Precious Gem stones production in 1914 Page 58



	GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES.

	By Douglas B. Sterrett.

	INTRODUCTION. There was a large decline in the industry of mining precious and semiprecious stones in the United States in 1914. This is in accord with the usual conditions in the gem trade during times of stress. The greatest decrease was in the production of sapphire in Montana, due to the fact that one of the larger placer mines of variegated sapphire was not operated during the year and that the deposits of blue sapphire in matrix, now owned entirely by an English company, were closed in August. * The greatly increased demand for native gem minerals that was expected to arise from dealers preparing for the tourist trade at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition at San Francisco and the Panama-California Exposition at San Diego did not materialize. Only small quantities of these gems were mined in the West, and the demand in the East fell off greatly. Among other minerals in which a large decline of production was reported to the Survey was opal, the claims in the northern part of Humboldt County, Nev., not being so actively worked as in 1913. A comparison of the figures in the table of production for 1913 and 1914 shows decreases in 1914 in most of the gem minerals, slight increases in a few, and a decided increase in turquoise. Acknowledgment is gladly made of assistance rendered by many persons in the preparation of this report by furnishing statistics and information on gem occurrences and by supplying specimens for examination. It is not possible to name individually all who have assisted in this way, but some are mentioned in the following pages. This report does not deal with the gem-mining industry of the United States during 1914 alone, but follows a plan adopted several years ago by which as many different gem localities as possible are examined and described each year, regardless of whether or not they are worked that year. The aim of this plan is the collection of information for a more complete report on the occurrence of precious stones in the United States at some future date. AGATE. ALABAMA. Mr. J. H. Watkins, geologist for the Southern Railway, presented to the Survey specimens of chalcedonic chert from a small mountain southeast of Gurley, Ala. The material is in lumps measuring as much as 2-1/2 inches across and shows a variety of colors, chiefly in red 307