50 



Economical Geology. 



paint is excellent. I have been in the habit, for several years, of hav- 

 ing various articles in the laboratory, such as the pneumatic cistern, 

 gazometer, &c. covered with it ; and it answers a good purpose, al- 

 though I have prepared it, not according to the patent, but simply by 

 grinding it in a plaster mill and mixing it with oil. The greatest de- 

 fect in this paint, seems to be, that it has less body than lead, although 

 I doubt not that a remedy may be found for this difficulty. When 

 the barytes is thoroughly pulverized, and mixed with boiled linseed 

 oil and lampblack, it is superior to any thing I have ever seen, for 

 labelling glass bottles, &c. in a laboratory, and indeed for any situation 

 exposed to active chemical agents. 



The new alkali, lithia, is found chiefly in two minerals, called peta- 

 lite and spodumene, which, in Europe, are very rare. But in Mass- 

 achusetts they occur in very great quantities ; particularly the latter. 

 The former is found in Bolton, and the latter in Goshen, Chesterfield, 

 Norwich and Sterling. The lithia can now be obtained, by a chem- 

 ical process, from the minerals of these localities, in any quantity ; and 

 should it prove to be a useful substance, as every alkali is likely to 

 be, these minerals may become an object of importance. 



Among the minerals in the State, that may be employed by the 

 lapidaries, for ornamental purposes, may be mentioned chalcedony. 

 Almost all its varieties occur in the greenstone ranges, in the valley 

 of the Connecticut, and some of the agates which it forms are quite 

 large, and need only polishing to be elegant. It occurs also in vari- 

 ous other parts of the state, and in masses of great size, and it may be 

 worthy the attention of the lapidary. 



Agates, both banded and brecciated, are found in the State, made 

 up of quartz, hornstone, chalcedony, &c. of various colors. The 

 largest and most perfect specimen of quartzose agate breccia, which 

 I have found, was shown me at Rochester Centre ; and I was told it 

 was broken from a much larger mass, in the same town. 



In Saugus, near the center, is a fine locality of red jasper. It is 

 not unfrequently striped, and if needed for ornaments, would un- 

 doubtedly admit a fine polish. The bed or vein has not been ex- 

 plored at all, except that a few fragments have been broken off by 

 the passing mineralogist. 



We have beryls, somewhat numerous, and sometimes very large ; 

 but probably they are not delicate enough, and are too much divided 

 by seams, to be employed for elegant ornaments. 



A garnet or cinnamon stone was found by Professor Webster in 



