76 JOURNAL OF THE 



Opaque green zircons have been found an inch long by one- 

 half inch across in St. lyawrence county, N. Y. , and five 

 black ones of equal size near Franklin, N. J. One of the 

 New York specimens was over four inches in length and is 

 now in the United States National Museum. An interest- 

 ing form of zircon is found near the Pike's Peak road, 

 almost due west from the Cheyenne Mountains, following 

 a vein-like mass of white quartz in granite. The crystals 

 are generally deep reddish brown, pink, or pale honey-yel- 

 low; and a few crystals of deep emerald green are recorded. 

 The largest observed were about one-third inch, but gen- 

 erally they are not more than one-tenth to one-sixth inch 

 in length and would only cut into minute gems. They 

 are, however, perhaps the most beautiful crystals of zircon 

 known, owing to transparency, brilliancy and perfection. 

 The finest gem stones come from Ceylon, Mudger, and 

 New South Wales (Kunz). 



The chief States for yielding zircons are South and North 

 Carolina. At Anderson, S. C. , the zircon is found loose 

 in the soil and in large quantities. The containing rock 

 is granulite, or gneiss devoid of mica, and according to 

 Ivieber this zircon-granulite corresponds to the zircon-syen- 

 ite of Norway. 



In North Carolina the zircon is abundant in the gold 

 sands of Burke, McDowell, Polk, Rutherford, Caldwell, 

 Mecklenburg, Nash, Warren and other counties in very 

 minute yellowish brown and brownish white, sometimes 

 amethystine, pink and blue crystals. It is mainly found, 

 however, in large greyish brown crystals on the south side 

 of the Blue Ridge near Green River, in Henderson county. 

 Here, in a few weeks in 1869, General Clingman collected 

 one thousand pounds of crystals. The presence of zircons 

 there was known many years prior to this. The occurrence 

 is mainly on what was known as the Freeman and Jones 

 farms, about two miles distant from one another. The 



