Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1901-11-07
NATURES MISTAKES.
SOME THAT MEN CONSIDER TO be OF
REMARKABLE VALUE.

Perfection of n Prsciou. stone IL
Largely Due Co soms impsrfectioa
In Its Making By Nature.
Paradoxlcal as II may appear, the
( perfection OF a gem is largely due to
some impcrfectlon in its make. Some
little mistake made In the laboratory OF
nature produces defective stone
which is perfection itself from the lap
idary's point u view. Ninety-nine out
OF every hundred emeralds dug from
the mine are almost white and OF little
value, but the hundredth one Is OF
rich yelyety green and. II without 9TH
or flaws than its color. sells for $500
carat or 2l0 times as much as It's col
orless brother. The reason OF the rich
color which gives the emerald Its value
is that nature. IN making the stone. put
/ In too much oxide Of chromium. just as
the cook sometimes gets too much sal
eratus In the biscuits The standard OF
perfection IN the laboratory OF nature
Is the colOrless emerald, and her deep
green ones are some Of her failures:
failures which. nevertheless, delight
mankind. however much they may dis
gust nature. You could buy ton OF
oxide OF chromium for the price which
half grain Of Il gives 10 a cheap and
common crystal.
When nature makes mistakes In man
ufacturing diamonds. the results are
equally remarkable. Her standard for
a diamond Is a pure white stone. but
sometimes a foreign substance gets into
the crucible. and the result Is red or
blue diamond. 4 fine white brilliant OF
one carat can be bought for SIPS, but
blue stone OF that size would be cheap
ut $500. A red diamond Is OF even
greater value. a red stone of fifteen
grains having been sold for 5000. Yet
/ the little particle Of foreign material
which nature carclcssly let fall into the
mixture when she was making that
stone down in the heart Of some prime
val volcano is Of less value than
grain OF common salt and only got
there by mistake.
Nature manufactures In her laborato-
~ n material called spineL You can
buy a block Of spinel as large as you
can carry for few dollars. Sometimes
I'm making splnel small quantities. OF
chronic acid get into the material aud
color Il deep red. The pieces 30 col
ored nature rejects as spoiled III She
making aud throws them In the dust
bin. from which men dig them out and
call them runies. A ruby OF thirty-two
carats recently sold for $4,000. Yet
the material Of the cheap spinel and
the valuable ruby are practically the
same. save for that small fraction of
chronic acid which got into the ruby
by mistake.
When nature starts out 20 manufac-
ture opals. she endeavors 10 make them
without any cracks In them. In this
she seldom succeeds. coming nearest TO
perfection In the Mexican opals, which
have rev cracks In them and therefore
little mster. The fiery glow OF the ORR
entail opal and the play OF Hight Ia the
depths Of that exquisite stone are due
entirely 10 the numberless cracks
which seam the surface OF the gem. IL
must give nature a poor opinion OF
mankind when she sees him selling the
Mexican opals. which are nearly per-
feet. for II cents n carat aud paying
S2J a carat for her failures, the cracked
fire opal OF the east.
Not only In gems. but In many other
things. does nature make mistakes and
failures. the results OF which are high
I Is valued by man The chnnk SHE'LL
shell mucn like the conch shell OF these
shores. 10 one OF the cOmmonest shells
on the beaches Of India. aud millions
OF them are gathered and burned for
the lime that Is In them. Yet In tenn
pie near Randy. Ceylon, are two chank
shells when hold the place Of honor In
n shrine covered with gold, and no
amount OF money could buy them from
their guardian priests. Their value
consists In the fact that nature was not
quite herself the morning she fabricat-
ed these shells and gave right hand
ed twist 20 them instead OF left hand
ed one. such n has been given 10 all
other chank smells. so far as man
knows. since the beginning.
Baron Rothschid once paid $500 a
dozen FOR some SchlOss Johannisberg
wine. and Il Is admitted that, taking
everything into consideration, II was
not an exorbitant price. Yet the wine
OF the same year from the vineyard d.
rectly adjoining the Johannisberg vine
yard, on the same bank OF the Rhine.
vineyard whose soil Is. TO all appear.
ances. the same. only brought -
dozen. And there Is no special secret
about the manufacture Of Johannisberg
wine or about the variety Of grape
used. Its great value comes from
little Joke OF nature. In the soil OF
the JohRnnisberg vineyard there Is an
lnfnitesimal amount of certain salt
which is found IN the soil OF no other
vineyard. The admlxture Is 80 slight
that no chemist has ever been able TO
initiate Ii. yet II II worth many thou
sands a year 10 the owner Of the vine
yard.