72 Coins and Antiquities from Kholclirakote. [April, 



the right ; in No. 7 the same on the left. The reverse of No. 1 resembles 

 that of No. 2. The reverses of Nos. 4, 5, 7 resemble that of No. 3. In 

 No. 6 the same deteriorating process may be observed on the reverse ; tlie 

 man and bull having been attenuated to mere outlines. It may be noted that 

 on Vasudeva's coins, there is a trident in front of the king on the left, 

 and another in his hand on the right ; and further, that the final skeleton 

 (as in Nos. 4 and 5) closely resembles the old Nagari characters wt (*. e., 

 ^j + ?T + "t in conjunction), which are very much like the characters that 

 are seen under the arm of the king (in full figure) in the earliest Gupta 

 coins {e.g., of Ghatotkacha). This fact would seem to link the present 

 coins on to the Gupta coins. 



The antiquities consisted of 16 pieces ; viz., 3 images, 2 pieces of 

 rusty iron, 2 pebbles, 3 globular stones, 3 shells (cowries), 4 pieces of 

 " ivory" ornaments. One of the images is a rude, hollow iron figure, 

 broken in 3 pieces representing a squatting man with a top-knot and long 

 pendent ears, another is a very rude full-sized male figure, bow-legged and 

 with arms a-kimbo, unclothed ; apparently a votive figure or a mere child's 

 toy. The third is the full male figure of a divinity, cut in low relief on 

 a small flat piece (apparently) of the well-known Agra soap-stone, with 

 head-dress, necklace and sacred thread, both arms turned upwards and each 

 supporting some conical object. Of the two pebbles one is the exact half 

 of a well-turned globe ; the other is in its natural form. The three 

 globular stones are really spindle-whorls made of clay, of the volcano- 

 shaped kind, described and figured by Mr. Rivett-Carnac in the Journal 

 Asiatic Society, Bengal, Vol. XLIX, page 127. The four so-called " ivory" 

 pieces are the broken parts of two armlets. They are not of ivory, how- 

 ever, as described by the finders, but of conch-shell, as pointed out by the 

 Natural History Secretary. 



Mr. Ball, Officiating Natural History Secretary, exhibited samples of 

 the sticks used in the hilly districts of Bengal, for producing fire and in 

 connection with them made the following remarks: 



Some years ago I exhibited a sample of the fire sticks used by the 

 inhabitants of the Nicobar islands ; these were cut from some soft white 

 wood, possibly from a species of Bombax. Subsequently in Sambalpur I 

 found that the inhabitants of the jungles there knew how to make fire in 

 exactly the same way, the sticks used being either of the small solid bamboo or 

 the branches of the pothur tree (Croton oblongifolium) . In this case my at- 

 tention was drawn to the fact by finding sticks which had been so used 

 cast away in the jungles. On asking the coolies with me whether they 

 understood the art, they immediately set to work in the following manner. 



