College.
A light-green crystal, about 2 inches long, has at one end a
transparent, kernel-like nodule that would afford a gem of over 10
carats' weight. The center of a section of green and red tourmaline
would cut one of the finest magenta-colored rubellites ever seen. The
next important tourmaline locality in Maine is Mount Apatite, in
Auburn, Androscoggin County. It was first worked in 1882, and since
then fully 1,500 crystals have been found. They were colorless,
light-pink, light-blue, bluish-pink, and light-golden, the sections
showing the characteristic variety of color, such as blue and pink,
green and pink, etc., when viewed through the end of the crystal. Some
of the faintly-colored crystals afforded gems that were considerably
darker after the cutting, but no gems over 6 or 8 carats were obtained
here. Further working in 1883 or 1884 brought darker material to light,
especially the green colors, some of which equal those found at Mount
Mica. Rude black crystals 8 inches in diameter and 12 feet long (at
times enclosing quartz-ite) were observed here. This, like the Mount
Mica locality, gives promise of fine gems for some time to come. The
collection in the United States National Museum contains a 1-carat
blue indicolite, two lavender-colored stones of 1 carat each, a light
emerald-green stone of f carat, as handsome as an emerald viewed by
artificial light, and also a suite of several dozen loose crystals of
various colors. The tourmaline locality of Rumford is situated in the
northeast part of the town, in Oxford County, Me., on the northwest
slope of Mount Black, and is about 1,500 feet above sea-level. The
vein, which has been covered for a length of about 250 feet, has been
found to be quite irregular, varying from 30 to 100 feet in width, and
flips northeast and southwest at an angle of about 6o°. The rock is a
coarse granite with mica schist overlying. The Mount Mica Company did
some work here, and since they stopped E. M. Bailey has worked the
solid ledge to a depth of from 3 to 10 feet. No gems have been found,
though some interesting mineralogical specimens have been secured,
among them specimens of lepidolite, which is found here of finer grain
than that from any other Maine locality. One form is in scales not over
3/100 inch (1 millimeter) across, quite compact, and in large masses of a beautiful lilac color, closely
