Dec.  i,  1892.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
399 
growth  of  shrubs  on  the  margin,  is  all  that  testifies 
to  what  is  perhaps  the  mouth  of  a shaft  of  consider- 
able depth.  The  shafts  have  no  uniformity  of  shape, 
the  old  mines  appearing  to  have  followed  down  the 
rich  shoots  of  gold  in  all  their  windings  and  zig- 
zagging, so  that  timbering  in  the  modern  sense  of 
the”  word  was  impossible.  The  walls  (foot  and 
hanging)  are  kept  apart  by  blocks  of  reef  allowed 
to  remain  unworked,  and  where  the  reef  has  proved 
so  rich  as  to  make  it  worth-while  taking  all  out, 
large  blocks  of  stone  from  elsewhere  have  been 
inserted  and  all  the  rich  quertz  taken  out.  The 
depth  to  which  these  old  pits  descend  is  very  great.  On 
the  Mysore  Mine  at  Kolar,  old  workings  have  been 
found  "extending  to  310  ft.  below  the  surface.  In 
other  parts  of  Mysore  soundings  to  a depth  of  185 
ft.  have  not  reached  the  bottom  of  some  of  these 
old  mines  now  partially  filled  with  water.  In  addition 
to  the  shafts,  adits  and  drives  (tunnels)  were  known 
to  the  old  workers.  They  generally  occur  in 
high  ground  on  the  side  of  a hill  where  the  reef 
has  been  exposed  by  a land-slip  or  from  other 
causes.  Here  the  reef  has  been  followed  along  its 
course  for  long  distances,  and  tunnels  a quarter  of  a 
mile  long  have  been  discovered  in  the  Mysore  Province. 
Of  these  tunnels  and  pits  the  natives  know  little.  Local 
names  such  as  Jalgar-gunni  (gold- washer  pit),  Hon-dhona 
(golden  well),  Thungsala-guvve  (mint  caves)  give  some 
indication  of  the  nature  of  the  workings,  but  it  is 
only  by  close  and  frequent  questioning  that  the 
existence  of  such  pits  is  discovered,  as  the  ignorant 
natives  believe  that  these  old  works  are  the  shrine 
of  some  malignant  spirit  that  will  punish  those  who 
point  them  out  to  the  sacrilegous.  The  existence 
of  works  of  this  character  is  a sure  sign  to  the  pros- 
pector tnat  he  has  hit  on  likely  ground,  and  so  far, 
not  a spot  has  been  found  in  Mysore  giving  indica- 
tions of  being  auriferous  where  these  old  mines  are 
wanting.  It  is  difficult  at  these  old  mines  to  find 
visible  gold  in  any  of  the  quartz  remaining  unworked, 
or  in  the  debris  surrounding  the  shaft.  Perhaps,  after 
making  numerous  tests  a few  specks  of  yellow,  in 
the  dish,  may  reward  him.  The  natives  were  care- 
ful and  patient  workers,  and  it  is  only  worthless 
stone  that  has  been  rejected  at  the  surface;  down 
below,  now  and  again,  the  portion  of  the  quartz-lode 
left  to  support  the  sides  may  be  found  rich.  A few 
ounces  of  quartz  crushed  up  the  mortar  and  then 
panned  off  in  the  woodon  dish  gives  ample  evidence 
of  the  character  and  worth  of  the  stone. 
If  the  existence  of  old  workings  is  not  known  or 
is  denied  by  the  natives  then  the  prospector  must 
ask  to  be  taken  to  the  washing  grounds  of  the 
jalgars.  A sandy  water  course  draining  the  adjacent 
hills  is  generally  pointed  out.  This  contains  water 
only  during  the  rains,  and  it  is  only  during  the  rainy 
season  that  the  jalgars  carry  on  their  operations. 
It  is  well  for  the  prospector  to  carry  with  him  several 
water-pots  filled  with  water  to  enable  him  to  carry 
on  his  tests.  It  is  no  use  attempting  to  test  the 
bed  of  the  watercourse,  as  several  feet  of  sand  and  coarse 
gravel  generally  cover  the  bottom.  Should  a portion  of 
the  bed  rock  be  exposed  in  any  part  here,  the  loose 
sand  should  be  scraped  off  and  thrown  away,  and 
the  crevices  in  the  rock  carefully  swept  out  and 
the  resulting  handful  or  two  of  sand  washed  in 
the  dish.  Any  gold  that  may  be  in  the  sand  will 
be  most  likely  to  be  found  in  the  sweepings  from 
the  rock  crevices,  as  the  great  weight  of  the  gold 
makes  it  work  its  way  below  the  lighter  sand  and 
lodge  in  the  crevices  of  the  bed-rock.  If  no  portion 
of  the  bed-rock  can  be  conveniently  got  at,  then 
a little  of  the  srrface  earth  should  be  swept  up  on 
a pathway  or  any  other  hard  surface  on  the  neigbour- 
ing  fields.  A handful  or  two  will  suffice  to  test  in 
the  dish.  Should  the  alluvium  prove  to  be  auriferous 
it  will  be  time  to  look  about  for  the  reefs  from 
which  the  gold  must  necessarily  have  come.  It 
has  been  stated  that  the  gold  exists  in  the  alluvium 
where  no  reefs  have  been  found,  and  it  is  thought 
that  either  the  gold  comes  from  the  schistose  rocks 
about  and  not  from  quartz-rocks  or  that  it  has  been 
washed  down  from  long  distances.  In  Mysore  the 
prospector  may  be  sure  that  if  he  finds  gold  in  the 
alluvium  the  quartz-reefs  are  not  far  of.  If  the 
specks  in  his  dish  resulting  from  the  washing  of 
the  scraping  from  the  bed-rock  or  pathway  are  very 
small  and  light,  he  may  assume  the  reef  is  some 
little  way  off  ; if  the  specks  are  heavy  then  the  reefs 
are  in  the  neighbourhood.  Quartz  reefs  which  stand 
up  prominently  and  whose  course  can  be  traced  by 
wall-like  ridges  running  over  the  surface  of  the 
country  for  miles,  may  be  at  once  abandoned  as 
worthless.  In  such  reefs  the  quartz  is  hard  and  white,  or 
perhaps  stained  here  and  there  with  brown  iron  rust ; 
it  breaks  off  into  large  blocks  having  saccharoid 
appearance  and  is  hungry  loolcing,  in  miner’s  parlance. 
