one of the above mines, the others being situated at a greater distance. The pits or mines which I viewed, were from 30 to 40 feet deep, and nearly the same in diameter. These are worked from the end of the rains till the month of May, when they generally come upon the diamond siliceous grassy conglomerate. The rains afford assistance in washing the clay off the stones, the stony matrix is then fractured with a large hammer, and the diamond set at liberty from its imbedded situation.

THESE mines are seldom unprofitable, and are said to repay all the expenses incurred, besides the percentage on the value of the produce paid to the Rajah. The duty levied by the Rajah varies; it generally amounts to a fourth, or 25 per cent. but I saw a man who represented himself as the agent of one of the merchants at Benares, who said that he worked the mines at a stipulated rate which had been fixed twenty or five and twenty years preceding, and the duty the Rajah was entitled to demand, was only 18 per cent, advalorem.

ONE of the Rajah's people is the person whose office it is to estimate the value of the diamonds, and the tax is levied according to his valuation.

WHEN it is considered that only a small portion of the bed in which the diamond is contained, has as yet been explored or excavated there seems every reason to suppose that the vicinity of Punnah, if not portions of the country situated at a great distance, may produce diamonds to a very considerable extent, and the country has some right to be considered as inexhaustible.

NOT a great number of years ago, two diamonds of some magnitude, were discovered on the surface of the ground, at or near the town of Punchumnugger, in the neighbourhood of Saugor, and situated in the same range of hills as Punnah, It is not impossible, but the same description of strata may occur there, and in fact there does exist some slight resemblance, in as far as the sand-stone and its appearance is concerned, but I did not observe at Punchumnugger any chlorite slate which I apprehend to be one of the most general accompaniments of the diamond

strata.

IN the tracts published by Mr. Heyne, Surgeon and Naturalist, on the establishment of Fort St. George, in the year 1814 A. D. will be found whatever is interesting regarding the diamonds in the Dukhun, but his account of the mine of Banaganpilly is most deserving of notice. The brown iron-stone or iron claystone or pebble, which I have mentioned, appears to correspond entirely with the iron-stone flotz of the Brazil, in which gold is found, and in which formation, it is said by Messrs. Spix and

Martins, diamonds are found likewise.

The chlorite slate above

stated, also, would appear to be of the same nature as the mica slate, which is reported by those gentlemen to underlie it. However the resemblance generally is so far incomplete, as I observed no specular iron ore.*

MR. HEYNE also mentions this species of iron ore among those stones which indicate the presence of the diamond when they occur in beds under the name of Kanna, which he thus describes as a small globular-"Iron-stone of the size of a hazle nut. The external colour is brown, the internal bluish grey, hardness that of fluor spar or rather greater, fracture approaching even; dull streak, metallic." This brown iron ore is not, I believe, magnetic, although it possesses a considerable portion of iron, not amounting to more, I presume, than 20 per cent.

SAND-STONE Would appear to be prevalent in the vicinity of the diamond mines in the Dukhun, and this formation also characterizes the mines of Punnah.

I am inclined to believe that the solid mineral in which the diamond occurs imbedded, whether it may be called a conglomerate or amygdaloid in the absence of accurate information, as to what strata intervenes will be found situated at no great distance from the primitive rocks, and if I might hazard an opinion, I should deem this species of rock to belong to the Transition class, rather than as appertaining to the alluvial.

THE glassy and highly vitreous nature of the base in which fragments of several rocks, together with the diamond, are included, seems at once to sanction such a belief. This base is often translucent, generally of a greenish colour, and appears as if it had once been in a state of fusion.

It is not a little curious, that the Topazes and the Euelaces of the Brazils are discovered in a similar clay slate, or Talcose clay, as the superstratum of the diamond rock at Punnah, and that similar quartz crystals are likewise found in these mines. These crystals are six sided prisms, accuminated at both ends when perfect, of a grey translucent appearance, often spoiled by impressions, or incompletely formed, arising from some extraneous cause.

THE Bisramgunge Ghaut is situated at about 5 miles from Punnah. At the break of day I came upon the Ghaut, and after descending it a short distance, I was struck by the nature of the rock-it had gradually undergone a change from sand-stone, much

VIDE Travels in Brazil in 1817-20, by Messrs. Spix and Martins, undertak en by command of the King of Bavaria, Vol. 11, Pages 185, 186, 187.

impregnated and coloured by the oxide of iron into a species of argillaceous schist, or greywacké slate, spotted red and white, and, having often a laminated structure of a dull appearance, and of a curved shistose nature. This rock appeared stratified, but I could not ascertain with any degree of certainty, its direction or inclination. Masses of quartzose rock were found intermixed, and at a lower level. These rocks were observed to be spotted with oxydulous iron ore-these spots varied in magnitude from very minute to the largeness of a pea. After this another and slight change takes place, and then silicious schist is observed, resembling by its green and grey colour, jade, being very hard, thin, slaty, and translucent. This last stratum appeared to be the separating one between the upper rocks and the granite, on which I now found myself arrived. Its sudden appearance was somewhat surprising, and having never seen it in the neighbourhood of Saugor, I felt greatly delighted with the unexpected recognition. The granite was composed of red felspar, a small portion of quartz, and black and brown mica. It seemed to shoot up, and as it were separate me from all the rocks in the examination of which I had hitherto been engaged, and to open a new field of geology to my exertion. Shortly after this introduction to granite, I met with nearly equal surprise-a stratum of globular Trap occurring in a geological po-sition 1 should not have expected, and this Trap descended down to the plain below. Subsequently to meeting with the Trap, L picked up a detached specimen of a calcareous amygdaloid, of a greenish and blue colour, spotted. At first I was inclined to suppose this a lime-stone, but afterwards was disposed to alter that opinion, as it was unassociated with others of the same species. A similar stone was discovered in the vicinity of Chatterkote, which will be hereafter described.*

NEAR the Bisramgunge Ghaut, on a hill which joins this range, is situated the famous Fort of Adjeghur.

