Semi-weekly Windham County reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1897-1901, 1901-10-18
NATURES MISTAKES.
SOME THAT MEN CONSIDER TO BE OF
REMARKABLE VALUE.

HVr0uOxlCnl uS IL May appear, tHe
Perfection of n Precious stone Is
Largely Duc to Some Imperfection
In Its Milking by NATURE.
Paradoxical as it may appear, the
perfection of gem is largely due to
some imperfecton in its make. Some
little mistake made in the laboratory OF
nature produces n defective stone
which is perfection itself from the lap
lidary's point of view. Ninety-nlne out
OF every hundred emcralds dug from
the mine are almost white and of little
value, but the hundredth one Is OF a
rich velvety green and, If without 9TH
err flaws than its color, sells for $500
carat or 240 times as much as Its 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 us
the cook sometimes gets too much sal
cratus 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 when
half a grain of it gives to a cheap ana
common crystal
When nature makes mistakes in man
ufacturing diamonds, the results are
Ieoually remarkable. Her standard LOT
q diamond is Il pure white stone but
sometimes foreign substance gets INTO
the crucible, and the result Is Il req oI
blue diamond. A fine white brllliaht oi
one carat can be bought for $40, put
blue stone of that size would be cheap
Mt 81. 800. A red diamond is of even
greater value, red stone OF hlteeh
grains having been sold for $4,000. Aet
the little particle of foreign lnaterlai
which nature carcleSsly let fall into the
mixture when she was making that
stone down. in the heart of some prime
val volcano is of less value thah u
grain of common salt and only got
there by mistake.
Nature manufactures in her laborato-
nv a material called spineL You can
buy a block of spinel as large as you
can carry for n few dollars. sometimes
I'm making spnel small quantities ol
chronic acid get into the material ana
color it deep red. The pieces so cor
ored nature rejects as spoiled III inv
making and throws them III lhe u"st
hin from which men dig them out anu
call them rubes \ ruby of thirty-tWo
, corats recently sold for $4,000 Yet
the material of the cheap spinner anu
the valuable ruby are practcally 'ile
Same save fer that small fraction OF
, chronic acid which got into the ruby
, by mistake.
When nature starts out TO mahulae-
ture opals, she endeavors to make theh'
without any cracks in them. IN tlis
, she seldom succeeds, coming nearest ~
| nerfection in the Mexican opals, when
+. have few cracks In them and therefore
little luster The fiery glow OF the OH
= entail opal and the play of light IN the
+ denths of that exquisite stone are Que
= entirely to the numperless ci"Nn.
I which seam the surface OF the gem. ~
must give nature poor opinion Vi
mankind when she sees him selling INC
Nevican opals, which are nearly per
. foot for 70 cents carat and paying
= SO a carat for her failures, the cfaeheu
r fire opal of the east.
G. Not only in gems, but in many othei
4 +binrs does nature make mistakes ana
g foi,ures. the results of which are nigh
" valued by man. The chank Smell
+ shell much like the conch Shell OF THESE
A: shores. is one of the commonest sheiis
:, ON the beaches of India, ana mllllohs
OF them are gathered and burned 10Y
+. the lime that is in them. Yet III TEN
= nIe near Handy, Ceylon, are two chahR
shells which hold the place OF honor IL
r n shrine covered with gold, and DC
/ amount of money could buy them IRON
their guardian priests. Their 'aiu'
5 consists in the fact that nature was no.
II unite herself the morning she faprlcat
S ed these shells and gave a right manu-
cd twist to them instead of a left hand
l. cd one. such as has been given TO al
:. other chank shells, so lar as HAL
:; knows. since the beginning.
'. Baron Rothschild once paid s3oo
), dozen for some Schloss Johannisberf
wine ana IL Is duluillti 'h"''
|, everything into consideration, 1t was
n NOT an exorbitant price. Yet the WINE
l. of tbe same year from the vineyard Oil
z; rectly adjoining the Johannisbers vine
=: ward. on the same bank of the Kline
q a vineyard whose soil is, to all appear
5, ouces. the same, only brought %
dozen. And there is no special secre
Y about the manufacture of Johannlsbere
v wine or about the variety OF grape
u used Its great value comes from
}; little joke of nature. In the SOIL VI
the Johannisberg vineyard there Is al
Y infinitesimal amount of a certain SAL
Z which is found in the soil OF no othel
vineyard. The admixture is so Sign
h that no chemist has ever been able tt
IS initiate it, yet it is worth many thou
II sands a year to the owner OF the vine
yard.
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