6l2

Buchanan’s journey through

powder, and united with melted lac. The adamantine fpar is here called curun-gada cullu, and is faid to be found in lumps, which are immerfed in rocks of ablack ftone, near Nagamangula. It muft be obferved, however, that at Nagaman-g'ula the people denied their having any fuch ftone.

Near Seringapatam the congcar, or limeftone nodules, called there funa cullu,are very common, and are found of four different qualities, which, however, aregenerally intermixed in the fame field. Thefe four varieties, therefore, althoughthey produce lime of different degrees of whitenefs, and are diftinguilhable by theworkmen, halve the fame origin. They have, no doubt, been depofited by water;and I have been told, by good authority in Bengal, that a field, after having beenperfectly freed of thefe nodules, will in a few years be again filled with them.Whence then is this calcarious matter derived ? There are here no rocks of lime-ftone, or marble, from which it could have been walked. The whole calcariousmatter to be found in Myfore is a tufa. The quicklime is prepared by a clafs ofpeople called Uparu, who are in general poor, and mult receive advances to enablethem to hire labourers. A labouring man at this work earns daily I of a fanam,almoft a fixpence ; and women, who perform much of the labour, get one-third ofthat fum. They are allowed to collect the nodules, which are generally found by thefides of rivulets, and in wafte ground, without paying any thing to the public ; butin the late government they were frequently compelled to fupply the Sultan at a lowrate. The lime is always burned with charcoal. The dark coloured quicklime, forbuilding, cofts at Seringapatam , fix fanams a candaca, or nearly five pence a bufliel;finer lime, for white-walhing, cofts ten fanams, or a little more than eight pence abulhel; and the fineft, that is ufed for chewing with betel, cofts twenty fanams acandaca, or one {hilling and four pence half-penny a bulhel.

Firewood at Seringapatam is a dear article, and the fuel moft commonly ufed iscow-dung made up into cakes. This, indeed, is much ufed in every part of India ,efpecially by men of rank ; as, from the veneration paid to the cow, it is confideredas by far the moft pure fubftance that can be employed. Every herd of cattle, whenat pafture, is attended by women, and thefe often of high caft, who with their handsgather up the dung, and carry it home in bafkets. They then form it into cakes,about half an inch thick, and nine inches in diameter, and ftick them on the wallsto dry. So different, indeed, are Hindu notions of cleanlinefs from ours, that thewalls of their beft houfes are frequently bedaubed with thefe cakes; and every morn-ing numerous females, from all parts of the neighbourhood, bring for fale into Sering-apatam bafkets of this fuel.

Many females who carry large bafkets of cow-dung on their heads are well-dreffed,and elegantly formed girls. The drefs of the Karnataca women is indeed verybecoming; and I have never feen finer forms than even the labouring women ofthat country frequently poffefs. Their necks and arms are in particular remarkablywell fhaped. Their naftinefs, however, is difgufting; very few of the inhabitantsabove the Ghats .being free from the itch; and their linen, being almoft alwaysdyed, is feldom wafned.

Timber, for building and furniture, may be had at Seringapatam of excellentquality ; but it is dear; as it is brought from a great diftance by land carriage. Theprincipal fupply comes from the neighbourhood of the weftern Ghats.

The plan which I have concerted with Colonel Ciofe, for my future inveftigations,is, to proceed to the chief places of the Raja’s dominions; and there to makemyfelf mafter, fo far as I {hall be able, of the ftate of the country. I am then todraw up a fet of queries, applicable to the ftate of affairs, which Purnea will cir-culate