: 7 7 ‘
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THE

MADRAS JOURNAL

OF

LITERATURE AND SCIENCE,

PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES
OF THE

MADRAS LITERARY SOCIETY
. AND |
AUXILIARY OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.

é 4

VOL. XII.

THE
MADRAS JOURNAL
OF
LITERATURE AND SCIENCE,
PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES

OF THE

MADRAS LITERARY SOCIETY

AND

AUXILIARY OF THE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY.

EDITED BY

ROBERT COLE, Esa.

MADRAS MEDICAL ESTABLISHMENT,
AND

C. P. BROWN, Esa.

MADRAS CIVIL SERVICE:

SECRETARIES TO THE ASIATIC DEPARTMENT OF THE SOCIETY.

VOL. XII.

July— December 1840.

MADRAS:

PRINTED AT THE ATHENZUM PRESS,

AT THE COLLEGE.

MDCCCXXXX.

CONTENTS.

Page.

I.—Catalogue of the Birds of the Peninsula of India, arrang-
ed according to the modern system of Classification ; with
brief Notes on their Habits and Geographical Distribu-
tion, and description of new, doubtful and imperfectly
described Species (Continued).—By T. C. Jerpon, Assis-
tant Surgeon, 2d Madras Light Cavalry......cc.c.s00 ceeeeee 5005

Il.—List of Minerals for presentation to the Society, collected
from various parts of the Nizam’s territories, Ceded Dis-
tricts, Kurnool, the Southern Mahratta Country, Mysore,
&c.— By Lieut. T. J. Newsoxp, 23d Light Infantry..... ..

III.—Remarks upon the Auriferous Deposits of India, considered
with especial Reference to their Economical Value.—By
Permemsen Burr, Esq.....2c.......... Ae wavs wciptae oie

TVY.— Observations on the Fossiliferous beds near Pondicherry, and
in the district of South Arcot.—By C. T. Kays, Esq.
BORE T. SEDVICE. conc ocisann age ve. ae eed wks as ee

V.—Remarks on the Fruit of oe Natural Order Caucuses —
Py eegeen® WIGHT, M. D..-F. 0. S:, QC... . 00.5. cece ee See

VI.—Notices of some Roman Cathclic Books, existing in the
Telugu Language.~-By C. P. Brown, Esq. ..... SNe —-':

Vil.—On the Fossils of the Eastern Portien of the Great

Basaltic District of ae Joun G. Matcoximson,
acs S. -seeeo.w. er eee erase @eseeee@daeseenwn @r eo teveve2 @@ @e

av I1T.— -On the Entomology of the eo . and of India.—By
_ the Rev. F. W. Hors, F.R.S., F.L.S., &c., President of

b 1X.~Memoir on the Mammalogy of the Himalayas—By Wm.
_—- Oginzy, Esq. m. A., Fellow of the Royal Astronomical, Geo-

16

30

37

43

dt

58

¥ ___ the Entomological Society of London.....-...+-+-++++s+. 105

ii CONTENTS.

Page.
logical, Linnean, and Statistical Societies ; Secretary of the
Zoological Society..... ee ee eee eee eee eee eee et neeees 139

X.—Beryl Mine of Paddioor, and Geognostie Position of
this Gem, in Coimbatoor, Southern India.—By Lieutenant
Newsotp, Madras Army, A. D. C. to Brigadier-General
Winson, ©. B........0.20+50cbasncacunies aan in. ca tea ak

XI.—On the Functions of the Colouring Matter of the Skin in
the Dark Races of Mankind.—By Ronrert Mortimer
Grover, \.D., Lecturer on Chemistry in the Newcastle-
on-Tyne School of Medicine. ....c6 ass=.0s0ea> pan nut hae

XII.—Proceedings of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary
of the Royal Asiatic Society..............0. . Disp dsetsxenne LOR

XIII.— Meteorology
Horary Meteorological Observations made agreeably with
the suggestions of Sin Jonn HerscHev...... aS x. 187

feteorological Register kept at the Madras Observya-
tory ; for the months of April, May and June 1840.,..... 189

CONTENTS.

Page.

Arr. I.—-Catalogue of the Birds of the Peninsula of India, arranged
according tothe modern system of Classification; with
brief Notes on their Habits and Geographical Distribu-
tion, and description of new, doubtful and imperfectly des-
cribed Species.—By T. C. Jerpon, Assistannt Surgeon, 2d
Meee PAPE CAVAlty.... 2. .5.5.--2.00-ccecn-- + -

Ii.—On the General Application of Low Steam Power to all
So Pe ASS SE Ec ee

Tii.—On the Separation of the Pomegranate as a distinct Natural

Order from Myrtacee. (With a Plate.)—By Rosert
Wieur, M. D., &c.......... .

cee ere sees ee eee eseeeerees eeeees

IV.—On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers.—By
Captain J. Camppe xt, Assistant Surveyor General

V.—Account of the Basava Puran ;—the principal Book used
as a religious Code by the -langams.—By C. P. Brown,

0) ene: fC ACRE Be So ep ro

Vi-—-On the Structure of the Sevalik Hills and the Organic
Remains found in them.—By Prosy T. Caurtzey, Ese.
Sata eure Artillery, BG. S.............s0s0s.00 ancnm sees

VII.—Notice on the Remains of a Fossil Monkey from the Terti-
ary Strata of the Sewalik Hills in the North of Hin-
doostan.—By Captain P. T. Cautirey, F.G.S., Bengal
Artillery ; and H. Fatconen, Esq., M. D., Bengal Medical
Service

SCS CSS SSS eee eee SESSSSHEE HEH SHHSFE SHES SHS SESE SHS SHR sseCHTEBeEeESS

Viil—Memoir on the Geology of Cutch.—By C. W. Grant, Ere.,
Captain Bombay Engineers

Seseteeretercesesessesestseceseeeer enresses

193

- Dar

304

il CONTENTS.

Page.

TX.—On certain Meteorological Phznomena in the Ghats of
Western India.—By Colonel Syxas, F. R.S.........s00eeee neat

X.—Proceedings of the Madras Literary Society and Auxi-
liary of the Royal Asiatic Society.......ccnsecesmpeticness O14

XI.—Meteorology

Horary Meteorological Observations made agreeably with
the suggestions of Str JoHN HERSCHEL...6.. cocssceccesescnens 376
Meteorological Register kept at the Madras Observatory ;
for the months of July, August and September 1840......... 378

MADRAS JOURNAL

PITERATURE AND SCIENCE.

No. 28—July 1840.

I.— Catalogue of ithe Birds of the Peninsula of India, arranged ace
cording to the modern system of Classification; with brief Notes on
their Habits and Geographical Distribution, and description of new,
doubtful and imperfectly described Species—By T. C. Jervon, Assis=
tant Surgeon, 2d Madras Light Cavalry.

(Coniinued from No. 27, page 239.)

Orv. III.—RASORES, Til. Swains.—Game Birds and

Pigeons.
Famity PAVONIDA.

Gunus PAVO, L.—Peacock..

265.— P. cristutus, L.— Mohr, H. and Mah.—Common Peafowi.

_ The Peafowl abounds in most of the wooded districts of India, and aiso.
in woody nullahs, and low jungle in various parts of the country. Is
breeds most usually towards the end of the monsoon.

¢

2 Catalogue of the Birds [Joy
Genus GALLUS, Briss.

Pate —G. Sonneraiti, Temm.—Junglee Moorgh, H.—Common Jungle
ow

This Jungle Fowl is tolerably abundant in most of the lofty jungles
of the South of India, and is also found in the lower jungle in the Carna-
tic and eastern range of ghauts. It is not, however, met with in the
Northern Circars. It is very partial to bamboo jungle. I once found
the eggs of this fowl, seven in number, on the ground in dense jungle
at the foot of the Neilgherries. They were of a light pinkish cream
colour.

267.—G. Bankiva, Temm.—Red Jungle Fowl.

This species, hardly distinguishable in appearance from many of the
domestic varieties, and unquestionably the origin of most of the varieties
of our common fowls, is the only jungle fowl found in the woods of the
eastern ghauts in the Northern Division, and is very abundant in some
parts, as in Goomsoor. I do not know exactly how far south this
species extends, but know that it is found as low as Cummum, N, L. 16°.
The crow of this bird is much more distinct and marked than that of the
last one, which has only a broken and very indistinct call.

Famity TETRAONIDZ.

GENUS ORTYGIS, Ill. Swains. —Hemipodius, Teram.— Three -toed
Quail.

268.— O. pugnax.—Hemip. pugnax., Temm. P. C. 60-2.— Tetrao nigri-
collis and Madagascariensis of the older authors ?—Gooloo, H. in the
South of India.—TZoorah of others.— Black throated three-toed Quail.

This pretty species is tolerably common in most of the well cultivated
parts of India, frequenting low jungle, and also fields of pulse, chillee,
&c. It is sometimes found solitary, often in pairs, but also in bevies of
5, 6or7. It feeds on various grains and seeds, also much upon ibe
especially white ants, and the larve of grasshoppers, &c.

Colonel Sykes and M. Temminck assert the identity of the eal

of beth sexes, and though I did not examine them when I shot several

in company, they were always clothed alike,

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 3

This bird is often caught and caged by the Mussulmauns of Southern
India. It has a peculiarly loud purring call, and this is made use of to
ensnare others in the following manner. The female is taken into the
jungle ina small cage, chiefly during the breeding season, which is said
to be (in the Carnatic) about the end of the monsoon. The cage has a
small plank in front of the bars, over which an arched cover is made to fall
by the snapping of some thread, placed between the bars. It is then
placed on the ground in a low bush and partially concealed by leaves, &c.
The bird within begins its loud purring, and any of its kind in the neigh-
bourhood run rapidly to the spot, and commence pecking at the bars of
the cage—this soon breaks the thread, and the spring cover falls, ringing
a small bell at the same time, by which the owner, who remains con-
cealed, is warned of a capture—15 or 20 are occasionally caught in this
way in a single day.

Trides light yellow; bill and legs dull bluish. Length 63 inches ; wing
nearly 33 ; tarsus 58,ths ; bill to front } inch ; weight about 2 oz. 1 dr.

268, Bis.—O. Toigoor, Sykes ; figured Trans. Zool. Soc. vol. 2.
From the few opportunities I have had of observing this bird, I am
inclined to agree with Colonel Sykes, and place it as a distinct species. I
have only procured it solitary, in long grasson the more open spaces of
the forests of the Western Coast. Bill bluish, with a tinge of yellow
beneath. Irides pale yellow. Length 6 to 6} inches ; wing 3; tarsus fully
£,ths ; bill rather shorter and less high than in the preceding species.

269.—O. DussumierticHemip. Dussumierti, Temm. P. C.—Toorah,
Ti.— Smallest three-toed Quail.— Button Quail of some Europeans.

This very small bird, probably one of the least of the order, is always
found solitary, generally inlong grass, sometimes in the fields of pulse.
It is flushed with difficulty, and, as Colonel Sykes remarks, its flight is
abrupt and short. Irides pale yellow; bill dusky ; legs whitish flesh-
coloured. Length 5} inches ; wing nearly 3; tarsus ,%ths ; bill front ;iths.

Gen. TETRAO.
Sus-cen. PTEROCLES, Temm.—Rock, or Whistling Grouse.

270.—P. exustus, Temm. P. C.--354 and 360.—Bur- Teetur, H.— Com-
mon Whistling Grouse.— Rock Pigeon of Europeans.

This is a very common and abundant bird in most parts of the open
country. It is not found in wooded districts. It associates in parties

4 Catalogue of the Birds [Jury

yarying in number from 4 or 5 to 50, or even more, and frequents the
open stony plains, and bare fields. It flies swiftly, and generally at a consi-
derable height, and as Colonel Sykes lias remarked “ has a most peculiar
and piercing cry which often announces its approach ere it is observed.”
It feeds chiefly on a very hard kind of seed. When approached it often
squats close, and it is very difficult to distinguish it in some pieces of
ground. Afterits morning mel it always goes to some neighbouring
water to drink. Its flesh, which is brown and white, is remarkably hard
and tough, and will keep longer than that of any other game bird ; this
hardness causes it to be less appreciated than it deserves to be, for, when
kept a sufficient time and well dressed, it has an excellent flavour, inferior
to very few of the Indian game birds.

I have found its eggs several times lately in the months of January
and February, placed on the ground without any nest, 3 in number and of
light olive greenish hue, speckled with olive brown and dusky, of a very
long shape, and equally rounded at both ends.

Length about 13 or 14 inches ; wing 7 ; tail (centre feather) 5; weight
of male about 9 oz.; bill, legs, and naked skin round eye, cinereous.

971.—P. guadricinctus, Temm.—-Tetrao Indicus of Gmelin, —Hun-
deyree, H.-- Painted Whistling Grouse or Rock pigcon.

This richly plumaged rock grouse, ismuch more rare than the last, and
unlike it is neither gregarious nor found in the open plains. It lives in
pairs, and frequents bushy plains, and stony and jungly hills. It flies but
a short distance, and its cry, which is of the same character as that of its
congener, though much less loud, and deeper, is never heard except when
the birds are first flushed. :

I have lately got the eggs of this species, also, very similar to the
other, bu rather smaller, and with the spots fewer and larger.

Irides deep brown ; bill red ; naked skin round eye, lemon yellow with
a green tinge ; feet ochre yellow; claws reddish. Length 10 inches ;
wing 7} ; tail 3 ; weight of cock bird about 7 oz.

Gren. PERDIX.—Partridge.

272.—P. picta, Jard. and Selby, Ill. Ornith.—P. Hepburnii, Gray and
Hardw., Ml. Ind. Zool— Kala Teetur, W.— Painted Pariridge.

The painted Partridge is not found in the Carnatic, nor in the
Malabar Coast, and I believe not in the more southern portion of the
table land. It begins to be met with first in any quantity about N. lat.
15°, in the neighbourhood of Bellary, and becomes more numerous as
you advance towards the north. It frequents both low bushy jungle

1840.] of the Peninsula of India.’ 5

and grain-fields, especially those of wheat, and also long grass by the
sides of rivers, water-courses and elsewhere. The cock bird has a most
peculiar crowing note, which though not very loud, is yet heard a long
way off. It may be heard morning and evening uttering this croak,
generally seen to do so whilst perched on a bush, Mr. Elliot says well
on this subject—“ Its peculiar ery may be expressed by the syllables
Ché-hé-kérréy, pronounced very gutturally. The poults chirrup like
crickets” The painted Partridge is not found in coveys, generally single
or in pairs. It breeds during the monsoon, lays 6 or 7 eggs of a smoky
bluish white colour, of an oval form, much depressed at the thick end.
It is not held in very high esteem for the table. Biull blackish ; irides
brown; legs yellowish red. Length about 12 inches; tarsus 1,%ths ;
weight of male about 11 oz.

Sus Genus FRANCOLINUS.—Spurred Pariridges.

273.—F. Ponticerianus,—Perd. Orientalis, Gray and Hardw., Tl. Tnd.
Zool.— Teetur, H.— Common Partridge of India—Scavenger Partridge of
some.

The common Partridge is found in every part of the peninsula, both in
bushy ground, and more especially in cultivated lands, fields and gardens,
delighting in the hedge rows. It perches freely even during the day.
The cock bird has a most peculiarly loud and piercing call. It is often
caught and tamed by the natives, and becomes most familiar, following
its owner like a dog and uttering its loud call, when whistled or spoken
to. It is also much used for fighting, which it does with great courage
and spirit. Its flesh is held in no esteem by Europeans. It breeds
towards the end of the monsoon, and in the cold weather. An opinion
prevails among the natives, that the partridge lives for seyen years, and
is then changed into a Cobra di capella !

274.—F’. Spadiceus.— Perd. Spadiceus, Lath.—Spur-fowl of Europeans
in India.

Unlike the last species, the spur-fowl is only found in the denser jun-
gles, as well as of the Eastern as of the Western Coast, and generally
along with the Jungle fowl. It is found in the low brushwood of the
lofty forests, and when flushed, as it is withdifficulty, frequently perches on
the bough of some lofty tree. It is generally found in pairs, and feeds
on various seeds and insects. I found the craws of some crammed with
insects alone, among which various species of Cimices were the most
predominant. Its flesh is excellent and of very high flavour. It is
found on the top of the Neilgherries in the dense woods there. The

(or)

‘atalogue of the Birds (Jury

female has been well described by Colonel Sykes. The natives generally
consider this bird as more allied to the jungle fowls than to the
partridges, and it is said to run with its tail elevated.

Bill, naked skin round eye, and legsred. Length 1i-15 inches; of
which the tail is about 5.

Sus-Genus COTURNIX, Briss.— Quails.

275.—C. Dactylisonans.—Ghaghus, H.—Large grey Quail or Deccany
Quail.

The quail of Europe is by no means common in most parts of the
peninsula, and certainly appears in greatest abundance during the cold
weather, though according to Sykes and others, it remains and breeds
here during the monsoon. Itis found generally in long grass by the
sides of rivers, tanks, and nullahs, or among the grain-fields, and gene-
rally in pairs.

Length 73 to 8 inches. Average weight about 43 oz.; bill dusky
brown ; irides light brown; legs flesh-coloured.

276.—C. Textilis, Temm.—Perd. Coromandelica, Lath.—P. olivacca,
Buch.— Batteir, W.—Black breasted Quail.— Rain quail of some.

This pretty little species is very common in most of the well culti-
vated districts of India, frequenting the fields in bevies, and also patches
of grass in various situations, and low jungle. It breeds during the mon-
soon ; many natives consider it as the male of the last. Irides reddish
brown ; bill horny brown.

Length 6 —63 inches ; weight about 2} oz.

277.—C. argoondah, Sykes.—Perd. Cambayensis, Auct. ?—Lcwah, H.
—Rock Quait— Bush Quail of some.

The common rock quail is exceedingly abundant in every part of India,
frequenting bushy and stony ground, andalso the neighbouring grain«
fields in considerable bevies. It is much used by the natives for fighting,
which it does with great spirit and obstinacy.

Trides reddish brown ; bill dusky blackish; legs red. Length 6—64
inches.

278. C. pentah, Sykes—Perd. rubiginosa, Valenc.—Geerzah, H.—
Forest quail.

I fully agree with Col. Sykes in separating this species from the last,
from my own observations, its different habitat, and the testimony
of all the quail fanciers of Southern India, who will at once point out a

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 7

Geerzah among a lot of *‘ Zowahs’. Itisan inhabitant of all the forests
of S. India, and also occasionally and more sparingly found in low jungles,
and wooded nullalis in the Carnatic and other regions. It is found at all
levels, from the neighbourhood of the sea to the summits of the lofty
mountains of the Western Ghauts. The Geerzah, though also caught
and used for fighting, is inless esteem than the ZLowah. Irides brown ;
bill dusky ; legs reddish yellow. Length 6$—6$ inches.

279.—C. erythrorhyncha, Sykes.—Koknee Lowah, W.—Red-billed
Quail.— Black quail of the Neilgherries.

This very handsomely plumaged quail is very abundant on the top of
the Neilgherries, frequenting the low brushwood of ihe woods, and occa-
sionally entering gardens. As it is mentioned by Colonel Sykes and also
by Mr. Elliot, in his Catalogue, it is probably to be found in all the more
elevated districts of the Western Ghauts,

Bill and legs fine red; irides brown, Length 6} ; weight about 22 oz.

280.—C. Chinensis.— Perd. Chinensis, Auct.

There is an accurate description of this species of quail in Mr. Elliot’s
notes, taken from a single specimen, shot by a gentleman near Belgaum in
the Southern Mahratta Country.

Faw. TR UTHIONID 2.

Gen. OTIS,_L.

281.—O. nigriceps, Vigors—Gould Cent. Him. Birds.—O. Edwardsi?,
Gray and Hardw., Ill. Ind. Zool.—Tokdar, H.—Black-headed or Indian
Bustard.

This noble birdis found, I believe, over all the peninsula, except pere-
haps on the wooded regions of the Western Coast, but more numerous in
some localities than in others. Wherever there are extensive plains,
whether of long grass or cultivated, this bird is most abundant, more es-
pecially onthe trap formation of the north-west part of the great table
land. The Bustard is frequently seen alone, occasionally 2, 3 or 4 toge-
ther, and often flocks of 20 or moreare seen feeding in company. Its
most favourite food is large locusts and grasshoppers, also the common
black and red mylabris, various insects of the genus buprestis, scarabeus
and others, caterpillars, centipedes, and even lizards. Mr. Elliot men-
tions a quail’s egg entire haying been found in the stomach of one. In

8 Catalogue of the Birds [JoLr

default of insect food, it eats various fruit, grains and seeds, especially the
fruit of the Ber (Zizyphus Jujuba). Several small stones are generally
found in the stemach, and I once found some large fragments of a brass
bangle in one.

The Bustard breeds most generally about the end of the monsoon, and
subsequent cold weather, the female laying one or two eggs ; it, however,
varies much in the time of breeding. The egg is of a dark olive colour,
with obscure darker blotches. When feeding, it is generally wary and diffi-
cult to approach, but during the heat of the day it lies down either in
the long grass, or in the shade of some bush, and is then often approached
quite close. It usually takes a long flight when once raised, often several —
miles, and flies with a continued flapping of its wings, never sailing.

The Bustard has a loud hoarse call, by some compared to a bark or a
bellow, this is rarely heard however, except whenthe bird is alarmed. It
has, however, another cry, as I learn from Mr. Elliot’s notes, which is pro-
bably the call to its mate. I extract Mr. Elliot’s note on the subject.
** October 12th, killed a large cock bustard. When first seen he was
making a curious noise, like a person in pain moaning, which was heard at
a considerable distance. JI at first thought it proceeded from some one
in distress, and rode towards the spot under that impression, until I saw
the bustard. Ue was strutting about on some high ground, expanding
his tail, ruffling his wings, and distending his neck and throat, making
the feathers stand out like a ruff. I frequently afterwards heard the
moaning, always at the same season.”

The gular pouch of the cock bird can contain three quarts of water and
more.

Length of male 43 feet ; wing 30 inch; tail 13; tarsus 84; bill (front)
3; expansion of wings nearly 8 feet; weighs sometimes 25 or 26-lbs.
The female is about a third less-and measures avout 3} feet in length.

282.— 0. aurita, Lath., Jard. and Selby, Til. Orn.—-O. fulva, Sykes.—
probably also O. Indica, Auct.—Churz, H.—Zun-mor, Mahr.—Kun-
nowl, Can.—Florikin and Black Florikin.

It is still a disputed point among naturalists and sportaticn whether
the black flortkin be a distinct species from the common one, or not—
and the only two writers on Indian Ornithology who have observed the
bird in its native haunts, viz. Major Franklin, and Colonel Sykes, have
pronounced it to be a distinct species. From the synonymes I have
adopted, it will be seen that I consider them identical, and from my
own observations I have concluded that the black flortkin is the cock
bird, in its summer or breeding plumage on/y, Colonel Sykes haying

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 9

accurately described its winter dress as being almost identical with that
of the female. I may here state that there are two other opinions pre-
valent in India on this subject. One is that the black florikin is the
young bird, and that he changes to the livery of the female; the other
is that he is the adult cock bird, but that he does not change his
plumage. The following are the chief reasons I have for consider-
ing the black florikin as the nuptial plumage of the common or fulvous
florihin.

