1847.] Notice of the Deo Monnees. 715 



Boiled in Nitro-Hydrochloric acid a part appeared to dissolve and 

 the vapour had a remarkably disagreeable smell. 



The filtered solution gave traces of Iron, and faintly but distinctly of 

 Copper, though not so strong as one would expect from the blowpipe 

 test. The red powder remaining on the filter fused readily with caus- 

 tic soda in a silver capsule, and whe'n cold was a dirty greenish mass, the 

 whole of which was soluble in Muriatic acid and the solution gave 

 also traces of Iron and Copper. 



It was evaporated to dryness and redissolved in pure water, when it 

 left untouched a buff- coloured powder, which by the blowpipe was 

 found to be silica tinged with Iron, the solution gave as before traces of 

 Iron; but was too dilute to show the Copper. I suppose indeed that much 

 of the Copper may have been volatilised, and it is possible that the 

 substance may contain Arsenic. 



The above I publish merely as a guide for future investigations when 

 more of the substance can be obtained, such preliminary notes being 

 always of great utility to the working chemist. In reply to Major 

 Jenkins I should say — 



That the fusibility and low degree of hardness of the one bead we 

 have experimented upon, while it puts it out of the classes of Jaspers 

 and Pitchstones (of which further we know of none containing copper?) 

 would incline as to believe that it is an enamel, in which the oxides of 

 copper are frequently used as the red colouring matters ; and it is not 

 difficult to suppose that the Singphos obtain these, fabricated to imitate 

 Jaspers of these colours, through tribes in intercourse with the Chinese 

 ofYunan. The talent of the Chinese in enamel work of all kinds we 

 well know, and no doubt the beads might be imitated by any person 

 who understood enamelling. 



The only natural mineral beads I can find in the bazar are red and 

 white cornelians. Some of blue glass have, I observe, strice on the 

 unground facets so that the circumstance of our Deo Monnees having 

 them does not count as an evidence of their being natural productions. 



