SAPPHIRE. 159 



Dif> Distinguished readily by its hardness, exceeding all 

 species except the diamond, and scratching quartz crystals 

 with great facility. 



Obs. The sapphire is usually found loose in the soil; 

 primitive rocks, and especially gneissoid mica slate, talcose 

 rock and granular limestone, appear to be its usual matrix 

 It is met with in several localities in the United States, but 

 seldom sufficiently fine for a gem. A blue variety occurs at 

 Newton, N. J., in crystals sometimes several inches long ; 

 bluish and pink, at Warwick, N. Y. ; white, blue and red- 

 dish crystals, at Amity, N. Y. ; grayish, in large crystals in 

 Delaware and Chester counties, Pennsylvania ; pale blue 

 crystals have been found in boulders at West Farms and 

 Litchfield, Ct. It occurs also in considerable quantities in 

 North Carolina ; also in Chester county, Georgia, where a 

 fine red sapphire has been obtained. 



The principal foreign localities are as follows : blue, from 

 Ceylon ; the finest red from the Capelan Mountains in the 

 kingdom of Ava, and smaller crystals from Saxony, Bohemia 

 and Auvergne ; corundum, from the Carnatic, on the Malabar 

 coast, and elsewhere in the East Indies ; adamantine spar, 

 from the Malabar coast ; emery, in large boulders from near 

 Smyrna, and also at Naxos and several of the Grecian 

 islands. 



The name sapphire is from the Greek word sappheiros, 

 the name of a blue gem. It is doubted whether it included 

 the sapphire of the present day. 



Uses. Next to the diamond, the sapphire in some of its 

 varieties is the most costly of gems. The red sapphire is much 

 more highly esteemed than those of other colors. A crystal 

 weighing 3^ carats, perfect in transparency and color, has 

 been valued at the price of a diamond of the same size. They 

 seldom exceed half an inch in their dimensions. Two splen- _ 

 did red crystals, as long as the little finger and about an inch 

 in diameter, are said to be in the possession of the king of 

 Arracan. 



Blue sapphires occur of much larger size. According to 

 A Ian, Sir Abram Hume possesses a crystal which is three 

 inches long ; and in Mr. Hope's collection of precious stones 



How is the species sapphire distinguished ? In what rocks does the 

 sapphire occur 1 What are some of the American localities ? what arc 

 t-he principal foreign 1 What is said of the value of sapphires 1 



