tal were used to concentrate the rays of 

 the sun for cauterizing- wounds and also 

 to Hiiht fires, especially sacrificial ones. 

 Roman ladies were also accustomed to 

 carry halls of rock crystal in their hands 

 in summer for the sake of the coolness 

 they afforded. The ladies of Japan are 

 said to do the same at the present day. 



The stone was in former times often 

 stained different colors, and thus all sorts 

 of imitation gems were produced. The 

 modern method of making- doublets has 

 now superseded this art. 



Amethyst. — This is the name given to 

 the violet or purple varieties of crystal- 

 lized quartz. The color has often been 

 supposed to be due to small quantities of 

 oxide of manganese, but is more probably 

 the result of a content of organic matter, 

 as the color can usually be mostly burned 

 out by heating the stone. B}' partial heat- 

 ing the color is changed to yellow, and 

 much so-called citrine is simply burned 

 amethyst. 



Quartz having in a general way the 

 amethystine color is comparatively com- 

 mon, but for gem purposes only that 

 transparent and of good color is avail- 

 able. 



Important localities for gem amethysts 

 are Southern Brazil, the Ural Mountains, 

 Ceylon, and occasional finds in the 

 States of Maine, North Carolina, Penn- 

 sylvania and Montana in our own coun- 

 try. 



Very commonly where crystallized 

 quartz occurs, crystals of an amethystine 

 hue are to be found, so that to enumerate 

 localities of the mineral would be a con- 

 siderable task. Good cut amethysts com- 

 mand a fair price, though they are much 

 less valuable than formerly. Three or 

 four dollars a carat is a fair price at the 

 present time. At the beginning of this 

 century Queen Charlotte of England is 

 known to have paid $10,000 for an ame- 

 thyst for which $500 could now hardly be 

 realized. One reason for the greater es- 

 teem in wdiich amethyst was formerly 

 held is probably the virtue ascribed to it 

 of shielding its wearer from the effects 

 of drinking too much wdne. Its name is 

 derived from, two Greek words^ meaning 

 "not to inebriate." The drinking cups of 

 the Romans were often made of it, part- 

 ly for the above reason and partly on ac- 

 count of their belief that any poison 



placed in such a cup would be rendered 

 harmless. Amethyst is the "birth stone" 

 of the month of February, and St. Valen- 

 tine is said always to have worn an ame- 

 thyst. 



"The February born shall find 

 Sincerity and peace of mind, 

 Freedom from passion and from care 

 If they an amethyst will wear." 



Rose Quartz.— This form of quartz, 

 the color'" of which is indicated by its 

 name, is rarely of' sufficient transparency 

 to be prized as a gem. Cut, however, 

 into various ornaments, it makes objects 

 of considerable beauty. Its luster, in- 

 stead of being glassy like that of other 

 forms of quartz, is nearly always more 

 or less greasy. The ingredient wdiich 

 o;ives its color is not known. It is prob- 

 ablv some organic matter, since the color 

 disappears on heating and, unfortunate- 

 ly for the extended use of the stone, fades 

 considerably on exposure to light. There 

 are numerous localities whence rose 

 quartz of good color may be obtained, 

 although it is not of so common occur- 

 rence as most other varieties of quartz. 

 The best rose quartz in this country 

 comes from Oxford County, Elaine, and 

 the Black Hills. Foreign localities are 

 the Urals, Brazil and Ceylon. 



Smoky Quartz. — This variety of 

 quartz is often known as "smoky topaz," 

 a misleading term, since the mineral is 

 not topaz at^all. As its name imphes, its 

 color is like that of smoked glass, all 

 gradations occurring between a mere 

 tinge to color so dark as to render the 

 mineral practically opaque. The color 

 often varies considerably in the same 

 crystal, being darker and lighter in spots. 

 The coloring matter is undoubtedly car- 

 bonaceous and organic in nature, for 

 when a crystal is heated it gives off a 

 sm.ell of burning organic matter, and by 

 heating for some length of time the col- 

 oring may be entirely burned out. At 

 an intermediate stage in such heating the 

 color becomes brown or yellow, and 

 stones of this color are often cut as gems 

 and known by the name of "Spanish to- 

 paz'' or "citrine." True citrine is, how- 

 ever, transparent quartz with a natural 

 yellow color. The most remarkable crys- 

 tals of smoky quartz known are some 

 that were found in 1868 in a hollow in 

 eranite in a localitv in the Cai-^ton Uri, 



29 



