falls on Sunday. The circuit court accordingly held that a protest filed on the Monday following came too late, and was not a sufficient compliance with the statute. Attention is, moreover, called to the fact that the practice of the Treasury Department, under the old law which gave jurisdiction to the Department to decide customs cases, was uniformly in harmony with that ruling. (Syn. Treas. Dec. 3139.) A decision strictly analogous was made by the circuit court of appeals (8th circuit) in the case of Johnson v. Meyers (54 Fed. Rep., 417). In deference to these decisions of the Federal courts, which tribunals are invested by law with the jurisdiction to review the decisions of the Board of General Appraisers on questions of this character, we follow the rulings made by them and overrule the protest and affirm the collector's decision. (16724-G. A. 3312.) Before the U. S. General Appraisers at New York, December 13, 1895. In the matter of the protest, 27913b-3922, of Justinian Caire, against the decision of the collector of customs at San Francisco as to the rate and amount of duties chargeable on certain merchandise, imported per railroad, and entered July 8, 1895. Opinion by HAM, General Appraiser. The merchandise in this case is "magnesium," assessed for duty at 35 per cent ad valorem as a manufacture of metal under paragraph 177, act of August, 1894, but claimed to be entitled to free entry under paragraph 544 of said act. The case is submitted on the record. The appraiser in his special report describes the article, subject of protest, as "magnesium powder," and the naval officer refers to it as "magnesium powder." An inspection of the official sample, which is part of the record, shows that it is "ground magnesium," and the appraiser of the port of New York, to whom it has been submitted, reports that it is "ground magnesium." Paragraph 544 contains no qualifying words, and the form in which the article, magnesium, is imported, whether ground or powdered, would seem to be immaterial. The protest is sustained and the decision of the collector is reversed, with an appropriate order of reliquidation. (16725—G. A. 3313.) Books of music with German words. Before the U. S. General Appraisers at New York, December 13, 1895. In the matter of the protest, 28199 b-etc., of Lyon & Healy, against the decision of the collector of customs at Chicago as to the rate and amount of duties chargeable on certain merchandise, imported per the vessels, and entered at the dates named in annexed schedule. Opinion by WILKINSON, General Appraiser. The merchandise consists of books of the edition Peters, containing operas and various vocal music by German composers, the words being in the German language. They were assessed for duty at 25 per cent under paragraph 311, N. T., and are claimed to be exempt from duty under paragraph 411 as books printed exclusively in language other than English. A somewhat similar question was decided in favor of the appellants in G. A. 623, under the act of 1890, which contained no provision for music, except for raised music for the blind. But even then the Board was in doubt about the correctness of its ruling, and expressly stated that the doubt was resolved in favor of the importer. The present tariff, however, provides for "books, including music," and we are of the opinion that this provision is a more specific description of the merchandise than enumeration in paragraph 411. We find that the goods are "books of music," and overrule the protest. (16726-G. A. 3314.) Printed matter not books. Before the U. S. General Appraisers at New York, December 13, 1895. In the matter of the protests, 28434 b-12490 and 28607 b-12528, of German-American News Co., against the decision of the collector of customs at Chicago, Ill., as to the rate and amount of duties chargeable on certain merchandise, imported per Prussia and Danio, and entered August 31 and September 25, 1895. Opinion by WILKINSON, General Appraiser. The merchandise consists of two German publications, one a story paper and the other a humorous weekly. Each publication is about 11 inches long by 9 inches wide, and contains more than 8 pages. They were assessed for duty as printed matter at 25 per cent under paragraph 311, N. T., and are claimed to be exempt from duty under the provisions of paragraph 411 for books or pamphlets printed exclusively in language other than English. The Century Dictionary defines pamphlets as "in a restricted, technical sense, eight or more pages of printed matter (not exceeding 5 sheets) stitched or sewed with or without a thin paper wrapper or cover." Other lexicographers give substantially this meaning, and all define book as a collection of written or printed sheets stitched, fastened, or bound together. In the present case the leaves are not fastened together, and we find that the articles are not books or pamphlets. The protests are overruled accordingly. Whether the articles are periodicals or not was not considered, as that question was not raised by the protest. 4 (16727-G. A. 3315.) Fruits preserved, etc., foxberries in water not. Before the U. S. General Appraisers at New York, December 13, 1895. In the matter of the protest, 28889 b, of Griggs, Cooper & Co., against the decision of the collector of customs at Duluth, Minn., as to the rate and amount of duties chargeable on certain merchandise, imported per United Empire, and entered October 15, 1895. Opinion by WILKINSON, General Appraiser. The goods are foxberries in barrels. They were assessed for duty as "fruits preserved in their own juices" at 20 per cent under paragraph 219, act of August, 1894, and are claimed to be exempt from duty as "fruits, ripe," under paragraph 489. It appears that foxberries have very tender skins and that water is filled in the barrels to prevent injury to the fruit by friction in transportation. The fruit is not in its own juice, and water is in no sense used as a preservative other than as a packing material. Foxberries may be said to be packed in water just as grapes are packed in sawdust or cork dust. We find that the goods are fruits, ripe, not specially provided for, and sustain the protest. (16728-G. A. 3316.) Renaissance or Battenberg linens. Before the U. S. General Appraisers at New York, December 17, 1895. In the matter of the protests, 88636-7, 96545-15884, of Van Blankensteyn and Hennings, against the decision of the collector of customs at New York as to the rate and amount of duties chargeable on certain merchandise, imported per La Bretagne La and Champagne, and