Scientific American Supplement, No. 810, July 11, 1891Various
Science
Scientific American Supplement, No. 810, July 11, 1891
Various
Science -- Periodicals
The well-known agatized and jasperized wood of Arizona is so much
richer in color than that obtained from any other known locality that,
since the problem of cutting and polishing the large sections used for
table tops and other ornamental purposes was solved, fully $50,000
worth of the rough material has been gathered and over $100,000 worth
of it has been cut and polished. This wood, which was a very prominent
feature at the Paris Exposition, promises to become one of our richest
ornamental materials.
Chlorastrolite in pebbles is principally found on the inside and
outside shores of Rock Harbor, a harbor about eight miles in length on
the east end of Isle Royale, Lake Superior, where they occur from the
size of a pin head to, rarely, the size of a pigeon's egg. When larger
than a pea they frequently are very poor in form or are hollow in
fact, and unfit for cutting into gems. They are collected in a
desultory manner, and are sold by jewelers of Duluth, Petoskey, and
other cities, principally to visitors. The annual sale ranges from
$200 to $1,000.
Thomsonite in pebbles occurs with the chlorastrolite at Isle Royal,
but finer stones are found on the beach at Grand Marais, Cook County,
Minnesota. Like the chlorastrolites, they result from the weathering
of the amygdaloid rock, in which they occur as small nodules, and in
the same manner are sold by jewelers in the cities bordering on Lake
Superior to the extent of $200 to $1,000 worth annually.
THE DIAMOND CUTTING INDUSTRY.
In New York there are sixteen firms engaged in cutting and recutting
diamonds, and in Massachusetts there are three. Cutting has also been
carried on at times in Pennsylvania and Illinois, but has been
discontinued. The firms that were fully employed were generally the
larger ones, whose business consisted chiefly in repairing chipped or
imperfectly cut stones or in recutting stones previously cut abroad,
which, owing to the superior workmanship in command here, could be
recut at a profit, or in recutting very valuable diamonds when it was
desired, with the certainty that the work could be done under their
own supervision, thus guarding against any possible loss by exchange
for inferior stones.
The industry employed 236 persons, of whom 69 were under age, who
received $148,114 in wages. Of the 19 establishments, 16 used steam
power. The power is usually rented. Foot power is only used in one
establishment. Three of the firms are engaged in shaping black
diamonds for mechanical purposes, for glass cutters and engravers, or
in the manufacture of watch jewels.
The diamonds used in this industry are all imported, for, as already
stated, diamonds are only occasionally found in the United States.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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