10 



RANDOM NOTES ON NATURAL HISTORY. 



Fj. Hamlin, who has for several years had 

 cliarge of the conchological department in 

 the Agassiz Museum of Comparative Anat- 

 omv at Cambridge. We hold in grateful 

 niemor}' the kind attentions we have re- 

 ceived while making studies in his depart- 

 ment. 



We are informed that the very fine collec- 

 tions of birds' eggs in the cabinet of the late 

 John Snowdon Rowland, of Newport, R. I., 

 was bequeathed by him to New Haven, 

 where it will be sent as soon as it can be 

 properly packed for transporation. 



Diamonds found in the United States. 



We are indebted to the author, Mr. 

 George F. Kunz, for the pamphlet on pre- 

 cious stones, an abstract from the Mineral 

 Resources of the United States containing 

 much valuable and interesting material. 

 From its pages we quote, regarding United 

 States diamonds : 



''About the first of the year 1855, a 

 laborer in Manchester, Va., found a dia- 

 mond in some earth he was digging up. It 

 was put into a furnace for melting iron, at 

 Richmond, where it remained at red heat 

 for two hours and twenty minutes. It was 

 then found to be uninjured and brighter 

 tlian ever. It was valued in Richmond at 

 $4,000 and became the property of Capt. 

 Samuel W. Dewe3', who called it Oninoor, or 

 " Sun of Light"; it was later cut by Mr. H. 

 D. Morse, at an expense of $1,500. The 

 cutting reduced the weight from 23f carats 

 to llj^ carats. It is off color and imper- 

 fect, and is to-da}'^ worth not more than 

 $400. 



'• The first diamond found in North Caro- 

 lina was an octahedron valued at $100, at 

 the ford of Brindletown Creek, by Dr. F. 

 M. Stephenson. Another was found in the 

 same neighborhood ; and a third, a distorted 

 hexoctahedron, yellowish in color, at Twit- 

 ty's Mine, Rutherford County. A fourth, 

 greenish in color, was found b}- Dr. T. C. 

 Hunter, near Cottage House, Lincoln 

 County, in 1852. Another, said to be a 

 perfect crystal of white color, was found at 

 Todd's Branch, Mecklenburg Count}'. Dr. 

 Genth reports two diamonds from Portis 

 Mine, Franklin County, and others weigh- 



ing from one-half a carat to over two cai-ats, 

 are reported from J. C. Mill's JMines, in 

 Burke County. These diamonds are usually 

 associated with gold, monazite, zircon, oc- 

 hahedrite, etc., the debris of gneissoid rocks, 

 in which graphite is always found. 



" Several stones of fine quality have been 

 found at the Horshaw placer gold mine. 

 White Count}', Georgia." 



Mr. C. G. Yale, furnishes the following 

 notes on the California occurrences : 



'•'• For more than thirt}' 3'ears the placer 

 miners have occasionall}' picked up small 

 diamonds. The hydraulic washings at 

 Cherokee, Butte County, have been the 

 most prolific. The diamonds are usually 

 found by the miners when cleaning up their 

 sluices, or while washing off the bed rock, 

 though in a few instances they have been 

 picked up on the surface. As a general 

 thing, the gravel in which the}^ occur is 

 mixed with lava, ashes, or other volcanic 

 matter; zircon, platinum, iridium, magnet- 

 ite, etc., being associated. While manj' of 

 these stones have been of good color, 

 brilliant and perfect, none weighing over 3| 

 carats have been found in the state. So 

 far as known, $500 is the highest price for 

 which any rough stone has been sold ; large 

 numbers have found purchasers at from $10 

 to $50, and not a few as high as $100. 



" The stones have been white, yellow, 

 straw and rose, and many of good water. 

 A few small diamonds have been found in 

 the placer diggings of Idaho, of about the 

 same qualit}', and occurring under the same 

 conditions as in California. 



" A stone weighing 15 carats was reported 

 as found at Eagle, Waukesha County, 

 Wis., having been thrown out at a 

 depth of sixt}' feet while excavating a well. 

 It is slighth' off color and worth about $300 

 as a diamond, but is held at $1,000, owing 

 to its being the first diamond found in 

 Wisconsin ; two small stones are also re- 

 ported as found there, each weighing less 

 than half a carat. 



"In the latter part of 1883, a diamond 

 was reported as found at Nelson Hill, near 

 Blackfoot, Deer Lodge County, Mon. This 

 was a colorless stone, in weight about 12 

 grains. 



"Mr. J. D. Yerrington, of New York, re- 

 ports a brown diamond, found near Philadel- 

 phus, Ariz. It weighed one carat, and when 



