1829.] 
Some Account of the Cdsiah Hills. 
253 
The quarries from which it is procured are all situated near the foot of the hills and 
contiguous to navigable streams, hy means of which the stone, which has been brok- 
en from the rock into fragments, during the dry season, is earned away in the rains 
to Chattac or Sonamganj, where it is burnt. 
The orange trees are planted only at the foot of the hills, and yield large crops of 
a very superior fruit, which is exported in great quantities to Lower Bengal. They 
ripen in November, and are brought to market in baskets by the Casias until the 
end of March, selling usually at the rate of one thousand per rupee. The supari 
(areca nut) grown on the hills forms also a very considerable article of trade, and, 
being of superior quality, is sold at a high price in the plains. These, with pine- 
apples and limes, constitute the principal vegetable productions cultivated in the 
lower parts of the mountains. It has been already observed, that the table land 
commences at the crest northward of Chera, and continues, without any mark- 
ed alteration, to Nanklafi. This tract may be conveniently divided into two por- 
tions : that north of the Bdga-p&ui, distinguished by its bareness, the absence of all 
cultivation, and the character of its rocks, which are all of sandstone ; the other, ly- 
ing to the southward of the above river, has a superior soil, capable of cultivation, 
and produces considerable crops of various grain and pulse, besides large crops of 
paddy grown only in numerous small valleys, by which this part of the country is 
intersected. The rice fields are all kept under water by the practice of irrigation, 
which is here necessarily resorted to. 
The other characteristics of this division are its pine woods, which begin to appear 
at Moflang and Molirn, in clumps of small trees ; and the granite boulders, which 
are found of various dimensions, containing from one hundred to five thousand cu- 
bic feet. The practice of the cultivator in the growth of paddy appears to differ 
from that pursued ill the plains, in the artificial irrigation of the field by ditches 
communicating with rivulets from which they are kept full of water, and in the per- 
formance of the sowing by dibble. The labouring season includes the months of 
February and March ; but the crop ripens early, and is cut in September. 
Judging from the variety and perfection of the grains and pulse grown on the 
slopes of hills, and the depth and richness of the soil, it should seem that wheat, bar- 
ley, oats, and other European grains and grasses might be advantageously cultivated 
here, though a series of experiments would be necessary for ascertaining their pro- 
per seasons with reference to the frosts of winter and the heavy rains of summer. 
The granite boulders, which are generally disseminated over this part of the hills, ap- 
pear to be chiefly if not all of artificial formation, being produced by washings for the 
iron which the rock contains. The process hy which the iron is obtained is simple, 
though tedious and laborious. A soft part oftherockis pitched on, in which a gutter 
is formed : water is then conducted from a neighbouring spring above the spot, and 
made to pour through this channel, from which it carries particles the heavy parts 
of which (being the iron) it deposits, while the lighter ones are carried off. 
The powder collected is carried to the smelting house, where it is fused with char- 
coal, and formed into blue lumps, each about the size and shape of a horse shoe. 
When this material is worked up, it is found commonly to yield not more than 
about half its weight of serviceable iron. 
The remaining natural productions which appear of any value are, the slate, found 
in the valley between Lyjirmi and Moprdm ; and the coal, situated between Surari m 
and Chera ; neither of which being worked, notice of their localities can alone be fur- 
nished here, accompanied by reference to specimens of each, and a remark that each 
might be made available for domestic purposes in any establishments formed in the 
mountains. 
There has already been occasion to remark upon the excellence of the roads, 
which were found throughout the parts recently traversed to be all practicable for 
laden cattle. It should however be observed, that a considerable advantage, as 
regards the facility of communication between Sylhet and Assam, may be acquired 
by deviating from the ordinary route at Sararhn, and pursuing that by No- 
gandi to the banks of the Bdgapfini, which may be here crossed with much 
greater facility than in the lower parts of its course, and (as its source cannot 
be very distant) might perhaps be avoided altogether by a circuit round 
its head. It may further be observed, that on this line of road the KAlapdni is 
wholly avoided. After crossing the Bogapdni, the route mightbe contiuuedeitber by 
Syung and Myrung to Nanklah; or along the western side of the U'myang through 
Nosingyah into Assam ; by which latter course all the considerable rivers between 
Pondua and Assam would be avoided, and a route procured which would probably 
be open during the whole of the year, in so far at leastas practicability of the road is 
considered with reference to its condition and not to the inclemency of the weather 