Ist. All black jflorikin examined by me (and others, I believe,) have
been males.

2d. The black flortkin agrees exactly with the characters of the male
of the O. fulva, as described by Sykes, in size, length of wing, and
acumination of the quill feathers—the points of difference from the female.

3d. The time of the first appearance of the black plumage of the
florikin corresponds with the era preceding the breeding season—and its
disappearance also coincides with the termination of the breeding sea-
son ; and I have seen specimens in all states of progressive change, from
the female garb to that of the perfect black florikin, and again from this,
their nuptial plumage, to the more sober livery of the rest of the year.

4th. No males in the grey or fulvous plumage, in which at least
some black feathers were not visible, were ever shot by me during the
breeding or summer season, 1. e. from June to November.

5th. I may cite the evidence of Lieutenant Foljambes, in a brief
paper in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, in which he states
it as his belief‘ that they are the same bird, but that the black one is
only met with in Guzrat during the monsoon,’ i. e. the breeding season.

Lastly—I may state that several successful sportsmen, to whom I have
lately mentioned my opinion on this subject, fully agreed with me, and
even the opinion of those who considered the black birds to be young
ones, is, I think, to be added to the testimony in favour of the black being
the breeding plumage of the male bird.

In the neighbourhood of Jaulnah, where my observations have been
chiefly made, I have seen the male bird just commencing to assume the
black plumage early in May, and I believe the majority of them have
assumed the perfect black plumage by the beginning of August. By the
middle of November most of them have, with the exception of a few
stray feathers, occasionally re-assumed their more sober grey livery.
I am perfectly aware that there are many occasional exceptions to this ;
dependent, however, I am convinced, chiefly on the well known great
irregularity of the time of breeding, so common in hot countries, where
the birds are not compelled, as they are in a cold country, to limit

10 Catalogue of the Birds [Jury

their season of breeding to an odd month or two : and also partly on the
fact hereafter mentioned of many pairs breeding, especially towards the
south of the peninsula, after the great annual immigration in October
and November.

The most general time of breeding of the flortkin about Jaulnah, is
the months of August and September. Birds have, however, been flushed
from their eggs as lateas October. During this season the females are
remarkably shy and wary, and flushed with difficulty, and during the whole
monsoon, cock birds, either in a state of change, or in the perfect black
plumage, are almost the only ones to be met with. I am informed by
native sportsmen that the black bird is occasionally seen in company
with the hen at this time, or walking round her whilst sitting on her eggs,
yet I think it probable that the cock birds withdraw from the society of
the hens soon after incubation has commenced.

Though a few couple remain in most parts of the country, for the
whole year, and breed, yet the great body of them undoubtedly migrate
to the peninsula at the beginning of the cold weather in October, and
remain till March or April, when they emigrate for the purpose of breed-
ing. As before mentioned, after their arrival, several couples undoubtedly
breed, sometimes as late as December and January, especially in the
Carnatic, the Northern Circars, and Mysore. I believe, however, that
the great majority of them do not breed after their arrival in the south,
and that such as do are probably the ones bred late in the south of the
peninsula the previous year, and which were not sufficiently matured to
do so along with the others, in the early monsoon season of Upper India.
In the Carnatic, as about Trichinopoly, at the commencement of the season
in October, a considerable number of those brought in by the native
shikarees are black, chiefly, however, ina state of change from the perfect
plumage—they leave this district in February.

I am informed that in the Nellore and Guntoor districts, both the most
celebrated flortkin grounds in Southern India, the florékin do not arrive
in any numbers till November, and black birds are hardly ever met with.
This, I may remark, is an additional proof in favour of my opinion. A few
couple, most probably, remain even here, in the wilder and more sequester-
ed parts, for [have heard of a black fiortkin being killed in the Tinnevelly
district in the month of August. In the Southern Mahratta Country, as
I learn from Mr. Elliot’s notes, the florikin arrive towards the end of
September, and remain till April, except a few stray birds in a state of
change that remain through the monsoon.

The florikin frequents long grass in preference to any other situation.
It is sometimes met within the grain-fields, also in fields of cotton and

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. : li

dholl, and in the Carnatic so much in those of the grain called wanagon,
as to be named the “ Wanagon Bird.”

It feeds chiefly in the morning, and is then easily raised, but during
the heat of the day it lies very close, and is flushed with difficulty. It
seldom flies far, but often runs a long way to escape being raised,
especially on open ground. The chief food of the fiorikin is grasshoppers.
I have also found blister beetles (Mylabris), scarabeei and other insects,
and even occasionally centipedes and small lizards. I have sometimes,
though rarely, heard it utter a kind of sharp quirk as it rose from the
ground. It has also a kind of feeble plaintive chirp, or piping note when
running. Its flesh is delicate, and of exrellent flavour, and it is the most
esteemed of the Indian game birds; and its pursuit is a favourite sport.
From the open nature of the ground it frequents, it is well adapted for
being hawked, and both the Luggur and Shaheen are often flown at it.

The egg is of a stunted thick ovoid form, very obtuse at the larger
end, and of a dark olive colour.

Length of the male 18-19 inches; of wing 8; tail 4; tarsus hardly 4;
bill front 1,3,ths; weight 16-18 oz.

Length of female 194 to 21 inches; of one 203; wing 93; tail nearly
5; tarsus 43; bill front 14; weight 20 to 240z.; bill dusky above,
edges of upper, and all lower mandible, whitish. Irides pale yellowish ;
legs dirty whitish yellow.

Faminy COLUMBIDA.—Pigeons and Doves.

Gznvs PTILINOPUS, Swains.

283.—P. Elphinstonit, Sykes.—Imperial Pigeon of the Neilgherries.

I have hitherto only found this fine pigeon in the dense woods on the
summit of the Neilgherries, in small parties, or single. It is a retired
and wary bird. I found various fruits and small shells in its stomach.
Trides ochre yellow. Length about 15 inches.

Genus CARPOPHAGA, Selby.

284.—C. enea.—Col. enea, Auct.—Pogonnah, Mal.—Imperial Green
Pigeon.

The imperial pigeon of Europeans on the West Coast is found in all
the lofty forests of the West Coast, single or in small parties of 3 or 4.
It feeds on various kinds of fruit, and has a single low plaintive note.

12 Catalogue of the Birds [ JuLy

Trides and orbits, lake red; bill slaty, at base above red, at tip bluish
white; legs lake red. Length 16 to 18 inches. I have never seen this
bird with the knob on its bill as represented in books, nor have I heard

of its ever being present.

285.—C. cuprea.—New species ?.— Copper winged Imperial Pigeon.

I possess a single specimen of a fine pigeon shot in the Wynaad by
Captain Pope, of the Bombay army, to which, if it be a new species, the
above name may be applied. It might be considered as the young of
the last, but its large size, and the testimony of other sportsmen of a
copper winged pigeon found in Coorg, lead me to suppose it distinct.
I add a brief description. Head, neck, and beneath pale lilac grey or
dun colour; chin white ; back and wings brownish, with a faint coppery
gloss; rump dark glossy cinereous; quills and tail dusky black, the
latier tipped with cinereous ; under tail coverts, yellowish white. Irides,
orbits and feet red; bill red at base, cinereous at tip. Length 18 inches;
wing 93; tail 63. 3

Genus VINAGO, Cuvier.—Green Pigeons.

286.—V. militaris ?.—Hurriala, vulgo Hurwa, H.—Common Green
Pigeon.

This, the largest of its genus found in the peninsula, is at the same
time by far the most common and universally spread, frequenting not
only jungles, but groves, gardens, and especially the fine avenues of old
banian, and other trees that line many of the roads in the southern part of _
the peninsula. It associates in large flocks, feeding much on the fig of the
banian, and various other fruit trees. When seated quietly they are very
difficult to distinguish among the green leaves.

Many are often brought down at a single discharge even when only I or
2 were visible. The green pigeon hasa high flavour, and is considered ex-
cellent eating. As there is some doubt about the descriptions of this bird,
which is represented as having red legs, and as Gould has figured as one
of the sexes of this, a totally distinct species not found in the peninsula,
T here add a brief description.

Head and neck, blue grey ; back of neck, yellowish olive, bordered by a
narrow band of blue grey ; chin and throat grey, tinged with green ; back
and wings olive green; shoulders bluish purple; breast and abdomen
yellowish green, mixed with bright yellow towards the lower abdomen and
vent ; under tail coverts reddish cinnamon colour, edged with yellowish

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 13

white ; feathers of tarsus bright yellow; thigh coverts green, edged with
whitish ; tail entirely gray above ; beneath blackish, with a broad margin of
bluish white ; feet saffron yellow ; irides fine smalt blue, with an exterior
circle of carmine; bill thick and strong, greenish white at base, bluish at
the tip. Length 12 inches ; wing 73; tail 4.

In the young birds the under tail coverts are dusky green, edged with
whitish, and this is the only material difference I haye observed among
numerous specimens from all parts of the country.

287.— V. aromatica, Auct.—Marroon-backed green pig-con. ‘
Ihave only found this handsome green pigeon in small parties, in thick

forest jungle in Malabar, and at the foot of the Neilgherries. One speci-
men differs somewhat fromthe othersin having the face, forehead and
chin yellow, the under tail coverts mottled with green and white, and in
the bluish white tip of the lateral tail feathers being broader. This, I
think, may be a young bird. ;

Bill and irides as in last: the former much more slender; feet and legs
lake red. Length about 103 inches ; wing nearly 6; tail 4.

288.— V. affinis.— New species >—Young of last ?

Descr.— Forehead and head grey ; rest of plumage green ; yellowish on
chin ; tail with centre feather green ; exterior cinerous, with a black band
near tip ; under tail coverts barred with white and green ; bill, irides, and
feet as in the last ; bill stronger. Length about 103; tail 34. This may
be considered as the young of the last, which it resembles in size and form,
but the absence of the rich marroon colour of back and wings, the fact of
jts being always found separate, and other circumstances, have in-
duced me for the present to consider it as distinct. Ihave seen specimens
of this pigeon in several collections made on the West Coast, but have
only obtained it twice myself in forest jungle, and both times solitary.

289.—V. bicincta.—New species?—V. purpurea, Auct., Brown IIL.
Zool. ?—YV. vernans, var., Less. Traité.—Purple and orange breasted green
pigeon.

Descr.—Back of head and neck above blue grey; forehead, top of head,
face, chin, throat, belly and rest of the plumage above, green of different
shades ; a broad band of orange or bright cinnamon yellow, on the breast,
separated from the green of the throat by a light purple band ; lower belly
and vent yellow; some of the feathers streaked with green ; under tail
coverts entirely cinnamon colour : tail above grey, with a central dark band,
and edged lighter ; beneath almost black; whitish at the tip ; edges of the

14 Catalogue of the Birds [Jury

wing cover ts marked with yellow more broadly than in the other of this
genus. Length about 10 inches ; wing 6; tail rather more than4; feet
red ; bill and irides as in others of the genus.

T have only seen this very prettily plumaged green pigeon in atract of
jungle near the sea coast, south of Tellicherry.

289, bis. V. unicolor.—New species P—Young of last ?

Descr.—Above entirely olive green, except a shade of blue grey on the
back of the neck ; beneath and forehead yellow green, almost yellow at the
vent ; under tail coverts white, mixed with yellow and cinnamon ; tail and
wings asin the last. Length the same ; wings and tail rather shorter.

I shot asingle specimen of this pigeon in a grove of trees at Bimlipatam,
in the Northern Circars, and have never again seenit. Itis of the same
slender make as the last species, and may be a young bird, but its very
different locality has led me to place it separately for the present,

Grn. COLUMBA.

290.—C. cenas, L.—Kabootur, H.—Blue pigeons.

The blue pigeon abounds over all India, occasionally found in the more
open spaces of jungles, especially in rocky districts, and in the neighbour-
hood of waterfalls—but more generally in the open country, inhabiting
walls of villages, pagodas, wells, and any large buildings, and breeding
chiefly in old walls.

Irides orange ; legs red.

291.—C. Javanica.~-Bronze-winged Dove.—Imperial Dove of some.

This very lovely pigeon somewhat approaches the turtles in form, and
may be considered as a link joining them.to the pigeons, from which
it differs in having rather longer tarsi, and in the outer toe being slightly
shorter than the inner.

It is a denizen of the thickest jungles, coming to the more open spaces
to feed. Ihave seen itin Goomsoor, in Malabar and the Wynaad, and
near the top of the Neilgherries, on the Coonoor pass. It feeds chiefly
on the ground on various seeds, is solitary, a shy and wary bird, and of
very rapid flight. Irides orange. Length nearly 12 inches.

Gen. TURTUR, Selby.—Fachtah, H.— Doves,

292.— 7". tigrinus.—Col. tigrina, Temm,—Chitroka Fachtah, H.
This handsome dove is most abundant in the neighbourhood of, and

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 15

among thick and lofty jungles. Itis, however, also met with in groves of
trees in the neighbourhood of the more wooded villages and towns, both
in the Carnatic and Deccan.

Irides lake red ; length about 12 inches, of which tailis5. J have seen
a nearly albino variety of this bird once or twice, being of a pinkish white
colour throughout.

293.—T. Cambayensis.— Col. Cambayensis, Lath.—Toriroo Fachtah, W.

This little dove abounds over most of India, both in low jungles and
near villages and cantonments, being found especially towards the north
in every garden, and frequenting stable yards, houses, &c.

Trides dark brown.

994.—T7. risoria.— Col. risoria, L.—Dhor Fachiah, H.

This large dove is found over all the country, frequenting hedges and
trees in the neighbourhood of cultivation, also low bushy jungle.

Irides fine ruby red,

295.—T. humilis.— Col. humilis, Temm.— Serotee Fachtah, H.

Found, though more rarely than any of the last, over all India, frequent-
ing groves of trees, hedge rows, &c. in the neighbourhood of cultivation.

Irides dark brown.

None of these four doves are gregarious, being generally found in pairs,
though at certain seasons they occasionally congregate in flocks of various
size.

296.— 7". meena.—Col. meena, Sykes.—Col. Turtur, var. ?—Kuilur
Fachiah, H.

I have hitherto only found this species of dove in the jungles of Goom-
soor, where it is tolerably abundant, associating in fiocks of various size.
It isenumerated by Mr. Elliot as found in the Southern Mahratta
Country, but I did not observe it in the forests of Malabar.

Irides orange. Length 13 inches.

(To be continued.)

16 Account of Minerals [Jory

IL.—List of Minerals for presentation to the Society, collected from
various parts of the Nizam’s territories, Ceded Districts, Kurnool, the
Southern Mahratia Country, Mysore, &c.—By Lieut. T. J. Newsoup,
23d Light Infantry.

No. 1.—A. Gneiss of Dummul at the base of the Kupputgode hills,
Southern Mahratta Country, the weathered transition gneiss of Christie.

No 1.—B. Not weathered variety, same locality, with pale rose-
coloured felspar.

2.—Mica schist, compact variety, Kupputgode hills. Before the blow-
pipe, per se, in the platinum forceps, this rock fuses into a black enamel.

3.—Yellowish brown jaspery chert, same locality as the above, used by
Hyder and Tippoo for gun-flints; fracture conchoidal, translucent at
edges. ;

4.—Basanite, or flinty slate traversed by quartz veins, associated with
the schists of the Kupputgode range.

5.—Lateretoidal rock, into which the higher and more ferruginous
portions of the schists, composing the Kupputgode hills, pass.

6.— Black oxide of manganese, combined with oxide of iron and alu-
mina; with decomposing quartz and felspar veins: thee xterior exhibit-
ing a disposition to the botryoidal structure.

7.—Variety of the above.

8.—Do. do.

9.—Porphyritic chlorite rock. Pale rose-coloured crystals of felspar
imbedded in a siliceous paste, coloured by chlorite ; some of the crystals

a

decomposing into a whitish clay. This rock is associated with the
siliceous chlorite schist of the Kupputgode hills. Although, petrogra-
phically considered, it might be correctly pronounced a porphyry, yet I
have preferred the name just given it, as more in keeping with the geo-
gnostic position of the rock. This rock I have seen in various parts of
Mysore and the Ceded Districts, associated with granite and the primary
schists.

10.—A. Chlorite slate, same locality.

10.—B. Do. siliceous variety, exhibiting the tendency of this rock to
split into rhomboids.

11.—Siliceous mica slate, same locality, showing traces of copper.

12.—White sub-crystalline limestone—the more granular varieties
closely resemble Carara marble—in veins in the schistous diorite, Kup-
putgole range.

13th.—Do. do. altered in colour, near line of contact with the slate.

14th.—Rhomboidal cale-spar, same locality.

1840.] Jrom the Peninsula of India. 17

15th.—Singular calcareous rock ; composed of minute angular frag-
ments of a dark glistening quartz, and crystals of pale flesh-coloured
felspar, cemented together by a greenish, granular, sub-crystalline paste,
composed chiefly of carbonate of lime. It occurs in a hill near the
village of Hurti, on the southern flank of the Kupputgode range, not far
from the Putwurden’s territory. The hill has a mammiform shape,
having its surface covered with detached angular and rugged masses of
this rock, which appear to have been subjected to the action of viclent
disruptive force. It is very likely to be mistaken, from the colour, hard-
ness and granular texture, for a variety of massive siliceous chlorite rock,
and im some specimens resembles diallage and serpentine; buf on the
application of a lens, and indeed by the naked eye, on closer in-
spection, its true aggregate character may be distinctly recognized. The
application of dilute nitric acid to the rock in substance excites but a
feeble effervescence ; but on the powder the extrication of carbonic acid
gas is abundantly evident. It often imbeds cubic pyrites of iron. The
felspar, the dark quartz crystals, and dull green hue of the rock, pessi-
bly indicate its origin from the chloritic slates of the Kupputgode hills.

16.—Variety of the foregoing, less crystalline in texture, imbedding
cubic brass and liver-coloured pyrites. Colour, dull green, with reddish
brown delineations, assimilating some varieties of serpentine. From the
minute glittering scales of mica, observable in this rock, and its softer
texture, it would appear to have been formed out of the debris of the
neighbouring mica slate. It effervesces with the dilute mineral acids:
before the blow pipe, per se, it phosphoresces slightly, and exhibits on
its edges shining points of black enamel. The compact varieties of this
rock are susceptible of a high polish;and are used as an ornamental
building stone. Some of the exquisitely polished slabs in the elaborate-
ly sculptured little mosque in the town of Lachmaisir, in the territory of
the Mahratta Chintaman Row Putwurden, are of this stone, retaining the
pytites which shine like so many spots of gold on its polished surface.
The chlorite slate too of this part of the Southern Mahratta Country
imbeds pyrites.

17.—Variety of the above, with cubic liver and gold-coloured pyrites,
projecting from the weather-worn surface. None of these rocks have been
noticed either by Christie or Colonel Sykes.

18.—Clay slate of Darwar, red and white, noticed by Christie, com-
pesed principally of decomposed felspar, more or less coloured with
iron, and having a loose aggregation. Chlorite also occurs; and to
the presence of this mineral may be attributed the peculiar shining
flaky stracture, and the greenish tinge of many of the surrounding slates.

18 Account of Minerals [Jury

The specimen is from a bed of slate that has suffered considerable flexure
from the intrusion of a dyke of basaltic greenstone, and from its softness
assimilates the character of a shell or slate clay. Before the blow-pipe
the whiter portions melt, per se, into a white enamel; the red parts blacken
at first, and fuse with some difficulty into a shining black slag, more or
less affected by the magnet.

19.—Dark blue roofing slate of Kulladghee, occurs both laminar
and massive, it is easily cut by the Wudras on the spot into excellent
writing or roofing slates. Some varieties are so massive that pillars, many
feet in height, are quarried from it, and some so finely lamellar that leaves,
two or three feet square, almost as thin as pasteboard, may be separated.
A capital writing slate and pencil were cut for me out of the quarries, and
shaped and polished, all in a couple of hours. This formation furnishes
good hones ; specimens of which I have already furnished.

20.—Variegated clay slate, penetrated by calcarious infiltration,
associated with transition limestone of Kulladghee.

21.—Chlorite slate, of Kittoor. ;

22.—Talc slate from the Falls of Gairsipa, Western Ghauts, reddish
grey; less weathered portions, greenish grey ; streak nearly white, sectile,
greasy feel, structure laminar tables, glimmering lustre, translucent at edge,
easily frangible. Almost infusible before the blow-pipe, the plates separate
and whiten.

23.—Actynolitic schist, associated with the tale, mica and hornblende
schists at the Falls of Gairsipa. Minute acicular crystals of actynolite,
without any common direction, distributed irregularly throughout the
structure of this rock, impart a glimmering appearance; a few scales of
mica are disseminated: colour grass green, feel harsh, easily frangible, frac-
ture granular, inclining to slaty, streak greenish grey. Before the blow- :
pipe, per se, it first whitens and finally fuses into a greenenamel. . . |

94,—Hornblende schist or schistous diorite, Falls of Gairsipa, identical
with the rock described by Christie, as consisting almost entirely of
hornblende. |

25.—Mica schist, Falls of Gairsipa. ;

26.—Do. do. imbedding decaying garnets in dodecahedrons.

27,—Mica schist passing into gneiss—same locality as the above.

28.—This is the rock described by Christie, as being a variety of granite,
which differs from the common granite of India, and as not being so old ;
composed of small grains of white felspar, quartz, and mica; has, in some
instances a slaty appearance, and is associated with gneiss and hornblende

schist.
From a careful examination of this rock and its associated schists, zr

1840.] From the Peninsula of India. 19

situ, and from its decidedly stratified character, I should rather be in-
clined to pronounce it thick bedded or granitoidal gneiss; in some hand
specimens, however, it is not to be distinguished from true granite. It is
an interesting specimen to the advocates daily gaining ground, of the
theory of the mineral metamorphism of rocks, constituting one of the al-
most imperceptible gradations by which a normal rock is supposed by
Keilhan and others to pass into rocks, generally considered abnormal, or
in other words involving doubts as to the plutonic origin of granite,
Gairsipa, not only affords to the geologist an instructive and beautiful
exposé of the rocks of the gneiss and mica schist system, the dip and
direction of strata, but affords to the lover of nature, the magnificent
spectacle of one of the most stupendous (in point of height) cataracts on
the face of the globe, tumbling over a precipice of these rocks more than
eight times the height of the celebrated Falls of Niagara. ‘The breadth
of the river above the Falls is about 300 yards; it was full from bank
to bank at the time of my visit: the depth of the stream on the average
about 10 feet. The sheer height of the scarp over which the waters were
precipitated, according to careful measurements, twice repeated, commu-
nicated to me by Mr. T. Lushington, 888 feet to the surface of the water
in the basin, and the depth of the basin 300 feet, making a total of 1188
feet. The height of Niagara is about 140 feet, but the breadth of the
river far exceeds that of Gairsipa.

29.—Gneiss of Gairsipa, hornblende replacing mica, which appears in
scales, disseminated among the former mineral. |

40.—Variety do. do.—same locality.

31.—Gneiss passing into hornblende schist—same locality.

