The Garnet
	Garnet is a gem mineral which varies greatly in composition, and in its various forms is known under the different names of almandite or almandine, pyrope, rhodolite, cape ruby, and carbuncle. The color is usually a dark red, but the mineral also occurs in green, rose, and brown tints. The mineral is a silicate, and the other components of its composition determine which particular variety of garnet it is. Gar­nets often occur as small grains in beach sand because the rocks in which the minerals occur are more easily weathered away than the garnet which thus remains in the form of sand. The garnet crystals are then always found near the water's edge, since the specific gravity of the mineral is high and the waves can, therefore, carry it only a short distance up the beach. The name garnet comes probably from the Latin word granatus, meaning like a grain. It is said to have arisen because the crystals were thought to resemble in color and size the seeds of the pomegranate.