Dec.  r,  1892,] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
425 
OUR  PLUMBAGO  AND  GEM  MINING 
INDUSTRIES. 
Apparently  it  must  be  concluded  that  to  a very 
rreat  extent  the  two  industries  mentioned  in  the 
above  heading  will  hereafter  be  closely  allied. 
As  pursued  by  itself,  the  second  of  the  two  has 
not  hitherto  promised  to  result  in  much  success 
to  the  Beveral  companies  formed  looally  and  at 
home  for  the  scle  purpose  of  pursuing  it;  but  to 
judge  from  what  our  London  Correspondent  has 
written  us  by  this  mail,  there  seems  to  be  at  least 
a fair  prospect  that  a better  result  may  erelong 
be  attained  by  the  Ceylon  Gemming  and  Mining 
Estates  Syndicate  formed  and  promoted  chiefly  by 
Mr.  Henry  Saunders.  It  will  be  within  the  memory 
of  our  readers  that  this  Syndicate  went  to  a very 
considerable  expense  in  sending  out  an  expert,  Mr. 
Barrington  Brown,  to  examine  and  report  on  the 
various  properties  proposed  to  be  acquired  by  the 
Syndicate  ; and  that  upon  receipt  of  that  gentle- 
man’s report  steps  were  taken  to  secure  a very 
considerable  amount  of  land  in  several  localities. 
That  report  was  withheld  from  publication  pending 
the  conclusion  of  certain  negotiations  entered 
into  with  respect  to  some  of  the  properties  it  was 
proposed  to  acquire.  These  having  now  been 
brought  to  a successful  issue,  the  report  mentioned 
has  been  made  public,  and  we  are  in  receipt  of  a 
oopy  of  it  by  the  last  mail.  Mr.  Barrington  Btown 
would  appear, — to  judge  from  that  document— to 
have  carried  out  the  work  entrusted  to  him  with 
much  thoroughness  ; and,  cn  the  whole,  the  tenor 
of  tli6  report  was  decidedly  encouraging  to  the 
syndicate,  whioh  upon  its  receipt  commenced  early 
operations,  the  sending  out  of  two  practical  miners 
and  a quantity  of  rnaohinery.  Although  but  little 
has  of  lato  been  heard  of  tho  work  performed  by  the 
man  and  the  machinery  at  their  disposal,  we  now 
learn  that  time  has  by  no  means  been  wasted. 
At  the  present  moment  active  operations  are  in 
progress  with  plumbago  pita  situate  about  twenty 
miles  inland  from  Bentota  ; but  the  ore  as  yet 
obtained  from  these  has  been  too  mixed  with 
grit  to  be  commercially  very  valuable.  A pros- 
pect is  held  out,  however,  that  erelong  the 
output  from  the  pits  will  be  sixty  tons  monthly, 
and  of  gr  atly  improved  quality  ; and  the  syndi- 
cate has  reason  for  feeling  certain  that  when 
this  amount  of  yield  has  been  attained  capita- 
lists will  come  forward  witn  the  caeh  necessary 
to  work  the  other  aud  move  valuable  properties 
at  Dambetenne  obtained  either  by  purchase  or  on 
lease  from  their  former  proprietors.  So  far  as  we  oan 
form  an  opinion  nothing  seems  to  stand  in  the  way 
of  a prosperous  future  for  the  syndicate,  but 
the  want  of  the  money  to  develop  properties 
acquired  by  it.  It  started,  we  believe,  with  a 
capital  sum  of  £10.000  subscribed  by  the  few 
gentlemen  composing  it.  Of  this  sum  £2,0o0 
was  absorbed  by  the  expenses  attending  Mr. 
Barrington  Browne’s  investigations.  The  machinery 
sent  out,  and  the  oharges  for  its  transport  and 
ereotion  probably  cost  an  additional  like  sum  ; 
and  these  expenses,  added  to  what  had  to  be 
paid  for  the  properties  secured,  reduced  the  balanoe 
of  oapital  available  for  working  and  developement 
to  a wholly  incommensurate  amount.  Still  much 
progress  has  been  made;  and  if  the  prospect  men- 
tioned above  of  turning  out  sixty  tons  of  plumbago 
per  mensem  can  be  realized,  there  should  be  little 
or  no  difficulty  in  cbtainirg  the  further  moneys 
required  for  fxtended  development.  This,  indeed, 
we  understand  to  have  been  promised  should  such 
a stage  of  advancement  be  reached;,  and  there  is 
some  hepe,  therefore,  that  both  industries  may 
in  the  future  be  placed  upon  a satisfactory  basis. 
