DELVINGS

The Newsletter of the Delvers Gem & Mineral Society

Volume 69 Number 9 September 2016

Trilobite, Bristolia sp., from San Bernadino Co., about 520 million years old Loaned by Jerry Ames (1972 Delvers president) for our Cerritos library display

Delvers Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. - mailing address: 1001 West Lambert Rd. #18, La Habra, CA 90631-1378 Delvers display at the Cerritos City Library, September-October! Tell all your friends to visit the spectacular Cerritos library, on Bloomfield Ave., south of the 91 Frwy. Our club has filled twelve display cases in the library lobby. You will also see their huge salt-water aquarium, the life-size T-Rex skeleton and a geologic column display in their children’s library among other things. Club member Andrew Hoekstra will be presenting a family talk, 7 PM September 28th, at the library Skyline Room (exterior elevator), about the children’s library’s geologic column, rocks, fossils, and geologic time. Thanks to Jerry Ames, Zarina Baig, Marvin & Judy Belcher, Nancy Bird, Francine & Bill Bozarth, Maria Dairo, Fred Dexling, Jon & Lois Jean Fults, Dale Harwood, Andrew Hoekstra, Chuck Pierce, Teresa Taylor and Doreen Wong for loaning items and/or helping to install the displays.

Taps from the Gavel – none this month Board Meeting Minutes – no board meeting

General Meeting Minutes 08/12/16 – by Teresa Taylor & Andrew Hoekstra Chuck Pierce presented an illustrated talk about the Northwest Federation/American Federation show in Albany, Oregon this July, where he competed and won both NWFMS and AFMS awards for jewelry. Chuck also described his recent trip to Mount Antero, Colorado, famous for aquamarine crystals and featured on the Weather channel TV show “Prospectors” Chuck and his friends were invited to collect by a claim owner, but it was apparently a bit of a scam. He and his wife better enjoyed a visit to historic Marble, Colorado, and its famous quarry. Pete German told us about a field trip to the Himalaya Mine that he and Teresa attended this June and he passed around specimens of tourmaline and other minerals that they collected that day. Herminia Donahue showed jewelry she had recently crafted, including a piece made from ammolite that she had won as a door prize at a previous meeting. Dale Harwood displayed mineral specimens that he had purchased or traded at the Nipomo show: native antimony from the Tom Moore Mine in Kern County; nice quartz/chalcedony from the Santa Monica Mountains (Ventura Co.); tunellite from Boron (Kern Co.); enargite from the Leonard Mine, Butte, Montana; native gold from the Sunnyside Mine, Silverton, Colorado (recently in the news); lepidolite from Argentina; and calcite after glauberite pseudomorph from Camp Verde, Arizona, the same specimen Dale sold years ago and has now bought back. Sixteen members and five guests were present. Guests Glen and Susan Parish, and Judy Belcher, expressed an interest in joining our club.

Rockhound of the Year – by Nancy Bird & Guynell Miller (sister of Francine) The Delvers Gem& Mineral Society nominates Francine and William (Bill) Bozarth this year as ROTY. Francine was a pebble pup in the Delvers as a child. After a hiatus, she rejoined the club with her husband and they have been active ever since. They host our club table at meetings and shows, always with a welcome hello to everyone. They are wonderful ambassadors. They made many breakfasts and dinners for us at our shows, always amazingly good. And for years they brought in the food to the meetings. Francine and Bill are the glue which holds our mosaic together. This is a Thank You to them for their years of service to the Delvers.

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SHOWS, FIELD TRIPS, AND EVENTS

