OCCURRENCE OF PRECIOUS STONES IN N.S.W. 935 
The colours of the sapphire found about Berrima' vary far more 
than in the stones just referred to. It will be understood though 
that the stones good enough to place in the hands of the lapidary 
are as rare as elsewhere, The most notable character of the 
Berrima stone is the large size the crystals attain. Some opaque 
but fine bright blue stones measure two-thirds of an inch across, 
and fragments I saw with Mr. Wilshire, of Berrima, belong to 
crystals that must have been more than one inch across. 
The Wingecarribee drifts have 
yielded sapphires of a rich honey- 
yellow, and also of a good bronze 
colour. These were hardly more 
than translucent, but when cut en 
cabochon, showed a_ remarkable 
chatoyancy and decided asteriated 
structure. Better examples of asteria 
structure can be found in New Eng- 
land than elsewhere in this Colony. 
and honey-yellow (nat. size). 
Origin of Sapphire. 
After some acquaintance with the occurrence of corundum, the 
writer inclined to the opinion that although topaz and sapphire 
ihe often found in the same drifts, yet they are derived from very 
different sources. I find additional evidence to support that 
Opinion as time goes on. Throughout New South Wales I have 
noticed that while topaz and other fluorine minerals can be traced 
Into granite country, sapphire is invariably traced to basalt. I 
am of opinion that basalt is the true matrix of sapphire in New 
apa Wales. In support of this I exhibit herewith a sapphire 
im a matrix of undecomposed basalt. This specimen was found 
1 cession eles Onan rrr 
ok The brown and bronze-coloured sapphires from the Berrima district 
, notable for their high specific gravity, the average of three deter- 
minations giving— 
me Ho gravity of bronze-coloured sapphire from Berrima at 6° F. 4419. 
ana gives the specific gravity of sapphire as 3-95 - 4°10. 
