New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-05-14
GEMS.
WHAT MAY BE FOUND IN AMERICA.

a.
traied. Pp $50. The scientific Publishing Com
paDy.
The title of Mr. Kunz's book and the superb
colored plates make an appeal to the Imagination
which seems well founded when we re"u '""V
NEARLY all the known varieties OF precious s'o"eS
are found in the United Sta'es buo u"""P-
r;lv Mr. Kunz deals with facts. and as he con-
tinucs we are compelled TO surrender all l'i'h III
o.. ,roa, corhrpcle Of the White Mountains, the
diamonds of Arizona and other dreams when
have seemed ms real as the GOLD OF Stevenson S
.Treasure Island" 1t is not a tale OF the Arapian
Nights which Mr.. Kunz unfolds, but rcmorse-
lesslv exact record begun in 1882 LOT 'he uhro-
mantle report Of the Division OF Mining 'taus-
tics. and supplemented by travel ana investigation
We believe that this book is the lirst important
work devoted wholly TO the subject, ana IL IS
certaln that n publication so remarkably co'hpie-
bensive thorough and intelligent is uhhKeN 10
he superseded 1t is pleasant to ina WORK OF
this consequence so satisfactory as an example oi
boolxmakinQ and illustration. II is easy 10 agree
with Mr. Kunz that the eight chromo-htho@raphic
plates bv Mcssrs Prang & Co. are the hhest OIL
the kind ever executed
After telling us that we have most VarleteS Oh
COINS Mr. KIM lastens TO dispel false hopes ny
assuring rs that the indications seldom Jusu'.
tho Investment, of much capital in the search
in value years output OF precious stones IN 'l'
country systematic search for gems ano precious
Stone. has been carried in only two states
Maine and North Carolina: elsewhere they are
fonnd bv accident in other Klhds VI
mining. or. like the Mexican turquoise.
In small veins. They are ga'heieu
on the surface like the garnet ana oilVinc !"
Arizona and New-MeXco. or in mica ninl"S INV
the Connecticut and North Carolina bcrYi' OF III
gold slnicng like the Montana sappMrcs' OF iio'ii
The beds OF streams and decOmposng rocks IKE u e
Wyoming moss agates. or on beaches Inv o'''
agate. chlorastolite and Thomsonite OF Lake gu
nerior Diamonds have been founo usually
along the eastern base Of the southern Ai'-
rhanies from Virginia 10 Georgia. ana along 'he
uos,orr base Of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade
ranges in northern California and southern ore
ron hnt il need hardly be said that tho diamonds
of this country are not factor In the word
Weld Extravagant expectations nave pee"
aronsed at various places as in central Kentucky
t,xbere the rock has some resemblance TO that OF
the diamond bearing region of South Africa III
Idaho some twenty years ago: in Arizona apo"'
tho same time when u will he remembered ths'
certain swndlers salted" the ground with rouSh
diamonds purchased in London, and rcaii2e"
considerable sum before the fraud was expose"
by Mr. Clarence King; and in Wisconsin wheT'
there was diamond fever in 1854 AMONG
authentic discoveries the most important Is 'he
Dewey diamond, found by street Iaoore' al
Manchester. "a. in 1855. 1t was put into an
iron furnace where it remained at rcd heat Tor
two hours, emerging uniniured and brighter than
before Ii was cut at an expense OF Sl,3o" pN
Henry d. Morse, of Boston. and subsequently
c,me into the possession of John A. Morrissev
through the owners failure 10 repay an advance
Of Sc 900 After cutting the stone weighed ! ll-lG
,arats but as il is of color and imperfect il is not
worth more than $500 to-day Mr.. Kunz gives
list of the genuine diamonds found in North
Carolina since the first discovery in SAB. and he
has endeavored to present record of authentic
discoveries in Georgia and in the West where
many small stones have probably been washed
away in the suices crushed by the stamps Of
the mills As rule diamonds in the far West
are small and rare.
In rubes and sapphres are no more likely
TO rival Burmah and Ceylon than we are TO rival
South Africa in diamonds. The mineral corun-
dunn. of which the ruby. sapphire. amethyst. en-
erald and topaz are varieties, is found chiefly III
The crystalline rocks along the Appalachian Noun
tains from Chester, Mass. to Northern Georgia.
and also in Montana but the great cOrundum re-
gion is in North Carolina which appears 10 he one
of the most promising fields. The jerks mine
at Franklin, y. c.. has yielded nearly all the fine
CRYSTALS of the best American collections. includ-
ing the largest crystal ever found. weighing 81?
pounds. which is in the valuable collection OF Am
berst College. The North Carolina corundum eX-
ceIs in variety of colors Many specimens have
been cut and mounted, especially of the blue and
red shades and they make good gems, although
not Of the choicest quality. The two finest rubies
ere in the collection of Clarence s. Bement, Of
Philadelphia in suite of the choicest crystals
found in the Culsagce mine. Among them Is
probably the finest known specimen Of emerald
green sapphire the transparent part Of crystal
OF corundum, from which could he cut several
nieces that would together furnish from 50 10 90
carats of very fine almost emerald green gems; the
largest possibly 90 caats or more III weight. -
But comparatively few gems have come into the
market from North Carolina. The chief locality
for gem sapphres is near Helena, Montana, where
they are found on bars in the Upper Missouri.
Al one time the value Of the gems cut amounted
m 60 600 annually Very few rubics have been
found suitable for cutting
Travellers in Arizona and New-Mexco are famil-
lar with the pieces Of imperfect turquoise offered
for sale at the shops and by the Pueblo Indians,
the descendants Of the tourquosc miners VINO rose
against their Spanish taskmasters in 1865. Al
present no mining Of consequence is carried on.
The gem topaz has been found in Connecticut
New-IIampshire and Maine, and in Utah, Colorado
and Nevada The discoveries in Colorado have
proved valuable The National Museum in
Washington contains cinnamon-tinted cut stone
from Pixies Peak weighing II carats which is
pronounced superior in beauty 10 the brilliant
white topazcs from Brazil Two of the larger
sherry-coored Colorado crystals have been cut
in stones weighing from l2j 10 1913 carats each.
In describing the famous tourrnaline locality AT
Mt Mica, in Paris, Maine, Mr.. KuM tell'
the story Of the lost tOurmalines which
has supplied hint for the novel writer. In 1870
thirty beautiful crystals Were found by Elijah
IIamlin on the earth near the roots Of fallen
tree They were entrusted 10 Governor Lincoln