September 12th – Program Miocene California presented by Andrew Hoekstra at the Palos Verdes G&MS 7 PM. PV Main Library 701 Silver Spur Rd, Rolling Hills Estates (park on roof) http://www.palos-verdes-gem-and-mineral-society.org/ September 12th – Program Ethiopian Welo Opals presented by Gabriel Mosesson at the Culver City Club 7:30 PM Veterans’ Memorial Auditorium, Rotunda Room 4117 Overland Blvd., Culver City. http://www.culvercityrocks.org/ September 16th - Prospectors’ club of Southern California meeting, 8 PM, 9813 Paramount Blvd., Downey September 16th-18th: CFMS SHOW, Placerville, CA (hosted by the El Dorado G&MS) Fri-Sun 10 am -5 pm Daily, El Dorado County Fairgrounds, 100 Placerville Drive http://www.eldoradomineralandgem.org/cfms2016show.html September 17nd-18th – Field Trip: Greenhorn Mountains, Kern County, Oxnard G&MS For rose quartz, etc. Leader is Carolyn Howe, 805-486-1185. https://www.facebook.com/events/201932230145335/ Note that this trip is currently on hold pending the status of the fire in that area! September 18th – Lecture, “Calcium-Aluminum Rich Inclusions: The Solar System’s First Rocks”, Kevin McKeegan Free. UCLA Meteorite Gallery. 2:30 PM. Schlicter Hall, Room 3853. http://www.meteorites.ucla.edu September 28th – Program sponsored by the Delvers at the Cerritos Library, presented by Andrew Hoekstra http://library.cerritos.us/calendar/cl_calendarNEW.htm?trumbaEmbed=date%3D20160928 September 28th-October 2nd: JOSHUA TREE, CA: Gem & Mineral Show Sportsman’s Club, 6225 Sunburst St, Joshua Tree, CA 92252. http://www.jtsportsmansclub.com/gem.html October 1st – 2nd: BORON, CA: Gem & Mineral Show, the Mojave Mineralogical Society Hours: Sat: 9 – 5 Sun: 9 -4. Boron Recreation Park, 26998 John Street Contact: Bruce Davies (760) 338-8829. E-Mail: [email protected]. http://www.mdgms.net/ October 1st – 2nd: VISTA, CA: Show, Vista Gem & Mineral Society Hours: Sat 10 – 5 Sun 10 – 4. Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum, 2040 North Santa Fe Avenue Contact: Ray Pearce (760) 726-7570, E-Mail: [email protected] October 7th- 9th – BIG SUR JADE FESTIVAL: http://bigsurjadefest.com/ October 8th-9th: TRONA, CA: 75th Annual Gem-O-Rama Show, Searles Lake G&MS http://www1.iwvisp.com/tronagemclub/FLYER.htm . Collect pink halite, hanksite and other minerals. October 15th - 16th: WHITTIER, CA: Show, Whittier Gem & Mineral Society Hours: 10 – 5 Daily. Whittier Community Center, 7630 Washington Avenue Contact: Frank Winn (626) 239-5457, E-Mail: [email protected]. http://wgmsca.com/ October 15th: WEST HILLS, CA: Show, Woodland Hills Rock Chippers Hours: 10 – 5. First United Methodist Church, 22700 Sherman Way Contact: Mary Beth Pio, E-mail: [email protected], http://www.rockchippers.org October 15th – Prehistoric Orange County, Ralph B. Clark Regional Park, Buena Park, CA Free family event (fee for parking) http://www.prehistoricoc.org/

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A few of our Items on Display at the Cerritos City Library…

A few of the award-winning Graveyard Point Agate cabochons by Chuck Pierce

Some of Chuck’s award-winning jewelry Mermaid pendant by Teresa Taylor

Cabochons made by Jon Fults Thunder-egg loaned by Jon Fults

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Aquamarine crystal cluster loaned by Zarina Baig Ammolite loaned by Zarina Baig

Fossil Pine Cone, Jurassic Period, loaned by Nancy Bird Chrysanthemum Stone loaned by Doreen Wong

30 lb. howlite collected by Francine Bozarth Necklaces handcrafted by Teresa Tayor

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Hints on Mineral Cleaning QUARTZ CRYSTALS - Red and brown stains on quartz crystals can be removed by soaking in a concentrated solution of oxalic acid. Black stains may be due to manganese. HANKSITE can be cleaned with mineral oil. FLUORITE can be cleaned with a little hydrochloric acid (HCL); the acid will corrode limestone so don’t overdo it. Bathe your specimen and rinse it in water after words. BARITE can be cleaned in HCL; it will loosen clay and iron. WATER SOLUBLE MINERALS - use alcohol. BORAX MINERALS - use mineral oil for preserving from hydration changes. CALCITE matrix can be removed by placing specimen in vinegar, or acetic acid. SILVER can be cleaned with a weak solution of HCL. CARBON MINERALS - try Clorox full strength. If this does not work try a weak solution of oxalic acid. PYRITE & MARCASITE - these sulfide minerals can be made bright by soaking over night in a solution of oxalic acid, using two ounces of oxalic to a quart of water; or soaking for a half hour in HCL. SELENITE CRYSTALS may be cleaned by washing very gently in water to which detergent has been added. ALGAE AND LICHENS can be removed from specimens with dilute of ammonia solution. From South Bay Lapidary’s Agatizer, June 2015

