Hem′a-tite

,

HEM'ATITE

, [Gr. from blood.] The name of two ores of iron, the red hematite,and the brown hematite. They are both of a fibrous structure, and the fibers, though sometimes nearly parallel,usually diverge, or even radiate from a center. They rarely occur amorphous, but almost always in concretions, reniform, globular, botryoidal, stalactitic, &c. The red hematite is a variety of the red oxyd; its streak and powder are always nearly blood red. The brown hematite is a variety of the brown oxyd or hydrate of iron; its streak and powder are always of a brownish yellow. The red hematite is also called blood-stone.