Jan.  2,  1893.] 
THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
453 
Nearly  all  the  properties  mentioned,  with  the 
exception  of  Golden  Grove,  are  leased  to  the  Syndicate, 
some  on  one-tenth  and  others  on  one-fifth  of  the 
profits  made  in  working  them,  and  for  all  tei 
destroyed  during  mining  operations  the  owner 
is  to  receive  compensation  at  the  ra*e  of  £60  an  acre. 
Thp  onlv  one"  now  under  tea  cultivation  are  Depedene 
and  Spring  Vale.  . _ , 
During  the  time  I was  investigating  the  Kakwanne 
properties.  I was  informe  1 by  your  Oeylon  represen- 
tatives 'hat  they  had  an  opportunity  of  purchasing 
Gulden  Grove  estate;  and  as  other  parties  were  trying 
to  negotiate  for  it,  they  would  be  glad  of  my  opinion 
on  the  snbjeot  at  once.  A9  I considered  your  mining 
operati  ms  in  that  part  would  be  greatly  hampered, 
should  it  fall  into  the  haods  of  a rival  company,  I 
replied  recomme  ding  its  purchase  on  that  gronnd 
alone,  for  at  the  time  my  examination  of  the  pro- 
perties was  incomplete.  Subsequently  I fully  satis- 
fied myself  of  its  intrinsic  value. 
22a.  Aratchv’s  Lot. — This  small  property  is 
situated  on  the  borders  of  the  Rakwanne  River,  a 
short  distanoe  down  from  the  village  of  Rakwanne, 
and  contains  not  more  than  tour  square  chains  of 
alluvial  land.  The  prospect  obtained  from  the  pit  we 
put  down  iuit  close  to  the  stream  was  poor  ; and  as 
the  illan  is  below  the  bed  of  the  river  it  would  be 
difficult  *0  work.  (See  prospeot  No.  26.) 
21.  Tulikan  is  situated  on  a steep  mountain  side 
about  one  mile  west  of  Rakwanne,  but  does  not  extend 
down  to  the  valley.  It  contains  one  stream,  flowing 
from  Upper  TulikaD,  the  illan  of  which  does  not  show 
any  gems. 
22.  Upper  Tulikan  is  a mountain  top  property 
above  Tulikan  which  has  two  small  streams,  upon 
which  are  three  diminutive  level  flats,  having  a layer 
of  shallow  illan,  showing  no  gems  as  far  as  my  pros- 
pecting went.  (See  prospeot  No.  27.) 
23.  Traquaib. — In  the  young  tea  cultivation  of  this 
estate  is  a small  valley  through  which  flows  a good 
sized  stream  having  small  branches,  where,  some  gem 
diggings  are  situated,  as  well  as  in  the  jungle  ad- 
joining it  on  the  west.  There  is  an  area  of  7,000  square 
yards  of  land  suitabe  for  gemming  purposes  a portion 
of  which  is  leased  to  a Sinhalese  miner  of  Rak- 
wanne. It  is  said  to  be  a nored  plaoe  f • >r  catseyes 
as  is  also  the  Government  land  in  the  viciuity. 
Near  the  Bungalow  of  the  estate,  a few  yards  from 
the  stream  the  illan  is  met  with  at  a depth  of  9 
feet,  and  is  some  2 feat  in  thickness.  Besides 
chrysoberyl,  catseyes  and  small  worn  pieoes  of  plum- 
bago, a violet  red  tourmaline — a sort  of  rubellite — 
is  found.  The  latter,  which  is  common  there,  when 
heated  becomes  white,  and  is  sold  at  six  rupees  a 
pound,  to  be  cut  for  cheap  jewellery.  Tnis  property 
could  be  worked  to  advantage,  the  fall  of  land  allow- 
ing the  gravel  to  be  drained.  The  conductor  of 
the  estate  has  a pit  there  from  which  he  obtained 
a catseye  which  sold  for  401)  rupees.  (See  prospect. 
No.  28.) 
24.  Morahele  — Here  the  Syndicate  has  only  a 
promise  of  a large  tract  of  land  along  the  Wella- 
way  ganga  of  seven  miles  in  length.  I went  through 
the  property,  but  did  not  see  any  signs  of  gem- 
ming having  been  done  there,  and  from  the  informa- 
tion obtained  from  the  » ative,  I was  led  to  conolude 
that  it  was  not  a place  where  gems  had  ever  been 
found. 
We  visited  an  estate  near  by  called  Massena,  which 
was  offered  for  sale,  and  bad  a pit  put  down  in  one 
part  whioh  showed  poor  results.  The  illan  there  was 
at  the  surface,  and  apparently  of  no  great  extent, 
and  the  place  is  not  worth  imying.  (See  prospects, 
No.  29.)  With  exception  of  a small  tract  of  land  at 
Atbede,  a place  some  ten  miles  down  the  Wellaway 
ganga  from  the  main  road,  where  in  the  alluvium  of 
the  river  a few  people  are  gemming,  there  is  little 
being  done,  as  far  as  conld  be  ascertained,  in  this 
district. 
IV.— MODE  OF  WORKING  ADOPTED  BY 
NATIVES. 
