Domestic Encyclopædia (1802)/Granate

GRANATE, or Garnet, a genus of fossils, classed among siliceous earths, and containing three species, the principal of which is the crystallized granate. It is ranked among precious stones, but is one of the least valuable, as it varies in its colour, and the form of its crystal, more than any other; being sometimes of a deep red, sometimes yellowish or purplish, and, at others, of a brown or black tint. It is inferior both in lustre and hardness to all other gems, and yields to the file, though it will strike fire against steel.

Granates are either oriental or occidental: the former are brought from the East Indies, and the latter from Spain, Bohemia, and Silesia. They are found of various sizes, from that of a large pin's head, to one inch in diameter, but seldom exceed one-fifth of an inch.