Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1876-10-26
Among the TyrOlese Garnet Siff.
erS.

erS.
Next morning the bad weather still
continued. The Tyrulese had never
theless resolved to ascend to the gar
net quarry and fetch fresh material for
their untiring stamping mill. l &C.
companied them in the sharp, cold
morning, following the foremen step
by step as they threaded their way ca
silly and surely through the labyrinth
OF rocks: They were laden with large
baskets and ropes, and carried mas
sive stick. For several hours we
wound our wearisome way up the icy
paths until we reached the ROhrcneck-
er, steep wall uprising out of gla-
cier. Here l was obliged to remain
behind, becaase of the ever increasing
mist, and l could not observe how the
bold men drew themselves up by their
ropes to commence their working on
the top of the wall, which has been
robbed thus many hundreds of years of
its treasures. l only heard the dull
sound OF hammering, until at last, af-
ter long waiting, laundering stroke
re-echoed on all sides, and the loosened
stones fell rattling upon the ice. The
men followed with their baskets, info
which they packed the best pieces,
and then we all returned. [ breathed
again when we once more reached the
hospitable hut. Here the contents of
the basket were emptied into the
work room, and now the next opera
tion was to free the beautiful twelve
sided crystals out of their shining en-
velOpe. There were some pieces in
which the garnets were thickly heaped
hn he, a
with this treasury of stones; they were
then carried into the stamping mill,
which resembled an oil mill in con-
structlon. The stones, many of them
covered with mica, were thrown into
a massive chest standing on the floor,
the wheel adjusted, and the stamper
set in motion, which now beat down
upon the stones, while a stream of wa
ter conducted through the chest serves
to carry off the mica, which the process
has reduced to pulp. After few hours
the water is turned of, and the garnets
freed from all extraneous matters, in
their true and beautiful shape, are ta-
ken from the chest. This process re-
veals which pieces are worth being
treated further, for the stones which
are not strong are destroyed by the
stamper, Others show themselves in.
complete or mishaped, and only the
really efficient remain behind. Of
these the largest, most valuable and
solid are picked out and carried into
the rolling mill, and is an industrial
construction which may almost be re-
garded aa natural curiosity. From
the glacier stream which drives the
first mill a channel branches off, and
flows over rude paddle-wheel, to
whose elongated shaft box is fastened,
which is surrounded with moving iron
chains. In this the garnets are thrown
to be rolled, the box is firmly closed,
the water is turned on, and wheel and
box are spun round and round till we
hear the poor little stones beating
against the sides. Fine borings in the
box let in the water, so that the stones
are kept incessantly moist. Through
this process they lose their beautiful
shape, for the rolling robs them of
their softest parts; but their value is
enhanced, for only the hard polished
kernel remains. They are now packed
into baskets and carried into the valley
to Mcyerhofen, where the builder and
owner of the garnet-quarries lives.
Here they are sorted according to their
sizes, and sent to the grinding tables of
Prague, Turnau, Deutchbrod and Ba-
den, whence they come into the name
OF Tyrolese garnets, and are much pri-
zed for their color and purity.-Lon.
don Society.