as a gem-stone. The best specimens are obtained from Ceylon,
New South Wales, and France.
Sometimes the terms zircon, jargoon, hyacinth or jacinth,
are indiscriminately applied to the species ; whereas the last
named stones are only varieties of the zircon. The names hyacinth and jacinth are really the same, the former being Greek,
the latter Arabic, and though sometimes applied to varieties of
other species, as corundum, vesuvianite, topaz, garnet, and some
others, the true hyacinth is the transparent, bright-colored zircon, while the name jargoon is given to the colorless or smoky
varieties. A bluish violet gem known to the ancients as hyacinth is supposed to have been the modern sapphire.
The red zircon or hyacinth, remarkable for lustre, resembles
the ruby, and the pale yellow, which is extremely brilliant,
might be mistaken for the yellow diamond or the topaz ; it is
even considered superior to the latter for ring-stones, though it
is not a favorite in the circles of fashion. It is porous, as may
be seen by holding it up against a strong light. Hyacinth is
found in rolled pebbles in Ceylon and France.
The jargoon, written also jargon, is a grayish or smoky
white zircon resembling the diamond, and considered, until the
present century, an inferior diamond. The variety obtained
from Matura, Ceylon, where it is called " Matura diamond," is
often sold in the bazaars of India for the genuine diamond ; it
seldom occurs in crystals of more than ten or twelve carats
weight.
The Chrysolite. — The "golden stone," as the name signifies, supposed to be the topaz of the ancients, is a title applied
to varieties of several different species of gem-minerals, but it
is not identical with the chrysoberyl, as has sometimes been
represented, differing from it in composition, hardness, and
other characteristics. Silica, magnesia, and iron form the