32.—Talcose pot-stone (lapis ollaris), associated with the talc slate
in the S. E. part of the Darwar district. Christie observes, that all

® « the fine plaster with which the walls of the houses are covered in India,

and which is so much admired by strangers, is composed of a mixture
of fine lime and soapstone, rubbed down with water: when the plaster
is nearly dry, it is rubbed over with a dry piece of soapstone which
gives it a polish very much resembling that of polished marble.” This
stone I have also found associated with asbestus in the talcose slate of
the western parts of Mysore: it is cut into pencils and used by the na-
tives for writing on cloth, stiffened and prepared with charcoal, and is held
in holy estimation both by the Brahmins, the Jangams and laity of the
Lingayet sect. By the former it is hollowed out into vessels used in
preparing their food, and by the latter for their phallitie emblem, which
is preserved inviolate from unhallowed gaze in the small silver box,
which the worshippers of the déngum invariably carry about their per-

20 Account of Minerals [ Jurx

ons for the purposes of adoration. Some varieties are used in parts
of the Ceded Districts and Mysore to grind the sandal wood into pow-
der, for the composition of the ¢icd, with which some castes of the
natives mark their foreheads. An argillaceous variety procured be-
tween Tarputtri and Cuddapah is carved, like the agalmatolite of China,
into images representing the whole Hindu pantheon, avatars of Vishnu,
&ce. The darker and more compact varieties often assimilate serpentine,
and take a fine polish. This stone is in great request for the larger
kind of idols that usually sit or stand enshrined in the Vimanas of Hin--
du temples, and many of the ancient inscriptions of the Seuthern Mah-
ratta Country, Mysore, the Nizam’s territories, are engraven on pillars
or blocks of this mineral. Some of the beautifully polished pillars,
and inscribed slabs in the ruined temples of the old Hindu capital of
Bijanugger and Annagundi are of this stone. In Mysore, whole temples
are constructed of it. The dark coloured stone, of which the pillars
supporting the elegant mausoleum of Hyder and Tippoo, near the Lal
Bagh at Seringapatam, are composed, appears to me, after a close exa-
mination of the pillars themselves and the quarries at Turivicary, whence
the stone was brought, to be a highly indurated ferruginous, and crystal-
line variety of this rock, having some of the characters of a serpentine,
rather than the basaltic or hornblende rock, which Buchanan and Benza
have severally pronounced it to be. Specimens of this variety taken
from the quarries of Turivivary, and also of the potstone of Mysore, I
have forwarded for presentation.

33.—Marble from Kulladghee, pale flesh-coloured, occurs in beds and
veins in the surrounding slates and limestone, assimilating in texture,
eolour and fineness of polish the Tiree marble, but does not imbed
mica, hornblende, or sahlite: chlorite, however, is sometimes seen in
their greenish seams. Specimens of the lithographic limestones near
Kulladghee and Bagalcota, have been already transmitted to the Society.

34.—White marble from Bagalcota, streaked with green chloritic zones
resembling the antique Cipolin marble.

35.—Lithographic limestone from Kurnool, imbedding stalaetifurm
oxide of iron. .

36.— White marble from Kulladghee.

37.—Drab-coloured limestone from Talicota, in the Rastea’s territory,
laminar and compact, exhibiting delicate arborescencies between =
lamine, or layers of deposition.

38.—Crystalline limestone, approaching marble in texture, from Kur-
nool. Colour mottled green and white; translucent in thin fragments,
difficultly frangible, some varieties are so hard as to give fire with steel,

1840.3 From the Peninsula of India. 21

fracture granular crystalline. This stone is susceptible of a fine polish,
and might be employed with advantage in ornamental slabs for inscrip-
tions, vases, &c. It occurs near the line of contact with the schistous
chlorite, from which it probably derives its peculiar hardness and colour.

39. Lim estone of Kurnool altered by contact with the schistous
chlorite ; colour, dull green, streaked with dark purplish ferruginous
bands; fracture granular, sub-crystalline, extremely tough under the
hammer, effervesces feebly with dilute mineral acids. Some varieties
imbed pyrites and assimilate serpentine. It occurs at Kurnool, and on

the tongue of land between the confluence of the Tumbuddra and Kist-
nah rivers.

40th.— Quartz rock of Darwar, coloured with iron, and containing
nests of decayed quartz and felspar, passing into kaolin, and often tinted
yellow, brown, and reddish by oxide of iron. In the hilly zone ex-
tending between Kittoor and Darwar, there is a variety that ex-
actly resembles the rock composing the upper portions of the cop-
per mountain and Sondur ranges, being of a jaspery and highly fer-
ruginous clay, sometimes passing into a true ore of iron, with a
cherty quartz in alternate layers, generally on their edges, and vary-
ing from the eighth part of an inch, to an inch in thickness. The lami-
nz are frequently contorted and bent, and impart a curious waved
or striped appearance to the rock. It occupies a similar geognostic po-
sition, and is seen generally cresting the slaty hills around Kittoor. Some-
times, as Christie accurately observes, the base of the rock is white or
grey, and traversed in all directions by dark brown-coloured veins, high-
ly impregnated with iron: but in some specimens, the dark brown variety
isin much larger quantity than the white basis; and then the latter ap-
pears as if it had been broken into a number of small angular fragments
which had afterwards been united by the consolidation of the brown va-
riety from the fluid form. This variety contains numerous small cavities
which are lined with red hematite in the shape of stalactites, or having
a blistered, or mammillary form. The cavities are generally very small.
This rock in petrographical structure and geognostic position, we may
safely pronounce to be identical with that composing the precipitous
sides of the Bimagundi pass into the Sondur valley (described at page
147 Journal No. 20); and associated with it, we find, near Kittoor, as at
Sondur, a magnetic iron ore with polarity, exhibiting a similar laminar
structure and a like tendency to split into rhomboidal paralellograms.

41.—Breccia, of the old red sandstone formation of Christie, from the
north bank of the Malpurba, Southern Mahratta Country ; a reddish brown

22 Account of Minerais [Jury

quartzy paste imbedding angular fragments of white and reddish quartz,
with felspar disseminated.

42.—Do. do. a ferruginous paste, cementing fragments of a decom-
posing chert, apparently from veins in the associated limestone ; the paste
approaches a true iron ore, and contains small cavities lined with a mam-
millary hzematite.

43.—Pudding-stone from the old red sandstone formation, north of
the Malpurba :—rounded pebbles of quartz rock imbedded in a crystal-
line reddish brown sandstone.

44,—Diaphonous quartz with a bluish tint, mentioned by Christie, as-
sociated with the sandstone; from the hill south of Kulladghee and
near Padshapoor. I have forwarded specimens of the white variegated
sand stones of Badami and Mudibhal.

45.—Alum in whitish earthy superficial efflorescences between the
Jamine and on the air-exposed surfaces of a purplish aluminiferous shale,
alternating with the old red sandstone, in the cliffs at the falls of the
Gutpurba near Gokauk. The occurrence of this mineral in the forma-
tions of the Southern Mahratta Country appears to have escaped the
observations of Marshall, Christie and Sykes. It is found in the lower por-
tions of the cliffs, constituting the precipice over which the Gutpurba
roils on its passage to the low country, through which the Kistnah flows,
at the bottom of one of those singular and deep fissures that clear the
sandstone rocks from summit to base. ‘The shale in which it occurs is
a common slate clay, of a purplish brown hue, and tastes, generally, dis-
tinctly of alum, which, however, rarely appears in an efflorescent state,
save on air-exposed surfaces : it does not resemble in the slightest degree
the globular greyish black alum slate of Europe, nor its bituminous alu-
miniferous shale. I have also discovered alum and common salt in the
rocks of the copper mountain range in a similar efflorescent state, in a
rock, resembling somewhat the glassy alum slate of mineralogists, but
cellular, ferruginous, and exhibiting purple and yellow iridescent hues.
Captain Arthur informed Sir Whitelaw Ainslie that he discovered alum
in Travancore, in asoft dark coloured laminated earthy matter, which
contained sulphur in the state of sulphuret of iron; and that at cer-
tain depths in the soil, under the laminated matter, he observed a regular
stratum of charcoal, a circumstance which led him to conjecture that the
bed in which the mineral is found is of a vegetable origin; and we know
that it has been ascertained by Vauquelin and others that in what is
termed the alum ore of Za Tolfa, potass is met with in considerable
quantity. Alum is associated with the coal measures and bitumenife-
rous rocks of Europe, its existence therefore in the sandstone rocks of

a

1840.] Srom the Peninsula of India. 23

the Southern Mahratta Country may be regarded with some interest, as
indicative, if not of the existence of coal, at least of the age of the for-
mation. Alum, we are told by Dr. Davy, exists in certain caves in the
interior of Ceylon. Mr. Elphinstone states that it exists in the clay of
Calabaugh in Cabul, and according to Captain Macdonald Kinneir it is
found in the mountains south of Kelat, in the province of Mekran. Itis
also brought in considerable quantities from the mountains of Nepaul,
where according to Mr. Campbell, it is said to exude from the surface of
soft rocks, and sometimes to be dug out of their. substance ; from these
sources it is collected in considerable quantities, during the cold and dry
seasons, and carried by the Bhotechs, Murmis, and other hill people, to
Katmandu, to be exchanged with the merchants of that city for money
or other articles. Mr. Campbell also informs us that there is a dark
bituminous substance, used in Nepaul, said to be exuded from rocks;
which is called black alum or salajit : it resembles, in external character,
the bituminous alum ore which is said to be found in Sweden, and in
many coal mines in England, but there is much vegetable matter in it,
although the Nepaul physicians believe it to be a mineral. Alum also
exists in Behar, where it was discovered by Dr. Buchanan, and also in the
Vindhya mountains, but the great bulk of this valuable mineral, which is
used extensively by the natives of India in medicine and the arts, is
imported from China.

46.—Secondary trap of Christie, from the vicinity of Belgaum—vesi-
cular.

47.—Amygdaloid (same locality) imbedding zeolite and cale-spar. A
more compact variety occurs imbedding nodules of calcedony. This
rock escaped the observation of Christie, who states he never saw the

amygdaloid in siti.
"48, —Lateritic conglomerate, capping thee and limestone of Kullad-
ghee.

49.—Laterite of Beder—Nizam’s territory.

50.—Variety do., exhibiting interior of tubular sinuous cavities, haying
a greyish green indurated enduit.
-§1,—Variety do. do. compact—Beder.

52.—Do. do. near the line of contact with fleetz trap—Beder.

53.—Do. do. with a somewhat cancellar structure—Beder.

54.—Indurated lithomarge bed, between laterite and trap—often calcare-
ous—Beder.

55.—Variety of laterite with cavities filled with white lithomargic earth
— Beder.

56.—Purple lithomarge in laterite of Beder.

24 Account of Minerals (Joy

57.—Fletz trap, near the line of contact, where the laterite is seen
superimposed— Beder.

58.—Basalt underlying laterite cliffs of Beder.

59.—Termination of black veins in the laterite of Beder, near its
junction with the trap, in combination with iron and alumina.

59 A.—Black oxide of manganese in combination with iron, from veins
in laterite of Beder.

60.—Lateritic conglomerate, capping laterite of Beder. It exactly re-
sembles a similar rock, distinct from the true laterite, capping the late-
rite of the ghauts and Western Coast, composed of ferruginous nodules,
cemented together by a felspathic paste of various shades of yellow,
brown, and red, coloured by oxide of iron. This rock occasionally pre-
sents a shining glazed-like surface. In tracts where travertine and
limestone prevail, as in the yicinity of Bijapore, and Baugwari, the lime
often enters the cement of this conglomerate.

61.—Nodule in laterite of Beder, imbedding a mineral, with a green
and purple iridescent hue, probably iron.

62.—Laterite of the western ghauts—Devamani pass, Upper Canara.

63.—Lateritic conglomerate, capping laterite of the western ghauts,
summit of Hossdroog pass, Upper Canara.

64.—Laterite of the Western Coast, quartzy variety, from Onore.
Specimens of this rock from theMalayan Peninsula, Cannanore, Manga-
lore, the Bisley and Heggalla Passes, the lateritic rocks capping the
slate and sandstone ridges of the Ceded Districts, the neighbourhood
of Bangalore and Nundidroog, &c. have already been transmitted. _

65.— Variety of laterite from Onore—felspathic.

66.— Do. do. Western Coast, from Compta, north of Onore, ex-
hibiting the externally black superficies, so often noticed in the weather
exposed masses of this rock. :

67.—Variety from base of western ghauts, near Meerjan.

68.—Do. do from the vicinity of Soonda, in Upper Canara.

69.—Do. do. from Banwassi, in Upper Canara, near the western
boundary of Mysore. :

70.—Lateritic conglomerate, capping the laterite cliffs which overlie
the flcetz trap formation of the Deccan ; hills near the city of Gulberga—
Nizam’s territories

71.—Greenish white felspathic sandstone, of an earthy friable texture,
with small angular fragments of quartz, associated with the overlying
trap at Bangwari, near Belgaum. It sometimes imbeds dark ferruginous
nodules in a state of disintegration.

1840.] Srom the Peninsula of India. 25

72.—Trayertine with dendritic appearances, between Hyderabad and
Beder.

73.—Amyegdaloid associated with the great overlying trap formation of
the Deccan, containing globules of a species of zeolite, resembling apo-
phyllite in its behaviour before the blow-pipe—frosted pearly exterior, and
peculiar splendent planes. It exfoliates, curls, and froths, before the
blow-pipe, and finally melts into a white enamel. This amygdaloid also
contains calc-spar, mesotype, and stilbite. It is from Ipperghi, near
the boundary of the Solapoor Rajah’s country.

74.—Stellated zeolite in rhomboidal cale-spar, Solapoor territory. This
is an interesting specimen, showing the gradual pseudo-morphic changes
of the two minerals. A white zone appears to define the limits of each,
beyond this they become in a certain degree blended: the zeolitic rays
may be seen decussating and diverging from their several centres, through
the transparent substance of the calc-spar.

75.—Radiated zeolite—rolled fragments from the bed of the Bhima—
Nizam’s territories.

76.—Red jasper from the Kistnah—do.

77.—Yellow jasper from the Malpurba—Southern Mahratta Country.

78.—Mocha stone, enclosing nest of quartz, bed of the Bhima.

79.—Cornelian—bed of the Kistnah, at Paugtoor.

80.—Calcedony—botryoidal, from the vicinity of Ipperghi—Solapoor
Rajah’s territory.

81.—Oriental agate.— Numerous specimens of this beautiful mineral,
some assimilating the onyx, sarde, and sardonyx, I have already fore
warded to the Society, as also of glauconite, various kinds of zeolite,
chrysoprase, heliotrope, &c., occurring in the fleetz trap formation of the
Deccan.

82.—Agate imbedding quartz.

83.—Moss agate—bed of the Kistnah, at Paugtoor.

84.—Amethystine quartz crystal, from Goleonda—Hyderabad.

85.—Do. do. from Cupputral, Ceded Districts, where the sandstone
comes in contact with the granite.

86.—Pale buff coloured sparry limestone, associated with the over-
lying trap formation of the Deccan and the laterite. Locality, hills of
Ingliswara, near Baugwari— Bijapore territory.

87.—Variety—reddish.

88.—Limestone, greyish white, imbedding broken fragments of bi-
valved shells, converted into chert, associated with the overlying trap
formation near its southern limit, between Hyderabad and Beder.

ho
[oP]

Account of Minerals [Jury

89.—More compact variety—same formation near Firozeabad, Nizam’s
territory, imbedding both univalve and bi-valve shells.

90.—Do. do. same formation from the vicinity of Koolkondah, pre-
sented by my friend Lieut. Wyndham.

91.—Do. do. pale buff coloured, imbedding nummulites.

92.—Variety, whiter and more crystalline. Both the last named speci-
mens were found on the river bank at Onore on the Western Coast, and,
if credit may be attached to enquiries made on the spot, were brought
thither by native trading craft from the coast to the northward as bal-
last. Fossiliferous limestone, we know, occurs in the Kattywar penin-
sula, and the island of Perim, but the natives assured me the nummuli-
tic limestone at Onore, was brought from places considerably to the
south of these places. It is possible, however, that the spot where they
were picked up by the native boatmenis at some distance from their
true situs, as all the fragments have a rolled and water-worn appearance,
as if they had been washed by the tidal wave on a sea coast. A piece
of coral rag with shells (ostrea) adherent, was also picked up among the
fragments of limestone at Onore. It would be matter of some interest
to ascertain from the boatmen themselves, the exact localities where
they took in these stones as ballast. My visit to Onore was extremely
brief, and during the monsoon, when no boats can approach the coast,
and all trade by sea suspended. Nummulitic lmestone occurs at

Chirra Punji. Burnes observed nummulites in the limestones of the ©

Chari range at Liseput, in Cutch. Mr. Colebrooke first brought this
rock to notice in 1824. It was met with at the foot of the Kasya
mountains. Shell limestone, I believe, was discovered in the Madras
presidency by Colonel Cullen, at Paddapangallee, in the Northern Cir-
ears, underlying basalt, and in the Hyderabad territory, by Voysey, in
1819-20. Malcolmson and Benza have since added to these discoveries.

93.—Hexahedral pyramid of adamantine spar, bluish white, from the
Corundum pits, in the west of Mysore near Gram. This mineral is
almost confined to India and China, and has been long known in the
former country under the term of Korund—hence its European
name. It is used principally in India, Ceylon and Arabia, for polishing
precious and other stones. The oriental ruby, sapphire, and topaz,
are varieties. Corundum occurs in Ceylon, Mysore and Cuttack ; it is
rare in Europe, though a sub-species, emery, is found in abundance on
the island of Naxos, near Smyrna and in Saxony.

94.—Green copper ore (malachite) from the copper mountain near
Bellary. Before the blow-pipe, per se, it decrepitates, but finally fuses
into a reddish brown mass, containing a bead of pure copper. Treated

soa F
ke ar ee

1840.] from the Peninsula of India. 27

with acids it affords from re-agents the usual indications of this metal.

95.—Iron glance, imbedded in white quartz, from the hills of Cupput-
ral, Ceded Districts, the fer oligiste of French mineralogists. Before
the blow-pipe, per se, it blackens and becomes afiected by the magnet. Tron
glance yields an excellent malleable ore.

96.— Granular magnetic iron ore, from Mutpalle—Nizam’s country.

97.—Red hematitic iron ore, from the iron clay near Kondassur- Ni-
zam’s country. The iron produced from the two last named varieties is
used when blended to produce the celebrated wootz steel, which is
exported to Persia and Arabia for sabre blades.

$8.—Specular iron ore—Sondur hills, Ceded Districts. It, as well as
the micacious iron ore, is often sold as surmah, or antimony, in the bazaars
of Southern India, and applied in the state of a powder to eyelids of
women and children.

99.—Lead ore (galena) near Jungumrazpilly, in the Nulla Mulla hills,
north of Cuddapah, said to be combined with silver and antimony.

100.—Gold dust in magnetic iron sand with menaccanite, silver and
copper ore (and platinum ?) in the bed of the Donirivulet, Kupputgode
hills, South Mahratta Country.

101.—Native silver—same locality.

102.—Grey silver ore—do.

103.—Green carbonate of copper—do.

104.—Native copper—do. do.

105.—Tin ore (oxide) from Malacca.

106.—Diamond alluvium; from the diamond pits at Ramulacota—
Kurnool.

107.—Do. do. last washings.

108.—Cacholong, milk white, opaque, fracture semiconchoidal. This
specimen presents both the hard and the soft earthy varieties, noticed
by Brongniart in the cacholongs found by him at Champigny, the
former exhibiting a shining fracture, while the latter is chalky, light, and
adheres to the tongue.

109.—Brown indurated clay, imbedding quartz crystals, and covered
with yellowish annular and lenticular delineations, assimilating organic
remains, associated with laterite, resting on the fleetz trap of the Deccan,
south of Bijapore.

*110.—Mineral from edge of trap dyke, near Tallapodatoor, Ceded

Districts.
111.—Nodule of indurated clay from lateritic formation—Nellore.

* J regret leisure will not admit of my noting this mineral.

28 Account of Minerais [Jury

112.—Asbestiform tremolite, found in veins, with adularia and magne-
tic iron ore in mica slate—Adepuram, Nellore mining district. It occurs
in minute diverging fibres, with silky lustre, often stained by oxide of
iron, frangible, scratches glass with difficulty, phosphoresces slightly, and
whitens before the blow-pipe.

113.—Adularia associated with the above; scratches glass, lustre
splendent, rather vitreous on the perfect planes, and pearly on the broader
lateral planes. Before the blow-pipe, per se, it whitens and fuses on thin
edges into a transparent glass. It is about 6° hardness of Mohs.

114.—Do. imbedded in kunker—same locality as the above.

115.—Variety of iron ore, resembling externally the titaniferous iron
ore of the Neilgherries ; after exposure to a red heat it becomes magnetic.
It ovcurs in compressed lamine, in seams of a garnetic quartz bed in the
mica schist at Kunchgarlconda— Nellore.

116.—Garnetic quartz bed in mica schist— Kunchgarlconda.

117.—Honey-combed quartz: most of the cavities are filled or lined
with an orange brown powder, which, before the blow-pipe, blackens and
becomes magnetic.

118.—Quartz with magnetic iron ore foliated, garnets and mica, and
exhibiting traces of copper, Ademulepuram—Nellore.

119.—Do. do. with rhombic dodecahedral garnets, resembling
essonite.

120.—Granular garnet rock—same locality. This rock from its appar-
ent weight, hardness, colour and tendency to take a crystalline form,
might easily be mistaken for granular corundum at first sight. It is
finely granular in structure, and has the appearance of a purplish red jasper.
It often occurs in nodules which assume a rudely dodecahedral form or
prisms, with three sided summits. It occurs in beds in the hornblende
and mica schists of the Nellore mining districts, near Gurumanypenta,
associated with asbestiform tremolite and adularia. Like precious gar-
net, it fuses, per se, before the blow-pipe into bluish black enamel.

121.—Red mineral in shining plates, resembling felspar, between
laminz of mica schist, base of Udeghirry mountains—Nellore. Softer than
felspar, streak reddish white. Before the blow-pipe, per se, fuses easily
with intumescence and phosphorescence, and curling up into a white enamel ;
with phosphate of soda into a topaz coloured glass, which becomes
colourless on cooling, and with borax into a faint greenish glass, which
also loses its colour on cooling.

122.—Pale rose coloured quartz—same locality.

123.—Gravel, brought down by mountain torrents, containing rolled
and angular fragments of iron ore, garnets, schists, and copper ore.

—_—-

PT eee ee ee a ee

— ee eee

1840.] JSrom the Peninsula of India. 29

124.—Mica schist with garnets and carbonate of copper—Gurumany-
penta, Nellore mining district.

_ 125.—Carbonate of copper in layers in hornblende schist—Bungeral
Mettah, Nellore mining district. Mr. Prinsep thinks the phenomenon
of the ore alternating with the hornblende interesting in a geological
point of view, as affording exactly the appearance of gradual deposition
from a liquid, at this earliest period of geological formations. But
when we see, aS in some specimens of this very rock, the ore running
through it in fissures and lines nearly perpendicular to those of stratifi-
cation, we must look to some other cause than a mechanical deposition
from a liquid to account for its occurrence in such situations, and pause
ere we pronounce the ore to be coeval with the primary rock which im-
beds it.

126.—Mica schist, in which the mica is, in part replaced by innu-
merable small garnets, imparting a granular structure to the rock.

