completely
filled with transparent essonite-red crystals of rutile, some of which
are over 6 inches long and from the thickness of a knitting needle to
that of a thin lead pencil; the larger crystals are slightly flattened.
The other belongs to Prof. Oliver P. Hubbard(a), of Darts-mouth
College, and is 7 inches long by 3 inches across, and of a rich smoky
color. The included crystals are a fine essonite-red, but not thicker
than a knitting needle. Both were brought from some Vermont locality
now unknown; believed, however, not to be Bethel or Rochester,
notwithstanding these localities have furnished many fine crystals of
similar size filled with beautiful rutile. Beautiful pieces of quartz 3
by 4 inches, and fine crystals of quartz penetrated by beautiful
clove-brown and black rutile, were formerly found at Middlesex,
Vermont.
Eutilated
quartz of unexcelled beauty, the rutile usually brown, red, golden, and
black, has been found at many localities, in Randolph, Catawba, Burke,
Iredell, and Alexander counties, North Carolina; and during the last
year, at the emerald mine at Stony Point, crystals of quartz have been
found 3 inches in length, and filled with rutile as thick as a knitting
needle. Fine pieces of quartz 4 inches square, containing acicular
rutile of a rich red color, were found near Amelia Court -House,
Virginia. Some fine acicular crystals of rutile in limpid quartz, in
the possession of Mr. Joseph Wharton, were found near Knitzer's,
Lancaster county, Pennsylvania.
Mr.
Samuel E. Carter has in his cabinet cut specimens of pieces of bluish
quartz filled with small acicular crystals of indicolite, somewhat
resembling rutile in quartz, with the exception of the blue color.
These were found in pieces over 1 inch square at the famous tourmaline
locality at Mount Mica, Paris, Maine.
The
mining operations at Stony Point, North Carolina, brought to light a
number of crystals of quartz, some 4 inches long and 3 inches across.
Large pieces of quartz 3 inches square, filled with what appears to be
asbestus or byssolite, form interesting and pretty specimens. The
inclosures of what appears to be gothite in red fan-shape crystals from
North Carolina also form very pretty and interesting gem stones.
A
fine limpid crystal(b) of quartz, 1 inch long and two-thirds of an inch
in diameter, penetrated by fine green crystals of actinolite one-half
millimeter in diameter, is said to have been found at some Virginia
locality. The so-called Gibsonville emerald(c), exactly similar to the
above, the crystal being 3 by 2 inches, was plowed up in a field at
Gibsonville, North Carolina.
Some
crystals of limpid quartz have been found in California containing
particles of native gold; one of these was said to be 1 inch long, and
inclosed a scale of gold about the size of the end of a finger
a "Proceedings American Association for the Advancement of Science," 1849. b Cabinet of Tiffany & Co. c See page 725.
