HARDWICKE' S SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



9 1 



earth. Tims, the Canyon Diablo meteorite con- 

 tained iron to the extent of 91 per cent., and nickel 

 to as much as 7 per cent. It also included small 

 diamonds, both black and transparent, the largest of 

 which measured seven millimetres by three. The 

 latter had a yellow tint and a rough surface, but 

 was quite transparent to light. 



The double number of the " Entomologists' 

 Record " for last month, contains papers by the 

 editor, J. W. Tutt, F.E.S., T. A. Chapman, of 

 Hereford, A. J. Hodges, and others. The last- 

 named gentleman's suggestion of labelling is, in our 

 mind, unnecessary, as one always associates sugar 

 with matters one takes as sugar, light with those as 

 light, and so on. Mr. Chapman's paper, on 

 "Stauropus Fagi," is certainly excellent, and brings 

 out that gentleman's powers of observation. 



<The "Entomologist" for March contains very 

 good papers, "On the Lepidoptera of Ireland," by 

 Vismes Kane, M.A. • " The West Indian Species of 

 Ceroplastes," by T. D. A. Cockerell ; while the 

 Rev. O. P. Cambridge's "Reminiscences of the late 

 Professor Westwood " will interest every entomolo- 

 gist who knew that great entomologist. Mr. Baukes 

 has made a great discovery. We have never before 

 seen a catalogue of British lepidoptera which in- 

 cluded Catocala electa. 



More than ten years ago the scientific world was 

 startled on hearing that real diamonds, real rubiesj 

 and other precious stones could be artificially pro- 

 duced. The discovery was made in one of the 

 Glasgow ironworks. We have not heard anything 

 more about it since, except the fact that the arti- 

 ficial production of these stones is possible. They 

 were too small to be of any market value. Nature 

 takes millions of years to produce her stones, and the 

 Koh-i-Noor and the Pitt diamond may be as old as 

 anthracite coal, to which they are chemically so 

 nearly related. The history of diamonds and other 

 precious stones is intimately associated with the 

 history of emperors, kings, queens, and courts. 

 They never travelled far beyond those boundaries, 

 until Europe, America, and Australia evolved a 

 wealthy middle-class, and rich merchants were im- 

 portuned by their squaws to adorn them therewith. 

 No kind of precious stone, however, has interested 

 wealthy humanity more than the diamond. In one 

 of his Cambridge historical lectures, Canon Charles 

 Kingsley gives an historical genealogy of some of the 

 best-known of precious stones. Since they have 

 been discovered so abundantly at the Cape we have 

 learned something of their possible origin. Our 

 readers have doubtless frequently heard of the phrase 

 "blue earth," which, in the neighbourhood of 

 Kimberley, is diamondiferous. Many geologists 

 believe that this blue earth is the decomposed lava- 

 like material filling the throats of long extinct 



volcanoes. This blue earth has recently been sub- 

 jected to careful microscopic and chemical examina- 

 tion. It is crowded with microscopical diamonds, as 

 well as the raw materials, such as graphite and 

 carbonado, from which they have no doubt been 

 formed. Even the graphite (the mineral that is more 

 familiar to us under the name of blacklead) is found 

 in this blue earth, crystallised in six-sided prisms. 

 After careful chemical treatment of the blue earth 

 with sulphuric hydro-fluoric acid and chlorate of 

 potassium, the residuum was crowded with micro- 

 scopic diamonds, black, yellow, and white. 



We have heard a good deal from time to time 

 concerning the pernicious habit of opium-smoking. 

 There are always two sides to a question, but he is a 

 bold man who takes up the position of advocattis 

 diaboli on this. Everybody has been so hose-piped 

 with "facts" and statistics concerning the use of 

 opium, that it comes with an unexpected surprise 

 upon us to hear of a defender pleading for its use. 

 This is what Dr. Nightingale does, however, in the 

 last number of the "Asiatic Quarterly Review," and 

 his remarks are based upon personal experience, 

 obtained among the Chinese themselves. He declares 

 that the use of opium is not only not an evil, but 

 that in the majority of cases it is actually beneficial 

 in warding off fevers, or lowering their attacks. It 

 enables Chinamen to perform heavy coolie work at 

 a temperature of 150 , which no other race can 

 perform. It does not make the Chinaman quarrel- 

 some, as alcohol does his Western brother. It also 

 enables him to stand a great amount of pain. Dr. 

 Nightingale is firmly of opinion that the more the 

 opium question is gone into the less harm will be 

 found to result from the use of this drug. 



The March number of the " Annals and Magazine 

 of Natural History " contains the following original 

 papers by well-known naturalists : " The Affinities and 

 Origin of the Tardigrada," by Prof. J. von Kennel ; a 

 palseontological treatise " On Some Newly-described 

 Jurassic and Cretaceous Lizards and Rhynchocepha- 

 lians," by G. A. Boulgener ; "Descriptions of four 

 new species of Butterflies from N.W. China," by H. 

 Grove Smith, together with the " Embryology of the 

 Mites," " A New Porcupine from East Africa," and 

 " The Mechanical Genesis of the Scales of Fishes," 

 by John A. Ryder. 



Messrs. L. Reeve & Co. have in preparation a 

 new work on the British Aculeate Hymenoptera, from 

 the pen of Mr. Edward Saunders, F.L.S., uniform 

 with the same author's work on the Hemiptera Hete- 

 ropterajust completed. 



The February number of" The Botanical Gazette " 

 is above the average run — although always full of 

 good matter. Among the articles may be enumerated a 

 six-page paper on " A Comparative Study of the Roots 