127.-- Specimens of the copper ore, principally from Gurumanypenta,
Bungeral Mettah, Salighirry and Yerrapully—Nellore: they present for
the most part the carbonate passing into malachite and mountain blue.
Some fragments have a quartzose matrix; both coloured green, and ap-
pearing so, from the imbedded ores—another variety runs in veins
through a dark red oxide of iron, which Prinsep considers, to be the
same as that of Dr. Thomson’s specimen. (These ores have been ana-
lyzed in England, by Dr. Thomson, and more lately in India, by Mr.
Prinsep, vide Madras Journal, for April 1836, p. 154). The mixture of
sulphuret of iron, according to Prinsep, and perhaps of copper, with the
oxide, gives the whole a dark arenaceous character. The first ore yield-

ed 30.2 per cent of metal, and the last 39.5.

128.—Copper ore with grey metallic lustre internally, and penetrated
with green streaks: probably the combination of the carbonate and sul-
phuret, mentioned by Prinsep as the richest ore met with, and yielding
69 per cent. of pure copper ; highly malleable ; specific gravity, interme
diate between the carbonate and sulphuret.

129.—Schorl crystallized in prisms with quartz, mica and traces of
copper: much finer crystals of this variety of tourmaline may be obtained
from the locality whence these were obtained, but I had not the means
of detaching them from their bed, which occurs in the mica schist of
Bungeral Mettah, Nellore mining district. This variety of schorl differs
slightly from that of Europe. It melts into a greenish grey enamel,
instead of a black slag—hardness between quartz and topaz. With
borax it fuses into a transparent glass tinged green.

50 Remarks upon the Auriferous Deposits of India. [Jury

130. Dark brown calcareous rock, structure passing from earthy to
that of a fine indurated clay, associated in thin overlying beds with
the plumbiferous limestone of Yungumrazpilly. It imbeds whitish
tubular bodies, lined with minute whitish crystals (organic exuvie ?).

131.—Do. do. with quartz and decomposing iron pyrites.

132.—Nodule of iron ore (magnetic) from Kunchgarlconda, Nellore,
granular metallic lus(re; colour brownish black, streak brown, opaque,
fracture uneven, infusible before the blow-pipe, per se, with borax it melts
into a green glass.

133. —Quartz rock—Udeghirry Droog.

134.—Asbestus, in masses of fibres, passing from a duli greenish grey
to a yellowish white mottled colour, with a slight soapy feel. Tough
under the hammer, and breaks into fibrous woodlike fragments, which
are not flexible in an unseparated state. It is found in a bed at Putsa

Marculpilly, near Rayel-cherroo, Ceded Districts, in limestone, associated —

with a white indurated magnesian clay or earth. Before the blow-pipe,
it fuses into a greenish grey enamel, which by a continuance of the re-

ducing flame is converted into a brown slag.

135.—Magnesian earth indurated, associated with the above—same
locality.

136—Indurated earthy vein in mica slate—Bungeral Mettah, Nellore.
Colour faint reddish, white with scales of mica disseminated, efferves-
eences feebly with acids.

Actynolite, carbonate of magnesia, and kyanite, occur in the mica and
hornblende schists of the Nellore mining district, also a magnetic iron
sand which is smelted, and abundance of hematitic iron ore. The soil
often presents a sterile waste from the saline effervescences of the
mineral alkali; muriate of soda, and saltpetre, often attending metalliferous

development.

1il.—Remarks upon the Auriferous Deposits of India, considered with
especial Reference to their Economical Value.—By Fruprricx Burr,
Esq. .
My attention having some years ago been directed to the geological
structure and mineral capabilities of India, one of the facts which then
struck me with regard to the latter subject, was the very extensive oc-

8 = ese

1840. ] Remarks upon the Auriferous Deposits of India. 31

currence of auriferous deposits in various parts of the Indian peninsula.
The impression made upon my mind at the time with regard to the
immense diffusion of this metal, has during my residence in this country
been fully confirmed—it is an important, though almost unheeded fact,
that gold is very generally distributed, though in sparing deposits,
throughout extensive tracts in India, extending from the tenth to be-
yond the thirtieth degree of north latitude. There is every reason to
believe, therefore, that this metal might be made a new source of revenue
to the state, of wealth to the country, and a profitable object of occu-
pation to its population, were sufficient skill and attention devoted to
the subject. It is with this object in view, that the following remarks
have been written.

From the comparative rarity of practical science, among those ob-
servers to whom we are chiefly indebted for our knowledge of Indian
mineralogy, it is not, I fear, possible to obtain from the details they have
furnished us, any very clear or definite knowledge of the actual richness
of these gold tracts. They are generally described as being poor, and
containing the precious metal in very small proportions, but the poverty
of metallic ores thus expressed, is entirely a relative term, and liable to
much ambiguity. What it would be desirable to know, is the actual
quantity or per centage of the precious metal, which can be extracted

“from a given quantity of mineral matter; with this datum we might
form a correct idea of the value of the mineral, though it would still be
desirable to know the cost of production, and the means of washing or
reduction employed, as after all much would depend on the greater or
less perfection of these processes. Gold except in a few rare cases, is
always found in very sparing quantities, compared with the mass of sand,
yeinstone, or other mineral substance which accompanies it ; which is in
fact the principal cause of the high relative value of this metal: yet many
auriferous deposits are by good management made to yield a profit by
the skilful mining Engineer, which to the uninstructed eye would ap-
pear either totally destitute of the precious metal, or so poor as to be
absolutely worthless.

Without attempting to describe, or even to point out every locality
in this country, where gold has been ascertained to exist, I shall com-
mence by briefly enumerating such of those tracts as now occur to me,
and will most readily confirm my views of the abundant distribution
of the precious metal throughout a large portion of the Indian penin-
sula.

Taking first the Madras presidency, gold is well known to occur in

‘Coimbatoor, in numerous localities on the western and southern de-

32 Remarks upon the Auriferous Deposits of India. [Jutr

clivities of the Neilgherry mountains, and other parts of the Malabar
Coast, where it is commonly found disseminated in small particles in
the sands and beds of rivers, and may be estimated» to spread over an
extent of several hundred square miles, forming the principal gold tract
of Southern India. In the high table land of Mysore, gold is known to
exist in many places, as near Bangalore and Chinnapatam, and in the
Wynaad district. In the Southern Mahratta Country, the existence
of gold is well known, and the deposits of the Kupputgode range have
been described in the ‘* Madras Journal of Science,” by an energetic
labourer in the field of Indian geology—Lieutenant Newbold. In the
Northern Circars, and the Rajah of Berar’s territory, gold is described
as existing in many of the rivers, especially in the Nagpore district, al-
most the centre of India. I have also been informed by W. H. G.
Mason, Esq. that the natives obtain a little gold by washing, in the streams
- near Vizagapatam.

This very brief and imperfect review of auriferous localities within the
Madras territories, would be amply sufficient for our present purpose ;
yet it is deserving of notice, that these deposits of the precious metal,
are equally abundant-in the northern portion of the Indian peninsula as
in the southern, as I shall now proceed to show.

Gold is known to exist in the tributaries of the Indus, in Kumaon,
where it is obtained by washing in the streams in the vicinity of Kalsee.
That these auriferous particles are derived either from the rocky escarp-
ment of the Himalayahs, or the mountains subordinate to them, is
highly probable, as gold mines are described as being worked by the
Chinese Tartars north of these mountains near Hurtoh, beyond the
lake Mansuraor. These gold workings are said to have been stopped
by order of the Chinese government, lest the precious metal should be
the means of tempting us across the snow clad pinnacles which bound
the British territory. Gold is stated to occur in great abundance in
Assam, where it is profitably worked by the natives at Gowhetti, on the
Bramahputra. From this point deposits of gold are well known to ex-
tend southward through the Burmese empire, the Malayan peninsula,
and the adjoining islands, but these localities it would be foreign to my
present purpose to notice.

Of the actual economical value of this prodigious range of auriferous
deposits, which has been shown to extend so widely over the Indian
peninsula, little or nothing is, I believe, known. ‘There is, however, the
simple fact before us that in many places they have been worked by the
natives, who must therefore have been able at least to obtain a subsist-
ence from their labours, although carried on, we know, in the rudest

q
2
.

1840.] _ Remarks upon the Auriferous Deposits of India. 33

and most simple manner. When however, I consider the extreme
poverty of the auriferous deposits, which by skilful and scientific manage-
ment are profitably worked in Europe, and further take into account
the very low price of labour in this country, I am firmly impressed
with the conviction, looking at the subject in a practical point of view,
that the application of the same means might in this country be made
to produce an equaily beneficial result. Although there is no reason to
believe that our gold-washings generally, are rich enough to attract or
to recompense individual enterprise, it is highly probable that in such a
vast extent of country there may be some much richer than others. It
is also probable, if not indeed certain, that there are many which might
be made the means of affording a beneficial occupation to a large num-
ber of labourers, of contributing to the revenue of the state, and of
forming in their aggregate results, a valuable addition to the metallic cir-
culation of the country.

Should the experiment in question succeed, the benefits derivable
from it, might, as I have shown, be very great ; it would induce a more
careful examination of numerous and widely spread auriferous de-
posits, a far more economical treatment of their produce, and very
possibly the discovery of veins, or of limited tracts much richer than
any hitherto made known by the casual discoveries of the natives.
Hven should the experiment fail, which is very unlikely, the expense
might be limited from the first to a very moderate amount, while other
indirect advantages, arising from an increased attention to the mineral
capabilities of the country, might be confidently reckoned upon.

Supposing the auriferous deposits of India to attract the attention
of Government, the plan which I should propose to follow, would be to
obtain the services of some competent person, practically acquainted
with the treatment of auriferous sands in Brazil, or with the reduction
of gold ores, as practised in the Austrian mines. Perhaps a mining
Engineer might be found, uniting both these qualifications. A careful
examination of some of our auriferous sands, say those on the Malabar
Coast, which evidently extend over several hundred square miles, would
soon show where were the richest spots, and where the reduction works
might be established with the greatest probability of success. The
requisite apparatus need by no means be costly: it should embrace, be-
sides minor articles commonly used in the washing and separation of
gold, the amalgamation machinery, employed so successfully in the re-
duction of the poor quartzose ores of the Tyrol, and one or more fur-
maces to attempt the fusion of the auriferous sands, according to the
plan successfully introduced in Russia about three years ago in the gold

34 Remarks upon the Auriferous Deposits of India. [Jury

works of the Ural mountains. The sands or other ores of gold might
be bought of the natives, at a fixed valuation, according to the per
centage of the precious metal which they were ultimately found to
contain, a certain amount being paid to the contractors previous to
their delivery. Were this species of industry to become thoroughly
established in certain districts, as after a time it no doubt would do,
the gold dust might form a useful medium of exchange, and be received
by Government as “ kist,” which alone would give a powerful stimulus
to production. Whether it would be most desirable for the mining
Engineer appointed tothe charge of the reduction works, to receive the
auriferous sands from the gold washers in its first crude state, as ori-
ginally-collected by them, or whether it should first undergo some pre-
liminary washing and concentration, is a consideration of some impor-
tance which could only be determined by experience.

In concluding this notice, I shall briefly draw attention to a subject
which is too technical to be generally understood, although interesting
in itself, and of primary importance «as connected with the preceding
suggestions. I allude to the actual produce, or per centage of gold,
which can be profitably extracted from the ores or sands containing this
metal, by the most economical and improved methods now practised in
the gold mine districts of Europe and Brazil. From the data I shall
now adduce it could easily be ascertained by a little chemical and mi-
neralogical research, how far the auriferous deposits of India are likely
to repay the improved system_of realizing their produce, which I have
now suggested. In fact from the very low price of labour in this
country, there can be no doubt that ores of the same produce might be
made to yield a much larger profit than in Europe, for in the price or value
of the metals (gold and silver equally with any others), the actual
labour expended in their production, forms. by far the most considerable
item.

it may be laid down as a general truth in mining, that, with very rare
exceptions indeed, the ores of the precious metals are exceedingly poor,
and that the metallic particles to be collected, bear buta very trivial
proportion to the mass of worthless matter, throughovt which nature
has disseminated them. Thus in the silver mines both of Europe and
America, the average produce of the bulk of ores extracted, does not
exceed more than from 3 to4 or 5 ounces in 100 pounds weight, or
one pound of metal in 400 pounds of the ore. Yet silver ores of this
low produce are in numerous instances profitably extracted from deep
mines, where they have to be raised even three, four, or five hundred

1840. | Remarks upon the Auriferous Depostis of India. 35

yards to the surface, where powder is required for blasting the rock,
water wheels, steam engines, or other expensive machinery for draining
off the water, and where the price of labour is six, eight, or even ten
times as great as it isin India. It is true that in these mines richer ores
are also found, but they are in comparatively smal] proportion, fluctuat-
ing in their quantity and quality, and not to be depended on for profit-
able returns.

The value of gold being fifteen times greater than that of silver, it
will readily be conceived that very minute quantities of this precious
metal will pay for the expenses of extraction. In point of fact the
poverty of some auriferous deposits is almost inconceivable, indeed it
often happens that the particles of the precious metal are so very
minute, and so sparingly scattered through the mass, that the naked
eye is totally unable to detect them, and except by the careful mineralo-
gist, the whole would be looked upon as mere worthless matter, and
entirely rejected. Of this general poverty of gold ores, I shall now
acduce a few striking examples, taken it will be observed from widely
distant localities. ;

At Zelle in the Tyrol, a mineral district, situated a few leagues from
Inspruck, the gold ores, or rather the auriferous mass extracted from
the mines, yields on an average from five to seven ounces of the pre-
cious metal in 1,000 cwts. Now this amounts to only one pound of
gold, in from twoto three hundred thousand pounds of refuse, yet
even from this exceedingly poor ore, the skill of the German mining
Engineers, enables them to extract a small profit. The ore, I may
further observe, is a hard quartz, very similar to that which occurs north
of the Pennar River, in the Nellore district, and requires to be stamped
or finely pulverized, before the gold can be extracted. At the mines
of Kremnitz in Hungary, the average produce of the gold ores is only
7 to 8 ounces in the 1000 cwts, or 100,000 lbs, being thus very little
higher than in the mines of Zelle.

Let us now turn to Brazil, a country well known for the large supply
of gold which its mines annually furnish. The precious metal is here
_ found in yeins and worked by mining, but a vast quantity is also dis-
seminated in very minute particles through the sands of certain auri-
ferous districts, exactly as we have it in India. I have been informed
by my friend Mr. Attwood, who has been resident for some years in the
mineral districts of that country, that a cubic foot of this sand, which
may be estimated as weighing about | cwt. is considered very profitable if
it yields an o¢tava, or about one eighth of an ounce of gold, but that sands
are worked which do not afford more than one-tenth of this produce.

36 Remarks upon the Auriferous Deposits of India. [Juny

In Carolina, in the United States, ores containing more than 13 ounce
per ton, or 1 fb of gold in 23,000 fbs of ore, may for the most part be
worked with profit, although disseminated in a hard matrix of quartz
which requires to be pulverized by machinery. It is also particularly
deserving of remark, that the price of labour in Carolina, like most
other parts of the United States, is very high, being a dollar, or two ru-
pees per day.

From a consideration of all the facts which have now been detailed,
it appears to me that we may safely arrive at the following conclusions :—

ist.—That there are in India, immense and almost unexplored tracts
of auriferous country.

2nd.—That these have here and there been worked by the natives,
though doubtless in the most rude and imperfect manner.

3d.—That the reputed poverty of many, may be after all merely rela-
tive, when compared with other districts, which by better means are
made to yield a profitable return. .

4th.—That taking into account the occurrence of the precious metal
in India; at the surface of the ground, and the very Iow price of labour
in this country, compared with Europe or America, there is in all pro-
bability an ample field for increasing the revenue and benefitting the
population, by the extensive introduction of gold washing and amalgama-
tion, upon the same improved and economical system as is practised in
the above quarters of the globe.

I shall mention in conclusion, that, by means very similar to what I
have now suggested, Russia has within the last few years laid open a
new and important source of wealth to the empire. At the com-
mencement of the present century, in fact till within the last few
years, the mineral district of the Ural mountains was almost unknown,
and only productive to a small extent. Careful examination has, how-
ever, shown, that auriferous sands exist in great abundance, and that
platinum occurs more sparingly, and considerable attention has of late
years been given to the skilful development of these mineral resources.

The results of these exertions have been most encouraging—this
district now yields annually more than 12,000 Ibs. of gold, and a small
proportion of platmum, producing altogether the annual sum of £800,000
sterling to the government. A large proportion of the gold of the
Ural is produced from exceedingly poor auriferous sands, like those of
India; and it has lately been found practicable to separate the gold
by fusion, more cheaply than by the ordinary process of amalgamation
by quicksilver. The economy of this expensive article in the reduction
of the poorer ores of gold, is of course an important consideration,

1840.] Observations on the Fossiliferous beds near Pondicherry. 37

With reference to this last operation—the extraction of the precious
metal from its extraneous concomitants-—it is deserving of remark, that
avery interesting discovery has been made within the last year or two
by M. Becquerel, the distinguished French chemist. It has been dis-
covered by this philosopher that the electro-chemical agency may be
employed in the reduction of the ores of the precious metals, as a sub-
stitute for the ordinary process of fusion or amalgamation; and it is
highly probable that by this important invention this operation may
shortly be economized, to an extent hitherto unattainable. In this case
it will allow of the profitable working of auriferous sands, and ores, even
poorer than any which have been described in this paper. It is not
improbable, therefore, that this refined and important discovery, may
constitute an entirely new era in the history and production of the
precious metals.

IV .— Observations on the Fossiliferous beds near Pondicherry, and in
the district of South Arcot.—By C. T. Karz, Eso. Madras Civii
Service.

The existence of a bed of fossiliferous limestone in the neghbourhood
of Pondicherry has long been pretty generally known to those who take
an interest in such subjects, and some attention was recently attracted
to it by several communications in the Spectator Newspaper. An ob-
servant person, indeed, can hardly fail-of being struck with the nature of
the stones which form the paving of some of the streets and the steps of
many of the houses in Pondicherry, and which are replete, not only with the
fragments of innumerable shells, but with many ostreas and other bivalves
almost as entire as if they still reposed in their proper element. The
silicified wood at Trivacaryis also well known to the public from the
beautiful polish which it receives, and from its adaptation to table and
other ornaments. To the geologist it is interesting from the vast size of
the petrified trees (one of which is nearly 100 feet long), from their great
number, and from the perfect state in which these organic remains of
other worlds are preserved.

It had long been a desideratum to collect data on which the era and
nature of the formations which contain the fossils might be decided, and
i accordingly took an opportunity of leisure in October last, to proceed
to the spot with Mr. Cunliffe of the Civil Service. The time which we
were enabled to devote to the investigation was unfortunately short

i

38 Observatigns on the Fossiliferous beds near Pondicherry. [Jury

and it might certainly have been committed to more scientific and ex-
perienced hands. I trust, however, that the facts which we were fortu-
nate enough to collect were not altogether unimportant, and that, im-
perfect as our researches must necessarily have been, they may pave the
way to more interesting discoveries. :

Before proceeding further, I may as well mention, that, although the
geology of India has generally been considered uninteresting on account
of the absence of fossiliferous strata, Pondicherry is not the only locality
in the south of the peninsula, where fossils are to be met with in abund-
ance. In the inland district of Trichiaopoly marine shells are also
found imbedded in limestone, and the kindness of Mr. Onslow has put
me in possession of several interesting specimens, of which notice will be
taken hereafter. :

The village of Seedrapett, the site of the shell limestone which is the
subject of the present notice, is seven miles west of Pondicherry, and
Trivacary is about eight miles to the west of Seedrapett. The form of
the country may be characterized as an undulating plain :/the limestone
formation is flanked both on the east and west by one of the red sandy
soil, which on the one side forms the low mounds of Trivacary, and on the
other the “ Red Hills” cf Pondicherry, the latter being perhaps a con-
tinuation of the same formation which contains the silicified wood. If
this be the case, it is evident that the limestone rests upon a basin or
depression of the red sand, but owing to the absence of sections, and
the imperfect means we had of ascertaining the position of the strata,
this fact is by no means laid down as established, but is merely suggest-
ed as a point for future investigation.

‘The petrifactions of Trivacary have been often described, especially of
late, it is only necessary therefore to state that they consist. of numer-
ous silicified trees, some of them of vast dimensions, resting more or less
buried on low bare hills of a friable red sandstone. The hills are
grouped in a circular form, and the petrifactions in many instances re-
tuin a perfect resemblance to the trunks of fallen trees. ‘The red hills
are bounded by others of a dark granite: the line of demarcation being
very distinct. The trees, however, are not found reposing on the hillocks
at Trivacary alone, but we observed them at adistance of at least three
miles from that place, imbedded in the red sand, on the road to Seedra-
pett. We were totally unable to discover any other fossil, or any
indication of such a thing, in the red soil which so abounds with the
silicified wood. |

There is a gradual descent from Trivacary towards Seedrapett, and the
limestone commences immediately on the boundaries of the red soil:

ipl *
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1840.} Observations on the Fossiliferous beds near Pondicherry. 39

it presents, as has been already stated, an undulating wavy surface, and
the stone is found immediately below the turf, and sometimes even ap-
pears above it : it is quite hard, and is quarried in large blocks, though
to no great depth,/for the purposes before mentioned.) It is almost every
where replete with shells or other organic remains, which are in general
so firmly imbedded in the hard stone that it is eapoecible to detach
‘{themthe geologist, therefore, who would study with accuracy the nature

Fo this deposit, should endeavour to reside for some period on the spot,

many of the shells which are most perfect in the stone, not having yet
been discovered in a separate state. In one situation, however, ieee
are several small mounds of a whitish limestone, almost resembling
chalk, where the surface having been abraded and decomposed by wa-
ter, the shells which it contained have been separated, and lie scattered
on the surface of the soil, among the debris of the containing rock: it
was in this spot that most of the specimens here noticed were col-
lected. I will now proceed to describe them in the order in which they
appear in the Plates.

Pl. I. Nos. 1 and 2—Ostrea carinuta—The identity of this shell with
that figured by Lyell and other authors among the fossils of the Eu-
ropean chalk cannot be doubted: they are very numerous at Secdra-
pett, and are found both in a separate state and imbedded in the rock,
sometimes very perfect. No.1 is slightly fractured at the point, but the
linear marking, and even the sharp angles of the ribbing on the sides,
are beautifully preserved, and the inner surface retains much of its
polished enamel. No.2 is a perfect specimen of the two valves adhering
firmly together.

Nos. 3 and 4 are Baculites. ‘This shell is called by Dr. Buckland a
straight ammonite, and the same authority states that it is “* found in the
-eretaceous formation alone.’ We collected many fragments of this shell on
the surface of the soil, varying from three inches to half an inch in length:
the most perfect specimen being. imbedded in a rolled piece of limestone
(No. 3), and owing to a longitudinal fracture displaying four of its
chambers. All the specimens display the foliated markings at the junc-
tion of the walls of the chamber with the external shell: they are of a
yellowish or reddish brown colour, and the interior is generally filled with
beautifully crystallized calcareous spar. No.6 is the transverse section
of a baculite.

