result has apparently justified the large expenditure of time and money necessary to prepare the stone for market.
The
quartz inclusions in some varieties of minerals are of great beauty,
and constitute an important part of the gem minerals of the United
States. Some of the most interesting of these, and some that are quite
rare and little known, are given here.
Sagenite,
"rutile in quartz," "Heche d'amour" (love's arrow) or "Venus's hair
stone," as it is variously termed, is found in many places in the
United States, and is often cut into oval seals and charms for use as
jewelry. The stone gives a very pleasing effect in either sunlight or
gaslight. As much as $500 worth has been sold for gems and specimens in
one year. The most magnificent specimens were found in boulders, from
the vicinity of Hanover, N. H., during the years 1830 to 1850. None,
however, were traced to their original locality. Three of these were
remarkable specimens, equal in beauty and interest to anything known.
One belonged to Dr. James R. Chilton of New York, and passed into the
hands of William S. Vaux, of Philadelphia, and is now in the possession
of his nephew, George Vaux. The rutile crystals in this specimen are of
a rich red color, and are transparent by transmitted light, varying
from the fineness of a needle to 1/8 of an inch in diameter. In one
part of the mass is a series of rutile crystals united into a single
form 1/4 of an inch wide and 5 inches long. The finest specimen found belongs1
to Prof. Oliver P. Hubbard, of Dartmouth College. It is 6 inches long
and 3 inches square, and of irregular shape. (See Colored Plate No. 7.)
Both these pieces are evidently fragments of larger masses. The quartz
itself is slightly smoky, almost clove-brown, and transparent, while
slices cut from it are almost colorless, so that it is questionable
whether the color is not due partly to the reflection from the rutile
crystals, or perhaps to the presence of titanic acid in the quartz.
The crystals of rutile in all these specimens vary in size from the
fineness of a hair up to 1/4 inch in diameter, are uniformly
distributed through the quartz, cross and intersect each other in all
directions, and are of a reddish-brown color with the lustre of
polished copper. Of equal interest are the remarkable inclusions of ver-
1 Proc. Am. Ass'n Adv. Sci., Vol. 4, p. 25, Washington, 1850.
