738 A Description of the Coal Field [No. 128. 



became subject to the cultivator, the iron smelter retreated further 

 into the hills and forests. At present, the only place where iron smelt- 

 ing is carried on within this field is near to Gautcole, and beneath that 

 range of hills, and towards Soosnah on the south-west side, and be- 

 neath the Beerbhoora Hills on the north-east; but no where east 

 of the Barracar, and between the Damoodah and Adji. 



Having thus described the country, I may mention, that in the 

 Damoodah coal field, not a trace of limestone has ever been found, nor 

 in either that of Chota Nagpore or Cuttack ; and its absence throughout 

 this and the neighbouring coal field of Palamow will convince any 

 one, how different are the formations of this field from that in Sylhet, 

 the Garrows, and Assam, where the noble limestone rock is found to 

 accompany the coal throughout the whole of those countries. I cannot 

 claim any honour, as others have done in the publication alluded to, 

 for a discovery of coal as it is called, ten miles within the delta of the 

 alluvial formation, and in the midst of the paddy fields; but I hope 

 that what I have above stated, may prove instructive to such as think 

 it worth while to inquire into the resources of the country. There is 

 an account in the " Gleanings of Science/' of the coal and colliery of 

 Raneegunge, by Mr. Jones, and I should not have mentioned it, but it 

 is erroneous in the extreme; and at the time he wrote it, I am certain 

 it was based on very limited survey. It cannot be relied on at all, 

 not even the section of the vein at Raneegunge, which is there made 

 out to be seventeen feet, instead of half that thickness from the sur- 

 face of the ground. We procure lime konkar, and this is the only cal- 

 careous production known hereabouts. Limestone, in the way of profit, 

 would be far more coveted than coal ; but we have it not. Fire clay of 

 fair quality is found beneath the coal of some veins, but not univer- 

 sally. When properly selected, I have seen excellent fire bricks made 

 therefrom, and have seen them used successfully in Messrs. Jessop's 

 foundery. A porcelain clay is also found extensively near to the 

 hills on the south-west of the Damoodah, but the admixture of 

 foreign matter unsuits it for fine ware. I had some coarse pottery 

 made from it in England, but they failed to produce fine ware. It is 

 evidently decomposed rocks, and I take it, assimilates to that of China. 

 In its native state, and by careful ablution, it might get rid of the 

 impurities, but it is unadapted for pottery. 







