48 
THE TROPICAL 
AGRICULTURIST. [July 1, 1902. 
HOW GEMS ARE SEARCHED FOR. 
The following extracts from " Gold, Gems and 
Pearls in Ceylon and Southern India" (Messrs. A. 
M. and J, Ferguson) are of special interest, in 
connection wifa H.E. the Lieut.-Governor's visit 
to a Genipib near Ratnapura : — 
There are two ways m which gems are 
gearched for— one in beds of streams, and the 
other by sinking pits on land, !.'eneraily on 
the borders of streams, in which previ- 
ously search had been ma,do and found to 
contain the gravel. At Weraliipa both 
plans are now pursued— in the stream which 
runs through it, and on the meadow lands on its 
banks, the first discoverer of the deep-seated bed 
of gravel having been an enterprising resident 
of Katnapura. A correct description of these 
modes of gemming in water and on land (as the 
nlirases run) may not be wholly without interest. 
In water gemmings the implements and appliances 
used are few and simple, consisting of a few 
mamoties (called " Menik Udaloo ") stout, of an 
oblong square form, double the size of the ordi- 
nary ones, and concave on the handle surface, 
having a long pole called a riia, of greater or 
less length according to the depth of the gravel, 
fixed to"it for a handle ; a few crow-bars to break 
through any impediment that may be found in 
the way of getting at the " illan " ; a long iron 
Bounding-rod called Illanlcoora, and a close wicker- 
basketcalled "Menikwattia,"'.xna.<iQoi the prepared 
split baraboo-reed (bata). This wicker-basket is 
an admirable contrivance for the purpose it serves: 
it is basin-shaped bub more conical and about 
two feet in diameter, with a strong rim of 
rattan A dry season of the year being selected, 
cenerally between December and March, when 
the water in the streams is low and sluggish, the 
cem-men commence operations by putting away 
the sand in the spot selected, sounding with the 
sounding rod from time to time to see whether 
the wravel is at an accessible depth. In this part 
of the business the ordinary coolies assist, bus 
not after the gravel has been exposed-when 
only 
THE INITIATED GEM-MEN 
work. In the way of getting at the gravel, 
sometimes the impediments of the trunks of 
trees and blocks of rocks are found, but 
almost invariably a sort of crust called " ca- 
tooa" has to be got through. The illan com- 
monlv lie jist under this catooa or crust 
which presents dififerent appearances at different 
nKces though at times it is entirely absent. It 
is seldom of greater thickness than s. few inches, 
hut its hardness varies from almost that of gra- 
nite to sun-baked bricks. Just under this crust, 
which varies in colour also in different localities, 
iq found the illan resting on a bed of clay of 
.rrpftter or less thickness, and of rlifferent colours, 
even at short distances of space called "Matoim. 
I have seen it green, blue, grey, reddish, and at 
Balangoda deep yellow ; but the hrst-mentioned 
orilours are reckoned the most promising. It is 
said that under the stratum of clay_ an- 
oXr bed of gravel has been found, richer 
-tbS the one on the top, bub of this I have no 
tporsonal knowledge, The gravel being exposed 
blioiigU u^ider water, it is slowly and steadily 
cooped out with the mamotie abovedescribed, its 
concave form facilitating this, and being brought 
to the feet of the man engaged, is then deposited 
in the " Menik Wattia " (wicker basket) held 
uiKler water with his feet. A sufficient CLuantity 
of illaa being collected, he lays by the mamotie 
and washes it himself, or hands it over to another 
to wash, and goes on with the mamotie work. 
The washing of the illan is the next operation to 
be described, and is performed on this wise. The 
basket being held under water by the rim, the 
illan in it is rotated with a quick motion, by 
wliich the clay, now dissolved, and the lighter 
particles of stone are thrown out at the rim. 
From time to time the larger stones are taken 
up examined and rejected if they are not gems. 
The whole is now reduced down to what is called 
the " Nahooa," which is the heavy, thirf sand, 
mostly composed of particles of precions stones, 
jet and the gems, <"he objects of search, settled 
down by ref.son of their greater weight at the conical 
pai t of the basket. Ihe basket is then brought 
ashore and the nahooa examined, when the 
precious stones are easily recognised and removed. 
The foregoing is a brief account of gemming in 
water. 
GEMMING ON LAND 
is done in the following manner :— The 
place being selected^ also in the dry sea- 
son, the operations of pitting are begun, the 
pit being invariably of the square shape. The 
earth being removed to the level of the 
water, it becomes soft. From this stage commence 
at the sounding of the pit from time to time 
to ascertain whether the illan is at a practicable 
depth, the " illankoora" in the hands of the 
experienced seldom misleading. The illan being 
fou nd, the gem-men are obliged to re-double their 
exertions as now they have to contend against 
theinllux of water which they are obliged con- 
stantly to bale out, and this the more as they 
get nearer the above described " crust," over 
which generally lies a bed of very permeable sand 
of greater or less thickness. The s^nd being got rid 
of, the illan is got at either after breaking through 
the catooa or not, if it does not exist. The illan is 
detached from the bed of clay with the crow-bar 
and heaped up to be washed, but the larger stones 
that are found have almost all been discovered 
whilst breaking the illan from its situation. After 
collecting the gravel, its washings take 
place either in the pit itself, if there be 
sufficient water in it, or in an adjoining stream 
or pond, and this by the above-described basket, 
It ought to be mentioned that the whole of the 
pit is not gemmed at once : the earth of only 
one-half is wholly removed at first, that of the 
other half being partly left constructed into a 
flight of steps t ) expedite the removal of earth 
and the baling of water. The first being ex- 
hausited of the ^jravel, the earth of the remain- 
ing half is thrown into the empty space, and the 
illan ffot out, thus saving a good deal of labour. 
I also omitted to mention that in gemming in 
water the sand of the spot on which the men 
with the mamotie* stood, which spot is called 
" Hetty Kattia," is invariably washed in order to 
detect any pieces of gem which might have fallen 
into the water in the act of transferring the 
illan from the mamoties to the washing basket, 
