1832.] Precious Minerals. 359 



The Persian authors are particular in their description of the 

 locality and origin of this stone. tt The mine of this gem was not dis- 

 covered until after a sudden shock of an earthquake, in Badakshan*, 

 had rent asunder a mountain in that country, which exhibited to the 

 astonished spectators a number of sparkling pink gems of the size 

 of eggs. The women of the neighbourhood thought them to 

 possess a tingent quality, but finding they yielded no coloring matter, 

 they threw them away. Some jewellers, discovering their worth, 

 delivered them to the lapidaries to be worked up, but owing to their 

 softness the workmen could not at first polish them, until they found 

 out the method of doing so with mark-i-shisd, marcasite or iron pyrites. 

 This gem was at first esteemed more than the yaqut^ but as its color and 

 hardness were found to be inferior to the latter, it became less prized." 

 There are many varieties of color : red, yellow, and greenish, but the 

 piazi, reddish yellow or onion-colored, (the rubicelle ?) and the mina, 

 violet-colored, (the almandine ruby ?) are held in the highest esti- 

 mation ; of the red there are given eight tints, wine color, date color, Bra- 

 zil wood color, &c. which it is needless to enumerate. The author 

 of the Jawdhir-nameh says : " as the lal ruby did not exist in the time 

 of Jemshid, no mention of it is to be found in ancient works ; 

 modern physicians ascribe to it the same medicinal qualities as the 

 yaqut possesses." 



In a manuscript history of Cashmfr and the countries adjacent, 

 by Abdul Qadir Khan, Benares, 1830, is the following description 

 of the manner of extracting rubies from the Badakshan mines : it pro- 

 fesses to be taken from an oral account by Mirza Nazar Baki Beg 

 Khan, a native of Badakshan,, settled at Benares. 



Having collected a party of miners, a spot is pointed out by ex- 

 perienced workmen, where an adit is commenced. The aperture is 

 cut in the rock large enough to admit a man upright : the passage 

 is lighted at intervals by cotton mashdls placed in niches ; as they pro- 

 ceed with the excavation, the rock is examined until a vein of 

 reddish appearance is discovered, which is recognized as the matrix 

 of the precious gem. This red colored rock or vein is called rag- 

 i-ldl, or, the vein of rubies ; the miners set to work upon this with 

 much art, following all its ramifications through the parent rock. 



* The Manaif- ul-ahjdr dates this occurrence " 350 years ago," but the date of 

 the work is not given : the lal is not mentioned by Zakarya. Since the above was 

 written, Mr. H. H. Wilson has favored me with a sight of another work on jewels, 

 entitled Kkawas-ul-hejar, translated by himself, in which the lul is treated of un- 

 der the name of balaksh {Balakshan being synonymous with Badakshan). This 

 leaves no doubt as to the origin of the word Balas. lianak.sk is also described as a 

 variety of inferior quality and no value. The word is not used by other authorities. 



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