THE BINCtEEA DIAMOND FIELD. 97 



often containing much manganese in the cement ; masses of sili- 

 cified wood (but this is not A^ery common), cacholong, and green- 

 stone. The rolled masses of sandstone, and especially the argill- 

 aceous sandstone, often assume long finger-shaped forms, and are 

 accoi'dingly termed " finger stones" by the diggers. The pebbles are 

 not polished, as at Mudgee. 



The list of gems, stones, and other minerals accompanying the 

 diamond, includes the following: — 



1. Tourmaline, or "jet stone," of the miners, occurs as rolled 

 prisms, usually from a f to | inch long. They usually retain the 

 trigonal section, but sometimes no trace of crystalline form is left, 

 and they appear merely as more or less rounded black pebbles, often 

 "svith a pitted surface, totally unlike the usual appearance of tour- 

 maline ; the blow-pipe decides their character at once, for they 

 intumesce before it, and in other respects answer to the well- 

 known tests. These " black jet stones" are invariably found with 

 the diamond, and are regarded by the miners as one of the best 

 indications of its presence. 



2. Zircon occurs in small crystals of red and brown 'colours, 

 also nearly colourless, but more commonly as rolled pieces of a 

 brown shade. A cleavage plane is usually to be seen. 



3. Sapphire, generally in small angular pieces and usually of a 

 pale colour ; in many the blue tint does not overspread the whole 

 of the fragment. The Ituly is present, but very rare. One fragment 

 showed the faces of an acute hexagonal pyramid and basal pina- 

 coid. The lower half of the crystal had l3een fractured ; it was of 

 a red colour, but possessed a purple-coloured central mass. The 

 fragments of sapphire are far less in size than those found at 

 Mudgee and in New England, and far less rolled ; the major part 

 often appears to have undergone no rounding at all — thus pre- 

 senting a broad distinction between the gem sand from the two 

 places. A little corundum is found. 



4. Topaz, as rounded fragments, and sometimes with rough 

 crystalline outline. They are generally of a dull yellowish colour, 

 colourless and transparent, small in size, and often apparently 

 freely fractured. 



5. Garnet, in small, rough-looking ill-formed crystals, of a dull 

 red colour. 



6. Spinelle: — Not very common, generally in siiiall red or pink- 

 ish fragments. 



7. Quartz : — Small prisms, capped with the pyramid, more or 

 less rolled, transparent, and of a pale dirty red, also smoky ; also 

 small jasper pebbles, &c., &c. Amongst the jasper pebbles" are 

 some of pale mottled tints of yellow, pink, drab, brown, bluish 

 grey, &c. ; these are termed " morlops" by the miners, and are 

 regarded by them with much favour, as they say they never find 

 one of them in the dish without diamonds accompanying it. Their 



