On the Occurrence and Distribution of Gold in India, 531 
of land, the vein stone of which, it is expected, will be worked out 
before the present lease, some eight years more, expires. It appears 
also that the mining concessions lately acquired by the Trustees of 
Messrs. W. Nicol and Co., limits them to the selection of fifty acres 
within a certain area of his territories, and that owners of estates 
within these boundaries are not to be interfered with. ‘The Rajah has 
offered to grant mining rights to all desiring them, but upon terms 
which will simply drive away capitalists. We certainly think a 
deputation of the Rajah’s tenants should wait upon His Highness and 
impress upon him the folly of demanding such exorbitant and prohibitive 
rates, or making them sign agreements which can never be fulfilled.’ ” 
The question of climate is by no means an unimportant one 
and has not been overlooked by Mr. Brough Smyth. It isa 
factor known to exercise an appreciable influence in all commercial 
undertakings in India, as for instance, the cultivation of tea in 
Assam :— 
“ Though the climateof the Wynaad has been represented as unhealthy, 
it is not uncommon for Europeans employed in connexion with coffee 
gardens, to remain in the district with their families throughout the 
whole year. Fever is prevalent in March, April, and May, and some 
of the residents become seriously ill. But it must be borne in mind 
that a coffee planter who attends carefully to his business is subjected 
to exposure to the sun during the hot months, and to the heavy rains 
during the monsoon. He has to walk or ride for many hours each day, 
when the solar radiation is at its maximum, and during the monsoon 
his clothes are rarely dry.” 
KoLar (oR CoLAr) District.—The Kolar district situated in 
Mysore is also at the present moment attracting a considerable 
amount of attention in connexion with its gold. Unlike the 
Wynaad it does not appear to have been as yet systematically 
explored by any geologist or mining expert, and my information 
regarding it is therefore limited to what I have been able to 
collect from notices in the Indian newspapers. However, the 
general fact is known that the rocks are similar to those of the 
Wynaad belonging to the metamorphic series, but as to the 
abundance of quartz reefs I have no information. As in the 
Wynaad, gold has long been sought for by the natives in Kolar, 
and it is claimed for this area that it was largely instrumental 
in supplying the wealth of Southern India spoken of above. 
Indeed it is stated that Hyder and his son Tippoo erected their 
mints, the ruins of which are to be seen to-this day, in the district 
close to the spot where the Ooregaum company are at present 
working. The climate is said to be good—quite equal to that of 
SciEN. Proc., R.D.S. VOL. 11, PT. vi 2 N 2 
