Part 4

Diamond is much the hardest substance known in Nature, and as the proverb says only the Diamond is able to “cut Diamond.” It is ranked 10 in the scale of hardness on which minerals are classified, corundum being the next below it. It is really separated by a wide gap from the latter mineral, however, and its hardness is as much greater than that of corundum as that of corundum is greater than that of the first mineral in the scale. This hardness of Diamond affords a ready means of identifying it, as it will scratch all other substances. It is popularly supposed that Diamond is the only mineral which will scratch glass to any extent, and a stone found is often reported to be Diamond because it will do this. As a matter of fact, however, all quartz will scratch glass and the harder minerals, garnet, topaz, beryl and others will do so easily. Minerals which will scratch glass are therefore common. The Diamond cuts glass instead of scratching it, and is the only mineral that will do this. Although the Diamond is so hard, it is not tough, and can be easily broken with the blow of a hammer. It was a tradition of the ancients that if a Diamond were put upon an anvil and struck with a hammer, both hammer and anvil would be shattered without injuring the Diamond in the least. One occasionally hears this statement made even at the present day. It is entirely untrue, however, the Diamond being as brittle as at least the average of crystallized minerals. The specific gravity of the Diamond is about three and one-half times that of water, determinations showing variations between 3.49 and 3.53. Carbonado is lower, ranging between 3.14 and 3.41. Diamond is thus a comparatively heavy mineral, the only ones among the gems which much exceed it in specific weight being hyacinth, garnet, ruby, sapphire and chrysoberyl.

Diamond becomes strongly electric on friction so that it will pick up pieces of paper and other light substances. It does not retain its electricity long, however, usually not over half an hour. It is not a conductor of electricity, differing in this respect from graphite, which is a good conductor. Diamond becomes phosphorescent on rubbing with a cloth, giving out a light which is visible in the dark. Some stones emit such a light after being exposed to the sun’s rays for a time, as if they took it up from the sun and gave it out again. This has often been stated to be a property of all Diamond, but this is not true, only certain stones exhibiting it. As first suggested by Mr. Geo. F. Kunz, it is probable that this phosphorescence is due to minute quantities of hydrocarbons which emit light on being heated by the friction given the stone. It is curious to note that the light is in some cases given out only from certain crystal faces of the stone. Thus Diamonds are known which give out light from the cubic faces but not from the octahedral, while others are reported as giving out light of different colors from different faces.

The name Diamond comes from the Greek adamas, which means unconquerable. This term was doubtless applied because of the great resistant power assigned to it by the ancients. Besides the well known tradition that it could not be broken by hammer and anvil, they believed that it could be subdued or broken down only when dipped in warm goat’s blood. Our words adamant and adamantine are also derived from adamas, the latter term still being used to describe the luster of the Diamond. The change of adamas into the word Diamond is thought by some to have come from prefixing to it the Italian diafano, transparent, in allusion to its possessing this property.

According to classical mythology the Diamond was first formed by Jupiter, who turned into stone a man known as Diamond of Crete, for refusing to forget him after he had ordered all men to do so. Many medicinal virtues were ascribed to the Diamond, it being regarded as an antidote for poisons and a preventive of mania.

The world’s supply of Diamonds has come almost wholly from three countries—India, Brazil and South Africa. Up to the beginning of the eighteenth century India was the only source of Diamonds known. The Diamond fields of India occur chiefly in the eastern and southern portions of the peninsula. The famed region of Golconda is in the southern part. This is the territory whence have come the most celebrated Indian stones, such as the Kohinoor and the Hope Blue. The French traveler Tavernier reported when he was there in 1665, that sixty thousand men were then employed in these mines. Now the mines have all been given up and the region is abandoned.

The present yield of Indian Diamonds comes almost wholly from mines in a district south of Allahabad and Benares. The Diamonds occur here, as universally in India, in a conglomerate or sandstone made up of the remains of older rocks.

The mines are worked almost wholly by natives of the lower caste, attempts of Europeans to conduct the mining not having met with success. The natives separate the Diamonds by washing, or where the rock is too hard for such methods, break it up by heating and throwing cold water upon it. The production of Diamonds from all of India is at the present time very small, not reaching a million dollars a year in value. It is likely in time to disappear altogether since most of the old mines have been abandoned and even their location forgotten and the returns from the present mines are not very profitable.

