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The mineral productions of the earth are very great. 

 Miners often find precious stones, rubies, and diamonds 

 the hardest known substance. Some of the these 

 jewels are exceedingly valuable because of their scarci- 

 ty. They are of several colors. One of the common 

 minerals is quartz crysials which are very pretty, 

 and are sometimes found in stones. They exist in 

 many forms, such as globular or like little balls, in 

 four six and eight sided steeples or pointed pieces, 

 which are sometimes cut as evenly as if done with a 

 chisel. Others are found in a delicate net-work or 

 stringy form, which is very pretty, particularly when 

 it is white. Some of them are brownish while others 

 are of a mixed color. There are many species or crys- 

 tals some of which are very rare and beautiful, such is 

 the Iceland Spar, which is very pure and well formed. 

 Some minerals are white and others are colored. Many 

 of the colored ones are very beautiful, as glass which 

 is found blue filled with white spots and green with 

 the same. Its formation is curious, the specks or little 

 white balls are distributed all throughout it and pre- 

 sents a very striking appearance. 



Asbestos is another common mineral. It in some 

 cases looks like wood, showing the fibrous and barklike 

 marks. It is light green in color and is quite soft hav- 

 ing a smooth greasy appearance such as soapstone. 

 Soapstone receives its name from its soapy appearance 

 and has the property of marking like slate and is some- 

 times used for making pencils. The many different 

 kinds of minerals are too numerous to go into sepa- 

 rate details or explanations, for justice can- 

 not be given them without filling a large volume. 



