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Show URUGUAY RICH IN AMETHYSTS Gems Found In "Qoedes," Which Is Nature's Way of Storing Precious Stones for Posterity. Tho northwestern pnrt of Uruguny Is n newly discovered field for tho production pro-duction of amethysts, which occur In "geodes." Tho geodes, so plentiful tlint they aro picked up in tho fields, nro cnrrlcd on mule-back or In carts to tho nenrest rallwny station nnd shipped In bnrrclr to Snlto, whenco they nro transported by river bont to Montevideo. Nnturnlly, it will bo nsked, What is a gcode7 Originally, It was a holo in rock. Wntor percolntlng through tho rock deposited slllcu, mnklng a lining for the cnvlty. Tho lining grow thicker thick-er and thicker, and after a long time, If tho rock were broken or wenth-crcd" wenth-crcd" to pieces, a hard nodulo would drop out. Tho nodulo Js a geodot nnd if, ns sometimes happens, tho silica hns formed crystals InBldo of It, colored by metallic sulU, tho goedo Is a little Jowcl box containing umo-thysts. umo-thysts. A beautiful statuette, eight Inches high, of a woman dancing, has recently re-cently been placed In tho Morgan Oem hnll of tho American Museum of Natural Nat-ural History, In Now York city. It is carved out of n perfect block of translucent sapphlro (bluo quartz) from Uruguay. |