394 M'ineralogical Notices. 



w ■ 



green tourmalines and one prostrate, 2, 4, and 2^ inches long, and 

 _ to 1 inch thick. They -are associated with orthoclase and crys- 

 tallized quartz- The pink ioarmalines of Elba have always 

 the basal plane OR, while the green prisms are terminated with 



rhombohedral planes. 

 Analdme ? — A sing 



Monte 



Catini, in which the soda replaces magnesia, according to Prof. 



Mene 



59'34:'7 22083 10-250 0-450 0'015 'T'SeO , i 



[This result gives the oxygen ratio for the protoxyds, peroxyds, 

 silica and water 1 : 2 : 6 : ^.J 



Bloicpipe test for Sulphur, — The test for sulphur by means of 

 the nitro-prussid of soda, is suggested by Prof J. W. Bailey, m 

 volume xi, of this Journal^ p. 351. The following are more 

 minute directions for the use of this elegant test. 



Heat by blowpipe any sulphuret or sulphate (or any thing con- 

 taining sulphur) upon charcoal Avith carbonate of soda, put the 

 fused mass into a watch glass with a drop of water, and add a 

 particle not larger than a pin's head of the nitro-prussid of soda ; 

 there will be a magnificent purple at once. If this test for sul- 

 phur is tried upon parings of nails, hair, albumen, &c., I would 

 advise that the carbonate of soda be mixed with a little starch, 

 which appears to prevent the loss of any of the sulphur by oxyda- 

 tion. If you wind up a piece of hair four inches long by coiling 

 it around one point of a platinum support, then moisten it and dip 

 it into the mixture of carbonate of soda with starch, and then 

 heat by blowpipe, the fused mass will give with the nitro-prussid 

 an unmistakable action indicative of sulphur. This experiment 

 any one can repeat. By careful management I obtained perfectly 

 satisfactory results from a piece of hair less than an inch long. 



4 



Haiismann on the Artificial Formation of Minerals, (Beit. z. 

 Met. Krystallkunde, Gottingen, 1850.)— The species which Haus- 

 mann enumerates as forming about furnaces from furnace action 

 are the following; silver, lead, copper, iron, bismuth, galena 

 blende, oxyd of zinc, red copper, specular iron, magnetic iron 

 chrysolite, an iron-magnesia, pyroxene containing alumina, (Fe, 

 Agy (Si, *!)% chytophyllite, humboldtilite, orthoclase, lead vitriol, 

 arsenate of copper? and arsenate of nickel. 



Brown, yellow, green and black blende have been formed in the 

 furnaces of the Lauten valley in the Hartz, in regular octahe- 

 drons with modified edges and in dodecahedrons. Blende also 

 occurs lamellar or even radiated. 



Galena also is often formed by sublimation in the chimneys 

 of furnaceS; and the crystals are uniformly cubic with the usual 



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