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Ch. 10: Chiastolite, Cyanite, Datolite, Staurolite, ... Fluorite

Ch. 10: Chiastolite, Cyanite, Datolite, Staurolite, ... Fluorite Page of 364 Ch. 10: Chiastolite, Cyanite, Datolite, Staurolite, ... Fluorite Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
l82
GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES IN THE
and Hall, found at Good Harbor Bay, Grand Marias, on Lake Superior, Mich., in the basalt, and as rolled pebbles on the beach, result from the decomposition of the rock, the amygdules with­standing the action of the weather better than the rock. They vary from the size of a pinhead to over an inch in diameter. Many of the thomsonites are made up of series of concentric lay­ers of various shades of color, in soft tones of flesh-red, creamy white, yellow, and green, and are excedingly pretty, especially when polished, when they resemble the eye-agate. Great num­bers are annually sold to visitors at Lake Superior, especially at Duluth, Minn., and Grand Marias, Mich. The cutting of thomsonite consists almost entirely of a rounding off of the pebble, so as to show the concentric and other markings to the
THOMSONITE
best advantage. Some that have been polished are over an inch in diameter. The small ones are generally of the finest material. Lintonite is really a variety of prehnite, and takes a fine pol­ish either alone or when associated with the flesh-colored forms of thomsonite.
Natrolite occurs in many localities in beautiful crystals, but too small to cut for gems. Many veins of it, and one large area containing over 300 square feet of the mineral, were met with in the sinking of Shaft No. 2 of the West Shore Railroad, at Wee-hawken, N. J. Scarcely any of the crystals were stout enough to afford gems. This beautiful, limpid white mineral occurs abun­dantly all along Bergen Hill where tunnelling has been carried on, and fine crystals have been found in the Lake Superior cop­per region. None have been sold for gems in the United States, although when suitable crystals are found, it is occasion­ally used for the letter Ν in initial jewelry.
Ch. 10: Chiastolite, Cyanite, Datolite, Staurolite, ... Fluorite Page of 364 Ch. 10: Chiastolite, Cyanite, Datolite, Staurolite, ... Fluorite
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