Beryls, (very large, 8 inches diameter,) manganesian
garnets! in mica slate, albite, mica.
Swanzey, (near Keene.) Magnetic iron, (in masses in granite.)
Tamworlh, (near White Pond.) Galena.
Unity, (estate of James Neal.) Copper and iron pyrites, chloro-
phyllite, green mica, magnetic iron, radiated actinolile, garnet, titan-
iferous iron ore, magnetic iron ore.
Walpole, (near Bellows Falls.) Made.
Warren. Copper pyrites, blende, epidote, quartz, iron pyrites, tre-
molite ! galena, rutile., talc, molybdenite.
Westmoreland. (South part.) Molybdenite ! apatite ! blue feldspar,
IfOg manganese, (north village,) quartz, Jluor spar, copper pyrites, oxyd
of molybdenum and uranium.
White mts., (notch behind " old Crawford's house.") Green octahe-
dral fluor, quartz crystals, black tourmaline, chiastolite.
Wilmot. Beryl.
Winchester. Pyrolusite, photozite, diallogite, black oxyd of manga-
nese, magnetic iron ore, granular quartz.
VERMONT.
Addison. Iron sand.
Alburgh. Quartz crystals on calc spar, iron pyrites.
Athens. Steatite, rhomb spar, actinolite.
Barnet. Graphite.
Belvidere. Steatite, chlorite.
Bennington. Pyrolusite, brown iron ore, pipe clay, yellow ocher.
Bethel. Actinolite, talc, chlorite, octahedral iron.
Brandon. Braunite, pyrolusite, psilomelane.
LOCALITIES OF MINERALS. 361
Brattleborough. Black tourmaline in quartz.
Bridgewater. Talc, dolomite, magnetic iron, steatite, chlorite,
Bristol. Rut&e, brown hematite, manganese ores.
Brookfield. Mispickel, iron pyrites.
Cabot. Garnets, staurotide, hornblende, albite.
Cavendish. Garnet, serpentine.
Chester. Asbestus.
Chittenden. Psilomelane, pyroiusite, braunite, brown iron ore, specu-
lar and magnetic iron, galena.
Colchester Brown iron ore, iron sand, jasper, alum.
Corinth. Copper pyrites, magnetic iron pyrites,
Coventry. Manganese spar.
Dummerston. Rutile.
Fletcher. Pyrites, octahedral iron, acicular tourmaline.
Grafton. The steatite quarry is properly in Athens.
Guilford . Scapolite .
Jay. Chromic iron, serpentine, picrosmine, amianthus.
Lowell. Picrosmine, amianthus.
Marlboro. Rhomb spar, steatite, garnet, magnetic iron.
Mendon. Octahedral iron ore,
Middlebury. Zircon,
Monkton. Pyroiusite, brown iron ore.
Moretpwn. Smoky quartz ! steatite, talc, wad.
Morristown. Argentiferous galena.
Mount Holly. Asbestus, chlorite.
New Fane. Glassy and asbestiform actinolite, steatite, green quarz,
{called chrysoprase at the locality,) chalcedony, drusy quartz, garnet,
hromic iron, rhomb spar.
Norwich. Actinolite, feldspar, brown spar in talc.
Pittsford. Brown iron ore, manganese ores.
Plymouth. Spathic iron, magnetic and specular iron, both in octa-
^edral crystals.
Plympton. Massive hornblende.
Putney. Fluor, brown iron ore, rutile, and zoisite in boulders.
Reading. Glassy actinolite in talc.
Readsboro'. Glassy actinolite, steatite.
Ripton. Brown iron ore, augite in boulders, octahedral iron pyritea.
Roxbury. Dolomite, talc, serpentine, asbestus.
Salisbury. Brown iron ore.
Sharon. Quartz, kyanite.
Shoreham. Iron pyrites.
Shrewsbury. Magnetic iron, and copper pyrites.
Somerset. Magnetic iron, native gold.
Stafford. Magnetic iron, and copper pyrites, native copper, horn-
blende.
Starksboro'. Brown iron ore.
Stirling. Copper pyrites, talc, serpentine.
Stockbridge. Mispickel, magnetic iron ore.
Thetford. Blende, galena, kyanite.
Troy. Crystalline magnetic iron, talc, serpentine, picToamine, ami-
*Rthus, steatite.
Warren. Actinolite, magnetic iron ore, wad.
31
362 i rcALiTiEs OT
Waterbury. Mispickel, copper pyrites.
WaterviUe. Steatite, actinolite, talc.
Westfield. Steatite, chromic iron, serpentine,
Westminster, Zoisite in bo alders.
Wardsboro*. Zoisite.
Windham. Glassy actinolite, steatite.
Woodbury. Massive pyrites,
Woodstock. Quartz crystals.
MASSACHUSETTS;
Alfbrd. Galena, iron pyrites.
AthoL Allanite, fibrolite, (?) epidote I
Auburn. Masonite.
Barre. Rutile ! mica, pyrites, beryl? feldspar, garnet.
Great Barrington. Tremolite.
Bedford. Garnet.
Belchertown. -Allanite,
Bernardston. Magnetic oxyd of iron.
Beverly. Polymignite, columbite, green feldspar, tin ore,
Blanford. Marmolite, schiller spar, serpentine, anthophyllite, act'i~
nolite .' chromic iron, kyanite, rose quartz in boulders.
Bolton. Scapoiite ! petalite, sphene, pyroxene, nuttalite, diopside f
loltonite, apatite, magnesite, rhomb spar, allanite, yttrocerite, cerium?
ocher, (on the scapolite,) spinel.
Boxborougb. Scapolite, spinel, garnet, augite, aetinolite, apatite.
Brighton . Asbestus.
Brimfield, (road leading to Warren.) lolite, adularia, molybdenite,
laica, garnet.
CarHsle. Tourmaline, garnet ! scapolite, actinolite.
Charleston. Prehnite, lawnoniie, stilbite,, chabazite, quartz crystals,
Chelmaford. Scapolite, chondrodite, blue spinel, amianthus ! rose
quartz.
Chester. Hornblende, scapolite, zoisite, spodumene, indicolite, apa-
tite magnetic iron and chromic iron, (west part) stilbite, heulandite,
analcirne and chabazite.
Chesterfield. Blue, green, and red tourmaline, cleavelandite, (al-
bite,) lithia mica, smoky quartz, pyrochlore, (microlite,} spodumene, kya-
nite, apatite, rose beryl, garnet, quartz crystals, staurotide, tin ore,
columbite, variegated copper ore, zoisite, uranite.
Conway. Pyrolusite, fluor spar, zoisite, rutile !! native alum, galena.
Cummington Manganese spar I cummingtonite, white iron pyrites,
garnet.
Dedham Asbestus, galena.
Deerfield. Chabazite, heulandite, stilbite, amethyst, carnelian, chal-
cedony, agates.
Fitchburg, (Pearl hill.) Beryl, staurotide ! garnets, molybdenite.
Foxborough. Iron pyrites, anthracite.
Franklin . Ame thy st.
Goshen. Lithia mica, albite, spodumene ! blue and green tourma-
line, beryl, zoisite, smoky quartz, columbite, tin ore, galena.
Hatfield. Heavy spar, yellow quartz crystals, galena, blende; yellow
copper pyrites.
LOCALITIES OF MINERALS. 363
fiawlcy. Micaceous iron, massive pyrites, magnetic iron, zoisite.
Heath. Pyrites, zoisite,
Hinsdale. Brown iron ore, apatite, zoisite,
Hubbardston. Massive pyrites.
Lancaster. JKy unite, chiastoliteJ apatite, staurotide, piaite, aa-
3ulusite.
Lee. Tremolite ! sphene ! (east part.)
Lenox. Brown hematite, gibbsite (?)
Levereit. Heavy spar, galena, blende, copper pyrite*.
Leyden. Zoisite? rutile.
Littleton- Spinel, scapolite, apatite,
Lynnfield- Magnesite on sei^pentine.
Martha's Vineyard. Brown iron ore, amber* selenite, radiate*
pyrites.
Mendon. j\lica! chlorite.
Middlefield. Glassy actinolite, rhsmb cpor, steatite., serpentine,
Jeldspar, drusy quartz, apatite, zoisite, nac rite, chalcedony, talc!
Montague. -Specular iron.
JNewbury. Serpentine, amianthus, epidote^ massive garnet, carboa-
aie of iron.
Newburyport. Serpentine, nemalite, uranite.
,New Braiotree. -Black tourmaline.
Norwich. Apatite ! black tourmaline^ fteryZ, -blende, <martz crystals.
Palmer, (Three Rivers.) Feldspar, prehnite, calc spar.
Pelham. Asbestus, serpentine, quartz crystals, beryl, molybdenite,
green hornstone.
PlainfiekL Cummingtonite, pyrolusite, fed manganese*
'Richmond. Brovon iron ore, Gibbsite .'/
Rowe. Epidote, talc.
Russel. Schiller spar, (diallage ?) prismatic ntiea, -serpentine, beryl,
jgalena, copper pyrites.
Saugus. Porphyry.
Sheffield, Asbest us, pyrites, native alum, .pyrolusitt
Shelburne. Rutile.
Shutesbury, (east of Locke's Pond.) Hfoli/denite.
Southampton. Galena, white lead ore, anglesite, molybdate <rf
lead, fluor, heavy spar, .copper and iron pyrites, blende, corneous lead,
f>yromorphite.
South Royalston. Beryl!! common mica!! feldspar.' ilmenite,
allanite.
Sterlmg. Spodumene, chiastolite? spathic iron, mispickel, blende,
galena, iron and copper pyrites.
Stoneham. Nephrite.
Sturbridge. Graphite, pyrope, apatite, bog ore.
Turner's Falls, (Conn. R.) Copper pyrites, prehnite, chlorite, chlo-
rojihaite ! spathic iron, green malachite, magnetic ircn sand, anthra-
cite.
Tyringham. Pyroxene, scapolite.
Uxbridge. Argentiferous galena.
Warwick. Massive garnet, black tourmaline, magnetic iron,
epidote.
Washing ton, Graphite.
364 LOCALITIES OF MINERALS.
Westfield. Schiller spar, (diallage?) serpentine, steatite, kyanite,
Bcapolite, actinolite.
Westford. Andalu&ite !
West Hampton. Galena, argentine, pseudom&rph&us quartz.
West Springfield. Prehnite, ankerite, satin spar, celestine, bitumin-
ous coal.
West Stockbridge. Hematite, fibrous pyrolusite, spathic iron.
Whately. Native copper, galena.
Williamsburg. Zoisite, pseudomorphous quartz, apatite, rose and
smoky quartz, galena, pyrolusite, copper pyrites.
Williamstown. Cryst. qartz.
Windsor. Zoisite, actinolite, futile !
Worcester. Mispickel, idocrase, pyroxene, garnet, amianthus, bu-
cholzite, spathic iron, galena, anthracite.
Worthington. Kyanite.
Zoar. Bitter spar, talc.
RHODE ISLAND.
Bristol. Amethyst.
Cranston. Actinolite in talc.
Cumberland. Manganese, epidote, actinolite, garnet, titaniferous
iron, magnetic iron, red hematite, copper pyrites.
Foster. Kyanite !
Johnson. Talc, brown spar.
Newport. Serpentine.
Portsmouth. Anthracite, graphite, asbestus, iron pyrites.
Smithfield. Dolomite, calc spar, bitter spar, nacrite, nephrite, tre-
molite, asbestus, quartz, magnetic iron in chlorite slate, talc .'.'
Warwick, (Natic village.) Masonite, garnets, graphite.
Westerly. llmenite.
CONNECTICUT.
Berlin. Heavy spar, datholite, blende, quartz crystals.
Bolton. Staurotide, copper pyrites.
Bradleyville, (Litchfield.) Laurnonite.
Bristol. Vitreous copper .'/ copper pyrites, heavy spar, variegated
copper ore, talc.
Brookfield. Galena, calamine, JZercde, spodumene, magnetic pyrites.
Canaan. Tremolite and augite .' in dolomite.
Chatham. Mispickel, smaltine, copper nickel, beryL
Cheshire. Heavy spar ! vitreous copper, cryst* variegated copper!
green malachite, kaolin, natrolite, prehnite, chabazite, datholite.
Chester. Sillimanite ! monazite > epidote.
Cornwall, near the Housatonic. Graphite, pyroxene.
Farmington. Prehnite ! chabazite, heavy spar, agate, native copper.
Granby. Green malachite.
Greenwich. Black tourmaline.
Haddam. Chrysoberyl ! beryl!! epidote!! tourmaline! feldspar ,
anthophyllite, garnet ! iolite ! chlorophyllite ! autumolite, magnetic
iron, adularia, apatite, columbite ! white and yellow iron pyrites, mo-
lybdenite ! allanitf., eulphuret of bismuth.
XGCALITIES OF MINERALS.
Hadiyme. Ckabazite and stilbite in gneiss, wkfa epidote and garnet.
Hartford. Dat halite, (Rocky Hill quarry.)
Kent. Brown iron or*, pyrolusite, ochrey iron ore.
Litchfield. Ky unite with corundum, apatite and andaaisite, Ilmen*
He, (WashingtoniteO
Lyme. Garnet, sunstone.
Meriden. Dathoiite.
Middlefield Falls. Dathoiite, chlorite, &c., in amygdaloid.
Middletown. Mica, lepidolite with green and red tourmaline, al-
bite, feldspar, col ambit e ! pre finite, rutile ! beryl, topaz, uranite, apa-
tite.
Milford. Sahlite, pyroxene, ^asbestus, zoisite, verd-antique marble,
pyrites.
New Haven. Serpentine, asbestus, chromic iron, safalite, etilbite,
prehnite.
Norwich. Sillimanite, monezile .' (edwardsite of Shepard,) zircon,
iolite, corundum, feldspar.
Orange. Pyrites.
Oxford, near Humphreysville. Kyanite,
Roaring Brook, (Cheshire.) Dathoiite! calc spar, preiinite, saponite.
Reading, (near the line of Danbury.) Pyroxene, garnet.
Roxbury. Massive spathic iron, blende.
Salisbury. Brown iron ore, ochrey iron, pyrolusite 1
Saybrook. Molybdenite, stilbile, plumbago.
Simsbury. Vitreous copper, green malachite.
Southbury. Rose quartz, Laumonite, prehnite,
Southington. Heavy spar, datholite.
Stafford. Massive pyrites,
Stonington, Stilbite and chabazitt on gneiss.
Thatchersville, (near Bridgeport.) Stilbite on gneiss, babingtonite,
Tolland. Staurotide, massive pyrites.
Trumbull and Monroe. Chlorophane, topaz, beryl, euclase (?) mag-
netic pyrites, iron pyrites, tungstate of lime, wolfram (pseudomorph of
tungsten,) rutile, native bismuth, tungstic acid, spathic iron, mispickel,
argentiferous galena, blende, scapolite, tourmaline, garnet, albite, augite,
graphic tellurium (?)
Washington. Triplite, ilmcnitc ! (Washingtonite of Shepard,) dial-
logite, natrolite, andalusite (New Preston,) kyanite.
Watertown, near the the Naugatuck. White sahlite, monazite.
West Farms. Asbestus.
Winchester and Wilton. Asbestus.
NEW YORK.
ALBANY Co. Coeyman's Landing. Epsom salt.
Guilderland. Petroleum.
Watervliet. Quartz crystals.
ALLEGANY Co. Cuba. Petroleum.
CATTAEAUGUS Co. Freedom. Petroleum,
CAYUGA Co. Auburn. Fluor, epsom salt.
Ludlowville. Epsom salt.
Springville. Nitrogen springs.
31*
366 LOCALITIES OF MINERALS.
CHATAUQUE Co. Fredonia. Petroleum, carbureted hydrogen.
Laona. Petroleum.
COLUMBIA Co. Ancram Lead Mine. Galena, blende, copper pyritts,
heavy spar.
Austerlitz. Earthy manganese, molybdate of lead, vitreous copper.
Hudson. Selenite !
Lebanon. Nitrogen Spring.
DUTCHESS Co. Dover. Garnet (Foss ore-bed.)
Fishkill. Graphite, green actinolite ! talc, hydrous anthophyllite.
Rhinebeck. Granular epidote.
Union Vale. Gibbsite (Clove mine.)
Amenia. Brown hematite.
ESSEX Co. Alexandria. Kirby's graphite mine, graphite, pyroxene,
tcapolite, sphene.
Crown Point. Garnet, massive feldspar, epidote, epsom salt, apa-
tite, (eupyrchroite of Emmons,} magnetic iron (Peru.)
Lewis. Tabular spar, colophonite, garnet, labradorite.
Long Pond. Apatite, garnet, pyroxene, idocrase, coccolite!! sca-
polite, magnetic iron ore, blue calc spar.
Mclntyre. Labradorite, garnet, magnet iron ore.
Moriah. Zircon ! calc spar, apatite, actinolite, (Sanford ore-bed,)
labradorite, mica, specular iron.
Newcomb. Labradorite, feldspar.
Port Henry. Brown tourmaline, mica, rose quartz, serpentine, green
and black pyroxene, hornblende, cryst. pyrites, magnetic pyrites,
adularia.
Roger's Rock. Graphite, tabular spar, garnet, colophonite, feldspar,
adularia, pyroxene, sphene, coccolite.
Schroon. Calc spar, pyroxene, chondrodite.
Ticonderoga. Graphite, pyroxene, sahlite, sphene, black tourmaline,
cacoxene, (Mt. Defiance.)
Westport. Labradorite, prehnite.
Willsboro. Tabular spar, colophonite, garnet, green coccolit*, horn-
blende.
FRANKLIN Co. Chateaugay. Nitrogen springs.
Malone. Massive pyrites, magnetic iron ore.
GREENE Co. Catskill. Calc spar.
Diamond Hill. Quartz crystals.
HERKIMER Co. Little Falls. Quartz crystals, heavy spar, calc spar,
anthracite.
Middleville. Quartz crystals ! calc spar, brown and pearl spar.
Salisbury. Quartz crystals ! blende, galena, iron and copper pyrites.
Stark. Fibrous celestine, gypsum.
JEFFERSON Co. Antwerp. Quartz crystals ! serpentine ! calc spar,
tpinel, mica, spathic iron, specular iron, arragonite, cacoxene I tremo-
lite, fluor, green malachite.
Bro wnville . Celestine .
Carthage. Cacoxene.
Champion. Pyrites.
Chaumont Bay. Celestine.
Depauville. Celestine.
LOCALITIES OF MINERALS. 367
Henderson. Mica /
High Island, (in the St. Lawrence.) Tourmaline.
Muscolonge Lake. Fluor!! mica, strontianite, idocrase.
Natural Bridge. Chalcedony.
Oxbow. Calc spar .'! heavy spar.
Vrooman Lake, near Oxbow. Apatite ! quartz crystals, cafc war,
pyroxene, mica ! tourmaline, pyrites.
Pillar Point. Massive heavy spar.
Theresa. Carbonate of strontia.
Watertown. Trcmolite.
LEWIS Co. Diana, (natural bridge.) Scapolite! tabular spar, green
coccolite, feldspar, apatite, sj)hene, mica, quartz crystals, drusy quartz,
cryst. pyrites, magnetic pyrites, blue calc spar, serpentine, rensselaerite,
zircon.
Greig. Magnetic iron ore,
House ville. Earthy manganese.
Leyden. Calc spar.
Lowville. Calc spar, fluor spar, pyrites, galena, blende.
MONROE Co. Rochester. Pearl spar, calc spar, snowy gypsum,
fluor, celestine, galena, blende.
MONTGOMERY Co. Root. Pearl spar, drusy quartz, blende.
Palatine. Quartz crystals, drus} quartz.
NEW YORK Co. Corker's Hook. Apatite.
Kingsbridge. Tremolite, pyroxene, mica, tourmaline, pyrites, rutile.
Harlem. Epidote, apophyllite, stilbite, tourmaline, vivianite, lamel-
lar feldspar, mica.
New York. Serpentine, amianthus, actinolite, talc, pyroxene, hy-
drous anthophyllite, garnet, staurotide, molybdenite, graphite.
NIAGARA Co. Lewiston. Epsom salt.
Lockport. Celestine ! calc spar, selenite, anhydrite, fluor, pearl
spar ! blende.
Niagara Falls. Calc spar, fluor, blende.
OXEIDA Co. Boonville. Calc spar, tabular spar, coccolite.
Clinton. Blende, lenticular argillaceous iron ore.
ONONDAGA Co. Camillus. Selenite and fibrous gypsum.
Manlius. Gypsum and fluor.
Syracuse. Serpentine, celestine.
ORANGE Co. Cornwall. Zircon, chondrodite, hornblende^ spinel,
massive feldspar, fibrous epidote, hudsonite, ilmenite, serpentine,
boltonite.
Deer Park. Cryst. pyrites, galena.
Monroe. Mica ! sphene ! garnet, colophonite, epidote, chondrodite,
allanite, bucholzite, brown spar, boltonite, spinel, hornblende, talc, ilme-
nite, magnetic pyrites, common pyrites, chromic iron, graphite.
At Wiiks and O'Neil mine in Monroe. Arragonite.
At Two Ponds in Monroe. Pyroxene ! chondrodite, hornUende t
scapolite ! zircon, sphene, apatite, boltonite.
At Greenwood Furnace. Chondrodite, pyroxene ! mica ! hornblende t
spinel, scapolite, mica, ilmenite.
368 LOCALITIES OF MINERALS.
At Forest of Dean. Pyroxene, spinel, zircon, scapolite, hornblende,
boltonite.
Town of Warwick.
Warwick village. Spinel, zircon, serpentine .' brown spar, pyroxene !
hornblende ! pseudomorphous steatite, feldspar ! (Rock Hill,) ilmenite t
clintonite, tourmaline (R. H.,) rutile, sphene, molybdenite, mispickel,
white iron pyrites, common pyrites, yellow iron sinter.
Amity. Spinel, garnet, scapolite, hornblende, idocrase, epidote !
clintonite ! magnetic iron ! tourmaline, warwickite, apatite, chondro-
dite, ilmenite, talc, pyroxene ! rutile, zircon, corundum, feldspar,
sphene, calc spar, serpentine, schiller spar. (?)
Edenville. Apatite, chondrodile ! hair brown hornblende ! tremolite,
spinel, tourmaline, warwickite, pyroxene, sphene, mica, feldspar, mis-
pickel, orpiment, rutile, ilmenite, ecorodite, copper pyrites.
West Point. Feldspar, mica, scapolite, sphene, hornblende.
Carmel, (Brown's quarry.) Anthophyllite, schiller spar, (?) orpiment,
mispickel.
Cold Spring. Chabazite, mica, sphene.
Patterson. White pyroxene ! calc spar, asbestus, tremolite, dolo-
mite, massive pyrites.
Phillipstown. Tremolite, amianthus, serpentine^ sphene, diopside,
green coccolite, hornblende, scapolite, stilbite, mica, laumonite, gurhofite,
calc spar, magnetic iron, chromic iron.
Phillip's ore bed. Hyalite, actinolite, massive pyrites.
RENSSELAER Co, Hoosic. Nitrogen springs,
Lansingburgh. Epsom salt, quartz crystals, iron pyrites.
Troy. Quartz crystals, iron pyrites, selenite !
RICHMOND Co. Rossville. Lignite, cryst. pyrites.
Quarantine. Asbestus ! amianthus, magnesite, dolomite, gurhofite,
brucite, serpentine, talc,
ROCKLAND Co. Caldwell. Calc spar !
Grassy Point. Serpentine, actinolite.
Haverstraw. Hornblende.
Ladentown. Zircon, red copper ore, green malachite.
Piermont. Datholite, stilbite, apophyllite, stellite, prehnite, thom-
sonite, nemalite, calc spar.
Stony Point. Kerolite, lamellar hornblende, asbestus.
ST. LAWRENCE Co. Canton. Massive pyrites, calc spar, brown
tourmaline, sphene, serpentine, talc, rensselaerite, pyroxene, specular
iron, copper pyrites.
Dekalb. Hornblende, heavy spar,/Mor, tremolite, tourmaline.
De Long's Mills, in Hammond. Feldspar ! pyroxene, satin spar,
zircon, apatite.
Edwards. Brown and silvery mica ! scapolite, apatite, quartz crys~
tals, actinolite, tremolite, specular iron.
Fowler. Heavy spar, quartz crystals ! specular iron, blende, galena,
iron and copper pyrites, actinolite.
Gouverneur. Calc spar ! serpentine ! hornblende ! scapolite ! feld-
spar!! tourmaline! pyroxene, apatite, rensselaerite, sphene, heavy
spar, rutile, pseudomorphous steatite, black and copper colored mica,
tremolite, asbestus.
