64 



Crystalline Limestone $c. [no. 5, new series, 



research might discover limestone, of a finer grain in some portion 

 of the band. 



For the manufacture of lime, the limestone is well adapted. The 

 lime obtained from it would be very pure, and of the class termed 

 rich limes which require the admixture of a certain amount of clay 

 to make them set rapidly. Hitherto, kunkur only has been used 

 for the manufacture of lime, in the Coimbatore district, and for lo- 

 cal purposes this undoubtedly answers extremely well, but as it no 

 where occurs in any great thickness, and is distributed in irregular 

 patches over the surface of the country, the supply of lime obtain- 

 able from this source is limited. It is probable also that in the event 

 of the limestone beingquarriedfor building purposes on a large scale, 

 the small fragments and chippings burnt on the spot and packed 

 in casks or air-tight boxes, w r ould be cheaper material for convey- 

 ance to a distance, than the kunkur which is not only a very bulky 

 material, but in this district generally occurs on dry arid ground 

 where but little fuel is available. 



For the production of iron, the ores of which are abundantly dis- 

 tributed over some parts of the Coimbatore district, the limestone 

 is eminently fitted, and the neighbouring jungles of Walliar and 

 the Malabar Coast yield a plentiful supply of fuel. 



Finally, the limestone is admirably situated as regards facility of 

 transport to distant localities. The Railway from Madras and Sa- 

 lem to Beypoor, passes as above-mentioned for some distance along 

 the band of limestone, so that the cuttings of the Railway are in 

 the stone itself. Were quarries opened along the side of the line, 

 * the blocks of dressed stone might be placed on trucks in the quarry 

 and transported without expense of reloading to any point on the 

 line, while by transporting to the Cauvery and transferring to boats, 

 the stone might be easily conveyed to Trichinopoly and other 

 places in that district. 



