248 NILGHIRI HILLS. 



and is burnt in kilns erected near the barracks ; a mixture of peat and 

 wood being employed as fuel. 



The ores of iron are tolerably abundant at several localities on the 

 Iron ores abundant but hills, the most plentifvd being the Hsematite and 

 ue scarce. Magnetic iron, -which occur intercalated iri the 



Gneiss (see page 219). The comparative scarcity of fuel renders it 

 however improbable that any of these ores can be smelted with advan- 

 tage on the hills, and on the Malabar coast where fuel is abundant, 

 iron ores are sufficiently plentiful to render it unnecessary to resort 

 to the hills for a supply. 



Quartz of great purity occurs abundantly in the form of veins, 



especially in the valley crossed by the Avalanche 

 Quartz plentiful. _ 



road, 7 miles from Ootakamund (see map). It 



Too opaque for optical is for the most part very white and free from iron, 

 purposes. ^^^ ^^^ sufficiently pellucid to be of any value 



for optical purposes. 



Various earthy iron ores result from the decomposition of the rock 



Earthy iron ores ap- *"" situ, and some of these appear to be sufficiently 

 p loa e as pigmen . ^-^j^ ^^ ^^ employed as pigments. The localities 



at which such occur have been already referred to at page 237. 



John Gray, " Calcutta Gazette" Office. 



