LIME. 



Its colours are white, greyiffi, rcddiffi and yellowidi- 

 ^■hite. 



It occurs madivc. 



Internally it is between gliAening and fhining, with a 

 pearly or fatiny luftre. 



Crols-fraclure compaft fplintcry ; longitudinal fraclure 

 ftraight or waved, fibrous; the fibres (wliicli may be con- 

 fidered as indeterminable cryftals) are cither llrongly ad- 

 hering to each other, and parallel, or partly detached, and 

 tapering ; they have alfo been feen reticularly aggregated. 

 Fragments in moll varieties fplintery, alfo flattened fibrous ; 

 flrongly traiiflucent. Hardnefs rather lefs than that of cal- 

 careous fpar, which it refembles in the remainder of its cha- 

 racters. 



Its conllituent parts were found by Mr. Pepys to be 

 Carbonic acid 47-6 



Lime 50.1 



Water and lofs 



100. o Phil. Mag. xij. 



It is a produdl of veins. 



The fmell variety of fibrous llme-ft one is that of Cumber- 

 laud, to which the name of fatin fpar is peculiarly appli- 

 <able. It forms veins or trmns of a few inches thick, in a 

 calcareous clay ; the ialbands or litis of thefe fmall veins are 

 thin layers of a blackifh clay flate mixed with iron pyrites. 

 This variety, which has fometimes a beautifnl pale rufe red 

 tint, and perfectly pearly luilre, is cut and poliflied, and 

 employed for inlaid and other ornamental works ; when cut 

 en cabochon, it fometimes paffes for white cat's-eyc, a name 

 ■which is alfo fometimes erroneoully, fometimes fraudulently, 

 given to pieces of fibrous gypfiim, cut in the fame manner. 



M. de Bourhon has defcnbed a pretty variety of this lub- 

 ilance from Matlock in Derbyfhire ; it forms a very light, 

 cellular mafs, in which the fibres, of a yellowilh-grcy colour, 

 €rofs and decuffate one another fo as to form the fame kind 

 of net which is feen in fome fibrous zeolites. A variety with 

 detached parallel fibres, which forms fmall veins of an inch 

 or two in thicknefs, is mentioned by the fame autlior ae oc- 

 curring in (hell lime-ltone ; its fibres, of a yellowilh-brown 

 colour, are very delicate, and feparable from one another 

 by the flighted touch. A variety with detached diverging 

 £bresis found at Schemnitz in Hungary. 



B. Stalacl'itkal Jihi-ous lime-Jlone. Kalkfinter, Wern. Sta- 

 la3'tli or Sinter. 



Its more common colours are fiiow, greyifh and yellowifh- 

 ■white, v.hich latter pafles inJo wax and honey yellow, and 

 yellowith-brown ; lefs common are the green varieties of co- 

 lour, fuch as fiikin, pillacliio, afparagus, mountain, and 

 verdigris green, which latter paflls into i]<y blue ; fometimes, 

 though rarely, it is flefli, or peach-bloffbm red, and reddifli- 

 brown. When fevcral of thefe colours occur in the fame 

 piece, they are in llripes, fometimes running into each other, 

 at other times perfectly diftincl. 



It occurs maflive, tubular, reniform, globular, botroidal, 

 coralloidal, llalaclitic, and tuberofe. Its iurface is generally 

 rough, or drufy, with minute indeterminable cryilais ; in- 

 ternal luilre commonly glimmering, and pearly. 



Fradure from very delicately to coarfe fibrous ; fibres ge- 

 nerally llraight, ftellularly diverging, or parallel. Frag- 

 ments cuneiform and fplintery, alfo indeterminately angular. 

 It generally occurs in curbed lamellar diflir.dt concretions, 

 j)arailel to the external furface. 



It is more or lefs tranflucent, palling into femi-tranfparent. 

 The remaining characters are thole of calcareous fpar. 