entered March 5 and July 23, 1895. Opinion by HAM, General Appraiser. The merchandise in these cases consists of linen squares or tidies, assessed for duty at 50 per cent ad valorem under paragraph 276, act of August 28, 1894, but claimed to be entitled to entry at 35 per cent ad valorem under paragraph 277 of said act. These cases were docketed for hearing November 4, 1895; there was an appearance, and testimony was offered in verification of samples of the merchandise in controversy, and in support of the contentions of the protests. An inspection of the samples in the record shows that they are neither made in part of lace, nor embroidered, nor tamboured, and the testimony supports this triple proposition. The articles are tidies, and they are known commercially as renaissance or Battenberg linens. The illustrative sample marked Exhibit 3, shows the method of manufacture of the articles represented by samples marked Exhibits 1 and 2. It consists of a pink cotton square containing the design to be wrought, partly worked out with the braids and rings used in working it out. These samples, including the illustrative sample, constitute the best evidence in the case, and warrant the following finding of facts: (1) That the tidies in controversy are made of linen. (2) That they are neither embroidered, nor tamboured, nor made wholly or in part of lace. (3) That the samples in the record are truly representative of the merchandise in controversy. The protests are sustained and the decision of the collector in each case is reversed, with an order of reliquidation of the following invoice items, to wit: Invoice number 4054, pattern number 7429, described as "linen squares;" invoice number 17571, pattern numbers 5057, 5009, and 5001, described as "manufactures of flax," in accordance with the contention of appellants (G. A. 2103, 2165, 2176, and 3009). Before the U. S. General Appraisers at New York, December 17, 1895. In the matter of the protest, 90990 a-11892, of Jos. Frankel Sons, against the decision of the collector of customs at New York as to the rate and amount of duties chargeable on certain merchandise, imported per Lahn, and entered June 13, 1895. Opinion by SHARPE, General Appraiser. . The goods are invoiced as manufactured rubies and were returned by the appraiser as precious stones, unset. That officer, in a special report, says that the merchandise is— "Known commercially as 'reconstructed rubies,' that is, artificially formed rubies. "The method of manufacture is a scientific secret, but as far as it is possible to ascertain, they are formed by causing small and refuse portions of real rubies to assume a powdered form, which is then reproduced in various sizes of complete rubies. "Notwithstanding that the process of manufacture is a secret, the jewelry trade is generally cognizant of the character of these goods. "In view of the fact that these stones are bought and sold by the carat, those in question being invoiced at £4 10s. per carat, and that this is an unusually low valuation, the average being much higher, and further, that the price of these stones is contingent on size and quality precisely as in the case of those which are the result of natural processes solely, it is impossible to avoid the conclusion that the only proper designation of these articles is 'precious stones.' "The value of the goods usually imported under the name of 'imitations of precious stones' is trivial compared with the value of the articles they are supposed to simulate, and they are bought and sold by the gross and hundred dozen. "For these reasons the goods under protest were returned for duty as precious stones at 25 per cent ad valorem under paragraph 338, N. T.” * * The assessment of duty by the collector and the claim by the protestant are covered by the same paragraph of the statute, No. 338, which provides, "Precious stones of all kinds * twenty-five per centum ad valorem; * * * imitations of precious stones * * * ten per cent ad valorem." Precious stones are known equally as gems and jewels, and they are understood to be the productions of nature. Many of them have as their base corundum, which is earth alumina in a crystalline state, and is the hardest known substance next to the diamond. When pulverized it is used for grinding other gems, emery being granulated corundum more or less impure. When the crystals are transparent they are recognized gems, the blue being the saphire, the violet the oriental amethyst, the yellow the oriental topaz, and the red the ruby. Efforts have been made for a long time to imitate nature in these formations by an artificial crystallization of alumina, mainly from an aluminate of lead, the lead combining with silica, and the alumina crystalizing out in the form of corundum. The color is produced by the addition of some chromium salt. Many of these processes have been published and are known by the names of their authors. In the last forty years they have excited the attention of chemists, who have not wearied in their attempted perfection. The articles represented by the present importation have been known since 1886, or perhaps a little earlier, and were understood to come from Geneva. They mark an epoch in the progress of chemistry, and leave us to anticipate still greater triumphs. These Geneva rubies were found to approach very closely the true rubies in hardness and specific gravity, while their color is very beautiful, and there does not seem to be any reason to believe it to be evanescent, or indeed that the luster will not endure for an indefinite time. They are produced in sizes represented by one-half a carat to 2 carats, and we have learned of some larger ones. They are bought and sold by the carat, and while there is no established value they seem to have been held in exceptional cases at about one-third the value of the true ruby. Our New York jewelers and dealers in precious stones, men of the highest character and standing in their specialties, as they are personally, testify that there is no difficulity for an expert to distinguish these articles from true rubies. They also substantially unite in saying that they do not consider them to be reconstructed gems in the sense of being produced from the rubies of nature. And these gentlemen do not offer the articles under consideration as the true rubies of com merce. The French syndicate, exercising control in such matters, submitted these Geneva rubies to M. Friedel of the Ecole des Mines, at Paris, for report, the results of which are reproduced in a monograph of Mr. |