52 The Scottish Naturalist. 



that anything like a good illustration has offered itself of the 

 correctness of my views as to the Auriferous Quartzites of Scot- 

 land. In 1872, however, a lump of gold-bearing quartz was 

 found near the lead-mining village of Wanlockhead, Lanark- 

 shire, by a lead-miner, still resident there — Andrew Gemmell. 

 His discovery was not made public till the autumn of 1873, 

 when a fragment of the specimen in question was exhibited at 

 the " Society of Inquiry" in Thornhill, Dumfries-shire, by my 

 old and worthy friend, Dr. Grierson, well known as the 

 benevolent founder of " the Grierson Museum" there ; and the 

 find was reported in " Nature," as well as in the Edinburgh 

 and other newspapers. In September, 1873, I had a written 

 communication from Dr. Grierson regarding it ; and this was 

 the beginning of a correspondence not yet closed, which has 

 only within the last few weeks given me at all full and satis- 

 factory information concerning the circumstances of GemmelPs 

 discovery. 



The mass of gold-quartz alluded to was found on the side of 

 the public road, and was, unfortunately, broken up into at least 

 seven fragments, which subsequently found their way into the 

 hands of five different owners. I have not myself had an oppor- 

 tunity of examining any of the pieces, seeing that Dr. Grierson's 

 specimen, which he expressed himself willing to send me for 

 examination, was, with other specimens, borrowed by the pro- 

 prietor of two of the fragments, and has not been returned. It 

 is probable, however, that all interested may have a speedy 

 opportunity of inspecting "the Gemmell Quartzite" for them- 

 selves, inasmuch as I understand there is a prospect of the 

 re-pieced mass being placed in the Museum of Science and Art, 

 Edinburgh. 



Gemmell's own account of the matter, as contained in a 

 letter to me of date February 10, 1875, is the following: — 

 "About the lump of gold-quartz that I found in 1872. . . . 

 I have no bits of quartz of the same lump now. I never 

 knew of any being found here as large. It would be about 10 

 lbs. weight, and mixed with gold all through, less or more. 

 When I found it, I broke it all up into smaller pieces. A 

 -number of gentlemen got a piece of it ; and one gentleman 

 has got a number of the pieces from the other gentlemen, and 

 is going to take a model of it." Mr. Stewart, of Wanlockhead, 

 states — also in a letter to me of same date : — " Regarding a 

 piece of auriferous quartz found by Andrew Gemmell in this 



