of Boston and its Vicinity, 



173 



SPECIES XV, —STEATITE. 



Common Steatite, Ckaveland, p. 350. Steatite, Jameso7tf vol. i. p. 418 

 Semi-Indurated Steatite, jRaj-M^an, vol. i. p. 151. Soapstone, Aikin, p. 249. 



External Characters, 



Its colours are grey and green. Of grey, it ©ccurs greenish 

 grey ; of green, asparagus green and blackish green. 

 Its lustre is faintly glimmering, and dull. 

 It is translucent at the edges. 



It is amorphous. 



It has a very unctuous feel. 



It gives a slight argillaceous odour when breathed upon., 



It adheres slightly to the tongue. 



The streak is white. 



It is soft and very soft. 



The fracture is uneven and splintery. 



It is brittle. 



It is easily frangible. 



The fragments are indeterminately angular and blunt edged. 



The specifick gravity is about 3.750. 



Chymical Characters. 



I 



Before the blowpipe it loses colour, and fuses into a white 



enamel. 



Geological Situation and Locality 



It occurs massive and disseminated in Carbonate of Lime, at 



Chelmsford. 



23 



