Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1891-05-16
STATISTICS ON PRECIOUS STONES.
The Census Bureau Tells Where Gems are
Pound I'm This Country.

this country ana the STATISTICS OF ulalOnu-
cutting and lapidary are given in buile-
tin prepared by Mr. George i. Kunz, spe-
cial agent. and issued by the Census Office.
II is stated that this important field has
never been covered by any preceding
census.
Up TO the present time, it is stated in the
bulletin. there has been very little mining
for precious or semi-precious stones IN the
limited States. aud then only at irregular
neriods. IL has been carried on during the
i5ast few years at PARIS, Me-, near Los Ger
rillos. n. ~, in Alexander county, n; ",
from 1851 until 1888, and on the MIS-
souri, river near Helena, Mont, since the
beginning of 1890. True beryls and garnets
have been frequently found as q by
nroduct In the mining of mica, especially
In VIRGINIA and North Carolina. Some
gerns-such as the chlorastrolite, thomso-
mite. and agates of Lake Superior--are
gathered on beaches where they have
fallen from rock which has gradually DIS
interrated by weathering and wave action.
WHERE THE GEMS ARE FOUND.
4 very limited number of diamonds have
boen found in the United States. They are
net With in we'll defined districts Of Cam
fornia. North Carolina, Georgia, and re-
Gently in Wisconsin. but up. to the present
time the discoveries have been rare and
purely accidental.
OF the cOrundum gems (sapphire, ruby
and other colored varietles) no sapphlreS5
Of fine blue color and no rubies OF fine red
color have been found. The only locality
which has been at all prolific IS the placer
groupd between Ruby and Eldorado bars.
on the Missouri river. sixteen miles east OF
Helena. Mon. Here sapphires are found
while siuicing for gold. and until now have
been considered only by-product.. Up
TO the present time they have never been
systematically mined. In 1859 one com
pany took the option on 1000 acres or tn0
river banks and several smaller companies
have since been formed with view OF
mining for these gems alone or IN con-
nection with cold. The colors of the gems
Obtained. although beautiful and interest
inc. are not the standard blue or red shades
generally demanded by the public.
At Corundum Hill, Macon county. n. o.,
about 100 gems have been found during
the last twenty years. some OF good blue
color and some of good red color, but noho
exceeding 500 in value, and none within
the past ten years.
Of the beryl gems (emerald, nquamarine,
and yellow beryD the emerald mas been
mined to some extent at Stony Point. IN
Alexandria county, n. c., and has also
been obtained at two other places in the
county. Nearly everything found has
come from the Emerald and Hiddcnite
mines. where during the past decade eme-
raids have been mined and cut into gems
TO the value of II 600. and also sold az
mneraloglcal specimens 10 the. value OF
- 600: lithia emerald or hlddenite, to be
cut into gems, IS 800, and for mlneralogl,
cal specimens, 1880; rutilo, cut and sold
as gems, $3.50. and as specimens, s0O, anu
beryl, cut and sold as gems, 500.
GINS HIGH UP.
At an altitude Of 1900 feet on Mt.
Antcro. Col, during the last three years.
material has been found which has afforded
81 900 worth of cut beryls. At StOneham,
Ne, about 81 800 worth of fine aquamarlne
has been found, which was cut into gems.
At New Milford. Conn, q property was
extensively worked from October, 1855, to
Nav, 1886, for mica and beryl. The beryl-
were yellow, green, blue, and white III
color, the former being sold under the
name of golden beTyl." No work has
henn done et the mine since then, In 1886
and 1887 there were about 1000 stones cut
and sold for some $4,000, the cutting OF
winch cost about $1,000.
This mineral, which was worked by the
AZtecs before the advent of the Spanlards
and since then 10y the Pueblo Indians, and
LARGELY used by them for ornament and as
an article of exchange, Is now systematical-
" mined near Los CerrillO5, n. NJ. ltS co!Oi
IS blue, and It's hardness Is fully equal &c
that of the Persian, or slightly greater
owing to impurities, but 1t lacks the SOFT
ness Of color belonging to the Persian tur
quoise.
From time immcmorial this material ha-
been rudely mined by the Indians. Iheil
method is TO pour cold water on the rock
after previously heating them by fires built
against them. This process generally dc
| teriorates the color OF the stone 70 some
extent, tending TO change 1t TO green.
| The Indians rarter turquoise with the
| Navajo. Apache, Zuni, san Felipe, and
other New Mexican tribes for their baskets
| blankets. silver ornaments, and ponies.
The finest garnets and nearly all the
peridots found in the United States arc
| obtained in the Navarro nation, IN the
northwestern part of New Mexico and the
northeastern part Of Arizona, where they
collected from ant-hills and scorplOn-nest'
| by Indians and by soldiers stationed at adj
| jacent forts.
These garnets. which are locally known a
| Arizona and New Mexico rubes, arc the
| finest in theworld, riyalliug those from The
| Cape of Good Hope. Fine gems weighing
| from two 10 three carats eacn and upward
| when cut are not uncommon. The peri
| dots found associated with garnet5 are gen
| orally four or five times as large, and from
| their pitted and irregular appearance have
bepn called "Job's tears" They can b,
| cut into gems weighing three or four carat
each, but do not approach those from tbs
| Levant either in size or color.
VALUE OF THE GEMS.
The total value Of the production o
precious stones, including quartz anC
| ornamental minerals, during the year 1888
was $lSS, 507.
In New York there are sixteen firms on
gagged IN cutting and recruiting diamonds
and in Massachusetts, there are three. Cut
| ting has also been carried on at times II
PENNSYLVANIA and Illinois, but has beer
| discontinued. In 1889 seven Of the New
| York firms ran on full time, but the other
! were unemployed for long periods.
| The industry employed 236 persons, o
whom sixty-nlne were under age, who re
| ceived S149,1l in wages. OF the nine
| teen establishments sixteen used steam
| power.
The importation of rough and uncut dia
| mOnds in 1880 amounted 20 Sl2J. 207, in 1873
| to $3.50, 1877 and the total for the decad
was SO, 133, 529, while in 1888 there were i'm
ported Si43. 996 worth, showing that Their
was 81 per cent. more cutting done in 1873
| than in 1880, but markedly moro IN 1873
and 1888. This large increase of importa
| ton is due to the fact that in the year
| 1882 TO 1885 number of our jeweller
opened diamond-cutting establishments
but the cutting has not been proftabl.
| carried on in this country on O seal
| large enough TO Justify branch house
in London, the great market for rough
diamonds, where advantage can be takel
of every huctuation in the market and par
GELS purchased, which can DO cut immedi
ately and converted into cash, tor nothini
is bought and sold on closer margin thar
rough diamonds.
| There has been n remarkable increase il
| the importation of precious stones in thi
country in the last ten years The import
| from 1870 10 1879 inclusive. amounted t,
| S2G,695, 203. whereas from 1880 to 1889 in
| elusive. the imports amounted to owe
| S87, 1913. III, more than three times as mucl
as were imported the previous decade.
TRICKS OF JUGGLERS.
Tho Easiest Feats, They say, Win tn
| Most Applause.