YING
west of the mountains of San do Espinaco is a vast plain. Here the
river Velhas has its source, and the New World's largest diamond its
origin. It was picked up in July, 1853, by a negress at work in the
mines of the province of Minas-Geraes, Brazil.* The diamond, when
found, presented the general form of a rhombic dodecahedron with very
obtuse angles, and twenty-four natural facets, besides certain faint
streaks, pointing at a .possible octahedric cleavage. In one of the
facets there appeared a somewhat deep depression, in which was formerly
inserted an octahedral crystal, which from other
