1850.] Eastern Districts oftlie Sonhal of Hydralad. 



183 



Maiduck Sircars yellow clay ore is found wherever laterite rests 

 on a trap hill, it is mined with facility, and ease, the chief labour 

 in furnishing the supply being the toil endured in ascending and 

 descending the steep hills where it is found. There are furnaces 

 at Lingumpilly, in the Maiduck and Tatapilly, Mzamabad, in the 

 Elgundel Sircar. The iron procured from this species of ore is 

 used in the manufacture of steel, and a kind of monopoly of it is 

 attempted by a Mogul who farms the famous steel manufacture of 

 Konasamoondrum near Neermul, from whence steel is sent to 

 Persia and Arabia. The common mode of smelting is well known 

 to be rude and imperfect, great labour is bestowed in the process 

 and much loss incurred, about 8 or 10 per cent, of metal is pro- 

 cured from the richer ores, but the poorer which possesses however 

 the advantage of being more easily smelted scarce yield half that 

 produce. Hematite and Pisiform iron ore are found in many 

 parts where the formation is granitic, but they are never manu- 

 factured into iron. Lumps too of titaniferous iron ore are fre- 

 quently found in sinking wells, and sometimes superficially in the 

 same formation, they are never smelted. A dark brown cubical 

 iron ore is found in the tabulated limestone of the Kistnah, but it 

 is considered useless, it is not found in very large quantities. I 

 have also seen specimens of glance iron ore found in the granite, 

 it is sometimes used for antimony to sprinkle the eyelashes. 



Copper. — Just below Telgurrup, a Jagheer village belonging to 

 Shums-ool-oomrah in the Eamgheer Sircar, there is an island pro- 

 ducing copper ore. Specimens of this ore, in all probability a carbon- 

 ate, (but I have been unable to procure specimens,) were pronoun- 

 ced by that competent Judge Dr. Yoysey, to be poor and unpro- 

 ductive. A tradition exists among the Natives that this ore was 

 worked by Frenchmen in the service of a great Talooqdar with the 

 title of Zaffur-ood-dowlah, who held large districts of the Nizam's 

 country more than eighty years ago, it is said that they found the 

 experiment unsuccessful, and speedily gave it up . Traces of carbon- 

 ate of copper exist in the granite, particularly at Nelgoondah, but 

 they are mere traces and afibrd no proof of that species of ore oc- 

 curring to any extent. 



Gold. — I was informed by Mr. Ealph who, twenty-five years ago, 

 acted as political agent at Palooncha, a principality on the Godavery 

 detached from the Sircar of Kummemmett, that at a place called 



