MAINE.
Mr.
N. G. Smith, of the Maine Feldspar Co., submitted a specimen of
purplish lilac-colored spodumene found during 1914 in the quarry of
that company on Mount Apatite, near Auburn, Me. This spodumene is
translucent to opaque. The color is as good as that found in much of
the California iris or kunzite; the mineral only lacks transparency to
make it a valuable gem. Evidently the specimen was broken from a
crystal of some size, and Mr. Smith reports the finding of many pounds
of the spodumene. It is probable that some of this material cut en
cabochon could be used as an ornamental stone.
TOPAZ.
CALIFORNIA.
Mr.
J. W. Ware, of San Diego, Cal., has furnished the following information
concerning a large topaz crystal found at his mine in San Diego County.
The crystal weighs 3-1/4 pounds, and shows a number of crystal faces,
but without a high polish. It has a decided green color. This topaz was
found along with other greenish and white topaz crystals in a part of
the pegmatite ledge forming the Mountain Lily gem mine on Smith or
Aguanga Mountain. Tourmaline is found in pockets in the same ledge, but
not in the same pockets as the topaz. A part of this topaz crystal is
transparent and will yield good gem material.
WYOMING.
Mr.
Paul E. Hanson, of Billings, Mont., kindly gave to the Survey five
specimens of topaz, which were obtained from the headwaters of Bighorn
River in northern Wyoming. These specimens are all crystals showing a
development of a number of faces including prisms, pyramids, domes,
pinacoids, and base. They are mostly small, the largest measuring 13
millimeters long, 10 millimeters wide, and 5 millimeters thick. All of
the crystals are transparent and colorless, resembling in quality the
colorless topaz from the Thomas Range in Utah. The specimens would not
have much value as gems, except for the local souvenir trade, but would
be of interest as specimens because of their quality and sharp crystal
form.
TOURMALINE.
CALIFORNIA.
There
was but little increased activity in the tourmaline field of southern
California during 1914, to meet the expected demands for this gem at
the Panama-Pacific International Exposition and the Panama-California
Exposition. The principal output came from the Tourmaline Queen and the
Pala Chief mines, near Pala, San Diego County. The Pala Chief mine is
worked for both gem spodumene and tourmaline. The tourmaline crystals
from these mines show great variations in color and size and have
yielded many beautiful gems. Another mine worked for tourmaline was
the Mountain Lily mine of J. W. Ware, on Smith or Aguanga Mountain, San
Diego County. This mine produced a small quantity of very fine grade