LOCALITIES OF MINERALS. 369
Hammond. Apatite V zircon ! feldspar, heavy spar, pytites, pur-
ple fluor.
Hermon. Quartz crystals, specular iron, spathic iron.
Mineral Point, Morristown. Fluor, blende, galena, mica, (Pope's
Mills, Morristown.)
Potsdam. Hornblende! eight miles from Potsdam on road to
Piermont ; feldspar ! tourmaline, black mica.
Rossie, (Parish ore bed.) Heavy spar, specular iron, coralloidal ar-
rngonite.
Ros~ie lead mine. Calc spar !! galena !! pyrites ! celestine, copper
pyrites, white lead ore, anglesite.
Rossie, (Laidlaw Lake.) Calc spar, heavy spar, quartz crystals,
chondroditej pargasite, pyroxene, sphene. Elsewhere in Rossie.
Feldspar ! jmrgasite ! apatite, pyroxene, mica, apatite, fluor, serpen-
tine, automoiiie.
Somerville. Chondrodite, light blue spinel.
SARATOGA Co. Greenfield. Chrysoberyl ! garnet, tourmaline !
mica, feldspar, apatite, graphite.
SCOHARIE Co. Ball's Cave, and others. Calc spar, stalactites.
Carlisle. Fibrous sulphate of baryta, cryst. and fib. carbonate of
lime.
Scoharie. Fibrous celestine, strontianite ! cryst. pyrites !
SENECA Co. Canoga. Nitrogeh springs.
SULLIVAN Co. Wurtzboro'. Galena, blende, pyrites, copper pyritc*.
ULSTER Co. Ellenville. Galena, blende, copper pyrites, quartz.
Marbletown. Pyrites.
WARREK Co. Caldwell. Massive feldspar.
Chester. Pyrites, tourmaline, rutile, copper pyrites.
Diamond Isle, (Lake George.) Calc spar, quartz crystals.
Glenn's Falls. Rhomb ^par.
Johnsburg. Fluor ! zircon!! graphite, serpentine, pyrites.
WASHINGTON Co. Fort Ann. Graphite.
Granville. Lamellar pyroxene, massive feldspar, epidote.
WAYNE Co. Wolcott. Heavy spar.
WESTCHESTER Co. Anthony's Nose. Apatite, pyrites.
Davenport's Neck. Serpentine, garnet, sphene.
Eastchester. Blende, copper and iron pyrites, dolomite.
Hastings. Tremolite, white pyroxene.
New Rochelle. Serpentinf, brucite, magnesite, quartz, mica, tremo-
lite, garnet.
Peekskill. Mica, feldspar, hornblende, stilbite.
Rye. Serpentine, chlorite, black tourmaline, tremolite, kerolite.
Singsing. Pyroxene, tremolite, iron pyrites, copper pyrites, beryl,
azurite, green malachite, white lead ore, pyromorphite, anglesite, vau-
quelinite, galena, native silver.
West Farms. Apatite, tremolite, garnet, stilbite, heulandite, chaba-
zite, epid<5te, sphene.
Yonkers. Tremolite, apatite, calc spar, analcime, pyrites, tour-
maline.
Yorktown. Silhmanite, monazite, magnetic iron.
870 LOCALITIES OF MINERALS.
NEW JERSEY,
Allentown, (Monmouth Co.) Vivianite,
Belville. Copper mines.
Bergen. Calc spar, datholite, thomsonite, pectolite, (called steilite,)
analcime, epistilbite, apophyllite, prehnite, sphene, stilbite, natrolite,
heulandite, laumonite, chabazite, pyrites, pseudomorphous steatite imi-
tative of apophyllite.
Brunswick. Copper mines, native copper, malachite, mountain
leather.
Danville, (Jemmy Jump ridge.) Graphite, chondrodite, augite,
mica.
Flemington. Copper mines.
Frank for t . Serpentine .
Franklin and Hamburgh, near the Franklin furnace. Spinel !! gar-
net ! manganese sjtar, (fowlerite) !! troostite ! ! franklinite ! ! red zinc
ore ! dysluite ! hornblende, tremolite, chondrodite, white scapolite t
black tourmaline, epidote, pink calc spar, mica, actinoHte, augite, sah-
lite, coccolite, asbestus, jeffersonite, calamine, graphite, fluor, beryl,
galena, serpentine-, honey-colored sphene, quartz, chalcedony, amethyst,
zircon, molybdenite, vivianite.
Franklin and Warwick mts. Pyrites.
Greenbrook. Copper mines.
Griggstown- Copper mines.
Imleytown. Vivianite.
Lockwood. Graphite, chondrodite, talc, augite, quartz, green
spinel.
Mullica Hill, (Gloucester Co.) Vivianite, lining belemnites.
Newton. Spinel, blue and white corundum, mica, idocrase, horn-
blende, tourmaline, scapolite, rutile, pyrites, talc, calc spar, heavy spar,
pseudomorphous steatite.
Patterson. Dat halite.
Schuyler's mines. Green malachite, red copper ore, native copper,
chrysocolla.
Somerville. Red copper ore, native copper, chrysocolla, green mal-
achite, bitumen, (two miles to th northeast.)
Sparta. Chondrodite .' spinel, sapphire, green talc, graphite, epidote,
augite.
Suckasunny, on the Morris canal. Brown apatite in magnetic
pyrites.
Trenton. Zircon, amber, lignite.
Vernon. Green spinel, chondrodite.
NOTE. From Amity. N. Y., to Andover, N. J., a distance of about
thirty miles, the outcropping limestone, at different points, affords more
or less of the minerals enumerated as occurring at Franklin. (See GeoL
Rep. on N. J., by H. D. Rogers.)
PENNSYLVANIA.
BERKS Co. Morgantown. Malachite! chrysocolla ! oct. and dodc*
magnetic iron, copper pyrites, micaceous iron ore.
LOCALITIES OF MINERALS. 371
BUCKS Co , three miles west of Attleboro'. Pyroxene, scapolite,
feldspar, tabular spar, (a boulder, now exhausted,) zircon, apatite, sphene,
green coccolite, graphite. Opposite New Hope in N. J., black tour-
maline,
CAMBRIA Co. Strasberg. Epsom salt.
CHESTER Co. Corafioidal nrragonite. At London Grove: tremolite,
apatite. At Newlin : corundum, beryl. At Phenixville : pearl spar !
calc spar, quartz crystals, brookite (?) on quartz. Near Westchester : zir-
con, cryst. magnesite, amethyst, mang. garnet, oxyd of manganese.
South part of Chester Co. : epidote, magnetic iron ore, rutile. At
Chester Ridge : oxyd of cobalt, hematite.
DELAWARE Co. Corundum, andalusite, aventurine feldspar, ame-
thyst, green quartz. At Leiperville : beryl '. black tourmaline ! apatite,
garnet. At Concord, Greene's creek : garnet, (pyrope ?) ! bucholzite.
HUNTTNGTOJT Co. Frankstown, Logan's valley, and near Alexandria :
fibrmts celestine !
LANCASTER Co. Anthophyllite. At Little Britain : cryst. pyrites,
moss agate, chalcedony. At Sadsbury : rutile!! Calamine, green hy-
drate of nickel, chromic iron.
MONTGOMERY Co. At Perkiomen lead mine : blue malachite, blende,
galena, pyromorphite, white lead ore, molybdate of lead, cupreous sul-
phate of lead 1 arrglesite, heavy spar, calamine.
NORTHUMBERLAND Co. Opposite Selim's grove. Electric calamine.
NORTHAMPTON Co. Easton. Zircon '.'. (rare,) nephrite, saussurite ?
tremolite, serpentine, (pseudomorphic of calc spar rare,) pyroxene,
coccolite, pink carbonate of lime, argillaceous iron ore.
PHILADELPHIA Co. Near Columbia railroad bridge, on the Schuyl-
kill. Laumonite ! (inaccessible.) On the Schuylkill road, near Darnley
bridge : kyanite. At Chesnut Hill : mica, serpentine, dolomite, asbestus,
tremolite, nephrite, talc, tourmaline, sphene. Near the Wlssahiccon
creek : staurotide, actinolite. Near Germantown : mica, apatite,
(coarse.) beryl, feldspar.
Near Nicholson's Gap, Blue Ridge : blue malachite.
DELAWARE.
Dixon's quarry, seven miles from Wilmington. Cinnamon stone!!
(exhausted,) blue apatite, glassy feldspar , sahlite, sphene in pyroxene,
kyanite.
Brandywine Springs. Bucholzite, sahlite.
Chesapeake and Delaware canal. Eetinasphalt.
Newcastle Co. Vivianite.
MARYLAND.
Baltimore, (Jones Falls, If miles from B.) Haydenite, heulandite,
(beaumontite of Levy,) pyrites, fenticular carbonate of iron, mica,
stilbite.
Sixteen miles from Baltimore, on the Gunpowder. Graphite.
Twenty-three miles from B., on the Gunpowder. Talc.
Twenty-five miles from B., on the Gunpowder. Magnetic iron,
sphene, pycnite.
372 LOCALITIES OF MINERALS.
Eight to ten miles north of B. Brown hematite.
Eight to twenty miles north of B., in limestone. Tremolite, augite,
pyrites, brown arid yellow tourmaline.
Fifteen miles north of B. Sky-blue chalcedony in granular lime-
stone.
Eighteen miles north of B., at Scott's mills. Magnetic iron, kyanite.
Bare Hills. Chromic iron, asbestus, tremolite, talc, hornblende, ser-
pentine, chalcedony, meerschaum.
Cape Sable, near Magothy R. Amber, pyrites, alum slate.
Catoctin mts. Pyritous copper, carbonate of copper.
Cecil county, north part. Chromic iron in serpentine.
Cooptown, Harford Co. Olive-colored tourmaline, diallage, talc ot
green, blue, and rose colors, ligniform asbestus, chromic iron, ser-
pentine.
Deer creek. Magnetic iron ! chlorite slate.
Liberty. Specular iron.
Meadow mt. Quartz crystals.
Montgomery Co. Peroxyd of manganese,
Six miles north of the Potomac. Chromic iron, in serpentine,
dolomite.
Newmarket, (between Newmarket and Taneytown, east of the
Monocacey.) Vitreous copper, copper pyrites, malachite.
" Soldier's Delight." Serpentine (kerolite ?) gray antimony.
Somerset and Worcester Cos., north part. Bog iron ore, vivianite.
St. Mary's river. Gypsum ! in clay.
VIRGINIA AND DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.
Albemarle Co., a little west of the Green mts. Steatite, graphite.
AmherstCo., along the west base of Buffalo ridge. Copper ores, etc.
Buckingham Co., Willis's mt. Kyanite, tourmaline, actinolite.
Eldridge's Gold mine. Gold, auriferous pyrites, heavy spar.
Culpepper Co., on Rapidan river. Gold, pyrites.
Franklin Co. Grayish steatite.
Fauquier Co., Barnet's mills. Asbestus.
Phenix copper mines. Copper pyrites, etc.
J. Hood's plantation. Heavy spar.
Georgetown, D. C. Rutile.
Loudon Co. Tabular quartz, prase, pyrites, talc, chlorite, soap-
stone, asbestus, chromic iron, actinolite, quartz crystals.
Louisa Co., near Tinder's gold mine. Brown iron ore.
Luzerne Co., Walton gold mine. Gold, pyrites, copper pyrites, ar-
gentiferous galena, spathic iron, blende, anglesite.
Orange Co., western part, Blue Ridge. Specular Iron.
U. S. Copper Mine District. Vitreous copper.
Greenwood gold mines. Gold.
Rockbridge Co., three miles southwest of Lexington. Heavy spar.
Shenandoah Co., near Woodstock. Fluor spar.
Mt. Alto, Blue ride. Argillaceous iron ore.
Spotsylvania Co., two miles northeast of Chancellorville. Kyanite,
Wy the Co. , (Austin's mines.) White lead ore, minium, plumbic ocher
blende, electric calamim, galena.
LOCALITIES OF MINERALS. 373
Spotsylvania Co., eighteen miles above Fredericksburgh, on the Rap-
pahannock. Gold.
Stafford Co., eight or ten miles from Falmouth. Micaceous iron,
gold, silver, galena, vivianite.
Washington Co., eighteen miles from Abingdon. Rock salt with
gypsum.
Wier's cave and other caves in Virginia. Calc spar and stalactites.
Kenawha. Petroleum, brine springs.
Shepardstown. Fluor spar,
On the Potomac, 25 miles north of Washington city. Native sulphur
in gray compact limestone.
NOTE. The minerals usually associated with the gold are, arsenical
iron, iron and copper pyrites, carbonate of copper, blende, galena, phos-
phate of lead in crystals, sulphur, peroxyd of iron, and rarely oxyd of
tin and bismuth. (ROGERS.)
SOUTHERN STATES. NORTH CAROLINA.
Buncombe Co. Zircon ! rutile in quartz, nitrogen from a warm
spring.
Burke Co. Gold.
Cabarras Co. Gold; also in Lincoln, Rutherford, and Mecklenburg
Cos. Phosphate copper, malachite.
Chatham Co. Mineral coal, pyrites.
Gaston Co. Iron ores.
Rutherford Co. Gold, graphite, platinum, bismuthic gold, diamond,
itacolumite ; on the road to Cooper's gap. Kyanite.
Davidson Co., (King's mine.) Lamellar native silver, carbonate of
lead! pyromorphite ! galena, blende, malachite, black copper, oxyd of
tin and manganese.
At Conrad Hill, five miles from King's mine. Gold, copper ores.
Lincoln Co., near Crowder's mountain. Gold, iron ores, lazulite,
kyanite, garnet, graphite.
Stokes and Surrey Cos. Iron ores, graphite.
Yancey Co. Iron ores, amianthus.
SOUTH CAROLINA.
Abbeville Dist. Gold, galena, phosphate oflead.
Anderson Dist. Galena.
Cheowee Valley. Galena, tourmaline, gold.
Chesterfield Dist. Gold, (Brewer's mine,) talc, pyrites, native bis-
muth, oxyd of bismuth, red and yellow ocher, whetstone.
Greenville Dist. Galena, phosphate oflead, kaolin.
Lancaster Dist. Gold, (Hale's mine,! talc, pyrites; also at Black-
man's mine, Massey's mine, Ezell's mine.
Picken's Dist Gold, manganese ores, kaolin.
Spartanburg Dist. Magnetic iron ore; at the Cowpens brown
hematite, graphite, limestone, copperas.
Union Dist. Fairforest gold mines, pyrites, copper pyrites.
York. Limestone, whetstones.
32
374 LOCALITIES OF MINERALS.
GEORGIA.
Burke and Scriven Cos. Hyalite.
Habersham Co. Gold, iron and copper py rites, galena, hornblende,
garnet, quartz, kaolin, soapstone, chlorite, rutile, iron ores, galena, tour-
maline, staurotide, zircon.
Hall Co. Gold, quartz, kaolin, diamond.
Hancock Co. 'Agate, chalcedony.
Lumpkin Co. Gold, quartz crystals.
Rabun Co. Gold, copper pyrites.
ALABAMA.
Centerville. Iron ores, marble, heavy spar y coal, cobalt.
Tuscaloosa Co. Coal, galena.
FLORIDA.
Near Tampa bay. Limestone, sulphur springs, chalcedony, carnc-
lian, agate, siiicified shells and corals.
WESTERN STATES. OHIO.
Bainbridge, (Copperas mt., a few miles east of B.) Calc spar, heavy
spar, iron pyrites, copperas, alum.
Canfield. Gypsum !
Duck creek, Monroe Co. Petroleum.
Liverpool. Petroleum.
Marietta. Argillaceous iron ore ; iron ore abundant also in Scioto
and Lawrence Cos.
Poland. Gypsum !
ARKANSAS.
Ouachita springs. Quartz ! whetstones.
Magnet Cove. Arkansite, ozarkite, schorlomite, elaolite, magnetic
iron, quartz, green coccolite.
MICHIGAN.
Lake Superior mining region. Native copper ! silver ! copper pyr-
ites, black oxyd of copper, (at Copper Harbor,) horn silver, gray copper,
manganese ores, prehnite, datholite, (large vein on W. point of Eagle
harbor,) stilbite, laumonite, analcime, tabular spar, calc spar ; galena
and sulphuret of copper on Chocolate river ; copper pyrites and native
copper at Presqu' Isle.
Isle Royal. Copper ores.
. ILLINOIS.
Gallatin Co., on a branch of Grand Pierre creek, 16 to 30 miles from
Shawneetown, down the Ohio, and from 3 to 8 miles from this river.
Violet fluor spar .' heavy spar, galena, blende, brown iron ore.
In Northern Illinois, townships 27, 28, 29, several important mines
of galena.
LOCALITIES OF MINERALS. 375
INDIANA.
Limestone caverns. Epsom salt; in most of the S. W. counties
pyrites, sulphate of iron, and feather alum; on Sugar creek, pyrites
and sulphate of iron!; in sandstone of Floyd Co., near the Ohio.
gypsum ; at the top of the blue limestone formation, brown spar .' calc
spur.
WISCONSIN
At Mineral Point and elsewhere, copper and lead ores abundant,
principally silicate and carbonate of copper and galena. Also pyrites,
capillary pyrites, blende, white lead ore, leadhiilite, calamine, angle-
site, heavy spar, and calc spar ; often in highly interesting forms.
IOWA.
Du Buque lead mines, and elsewhere. Galena ! calc spar, black
ozyd of manganese ; at Swing's and Sherard's diggings, calamine ! ;
at Des Mains, quartz crystals ; Mahoqueta R., brown iron ore.
MISSOURI.
Jefferson Co., at Valle's diggings. Calamine, galena, white lead ore,
anglesite, pyritous copper, blue and green malachite, carbonate of
baryta.
Mine a Burton. Galena, white lead ore, anglesite, heavy spar, calc
spar.
Deep Diggings. Carbonate of copper, white lead ore in crystals, and
manganese ore.
Mine La Motte. Galena ! malachite, earthy cobalt and nickel, bog
manganese, sulphuret of iron and nickel, white lead ore in crystals, cora-
cite, caledonite, plumbo-resinite, wolfram.
Perry's Diggings, and elsewhere. Galena, etc.
Forty miles west of the Mississippi and ninety south of St. Louis, the
iron mountains, specular iron, brown hematite.
KENTUCKY.
Mammoth cave. Gypsum in imitative forms, stalactites, niter, epsom
salt.
TENNESSEE.
Brown's creek. Galena, blende, heavy spar, celestine.
Carter Co., foot of Roan mt. Sahlite, magnetic iron.
Claiborne Co. Calamine, galena, electric calamine, chlorite, steatite,
and magnetic iron.
Cocke Co., near Brush creek. Cacoxene, kraurite, iron sinter, stilp-
nosiderite, brown hematite.
Davidson Co. Selenite with granular and snowy gypsum, or alabas-
ter, crystallized and compact anhydrite, fluor in crystals ! calc spar in
crystals. Near Nashville, blue celestine, (crystallized, fibrous and radi-
ated,) with heavy spar in limestone. Haysboro, galena, blende, with
heavy spar as the gangue of the ore.
376 LOCALITIES OF MINERALS.
Dickson Co. Manganite.
Jefferson Co. Calamine, galena, fetid heavy spar.
Knox Co. Magnesian limestone.
Maury Co. Wavellite in limestone.
Morgan Co. Epsom salt, nitrate of lime.
Roan Co., eastern declivity of Cumberland mts. Wavellite in lime-
stone.
Severn Co., in caverns. Epsom salt, soda, alum, saltpeter, nitrate
of lime.
Smith Co Fluor.
White Co., Sp*arta, about the Calf Killer's creek. A rolled fragment
of sulphuret of silver, fluor, liquid bitumen.
Stone creek, near Mr. Holland's. Iron ore, black oxyd of manganese.
Smoky int., on declivity. Hornblende, garnet, staurotide.
FOREIGN MIXING REGION*. 3T7
BRIEF NOTICE OF FOREIGN MINING REGIONS.
The geographical positions of the different mining re-
gions are learned with difficulty from the scattered notices
in the course of a mineralogical treatise. A general review
of the more important is therefore here given, to be used
in connection with a good map.
A course across Europe from southeast to northwest, passes
over a large part of the mining regions, and it will be found
most convenient to the memory to mention them in this or-
der, commencing with the borders of Turkey.
1. The mines of the Bannat in southern Hungary, near
the borders of Turkey, (about latitude 45 ) situated princi-
pally at Orawitza, Saszka, Dognaszka, and Moldawa. Ores.
Argentiferous copper ores, vitreous copper, malachite, copper
pyrites, red copper ore, galena, ores of zinc, cobalt, native
gold, yielding silver, gold, copper, and lead. Rock. Syenite,
and granular limestone.
2. The mines of western Transylvania, about latitude
46 , situated between the rivers M aros and Aranyos, at Nagy-
ag, Offenbanya, Salathna, and Vorospatak. Ores. Na-
tive gold, telluric gold, telluric silver, white tellurium, with
galena, blende, orpiment, realgar, gray antimony, fahlerz,
carbonate of manganese, manganblende ; especially valua-
ble in gold and silver.
3. In the mountain range, bounding Transylvania on
the north, about latitude 47 40 , at Nagy-banya, Felso-ban-
ya, and Kapnik. Ores. Native gold, red silver, argentife-
rous gray copper, pyritous copper, blende, realgar, gray an-
timony. Rock. Porphyry.
4. In the Konigsberg mountains, northern Hungary, about
latitude 48 45, at Schemnitz and Kremnitz. Ores. Ar-
gentiferous galena and copper pyrites, native gold, red silver
ore, gray antimony, some cobalt ores and bismuth, mispickel ;
particularly valuable for gold, silver, and antimony. Rock.
Diorite and porphyry.
5. To the east of the Konigsberg mountains, at Schmol-
nitz and Retzbanya. Ores. Pyritous copper, gray copper
ore, blende, gray antimony, particularly valuable for copper.
Rock. Clay slate.
6. Illyria, west of Hungary, at Bleiberg and Raibel, (in
Carinthia.) Ores. Argentiferous galena, calamine, with
32*
378 FOREIGN MINING REGIONS.
some copper pyrites and other ores, affording silver and
zinc abundantly. Rock. Mountain limestone. Alsoatldria,
native mercury and cinnabar, in argillaceous schist.
7. In Western Styria, at Schladming. Ores. Arsenical
nickel, copper nickel, native arsenic, arsenical iron, largely
worked for nickel. Rock. Argillaceous slate. Illyria and
Styria are noted also for their iron ores, especially spathic iron.
8. In the Tyrol, at Zell. Ores. Argentiferous copper
and iron ores, auriferous pyrites, native gold. Rock. Ar-
gillaceous slate.
9. In the Erzgebirge separating Bohemia from Saxony,
and consisting principally of gneiss.
A. Bohemian or southern slope, at Joachimstahl, Mies,
Schlackenwald, Zinnwald, Bleistadt, Przibram, Katherinen-
berg. Ores. Tin ores, argentiferous galena, (worked prin-
cipally for silver,) arsenical cobalt ores, copper nickel, af-
fording tin, silver, cobalt, nickel, and arsenic.
B. Saxon or northern slope, at Altenberg, Geyer, Marien-
berg, Annaberg, Schneeberg, Ehrenfriedersdorf, Johann-
georgenstadt, Freiberg. Ores. Argentiferous galena, (worked
only for silver,) tin ore, various cobalt and nickel ores, vi-
treous and pyritous copper, affording silver, tin, cobalt, nickel,
bismuth, and copper.
10. In Silesia, in the Riesen-gebirge, an eastern extension
of the Erz-gebirge, at Kupferberg, Jauer, Reichenstern.
Ores of copper, cobalt, affording copper, cobalt, arsenic and
sulphur.
11. In Silesia, in the low country east of the Riesen-ge-
birge, near the boundary of Poland, at Tarnowitz. Ores.
Calamine, electric calamine, blende, argentiferous galena,
affording zinc, silver and lead. Rock. Mountain limestone.
12. Northwest of Saxony, near latitude 51 30', at Eisle-
ben, Gerlstadt, Sangerhausen, and Mansfeld. Ores. Gray
copper, somewhat argentiferous, variegated copper ore, af-
fording copper. Rock. A marly bituminous schist (kupfer-
schiefer) more recent than the coal strata.
