WARD’S NATURAL SCIENCE BULLETIN. 
5 
Concerning the Diamond. 
In the light of Hannay’s recent success in pro- 
ducing artificial diamonds, it may be interesting 
to review briefly the more important of the re- 
searches in this and other directions undertaken 
on this aberrant form of carbon. 
Boyle and Wallerius were among the first to 
describe its crystallization, as also, its hardness, 
specific gravity and electrical properties. The 
crystallization was afterward more fully deter- 
mined by Del’Isle and Hauy. 
Its composition was at this time of course 
unknown — chemistry, and especially mineral 
chemistry, being then in its infancj r — but it was 
long supposed to be analogous with rock crystal 
in its constitution, which substance was still 
thought to be congealed water. The rock crystal 
theory, if it may so be called, was soon rendered 
untenable by the discovery of its combustibility, 
which had been predicted by Newton in 1675, 
from its powerful refracting qualities. 
The first to undertake definite experiments in 
this field seems to have been the Grand Duke of 
Tuscany, Cosmos III. Under his instigation 
Averani and Targioni, of Florence, in 1694-95, 
succeeded in dissipating a diamond by the action 
of the sun’s rays concentrated through a lens. 
The experiment was afterward repeated by Fran- 
cis, Duke of Lorraine, with the substitution of 
furnace for solar heat. 
In an excellent translation of Theophrastus by 
Sir John Hill in 1774, the author quaintly ob- 
serves regarding this property: “The Diamond 
has been thought to come nearest of all Gems to 
deserving the character of incombustible. It 
will bear extreme Degrees of common Fire, and 
that for a long Time together, and come out 
unhurt. But it suffers some Damage, if sud- 
denly brought into the cold after these severe 
Trials; and much more by the Burning Glass. 
But there is yet a Quality which the Diamond 
shews in the Fire different from all other Gems, 
and by which it is distinguished from them all; 
for there is a certain degree of Fire in which it 
is volatile.” He then states how he “shewed 
this, very many Years ago, to the late Excellent 
Lord Granard and Mr. Charles Stanhope,” at 
his “House in Bloomsbury, by placing a small 
Diamond in a wind Furnace;” and goes on to 
observe how, during the progress of the experi- 
ment, they saw the diamond first penetrated by 
the fire throughout until it appeared like a burn- 
ing coal; how it “shivered and cracked in many 
places, and afterwards became smaller and 
smaller till it entirely vanished : no Part or Rem- 
nant of it was to be found.” 
The credibility of these results was, however, 
still generally questioned, even after repeated 
trials in the presence of the learned and other 
persons of distinction, and notably because it 
was found possible to so envelope the diamond 
that heat did not affect it. In at least one exper- 
iment before Lavoisier, a jeweler managed to 
pack three diamonds in such a manner* that 
after four hours intense firing they were removed 
uninjured. Attention was now attracted to the 
fact that access of air was necessary, and that 
the action was true combustion. 
Bergmann in 1777 endeavored to explain the 
constitution and behavior of the diamond by 
assuming it to contain a peculiar substance 
which he called terra nobilis. But in later trials 
in which the products of combustion were col- 
lected, their similarity with those from coal was 
noticed and the suggestion of the substantial 
identity of the two ventured. This was soon 
confirmed by several observers in different ways, 
prominent among them being Smithson Tennant 
who, in 1796, proved that the oxidation of equal 
amounts of coal and diamond yielded equal vol- 
umes of carbonic acid. 
A modification of Tennant’s experiment was 
made by the Brothers Rogers between 1847 and 
1850; the products of the oxidation of diamond 
were collected in Liebig’s potash bulbs and the 
amount of carbon determined. 
Probably the latest attempts at burning the 
diamond are those of G. Rose, in 1872, at which 
*In an earthen pipe-howl filled with powdered char- 
coal inclosed in another filled with sand previously 
saturated with salt-water, and the whole surrounded 
with chalk and put in an earthen tile. 
Kokomo, Richmond Co., Ind. 
Carthage, Smith Co., Tenn. Found 1846. 
Robertson Co., Tenn. Found 1860. 
Babb’s Mill, Green Co., Tenn. Found 1844. 
Murfreesboro, Tenn. Found 1847. 
Trenton, Wisconsin. Found 1869. 
^EROSIDEROLITES. 
Estherville, Emmett Co., Iowa. Fell May 10, ’79. 
Rittersgrun, Saxony (polished slice). 
Atacama, Bolivia. 
Meyellones, Bolivia (polished slice). 
STONY METEORITES (.EROLITES). 
Drake Creek, Tenn. Fell May 9, 1827. 
Guernsey Co., Ohio. Fell May 1, 1860. 
Knyahinya, Hungary. Fell June 9, 1866. 
Pultusk, Poland. Fell January 80, 1868. 
Iowa Co., Iowa. Fell February 12, 1875. 
We also have casts of 18 interesting meteorites, 
showing size, form, and indented surfaces. 
Price of set, with printed labels giving locality 
and date of fall, $30. For further particulars 
see general Catalogue of Mineralogy (20 cts.) 
We make a specialty of sawing Meteoric Iron 
and have machinery especially designed for the 
purpose, driven by steam power. W e are thus 
prepared to cut material into slices of any re- 
quired size or thickness. Parties having such 
will find it to their advantage to correspond 
with us. 
GEOLOGY. 
