193 



trict is perhaps better knovvn, especially the freshly fractured speci- 

 mens. Out-cropping veins or beds are seldom so conspicuous, 

 being generally made apparent by a whitish weathering, and might 

 easily be passed over unnoticed. The similarity existing between 

 jiyroxene and a)»atite has often been the cause of much annoyance to 

 the jxsen do-miner. The mineral, locally known as phosphate, is found 

 of almost all shades of color, from white to almost black, passing 

 through various shades of green, red, yellow, and blue, the last 

 color being by far the most uncommon. Small ])risms of this color are 

 sparingly dispersed through a disintegrating coarse crystalline lime- 

 stone on the south half of lot 7, range 1, of Wakefield. The yel- 

 low variety occurs in crystals two inches in length, associated with 

 oblique rhombic prisms of pyroxene, on lot 14, range 1, in the same 

 township. The black, or dark-gceenish variety is found in nuggets of 

 a slaggy api)eaiance, with pitted surfaces, at the Jackson Rae ISIine in 

 Templeton. The white is generally confined to the granular varieties, 

 knovrn as " sugar phosj)hate," but rarely occurs in a state of absolute 

 jjurity, being njore or less mixed with the coarse cleavable mineral- 

 A dark-green granular variety, impregnated with iron i)yrites, forms 

 a large deposit on lot 12, range 1, Wakefield. 



The green and red varieties may be regarded as the predominating 

 mineral, and in many of the mines the two colors are interblended 

 which feature may continue through the entire mass. At the Jackson 

 Rae Mine in Templeton, and at a pit known as the " Spring Mine," a 

 quantity of a beautiful, translucent, sea-green apatite has been extracted 

 comparatively free from foreign inclusions. A very pure reddish mine- 

 ral, assaying as high as 86 per cent of tribasic phosi)hate of lime, 

 occurs in bedded masses at Gemmill's Mine in Wakefield. A block, 

 estimated at 4 tons, was blown out by a single blast from one of the 

 masses. " Moore's Mine," in the same township, is remarkable for the 

 abundance of crystals that have been extracted during the last four 

 years. Huge crystals, hundreds of pounds in weight, have been met 

 with imbedded in a pink cleavable calcite. 



When visiting this mine two years ago, a beautiful vein of inter- 

 locking crystals of a translucent sea-green color, had been deveIoi)ed. 

 The gangue formerly sui-rounding these crystals had been dissolved to 



