STONKS. 



645 



eye also brought into demand tin- rare mineral 

 rrocidolite li'i'in Orange river, South Africa, 

 more especially the \anely that has lieen altered 

 toquart/ cal's-eye. lii tliis stone an infiltration 

 of siliceous material coated each fiber with quartz 

 or chalcedony, giving it the haidnoss of seven. 

 This pleasing stone readily sold for $6 a carat, 

 but owing to excessive competition the price fell 

 to 25 cents a pound in quantity. Table tops 

 have been made of this material by veneering, 

 also vases, cane heads, paper weights, seals, 

 charms, and similar articles. Burning it pro- 

 duced a bronzelike luster, and by dissolving out 

 the brown coloring an almost white substance 

 was obtained, which was dyed by allowing it to 

 absorb red, green, and brown solutions. 



American Gems. The handsomest and cheap- 

 est of our ornamental stones, %nd one that has 

 been introduced extensively, is the so-called 

 Mexican onyx, or Tecali, as it was first called 

 from that town, in the State of Pueblo, Mexico, 

 where it occurs. The deep colors are richer than 

 those of any marble known, and its wavy, stalag- 

 mitic structure and the high polish it takes made 

 it popular throughout the world. With a metal 

 mounting the effect is greatly enhanced. It oc- 

 curs in almost unlimited quantities, and it has 

 been largely used in the United States for table 

 tops, mantels, and vases. The existence in Ari- 

 zona of agatized and jasperized woods richer in 

 color than any thus far discovered was known 

 for many years, but general attention was first 

 called to them by an exhibit at the New Orleans 

 Exposition. This deposit is 8 miles south of 

 Corriza, a station on the Atlantic and Pacific 

 Railroad, 24 miles southeast of Holbrook, and 



has been appropriately named Chalcedony Park. 

 the trees were originally 200 feet in 



of 



length, and many of them are broken into uni- 

 form sections, resembling a pile of car wheels in 

 appearance, varying in diameter from a few 

 inches to eight feet. The fracturing was evi- 

 dently the result of weathering. The colors pre- 

 sent various shades of yellow, red, brown, and 

 white, sometimes in spots, giving a mottled ap- 

 pearance and again all blending to produce a 

 more pleasing and harmonious effect than the 

 decided banding of agate. The original structure 

 is in many instances preserved, but generally it 

 has been entirely replaced by the agate or jasper. 

 One of the wonders of this park is a silicified 

 tree, 100 feet in length and from 3 to 4 feet in 

 diameter, that spans a gulch 55 feet in width 

 and 45 feet in depth, forming a natural bridge 

 of agate, the gulch having been washed out 

 under the tree after its silicification. Although 

 this material occurs here in immense quantities, 

 only part of it is suitable for cutting. Very lit- 

 tle attention had been paid to cutting masses of 

 agate more than one foot in diameter, and when 

 this stone began to be utilized for ornamental 

 purposes the cutting seemed to present insur- 

 mountable difficulties. The Drake Company, of 

 St. Paul, Minn., solved the problem and erected 

 works at Sioux Palls. Dak., where they utilize 

 the water power, and have succeeded in cutting 

 and polishing sections of the material 3 feet 

 in diameter. To illustrate the hardness of the 

 material, it was found that the power used in 

 sawing sections 2 feet in diameter would saw 

 about 100 sections of Mexican onyx of the same 



si/c, r>0 sections of marble, and 10 of granite. 

 It is used for mantels, table tops, tiling, paper 

 weights, inkstands, and a variety of charms 

 and other objects similar to th.-,- made from 

 onyx. 



The turquoise occurring at Los Cerillos, New 

 Mexico, was worked by the natives before the ar- 

 rival of the Spaniards, who also mined there. It 

 is now cut by the Indians into fiat beads or other 

 ornaments, which are sold as charms. The color 

 is not good, but these green stones have been 

 artificially stained to a fair blue, and many of 

 them have been sold as fine turquoises. The 

 color has been tested with ammonia and found 

 to dissolve readily, whereas the color of the Per- 

 sian or the Egyptian turquoise is unaffected if 

 left in ammonia for twenty-four hours. William 

 P. Blake described a new locality of turquoise at 

 Turquoise Mountain, in Cochise County, Arizona. 

 The color is apple and pea green, exactly like 

 that of the New Mexican stone. There were large 

 piles of debris around the excavation, showing 

 that it was worked before the country was in- 

 habited by the Apaches. These turquoises, like 

 those of the New Mexican locality, have little 

 commercial value. Frank W. Clarke and Joseph 

 S. Diller, of the United States Geological Survey, 

 made a studv both chemically and microscopic- 

 ally of the N"ew Mexican turquoise, as well as the 

 trachyte in which it occurs, and found that, with 

 the exception of the very dark -green variety, the 

 series of analyses agreed with those of Persian 

 and Californian turquoises. V. von Zepharovich 

 and Gideon E. Moore described and analyzed a 

 turquoise from Taylor's Ranch, Fresno County, 

 Cal., which has replaced crystals of apatite. A. 

 deposit has been found in the Holy Cross Mining 

 District, Colorado. What may become of consid- 

 erable use as an ornamental stone is the jasper 

 found in Graham County, Kansas.which is banded 

 like onyx in red, yellow, brown, white, and other 

 colors. " Pieces 1 foot long and 6 to 8 inches 

 thick can be taken out. 



The small brilliant rutile crystals from Alex- 

 ander County, N. C., have furnished perfect black 

 specimens which approach the black diamond 

 more closely in appearance than any other known 

 gem. The well-known labradorite rock in Lewis 

 County, N. Y., is so plentiful that the reflection 

 of the bowlders has given the stream that runs 

 through the locality the name of Opalescent river. 

 It is extensively cut as an ornamental stone. At 

 Auburn. Me., hundreds of crystals of tourmaline 

 have been found. Some of these have been cut 

 into gems, though they do not rival those from 

 the more famous locality at Paris, Me. In color 

 they are generally light green, light blue, and 

 light red. The Mount Mica Mining Company 

 began operations at the famous tourmaline local- 

 ity near Paris, Me., in 1879. They continued for 

 three summers, and were rewarded by the dis- 

 covery of some of the finest green, blue, and 

 white' tourmaline that ever have been found. A 

 crystal of blue tourmaline measuring 9 inches 

 in length and a green tourmaline that measured 

 10 inches were among the most remarkable finds, 

 the proceeds of which altogether have amounted 

 to more than $5,000. 



Green beryls, blue and green sapphires, white 

 and bluish topaz, garnets, and zircons have been 

 found in New England and in New South Wales, 



