NOTES ON THE CORUNDUM OF NORTH CARO- 

 LINA, GEORGIA, AND MONTANA, 



WITH A DESCRIPTION OF THE GEM VARIETY OP THE CO- 

 RUNDUM EROM THESE LOCALITIES. 



The corundum formations in North Carolina and Georgia 

 are the second in importance in the United States that have 

 been brought to my notice ; and the one in North Carolina is 

 by far the most interesting in this country, and perhaps of any 

 yet known, in the extent of the formation, the distribution 

 of the corundum, and the purity of the mineral. 



This mineral was first discovered in North Carolina in 1846 — 

 about the time I was engaged in developing the geology of 

 emery in Asia Minor and the Grecian Archipelago; and upon 

 communicating to American geologists my discoveries in re- 

 lation to the associate minerals of the emery in Asia Minor, and 

 directing them to search for the same in connection with the 

 corundum found in different parts of America, the same asso- 

 ciates were discovered in connection with the North Carolina 

 corundum as well as that from other localities. 



At this time there had been discovered but one detached 

 block, but no other specimen could be discovered in that lo- 

 cality. There the matter rested until 1865, when C. D. Smith 

 (to whom I am indebted for valuable information contained 

 in this paper), assistant of Prof. Emmons, geologist of North 

 Carolina, had brought to him by one of the inhabitants of the 

 country west of the Blue Eidge Mountains a specimen of rock 

 which was recognized as being corundum, and on visiting the 

 spot this geologist discovered the corundum in situ, and a 

 number of specimens were collected. Since that time public 

 interest has increased in relation to this substance, and it 

 has been discovered in such quantities as to make it an ob- 

 ject of interest to the arts as a substitute for emery, and very 