In this department we offer an extended series 
of material illustrating the composition and 
structure of our globe, and of the various phe- 
nomena which have attended its formation or 
are still present upon its surface. Foremost is 
the division of 
LITHOLOGY. 
Here is first an immense storehouse of Rocks 
from all parts of the world, and to illustrate 
more definitely though briefly the cosmopolitan 
character of our collections we enumerate a few 
of the more important foreign localities from 
which we have specimens— many obtained dur- 
ing special and extended personal visits by Mr. 
Ward. Among Igneous Rocks, for example, 
we have varieties from the active volcanic re- 
gions of Lipari, Sicily and the country round 
Naples, as well as from the spent volcanic dis- 
tricts of Auvergne, the Rhenish Provinces, 
Giants’ Causeway and New Zealand. 
Metamorpliic Rocks are contributed from lo- 
calities in British Guiana, Trinidad, Mt. Blanc, 
China, Farther India away round to the Red 
Sea and the Yalley of the Nile; while to the 
quota of Sedimentary Rocks Mexico, the West 
Indies, East Indies, Australia, Arabia, Algeria, 
Egypt, Nubia and countless European localities 
have contributed. These rocks are in specimens 
of uniform size, neatly trimmed, with fresh sur- 
faces and well marked characters. We have 
lately prepared with great care a number of 
GENERAL COLLECTION OF TYPICAL 
ROCKS. 
Three of these are arranged according to mineral 
composition, the importance of which in the 
study of rocks is daily becoming more evident 
as witnessed in the increase of literature pertain- 
ing to this subject. These three collections con- 
sist respectively of 50, 100 and 275 specimens 
differing in scope to suit the wants of Union 
Schools, Academies and Colleges. Two are ar- 
the interesting facts were observed that during 
combustion minute triangular depressions appear 
on the upper surface parallel with the trapezo- 
hedron; and that being strongly heated with- 
out access of air, there was a conversion into 
graphite. 
Speculations as to the origin of the diamond 
begin with Brewster, who concluded, from its 
polarizing properties, that, like amber, it was of 
vegetable origin, which opinion he advanced in 
1835 in the London and Edinburgh Journal. 
Jameson and Petzholdt also entertain this view, 
while others strenuously oppose it. Favre, De- 
ville, and Simmler are among those who assume 
it to have crystallized from a solution of carbonic 
acid or some carbon chloride. 
The manifold attempts to produce it artifi- 
cially, ending with those of Despretz in 1853, 
have either been signal failures or productive of 
no definite results. It remained for Hannay to 
achieve a deserved success, although out of over 
eighty laborious and dangerous experiments, 
only three were successful. On analysis his 
product yielded 97.85 carbon. 
What the next step will be it is impossible to 
predict, but it is safe to assert that the time when 
the artificial will replace the natural diamond is 
yet afar off. e. w. s. 
The Princeton Collection. 
Palaeontologists who have visited this Estab- 
lishment in the past few years will remember the 
remarkably choice collection of fossils stored in 
Cosmos Hall. This collection is now safely 
lodged in the E. M. Museum at Princeton, N. J. ; 
that Institution being so fortunate as to have for 
an enthusiastic and appreciative friend a gentle- 
man willing and able to advance the entire 
amount necessary to secure it. The price paid — 
about $18,000 — made it really one of the cheap- 
est, as it undoubtedly was the best, collection of 
fossils from all formations and world-wide local- 
ities ever sold to an American college. 
The collection is not only remarkable for its 
well-balanced and even representations of all 
geological horizons and geographical sections, 
but from the exceptional choiceness of all the 
material contained in it — it being entirely free 
from those poorly defined and fragmentary fos 
sils which even the most rigid and critical 
curators find it almost impossible to keep out 
of their museums. 
The Eozoon from the Laurentian of Canada, 
Oldhamia from Ireland, Azygograptus from Eng- 
gland, and Nereitesfrom Maine, are represented 
by suites of the choicest specimens ever found. 
In the Silurian are particularly fine specimens 
of Graptolites from New York, Ohio, Scotland 
and Bohemia; Crinoids from American as well 
as European localities, with some perfect speci- 
mens of Periechocrinus from England. But the 
Crustaceans are perhaps its crowning glory, 
being represented by a large suite of Trilobites 
from England, Ireland, France, Bohemia and 
America, as well as by a dozen perfect speci- 
mens of Eurypterus and Pterygotus. 
Much might be said of the perfection of the 
Plants, Corals andMollusks of the Devonian, but 
we must pass them by as we did in the Silurian, the 
most noticeable objects in tins Age of Fishes 
being the fishes themselves. These are repre- 
sented by many genera and species, the fine 
suite from the Old Red Sandstone of Scotland 
being led by a large slab containing five perfect 
individuals of Holoptychius, originally in the 
private cabinet of Hugh Miller. 
In the Carboniferous are plants from England, 
Scotland, France, Belgium, Germany, Russia^ 
Nova Scotia and the United States. Some of 
these are of large size, showing the entire trank 
in perfect lengths of three or four feet. The 
Crinoids and Echinoderms are the next most 
interesting feature of this age, the Melonites 
from the St. Louis Limestone being the finest 
slabs, probably, that have ever been found 
Among the fishes a large jaw of Rhizodus is 
particularly noteworthy; and among the reptiles 
some well-preserved heads ' of Arcliegosaurus, 
from Rhenish Prussia. 
