every one knows, South African diamonds, although large and brilliant, are apt to have a yellow tinge, and lose a very large part of their value in consequence. The dealers have for a long time possessed the art of temporarily removing the color, so that a stone naturally yellow appears, when placed on white paper, as is done by jewellers to test the tint, perfectly colorless, recovering its natural yellow only after a considerable period. This operation is practised on a large scale, diamonds to the value of millions being treated at once. According to the Journal de Pharmacie et de Chimie, M. Giion has investigated the process of diamond-bleaching, and has succeeded in removing the yellow tint perfectly, without injuring the brilliancy of the stone, by the use of aniline. His first idea was, naturally, to correct the yellow by its complementary, purple, and he began by dipping the diamond in a bath of aniline purple, dissolved in alcohol, with a few grains of gum benzoin, to make the color adhere. This application made the yellow diamond appear white, but it injured the polish and brilliancy. He then prepared a more dilute alcoholic solution of aniline, without the benzoin, and soaked in it a diamond of a bright yellow color. On removing the stone, and drying it on absorbent cotton, it appeared perfectly white, and of full brilliancy. Two weeks later, among a lot of pure white diamonds, the stone so treated could not be distinguished from the rest, and rubbing with chamois-skin or cloth did not alter its appearance. Washing with alcohol, or nitric acid, removed the aniline, and restored the yellow color. M. Giion, however, succeeded in fixing the aniline so that alcohol would not remove it, but he was not able to make it proof against nitric acid. As the facets show no trace of deposit, the Revue Industrielle thinks that the color only attaches itself to the “ girdle,” or edge between the bases of the upper and lower truncated pyramids of which the brilliant-cut diamond is composed, and which, as it says, is left unpolished. The difficulty about this theory is that if only the girdle were colored with the aniline, the stone, if looked at in a direction parallel with the plane of the girdle, as it would often be when lying on white paper, would show its natural yellow above and below, with a purple edge between. Moreover, in the best-cut stones, the girdle is polished, as well as all other portions, so that the aniline would have no more tendency to adhere there than anywhere else. It seems, therefore, more likely that the aniline actually dyes the stone to a certain depth; and, if this is the case, nothing short of actual removal of the stain, by nitric acid, or by recutting, would expose the fraud.
LE Genie Civil gives an interesting account of the method of
making bank-bills in France. All bills are issued by the Bank of France, which carries on the whole process of manufacture, including even that of the paper on which they are printed, and the ink used. The paper factory is at La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, where linen rags are so treated as to produce a paper of a peculiar quality. This special paper is made, inspected, cut into sheets and shipped to Paris, under the care of two of the Bank officials, who are held responsible for every sheet. The sheets are packed in bundles, of one thousand in each, and are printed in the basement of the Bank building in Paris. As with the blank paper, the bills, in every stage of fabrication, are in charge of some official, who must account for every one which has come into his hands, either by showing it, or a receipt given for it by the official to whom he has handed it over. As the Bank has sometimes printed four hundred thousand bills a day, and at such periods employs about four hundred persons in the printing department, strict accounts are necessary to prevent loss, and an elaborate system of numbering and checking is used. A series of bills consists of one thousand, which are numbered from 1 to 1,000, and twenty-five series, lettered A, B, C, etc., and tied up together, under the name of an “ alphabet.” After each operation, the bills are verified, by women, who sign their names on the band placed around the bundles. As there are nine operations, there must be nine verifications, and the final verification is repeated, by a fresh set of inspectors, so that nothing can be overlooked. After the bills are complete, they are delivered to.the Secretary of the Bank, who examines them, and gives a receipt for them, discharging the head of the printing department from further responsibility. They are then placed in the vaults, and are withdrawn for issue only by order of the Governors of the Bank. The principal difficulty in regulating the accounts comes from the defective bills. No bill is allowed to
pass the inspectors which shows a spot, an uneven margin, a defect in printing, or any other imperfection, and the bills thrown out must be recorded in the books with quite as much accuracy as those which pass successfully to the final stage. Every bill rejected by the inspectors is stamped, and its place in the series filled by a check. The stamped bills go to the Secretary of the Bank, who puts them under lock and key, and new bills, corresponding to the checks, are printed, and credit is given to the paper manufactory for the paper necessary to make these. The accounts of the “ faulted ” bills are carried through the books, and, for verification, the stamped bills themselves are kept for five years. At the end of that time, if there has been no question about them, the regents of the Bank, the secretary, the examiners, the cashier, the chiefs of the printing department, and the chief of the department of bill accounts, join in signing an order, in pursuance of which they are taken from the vaults and destroyed.
