CHAP. I.] 



METALS. 



ence of tin in the alluvium along the base of the moun- 

 tains to the eastward towards Edelgashena; but so cir- 

 cumstanced, owing to the stream of the Wellaway, that, 

 without lowering the level of the river, the metal could 

 not be extracted with advantage. The position in which 

 it occurs is similar to that in which tin ore presents itself 

 in Saxony; and along with it, the Singhalese, when search- 

 ing for gems,jiiscover garnets, corundum, white topazes, 

 zircon, and tourmaline. 



Gold is found in minute particles at Gettyhedra, and 

 in the beds of the Maha Oya and other rivers flowing 

 towards the west. 1 But the quantity hitherto discovered 

 has been too trivial to reward the search. The early in- 

 habitants of the island were not ignorant of its presence ; 

 but its occurrence on a memorable occasion, as well as 

 that of silver and copper, is recorded in the Mahawanso 

 as a miraculous manifestation, which signalised the 

 founding of one of the most renowned shrines at the 

 ancient capital. 2 



Nickel and cobalt appear in small quantities in Saf- 

 fragam, and the latter, together with rutile (an oxide of 

 titanium) and wolfram, may possibly find a market in 

 China for the colouring of porcelain. 3 Tellurium, another 

 rare and valuable metal, hitherto found only in Transyl- 

 vania and the Ural, has likewise been discovered in these 



1 Ruanwelle, a fort about forty 

 miles distant from Colombo, derives 

 its name from the sands of the river 

 which flows below it, rang-welle, 

 "golden sand." " Rang-galla-" in 

 the central province, is referable to 

 the same root " the rock of gold." 



2 Mahawanso, ch. xxiii. p. 166. 

 167. 



3 The Asiatic Annual Register for 

 1799 contains the following : 



" Extract from a letter from Colombo, 

 dated 26tK Oct. 1798. 



" A discovery has been lately made 

 here of a very rich mine of quicksilver, 



about six miles from this place. The 

 appearances are very promising, for 

 a handful of the earth on the surface 

 will, by being washed, produce the 

 value of a rupee. A guard is set over 

 it, and accounts sent express to the 

 Madras Government." P. 53. See 

 also PERCTVAL'S Ceylon, p. 539. 



JOINVILLE, in a MS. essay on The 

 Geology of Ceylon, now in the library 

 of the East India Company, says that 

 near Trincomalie there is " un sable 

 noir, compose" de detriments de trappe 

 et de cristaux de fer, dans lequel on 

 trouve par le lavage beaucoup de 



