Note 11 — PETER KALM’s TRAVELS. (continued 2)

The cubic Pyrites of Bishop Browallius,11 was of a very regular texture. But its cubes were different in size, for in some of the cubes, the planes of the sides only amounted to a quarter of an inch, but in the biggest cubes, they were full two inches. Some were exceedingly glittering, so that it was very easy to be perceived that they consisted of sulphureous pyrites. But in some one or two sides only, glittered so well, and the others were dark-brown. Yet most of these marcasites had this same colour on all the sides. On breaking them they shewed the pure pyrites. They are found near Lancaster in this province, and sometimes lie quite above the ground; but commonly they are found at the depth of eight feet or more from the surface of the ground, on digging wells and the like. Mr. Hesselius had several pieces of this kind of stone, which he made use of in his work. He first burnt them, then pounded or ground them to a powder, and at last rubbed them still finer in the usual way, and this afforded him a fine reddish-brown colour.