CHAP. 4.] KARNÜL FORMATION.—BANAGANPILLY GROUP. 101 
The gangue is then pounded up, washed, sifted, and laid out to dry 
on prepared floors; after which the residue of clean sand is carefully ex- 
amined in the hand, by the women and children of the working parties, 
for the precious gems. 
I saw no diamond zz situ, nor did I see or hear of any diamond being 
found during my stay at Banaganpilly for four or five days at a time. 
. Diamonds were brought to me which were reported to have been found 
in the mines, but these were most disappointing in their minuteness, 
flaws, and dirty colors. They were generally about the size of small 
cholam, or pepper-corn seeds, and very like those which I had already 
seen in the alluvial washings of Ramulkota (south of Kurnool). Nearly 
all the specimens were more or less perfect modifications of the octahed- 
ron with curved facets ; one of these had each of its facets crowned. 
with a little pyramid of tables, thus : 
They were smooth, tolerably bright 
and shining, and did not look as if J 
they had been worn; in fact, they 
seemed to me to have been crystals Fig. 12, Crystal of Diamond. 
in situ in the rock. In color they were pale blue or green and yellow. 
There were some larger fragments of crystals, which were, however, much 
flawed. The good specimens were valued by the merchants at Rs. 10 
each, perhaps they were worth Rs. 40. I was shown one diamond, 
a smooth shining crystal of a pale yellow color, with curved facets, 
about as large as a moderately sized garden pea, and valued at 
Rs. 350, which was, however, said not to be from these mines, but 
from near Anantapoor in the Bellary district, where it is almost 
certain that diamonds are not likely to be found, as the country is 
one of gneiss rocks. This may really have been a Banaganpilly 
diamond, for it is very possible that true information regarding the best 
finds at Banaganpilly was not given to me, considering that it is to the 
advantage of the merchants to keep down the value of a place in which 
the right to work for diamonds is let out by Government on contract. 
۲ 0۲ 2) 
