The New International Encyclopædia/Amethyst

AM'ETHYST (Gk. ἀμέθυστος, amethytos, a remedy against drunkenness, from ἀ, a, priv. + μέθυ, methy, wine). A violet blue or bluish violet variety of quartz, the color of which is believed to be due to manganese oxide. It is one of the most esteemed varieties of quartz, and is much employed for seals, rings, and other articles of jewelry. The ancients imagined it to possess the property of preventing drunkenness, and those addicted to that habit wore it on their persons. Amethyst frequently occurs lining the interior of balls or geodes of agate, and in veins and cavities in various rocks. The finest specimens are from Scotland, Siberia, India, and Ceylon. In the United States the amethyst is found in many localities, but seldom of sufficient clearness or color to be used as a gem. The Lake Superior crystals, from the slaty formations around Thunder Bay, are perhaps the best known, and annually thousands of dollars worth is sent from this locality to be sold at Niagara Falls, and othei tourist "resorts. The Oriental amethyst is a purple variety of corundum.