The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1895-08-22
CRYSTALS IN DROPS Of INK,

When You Write Letter You Scatter Dia-
monds and Rubies on the Paper.
Do you know that when you dip
your pen in ink and write letter
you make brilliant crystals all over
the paper? The poet has been de-
scribed as putting down his burning
thoughts" but now it seems they freeze
unless he happens to write with lead
pencil.
These crystals appear whether you
write a poem or simply sign your name
to check, and there are as many
crystals in the signature of John Gar
vey, the Aston, tramp, as in that of
Russell Sage.
You must let the ink dry. Then if
you look at it through powerful
microscope magnifying some three
hundred diameters, you will see all
sorts of beautiful forms These aps
pear in endless variety, but with all
the symmetry of frost crystals or of
those chemicals which precipitate into
flowers and geometrical forms before
your eyes.
DR.. E. Trouessart, French savant,-
has recently investigated this interest
ing branch of science and has pro-
duced some exquisite examples of what
he calls ''fieurs de rencre." The
method employed is very simple. A
drop of ink is allowed to dry on slip
of glass and, when observed under g.
microscope, shows the capitalization.
The inks of commerce vary some
what in composition, but all inks hav-
ing base of solution of gallnuts and
sulphate of iron show the crystals.
The salt of the inks which thus crystal
Lies has not yet been identified, and,
DR.. Trouessart has hesitated to give it
name.
He has found that the ink crystals
are chiefly of the cubical form, and this
suggests that they are magnetic oxide
of iron.
Strange to say, these ink crystals
are white in color. This, together
with the fact of the peculiar shapes of
some of the groups, seems to indicate
that iron disulphide or marcasite is the
substance in question. In red and
purple inks the crystals are of totally
different shape from those to be found
in black inks. Indelible inks, on the
other hand, show few of the crystals.
You may write your name several
times, using the same pen, ink and paT
per, and yet the crystals when OBJ
served are seen to be totally different
in each case. Thus they will not be
available as methods of Identification
in forged will cases or when the sigma
| ture to checks are in dispute.
There are no crystals in the ink, as
it smoothly glides from the point Of
your pen to the paper, but they rapidly
begin to appear as the ink dries, form~
ing in exquisite fashion as on water
that is quickly freezing. Under the
microscope of the savant who has in
vestigated this subject large crystals
appear in an instant while the ink was
drying, making geometricel forms at
the bidding of some mysterious force
Squares and crosses were numerous,
There were forms that looked like tel
egraph poles and others that seemed.
like gridirons. Facetted gems radiat-
ing light suddenly sprang into exist
ence Under the astonished eyes of the
man of science.
Being in aniline ink, they took all
the colors of the rainbow, making
gorgeous display that rivaled that of ~
jewelers. case of precious stones,r
throwing off rays of every color,
Looked at from one point there were
diamonds, emeralds and rubies in the
collection of ink crystals, then slight
inclination of the paper turns them
into sapphires, amethysts and opals,
while from another point they seemed
like garnets, tourmalines and bits Of
amber gently playing with the shafts
of light under the eyes of the observer
Who knew before that ink could be-
SO brilliant? The dullest man now can.
write dazzling thoughts. 1t win not
even be necessary for the ambitious
author to hnd publisher. His gorge
GUS word-painting will astonish the be-
holder when put under the magnifying;
glass
Rejected manuscripts are thus equal
ly as brilliant as those that are accept
ed, and, after the latter are printed,
more SO, for printers ink, it has been,
found, is thick and muggy substance
which shows none of the exquisite ge9a
ometric figures of the aniline inks,
There are millions of embryo crystals in,
every bottle of ink, which is veritables
jewelers. shop in what it may show to,
delight the eye.-N. Y. World