MINERAL OCCURRENCES AT DUSKY SOUND. 309 
in one of the east and west layers as implanted grains of deep 
emerald-green colour in translucent rather greasy-looking quartz, 
which is richly interlaminated, as it were in parallel position with 
thin plate-like masses of pyrrhotite, imparting to it a gneiss-like 
appearance. The green grains are rarely over I mm. in size, 
generally smaller; sometimes several are grouped together to form 
patches of irregular outline and near 2 mm. in diameter. They 
show very rarely any determinable crystal faces, though judging 
from the outlines of most of the separate grains there is little 
doubt that they are all more or less perfect crystals, but being too 
firmly implanted in the hard quartz, they rarely break free from 
it in fracturing pieces. Owing to this I was only able, by break- 
ing a number of the quartz pieces, to obtain one small crystal 
representing a distorted rhombic dodecahedron 0 0(110),* 
Zé. one extended in the line of an octahedral or trigonal 
interaxis, giving it the appearance of an hexagonal prism 
terminated by a rhombohedron (see fig. 2) in striking resemblance 
to dioptase. On another grain could be observed several planes 
«oO. Examination of broken grains under the microscope be- 
tween crossed Nicols proved all the small fragments to be 
perfectly isotrope, as they remained dark in all positions on 
revolving the stage. Short of chemical analyses of the mineral, 
for which the quantity at disposal was far too small, testing 
before the blow-pipe proved it also to conform to chrome-garnet, 
as it was infusible, and imparted to beads of borax and micro- 
cosmic salt both in oxid. and reduc. flame; even if added in very 
small quantity, a fine emerald-green colour.t 
Fuchsite (Chrome Mica).—I first identified this mineral several 
years ago in specimens broken from the same layer containing 
‘the Ouvarovite. Mr. Docherty had been told by Mr. Cox, who 
first examined it, that it was Uranium Mica ( Zorbernzte), but the 
outlines and elasticity of the scales at once proved the incorrect- 
ness of this determination.j Its colour varies from deep to light 
emerald green, light bluish-green and yellowish-green, and the 
scales, which, if very thin, are quite transparent, flexible and 
elastic, range from less than I mm. to several mm. in size. 
Their lustre is more or less pearly, and in the light bluish-green 
variety which Mr. Docherty brought from his last trip they are 
ageregated in plumose forms and associated with dark brown 
* The symbols given throughout the descriptions are those of Naumann and 
Miller. 
t+ In Trans. N.Z. Inst., Vol. XV. p. 408-409, Mr, H. Cox describes the species 
Emerald as occurring impregnated in the specimens submitted to him for examination 
by Mr. Docherty, and he likewise gives the figure of an implanted crystal of the 
mineral showing the combination of planes of the hexagonal prism, hexagonal 
pyramid, and basal pinacoid, As this, according to Mr, Docherty, refers to the same 
mineral which from my examinations I can confidently pronounce to be ‘‘Ouvarovite,” 
I must assume either that Mr. Cox, contrary to Mr, Docherty’s assertion, examined 
a different mineral which did not occur in the specimens I saw, or that he made a 
mistake in the determination of the mineral and the definitionand drawing ofthe crystal. 
+ Mr. Cox subsequently described the mineral as Chrome Mica, in Trans, N.Z. 
Inst., Vol. XV. p. 405, together with another occurrence of it in the Lake Wakatipu 
district, discovered by Mr. A. M‘Kay, and determined by quantitative analysis by 
Mr, W. Skey, Government analyst, . 
