The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1909-04-29
SOME FAMOUS SN|NDLES
How Precious Stones and met
ais are made.
A SCIENTIFIC PROCESS
II Is Quite Possible to Manufacture
Diamonds-Much Rogucry TAX
Ing Place in the Manufacture of
Imitation Silvcr-Dif1icult to De-
tect Any of the Articles.

Wernher is prosecuting q French
man called Lemoine Or alleged inn
posture, says the London Times.
The Frenchman brought letters of
Introduction from two well-known
London men of business, and said
that he had discovered a method of
making diamonds. In an initial
experiment he produced magnin-
cent diamond from the crucible.
The experiment was related to the
Board of Directors Of the De Beers
Company, but tney would have moth
ing to do with It. Sir julius Wern-
her, however, advanced 100000 to
the Frenchman, in order to build a
diamond factory at Angeles near Pau.
The building and factory have been
erected close to waterfall, hut Sir
julius afterwards suspected that the
nan was a swindler. Lemoine de-
clares that he possesses the secret of
making diamonds artificla.ly, but he
refuses to divulge the operation or
to perform any experiment before
experts.
1t has been said that there is more
than a suspicion in Haitian Garden
that large numbers of artificial dia-
monds are being placed on the mar
ket as real gems. 1t is quite possi-
Bile to manufacture diamonds. In
deed, a famous Frenchman of Sci
ence, Moissan, made very large num-
bers by means of his electric fur
mace. His process was to dissolve
Jumps of sugar in molten iron, sub
jecting the solution to enormous
PRESSURE.
Lump sugar may be said to consist
simply of water and diamond 1t is
the case that the diamond is merely
crystallized carbon. There are three
kinds of carbon-plumbago, gra-
phite and diamond. the composition
of all of which is identical. When
charcoal is dissolved in molten iron,
graphite is formed.
All the diamonds found {, Borneo,
Brazil. India. and South Africa, are
.Lade in much the same manner
that is, by the action of great heat
and enormous pressure o. to earth's
ihtci iol Sdusiue lHe UedullIu WHltS
stone to crystalline out.
By means of apparatus used by
men of science it is possible to obtain
heat exceeding 10000 degrees GEN.
tigrade, and a pressure largely ex-
ceeding 100 tons - the square inch;
that is TO say similar heat md pres
sure as Is used by Nature in produc-
| ing diamonds. There is danger
however, in using such apparatus,
as was shown when Frenchman of
-cience, was blown to pieces in 1898
Imitation pearls are produced in
| enormous qu1ntiti S. AMI they usual
ly consist of little hollow glass globes
| filled with a substance yielded by
certain small fish The substance
consists of irredescent white matter
| obtained from scales of the bleak,
| and sometimes of the roach and the
| dace. The supply of these .sh scales
varies, and great diff Guilty is expert
enced in packing them without do
ing damage to the lus.ro. AS the
scales are removed from the fish they
are Theoretically sealed in special
| cans.
| Afterwards the scales are very
carefully washed and put to soak in
water; a sediment forEs which Is
mixed with liquid ammonia and in
| jected into the glass glob or bead,
so as to coat it. The best beads then
have the interiors filled with white
wax or gum. To make the appear
Ence more realistic the little bulbs
have their CLASSY appearance re-
moved by the action of the vapor of
hydl oflnoric acid. 1t Is onl-- the eX-
| rert who can detect such imitation
from the finest Oriental Pearls, and
they fetch high prices. 1t is believed
that vome specimens have ..een made
1 that cannot be told from tie real
article.
Many frauds have been committed
by men who pretended they possessed
the power to manufacture gold. One
o. the simplest is the manufacture OF
all consisting one half of iron
and the other of golu. The outside
is then treated in such a way that
the whole resembles a common nail.
The result is that when people see
the pure gold extracted from & SEEM
ingly common iron nail they have
thcii avarice aroused, and are easily
led to advance any sum which the
knave pretends to be necessary for
pursuing the process on larger
scale.
Much roguery is new taking place
in the manufacture of imitation sill
yer. An alloy of aluminium and
zinc has been discovered which has
the exact appearance of silver, takes
a high polish, and possesses the same
weight, 1t is very difficult indeed
tc detect articles made from this sub
stance.