In regard to beauty of color, density, hardness of texture, and brilliancy, these apparently water-worn masses are decidedly superior to the perfectly shaped crystals, and among all the true gem mines of the world this rule is observed. In the conglomerate of Ceylon we often find gems whose appearance indicates the shock and abrasion of waves or currents of water, while we find in adjoining places perfectly formed crystals whose facets display a lustre as brilliant as on the day of their creation. Some, then, have perhaps been moved about by aqueous action, while others have never stirred from their first position. Among all the multitudes of sapphires taken from the mines of Ceylon, we have never seen or heard of a specimen fairly attached to any rock as a matrix. Sometimes the ferruginous cement which is one of the necessary components of the matrix unites accidentally the rough gem to a mass of quartz, but all the sapphires we have seen exhibit no sign of having been attached permanently to any mineral substance. In fact, all the rounded stones and the more perfect crystallized specimens have the appearance of having been formed in a soft medium like sand or clay. Whence come the masses of quartz that are always found in the conglomerate, and which sometimes occur of a large size? may be asked by the inquirer. This is a question which cannot be answered satisfactorily, especially when the adjoining ledges do not contain the material. We can, however, solve the problem by supposing that beds of quartz have been formed on the beds of the lagoons, and were afterwards broken up by the action of the waves, frost, or other agencies. The clay, which is often a component of this matrix, is sometimes argillaceous and at other times kaolin. We are generally inclined to believe that these substances are always the results of decomposition; yet there are abundant evidences to show that they may be original deposits. The distinguished geologist Jameson was forced to admit this from his extended observations. We find blue, reddish, and yellowish mud in cavities of the hard crystalline rocks enveloping crystals of quartz and topaz, as at Greenwood, in Maine, or Schneckenstein, in Germany. The phenomena are well marked in the felspar quarries at Bowdoinham, in Maine, and also at Schemnitz, in Hungary, in a vein four or five inches wide traversing porphyry. Whence comes this substance, when there is no opportunity for infiltration, if it is not an original deposition? Perhaps by pseudomorphism.