246 J. MILNE CURRAN. 
-*This is a little higher than the specific gravity of the average 
topaz. The mean of eleven determinations recorded by Dana 
Plate 15, fig. : shows waterworn pebbles of topaz found with 
alluvial tin on Cope’s Creek. 
Plate 15, fig. 2, shows a collection made from Scrubby Gully 
and the Mole Tableland. No two stones are the same colour in 
this collection. I have stones cut from all the localities named, 
and they all exhibit the peculiar glaze-like lustre of topaz. This 
quality gives to cut stones a distinctive slippery feel that enables — 
one to recognise these stones even in the dark. 
Colowr.—As to the hue-suite, there is plenty to select from in 
New South Wales topaz. Writing of Victorian topaz Dr. 
Bleasdale! says that “there is not in the world a stone fit for 
brooches of size and fire and lustre, and suited to both day and 
candle-light, equal to some of the blue topazes of Victoria.” 
. The same can with truth be said of the topaz of New England. 
When well cut and polished with care (there is as lapidaries say 
a ‘grain’ in topaz) they have all the qualities that a gem should 
possess,—rarity, durability, hardness, and beauty. 
A light lemon-yellow topaz is often seen in collections. I do 
not think a true yellow topaz has yet been recorded. The speci- 
men numbered 297 on the plate is typical of many stones found 
in the way of colour. The centre of the stone is a delicate warm 
amber-brown, while both ends are tinted with a bluish-green. 
The stone alongside, 299, is a faultless blue with a brilliancy that 
asserts itself even in the rough stone. Sea-green and pink 
varieties are in the possession of every collector. Good topaa 
were at one time coming from Tingha, where they were found 
both in the shallow working for tin known as sluicing-ground, 
and in the deep ground covered by basalt. Some good stones are 
still found about Emmaville and Oban. 
a aidan rae: 
1 Intercolonial Exhibition Essays 1866-67, No. 4—Gems and Precious 
Stones found in Victoria, by the Rev. John J. Bleasdale, p. 8; and p- 244 
of complete volume. ~ 
