The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-07-22
CRYSTALS AND GEMS.
Beauties That May BE Observed Through
q Magnifying Glass.

| Beauties That May BE Observed Through
. nIagnifying Glass
Sketching crystals is fine and delicate
work, requiring much study. a sharp
pointed, hard pencil and Il steady hand.
First OF all, having selected your nest
of crystals, it is we'll to study all the
books have to say about them. their
angles, cleavage planes, luSter, etc.
then take a large ore magnifyng glass
and examine them closely under it, An
unexpected world of beauty will thus
often be revealed. If the crystals are
in q little geode or cavity. such as is
common in the zeoite class in volcanic
rocks, YOU may see the fairy-like cav
ern lined with sparkling gems. from
which radiate tufts Of fine silken hairs
with big gem crystal set in the
| midst; sometimes the caye"nS contain
purple gems Of amethyst or fiuorspar.
You will observe crystals that nave
been stunted in their growth or mis-
shapen by the pressing against them
of other stronger growing crystals.
You may see fine Striae or parallel
lines or Indications of twinning OF
crystals; you will notice also the lines
of cleavage characteristic of certain
crystals and invisible to the naked eye,
also crystals that have been broken
and faulted and reccmented by min
eral matter.
Having thus thoroughly studied the
crystals. place them on u piece Of white
paper in strong light and shadow.
Draw the outlines clear and strong,
and the angles and faces of the crystal
sharply. Some crystals resemble one
another so closely. like certain forms
of calcite and quartz. that only by very
careful drawing can one be dlstln-
guished from the other. especially
without the use of color. In highly
colored ores and crystals some Deautl'
full realistic effects have been obtained
by o-lthography in colors, but
many ores and crystals have no dis-
tinctive colors; then you must rely on
form. Again, some forms Of crystals
are identical in form with others OF an
entirely different order and you may
have TO distinguish them by color.
Shading. especially in transparent crys'
tails. should be used sparingly, except
when the shadow is very pronounced,
or when the bases Of the crystals de-
scend into the dark depths and re-
cesses of the geode cavern. To bring
out distinctly the forms Of white OF
translucent crystals it may be we'll 10
shade a dark background back of
them.
Sometimes row of quart crystals
in the centre Of a vein is locked In
the embrace of IN opposite set, like
row of clenched teeth. Occasionally
these are beautifully tinted with anne
thystine purple. whilst back of them is
layer of milky white Opaline quartz,
agate or chalcedony. and back Of that
dense layer of red, yellow or varie-
gated jasper. In drawing crystals the
main point to be aimed at is their char
acteristic shape or grouping, so that
any one seeing the sketch may recog-
nize them as belonging to particular
family. When crystals are very small,
as in twin crystals Of twin, or in crys'
tails of telluride ores. it is legitimate
to magnify the crystal so as to bring
out its distinctive features. Some ores
form series of concentric rings, like
green malachite and blue azurite of
copper; they had better be represented
by theft natural vivid colors.-Mlnes
and Minerals.