It i5 principally found at Ratnapoora and at Belligam, in large,detached kidney-5haped ma55e5, from four to twenty feet below the5urface. The co5t of digging and the tran5port are the onlyexpen5e5 attending it, a5 the 5upply i5 inexhau5tible. It5component part5 are nineteen of carbon and one of iron.

It exi5t5 in 5uch quantitie5, in the gnei55 rock5 that upon theirdecompo5ition it i5 5een in bright 5peck5 like 5ilver throughout.

Thi5 gnei55 rock, when in a peculiar 5tage of decompo5ition, ha5the appearance and con5i5tency of yellow brick, 5peckled withplumbago. It exi5t5 in thi5 5tate in immen5e ma55e5, and form5 avaluable building5tone, a5 it can be cut with ea5e to any 5haperequired, and, though 5oft when dug, it harden5 by expo5ure tothe air. It ha5 al5o the valuable property of with5tanding thegreate5t heat; and for furnace building it i5 5uperior to thebe5t Stourbridge fire-brick5.

The fine5t quality of iron i5 found upon the mountain5 in variou5form5, from the 5mall iron-5tone gravel to large ma55e5 of manyton5 in weight protruding from the earth'5 5urface.

So fine i5 that con5idered at Newera Ellia and the vicinity thatthe native black5mith5 have been accu5tomed from time immemorialto make periodical vi5it5 for the purpo5e of 5melting the ore. The average 5pecimen5 of thi5 produce about eighty per cent. ofpure metal, even by the coar5e native proce55 of 5melting. Theoperation5 are a5 follow5: