544 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



such crystals of argillaceous earth which the inventors submitted to the 

 Academy, there were numerous pieces that could not be distinguished 

 at all from natural rubies and sapphires. They possessed their crystal- 

 line shape, their weight, hardness, color, and adamantine lustre, al- 

 though the latter was not altogether faultless. 



How completely the imitation of Nature has succeeded, oay be 

 inferred from a peculiarity which the artificial rubies have in common 

 with the natural ones : both, upon being heated, lose their rose-color, 

 and do not recover it until they are cooled again. The diamond-cutters 

 who were requested to grind these artificial rubies found them not only 

 as hard as the natural ones, but in many instances even harder ; they 

 were not long in blunting their best tools made of the hardest steel. 

 For the use of watch-makers they are, perhaps, better than the natural 

 stones. 



But jewelers, too, are certain, sooner or later, to derive a great 

 deal of benefit from these discoveries. The rubies hitherto obtained, 

 although very beautiful, did not equal the first-class natural stones ; 

 but they are only the first productions of a new process, and it is de- 

 cidedly creditable to the inventors that they immediately divulged 

 their method without trying to mystify the public. Now others, too, 

 may follow up this new branch of a promising alchemy. Perhaps more 

 time should be given to the crystals for their formation, for Nature had 

 a great deal of time for such productions, and it was owing to this fact, 

 perhaps, that it achieved such glorious triumphs. There can be no 

 doubt but that, at some future time, these crystals of argillaceous earth 

 will be colored also green, 3'ellow, and purple, and that thus the pre- 

 cious stones, which were hitherto distinguished as Oriental emeralds, 

 topazes, and amethysts, from inferior stones of the same name, will be 

 produced. The addition "Oriental," in this connection, has no geo- 

 graphical meaning, and was applied by jewelers to the harder and 

 better classes of emeralds, topazes, and amethysts. Perhaps these 

 Oriental stones will be cheaper at an early day than the inferior ones, 

 and the middle classes may wear as brilliant stones as princesses do 

 now. 



Diamonds, too, were the objects of similar processes, that is, by try- 

 ing to bring about a slow separation of carbon from its combinations. 

 However, Chemistry has to admit here that it cannot demonstrate, with 

 any degree of accuracy, how Nature really produced the diamond. Some 

 think that it could only have been formed at an enormously high tem- 

 perature ; others consider its very slow formation in a cold condition 

 more probable; nay, there are scientists who regard it as the production 

 of some organic agency, because there are frequently discerned in them 

 green, cellular formations resembling certain alga?. In view of the 

 rapid progress of synthetic chemistry, it might, perhaps, be as well for 

 the diamond to maintain even in the eyes of chemists its time-honored 

 name " adamas " that is, the indomitable one. For what should the 



