94 



LABRADOR 



volcanic rock. Labradorite early attracted the attention 

 of mineralogists and of the much larger class of persons 

 interested in gems and in the beauty of colour in inorganic 

 nature. Owing to the peculiar internal structure of the 

 mineral, white light penetrating its glassy surfaces is broken 

 up into its coloured components. Some of these are absorbed 

 in the mineral and do not affect the eye ; the remainder 

 are reflected from myriads of microscopic particles within 

 the feldspar and afford tinted light-rays of exquisite beauty. 

 Purples, violets, and blues, flashing like flame out of the 

 iridescent crystals, are the prevailing -colours, but bronze, 

 yellow, green, orange, and red are not uncommon. The 

 individual feldspars vary greatly in size, the diameters 

 ranging from a quarter of an inch or less to six or eight 

 inches. As rocks go, the gabbro is always coarse-grained, 

 but the finest labradorite is found in the numerous veins 

 of specially coarse rock which crop out irregularly on the 

 ledges. 



An enterprising American has attempted to market 

 the labradorite as a semi-precious decorative stone. He 

 opened a quarry on a small island (Napoktulagatsuk) 

 situated some twelve miles south of Nain. Dr. Grenfell 

 had the kindness to place the steamer Strathcona for a 

 day at the disposal of the members of the Brave expedi- 

 tion, and the writer was thus enabled to visit the quarry. 

 It was found that sufficient blasting had been done to 

 remove the weathered rock at the surface. Notwith- 

 standing the fact that the more beautiful material had 

 been shipped away, the fresh surfaces of the rock presented 

 a unique and striking appearance. The iridescence could 

 be discerned in almost every part, but a perfect glory of 



