41 C DOMAIN V. CALCAREOUS. 



A singular marble is still known to be found at 

 Sitifi, in the north of Africa, being the proper tur- 

 quin, because, like the turquois, it is supposed to 

 be brought from a country subject to the Turks *. 

 It is of a bluish grey, or slate colour, with spots 

 of siderite or hornblende ; and seems to be one of 

 the most primitive. 



American. The common marbles abound in AMERICA ; and 

 the conchitic is found at the height of 12,000 feet 

 in the Andes. The following observations are 

 from Molina's admirable essay on the natural 

 history of Chili. 



" The calcareous stones which this country fur- 

 nishes, are limestones, marbles, calcareous spar, 

 and gypsum. Among the limestones some are 

 found very compact, and of all the colours ; as 

 are the coarse-grained, while the common lime- 

 stone is white, bluish, and grey. The marbles of 

 a single colour hitherto discovered are, white sta- 

 tuary marble, black, greenish, yellow, and grey. 

 Two mountains, the one in the Cordelera of Co- 

 piapo, and the other in the marshes of Maule, en- 

 tirely consist of marble in zones of several colours ; 

 but in such strata as surround the mountains, 

 from their base to the summit, with a symmetry 

 that seems an artifice of nature. The variegated 



* Some say turquin, turchino, is derived from the blue colour of 

 the turquois. 



