Identifier: birdsnature121902chic (find matches)
Title: Birds and nature
Year: 1900 (1900s)
Authors:
Subjects: Birds Natural history
Publisher: Chicago, Ill. : A.W. Mumford, Publisher
Contributing Library: Smithsonian Institution Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Biodiversity Heritage Library

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part ofAfghanistan on the Oxus river. Themiining is done by building great fires onthe rocks and throwing water on them tobreak them. The yield at present issmall, not over 1,500 pounds a year be-ing obtained. The lapis lazuli fromthese mines is distributed all over Asia,going chiefly to China and Russia. Theprice realized is said to be from $50 to$75 per pound. Lapis lazuli of poorerquality comes from a region at thewestern end of Lake Baikal in Siberia.The only other important locality is in theAndes Mts. of Chile near the boundaryof the Argentine Republic. This ma-terial is not much used at the presenttime on account of its poor quality butit was employed by the Incas for decor-ative purposes. One mass 24x12x8 in.,doubtless from this locality is now in theField Columbian Museum, and was foundin a Peruvian grave. It is one of thelargest masses of lapis lazuli known. The walls of a palace at Zarskoe-Selo,Russia, built by order of Catherine IIare entirely lined with slabs of lapis 122
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AMBER, MALACHITE, LAPIS-LAZULI AND AZURITE FOBD, CHICAGO. Lapis-lazuli, polished (Siberia). 517 Malachite and Azurite. polished (Arizona).Malachite, polislied (Austra.ia). Amber polished, showing Insects enclosed (Coast of Baltic Sea). Amber, rolled pebble (Coast.of Baltic Sea). Malachite, polished (Ural Mountains).Malachite (Arizona). \ lazuli and amber. Pulverized the stonewas used as a tonic and purg^ative by theGreeks and Romans. The name lapislazuli means blue stone. Armenianstone is another term by which the stoneis known in trade. AMBER. Few minerals have been longer in fa-vor for ornamental purposes than amber.Among- remains of the earHcst peoplessuch as the Egyptians and Cave-dwellersof Switzerland it is found in carvedmasses indicating that it was highlyprized. The Phenicians are said to havesailed to the Baltic for the purpose ofprocuring it, while the Greeks knowl-edge of it is indellibly preserved in ourword electricity derived from their wordelektron. The high favor in w

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