W. F. Hillebrand — Vanadium Sidphide, Patronite. 143 



content in sulphur, which exceeds that of the carbon in the 

 specimen examined. Mr. Hewett reports 45 per cent of 

 sulphur and that, though not holding a flame, the material 

 burns when heated with the blue flame of sulphur. It is brit- 

 tle, with density 1*75 and hardness about 2*5. It is infusible 

 and apparently not affected by the usual solvents for bitumen, 

 except that carbon disulphide extracts much sulphur. It leaves 

 a variable amount of highly vanadiferous ash — 3*31 per cent, 

 containing 0-544 Y 2 5 (Hewett), 0*80 per cent, likewise high 

 in vanadium (Hillebrand). Much sulphur sublimes when the 

 mineral is heated in a closed tube and later hydrogen sulphide 

 is evolved. It is oxidized by long boiling with strong nitric 

 acid. The following is the composition of the sample analyzed : 



S soluble in CS„ 15-44 



S combined 31-17 



C --- 42-81 



H 0-91 



N 0-47 



O by cliff. 5-89 



Moisture at 105°. 3 01 



Ash 0-80 



100-00 



The ash afforded roughly : Si0 2 , O04; A1 2 3 , 0'08; Fe 2 3 , 

 0-10 ; NiO, 0-06 ; V 2 5 , 0-52. These are, however, results of 

 minor quantitative value because of the minute amount ana- 

 lyzed. It is practically certain, for reasons to appear later, that 

 the vanadium, iron and nickel existed in the original material 

 as sulphides, and, therefore, assuming that the main analysis is 

 correct, that the oxygen reported is too low. 



The composition of this material is, so far as my knowledge 

 extends, unique, and there are no data known that throw light 

 on its chemical structure. 



The Coke-like Material. 



The quisqueite seems to have been converted on its upper 

 side into a sort of coke, though this differs markedly from arti- 

 ficial cokes. Its hardness is 4-5. Glancing blows of a hammer 

 cause much sparking. It is somewhat vesicular, though without 

 large cavities. The openings are mostly short thin contraction 

 cracks without orientation, which are best observed under a 

 lens. They are for the most part lined or filled with a thin 

 brilliant pitchy black coating, often reticulated, of what appears 

 to have been originally fused matter and to which the luster of 

 much of the specimen when freshly broken open is due. There 

 are also rather numerous minute blowholes lined with or some- 



