Ch. 3: Precious Gem stones in 1907

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	796 MINERAL RESOURCES.

	The precious-stones industry was in a nourishing condition during the first part of 1907. During the last half of the year, however, there was some depression in mining and the sale of gems. The native mining part of the industry was not so heavily affected as the part dependent on imported material. AGATE, MOSS AGATE, ETC. Agate or chalcedony "clams" were reported from South Bend, Wash., by the Haberl Lapidary and Jewelry Company. Whether these are petrifactions or mamimllary deposits the writer is not certain. They are said to contain globules of water. Several thousand Sounds of moss agate were reported by Mr. W. C. Hart from the. iartville mining district of Wyoming. Dr. George E. Ladd reports the occurrence of agate and other chalcedony minerals in southeast Missouri. They occur abundantly in the residual soil over limestone formations, and. some handsome specimens are found. Mr. A. E. Heighway mentions the occurrence of agate, apparently of suitable quality and in sufficient quantity to be of commercial value, at two localities in the province of Santiago, Cuba. One of these is about 7 miles south of Bayamo; the other is about 2 miles southeast of Jibacoa, a town about 16 miles southeast of Manzanillo. Comparatively few agate and chalcedony gems are cut or polished in the United States, the bulk of these minerals being cut at Oberstein, Idar, and other towns in Germany. The agate-cutting industry in Oberstein dates back to the fifteenth century, from which time it flourished until the close of the eighteenth century. With the exhaustion of the native deposits of agate, a decline followed until 1830, when new supplies were obtained from Brazil, and from that time until the present the industry has flourished, though scarcely any native agate is now used. AMAZON STONE. The production of amazon stone came principally from Colorado, with a small quantity from Pennsylvania. In Colorado part of the output was obtained from the vicinity of Pikes Peak and part from Florissant, also in Teller County. Mr. J. D. Endicott reports the discovery in Custer County, Colo., of a new deposit of amazon stone, which has not yet been opened. AMBER. BURMA. The production of amber from the Myitkyina district of Burma in 1906 was 217 hundredweight, valued at £709,^a as against 126 hundredweight, valued at £945, in 1905. According to Consul-General W. H. Michael, of Calcutta,⁶ the Burmese amber is in good demand. Its rich color, hardness, and the high polish it takes render it suitable for making into beads for rosaries and necklaces. Mining for amber by the Burmese is done in a crude way, and generally after the harvest work is completed. The men dig down, near places where amber has been found, sometimes to a depth of 45 feet; and then if no amber is found, a new trial is made elsewhere. a Rec. Geol. Survey India, vol. 3G, pt. 2, 1907. l> Daily Cons. Repts., July 26,1907.

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