13. In the Harz-gebirge, (Hartz mountains,) north of west
from Eisleben, about latitude 51 50', at Clausthal, Zeller-
feld, Lauthenthal, Wildemann, Grund, Andreasberg, Goslar,
Lauterberg. Ores. Vitreous copper, gray copper, pyritous
copper, cobalt ores, copper nickel, ruby silver ore, argentif-
erous galena, blende, antimony ores, affording silver, lead,
copper, and some gold.
FOREIGN MINING REGIONS. 379
14. In Hesse-Cassel to the southwest of the Hartz, at
Riechelsdorf. Ores. Arsenical cobalt, arsenical nickel,
nickel ocher, native bismuth, bismuth glance, galena, af-
fording cobalt. Rock. Red sandstone. Also at Bieber,
cobalt ores in mica slate.
15. In the Bavarian or Upper Rhine, (Palatinate,) near
latitude 49 45 , at Landsberg near Moschel, Wolfstein, and
Morsfeld. Ores. Cinnabar, native mercury, amalgam, horn
quicksilver, pyrites, brown iron ore, some gray copper ore,
and copper pyrites. Rocks. Coal formation.
16. Province of the Lower Rhine, at Altenberg, near
Aix la Chapelle (or Aachen.) Ores. Calamine, electric
calamine, galena, affording zinc. Rock. Limestone. The
same, just south in Netherlands, at Limburg, and also to the
west at Vedrin, near Namur.
17. There are also copper mines at Saalfeld, west of Sax-
ony, in Saxon-Meiningen, in Southern Westphalia near
Siegen, in Nassau at DilfenKerg, and elsewhere.
18. In Switzerland, Canton du Valais. Ores. Argentif-
erous lead, and valuable nickel and cobalt ores.
19. The range of the Verges, in France, parallel with
the Rhine, about St. Marie-aux-Mines. Ores. Argentifer-
ous galena, (affording 1-1000 of silver,) with phosphate of
lead, gray copper, antimonial sulphuret of silver, native sil-
ver, arsenical cobalt, native arsenic, and pyrites, occasion-
ally auriferous ; affording silver and lead. Rocks. Argil-
laceous schist, syenite, and porphyry.
20. In France there are also the mining districts of the
Alps, Auvergne or the Plateau of Central France, Brit-
tany, and the Pyrenees, but none are very productive, ex-
cept in iron ores. Brittany resembles Cornwall, and for-
merly yielded some tin and copper. The valley of Oisans
in the Alps, at Allemont, contains argentiferous galena,
arsenical cobalt and nickel, gray copper, native mercury, and
other ores, in talcose, micaceous, and syenitic schists, but
they are not now explored. The region of Central Fiance
is worked at this time only at Pont-Gibaud, in the department
of Puy-de-Dome, and at Vialas and Villefort in the Gard.
The former is a region of schistose and granite rocks, inter-
sected by porphyry, affording some copper, antimony, lead, and
silver ; the latter of gneiss, affording lead and silver, from
argentiferous galena. The French Pyrenees are worked at
the present time only for iron.
380 FOREIGN MINING REGIONS.
21. In England there are two great metalliferous dis-
tricts.
A. On the southwest, in Cornwall, and the adjoining
county of Devonshire. Ores. Pyritous copper and various
other copper ores, tin ore, galena, with some bismuth, co-
balt, nickel, and antimony ores, affording principally copper,
tin, and lead. Rocks. Granite, gneiss, micaceous and ar-
gillaceous schist.
B. On the North, in Cumberland, the adjoining parts of
Durham, with Yorkshire and Derbyshire, just south. Ores.
Galena, and other lead ores, blende, copper ores, calamine,
(the last especially at Alstonmoor in Cumberland, and
Castleton and Matlock, in Derbyshire,) affording largely of
zinc, and three-fifths of the lead of Great Britain, and some
copper. Rock. Carboniferous limestone.
C. There is also a rich vein of calamine, blende, and ga-
lena, in the same limestone at Holywell, in Flintshire, on
the north of Wales ; another of calamine at Mendip Hills,
in Southern England, south of the Bristol channel, in Som-
ersetshire, occurring in magnesian limestone ; mines of
copper on the isle of Anglesey, in North Wales, in Westmore-
land and the adjacent parts of Cumberland and Lancashire,
in the southwest of Scotland, the Isle of Man, and at Ecton
in Staffordshire, &c.
22. In Spain, there are mines
A. On the south, in the mountains near the Mediterranean
coast, in New Grenada, and east to Carthagena, in Murcia ;
situated in New Grenada, in the Sierra Nevada, or the moun-
tains of Alpujarras, the Sierra Almagrera, the Sierra de Ga-
dor, just back of Almeria, and at Almazarron near Cartha-
gena. Ore. Galena, which is argentiferous at the Sierra
Almagrera, and at Almazarron, affording full 1 per cent, of
silver. Rock. Limestone, associated with schist and crys-
talline rocks.
B. The vicinity of the range of mountains running west-
ward from Alcaraz, (in the district of La Mancha,) to Por-
tugal. 1. On the south, near the center of the district of
Jaen, at Linares, latitude 38 5', longitude 3 40 . Ores.
Galena, carbonate of lead, red copper ore, malachite, in
granite and schists ; affording lead and copper. 2. In La
Mancha, at Alcaraz, northeast of Linares, latitude 38 45'.
Ores. Calamine affording abundantly zinc. 3. In the
west extremity of La Mancha, near latitude 38 38', at
FOREIGN MINING REGIONS. 381
Almaden. Ores. Cinnabar, native mercury, horn quicksil-
ver, pyrites, in clay slate. 4. Southwest of Almaden, in
Southern Estremadura, and Northwestern Sevilla, at Guadal-
canal, Cazalla, Rio Tinto. Ores. Gray copper, copper
vitriol, malachite, with some red silver ore, and native silver,
in ancient schists or limestones.
There are also mines of lead and copper at Falsete in
Catalonia ; in Galicia, a little tin ore ; in the Asturias at
Cabrales, copper ores.
23. In Sweden : 1. At Fahlun, in Dalecarlia. Ores.
Copper pyrites, variegated copper. Rock. Syenite and
schists. At Finbo and Broddbo. Ores. Columbium ores,
tin ore. At Sala. Ore. Argentiferous galena, affording
lead and silver. Rock. Crystalline limestone. At Vena,
(or Wehna,) and at Tunaberg. Ores. Arsenical cobalt,
arsenate of cobalt. Rock. Mica slate and gneiss. At Dan.
nemora and elsewhere. Ore. Magnetic iron.
24. In Norway, at Kongsberg, vitreous silver, native sil-
ver, horn silver, native gold, galena, native arsenic, blende.
Rock. Mica slate. At Modum and Skutterud. Ores. Co-
balt ores, native silver. Rock. Mica slate. At Arendal,
magnetic iron.
25. In Russia : 1. In the Urals, (mostly on the Asiatic
side,) at Ekatherinenberg, Beresof, Nischne Tagilsk, &c.
Ores. Native gold, platinum, iridium, native copper, red oxyd
of copper, malachite. 2. The Altai, (southern Siberia,) at
Kolyvan and Zmeof. Ores. Native gold, native silver, ar-
gentiferous galena, carbonate of lead, native copper, oxyds
of copper, malachite, pyritous copper, calamine. Rocks.
Metamorphic beds, and porphyry. 3. In the Daouria moun-
tains, east of Lake Baikal, at Nertchinsk. Ores. Argen-
tiferous galena, carbonate of lead, arsenate of lead, gray an-
timony, arsenical iron, electric calamine, cinnabar. Rocks.
Ancient compact limestone and schists.
Other important foreign mines, are the copper mines of
Cuba, South America, Southern Australia ; the silver mines
of South America and Mexico ; the gold mines of South
America, Africa, and the East Indies ; the quicksilver mines
of Huanca Velica, Peru, and those of China ; the tin of
Malacca, (principally on the island of Junck Ceylon,) of
Banca ; of zinc, in China ; of platinum, in Brazil, Colum-
bia, St. Domingo, and Borneo ; of palladium, in Brazil ; of
382 MINERALOGICAL INSTRUMENTS.
arsenic in Khoordistan, China. Copper mines are also re-
ported from New Zealand.
MINERALOGICAL IMPLEMENTS.
f For the examination and collection of minerals, the min-
eralogist should be provided with a few simple implements.
1. A three-cornered or small flat file, for testing hardness.
2. A knife with a pointed blade, of good steel, for trying
hardness. Berzelius suggests that it may be magnetized, to
be used as a magnet.
3. The series of crystallized minerals, constituting the
scale of hardness (see page 64.) The diamond and talc
are least essential.
4. Small glass-stoppered bottles (one-ounce) of each of the
acids muriatic, sulphuric, and nitric, in a dilute state, (page
66.)
5. A blowpipe, (page 67.)
6. The common fluxes, (page 69.)
7. Pieces of charcoal for blowpipe purposes, (page 69.)
Also strips of mica for holding the assay when platinum is
not at hand.
8. A candle or lamp for blowpipe trials, (page 68.)
9. Platinum foil, wire, and forceps, (page 69.)
10. Also a pair of small steel spring forceps, for holding
fragments of minerals in the blowpipe flame, and for man-
aging the assay.
11. A piece of glass tube, inch bore ; and two or three
test tubes (of hard glass,) or small mattresses, for trying the
action of acids, and testing the presence of water by the
blowpipe.
12. A pair of cutting pliers, for removing chips of a min-
eral for blowpipe or chemical assay.
13. A common goniometer ; or a pair of arms pivoted to-
gether to use with a scale, as explained on pages 47, 48.
The reflecting goniometer (page 50) is also a desirable in-
strument.
14. Models of the common crystalline forms ; they may
be made by the student, out of chalk, or wood ; and when
finished, a coat of varnish or gum will give great hardness
to the chalk.
15. A pair of balances for specific gravity, (page 63.)
16. A hammer weighing about two pounds, resembling a
MINEHALOGICAL IMPLEMENTS. 383
stone cutter's hammer, having a
slightly rounded face, and at
the opposite end, an edge hav-l
ing the same direction as the I
handle. The handle should be
made of the best hickory, and the mortice to receive it
should be as large as the handle.
17. Another hammer of half a pound weight, similar to
the preceding, except that the face should be flat ; to be used
in trimming specimens.
18. A small jeweller's hammer, for trying the malleabili-
ty of globules obtained by the blowpipe, and for other pur-
poses.
19. A piece of steel, say inch thick, 1 or 2 wide, and 2
or 3 long, to be used as an anvil. A fragment may be broken
or pulverized upon it, by first folding it in a piece of thin pa-
per, to prevent its flying oil' when struck. A half inch cir-
cular cavity on one side, and a pestle to correspond, will be
found very convenient.
20. Two steel chisels of the form of a wedge, as in the
annexed figure ; one 6 inches long, and the other 3. When
it is desired to pry open seams in rocks with the larger
chisel, two pieces of steel plate should be provided to
place on opposite sides of the chisel, after an opening
is obtained ; this protects the chisel and diminishes
friction -while driving it.
21. Bone ashes, to be used upon mica, or in a small cav-
ity in charcoal, in cupelling for silver, with the blowpipe.
A rounded cavity should be made in the charcoal, as large
as the end of the little finger, and the bone ashes (slightly
moistened, and mixed with a little soda,) should be pressed
into it firmly with the head of a small pestle ; after tho-
roughly drying, it is in a condition to receive the assay.
22. A pocket microscope.
23. A small agate mortar and pestle.
24. A magnetic needle.
25. A pair of scissors.
26. A box of matches.
For blasting and other heavy work, the following tools
and appliances are necessary :
1. Three hand-drills, 18, 24, and 36 inches long, an inch
in diameter. The best form is a square bar of steel, with
a diagonal edge at one end. The three are designed to fol-
low one another.
V
384 WEIGHTS, MEASUKES, AND COINS.
2. A sledge hammer of 6 or 8 pounds weight, to use in
driving the drill.
3. A sledge hammer of 10 or 12 pounds weight, for break-
ing up the blasted rock.
4. A round iron spoon, at the end of a wire 15 or 18
inches long, for removing the pulverized rock from the drill-
hole.
5. A crowbar, a pickaxe, and a hoe, for removing stones
and earth before or after blasting.
6. Cartridges of blasting powder, to use in wet holes'.
They should one-third fill the drill-hole. After the charge
is put in, the hole should be filled with sand and gravel
alone without ramming. If any ramming material is used,
plaster of Paris is the best, which has been wet and after-
wards scraped to a powder.
7. Patent fuse for slow match, to be inserted in the car-
tridge, and to lead out of the drill-hole.
WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND COINS.
For the convenience of the student, the following infor-
mation is here inserted, of such weights, measures, and
coins, of different countries, as are likely to be met with in
the course of his ordinary reading on minerals and mining.
24 grains, Troy, = 1 pennyweight (dwt.)
20 dwt. " =1 ounce (oz.)
12 oz. " = 1 pound (Ib.)
16 drams Avoirdupois, = 1 oz.
16 oz. " =1 pound.
112 Ibs. " = 1 hundred (c\vt.)
20 cwt. " =1 ton.
1 Ib. troy = 5760 grs. troy = 13 oz. 2-65143 drams av.
1 Ib. av. = 7000 grs. troy = 1 Ib. 2 oz. 1 dwt. 16 gr. troy.
To reduce pounds troy, to pounds avoirdupois, multiply by
the decimal .822857 , or, approximately, diminish by 3-17.
To reduce pounds avoirdupois, to pounds troy, multiply by
1-215.
100 Ibs. av. is now the usual 1 cwt., and 25 Ibs. the quar-
ter cwt.
112 pounds, formerly = 1 quintal.
100 pounds, now usually = 1 quintal.
1 French gramme = 15-433159 grs. troy.
WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND COINS. 385
1 French kilogramme = 1000 grammes = 2'21 Ibs. av.
nearly = 2-68 Ibs. troy = 2-0429 French lirres.
To reduce Approximately.
Fr. kilograms to Eng. av, pounds, molt, by 2 2055 or add 6-5.
Prussian, (including Hanoverian, Bruns-
wick, and Hessian,) pounds, to Eng.
avoir, pounds, " " 1'031114 " " 1-32.
Fr. livre, (poids de marc) to Eng. av. Ibs. " " 1-079642 " "2-25.
Eng. av. Ib. to French kilogram, " " 0'453414 "sb. 11-20.
Eng. av. Ib. to French livre, " " Q'9262 " " 1-13.
Eng. cwt. (112 Ibs.) to a metric quintal,
(= 100 kilog. French,) " 0'5078
Eng. cwt. to a Prus. centaer, (=H01bs.) " " 0'9875 " " 1-80.
En<r- cwt to a quintal, (old measure=
100 livres,) " " 1-0385 " add 2-53.
A metric quintal to an English cwt. " " T971
A quintal, old meas. to an Eng. cwt. " " 0'963 " sub. 1-27.
A Prussian centner to an Eng. cwt. " " 1,0127 " add 1-80.
The old French livre contained 2 marcs, or 16 ounces;
a marc = 3778 Eng. grs. A marc at Cologne, (Ham-
burgh, etc..) = 8 oz. = 3608 Eng. grs.
The Russian pood (or pud) = 40 Russian pounds = 36
English pounds avoirdupois.
12 inches English, 1 foot.
3 feet, 1 yard.
40 rods, 1 furlong.
8 furlongs, 1 mile.
3 miles, 1 league.
6 feet, 1 fathom.
60 geographical miles, 1 degree.
69 statute miles (nearly,) 1 degree.
A French meter=3 feet, 3-371 inches English, or more
correctly, 39-37079 inches English=3 feet, inches, 11-296
lines French.
A French toise=6*3946 English feet=6 old French feet.
English. French. Prussian, Danish and Rhenish.
Foot: = -9382928 = -9711361.
To reduce Approximately.
French feet to English. multiply by 1-065765 or add 1-15.
English feet to French, " " 0-9382928 or subt. 1-16.
French meters to English feet, " " 3'280899 or add 23-7.
French meters to English yards, " " 1 093633 or add 1-11.
English feet to French meters, ; -*- " 0-3047945 or sobt. 7-10.
The French foot according to an act in 1812, is a of a
33
386 WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND COINS.
meter, but this measure has not been adopted, the old Fiench
foot, (= 1*066 English feet) continuing to be used.
A. German geographical mile=4 English geographical
miles, or about 4'633 Eng. statute miles = 7407-40 meters,
French stere, (cubic measure) = 35*34384 cubic ft. U. S.
French litre (liquid and dry measure,) = 61*07416 cubic
inches, or 1*05756 quarts wine measure.
Value of different weights, in English avoirdupois pounds,
of measures in English feet and inches, and of coins in
American dollars.
Amsterdam. 1 centner (lOOlbs.) = 108*923 av. Ibs.
Batavia. 1 picul = nearly 136 av. Ibs.
Bremen. 1 centner = 116 av. Ibs. ; 1 Ib. = 1*1 av. Ibs.;
1 foot llf in ; 1 rix dollar, (silver) = $0*787 ; 72 grotea
= 1 rix dollar.
Calcutta. 1 rupee, (gold) =$6.75 ; 1 rupee (silver,)=
$0.45,6 ; 1 candy = 20 maunds, = 500 Ibs. av.
Canton. 1 picul = 133 av. Ibs. ; 1 catty = 1 av. Ibs. ;
1 tael = l oz - 5 1 tael = #1*48 ; 10 mace = 1 tael.
Denmark. 1 centner (100 Ibs.) = 110 av. Ibs. ; 1 foot
=12 inches ; 1 rix dollar, (silver) $0*52 ; 6 marcs = 1
rix dollar ; 16 skillings = 1 rnarc.
Florence and Leghorn. 1 cantaro, (100 Ibs.) = 74*86
av. Ibs. ; 1 palmo = 9| inches.
France. 1 franc = $0*186 ; 10 decimes = 1 franc; 10
centimes = 1 decime.
Genoa. 1 peso grosso (100 Ibs.) = 76f av. Ibs ; 1 peso
sottile = 69*89 av. Ibs ; 1 palmo = 9} in.
Great Britain. l = 20 shillings sterling = $4*84 ; 1
guinea = 21 shillings sterling = $5*08}.
Hamburg. 1 foot =11*3 inches ; 1 mile = .4*68 miles ;
1 marc banco = $0*35 ; current marc = $0*28 ; 3 marca
= 1 rix dollar.
Malta. 1 foot, 10 inches ; 1 cantaro, (100 Ibs.) =
174-5 av. Ibs. ; 1 pezza = $1.
Manilla. 1 arroba = 26 av. Ibs. ; 1 picul =143 av. Ibs. ;
1 palmo = 10*38 in. ; 8 rials = $1 ; 34 maravedis = 1
rial.
Naples. 1 cantaro grosso = 196*5 av. Ibs. ; 1 cantaro
piccolo =106 av. Ibs. ; 1 palmo = lOf in. ; 1 ducat, (sil-
ver) = $0*80 ; 10 carlini = 1 ducat ; 10 grani= 1 carlino.
Portugal 100 Ibs. = 101*19 av. Ibs. ; 1 arroba = 22*26
WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND COINS. 387
av. Ibs. ; 1 quinta. = 89'05 av. Ibs. ; 1 pe or foot, = 12|
in. ; 1 mile = 1* mile ; 1 milree, or crown = $1*12 =
1000 rees ; 400 rees = 1 cruzado.
Prussia. 100 Ibs. = 103*11 av. Ibs.; 1 quintal, (110
Ibs.) = 113-42 av. Ibs. ; 1 foot= 1-03 feet ; 1 mile = 4-68
miles ; 1 thaler, $0'69 = 30 groschen ; 12 pfennigs = 1
grosch.
Rome. 100 libras = 74-77 av. Ibs. ; 1 foot = llf in. ;
1 canna = 6 fee*t ; 1 mile = 7f fur.
Russia. 100 Ibs. = 90-26 av. Ibs. ; 1 pood, (40 lbs.)=
36 Ibs. ; 1 Russian pound = 32 loths = 96 zolotniks ; 1
verst, (mile) = 3500 Eng. feet = 5-3 fur. ; 1 inch = 1
English inch ; 1 foot (in general) = 1 Eng. foot ; 1 ruble,
(silver) == $0-78 = 100 copecks. Bank ruble = $0-223,
or nearly 22 cents.
Sicily. 100 libras = 70 av. Ibs ; 1 cantaro grosso =
192*5 av. Ibs. ; 1 cantaro sottile = 175 av. Ibs. ; 1 palmo =
9 in. ; 1 canna= 6 feet ; 1 oncia, (gold) = $2*40 = 30
tari ; 20 grani = 1 taro.
Spain. I quintal = 101-44 av. Ibs. ; 1 arroba = 25*36
av. Ibs.; 1 fanega = 1-6 bu. ; 1 foot = 11-128 in.; 1
league = 4'3 m. nearly ; 1 vara = 2*78 feet ; 20 rials =
8l ; 16 quintos = 1 rial ; 2 maravedis = 1 quinto.
Sweden. 100 Ibs. (victualie) = 73-76 av. Ibs. ; 1 foot
= 11-69 in. ; 1 mile = 6'64 m. ; 1 ell = 1*95 feet.
Smyrna. 100 Ibs. (1 quintal) = 129*48 av. Ibs.
Trieste. 100 Ibs. = 123-6 av. Ibs. ; 1 foot Austrian =
1*037 feet ; 1 mile Austrian = 4-6 miles ; 1 florin, (silver)
; $0-485 ; 60 kreutzers = 1 florin.
Venice. 1 peso grosso, (100 Ibs.) = 105-18 av. Ibs. ;
1 peso sottile = 64*42 av. Ibs. ; 1 foot = M4 feet ; 1 li-
ra = 1 franc French == $0-186 ; 100 centesimi = 1 lira.
A troy pound of fine silver is worth at the mint, $15-51,515.
A troy pound of standard silver, (American) $13-86,615.
A troy pound of fine gold, $248-27,586.
A troy pound of standard gold, (American) $223*25,581.
1 dwt. of fine gold, $1*034.
1 dwt. of American native gold, usually, $0*95 to 1*01.
A troy pound of platinum in bars, $90 to $100.
A pound av. of copper, about $0*21.
A pound av. of tin, about $0-20.
A carat, see page 82.
TABLES FOR THE DETERMINATION OF
MINERALS.
In the following tables, the more common mineral species
(comprising all the American) are arranged in subdivisions,
to afford aid in ascertaining the names of species. These
tables will be found valuble as a means of instruction ; the
use of them fixes the attention on distinctive characters, and
thereby impresses the peculiarities of species on the mind.
A general view of the arrangement in Table L is here
annexed.
I. SOLUBLE MINERALS,
A. No effervescence with muriatic acid.
a. No deflagration on burning coals.
b. Deflagration on burning coals.
B. Effervesce with muriatic acid.
II. INSOLUBLE MINERALS.
Luster unmetallic,
A. Streak uncolored.
a. No odorous or colored fumes before the
blowpipe, on charcoal.
1. Wholly soluble in one or more of the
three acids,
* Infusible.*
f Fusible with more or less difficulty.
2. Soluble, except the silica which separates
as a jelly.
* Infusible.
f Fusible with more or less difficulty.
3. Not acted on by acids, or partially sol-
uble without forming a jelly.
* Infusible.
f Fusible with more or less difficulty.
fc. Colored or odorous fumes before the blow-
pipe, alone or on charcoal.
B. Streak colored.
a. No fumes before the blowpipe.
* By infusible is meant, not capable of being melted alone or on char-
coal by the flame of the common blowpipe.
TABLE I. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS. 389
* Fusible,
f Infusible.
ft. Fumes before the blowpipe.
II. Luster metallic.
A. Streak unmetallic.
* No fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal,
.j" Fumes before the blowpipe.
B. Streak metallic.
* Malleable.
f Not malleable ; no fumes when heated.
J Not malleable ; fumes when heated.
The abbreviations used in these tables are as follows :
Ad. Adamantine.
Limest.
Limestone.
Amyg. Amygdaloidal.
Mag.
Magnetic.
Antim. Antimony.
Mam.
Mammillary.
Arsen. Arsenical.
Mas.
Massive.
B,bh. Blue, bluish.
Met.
Metallic.
Bl. Blowpipe.
Mur.
Muriatic acid.
Bn,bnh. Brown, brownish.
Nit.
Nitric acid.
Bk,bkh. Black, blackish.
Op.
Opaque.
Bor. Borax.*
Phos.
Salt of phosphorus.*
Bot. Botryoidal.
Fly.
Pearly.
Cleav. Cleavable.
Pros.
Prisms.
Char. Charcoal.
Prim.
Primary rocks.t
Col. Columnar.
R, rdh.
Red, reddish.
Cryst. Crystals, crystalline.
Rad.
Radiated:
Decrep. Decrepitate.