Nos. 6, 7, 8 are bivalve shells, probably referrible to the genus Cardi-
um ; they are represented about the natural size; 6 and 7 retain the shell
eae and appear almost recent, but the interior of No. 7 is filled with

40 Observations on the Fossiliferous beds near Pondicherry. [Jutx

the limestone and fragments of shells cemented together sufficiently hard
to take a polish. In No.8 the shell itself has disappeared and left
merely a cast in whitish limestone

- Plate II. Nos. | and 2 are Echini, of the order Spatangus, common in the
chalk of England. No.2 is asmall but perfect specimen. No. 1 is a
portion of the external shell flattened out on the stone.

No. 3.—This is apparently the apex of a Turbinolia: it is not unfre-
quent in the limestone, and was sometimes found detached, in which case
it precisely resembles the drawings of the Turbinolia given by Dr. Mantell,
in his Geology of the South-east of Sussex, but is apparently of a larger
species.

Nos. 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 are fragments of a zoophyte or coral with a pyriform
body or termination, which is always found detached (No. 4); other frag
ments are cylindrical. This zoophyte seems to have consisted of numer-
ous small lamellz, converging towards the centre: but there was probably
a cavity in the centre, which is now filled up with the chalky substance,
as the lamelle do not unite at the axis. No 6 shows the radiated ap-
pearance presented by the transverse section of a cylindrical joint or
fragment, and 7 and 8 display the internal structure where it is laid bare
by the decomposition of the external covering. These fragments are
probably the joints of the stem or branches of the zoophyte, which may
possibly therefore, have been the Apiocrinites ellipticus, but until more
perfect specimens are found it cannot be named with any degree of cer-
tainty. The component matter of this fossil is carbonate of lime, and it
effervesces freely with acid. They are found in great numbers close to
the village of Seedrapett. We collected upwards of an hundred in about
half an hour, and one of the best specimens I took out of the wall of a
mud house. ‘s

No. 9 is a small mass of limestone, displaying on both sides
beautiful sections of a multilocular shell, which Mr. Rurr informs me
isa Turrilite.

No. 10. A great number of small cylindrical bodies of this descrip-
tion were found, the longest perhaps 14 inch in length, and about the
thickness of a tobacco-pipe: they all have a longitudinal groove or sulcus,
whence it may be inferred that they are ‘a species of Belemnite, perhaps
B. minimus ; but it must be mentioned that, among the hundreds that
were collected, and the still more numerous specimens that were thrown
aside, not one was found which eame to a point.. Further research
may, perhaps, supply this deficiency.

No. 11. Several casts of a slightly curved chambered shell, with
annular markings, probably referrible to order of Hamite were found.

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1840.] Observations on the Fossiliferous beds near Pondicherry. 4)

The drawing represents the chamber as seen in the section, but the radiate
ed marking is probably owing to crystallization.
No. 12 is a cast in limestone of a bivalve shell.

It is no easy thing to name fossils even to those who are most accus-
tomed to geological researches, this department forming in general a
separate branch of the science: many of the fossils, however, described
in the above lines are of so marked a character, that in those instances
where we have ventured to name them with any degree of certainty, we
can hardly have been mistaken. I have not neglected either to consult
those who were best able to give an opinion on the subject, and have
also carefully compared the specimens with the best drawings and au-
thorities I could meet with. To Mr. Frederick Burr, I am particularly
indebted for the valuable assistance and information he has afforded me.
If we do not err therefore very widely from the mark, we have, even on
the information already obtained, very good primd facie evidence that
the Pondicherry beds are the equivalents of the upper secondary fore
mations of Kurope, and the fossils point especially to those of the chalk
and greensand.

It isa well known fact that, during the formation of the cretaceous
beds in England, a great quantity of silex held in solution by water
must have been poured out; which, by the process of chemical affinity
having collected around various organic nuclei such as corals, sponges
and other zoophytes, has formed continuous and exteusive layers of flint,
interstratified with the chalk, almost every nodule of which contains
and derives its shape from the enclosed remains of some organized body
in a state of complete petrifaction. We observed no vestige of flints in
the limestone at Seedrapett, and all the fossils collected there consist of
carbonate of lime, and effervesce freely with acid; but the vast quantity
of silicified wood, in the neighbouring formation of red sand, seems to
point to some phenomenon similar to what must have existed during the
deposition of the cretaceous beds of Europe.*

Lieut. Newbold, in the last number of the Journal, suggested that the
fossiliferous beds of Pondicherry probably extended into the Verdachel-
lum talook of South Arcot. Ihave made enquiries but have not yet
obtained any evidence of this fact. Another interesting question, howe

* «* Fiints so commonly enclose the remains of sponges, alcyonia and other zoophytes,
that some geologists are of opinion that the nucleus of every nodule was origina!ly an
Organic body: that this has been the case in most instances is very evident: and in
Sussex there are but few fints that do not possess traces of zoophytical organization.’?

Mantell’s Geology of Sussex, 144.

42 Observations on the Fossiliferous beds near Pondicherry. [Jorx —

ever, Now suggests itself, viz, is the shell limestone at Seedrapett ana-
logous and contemporaneous with that already mentioned as containing
fossils in the Trichinopoly district? Sufficient data have not yet been
collected to enable one to give a positive reply to this enquiry. The
specimens which I have received from Trichinopoly consist of masses of
limestone, very similar in character to that of Seedrapett, and containing
innumerable small shells cemented together in the hard rock. Shells
are, however, found detached from the stone, in general I should say in
a more perfect state than those at Seedrapett.

Pl. TI. No. 1, is alarge bivalve from Trichinopoly : of which the shell
is entire, with the exception of being chipped at the edges: it is filled
with limestone.

Nos. 2 and 3 are intended to shew the nature of the shells contained
in two small masses of the stone: the most perfect shells have been
chosen for representation, but it was found impossible to figure the in-
numerable small shells and fragments of which the mass almost en-
tirely consists. The shells in No. 2 are small turrilites, evidently
of the same species as those represented in Pl. II. No. 9. Several
specimens from the same locality, in Dr. Cole’s possession, appear to me
also to be turrilites, a fact which leads us to infer some analogy between
the two formations, which further research will probably tend to de-
monstrate.

An interesting fossil from Trichinopoly in my possession is a piece
of calcareous fossil wood, containing a number of petrified Teredines i in
erystallized carbonate of lime.

There can be no doubt that our knowledge of these beds is still very
imperfect, and it may be supposed that it would have been better to
have deferred the present notice until more accurate information should
be obtained; but a temporary residence in Madras gave me an oppor-
tunity of consulting works to which I might not otherwise have had
access, and also afforded facilities for getting up the drawings, &c. con-

nected with the publication, which I was the more unwilling to neglect, as
they might not speedily recur.

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Printed by W. Winchester.

1840.] Remarks on the fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacee. 43

V.—Remarks on the Fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacee.—By
Rosert WiacHT, M. D., F. L. s. &c.

The order Cucurbitacee, is perhaps one of the most curious and
inexplicable in the system of plants, and though at different times much
studied by several eminent botanists, is still imperfectly understood ; at
least if we may judge from the fact, that no two writers on the dis-
tribution of plants according to their natural affinities seem to agree
as te what families are its nearest allies. It is not now my intention to
examine this question, for which, indeed, I have not at present leisure,
even supposing I possessed the requisite materials, which I do not, but
merely to offer a few observations on the general character of the family
and fruit, introductory to a conspectus of the genera of the order, with
which Dr. Arnott kindly favoured me, and at the same time permitted
me to place on the pages of the Society’s Journal, should I deem that
desirable. Deeming the conspectus really a most desirable addition to
our Indian botanical literature, I have much pleasure in submitting
it for that purpose, in the hope that the Society may be of the same
opinion.

The Cucurhitacee are a tribe of plants so very unlike the rest of the
vegetable kingdom, that I think I may safely say no one having the

slightest knowledge of family likeness among plants, could ever mistake
"so far as to refer one of them to any other family. Though thus isolat-
ed from all around, and without a single near relation with whom they
ean be justly compared cr confounded, they yet stretch their more re-
mote affinities on all sides; hence the difficulties which systematic wri-
ters find in decisively referring them to any one place, more than another,
in the series of orders. Nearly ali however, now agree in placing
them among orders having parietal placenta, that is, among plants the
ovary of which is one-celled.

To any one who will take the trouble to look attentively at a
slice of a young cucumber this must appear strange, but is yet not the
less true. In one of the latest and the best introductions to botany in
the English language, Dr. Lindley’s, a peponida, the peculiar fruit
of the order, is thus defined :—‘‘ One-celled, many-seeded, inferior,
indehiscent, fleshy ; the seeds attached to parietal pulpy placente. This
fruit has its cavity frequently filled at maturity with pulp, in which
the seeds are imbedded; their point of attachment is, however, never
lost. The cavity is also occasionally divided by projections of the pla-
cent into spurious cells, which has given rise to the belief that in
Pepo Macrocarpus there is a central cell, which isnot only untrue but
impossible.”

44 Remarks on the fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacee. [Jury

Dr. Arnott in the article Botany, Encyclop. Prit. Ed. 7, gives a dif-
ferent account of it, but still, it appears to me, far from a correct one,
namely :— A pepo or peponida isa fleshy inferior fruit, either indehiscent
or bursting irregularly, and consisting of about three carpels, each of which
is divided into two cells by its placentiferous margin, being so introflexed
as to reach the dorsal suture. The sides of the carpel, and even some-
times the introflexed portion, usually become extremely thick and
fleshy, forming the great mass of the ripe fruit, so that by losing the
general character of dissepiments, they might almost be said to disap-
pear, and thus at first sight a pepo would be said to be, and has been
so described, a 1-celled, fleshy, indehiscent fruit, with parietal placentas,
that send out sometimes false dissepiments towards the axis, as the
cucumber and gourd.” i

This view, therefore, is essentially different from Dr. Lindley’s, for, ac-
cording to Arnott the placentz are virtually central, not parietal. The
only difference between a pepo and an apple being, according to him, that
the placentifercus margins of the carpellary leaf are introflexed, and
extend outwards nearly to the parietes of the fruit, in place of remain-
ing in the axis. Lindley on the other hand views a pepo simply as a
one-celled fruit with parietal placente, the cavity being occasionally
divided into spurious cells by projections of the placenta. Neither are
altogether consonant with appearances, though that of Arnott appears
the most so; but both, in common with all others that have yet been
promulgated, are incorrect both as to theory and fact.

While our ideas of the structure of the most essential organ of the
plant, with reference to natural affinities, are thus vague, can it be
matter of surprise that we are unable to trace its relations, and determine
its affinities in the system of plants ?

What then is a peponida? I have said above that it is neither a one-
celled fruit with parietal placentas, nor a three-celled one with introflexe
ed central placentas. But before I can say what it is, and point out the
difference between it and a fruit of the usual construction, it is necessary
to state what the usual structure is. This I shall do by means of a short
extract from Lindley’s Key to Structural Botany.

354. ‘“ A Carpet is formed by a folded leaf, the upper surface of
which is turned inwards, the lower outwards ; and the margins of which
develope one or a greater number of buds, which are the ovules.

355. When the carpels are stalked, they are said to be seated upon
a thecaphore, or gynophore; Ex. Cleome, Passiflora. Their stalk is
analogous to the petiole of a leaf.

1840.] Remarks on the fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacee. 45

355. a. When the carpels are all distinct, or are separable with faci-
lity, they are apocarpous ; when they all grow into a solid body, which
cannot be separated into its constituent parts, they are syncarpous.

356. The ovary is the lamina of the leaf.

357. The style is an elongation of the midrib (174)

358. The stigma is the denuded, secreting, humid apex of the midrib.

359. Where the margins of the folded leaf, out of which the carpel
is formed, meet and unite, a copious development of cellular tissue
takes place, forming what is called the placenta.

360. Every placenta is therefore composed of two parts, one of which
belongs to one margin of the carpel, and one to the other.

361. As the carpels are modified leaves, they necessarily obey the
laws of arrangement of leaves, and are therefore developed round a
‘common axis.

362. And as they are leaves folded inwards, their margins are neces-
sarily turned towards the axis. The placente, therefore, being formed
by the union of those margins, will be invariably next the axis.” j

From this we learn, in few words, that the carpellary leaf is always so
folded that its midrib is towards the circumference, or forms the dorsum
of the ceil or carpel, while the placentiferous margins are placed in the
axis; that the difference between a one-celled and many-celled fruit,
merely consists in the placentiferous margins of the carpellary leaves of
the former not extending inwards to the axis, but stopping in the cir-
cumference and bearing their ovules attached to the walls of the cell—
hence parietal. This position of the carpellary leaf is so constant, that
the possibility of an inversion of this order of things in a pepo seems

never to have entered into the calculations of any one of the numerous
botanists who have given their attention to the investigation of the
structure of this curious fruit; and yet such is simply the case. In a
pepo the normal position of the midrib of the carpellary leafis reversed,
that is, is placed in the axis, and the placentiferous margins towards the
circumference. That such is actually the case requires no argument to
prove; we have only to cut the ovary of any true cucurbitaceous plant
to be made sensible, at a glance, that it is so: though I confess that in
none have 1 seen it so clearly made out asin Coccinia Indica, owing to
the carpels of that species remaining distinct, merely held together, not
as usual by cohesion between the respective carpels, but by the tube of
the calyx in which they are enclosed. Did I wish to illustrate the the-
ory by means of a diagram, I could not devise one more perfect thana
simple section of the ovary of that plant, merely extending the natural
divisions, by dividing the calyx, so as to allow each of the carpels to

46 Remarks on the fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacee. [Juuy

be slightly separated in the representation, to facilitate the demonstra-
tion. This, however, is I think even unnecessary, for with the clue to
the true structure, which this species furnishes, there can no longer be
any difficulty in understanding it from the examination of any genuine
species of the order.*

What effect this new exposition of the structure of the ovariam may
have on the determination of the affinities of this order, I am, up to the
present time, quite unprepared to say: but of this I feel certain, that, in
so far as structure is concerned, they are as far removed from all their
now reputed allies, as their peculiar habit removes them from all the
parietose families, except Passiflore, among which Bartling, Endlicher and
Lindley have placed them. ‘This very unusual structure, in short, marks
them as a peculiar order, the affinities of which have still to be sought for.

Iam equally unprepared to say to what extent this unlooked-for
structure may influence our views in regard to other anomalous orders,
especially those with solitary carpels: since, having established the fact
that the usual structure may be inverted, it will naturally lead to new
investigations, which may prove, that the solitary carpels of Leguminose
are not, as now supposed, necessarily the result of constant abortion of
one of two carpella, but may be explained on some other theory more
consonant with the, almost invariably observed, structure in that large
and interesting order ; which, like Cucurbitacee, stands an isolated fami-
ly in the system of plants, through this one remarkable peculiarity,—
a peculiarity so constant, in this tribe, that it goes far to prove the exist-
ence of that botanical nonentity, a terminal leaf. But, being unpre-
pared to offer any matured opinions on these points, I forbear further
speculation, | and shall at once proceed with the conspectus ; trusting,
however, ere long, to be able to re-enter more at large on the consider-
ation of this interesting enquiry.

The subjoined remarks, | copy from the article Cucurbitacee in my
forthcoming Number of the Illustrations of Indian Botany.

“ The following explanatory extracts from the letter which accompanied
the Conspectus, may not inappropriately be introduced.

“ « ] have lately been revising our East Indian Cucurbétacee, in conse-
quence of Schrader’s paper in the Linnea, vol. 12. At first I was in-
clined to consider it worse than useless to subdivide old genera, especi-

* After this paper was in the printer’s hands it was suggested that some illustrations
were desirable to render the verbal description more easily understood. The accom-«
panying figures representing the three different forms of ovaries—i-celled with parietal
placente ; several celled with central placente ; and a Peponida; were therefore prepared,

1840.] Remarks on the fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacee. 47

ally Bryonia, as he has done; but when I came to consider his sectional
characters, and that the form and position of the stamens and anthers
and stigma and fruit are, really, the only characters hitherto employed for
genera by other botanists; and that all Schrader has done, is to keep
only those species in their old genera that agree with the character and
turning out, and making new genera of those that do not, then I felt
inclined to go great lengths towards adopting his views. Iintend here
to give you a Conspectus, or abridged generic characters, which I have
drawn up, not only for the Indian, but also for the whole world, which
I shall not object to your publishing as “ abridged characters of the
genera of the tribe Cucurbitee of Schrader.’

*¢ At the conclusion of the conspectus he continues,—‘ These seem to
be all the genera known that truly belong to Cucurbitee, they have all
unisexual flowers. Gronovia has them bisexual, but is otherwise very
closely allied. Adlasia cannot be of this order, unless we suppose the
description quite erroneous; and if so, Loureiro may have had before
him, in part at least, the Telfairia pedata ; Myrianthus cannot belong to
Cucurbitacee.

“¢ Thladianthus Runge is imperfectly described as to the stamens, but
may perhaps form a 7th tribe.

s¢ ¢T have laboured under great difficulty in making out these characters,
partly because the published descriptions were very imperfect, partly
because | had not several of the genera, and partly, from the extreme
difficulty of examining the anthers after being dried and pressed. I
would therefore suggest to you and other Indian botanists, to re-examine
all the Indian ones on living plants, and have drawings made, paying par-
ticular attention to the representation of the anthers.

“¢ At first you may, as I did, confuse section 7 with section 9, but if
you will compare the flower of Citrullies, Momordica or Lagenarea with
Cucurbita or Coccinia, you will readily see the difference. In section 7,
the connectivum is lobed, and the anther cells are placed along the
edge of the lobes—in sections 8 and 9 the connectivum is not itself lobed,
but the anther cell is bent,’ (@t winds upwards and downwards along
the back of the connectivum).

“ Warned by the concluding paragraph of the difficulty attending the
description of these plants from dried specimens, I took occasion, as op-
portunity offered, to compare some of the sectional characters with
recent specimens, and feel disposed to think the sections too numerous,
and not sufficiently distinguished. I have not yet succeeded in com-

paring the whole, but would suggest the following alterations, which I
think would improve the arrangement.

48 Remarks on the fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacce. [Juuy

“Section 6 might with advantage be suppressed, and its only genus re-
ferred to section 5. Sections 7 and 9 would be better united, the anthers
being the same in both; transferring, however, Cucurbita to section 8,
on account of the anthers, which are similar to those of Trichosanthes,
making the insertion of the filaments a matter of secondary considera-
tion, a generic not a sectional distinction.

“ The difference between sections 7 and 8 would then be—not that in
the former the anther is lobed and in the other entire, but that in sec-
tion 7 the back is traversed by an elevated gyrose ridge, on the top of
which the long gyrose anther is placed, while in section 8 there is no
such eleyation, the anther cell being sunk into the substance of the con-
nectivum, not elevated ona ridge with a deep furrow between each
bend. To this may be added that the connectiva in section 8 is
elongated ; hence, from the union of the three, a cylinder results, while in
the other their union produces a sort of capitulum.

“ Bryonia Garcini, doubtfully referred to Bryonia, is a new species of
Pylogyne : Bryonia leiosperma, I find, from the examination of dried
specimens, is a second species of Mukia, with which it agrees well in
habit.

“‘ Notwithstanding these differences of opinion, it is not my intention
to alter the conspectus, but print it simply as it reached me, the few ad-
ditions I have to make, being included within brackets—thus [ Eh
Before proceeding further it may be well to explain what is meant by. the
term tri-adelphous, as applied to this family, which is of such frequent
occurrence in the following characters. The normal structure of Cucur-
bitacee is to have five stamens, in place of which we usually find only
three ; but when these are carefully examined it appears that two of
them are twice the size of the third, and are actually made up of two
united : each set is then called an adelphi or brotherhood, and the three
together tri-adelphous ‘This structure is readily seen in the Pekunkei
(Cucumis acutangulus, Ainsley) where the anthers do not cohere. In
those where they do cohere it is not so clearly seen, as they then re-
quire to be separated artificially before it can be made out.

“ In some genera the anthers are described as being one or two-celled ;
these characters require to be used with caution, as being generally of
very difficult application in practice. Theoretically every anther is two-
celled, and here in examining a number of instances with particular
care, under a high magnifier, I have found most of them actually two-
celled, though on less careful examination they appeared only one-
celled. If such is the case when examined with fresh specimens, how
much more liable to error must we be when working with dried ones.

1840.] Remarks on the fruit of the Natural Order Cueurbitacee. 49

CONSPECTUS OR ABRIDGED CHARACTERS OF THE GENE-
RA OF THE TRIBE CUCURBITEA* OF SCHRADER.

§ 1.— Fi’aments 5, inserted on the throat of the corolla; anthers distinct
or 3-adelphous, anticous, straight; fruit baccate, few seeded.

1 Conianpra (Schrad.). Corolla 5-partite : connectiva conniving, ob-
long, conical: fruit beaked. South Africa.

2 Cyrtronema (Schrad.). Limb of corolla 5-partite: filaments 5, in-
curved, connectiva incrassated 3-adelphous ; anthers fixed laterally under
the apex. South Africa.

§ 2.—Filaments di or tri-adelphous, inserted on the tube of the corolla;
anthers lateral, straight, 2-3-adelphous.

3 Stcyptem (Schlecht). Corolla 5-petaled, petals undivided : filaments
3-adelphous, dilated and incurved at the apex; anthers without a beak.
Diexico.

4 Brronopsis (Arn.). Corolla 5-partite, lobes obovate, entire, undulated:
filaments 3-adelphous, inserted on the throat, straight ; anthers pointless:
stigma fringed: berry few seeded. ast Indtes—Courtal'um.

5 AcuManpRA (Arn.). Lobes of the corolla undivided: filaments
tri-adelphous very short ; anthers anticous, inserted along the margins
of the connectivum, linear oblong; connectivum prolonged into a short
beak beyond the anther: fruit baccate (always?) beaked. East
Indies. Bryonia epigea, rostrata, deltvidea, and an undescribed species

Srom Malabar.

Oxzs.—Perhaps this and the two last genera’might be joined to
Melothria.

6 Metoruera (Linn.). Lobes of the corolla undivided, denticulated:
filaments 3-adelphous; connectivum pointless: fruit baccate, not beaked.
America.

Oes.—Schrader notices an East Indian one, but that may perhaps be
an Achmandra.
7 Cerarosantues (Schrad.). Lobes of the corolla linear bifid : filaments
S-adelphous. America.

8 Anevria (Linn.). Lobes of the corolla entire: stamens diadelphous:
fruit somewhat 4-angled. America.

§ 3.—Filaments 3-adelphous inserted on the top of the tube, anthers all
* This tribe contains all the East Indian genera except Zanonia—Schrader refers Erye

thropalum of Blume to Cucurbitez but that genus is very closely allied to Mackaya (Ar-
nott in Jardine’s Maz. of Zool. aad Bot, vol. 2) and does not belong to the order.

50 Remarks on the fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacee. [JuLy

cohering by means of their connectiva, and applied at the back ulong the
mareius of the connectiva sigmoid. (?) two-celled.

9 Scuizost:iama (Arn.). Style simple, stigma, peltate, fleshy, cleft into
10-12 radiating linear lobes. Andes of Mendosa. (Cucurbita asperata.
Gill.)

§ 4.—Filaments distinct or tri-adelphous, inserted on the throat of the
corolla, authers 6 or 3-adelphous, gyrose, anticous.

10 SPHENANTHE (Schrad.). Mezico.

§ 5.—Filaments tri- adelphous, inserted at the base of the corolla, anthers
lateral, straight, 3-adelphous.

