NEPHRITE. 147 



Hpstown, Port Henry, Gouverneur, Warwick, N. Y. ; New 

 buryport, Westfield, and Blandford, Mass. ; at Kellyvale and 

 New Fane, Vt. ; Deer Isle, Maine ; New Haven, Conn. ; 

 Bare Hills, Md., &c. Marmolite and kerolite, at Hoboken, 

 N. J., and Blandford, Mass. The quarries of Milford and 

 New Haven, Ct., afford a beautiful verd-antique, and have 

 been wrought ; but the works are now suspended. 



Uses, Serpentine forms a handsome marble when pol- 

 ished, especially when mixed with limestone, constituting 

 verd-antique marble. Its colors are often beautifully clouded, 

 and it is much sought for, as a material for tables, jambs for 

 fire-places, and ornamental in-door work. Exposed to the, 

 weather, it wears uneven, and soon loses its polish. Chromic 

 iron is usually disseminated through it, and increases the 

 variety of its shades. Dr. C. T. Jackson of Boston has lately 

 shown that Epsom salts (sulphate of magnesia) may be prof- 

 itably manufactured from serpentine. 



ne p hrite . — Jade, 



Massive, and very tough and compact ; greenish or bluish 

 to white. Translucent to subtranslucent. Luster vitreous. 

 H = 6-5— 75. Gr = 2-9— 3-03. 



Composition : contains silica, magnesia, and some water, 

 with or without alumina, oxyd of iron, and lime. It varies 

 in constitution, and has been lately considered a massive 

 tremolite. Infusible alone before the blowpipe. 



Dif. Differs from beryl in having no cleavage ; and from 

 quartz by its finely uneven surface of fracture, instead of 

 smooth and glassy. 



Obs. A greenish and reddish-gray variety is found at 

 Easton, Pa., and Stoneham, Mass. The so-called nephrite 

 from Smithfield, R. I., has the composition of serpentine. 



Nephrite is made into images, and was formerly worn as 

 a charm. It was supposed to be a cure for diseases of the 

 kidney, whence the name, from the Greek nephros, kidney. 

 In New Zealand, China and Western America, it is carved 

 by the inhabitants or polished down into various fanciful 

 shapes. Much of the mineral from China called jade is 

 prehnite. 



What is verd-antique? What are the uses of serpentine? Wha 

 are the characters of nephrite I What is the origin of the name ! 



