The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-01-11
AMERICAN DIAMOND FIELDS.
Places in the United States Where
the Gems are Supposed to Exist.

Places in the United States Where
the Gems are Supposed to Exist.
Reports of diamond discoveries and
the formation of companies to exploit
various fields where these gems are
supposed to exist continue to appear
with usual regularity, and they now
seem to increase in direct ratio to the
strength Of the diamond market as the
price of diamonds continues its up
ward climb OF the supposed diamond
fields, the two which have been re-
ceiving the greatest attention at the
present time are those located in Ken
lucky which were mentioned some
time ago, and a new field in the vicin-
ity of Plum City, Wis. In neither have
diamonds of any size whatsoever been
discovered by the men backing the
projects, though it is true that some
diamonds, suppose to be Of glacial
origin, were found in Wisconsin before
any thought of developing the fields
were entertained In both instances
the hope held out to the expectant
buyer of stock lies not in what has
ben found but what may be found by
reason of the fact that true blue clay,
or kimberlite, exists throughout the
area being worked, and experts seem
to absolutely base their hope on the
general proposition that where there
is kimberIite there will probably be
diamonds.
1t is possible that these experts may
not take into consideration the fact
that, even though diamonds may exist
in the general vicinity of their fields,
it might take decade OF even CEN
fury Of painstaking search before the
actual mines are located. David Drap-
er, the South African geologist, who
discovered the new Premier mines in
the TransvaaI, and who is said to have
pronounced both the blue clay Of Ken
lucky and Wisconsin fields to be true
kimberlite, said on his visit to this
country year ago that the chances
Of discovering diamonds, even when
they are known to exist within a terri
tory, is always remote, and called at
tention to the fact that though dia-
monds were found in the Transvaal
almost simultaneously with the dis
coYery Of the gems in Cape Colony, it
was not until twenty-nine years later
lin 1S96-that the first diamond mine
was discovered in the former country
and this despite the fact that thou
sands of men familiar with the con-
ditions surrounding diamond mines
we're exploring the country at all
times. In fact, Mr.. Draper said that
although the same rock had come in
the way of many biologists and dia-
mond experts it was not until after
he had identified the specimen submit
ted to him from the Schiller farm that
the Transvaal was located. Then,
within a year, four other mines were
found in the same district. It is when
we consider how few experts we have
in this country capable of locating a
diamond mine that we realize how
remote is the possibility of the dis
covery Of a gem field here.
There is another factor in the ques-
ton Of the discovery of diamond mines
that does not seem to have occurred
to many writer's who are exploiting
the supposed diamond fields, Wis., that
even though a diamond mine may be
discovered there is always a possibility
that it will not pay to work it. The
truth of this is attested by the fact
that though there are a thousand or
more diamond mines in South Africa
at the present day those which are
more than paying expenses number
but handful. There is good reason
to fear, therefore, that the customer or
dealer who counts on any decrease
in the price of diamonds in the future
as resulting from the discovery Of
lasting disappointment. While such
a discovery is within the lines of pos
sibility it is hardly in the realm of
probability, and even if made would
stand little chance of having any
particular effect upon the market price
of the queen Of gems.-Jewelers' Cir.
cular Weekly.
Bad Times for EnuIish Doctors.