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Noliees of BooJts i 



[JULT 



the other by means of along shovel, he supplies the mixture of fuel and 

 ore from the trough, but in small quantities at a time not unlike the way 

 in which grain is supplied from the hopper of ;i mill. The large quantity 

 which is thus kept in fusion compared w ith the small proportion in 

 which the ore is supplied, may be supposed to facilitate reduction, and 

 to constitute one of the chief peculiarities of the principle. 



*' Every two hours, or ten times during the twenty four, the iron is ex- 

 tracted from the fire in the form of a ball about five pounds weight, 

 which while hot is beaten as described by Mr. Cracroft with a wooden 

 club into a fiat compact form ; it is then split almost in two with a 

 heavy iron cleaver which renders it more easily converged into bars. 



" There may be five forges of this kind in the village of Serrareem, 

 each yielding 20-lb. of iron daily, and one hundred villages in which 

 the trade is carried on to the same extent; suppose the smelting to be 

 continued only during the cold season, 1,650 tons of iron would be an- 

 nually produced. Mr. Jones states that the iron from the mountains 

 sold in his time (1815) at the foot of the hills for one rupee five annas 

 per maund ; but according to my enquiries in Serrareem, as well as at 

 one of the weekly markets at Myrung where several tons of iron were 

 exposed for sale, the price on the spot was from fourteen annas to a 

 rupee for 20 seers, or, at the lowest, one rupee twelve annas per maund, 

 which compared with the price stated by Mr. Jones would make a mate- 

 rial difference, not merely in the aggregate value of the trade, but also 

 in the profits that would result to those who might embark in such 

 works as are recommended by Mr. Jones. Still however, the price 

 above stated is from 14 to 26 annas per cwt. less than the average price 

 of English pig-iron in Calcutta during 1835, so that if it could be deli- 

 vered in sufficient quantity at such rate, the manufacture might be suc- 

 cessful; the reduction of the ores found in the plain along the foot of 

 the mountain might however make up for any deficiencies from 

 above, and thus in the vicinity of coal, sufficient supplies of iron for 

 works of any extent might be obtained. 



" The mountain ore produces about 50 per cent, of iron, and unlike 

 that of the Ponar valley in Kemaon it is only necessary to submit it 

 once to the fire. A great bed of coal forms the surface on which Ser- 

 rareem is erected, but unless some more profitable and convenient re- 

 positories of the ore can be found than those already employed, the 

 use of this coal as a fuel would be little advantage ; the smelting as it 

 is at present managed, is far from being the most expensive part of the 

 manufacture. 



" From the indications afforded by the N. E. frontier, if we include 

 lander this head the coal districts of Silhet, Cherra^ Arracan, and vari- 



