i86 



SCIENCE. 



[Vol. X. No. 245 



In 1879, thousands of British subjects from Burma passed 

 through Bangkok on their way to the sapphire-mines of Siam. The 

 unhealthy condition of the place proved fatal to numbers, and, 

 although many realized great profits, the rush soon abated. No 

 royalty was charged on the gems found, but a poll-tax of six shil- 

 lings was levied at the mines. A sapphire weighing 370 carats in 

 the rough, and 1 1 1 when cut, was the largest known to have been 

 found. The ruby, onyx, and jade are also found in this district, 

 but the quality of none of these is such as to make them very 

 valuable. 



Year by year great changes occur in the intrinsic value of 

 precious stones from frequent plentiful discoveries. The great find 

 of sapphires in Kashmir and Siam reduced their value some 50 

 per cent. The discovery of large deposits of amethysts in the in- 

 terior of Brazil caused 7,000 diamond-washers to abandon their 

 usual calling and flock to the neighborhood of the city of Caete, but 

 the prices dropped so rapidly that the shipments made did not pay. 

 The diamond market has not been materially affected by any great 

 fall in price from the enormous production in South Africa. 



Art has much to do with the manufacture of gem stones. Chal- 

 cedony, when stained by metallic oxides, rises to the dignity of a 

 gem stone, as sard, carnelian, chrysophrase, when uniformly tinted 

 brown, yellow, or green ; as agate, onyx, sardonyx, when the colors 

 lie in bands or strata. The dull or latent colors are developed by 

 heat or roasting. Black onyx, that is, black stones crossed by 

 bands of pure white, are always artificial. 



The precious opal was formerly in high repute, but has gone out 

 of fashion from being considered unlucky, — 'misfortune's stone,' — 

 and yet nothing can be more beautiful than the opals of Hungary 

 and Queensland. The fine collection of the latter was much ad- 

 mired at the recent Colonial Exhibition. The area in which opals 

 are met with in Queensland is large, but only in one or two locali- 

 ties are opals of any value obtained. They are remarkable for their 

 brilliancy and variety of color, rivalling in that respect those of 

 Hungary. The ultramarine blue color so finely shown in the 

 Queensland specimens is rare even in Hungary. They are obtained 

 of considerable size, and are of good value. Of other gems, there 

 have been found in Queensland, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, 

 topazes, etc., in the tin-bearing drift of Stanthorpe. Agates, which 

 are also employed as burnishers, are met with in large quantities 

 in the Agate Creek, Etheridge gold-field. There they can be pro- 

 cured in all colors and sizes by the hundredweight. 



In the opal-mines of Dubreck, Hungary, about two miles of gal- 

 leries are worked under government supervision, yielding a revenue 

 of _£i,2oo. The opal-bearing rock is not disposed in vein or bed 

 form : on the contrary, the precious stone is found in nests, or 

 pockets, and it not unfrequently happens that a considerable dis- 

 tance may be passed in the workings without showing a sign of an 

 opal. 



Like some of their more civilized brethren, the Maories of New 

 Zealand are passionately fond of adorning their persons with trin- 

 kets and other ornaments, especially of jade. At the present day 

 many of the decorations formerly used have been discontinued. 

 Ear-ornaments are still in general use : they are worn by both 

 sexes, and are of great variety. Those of greenstone, or nephrite, are 

 the most highly prized. The amulet, or neck ornament, is generally 

 of greenstone, carved into the resemblance of a human figure. The 

 image is not unlike a Hindu idol, having an enormous face and 

 badly shaped legs of disproportionate size. The ear pendants of 

 greenstone vary in form : some are narrow pieces, from 3 to 5 

 inches in length, and others are round, thin, and flat. The color 

 of jade varies from almost white to a dark green, but the lighter 

 shades of green are the most highly prized. It is hunted for in the 

 fissures of the precipices and in the streams of Chinese Tartary. 

 Much of it is found in the rivers there by divers. These men work 

 by moonlight, under an escort of soldiers, supervised by govern- 

 ment officers appointed for the purpose, and by whom each piece, 

 as found, is assayed and valued. The imperial jade is of a bril- 

 liant green, approaching the emerald in color. 



There are jade-quarries in Burma, situated in the Mojaung dis- 

 trict, at the head waters of the Churdwen, about 90 miles from 

 Bhamo. They are leased to two companies for _^6,ooo, and the 

 trade is entirely in the hands of the Chinese. 



