Mineral Resembling Meerschaum 271 



The mineral occurs at the foot of a steep, serpentine 

 declivity in shaly, disintegrating rock, frequently in small 

 masses or nests whose upper surface is convex with shallow 

 smooth corrugations, so that its slaty cleavages sometimes 

 ■show decided curvature. 



In opening up the nests of pseudo-meerschaum or hamp- 

 denite. I brought to light a crystal of magnetite two inches 

 across : it was a dodecahedron with striated faces modified 

 by the truncation of half of its solid angles ; it was symmetrical 

 in form, having a small twinned attachment on one side. 

 This specimen was transferred to Prof. Chas. U. Shepherd of 

 Amherst College, and it was doubtless destroyed in the burn- 

 ing of his collection. Other similar crystals were obtained, 

 measuring from three-fourths of an inch to over two inches — 

 all modified dodecahedrons, (see plate vii, figs i and ii), but 

 none so perfect as' the first one found, most of them being at- 

 tached to or imbedded in the coarse steatite or serpentine de- 

 bris on which the nests of pseudo-meerschaum rested. 



But a more interesting find than the magnetite was in 

 the crystals believed to be pseudomorphic after humite from 

 one to one and one-half inches in breadth, color brownish- 

 yellow, texture loosely steatitic, hardness 1.5, specific gravity 

 2.2T^. They showed but one termination, the lovv^er end being 

 attached to the coarse mass below, as were the magnetite 

 crystals. 



These crystals recalled the brief notice of Dana regard- 

 ing hampshirite as analyzed by Dewey and described in vols, 

 iv, V, and vi, American Journal of Science (first series). This 

 mineral was discovered by Dr. E. Emmons in the town of 

 Middlefield, Hampshire county, Mass., and was named after 

 the county in which it occurred. Professor Dewey visited 

 the Emmons locality, described the crystals and the manner 

 of their occurrence in an unnamed matrix, between heavy 

 masses of serpentine. He declared they could not be pseudo- 

 morphs but were true crystals of steatite, and thought it would 

 be difficult to get any more crystals from that locality. He 

 found a few crystals of magnetite in the matrix with the 

 hampshirite. Hermann later declared the crystals Dewey 

 analyzed to be a distinct mineral. 



Professor Dewey supposes the material between the 

 masses of serpentine was deposited. in a semi-fiuid condition 



