1162 General Notes. - _[November, 
In crystalline form as well as in the mode of grouping, the 
crystals closely resemble some small crystals of gypsum which 
occur at the salt works of Bex, Canton of Vaux. These may 
also be of recent origin. 
The same author has described some interesting minerals which 
have formed upon some old Roman coins of the time of the Em- 
peror Alexander Severus (205~234 A. D.), which were buried in 
a mass of rubbish in Algeria. The coins contain eighty per cent 
of copper, sixteen per cent of lead and four per cent of tin, and 
through the action of dampness have become oxidized so as to 
form malachite, azurite, cuprite and cerussite. The coins were 
cemented by cavernous malachite, in the interstices of which were 
crystals of the above minerals, The cuprite occurred in cubes 
of cochineal-red color, and the azurite in clear blue crystalline 
masses. The cerussite, the most interesting mineral noticed, oc 
curred both in crystals and in crystalline masses of yellowish- 
white color and adamantine luster. The crystals of this mineral, 
never before noticed under similar conditions, sometimes wert 
acid can be made as cheaply from American pyrites as from me 
ported brimstone, and considering the great difference in freig 
between the two raw minerals, the price of acid made from 0° 
pyrites will be much lowered. Immense deposits of pyrites 0% 
cur in Virginia, and these will undoubtedly be used pe 
quantities for the manufacture of sulphuric acid. Should ae 
manufacturers of our sea-board cities use pyrites instead of B.) l 
phur for this purpose, it is stated that commercial acid (66° B.) 
can be made by them at one cent per pound. A most! ee 
industry of great value to the country can thus be open veld 
many mines of pyrites will be opened to add to the m ae 
wealth of the Eastern States. ies oe 
PICRANALCIME.—Some years ago Bechi described nana 
from Monte Caporciano, Tuscany, under the name of TE 
cime. It was stated to be an analcime of a red color con® po 
ten per cent of magnesia, and only a half per cent of ‘on from 
was generally regarded by mineralogists as an alterati fe 
analcime. Bamberger, however, has shown that tb gO Se 
magnesia in the mineral, and that in every respect, crysta S The 
ically, optically and chemically, it agrees with analcim® g 
name r picranalcime” must therefore be dropped from tea 
miticrals, 
MinerRALocica Nores.—To determine the mineralogio fe 
cies to which the jade of different localities properly be! ade from 
quently requires a chemical analysis. cimens of J foma 
ew Zealand and from Southern Turkestan, the ae : 
mine once worked by the Chinese, have been analyze@ ©” < 