Ren.
Reniform.
Deliq. Deliquescent.
Dif. Difficult, difficultly.
Res.
Soda,
Resinous.
Carbonate of soda.*
Div. Divergent.
Sol.
Soluble.
Efferv. Effervescence.
St.
Streak.
Exfol. Exfoliate.
Stalact.
Stalactitic.
Fib. Fibrous.
Stel.
Stellate.
Flex. Flexible.
Strl.
Translucent on edges only
Fol. Foliated.
Strp.
Semitransparent.
Fus. Fusible.
Sulph.
Sulphureous
Gelat. Gelatinize.
Submet.
Submetallic.
Glob. Globule.
Sul.
Sulphuric acid.
Gn, gnh. Green, greenish.
Trl.
Translucent.
Gran. Granular.
Trp.
Transparent.
Gy, gyh. Gray, grayish.
Vit.
Vitreous
Infus. Infusible.
Vol.
Volatile.
Insol. Insoluble.
Vole.
Volcanic rocks.
Intum. Intumesce.
W,wh.
White, whitish.
Lam. Laminae.
Yw,ywh. Yellow, yellowish.
* Blowpipe flux.
t This term as here used means simply, granite and the allied crys-
talline rocks, syenite, gneiss, mica slate, talcose slate, hornblende rock,
without reference to age, ^^*
390 TABLE I. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS.
The Roman numerals refer to the systems of crystalliza-
tion, (page 32.)
I. Monometric. IV. Monoclinate.
II. Dimetric. V. Triclinate.
III. Trimetric. VI. Hexagonal or Rhombohedral.
The page on which each species is described is mentioned,
that the student may conveniently turn to the fuller descrip-
tions for a farther examination of a mineral.
The kinds of rock in which the species occur is often addet*
after the description.
I. SOLUBLE MINERALS.
A. No EFFEBVESCENCE WITH MURIATIC ACID.
a. Not deflagrating on burning coals.
Sal ammoniac, 100. I ; crusts ; G 1-5 1-6 ; wh, ywh ; taste acute and pungent ; not
deliquescent ; Sul, effervesce ; mixed in powder with
quicklime ammoniacal odor ; volatile.
Alum, 127. I ; wh ; very soluble, sweetish astringent : Bl, fus ! intumescea.
Common salt, 104. I ; G 2-22-3 ; w, rdh, gyh ; saline ; crystals cubic : Bl, de-
crepitates.
Epsom salt, 124. Ill ; G 1-71-8 ; w ; bitter saline : Bl, deliq.
White vitriol, 252. IU ; G 22-1 ; wh ; astringent-met : Bl, w coating on charcoal.
Borax, 107. IV ; G 1-7 1-8 ; wh ; slow efflor ; sweetish alkaline : Bl, swells
up and becomes w and opaque.
Glauber salt, 102. IV ; G 1-41-5 ; wh, gyh ; cooling and bitter : Bl, watery fusion.
Copperas, 227, IV ; G 2 ; gn, ywh, wh ; astringent-met : Bl, red ; Bar gn glass.
Blue vitriol, 280. V; G 2-22-3 ; sky-blue ; nauseous met: Bl, copper reaction.
White arsenic, 305. Capillary cryst ; bot, mas ; Gr 3-7 ; w ; taste astringent, sweet-
ish : Bl, volatile, alliaceous fumes,
b. Deflagrate on burning coals.
Niter, 101. Ill ; G 1-92 ; w, not deliquescent or efflorescent.
Nit. of soda, 103. VI ; G 23 ; wh ; deliq ; burns with a deep yellow light
Nitrate of lime, 123. Cryst efflorescences; G 1-62; w, gy; very deliquescent: Bl,
watery fusion, scarcely detonates.
B. EFFERVESCING WITH MURIATIC ACID.
Natron, 103. IV; G 1-41-5; w, gyh; efflorescent.
II. INSOLUBLE MINERALS.
I. LUSTER UNMETALLIC.
A. STREAK UNCOLOHED.
a. No fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal.
1. Wholly soluble in one or more of the acids, (cold or hot), usually with effervescence,
* Infusible.
Hardness.
Hydromagnesite, 125. 1-02-0 Whitish crusts; G 2-8; adheres to the tongue.
Serpentine.
Brucite, 126. 1-52-0 VI; fol, laminge flexible ; G 2-32-4 ; w, gnh ; p'ly;
trl; no effervescence. Serpentine.
TABLE I. FOR DETERMINATION OP MINERALS. 391
Hardness.
Webstorite, 1'29. 1-5 2-9 Ren, mas ; G 1-61-7 ; dell ; w, op ; adheres to th
tongues nil, sol, n effervescence.
Neinaiite, 125. 2 Siiky fib ; G 2-32-5 ; gyh, bh-w ; fibres separable,
brittle on exposure. Serpentine.
Culc spar, US. 3;0 2-0 VI ; cleav ! fib, mas ; G 2-32-5; vtt, p'ly, w, gy>
bnh, bk; trp op. ; sometimes soft and earthy;
i &l intense light.
Arragontte 118. 3-5 IU ; mas, fib ; G 2-83 ; vit ; w, gyh, bnh; trp
op ; effervesce ; Bl. intense light, crumbles.
Diallogite, 242. 3-5 VI; cleav; mas; G 3-53-6; Tit, p'ly; rdh; til
op ; nit, effervesces : Bl, bor, violet glass.
Magnesite, 124. 3-04-6 VI ; cleav ! fib, mas ; G 2-93 ; vit, silky ; w, ywh,
bn ; trp, op ; little effervescence.
Blende, 250. 3-5 4-0 I ; dedec cleav ; mas ; G 4 4-1 ; resin-yw, rdh,
w ; trp, strl ; nit sol, emitting suL hydrogen : Bl,
bor infus.
Dolomite, 118. 3'5 4-0 VI; cleav 1 mas; G 2*8 2-9 ,- vit, p'ly ; w, gy, bnf
some effervescence.
Mesitine spar, 229. 4-6 VI; cleav 1 mas; G 3-3 3*65; vit; ywh, bn on
exposure ; mur slow solution.
Oligon spar, 229. " VI ; cleav ; mas ; G 3-73-8 ; vit ; bn on exposure :
Bl, bor amethystine glob.
Yttrocerke, 206. 4-55-0 III ; cleav; mas; violet b, gyh, rdh-bn; vit, p'ly;
strl, op ; hot mur, sol ; BL whitens. Prim.
t Fusible with more or less difficulty.
Witherite, W9. 3-0 3-5 IH; mas, fib; G 4-24,4 w, ywh, gyh; trl op;
wit efferv : Bl fus ! op. glob.
White lead ore% 264. 3-03-5 HI ; mas ; G 6-16-5 ; w, gyh, bnh ; ad, res ; trp,
trl ; brittle ; mur eff : Bl, fus ! on char, lead.
Strontianke, 111 3-5 HI; cleav; fib, mas; G 3-63-7; res, vit; gnh,
ywh, gyh; effervescence : Bl, fus difl colon
name reddish.
Pyroraorphite, 266. 3-54-0 VI; hexag pms ; bot, fib; G 6-57-1 ; bright gn,
yw, bn ; res ; strl, strp ; brittle ; hot wit sol : Bl,
fus! With lead ores.
Spathic iron, 228. 34-0 VI , cl, mas ; G 373-9 ; ply ; ywh, bnh, gyh ; dark-
ens on exposure ; trl, op ; pulverized, some eff :
Bl, fus dif ! ; blackens ; iron reaction.
Wavellite, 130. " IU; fib, glob; G 2-32-4; p'ly, vit; w, ywh, bnh,
gyh ; trl ; hot nit, sol, vapors corrode glass : Bl,
fus, intum, colorless glass.
Cacoxene, 230. Div, rad, fib, silky ; G 3-3 3-4 ; ywh-bn, ywh ; bn on
exposure : Bl, infus.
Fluor spar, 121. 4-0 I ; cl ! mas ; G 3-13-2 ; vit ; w, yw, b, violet, gn, r,
often lively ; trp, trl ; sul, affords fumes that cor-
rode glass : Bl, fus, decrep ; phosphoresces when
heated.
Apatite, 120. 4-55-0 VI; hexag; mas; G 33-3; vit, res; gn, bh, w
rh, bn ; trp, op ; brittle ; nit sol slowly in powd*"
TABLE I. FOR DETEianNATIOIf OF MINERALS
Hardness..
witiiout efferv : Bl, fus dif I bar fas r Prim.. Gran.
Himestone, vole.
Triplite, 241. 5>0 Lam, mas ; G 3/43-8 ; bkh-bs ; res, ad ; nit sol, n
ef : M, fus ! bk scsria; bar violet glass.
Troostite, 240. 5-& VI ; mas ; G 44-1 ; gnb, y w, gy, rdh-br ; v.it, res ;
trj^ trl ; mur, soi, odorous fumes : Bl, fua dif E
bor violet glass.
Boracite r !2& 7-0 I j, hemihed cubes ; S 2-93 ; w, gyh ; fit, ad ; strp F
Crl ; pyro-electric ; mur, sol : Bl, fus. Gypsum.
2. S(>iublg r excepting the silica, which separate* as a jelly.
* Infusible.
Halloylite, 161. 1-02-0 Mas, earthy or waxy ;. G 1-82-1 -, w, bh ; adhere*
to the tongue ; ul, gelat ! Bl, infus.
AUophane, 162. 3-0 Mas, ren ; G 1-81-9 - r vit,. res ; bh, guh, y wh, trl - r
very brittle ; gelat ! Bl r intum.
t Fusible.
Mesole r 167. 3*5 m ; fib rad ; G 2-3 2-4 ; p'ly ; gyh-w, ywh ; trl : JSft,
fus I Amyg.
Laumonite r 166v * IV ; mas ; G 2-22-4 ; vit, p'ly ; w, gyh ; trl ; w and
friable oa exposure ; gelat I Bl, fus w, frothy,
Amyg. prim.
Phillipsite, 168. 4-GK-4-5 III - r rad r crys$ often crossed ; G 2 2'2 ; w r rdh ; vit ;
trp, op ; mur gelat : Bl, fus, Amyg.
Tabular spar, 141. 4-0 5-0 V ; cl, eubtib ; G 2-72-9 ; p'ly, vit ; w, gyh ; trl :
mur gelat : Bl, fus dif, pearl semiop. Prim, amyg,
Thomaonite r 167. 4-5 5O III ; cl, lib, rad ; G 2-32-4 ; w, bnh ; trp trl ; brittle ?
gelat : Bl, fus ! intum, w, op, Amyg. prim.
Bysclasite, 142. 4-550 fib, div - t G 2-22-4 ; p'ly, vit ; w, bh ; trl, strp ; very
tough under the hammer ; mur gelat y Bl, fue>
op. Amyg.
Pectolite, 142. " fib, div ; G 2-69 ; vit, p'ly , w, gyh ; after heating
gelat in mur : Bl, fus trp glass. Amyg.
Electric calamine, 253. " III ; cl ; mas, bot, nb ; G 3-23-5 ; w, b, gn, yw, bn ;
trp trl ; hot nit gelat : Bl, fus dif !! intuna ; phos-
phoresces. Stratified rockf.
FatroHte, 166. 4-55-5 III; acic, cryst; div fib ; G 2-12-3; vit ; w, ywh;
trp, trl ; gelat ! Bl, fus 1 op glass. Amyg. vole.
Analcime, 168. 5-05-5 I; trapezohed; mas; G 2 2-3; vit; w, rhd, gyh;
trp op ; brittle ; mur gelat : Bl fus ! intumv
glassy glob. Amyg. vole.
Scolecite, 167. " HI ; div, fib, rad ; G 2-22-3 ; vit, p'ly ; w ; trp trl ;
nit and mur; gelat ! Bl fus ! op, curls up in outer
flame. Amyg. vole.
Datholite, 142. IV ; glassy crystals ; fib, bot, mas ; G 22-3 ; w,
gnh, rdh ; trp, trl ; nit gelat ! Bl, fus ! Amyg. prim.
Sodalite, 197. 5-56-0 I ; dodec cryst ; mas ; G 2 2 2-45 ; vit ; gyh, bn, b ;
trp atrl ; nit gelat : Bl, fus, colorless glass.
Nepheline, 180. 5-56-0 VI ; hexag ; coarse massive, subfib ; G 2-42-6; vit
greasy ; w, ywh, gnh, bnh, rdh ; trp op ; gelat:
Bl, fus dif; blebby glass. Vole. prim.
TABLE I. FOR DETEBTKINATIOTf OP MTNT5KAL8.
3. Nat acted by acid*, or partially soluble vitkout forming a Jelly.
t Infusible.
Hardness.
U3. 1-01-5 VL; foH o>as ; G 2-7 &8 ; light gn, gnh-w, gyn,
p'ly, unctuous; laminae flexible, inelastic. Prim.
* f ol ! gran ; apple-gm, w, bnh-gu, ywh ; p'ly ; etra,
strL: Bl, swells op ! Print.
191. -* FolU lain, thin elastic, tough ;G 2-8 -3; colors
various, often bright ; p'ly ; tip, strl; EL, fiiB dif 1
283. 2-0 30 mas, bot ; G 2 2-3 ; bluish-gn ; smooth vit, or ear-
thy ; strl, op ; nit sol, except silica .
<Jibbsite, 131. 3"6 3-5 Stalact, crusts ; G 2-32-4 ; gyh-w, gnh-w ; dull.
Oreenhyd. nickel, 245. 3-0 3- minute globular, crust; G 3-05; emerald-gn; St
paler; vit; trp, trl ; Bl, loses its color.
Blende, 250. 3-5-4 I ; dodec cleav, mas ; G 44-1 ; resin-yw, bn, bh, W f
rdh ; trp op : Bl, bar inf.
968. 4-04-5 reniform : G fi-3 6 4 ; ywh, bah, rdh; resinous, or
like gum arabic ; til ; Bl, decrep ; enam on char.
148. 4-0 5-0 IV; fol ! lam brittle ; G 33-1 ; rdh-bn ; met-ply ;
strl : Bl, ber trp pearl.
129, 54 III ; acic, stel, mas ; G 2-62-8 ; vfc, p'ly, earthy ; w t
rh, gyh ; *wZ, mostly sol : Bl, decrep ; soda infus.
296. 5-0 IV; imbedded, cryst, clear 1 in one direction; G
4-85-1; bn, bnh-r; vit, res; trp,op; brittle;
mur, decomposed. Prim.
175. 5-5 6 I : trapezohedrons ; G 242-5 ; w, gyh ; vit ; strjfc
trl : Bl, ber, fus dif. Vole.
292. " II; in cryst; G 3-83-9 ; fine bn, 1> ; met-ad, res ;
strp, trl : Bl, loses eel ; bor fus dif. Prim.
138. 6-i Eeniform ; G 2-83 ; b, bh-gn ; waxy, doll ; trl.
op : Bl* dame green ; ber, fus.
139, 5-56-5 Massive, uncleav; w, yw, r, bn, gn, gy, pale; in
eome a play of colors; vit, p'ly ; trp, Btrl; Bl,
decrep, op.
73. SO-ff-O V ; in prismsor bladed cryst ; 3-5 3-7 ; b, w,
bnh ; p'ly, vit ; trp, strl : Bl, bor fus dif, trp. Prim.
147, 6-07-0 Mas, subgran ; G 2-9 -3-1 ; leek-gn, bh, wh ; vit ; tri,
strl : Bl, whitens ; bor clear glass. Prim.
172. Col, fib ; G 3-23-6 ; w, gyh, bnh ; p'ly; trl. sfel;
brittle. Prim.
295. " II ; mas, fib ; G 6-5 7-1 ; bn, bk, w, gy, r, yw ; ad,
res, cryst often brilliant ; strp, op : BL, bor on
char with soda affords tin. Prim.
156, 6-5 7-8 ffl; imbeded grains or masses of a glassy appear-
ance ; G 3-33-6 ; ga, bottle glass gn : Bl, darkens;
bor gn glass ; [rarely fasible.j Basalt, etc.
172. 6-5-5"5 V ; col, fib ; G 3-034 ; bn, gyh ; p^ly, vit ; trl, strl;
brittle: Bl, bor infus. Prim.
174. - UI^ atoat prisms; mas ; G 2--9 3-2 ; vit, p'ry ; gy*.
TABLE I. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS.
Hardness.
rdh ; tough - T structure sometimes tesselated*:
Bl, bor fus dif, trp glass. Prim.
Quartz, 132. 7- VI ; mas ; G 2-62-8 ; colors varies vit ; trp,
op : Bl, soda fas t trp glass, elferv.
Staurotide, 174. 7-07-5 III ; stout prisms ; G 3-53-8 ; bn, rdh-ba, bk ; vit,
res ; strp, op. Prim.
Zircony 200. 7-5 H ; cryst, seldom mas ; G 4-4 4-8 ; bo, r, y w, gy, gn,
w, some bright; subad; trp, trl: El? bor, clear
glass. Prim ; gran li-mest.
Topaz, 194. 7-58-0 III ; prisms with basal cleavage ! mas, col ; G 3-4
3-6 ; pale y w, gn, b, w ; vit ; trl, strl : bar slowly
trp glass. Prim.
Spinef, 160i 8-0 I; octahedrons, etc ; G 3.54-6; r, bh, gnh, yh, bn r
bk ; vit ; trp, strl, (some impure crystals soft) :
Bl, bor fus dif. Prim ; gran limest, etc.
ChrysoberyV 199. 8'5 HI; cryst; G 3*53*; bright gn, ywh, gyb; vit;:
trp, trl : Bl, bor fus dif! Prim.
Sapphire,. 158. 9-0 1 VI ; mas ; in grains ; G 3"-9 4^2 ; b, r, yw, bn, gyh-b,
gy, w ; vit ; trp, trl : Bl,. bor fua dif. Prim ; gran
limest.
Diamond, 8(X 1ft! I ; G 3-43*7 ; w, b, r, yw, gn, bn, gy, bk ; adaman-
tine ; trp ; strl.
f Fusible with more or less difficulty.
Tale, 143. 1-01-5 III; fol! mas; G 272-9; light ga; gnh-w, gyh;
p'ly, unctuous ; laminae- flexible, not elastic : Bl f
infus, or fas dif!! Trim ; gran limest.
Chlorite* 145. 1-5 Fol ; mas gran ; G 2-62-9 ; olive green ; p'ly ; sul
decomp :Bl. fus dif ! sometimes to a black glassy
bead. Prim.
Gypsum* 112. 1-52-0: IV ; fol ! gran, stel r G 2-22-4 ; w, gyh,bnb, rh.bk 7
trp, trl; lam flexible, inelastic : Bl, fus dif; whi-
tens, exf, and becomes friable ; Strat. prim. void.
lfic% 191. 2-Q- 2-5 Pel fJ lam thia elastic, tough ; G 2-83 ; colors
various, often bright ; p'ly ; trl, strl: .K, fus dif !>
Prim, etc.
Cryolite, 132. " Mas, fol ; G 2-93 ; w ; vit, p'ly ; fasible ia a candle.
Prim.
Serpentine 145. 2-03-5 III ; mas ; sometimes thin fol, fsl brittle ; fib ; G
2-4 2-6 ; dark or lighfe gn, gah^w r bh-w - t trl op ?
feel often, greasy : Bl, fus dif!!
Ghlorophyllite, 1(52. .2-0--4-0, VI ; fol prisms ; fol brittk) ; G. 2:7^-2-8 ; dull green,
gyh, bnh ; p'ly, vit : HI, fus dif!! Prim -anih iolite*
Anglesite, 264. 2-5 3-ft III ; mas ; laaa ; Gr 6 2 6-3 ; w, ywh, gyh ; gnh ;
ad, vit, res ; trp, tri : Bl; fus decrep ; fan char,
load globule.
Ashydrite, M4v 2-5> 3-& III ; rectang cleav ! mas ; G 2-84}; w, rh, feK gj^i
p r ly, vit: Bl, fus dif r whitens ; not exl
* Thia tesselated variety b often quite soft, owing to impurities^
TABLE I. FOR DETERMINATION OP MINERALS. 895
Hardness.
Cukstinc, 110. 3-03-5 III ; mas, fib, lam ; G 3-8 4 ; w, bh, rh ; vtt, res;
trp, strl : Bl, fus, decrep ; phosphoresces.
Heavy gp,,r, 16. " ffi ; mas, fib, lam . G 4-34-8 ; w, gyh, ywh, bn;
vit, p'ly, res ; trp, strl : Bl, fus, decrep. Strat}
prim.
Heulaadite, 164. 3-54-0 IV ; fol i fol brittle ; G 2-2 ; w, rdh, gy, bnh ; ply,
vit; trp, strl; *tids sol, except silica: Bl, fua,
intern, phosphorescent Amyg, prim.
Stilbite, 165 35 4O HI ; fol ! rad, div ; G 2-12-2 ; w, ywh, rh, bn ; p'ly ;
trl, strp; nit, silica deposited: Bl, fits I intum,
colorless glass. Amyg, prim, &c.
SchiUer spar, 148. Mas, fol ; fol brittle ; G 2-52-7.; dark gn, or sub-
met : Bl, fus dif n gives off water.
Chabaztte,* 19. 4O 4-5 VI ; in rbdns. nearly cubes, and complex small
crystals ; G 22-2 ; w, rdh, ywh ; vit; strp, trl;
mur, silica deposited: Bl, fus I blebby enameL
Amyg, velc, prim.
Harmotome, 168. IH ; crystals often crossed ; G 2-3 2-5; w, rdh;
vit ; strp, op ; mur, silica deposited : Bl, fus, clear
w glass ; phosphoresce*. Amyg, prim, etc,
Tungstateof lime, 300. " II ; mas ; G 6-^6-1 ; vit, rea ; ywh, w ; strp op ;
it it. becomes y w, but is not dissolved : Bl, fas
dif!! decrepitates. Prim.
Apophyllite, 165. 4-5--50 II; glassy cryst; transverse cleav; G 232-4; w;
gab, ywh, rdh ; p'ly, vit ; trp, op ; nit, sol, but
hardly gelat : Bl, fus, exfoliates. Amyg.
Monazfte, 306. 5-0 IV ; imbedded cryet, one cleavage 1 G 4-85-1 ; bn,
bnh-r ; vit, res ; strp, op ; brittle ; mur, decom-
posed : Bl, fus dif !! Prim.
Pyrochlore, 208. 50 IV; imbedded oct cryst; G 3-8 43; yw, ywh;
res, vit ; St slightly colored ; trl : Bl, fus dif !l
Sphene, 292. 5-0 IV ; usually in acute, thin crystals ; G 3.23-5 ; bn,
yw, gy, bk; res, ad; strl, op: Bl, fus dif! tor
yw glass. Prim, gran limestone, etc.
Scapolite, 180. 5O O II; mas; sabcol ; G 2-62-8 ; w, gyh, rh; vit, p'ly;
trp op : Bl, fus. Prim, gram limestone.
Hornblende^ 152. IV ; fib, rad ; mas ; (some var fib like flax ^ G 2-9
3-4 ; gn to bk and w ; vit, p'ly ; trp, op : Bl, fus,
or dif ! fus. Prim, trap, trachyte, etc.
Pyroxene,! 150. " IV; fib ; mns ; cleav ; G 3-1 3-5 ; gn to bk and w,-
vit, p'ly ; trp op : Bl, fus ; glassy globule. Prim,
basalt, mlc, etc.
Lazulite, 131. 5-5 -0 IV ; mas ; G 33-1 ; pure b, gnh-b ; vit ; strp op :
Bl, fus, bar clear glob.
* The var. Gmelinite gelatinizes in acids.
t Some fibrous varieties (asbestus) of hornblende and pyroxene are quite soft,
and resemble those of serpentine and others are like flax, or have nearly the
texture of felt.
396 TABLE r. FOR DETERjriNATicra OF
Hardness
Lapia Lazuli, I96 r 5-560
Feldspar, 176. 6-0
Yfl: 6-8
Labradorite, 178. 6-9
Chondrodite, 157. 5-5 6-5
Obsidian, 341. 5-5 6-5
Manganese spar, 239. 5-57-0
Petalife, 182. 6-0 G-5
Idocrase, 184. 6-5
frehnife, 170. 6-06-5
Epidote, 182. 6-0 7-0
Spodumene, 181. ff-5 7-0
Axinite, 190:
Garnet^ 184. 6-57^ I ; cryst, mas, gran ; G 3-5 4-3 ; r, bn, w, gn, bk,
often bright ; vit, res ; trp, trl : Bl, fas, no efferv,
bk glob. Prim, etc.