Surface  illans  occur  in  the  upper  parts  of  river  allu- 
vium in  some  places,  and  in  the  upper  portion  of  hill- 
wash  on  mountain  sides  in  others.  They  are  easily 
worked,  the  ground  being  first  loosened  by  means  of 
short  chisel-end  crowbars,  and  then  dug  out  with  hoes 
called  “ mamatees.”  In  all  kinds  of  mining  in  loose 
ground  these  are  the  only  tools  used.  When  working 
amongst  large  roo^s  on  the  mountain  side,  blasting  is 
frequently  resorted  to,  to  enable  the  miners  to 
extract  the  illan  from  beneath ; while  in  some  in- 
stances fires  are  built  under  them,  and  when  heated, 
venter  is  thrown  upon  them,  which  causes  them  to 
^plit  up,  and  thus  their  removal  is  facilitated.  Small 
tunnels  are  often  made  under  the  large  boulders.  The 
extracted  illan  is  put  in  small  baskets  made  of  rattan 
cane,  and  carried  to  the  nearest  stream,  where  it  is 
washed  in  large,  closely-constructed  baskets  of  split 
bamboo,  shaped  like  a batea,  and  having  a rounded 
thick  rim  inside  its  upper  edge.  The  baskets  are 
worked  with  a semi-rotatory  motion,  the  clay  loam 
and  sand  being  thus  washed  out,  while  the  lighter 
particles  of  pebbles  are  run  over  the  rim,  the  heavier 
and  precious  stones,  by  their  gravity,  remaining  be- 
hind. After  a certain  number  of  small  basketsful 
have  been  put  in  and  washed  in  succession,  the 
number  being  regulated  according  to  the  supposed 
richness  of  the  material,  the  washer  sorts  the  result- 
ing gravel  carefully  over  by  hand,  picking  out  the 
gems  and  placing  them  in  small  bamboo  tubes.  This 
mode  of  procedure  is  continued  until  all  the  illan 
extracted  from  the  pit  or  hole  has  been  washed  and 
sorted.  From  many  of  these  diggings  valuable  stones 
have  been  procured. 
Pits  in  Alluvium.— These  are  sunk  in  the  alluvial 
strips  along  the  edges  of  small  rivers,  to  the  layer 
of  illan  which  is  usually  met  with  at  a lower  level 
than  the  bed  of  the  present  stream,  usually  from 
1 to  10  feet  below  it  it.  No  large  rocks  are  met  with, 
and  seldom  is  it  necessary  to  timber  the  pit’s  sides, 
unless  in  sandy,  running  ground.  Accumulated  water 
is  hoisted  out,  as  well  as  the  excavated  material,  by 
buckets  and  baskets  attached  to  a balance  pole.  These 
pits  are  usually  made  of  a considerable  area  so  as  to 
obtain  as  much  illan  as  can  be  got  at  beneath ; but 
when  that  is  taken  out  for  the  full  size  of  the  pit’s 
bottom,  the  shaft  is  abandoned,  and  a fresh  one  sunk 
close  by.  The  mode  of  washing  is  the  same  as  adopted 
in  the  case  of  surface,  and  all  other  illans,  no  matter 
from  what  depth  it  has  been  procured.  But  in  one  or 
two  instances  a large,  long,  wooden  trough — a kind 
of  sluice— with  perforated  iron  gratings  is  used,  a 
stream  of  water  being  cot  ducted  through  it.  By 
this  method  of  procedure  all  the  clayey  matter  is 
carried  off  in  suspension ; but,  owing  to  the  imper- 
fect way  in  which  it  is  used,  much  sand  remains 
behind,  thereby  rendering  it  necessary  to  wash  the 
resulting  gravel  in  batea  baskets.  When  timber 
corner  posts  are  used  they  are  braced  across  with 
round  timbers,  wedged  horizontally,  to  keep  the  sides 
apart,  and  either  upright  planking,  or  small  poles, 
and  grass  are  placed  behind  to  prevent  the  walls 
from  falling.  This  is  the  chief  method  of  working 
adopted  by  the  natives,  and  from  these  sources  have 
come  most  of  the  gems  for  which  Ceylon  is  so 
celebrated. 
Dredging  in  Large  Stream  Beds. — When  the  rivers 
are  low,  from  November  to  April,  this  method  of 
obtaining  gems  from  below  the  beds  of  the  streams 
is  resorted  to.  Selecting  a spot  where  there  are  no 
rocks,  a rude  dam  of  bamboo  is  constructed  almost 
across  the  river,  and  the  force  of  the  current  con- 
centrated upon  the  spot  to  be  worked.  Five  or  six 
men  with  large  hoes,  having  handles  20  feet  in 
length,  drag  off  the  sands  and  clays  of  the  river’s 
bottom  down  stream  towards  them,  which  the  cur- 
rent sweeps  away.  In  this  manner  they  excavate 
a large  paddock  to  a depth  of  8 or  10  feet,  as 
the  case  may  be,  down  to  the  surface  of  the 
illan.  This  they  carefully  haul  out,  and  placing  it 
in  baskets,  transport  it  to  the  bank,  where  it  is  placed 
in  a heap.  When  they  have  extracted  all  they  can 
obtain,  it  is  washed  in  the  usual  way.  Where  possible, 
they  cut  down  the  banks  of  the  river,  which  are 
some  15  feet  in  height,  and  proceed  as  in  the  case 
of  working  in  the  stream.  In  one  instance  I saw 
a party  of  these  dredging  miners  who  had  cut  down 
and  removed,  assisted  by  the  rush  of  the  water,  a 
