Ye 
i 
Te. 
? 
€ 
A 
. 14 Rutilated Quartz Ciysiats fiom Vermont. 
which the rutile exists in the most delicate baled “atid a nbpdle. 
shaped forms, ( Venus hairstone ;) and, in some instances, thesé — 
delicate prisms are bent towards the ends most.remote from the’ 
apex of the quartz crystals. They are sometimes-four inches. in — 
length.* By transmitted light, their color is teddish brown ;. lus- 
tre like that of polished copper. Some few of- the needles are 
entirely black, and closely resemble schorl. It was the opinion: _ 
of Mr. Kennedy, a scientific engineer, and a very close observer, 
who was present at the opening of the vein, that the crystals.of 
quartz enclosing rutile, were confined to one side only of the 
vein, thus indicating two periods in its formation, in one of which aa 
no rutile was present to intererystallize with the mass. All the 
rezently obtained crystals are very much discolored by iron rust, 
and the vein appears to be “run out.” But its loss wit undoubt- A 
edly be soon supplied by other source 
Prof. Hubbard, of Daanats College, in whine: possession is 2 
the finest specimen of this mineral found in the United States, 
first noticed a must interesting fact in regard to these i § ti 
namely, that the needles of rutile i in some cases, had s m: 
’ pletely through the quartz crystals, and stood out in relict acta 
their surfaces, as if protruded by the sudden effort of their crys- 
tallization. ‘The same appearances were presented to a small 
extent, by one of Mr. Alger’s specimens. If produced in the 
manner supposed, the quartz must have been in a liquid state; if 
not produced in that manner, the crystallization of the rutile must 
have continued after that of the quartz had ceased. he latter 
e most reasonable supposition, and is favored by analo- 
gous anaes in other crystallized minerals. 
Imitative forms of mica contained in the Quariz.—The sur-. 
faces of two of the large crystals exhibited by Mr. Alger, as well - 
as several smaller fragments of crystals, were covered by mung 
but very brilliant scales of gold-colored mica; and t som 
times penetrated the quartz iu company with the rutile, pie in the 
same manner, seemed confined mostly to the darkest ‘colored va- 
rieties of the quartz. But the appearance presented by this mica, is 
curious and altogether unique, for in the substance of the crystals, 
it has assumed the most fantastic forms, appearing in tortuous 
and vermicular ramifications, some of them bearing such a strik- 4 
ing resemblance to organized bodies, as to give the first impres- - 
sion that they are actually the remains of insects or worms. The 
of them, fn found wh to be ¢ omposed eutirely of small plates 
of mica more or less closely united parallel with the one 
_* The polished g-gn in isan these prisms are re exhibited (known 
jewelry 
sei tae 
“raga nears rarely surpassed in 
n foreign co f 
, 
ma 
eal 
Pe ee,” 
iat 
sis rt st bi So 
irs 
