78 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 
the author to send its water into an underground channel in a ridge 
of limestone. 
Patches of shelly sand occur here and there over the 10,980 square 
miles of country occupied by the white limestones; but near the 
coast this shelly sand thickens to 200 feet. 
A coarse limestone forms a ridge along the coast-line, and it con- 
tains existing species of shells. ‘This indicates an elevation of the 
coast of late date, and which probably is still taking place. 
XI. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 
ON A NEW MINERAL CONTAINING NIOBIUM. 
BY DR. JULIUS POTYKA. 
f West author was induced by H. Rose, to undertake the investiga- 
tion of a mineral received by Dr. Krantz, of Bonn, from Norway 
under the name of tyrite, and sent by him to Rose. The analyses 
of this mineral showed that it is probably a new species. Its com- 
position is different both from that of Fergusonite (Weber), and from 
that of tyrite (Forbes). From these two minerals it is distinguished 
especially by its great amount of potash, and from tyrite also by its 
containing zirconia, whilst alumina has been found in tyrite. As, 
however, the locality where it occurs is still unknown, and its cry- 
stalline form has not yet been observed, the author has not given it 
a name. 
The mineral received by the author forms small specimens of irre- 
gular outline about 4 lines in diameter, included in red felspar. It 
is not cleavable, has an uneven fracture, a black colour, and an im- 
perfect metallic lustre; the fragments exhibit a reddish brown 
translucence at their edges. Its streak is reddish brown. Its hard- 
ness is equal to that of apatite. 
When heated before the blowpipe with borax, it furnishes a glo- 
bule which is reddish yellow while hot, yellowish when cold; in 
phosphorus salt it dissolves readily, forming a clear globule, which is 
greenish yellow while hot, greenish on cooling. When fused with 
carbonate of soda and nitrate of potash, it gives no reaction of man- 
ganese. The specific gravity of the coarse powder is 5°124 at 
63°°68 F. If hot water be poured over the mineral, it crackles ; 
and on boiling it afterwards, air-bubbles escape—at the same time 
the colour becomes pale liver-brown, but on drying it again becomes 
black. 
When heated in a retort, the mineral decrepitates and furnishes 
milky aqueous drops with an odour of sulphuretted hydrogen, toge- 
ther with traces of sublimed sulphur; it probably contains inter- 
mixed iron pyrites. 
The calcined mineral is brownish yellow; when strongly ignited 
in the platinum crucible, it lost in all 3°71 per cent. Its specific 
gravity was then 5°319 at 64°°58 F. The mineral in very fine pow- 
der is of a dingy yellow colour, 
