Buchanan’s journey through

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difh felfpar and quartz ; which, if not venigenous, would form a granitell. It hascommonly been alleged, that large veins of thefe materials denote a country to beproductive of gems ; but the contrary is the cafe here, no precious ftones having beenever found in Myfore. It mull be obferved, that among the natives the gneifs andgrey granite are called white-ftone ; and the hornblende-flate with quartz, and thequartz impregnated with iron, which I have before mentioned, are called the black-ftone ; in fact thefe are found to approach to each other by fuch gradual lhades, thatit feems difficult to diftinguiffi them, at lead as genera ; yet in many cafes the twoextremes of each kind are fo different, that they have very little refemblance to eachother.

In the foil of this country are found two varieties of congcar, or calcarious nodules.The nodules are often as large as a man’s head, are very irregular in ffiape, andfrequently perforated with holes, apparently from having been formed round the rootsof plants. Outwardly they have an earthy refemblance, although in fome parts thereis an appearance of irregular cryftallization. They are very hard with a fpiinteryfraClure. Both diffolve readily, and with a ftrong effervefcence, in the muriatic acid ;but depofite a fine fand, that is infoluble. The folution contains iron, and theirfpecific gravity is very confiderable. The one is externally of a greyiih white ; butits fracture has a dull purplilh brown tinge, intermixed with Alining particles, arifingfrom its texture, which is a mixture of compact and fparry. Its fracture is fpiintery ;and it is opake. The fcratch is of a colour fimilar to that of the Hone, which ishardiffi. Its luftre is common. The fand which it contains feems to be quartz,ftained of a ruff colour by iron. The other variety has, both externally and inter-nally, a darker colour, and it has more numerous and larger fparry concretions. Onbreaking it, are difcovered many irregular cavities lined with fmall, white, irregularcryftallizations. It contains many black dots, probably fragments of fhorl.

There can be little doubt, that thefe nodules have been formed by a depofition fromwater, and are therefore a tophus, or calcarious tuffa. I have already ftated, that theyappear to be the calcareus Sequabilis incarnatus of Wallerius, or marmor margaceuniof Linnaeus . Mr. Kirwan would probably call them filicious marlites. The fmallpieces of quartz have evidently been involved by the calcarious matter, while that wasin the a£t of depofition.

The burning of thefe calcarious nodules into quicklime, which they produce of abeautiful white colour, is at Catcolli the occupation of about ten families. Theftones are brought from a diftance of five miles ; fome on oxen, but the greater parton men’s heads. The lime is burned in kilns about fix feet high ; at the bottomabout four feet, and at the top about two feet in diameter. The ftructure is of mudwall ; and, in order to give admiffion to the air, it is perforated in many placesthrough its whole height. The fewel ufed is charcoal, the making of which is theduty of the men, and the bringing it home that of the women.

i oth May. — In the morning I travelled from Catcolli to Bangalore , through avery naked country, of which about fix-tenths appear to be arable. The remainderis covered with low bufhes, and much of it feems capable of being brought intocultivation. Not above a twentieth part of the arable ground is watered. Ihepafture is rather better than any that I have feen above the Ghats, and the cattle arein rather better condition than thofe in Bengal are at this feafon, when they arereduced to the loweft ftate of wretchednefs compatible with exiftence.

The morning being cool and pleafant, I walked through the ruins of the fort ofBangalore , which was conftrufted by Hyder after the bell falhion of Muffulman

military