120 ball: geology op aurunga and hutar coal fields. 



constructed line, or by any other means of transport, seems to be some- 

 what slender, but I must leave it to others to decide this question. It 

 depends upon the alignment adopted for the Gya-Daltonganj line 

 whether some reduction would not be possible in the length required 

 for the special branch to the ores. 



Laterite. 



The position of the excellent ores which are found at an elevation 

 of 3,600 feet in the laterite of the Neturhat plateau renders them 

 absolutely valueless from an economic point of view. A glance at the 

 accompanying general map will be sufficient to shew the nature of 

 the physical difficulties in the country surrounding the Tuppeh Semah 

 in which the Neturhat plateau is situated. 



Much simplification of the questions at issue will ensue by omitting 

 all such localities from consideration. 



I shall conclude this section by giving a brief sketch of the present 

 condition of the native iron works in the area. 



Native Iron works. 



A photograph, for which I am indebted to the kindness of Mr. T. F. 

 Peppe, has rendered it possible to give here a more life-like representa- 

 tion of the process of smelting, as practised by the Aguriahs, than has 

 hitherto been published. In the lithographic reproduction of this 

 photograph, M. Jules Schaumburg's artistic hand, which has done so 

 much for the illustration of these volumes, will be recognized. 



Although the direct process by which malleable iron is produced in 

 native furnaces has often been described, and now finds a place in works 

 on metallurgy, I venture to think that a few remarks on the subject, 

 the result of my own observations, will not be inappropriate here. 

 I have already, on a previous page, discussed the ethnology of the 

 various tribes connected with the manufacture and working of 

 iron. 



( 120 ) 



