ELISHA MITCHELL SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY. 65 



I. II. III. 



99.70 



It is readily soluble in HCl. It turns dull-brown on ignition, 

 but becomes orange again on cooling. 



This occurrence of thoria, in combination with phosphoric acid, 

 is the first instance of such a compound existing in nature. The 



analysis leads to the formula — Th Og-j i jy A ^ SHgO. This 



mineral has been named auerlite, after Dr. Carl Auer von Wels- 

 bach, the inventor of the Welsbach Incandescent Gas Burner, 

 for the reason that, it was found while mining the very large 

 quantity of zircons ordered to supply a demand directly caused 

 by his invention and but for which this mineral might not now 

 be known. 



Tungsten. — A mineral, having a density of 7.2, has been 

 found in Granville county, near Henderson. I have not as yet 

 had enough of it to determine whether it is wolframite, hiib- 

 nerite or megabasite. It was associated with magnetite and 

 quartz and had been considered "a very rich iron ore" locally. 



Cassiterite (tin-stone, oxide of tin). — The full history of 

 the finding of tin-ore in this State has never, to my knowledge, 

 been given to the public. 



It seems that a student* of the military school at King's Mount- 

 ain Station found a few pieces of an unusually heavy mineral 

 somewhere in the village and took them to his home in Morgan- 

 ton. Til is happened sometime in 1882. In 1883, when speci- 

 mens were eagerly sought for everywhere in the State for the 

 American Exhibit-on held in Boston in October and November 

 of that year, a little lot of minerals were gathered together in 



*Robert T. Clay well, of Morganton. 



