aSiJ 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[Oct. 1, 1886. 



fact does not furnish the clue to the cause of the 

 blue of the sapphire or the red of the ruby." Similarly 

 though it has been sought to explain the formation 

 of the pearl by the irritation caused by a foreign 

 substiuce, "there are many joearls which betray no 

 sign of such origin." 



A fact of ■which the anaatcur investor should not be 

 ignorant is that the carat by which the weight of 

 uil precious dtones is reckoned is a variable (juantiy, 

 ns is therefore the "grain," four of which go to 

 -■iialre the carat. Thr-ie are only ^''17 graiuF of troy 

 wei'^ht in the Eugli.sh carat, and Mr. Jackson, in his 

 ":^^odern Metrology" (quoted by Mr. Church) gives 

 a list of sixteen different carat weights for ditfcrciit 

 parts of the world. These weights range between 

 ■2I0O and 'ISSli of a French ijraiintic. There is an 

 understanding between the merchants, of London, 

 Paris, and Amsterdam to use the carat of '205 of a 

 (//■(fiiime; but it is not at all an inconceivable case 

 ithat the amateur investor should be buying or selling 

 very different weiglits. He ought therefore to possess 

 a pocket set of diamond scales and weights of the 

 London standard, and to use them when he conceives 

 that there is ground for doing so. 



The amateur who invests primarily for the pleasure 

 of possessing a collection of the most precious and 

 beautiful objects in nature, and to whom their 

 character as safe and portable property is only a 

 secondary consideration tbough a necessary condition 

 in so laying out his money, must of course cut his 

 coat according to liis cloth; but, whatever may be 

 the amount of money to be spent — two thusand or 

 two hundre 1 thousand — he ought to have definite 

 views of what he proposes to do. Though he may lay 

 out a regular forty thousand a year on his hobby (as 

 a dealer lately teld me that a client of his was in the 

 practice of doing), if he be a true amateur there will be 

 uo superfluous repetition, no heaping up of treasure 

 upon treasure merely because it is treasure. If his 

 tastes are simple, he may easily spend a hundred 

 thousand pounds upon a dozen specimens of the five 

 primary gems — ruby, emerald, sapphire, diamond, and 

 pearl ; and a few thousands more would buy correspond- 

 ing examples of all the quasi-precious stones — spinel, 

 tourmaline, peridot, cat's eye, opal, etc. If he goes 

 in for variety in each kind, he may easily 

 spend any sum he pleases; for the individu- 

 ality of character in precious stones is far greater 

 than is commonly supposed. I was once examining 

 some rubies in company with an uninitiated friend, at 

 the house of a City broker, and my companion in- 

 quired how one was to be sure tliat a >toue deposited 

 for sale was not changed ? ''.Surely a man would 

 know his own ruby I" answered tlic broke; , with such 

 a look as one might ca.st on a ni'in v»'ho should sug- 

 gest a similar difficulty in identifying his wife. The 

 aurora red and the carmine of the fine rul/y exist in 

 .so many shades and proportions, t at it would lake 

 many specimens to illustrate the various beauty of 

 which the stone is capable : and it is so with the 

 iiiierald and, in a less degiecj with the sapphire. 

 Heveral pearls — spherical, "button," pendant, and 

 t gg-shspe;!— would be required to show off these mere 

 vuiieties of pure form, and several more the differ- 

 ences of colour. Cutting introduces another source of 

 v.i'ifty in piecious stones. 



The first thing to be attended to, in choosing 

 stones for a specimen collection, is the colour; the 

 second their interior soundness ; and the third their 

 cutting. The power of appreciating their colour can 

 only come from practice, which, however, may be 

 assisted by such hints as I have already given con- 

 Ci-riiing the colour of rubies. The darker an emerald 

 is, tlie better, provided it is perfectly clear; but to 

 be a fine dark green is not enough. It must have a 

 pi-culiar oilyplay of colour, v/hich many have tried but 

 none have succeeded in describing. Isodorus, Bishop 

 of Seville (quoted by Streeterj, says, " It surpasses in 

 its greeni ess all green stones, and even the leaves of 

 plaiitri, and it imparts to the air around it a green 

 shimmer ; its colour is most soothing to the eyes." 

