JASPER.
CALIFORNIA.
Mr.
M. J. Cooney, of Oroville, Cal., states that various types of jasper
pebbles and bowlders were found in the old gold placer workings near
Oroville when these were prospected for diamonds about four years ago.
Among these jaspers was one bowlder of the bloodstone variety.
OREGON.
Mr.
Don Maguire mentions a new discovery of a jasper-like mineral found
along Crooked River, in Crook County, Oreg., in September, 1914. Only a
small quantity was collected, but test specimens cut for gems proved to
be unusually pretty for jasper. Mr. Maguire will place the stone on the
gem market under the name of "iolanthite."
PERIDOT.
CALIFORNIA.
Mr.
Joseph Ward, of Barstow and Lone Pine, Cal., submitted to the Survey
specimens of peridot which he has found while prospecting between
those places. This peridot resembles very much that found near Rice,
Ariz., but among the specimens sent in none was clear or large enough
for cutting into gems. The material is in granular masses with grains
as coarse as wheat. Mr. Ward reports that the stones were obtained from
inclusions in basalt, and a specimen showing this relation was
submitted. Further prospecting will be required to learn whether larger
peridot suitable for cutting is associated with the deposit.
QUARTZ.
ASTERIATED QUARTZ.
Notes on asteriated quartz have been given by Frank B. Wade.1 The
immediate cause of this investigation is the appearance of the new star
stone or asteriated quartz placed on the market by Bell & Birkner,
of New York City. No statement has been given of the locality from
which this gem is obtained other than that it is an American stone.
This quartz has a highly translucent or opalescent appearance, and when
cut in hemispherical form in the proper direction with relation to the
crystal structure it shows a six-ray star by reflection of sunlight or
light derived from a single source. If the same stone is cut into a
sphere, the star is seen in the stone by looking toward the source of
light. In the better gems these rays are particularly bright and
noticeable and move across the surface of the cut stone as the
observer's relation to the light is shifted. Microscopic examination
was undertaken by Prof. Wade with a view to determining the cause of
the rays. The quartz was found to be full of minute needlelike
inclusions arranged in three sets, needles of each set lying parallel
to each other and at angles of 60 degrees to the other two sets. It was
not definitely possible to determine
i Jewelers' Circular-Weekly, Jan. 20,1915.