The Brazilian Diamond fields were the first important ones to become known after those of India. Diamonds were first found here in 1729 in river sands which were being worked for gold by adventurers who penetrated into the region from the coast. The gold miners paid no attention to the bright crystals sometimes seen in the bottoms of their pans, but a monk who had seen Diamonds mined in India recognized them as gems indeed. While for many years the Diamonds obtained came wholly from the river sands, later, upland deposits were discovered which now afford a part of the supply. Diamonds have been found in the following provinces of Brazil: Bahia, Goyaz, Matto Grosso, Minas Geraes and Parana. In all except Bahia and Minas Geraes the mining is desultory and consists simply in washing river sands by means of wooden bowls. Enough Diamonds are thus obtained to afford a precarious living to the garimperos, as they are called, who follow this occupation. The chief Diamond bearing region of Brazil at the present time is in the province of Minas Geraes, centered about the city of Diamantina. The black variety of Diamond known as carbonado comes chiefly from the province of Bahia and is in large demand for industrial purposes. The Brazilian Diamonds are as a rule small, but exceed all others in luster. The largest Brazilian Diamond known is that named Star of the South, which weighed in the rough 254.5 carats and was valued at one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars.

As is generally known the chief source of Diamonds at the present time is South Africa. As in Brazil, Diamonds were first discovered here in the river sands and these still afford a small supply. These were first known in 1867, but in 1871 the deposits in place near Kimberley were found and these constitute today the world’s great Diamond mines. The mines now being worked are four in number, and all occur within an area hardly three miles square. Geologically the formation seems to be that of a filling of old volcanic necks by an influx of mud from below. It is this mud which now considerably hardened contains the Diamonds. The largest Diamonds of the world have been obtained from these mines, some exceeding the Kohinoor in size. Their quality is also generally good, although sometimes injured by a yellow tinge.

Besides the above countries, Diamonds have been found in Australia, the Ural Mountains, British Guiana and the United States. The finds have usually been in the beds of streams and are not of sufficient abundance to make systematic mining profitable. The localities where Diamonds have been found in the State of Wisconsin, in this country, are on the terminus of a moraine which came from the North, somewhere in the region of Hudson’s Bay. It is hence not improbable that the “mother lode” will some day be found there.

Finally it is interesting to know that Diamonds occur in meteorites, and hence doubtless exist in other worlds than ours.

Oliver Cummings Farrington.

INDIAN SUMMER.

With your hazy distances, And your fine insistences, Of russet, amber, brown, From what region dost thou journey Hither to our fields a-tourney, Flinging thy dim gauntlet down? Dost thou come from Southern seas? Or from mountain fastnesses?

Ho, we call thee Indian Summer, O thou late and languid comer, Loitering our forest aisles; Idling with the sunshine dreamy, As with wandering a-weary, Chary, ever, of thy smiles. Thou hast come to claim the glamour Of the dear, departed Summer. —M. D. Tolman.

THE HORNED TOADS.

The Horned Toads form an interesting group of Lizards which are related to the iguanas of the tropical forests of America. They are, however, terrestrial lizards, inhabiting the plains of Southwestern United States and Mexico. Their short, broad and more or less flattened bodies, rounded heads and short tails give these animals quite a striking resemblance to the common toad. Hence their common name. In one respect, however, they are not at all like the toad. The head is armed behind with a row of quite formidable horny spines, and in some of the species shorter ones are also present on the top of the head and on various parts of the body. As these lizards are slow in motion, the horns constitute one of their chief means of defense. When in the presence of an enemy “the muzzle is depressed and the horns are elevated. The back is also arched.” The utility of the horns as a means of defense has been amply proven. The dead bodies of snakes have been found with the horns protruding through the skin of the body near the head. But this is not their only means of defense. From birds they are protected by their coloration, which is a somber mixture of brown, black and yellowish, and when quietly resting on sands or rocks in the open they quite closely resemble stones covered with lichens of varying shades of color. Abundant as they are in some arid regions of the Southwest, they frequently escape the notice of the observer because of their coloration. In such regions, too, they can take refuge beneath the protecting spines of the Agaves and the branches of the prickly Opuntias. Dr. Leonhard Stejneger considers the Horned Toads a most striking illustration of protective mimicry. Of one species he says: “In the cedar and pine belts of the San Francisco Mountains the dark color of the soil and stones covering the surface is closely matched by the ground color of the Horned Toad, while the greenish gray and orange-colored markings which somewhat irregularly adorn their backs are perfect imitations of the lichens covering the rocks and pebbles among which these odd looking creatures live. Near the rim of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, on the other hand, the ground is covered with small pebbles of variously colored sandstone, ranging from a clayey white to brick red and dark brown, and the specimen which I collected there is such a faithful reproduction of the surroundings that it would undoubtedly have remained undetected had it not been moving. Even more remarkable are the specimens which Dr. Merriam collected in the black lava belt. One of these was brought to camp alive.” Dr. Stejneger made a careful study of this specimen and found that it had very closely imitated the color of the lava, including even its glossy appearance.

