120 MALLET^ VINDHYAN SERIES. 



the most delicatp and elaborate carvings. At the same time the uniform-^ 

 ity in color, which is of a most pleasing tint, is so great, that the 

 different stones in a building are only distinguishable by their joints. 

 The palace of the Eajah of Bhurtpur at Deeg, which is regarded as one 

 of the most beautiful edifices in India, testifies at once to the excellence 

 of the stone employed and the skill attained by the stone-cutters of that 

 district. Cupolas resting on slender shafts of 3 and 3 inches diameter, 

 arches supported on strong yet graceful pillars, windows formed of single 

 slabs of stone perforated into the most elaborate tracing meet one at 

 every turn. The palace at Bhurtpur is another amongst the many 

 splendid buildings erected of this stone. 



The white sandstone is, amongst other uses, largely employed for 

 telegraph posts, for which the red is not well suited on account of its 

 liability to split. These are 16 feet in length, 12 inches square at the 

 lower end and 8 at the upper, the wires being supported by a short 

 cross-piece let iuto a groove near the top. Similar posts are also manu- 

 factured from the Kymore sandstone of Chunar. 



As an example of the immense blocks which can be extracted from these 

 quarries, we may mention two monoliths lying on the ground about a mile 

 south-east of Rupas near the quarry from which they were cut. They are 

 of speckled red sandstone, one a circular column 34 feet 6 inches in length 

 with diameters at the ends of 3' 3" and 2' 8" ; the other a parallelopiped 

 42'6" long by about 5' 6" x 4' 0" (at the ends 5' 9" X 4' 1" and 5' 3" X 3' 8"). 

 The contents of the larger of these is about 900 cubic feet, and the weight 

 nearly 60 tons, the specific gravity being 2 '32. The villagers call these 

 stones ' gilli danda' from a supposed resemblance to the implements used 

 in a native game, but know nothing of their history, sajdng they have 

 been there from time immemorial. Not far from this, about two miles 

 east of Rupas, there are in the temple of Buldeo three prostrate idols 

 which measure in length respectively 28, 21 and 22 feet. The - 

 first has a breadth of 7 or 8 feet and they are all formed of single 

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