THE French have a way of managing scientific excursions, which is worth imitating. For example, this year, the French Archaeological Society has organized its fifty-eighth annual Congress, which is to be devoted to the very interesting region of the Jura. The Congress opens in the foyer of the theatre at Dole, and spends its time in discussions and in visits to places of archaeological importance; terminating with an excursion into Switzerland as far as Berne. Any respectable person, by subscribing two dollars, may have the privilege of attending the meetings of the Congress, and participating in all its excursions; and he is also entitled to join in the discussions, and to receive a copy of the printed report.
AN interesting story comes from Paris in regard to the recent competition in the School of Fine Arts for the Prize of Pome. It will be remembered that the first prize this year was awarded to M. Eustache, and the second to M. Normand, who presented a design for an iron building. His design, which is reproduced, with the other two prize designs, in Aa Sematne des Constructeurs, was a beautiful one, independent of its material, and attracted much attention from the public, as well as from architects, some of whom expressed the opinion that it ought to have been preferred to the dignified and monumental, but rather heavy design of M. Eustache. Since the award was made, it has been reported that a division of opinion existed among the judges themselves. It seems that the selection of the designs, which is placed in the hands of the Institute of France, is made by a two-fold judgment. In the first choice, only the members of the architectural section of the Institute take part, and they choose four architects, not members of the Institute, to help them. These four outside artists are called “supplementary jurors,” but they vote on equal terms with the members of the Institute section. On the present occasion, a majority of the jury so constituted is said to have awarded M. Normand the highest place. The decision of this exclusively professional jury is, however, subject to review by the whole Institute, including all the sections. In this review the “ supplementary jurors ” take no part, and all members of the Institute, whether musicians, painters, sculptors, novelists or architects, have an equal vote. The revision of this year appears to have resulted in a revolt of the non-architectural part of the Institute against M. Normand’s startling departure from the traditions of the School of Fine Arts, and the assembled artists reversed the award of the architects, deposed M. Normand from the highest rank, and set M. Eustache in his place. We are by no means disposed to quarrel with the verdict; on the contrary, as iron buildings are familiar to us, and railway stations, with facades in the style of a Roman triumphal arch, are not, we prefer M. Eustache’s design to that of M. Normand ; but the curious part of the affair is that the lay members of the Institute should have been so conservative as to reject an architectural novelty which had been approved by the Section of Architecture, in favor of something in a style more in accordance with the ancient traditions of the School. The Grand Prizes in all the other departments of the School of Fine Arts, including those of music, painting and sculpture, are awarded in the same manner, the final vote being cast by persons, a majority of whom are, at best, only amateurs of the art with which which the prize is concerned ; and it would be interesting to know whether the vote of the laymen is generally cast, in other instances, on the side of conservatism and tradition.
