The times., 1901-04-21

| Navahoe reservation. where the Indians
| collect them in large quantities from the
ant hills which are numerous there. The
ant does all the hard work for the In
dians In building their homes. or hills,
the ants run across these garnets as peb-
blas which obstruct their galleries ana
passageways. They then proceed to dig
them out from the softer rock around
them and bring them TO the surface, where
they are dumped out on the hill The
NavahOe Indians find mem and pick them
up. The New Mexico garnets, as well as
those from Arizona and Colorado, are
found loose in the sand.
North Carolina produces very fine gar
nets one that is especially noticeable is
the new gem garnet. known as the 'Rhod-
alite" which has fine almandine red ana
is characterized by considerable fire.
These garnets were mined extensively
during the past year. About $l2,0V worth
have Been found. The color of the gem
is not constant. and is. therefore, no crl-
terion for the jewel which may be deep
red, or purpiish red stone. These gems
vary in color from black through red 10
several shades of brown, orange-red. yel-
low. emerald-green, pink, and nearly
white.
TURQUOISE ON THE LIST.
The turquoise has been known from
time immemoriaI in the United States,
the principal sources at present being at
Los Cerillos, N NJ, and Turquoise Noun
tain, Cochise County. Arizona. The tur-
ouoise at Los Cerillos occurs in thin
veins or concretions in the kaolin-like
rock and frequently affords stones equal
ing in color those from Persia. These
workings are very old and were mined so
extensively by the ancient Mexicans that
the debris of former workings covers over
forty acres of surface The mineral from
these localities varies in color from a
fine sky blue through robin's-egg blue, to
blush and apple green, showing no blue
hot 'ln.a oil az hF
whatever source is liable to change and
no guarantee can be given for it's staDll-
ity The owner of a turquoise, therefore,
should be careful in cleaning the stone,
and under no conditions should the gem
be washed with soap and water. The
hands should not be washed with the
ring on, if the color is to be retained In its
original purity. Some idea of the amount
Of turquoise mining in the United States
may be had from the fact that the pro-
duction averages about $4,000 a year.
ANOTHER PRECIOUS PRODUCT.
The topaz as a gem occurs in Connecti-
cut, Maine, New Hampshire, Utah, and
Colorado 1t is most abundant in Millard
County. Utah. and Pixies Peak, Colorado.
The color of the Pixies Peak topaz in
cludes wine yellow, sherry red aqua ma
rine, blue, and colorless. In the National
Museum is a ffteeE. carat cinnamon
tinted stone, which is superior in bril-
from Brazil. Pink topaz, as such, is rarely
found in nature, but il can be tinted arti-
ficialfy by carefully heating the wine yell
low stones. Those from Brazil are COM
monty so treated. x
The pearl occurs in abundance in the
United States They are found in the
fresh-water mussels Of the Mississippi,
Missouri, Ohio, and Cumberland Rivers,
and in the lakes and ponds of the Central
States. The color includes all the shades
of the rainbow. Some are light green,
rose color blue, pink. yellow, and salmon
| color, also iridesceut. Large and valu-
! able pearls have been found in the United
| States. A green pearl found near Pater-
! son, n. J., sold to Empress Eugene
| of France, by Tiffany & Co. for s2, 500
| Today it is worth s1000e. 1t is a large
| green iridescent gem. Single pearls
| ranging in price from $50 to $780, quite
common, and the value of the total out
| put for any one year averages $1,000.
Among the little known or less usual
/ gems found in the United States is the
'Hiddenite," or lithia emerald. 1t is q
/ fine, lively grass green stone, superior tC
/ the emerald in beatty 1t ranks among
! the more expensive American gems, the
/ usual market price being s35 to $40 carat
| 1t is found in North Carolina.