304 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1926 
under conditions of intense mechanical wear. ‘The thick deposits of 
alluvial and residual clays which mantle the underlying rock in the 
lowlands, where the gems are found, have made it impossible as yet 
to read all the details of the history of the processes by which these 
precious stones have been assembled where we now find them. 
While it is impossible to obtain accurate statistics with reference to 
the value of the annual output of gems in Ceylon—the work being 
carried on by little bands of men working here and there all over the 
gem-bearing districts and continually changing their scene of opera- 
tions—J. S. Coates, Esq., B. A., the government mineralogist of 
Ceylon, informed the writer that it amounts to between 8 and 10 
lakhs of rupees—that is to say, between $264,000 and $330,000 
annually, 
As is well known, the gem trade has in the last few years been 
much disturbed by the fact that it has been found possible to make 
artificial “synthetic ” rubies and sapphires of the various colors dis- 
played by the natural stones, as well as certain other gems hitherto to 
be obtained only from the rocks or gravels of the earth’s surface. 
Furthermore, these artificial stones are not mere imitations of the 
true gems—they are actual crystals of ruby, sapphire, etc., identical 
in composition and all physical properties with the latter. They are 
true gems made in the laboratory of man, instead of in the laboratory 
of nature, and can be distinguished from the natural stone only by the 
most expert examination—if at all. This fact shows how dangerous 
it is to prophesy what science will or will not be able to do as time 
goes on. One of the best-known books on Ceylon, entitled “ Ceylon, 
by an Officer of the Late Ceylon Rifles, 1876,” contains the following 
passage: “ We can take life, but we can not restore it; we can reduce 
a costly and brilliant gem to a worthless powder, but we can not turn 
the powder into a gem; nature has hitherto defied the cleverest savant 
and will continue to do so until the end of time.” Artificial stones 
are built up or grown by heating, by means of a powerful blowpipe, 
a fine powder having the composition of the gem it is desired to pro- 
duce, and the powder under these conditions of great heat grows into 
an actual crystal. 
BURMA 
Burma is now administered as a Province of India. It is bounded 
on the west by Bengal, Assam, and the feudatory State of Manipur, 
on the east by Siam, and on the north by Thibet and China. 
The dominant physiographic feature of Burma is the Irrawaddy 
River, running from north to south through a valley with low banks. 
The river rises in the mountains of the far north, one tributary 
branch coming from Thibet. The head of navigation for river boats 
is at Bhamo, which is situated about 25 miles from the Chinese bor- 
