

APPENDIX. 159 



On this journey he visited Tanjore and the town of Vallam, 

 where rolled pieces of yellow brown, white and violet rock-crystal 

 are found scattered through the alluvium. 85 These are cut at' 

 Tanjore and more especially at Frichinopoly (IX, 262 — 264). From 

 Tanjore he went to Pudukattai 2fl and Madura, visiting the Cotta- 

 lam (Courtallum) 27 mountains which are situated at 12 lieues (30 miles) 

 north-north-west of Cape Comorin (IX, 265). Thence be passed 



This reference by Leschenault to the aqua-marine mine at Pattalai is inter- 

 esting because it not only gives us a clue to the locality of the pegmatites de- 

 scribed by Lacroix, but also of the garnetiferous rock with the remarkable pegma- 

 toidal coronae of hornblende said to be from " Perindor£" (Rec, Geol. Sum., Ind., 

 XXIV, 181). To visit the Pattalai mine Leschenault probably went vid Palladam 

 to Kangayam, and in order to pass through Perindore" (Perundurai) on his way from 

 Kangayam to Salem he must have crossed the band of rock, i| mile south-west 

 of Chennimalai, which contains the garnets with the pegmatoidal coronae of 

 hornblende. [Since the above was written I have examined the specimens in 

 Paris. The old label "Chinamal6 Coromandel " removes the last trace of doubt 

 about the locality of these interesting rocks.] As these rocks are well exposed on 

 the road-side for about a quarter of a mile, and the large garnets with their 

 coronae are quite conspicuous, they could hardly have escaped Leschenault's notice. 

 As Perindore* was the next convenient halting place these rocks might have had 

 their locality indicated as " near Perindore\" Close to the garnetiferous rocks there 

 are exposed pegmatites, containing pearlywhite felspars similar to those which 

 Lacroix describes as having also been obtained from Perundurai (Perindore). 



25 Tanjore was then a Native State ruled over by Sarfoji who died in 1832. 

 Vallam is still the head-quarters of the new British Collectorate of 3,600 square 

 miles ; the cutting of rock crystal for spectacles and ornamental purposes is still 

 carried on, and some of the rock-crystal, especially the colourless material, is 

 brought from other districts (Pattalai near Kangayam for instance, see note 

 No. 24) for the manufacture of the ct Vallam diamonds "; most of the raw material 

 is, however, obtained from the Cuddalore (Tertiary) conglomerates (see King and 

 Foote, Mem., Geol. Surv., Ind., Vol. IV, pp. 36 and 370). 



36 Pudukattai is a Native State of 1,046 square miles, populated principally by 

 the Kollari race and ruled over by a Raja (Tondaman). 



17 References to the geology of the mountains in the neighbourhood of Court- 

 allum have been made by Dr. W. King (Rec , Geol. Surv., Ind., XV, go) and Mr. 

 R. Bruce Foote (Rec, Geol. Surv., Ind., XVI, 23). Courtallam itself is, however, 

 much more than 30 miles north-north-west of Cape Comorin j so Leschenault 

 presumably refers to the mountains which stretch southwards from Courtallam 

 where the Arangole pass leads across into Travancore. 



( 57 ) 



