CHROME AND MEERSCHAUM OF ASIA MINOR. 



In my journey to the south of Broosa (Anatoly, Asia Minor) 

 I crossed a formation of serpentine and other magnesian rocks 

 of considerable extent. Fifty miles from this city I discovered 

 chr ornate of iron disseminated in these rocks; and ten or fifteen 

 miles farther south (near the city of Harmanjick) there is an 

 abundant deposit of this mineral. A circumstance worthy 

 of remark is that this chromate of iron (the first that has been 

 discovered in Asia Minor) is found in serpentine as elsewhere. 

 This important fact can explain to a certain extent the forma- 

 tion of this chromate. It is well known that serpentine con- 

 tains all the elements of chromate of iron, which during the 

 consolidation of this rock might separate themselves by the 

 force of segregation, so well known to operate in many geo- 

 logical phenomena. Two facts which seem to confirm this 

 supposition are ; first, the existence of the chromate of iron in 

 masses and not in veins ; and secondly, the pale color of the 

 serpentine associated with the chromate. One small specimen 

 that I have consists of a white rock composed principally 

 of carbonate of magensia, in which small specks of chromate 

 of iron are visible. It is possible that this carbonate is the 

 result of the decomposition of the serpentine at the surface by 

 the action of water containing carbonic acid. It is only at 

 this locality that I found crystals of the chromate octahedral, 

 but very small. 



This discovery is of great importance to the arts and to the 

 Turkish G-overnment, which proposes exploring the mine. 



In quitting the locality of chrome and going north-east, I 

 traversed in several places the serpentine containing veins 

 of carbonate of magnesia, quite pure ; and this occurs until we 

 arrive at the plains of Eski-Shehr. It is from different parts 

 of this plain that comes the meerschaum most esteemed in the 

 arts. Its geological position is very different from what I had 