Boracite, 126. 7-0 I ; hemihed cubes ; G 2-93 ; w, gyh ; vit, ad ; strp,
trl ; pyro-electric : Bl, fus, intum. Gypsum.
lolite, . 190. 7-0 HI ; mas, glassy ; G 2-6 2-g; b, gyh-b, bnh ; trp,
trl : Bl, fus dif f bor trp, glass. Prim.
Tourmaline, 187. 7-08-0 VI ; col, mas ; G 33-1 ; bk, bn, gn, r, b, w, often
bright ; vit, res ; trp, op ; pyro-electric : Bl, fus,
intum. Prim, etc.
Euclase, 399. 7-5 IV ; in crystals, cleav ; G 2-93-1 ; pale-gn, b, w ;
vit, brilliant ; trp, strl : Bl, fus dif I intum. Prim.
Beryl, 197. 7-58-0 VI ; hexag pms, mas ; G 2-6 2'8 ; gn, bright or
dull.bh, ywh ; trp, strl: Bl, fus dif ; bortrp glass.
I ; dedec ; mas ; G 2-52-& ; rich b ; vit; trl op ,
Bl, fus,- trl or op glass.
IV ; cleav, mas ; 6 2-32-5; wh, gyh, rh, bh, gnh ;
p'ly, vit; trp, strl ; mur, so action: Bl, fas dif;'.
bar tip glass.
V ; cleav, mas ; G 2-62-7 ; w, gyh, gah r rti r bh ; p'ly,,
Vit; trp,-strl; mur, no action: Bl, fus dif; flame
yellow; may generally be distinguished from
feldspar by its purer whife color.
V ; clear, mas ; 6 2-62-3 ; chatoyant, gy, gnh, bn ; .
Fdh-bn : p'ly, vit; strl; hot mur decomp : Bl r
fus easily, colorless glass. Prim.
IV ; gran mas ; G 3-1 3-2 ; ywh, bnh-yw, rh, gnh - r
vit, res ; trp, strl ; brittle : SI, fus dif!! bor fus r
ywh-gn. Gran limestone.
Mas, like glass ; G 2-228 ; bk, gy, gn ; vit, p'ly ;.
Bl.fue.
V ; mas : G 3-43-7 ; fleeh-r, dark bn on exposure ;
vit ; trp, strl : Bl, fus bkh glass ; bor violet. Prim,
Cleav mas, gran ; G 2-4 2'5 ; w, bh, rh, gnh ; vit^
p'ly ; trl ; phosphoresces . SI, fas ; &or trp glass,
Prim.
II ; mas ; G 3-33-4 ; bn, gn, w ; vit, res r cryst often
brllliaHt ; trp, strl : SI, fus ! trl glab. Prim ; vole ?
gran limest.
III; bot,mas; G 283; light gn, W; vit, ply; trl r
strl ; tough ; mur sol, exc't silica : Bl, fas. Amyg,
prim.
IV ; mas, gran, col ; G 3-3 3'5 ; ywh-gn, gy, bn, bh r
rh ; vit, p'ly ; trp, op : Bl, fus. Prim, etc.
Cleav mas, gran ; 6 3-15-2; gyh-w, gnh ; ply : Blr
fas, intam, exf, colorless glass. Prim.
V ; cryst ac^te-edged ; Gr 3-23-3 ; deep bn ; vit,
brilliant ; trp, strl : Bl, fns ! intum dark gn glass ;
Prim.
TABLE I. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS. 397
b. Colored or odorous fames before the blowpipe OB charcoal.
Hardness.
Horn silver, 323. 1-0 1-5 I ; mas, like wax ; G 5-556 ; gy, bh, gnh ; trl, strl ;
scctile ; fus. ifl caadle, yielding odorous fumes.
Silver ores.
Mimeteme, 267. 2-73-5 VI; mas; G 64 6-5; pale yw, bnh, bnh-r; strp,
trl; hot nit sol; BL fus 11 on char alliaceous
fumes. Lead ores.
Scorodfte, 230. 35- 4-9 III ; mas ; G 313-3 ; leek-gn, gnh w, bh, bnh ; ad,
vit ; strp, strl ; Bl fus i alliaceous fumes.
Blende, 238. I ; dedec cleav ! mas ; G 44-1 ; resin-y w, rdh,
wk ; trp, strl ; nit sol, emitting sulph hydrogen
Bl. on char at a high heat fumes of zinc.
Bismuth blende, 258. 3-54-5 I; mas, col; G 5-96-1; bn, gyh, ywh; res, ad
Bl, fus, w fumes. Prim.
Calamme, 253. 5-0 VI ; mas, rea, bot ; G 4-24-5 ; gyh-w, gnh, bnh ;
vit, p'ly ; strp, trl ; nit efferv : Bl, infus ; OB cftcr,
w fumes. Usually with lead r.
B. STKEAK COLORED.
a. No fumes be/ere the blovpipe.
* Fusible.
Minium, 263. soft Mas, pulv ; G 4-6 ; bright red : Bl, fus ; on char,
glob lead. Lead ores.
Vivianite, 229. 1-5 2K) IV; fol! lam. flex; mas; G 2-6 27 ; bkh-gn,
dark b ; St, bh-w, b ; nit or ml sol : Bl, fus 1 1
decrep, dark bn scoria, magnetic.
Uranite, 210. 202-5 II ; fol ! mas ; G 33-6 ; bright gn, yw ; St, paler;
p'ly, ad ; trp, strp ; nit sol, no efferv : Bl, fus,
bk glob. Prim.
Cup. anglesite, 264. 2-53-0 IV ; cleav ! G 535-5 ; fine azure blue ; St, paler;
ad, vit; trl, strl: Bl, reaction of copper and
lead. Lead ores,
Chromate of lead, 267. 25 3-0 IV; mas, col; G6; bright r; St orange ; ad; trl;
sectile ; nit sol, no efferv : Bl, blackens, decrep,
shining slag. Lead ores.
Green malachite, 261 35 4O IV; mam, bot, crust; G 4 4-1; gn ; St, paler;
vit, silky, earthy ; trl, op ; nit sol, efferv : Bl, fua I
bk : bor gn. Copper ores.
Red copper ore, 279. * I ; mas, fib ; G 5-96 ; deep red ; St, bnh-r ; ad
submet ; strp, strl ; nit sol, efferv : Bl fus ! on
char metallic copper. Copper ores.
Pyromorphite, 266. " VI ; mas ; G 687-1 ; gn, bn, gy ; St yw ; res ;
strp, etrl ; hot nit sol, no efferv : Bl fus I Le*d
ores.
Azurite 283. " IV ; mas, earthy ; G 3-53-9 ; azure b, dark b ;
St paler; vit, ad; trp, strl; nit efferv: Bl, fus!
copper r ^action Copper ores.
34
TABLE I. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS.
Hardness.
Fyrochlore, 298. 5-& 1 ; octahed cryst; G 42 4-3; rdh-bn, yw, y,i-jj
St paler; res^vit-,. strl, op: El ywh-bn, fus cHfJ
bar y w glob in outer flame. J'rim.
Triplite, 241. 5'0 55 M:ig, cleav; G 3-43-8; bkh-bu ; St ywh-gy ; : es f
ad ; strp, op ; nit sol r no efllrv : SI fus ! bk c-
ria; bar, violet
Monazite, 206. IV ; cryst ; G 4-85-1 ; bn r rdh-bn, gyh ; St rdh-vr r
bnh-w; vit, res; strp, op; Bl fus dif! I yw, op.
Prim,
Chondrodite, 157. 6-0 fl'5 IV ; gran mas ; G 3-133 ; light y w, bn, rdh ; St
paler; res, vit; trp, strl; very brittle: Bl fiis
dif!! loses color. Gran limest. Prim.
Allanite, 207. " V; acic cryst; mas; G 3-2 4-1; bnh-bk, gnh;
swbmet, res ; St gnh-gy ? op, strl : Bl fus, froths,
bfe scoria. Prim.
f Infusible.
Wad, 241. 1-0 Mas, often- earthy ? G 3 7 ; bn, bk. soils : Bl, man-
ganese reaction.
Black copper, 279. " Mas, or earthy ; bk, bnh-bk ; St bk ; soils : Bl, cop-
per reaction. Copper ores.
Earthy cobalt, 248. " Earthy, mas ; bk : Bl, bor, blue from cobalt.
Cacoxene, 230. 30 4-0 Fib, rad ; G 3.33-4 ; ywh-bn, y w ; St ywh ; silky :
Bl, bor dark red bead. Iron ores.
Blende, 250. * I ; dodec cleav ; mas ; fib ; G 4 4-1 ; resin y w,
bn, bk, red ; St pale ; strp, op ; nit sol, emitting
sulph hydrogen : Bl, bar infus ; on char, at high
heat, fumes of zinc.
Warwickite, 293, 3-04-0 Prismatic cryst ; G 3 3-3 ; bah, tarnished bh r or
wh ; St. bnh ; met-p'ly ; res. Gran limest.
Red zinc ore. 251. 4-0 III; fol ! mas; G 5-4 5-6; bright r; St. orange;
subad ; strl, op ; nit sol, no efferv : Bl, bor y w
glass ; soda a zinc slag.
VI; cryst; G 3-23-3; emerald-gn; Bt gn ; vit,
res; trp, trl ; ntur, sol, no efferv: Bl, decrep,
y wh-gn flame ; copper ores.
Mas, mam, etalact, bot ; earthy ; G 3-9 4-1 ; dull
bn, bk, ywh ; res, submet ; Btrp, op : Bl, bk, mag-
netic, iron reaction.
222. 5-5 I ; mas, uncleav; G 4-3 4-5 ; iron bk, St bn ; nearly
dull, submet ; op : Bl, bor fine gn glob. Serpentine.
209. 5.5 Mas, bot ; G 6-47 ; bnh-bk, velvet bk ; St bk ; sub-
metallic or dull ; nit slow sol i Bl, bor a gray
scoria. Prim.
240. 506-0 Mas, bot ; G 44-4 ; bk, dark steel gy ; St bkh;
submet ; op ; mur sol, odorous fumes : Bl, man-
ganese reaction.
291. b-0 6-5 II ; rarely mas ; G 4-24-3 ; rdh-bn, ywh, gy; St
paler ; ad, mct-ad ; trl, op : Bl, bor y wh-r glass ;
crystals often aciculan Prim, etc.
Dioptase, 284. 5-0
Brown hematite, 220. 5-05-5
Chromic iron,
Pitchblende,
Psilomelane,
Ruffle,
TABLE I. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS. 399
Hardness.
Tin ore, 293. 6 7tf II ; mas, fib ; G 657-1 ; bn, bk, y w, r; St paler; ad ;
strp, op : Bl, on char, with eada, tin glob. Print.
b. Fumes bcfsre tie blowpipe.
Red antimoay, 303. 1-01-5 IV,- capil tufts and div ; G 4-4 4-6; cherry-r; St
bnh-r; ad, met; Btrl; nit w coating: .K, fusil
or char, volat Prim.
Cobalt-bloom, 248. 1-52-0 IV; foil fib, stel, earthy; 293; crimson and
peach-blossom r, gyh, gnh ; St paler ; dry pow-
der lavender b ; lain flex.- Bl, fus ! on char allia-
ceous, her fine blue glob. Prim, cobalt ores.
Orjriment, 305. " in , foil lam flex; mas; G 3-4 3-5; lemon yw;
St paler ; p'ly, res ; strp, strl ; eectile : Bl, sul-
phur and arsenical fumes. (Realgar, p. 305, dif-
fers IK its red cok>r and orange streak.)
Copper mica, 264. 2-0 VI ; fol ! mas ; G 2-55 ; emerald gn, grass gn ; St
paler ; jp'ly, vit ; trp, trl ; sectile : Bl, alliaceous
femes, rdh-bn scoria.
Sulphur S6. 1-52-5 UI ; mas ; G 2-07 ; y w ; rdh, gnh ; res ; trp, strl ;
burns, b flame.
Red suVer, 323. 2-02-5 VI; mas; G 5-4^5-9, light r, to bk ; St r ; ad, met ;
strp, op : Bl, fus ! 1 sulph and arsen fumes ; silver
res.
Cinnabar, 270. " VI ; cleav ; mas ; G 8 80. ; bright r, bnh-r, bn ; st
r, bnh ; ad, sub-met ; strp, op ; nit, sol, r fumes :
Bl, wholly voL Strat. prim.
285. 2:53*) ffl; clear; mas; G 4 -4 4-5; bright gn, olive-gn;
Stgnh; ad, vit; strl: -B^fus! mariaiic fumes;
copper reaction ; copper ores.
H. LUSTER METALLIC.
A. STREAK UNMETAM.IC.
* No fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal.
Wad, 241. 1* Mas, often earthy; G 3-7 ; ba, bh ; soils ; submet:
Bl, manganese reaction.
Earthy cobalt, 248. " Mas, earthy, hot ; G 2 22-3 ; bh-bk, bnh-bk ; St bh
bk ; sectile : Bl, arsen fames ; bar blue glass.
Pyrolusfte, 240. 2<0 2-5 III ; col, rad ; mas ; G 4-8 5 ; iron-bk, St Kk ;
mur, odor of chlorine: Bl, infus ; tor amethyst,
glob.
Cinnabar, 70. VI; cleav ; mas: G 8- !; r, bnh-r, gyh, dark bn;
St r ; strp, op ; nit sol, r fumes : Bl, volatile.
Strat, prim.
Wende, 250. 3-54-0 I ; dodec cl ! mas ; G 44-1 ; bn, bk ; St yw, bnh;
op ; submet, bright : Bl, fus. Prim, ttrat, etc.
Manganite, 242. 4-04-5 HI ; mas ; G 4-3 4-4 ; dark steel-gy, iron-bk ; St
rdh-bn, bkh; Bl, infos; bar, amethystine gleb.
400 TABLE I. FOR DETRRMIXATIOW OF MINERALS
Hardness.
Brown hematite,. 220 5-055 inam, bat,, stalact, mas ; G3f9 4 ; ba, bkh ; St ywf>
bn ; strp, op ; BO action on magnet : Bl, infus,
bk and magnetic.
Wolfram, 225. 5-0 5-5 III ; mas ; col, lam ; G 7-17-4 ; gyh-bk, bnh-bk ,-
St dark rdh-bu ; submet : Bl fua ^ decrep, bar
gn bead. Prim.
Chromic iron-, 222. " I ; mas ; G 4-3 4-5 ; iron bk, rather dull, brittle ;
St bn ; often slightly magnetic : Bl, infus ; bov
fine gn, fus dif. Serpentine.
Pitchblende, 209. 5-5 Mas, boi; G 6-4-7; bnh-bk, yelvet-bk ; St,bk; sub-
met ; nit slow sol : Bl, bor gray scoria. Prim.
PBilomelane, 240. 5-0 6-ft Mas, bot ; G 4 4-4 ; bh, gyh to dark steel gy ; St
bnh-bk,, shining; brittle: Bl, iixfus, bar violet.
Manganese ores.
Columbite, 224. " III ; mas ; G 5-96-1 ; bnh-bk, bk, oftea with a
steel bltae tarnish ; St dark rdh-bn r bnh-bk; sub-
met: Bl. infus, bor fus dif. Prim.
Yenite, 226. 5-5 6-0 III ; mas, col ; G 3-841 ; iron bk, bnh ; St gnh,
bnh; submet; britfle : Bl, fus; bor bk mag
glob. Prim.
Specular ironj 218. 5<-5 6-5 VI ; mas ; G 4-5 5-3 ; iron-bk and cryst brilliant -
Sfi r, rdh-bn : Bl infus, bor iron reaction, glob
finally mag. Prim, strat, vote.
Magnetic iron, 216. " I ; mas ; G 5 5'1 ; iron-bk ; St bk ; strongly magy
netic : Bl, infus, boy iron reaction. Prim, strat.
Franklinite, 221. I; mas; G 4-8 5-1; iroa-bk; St dark rdh bn;
slightly magnetic : Bl, infus ; at high heat zinc
fumes. Prim.
Arkansite, 200. 77-5- III ; G 3-85-; iron bk; St dark ash greem
t Fames before the blowpipe.
Bark red flflver, 323. 2-5 VI; mas; G 5-75-9; iron-bk, lead-gy; St red;
met-ad : Bl, fus ! ! b flame, sulph aad antimony
fumes. Silver ores.
Variegat'd copper, 277. 3-0 I; mas; G5 5-1; pinchbeck-bn, copper-r, bh tar-
nish ; St pale gyh-bk ; brittle : Bl, fus ; on char
sulph odor, glob mag. Prim, strat, with coppev
ores.
Copper pyrites, 275. 3-5 4-0 II ; mas ; G 4 4-2; brass yw ; St gnh-bk ; brittle .
nit sol, gn : Bl, fus ; on char, sulph odor. Prim r
strat, with copper ores.
Magnetic pyrites, 214. 3-5 4-5 VI ; mas ; G 4-5 4-7 ; broaze-yw, copper-r ; St
gyh-bfc ; magnetic ; brittle ; dilute nit sol : Bl,
fas, sulph odor.
Leucopyrite, 216. 5-05-5 HI ; mas ; G 7-27-4 ; silver- w, steel-gy ; St gyh-
bk ; brittle : Bl, fus ; oa ckar, arsen fumes.
Capper mckeV 244. " VI ; mas ; G 7-37-7 ; copper-r ; St pale bnh-bk ;
britfle : B$ t fus ! on char, arsen fumes. Prita,
usual with cobalt ovcs*.
TABLE J. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS. 401
Hardness.
Nickel glance, 244. 5-05-5 I ; inas ; G 66-2 ; silver w, steel-gy ; St gyh-bk :
Bl, fus ! dccrep ; sulph and arsen fumes in glass
tube.
Cobaltine, 247. " I; mas; G 6-3 64 ; silver-w, rdh ; St gyh-bk;
brittle : Bl, fus ; on char, arsen fumes, bh, glob,
mag ; bar blue. Prim.
Smaltine, 247. " I; mas; G 647-2; tin-w, steel-gy ; St gyh-bk;
brittle : Bl, fus ! arsen odor, gyh bk mag pearl;
bar blue. Prim,
White ir'n pyrites, 214. " III ; mas ; crests ; G 4-6 4-9 ; pale bronze yw ;
St gyh, bnh-bk ; brittle : Bl, fus ; on char, sulph
fumes.
Mispickel, 215. 5-5 UI ; mas ; G 6-1 ; eilver-w ; St dark gyh-bk ; brit-
tle : Bl, on cAar, arsen fumes, and leaves a mag-
netic globule
Iron pyrites, 212. 6-06.5 I ; mas ; G 435-1 ; light bronze-yw ; St bnh-bk :
Bl, fus ; on char, sulph odor. Prim, strat, vole,
etc.
B. STBEAK METALLIC.
* Malleable.
Native mercury, 270. fluid G 1314 ; tin-w : Bl, volatilizes. Strat, prim.
Native lead, 260. 1-01-5 I ; in membranes nnd glob ; G 1112 ; lead gray ;
soils : Bl, fus ! ! volatilizes and colors charcoal
yellow.
Native copper, 273. 2-53-0 1 4 mas, ia strings ; G 8-5 8-6 ; copper-r; nit sol!
r fumes ; Bl, fus, colors flame green.
Native silver, 319. " I ; mas, capil ; G 1011 ; silver-w ; nit eo\ : BL,
fus.
Native gold, 311. " I ; mas, capil ; G 1220, pale to deep yw, accord-
ing to the proportion of silver present ; nit not
sol : Bl, fus.
Native platinum, 307. 4-04-5 In grains and lumps ; Gr 1619 ; pale steel gy ; hot
nit-mur sol : Bl, infus.
Native iron, 211. 4-0 5*0 I ; mas ; G 7 -3 7-8 ; iron-gy, magnetic.
Native palladium, 310. 506-5 In grains, structure rad ; G 1012 ; steel-gy,
eilver-w: Bl, infus.
t Not malleable : no fumes when heated.
Graphite, 91. 1-Q 2-0 Mas, fol ! gran ; G 22-1 ; iron-bit, dark steel-gy ;
sectile ; soils ; nit, no action : Bl, infus. Prw*,'
strat. ' -
nraenite, 222. 5-06-0 VI ; mas ; G 4-44-8 ; dark iron-bk ; slightly mag-
netic ; strong mur sol : Bl, infus. Prim, vole.
} Not malleable : fumes when heated.
Jfolybdenite, 298. 1-01-5 VI ; mas, fol ! lam flex ; G 4-54-8 ; pure lead-gy ;
sectile ; nit, partly sol : Bl, infus, on shear sulph
odor. Prim.
34*
402 TABLE I. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS,
Hardness.
Fol. Tellurium, 263, 1-0 1-5 H ; fol t gran ; 6- 77-1 ; bfeh lead-gy ; lam fie*;
sectile ; nit sol ! Bl, on char, w fumes, flame b.
Prim.
Gray antimony, 301. 2-0 III ; cleav ; c&l, div ; G 4-5 4-7 ; lead-gy, steel-gy f
ta nrishes ; lam subtlcx : Bl, fas ! } 011 ckar sulpb
odor and wholly volat. Prim.
Vitreous silver, 321. 2-02-5 I ; maa, retic ; G 7-17-4 ; bkh lead-gy ; nit sol :
BI T fas ! ! imtum, glob of silver. Silver ores.
Native tellurium, 300. * VI ; mas ; G 5-7 6-1 ; tin-w, rather brittle : Bi>
fus ! ! on char gnh flame, w inodorous fumes,
wholly volat. Prim.
Brittle silver, 322. * III ; ma*; G 6>2 &3 ; iron-bk ; eectile ; htt nit sol :
Bl, fus f ! eulph and antim fumes ; on char, glob
of silver. Silver ores.
Native bismuth, 258, * I; mas, cleav ! G 9-79-8 ; silver-w, rdh ; nit sol,
aad solution w if diluted : Bl, fas ! J volat, inod ;
y w oa char. Prim.
Vitreous copper, 275. 2'5 3O III r mas ; G 5-5 5-8 ; bkh, lead-gy ; nit sol, and
polished iron put in the solution covered with
copper: Bl r fua I on char sulph fames. Prim, stral.
Galena, 260. 2-53-0 I ; cleav ! mas ; G 7-57-7 ; pure lead-gy ; rather
eecfcile : El, fus ! decrep ; on char sulph fume
and glob of lead. Prim, strat.
Amalgam, 270. 203-5 I ; mas ; G 10-5 14 ; silver-w ; nit sol : Bl, fumes
of mercury, and silver glob.
Native antimony, 301. 3-0 3-5 VI ; cleav ; lam, mas ; G 6-6 6-8 ; tin-w : Bl, fus ! }
volat ; on char w fumes. Prim.
Native arsenic, 304. 3-5 VI ; mas ; G 5-65-8 ; tin-w, lead-gy, darker from
. tarnish ; brittle : Bl, wholly volat, garlic odor.
Prim,
Gray copper, 278. 3-0 4-0 I ; tetrahed ; mas ,- G 4-7 S'l ; steel-gy to iron-bk :
Bl, fus ! ! arson and antim fumes ; copper reac-
tion. Prim, copper ores.
White nickel, 244. 5-0 5-5 I -, mas ; G 7-17-2 ; tin-w : Bl, arsen fumes ; also
nickel reaction. Prim.
In determining the name of a mineral by the preceding
table, trials should be made of the hardness and of the other
characters upon which the arrangement is based, as shown
in the general view on page 188. The particular subdi-
vision containing the species is thus arrived at, and also, by
means of the hardness, the place of the species in the sub-
division. Afterwards, by a comparison of the other charac-
ters, (specific gravity, color, etc.,} with the brief descriptions
given in the table, the name of the mineral will be ascer-
tained. If any doubt still remains, the fuller descriptions in
the body of the work may be referred to, for the convenience
of which reference, the page is added for each species.
TABLED. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS. 403
The following hints may be of service to the beginner in
the science, by enabliifg him to overcome a difficulty in the
outset, arising from the various forms and appearance of the
minerals quartz and limestone. Quartz occurs of nearly
every color, and of various degrees of glassy luster to a dull
stone without the slightest glistening. The common grayish
cobble stones of the fields are usually quartz, and others
are dull red and brown ; from these there are gradual
transitions to the pellucid quartz crystal that looks like glass
itself. Sandstones and freestones are often wholly quartz,
and the seashore sands are mostly of the same material. It is
therefore probable that this mineral will be often encountered
in mineralogical rambles. Let the first trial of specimens
obtained be made with a file or the point of a knife, or some
other means of trying the hardness ; if the file makes no im-
pression, there is reason to suspect the mineral to be quartz ;
and if on breaking it, no regular structure or cleavage plane
is observed, but it breaks in all directions with a similar
surface and a more or less vitreous luster, the probability is
much strengthened that this conclusion is correct. The
blowpipe may next be used ; and if there is no fusion pro-
duced by it, when carefully used on a thin splinter, there can
be little doubt that the specimen is in fact quartz.
