VARIETIES OF AGATE, ETC. 139 



Early in the present century the supply of agates began to fail, 

 and could only be obtained by mining, and that with great diffi- 

 culty and expense. The mines are not now worked, as better 

 agates can be obtained at a cheaper rate from South America and 

 other places. 



In 1827 two German agate-cutters, who had emigrated to 

 South America, observed that a courtyard at St. Leopoldo, in the 

 valley of the Uruguay, was paved with pebbles of agate, similar to 

 those they had been accustomed to work at Oberstein. They 

 collected a number of specimens from the drift in the bed of the 

 river Taquarie, and sent them to Oberstein, when, after being cut, 

 stained, and polished, they were pronounced to be of excellent 

 quality, and well adapted for general use, the carnelians being 

 especially good. Fresh supplies were sent for, and as they were 

 plentiful, large quantities were collected and sent over in ships as 

 ballast, at a trifling expense. This discovery gave a great impetus 

 to the agate industry, and the demand for agates increasing, the 

 landowners began to charge a royalty, the Governments of Brazil 

 and Uruguay put a tax on the exports, and the shipowners charged 

 for freightage. Consequently the cost of working was consider- 

 ably increased, but still there is a good demand for the stones, and 

 they constitute the principal source of supply for the agate indus- 

 tries of Europe. 



Agates are collected in the valleys of the tributaries of the 

 Uruguay, and sent down to various ports on the coast in waggons 

 drawn by mules or oxen ; and are generally shipped to Hamburgh, 

 Antwerp, or Havre, from Buenos-Ayres or Monte-Video ; and 

 ultimately to Oberstein, where they are sorted and sold by auction 

 in open market, or in the courtyard of one or other of the Inns. 

 This industry is carried on chiefly in the villages of Oberstein, 

 Idar, and Birkenfeld, and in numerous neighbouring hamlets in 

 the valley of the Nahe, and its various small tributaries which 

 supply the water to turn the numerous small mills at which the 

 agates are ground, cut, and polished. The little river or brook 

 Idarbach flows through Idar at the height of 1,012 feet above sea 

 level and Oberstein, near which it joins the Nahe at 905 feet. 

 The majority of the agate mills are situated in the valley between 

 the two towns, which are about two miles distant from one another. 



