174 DIAlVrONDS AND THEIR HISTORY. 



hill was 10 years ago Kimberley Mine. The operations there, 

 covering about 9 acres, have now not only levelled the hill, but 

 have excavated the earth to the depth of about 800 feet, laying 

 bare the sides of the crater. As the sand got cleared away, it was 

 found that the " mine " is surrounded by hard, calcined shales, 

 called by the miners " the reef." This reef contains no Diamonds, 

 nor does the stratum outside it, the diamondiferous earth being 

 entirely inside — that is, surrounded by the reef. At first, the 

 reef sloped inwards, thus decreasing the area of the mine, and 

 forming a kind of cup, but at a certain depth it becomes vertical. 

 The first layer was the loose, red sand, containing but few Dia- 

 monds ; then came a stratum of 60 to 80 feet of yellow ground, 

 containing many Diamonds ; and below that the richest stratum of 

 all, known as the blue ground, of unknown depth. This diamond- 

 iferous ground has been carefully and thoroughly analysed, and is 

 found to consist of decomposed volcanic material. 



The mine, or, more properly speaking, quarry, is worked by 

 negro labour. The " blue ground " is first loosened by blasting, 

 then dug out with pick and shovel, and hauled to the surface by 

 means of aerial trams, worked by steam power. The ground, at 

 first very hard, is then spread out, exposed to the sun and rain, 

 and in about three or four months is in a condition to pulverise 

 and pass through the washing-machine. Space prevents me 

 longer dwelling upon this mine, which may be taken as a type of 

 all the dry diggings of South Africa. They are all, both pans and 

 Kopjes, volcanic craters. This is proved by the calcined reef 

 surrounding them, and the character and analysis of the earth 

 contained inside them ; further, that the country has been sub- 

 jected to great volcanic disturbance, is shown by the stratum being 

 seamed in all directions by trap-dykes. That the Diamonds of 

 the Kimberley mine were formed in the earth in which they are 

 now found, an examination of the output of the mine conclu- 

 sively proves. 



The Diamonds from these mines are entirely different in 

 appearance from those found in the gravels of Brazil, or India, or 

 the " River Diggings," which always bear marks of travel ; while 

 these from Kimberley, to the minutest chips, show, by their sharp 

 edges and brilliant polish, that they have crystallised where now 

 found, or at most been only thrown up from below. 