One of the most remarkable habits of at least one of the species, and possibly of all the Horned Toads, is the power of ejecting jets of blood from the eyes. This power is rarely exercised and seemingly only when greatly irritated. Professor L. M. Underwood relates the following instance, which also illustrates some of the other habits of the Horned Toads when angered: “In 1885 a student of mine received a specimen of Horned Toad from California. In examining the animal I took occasion to turn him on his back, using a lead pencil for the purpose. The animal resented this treatment and showed considerable anger, opening his mouth and puffing up his body. Irritating the animal still more, he grew more and more enraged, until finally blood spurted from just above his eye, which was fired at least a foot from the animal, as several spots struck my arm considerably above my wrist. After spurting the blood the toad became limp and collapsed, and remained in a stupor for some time, and, when handled, behaved as if dead. After a time, possibly not over five or six minutes, certainly not over ten, the animal revived and commenced to run about the table.” Irritating him again in the same manner, Professor Underwood caused the toad to go through the operation a second time, which was followed, as in the first instance, by collapse and stupor. “No amount of irritation could produce a third discharge, although the animal showed some anger.”

This habit of the Horned Toads has been observed by a number of scientists and it is said that the Mexicans have called them Sacred Toads, “because they wept tears of blood.” An examination with a microscope clearly shows that the ejected liquid is blood. As to the purpose of this habit, Dr. O. P. Hay says: “It appears to me quite likely that it is done in order to defend itself from the attacks of its enemies, although it would not seem likely that blood would hurt the eyes much. Nevertheless a discharge of blood into the eyes of some persevering bird or snake might so seriously interfere with its clearness of vision that the lizard might make its escape while the enemy was wiping its eyes.” One investigator, at least, has had the experience of having the stream of blood enter his eye. It was followed by pain which lasted for some time, but was relieved as soon as the blood was entirely wiped from the eye. Some inflammation followed, but soon it disappeared.

Unlike some of the other lizards, the Horned Toads are not provided with a protrusive tongue. This fact, together with their clumsy form, prevents them from preying on the more lively insects. They chiefly feed upon the beetles and other slowly moving insects that inhabit the region in which they live. The food is captured in the evening, and if undisturbed the toads remain quite passive throughout the day. In captivity they are interesting pets and if they will take food they bear confinement for a long time. “They not infrequently, however, starve themselves to death, though their capacity to live without food is marvelous.”

DOWN IN DIXIE-LAND.

One never has to travel very far from home to see something new and interesting; so I wonder if all of the readers know of the “frizzly chicken” which is so popular among the colored people of our southern states.

It is of ordinary size and like the rest of the chicken family, except that its feathers stand on end like the quills of an angry porcupine. It reminded me of a chicken perpetually blown before a March wind. Of course, their feathers become ragged and “frizzled,” like the hair of their proud possessors, and I imagine the motherly inclined do not find their sittings quite so comfortable as do our meek-looking hens.

As a rule, the negroes are very humane in their treatment of domestic animals. The dogs are treated as well as the children, and nearly every cabin door has a hole cut in it for the entrance and exit of the family cats. As the weather is seldom cold, these ventilators are really good for the larger inmates.

Lee McCrae.

MY BAT.

When I discovered the bat he was hanging by his hind feet, head downward between the blind and the window. I could not see him breathe and thought he must be dead, but he was only sleeping.

We closed the shutters of the blind as softly as we could, but it awoke him, and he began to wiggle and twist. He could not get away and we lowered the window from the top and grabbed the little fellow.

How he did scold and snap his jaws together! His little teeth were sharp and he tried his best to bite us.

We put him in a box and put a piece of coarse wire netting over the top.

Mr. Bat did not enjoy being made a prisoner, and did not quiet down until he found he could hang head downward from the netting.

He was quite a pretty little animal, his body being about two inches long, with soft, thick, reddish brown fur on its upper and under part and on his head. His eyes were small and dark, and his head looked like a tiny bear’s, but there was no hair on his ears.

His wings also were without hair and nearly black in color. When hanging by his hind legs he kept his wings folded tightly against his body.

The bat’s hind feet were very small, having five tiny toes with the smallest possible nails. By having one toe around the wire of the netting he could hold himself suspended in the air.

