Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-01-20


Precious garnets are found in New Next
co. Arizona, southern Colorado and Utah
They are often miscared ''rubies." On the
Navajo reservation, New Mexico, the In
dlans collect them in great numbers from
ant hills and scorpion holes. The insects
ana arachnids bring them out Of their bur-
rows TO the surface.
In Arizona they occur in loose sand having
been brought thither In all proba biljty by
streams from a point fifty miles TO the
norm, where they exist in the rocks of their
original formation. In western Arizona, on
ooth sides of the Colorado river, they are
gathered by Indians from SCORPION holes
and ant hills for sale to traders, who shin
them to the large cities in lots of an ounce
and upward. A few of them measure as
much as half an inch in diameter
These garnets are in one respect at least
superior to those found in washing and
mining for diamonds in South Africa The
latter commonly called Cape rubies" are
somewhat larger, but have not so good a
color by artificial light This is a very i'm
portant matter, inasmuch as gems are most
commonly displayed in the evening Amer
lean garnets OF ! carat are worth from 81
TO - each, while exceptionally fine ones
will fetch s.. They seldom exceed 3 carats
Occasionally remarkable specimens have
brought $50 or even 800. Quite 5000 worth
OF cut stones of this kind are disposed of
a ann me rocks In some parts of FL
lott county. KY, tain great numbers
or ruby-red garnets, locally regarded as
rubies. They are sometimes as fine in color
as the Bohemian garnets, which they close
ly resemble.
Kentucky Garnets.
Mining for Kentucky garnets has not as
sumed the proportions Of an industry, ow-
ing chiefly to their small size. They rarely
exceed a quarter Of an inch in diameter In
has been suggested that the farmers of the
region mentioned might occupy their ieis-
he
Bohemia Large crystals of a kind of gar
net, not line enough for gems some of
them weighing twenty pounds, have been
found in Burke county, y. c. and in
Rabun county. Ga. They might be util-
lied for cutting into dishes or cups
Many of them are transparent in part
Tons of them have been crushed to make
emery and the sandpaper called garnet
paper Alaska garnets are well known for
their remarkably perfect crystals They
occur i'm quantities near Fort Wrangel. A
most interesting and peculiar kind of gar
net termed ''spessartite'' has been dug up
In the mica mines of Amelia county Va
one stone OF SS carats when cut was Sc
cured. Now that these mica mines are
closed, this gem, never found anywhere
else will become very rare
Another kind of gem exclusively Ameri-
can is the "hiddenite" of North Carolina
1t was first obtained accidentally in min
ing for ereralds, but digging disclosed N
in veins of the rocks. The CRYSTALS are
very transparent and lustrous. Gems have
been cut from them up to 1-2 carats in
weight. Such a stone was sold for 500
while many Others have brought in the
market from $40 to 500 a carat About
5000 worth of them have been taken out
up to date. When first introduced they had
considerable sale because of their novelty
and from the newspaper notoriety which
they gained through a controversy as TO
their true discoverer
Jersey Gems.
precious stones-notably "spinels, of smoky
ue,velvety green and dark claret tints.
weinghing about 2 carats each. Quite a
mystery exists respecting a mine of these
gems supposed to exist somewhere between
Monroe and Southheld. Orange county, NY.
III was known to only two persons both of
whom are now dead. From 1852 to lssS
they secretly worked the place on moon
nght nights, getting out many crystals of
great size From the sale OF these speci-
mems they realized only $1,000 though
many hne ones were ruined in blasting and
breaking them out.
Since their death all trace of the location
mas been lost. In the sands of Arizona and
New Mexico and also at Ison's Mills. FL
mott county, KY. small olive green grains
OF peridot occur In the west they are
eaiied jobs tears" About 5000 worth of
them have been cut into gems.
The notion of obtaining gems from mo-
teorites seems extraordinary, yet a few of
these celestial messengers have been found
70 contain Divine in crystals or masses
scattered through iron. Some of the crys-
tails have been fine enough to furnish good
stones for cutting. One meteorite picked
up In kiowa county, Kan, yielded a num-
per OF pretty crystals of bright yellow
Divine. which were broken out leaving
casts OF their shapes in the iron. Another
from Carroll county, KY, consisted largely
Iy.
Quartz Crystal.
Some wonderful deposits of quartz crys-
tails have been found In various parts of
the United States. One such crystal from
North Carolina weighed 2s5 pounds, being
70 inches long, Is inches wide and - inches
thick. Another specimen weighed lss
pounds In Herkimer county, New York,
ana adjacent regions, large cavities in the
rocks are discovered, filled With remark
ABLY perfect ana brilliant crystals OF this
exquisite material. Both natural and cut
stones are mounted in jewelry and sold to
tourists under the name of Lake George
diamonds. In the neighborhood of Hot
Springs, Ark, veins of quartz crystal are
mined by the farmers, who bring them 10
Hot Springs and sell them TO local dealers
and tourists. At least $4,000 worth are
thus annually disposed of, to be taken away
as mementoes. Great quantities of glass
diamonds are sold to the unwary as cut
rock crystals.
Quartz Pebbles.
All along the Atlantic coast transnaren
pebbles are found in the sand Visitors
supposing them to be valuable, take them
for cutting to local lapidaries The latter
substitute for them foreign cut Quartz
topaz, moonstone from Ceylon and even
glass, throwing away the worthless orig
lnals. Many thousands of dollars worth
OF such stones are disposed of annuallv
Quartz pebbles are cut into gems and seals
to be sold as having come from the Vicinity
cutting is done abroad on so Large a scale
and by labor SO poorly paid that the cur
stones can be delivered in this country al
one-tenth of the price of cutting here In
the west many dealers sell so-called Rocky
mountain gems. which are glass imita-
tons usually. The same is true of an the
plue moonstones and various other gems"
marketed at the Chicago fair
Amethysts are found at Stow. Me. whore
there is a vein OF amethyst ouartz
which has been traced fully a quarter of a
mile, and has furnished thousands of crys-
tails during the last twenty years. A few
have been of some value. Among those ding
out In 1885 was a mass that yielded n yern
weighing twenty-five carats and having the
dark purple colo- of the Siberian amethyst
Crystals of amethyst have been obtained in
many other parts of the country-par ticu-
iarly fine ones in North Carolina and bella
ware Perhaps the most unique gem In the
National Museum here is an amethyst of a
turtle shape, found at Webster n q II
bears marks of the handiwork of primitive
man. Amethysts occur in the United States
under the same conditions and in the same