state, of a waxy
lustre, with many different shades of beautiful green which give it a
mottled appearance like a serpent, hence the origin of its name
"serpentine," or ophite. It is called "ranocchia" by the Italians, from
the appearance it bears to the "frog," and, on account of its
susceptibility to a high polish, is greatly valued as a marble for
interior ornamental purposes, more than exterior, as it weathers
rapidly. In Galway, Ireland, it is found in large quantities, and called
"serpentinous marble," or "ophi-calcite." It is also to be found in
other parts of the world, as in the Pyrenees, Alps of Dauphing, Mount
St. Gothard, Italy, Sweden, Ural Mountains, Silesia, New South Wales,
Savoy, Corsica, Cornwall, Scotland, and other places too numerous to
mention; but in Canada the finest and most crystalline serpentine is to
be found forming great belts of over 100 miles long and several thousand
feet in breadth. There it associates with the dioretic, or volcanic,
rocks, and is, according to Dr. Ells, without any doubt, "An alteration
product of a dioretic rock rich in olivine." It is sometimes very
difficult to distinguish the mineral constituents in many of the
metamorphic rocks, but diorite is always considered to be composed
chiefly of felspar and hornblende, which composition enters largely into
the serpentines. Actinolite, tremolite, &c., and many other minerals,
are sometimes found associating with it.

There are many valuable properties attributed to serpentine, and I am of
opinion that the time is not far distant when it will be commercially
considered an invaluable substance, and this on account of its
refractory properties. I may also mention that it can be extensively
used in the manufacture of crucibles, &c. Its soft and unctuous
qualities (especially where it is found associated with "steatite," or
"soapstone," which is often to be seen in large quantities) renders it
easy to be worked, and, if reduced to a powder, could be moulded in
bricks which the most intense heat will not affect. One of the chief
properties it contains, and one which the serpentine of Lower Canada is
so famous for, is the Asbestos, crysotile, or fibrous serpentine. This
valuable and important mineral product is found in paying quantities
only at certain points in the extensive serpentine reefs, and was first
mined as an article of commerce in Canada in 1878, and has now become a
regular and rapidly-developing industry.

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