Carbonate of lime (calc spar, including limestone,) is
another very common species. If the mineral collected is
rather easily impressible with a file, it may be of this species :
if it effervesces freely when placed in a test-tube containing
dilute muriatic acid, and is finally dissolved, the probability
of its being carbonate of lime is increased : if the blowpipe
produces no trace of fusion, but a brilliant light from the
fragment before it, but little doubt remains on this point.
Crystalline fragments break with three equal oblique
cleavages.
Familiarized with these two Protean minerals by the trials
here alluded to, the student has already surmounted the prin-
cipal difficulties in the way of future progress. Frequently
the young beginner, who has devoted some time to collecting
all the different colored stones in his neighborhood, on pre-
senting them for names to some practised mineralogist, is a
little disappointed to learn that, with two or three exceptions,
his large variety includes nothing but limestone and quartz.
He is perhaps gratified, however, at being told that he may
call this specimen yellow jasper, that red jasper, another
404 TABLE II. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS.
flint, and another hornstone, others chert, granular quartz,
ferruginous quartz, chalcedony, prase, smoky quartz, greasy
quartz, milky quartz, agate, plasma, hyaline quartz, quartz
crystal, basanite, radiated quartz, tabular quartz, etc. etc. ;
and it is often the case, in this state of his knowledge, that
he is best pleased with some treatise on the science in which
all these various stones are treated of with as much promi-
nence as if actually distinct species ; being loth to receive
the. unwelcome truth, that his whole extensive cabinet con-
tains only one mineral. But the mineralogical student has
already made good progress when this truth is freely admit-
ted, and quartz and limestone, in all their varieties, have
become known to him.
To facilitate still farther the study of minerals, the follow-
ing tables are added.
TABLE II. FOR THE DETERMINATION OF
MINERALS,
The general arrangement in this table is the same as in
the preceding : but the order of the species, instead of being
that of their hardness, is that of their specific gravity.
I. SOLUBLE MINERALS.
A. No EFFERVESCENCE WITH MUBIATIC ACID.
a. Not deflagrating on burning coals.
Glauber salt
Sal ammoniac,
Epsom salt,
Borax,
Alum,
Sp. gr.
1-4 1-5
1-5 1-6
1-7 1-8
u
b
Copperas,
White vitriol,
Blue vitriol,
Common salt,
White arsenic,
Sp. gr.
2-0
2-02-1
2-2 2-3
3-7
Nit. of lime,
Niter,
b. Deflagrate on burning coals.
1-62
1-9 2-0
Nit. of soda,
2-0 3-0
TABLE ' II. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS. 405
B. EFFERVESCING WITH MURIATIC ACID.
Natron,
1-4 1-5
II. INSOLUBLE MINERALS.
I. LUSTER UNMETALLIC.
A. STREAK UNCOLORED.
a. No fames before the blowpipe on charcoal.
Wholly soluble in one or more of the acids, (cold or hot), usually with effervescence.
* Infusible.
Sp. gr. Sp. gr.
Websterite, 1-61-7 Magnesite, 2-9 3-0
Brucite, 2-32-4 Mesitine spar, 3-33-7
Nemalite, 2-3 2-5 Diallogite, 3-5 3-
Calc spar,
Hydromagnesite,
Arragonite, 2-83-0 Blende, 4-0 4-1
Dolomite,
Wavellite,
Boracite,
Apatite,
Fluor spar,
Cacoxene,
Triplite,
1-61-7
Magnesite,
2-32-4
Mesitine spar.
2-32-5
Diallogite,
"
Oligon spar,
, 2-8
Yttrocerite,
2-83-0
Blende,
2-82-9
t Fusible with more or less difficulty.
2-3 _2-4
Strontianite,
2-93-0
Spathic iron,
3-03-3
Troostite,
3-13-2
Witherite,
3-33-4
White lead ore,
3-4__3-8
Pyromorphite,
3-63-7
3-73-9
4-0 4-1
4-2 4-4
6-16-5
6-57-1
I
2. Soluble in acids, excepting the silica, which separates as a jelly.
* Infusible.
Allophane,
1-81-9 1 Halloylite,
1-82-1
t Fusible.
2-02-2
2-02-3
H
2-12-3
2-2 2-3
2-224
Me sole,
Philippsite,
Analcime,
Datholite,
Natrolite,
Scolecite,
Laumonite,
Dysclasite,
3. Not acted on by acids, or partially soluble without forming a jetty.
* Infusible.
Chrysocolla, 2-32-4 1 Yenite, 2-45.2
Thorn sonite,
Sodalite,
Pectolite,
Tabular spar,
Electric calamine, 3-2 3-5
2-32-4
ii
2-22-5
2-69
2-7_2-9
406 TABLE II. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS.
Opal,
Quartz,
Sp. gr.
|
2-62-8
Topaz,
Diamond,
Sp.gr.
3-436
3-43-7
Alum-stone,
H
Kyanite,
3-53-7
Talc,
2-72-9
Staurotide,
3-53-8
Pyrophyllite,
M
Chrysoberyl,
3-53-8
Mica,
2-83-0
Anatase,
3-83 9
Turquois,
u
Sapphire,
3-94-2
Nephrite,
2-93-1
Blende,
4-04-1
Andalusite,
2-93-2
Spinel,
3-5 4-6
Green hyd. nickel,
3-05
Zircon,
4.4__4-8
Clintonite,
3-03-1
Monazite,
4-85-1
Sillimanite,
^.03-4
Piumbo-resinite,
6-36-4
Bucholzite,
3-23-6
Tin ore,
6-57-1
Chrysolite,
3-33-6
t Fusible with more or less difficulty.
Chabazite,
2-02-2
Prehnite,
2-83-0
Stilbite,
2-12-2
Boracite,
2-93-0
Heulandite,
2-2
Chrysolite,
u
Gypsum,
2-22-4
Euclase,
2-93-1
Apophyllite,
2-32-4
Hornblende,
2-93-4
Feldspar,
2-3 2-6
Lazulite,
3-03-1
Serpentine,
2-42-6
Tourmaline,
M
Obsidian,
2-22-8
Spodumene,
3-13-2
Harmotome,
2-32-5
Chondrodite,
(4
Petalite,
2-42-5
Axinite,
3.23-3
Schiller spar,
2-52-7
Pyroxene,
3-13-5
Lapis Lazuli,
2-52-9
Sphene,
3-23-5
Albite,
2-62-7
Epidote,
u
Labradorite,
2-62-8
Idocrase,
3-33-4
Scapolite,
u
Manganese spar,
3.43.7
lolite,
M
Garnet,
3-54-3
Beryl,
tl '
Celestine,
3-84-0
Chlorite,
2-629
Pyrochlore,
3-84-3
Chlorophyllite,
2-72-8
Heavy spar,
4-34-8
Talc,
2-72-9
Monazite,
4-85-1
Mica,
2-83-0
Tungstate of lime,
6-06-1
Anhydrite,
" Anglesite,**
6-26-3
b. Colored or odorous fumes before the blowpipe.
Scorodite,
3-1 3-3 | Horn silver,
5-55-6
Blende,
4-0 4-1 Bismuth blende,
5-96-1
Calamine,
4-2 4-5 1 Mimetene,
6 46-5
TABLE II. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS. 407
B. STREAK COLORED.
a.
No fumet before the blowpipe.
* Fusible.
Sp. gr.
Sp. gr.
Vivianite,
2-62-7
Pyrochlore,
4-2 4-3
Uranite,
3-03-6
Minium,
4-6
Chondrodite,
3*13-3
Monazite,
4-85-1
Allanite,
3-2 4-1
Cupreous anglesite,
5.35-5
Triplite,
3-43-8
Red copper ore,
5.96-0
Azurite,
3.53.9
Chromate of lead,
6-0
Green malachite,
4-0 4-1 Pyromorphite,
6-8 7-1
t Infusible.
Sulphur,
2-07
Blende,
4-04-1
Copper mica,
2-55
Psilomelane,
4-04-4
Earthy cobalt,
2-2 2-3
Rutile,
4-2 4-3
Cobalt bloom,
2-93-0
Chromic iron,
4-34-5
Warwickite,
3-03-3
Atacamite,
4.44.5
Dioptase,
3-23-3
Red antimony,
4.4 4-6
Cacoxene,
3.33.4
Red zinc ore,
5-45-6
Orpiment,
3-43 5
Red silver ore,
5.45.9
Realgar,
3.33-7
Pitchblende,
6-47
Wad,
3-7
Tin ore,
6-57-1
Black copper,
Cinnabar,
8-08-1
Brown hematite,
3-9 4-1
LUSTER METALLIC.
A. STREAK UNCOLORED.
* No fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal.
Earthy cobalt, 2-2 2-3 Specular iron, 4'5 5-3
Wad, 3-7 Pyrolusite, 4-85-0
Yenite, 3-84-1 Franklinite, 4-85-1
Arkansite, 3*85 Magnetic iron ore, 5*0 5*1
Brown hematite, 3-9 4-0 Columbite, 5-9 6-1
Blende, 4-04-1 Pitchblende, 6-47
Psilomelane, 4-04-4 Wolfram, 7-17-4
Manganite, 4-34-4 Cinnabar, 8-08-1
Chromic iron, 4*3 4'5
408 TABLE III. FOR DETERMINATIONOF MINERALS.
t Fumes before the blowpipe.
Copper pyrites, 4-0 4 -2
Magnetic pyrites, 4'5 47
White iron pyrites, **
Iron pyrites, 4*8 5-1
Variegated copper, 5'0 5'1
Dark red silver. 5-7 5-9
Nickel glance,
Mispickel,
Cobaltine,
Smaltine,
Leucopyrite,
Copper nickel,
B. STREAK METALLIC.
* Malleable.
Native iron,
Native copper,
Native silver,
Native palladium,
Sp. gr.
7-37-8
8-58-6
1011
1012
Native
Native
Native
Native
t Not malleable : no fumes when heated.
Graphite, 2-21 | Ilmeiiite,
J Not malleable : fumes when heated on charcoal.
Gray antimony,
Molybdenite,
Gray copper,
Vitreous copper,
Native arsenic,
Native tellurium,
Brittle silver,
4-54
4-54-
4-75
5-55
5-65
5-76
6-26
Native antimony,
Fol. tellurium,
White nickel,
Vitreous silver,
Galena,
Native bismuth,
Amalgam,
6-06-2
6-1
6-2-6-4
6-47-2
7-27-4
7-37-7
Sp. gr.
1112
1314
1619
1220
4.44.8
6-66-8
7-07-1
7-17-2
7-17-4
7.57.7
9-79-8
10-511
TABLE III. MINERALS ARRANGED ACCORDING
TO THEIR CRYSTALLIZATION.
I .CRYSTALS MONOMETRIC.
A. Luster unmetallic.
* Infusible.
Hardness. Sp. gr. Cleavage.
Blende, 250 2-03-0 4-04-2 Dodecahedral.
Chromic iron, 222 5'5 4-3 4-5 Octahed. imperf.
Leucite, 175 5-56-0 2-4 2-5 Ncne.
Dysluite, 161 7-58-0 4-54-6 Oct. imp.
Spinel, 160 8-0 3-5 3'6 Oct. imp.
Diamond, 80 10*0 Oct. perfect.
TABLE III. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS. 409
t Fusible.
Alum,
Common salt,
Red copper ore,
Fluor spar,
Pyrochlore,
Analcime,
Lapis Lazuli,
Sodalite,
Garnet,
Boracite,
Hardness.
127 1-5 2-0
104 2-0
279 3-54-0
121 4-0
5.05-5
H
5.56.0
5-56-0
6-5 7-5
208
168
196
197
184
126 7-0
Sp. gr.
1-71-8
2-2 2-3
5-86-1
3-03-3
3-8 4-5
2-02-3
2-52-9
2-22-4
3.5 4.3
2-93-0
Cleavage..
Oct.
Cubic.
Oct. imperf.
Oct. perf.
None.
Imperfect.
Dodec. imperf.
Dodec. imp.
Dod. oft. distinct
Oct. indistinct.
2. Luster metallic.
* No fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal
Native copper, 273 2'5 8-0 8-4 8-8 None.
Native silver, 319 " 10-3 10-5 None.
Native gold, 311 " 12-020-0 None.
Blende, 250 3-54-0 4-0 4*2 Dodec. perf!
Native platinum, 307 4*0 4-5 16-0 19-0 Cubic, indist.
Native iron, 211 4-5 5-1 5-2 Oct. perfect.
Chromic iron, 222 5-Q 5-5 4-3 4-5 Oct. imp.
Franklinite, 221 5-56-5 4-8 5-1 Oct. imp.
Magnetic iron, 216 " 5-0 5-1 Oct. imp.
t Fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal.
Vitreous silver,
Native bismuth,
Native amalgam,
Var. copper ore,
Galena,
Gray copper ore,
Nickel glance,
Cobaltine,
Smaltine,
White nickel,
Pyrites,
321
258
270
277
260
278
244
247
247
244
212
2-02
ii
2-03
2-53
(t
3-04
5-05
M
5-5
6-06
5
5
5
5
7
9
10
5
T
4
6
6
6
1'
4
17-4
79-8
514
05-1
57-7
75-2
06-2
1 -6-3
36-4
17-2
85-1
Dodec. imperf.
Oct. perf!
Dodec. imp.
Oct. imp.
Cubic perf!
Indistinct.
Cubic perf!
Cubic perf.
Oct. imp.
Cubic imp.
Anatase,
H. CRYSTALS DIMETRIC.
1. Luster unmetdllic.
* Infusible.
292 5-56-0 3-83-9 Oct. and basal.
35
410 TABLE in. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS.
Hardness. Sp. gr. Cleavage.
Tin ore, 295 6-07-0 6-57-1 Indistinct.
Zircon, 200 7-5 4-4 4'8 Imperfect.
t Fusible.
Uranite, 210 2-02-5 3-03-6 Basal, perf !!
Apophyllite, 165 4-55-0 2-22-4 Basal, perf!
Scapolite, 180 5-0 6-0 2-5 2-8 Lat. distinct.
Idocrase, 184 6'0 6-5 3'3 3-5 Lat. indistinct
Rutile, 291 " 4-1 4-3 Lat. imp.
2. Luster metallic.
Foliated tellurium, 263 1-01-5 7-07-2 Foliated!
Copper pyrites, 275 3-5 4-0 4-14-2 Indistinct.
Hausmannite, 242 5-0 5-5 4-7 4-8 Basal, distinct !
Braunite, 242 6-0 6-5 4*8 4'9 Oct. distinct.
III. CRYSTALS TRIMETRIC.
1. Luster unmetallic.
* Infusible.
Talc, 143 1-01-5 2-72-9 Basal, fol !!
Arragonite, 118 3-54-0 2-9 3-0 Lat. imp.
Red Zinc ore, 251 4'0 4-5 5-4 5-6 Basal, fol !!
Chrysolite, 156 6-57-0 3-33-5 Lat. imp.
Staurotide, 174 7-07-5 3-63-8 Indistinct.
Andalusite, 174 7-5 3-1 3-4 Indistinct.
Topaz, 194 8-0 3-43-6 Basal, perfect!
Chrysoberyl, 199 8-5 3-5 3-8 Imperfect.
t Fusible : gelatinize in acids .
Mesole, 167 3-5 2-32-4 One perfect.
Thomsonite, 167 4-5 2-2 2-4 Two rect. perf.
Phillipsite, 168 4-04-5 2-02-2 Imperfect.
Electric calamine, 253 4-5 5-0 3-3 3-5 Lat. perfect.
Natrolite, 166 4'5 5-5 2-12-3 Lat. perf.
Scolecite, 167 5-0 5-5 2-2 2-3 Imperfect.
J Fusible : not gelatizing ; giving no odorous or colored fumes before the
blowpipe.
Talc, (some var.,) 143 1-01-5 2-72-9 Foliated!!
Niter, 101 2-0 1'9 2-0 Imperfect.
Epsom salt, 124 2'0 2-5 1-7 1-8 One perfect.
Cryolite, 132 " 2*93-0 One prf; two imp.
TABLE JH. FOR DETERMINATION OP MINERALS. 411
Mica, (Rhombic,)
Hardness. Sp. gr. Cleavage.
193 " 2-8- 3-1 Foliated!!
Anglesite,
264 2-53-0 6-2-^6-3 Imperfect.
Heavy spar,
108 2-5 3-5 4-3 4-8 Imperfect.
Celestine,
110 " 3-94-0 Lat. distinct.
Anhydrite,
114 3-03-5 2-83-0 Three rect. dist.
White lead ore,
264 " 6-16-5 Lat. perf.
Witherite, .
109 " 4'2 4-4 Imperfect.
Serpentine,
145 3-04-0 2-5 2-6 Sometimes fol.
Strontianite,
Ill 3-5 4-0 3-63-8 Lat. distinct.
Wavellite,
130 " 2-22-4 Two distinct.
Stilbite,
165 " 2-1 2-2 One perfect!
Harmotome,
168 4-0 4-5 2-42-5 Imperfect.
Wolfram,
225 5-05-5 7-17-4 One perfect.
Lazulite,
131 5-0 6-0 3-0 3-1 Indistinct.
Yenite,
226 5-56-0 3-84-1 Indistinct.
Prehnite,
170 3-0 7-0 2-8 3-0 Basal, distinct.
lolite,
190 7-07-5 2-52-7 Indistinct.
Giving fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal
Orpiment,
Sulphur,
White vitriol,
White antimony,
Atacamite,
Scorodite,
305 1-52-0 3-43-6 Foliated!
98 1-5 2-5 2-0 2-1 Indistinct.
252 2-02-5 2-02-1 One perfect.
303 2-5 3-0 5-5 5-6 Lat. perfect !!
285 3-03-5
230 3-5 4-0
4-0 4.4
3-13-3
Basal, perfect.
Imperfect.
2. Luster metallic.
* No fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal.
Pyrolusite, 240 2-02-5 4-8 5-0 Three imperfect.
Manganite, 242 4-0 4-5 4-3 4*4 One imperfect.
Wolfram, 225 5-05-5 7-17-4 One perfect.
Yenite, 226 5-5 6-0 38 4-1 Indistinct.
Columbite, 224 5-0 6*0 5*9 6-1 Indistinct.
Ferrotantalite, 225 " 7-2 8-0 Imperfect.
t Fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal.
Gray antimony, 301 2-0
Brittle silver ore, 322 2-02-5
Vitreous copper, 275 2-5 3-0
Leucopyrite, 216 5-0 5-5
Mispickel, 215 5-06-0
White iron pyrites, 214 6*0 6*5
4.5 4-7 One perfect !
6-2 6-3 Imperfect.
5-5 5-8 Lat. indistinct.
7-2 7-4 One distinct.
6-1 6-2 Lat imperfect.
4-6 4-9 Lat imperfect.
412 TABLE III. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS.
IV. CRYSTALS MONOCLINATE.
1.
Luster unmetallic.
* Soluble.
Hardness. Sp. gr.
Cleavage.
Natron,
103
1-0 1-5 1-4 1-5
Glauber salt,
102
1-5 2-0 1-52-0
Copperas,
227
2-0 1-81-9
One perfect.
Borax,
107
2-02-5 1-7
Lat. perfect.
t Insoluble :
no fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal.
Vivianite,
229
1-5 2-0 2-6 2-7
Basal, perfect !
Gypsum,
112
2-0 2-32-4
Foliated !
Mica,
191
2-0 2-5 2-8 3-0
Foliated !!
Heulandite,
164
3-5 4-0 2-1 2-2
Foliated.
Laumonite,
166
3.5 4-0 2-3
One distinct.
Green malachite,
281
4-04-1
Basal, perfect.
Azurite,
283
3-54-5 3-53-9
Lateral.
Clintonite,
148
4-0 5-0 3-0 3-1
Foliated.
Monazite,
206
5-0 4-85-1
Basalt, perfect !
Datholite,
142
5-5 6-0 2-93-0
Indistinct.
Sphene,
292
3-23-5
Indistinct.
Hornblende,
152
5-06-0 2-93-4
Lat. perfect.
Pyroxene,
150
3-23-5
Lat. distinct.
Allanite,
207
3-3 3-8
Indistinct.
Feldspar,
Chondrodite,
176
157
6-0 2-32-6
6-06-5 3-13-2
One prf ; one imp.
Indistinct.
Epidote,
182
6-0 7-0 3-23-5
Lat. imperf.
Spodumene,
181
6-57-0 3-13-2
Lat. perfect.
Euclase,
199
7-5 2-93-1
Basal, perfect.
f Fumes before the blowpipe.
Cobalt bloom,
248
1-5 2-0 2-93-0
Basal, perfect !
Realgar,
305
3-33-6
Imperfect.
Pharmacolite,
305
2-02-5 2-62-8
Basal, perfect !!
Miargyrite,
323
" 5-25-4
Lat. imperfect,
2.
Luster metallic.
Miargynte,
323
2-02-5 5-25-4
Lat. imperfect,
Wolfram,
225
5-05-5 7-17-4
One perfect.
Warwickite,
293
5-56-0 3-03-3
One perfect.
Allanite,
207
3.33. g
Imperfect.
Blue vitriol,
V. CRYSTALS TRICLINATE.
* Soluble.
280 2-5 2-22-3 Imperfect,
TABLE III. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS. 413
t Insoluble: fusible.
Hardness. Sp. gr. Cleavage.
Tabular spar, 141 4-0 5-0 2-72-9 One perfect.
Albite, 177 6-0 2-62-7 One perf. ; two
imperfect.
Labradorite, 178 " 2-6 2-8 One perf.; one
imperfect.
Manganese spar, 239 6-0 7-0 3-4 3*7 One perfect.
Aximte, 190 6'5 7-0 3-2 3-3 Imperfect.
J Infusible.
Kyanite, 173 5-07-0 3-53-7 Lat. distinct
Sillimanite, 172 7-07-5 3-23-3 Diagonal perf.!!
6. CRYSTALS HEXAGONAL OR RHOMBOHEDRAL.
1. Luster unmetallic.
* Soluble.
Nitrate of soda,
103
1-52-0
2-02-1
Rhomb, perf.
Coquimbite,
227
u
Hexag. imperf.
t Insoluble : infusible.
Brucite,
126
1-5
2-35
Foliated !
Mica, (hexagonal)
193
2-02-5
2-83-1
Foliated !!
Calc spar,
115
2-53-5
2-52-8
Rhomb, perf!
Diallogite,
242
3-5
3.53.6
Rhombohedral.
Magnesite,
124
3-04-0
2-8 3-0
Rhomb, perf.
Ankerite,
120
it
2-93-2
Rhomb, perf.
Dolomite,
118
3.54.0
3-54-0
Rhomb, perf.
Spathic iron,
228
M
3.73.9
Rhomb, perf.
Alum stone,
129
5-0
2-62-8
Basal, near perf.
Dioptase,
284
u
3-23-3
Rhombohedral.
Quartz,
132
7-0
2-62-7
Imperfect.
Sapphire,
158
9-0
3-9
Basal, perf.
J Insoluble : fusible, without fumes.
Chlorite,
145
1-52-0
2-62-9
Foliated !
Chlorophyllite,
162
1-53-5
2-72-8
Basal, fol.
Chabazite,
169
40 4-5
2-02-2
Rhombohed. ind.
Apatite,
120
5-0
3-0 3-3
Indistinct.
Troostite,
240
5-5
4-0 4-1
Lat. perf.
Nepheline,
179
5.56-0
2-42-7
Imperfect.
Tourmaline,
187
7-0 8-0
3-03-1
Indistinct.
Beryl,
197
7-58-0
2 62-8
Basal, indistinct.
35*
414 TABLE III. FOR DETERMINATION OF MINERALS.
Insoluble : fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal.
Hardness. Sp. gr. Cleavage.
Red silver ore, 323 2-0 3-0 5-4 5*9 Imperfect.
Cinnabar, 270 2'0 2-5 7-8 8-1 Hexag. perfect.
Calamine, 253 5-0 4-3 4-5 Rhomb, perf.
2. Luster metallic.
* No fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal.
Graphite, 91 I'O 2'0 2-02-1 Foliated!
Ilmenite, 222 5-06-0 4-45-0 Indistinct.
