70 QUEENSLAND GEMS 
spite of Royal patronage, as it was always a favourite 
with our late Queen. who invariably chose it for presents 
to her relatives. 
Biack Opau.—A variety of opal recently discovered 
is the black opal which has aptly been described by a New 
Zealand journalist who visited the Exhibition at Christ- 
church, and saw Messrs Flavelle, Roberts and Sankey’s 
exbibit of Queensland gems, as “it combines the 
iridescence of the dewdrop, with the color of the rainbow 
set in the blackness of night; it is a smothered mass of 
hidden fire.” 
QuaRTz.—The many varieties of Siliceous gem stones 
are all found in Queensland, and are very widely dis- 
tributed. 
Quartz crystallises in the hexagonal system, commonly 
as a six-sided prism, terminated with a six-sided pyramid 
and striated transversly. These crystals according to 
color are termed amethyst, cairngorm, rockcrystal, smoky 
quartz, and are all found at Stanthorpe, Bowen, Anakie, 
and many other places within the State. For other forms 
of silicious gem stones found in Queensland see list. 
All the crystalline varieties of silica occur in Queens- 
land, but unfortunately they are almost invariably ignored 
by miners in the search for gold, and so it is difficult to 
obtain good specimens ; some of those obtained have been 
cut, and produced very fine gems. 
CARNELIAN.—One of the forms of chalcedony. Car- 
nelian in all its forms, white, red, carnelian-agate, etc., 
are found from Humpybong to Cunningham’s Gap. from 
Mt. Lindsay to Cape York. 
SARD is the very clear orange to vermillion carnelian, 
and is largely used for gentlemen’s signet rings. When 
banded with white it is gardonyx, and is usually cut, 
showing two strata of the stone. 
AGatE.—In all its forms of banded agate, fortification- 
agate, carnelian agate, moss agate, eye agate, etc., etc., 
is found throughout the State, as indicated by the vast 
number of ‘‘ Agate Creeks ” in Queensland, and thousands 
of tons of the stones are obtainable. 
They all consist of crypto-crystalline silica. with 
coloring oxides, and generally with centres of crystalline 
quartz. 
