PRINCIPAL MINERALS CONSTITUTING ROCKS.—Having studied in a general way the more important characteristics of minerals, brief descriptions of the chief rock-forming species are next in order. We will notice first and principally those minerals occurring chiefly as _essential_ constituents of rocks.
1. Graphite.—Essentially pure carbon, though often mixed with a little iron oxide. Crystallizes in hexagonal system, but usually foliated, granular, or massive. Hardness, 1-2, being easily scratched with the nail. Sp. gr., 2.1-2.3. Lustre, metallic; an exception to the rule that acidic elements have non-metallic or vitreous lustres. Streak, black and shining (see pencil-mark on white paper). Color, iron-black. Slippery or greasy feel. Every _black-lead_ pencil is a specimen of graphite. Specimen 9.
The different kinds of mineral coal are, geologically, as we have seen, closely related to graphite, but they are such familiar substances that they need not be described here.
2. Halite (common salt).—Chloride of sodium: chlorine, 60.7; sodium, 39.3; = 100. Isometric system, usually forming cubes. Hardness, 2.5, a little harder than the nail. Sp. gr., 2.1-2.6. Lustre, vitreous. Streak and color both white, and hence color is essential. Often transparent. Soluble; taste, purely saline. In specific gravity and lustre it is a good example of a mineral in which an acidic element predominates. Specimen 11.
3. Limonite.—Hydrous sesquioxide of iron: oxygen, 25; iron, 60; water, 15; = 100. Usually amorphous; occurring in stalactitic and botryoidal forms, having a fibrous structure; and also concretionary, massive, and earthy (yellow ochre). Hardness, 5-5.5. Sp. gr., 3.6-4. Lustre, vitreous or silky, inclining to metallic, and sometimes dull. Color, various shades of black, brown, and yellow. Streak, ochre-yellow; hence color partly non-essential. Specimen 12.
4. Hematite.—Sesquioxide of iron: oxygen, 30; iron, 70; = 100. Hexagonal system, in distinct crystals, but usually lamellar, granular, or compact,—columnar, botryoidal, and stalactitic forms being common. Hardness, 5.5-6.5; good crystals are harder than steel. Sp. gr., 4.5-5.3. Lustre, metallic, sometimes dull. Color, iron-black, but red when earthy or pulverized (red ochre). Streak, red, and color, therefore, mainly non-essential; sometimes attracted by the magnet. Specimen 13.