The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1915-05-20

beryls and topaz; rom Greenwood are
obtained tourmalnes, smoky quartz and
apatite; aquamarines are found at
Stoneham, while other districts produce
golden beryl, rose quartz, garnets and
royal ametbysts. In all. over fifty va
rieties of gems are found in the region.
In many places the gems are found in
! feldspar mines; in other localities they
are found in isolated lodges; in still other
spots the granite is blasted away to dis
close the hidden treasures, but only in
, one or two localities are they regularly
| mined.
MT. MICA, A TREASURE VAULT.
The most famous of all the gem mines
! is Mount Mica. about five miles from
| Norway, and easily reached by automo-
| bile over good road through South Par
| is, and any tourist who visits Norway and
fails to travel TO Mount Mica misses an
F., experience which cam OF be duplicated
| anywhere else in America. Anyone may
| visit this interesting ard wonderful spot
| and visitors are permitted to search free
| ly through the waste material and tail
! lngs" for stray gems or specimens and
not few beautiful and valuable crystals
have been discovered in this manner
Approaching the mine from the road
one sees low, rounded hill, topped with
pile of broken, ragged granite, above
which towers wooden derrick. 1t looks
little like mine, but far more like some
abandoned quarry with its rural setting
of scrubby apple trees and BURBERRY
bushes and its background of whispering
pines.
Reaching the edge of the miEe and
looking down, one sees a deep, irregular
pit some thirty feet in depth with pools
of water here and there in the deepest
depressions, the entire excavation occu-
plying perhaps an acre of ground.
FORTUNES IN LOOSE FRAGMENTS.
There Is nothing interesting, attrac-
tive or unusual about the appearance of
the mine, but scramble down to the bot
tom and dig few moments in the loose,
broken rock and sand and Immediately
one becomes imbued with the excitement
and spirit of treasure hunting Every
where one comes upon tiny fragments of
cleaning crystals of pink, green, blue or
yellow and az once becomes confident
that with a little perseverance and care
some magnificent gem will be uncovered
which has been overlooked by the min
ers. The thrill of treasure trove is upon
one.
Interesting as are the Maine gems and
the Mount Mica mine, OF even greater
interest is the owner of the mine, Mr.. L.
B. Merrill, and fortunate is the visitor
who meets him and is permitted to view
his unrivalled collection of stones and
gems, to listen to his accounts of his ex-
periences at the D1ine and watch him as
he cuts and polishes the rough crystals |
and transforms them into jewels of mar
velous brilliancy and value. 1t is an ed
ucation in itself.
He is man of marvellous ingenuity
and invented and built the delicate, &C.
curate machine with which he cuts and |
polishes the stones, and, in fact, nearly all
the Maine lapidists use machines which |!
were designed and built by this living ex-
ample of Yankee ingenuity. Think of
it: This quiet Maine farmer inventing !
and constructing delicate gem-cutting
machine and then teaching himself and |
his friends to cut and polish stones so
perfectly that they are unexcelled by the /
finest products Of world-famous Jewell |
ers.
THE FINEST COLLECTION OF GEMS FROM |
THE STATE OF MAINE.
Mr.. Merrill's collection of cut and un-
WV SsohSo 40 oAhPiy AAoS FSlouo anu Is De-
yond a doubt the finest collection of
Maine gems and precious stones in the
world. Words cannot describe the won
derful colors, the Drilliancy and the
splendor of this unrivaled display of jew.
els. 1t is we'll worth going many miles
to see. Siberia is famous for its royal |!
amethysts, Ceylon is known throughout |
the world for its sapphires and India is
almost synonomous with rubies, emer-
aids and a wealth of precious jewels.
But Siberian amethysts pale into ipsig-
nificance beside the deep, rich beauty Of |
those from Maine. The wonderful elu-
sive blue of her aquamarines challenge |
comparison with any sapphire. Her gar
nets glow with all the blood-red hue of |
Oriental rubies and more beautiful than |
emeralds are her limpid beryls and my
riad.tinted tourmalines-th wonderful |
gems that are torn from the heart of her |
granite hills.
We are sounding the slogan 'See
America, First. LET us bear in mind that |