PRECIOUS STONES.	233
	the Incas, the Peruvians used as an idol an Emerald as large as an ostrich egg, which the priests explained was the mother-emerald who liked daughters, and thus induced her worshippers to offer "daughter-emeralds" to the goddess, much to the enrichment of the Spanish when they con­quered the country. Certain it is that, in spite of most careful search by the Spanish and by later explorers, no
	trace of the Emerald has been found in Peru. Still, the fact that such beautiful specimens were brought to Europe by the Spanish from Peru has given us the terms " Spanish Emerald " and " Peruvian Emerald," as indicating Emeralds of the finest quality. The Spaniards, however, found Emeralds in New Granada (Colombia), and the deposits there have been worked intermittently ever since and have provided some