Dia})ionds in California. — Turner. 185 
cement melts easily over a spirit lamp, may then be easily molded with 
the fingers, and becomes very hard and firm. To examine for dia- 
monds, the coarse riddle is fastened above the fine one, the gravel put 
into the upper one, and all immersed in the tub and washed and 
shaken. The coarse stones are retained in the upper riddle, and the 
sand and earth pass through both into the tub, leaving all the finer 
gravel in the lower riddle. This latter is detached from the other, and 
its contents are again washed and shaken, till the heavier portions 
have settled at the bottom; it is then quickly turned out on the rubber 
sorting cloth, which should be spread close by. The heavier stones 
will then be on the top, and may be examined with the lens and the 
hardness scale. 
The California diamonds thus far found are mostly of 
.'■mall size. One found at Rancheria was of a pale straw color 
and weighed 255 milligrams. A diamond (No. 4033) is in the 
collection of the State Museum of Mineralogy at San Fran- 
cisco. This was found at Cherokee. One of the diamonds 
found at this place is said to have been valued at $250. A 
diamond found at Yankee Hill is said to be owned by Mrs. 
John Bidwell, of Chico. 
The known occurrence of diamonds in South Africa in 
serpentine suggests a similar origin for the California finds. 
If we take the geological maps of the Gold Belt published b}- 
the U. S. Geological Survey we will find that there are ser- 
pentine masses near all of the localities above reported in the 
Sierra Nevada. There is no serpentine in place in the gulches 
in which diamonds were found near Placerville, but Kimble 
reports that serpentine pebbles were frequent in the diamond- 
bearing gravels. These serpentine pebbles may easily have 
come from a point about 6.5 klms. east of Placerville. 
It wotild be interesting, in view of the above facts, if the 
local gravels of gulches lying entirely in serpentine could be 
carefully washed and all of the heavy minerals saved and ex- 
amined. The finding of diamonds in_ such gulches Avcnild 
strongly suggest that serpentine is the mother rock of tlu' 
California diamonds, and this might lead to economic result :- 
of local importance. 
The vear 1897 was remarkable in the histor\- of diamond 
literature for the apjiearance of three im])ortant jniblications. 
