334 Br, R. £>. Thomson on the [May 



their influence, and are imbibed, the water must necessarily 

 be vaporized, and disintegration of the rocky masses ensue. 

 This effect of vapour must be considered as a powerful 

 agent, although not so explosibly effective as the freezing 

 of water : 



cum tristis hyema etiamnum frigore saxa 



Rumperet."* 



Because, in one case the confined body has some means 

 of egress, though far from free, while, in the other, the 

 barriers must yield on every side to the overwhelming mass 

 within. When the soil is carefully examined, all the ap- 

 pearances confirm the idea of its derivation from the rocky 

 mass. It has a black colour, which it may in some measure 

 derive from particles of oxide of iron, which are occasionally 

 observable in the porphyry where it has begun to decom- 

 pose, and from the vegetable matter derived from the trees. 

 No considerable portions of iron have been detected in this 

 neighbourhood, although the oxide of that metal is found 

 in considerable abundance among the Ghauts, and is smelted 

 with some profit at the Mahabuleshwar hills. f In conse- 

 quence of the mixture of vegetable matter with this light 

 rocky production, the soil has been rendered fit for raising 

 some scanty crops, which serve to support the inhabitants 

 of the island, who amount to about a hundred. It is a 

 curious fact in the history of this island, that no water can 

 be obtained by sinking wells near the beach, and that the 

 sole supply of the inhabitants is procured at the summit of 

 the hill, where a cool spring exists in a dark cave near the 

 great temple, affording a plentiful supply, from which it is 

 conveyed by the Hindoos to their habitations in porous 

 earthen vessels. 



CARANJA ISLAND. 



This is a large island, situated the most southerly of any 

 in the harbour. It consists of two hills, with an intervening- 

 valley. The best landing place is situated on the north- 

 east side of the island, at a fishing village, where, however, 

 the water is very shallow, and where it is necessary, in 

 order to effect a landing, to employ a native canoe. The 



* Virg. G. iv. 135. 



t " Account of the convalescent station of Malcolm Paiton the Mahabuleshwar 

 hills," Bombay, 1830, pamphlet. The chemical nature of the ore is not stated in 

 this publication, but it is probably the magnetic iron ore. 



