﻿Pratt 
  and 
  Foote 
  — 
  Wellsite, 
  a 
  new 
  Mineral. 
  443 
  

  

  Art. 
  XLY. 
  — 
  On 
  WeMsite, 
  a 
  new 
  Mineral 
  • 
  by 
  J. 
  H. 
  Pratt 
  

   and 
  H. 
  W. 
  Foote. 
  

  

  The 
  mineral 
  to 
  be 
  described 
  in 
  this 
  article 
  occurs 
  at 
  the 
  

   Buck 
  Creek 
  (Cullakanee) 
  corundum 
  mine 
  in 
  Clay 
  Co., 
  North 
  

   Carolina, 
  and 
  was 
  collected 
  by 
  Professor 
  S. 
  L. 
  Penfield 
  and 
  one 
  

   of 
  the 
  authors 
  (Pratt) 
  during 
  the 
  summer 
  of 
  1892 
  while 
  

   engaged 
  in 
  work 
  on 
  the 
  North 
  Carolina 
  Geological 
  Survey. 
  

  

  The 
  corundum 
  vein 
  in 
  which 
  the 
  mineral 
  is 
  found 
  is 
  com- 
  

   posed 
  chiefly 
  of 
  albite, 
  feldspar 
  and 
  hornblende, 
  and 
  penetrates 
  

   a 
  peridotite 
  rock, 
  dunite, 
  near 
  its 
  contact 
  with 
  the 
  gneiss. 
  The 
  

   peridotite 
  ontcrop 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  largest 
  in 
  the 
  State 
  and 
  has 
  

   been 
  thoroughly 
  prospected 
  for 
  corundum. 
  At 
  only 
  one 
  of 
  

   the 
  veins 
  opened 
  was 
  the 
  new 
  mineral 
  found, 
  although 
  a 
  care- 
  

   ful 
  search 
  was 
  made 
  for 
  it 
  at 
  all 
  the 
  openings, 
  especially 
  those 
  

   affording 
  feldspar. 
  No 
  mining 
  has 
  been 
  done 
  at 
  the 
  locality 
  

   since 
  1891, 
  but 
  if 
  work 
  is 
  resumed 
  and 
  the 
  veins 
  uncovered, 
  

   more 
  of 
  the 
  material 
  will 
  undoubtedly 
  be 
  found. 
  

  

  The 
  mineral 
  is 
  found 
  in 
  isolated 
  crystals 
  mostly 
  attached 
  to 
  

   the 
  feldspar 
  but 
  also 
  to 
  hornblende 
  and 
  corundum, 
  and 
  is 
  inti- 
  

   mately 
  associated 
  with 
  chabazite 
  which 
  occurs 
  in 
  small 
  trans- 
  

   parent 
  rhombohedrons. 
  

  

  The 
  largest 
  crystals 
  that 
  were 
  observed 
  were 
  not 
  over 
  l 
  mm 
  

   in 
  diameter 
  and 
  2 
  mm 
  in 
  length. 
  

  

  Crystalline 
  form. 
  — 
  The 
  crystals 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  monoclinic 
  

   system 
  and 
  they 
  are 
  twinned 
  similarly 
  to 
  those 
  of 
  harmotome 
  

   and 
  phillipsite. 
  The 
  common 
  habit 
  is 
  shown 
  in 
  fig. 
  1, 
  which 
  

   represents 
  a 
  combination 
  of 
  twinning 
  about 
  c, 
  001 
  and 
  e, 
  Oil. 
  

   The 
  crystals 
  are 
  practically 
  square 
  prisms, 
  terminated 
  by 
  pyra- 
  

   midal 
  faces, 
  thus 
  imitating 
  closely 
  a 
  simple 
  combination 
  of 
  a 
  

   prism 
  of 
  one 
  order 
  and 
  a 
  pyramid 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  in 
  the 
  tetra- 
  

   gonal 
  system. 
  The 
  apparent 
  prismatic 
  faces 
  are 
  formed 
  for 
  

   the 
  most 
  part 
  by 
  the 
  pinacoid 
  faces, 
  b, 
  but 
  the 
  crystals 
  inter- 
  

   penetrate 
  each 
  other 
  somewhat 
  irregularly 
  so 
  that 
  portions 
  of 
  

   the 
  base 
  c, 
  001, 
  coincide 
  with 
  b, 
  fig. 
  1. 
  The 
  lines 
  of 
  twinning 
  

   on 
  the 
  pinacoid 
  faces 
  between 
  b 
  and 
  b 
  twinned 
  are 
  generally 
  

   regular, 
  while 
  those 
  between 
  b 
  and 
  o 
  and 
  also 
  those 
  which 
  

   cross 
  the 
  prism 
  faces 
  m, 
  110 
  (the 
  apparent 
  pyramid) 
  are 
  gen- 
  

   erally 
  quite 
  irregular. 
  The 
  b 
  faces 
  do 
  not 
  show 
  the 
  striations 
  

   parallel 
  to 
  the 
  edges 
  b 
  and 
  m, 
  which, 
  meeting 
  along 
  the 
  twin- 
  

   ning 
  lines, 
  often 
  reveal 
  the 
  complex 
  nature 
  of 
  such 
  crystals, 
  

   nor 
  were 
  any 
  reentrant 
  angles 
  observed 
  parallel 
  to 
  the 
  edges 
  of 
  

   the 
  apparent 
  prism 
  as 
  are 
  common 
  on 
  phillipsite 
  and 
  harmo- 
  

   tome. 
  

  

  Fig. 
  2 
  represents 
  another 
  habit 
  of 
  the 
  crystals 
  where 
  m, 
  110 
  

  

  