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DIAMOND MINES OF BRAZIL 191
previous.
It was broken up in Paris and sold for a sum equal to over $19,000. The
Parisian dealer was not fortunate, as it cost him more. Another large
piece found in 1901, of fine quality and weighing 750-1/2 carats, was broken to pieces of three to four carats. Another large carbon weighing 650 3/64
carats was found ,in 1909, and at present is not broken up. It is of
good quality and worth in New York about $55 per carat. The specific
gravity of good carbons ranges from 3.15 to 3.30. If a carbon is lower
than 3.15 it is not sufficiently crystalline; if over 3.30, it is over
crystallized for good work, approaching bort in construction. This
piece has a specific gravity of 3.22.
The
Cannavieiras district is quite distinct geographically from the other
Bahia districts, which are all, though divided into districts
surrounding as many towns as centers, practically the same fields. This
came to be known as a diamond district about 1881. It is reached by the
Pardo river in canoes 56 miles to Jacaranda, and from there by
mule-back, 12 miles higher up the river to Salobro. The early workings
were confined to the river and the immediate neighborhood, and the
country has not been as widely prospected as in other fields, owing to
a lack of water in many directions. The diamonds are usually small and
clear, but do not average as good in quality as those of the Paraguassu
districts. Little or no carbon is found.
There
are two ways of reaching Diamantina, the center of the principal Minas
Geraes diamond fields. First, by leaving the railway at Curvelho and
making the journey of three or four days by mule-train through a very
rough country by a trail which passes over two
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