New Britain herald., 1923-01-12
LARGE TOPAZ FOUND
 IN BRAZILIAN STATE.
Dr. Harrington Returns Prom frlp
 With Stone of Five Pounds

Chicago, Jan, ls.-(By the Assa
 ealed Pressl.-A topaz weighing hE,
 pounds remarkable moi only for i,l
 size but for ss eleaFness, is among
 the specimens brought hack to chiear
 so by Dr. Oliver C, FaFFington, eur
 aler or the department Of geology oi
 Field Museum. who has just returned
 from an expedition 10 Rrazil,
 The expedition traveled 5000 miles
 through the diamond, gold and
 precious stone fields Of the South
 American republic. covering more
 than 800 miles through the noun.
 tains of the state or Minas derais on
 mnle-baek.
 The specimens obtained Include gold. diamonds, aquamarines. baryis, emenalds and iopages, besides a num-
 ber Of minerals Of the rare earths Among the specimens Dr,fafringt0a believes he has one or two minerals hitherto nnknown to science.
 The big five pound topaz Is one of large number Of enormous semi- precious stones obtained by the scien- lists, but In point Of size is an infant compared to twenty-six pound topaz which they saw at one of the mines. The giant stone was valued al about SIS n pound. Cut up and polished a first grade topaz in worth from sb to sl0 a carat.
 Diamond mines were visited in the region Of Diamantina, 500 miles north Of Rio. in the center Of vast dia- mond bearing area. The stones can be successfully mined only in the neigh borhood of water for washing the coarse earth away. The diamonds are found in beds totally different from those in South Africa. the matsix be- ing n quartzite composed of sands washed from older lands.
 The semi-precious stones in the state Of Minas Gerais are found in coarse granites or pegmatites so de- composed that the gems can be mined | with a shovel.
 The expedition visited the Morro | Nelho gold mine. which is the deepest mining shaft on earth. It's lowest level | Is 1000 feet below the surface. At this great depth the temperature of | the rock is IT degrees Fahrenheit. making 1t necessary to maintain an | elaborate refrigeration plant on the | surface to force cold air down to the miners. The deeper the shaft goes, however. the richer the ore found so he additional cost of mining is more han offset by the returns.
 Iron ore of the finest quality for tee manufacture is so common dn his district. according to Dr. Earring on. that his party rode for day after lay over the mountains, valleys and 'lains of solid iron deposits. Mangan- SC, aluminium and other valuable res were also found in abundance.
 The Brazilians of the interior were lmost uniformly friendly, and willing 0 give every assistance to the scien- ists, Dr. Harrington reported, except T one town where he was nearly mob- ed when a rumor spread that he in- snded to buy gold mine which was ) be sold at auction. The natives bjected to a foreigner obtaining the line and spent most of the night in demonstration in front of the house < here he was staying, shooting, ex- loding dynamite, cartridges, singing nd shouting derisively.
 American automobiles, typewriters, wing machines and other mechani- Il appliances were very common in = le interior, however, and American s ovies enjoy almost a monopoly he = id. Even the remote villages have eir cinema theaters,. where the screen favorites are shown. 'ild west films were the most popu- r. +.