Practical Remarks on Gems. 67 



14. Beryl, is in our times but little esteemed for jewelry ; it is 

 of a very faulty or feathery nature, of a whitish, bluish, and yel- 

 lowish or sea green color, rather dull, yet of vitreous lustre, feebly 

 scratches quartz, and readily yields to the topaz ; it is translucent 

 but seldom transparent. Crystals of this stone have been found 

 in Chester Co., and other places, upwards of six and even eight 

 inches in diameter. It is frequently mentioned in Scripture ; it 

 is an inferior variety of the emerald, which greatly exceeds it in 

 beauty. Beryl is found in very many places in the United States, 

 and in some localities passes into the emerald, as in Maine, in 

 Massachusetts, and at Haddam in Connecticut.* 



15. Zircoji. This like the preceding has greatly depreciated 

 in estimation ; it is much harder than quartz, is of a resinous lus- 

 tre, and varies in external appearance and color, being sometimes 

 yellowish brown, reddish green, &c. It sometimes appears as 

 though scales of mica were intermixed. It was in much more 

 esteem formerly than now as a gem, particularly the variety call- 

 ed hyacinth, which was worn in mourning apparel. 



16. Jade is now a dead letter in the arts, and only to be met 

 with in the cabinet of the mineralogist ; there is a kind however, 

 found in Turkey and used by the natives for dagger and scim- 

 etar handles, upon which various devices are carved ; there is a 

 great discrepancy of opinion at the present day as to what jade 

 really is, that known to the jewellers by this name is a shining 

 white opake mineral, and only very occasionally used by them 

 in motto jewelry. f Whether the native productions of the Uni- 

 ted States will prove a source of international profit remains to 

 be ascertained. There is one serious difficulty in the great dif- 

 ference in the cost of labor between this country and Europe. 

 Lapidaries are at present but few in number, some of whom 

 import polished specimens and even metal jewelry for the very 

 purpose of breaking up and remodeling them. Stones ready cut 

 for jewelry, may be imported from Germany, at one quarter the 

 cost of polishing specimens furnished in New York, It is also 

 true that the facilities are not so great here for their manufacture; 

 there is a want of enterprise in this branch of the arts ; but the 



* In New Hampshire crystals are found of a foot or more in diameter, and 

 weighing 100 to 200 pounds. — Eds. 



t The Jade of the South Seas is often of a deep leek green. — Eds. 