11 Prirogyne (Schrad.). Calyx campanulate; segments of the corolla
_ patent, much longer than the calyx: anthers one-celled: style entire ;
stigma 1, pileate: fruit baccate, few seeded, obtuse. South Africa. [Hast
Indies —Bryonia Garcini 2]

12 Zeunenrta (Endl.?). Lobes of the corolla quite entire: style trifid ;
stigmas 8, flabelliform, quite entire: fruit baccate, few seeded, blunt.
South Africa, Hast Indies and? Norfolk Island.—Bryonia Mysorenses.
B. Hookeriana.

Perhaps this is only a subgenus of Pilogyne.

13 Karivia (Arn.). Calyx urceolate, corolla scarcely exserted, lobes
minute, quite entire; anthers two-celled; style entire; stigma pileate,
3-fid: fruit a peponida, many seeded, blunt or with a short thick beak.
East Indies, Bryonia umbellata. B. amplexicaulis.

14 Ruyncnocarpa (Schrad.). Lobes of the corolla denticulate, ciliat-
ed; style trifid ; stigmas 3, jagged and toothed: fruit with a long slender
beak. Guinea.

§ 6.—Filaments tri- adelphous, inserted at the base of the corolla, anthers
all cohering, posticous, linear, straight.

15 Mouxta (Arn.). Style entire, stigmas 3, more or less cobering, erect.
Anthers distinct, one-celled, lateral ; [connectivum prolonged, forming a
projecting point: a globose abortive ovary in the bottom of the calyx.]
East Indies—Bryonia scabrella. [B. letosperma.]

§ 7 —Filaments 5, or tri-adelphous, inserted at the base of the corolla;
connectiva toothed or lobed, anthers applied at the back along the margins
of the connectivum, and therefore flexuose, gyrose, or anfractuose,

16 Bryontra (Linn.). Corolla 5-cleft : anthers tri-adelphous, one celled:
style trifid ; stigmas subreniform or bifid: fruit ovoid or globose, bac-
cate ; few seeded. Hurope and East Indies—B. laciniosa, India. B. alba.
B. dioica, Europe. Perhaps also B. Garcini and letosperma, but of these I
have no male flowers by me to examine [B. Gurcint. Stamens tri-adelphous
one-celled: cells linear, marginal, not sigmoid, anticous: style one,

1840.] Remarks on the fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacee. ol

stigma dilated, peltate: ovary few seeded ; pepo inverse reniform, 2 seed-
ed. This is probably a new genus, but if not seems to belong to Pilogyne
rather than any other here. It cannot possibly belong to Bryonia. |

In the European plants, the type of the genus, there are 2 ovules in
each of the 3 cells of the ovary—nearly all Blume’s species belong to
other genera.

{7 Citaunwus (Schrad.). Corolla persistent,5 parted, subrotate: anthers
tri-adelphous, bilocular: style 3 fid; stigma obcordate, convex: fruit a
fleshy or dry and fibrous, many seeded peponida. Africa, East Indies.
Cucurbita citrullus and Cucumis colocynthis.

18 Ecpariam (Rich). Corolla 5 cleft : anthers tri-adelphous : ovules in
two rows in each cell; stigmas three, two horned: fruit an elastically
and irregularly bursting peponida. urope—Momordica elaterium.

19 Momornica (Linn.). Petals 5, adnate to the base of the calyx,
deciduous : anthers all cohering : ovules in a single* row in each cell;
stigma two lobed; fruit a capsular, elastically bursting, 3 valved pe-
ponida. £. Indies, South Africa and America.

[*This though practically correct is not theoretically so, the carpellary
structure being the same here as in others; each margin has its placenta
and ovules: and though at any one section only one row appears, we do
not find the ovules always attached to the same line of placenta on
slicing the ovary successively from end to end, but sometimes on the one,
sometimes on the other side of the cell; such at least I find it in Momor-
dica Charantia.]

To this genus seems to belong, Muricza, Loureiro and Neurospermum,
Raf.

20 Lurra (Cayv.). Petals 5, inserted in the base of the calyx, decidu-
ous: anthers all distinct or di-triadelphous: style 3 fid; stigma reniform
or bipartite : fruit a peponida, at length dry and internally fibrous, usually
opening by a terminal lid, rarely indehiscent. Hast Indies and Arabia.
There are 3 sections of this genus.

Ist. Stamens distinct, Luffa pentandra, acutangula, and Kleiniz.

2d. Stamens 3-adelphous. ZL. amara, Roxb. and nearly all the species
of Turia, Forsk.

3d. Stamens di-adelphous—Z. tuberosa, Roxb.

21 Brnincassa (Say.). Corolla (yellow), five parted, patent: anthers
3-adelphous : style undivided, very short ; stigma large, thick, irregularly
lobed and plaited: peponida, fleshy indehiscent. -Asza.

22 Lacenagsa (Ser.). Corolla (white) five petaled: anthers 3-adel-
phous: style almost none; stigmas 3, thick and 2-lobed: peponida
fleshy and indehiscent. Jndia, South Africa;

52 Remarks on the fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacee. [Jury

§ 8.— Filaments, 3-adelphous, inserted on the tube of the corolla; con-
nectiva entire, anthers 3-or mon-adelphous, posticous, linear, bent upwards
and downwards : calyx long, tubular.

23 Trienosantuegs (Linn.). Segments of the corolla lacerated and fring-
ed: anthers 3-adelphous? or all united: style trifid; stigmas oblong,
subulate: fruit a peponida, many seeded. £. Indies. .

[In all the species I have had an opportunity of carefully examining,
the anthers are monadelphous or united. The style is not trifid, nor
properly speaking the stigmas subulate, as they cohere nearly to the apex
by their central face, though the stigmatic surface extends for some
distance outwardly, and presents a somewhat subulate outline.]}

Ireunite Involucrareato this asa mere section depending on the
bracteas, the character taken from the anther not ho!ding good, at least
TL. Cucumerina has frequently the anthers all united, and I suspect also
T. Auguina; perhaps they only become tri-adelphous after fecundating.

[In 7. Anguina they are never tri-adelphous, the anthers cohere to the
Jast as represented in the accompanying figure. This last species with 7.
globosa, and trifoliata, Blume, and Involucrarea, Serange (T. Wallichana)
form a very characteristic section, perhaps a subgenus, distinguished
by their curiously bracteated male flowers]. R. W.

24 GymNopETALUM (Arn.). Calyx constricted at the mouth: corolla
(yellow) 5 parted; segments quite entire: anthers all closely cohering :
fruit baccate, ovate, beaked, few seeded: seeds large, roundish, with a
blunt margin Z. Indies. ‘There are two species—

1 G. Ceylanicum (Arn.). Leaves deeply 5 lobed; perianth glabrous :
Bryonia tubiflora. W. and A.

2 G. Wightii (Arn.). Leaves 3-5-angle-lobed ; perianth hairy. Courtal-
lum. ;

§ 9.—Filaments usually tri-adelphous, inserted at the base of the peri-
anth ; connectiva entire, unless when produced into oppenduges beyond the
anthers ; anthers linear, posticous, bent upwards and downwards (calyx
campanulate or rarcly infundibuliform. )

25 Cucumis (Linn.). Corolla 5-parted: anthers tri-adelphous, or all of
them slightly cohering, with appendages at the apex! Peponida fleshy,
indehiscent, or rarely irregularly dehiscent, polyspermous : seeds ovate,
compressed, sharp edged. Asia, Africa and America.

26 Cucunsita (Linn.). Corolla campanulate, 5-cleft: filaments tria-
delphous at the base or quite monadelphous; anthers all cohering,
without appendages: peponida fleshy, indehiscent, polyspermous : seed
with a slightly thickened edge. Asta and America.

were

x
‘
N
S
SS
NY

1840.] Remarks on the fruit of the Natural Order Cucurbitacee. 53

27 Exvaterrum (Linn.). Petals scarcely united at the base: filaments
monadelphous, anthers all cohering: style thick; stigma capitate: fruit
a coriaceous, one-celled, few seeded capsule, bursting elastically by two
or three valves. America.

28 Scnizocarp um (Schich.). Corolla infundibuliform, quite entire:
filaments 3-adelphous: anthers all cohering; peponida many seeded, burst+
ing by several valves that cchere by their apex. Mexico.

29 CoccinEa (W. and A.). Corolla campanulate, segments acuminated:
filaments monadelphous, anthers tri-adelphous. conniving, without appen-
dages : peponida somewhat baccate, many seeded. [Usually of an oblong
oval shape and bright red when ripe]. Hast Indies.

§ 10.—Filaments monadelphous, connate into a column, which is capitate
al the opex, and then bearing the gyrose posticous anthers.
30 CepHananpra (Schrad.)° South Africa.

EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE.

Fig. 1—1. A tricarpellary one-celled ovary—that is, the placenti-
ferous margins of the carpellary leaves meeting in the circumference, and
bearing their ovules on the walls or parietes of the cell.

a Supposed position of the midrib—b placentz parietal.

2. A tricarpellary 3-celled ovary, the laminz of the carpellary leaves
folded inwards, until they meet in the axis, and there produce ovules.

a Supposed position of midribs—d plante axillary. 2

3. An imaginary section of a pepo explanatory of Dr. Arnott’s theory
of its construction ; copied, but with seme modification, to render it more
explanatory, from his figure in the Encycl. Brit.

a Supposed position of the midrib—b6 the placentiferous margins
represented introflexed, reaching nearly to the dorsal suture, dividing
the carpel into two cells.

4. Section of the ovary of Coccinea Indica; the calyx divided in the
line of the partitions of the carpella, by which they are permitted to
fall apart.

5. Section of the same; the parts én situ.

Fig. I1.—Section Momordica Charantia.

III.—Section Trichosanthes anguina.
IV.—Section Cucurbita maxima.
V.—Section Coccinea Indica.

~VI.—Section Lagenaria vulgaris.

VIL—Section Mukia scabrella.

a ig atl ee Pa

54 Notices of some Roman Catholic Books, [Jury

Obs.—These dissections have been prepared with the view of show-
ing that sections 7 and 9 are not distinguishable by the characters
assigned—the anthers being lobed or entire—and that, by taking our
characters rather from the form of the anthers than the insertion of the
filaments, Trichosanthes and Cucurbita might be advantageously placed.
in the same section, leaving the character taken from insertion available
as a generic distinction between them.

Vi.—Notices of some Roman Catholic Books, existing in the Telugu
Language—By C. P. Brown, Esq.

The Roman Catholic Missionaries, who visited India about the year
1600, were diligent in instructing the Telugus; and their efforts are
briefly described by Navarette, one of their numter, who, after being
employed in China, was transferred to India and subsequently to South
America.

The Abbé Duszots gives no very complimentary account of the suc-
cess of the Catholic Missionaries among the Tamils. The imitation of
the Vedas, written in Sanserit, under the guidance of Robertus de Nobili,
has been described by Mr. Ellis, in the Asiatic Researches; and it is
to be wished that a sketch could be obtained of all the Roman Catholic
treatises existing in Tamil: some of which have been noticed in the
last number of this Journal, in the Memoir of Bescur. Those which
are written in Telugu, will now be described. ‘There may perhaps be
others: but such are unknown to the native christians who obtained for
me the following few volumes.

One of these is a translation or abridgment of the Old Testament
history: this is written in a clear and easy style, and may be useful to
those who are beginning to study Telugu. It is evidently translated
from the Latin Bible: and the ten commandments are arranged as they
are in English Bibles.

The version of the Gospels forms a separate work; it is a Harmony
or selection of chapters, taken from the different Evangelists, so as to
form a continuous narrative. Some Romish legends are interspersed ;
particularly those regarding the Virgin: and paraphrastic remarks are
mingled with the text: thus, the Lord’s Prayer is quadrupled in length.

The dialect used in these works is very respectable. A few Jtalian
words are used; as Sancto spirito, and Pascha, with Baptismum, and

1840. ] Existing in the Telugu Language. 55

Baptista; there are also a few Hindustani expressions. There is in
some possages an appearance of a foreigner’s composition, but in gene-
ral the style is unobjectionable, unless as being a little pedantic.

These books (all unprinted) are usually styled the Veda: and those
who desire to obtain them should enquire for them under the name ot
the Christian Veda. But the New Testament is often denominated
Suvisesham: which denotes Good News. It is to be observed that in
the Gospels the doctrinal portions are usually omitted.

Another volume much read among natives is usually called Jnana
Bodha, or Instruction in Wisdom, but I do not find any title in the
volume. It is a mere set of sermons on various doctrines, wherein there
are many allusions to history (even including a notice of Cesar Borgia)
but there are few references to the Bible. Itis not well written or.
interesting. An Kuropean reader, if acquainted with Telugu, will under-
stand it with ease: but to the natives it is extremely obscure.

There are some trivial compositions which call for little notice: such
as the Devara Talli Dandacam, or “ Chant to the Mother of the Lord.” |
Another hymn or chant is denominated Jesu Natha Swami Dandacam.

There remain two volumes which call for more notice, being the
Tobhya Charitra and the Vedanta Rasayanam. These are written in
verse.

The first of these is the legend of Tobit : written in padya metre, and
contained in three cantos. It is an amplification of the story described
in the Apocrypha, and possesses no great literary merit. It is the com-
position of Pingala Ellaya, the son of Magaya, whom the introduction
shews to have been a Jangam. The Jangams narrate regarding their
teacher Basava, a variety of legends; part of which, particularly those
describing his birth are mere imitations of the first book of the Ra-

MAYAN: and these stories are in the present poem related regarding
Tobit. foNe:

The Vepanta RasAvan is entitled to more particular notice : like
the poem last mentioned it is in the padya metre, or stanzas, and is the
composition of Ananda, son of Timmaya, of the Mangalagiri family: the
style is purely classical; and judging from circumstances we may consider
it to have been written about a century ago. The author’s poetical powers
are considerable, the taste he shews is good ; and the extent of his learning,
particularly in Sanscrit, and the classic dialect of Telugu, has gained him
much applause. His poem which we may denominate A summary of the
Gospels, has been mentioned in a former essay, but it merits a more detailed
notice. In the usual mode pursued by Catholic writers it describes the
five sorrowful, and the five joyful mysteries, and omits much of the di-

56 Notices of some Roman Catholic Books, [Jury

dactic portion. The expressions Spirito Sancto, Baptismum, &c., are re-
tained. The four books with the introduction contain nearly 4000
lines.

The first book opens with a prayer for the divine blessing on the
poet’s patron. Precisely following the braminical method, he now de-
scribes the family of his patron and that of Muadlarusu, who is the pupil
or questioner: the replies given by the teacher constituting the poem.
This mode has been followed by Principal Mz, in his Sanscrit poem,
entitled “ Curista Saneita.”

The preface being concluded (in 260 lines) the author gives an intro-
duction, which seems superfluous; describing the occurrence of an
eclipse : a conversation regarding which leads to the real theme of the
poem. Mallarusu applies to a hermit named Purvataya, or, Jnana Bodha
Muni, who undertakes to describe the christian religion. As a prelimi-«
nary, he attempts to describe Deity, and refutes the braminical ideas
on this subject ; he urges the adoration of God alone. LHe next describes
creation: and the nature of angels. The fallen angels, and the devil
as a tempter. These subjects are treated partly in the style of the
Latin theologians and partly in a new method such as a native of India
might be expected to devise. The system of Hindu idolatry is next

combated, and several of the absurd braminical leeends are very justly -

weighed. At the close he says “ Let us then desist from regarding
Siva, unless in the light of a foe: and let the emblems of such false
gods be laid aside.”

The second book opens with a benediction in the name of Christ
The poet now describes creation. His description of Eve’s beauty is
quite in the Hindu style, though free from grossness. An exuberant
description of Paradise. The forbidden fruit. The Temptation and
Fall. Then follows a discussion on the origin of evil.

The poet avoids mentioning that Adam and Eve were naked—that the
devil was in the serpent’s form ;—that the curse was inflicted —that
Cain slew Abel: indeed he throughout the work passes over in silence
whatever he thinks might deter a Bramin from reading his peem.

He now passes to the history of Abraham, then to the birth of the
Holy Virgin “ who lived with Joseph as with a brother.” The birth of
Saint John. The Annunciation. The naming of John, and the birth
of Our Lord, are described in full detail, and in a very poetical style,
(but the circumcision is not mentioned). ‘the hymn sung by the Angels
is well executed. The birth is stated to have taken place “in the

1840.] Existing in the Telugu Language. 57

month Margasira” which answers to December. Here arises a question
why the Lord was born not in a palace, but ina stable. The coming of
the “ Three kings.” The alarm of Herod. The interview with Simeon.
The flight to Keypt. The disputing with the doctors in the temple.

The third book (which the student should peruse first) contains about
1000 lines. It commences with a discussion regarding the Trinity.
Then follows the Baptism: with an elaborate picture of the river Jor-
dan. The Temptation; various miracles. The raising of Lazarus jis
minutely described, in a very poetical manner. The last supper. (But
the bread and wine are not mentioned). ‘The betrayal to the Jews. The
crucifixion. |

The fourth book (of similar length) gives further details, with a dis-
cussion regarding the possibility of such a death suffered by our Lord.
Several apocryphal circumstances are introduced: with a discourse to
prove the doctrine of purgatory. The Resurrection. The journey of
two disciples to Emmaus is minutely and well described. The doubting
of Thomas. ‘The Ascension. The descent of the Holy Spirit. Then
follow some apocryphal stories, such as the resurrection of the Lord’s
Peter appears as the head of the church.

rh]

mother, * on the third day.
A summary of doctrines. The Ten commandments (called Dasa
Calpana): the second is as usual omitted. Instructions regarding
baptism and prayer: which is to be offered before the crucifix and the
Virgin Mary. The teacher concludes with very brief instructions re-
garding the Eucharist. The disciple returns thanks and is baptized.

It is much to be regretted that any apocryphal doctrine should be
admitted into a poem written in so excellent a spirit of piety: but the
author has adhered strictly to the line laid down by the church of Rome.
In poetical merit this poem may probably stand as high as the Tem-
bavant, written in Tamil, by the celebrated Beschi. ‘That distinguished
genius has introduced into his compositions some of the elegancies of
Latin and Italian literature: but in the Vedanta Rasayanam, we have a
work of great beauty, which in ee page bears marks of the author
being a native of India.

This poem has been well edited, and illustrated with a verbal com-
mentary or explanation, as the style in some parts is too much elevated
to be generally understood at the present day without such aid. For
education is at present in the lowest state among the Telugu people;
they being nearly as illiterate as were our ancestors at the period when
the invention of printing led to the restoraion of learning. A careful
study of the Vedanta Rasayan may ultimately produce a desire to emu-

58 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jury

late a poem of merit so distinguished, and will prove that the Telugus
possess a christian poet who may rival in talents a GEoreE Bucwanay,
or a Castmir ; and who further, like Minton, had the advantage of writ-
ing in his native tongue.

VII.—On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion of the Great Basaliie
District of India.— By Joux G. Maxcoumson, Esq., F. G. s.

CONTENTS.
Introduction.— Objects of the Me- {Country between the Sichel Hills
moir. and Nagpoor.
General Sketch of the Physical Origin of Minerals in Trap
Features, Hydrography and Geo- Rocks.
logy of the Basaltic and Granitic Description of the Lonar Lake
Districts. and analysis of the water.

The vailey of the Nerbuddu,\Age of the diamond sandstone and
Godavery, Kistnah, and Pen-| argillaceous limestone.

nar. Inferences respecting the Freshwater
Granite platform between the Kist- | Fossils.
nah and Godavery. Other districts in India in which
Iron ore, mines, and manufac-| similar Freshwater Shells have
ture of the steel. been found.

Description of the Sichel Hills, |Relative age of the Laterite and
and of the Freshwater Shells. | ‘Trap.

INTRODUCTION.

The principal objects of the following paper are, to submit to the
Society an account of a series of fossils discovered in the eastern part of
the great basaltic district of India; and to endeavour to arrive at some
approximate conclusion respecting the geological era of this basaltic for-
mation, which, extending over more than 200,000 square miles, conceals,
breaks up, or alters all the other rocks from beneath which it has forced
its way.* Of the eruptions to which this rich and romantic country
(formerly including several considerable kingdoms) owes its existing
form, a late President of this Society remarks*, that the mind is almost
lost in the contemplation “of their grandeur ;” but “ that unfortunately
the relative age of the eruptions must remain for the present undetermin-
ed, no vestiges of secondary or tertiary formations having been detected
within the region.” Having therefore, in 1832, collected a series of la-

* See Mr. Murchison’s Anniversary Address, Geological Proceedings, vol. i, p. 404.

1840. ] of the Great Basaltice District of India. 59

custrine fossils, probably referable to the tertiary epoch, from a portion
of this district extending 140 miles north and south, and having pro-
cured others from localities to the north and west of that which furnish-
ed my own collection, I am induced to submit the specimens to the
Society*. If they should be deemed of sufficient value, I wish a selec
tion to be deposited in the museum, to afford a means of comparison
with a duplicate set, which I shall forward to the Asiatic Society of
Bengal.f

But it is not alone by supplying some data from which to infer the
relative age of the great trap formation, that these specimens are valua-
ble. They will afford the means of connecting the great sandstone
formations of the south and north of India, containing the celebrated
diamond mines of Parteal (Golcondah), Bangnapilly, and Panna, as well
as the limestones and schists associated with them ; and which, from the
latitude of Madras to the hanks of the Ganges, exhibit the same charac-
ters, and are broken up or elevated by granite or trap rocks, in no respect
differing in mineralogical characters or geological relations. A few
remarks on these formations, and the physical geography of the countries
in which they occur, will be a necessary introduction to a more particular
account of that portion of the trap district in which the fossils were
found, Mr. Calder’s sketch not being sufficiently detailed, and the map
attached to his memoir containing some errors of material importance.t

GENERAL SKBTCH OF THE PHYSICAL FEATURES, HYDROGRAPHY, &c.

An elevated tract to the north-west of Bundlecund (not included
within the range of the Map,) may be considered as the geolo-
gical connexion between the provinces watered by the southern
branches of the Ganges and the Deckan, including all the countries to
the south of the Nerbudda. From the north of this plateau, which
extends far to the west, a number of great rivers descend, by a series of
rapids and falls over sandstone escarpments, into the valley of the Jumna
and the Ganges. From the east and south of the same tract, the Maha-
nuddy river collects a great body of water, and after a comparatively
short course through countries little known, but containing the diamond
mines of Sumblepoor and extensive trap and gneiss formations, empties

® See Plate drawn, engraved, and described by Mr. James de Carl Sowerby.

4 The series of specimens presented by Mr, Malcolmson to the Geological Society
have been arranged in the foreign department of the museum,

+ Asiatic Researches, vol. xviii,

60 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion (Jury

itself into the Bay of Bengal, not far south of the Delta of the Ganges.

