Ch. 5: Gems of the USA

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	PRECIOUS STONES IN THE UNITED STATES.	417

	moonlight, and from it were obtained the finest crystals of spinel that the world has ever known, some of them over six inches in diameter. Many fine crystals of topaz have been found at Platte Mountain, near Pike's Peak, Colorado, during the last three years. In appearance they generally Tary from clearly transparent to a rich cinnamon brown, and a few, are light blue or light green, one of these gems weighing 193 carats. The fac-simile of this oae is given in Fig. 4 on the coiored plate. These gems are equal in quality to the finest of the same size from Siberia. Some beautiful pellucid white crystals have been found in some isolated mountains west of Sevier Lake, Utah; and Stoneham, Maine, has furnished a few small gems, and opaque crystals one foot square. Among the beryl gems, emerald and aquamarine, the finest are those which foT the past twelve years, have been found in the soil of Alexander County, North Carolina, and called by the farmers, '' green bolts." Some of these were sent to Northern mineralogists by J. A. D Stephenson as early as 1875, and a company was formed for the purpose of mining them, under the superintendence of Mr. W. E. Hidden, and they have carried on mining operations from time to time at this locality. The largest crystal (the central illustration of the colored plate, Fig. 5), measures eight inches and a half in length, and is the largest emerald crystal known. This, with several other exceedingly fine ones, is in the Clarence S. Bement collection. The crystals, as a rule, have a white core; and although as crystals they are grand, few gems, and those very light in color, have been found. Aquamarines, beryls, pure white, light blue, and light green, are native to many localities in the United States. One, flawless, of fine color, and weigh-, ing I33-3/4 carats, was found at Stoneham, Maine. The beauty of this specimen may be judged from its copy in Fig, 6 on the plate. Two fine deep blue gems from Royalston, Maine, in the National Museum collection of gems, weighing 10 and 14 carats respectively, and another from Portland, Connecticut, are of fine quality, and equal to the deep blue Brazilian ones. Some clear white stones are sold by the local jewellers at Fitchbuig, Massachusetts ; and within the past few years, some thousands of dollars' worth of yellow beryls h.ive been cut, and sold as "golden beryl," from near Litchfield, Connecticut. A cut s.pecin.en of this gem appears as Fig. 7 in the plate. A few small, rich, yellow stones were also found at Round Mountain, Albany, Maine. Some fine golden yellow beryls, several weighing 20 carats each, have been found at the Avondale quarries, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Six fine beryls, weighing from one to four carats, were lately found by B- B. Chamberlain at Manhattanville, New York. The rare gem phenacite has recently been located near Pike's Peak. These gems are colorless or pure white, and match the Siberian ones in purity and transparency, but their value as gems is purely mineralogical. The finest garnets in th« world are those found near Gallup, New Mexico, Fort Defiance, Arizona, and Helena, Montana (see the three specimens numbered 8 in the colored plate). They are often associated with oily green and olive green peridots called "Job's tears" (see the rough and cut specimen given at Fig. 9 on the plate) on the surface of ant-hills, where they have been carried not only by the ants, but also by the scorpions. They are there called rubies. Although the garnets found in the diamond mines at the Cape of Good Hope, (the so-called " Cape rubies") are larger in size than these, and perhaps by daylight equal to them, there are undoubtedly no garnets found that appear better in the evening and by artificial light than those from the Unitea States. The dark color of the Cape garnets remains in artificial light, whereas the American garnets show only the clear blood-red hues. The color of these is usually a rich red, but very often purple or almandine, and sometimes approaching to the tint of honey. Many thousand dollars' worth of these garnets have been disposed of. They are rarely larger than three carats each. Fine garnets are also found in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New England.

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