Carnelian

Carnelian, or CORNELIAN, in Mineralogy, the name given to some of the finer varieties of Chalcedony (q.v.). The colour is blood red or flesh-colour, reddish brown, reddish white or yellow, more rarely milk white. The fracture is in the common carnelian perfectly conchoidal, but there is a variety of a somewhat fibrous structure with a splintery fracture. Carnelian is found in pieces of irregular form and in lamellar concretions. The finest specimens are brought from the East, but it is found in Scotland and in many parts of Europe and America. It is much used by the lapidary, and in the East it is prized beyond every other stone, the gems excepted. Bright red carnelian of unmixed colour is most highly valued, but a mass of considerable size is seldom found with the colour equal throughout.