58 JOURNAL OF THE 



was found to be 5.10; the color usually varies from wax- 

 yellow to cinnamon-brown. 

 The result was as follows: 



99.78 



It is thus seen that this ])articu]ar mouazite is a normal phos- 

 phate of the cerium metals, with a mechanical (?) mixture of a 

 thorium silicate, very similar, chemically, to the symmetrical 

 inclusion of zirconium-silicate (zircon) in the ytirium-phosphate 

 (xenotime) found in this same region. 



A monazite from Virginia yielded fourteen per cent., and a 

 mass from Connecticut gave eight per cent., of thoria to this 

 same analyst. 



In the lii>;ht of some recent inventions monazite-sand may 

 become of considerable commercial value on account of its very 

 apparent applicability. The complete separation of the grains 

 of momizite from the other minerals composing the sand is the 

 one "desidei'atum^' necessary to insure its })ractiial use on a 

 large scale. 



Mineralogists and crystal lographers have been especially 

 pleased with the "find" of monazite crystals at a locality in 

 Alexander county situated about three miles east of the Emer- 

 ald and Iliddenite mine. They were found among large smoky 

 quartz cryf>tals, considerable rutile in the form of fine yellow 

 needles matted to";ether and some remarkable xenotimes. Only 

 about twenty good crystals were found. For the most part 

 they were ti'ansparent, of a beautiful essonite-red color and 

 highly polished. Tiiey varied in width frotn one-fourtii to 

 one-half inch, and from one-third to three- fourths inch long. 

 They were long-})rismati(^ in the direction of the clino-axis and 



