Hampshire Telegraph, Saturday 20th March 1909.
Concerning Diamonds
How they burn away.
The jeweller, at closing time, was putting his diamonds in a huge safe. "But why do you bother to do that when two watchmen walk the shop all night?"
"On account of fire," the jeweller replied. "Diamonds are nothing but coal - carbon: they burn beautifully. Their hardness makes us think them indestructible, but as a matter of fact a fire of diamonds would be the briskest, prettiest thing in the world. Put a handful of diamonds on a plate and set a light to them. They will burn with a hard, gem-like flame till nothing is left. There will be no smoke, no soot, and at the end the plates will be as clean as though just washed - not the slightest particle even of ash will remain."
"The diamond mines of India fail to pay mainly on account of a queer belief on the part of the native miners," said another jeweller. "The miners believe that diamonds grow, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly. Hence, if they dug over a piece of promising clay last year, as like or not they give it another digging over, lest they miss some stones that have sprouted in the meantime. Thus half the labour is wasted labour, and the diamond miners of India don't get on at all."
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