CARBON. 369 



in the animal and vegetable kingdoms, and amongst the chief minerals a solid, 

 odourless, tasteless, infusible, and almost insoluble body. In various com- 

 binations carbon meets us at every turn ; united with oxygen it forms 

 carbonic acid, which we exhale for the plants to imbibe. We have it in 

 coal, with hydrogen and oxygen. We have it building up animal tissues, 



Fig. 364. Facets of a brilliant. 



and it is never absent in two out of the three great divisions of nature the 

 plants and the animals (Symbol C ; Atomic W. 12). 



We have carbon in three different and well-known conditions ; as the 

 diamond, as graphite, or black-lead, and as charcoal. The properties of 

 the diamond are well known, and we shall, when we get to Crystallography, 



Fig. 365. Facets of a rose diamond. 



learn the forms of diamond or crystals of carbon. At present we give an 



illustration or two, reserving all explanation for the present. Diamond 



:tmg is a matter of some difficulty, and it requires skill to cut in the 



proper direction. Diamonds are found in India, Brazil, and at the Cape of 



Hope, in alluvial soil. The identity of diamond and charcoal was 



discovered accidentally. An experiment to fuse a few small diamonds 



