320 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. VIII., No. 192 



small size, because by this process the specific 

 gravity is lowered to that of Gaudin's product. 

 The same also holds good of quartz,- beryl, etc. 



The French syndicate referred the matter to M, 

 Friedel of the Ecole des mines, Paris, supplying 

 him with samples of the stones for examination. 

 He reported the presence of the round and pear- 

 shaped bubbles, and determined the hardness and 

 specific gravity to be about the same as of the true 

 ruby. On an?Jysis, he found them to consist of 

 alumina, with a trace of chromium for the coloring- 

 matter. The cleavage was not in all cases distinct ; 

 and the rough pieces given to him as examples of 

 the gem in its native state had all been worked, 

 so that nothing could be learned of their crystal- 

 line structure. When properly cut according to 

 axes, they showed the annular rings. The extinc- 

 tion by parallel light was not always perfect, 

 which he believed to be due to the presence of the 

 bubbles. He states that he himself has obtained 

 small red globules with these inclusions by fusing 

 alumina by oxy hydrogen light ; and, although 

 having no positive evidence, he believes these 

 stones to be artificially obtained by fusion. 



On the receipt of M. Friedel's report, the syndi- 

 cate decided that all cabochon or cut stones of 

 this kind shall be sold as artificial, and not pre- 

 cious gems. Unless consignments are so marked, 

 the sales will be condsidered fraudulent, and the 

 misdemeanor punishable under the penal code. 

 All sales effected thus far, amounting to some 

 600,000 or 800,000 francs, shall be cancelled, and 

 the money and stones returned to their respective 

 owners. 



The action taken by the syndicate has fully set- 

 tled the position which this production will take 

 among gem-dealers, and there is little reason to 

 fear that the true ruby will ever lose the place it 

 has occupied for so many centuries. These stones 

 show the triumphs of modern science in chemis- 

 try, it is true ; and although some may be willing 

 to have the easily attainable, there are others who 

 will almost want, what the true ruby is becoming- 

 to-day, the unattainable. One will be nature's 

 gem, and the other the gem made by man. 



I presented this paper at the meeting of the 

 New York academy of sciences, Oct. 4. 



Geo. F. Kunz. 



A DULL BOOK. 



With the exception of the members of the Royal 

 geographical society, perhaps no body of men has 

 done more to advance our knowledge of the geo- 

 graphy of the earth's surface than the American 

 missionaries taken as a class. Explorer after ex- 



Persia, the land of the Imams. By James Bassett. Mew 

 York, Scribner, 1886. 



plorer has acknowledged his indebtedness to them 

 for the most important successes of his explora- 

 tion. Yet how little they have written, and how 

 worthless, comparatively speaking, is that little ! 

 The present volume is no exception to this 

 rule. The author had abundant opportunity to 

 see and learn, and he undoubtedly saw and learned 

 a great deal. Every page of the volume attests 

 his knowledge of the country of which he is 

 writing ; but somehow he has not told of the things 

 one wishes to know, while he has encumbered 

 his book with facts that have little or no interest, 

 and, what is more to be regretted, he has said what 

 he has said in the most wretched English. 



There are a few^ interesting passages in the 

 volume, especially one where he describes the 

 harem, or shrine, of the Imam Reza at the city of 

 Khorasan, more often called Mashad. Singularly 

 enough, he did not see the shrine itself, and got 

 his description second-hand, from an artist whom 

 he employed to paint a representation of it for 

 him. The book further contains the most recent 

 description of the government and social state of 

 Persia that we have : it therefore has a value not 

 dependent on the amount of interest one feels in 

 its perusal. There are, in addition, good accounts 

 of his journeyings in the region between the 

 Black and Caspian seas ; but, unfortunately, these 

 regions have been so recently described by more 

 entertaining, though not more competent writers, 

 that this portion of the work lacks the charm of 

 novelty, to say the least. 



One other objection to the volume is to be 

 found in the new and fantastic spelling of i)roper 

 names adopted by the author. He says in his 

 preface that in the orthography of Persian and 

 Arabic names he ' ' endeavored to adhere to the 

 Persian and Arabic forms. In some instances 

 this, however, did not seem to be expedient." 

 One wishes that he had more often retained the 

 more usual spelling. The best feature of the book, 

 and one which goes a good way towards giving it 

 a value at the present time, is the good map of 

 Persia and its border regions, prepared by the 

 author. In its preparation, special attention was 

 given to the details of the eastern border. In 

 conclusion, we are heartily sorry that the book 

 was not published eighteen months ago, when it 

 would have received more attention. 



NOTES AND NEWS. 

 One of the tasks, says Nature, Sept. 23, under- 

 taken by the British museum since printing has 

 taken the place of writing in the Catalogue, is the 

 publication of certain important sections of the 

 Catalogue in separate parts. Thus the entries 



