440 Scientific Intelligence. 



Four new localities of fergusonite. — Along with the orthite 

 found near Amelia Court House, Virginia, I have discovered 

 a few small crystals of fergusonite implanted upon it at right 

 angles and projecting into the feldspar matrix to a depth, 

 in some instances of 18 to 20 mm . The prisms were square with 

 very dull gray surfaces, but were brilliant resinous on a fractured 

 surface. The terminations were obscure but traces of acute octa- 

 hedra were noticed. Sp. grav. varied from 5* to 5 -6. No analy- 

 sis was attempted. 



With the three hundred or more pounds of zircon mined by 

 the writer in the near vicinity of Storeville, Anderson County, 

 South Carolina, several crystals of a highly hydrated fergusonite 

 have been found, some of which might more properly be termed 

 an "yttro-gummite." Corundum, garnet and columbite were also 

 observed to exist quite commonly in the region. 



From near Spruce Pine, Mitchell County, North Carolina, I 

 have received several ounces of very fair crystals of fergusonite 

 exhibiting externally various stages of alteration. It is said to 

 have been found in the dump heaps of the Grassy Creek Mica 

 Mine. As a contact association I have found allanite and cyrto- 

 lite. The basal plane was prominent; One crystal weighed over 

 twenty grams. Its behavior upon ignition was very characteristic 

 and in all respects similar to the Texas mineral. 



In the early part of last year I observed this species as a quite 

 frequent occurrence in the gold placers of the mines near Golden 

 P. O., Rutherford County, N. Carolina; with such associates as 

 xenotime, malacon, monazite, rutile, etc. 



On the " Orangite" from Landbo, Norway. — A partial ex- 

 amination of this mineral, made on several grams of transparent 

 resin-yellow massive material, has proved it to belong to the 

 variety of thorite called uranothorite, like the mineral described 

 by Collier and the Norwegian specimens later analyzed by 

 Lindstrom and by Nordenskiold, and referred to urauothorite by 

 Brogger. Its specific gravity = 4*322. It lost upon ignition 

 (H 2 0) 11-97 pr. ct. and contained 18*50 pr. ct. Si0 2 ; 52*53 pr. ct. 

 Th0 2 ; 9-00 pr. ct.TT0 3 ; 1*32 pr. ct. PbO and small amounts of 

 lime and iron. Little if any of the cerium or yttrium earths are 

 present, other ingredients were not looked after. It crushes into 

 a creamy white powder which becomes dull green after strong 

 ignition. A translucent red-brown variety, or partial alteration, 

 has sp. gr. = 4*303. 



An opaque earthy brown mineral having a black, pitchy look- 

 ing core has been sent out from the same locality under the name 

 of " thorite," but its low density (4*2) and the abundance of 

 water, uranium and lead present, lead me to believe that it is only 

 an impure variety of uranothorite. I have worked up over one 

 kilogram of it and found it to contain about 45 per cent of thoria 

 and 1 per cent of yttria earths. 



14. Tenth Annual Report of the State Mineralogist of Cali- 

 fornia for the year ending December 1, 1890. 983 pp. Sacra- 



