Supposing this hypothesis to be correct, where do you find the required materials for the formation of the diamond? the reader may ask. At the bottom of these lagoons the decomposition of organic matter furnished abundant means for the production of the gem. Carbonic acid is everywhere produced from the decomposition of animal and vegetable matter. It is constantly evolved from the earth, and has the property of decomposing many of the hardest rocks. It is the cause of that mysterious decay which Dolomieu called “La maladie du granite.” In carburetted hydrogen we have the united force of two of the most active substances known as organogens, or generators of organic bodies. But of the vast range of their properties, their affinities, and their interior changes we are still profoundly ignorant. We may, however, easily recognize the fact that their combinations and also almost every other chemical compound may be decomposed by electricity or galvanism. Here then we have a clew, though perhaps distant, to the formation of the gem. Is not the production of drops of water by passing the electric spark through a mixture of hydrogen and atmospheric oxygen suggestive of the manner in which the diamond might be formed from carburetted hydrogen? It is true this experiment in the laboratory has failed to produce the transparent and crystalline form of carbon, although it has thrown down the element in an amorphous state. This failure is by no means decisive, for many of the simple acts of nature are beyond the imitative power of man. And then again the chemist may exclaim, “How is it possible for the gem to be produced in this manner, when the combination of these elementary bodies is always or nearly always attended with the development of a considerable degree of heat, while the diamond contains at times germs of organic matter? Would not these organic remains be destroyed during this process? On the contrary, they do not exhibit the least trace of the effect of combustion or even heat, and are as well defined as the insects in the fossil resins.” In reply we will point to the formation of fulgurites through the agency of the lightning without the evolution of heat.