duction. Accordingly, in the table giving the production of diamonds the output of this company is not included.
OPAL.
F.
M. Myrick, Johannesburg, Calif., reported the discovery of a deposit of
canary-colored moss opal 18 miles southwest of Johannesburg. Several
years ago Mr. Myrick submitted to the United States Geological Survey
specimens of precious opal which he had obtained from a prospect 15
miles west of his bloodstone mine on Brown Mountain in the Death Valley
region. It was light colored and showed flashes of green, blue, and red.
IMPORTS.3
The
precious stones (excluding pearls) imported into the United States in
1920 were valued at $66,100,742, the highest value ever reported except
that for 1919, from which it shows a decrease of 28 per cent. The value
of the pearls produced is omitted from the total, for pearls are not a
mineral but an animal product, being deposited in the shells of
mollusks. They are lustrous calcareous concretions with animal membrane
between successive layers, and they owe their beauty and value in part
to their organic structure; but as they are among the most desired of
gems, their value is given in a separate column in the table of imports.
General
imports and imports for consumption for any period will differ to the
extent that the value of entries for warehouse for the period differs
from the value of withdrawals from warehouse for consumption. The term
"entry for consumption" is the technical name of the import entry made
at the customhouse and implies that the goods have been delivered into
the custody of the importer and that the duties have been paid on the
dutiable portion. Some of them may be afterwards exported.
Gems and precious stones imported and entered for consumption in the United States,
1910-1920.