The Nerbudda, which flows in an opposite direction, is more interest-
ing in a political and geological point of view ; and the extensive countries
through which it passes have been more carefully investigated than any
other part of the Peninsula. ‘This river takes its rise to the west of
Amerkantack, and traversing a country of granite, sandstone, and basalt,
abounding in iron and the finest dolomitic marbles, reaches the Indian
Ocean through the alluvial plains of Guzerat. At Jabulpoor and in the
neighbourhood of Saugur, fossil mammalia, shells, and silicified palms
have been recently discovered. Fossil shells have also been found in
some of the trap hills, which have broken up the sandstone near the
sources of the Taptee. This river is separated from the Nerbudda by a
range of basaltic mountains; and having the same direction as the Ner-
budda, its whole course appears to be in the basaltic formation. (See
N. W. corner of Map).

All the other great rivers of the Peninsula, including the Godavery,
Kistnah, Pennar, and Cauvary issue from the western Ghats, from the
summits of which the country slopes gradually to the east, exept at the
extreme south, where the descent to the plains of the Carnatic is consi-
derable and precipitous.

The Godavery (see Map,) rises in the basaltic region described
by Colonel Sykes, (Geol. Trans. vol. IV. pt. 2, 1436) and, great-
ly increased in size, it enters the granitic table land of the Deckan, and
flows at the southern foot of the Sichel Mountains into a sandstone
and argillaceous limestone country. ‘This district is similar to that of
Bundlecund and Malwa; it also contains diamonds, and has been much
broken up by erupted rocks. From the north, the Godavery derives
large supplies of water from the great rivers rising south of the Nerbudda
and the Taptee, in basaltic tracts, the soil of which being retentive of
moisture, the water is everywhere near the surface. From the south it
receives only the Munjerah river, which, flowing through arid granitic
plains, furnishes but a scanty addition of water, except during the rainy
season. ‘Through a pass in the gneiss mountain of Papconduh it enters
the plains of the Coromandel coast. In this district the sandstone re-
appears, at an elevation little above that of the sea; but basaltic hills,
several hundred feet in height, in which marine fossils have recently
been discovered, exist almost within the delta formed by its sediment. |

The Kistnah derives its waters from a number of considerable rivers,
rising in the basaltic and gneiss summits of the western Ghats, which
condense the greater part of the clouds carried by the south-west mon-
soon from the Indian Ocean. Flowing through the territories of the

4
é

1840.] of the Great Basaltic District of Indic. 61

southern Mahrattas, a country covered with arich basaltic soil, and
abounding in schistose limestone, sandstone, granitic rocks, and basalt,
it enters the granitic platform of the Deckan, the limits of which in
this direction are unknown. The limestones and sandstones, how-
ever, soon reappear on descending the river, and extend across to the
basin of the Pennar, and as far as the ascent tothe granitic plat-
form of the Mysore. It is on the hanks of the Kistnah that the richest
diamond mines occur, and that the sandstones acquire their greatest
elevation, amounting to more than 3000 feet ; the river passing through
mural precipices of this rock and of the schistose limestones to be pre-
sently described. It then enters the plains of the Carnatic, where the
same rocks occur, sometimes a little elevated above the level of the sea,
at others forming the caps of granite mountains, or broken up by varieties
of greenstone and basalt. Thence, passing through a narrow gorge in
the gneiss hills of Bezwarrah, it enters the alluvial plains continuous
with the delta of the Godavery. Its waters, however, are more loaded
with mud than the last-mentioned beautiful river, and the deposit of new
Jand may be seen, by the inspection of a common map, to be proportion-
ably great.

The Pennar is comparatively a small stream, but of much geological
interest, the greater part of its waters being derived from the districts in
which the diamond sandstones and the argillaceous limestones, on which
they rest, are exhibited in their most characteristic forms, and where
they are most easily investigated. ‘To describe these strata in detail
would be out of place here ; but a few of the leading facts must be stat-
ed, that the identity of the formations with those of the fossiliferous
district, more immediately the object of this paper, may be rendered
manifest. Like all the rivers of Southern India, grauite’ is frequently
seen in the bed of the Pennar, more especially in its southern branches,
where the passes of Ryachottee lead to the granitic table land of Mysore,
haying an elevation of 5000 feet above the sea, or 2500 above Cuddapah,
the principal town of the Pennar basin. With these exceptions, and the
occasional appearance of trap through the stratified rocks, the rest of
its course, till it approaches the sea, is over rich plains of black and
saline alluviam, derived from the decomposition of basalt and of the
stratified rocks so often referred to. From these plains numerous table
lands, insulated eminences, and ranges of hills, having for the most part
a direction nearly N. E. and S. W., rise abruptly, presenting mural pre -
cipices of difficult access, around the base of which the roads often make
extensive circuits. The Nulla Mulla hills extending from the Mysore
frontier to the basins of the Kistnah and Godavery, and the minor ranges

62 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jury

dependent on them, and having the same composition and direction, are
crossed at right angles by the Pennar, which makes its way through them,
like the Kistnah, by traversing narrow gorges, with perpendicular sides.

There is not a more remarkable phenomenon in the district watered
py the Pennar than the horizontal summits of many of the ranges, and
the distinct manner in which the continuity of the strata can be traced
from one hill to another, although extensive plains intervene; while, at
no great distance, the sandstone which forms the summits of these hills
;8 seen on the same level as the surrounding plains. Numerous in-
stances also occur in which the original continuity of the horizontal
summits is easily traced; the strata on the opposite and nearly per-
pendicular sides of a valley being similar, but having a considerable dip,
the beds descend to the general level of the country. A good example
of this is seen, in Section 2, Pl. 6., at Chintagoouta and Gundicot-
tah. These anomalies were at first quite inexplicable, nothing appear-
ing in the valleys but a rich alluvium, nor on the summits (which are
reacbed with much difficulty) but a sandstone perfectly horizontal, and
divided into huge tables by perpendicular partings, sometimes separated
several feet from each other, and filled with broken pieces of the rock.
This jointed structure is common to the sandstone, the schistose beds
on which it for the most part immediately reposes, and the stratified
limestone into which these schists pass insensibly ; but the size of the
tables so formed, varies from rhombs of a few inches, in the schist and
lower part of the sandstone, to enormous masses on the summits of
the hills. Nowhere is this structure and the succession of strata, of
which it is characteristic, better seen than in the table land in which
are situated the celebrated diamond mines of Bangnapilly and others
now deserted. From the accompanying plate some idea will be gained of
one of these mines,”

The plains at the base of the table land of Bangnapilly consist of a
rich black alluvium, containing fragments of basalt, jasper, and the
various minerals found in the hills. It rests on a fine, compact, dark
blue or nearly black limestone, which contains much argillaceous and
siliceous matter. This limestone abounds with springs, and is in some
places so cavernous as to afford passage to subterranean streams, Basalt
protrudes in a few places near Bangnapilly. On ascending the hill, the
limestone becomes more schistose, and is of a paler colour, gradually
approaching in its structure and composition to clay slate, but it is far

more friable. On the schist a more or less compact sandstone rests

® The plates will be given in our next number.—Ep. Mapras JOURNAL.

1840.] of the Great Basualtic District of India. 63

varying very much in colour, composition, and appearance in different
places. Above Bangnapilly it contains the diamond breccia described
by Voysey. As far as the shafts which I had an opportunity of observ-
ing, enabled me to judge, the breccia is not an interstratified rock, but
an intermixture of the common sandstone, in different parts of ihe same
stratum, with larger fragments of older rocks, generally rounded but
sometimes angular. It is not, however, the object of this paper to des-
cribe the mines and the interesting district in which they occur further
than is necessary to exhibit the type of the formation, by the study of
which I was enabled to understand more clearly, the less distinct appear-
ances exhibited by the same rocks, where they have been invaded or
buried by the great basaltic eruptions of Central India. On the opposite
or west side of the valley, the hill is composed of the same argillo-
calcareous formation ; but, according to Colonel Cullen, “ instead of a
sandstone cap, it is crested in its whole length with a sharp black ridge
of trap rock, formed of loose blocks piled upon each other, the apparent
base of which observed a pretty uniform level, nor is the ridge of much
depth. Its extreme narrowness, deep black colour, and the total absence
of all traces of vegetation, formed a singular contrast to the rest of the
hills, which were covered with long dry grass and scattered bushes*.”
At a small pass some miles further to the west, the road in ascending,
passes over first the dark limestone and a narrow belt of schist, then
trap, which is again succeeded by limestone, and the latter by schist,
nearly to the summit, “ which is capped with a rock of a beautiful flesh
colour, with specks and shades of a beautiful green, as if connected with
its vicinity to the trap, and of so close and fine a texture as to appear
homogeneous even with alens.” ‘The descent of the pass on the
opposite side consists of a clay slate nearly to the foot, where the lime-
stone reappears, and these two rocks continued to alternate with each
other to the ‘foot of the second Ghat, which, like all the former, was
composed of clay slate capped with quartzose sandstonet.”

The sandstone exhibits many varieties of grain, colour, and hardness :
in some places it is white or red, and can be cut into pillars and slabs
of great size and beauty ; in others it is soft and friable, and its inferior
beds are not unfrequently schistose, so as to be with difficulty distin-
guished from the subjacent rock, with which it has in one or two places
been observed to alternate. Where the sandstone approaches the great
granitic tracts to the south and west, it passes into a compact quartzose

* Colone] Cullen, in Transactions of the Literary Society of Madras, January 1837
p. 50, + Ibid,

64 On the Fossiis of the Eastern Portion [JuLy

rock, as is seen on both sides of the Tripatty Valley. This passage is
also observed in other places, as near the Cuddapah diamond mines,
where the plentiful occurrence of basaltic pebbles shows the reighbour-
hood of the trap. Besides the diamond conglomerate, consisting of a
great variety of minerals, seams of rock crystal occur, and a fine white
quartz containing argentiferous galena, which in former times furnished
the country with lead. Specular and micaceous magnetic iron ores, but
containing much peroxide, and common iron pyrites, occur with the
galena. As far as I have observed, the sandstone always rests con-
formably on the schists, although from its jointed structure it occasion-
ally, when elevated, appears to meet the subjacent rock at a more or less
obtuse angle.

The schists on which the sandstone rests, vary very remarkably in
colour, being in different places blue, red, green, or pure white, in which
they seem to bear some relation to the incumbent sandstone. They are
also occasionally flinty or jaspideous. Sometimes they are wanting, the
sandstone resting directly on the limestone, of which the schists are
evidently merely the upper beds, and into which they pass insensibly,
although it seldom happens that considerable effervescence does not
occur on examination by tests. It is in many places impossible to
say to which portion of the series any particular specimen belongs.

Voysey has classed the schists with the sandstone under the name
of “ (the clay slate formation ;)” I have, however, preferred to designate
the deposit “ argillaceous limestone,” a term used by him in one of his
sections as applicable to the limestone, and which well expresses not
only the general character of the rock, but that also of the upper schis-
tose beds.

The limestone is a compact rock, but the strata are usually thin, and
are often intersected by vertical partings, a circumstance which fre-
quently limits its use in ornamental architecture. Its most common
colouris a light blue, passing into black; but it occasionally occurs
of a nearly pure white, and affords an admirable material for basso-
relievos. On this stone the finest sculptures of the ruined city of
Amrawuty are executed, and for delicacy of workmanship they have
perhaps never been surpassed. Were it not for the occurrence of small
crystals of quartz, the same quarries would furnish an excellent litho-
graphic stone. Near Cuddapah the dark variety is the common building
stone, aud many fine columns, caryatides, and cisterns are composed of
it. The stone is applied to the same objects in the southern Mahratta
country, and along the course of the Godavery towards Nagpoor.

To the south and east of Cuddapah, a narrow valley, nearly 150 miles

1840. ] of the Great Basaltie District of India. 65

in length, extends through the limestone, the strata of which are in some
places nearly vertical, but form rounded hills. In others they are capped
by sandstone, which exhibits mural precipices of much grandeur, and
almost or entirely inaccessible. ‘The strata, for the most part, dip to
the N. W., resting on the granite of the Carnatic. This rock is pene-
trated by many dikes of greenstone, which have evidently been instru-
mental in elevating the stratified rocks to their present singular positions.
Little has yet been ascertained regarding the thickness of these strata,
which differ much even in the same range of hills. The only minerals
they have been ascertained to yield, are varieties of quartz and iron
pyrites, the latter of which is so abundant in a few localities, that sul-
phur is manufactured from it. At Jumulmudagoo I found the limestone
interstratified with muriate of soda ; and it is therefore probable, that the
salt diffused through the alluvial soilso extensively as to render the
water of the Pennar brackish durivg the hot season, and the inhabitants
independent of the sea-coast for a supply of that article, is derived from
this source.

On emerging from the gorge inthe Nulla Mulla range, the Pennar
enters the plains of the Carnatic, and near its mouth flows through low
hills of laterite. This deposit rests on the ordinary granite of the Car-
natic, with its associated sienites, hornblende schist, quartz rock, and
mica slate. It is in a rock composed of a mixture of the last two mine-
rals, that the copper-mines of the Nellore district are situated*. In the
same neighbourhood, the sandstone and argillaceous limestones are little
elevated above the sea, and are continuous with the same rocks on each
side of the Kistnah. They are broken through by insulated basaltic
hills, in the neighbourhood of which stbterranean sounds and frequent
Jocal earthquakes are reported to occur; an assertion I am the more
inclined to believe, having myself experienced two slight shocks during
a casual visit to the district.

Having briefly described some of the more remarkable phenomena
exhibited by the southern portion of the great sandstone and argillaceous
limestone formations, it will be unnecessary to enter into any detail when

* The ores are of various kinds, but the richest is a sulphuret, containing, according to
Mr. Prinsep, 69 per cent. of the pure metal. The copper also occurs in a slate which Mr.
Ouchterlony, of the Madras Engineers, informs me, was considered in Cornwall to be
- identical with the Killas. If this slate belongs to the ‘* argillaceous limestone’’ forma<
tion, the fact will be of use in determining the relations of that rock to the gneiss, tale
slate, and mica schist; a subject on which no observations of any value haye yet been
made, The primary rocks of this district contain magnetic iron ore and corundum, both

ef which occur in the diamond sandstone..

66 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jury

we meet with the same rocks to the north of the Godavery in connexion
with the fossil beds discovered in the great basaltic district.

GRANITE PLATFORM BETWEEN THE KistNAw AND GODAVERY.

(See Map and Section I.)

With regard to the granitic platform of the Deckan, which intervenes
between the Kistnah and Godavery, much accurate information is already
before the public; it will therefore be necessary only to observe, that
it is intersected by numerous greenstone dikes (sometimes of greenstone
porphyry), having for the greater part a direction from S. by E. to N.
by W., and not very different from that of several of the ranges of
basaltic mountains to the north,

These dikes, and the detached masses connected with them, are
entirely composed of a crystalline compound of hornblende and felspar,
without distinct crystals of augite; and I have never detected olivine in
them.* The rock shows a tendency to separate into spheres composed
of concentric layers and into irregular prisms; and the same structure
in some degree occurs in the granite, sienite, pegmatite, &c. of the whole
of the south of India. The greenstone is exceedingly hard and dif-
ficult to work, but it takes a most beautiful and durable polish, as in
the magnificent mausoleums of Golcondah, the tombs of Hyder Ali and
Tippoo Sultan, at Seringapatam, and in many of the sculptures of the
Carnatic pagodast. Where these dikes rise into hills, the summits only
are composed of the compact greenstone, which graduates below into
the granite of the surrounding country. Many of the veins of basalt in
the passes of the Mysore and Neilgherry mountains differ from these,
in possessing the structure of the compact basalt of Bombay and other
places in the trap countries, and in branching into narrow veins, (often
not an inch thick,) which traverse the granite without mixing with it;
while the ordinary greenstone dikes of the Deckan are almost always
accompanied by separate nodules, of greater or less dimensions, insu-
lated in the granitic mass, the component parts of which appeared to me
to be there, in most cases, arranged in larger crystals, and to be more
subject to decay, than in other places. I could not resist the inference,
that, at the time of the formation of these dikes, the granite was ina
state approaching to fluidity ; although, as some of the narrow veins can
be traced for many miles through the granite, they do not appear to have
been formed at the same time. .

* ‘<In a specimen in the Geclogical Society’s Collection, taken by Dr. Voysey froma
© greenstone dike’ passing through granite at Guntcor, south ofthe Kistnah river, olivine
s diffused amongst the other constituents of the rock.’” June 25th, 1839,

+ Itis familiarly known in India as “ black eranite.”

1840. | of the Great Basaltie District of India. 67

Several small basaltic hills are insulated in the granitic platform in |
the line of route between Hyderabad and Nirmul, and they are based on —
decaying granite. Their flat summits and steep sides correspond with
the hills of the great trap district ; and the general line of bearing, of
the broken ranges of which they appear to form a part, does not differ
much from that of the basaltic mountains to the north, or from the
greenstone dikes; but many hills are scattered over the plains to the
east and west, and cross this line of route in every direction. The
lower part of the hills is composed of thin tables or lamine of a sonor-
ous trap, andthe upper of globular concentric basalt; the external
layers of which are extremely friable, generally grayish, or soft and
soapy to the feel, and are of a greenish tint, exeept where the stone is
much loaded with ferruginous grains of a reddish brown colour. In
some places the metallic matter has the epee sate of having been par-
tially smelted, and is of a fine red hue.

The nuclei of the “‘ concentric basalt,’ which are exceedingly tough,
and resist decomposition powerfully, are of adeep black colour, and
contain large crystals of olivine, and small kernels of calcedony. The
first of these minerals is not found in the soft external coats, yet it is so
closely united with the substance of the rock as not to admit of a doubt
of its being of contemporaneous formation, and not, as supposed by
Berzelius*, a fragment of a pre-existing stone enveloped in the liquid
matter. Small, but very characteristic specimens of calcedony are of
more frequent occurrence in the softer portions of the rock, especially
between the concentric nodules; but they are intimately mixed with their
substance. It is remarkable, that I detached no calcareous minerals
in similar situations in these hills, althcugh the rock is so impregnated
with lime as to have led to an extensive deposit of calc-tuff (Kunkur),
at present forming along its base, and projecting sometimes half a foot
from between the partings of the basaltic tables.—‘‘ The presence of
olivine, the soft wacké in which the globular basalt is imbedded, the less
crystalline structure, the passage into a porous amygdaloid, containing
ealcedonies, zeolites, &c., and the granite in the neighbourhood of all
the smaller masses differing little from that at a distance,” may perhaps be
sufficient to distinguish these insulated basaltic hills from the greenstone.

On approaching the Godavery, the granite in some degree changes its
appearance, containing large and beautiful crystals of red felspar, oc-
ceasionally imbedded in veins of transparent quartz, clouded with spots

* Edinburgh Journal of Science, January 1839.
+ Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, February 1836, p. 105,

68 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jory

and wavy linesof a turbid milky colour. Greenstone dikes are there
more common. The river flows over granite, which is intersected by
several dikes of greenstone, running more in a north and south direction
than those above referred to, and having many minute white crystals
diffused through their substance. The dikes project from 8 to 10 feet
above the granite, and are divided into rhomboidal masses by fissures,
in which lime is deposited. The bed of the river is covered by numerous
fragments of calcedonies, zeolites, and other minerals found in volcanic
rocks; and they have been cemented into a more or less solid calcareous
conglomerate. The banks are composed of a black basaltic soil, from
the lower part of which, where it rests on the granite, as well as from
the divisions between the several layers of alluvium, thin slabs of a
clayey cale-tuff (Kunkur) project, and are connected above with portions
formed round the roots of plants, and below with other layers spread
out between the different strata of alluvial earth*. These appearances
sufficiently indicate the neighbourhood of the basaltic range of moun-
tains, distinguished in Arrowsmith’s large map as the Sichel or Shesha
hills, but which are locally known by the name of the Nirmul range, from
the large town situated six miles from the difficult pass leading up the
steep escarpment presented by their southern face. None of the strati-
fied primary rocks are seen at the foot of these hills in the line of the
section; but twenty miles to the east of Nirmul, and a few miles south
of the mountains, hornblende slate occurs, resting on granite and quartz
rock.

Iron Ore, Mines, and Manufacture of the Steel—The magnetic iron
ere, employed for ages in the manufacture of the Damask steel used by
the Persians for sword-blades, is obtained from this schist. The mines
I examined, are those of Deemdoortee, but the ore is extensively dis-
tributed. The minute grains or scales of iron are diffused in a sand-
stone-looking gneiss or micaceous schist, passing by insensible degrees
into hornblende slate, and sometimes containing amorphous masses of
quartz. The strata are much broken up and elevated, so that the dip
and direction are in no two places the same, and bear no relation to the
mountains to the north.

Manufacture, c.—The mines are mere holes dug through the thin
granitic soil, and the ore is detached without difficulty by small iron
crow-bars. It is then collected and broken on projecting masses of

* Further details on this part of the route Will be found in some notes explanatory of
a collection of specimens presented to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, and published in
the Journal of that Institution for February, 1836.

1840. ] of the Great Basallic District of India. 69

granite or quartz by means of a conical-shaped fragment of compact
greenstone ; but when too hard to yield to this simple instrument, it 1s
previously roasted. The sand thus procured is washed in shelving
depressions dug near a tank, and the heavier parts, separated by this
process, are exactly similar to Voysey’s specimens of the iron-sand used
in the manufacture of Damascus steel at Kona-Sumoondrum, in the
same neighbourhood ; but from his published papers, it does not appear
that he had seen the rock from which they were derived. In other
respects, all the information I could procure, accurately corresponds
with that given in his interesting paper.* The ore is then smelted with
charcyal in small furnaces, which have often been described. I did not
see any flux used; but, although I watched the whole process, from the
digging of the ore till it was formed into bars, I will not assert that none
was employed. ‘The iron has the remarkable property of being obtained
at once in a perfectly tough and malleable state, requiring none of the
complicated processes to which English iron must be subjected, previ-
ous to its being brought into that state. Mr. Wilkinson, who has in-
vestigated the history of Indian steels with much scientific and practical
skill, did me the favour to submit to experiment a specimen of this iron
as it came from the furnace. He found it extremely good and tough,
and considered it superior to any English iron, and even to the best
descriptions of Swedish. The Persian merchants, who frequent the
iron-furnaces of Kona-Sumoondrum, are aware of the superiority of this
iron, and informed Dr. Voysey, that in Persia they had in vain en-
deavoured to, imitate the steel formed from it ; a failure which could be
ascribed only to the difference of the materials used, as the whole pro-
cess of the conversion into steel was conducted under their own super-
intendence. It is also probable, that there are few places in India where
an ore of equal value is so easily procured ; otherwise its distant inland
situation, in a difficult and unsettled country, would not have retained
a reputation for so many ages. In the manufacture of the best steel
three-fifths of this iron is used; the other two-fifths being obtained from
the Indoor district, where the ore appears to be a peroxide. It is evi-
dent, that if the beautiful water of the Damascus blades is derived from
the crystallization of the steel, the use of two very different varieties
of iron, one of which has been ascertained to be of such admirable quali-
ty, must have an important influence on the appearance and quality of
the manufacture.

As these mines afford a boundless supply of ore easily wrought, and

* Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. i., p, 245.

70 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [JuLy

are situated in the neighbourhood of vast forests, and near a river
navigable for boats during part of the year, it is probable, that at no
distant period, when the native government has undergone some amelio-
ration, iron may become an important article of commerce. On this

account, and because, although much has been written regarding Indian

steel, nothing has yet been brought prominently forward regarding the
finer kinds of iron ore with which that country abounds, I will make a
few additional observations regarding them.

