The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-02-04
JET IS COMING M
What 1t Is, Where 1t Is Found, and
How 1t Is Worn,

On the old principle that 1t is an I'LL
wind which blows, no one any good. this
season, we are told, is likely to benefit
the jet industry. The material had never
quite gone out Of wear, though for some
time 1T has been out of fashion. Brightly
|, tinted dresses are little in demand at
present, SO tHats the corresponding gems
have been relegaTed to the level box
Indeed, mourning garb will admit of
hardly any ornament but Jet At one
time Jet, or some imitation, had SO far
declined In popularity as to be a symbol
of the faded responsibility which has
known better days" Now 1t Is to have
IT'S turn again. Though 1t takes bright
polish, it. cannot be called beautiful but
that is not the aim. of mournfng-few
things were uglier than the old-fashioned
widows cap, which among Australian
natives is represented by a mass of
plaster of paris nodded on the head, and
left there TIL it drops off through lapse
of time. Jet Is no modern material.
The Romans were acquainted with 1t,
as Pltny tells us that its name, gagates,
was derived from the River Gagas, in
Syria, where the material was found.
That was shortened to gagat, as the Ger
mans still call 1T, and finally to Jet. But
1t was known in this country before ever
the Romans landed in Kent: jet beads,
rings, buttons, and other personal orna-
ments have been found in barrows of the
Bronze, Age. as may be seen in York
shire museums. In these Instances the
material probably was obtained from the
coast near Whftby, this and the adjacent
district being still the principal source for
Jet in Britain. 1t Is occasionally washed
up on the seashore like amber on the
Cromer~ coast, but Is only got in any
quantity by mining. Some of the best.
as. Drayton wrote long ago, has been
found on the Mulgrave estate. 1t occurs
at two horizons, one In the Estuarine
beds of the Lower Oolite, which, how
ever, is generally too soft to be of any
commercial value, and the other In the
Has. rather above the middle division.
Here the best or hard jet" Is obtained.
but the softer kind is also associated
with 1t.
The excavations are opened sometimes
In the cliffs. sometimes inland; and the
materfal-whfch commonly occurs In
bands of a more OF less lenticular form
after being dug out, Is cut or ground
into shape, and polished on nst-covered
wheels. What may be the origin of jet
Is not so certain. probably 1t has more
than one; but IL So all varieties are like
ly to have much in common. 1t Is
bituminous substance, for it burns with
inhammable gas and small drops of
liquid bitumen occasionally show them
selves in the mirTes. Thus 1t may some
times be closely related to such SUBJ
stances as amber, or Kaurf gum; indeed.
1t sometimes passes by the name of black
amber The &slfale itself, when highly
bituminous. 5nay, furnish some varieties
of jet. because 1t is occasionally found to
contain scales -of-fish and ether fossils.
That would, no doubt, be the case with
many of the inferior varieties, and then
1t would have SOME relationship to camel
coal. which is the most in!fammabIe OF
fuels, getting it's name camel or candle
coal, from its easy ignition and bright
fame
This may be described as petrf6ed vege-
table pulp, and, very likely some jet has
had a rather similar origin But good
deal, at any rate, OF what has been ex-
amtned under the microscope shows dis
tinct traces OLA structure characteristic
of wood Jet would, therefore, take it's
place among the ffgnites or ebrow't
Goals" which represent an intermediate
stage In the conversion Of vegetable mat
ter into coal, retaining much more of the
original oxygen than the latter. Ignite;
is common sfno m ore thana one geological
deposit and 5efeen,7 In those later than
the las, in Germany and other countries.
Is worked for fuel ass for example, sat
Bovey Tracey, in Devonshire But the
erkshire owners, If jeteones into fash
ion, will hardly be able to- make
corner" in 1t, for a very good quality
can be got in Spain from the Province of
the Asturias. and from France In the
department of the AuGe, not to mention
other places Ebonite has sometimes
served as a substitute for jet, Art hav-
ing stepped in once more to supply tbs
deficiencies of nature.