la                  &be Nat URAL History   of
phur which they bring from Olontojki^ where it drotxs from the
rocks, is quite fine and pellucid; and in the Pyrites upon the
coaft it is to be found every where.
The following kinds of earth are common. Great quantities
of white chalk are found about the Kuriljky lake $ tripoly and
oker about the Great River, and the villages of Nachikin and
Koutchinuhiff \ and a purple-coloured earth about the hot fprings,
and fometimes a hard ftony oker. Among the ftones in the
mountains are found, but rarely, fmall cherry-coloured chryf-
tals j and near the river Charious are found pieces of fluile,
which is like a coarfe green glafs, of which the inhabitants for-
merly made knives, axes, lancets, and darts. It is called by the
Ruffian natives glafs, and by the Kamtfchadales, nanagy. This
flufle is alfo found in the copper mines about Ecatherinenbourgy
where it is called a topaz. There is like wife here a fort of light
ftone, white like chalk, of which the inhabitants make plates, and
lamps wherein they burn their fiih oil; and every where upon
the £hore is found an iron-coloured hard ftone, porous as a fpunge,
and easily turned by the fire.
The inhabitants find pellucid ftones near the iprings of the ri-
ver, which they ufe inftead of flints. Some of the(e ftones are
femi-pellucid, whitifh and milky, and reckoned cornelians by
the Ruffians. Some fmall pellucid ftones of a yellowifh colour,
like corals, are found upon the banks of feveral rivers $ and plenty
*of hyacinths near Tomjkoy.
Hitherto they have difcovered no precious ftones here. The hills
are firmer than thofe in Siberia^ and do not fall away like
them j but when the earth falls off they find much lac luna y
and a foft kind of bolus, t>f a fattifh creamy tafte, is found near
the Penfchtnjka fea, Kuriljkoy lake, and the Olutorjkoy: this is
ufed as an excellent remedy in fluxes. I fent fpecimens of
moft of . the above things to the Mufeum of the Imperial
Academy of St.  Piterjbourg.   I muft not forget to mention
that