Specular iron, 218 5-56-5 5*0 5-3 Indistinct.
t Fumes before the blowpipe on charcoal.
Molybdenite, 298 1-01-5 4-54-8 Foliated !!
Native tellurium, 300 2-02-5 5-76-1 Imperfect.
Dark red silver, 323 2-5 5-7 5-9 Imperfect.
Cinnabar, 270 " 7-88-1 Hexag. perfect.
Native antimony, 301 3'0 3'5 6-6 6-8 Basal, perfect !
rhombohed. dist.
Native arsenic, 304 3-5 5-6 6*0 Imperfect.
Magnetic pyrites, 214 3-5 4-5 4*6 4-7 Basal hexag. prf.
Copper nickel, 244 5-05-5 7-37-7
INDEX.
A.
ACADIOLITE, 170.
Acbmite, 157, (Acmite.)
Acid, Arsenous, 305.
Boracic, 107.
Carbonic, 93.
Hydrochloric, 77.
Muriatic, 77.
Sulphuric, 99.
Sulphurous, 99.
Tungstic, 299.
Acmite, 157.
Actinolite, 153.
Adamant, 80, (Diamond.)
Adamantine spar, 158.
Adulaiia, 176.
^Eschynite, 202.
Agalmatolite, 342.
Agaric mineral, 116, (Calc Tufa.)
Agate, 135.
Alabandine, 242.
Alabaster, 113.
Alalite, 151.
Albite, 177.
Alexandrite, 199.
Allagite, 239.
Allanite, 207.
Allophane, 162.
Alluaudite, 230.
Almandine, 185.
Alum, 127.
Manufacture of, 128, 129.
ALUMINA, 127, 158.
Alumina, Fluate of, 132.
Hydrate of, 131, 132.
Mellate of, 132.
Phosphate of, 130.
Sulphates of 127, 128, 129.
Alum stone, 129.
Alum slate, 128.
Aiuminite, 129.
Aluminium, Fluorid of, 132.
Amalgam, Native, 270.
Amber, 93.
Amblygonite, 132.
Amethyst, 134.
Oriental, 158.
Amianthus, 154.
Ammonia, Salts of, 100.
Carbonate of, 101.
Muriate of, 100.
Phosphate of, 101.
Sulphate of, 101.
Ammoniac, Sal, 100.
Amoibite, 244.
Amphibole, 154.
Amygdaloid, 339.
Aualcime, 168.
Anatase, 292.
Ancramite, 257.
Andalusile, 174.
Andesin, 177, (Albite.
Anglarite, 230.
Anglesite, 264.
Cupreous, 264.
Anhydnte, 114.
Anhydrous sulphate of lime, 114.
Ankerite, 120.
Anorthite, 178.
Anthophyllite, 156.
Hydrous, 171.
Anthosiderite, 226.
Anthracite, 85.
Anthraconite, 117.
Antigorite, 149.
Antimonate of lime, 303.
Antimonial copper, 278.
nickel, 244.
silver, 322, 323.
ANTIMONY, 301.
Antimonophyllite, 303.
Antimony, Native, 401.
Arsenical, 302.
Feather ore of, 302.
Gray, 301.
Red, 303.
Sulphuret of, 301.
White, 303.
Antimony and lead, sulphureta of,
302.
416
INDEX.
Antimony ores, general remarks
on, 303.
Antrimolite, 171.
Apatelite, 228.
Apatite, 120.
Aphanesite, 284.
Aphrodite, 148.
Aplome, 186.
Apophyllito, 165.
Aquamarine, 198.
Arendalite, 182, (Epidote.)
Arfvedsonite, 157.
Argent, French for silver.
Argentine, 116.
Argillaceous shale, 341.
Argillite, 341.
Arkansite, 209.
Arquerite, 270.
Arragonite, 118.
Arsenate of iron, 230.
of nickel, 245.
of cobalt 248.
of copper, 284.
of lime, 305.
ARSENIC, 304.
Arsenic, Native, 304.
Sulphurets of, 305.
White, 305.
Arsenic ores, general remarks on,
306.
Arsenical cobalt, 247.
iron pyrites, 215.
lead, 263.
manganese, 242.
nickel, 244.
silver, 322.
Arsenous acid, 305
Asbestus, 151, 154.
Asparagus stone, 120.
Aspasiolite, 163.
Asphaltum, 95.
Asteria, 158.
Atacamite, 285.
Atmospheric air, 76.
Augite, 150, 151.
Aurichalcite, 254.
Auriferous pyrites, 213.
Aurotellurite, 319.
Automolite, 161.
Aventurine quartz, 134.
feldspar, 176.
Axinite, 190.
Azure, 250.
Azurite, 283.
B.
Babingtonite, 157.
Balas ruby, 160.
Baltirnorite, 146.
Bamlite, 329.
BARYTA, 108.
Baryta, Carbonate of, 109.
Sulphate of, 108.
Sulphate-carbonate of, 110.
Baryt-Harmotome, 168, (Harmo
tome.)
Barytocalcite, 110.
Basalt, 339.
Basanite, 137.
Beaumontite, 285.
Bell metal, 290.
Bell metal ore, 294.
Beraunite, 230.
Berengelite, 97.
Beryl, 197.
Berthierite, 302.
Berzeline, 329.
Beudantite, 329.
Biddery ware, 257.
Biotine, 178, (Anorthite.)
BISMUTH, 257.
Bismuth, alloys of, 259.
Native, 258.
Acicular, 258.
Carbonate of, 258.
Cupreous, 258.
Silicate of, 258.
Sulphuret of, 258.
Telluric, 258.
Bismuth blende, 258.
nickel, 245.
ocher, 258.
Bismutite, 258.
Bitter spar, 119, (Brown Spar.)
Bitumen, 95.
Elastic, 94.
Butuminous coal, 85.
Black copper, 279.
cobalt, 248.
lead, 91.
Black jack, 251.
Blei, German for lead.
Blende, 250.
Bloodstone, 137.
Blue asbestus, 227.
INDEX.
417
Blue copper ore, 283.
iron earth, 230
malachite, 283, (azurite.)
spar, !31,(Lazulite.)
vitriol, 280.
Bodenite, 208.
Bog iron ore, 220.
manganese, 241.
Bole, 162.
Boltonite, 157.
Bones, composition of, 120.
Boracic acid, 107.
Boracite, 126.
Borate of lime, 123.
of soda, 107.
of magnesia, 126.
Borax, 107.
Borosilicate of lime, 142.
Botryolite, 142.
Boulangerite, 302.
Bournonite, 278.
Branchite, 97.
Brass, 256, 290.
Braunite, 242.
Breccia, 344.
Breccia marble, 350.
Breislakite, 157.
Breunnerite, 229.
Brevicite, 167.
Brewsterite, 164.
Britannia metal, 304.
Brittle silver ore, 322.
Brocatello di Siena, 349-
Brochantite,281.
Bromic silver, 324.
Bromlite, 110.
Bronze, 289, 290.
Bronzite, 151.
Brookite, 292.
Brown iron ore, 220.
hematite, 220.
ocb^r, 220.
spar, 119,229.
Brucite, 126.
see chondrodite, 157.
Bucholzite, 172.
Bucklandite, 183.
Buhrstone, 343, 346.
Building stone, 336, 337, 339,
345.
Buratite, 285.
Sustamite, 240.
C.
Cacholong, 139.
Cacoxene, 230.
Cadmia, 257.
CADMIUM, 257.
Cairngorum stone, 134.
Calaite, 130, (Turquois.)
Calamine, 253.
Electric, 253.
Calcareous spar, 115.
tufa, 116.
Calcedony, 135.
Calcite, 115.
Caledonite, 266.
Callais, 131.
Canaanite, 180, (Scapolite.)
Cancrinite, 180.
Caoutchouc, mineral, 94.
Capillary pyrites, 245.
CARBON and compounds of car-
bon, 80.
Carbonic acid, 93.
Carbuncle, 187.
Carbureted hydrogen, 77*
Carburet of iron, 91.
Carnelian, 135.
Carpholite, 171.
Carphosiderite, 230.
Ca.-tor, 329.
Catlinite, 342.
Cat's eye, 136.
Celestine, 110.
Cerasite, 268.
Cereolite, 329.
Cerine, 207.
Cerite, 207.
CERIUM, ores of, 206.
Cerium, Carbonate of, 206.
Phosphate of, 207
Silicate of, 207.
Cerium ocher, 206.
Ceruse, 264, (White Lead.)
Chabazite, 169.
Chalcedony, 135.
Chalcolite," 210.
Chalk, 116.
Red, 218.
Chalybeate waters, 80.
Chamoisite, 226.
Chenocoprolite, 324.
Chessy copper, 283, (Azurite.)
Chiastolite, 174.
418
INDEX.
Childrenite, 132.
Chiolite, 132.
Chlorite, 145.
Chlorite slate, 338.
Chlorite rock, 338.
Choritoid, 172.
Chloropal, 226.
Chlorophane, 122.
Chlorophyllite, 162.
Chlorospinel, 160.
Chondrodite, 157.
Christianite, 329.
Chromate of lead, 267.
of lead and copper, 268.
Chrome salts, manufacture o/,223.
Chrome yellow, 223, 267.
Chromic iron, 222.
ocher, 243.
CHROMIUM, 243.
Chrysoberyl, 199.
Chrysocolla, 283.
Chrysolite, 156.
Iron, 226.
Chrysoprase, 135.
Cimolite, 162.
Cinnabar, 270.
Cinnamon stone, 185.
Cipolin marbles, 349.
Clausthalite, 263,
Clay, 352.
for bricks, 355.
for pottery, 356.
Clay slate, 341.
Clay Iron Stone, 218, 220, 228.
Cleavelandite, 178.
Clinkstone, 340.
Clintonite, 148.
Cloanthite, 244.
Coal, mineral, 85.
Anthracite, 85.
Bituminous, 85.
Brown, 86.
Caking, 85.
Cannel, 86.
Cherry, 85.
Glance, 85.
Splint, 86.
Stone, 85.
Wood, 86.
Coal measures, 86.
COBALT, 247.
Cobalt, Arsenate of, 248.
Cobalt, Arsenical, 247.
Arsenite of, 249.
Black oxyd of, 248.
Earthy, 248.
Red, 249.
Sulphate of, 249.
Sulphuret of, 248.
Tin-white, 247.
White, 247.
Cobalt bloom, 248.
mica, 248, (cobalt bloom.)
ocher, 249.
pyrites, 248.
Cobalt Ores, gen. remarks on, 249.
Cobaltie lead ore, 263.
Cobaltine, 247.
Coccolite, 151.
Colcothar, 214, 227.
Coiophonhe, 186.
Coiumbite, 224.
^omptonite, 167.
Condurrite, 285.
Conglomerate, 344.
Uopal, Fossil, 97.
COPPER, iJ73, 285
Copper, Alloys of, 289.
Antimonial, 278.
Arsenates of, 284.
Arsenical, 278.
Carbonates of, 281, 283.
Chlorid of, 285.
Crenate of, 285.
Muriate of, 285, (Chlorid)
Native, 273.
Oxyds of, 279.
Phosphates of, 285.
Pyritous, 275.
Selenid of, 279.
Silicate of, 283, 284.
Sulphate of, 280.
Sulphato-chlorid of, 285.
Sulphurets of, 275.
Copper froth, 284.
mica, 284.
nickel, 244.
pyrites, 275, 277.
uranite, 210.
Copper ore, Black, 279.
Blue, 275.
Gray, 278.
Octahedral, 279 (Red Copper.)
Red, 279,
INDEX.
419
Copper ore, Variegated, 277.
Velvet, 285.
Vitreous, 275.
Copper ores, gen. remarks on, 285
Assay of, 285.
Reduction of, 286.
Copperas, 227.
Manufacture of, 213.
Coquimbite, 227.
Coracite, 210.
Cordierite, 190.
Cork, Mountain, 154.
Corneous lead, 263.
Corundum, 158.
Cotunnite, 268.
Couzeranite, 179.
Crichtonite 222,
Crocidolite, 227.
Crocoisite, 267.
Cronstedtite, 226.
Cross stone, 174, (Staurotide.)
Cryolite, 132.
Cryptolite, 207.
Cuban, 277.
Cube ore, 230.
Cube spar, 114, (Anhydrite.)
Cuivre, French for Copper.
Cummingtonite, 156.
Cupreous anglesite, 264.
Cyanite, (Kyanite,) 173.
Cymophane, 200.
Cyprine, 184.
D.
Damourite, 172.
Danaite, 215.
Danburite, 329.
Datholite, 142.
Davyne, 179, (Nepheline.)
Derbyshire spar, 122.
Dermatine, 149.
Deweylite, 145, (Serpentine.)
Diallage, 151.
Diallage rock, 339.
Dialiogite, 242.
Diamond, 80.
Diaspore, 132.
Dichroite, 190.
Digenite, 275.
Diopside, 150.
Dioptase, 284.
Diorite, 339.
Dioxylite, 266.
Diphanite, 171
Dipyre, 181.
Disthene, 173.
Dog tooth spar, 115.
Dolerite, 339.
Dolomite, 118.
Dreelite, 110.
Dufrenoysite, 263.
Dysclasite, 142.
Dysiuite, 161.
Dysodile, 97.
E.
Earthy cobalt, 248.
manganese, 241.
Edelforsite, 143.
Edingtonite, 171.
Edwardsiie, 206, (Monazite.)
Egeran, 184.
Eisen, German for Iron,
Eiajolite, 180.
Elastic bitumen, 94.
Electric calamine,253.
Emerald, 197.
Oriental, 158.
Emery, 158.
Enceladite, 294.
Epidote, 182.
Epistilbite, 171.
Epsom salt, 124.
Manufacture of, 119, 124, 125,
Eremite, 206, (Monazite.)
Erinite, 284.
Erz, German for ore.
Esmarkite, 191.
Essonite, 185.
Etain, Fr. for tin.
Eucairite, 323.
Euchroite, 284.
Euclase, 199. m
Eudialyte, 202.
Eugenesite, 310.
Euphotide, 339.
Eupyrchroite, 120.
Euxenite, 208.
F.
Fahlerz, 278, (gray copper.)
Fahlunite, 163.
Fassaite, 151.
Faujasite, 171.
Feather alum, 128.
Feather ore, 302.
Feldspar, 176.
4*20
INDEX.
Feldspar, Glassy, 176, 177.
Labrador, 178.
Fer, French for iron.
Fergusonite, 208.
Ferrotantalite, 225.
Fettbol, 162.
Fibro-ferrite, 227.
Fibrolite, 172, (Bucholzite,)
Fichtelite, 97.
Figure stone, 343.
Flagging stone, 337, 346.
Flint, 136.
Float stone, 137.
FlosFerri, 118.
Flucerine, 206.
Fluellite, 1-32.
Fluor epar, 121.
Foliated tellurium, 263.
Fontainbleau limestone, 245.
Forsterite, 157.
Fossil copal, 97
wood, 138, 350.
Franklinite, 221.
Freestone, 345.
Fuchsite, 193.
Fuller's earth, 354.
Fusible metal, 259.
G.
Gadolinite, 208.
Gahnite, 161, (Automolite/>
Galena, 260.
Galmey, 253, (Calamine.)
Garnet, 184.
Tetrahedral, 187, (Kelvin.
White, 175, (Leucite.)
Gay Lussite, 108.
Gehlenite, 181.
Genesee oil, 96.
German silvejj, 246.
Geocronite, %2.
Gibbsite, 131.
Gibraltar rock, 350.
Gieseckite, 180.
Gigantolite, 163.
Gilbertite,329.
Girasol, 139.
Gismondine, 168.
Glance cobalt, 247, (Cobaltine.)
Glauberite, 108.
Glauber salt, 102.
Glaucolite, 179.
Glimmer, Germ, for mica.
Glottalite, 171.
GLUCINA, 197.
Gneiss, 337.
GOLD, 311.
Gold, amount deposited at U. S,
mint, 315,
cupellation of, 317.
Gong, Chinese, 290.
GOthite, 221.
Gouttes d' eau, 195.
Grammatite, 153.
Granite, 335.
Granulite, 335.
Graphic gold, 319.
granite, 335.
tellurium, 319.
Graphite, 91.
Gray antimony, 301.
copper ore, 278.
Graystone, 339.
Green diallage, 151
earth, 226.
iron stone, 230.
malachite, 281.
sand, 226.
vitriol, 227.
Greenockite, 257.
Greenovite, 293.
Greenstone, 339.
Grengesite, 22C.
Grit rock, 344.
GrOppite, 162.
Grossularite, 185.
Guanite, 101.
Gurhofite, 119.
Guyaquillite, 97.
Gypsum, 112.
Anhydrous, 114.
Gyrasol, 139.
H.
Hematite, 218, 220.
Haidingerite, 302, 305.
Hair salt, 124.
Halloylite, 160.
Harmotome, 168.
Harringtonite, 167.
Hartite, 97.
Hatchetine, 97.
Hauerite, 242.
Hausrnannite, 242
Hauyne, 196.
Haydenite, 170
I3TDKX.
421
Hayesine, 123.
Heavy spar, 108.
Hedenbergite, 151, 226
Hedyphane, 267.
Heliotrope, 137.
Helvin, 200.
Hematite, brown, 220.
Red, 218.
Hercinile, 161.
Herrerite, 300,
Herscheiite, 170.
Heteroclin,241.
Heterosite, 242.
Heulandite, 164.
Hisingerite, 226.
Hone slate, 337,338,342.
Honey ttone, 132.
Hopeite, 254.
Horn quicksilver, 271.
silver, 323.
Hornblende, 152.
Hornblende slate, 337.
Hornstone, 136.
Houille, FT. for coal.
Hudsonite, 151.
Humboldtilite, 181.
Humite, Chondrodite ? 157.
Huraulite, 242.
Hyacinth, 20 1,1 89,
Hyalite, 140.
Hyalosiderhe, 156, (Chrysolite.)
Hydraulic limestone, 350.
Hydroboracite, 123.
Hydrochloric acid, 77.
Hydrogen,
Carbureted, 77.
Phosphureted, 77.
Sulphureted, 77.
Hydroroagnesite, 125.
Hydrophane, 139.
Hydrotalcite, 329.
Hydrous anthophyllite, 171.
Hypersthene, 151.
Hystatite, 222.
JL
Iberite, 163.
Ice, 78.
Ice spar, 176, 178.
Iceland spar, 116.
Ichthyophthalmite, 165, (Apophyl-
lite.)
Idocrase, 184.
Idrialin. 97.
Ilmenite, 222,
Ilvaite, 226.
Indicolite, 188".
lodic silver, 324.
mercury, 272.
lolite, 190.
Hydrous, 163.
Indium, 309.
Iridopmine. 309.
IRON, 211.
History of, 231.
Manufacture of, 232, 236
Iron, Arsenates of, 230
Arsenical, 215,
Carbonate of, 228.
Carburet of, 91.
Chromate of, 222.
Columbate of, 224.
Hemaihic, 218, 220.
Hydrous oxyd of, 220.
Meteoric, 211.
Native, 211,
Oligiste, 218.
Oxalate of, 230.
Oxyds of k 216, 218,220.
Phosphate of r 229.
Silicates of, 226.
Sparry or spathic, 228.
Specular, 218.
Sulphate of, 227.
Sulphurets of, 212, 214.
Titanic, 222.
Tungstate of, 225.
Iron chrysolite, 226.
Iron earth, Green, 230.
Blue, 230.
Iron furnace, 233.
Iron mica, 229, (Vivianite.)
Iron ores, general notice of, 231.
Assay of, 232.
Seduction of, 232.
Iron ore, Argillaceous, 218, 220
228.
Axotomous, 222, (Ilmenite.)
Bog, 220.
Brown, 220.
Chromic, 222.
Green, 230.
Jaspery, 218.
Lenticular, 218.
Magnetic, 216.
36
422
INDEX.
Iirm ore, Micaceous, 218.
Ochreous, 218, 220.
Octahedral, 216.
Pitchy, 241, (Triplite.)
Red, 218.
Rhombohedralj 218, (Specu-
lar.)
Spathic, 228.
Specular, 218.
Titanic, 222.
Iron pyrites, 212.
Arsenical, 215.
Auriferous, 213.
Hepatic, 214.
Magnetic) 214.
White, 2 14.
Iron sinter, 230.
Iron stone, Clay, 218, 228.
Blue, 230.
Iron zeolite, 227.
Iserine, 222.
Isopyre, 226.
Itacolumite, 343.
Ixolyte, 97.
J.
Jade, 147.
Jamesonite, 302.
Jargon, 201.
Jasper, 137.
Jaspery iron ore, 218.
JefTersonite, 151.
Jet, 86.
Johannite, 210.
Junkerite, 229.
K.
Kakoxene, 230.
Kaliphite, 330.
Kalk, Germ, for lime.
Kamrnererite, 149.
Kaolin, 177, 356.
Karpholite,171.
Karphosiderite, 230.
Keilhauite, 293.
Kerolite, 146.
Kiesel, Germ, for silica.
Kilbrickenite, 302.
Kirwanite, 226.
Knebelite, 226.
Kobalt, see Cobalt.
Kobellite, 301
Kollyrite, 162.
Konigite, 281.
Konlite, 97
Kraurite, 230.
Krisuvigite,28L
Kupfer, Germ, for copper.
Kyanite,173>
L.
Labradorite, 178.
Labrador feldspar, 178.
hornblende, 151.
Lapis Lazuli, 196.
Latrobite, 179.
Laumonite, 166,
Lava, 340.
Lazulite, 131.
LEAD, 259.
Lead, Arsenate of, 267.
Arsenids cf,263.
Carbonate of, 264.
Chlorid of, 268.
Chromate of, 267.
Molybdate of, 268.
Muriate of, 268.
Native, 260.
Oxyd of, 263.
Phosphate of, 266.
Selenate of, 268.
Selenids of, 263.
Sulphate of, 264.
Sulphato-carbonates of, 266.
Sulphuret of, 260.
Telluridsof, 263.
Tungstate of, 268.
Vanadate of, 268.
Lead glance, 260, (Galena.)
Leadhillite, 266.
Lead ore, Argentiferous, 260.
Cobaltic, 263.
Red, 263.
White, 264.
Yellow, 268, (Molybdate.)
Lead ores, general remarks on,
268.
Ledererite, 169.
Lederite, 293.
Leonhardite, 166.
Lepidokrokite, 221.
Lepidolite, 192.
Lepidomelane, 193.
Leptynite, 335.
Leucite, 175.
Leucophane, 200.
Leucopyrite, 216.
423
Levyne, 169.
Libfthenite, 285.
Liebigite, 330.
Lievrit* 1 , 226.
Lignite, 86.
Ligurite, 330.
LIME, 112, 141.
Lime, Arsenate of, 305.
Borate f, 123.
Borosilicate of, 142.
Carbonate of, 115,118.
Fluate of, 121.
Fluorid of, 121.
Magnesian carbonate of, 118.
Nitrate of, 123.
Oxalate of, 123.
Phosphate of, 120.
Silicates of, 141, 142.
Sulphate of, 112, 114.
Tungstate of, 300.
Vanadate of, 300.
Limestone, 116,347.
Hydraulic, 117, 350.
Magnesian, 118.
Fontainebleau, 116.
Limestone, burning of, 351.
Limekilns, 351.
Limonite, 220, (Brown Hematite.)
Lincolnite, 164.
Liroconite, 284.
Lithia mica, 192.
L t'lographic stone, 10.
Lithomarge, 355.
Liver ore of mercury, 271.
Lodestone, 217.
Loxoclase, 178.
Lumachelle, 350.
Lydian stone, 137.
M.
Made, 174.
Maclurite, 157, (Chondrodite.)
MAGNESIA, 123, 143.
Magnesia, Borate of, 126.
Carbonate of, 124, 125.
Fluopho-phate of, 127.
Fluosilicate of, 157, (Chondro-
dite.)
Hydrate of, 126.
Hydro-carbonate of, 125.
Native, 126, (Brucite.)
Nitrate of, 126.
Silicates of, 143.
Magnesia, Sulphate of, 124.
Magnesia alum, 128.
Vlagnetsian limestone, 118.
Magnesite, 124.
Magnet, Native, 217.
Magnetic iron ore, 216.
pyrites, 214.
Malachite, Blue, 283, (Azuritc.)
Green, 281.
Malacolite, 150.
Malacone, 202.
Maltha, 95.
Maltha cite, 162.
Mancinite, 254.
Manganblende, 242.
MANGANESE, 239.
Manganese, Arseniuret of, 242.
Bog or earthy, 241.
Carbonate of, 242.
Oxyds of, 240,242.
Phosphate of, 241.
