340 Dr. How on the Mineralogy of Nova Scotia. 



are nearly surrounded by groups of crystals ; in one case a mass 

 is imbedded in a nearly transparent crystal ; and sometimes the 

 calcite when broken exposes a brilliant surface of enclosed mi- 

 neral. These masses look occasionally like a drop of black wax 

 melted on to a crystal of calcite, and are sometimes perfectly 

 globular. It is brittle and affords a black powder. In a closed 

 tube it softens, swells, gives a bituminous odour and a little oil. 

 On platinum it swells up and burns with a smoky flame to a 

 bulky black porous residue, not having the coherence of coke, 

 and Anally leaves a very small ash. It sinks in benzine and 

 floats in bisulphide of carbon ; so that its specific gravity is pro- 

 bably about 1*1 : it dissolves to a small extent only in these 

 menstrua, and after being boiled in them is readily powdered 

 under a glass rod. It cannot be distinguished in appearance 

 from the Albertite of New Brunswick, the mineral which has 

 been called Albert coal and New-Brunswick asphalt. It resem- 

 bles this mineral also in being slightly affected by benzine ; but 

 it dissolves somewhat less freely in bisulphide of carbon, which I 

 find to become rapidly coloured on Albertite, especially when 

 heated (this property does not seem to have been noticed in the 

 discussion as to the character of this mineral). Side by side 

 with Albertite on an iron plate on which tin had been melted 

 for a short time, it smelt of bitumen, became tough and some- 

 what elastic, and finally rubbed down to a brownish-black powder, 

 while the Albertite scarcely smelt, but also became tough and 

 somewhat elastic under a glass rod, and rubbed down to a black 

 powder. I regret not being able to compare the composition of 

 these minerals : Professor Anderson of Glasgow was kind enough 

 to undertake an ultimate analysis of the Cape-Breton bitumen, 

 but at the close of the combustion an unfortunate accident de- 

 prived him of the results. There appears unquestionably to be 

 a close relationship between this mineral and Albertite; and 

 the occurrence of the former imbedded in a globular form in 

 calcite is absolute proof that it is not coal. This mode of oc- 

 currence is precisely similar to that given for some bitumen by 

 Andrews, in a very interesting paper on Petroleum in its Geo- 

 logical Relations (Silliman's Journal, July 1866, p. 40), who 

 found " among the crystals of calc-spar globular masses of pure 

 bitumen, showing that the bitumen was at least in a semifluid 

 state. This bitumen originated in the shales." 



With regard to the origin of the Cape-Breton bitumen now 

 under consideration, since it is altered by strong heat, and is 

 found underlying and overlying calcite as well as imbedded in 

 the same, the formation of both must have resulted from alter- 

 nating action other than distillation, and it was probably of a 

 chemical nature and took place at an elevated temperature. 



