QUARTZ AND OPAL.
35
reduced
to little heaps of fragments frozen together in a coherent mass. All
that remained for the illustration of Mr. Hidden's paper before the
Academy, were flakes of flat pieces, parallel to the faces of the
rhombo-hedron, and filled and clouded with elongated and often
rod-shaped cavities, in great numbers and of conspicuous size.
So-called quartz pseudomorphs after calcite cleavages occur at a locality 2 or
3 miles northeast from Rutherfordton, Rutherford County, and frequently
contain irregularly shaped cavities filled with water, which, if broken
out in good shape, could be utilized as curious ornaments. This variety
of quartz was also found by J. A. D. Stephenson in Iredell County. This
occurrence was named and described by Mr. William E. Hidden of New
York, and shown to be due simply to quartz filling irregular cavities
between the mica crystals in a pegmatite rock. It is known as " box
quartz."
NON-CRYSTALLINE QUARTZ.
As was stated above, these varieties have not been very prominent in Xorth Carolina.
Chalcedony.—A
rich fawn and salmon colored chalcedony has been obtained near
Linville, in Burke County, and fine agates and chalcedony at
Caldwell's, Mecklenburg County, near Harrisburg and Concord, Cabarrus
County, and in Granville and Orange counties, and at some other
localities in the State. A fine green-colored variety intermixed with
black hornblende, that would afford gems an inch across, was found
some years ago in Macon Count}', and moss agate near Hillsborough, in
Orange County.
Chrysoprase.—This
valuable variety of chalcedony, colored green by oxide of nickel, has
recently been found in Buncombe Count}', near Morgan Hill, about 16
miles from Asheville." It appears in several parallel seams or veins,
having a general N.E.-S.W. course, and within a few feet of each other.
At the surface, the color was pale green, but as the rock was opened
down to some 4 feet, the tint became deeper and richer. Only a little
test work has yet been done, and the extent and commercial value of the
material cannot at present be determined. The stone polishes very well,
and if darker in color the deposit would have considerable value.
Jasper.—In
North Carolina fine jasper, banded red and black, is found in Granville
and Person counties; bright brick-red and yellow at Knapp's, Reed's
Creek, Madison County; at Warm Springs; at Shut-in-Creek in
