103 
ancients employed to facilitate the sawing of marble, was 
emery and corundum. So, also, in Ceylon and Pegu, are 
found the rhombohcdral corundum or sapphire (yakoot), 
including the several varieties of blue or oriental sapphire 
(H. nilam) ; the red or oriental ruby (H. ma?iik) ; and 
the yellow or oriental topaz (H. pokhraj) ; with the oriental 
emerald. The opalescent sapphire, with pearly reflections, 
is called ayn-aUhireh, or cat's-eye, in some Arabian works 
(Journ. As. Soc. Calc. 1. p. 353); but this must be distin- 
guished from the common cat's-eye, the chatoyant variety 
of quartz. It is remarkable that the Belioculus, mentioned 
by Pliny, lib. 37. c. 55., is considered in the annotations 
by Hardouin, to be equivalent to ceil-de-chat, and that 
this should be named in India billi-ke-ankh, or cat's-eye. 
In the above Arabic works, turmali (from which probably 
is derived our tourmaline (Singalese tournamal. ReesCycl.), 
though applied by us to a different mineral v. Princep. 1. c.) 
apparently embraces both the zircon and tourmaline families, 
as turmali is described as of a greenish yellow tinge, 
often called zabarjad or beryl ; and specimens obtained in 
Calcutta proved to be the " jargoon of Ceylon," or precious 
zircon, which, when colourless, is cut and sold as a false 
diamond in the bazars of India. Here is also found the 
hyacinth zircon, with the topaz, chrysoberyl, and spinel 
ruby: the variety Balas ruby of the latter, occurs only 
near Balkh, in Badakshan. The emerald, it is supposed, 
was anciently procured from Upper Egypt only: less 
distinct varieties are now got from Cauganjam, in the 
Peninsular district of Coimbatore. The turquoise is pro- 
duced only in the mines of Ansar, near Nishapore, in 
Khorasan ; and, " in Badakhan, on the Jihun (Oxus) 
river, near where the Samarkand road crosses it, is 
the mine of Lapis lazuli.'" (J. A. S. 1. p. 362.) The other 
more common mineral substances found in the bazars 
