towards
a hyacinthine yellow. Garnets can be melted into a black enamel, and
they vary in size from a grain of sand to an apple ; the Tourmalines,
red, green, and vellow, being of this family. The distinctive title
thereof— "Garnet" —is derived from the Latin name— Granatum—a
Pomegranate ; (or, as Lydgate calls it, the "Garnet-Appile") on
account of the resemblance which the granular varieties of the Garnet
bear to the seeds of that fruit. Garnets occur in crystals ; also in
pebbles, and grains (as in alluvial deposits) ; and again massive, with
a coarse granular structure. They vary from transparency to being
almost opaque, also being sometimes red, red-brown, or black, in
colour, Less frequently they are white, yellow, pink, or green. They
are brittle ; and more or less fusible, the least fusible form being
the lime-iron Garnets. The element Yttrium has been found in "Garnets".
Three principal forms of Garnets are recognized ; according (says the Encyclopedia Britannica) to
their " sesqui-oxide basic components," viz., Alumina, Iron, and
Chrome. These are further classed into numerous subordinate groups ; as
containing percentages of lime, chromium, iron, manganese, and
magnesia." The Syrian, or Oriental Garnets vary in colour from a deep
red to a violet-purple. The Garnet was much used as a jewel in ancient
times. Antique intaglios on Garnet are usually recognizable by their
fragmentary condition, as due to their brittleness, and by a softness
of colour which time has imparted, and which defies imitation even by
the ablest artists.
According
to Pliny the large dull-coloured " Carbun-culus of India " (a Garnet),
used to be hollowed out into vessels which would hold as much as a
pint. About
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