cemented with clay in a most primitive manner Pl. III.; and the nozzles of the bellows are built up in it. The nozzles are earthen tubes which are thickest at the furnace end, and at the top of the thick part is a small air hole, usually closed with a piece of wet rag, but opened now and then to clear the tubes. The other end of the tube is fixed to the bellows bag. The bellows valve is formed by two sticks at the mouth, which are opened when the bag is raised for the admission of air, and closed when the bellows are pressed down with force by the The upper part of

bellows men, who use both hands for the purpose. the furnace is formed with rings of fire clay, about 10 inches deep. The bellows are worked on three sides, while on the fourth is the opening to the furnace, in which a plate of fire clay is placed, at the lower part of which is a hole for stirring the molten metal and allowing it to flow out. Pl. IV.

The furnace is prepared daily, each smelting occupying about 12 to 14 hours. After the furnace has been lit and well heated, the roasted ore is gradually introduced, alternately with charcoal and the flux which is called "Reet." This is the refuse from old iron furnaces, of which hills of debris still remain, the iron having been worked for ages before the copper ore was discovered. At each operation, five maunds of roasted ore is gradually introduced into the furnace; this requires an equal amount of the "Reet," and four maunds of charcoal to smelt it.

The produce of course varies with the description of ore. The poorest kind, which is sold for eight annas a Khetree maund, and the value of which is doubled by the cleaning and crushing, will produce, at the lowest rate, twenty seers of unrefined copper, which in refining is again reduced one-half, leaving only ten seers. This would make about 303 Tukkas in copper pice.

The expenses may be calculated as follows:

The produce will be ten seers as before stated or 303 Tukkas, and deducting th, the share of the Raj, &c., 228 Tukkas worth about Rs. 9 will be left. If we take from this the expenses Rs. 7-11, the net profit will be Rs. 1-5 per diem, but allowing for extras, roasting not charged, etc. we may reckon it at 1 Rupee per diem, when the ore is poor.

There is sometimes a loss in the smelting operations, but the Bohrahs take their chance of this, the gain sometimes being very considerable. On an average it may be reckoned at about 2 rupees on each smelting.

After the ore has been smelted, the metal has to be refined, and the sulphur driven off. This is done by passing a very strong current of heated air over the liquid mass, and constantly skimming it. Pl. V. To obtain the blast a single bellows is used, which is worked by one man opening and drawing it up, and two others pressing it forcibly down with their feet, placing their whole weight on the bellows, and maintaining their balance by means of ropes fastened to the roof of the building.

About one maund is refined at a time, which produces about 20 to 25 seers of good copper. The refining is contracted for at 8 annas the maund. The process requires about three hours, and the men are paid 1 annas per diem each. When the pot in which the refining has been conducted is ready, the ore is poured into small earthen troughs prepared on the ground for the purpose, and is then taken to the mint for weighment and duty.

The measure at the Khetree mint is the Shahjehanee maund, equal to 36 seers of the Jeypore maund, but only to 30 seers of the Khetree maund. In the Shahjehanee maund are 1,212 Tukkas or 2,424 pice. Of this, the Khetree Rajah takes 269 Tukkas as his share. Twenty-two Tukkas go to the coiners for their trouble in converting the copper into pice; nine to the Darogah of the mint; two to the weighmen, and four to caste charities; total 306, leaving 906 to the smelter. Twenty-six Tukkas at Khetree sell for the rupee, whereas at Jeypore usually only twenty Tukkas can be procured for the The value of 906 Tukkas at Khetree would be Rs. 34-12

same.

nearly. In some of the mines, a sulphuret of cobalt is found in thin layers, between the masses of copper ore. No great quantity of this is pro