1
carat weight is in the United States National Museum at Washington,
and a series of fine red and blue crystals have been deposited there by
S. F. Lucas. In the collection disposed of by Prof. Joseph Leidy, of
Philadelphia, a few years ago, were several gems from the same mine,
including a wine-yellow sapphire of 3 1/4 carats (660 milligrams) ; a
violet-blue stone of a little over 1 carat (215 milligrams) ; and three
dark-blue ones weighing respectively about 1 1/2 (320 milligrams), 1
1/4 (250 milligrams) and f (145 milligrams) carats each. In Professor
Genth's suite of co-rundums are some from North Carolina and
Pennsylvania that would afford opalescent stones with fixed stars and
other interesting fornis. Many fine examples of corundum from
Pennsylvania are in the cabinets of W. W. Jefferis, now of
Philadelphia, Lewis W. Palmer, of Media, and Dr. Cardesa, of Claymont.
Specimens from Pennsylvania and North Carolina are also to be found in
the cabinets of Joseph Wilcox and Dr. Isaac Lea, and in the William S.
Vaux cabinet at the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences. Near the
Franklin, N. C, locality there has been obtained a considerable amount
of a brown variety of corundum,1 which shows distinct
asterism, both by artificial light and in the sunlight, when the stone
is cut en cabochon. A similar variety, though of darker brown, with a
bronze-like reflection, has also been found, some twelve miles from
Franklin, by Mr. Chatard. These all show a slight bronze play of light
on the dome of the cabochon in ordinary light, and under artificial
light they show well-defined stars, being really asterias or
star-sapphires, and not cat's-eyes, as might seem at first sight to be
the case. Similar light-brown corundums, showing asteriation and
cleavage faces of the crystals, are found in Delaware County, Pa. A
fine opalescent variety of deep indigo color is reported by E. A.
Hutchins, as obtained by him from near Franklin and elsewhere in Macon
County. Red and pink corundum is found at the Cullakenee Mine, in Buck
County, and also at Penland's, on Shooting Creek, in Clay County. From
the former locality there is a fine ruby-colored specimen in the
cabinet of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, and in the
Vaux Collection a remarkable black crystal, the locality given for
which is Buncombe County. ,
1 Transactions New York Academy of Sciences, p. 52, Jan., 1884.
