Portal logo
98
GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES IN THE
Speckled Mountain, Norway, Me., by Prof. Addison E. Verrill. A crystal 3-1/2 inches long by 1 inch wide, from Topsham, Me., and one 1-1/2 inches long by 1 inch wide, from Buckfield, Me., are in the collection of Prof. George J. Brush, of New Haven, Conn. Rev. Frederick Merrick stated that he had collected, fifty years ago, some crystals that he believed would furnish gems, but perhaps not of the finest quality, at Haddam, Conn., the old and well-known locality now exhausted. At Greenfield, one mile north of Saratoga Springs, Ν. Υ., now also exhausted, were found many beautiful crystals; also in New Hampshire in gran­ite, at the deep cut of the Northern Railroad, at Orange Summit. None of these localities, however, has furnished a fine gem. The most promising localities are those in Maine, and gems, if found at all, will be likely to occur there. Haddam, Conn., has furnished
many fine twin crystals. Among some rolled quartz pebbles sent from North Carolina for examination, a transparent yellow chrysoberyl was observed, which would afford a 2/4-carat stone. The alexandrite variety of chrysoberyl has not been observed.
Phenacite crystallizes in the rhombohedral system. Its hard­ness is about 8 and its specific gravity about 3.0. It is a silicate of glucinum. The colorless, transparent variety is one of the most brilliant stones known, occasionally showing prismatic colors (or fire), by candle or artificial light. The finest large specimens known are found at Takowaja, fifty-six miles east of Ekaterinburg, in Siberia. Phenacite was first identified in the United States in 1882, when it was discovered in the Pike's Peak Region, Col.,' and more recently on Bald Mountain, North
Am. J. Sci. III., Vol. 24, p. 282, Oct., 1882.