LE Genie Civil gives an interesting account of the method of
making bank-bills in France. All bills are issued by the Bank of France, which carries on the whole process of manufacture, including even that of the paper on which they are printed, and the ink used. The paper factory is at La Ferte-sous-Jouarre, where linen rags are so treated as to produce a paper of a peculiar quality. This special paper is made, inspected, cut into sheets and shipped to Paris, under the care of two of the Bank officials, who are held responsible for every sheet. The sheets are packed in bundles, of one thousand in each, and are printed in the basement of the Bank building in Paris. As with the blank paper, the bills, in every stage of fabrication, are in charge of some official, who must account for every one which has come into his hands, either by showing it, or a receipt given for it by the official to whom he has handed it over. As the Bank has sometimes printed four hundred thousand bills a day, and at such periods employs about four hundred persons in the printing department, strict accounts are necessary to prevent loss, and an elaborate system of numbering and checking is used. A series of bills consists of one thousand, which are numbered from 1 to 1,000, and twenty-five series, lettered A, B, C, etc., and tied up together, under the name of an “ alphabet.” After each operation, the bills are verified, by women, who sign their names on the band placed around the bundles. As there are nine operations, there must be nine verifications, and the final verification is repeated, by a fresh set of inspectors, so that nothing can be overlooked. After the bills are complete, they are delivered to.the Secretary of the Bank, who examines them, and gives a receipt for them, discharging the head of the printing department from further responsibility. They are then placed in the vaults, and are withdrawn for issue only by order of the Governors of the Bank. The principal difficulty in regulating the accounts comes from the defective bills. No bill is allowed to
pass the inspectors which shows a spot, an uneven margin, a defect in printing, or any other imperfection, and the bills thrown out must be recorded in the books with quite as much accuracy as those which pass successfully to the final stage. Every bill rejected by the inspectors is stamped, and its place in the series filled by a check. The stamped bills go to the Secretary of the Bank, who puts them under lock and key, and new bills, corresponding to the checks, are printed, and credit is given to the paper manufactory for the paper necessary to make these. The accounts of the “ faulted ” bills are carried through the books, and, for verification, the stamped bills themselves are kept for five years. At the end of that time, if there has been no question about them, the regents of the Bank, the secretary, the examiners, the cashier, the chiefs of the printing department, and the chief of the department of bill accounts, join in signing an order, in pursuance of which they are taken from the vaults and destroyed.
THE French have a way of managing scientific excursions, which is worth imitating. For example, this year, the French Archaeological Society has organized its fifty-eighth annual Congress, which is to be devoted to the very interesting region of the Jura. The Congress opens in the foyer of the theatre at Dole, and spends its time in discussions and in visits to places of archaeological importance; terminating with an excursion into Switzerland as far as Berne. Any respectable person, by subscribing two dollars, may have the privilege of attending the meetings of the Congress, and participating in all its excursions; and he is also entitled to join in the discussions, and to receive a copy of the printed report.
AN interesting story comes from Paris in regard to the recent competition in the School of Fine Arts for the Prize of Pome. It will be remembered that the first prize this year was awarded to M. Eustache, and the second to M. Normand, who presented a design for an iron building. His design, which is reproduced, with the other two prize designs, in Aa Sematne des Constructeurs, was a beautiful one, independent of its material, and attracted much attention from the public, as well as from architects, some of whom expressed the opinion that it ought to have been preferred to the dignified and monumental, but rather heavy design of M. Eustache. Since the award was made, it has been reported that a division of opinion existed among the judges themselves. It seems that the selection of the designs, which is placed in the hands of the Institute of France, is made by a two-fold judgment. In the first choice, only the members of the architectural section of the Institute take part, and they choose four architects, not members of the Institute, to help them. These four outside artists are called “supplementary jurors,” but they vote on equal terms with the members of the Institute section. On the present occasion, a majority of the jury so constituted is said to have awarded M. Normand the highest place. The decision of this exclusively professional jury is, however, subject to review by the whole Institute, including all the sections. In this review the “ supplementary jurors ” take no part, and all members of the Institute, whether musicians, painters, sculptors, novelists or architects, have an equal vote. The revision of this year appears to have resulted in a revolt of the non-architectural part of the Institute against M. Normand’s startling departure from the traditions of the School of Fine Arts, and the assembled artists reversed the award of the architects, deposed M. Normand from the highest rank, and set M. Eustache in his place. We are by no means disposed to quarrel with the verdict; on the contrary, as iron buildings are familiar to us, and railway stations, with facades in the style of a Roman triumphal arch, are not, we prefer M. Eustache’s design to that of M. Normand ; but the curious part of the affair is that the lay members of the Institute should have been so conservative as to reject an architectural novelty which had been approved by the Section of Architecture, in favor of something in a style more in accordance with the ancient traditions of the School. The Grand Prizes in all the other departments of the School of Fine Arts, including those of music, painting and sculpture, are awarded in the same manner, the final vote being cast by persons, a majority of whom are, at best, only amateurs of the art with which which the prize is concerned ; and it would be interesting to know whether the vote of the laymen is generally cast, in other instances, on the side of conservatism and tradition.