THE day being very hot, and the ascent very steep, I found it inconvenient to go to the top of the mountain on which it stands.

BETWEEN Callinger, which is the next resting place, and Adjeghur, many hills and rocks rise from the plain abruptly-all these are composed of granite or syenite, indeed Callinger itself appears to rest upon a base of granite, capped by sand-stone, presenting various changes, and I believe specimens of trap are found between the granite and sand-stone. The large reservoirs on the top of this mountain, are excavations in the sand-stone rock. It was the supply of water furnished by these reservoirs, that in former

• VIDE Greenish Amygdaloid, with a calcareous base mentioned as occur. sing among the rocks to the westward of Chutterkote.

times rendered this strong-hold so favorably situated on a lofty and nearly perpendicular hill, one of the most impregnable fortresses in India.

NOTHING can be more grand than the contour of the hills which are seen immediately in the neighbourhood, and those connected with this fort. They are remarkable for the boldness of their outline-all of them appear to be surmounted with a thick stratum of sand-stone, that invariably presents the appearance of a perpendicular wall of 30 or 40 feet at the summit of the hill. Their natural escarpements give these hills the features of fortified posts.

I visited the lower hills on the north-east of the Fort, and discovered several singular rocks within a short distance of each other.

THE first I remarked was white quartz, slightly impregnated, with micacious iron ore or iron glance in the form of small veins running through the specimen, but not distinctly micacious. I proceeded farther, and found iron glance crystalized on white quartz, and also found the iron in some cases so thoroughly mixed with the quartz, as to exhibit no marks of crystallization. These last specimens had a metallic lustre approaching to the colour of steel.

IN passing between two hills which separated me from the front of the hill on which the fort is situated, I observed hornblende of the most compact nature, and very weighty, and having apparently much iron in its composition-another specimen I picked up was composed of hornblende, red felspar and pyrites, the felspar only forms a small portion of the mixed ingredients, and the pyrites is very minutely and almost invisibly disseminated. At the foot of the hill on the eastern side of the fort, I observed a great deal of felspar mixed with quartz, but I saw no mica. I picked up also some quartz crystals.

A small hill, opposite to the above-mentioned spot, towards the North, presented rather a curious appearance, and of what its composition was, I am still ignorant. It had the appearance of brown decayed amorphous looking rock, much impregnated with oxide of iron.

From Callinger to Chatterkote all the rocks are syenitic granite or porphyry, containing hornblende in various proportions. The nature of these rocks is somewhat extraordinary. Their extremely glassy and vitreous aspect would induce the belief that they had been subject to the operation of fire. They are extremely hard, and very difficult to fracture. Iron pyrites was disseminated in grains very minutely-the felspar was red, and generally formed

the most conspicuous ingredient-the quartz was of a grey and glassy appearance. The hornblende occurs generally mixed up with the other ingredients, but I have sometimes seen it imbedded in large globular masses, exceeding the size of a foot in diameter, and sometimes these masses had a longitudinal direction, and lost their globular form. The fragments were very sharp edged and translucent on the edges. It is to be observed that these rocks were detached at the foot of the chain of mountains, along the skirts of which I was marching-those hills more to the south, I should presume, had summits formed by horizontal strata of sandstone, while I found these to have generally a stratum, not very thick, of trap or hornblende superimposed-one or two of the last hills met with before arriving at Chutterkote, appeared to undergo a partial change, and the fine bright redness arising from the presence of the flesh-coloured felspar of the granite, was turned into a whitish and greyish colour, but still had a good deal of hornblende in its composition.

It

CHUTTERKOTE, independent of the objects of Geological interest, possesses many natural beauties of the most pleasing description. The scenery of no spot in India has gratified me more. is held in great veneration by the Hindoos, as it is one of their principal Tihrts, and it is the great seat of the Byraghee tribe, who occupy all the temples and grand houses of reception for pilgrims and visitors.

THE almost unknown temples situated at the immediate bottom of the revered hill of Kamptanaat, are only a short distance from the town to which they are considered attached. These temples are sufficiently numerous to form an unbroken chain of religious edifices around the base of the hill, which in circumference is estimated at about three coss, not less perhaps than seven or eight miles. The hill itself is of a conical shape, and is composed entirely of syenitic porphyry-on the outside of this chain of temples is a raised walk, made of stone and mortar, which encircles the hill, and leads to the different shrines-to walk round these is considered a necessary act, and is called Pykurma, and it is even imagined that the performance of the task will secure the devotees a fruition of their wishes, and a pardon for their sins. The number of individuals who employed themselves in this way, was astonishing; but I could not but feel disgusted with the sight of those, who, thinking more effectually to propitiate their duty, humbled themselves to the ground, and made the Pykurma by repeatedly extending their bodies and marking their length on the pathway. The temples of Kamptanaat are filled with various images of stone and wood, but those which seemed to attract most notice, were large images of the human size and features, dressed in as much finery, and with as many ornaments as it has been the practice in Catholic countries to adorn their saints, and equip the Virgin and her son.

B