PYROPE.
NEW YORK CITY.
An
interesting discovery of pyrope garnet lias been made in constructing
the rapid transit tunnel from the south end of Manhattan Island to
Brooklyn. This tunnel runs from the Battery at the foot of Whitehall
street to the foot of Joralemon street. Brooklyn. About .1,000 feet
south from the Xew York starting point, beautiful grains or nodules of
pyrope were obtained, capable of being cut into gems of three-fourths
of a carat to 1 carat in weight. These were in connection with
serpentine, of which the writer found many pieces on examining the
dumps—some of it of tile green precious variety—together with kerolite,
but he did not succeed in obtaining any that actually contained pyrope.
Pyrope
is a mineral belonging to igneous rocks, especially peridotites, from
the alteration of which serpentine is frequently formed. The
serpentines of New York and vicinity are now quite clearly shown to
have originated in this way.a
TOURMALINE.
CALIFORNIA.
The
colored tourmalines of the Pala district, in San Diego County, Cal.,
were finely shown in the mineral exhibit of that county at the Lewis
and Clark Lxposition. at Portland, Oivg.. in 1905. The principal
displays were of rich, deep-red rubeilito. from the Bala Chief, mine,
and of various colored tourmalines, though mainly pink rubellite. from
the San Diego Company, of Mesa Grande. All these were shown in line
specimens, both in crystals and in cut form.
CONNECTICUT.
Information has been received from Mr. S. Ward Loper, of Middletown, Conn., that a new locality
for colored tourmaline lias been opened in the northeast corner of
Portland. Conn., at what is called the Strickland quarry. Besides one
very large crystal of deep green color, several tine and clear specimens have been found—all green : no pink ones as yet. This locality is but a few miles from the celebrated one at lladdam Xeck.
MAINE.
The year l905 was not very productive
in gem tourmalines from Maine. Considerable mining was carried on for
feldspar and mica, and some for lepidolite. but the yield in gem
tourmaline was scanty. A letter from Mr. Loren B. Merrill, of Paris.
Me., describes his own work at Mount Mica and gives the general facts
as to the other localities. The quarries at Auburn have yielded
practically no gem material. At Xewry a good deal of tourmaline has
been found, some of the crystals very large, up to 4 inches in
diameter; but at that place the crystals are not in pockets, but
traverse the pegmatite in the manner of beryls, and hence are liable to
much breakage. At this locality pink tourmaline predominates over
green. .Mr. Merrill has found numerous pockets at Mount Mica, with much
cookeite and quartz crystals, but the tourmalines are mostly small and
of pale (green) color. One such pocket was notable for its great size,
being 8 feet long by 5 feet wide and 3-1/2 feet deep.
" Newland. D.M... The Serpentines of Manhattan Island and vicinity : School of Alines Quart., April, 1901, pp. 399-410.