The  auriferous  quartz  of  Mysore  is  seamy,  i,  e.,  the 
quartz  appears  to  have  been  deposited  in  layers  of 
varying  thickness  from  an  inch  or  two  to  a few  lines. 
Between  the  layers  a dark-coloured  mineral  is  appa- 
rent, and  in  these  seams  much  of  the  gold  is  found. 
Frequently  the  whole  mass  of  quartz  has  a blue-black 
appearance  with  darker  lines  to  mark  the  layers ; 
included  pieces  of  the  chlorite  and  talcose  schists 
which  form  the  adjacent  ground  will  also  be  seen 
entangled  in  the  reef.  A patchy  out-crop  here  with 
another  out-crop  some  yards  off  and  only  slightly 
above  the  surface  ground  is  the  usual  indication  of 
this  class  of  quartz  reef.  Below  the  surface  a com- 
pact mass  of  hard  dark-coloured  quartz  cutting 
through  the  schistose  rocks  will  be  found.  It  is 
not  always  that  an  out-crop  yielding  gold  can  be 
hit  on,  but  such  out-crop  are  not  uncommon  and 
sometimes  an  out-crop  may  be  found  showing  gold 
to  the  eye,  (the  gold  is  best  seen  by  dipping  the 
sample  in  water).  Near  to  the  reef  any  portion 
of  the  adjacent  earth  should  give  a speck  or  so 
of  gold. 
Satisfied  of  the  gold-bearing  capabilities  of  the  local- 
ity examined  to  secure  the  land  for  mining  purposes,  the 
prospector  must  mark  off  the  block  required  (restricted 
by  the  Government  to  one  square  mile)  pointing  out 
the  boundaries  to  the  Revenue  authorities,  and  send- 
ing in  a plan  of  the  ground  to  the  Chief  Secretary  to 
the  Mysore  Government.  The  application  has  to  be 
accompained  by  a deposit  of  R2,(J00.  The  plan  can 
be  best  prepared  with  the  aid  of  the  village  map,  a 
copy  of  which  is  always  with  the  village  clerk.  This 
plan  shows  the  boundaries  of  the  various  “holdings” 
of  private  individuals  and  Government  lands,  and 
also  gives  the  assessment  to  be  paid  on  each  holding. 
Private  lands  must  be  purchased  from  the  holders 
by  the  gold  seeker ; Government  lands  can  be  had 
free  on  payment  of  the  assessment  which  for  waste- 
lands is  8 annas  an  acre.  The  plan  and  assessment 
statement  prepared  from  the  village  map  must  accom- 
pany the  application  for  the  block.  The  rights  of 
way,  rights  to  water-courses,  and  grazing  rights,  are 
not  to  be  interfered  with,  and  the  surface  right  of 
the  ryots  must  be  acquired  by  the  applicant.  A 
lease  of  the  mining  rights  for  30  years  is  granted 
by  the  Mysore  Government  on  payment  of  the  usual 
land  tax  and  a royalty  of  5 per  cent  on  the  gross 
yield  of  gold.  Such  briefly  is  the  manner  in  which  lands 
are  prospected  and  acquired  for  mining  purposes.  No 
regular  survey  (geological  or  mining  has  yet  been  under, 
taken  by  the  Government.  Dr.  Bruce  Foott,  Superin- 
tendent of  the  Geological  Survey  of  India  has  made  a 
sketch  map  of  the  country  showing  roughly  the 
limits  of  the  best  known  auriferous  tracts,  but  much 
remains  to  be  done  before  the  mineral  wealth  of  the 
Mysore  Province  can  be  even  approximately  estimated. 
Large  tracts  of  country  have  yet  to  be  examined,  while 
careful  survey  of  even  known  aurife  ous  tracts  has 
not  yet  been  thought  of. — Indian  Agriculturist. 
VARIOUS  NOTES. 
To  Destroy  Ants. — A correspondent  in  the  New 
York  Observer  says  the  following  has  worked  like 
magic;  1 spoonful  tartar  emetic,  1 spoonful  of 
sugar,  mixed  into  a thin  syrup.  As  it  evaporates, 
or  is  oarried  off,  add  ingredients  as  needed.  For 
ants  on  the  lawn,  a spoonful  of  Paris  green  out 
with  alcohol  and  made  into  syrup  with  sugar  and 
water  can  be  placed  on  pieces  of  glass  or  crockery. 
— Pharmaceutical  Era. 