The little fellow’s mode of walking on the bottom of the box was very awkward. He would thrust forth the claw at the end of one of his wings and hook it into the box, then advance the hind foot and tumble forward, repeating the process with the opposite side, thus tumbling and staggering along, falling first to one side, then to the other.

If he wanted to hang from the netting he would reach up a hind foot and gain a foothold in the side of the box, then raise the other, thus climbing backwards until he could clasp the netting.

In the evening the bat got out of the box and was flying about the room before we knew he had escaped. He flew round and round in a circle, sometimes striking the walls of the room. His wings made considerable noise and he looked many times larger when flying.

We thought we should have to shut him up in the room until morning, but at last succeeded in catching him by hitting and knocking him to the floor with a coat, then throwing it over him.

The little fellow struggled and tried his best to get away, but it was no use. We put him back into the box and put a weight on the netting. He scratched around in the box and scolded all the evening, but he did not get away again.

The next morning I thought he would be hungry and tried to get him to eat and drink. He lapped a little water and a little milk out of a teaspoon, running out his tiny red tongue and making a little hacking noise.

He would not be tempted to eat a fly, shaking his head and spitting the flies out as fast as I could put them into his mouth.

As he would not eat we thought the little fellow would starve if I did not let him go. I waited until evening and took the box outdoors. He was hanging to the netting, and I took it off and turned it over so he could fly. He spread out his wings and away he went, glad to be at liberty once more.

I have looked every morning to see if the bat is hanging against the window, but have not seen him since I set him free.

Martha R. Fitch.

THE ATLAS MOTH. (_Attacus atlas_.)

India is not only noted for its large and ferocious beasts, but also for its gorgeous flowers and beautiful insects. Among these is the splendid Atlas Moth, noted not alone for the extravagance of its coloring, but also for its immense size, for it is the giant of the moths and butterflies. The largest specimen recorded is now in the British Museum. Expanded and measured from tip to tip of the fore wings, it is only one-quarter of inch less than one foot. Measured in the same manner, the specimen of our illustration is a trifle over ten inches. The average expansion, however, is only about eight or nine inches. Its large size influenced Linnaeus to give this moth the specific designation of Atlas, the name of one of the Greek gods, by whom the pillars of heaven were supposed to be supported. In later years the word has been used in a figurative sense indicative of an ability to sustain a great burden. Truly no other name would be more appropriate, for the large wings of the Atlas Moth enable it to fly swiftly and to long distances, though its flight is somewhat erratic.

The larvae or caterpillars of this regal moth are fully as interesting and beautiful as the adult insect. They have a long, thick and fleshy body, which bears several rows of tubercles, crowned with spiny hairs. When young they are black with white spines, but afterwards become a rich green color and bear bluish-green or black spines. It is said that the larvae eat their skins after moulting and it has been suggested that the object of this habit is to prevent the cast off skins from indicating their presence to birds and other enemies.

The Atlas Moth varies considerably in the color of its wings and, when compared with the expanse of its wings, its body is very short. A peculiar and striking characteristic is the large and triangular transparent spot near the center of each of the four wings.

Among its allies are some of the most important of the silk producing moths of India, China and Japan, and the common emperor moth of England. Other species of the genus Attacus inhabit Central and South America, but they are much smaller and not as beautiful as the Atlas.

A BUTTERFLY.

Lazily flying Over the flower-decked prairies, West; Basking in sunshine till daylight is dying, And resting all night on Asclepias’ breast; Joyously dancing, Merrily prancing, Chasing his lady-love high in the air, Fluttering gaily, Frolicking daily. Free from anxiety, sorrow, and care! —C. V. Riley.

WHEN BILLIE CAME BACK.

Billie is the handsomest Flicker that comes to the grove of oaks on the north campus of the college and that is saying a great deal. For several years he has occupied a splendid house hollowed out with much labor in the great oak by the power house. Just above the portico of his house Billie has his xylophone. This remarkable instrument is just seasoned enough and has just the correct spring in its splinters. Here every morning, at this season, he beats a series of tunes, monotonous perhaps, but rather pleasing to Billie and me. After beating a tune, he screams at the top of his voice, “Get up; get up.” He is an alarm clock and a great nuisance to those who love their morning nap, but I would not allow him to be disturbed, he seems so business-like and earnest. My wife was disposed to disparage his musical attainments, but when she saw the marvelous rapidity of his strokes and the beauty of his red crest flashing in the slanting sunlight she became a partisan.

It should be said, of course, that after the brief season of courtship is over and Billie’s wife is busy about her housekeeping, he is less musical and we do not have our reveille so regularly.