Pt. II. Chap. II.] collieries — mode of working. 177 



The above details may serve to convey some idea of the present 



method of working coal at Raniganj. The folio w- 

 Table of out-turn, &c. 



ing table has been drawn up in order to show, as 



far as possible, the present condition and capability of the collieries. 



The greater portion of the statistics may be relied upon, a few errors 



may have crept in, but all possible care has been used to eliminate 



them. The statements of the out-turn of coal are those given by the 



proprietors of the various mines. 



The several columns of the table refer to the following subjects : — 



I. The names of the collieries. They are, in general, those of the 

 villages upon the land belonging to which the mine or quarry is situated. 



II. The names of the proprietors. 



III. The nature of the colliery, whether worked by pits, by quar- 

 ries, or by the combination already specified as " undercut quarries." 



IV. The number of pits and quarries at present at work in each 

 colliery. This, however, varies from year to year. 



V. The year in which each colliery was first established. Many 

 have been alternately worked and abandoned several times, and by 

 various proprietors, and in such cases the year when they were first 

 worked, whenever it is known, is that given. 



VI. VII. VIII. The out-turn of " round" or large coal for the 

 twelvemonth ending the 30th September, or October, in each of the 

 three years 1858, 1859, 1860. This date is considered the close of the 

 mining season, a custom which originated in the practice of sending all 

 coal to Calcutta by the Damuda River, which is only navigable during 

 the rains. At the time of the river's closing, towards the end of Septem- 

 ber, the returns of the quantity sent to market could be accurately 

 determined. 



In some cases, the returns given, by the proprietors, comprised 

 " rubble" and " dust/' or small coal, as well as " round" coal. In such 

 cases, a calculated deduction has been made, and the gross quantity has 



Y 