The imports of jade into India are to the value of ^30,000 to 

 £40,000. In India jade vases are often ornamented with jewels, 

 or carved and wrought so as to form elegant devices. The old 

 Delhi work in cut and gem-incrusted jade is priceless. The 

 Chinese had cut jade for ages, but never ornamented it except by 

 sculpture ; but, when it was introduced into India, the native 

 jewellers, with their quick eye for color, at once saw what a per- 

 fect ground it afforded for mounting precious stones, and they 

 were the first to incrust them on jade. The Indian Museum at 

 South Kensington possesses the choicest and grandest specimens 

 of this work known, of the best Mogol period (Sir G. Birdwood 

 on ' The Industrial Arts of India '). 



Blocks of green stone, axes, meres, charms, and other articles of 

 jade, were shown m the New Zealand Court of the late Colonial Ex- 

 hibition, evidencing the patient skill of the Maoris in working this 

 hard material, second in this respect to the diamond, although 

 nevertheless somewhat fragile. 



Passing now from land to sea, we shall find the busy search as 

 actively carried on. In the coral-fishery of the Mediterranean 

 nearly 600 boats are employed, manned by about 6,000 men, the num- 

 ber to a boat varying from 6 to 13 hands. They are sent out from 

 Torra del Greco, Leghorn, Liguria, Sardinia, and the Algerian 

 ports. It is a curious sight to see a fleet of these boats, ranging 

 in size from 3 to 14 tons, employed on the banks with their wooden 

 windlass amidships, hauling up what is termed the ' engine,' a kind 

 of cross-shaped dredge for tearing off the branches of coral from 

 the rocks. About 400,000 pounds of rough coral are brought in 

 annually to Italy ; and the shaping and working of this into the 

 varied forms it assumes for commercial purposes, gives employ- 

 ment to hundreds in the chief cities. The value of the coral 

 shipped from Europe used to reach about _£6oo,ooo annually ; but 

 with the change of fashion this has declined considerably. Not 

 long ago there was quite a rage for the pale flesh-colored coral 

 for jewelry. Coral ornaments may again come into fashion, even if 

 they do not fetch the high prices at which they were formerly sold. 

 Coral has the hardness and brilliancy of agate : it polishes like 

 gems, and shines like garnet, with the tint of the ruby. In 

 Russia, northern Africa, and India, coral is still much in demand. 

 The imports into India last year were to the value of _£20,ooo. 



Amber was one of the most valuable jewels of antiquity. It 

 was endowed with manifold sympathetic effects as a talisman 

 against rheumatism, toothache, and other complaints. The Turks 

 still believe it to be an infallible guard against the injurious effects 

 of nicotine : hence its extensive use for the mouthpieces of pipes. 

 Amber is esteemed for ornaments by many. The cloudy, or milk- 

 white, and the opaque lemon-colored, are the varieties most valued 

 by connoisseurs. The imports to this country are to the value of 

 about _^3,ooo to £4,000, but it is largely shipped also to Austria, 

 France, Turkey, and the Eastern nations. In is principally ob- 

 tained on the Prussian coast of the Baltic, from Dantzic to Memel. 

 At one establishment near Memel dredging is carried on day and 

 night by ' shifts ' of men, 400 being so engaged. At another, in 

 Konigsberg, 3,350 persons and nineteen steam-engines are em- 

 ployed. The pits are 300 feet deep, and loo carts are employed 

 on the works. In other localities divers are employed, two to each 

 boat, with submarine clothing and air-pumps. 



The fishing for pearls and mother-of-pearl shells is carried on in 

 very many quarters : in Lower California, the coasts of Mexico, the 

 Bay of Panama ; in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, Ceylon, Borneo, 

 New Guinea, the Sooloo Isles, Fiji, the Society and other of the 

 Pacific Islands, and on the east and west coasts of Australia. The 

 pearl-fisheries on the coasts of Central America furnish about 

 £100,000 worth of pearls, and employ about 1,000 divers. Our im- 

 ports of pearls average in value about £100,000: France receives 

 about the same. The marketable value of pearls is much higher 

 in Asiatic countries than elsewhere : hence the best are sent to 

 Bombay, where fancy prices are often given for good pearls. 



At the Bahrein fishery in the Persian Gulf, many hundred boats 

 are employed, manned by from eight to twenty men, and the value 

 of the pearls obtained is stated to average £1,000 yearly, but this 

 amount of course varies. The larger and more valuable pearls are 

 believed to be sold secretly. The men receive two-thirds of the 

 catch, after deducting expenses, and for food, etc. 



