ment. Twenty-five dollars is often asked for large fine specimens of the Asaphas gigas.
Cat's-eye minerals.—The
following minerals found in the United States, when fibrous or cut
across the cleavages in cabochon effect, will show the cat's eye ray :
Corundum:
At Ellijay creek, Macon county, North Carolina, Mr. E. A. Hutchius cut
a dark brown, almost black, crystal of corundum that furnished a long en cabochon gem, two thirds of an inch across, that shows the cat's-eye ray distinctly.
Chrysoberyl: The chrysoberyls of Stow, Pern, and Canton, Maine, would cut into poor cat's-eyes.
Beryl:
The beryls of Stoneham, and some of the North Carolina beryls,
especially those from Alexander county, would furnish cat's eyes,
although not fine.
Quartz:
Quartz filled with actinolite, from Cumberland Hill, Ehode Island,
makes a very fine quartz cat's-eye. This is the Thetis hairstone of Dr.
Jackson.
Hornblende: A fibrous black hornblende from near Chester, Massachusetts, aiforded an imperfect cat's-eye.
Pyroxene: A white compact fibrous pyroxene from Tyringham, Massachusetts, made a curious white cat's eye.
Labradorite:
Some of the Labrador spar, when filled with included . minerals and
impurities, will show a cat's-eye ray; this is especially applicable
to the mineral found in Orange county, New York, and that also in the
northern part of the State.
Hypersthene,
bronzite, and enstatite, when fibrous and cut across the fiber, produce
a cat's-eye effect, and are sold abroad for this purpose to a very
limited extent.
Limonite:
Limonite from Salisbury (Connecticut), Richmond (Massachusetts), and
other American localities, would at times cut into a gem showing the
cat's-eye ray.
Aragonite and gypsum satin spars: These both produce the cat's-eye effect.
LOCALITIES OF PRECIOUS STONES IN THE UNITED STATES.
Diamonds.—Referring
to the paper on American gems, in "Mineral Resources of the United
States, 1882," containing information furnished by Mr. John E. Tyler,
sr., about the Manchester diamond, having since been enabled to obtain
a more complete history of it, as it is possibly the largest diamond
really found in the United States, I herewith present the facts. The
first record I have been able to obtain is from the New York Evening Post of
April 28, 1855, which says: " We were shown yesterday, on board the
steamship Jamestown, what is said to be the largest diamond ever
discovered in North America. It was found several months ago by a
laboring man at Manchester, Virginia, in some earth which he was
digging up. It was put in a furnace for melting
