The art of making glass, an invention ascribed to the Phœnicians, seems in ancient times to have been totally unknown to the Indians. This much, however, is certain, that glass, as a foreign article of commerce, was conveyed to India from the Greeks and the Romans. In the ancient Samscred book, _Amarasinha_, glass is called _Suryacanda_; that is, a bright transparent mass, through which the rays of the sun can penetrate. The most valuable present which can be made to a Malabar judge or magistrate is a mirror, a telescope, or a magnifying-glass. The case, however, is totally different in regard to the art of cutting precious stones, in which the Indians have made very considerable progress. It appears from Solinus, that, in the earliest periods, they understood the method of cutting all sorts of gems, and giving them the proper polish. We are told, likewise, by Pliny[216], that they were acquainted with the art of imitating different kinds of precious stones, and particularly the beryl. This, indeed, supposes a continual experience of many years. At Colombo, in the island of Ceylon, I saw the Indians cut stones with a wheel, which they turned in the same manner as the knife-grinders do theirs. This method appeared to me much superior to ours, in which the gems are laid on a flat square stone, fixed so as to remain immoveable, and are then turned round by means of the hand till they are properly polished[217]. The price of uncut diamonds in India is different, and determined according to weight. A diamond that weighs one carat is worth from twelve to thirteen rix-dollars; if it weighs two, it is worth sixteen or seventeen; if four, thirty-eight; and if five, forty-two: but this price is subject to variations. Precious stones are found on the tops of the mountains in Golconda, Visapour, and Bengal; and in the neighbourhood of the Gauts, particularly in the districts of _Pugnatil_, _Cencotta_, _Attinga_ and _Velidur_, on the coast of Malabar. The Brahmans and other opulent persons are accustomed to purchase from the king certain pieces of land where they expect to find these valuable stones, and to dig for them at their own expence. But this is a very hazardous undertaking, which very frequently does not defray the expences, and by which many families in India are reduced to beggary. It, however, sometimes happens, that these precious stones are washed down from the mountains by the violent rains, and are found on the banks of different streams after they have returned to their usual beds.