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A massive, somewhat impure variety of quartz, in color usually of a gray to brown or nearly black, breaking with a conchoidal fracture and sharp edge. It is very hard, and strikes fire with steel.

en very beautiful, crystallizing commonly in cubes with perfect octahedral cleavage; also massive. It is used as a flux. Some varieties are used for ornamental vessels. Also called fluor spar, or simply fluor.

boreal, anthropoid ape of West Africa. It is larger than a man, and is remarkable for its massive skeleton and powerful muscles, which give it enormous strength. In some respects its anatomy, more than that of any other ape, except the chimpanzee, resembles that of man.

A hydrous oxide of iron, occurring in prismatic crystals, also massive, with a fibrous, reniform, or stalactitic structure. The color varies from yellowish to blackish brown.

Native carbon in hexagonal crystals, also foliated or granular massive, of black color and metallic luster, and so soft as to leave a trace on paper. It is used for pencils (improperly called lead pencils), for crucibles, and as a lubricator, etc. Often called plumbago or black lead. Graphite battery (Elec.), a voltaic…

aster of Paris. Selenite is a transparent, crystalline variety; alabaster, a fine, white, massive variety.

tine was the hammer of heresies. He met the stern legionaries [of Rome] who had been the "massive iron hammers" of the whole earth. J. H. Newman. Atmospheric hammer, a dead-stroke hammer in which the spring is formed by confined air. -- Drop hammer, Face hammer, etc. See under Drop, Face, etc. -- Hammer fish. See Ham…

ause of the red color of the powder. It occurs in splendent rhombohedral crystals, and in massive and earthy forms; -- the last called red ocher. Called also specular iron, oligist iron, rhombohedral iron ore, and bloodstone. See Brown hematite, under Brown.

A steel-gray mineral, of metallic luster, commonly fibrous massive. It is a sulphide of antimony and lead, with a little iron.

soms (Centranthus ruber). (b) The houseleek (Sempervivum tectorum); -- so called from its massive inflorescence, like the sculptured beard of Jove. Prior. (c) the cloverlike Anthyllis Barba-Jovis. -- Jupiter's staff (Bot.), the common mullein; -- so called from its long, rigid spike of yellow blossoms.…

A mineral consisting of sulphate of lead, occurring either massive or in long slender prisms, of a greenish white or gray color.

ne. -- Lead mill, a leaden polishing wheel, used by lapidaries. -- Lead ocher (Min.), a massive sulphur-yellow oxide of lead. Same as Massicot. -- Lead pencil, a pencil of which the marking material is graphite (black lead). -- Lead plant (Bot.), a low leguminous plant, genus Amorpha (A. canescens), found in the No…

l of pale steel-gray color and metallic luster, occurring in isometric crystals, and also massive. It is a sulphide of cobalt containing some nickel or copper.

An oxide of iron (Fe3O4) occurring in isometric crystals, also massive, of a black color and metallic luster. It is readily attracted by a magnet and sometimes possesses polarity, being then called loadstone. It is an important iron ore. Called also magnetic iron.

d also gray manganese ore. It occurs in brilliant steel-gray or iron-black crystals, also massive.

A massive, compact limestone; a variety of calcite, capable of being polished and used for architectural and ornamental purposes. The color varies from white to black, being sometimes yellow, red, and green, and frequently beautifully veined or clouded. The name is also given to other rocks of like use and appearance,…

steel-gray mineral, consisting chiefly of the oxides of iron and titanium. It is commonly massive, but occurs also in rhombohedral crystals. Called also titanic iron ore, and ilmenite.

ineral, grayish white or yellowish, occuring in delicate groups of crystals, also fibrous massive. It is a hydrous silicate of alumina, lime, and soda.

A mound or massive work formed of masonry or large stones, etc., laid in the sea, often extended either in a right line or an arc of a circle before a port which it serves to defend from the violence of the waves, thus protecting ships in a harbor; also, sometimes, the harbor itself. Brande & C.

A mineral of blackish lead-gray color and metallic luster, generally of a foliated massive structure; foliated tellurium. It is a telluride of lead and gold.