The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-11-28
FINE EMERALDS

The National Museum has fine collection of emeralds-one of the most valuable of precious stones. It includes some 40 specimens of both cut and uncut stones. Neurological ly the emerald, together with aqua marine, goshenite, davidsonite and inorganic, is variety of bery1, a mineral species which crystalizes in six-sided prisms varying from beauti- full green through light blue, yellow and white to rose color.
 The emerald is rich green in. color, but otherwise similar in hardness and physical properties to the other forms. Compared with most gems, however, it is soft, being only slight ly harder than quartz.
 Unfortunately, it is seldom free from flaws, and were this not the case an emerald would be of greater value, carat for carat, than the dia- mond. To-day a good diamond is wiorth about $250 to $400 per carat according to it's purity and size, while an emerald varies from $350 to $500, increasing very rapidly with size.
 Flawless emeralds weighing more than four carats are among the rarest of jewels; a perfect stone of four car- ats being practically priceless, where as a diamond would only bring from $1, 900 to $2,00O. The great demand and restricted supply of emeralds to- gether with the fact that they are very hard to initiate, have forced their cost to night which puts large stones of good quality. beyond the reach of all but the very wealthy
 In writing of precious stones P1iny ic said fO haUa rQpnarkod onnoorninr emeralds, "there is not a. color more pleasing to the eye," and he was ac- quainted with only the comparatively inferior stones from Egypt and per- haps the Ural Mountains. It is prob able that all the emeralds of the an- cients came from the so-called Cleo patra emerald mines in Upper Egypt, worked as early as 1850 B. C., aban- doned and lost sight of during the Middle Ages, but rediscovered early in the 18th century, when only cloudy stones of a light color were obtained Unlike some green stones the emer- aid retains it's color when heated and when subjected to artificial light, and in this connection Pliny is quoted as saying that neither sun nor shade, nor yet the. light of a candle caused change in it's color or luster. It was supposed, in ancient times, to be good for the eyes.
 Pliny also remarks "There is not a gem or precious stone that so fully possesseth the eye, and yet never con- tenteth it with satiety.. Nay, if the sight has been wear1ed and dimmed by intensive boring upon anything else, the beholding of this stone doth refresh and restore 1t again." While beneficial to human eyes, it was be- lieved to be fatal to the eyesight of serpents, in the words of the poet Moore: Blinded like serpents when they gaze upon the emerald's virgin blaze."
 Many virtues were once ascribed to this stone. When worn it was held to be a preservative against epilepsy and other ailments. It was also valu- ed as a charm against evil spirits; while taken internally it was claimed to have great medicinal value.
 The crystals are simple in form merely hexagonial prisms attached at one end to the matrix, with usually a fiat face at right angles to it's axis on the other end. They are invariably fawed, so much so that "a f1awless emerald" has become a proverbial expression for unattainable perfec-. tion.
 The largest single crystal, said to weigh 9 3-4 ounces is in the posses sion of the Duke of Devonshire, but