Specif, grav. z.iir -a.876, Briflbn ; i.vj.! (ydlowifli- 

 MoL. XXL 



white from Poland), Kirwan. This niuft of courfe vary ac- 

 cording to the different degrees of purity. 



Staladitical fibrous lime-Hone is generally found in cavee, 

 crevices, and old fliafts, in tranfition, and fletz lime-done, 

 hanging from and covering the roofs, walls, and floors of' 

 the caves, and thus producing groups of figures, which 

 fancy readily transforms into (latues, pillars, pulpits, fonts, 

 &c. The moll celebrated llalaftite caves are, the grotto of 

 Antiparosin Greece, the Bauman's hole on the Hartz, the 

 caves of Baden, tlmfe of Orenburg and Nertfliinflc in Si- 

 beria, thofe of Matlock in Derbyfliire, of Yorkfliire, 

 Auxelles, d'Arcy, de la Balme in France, &c. 



The maflive variety of this fubllance, produced by thf 

 trickling down from the roof and walls, and covering the 

 floor of caves, is fometimes diflinguiflied from ilalatlite bv 

 the appellation oi Jlalagmttcs. 



Sometimes the conical or cylindrical flalaclites are tei^- 

 nated by a fmall cryllal. 



The common varieties are ufed for burning to lime ; the 

 finer forts are employed by the llatuary and mafon, in coun- 

 tries where they occur in large maftes. They are called 

 marmo nlabajh'mo by the Italians. See MauhI-E. 



The beautiful coral-like calcareous fubllance, called_/?3f 

 ferri, and commonly referred to (lalaftitical fibrous lime- 

 llone, is a variety of arragomte. 



4. Pea-Jlone. Evlfenjiein, Werner. Pierre de pots on 

 Pifolhe, Broch. 



Its principal colour is ycllowifh, reddifli, and greyifh, lefs 

 frequently fnow-whlte ; the yellowifh pafles through yel- 

 lowifli-grey into cream yellow and yellowilli-brown. 



It occurs commonly maflTive, but alio reiiifonn and bo- 

 troidal. 



Internally it is dull. Frafture even. Fragments indeter- 

 minately angular. 



It is compofed of fpherical diftinft concretions, which are 

 again compofed of thin concentric lamellx. Thefe globules 

 are generally connecled either by a calcareo-ferruginous ce- 

 ment, or they are detached ; their fize values from that of 3 

 pea to that of a hazel-nut. 



It is opaque, feldom rather tranflncent on the edges. 

 Soft ; brittle ; eafily frangible. 



Specific gravity 2.396, Wiedenmann. 



Its chemical characters and conllituent parts appear to be 

 thofe of the preceding fub-fpecies. 



The principal locality of pea-ftone is Carlfbad in Bo- 

 hemia. A handiome variety, confiding of detached glo- 

 bules, which are generally compofed of fine granular diflinft 

 concretions, is found at the baths of St. Philip in Tufcany, 

 and known by the name of confetto di Tivoli. Pea-llone is 

 alfo faid to occur in Hungary and Silefia. 



Several opinions have been broached to account for the 

 origin of thefe globular concretions, each of which is 

 furnifiied with a nucleus of various dimenfions, but generally- 

 very minute ; it is fometimes a fmall angular or rounded 

 grain of quartz, or a particle of flate ; and even fmall frag- 

 ments of granite have been feen in the centre of thefe glo- 

 bules. This circumttance points out the only poflible man- 

 ner in which thefe concretions can have been produced. The 

 fmall bodies which ferve as nucleus to each globule, muft 

 have been railed by, and kept floating in the agitated water 

 of the fprings, which being highly impregnated with calca- 

 reous particles, gradually depofited round each of them the 

 concentric lamiuic ; the globules thus produced afterwards 

 huik to the bottom, where, according as.circumllances per- 

 mitted it, they either remained unconnecled, or were ce- 

 mented into folid beds, fuch as they are feen near the hot 

 fprings of Carlfbad. 



G The 



