desired
in Queensland, and would doubtless lead to a more extended use of the
opal in American jewelry. The opal of Queensland is of particularly
fine quality, and the variety called black opal makes a fascinating
gem. Its beauty is not at first very apparent, but on closer inspection
is better realized when its "hidden fire" and varied colors are
observed. According to a report in the Jeweler's Circular Weekly for
May 22, 1907, a firm in Los Angeles, Cal., is at present cutting a
stock of the Australian black opal.
ROSE QUARTZ.
CALIFORNIA.
The Fano Kunzite-Tourmaline Company owns an undeveloped ledge of rose quartz, reported to be from i to ti feet thick, in the Coahuila Mountains of Riverside County, Cal.
It
is reported that at a locality 10 miles northeast of Lemon Cove, Tulare
County, rose quartz of beautiful color and quality has been found.
There is said to be a vein 3 feet wide whose length has not been
determined. Specimens from this locality have attracted considerable
attention by reason of their beauty.
NEW YORK.
The
quarries operated for feldspar and quartz near Bedford village,
Westchester County, N, Y., were visited in 1906 by Mr. Edson S. Bastin,a
of the United States Geological Survey. The deposits consist of
pegmatite in which the quartz is, in part at least, rose colored. In
the Kinkle quarry, about three-fourths of a mile southeast of Bedford
village, the quartz is mostly white, though here and there it assumes a
beautiful rose tint. At the hobby quarry, about 1-1/2 miles southeast
of Kinkle's, and in the town of North Castle, the quartz is in part
white and in part a beautiful rose color. The proportion of
rose-colored quartz to the white was much greater in this quarry than
in the Kinkle quarry. None of the rose quartz produced at these
quarries has as yet been used for ornamental purposes, though the color
is very good and in places the stone is translucent and even
transparent.
RUBY.
NORTH CAROLINA.
The
company owning gem mines in Cowee Valley, Macon County', N. C, claims
to have discovered rubies in the matrix on its property. According to
reports, the crystals were found in white chalky limestone pockets,
similar to the associations at Burma, and were con sidered to be very
promising by Mr. William Earl Hidden. The discovery was made in
October, 1906, and no development work was possible until spring;
accordingly, no statement of the probable value of the deposit can be
made at this time.
a Contributions to economic geology, 1906: Bull. U. S. Geol. Survey No. 315, pt. 1, 1907, pp. 394-399.
