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The Ruby.
161
the name of Barklyite. On the whole, the red Corundum is far rarer in Australia than the blue Corundum ; and the same rule holds good in many other localities, the Ruby being rarer and therefore more prized than the Sapphire.
The so-called " Rubies " from the Macdonnell Ranges in the Northern Territory of South Australia, the discovery of which created great excitement a few years ago, are nothing but Garnets.
Among the precious stones of the United States of America, coloured Corundums are included. A remarkable deposit of Corundum, associated with Ruby and Sapphire, was described by Col. C. W. Jenks, before the Geological Society of London in 1874. The locality is known as the Lucas Corundum Mine, and is situated in Macon County, North Carolina The Corundum, associated with numerous other minerals, occurs in veins, running through a mass of serpentine, which, rising as a boss through the surrounding granite, is known as Corundum Hill. Some of the crystals yielded by these veins weighed more than 300 lbs.each, and many of them exhibited a curious diversity of colour, so that one part of a crystal might be red, while another portion of the same mass would present blue and green colours. The brightly coloured portions were veritable gems, but mostly too much flawed and otherwise too imperfect to be of value as ornamental stones. The discovery was one of considerable mineralogical interest, but of no importance in connection with the production of precious stones for jewellery.
ORIENTAL RUBY.