1832.] Precious Minerals. 357 



India and « Pallenes littorlbus." There were several inferior sorts : 1, 

 those called ceraunia in the east ; 2, the astroites much praised by- 

 Zoroaster; 3, the astrobolos of Sadines, resembling the eye of a 

 fish, &c. : all of these appear to have been varieties of the quartz cat's- 

 eye. " The jewellers appraise the value of the ayn-ul-hireh according 

 to the number or perfection of the threads (zanar) visible in it, which 

 should give the stone, when turned about, the appearance of a drop of 

 floating water." This description accords with the quartz cat's-eye 

 rather than with the asteria ; but there is some difficulty in reconciling 

 the uncertainties regarding this mineral, and I have not been able to ob- 

 tain the actual name of the asteria for the want of a specimen of the stone. 



The ayn-ul-hireh probably, however, comprises both of the above 

 minerals ; in the same manner as the turmali) next to be mentioned 

 of the varieties of yaqiit, apparently embraces both the zircon and 

 tourmaline families. 



" To the turmali, as being of a greenish yellow tinge, people frequent- 

 ly give the name of zabarjad, or beryl ? It is found in small rounded 

 pebbles in the same rock or matrix as the other Ceylon stones." 



An uncut specimen of turmali and several polished stones, ob- 

 tained from a native jeweller in Calcutta for examination, proved to be the 

 "jargoon of Ceylon," or precious zircon. It had a specific gravity 

 4.56 ; hardness 7.0 ; fracture vitreous ; colour greenish, some quite 

 transparent and clear ; form rounded, amorphous : inalterable before 

 the blowpipe per se. The colorless turmali is cut and sold as a false dia- 

 mond, in the bazars of India. Davy says, that " the yellow varieties of 

 the zircon are sold by the inhabitants of Ceylon as a peculiar kind of 

 topaz ; the green as tourmalines*, the hyacinth red, as inferior rubies, 

 and the very light grey, as imperfect diamonds ; the natives being 

 altogether ignorant of the true nature of this mineral. It is most abun- 

 dant in the district of Matura, whence it has its common name in 

 Ceylon of Matura diamond^." 



Of the localities of the yaqut, it is only stated in two of the works 

 before us, that the gem comes from the hottest part of the globe, " from 

 the south near the equator." In the Jazodhir-nameh, however, the 

 large island of Ceylon is said to be its only habitat, where it is gene- 

 rated in caverns from the suppuration and solidification of the essence 

 of water ! u The natives dig wells in these places, and wash the sand 



* In Rees' Encyc. the Singalese name for tourmaline is stated to be tournamal. 



f In speaking of the hyacinth (which among us is a variety of the zircon) 

 Pliny says, " Hunc coloremlndi sacm vocant, et talein gemmam sacodion." 



