The blowpipe vade macum : the blowpipe characters of minerals deduced from the original observations of Aquilla Smith ; alphabetically arranged and edited by Samuel Haughton and Robert H. Scott / [Aquilla Smith].

Aquilla Smith

Date:: 1862

Credit: The blowpipe vade macum : the blowpipe characters of minerals deduced from the original observations of Aquilla Smith ; alphabetically arranged and edited by Samuel Haughton and Robert H. Scott / [Aquilla Smith]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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$Olivine (Th. 163; Al. 192).—Otaheite. Resists the knife. In the for- ceps infusible. No water. AVith borax soon indicates iron, but fuses very slowly. [Olivine.—Vesuvius. In the forceps fuses readily, with effervescence, into a black scoria. No water. AVith borax dissolves easily into a transparent bead, coloured by much iron. AVith microcosmic salt, dissolves readily, with continued effervescence, leaving a siliceous skeleton.—En.] Orpiment ( Vide Arsenic, yellow sulphuret of ). Faranthine [Vide Scapolite). (Th. 271 ; Al. 139) Hardness = 4’5- 50. In the forceps effervesces and intumesces, and fuses readily into a colourless blebby globule. No water. AVith borax dissolves readily, with prolonged eflervescence, into a clear glass, slightly colom-ed by iron while warm. Peai-1 spar.—Killiney Quarry, Dublin. Scratches calc spar. Effer- vesces feebly with nitric acid. In the forceps decrepitates slightly, becomes black, and fuses on the edge into a black glaze, not mag- netic. No water. AN'^ith borax effervesces much, and dissolves rea- dily. Contains iron. Pearl Spar.—Knockmahon, county A\^aterford. Scratches calc spar. Effervesces with muriatic acid when scraped. In the forceps decre- pitates violently; infusible ; effervesces strongly with borax. Pearlstone (Th. 390; Al. 188).—Bochnitz, Hungaiy. Hardness= 5-0 ; brittle. In the forceps intumesces much, suddenly, and fuses very slovdy into a rough, blebby, colourless glass. No water, or only a trace. AVith borax emits a few bubbles, and fuses rather readily into a clear glass. Fhillipsite (Th. 351 : Al. 117).—Island Magee, North of Ireland. In the forceps becomes white and opaque, falls partly to pieces, and fuses rather slowly into a transparent rough bead. Contains much water. AVith borax it becomes transparent, and fuses slowly into a colourless glass. Pimelite.—From Silesia. Hardness = 2 0 ; streak white. In the forceps decrepitates at first, blackens, and fuses on the edge into a grey glass; it does not form a bead. Contains much water. AVith borax, in the outer flame, it dissolves slowly, and the glass is of a pale amethyst colour when cooling, but is nearly colourless when cold. Pitchstone (Th. 392).—Johanngeorgenstadt, Saxony. Yields to the knife; streak white; hardness about = 5-5. In the forceps becomes white, and fuses on the edge into a blebby colourless glass. Contains a good deal of water. AVith borax it effervesces a little at first, and fuses rather slowly into a colourless glass. Pitchstone (Th. 392).—Saxony. Resists the knife; hardness about = 6-5. In the forceps fuses readily into a brilliant dark green globule. No water. AVith borax it effervesces a little at first, and fuses slowly into a clear glass coloured by iron.$