Practical Remarks o?i Gems. 65 



large centre of brown crystal encircled with aquamarines set 

 transparent, or without a back, has a very pleasing effect. 



6. Garnet Precious, (Carbimcle, Almafidine, Vermilion, Py- 

 Tope, Sj^c.) This is of a rich blood red or crimson color, with 

 sometimes a shade of brown or mixture of bluish yellow; this 

 kind is called by the lapidary, vinegar garnet. It is more trans- 

 parent than the rest and a much better foil stone. All of them, 

 however, are inconstantdemandfor jewelry of all kinds, and justly 

 so, it being a rich and beautiful stone, and always looks well un- 

 der evevy form. This stone is found abundantly in the neighbor- 

 hood of West Chester, and is one of those upon which very ex- 

 cellent engravings have been executed. 



7. Chalcedony. There are more varieties perhaps of this than 

 any other stone known ; the most common is called white car- 

 nelian. In some parts of New York and Pennsylvania it is 

 very abundant, and some specimens of it are very choice The 

 pieces I have had polished are very beautiful, differing from any 

 1 have hitherto seen, being mottled or clouded with buff, brown, 

 and black, on a semi-transparent ground. This stone is mention- 

 ed in Scripture, and was in higher esteem formerly than at the 

 present time. It is put to a variety of uses, being sometimes cut 

 up for burnishers, letter weights, bell pulls, mortars, umbrella, 

 cane, knife, dirk, and parasol handles ; also for snuff boxes, seals, 

 pins, ifcc. It has also been frequently employed for engraving 

 or cutting bas reliefs. " 



8. Jasper has some resemblance to chalcedony, having a simi- 

 lar hardness and taking an equal polish, and is perhaps only a vari- 

 ety of the above ; at any rate they are frequently, if not generally, 

 found together or passing into each other, rendering it difficult to 

 know where the one ends and the other begins. There is how- 

 ever one important distinction that must not be overlooked ; chal- 

 cedony is generally translucent and rarely quite opake, whereas 

 jasper is never translucent, but always opake, for it contains a 

 large proportion of iron which forms its coloring matter. It is 

 cut up into very handsome pin and seal stones resembling to a de- 

 gree the Scotch and Egyptian pebbles. ■ This stone also is spoken 

 of in holy writ. I have some very good specimens of jasper 

 which I found at Hoboken, N. J. — they take a high polish. 



9. Corundum. This mineral being essentially the same as 

 emery, is used by cabinet makers and others as a substitute for 



Vol. XXXVIII, No. 1.— Cct.-Dcc. 1839. 9 



