Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-08-21

which declared that all above certain
size should be handed over to him as tri-
butte. This naturally served as an incite-
ment for miners to break up any good
sized one they came across. A FIVE karat
ruby to-day i worth ten times as much as
a diamond of the same weight. while one
OF ten kaIaUS. untXteptlOnal In color, is
priceless. In the Russian regalia is one
of the finest rubies in the world, the size
of pigeon eggs, which was presented to
the Empress Catherine by Gustavus of
Sweden in 1777 A former king of
Barmah had a perfect ruby the size of a
pigeon egg that he used as an eardrop.
The two most important rubles ever known
in Europe were brought to England In
/ 1875. One of them was cushion-shaped
and weighed thirty-fve kfrats, the other
was a blunt drop of forty-seven karats.
Both were recut, the smallest one subse
quently selling for $50. 1000 and the larger
for 100000. The necessities of the Bur
mese government threw these beautiful
jewels upon the market
sAPPHIRES, OPALs AND EMERALDs.
do any equally valuable sapphires ex-
ist?"
''Oh, yes. Among the celebrated sap
phires of the world was one seen at Ava
by the English ambassador a few years
ago, which was fawless stone of beau
tiful blue weighing 951 carats. One of the
lovellest sapphires in existence is in the
collection of minerals in tie Jordin de
Plants, Paris. 1t weighs 1873 carats. and
is worth 5000. A poor man picked it
up In Bengal. The most remarkable sap
phires ever seen in Europe were two that
were exhibited IN Paris at the exposition
of 1867. The larger of the pair weighed
252 carats, and the smaller one, which
was valued at $4,000, 165 carats In
1873 q blue sapphire was found in Ceylon
that weighed two and half pounds, or
1000 carats, but it was not pure. The
most remarkable emerald of antiquity be-
Ionged to the Emperor Nero. VINO was
very near-sighted The stone CHANGED to
be shaped like concave lens, so that it
assisted his vision ma terially at the gladi-
ator shows. He supposed that it was a
magical gem ON this account. At all
events he was the first person to adopt the
single eyeg!ass, which has since become so
fashionable abroad The natl les of Peru
are said to have formerly paid religious
homage to an emerald the size of an os-
trich egg, which was only exhibited by
the priests on occasions of high festival
This Goddess of Emeralds," as it was
called, was tested by Pizarro with a ham,
mer an& broken up. The turquoise owes
its color to the presence OF phosphate Of
copper. Most gems of this sort are OBJ
, tanned from Northeastern Persia. 1t is
said that the Shah possesses nearly all of
the very remarkable ones in existence; the
best of those he always keeps.
BULLETS COVERED WITH MOSS
thrown with sings break eff the
pieces of turquoise from the inaccessible
rocks which usually contain the matrix. A
substance often sold for turquoise is other
wise known as 'odontolite' or fossil tur-
quoise, and is, in fact, the tooth of the ex-
tinct giant elephant known as the NAM
moth. Great quantities of mammoth re-
mains are dug up in Sibkria, where the
mighty beast used to roam. In 1895 the
entire body of a mammoth was found frozen
in solid cake of ice on the shores of the
, Arctic sea, where it bad doubtless been pre-
served in that curious way for thousands of
years. When it was chopped out the
flesh was still fresh. In the opinion of
, many people the opal is the most beautiful
, of gems It's substance is traversed by a
multitude of little assures, which give rise
to the 'diffraction of light that makes the
wonderful play of colors. Pliny tells of an
, opal the size Of hazel nut that belonged
to Senator Nonnus Mark Antony want
ed the stone and exiled the senator because
he would not give it up. But Nonnus
preferred exile with his treasure to living
in Rome without it. The two biggest
opals known were found in the Hungar-
ian mines in 1866 Both were pear-shaped
o and weighed respectively 1856 and $50
= karats. Perhaps the the finest opal OF
modern times is one which belonged to
the Empress Josephine and which was
called the Burning of Troy from the red
flames so wildly shown upon its surface. .
f Home Consumption of Cheese.
? American Agriculturist
t. As practical cheese manufacturer, the
e writer, proposes to advance few ideas rel
: ative to the care of the product Family
: marketers are not well supposed to be ex-
t pert judges of cheese. They should pick
] one out with a good rind, yielding, yet firm
/ and elastic. The rind is an excellent in
2 dictator of quality. A soft surface denotes
= poor fabby interior. Cheeses are cured
: in temperature OF from IS degrees to 70
J, degrees. They do not, however, require
r this degree of warmth, after they are forty
: days old. A cooler atmosphere is better
0 for them then Take the cheese from the
? box and rub off all mold that may have ac-
e cumulated since it left the factory. Cover
e it with a screen, and put it in a cold,
dark place. If no regular cheese screen is
at hand, make a light framework and
cover with mosquito netting. Something
t of this kind is necessary to exclude insects.
and yet permit access of air. This should
e be cool and dry If the cellar is the least
e damp, do not risk the cheese in such a
a place. Get full cream article of fall
r production, because autumn milk is far
r richer, and if anything, purer, than that
: yielded earlier in the season. 1t does not
t take on that sharp, pungent flavor of old
+ cheese. To the palates of some. this bit
: ing sensation of strong cheese is agreea-
:, BILE; but the majority of people prefer a
S milder flavor. Have the seller furnish a
t sample. and choose one possessed of a rich,
4 nutty flavor, butterfly and compact of text
d ure. Keep it under the conditions describ-
T ed, and cut from it fresh for every meal
e Good cheese can be ruined by drying, when
# too much is cut at once. This is one OBJ
n lection to buying it in small quantities at
l. the grocery. The English complain that
Y American cheese dries up and chaps
l. quicker on the cut surface than their home,
It produced stock The difference grows out
s of the diversity of climate. Do not at,
/ tempt making cheese at home unless you
o have all conveDiences for 1t, or are lsolat,
e ed from dairy districts. With the anna
l. teur fine cheese is not so easily made as
:, fine butter and the housewife who is par,
g italy ignorant of the fine details of man
:. ageing coaguated milk will invariably
d produce an article greatly inferior to fac
l. tory make. The problem has been puzzl