The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1912-09-29
REMEDIES IN PRECIOUS STONES
Diamonds ms Tonic; Turquoise for
Brain Troubles.


From Pearscn's Weekiy.
When Edwin asks ANGELA what stone
shall be set in her engagement ring
there generally follows q discussion as
to which is the lady's lucky stone.
II Edwin Is a superior" young man
he will perhaps laugh Ito himself at his
swesthearts superstition But. as a mat
ter of fact, science indorses a great deal
Of what used to be considered super
st.tion regarding precious stones and
Enthusiastically the belief that some
CT them possess healing properties
Many famous physicians, among whom
may be mentioned Hahnemann (the foun-
der of homeopathic medicine). have rec
ognized the healing value of gold. The
old fashioned remedy of moistening a
gold ring and rubbing It on the eye to
heal a stye is perfectly reasonable.
Doctors to-day will inject a solution of
gold for the treatment Of certain kinds
Of otherwise incurable ulcers. Many
cases Of remarkable success have result
ed. And the curative power Of gold can
be seen from the fact that the amount
OF pure gold required in the solution Is
only ! per cent.
The influence of certain inanimate OBJ
j-cts on human beings is fully accepted
by science and research Is constantly
extending the field. Thus the belief.
very common a hundred years ago. that
diamonds act as a sort Of tonic to the
wearer Is at least scientifically plaus-
ible, for the diamond is known TO consist
OF herbs and vegetables concentrated by
volcanic action and carbonized by the
action OF the sun-or. in unscientific Ian
guage, a diamond is simply a form of
bottled sunshine" the preventative"
used being vegetable and electricity.
IL Ia rharafnFa nv
able to suppose that worn around the
neck OF a society lady a diamond neck
lace may help to stimulate the wearer
when debilitated by the exactions of
q London season.
The sapphire, the ruby and the Orient
al amethyst though differing in out
ward appearance. are all made up Of the
same constituents, chief Of which is
aluminium oxide-a tonic very frequently
prescribed In one form or another by
the modern doctor.
The turquoise consists chiefly Of phos-
pilates and for this reason may well
stimulate the brain power Of its wearer.
Amber has long been thought to
possess antisepetic properties and to pro-
tect its owner from such milder bacterial
complaints as sore throat, whooping
cough. and so forth. or course its
powers in this direction have probably
been greatly exaggerated. But that the
belief rests on a sound foundation is
seen in the fact that amber is COM
posed largely OF sulphur.
Ladies' who have an anaemic tendency
should choose rubies. For this stone con-
tains the metallic oxides of iron, copper
and chronium-the first OF which they
pi obably take regularly after meals
by order of the doctor. The same Is
true OF the garnet.
But very little can be said in favor of
the opal. II possesses no healing prop
critics and has many disadvantages.
When bright II consists of . TO 10 per
cent OF water. which will often evaporate
and leave the stone dull; for this reason.
too. the opal is likely to burst II 1t
happens to become heated.
A few centuries ago the ''apothe-
carries would regularly prescribe the
various precious stones TO be taken in
trrnalIy in the form of a powder. Pearls
were especially popular in this respect.
being used not only for many stomachic
disorders resulting from overeating, but
also by ladies in the hope Of making their
skin pearly white. However. as the dose
was invariably a small one fatalities
rarely resulted.