Difficulties  we  know  have  been  experienced  with 
regard  to  associated  gem  mining  which  are  not  at- 
tendant upon  the  raising  of  plumbago.  Our  London 
Letter,  however,  mentions  a receDt  invention  which, 
should  it  fulfil  a 1 that  it  promises,  will  go  far 
towards  overcoming  one  of  the  most  important  of 
these.  The  separation  of  the  gems  from  the  illan 
(associated  debris  of  pebbles,  <fco.)  on  anything 
like  a large  scale  has  hitherto  presented  obstaoles.as 
it  had  to  bo  done  by  h-.nd,  aud  the  operation  of 
course  pieced  much  temptation  to  theft  in  the  way 
of  the  natives  employed  upon  if.  A description 
of  the  new  mechaniaal  separator  will  be  found 
in  our  London  Letter,  a stream  of  water,  we  learn 
from  our  Correspondent's  description,  being  so 
arranged  that  the  gravity  of  the  gems  causes  their 
separation  from  the  gravel  under  conditions  which 
prevent  any  attempt  at  robbery  being  made.  The 
Syndicate  hopes  to  be  able  to  send  out  some  of 
these  separators,  should  that  branch  of  its  enter- 
prise which  deals  with  plumbago  prove  to  be 
sufficiently  remunerative.  In  that  case  we  may  yet 
see  some  measure  of  success  attend  the  efforts 
made  at  g m mining  on  a large  scale.  All  that  is 
necessary  to  secure  this  end  is,  in  the  opinion 
of  the  Syndicate,  adequate  oapital.  Should  plumbago 
be  raised  in  sufficient  quantity  to  enable  this  to 
be  obtains'*,  both  industries  may  be  found  here- 
after to  be  flourishing  side  by  side  with  each  other. 
The  leading  gems  of  Ceylon,  we  may  remind 
our  readers,  are  generally  composed  of  the  higher 
forms  of  corundum,  with  which  mineral  the 
diamond  is  associate!  in  Iudia,  although  this  most 
precious  of  all  stones  has  m=ver  been  found  in 
Ceylon.  Sapphires  and  especially  good  rubies 
come  next  to  the  diamond  in  value;  and  our  readers 
may  like  to  see  what  is  said  about  these  and 
other  varieties  of  corundum  in  Dana’s  great  work 
on  Mineralogy,  of  which  a copy  has  just  arrived  to 
our  order.  After  quoting  names  and  synonyms 
and  showing  the  forms  of  crystallization,  the  more 
popular  matter  runs  thus  : — 
Var. — There  are  three  subdivisions  of  the  species 
prominently  recognized  in  the  arts,  and  until  early 
in  this  century  regarded  as  distinct  species ; but 
which  actually  differ  only  in  purity  and  state  of 
crystallization  or  structure.  Haiiy  first  (in  1805)  for- 
mally united  them  under  the  name  here  accepted 
for  the  species,  though  the  fact  that  adamantine  spar 
and  sapphire  were  alike  in  crystallization  did  not 
escape  the  early  crystallographer  Rome  de  Lisle',  and 
led  him  to  suggest  their  identity. 
Var.  1.  Sapphire,  Rubvt.— Includes  the  purer  kinds 
of  fine  colors,  transparent  to  translucent,  useful  as 
gems.  Stones  are  named  according  to  their  colors: 
Sapphire  blue ; true  Ruby,  or  Oriental  Ruby,  red ; O. 
Topas,  yellow ; O.  Emerald,  green ; O.  Amethyst,  purple. 
A variety  having  a stellate  opalescence  when  viewed 
in  the  direction  of  the  vertical  axis  of  the  crystal, 
is  the  Asteriated  sapphire  or  Star  Sapphire  ( Asteria 
of  Pliny).  The  ruby  sapphire  was  probably  included 
under  the  uv9pa£  of  Theophrastus,  and  the  Carbun 
cuius  and  Lychnis  of  Pliny.  The  blue  sapphire  (Ceylon) 
was  called  Salamstein  by  Werner. 
Barklyite  is  a more  or  less  opaque  magenta-colored 
ruby  from  Victoria,  cf.  Liversidge,  Min.  N.  S.  W., 
198,  1888.  Ohlorsapphir  is  a deep  green  variety  oc 
curring  in  bombs  of  a “ sanidine-gueiss”  enclosed  in 
an  ancient  trachytic  tufa  at  Kbnigswinter  on  the 
Rhine,  cf,  Polig.  Ber.  nied.  Ges.  May  7,  18SS. 
2.  Corundum.—  Includes  the  kind  of  dark  or  dull 
colors  and  not  transparent,  colors  light  blue  to  gray', 
brown,  and  black.  The  original  adamantine  spar 
from  India  has  a dark  grayish  smoky-brown  tint, 
54 