The Herby Woolbifferous Taste Test Plagiarized by Emil Yatsko and David Johnson from an article provided for the Mineral Information Institute by Andrew A Sicree, Ph.D., entitled Mineral Taste Test. Via Gneiss Gnuss 6/10, Mid-Summer Madness Edition via Cutting Remarks 8/10 via The Rollin’ Rock 7/16 No one really knows for certain when exactly the first human tasted rock. It might have been Neanderthals or Cro-Magnon sapiens that first put tongue to rock. So far no fossil evidence has emerged to indicate saliva on rock. Animals are attracted to salt deposits, and observation of this activity may have encouraged man to try his tongue. We do know that Indians in the North American Continent placed high esteem on salt as a food additive to improve taste. Today in most academic curricula the “taste test” is included along with the streak, hardness, and simple chemical reactions as a field test to identify rocks and minerals. Incidentally, the palette was also highly prized by Indians as a field tracker. Trackers were known to identify where someone has been by the taste of the soil left on boots or moccasins. Time of travel could be determined by feeling or tasting the heat (or lack there-of) from horse, mule or buffalo dung. This is perhaps the origin of the universal Indian word “Ugh” which is translatable into English as the term “Aw Shucks”. The taste test is usually ascribed to as the “Herby Woolbifferous Taste Test” named after the legitimate son of the illegitimate Norman/Saxon/Viking Earl of Woolcestishire. Sir Herby had outlined tasting methods from years of experience of placing his tongue in strange places. He described the tongue as “a unique and delicate tool capable of discerning minute differences unavailable to the other senses”. Cleaning the palette after each lick of a rock/ mineral is paramount! Sir Herby’s personal method involved ¼ cup of white wine, immediately followed by a ¼ cup red wine, finally gargling with ½ cup of Bombay Gin. Plain water was disdained as “unable to excite the tingling taste buds at the base of the

DELVINGS September 2016 Page 6 tongue so necessary for mineral identification”. This method is most successful for sampling up to ten rocks. After ten rocks the identification accuracy seems to fall off. Sir Herby also encouraged “a full and hearty lick of each specimen”. This may help explain his early demise when an autopsy revealed high contents of alcohol and arsenic. Today’s taste methods are far more scientific. When tasting a mineral, do not lick the specimen. There are minerals that are poisonous and a lick can cause a considerable amount of unnecessary ingestion of the substance. It is recommended that the testing person first wet their finger (not with saliva but with water), then place the wet finger on the specimen and finally taste the finger. This should provide enough of a taste without getting a tongue full of perhaps a badly tasting or worse yet poisonous mineral. Another technique is to just place the tip of the tongue to the mineral for a brief moment. Some minerals have a unique taste that cannot be described except in general terms, but with practice can be identified readily. The list below is composed of sulfates, halides and borates because these minerals can be more soluble in water than other minerals in general and some solubility in water is required in order to have a taste in the first place: Borax (sweet alkaline), Chalcanthite (sweet metallic and slightly poisonous), Epsomite (bitter), Glauberite (bitter salty), Halite (salty), Hanksite (salty), Melanterite (sweet, astringent and metallic), Sylvite (bitter), Ulexite (alkaline). Texture and “the feel of the tongue” can also be an important indicator. Some specimens have a characteristic texture. Most rocks or minerals will be gritty when crushed up and tasted. Bentonite is a clay, generated from alteration of volcanic ash. It is composed of Smectite clay minerals, mainly Montmorillonite. It has the interesting property of having a smooth or creamy texture (rather than being gritty) when placed in the mouth. We take advantage of this creamy texture when we use it in non-dairy coffee creamers (Yes, you really are putting a rock in your coffee!). Other minerals have a characteristic tendency to stick to your tongue when tasted. Magnesite, Kaolinite, Montmorillonite, and Chrysocolla fall in this group. When dry, these minerals absorb water and stick to your moist tongue. Sometimes the tongue can be fooled. Pyrite, for example, has a “sulfurous” taste – this is really a smell. Much of what we call a taste can really be a smell or a psychological perception. Talc, for instance, “feels soapy” and has been described as having a soapy taste. Yet there is no soap in talc. Of course there is also the “idea “of what the mind perceives when we taste coprolite (fossilized animal dung). For eons man has used his tongue for tasting, talking, and other various T’s. But we do owe a debt of gratitude to Sir Herby for initiating the rudiments of an identification process that has proven so valuable to rockhounds, wine merchants, and manufacturers of Bombay Gin.

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Delvers Gem & Mineral Society DELVINGS, c/o A. Hoekstra, editor 16643 Chicago Ave. Bellflower, CA 90706

FIRST CLASS MAIL

Regular Meeting of the Delvers Gem and Mineral Society September 9th, @ 7:00 PM at the Holy Redeemer Church, 14515 Blaine Ave., Bellflower, CA Program: TBA Visitors are always welcome!

Board Meeting (all members invited) 6:30 PM

The Delvers is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization The Delvings newsletter is published monthly. promoting education in the earth sciences, including the Submissions and suggestions are welcome. Articles and study of minerals, gems and fossils and the lapidary arts. photographs not otherwise credited are the responsibility Founded in 1948, the club was incorporated in 1954 in of the editor. Permission to reproduce original material the City of Downey, CA. Visitors are always welcome at published herein will generally be granted, provided that our monthly meetings. The Delvers support a scholarship the editor is notified and confirms the author's consent, for geology students at Cerritos College. and the sense or meaning of the material is not altered. https://delversgemclub.wordpress.com/ Delvings Editor, Andrew Hoekstra: [email protected] And we also can be found at facebook

Delvers Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. - mailing address: 1001 West Lambert Rd. #18, La Habra, CA 90631-1378