Natural History. 187 



ram, also, a few miles from Sparta, the red spinelle has been found 

 by William Inglis, Esq. Some of these approaching to a choco- 

 late brown in colour, give a base of one inch and a quarter on 

 each plane." 



M The magnitude of other crystals at this place (Warwick) 

 is equally surprising as that of the spinelles. Crystals of scapolite 

 terminated, are to be found each of the six faces of the prism, 

 measuring four inches, or a circumference of twenty-four inches, 

 or even more. They are, of course, rough and corroded ; but the 

 smaller prisms, often with narrow replacements on the edges, are 

 very perfect, and almost transparent : all of these slightly tinged 

 with green." 



" Of the amphibole genus we meet with several varieties, finely 

 crystallized ; the black with six-sided prisms, each face sometimes 

 is an inch in breadth ; actynolite in short and confused prisms, 

 and a chocolate brown finely-crystallized variety, both in large and 

 crystals of the usual form, and also of an extraordinary form, hav- 

 ing the obtuse angle sometimes replaced by a broad face." 



*' Crystals of augite abound here of gigantic magnitudes, and 

 sometimes when smaller, of considerable perfection of form; they 

 are generally greyish green." 



" In a very singular bed, subordinate to, and, indeed, in the 

 crystalline limestone, occurring in the form of a breccia of the old 

 red sandstone, red graphic granite, and white felspar, I have found 

 partly diaphanous, softish, green octoedral crystals of considerable 

 magnitude, for which I know of no ascertained character. They 

 appear almost similar in substance to steatite, being easily cut by 

 a knife. Tiiey are not, however, found as the spinelle of this 

 locality in carbonate of lime. Considering, therefore, this mineral 

 as new, I propose to call it pseudolite, in allusion to its affinity to 

 the pseudamorphous crystals of steatite." 



8. Globules of Water in Amethyst. — Mr. Webb, of Providence, 

 U. S., has had occasion to observe that globules of water and air 

 were by no means unfrequent in specimens of amethyst, which 

 came under his eye. Many of them were highly interesting from 

 the size of the globule or portion of liquid, the form of the cavity 

 containing it, the exhibition of double refraction through the 

 crystal which it afforded, §c. He remarks that most of these 

 specimens were found among such as had been rejected on account 

 of being too pale for good cabinet specimens, and thinks it proba- 

 ble that good specimens are continually neglected for want of 

 sufficient and close examination. — Silliman's Journal, ix. 246. 



9. Recent Formation of Brown Hematitic Iron Ore. — On ex- 

 amining a set of cast-iron pipes, which had lain for some years in 

 the line of one of the streets in the New Town of Edinburgh, 



