Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-24
ORIGIN OF DIAMONDS
EVIDENCE THAT STRENGTHENS
THE VOLCANIC HYPOTHESIS. !.
Forces Of Nature That Have Created
the Precious Stones-Gems
in Meteors.

From the New York Tribune.
Over few scientific questions has there
been more animated discussion in the last
few years than that involving the manner
in which the rarest and most costly of all
jewels originated. On general principles. of
course. one might take it for granted that
the agencies of manufacture and transpor-
tation which had produced the observed re-
suit were exclusively terrestrial. This would
seem to be the most natural superstition.
Still. until about quarter of a century ago
most of the diamonds that were discovered
were picked up in gravel at such distances
from the place Of their birth that no salts
factory clews could be obtained. Even after
the wonderful deposits in South Africa be-
came known the mystery was not fully
solved. The stones were imbedded in
peculiar blue dirt. or soft rock, which filled
crevices of pipes In the crust of the earth
Such a position was suggestive of volcanic
action the more so because there are many
other places in the world where there have
been intrusions from below. Practically all
OF the latter though. were of lava or lava
like material or else quartz. Some of the
gold obtained in this country Is mined in
just such veins. But the substance with
which the South African diamonds were as
ISOLATED was neither lava nor quartz. Hence
their position and environment were not
conclusive enough to allay all doubt More
over. the fact that in very few meteors
minute diamonds had been found excited
suspicion that their bigger and more beau
tiful relatives had also reached the earth
from cutter space. The meteoric hypothesis
was beset with greater difficulties than the
volcanic theory, perhaps, but it exercised
strange fascination on the popular fancy
and even appealed to the judgment of a few
mineralogists.
Moissan's Experiments.
Moissan's experiments throw little light
on the process of production but did not
settle the question of origin. When sugar
has been dissolved in water it can be in
duced to crystalline around a bit of string
that is suspended in the solution. The first
great difficulty to be overcome in initiating
this procedure with carbon, which is the
most refractory of all elements was to in
duce it to melt. Only after the electric fur
mace was brought to bear, and pressure as
well as heat had been applied could the
FTenchman obtain crystals. The skeptics
| felt that this brilliant achievement did not
| clear UP. the main point involved in the dis
pute. They sand: Yes, it is evident that
| carbon can be dissolved in iron; but we
knew that before. The presence of those
microscopic crystals in metallic meteors
| proves it. But the blue earth in the South
African mines is not IRON
fresh piece of evidence which disposes
| of the latter objection has now been adj
| duced To be sure. reputable geologists
| who had investigated the matter carefully
were convinced that the material in which
| the diamonds of Kimberley are embedded
was volcanic in character. 1t is not lava
or quartz but it is altered "periodotite"
| compond in which silica and magnesia
appear in large proportions. and which con-
| tains, in addition to the diamonds. bits of
| undlgested btuminous shale. that be
| identified having come from lower
strata. When it is remembered that such
| shale is carbonaceous. one instantly secs
| where the sole constituent of the Jewels
IF nin nrtf
of course, would supply all the necessary
| heat. An additional link in the chain has
| now been forged. DR.. George F. kunz,
| who is with Tiffany q Co. mentions it in a
| report on precious stones. printed by the
| United States geological survey
Dissolving Carbon.
! 1t has now been demonstrated that car
| bon can be dissolved in melted silicatas and
afterward crystallized. Experiments have
| been conducted separately by Haslslinger.
| Lodwig LUXE and Friedlander. In some in
1 stances. the product was that form of car
bon which is known as graphite. In others
| diamonds, which were exceedingly small
| but were genuine, resulted
DR.. kunZ mentions another circumstance
which may have a bearing on this question.
| In report on Brazilian diamonds the
United States consul at Bahia H. W. Fur
Mss. says that these stones are occasionally
found in pieces of granite, gneiss that
p are badly disintegra ted. The statement
needs confirma ton. but if it be fully estab-
| lished the biologists will need to explain
! how the diamonds came to be there. Still,
1t does not look as if the now discredited
| meteoric theory would gain any support
| from the alleged discovery.
How thoroughly the volcanic HYPOTHESIS
! is accepted in Canada is illustrated by
| discussion which is pending there. The
few diamonds found in the northern part
| of the United States and in the dominion
| were apparently brought thither by the
glacial gravel from some spot in higher lat
itudes. One set of biologists suspect that
| they may have come from a region east of
| Hudson's bay, while others fancy that they
| did not travel so far. But they all ag ee
| in pointing to localities where there have