94 LABRADOR 
voleanic 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 
