On Colonial Gems. 73 



out of the gizzard of a wild duck, bought in Melbourne. 

 This was told rue by him a dozen years ago. 



For a long time after the circustance mentioned to me by 

 Mr. Crisp, nothing was known or heard of sapphire being 

 found within a hundred miles of Melbourne. Then Mr. Ulrich 

 informed me he had found a ruby, when examining sands from 

 the creeks about Mount Martha and Mount Eliza — not very 

 far from the place where were found those which I now 

 exhibit. Two years and more ago, when making a collection 

 of gem-stones for the Intercolonial Exhibition, I examined 

 in a cursory way the Dandenong, Berwick, Tubba Rubba, 

 and other creeks to the south-east of Melbourne, and in 

 several places found in the sand and drift very pretty 

 crystals of blue and greyish blue sapphire, and a few small 

 zircons. Later on I saw a rather large lot at the Geological 

 Survey offices, which Mr. Selwj T n informed me had been 

 brought from near Berwick. There is no wonder, then, at 

 Mr. Crisp having met with a specimen in the gizzard of a 

 wild duck ; especially after what we know of the district, 

 and when we recollect that at that time the supply of wild 

 fowl was derived almost wholly from the Mordialloc and 

 Dandenong country. 



It is now an incontrovertable fact that the real Oriental 

 ruby, of good colour and merchantable size, occurs within 

 forty miles of Melbourne. What may come out of this no 

 man can conjecture, but here are at once the fact and the 

 evidences thereof. But not alone on the precious ruby, now 

 more precious than the diamond, have I to say a few words 

 to-night. I have here quite a lot of the Oriental amethyst — 

 one of the most rare of all gems ; a number of the Oriental 

 emerald, the green sapphire, and also of the Oriental topaz 

 and the Oriental aquamarine. As to zircons, they were 

 found mixed up with the other things in the sand, but were 

 of no value nor interest. I abstain, as I always have done, 

 from loading any notes of mine with heavy scientific formulaa, 

 matters which any one may find usque superque in books. 

 Yet, for fear any outsiders might run off with the idea that 

 I have been wanting in the scientific details necessary to 

 render my results reliable, I may say I have subjected 

 them to all known tests — both chemical and optical — of their 

 . purity, and am quite satisfied. Moreover, for fear of any 

 controversy hereafter arising, I would respectfully say that I 

 went over the least known of these new discoveries with 

 Mr. Selwyn and Mr. Ulrich, and that we left no severe test 



