The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-10-11

and then the diamonds are picked out
of 1t. A volcano is natural diamond
factory, II only carbon and iron are
present together In the molten rocks.
The Canyon Diablo In Arizona is a
curious sort Of crater-like depression,
circular in outline and about half mile
in diameter It's walls being so steep
that animals fall into it now and then
and are unable to get out again. This
remarkable hole is now suspected to
have been made by the impact of a gi-
gantic meteor that fell out Of the sky
nobody knows how long ago Scattered
about in its immediate neighborhood
hundreds of meteoric fragments have
been found, which are surmised to be
small bits Of the celestial visitor whose
mass lies buried in the bottom of the
hole. At all events, there does not
seem to be any other way of account
ing for them.
The first of these fragments that
were picked up We're sent to Philadel-
phia, and attempts were made to cut
some of them into slices. 1t is custo-
mary to cut meteorites into slices for
sale or exchange among collectors, and
these slices when polished exhibit pecu-
liar markings as If a piece Of fine steel
were etched ornamentally with acid.
Unfortunately the saws used in cut
ting the Canyon Diablo meteorites
broke in the process, and, when efforts
were made to polish the slices, the en-
ery wheels were spoiled Investigation
showed that the damage was due to
small diamonds, some black and some
pure white which We're contained in the
metal. II was a most interesting dis
covery. going to prove that diamonds
were to be found elsewhere than on the
earth. Also, it was obvious that here
again was a combination of iron and
carbon and a transformation of the lat
ter into crystals under the effect of
great heat. a metallic meteor being al
ways at least partly fused or melted
by the friction engendered in passing
through the atmosphere of the earth.
Thirty-five years ago all Europe was
agitated by a rumor to the effect that
French chemist had solved the problem
of making diamonds by artifice. 1t
caused quite a panic in the market,
the price of diamonds being lowered
considerably, while private individuals
W III wv iltu LDl IIiiNo ~ tAiSN7s t'GliA2 '~A y
much alarmed However, the scare
proved groundlees. Crystals of dia-
mond scarcely big enough to be seen
without a microscope have been deposit
ted by the voltaic battery upon a
thread of platinum and their verify
was demonstrated by polishing large
diamonds with them, using them for
this purpose as diamond dust is com
monty used. Experiments have also
been made by combining sulphur and
carbon, which together form a colorless
LIQUID containing absolutely nothing
but carbon and sulphur If by some
method the sulphur in the solution
could be got rid of, the carbon might be
expected to be deposited in crystals
that is to say, in the form Of diamonds
but no way of accomplishing this has
yet been found.
Artificial diamonds sometimes ex-
plode. And, strange to say, natural
ones frequently do the same thing after
they have been brought out of the
mime They have been known to burst
in the pockets Of miners, or even when
held in the warm hand, temperature
having evidently to do with the phe-
nomenon, Large diamonds are more IL
able to burst than small ones and In
this way valuable stones have been de-
stroyed As safeguard against such
accidents, dealers frequently pack big
diamonds in raw potatoes for shipment
Most of the diamonds obtained from
the South African mines are not COM
plete crystals. and it is imagined that
they may he Fragments of larger ones
that have exploded. But for this
weakness of theirs, great gems of this
kind might be comparatively common
The famous Professor Crookes be-
lieves that this curious phenomenon Is
due to small quantity of gas confined
at enormous pressure inside of the
stone. Warmth gives the gas greater
tendency to expand, and thus the dia-
mond is exploded The celebrated
Jagersfonteein Excelsior, found in
South Africa, and now the property Of
the pope, which weighs nine hundred
and seyenty-one carats. or nearly half a
pound, is of pure water except for a
slight flaw near the center. Frequent
ly such flaw takes the form of
small cavity containing gas, according
to Professor Crookes' theory, and 1t is
interesting to consider that an incau-
| tious approach to q stove might shiVer
this wonderful gem-the largest of It's
kind ever known in the world, and sup
posed to be worth five million dollars
into compare lively worthless Splinters.
The worlds stock of diamonds at
present is reckoned In round numbers
as representing a value of one billion
dollars, of which amount dealers hold
three hundred and fifty million dollars
worth, while the balance Is in the
/ hands of private owners. The South
! African syndicate could break the
market for these gems at any time by
unloading Its stock. but it restricts its
sales always so far as may be necessa-
ry to maintain prices. OF course, 1t
! absolutely controls the market, mas
much as its mines are at present the
! only important source of supply.
| A number of years ago, before the
diamond producing interests in that
| part of the world had been consolidated,
| Cecil Rhodes put up little game on
! Barney Barnato who at that time was
the great diamond magnate. He went
to him, and in a ocular way suggested
that he wanted, just for once in his life,
to see q bucketful of diamonds. Bar
ney, entering into the spirit of the idea,
GA = M !