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PRECIOUS S TO XES.
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powdered glass, protoxide of copper, and oxide of iron, heated
for several hours. Quartz aventurine is a semi-transparent, brown, gray, reddish white or greenish white variety, interspersed with spangles of yellow mica, which glitter like gold, and, as it receives a high polish, it constitutes an attractive ornamental stone. It is found on the shores of the White Sea, in Siberia, Bohemia, Switzerland, France, Spain, and Scotland, while India produces a beautiful green variety. Jasper. —The numerous varieties of this stone have given rise
to different opinions about it, which renders a description and classification difficult. The word, derived from iaspis, has been rendered "green," "firm," or "tough." Pliny counts fourteen kinds of the iaspis, one being like crystal, which corresponds to the Scripture account of the jasper, one of the stones of the New Jerusalem, but does not answer to any variety known to us. The Indian green jasper of antiquity appears to have been a plasma of a rare kind, approaching the emerald in color, and it is possible their emerald was green jasper. The modern jasper is a compact variety of quartz, of various colors, comprising green, yellow, numerous shades of red, blue, and black, while among antique specimens are found vermilion and crimson hues. King considers the red jasper the bloodstone of the ancients. The Egyptian jasper, characterized by intense red or ochreyellow tints, deepening into chestnut-brown, sometimes spotted
with black, was found near Cairo, and in the region of the Nile, and was extensively used in ancient art. What are known as Egyptian pebbles are composed of jasper, which frequently present an arborescent appearance. Red jasper was developed in Argos, Greece, and was a favorite with Roman engravers ; while the Greeks preferred the yellow, also a native of their country, for artistic uses. A green, semi-transparent variety |
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