 V, iiy fays : "If the sight hath been wearied and dimmed 

 bv intently poring on anything else, the beholding 

 of Ihis stone doth refresh and restore it again.'' Pante, 



describing the grass in a pleasant spot of Purgatory, 

 saj's it was ■' as green as broken emeralds." Psellos 

 (eleventh century) says it is " leek-green, playing easily 

 into gold and blue." Heliodorus speaks of emeralds- 

 as " gems green as a meadow in spring, but illumiu 

 ated with a certain oily lustre." Another ancient writer 

 desenbes them as " playing with a quivering green." 

 This pecidiar and iudesuribable btauty ij owing to 

 their strong liichroism ; the double colour showing 

 some different .sh.ide or mixture of shade<; nt every 

 .'ilightesi change of position, and, even when fheeye 

 and the stone are fixed, filhng tlie dift'erent "stefi" 

 or facets of the stone with indefiualile aiiimaliou. 



•Sapphires of a bright, dark, and hard blue should be 

 avoided, as well as those which show a pale strawish 

 tint at the thinner edges. The right colour is the 

 dark and soft ultramarine of the cornflower; but this 

 hue is rarely, according to my experience, found with- 

 out some " silkiiiess." Clear stones of this colour and 

 without a flaw fetch very high prices ; but those of 

 the harsher blue of ninety-nine sapphires in a hun- 

 dred can be got for £10 or £12 a carat. 



An emerald or sapphire of very fine colour ma}' have 

 several internal cracks or "feathers," and still be of 

 great value. Yet flawless emeralds and sapphires are not 

 so extrmiely rare as to justify a collector of first-class 

 stones in putting up with flawed examples ; but lie may 

 have to wait for ten or twenty years, if he cannot put 

 up with a ruby which does not, by some obvious irreg- 

 ularity in the reflection from the lower through the 

 upper facets, indicate the existence of interior unsound- 

 ness. He may be well satisfied if he is lucky enough to 

 obtain a ruby of three or four carats of the true colour, 

 without any brown or grey " marks" in it or serious 

 chips or chasms in its surface. 



A stoue may be of the best colour and perfectly sound 

 and yet be worth oulj' half the value of another stone 

 of like constitution and colour, because the cutting and 

 shape are not so good. The "steps" and lower facets 

 should be in such numbers and at such angles as to send 

 their reflected sheets of hght through all portions of the 

 upper part of the stone, especially the table. If the 

 stone is too deep or too shallow the table will be lustre- 

 less, .showing only a dull transmitted light instead of 

 bright reflected planes. It is the fashion now. and is 

 likelj' to remain so, to give the " girdle " of the brilli- 

 ant a circular form. This is certainly more beautiful 

 than the old brilliant shape, which was a compromise 

 between a circle and a square. It requires sixty-six 

 facets, instead of the fifty-eight of the old brilliant. A 

 fin? large stone thus cut is worth some pounds more per 

 carat than another of the same weight and <|uality of 

 the old shape. 



The value of all first-class specimens of precious stones 

 has greatly risen and is still rapidly rising, on account 

 mainly of the eagerness with which they are bought 

 up by wealthy Americans for their collections. T'niess 

 you get the first oft'er of an as yet uncut ruby pr. 'mi.sed 

 to you, on the chance of its turning out a " specimen," 

 you are scarcely likely ever to get a faultless stone of 

 even one cara*, and for that you will have to pay at 

 least £100. Should a three-carat ruby of .such character 

 turn up, you may be asked, or you may ask, almost any 

 jprice for it. Eleven hundred pounds has been given for 

 such a stone — that is, nearly £400 a carat. — Ay. Jnmcs'n 

 Bt'df/et. 



Vegetable Cultivation near Cot.ojmbo. — We have 

 to thank Mr. Atapattu, " Agriculturist, ' for an 

 excellent ba.sket of vegetables, the products of his 

 garden at Dehiwala— comprising live specimens of 

 tlie famous snake gourd, brinjal, and chillies Ac. 

 The radishes are somewhat large for ordinary u.se, 

 but doubtle.ss would have been very tender and 

 palatable a fortnight ago. Let us recommend to 

 the notice of this enterprising gardener, the choo- 

 choo gourd introduced by Mr. Nock, also the tree 

 tomatoes, both of which would probably succeed 

 under his care and prove a great acquisition to 

 our country gardens. 



