THE NATUBAL SCIENCE JOUBNAL. 
18 
of wisdom, of virtue, can not produce 
the ideal in the sphere in humanity. 
A\^ealth, honor, fame, beauty, are not 
prime factors in manhood. Many great 
men, known like Agassiz, and unknowm, 
have no time for riches, fame and the 
grosser forms of life, so precious are the 
flying moments of this world’s existence, 
and thus the study of crystals reveals 
the law of humility. 
••‘He that humbletli himself shall be 
exalted.” 
All richest gems of every kind 
Are fashioned by a common Mind ; 
And underneath the age’s dust, 
The perfect jewel has been thrust, 
In beauty, form and symetry 
As compact, pure, as it might be. 
We pull the towering mountains, grand, 
Down to our feet. AVe wash the sand 
For some wee bit of jewel rare. 
From out the shapeless mass the fair 
And lustrous face and perfect form 
Emerge, as sunshine from the storm. 
QUAKTZ. 
Fred. E. Long ley. 
UARTZ, or silica is the most abund¬ 
ant of all the minerals, constituting 
nearly half the crust of the earth, enters 
largely into the composition of other 
rocks, and occurs in abundance in the 
form of sand in nearly all soils. 
Quartz is composed of silicon and oxy¬ 
gen, a solid and a gas. Hardness 7; 
gravity 2 to 6 and 2 to 7. 
It can not be cut with a knife, and 
breaks into irregular fragments. 
Quartz is of the oldest rock formation ; 
when, with the cooling of a great heated 
mass into a crust and with other rock 
formation, such as feldspar, mica, horne- 
blende, and quartzite, quartz first origi¬ 
nated. 
The great abundance of quartz is very 
important in the economy of Nature, be¬ 
ing essential to the growth of vegetation, 
for some kinds of plants cannot live 
without it, especially grasses and grains, 
as it is silica which gives stalks, leaves 
and stems their firmness. 
Many of our soils are made by the 
action of the weather and water, and are 
carried down the mountain sides from 
ledges of rocks, partly composed of 
quartz, as sediment, helping to form the 
soil. Continually, somewdiere, quartz is 
forming, and there is no mineral which 
takes on so many forms and colors as 
quartz, and its varieties are almost end¬ 
less. 
Quartz is divided into three series; 
viz. ; the nitreous, chalcedonic and jas- 
pery varieties. 
The nitreous are rock crystal, pure 
pellucial quartz mainly; amethyst, false 
topaz, smoky quartz, milky quartz, 
phraze, rose quartz, and ferruginous 
quartz. 
Chalcedonic are chrysophraze, carne- 
lian, sard, agate, onyx, cat’s eye, horn- 
stone and plasma. 
Jasper varities are bloodstone, touch¬ 
stone, floatstone, tabular quartz, and 
granular quartz. Some of the finest 
gems are cut and polished from different 
varieties of quartz, and it is much valued 
as a gem. 
(to be continued.) 
The largest flower in the world grows 
in Sumatra. It is called the Rafflesia 
Arnold!, and some of the specimens are 
39 inches in diameter. The central cup 
will hold six quarts of w'ater. 
