84 Scientific Proceedings^ Royal Dublin Society. 



general facts related are as they were originally stated by Megas- 

 thenes. 



The first statement bearing on our subject is taken from 

 Diodorus^ : — 



" And while the soil (of India) bears on its surface all kinds of 

 fruits which are known to cultivation, it has also under ground 

 numerous veins of all sorts of metals, for it contains much gold 

 and silver, and copper and iron in no small quantity, and even tin 

 and other metals, which are employed in making articles of use 

 and ornament, as well as the implements and accoutrements of 

 war." 



Upon this I shall only here remark that the item of greatest 

 interest is the tin. Even in Homeric times reference to this metal 

 as coming from India is to be found in conjunction with the 

 mention of elephas or ivory. The Greek name for it, kassiteros, is 

 moreover said to be derived from the Sanskrit, kastira. That 

 India produced tin in sufficient quantities for exportation is, I 

 believe, most improbable. The tin which she did export pro- 

 bably came to the Indian ports from the Malayan countries or 

 Tenasserim. 



The fable of the gold- digging ants, already alluded . to as 

 having been related by Herodotus, is quoted by Strabo and 

 Arrian from Megasthenes. Arrian further also refers to the 

 account by Nearchos," who says that " he had not himself seen a 

 specimen of the sort of ant which other writers declare to exist in 

 India, though he had seen many skins of them which had been 

 brought into the Makedonian camp."^ But Megasthenes avers 

 that the tradition about the ants is strictly true — that they are 

 gold-diggers, not for the sake of the gold itself, but . because, by 

 instinct they burrow holes in the earth to lie in, just as the tiny 

 ants of our own country dig little holes for themselves ; only those 

 in India being larger than foxes, make their burrows propor- 

 tionately larger. But the ground is impregnated with gold, and 

 the Indians thence obtain their gold. Now, Megasthenes writes 

 what he had heard from hearsay, and as I have no more exact 

 information to give, I willingly dismiss the subject of the ant." 



1 Ancient India, p. 31. - M'Ciindle's Arrian, p. 217. 



2 These I believe to have been skins of tbe Thibetan mastiffs (or grifSns), M'Mch, I 

 imderstand, are still brought to India for sale. 