Silicate of, 239.
Sulphuret of, 242.
Manganese ores, general remark*
on, 242.
Manganese spar, 239.
Manganite, 242.
Marble, 347, 348, 349, 350.
Marcasite, 212, (Pyrites.)
Marceline, 241.
Marekanite, 341.
Margarite, 193.
Margarodite, 193.
Marl, 354.
Marmatite, 250, Blende.)
Mannolite,146.
Martinsite, 107.
Mascagnine, 101.
Ma.-onite, 172.
Medjidite, 330.
Meerschaum, 148.
Meionite, 181.
Melanchlor, 230.
Melanite, 185.
Melanochroite, 267.
Mellate of alumine, 132,
Mellilite, 181.
Mellite, 132.
Menaccanite, 222,
Menilite, 140.
MERCURY, 270.
Mercury, Chlorid of, 371.
431
Mercury, lodic, 272.
Muriate of, 271, (Chlorid.)
Native, 270.
Selenid of; 272.
Sulpfeuret of, 270.
Mercury ores, general remarks on,
272.
Mesitine spar, 229.
Mesole, 167.
Mesatype, 167.
METALS, 202.
Meteoric iron, 211.
Miargyrite, 323.
Mica, 191.
Hydrous, 193.
Mica slate, 337.
Micaceous iron ore, 218.
Microiite, 208.
Middletonite, 97.
Miemite, 119.
Millstone grit, 344,
Miloschine, 243.
Mimetene, 267.
Mineral caoutchouc, 94.
oil, 95.
pitch, 95.
tallow, 97.
tar, 95.
waters, 80.
Minium, 263.
Mispickel, 215.
Mocha stone, 135.
Molybdate of lead, 268.
Molybdenum, Sulphuret of, 298.
Molybdenite, 298.
MOLYBDENUM, 298.
Molybdic ocher, 299.
Monazite, 206.
Monradite, 149.
Monticeliite, 330.
Moonstone, 176.
Moroxite, 120.
Mosaic gold, 259.
Mosandrite,
Mountain green, 281, (Green Mal-
achite.)
cork, 154.
leather, 154.
Mowenite, 167.
Mailer's glass, 140.
Mullicite, 230.
Mundic. 214.
Muriacite, 114,
Muriatic acid, 77,
Murchisonite, 176, (Feldspar.)
Muscovy glass, 192.
N.
Nacrite, 193.
Naphtha, 95.
Natrolite, 166.
Natron, 103.
Necronite, 177.
Needle ore, 258 ( Acicukr Bismuth.)
Needlestone, 167, (Scokcite.)
Nemalite, 125.
Nepheline, 179,
Nephrite, 147.
NICKEL, 243.
Nickel, Antimonial, 244.
Alloys of, 246.
Arsenate of, 245.
Arsenical, 244.
Bismuth, 245.
Copper, 244.
Oxydof,245.
White, 244.
Nickel glance, 244.
green, 245.
ocher, 245.
pyrites, 245.
stibine, 244.
Nickel ores, general remarks on,
245.
Nigrine, 291.
Nitrate of lime, 123.
magnesia, 126.
potash, 101.
soda, 103.
Niter, 101.
Nitrogen, 76.
Nontronite, 226.
Nosean, 196.
Novaculite, 342.
Nussierite, 330.
Nuttallite, 181.
O.
Obsidian, 341.
Ocher, Red, 218.
Brown or yellow, 220.
Cerium, 206.
Plumbic, 263.
Uranic, 209.
Chromic, 243.
Octahedrite, 292, (Anatase.)
INDEX.
425
(Erstedite, 202.
Oil, Gent- see or Seneca, 96.
Mineral, 95.
Okenite 142.
Oligiste iron ore, 218.
Oligoclase,179.
Oligou spar, 229.
Olivenite, 284.
Olivine, 156.
Onyx, 136.
Oolite, 116.
Opal, 139.
Ophite, 145, (Serpentine.)
Ores, general remarks on, 202.
Orpiment, 305.
Orthite,207.
Orthoklase, 176, (Feldspar.)
Ottrelite, 193.
Ouvarovite, 185.
Oxalate of iron, 230.
Ozarkite, 330.
Ozocerite, 97.
Packfong, 246.
PALLADIUM, 310.
Pargasite, 154.
Parisite, 206.
Peastone, 116, (Pisolite.)
Pearl spar, 119.
Pearlstone, 341.
Pectolite, 142.
Peloconite, 242.
Pennine, 149.
Periclase, 149.
Peridot, 156, (Chrysolite.)
Perovskite, 293.
Petalite, 182.
Petroleum, 95.
Phacolite, 170.
Pharmacolite, 305.
Phenacite, 200.
Phillipsite, 168.
Pholerite, 162.
Phonolite, 340.
Phosphorite, 120.
Phosphureted hydrogen, 77.
Photozite, 239.
Phyllite, 193.
Physalite, 194.
Piauzite, 97.
Pickeringite, 129.
Picrolite, 146.
Picrophyil, 331.
Picrosmine, 149.
Pigotite, 330.
Pimelite, 245.
Pinchbeck, 290.
Pinguite, 226.
Finite, 162,
Pipe clay, 356.
Pipestone, 342.
Pisolite, 116.
Pistacite, 183.
Pitchblende, 209.
Pitchstone, 341.
Pitchy iron ore, 241, (Triplite.)
Pittizite, 227.
Placodine, 244.
Plagionite, 302.
Plasma, 136.
Plaster of Paris, 114.
Platin-iridium, 309.
PLATINUM, 307.
Pleonaste, 160.
Plumbago, 91.
Plumbic ocher, 263.
Plumbo-calcite, 117. <
Plumbo-resinite, 268.
Pollux, 330.
Polybasite, 323.
Polycrase, 209.
Polyhalite, 127.
Polyhydrite, 226.
Polylite,151.
Polymignite, 209.
Poanahlite, 167.
Porcelain, manufacture of, 356.
Porcelain clay, 356.
Porcelain jasper, 137.
Porcelain spar, 330.
Porphyry, 340.
Porphyritic granite, 335.
Potash, Nitrate of, 101.
Potash, Salts of, 101.
Potassium, Chlorid of, 102.
Potstone, 143, 339.
Potter's clay, 356.
Pottery, manufacture of, 356.
Pozzuolana, 347, 351.
Prase, 134.
Praseolite, 330.
Prehnite, 170.
Proustite, 323, (Red silver.)
Pseudomalachite, 285.
Pseudomorphs, Steatitic, 149.
36*
426
INDEX.
Pudding stone, 344.
Pumice, 341.
Purple or variegated copper, 277.
Pycnite, 194.
Pyrenaite, 185.
Pyrites, Arsenical iron, 215.
Auriferous, 213.
Capillary, 245.
Cockscomb, 214.
Copper, 275.
Hepatic, 214.
Iron, 212.
Magnetic, 214.
Nickel, 245.
Radiated, 214.
Spear, 214. - '
Tin, 294.
Variegated copper, 277.
White iron, 214.
Pyrochlore, 208.
Pyrodmalite, 227, (Pyrosmalite.)
Pyrolusite, 240.
Pyromorphite, 266.
Pyrope, 187.
Pyrophillite, 149.
Pyrophysalite, 194.
Pyrorthite, 207.
Pyrosclerite, 149.
Pyrosmalite, 227.
Pyroxene, 150.
Pyrrhite, 293.
Q.
Quartz, 132.
Amethystine, 134.
Aventurine, 134.
Ferruginous, 135.
Granular, 137, 343.
Greasy, 134.
Milky, 134.
Rose, 134.
Smoky, 134.
Tabular, 137.
Quartz rock, 343.
Quicklime, 117,350.
Quicksilver, 270.
Chlorid of, 271.
Horn, 271.
Quincite, 148.
Realgar, 305.
Red antimony, 303.
chalk, 218.
cobalt, 249.
Red copper ore, 279.
hematite, 218,
iron ore, 218.
lead, 263.
silver ore, 323.
zinc ore, 251.
Reddle, 218, (Red chalk.)
Rensselaerite, 144, 149.
Retinalite, 149.
Retinasphalt, 95.
Reunite, 95.
Rhffitizite, 173.
Rhodium gold, 311.
Rhodizite, 127.
Rhodonite, 239.
Rhomb spar, 119,229.
Ripidolite, 145.
Rock or mountain cork, 154.
crystal, 133.
milk, 116.
salt, 104.
soap, 162.
ROCKS, general remarks on,
332.
Expansion of, 334.
Romeine, 303.
Roofing slate, 341.
Rose quartz, 134.
Roselite, 249.
Rosite, 162.
Rubellite, 188.
Rubicelle, 160.
Ruby, Spinel, 160.
Almandine, 160.
Balas, 160.
Oriental, 158.
Ruby silver ore, 323.
Rutile, 291.
Ryacolite, 178.
S.
Saccharite, 175.
Sahlite, 150.
Sal ammoniac, 100.
Saline springs, 106.
Salt, Common, 104.
Epsom, 124.
Glauber, 102.
Saltpeter, 101.
Samarskite, 210.
Sand, 352.
for glass, 353.
for casting, 354.
INDEX,
42*
Sandstone, 344.
Flexible, 343.
Saponite, 145.
Sappar, 173.
Sapphire, 158,
Sarcolite, 168,(Analcime. y
Sard, 135.
Sardonyx, 135,
Sassolin, 107.
Satin spar, 113, 116,
Saussurite, 330.
Scapolite, 180.
Scheelite, 300, (Tangsten.)
Scheereritfi, 97.
Schiller asbestus, 146,
spar, 148.
Schist, 341.
Schorl, 188.
Schorlomite, 209.
SchrOtterite, 162.
Schwefel, Germ, for sulphur.
Scolecite, 167.
Scoria, 341.
Scorodite, 230.
Scythe stones, 337,338,
Sea froth, 148.
Sea water, 79.
Dead, 79.
Selenate of lead, 268,
Selenite, 113.
Selenpalladite, 310.
Selenid of copper, 279.
of lead, 263.
of mercury, 272,
of silver, 323.
Selensilver, 323.
Semiopal, 139.
Seneca oil, 96.
Serbian, 243.
Serpentine, 145, 339.
Seybertite, 149.
Shale, 341.
Sicilian oil, 96.
Sideroschisolite, 226.
Sienite, 335.
SILICA, 132.
Siliceous sinter, 140.
Silicified wood, 138.
Sillimanite, 172.
SILVER, 319.
Silver, Antimonial, 323.
Antimouial sulphuret, 322, 332.
Silver Bismnthic, 319.
Bromic, 324.
Carbonate of, 323.
Chlorid of, 323.
Horn, 323.
lodic, 324.
Muriate of,
Native, 319.
Red or ruby, 323.
Selenids of, 323.
Sulphured of, 321, 322.
TeHuric, 323.
Silver ore, Black, 322.
Brittle, 322.
Red or ruby, 323.
Vitreous, 321.
Silver ores, general remarks
324,
Seduction of, 326.
Sinter, Siliceous, 140.
iron, 230.
Skapolith, 180, (Scapolite.)
Skolecite, 167.
Skorodite, 230.
Slate, 337, 338, 341,
Smalt, 250.
Smaltine, 247.
Smelite, 162.
Soda, Salts of, 102.
Carbonate of, 103.
Nitrate of, 103.
Sulphate of 102, 108.
Sodalite, 197.
Soapstone, 143, 338.
Sodium, Chlorid of, 104.
Somervillite, 181.
Spadaite, 149.
Spar, Calcareous, 115.
Derbyshire, 122.
Heavy, 108,
Tabular, 141.
Sparry or spathic iron, 223.
Spear pyrites, 214.
Specular iron, 218.
Speculum metal, 290.
Speiss, 245.
Sphene, 292.
Spherosiderite, 228.
Spherulite, 341.
Spinel, 160.
Spinel ruby, 160.
Spinel, zinciferous, 161.
42B
INDEX,
Spinellane, 196,
Spodumene, 181,
Stalactite, 116.
Stalagmite, 116.
Staurotide, 174.
Steatite, 143, 338.
Steatitic pseudomorphs r
Steinmannite, 302.
Stellite, 142,171.
Sternbergite, 322.
Stiblite, 303.
Stilbite, 165.
Stilpnomelane, 226.
Stilpnosiderite, 221,
Stinkstone, 117.
Stroganowite, 330v
Stromeyerite, 322.
STRONTIA, 110,
Strontia, Carbonate of, 111,
Sulphate of, 110,
Strontianite, 111.
Struvite, 101.
Sulphur, 97, 98,
Sulphuric acid, 99.
Sulphurous acid, 99,
Sulphureted hydrogen, 77.
Sunstone, 176.
Syenite, 335.
Symplesite, 230.
Ti
Tabasheer, 140.
Tabular spar, 141.
quartz, 137.
Tachylite, 330.
Talc, 143.
Talcose slate, 338.
rock, 338.
Tallow, Mineral, 97,
Tantalite, 224.
Tautolite, 330.
Telluric Silver, 323.
Bismuth, 258.
Lead, 263.
TELLURIUM, 300.
Tellurium ores, 300, 319.
Tennantite, 279.
Tenorite, 279,
Tephroite, 240.
Tesselite, 165, (Apophyllile.)
Tetradymite, 258.
Thenardite, 108.
Thomaite, 229-
Thomsonite, 167,
Thorite, 202.
Thrombolite, 285-,
Thulite, 183.
Thumite, 190,
Thuringite, 226.
Tile ore, 279.
TIN, 294.
Tin, Alloys of, 297, 2901
Native, 294.
Oxyd of, 295
Stream, 295.
Sutphuret of, 294.
Wood, 295.
Tin ore, 295,
Tin ores, general remarks ett^
296.
Tin pyrites, 294.
Tincal, 107.
Titanic acid, 291, 29S.
iron, 222,
Titanite, 292.
TITANIUM, 290.
Titanium ores, 291, 292, 293>
Toadstone,339.
Topaz, 194.
False, 134.
Oriental, 158v
Topazolite, 185.
Touchstone, 137.
Tourmaline, 187.
Trachyte, 340.
Trap, 339.
Tremolite, 153.
Triphane, 182.
Triphyline, 230.
Triplite, 241.
Tripoli, 354.
Trona, 103.
Troostite, 240.
Tschevkinite, 209.
Tuesite, 355.
Tufa, 347.
Calcareous, 116.
Tungstate of iron, 225.
lead, 268.
lime, 300.
TUNGSTEN, 299,
Tungsten, Calcareous, 300.
Ferruginous, 225, (Wolfram.)
Tungstic ocher, 299
Turgite, 221.
Tarqaore, 130.
Type metal, 504.
U.
Ultramarine, 196.
Uranite, 210.
Uran-mica, 210, (Uraaate.)
(Uraniain ores, 209.
Uran ocher, 209.
Uranium, Phosphate of, 21H.
Oxyd of, 209.
Sujphate of, 2 10
Uranium ore, Pitchy, 289.
tJrano-tantalhe, 21.
Uran-vitriol, 210.
Urao, 103, (Trona.)
V.
Vanadate of lead, 268.
oflirae,300.
of copper, 285,
Vanadinhe, 268.
VANADIUM, 300.
Variegated copper ore, 277.
Vauquelinite, 268.
Velvet copper ore, 285.
Verd aRtique, 146.
<memal, 340,
Verraiculite, 149.
Vet-million, 271.
Vesuvian, 184.
Villarsite, 149,
Vitreou&copper re, 275.
silver ore, 321.
Vitriol, Blue, 280.
Cobalt, 249.
Green, 227.
Red, 336.
Wkite, 252.
Vivianite, 229.
Volcanic ashes, 341.
glass, 341.
scoria, 341.
Voltaite, 228.
Voltzite, 252.
Vulpinite, 114.
W.
Wacke, 339.
Wad, 241.
Wagnerite, 127-
Vft9hiHgtonite,222.
Varwickite, 293.
Vater, 78.
Mineral, 80.
Sea, 79.
Dead sea, 79.
Vavellite, 130.
Vebsterite, 129.
iVeissite, 182.
iVeraeiate, 181.
Vhetstone, 342, 34S.
antimony, 30S.
arsenic, 305.
iron pyrites, 214.
lead ere, 264.
tellurium, 313, (AuroteU*-
rke.)
vitriol, 252.
Vichtine, 182.
Vilkmite, 254.
Yismuth, German for Bismuth.
Vithamite, 182, (Epidote.)
Witherile, 109.
Ycertliite, 173.
Wohlerite, 202.
Wolchonfikoite, 243.
Wolfram, 225.
Wollastonite, 141, (Tabular spar,)
Wood, silicified, 138.
Wood opal, 140.
Wood tin, 295.
X.
Xanthite, 184.
Xanthophyflite, 148.
Xenotime, 208.
Xylite,226.
Yenite, 2f6.
Yttria, Phosphate of, 208.
Columbate of, 2G8.
Yttrium ores, 206, 208.
Yttro-cerite, 206.
Yttro-columbite, or yttro-tantalifcs,
208.
Yttre-ilmenite, 210.
Yttro-titanhe, 293.
JZaffre, 249.
Zeagomte, 168;
Zeolites, 163.
Iron, 227.
Zeuxite,. 172.
ZINC, 250.
Zinc, alloys of, 256, 257.
Carbonate of, 253.
Red oxyd of, 251.
Silicate of, 253.
Sulphate of, 252v
Zinc, Sulphuret of r 2501
Zinc blende, 250.
Zinc bloom, 253.
Zinc ores,generalremarksan,
Reduction of, 25S,
Zinkenite, 302.
ZIRCONIA, 200.
Zircon, 200.
Zirconite, 201.
Zoisitev 183,
APPENDIX TO SECOND EDITION.
Gold of California. The gold region of Upper California extends
along the valley of the Sacramento^ and alsa as reported, the valley o
San Joaquin, immediately south. These two valleys constitute, in fact,
a single north and south depression of the country, lying between the lofty
Sierra Nevada on the east, and the Coast Range on the- west, and having
a total length of 600 miles. The two rivers meet about midway in this
long trough, and cutting through the Coast hills, open into the large bay
of Francisco. Both streams are bordered by extensive alluvial flat^,
those of the Sacramento varying in breadth from 15 to, 60 or 80 miles.
These alluvial flats are at two levels, differing 60 feet in height ;. the-
lower, or " bottomland " of the river is a vast plain of productive soil ; the
upper has often a pebbly surface, and in many parts is much cut up by ra-
vines, or reduced* to a collection of hills.
The tributaries of this large river come mostly from the snowy heights
ef the lofty Sierra on the east, and the gold has been found principally
along these streams.- Sutler's settlement is situated near the junction
of the Sacramento and the' Ain-eri can Fork, about 90 miles from the sea^
Oil this American Fork, gold was first found early in the Spriag of
1848. Not only the main stream, but its various branches, and the
many ravines opening t&wards it, have been found to yield an abundant
return by washing the sand or gravel of their beds, feather River
empties into the Sacramento, 18 or 20 miles north of the American Fork.
This is a large stream, with many affluents of considerable size, as
Yubah, and Bear Rivers ; and here also the gokl washings have beeit
highly productive. Other branches of the Sacramento aie said to afford
gold with the same ease and abundsance.
The rudest mode of "panning" is at present ail that is necessary to.
obtain the gold. After this process fails of being pr&fitable, the sands
may again be worked by amalgamation, and they must remain a last-
ing source of the metal. The gold' occurs in flattened grains, or scales*
and occasionally in lumps of large sire. The yield is enormous ^ biit
the monthly amount can noi at present be safely stated.
APPENDIX. 431
Tte author was through this region in 1841, having traveled by land
from Oregon to Francisco, and in his course, followed down the Sacra-
mento from one of its sources just west of Shasty Peak. Along the
tiead waters in the Shasty Mountains, talcose rocks and slates were
iict with, having the characters described on pages 316, 338 ; and af-
terwards along the valley of the Sacramento, to the west as well as east,
the pebbles indicated a continuation south of the same rock formation.
The resemblance to other gold regions was observed and remarked in
is Report. His route led him near the banks of the Sacramento, and
consequently at a distance from the places where gold has actually been
found. The same rocks were also traversed farther north, between the
Umpqua and Shasty rivers, within 30 miles of the sea.
The gold will undoubtedly be detected in the rocks alluded to. Bat
in the Urals, (p. 312,) and nearly all gold regions, alluvial washings
have been the great source of the precious metal. The sands and gravel
ore only the rocks broken ftp or pulverized by the action of the.elements,
and through abrasion by water, daring past ages ; and by the rills, rivulets
and streams, the?e sands have undergone, in part, the process of wash-
ing, and hence the grains of gold occur most abundantly along the bot-
tom of the ravines, or the beds of runs of water. The gold being spe-
cifically about seven times heavier than the gravel, it is left behind while
Ihe earth is carried off. Every winter's rains renew the process of
washing, and prepare the ground for farther mining. The forms of
the grains of gold arise tote great extent from the forms in the rocks,
and partly from that wear which grinds up the laminae into scales, and
makes smooth the lumps.
The distinctive characters of gold are mentioned on page 311. It
may be remarked farther, that nitric acid is also an important test.
Gold is not acted upon at all by strong or dilute nitric acid, while all
the baser metals cause an effervescence, (with heat, if not without,) and
liberate acrid fumes. If a quantity of metallic grains are thrown into
dilute nitric acid, and heat applied, the action will at once distinguish
the gold from any metallic impurity. Nitro-muriatic aeid, (a mixture'
of equal parts of nitric and muriatic,) when heated on gold, produces a
complete solution, attended with the escape offunvs.
The metal platinum is also unacted upon by the simple acids, and
dissolves in nitro-muriatic. But the scales of this metal have a higher
specific gravity than gold, and the color is a pale steel shade.
In amalgamation, the sand and gravel, after previous washing, are
agitated together in a large vessel like a bowl. For reducing the
amalgam, it is convenient to have an iron crucible that will hold a
pint, to which there is a cover that may be secured firmly by an iron
bar and a thumb screw. From the top of this crucible, a bent tube may
lead out, having a half inch bore, and one or two feet long. The amal-
gamafter pressing it in buckskin, close nankeen, or some similar ma-
terial, to separate the excess of mercury and reduce it to a dry ball,
is placed in the crucible, the cover fitted on, and heat applied : the mer-
cury at a temperature of 660 F. is thus driven off, and the end of the
tube being inserted into a vessel of water, it is distilled over and con
densed in the water. An India rubber bag, attached to the end ot the
tube has been recently brought into use for collecting the mere
the ha*, during the distillation, is kept cold in water. By this means,
432 XPPENDTX.
the danger of the water's flowing up the tube into the crucible is avoicfecf.
On opening the retort, the gold is found to have a bright yellow color,,
vet is light and spongy. It may then be put into a erueible and melted
with a little borax or potash ; or if impure, a little niter (salt peter) i*
ndded. When fused, it is cast into an ingot, and the work is complete,
\.t the Carolina mines, about 1000 dwts. are thus produced at a single
usion.
In the working of gold rocks, the rock, after mining, is stamped in?
leavy stamping mills, and thus reduced to powder. After this, it is
.vashed and amalgamated according to the method stated, but with
some variations for large works.
It has been found profitable, when metallic walpfourets and other ores*
are abundant in the rocks, to work the ores by smelting, as they con-
tain much gold that is not collected by amalgamation. It is stated
that according to a trial in Russia,- a given* quantity of ore, which by
the ordinary treatment yielded only five sixths of an ounce f produced
by the smelting process 72 5-6ths ounces / o* n kss than 87 times
more than that by the oM method.
The total amount of gold received from California at the United?
States mints at Philadelphia and New Orleans, up to the dose of July
1850, is 20,934,310 dollars. The amount estimated at San Francisca
to have been exported from California to July 1, is 23 millions of dol-
lars. The amount received at. the mint for the 6 months ending with
July, was at the rate of 26 million? of dollars a year, and for the latter
half of that period, at the rate of 32 millions of dollars a year.
Mines of Mercury. The Cinnabar mines recently discovered occur
In a ridge of the Sierra Azul, south of St. Joseph, a few siiles from the
coast, about half way from San Francisco to Monterey. The mouth
of the principal mine (the mine of New Almaden) is a few yards down
from the summit of the highest hill containing the ore, and is about
1200 feet above the neighboring plain. The prevailing rock is a green-
ish talcose rock. The ore is interspersed through a yellow ochreous
matrix, which forms a bed 42 feet in thickness. The richest ore is
from the upper part of the bed.
Specimens of this ore, Bent to New Haven by Rev. C. S. Lyman, and
Been by the author, are extremely rich, and indicate that it must be ex-
ceedingly abundant, as well a& of unsurpassed value.
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