THE ZAMBESI REGION. 
295 
sorted near tlie place where it is brought up, a practice 
that was found to lead to much annoyance and disagree¬ 
ment ; but the owners are obliged to subject their earth 
to scrutiny, either within the limits of their own allot¬ 
ments, or to have it conveyed to a piece of ground hired 
outside the town for the purpose. 
The process of sorting is also more complicated than 
it used to be. Formerly the earth containing the 
HORSE WHIMS USED IN THE DIAMOND QUARRIES. 
diamonds was cleared of its coarser parts by means of 
sieves ; it was then turned over and shaken out on to a 
flat table, where it was merely examined by the help of 
a stick, or a little piece of iron. It necessarily resulted 
from this rough-and-ready method that many diamonds 
were overlooked, and the earth thus examined was 
afterwards sold as being very likely to yield a number 
of small stones, and often proved very remunerative to 
the buyer. 
