52 



gold mine of Quillata, and is crossed in various di- 

 rections by very fine golden filaments, which give it 

 a most beautiful appearance. 



Quarries of the common or parallelopipedal gyp- 

 sum, the rhomboidal and the striated are numerous 

 in Chili. But the inhabitants make little use of 

 either, preferring a species of gypsum, of a beau- 

 tiful white a little inclining to blue, vvhich is very 

 brittle and composed of small irregular particles ; 

 it is always found in the vicinity of volcanoes, in a 

 semi-calcined state, from whence I have denomi- 

 nated it the volcanic gypsum (gypsum volcanicum) 

 The quarries from whence it is procured are of great 

 extent ; it is principally employed for plaistering 

 walls, to which its slight tint of blue gives a 

 very agreeable appearance ; it may be used in its 

 native state, but the masons generally prepare it by 

 a slight calcination. The Andes abound with quar- 

 ries of fine alabaster, and a species of pellucid sele- 

 nite, which is used by the inhabitants of St. Jago 

 instead of glass for the windows of their churches. 



Of the sandstone there are various kinds, the 

 whetstone, flint, quartz and rock crystal. The first 

 contains three varieties, the white, the grey and the 

 yellow ; the mill or grindstone, and the freestone, 

 which likewise belong to the same class, are very 

 common in Chili. The mountains contain great 

 quantities of quartz, both the opake, the pellucid 

 and that of dilferent colours, as well as common 

 fiint and several species of agate. Of the plain, 

 jaspers there are the fine red, the green, the grey, 



