New-York tribune., 1876-08-12

III.
two being usually combined in the display as they
will be in the uses of the smoker. Pipes elegantly
carved, too beautiful to smoke and WI ch it woulc
be something of o saorlege to color with tobacco,
are temptngly arrayed in nuIaerous show -cases-
hope the neurological reader will not drop the pa
per in disgust if here mention ambergris Truly 't
is not stone but it looks like it, and want to let
fall tear for the poor whales who must have car
ried the enormous specimens shown in the Exhibi-
ton for many years in their intestnes, while these
concretions were growing to their present diameers
of eight to ten inches across.
ALABAsTER-NA1IyE GEMS.
Alabaster and some of the ornamental marbles
might fairly have been included in tho foregoing .iso
of precious stones; but if alabaser he included 1t
is hard to say why porphyry ard marble should be
left ont. while if marble Is to DC described 1t VIII
lead us hy gradatiOns among building-stones anc
lmestones, and We shall wander from precious
thiags entirely Let us finish with alabaster. 1t
gives very beautiful finish to the articles it orna-
menJs quite numerousy displayed principally fro
Italy. | imagine that the United States is ltalys
best customer for the translucent vases, cardhod-,
ers, boxes, and knick-knacks that abundantly illus
trate tho o7se with which this soft stone s cut and
carved Some of TIE choic st specimens aye made
by iudciols Of the cOuC ed ard tran >luceut Va
rieties together and where hs is found Ia the same
stOno tnero pleasing fleets o. the cameo KIND
that can ba produced by the skilful artist Let me
suggest III 4 fortune lies in wait for the chemist
who shall discover TIE art Cf hardening ibaStcr
sfter i Is carved.
II may De Noticed that in the torcf ,irg sketch
nothne is sad about precious Stones found in our
OWL court-y. The famous chapter O Snakes IN Ire
land would here be applicable. fow years ago all
the streams OF Nev-Jer@y were raDsNk' ], and
every unhappy musSe on their banks VAS ruthiesSy
torn open III tlo search for pearls. There is Ioat-
ing runOr perhaps InyJ yJhical, that lev were found
II value one said to b. worth 81 900. BE that as it
may there are no pearls known 10 hayo come from
this source Displayed at Philadelphia. The other
gems Shown fro.n different localities in the United
state, may lee generally characterized as shONy
mreralogical specimens admirably svted FIR
cabinets hut not well adapted for cutting and wear
as lCnels. Among these may be nam d scms iuH
touImaueS from Paris Maine There ara m''ny
beryls from fft-ont places in Mas.sci usetts. heW-
Hampshire and Pennsylvania al of a similar char
acler; where there are beryl5 there is hope Tor the
precious emerald j. only hgh-colorsl, par deep
grecn hcrL j. il perhap3 needless to ~ that there
are no diamonds from Arizona in the Exhibition.
There arc two three cases 0t crystalline minerals,
priucral, rom United States localities. in ihe Gov
,rnncnt building They form very fac collection,
and are believe. lent by their owner, oi won the
chief are Ne,,cs Joseph Wilcox, +. 3. bcaI:a and
Thacdore -. Rand, AZ Of Philadelphia. Among
these a7erGlons tbore are fair .mctaySts, "gates,
aad other stones sometimes accounted precious?
and p,rhap- few c0mmerri.l gems might be- picked
ou also from the neurological collections sent from
dcrcu. States. Finally, there aro $50 pr three fine
exhibits from abgo.i ia tho Main Building, of imi-
,stlon gems nu il need scarcely br aid tat il brii-
liancy aud szo thcy leave nothing 20 DO d,-ircd.
". e. ".