320 Commercial Consideration of Emery. 



the early part of 1847, for the purpose of examining the 

 supposed locality of this mineral. On this second visit other 

 localities were made known to me, that an English merchant 

 of the name of Healy had succeeded in bringing to light.'* 



" The first locality," says Mr Smith, " towards which I di- 

 rected my examination was that of Gumuch-dagh, a moun- 

 tain about twelve miles from the ruins of Ephesus." Since 

 the first discovery, other localities have been ascertained by 

 Mr Smith in Asia Minor, and also in the Island of Nicaria, 

 in the Grecian Archipelago. Emery has been longknow^n at 

 Ochsenkopf, in Saxony. 



Geognostical position of Emery. — The emery of Saxony occurs 

 disseminated in talc-slate. In the districts in Asia Minor exa- 

 mined by Mr Smith, it occurs disseminated and in masses many 

 tons in weight in a marble overlying mica slate, gneiss, &c. 

 The emery appears to be. of a contemporaneous formation 

 with the marble. From the great extent of country through 

 which this marble emery extends, it is possible we may hear 

 of an emery-marble as a distinct formation. 



Commercial consideration of Emery. — The use of emery in 

 the arts is of very ancient date, a fact proved by works 

 on hard stones that could not have been executed except by 

 emery or minerals of that nature. It is very probable that 

 emery from the localities which have been mentioned, was 

 used in former ages by the Greeks and Romans. For 

 example, the locality of Gumuch-dagh is immediately by the 

 ancient Magnesia on the Meandre, and between Ephesus and 

 Tralles, twelve miles from each of these cities, and the same 

 distance from Tyria : in all of these cities the arts flourished, 

 and none more than that of cutting hard stones, if we are 

 allowed to judge from the specimens of their skill in this art 

 that have come down to us. 



Nevertheless, the quantity of emery formerly employed 

 was insignificant in comparison to the quantity now required, 

 more particularly within the last twenty years, since the use 

 of plate-glass has been extended. The annual consumption 

 at the present time is dihowi fifteen hundred tons. 



For various reasons, the island of Naxos furnished for 

 several centuries almost exclusively the emery used in the 



