Stones
The stones
Stones are many, the colour of ash, and the book says they are too hard to shape. On the shores are stones in the shape of an animal. They are much esteemed, and the book gives them the name Stoorjuncare. The worship is on the religion page. Near a mine the book calls Junesuando, on the river it calls Torno, are yellow round stones, the size of a half crown and as hard as flint. He draws them. The drawing is not here. Of the loadstone he is not sure. (Schefferus 1674)
Crystal and pearls
Bure mentions diamond, amethyst, and topaz. By diamond the book means a clear stone, crystal, with six sides. It was used as a flint, and it gave more fire than flint itself. An amethyst he saw was pale. A topaz in his study looks like a yellow crystal. Pearls are found in rivers, not in the sea, and in a mussel shell, not an oyster. Rheen names a man, John Peterson, who dived for them and who, in this chapter, found the silver mine at the place the book calls Nasafiæl. The metals page spells the finder and the place differently. Both stay as the book prints them. (Schefferus 1674)