264 Kunz — New Lilac- Colored Transparent Sjpodumene. 



Art. XX Y. — On a New Lilac- Colored Transparent Spodu- 

 mene ; by George Frederick Kunz. (With Plate X.) 



A MOST remarkable discovery of unaltered lilac-colored 

 spodumene has lately been made in California. The crystals 

 were obtained fifty feet from a deposit of colored tourmaline, 

 itself of notable interest, a mile and a half northeast from 

 Pala, in San Diego County. This new discovery is but half a 

 mile northeast from -the celebrated rabellite and lepidolite 

 locality at that place, where recent developments have brought 

 to light immense quantities of amblygonite, — this latter species 

 occurring by the ton, while the lepidolite is estimated by the 

 thousand tons. The locality is thus unequalled in the world 

 for its abundance of lithia minerals. The rubellite crystals 

 found here are entirely embedded in lepidolite, and until 

 recently it was found impossible to remove them to show their 

 complete form. They were, however, often polished with the 

 lepidolite, — the rubellite appearing as pink radiations in a 

 darker gangue of lilac-colored lepidolite. Pecently, however, 

 the crj^stals of rubellite have been rubbed out, as it were, — 

 made to stand out by removing the lepidolite matrix by means 

 of brushes and cleaning-tools, — forming most beautiful groups 

 of crystals. 



At the new locality, colored tourmaline crystals have been 

 found that are remarkable in size and beauty, although they 

 are much broken in taking them out. Some are a foot long 

 and three inches in diameter, with a red central core (rubel- 

 lite) and a blue exterior (indicolite) separated by a pale inter- 

 vening zone. Other pink crystals have a blue cap or termina- 

 tion ; the blue color in these specimens is a deep shade, inclin- 

 ing toward purple. One very remarkable large crystal is like 

 a hollow cylinder, apparently composed of a group of prisms 

 surrounding an open central space at the axis of the cluster ; 

 this is entirely of a rather dull blue, verging toward reddish in 

 the interior. 



The spodumene crystals are beautiful in their color tones, 

 varying from deep rosy lilac at some depth to pale or almost 

 colorless, doubtless due to weathering or to the action of sun- 

 light, — in striking contrast to the rich dee^) pink-purple found 

 at a greater depth. 



These spodumene crystals are of extraordinary size, trans- 

 parency and beauty. The following are the weights and dimen- 

 sions of seven of the principal crystals : 