Dr. Heyne has accurately described the manufacture of iron in the
Carnatic, to the south of the Pennar river, ard he states that it is, when
first smelted, extremely brittle, requiring several operations to bring it
into a malleable state. I possess specimens of two varieties of ore used
in the district in which he. observed the processes, and where I have
myself seen them carried on. The one, an iron sand, collected in the
beds of rivers, consists of the protoxide, mixed with much of the perox-
ide; the other, a red schist, is almost entirely composed of red oxide,
but in the centre of the mass it affects the magnet. Not far from where
this rock occurs, I collected specimens of hornblende schist, leaving
little doubt as to the ores being of the same nature, the former having
become altered dn situ, in the same manner as some of the superficial
strata at Deemdoortee are seen todo. I therefore conclude, that the
superior quality of the Nirmul iron depends on the ore being a com-
paratively pure protoxide. It certainly is not dependent on the nature
of the fuel, which is much the same in both places*. Captain Herbert,
indeed, long ago suggested, that the superiority of the Gwalior iron over
that principally worked in the Himalayahs, depended on the former
being a magnetic ore, like that of Sweden ; but the first accurate infor-
mation on the subject was communicated by Dr. Royle to Mr. De La
Beche, who statesy, on the authority of that gentleman, that magnetic
iron ore is extensively diffused in hornblende slate in the central range
of mountains in India, and that it also occurs in the Himalayahs. This
geological position corresponds with that of the Nirmul ore; but the
latter does not bear any resemblance, except in its peculiar lustre, to the
Menaccanite of Cornwall, to which it is compared by Mr. De La Beche;

* Tron, which has been ascertained to be superior, for many purposes, to the best
German iron, has been recently imported from the western coast of India; but the
mines from which it was obtained have not been examined. Captain Jervis, of the
Bombay Engineers, however, informs me, that ores, powerfully affecting the magnet,
exist in great quantity at Taygoor, a village of the Koncan, not far from the port from
which the iron in question was procured.

+ Manual of Geology, 3rd Hdit., p, 435,

i
>.
>

18-£0.] of the Great Basaltic District of India. 71

nor could I detect any titanium init. With regard to the geological
relations of the magnetic iron ore, it is also necessary to observe, that
in India it is not confined to the hornblende schist, but is found ex-
tensively distributed in the granite and gneiss of the Carnatic and
Mysore, in quartz rock near the iron works of Porto Novo; and, as has
already been observed, associated with galena in the diamond sandstone
of Cuddapah. The discovery of a mineral, so generally confined to the
primary rocks, in the great sandstone formation, affords an additional
argument in favour of the opinion of those, who consider this rock and
the subjacent schists, as equivalents to the older European sedimentary
formations, rather than to those of the supermedial order.

Descrirtion oF THE Sicuen Hirxs, anp or THE FrrsHwaTER SHELLS.

Returning to the line of route, the granite, op approaching to the
Sichel hills, becomes softer and decomposes rapidly ; and the soil gradu-
ally changes to the weil-known black basaltic mould, known in India by
the name of “ cotton ground,” and, ss usual, it is mixed with calcedo-
nies, zeolites, &c. Amongst these minerals were some fragments of a
red colour, and considerable specific gravity, though full of irregnlar
cavities, and so like the slag of an iron furnace, that I considered them
to have had that origin, till I discovered a considerable mass of a similar
nature protruding from the granite and black soil by which it was cover-
ed. Along with these fragments were others of a semivitrified matter,
containing small white crystals of felspar, and hardly to be distinguished
from a piece of granite fused by Dr. Voysey in the steel furnaces of the
neighbouring district. The granite constitutes the surface rock a little
further, gradually passing into a black compact basalt, intermixed with
many white spots, apparently of felspar. The trap then becomes softer,
forming small hills of a cellular amygdaloid, abounding in cavities lined with
green earth, and many of them filled with calcedonies, zeolites, quartz
crystals, and, more rarely, calcareous spar, of the same kind as those, so
remarkable for their beauty, in the portion of this formation described by
Colonel Sykes (Geological Transactions, vol. 4, p. 422*). The crystals
also occur in seams, or are diffused through the trap; and in both cases

* A beautifal variety of chabasie, having the angles replaced by triangular or penta-
gonal faces supporting a rhomboidal surface, of which beautiful specimens abound in
certain localities of the western portion of the formation, has not been met with in
this neighbourhood; but, like some other minerals of the basaltic district, it is not
generally diffused in the rocks where it is most abundant; so that I have travelled for
several hundred miles without meeting with it.

12 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jury

are intimately mixed with its substance. . In the bed of a torrent be-
tween two of these hillocks, I met with some soft, clayey, schistose
fragments, and others of a silicecus character, and of a black bituminous
appearance in the centre, containing very perfect specimens of the
Paludina Deccanensis (Pl. fig. 20,) and fragments of other shells to
bejhereafter described. ‘Those which I examined were converted into cal«
cedony. A laborious research on the hill failed to discover them 7n sztu 3
but about half-way up the escarpment of the principal mountain, which is
very steep, and composed of concentric nodular basalt, imbedded in a
soft greenish wacké, a narrow band of a singular quartz rock projected
about two feet from the surface. It was remarkably scabrous, of various
shades of white and red, and had cavities on its surface covered with
fine silky crystals. It had every appearance of having been forced into
its present situation, when the basalt covered and partially melted the
bed to which it belonged. Many fragments of this rock were found
below with the shells; and it was again met with, together with the
same and other fossils imbedded in basalt, near Hutnoor. The specific
eravity of this rock is 2°473, and some of the specimens effervesced
feebly in acids, a portion of lime being dissolved; cireumstances in which
it corresponds with a similar formation found by Voysey, associated with
shells, probably of the same kind, at Medcondah (south of the Godavery),
an insulated basaltic hill resting on granite, to which I shall have occa=
sion again to refer. The highest summit of the hills, above the locality
of the fossils, is conical, but it is capped by a perfectly horizontal strati-
fied rock, the nature of which I could not determine. It is most pro-
bably tabular basalt, although that rock is seldom found in similar
situations.

Such are the appearances presented on ascending the difficult pass.
leading up the steep escarpment of the Sichel hills, which form the
southern boundary of the eastern portion of the great trap formation of
Central India. The hills extend from the junction of the Wurdah
and Godavery rivers (the basins of which they separate), till they are
lost in the gradual rise of the country to the west, near Lonar (lat. 20°,
long. 76°, 30’), in the province of Aurungabad. Their direction is W.
N. W., and, as far as can at present be inferred, they seem to be con-
tinuous to the east with numerous ranges of basaltic, sandstone, and
eranitic hills, extending to the Eastern Ghats, at the lower parts of the
course of the Godavery. The extreme breadth of the range, from the
foot of the Nirmul pass to the town of Yedlabad, (nearly on a level with
the plain country of Berar,) is about 40 miles ; but several smaller hills
haying for the greater part the same direction, are intimately connected

1840.] - of the Great Basaltic District of India. 73

with them to the north, as far as the Wurdah river, which has an eleva
tion of little more than 600 feet above the sea, The Sichel hills are
arranged in terraces, with steep sides having projecting spurs, and their
summits rise occasionally into conical elevations with rounded or flat
tops. They inclose narrow valleys abounding in streams, or support
table-lands covered with black soil strewed with trap boulders, and hav-
ing water everywhere near the surface. A thick wood and grass jungle,
composed of very different plants from those commou on the granite
. hills, cover the whole tract, with the exception of the flat summits and
some of the terraces, and render it unhealthy for the greater part of the
year. The basalt of which they are composed, is generally globular, the
spheroids being sometimes of great size; but in many of the water-
courses, even of the elevated table-lands, it has a stratified appearance.
Small basaltic columns are also met with on the crests of some of the
spurs and higher ridges ; and where they occur, no fossils and few mine-
rals are found. Granite not only forms the base of the hills at Nirmul
tothe south, and Yedlabad to the north, but part of the mountains
themselves, the basalt being seen to rest on decomposing granite about
the centre of the range, in a deep ravine, through which the Koorm river
passes ; it a'so again appears high in the table-land to the north of that
river, and in one of the terraces of the northern descent, where the most
extensive fossil beds were found. Further detail is unnecessary, as Dr.
Voysey’s admirable description of the Gawilghur mountains, forming the
northern boundary of the ereat and fertile valley of Berar, as these hills
_ do its southern limits, applies equally well to both ranges*.

The fossils were first discovered zm stfu, near Munoor, in the basaltie
table. land north of the Koorm river;.and were subsequently found in
the descent of the hills towards Hutnoor, and in different parts of the
Mucklegundy pass, leading into the Berar valley. They consist
of numerous gyrogonites; two species of Cypris; two, or perhaps
three, species of Unio; and many individuals referable to the genera
Paludina, Physa, and Limnea (see Pl. ). The rock in which they occur,
varies in different places. Some of the finest specimens were procured
from a red chert with scabrous furface, having silicified shells distri-
buted throughout its subs'ance, or projecting from its surface. The
_ chert is deeply imbedded in the nodular basalt, from which it projects
in some places several feet. The finest specimens of Unio occur in
a beautiful gray chert, imbedded in the basalt, or resting immee
diately on it, the under surface being plain and smooth, while the

* Asiatic Researches, vol. xviii.

74 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jury

upper is rough, from portions of the large shells which project from it.
On breaking up one of these masses, it was found to contain entire
Unios, many of them having the valves connected and closed, or
partially open; the interior being filled with the same chert, spot-
ted with fragments of shells, minute univalves, and fine specimens.
of the two species of Cypris, which occur so abundantly. Some parts of
the rock exhibit a mixture of sand, clay, and fragments of shells, of
very moderate hardness; but the greater portion consists of chert, the
materials of which are occasionally arranged in a beautiful, light blue,
enamel-like substance, around irregular cavities containing crystals of
purple quartz. Some portions also exhibit a minute vesicular structure ;
and the whole appearance of this beautiful rock forcibly impresses the
mind with the conviction, that it owes its present appearance to the
action of the great basaltic eruption, which has enveloped it and the
organic remains. The greater number of the shells are conyerted into -
chert, but a few retain their original structure; and in some instances
the calcareous matter has been converted into crystals of calcareous
spar. Many internal casts of entire shells are found in the substance of
the rock, to which they are united at a few points only, a greater or less
space being left unoccupied ; in others, the entire shell is converted into
siliceous matter, retaining the appearance even of the ligaments unalter-
ed ; and fortunately, in a few cases, the hinge and teeth are excellently
preserved.

Numerous fragments of shelly rock, differing much in appearance, lay
scattered about over the table-land ; consisting partly of a fine blood-red
chert, like that above described, and containing the same shells. The
gray chert was more sparingly distributed, and the Unios did not occur
in the other fragments. Some of them, composed of a tough white
clayey stone, so soft as to soil the fingers, contained Physe, Paludine,
and Limnez, mostly converted into calcedony, but others also retained
their original structure, and effervesced with acids. Portions of charred
vegetable matter, resembling small fragments of grasses and reeds, oc-
curred in these and the harder cherts. Other specimens are composed
of a greenish blue crystalline mass, resembling an ore of copper, (but it
is of low specific gravity, and contains no trace of that metal,) and the
shells contained in them are converted into the most beautiful erystal-
line quartz, retaining the form of every convolution of the Physe and
Paludine. The cells of this stone are often coated with fine si'ky
erystals. Masses of a hard coarse chert, consist almost entirely of
Gyrogonites, but contain many of the same Physe and Paludine. This
rock appears to have formed beds of about half a foot in thickness; but

1840.] of the Great Basaltic District of India. 75

it was Not discovered zm situ. A stratified rock was however found in
the neighbourhood, resembling some specimens of the argillaceous lime-
stone of the diamond districts, but consisting of a compact whitish
chert, which contained Paludine, and the finest specimens of Gyrogo-
nites (Plate, fig. 1). Night prevented the connexions of this rock
from being determined: the strata were, however, ascertained to be of
considerable extent, and to be much buried in the soil; there were also
numerous fragments of siliceous rock, partly converted into a black bitus
minous flint, or a coarse quartzose rock, partially altered into calcedony,
by which most of the shells were also replaced.

The masses of red chert protruding from the basalt contained, besides
the Testacea, small portions of silicified wood, and what I consider to
be the fragment of a bone, and of the tooth of a mammiferous animal.
The specimens, however, are too imperfect to admit of any certainty as
to what they really are; but it is not unlikely that such remains should
occur, and I therefore do not suppress what may lead to a more success-
ful inquiry

On descending towards Hutnoor, granite, presenting a concentric,
ligniform surface, from the unequal decomposition of the quartz and
felspar, occurs at a short distance from the fossils*. With this excep-
tion, the basalt continues of the same character as before, and fragments
of red or deep black chert, containing Paludinz, are found in the beds
of torrents; and at Hutnoor they occur inthe trap. There is much
calcareous matter mixed with the soil, or collected in nodules, and it
appears to be derived from the lime contained in the basalt, or between
its laminz. On the pioneers attached to our camp penetrating, at El-
choda, through some strata of tabular basalt to obtain water for the
troops, seams of a pure white, pulverulent lime were found between the
layerst. At Hutnoor fragments of a compact blue limestone, not to be
distinguished from that of the diamond districts, were collected ; and
the rock to which they belonged, was found in the descent from the first
of the three principal terraces by which the road leads to the northern
base of the hills. The strata were much inclined and broken, but the
forest was so thick, that I could not trace them for any distance. After
descending to the second terrace, the surface rock suddenly changes to
a white, horizontally-stratified limestone, almost entirely composed of”
large bivalve shells, the edges of which decomposing more slowly tham

* A similar appearance has been observed at the foot of the Nirmul pass, at the iron
mines of Deemdoortee, and in Bundlecund.

+ The same was obseryed in Rundlecund by Captain Franklin, (Asiatic, Researches,
vol, xviii.)

76 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jury

the cement, the natives have applied to it a name signifying impressions
made in clay by the feet of sheep. The thickness of the bed in one
place, where it is intersected by a torrent, is 12 feet, and it rests directly
onred granite <A great spur, from the upper part of the mountain,
extends across the terrace, rising precipitously above the fossiliferous
limestone, a few hundred yards from the spot where it rests on granite ;
and has buried the continuation of the stratum under an accumulation
of basaltic débris. Where the limestone becomes concealed in the
basalt, a-friable, gray, cellular mass, resembling ashes, occurs, apparently
imbedded in both these rocks. The fossils are composed of granular
limestone, the matrix consisting of calcareous matter mixed with the ash-
like substance, and small fragments of granite. Some of the shells are
of great size, but they are ill preserved, and I found only one specimen
with the valves united. These shells, I erroneously considered to be
marine (principally from the appearance of those represented in Plate,
fiz. 4 to 8, and some of the large flattened specimens). Mr.
Lonsdale, however, who had the kindness to examine some of them,
considered their general character to be that of fresh-water species. I
had previously detected, in a fragment of a compact argillo-cal-
careous stone found at the bottom of the little cliff where the granite
is secn to underlie the fossils, a number of very perfect Melanie; I
therefore re-examined the different specimens, and detected in them
fragments of the same kind as those in the limestone; and Mr. Sowerby
has since been able to extract from the latter, specimens sufficiently
distinct to be identified with the Unio Deccanensis (Plate fig. 4 to
10), found in the chert at Munnoor, and another species (Unio ? tumida,
fig. 11 and 12,) not yet discovered elsewhere. No other fossils were
found in this locality.

When it is considered, that the accumulation of freshwater shells
occurs on the precipitous descent of a mountain range, ascended with
much difficulty by travellers, it will be evident that the aspect of the
country has been entirely altered since these animals lived.

COUNTRY BETWEEN THE SICHEL HILLS AND NAGPOOR.

Towards the foot of the pass, the rock changes from the nodular
basalt to amygdaloid ; and near its junction with the granite, masses of —
greenstone porphyry, with large crystals of felspar, occur. The granite
then reappears, protruding in rounded masses through the soil of the
level country around Yedlabad. The bed of a stream near that town is
strewed with fragments of blue limestone and schist, resembling those of

1840.] of the Great Basaltic District of India. a7

the basins of the Pennar and Kistnah ; and higher up the stream, a fine
white quartzose sandstone, having a few imbedded fragments of quartz,
is found in situ. It dips at a slight angle tothe south-west*. The sur-
rounding country is covered by a deep basaltic soil, so that the rock on
which it rests could not be discovered ; but the argillaceous limestone,
passing, in its upper strata, into a greenish or red schist, is traversed by
a stream a few miles to the north. Short ranges of trap hills, some of
them at nearly right angles to the Sichel mountains, occur to the
north-east ; and beyond them, an extensive tract of sandstone has been
traced for a great distance along the Wurdah.

At Zynad, argillaceous limestone appears on the surface for several
miles, and agrees in every particular with the compact marbles of the
diamond districts of the Pennar and Kistnah. ‘The strata sometimes dip
at an angle of 40 degrees, but they are in general nearly horizontal, the
edges of the layeis being disposed in steps on the slopes of gently-rising
grounds. Rock crystal and calcareous spar are distributed in thin seams
between the strata, as well as through the substance of the rock; and
alone the vertical partings of the strata, there are rows of circular cayi-
ties, which are generally empty, but are sometimes filled with calcareous
concretions. Ina few instances, these hollows occur out of the line of
fissure, and entirely penetrate the stratum, being connected below with
horizontal channels of the same kind. On the surface, calc-tuff (Kun-
kur) is very abundant, often adhering to the strata, or investing frag-
ments of the rock.

The same appearances are seen near the diamond mines of Chinoor on
the Pennar, where the strata are much disturbed, and basaltic pebbles
cover the banks. ‘The only explanation which can be offered of the
phenomena in both those distant localities is, that the extrication of
gaseous fluids and water from below, had taken place in the lines of fis-
sure, and had dissolved a portion of the limestone, which was again de-
posited in the great accumulation of tuff and conglomerateso remarkable
in these places. ‘That they at all indicate the “ argillaceous limestone”’
to be of freshwater origin, could never be imagined by any who had seen
the rock in question, which, wherever it occurs in the south of India, is
entirely devoid of fossils}. This supposition is confirmed by the pheno-

* Minute undulations, resembling those formed by the ripple of running water, were
Observed on this sandstone, in a seam not quite parallel to the line of stratification.

+ This assertion may, in the progress of knowledge, be found to be erroneous; but
having carefully looked for fossils during extensive journeys through districts princie
pally composed of this rock, I doubt whether such will be the case, Fossil plants have
been reported to be found near Gundycottah ; but these I ascertained to be mere dentri-
tic markings on the surface of the strata,

78 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Juny

mena exhibited at the hot-springs of Urjunah, which rise in the same
rock, and where bubbles of carbonic acid are extricated through round
holes in the mud covering the bottom of the rivulet, the water of which,
being loaded with lime, a calcareous tuffis rapidly deposited.

A gentle elevation, extending three miles to the east of the village of.
Zynad, is composed of this limestone, and it rises very gradually towards
a small conical summit, composed of coarse vesicular basalt, which has
broken through and covered the limestone. A portion of this rock appears
to have been displaced in a singular manner. A wall of perfectly verti-
cal stratification, about 3 feet thick, projects nearly as much from the
general surface, and consists internally of the same limestone, as that
which it appears to cut at right angles, while externally it is sincularly
irregular and altered, being converted into a beautifully crystalline lime-
stone, with quartz minerals.

To the north of this place, as far as the Payne-Gunga river, the coun-
try is flat, covered with basaltic soil or rock connected with insulated
trap hills, and intermixed with jaspers, resembling those so common near
Bangnapilly, and perhaps derived from the argillo-calcareous schists oc-
easionally seen in the water-courses. The pebbles of the Payne-Gunga
consist mostly of calcedonies of a reddish colour, and of argillaceous
limestone, and they are in many places consolidated into a conglomerate
by the calcareous matter with which all the waters of the district abound.
In a layer of this conglomerate, projecting from the alluvial soil of which
the bank is composed, numerous recent shells are imbedded. The lime-
stone, and its incumbent schists, are seen north of the river, and they
abound in springs and streams loaded with lime, which is deposited
as calcareous tuff in the water-courses. Masses of the same substance,
several feet in height, project from fissures in the rock, or compose coni-
cal eminences of white ‘‘ Kunkur,” which are scattered over the black
basaltic plains.

Proceeding a little further towards the Pindee hills, in which the
principal of these streams takes its rise, sandstone appears on the south
bank of a ravine; and on the opposite side, at a lower level, the
“ argillaceous limestone” so often mentioned, has been raised by some
violent forces into irregular gothic arches, overlaid by partially broken
but horizontal strata. The spaces within the arches are filled with
fragments of the same rock forced from below. Hot springs, having a
temperature of 87°, rise through the limestone, and globules of gas escape
from round holes in the débris and mud covering the bottom of the
ravine. On endeavouring to collect a quantity of the gas, there were
found to be considerable and irregular intervals between each jet of air.

1840. ] of the Great Basaliic District of India. 79

A recent calcareous sandstone is formed in the bed of the stream, by the
débris derived from the quartzose sandstone of the southern bank being
agglutinated by the carbonate of lime of the springs.

A range of low hills having rounded summits, with conical elevations
projecting from their sides, runs in a north-west direction, three quar-
ters of a mile from the hot springs. The cap of these hills, where the
Pindee Ghat passes over them, consists of the argillaceous limestone,
and the large slabs of which it is composed, are fissured in various
directions, slightly convex upwards; and when taken in the mass, they
have an anticlinal dip. Onathe summit, the strata are horizontal and
in several places are remarkably altered, the argillaceous and siliceous
ingredients having arranged themselves into a black chert, and a mix-
ture of calcareous matter with streaks of a white or pale blue enamel
resembling calcedony. The central parts of these bands are composed
of minute quartz crystals; and irregular drusy cavities, coated with
amethystine quartz, occur in the blackened flinty portions. There
canuot be a clearer indication of the action of heat on a rock of a mixed
character than this, even when seen in hand specimens. The whole of
the base of the hill is composed of the usual black concentric basalt,
the nuclei of which are exceedingly hard and contain much olivine; and
to its intrusion the alteration of the limestone, with its separation from
the strata below, is, without doubt, to be ascribed.

Many hilis composed of concentric basalt are scattered over the neigh-
bouring country, in insulated masses or long ranges rising in’ terraces,
aud haying flattened summits. The sides of the hills between the terra-
ces are steep, and their outline is well defined; the rock also is black
and devoid of vegetation. ‘The terraces occur at very different levels in
different hills, rising from the same plain; and their whole appearance
indicates that their remarkable form is due to the circumstances which
attended their elevation; and that they have not been subjected to any
extensive denudation. |

About five miles north of the hot springs of Urjunah and four miles
south of those of Kair, sandstone caps a gently rising ground, covered
with basaltic soil, Near the last-mentioned town, many hot springs rise
in the argillaceous limestone, which has been remarkably broken up and
altered by the globular basalt protruding through it in different places, in
masses several of which are only a few yards in circumference. ‘The
limestone is, for the most part, nearly horizontal, but it is occasionally
more or less inclined, and, as is usual with this formation, it has no re-
gular direction or line of bearing. Ina deep well near the village, the
water of which is of the usual temperature, the limestone is unaltered ;

80 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jury

but above the principal hot spring, some of the most remarkable effects
of igneous action in changing a stratified rock, are exhibited. The prin-
cipal part of the small hill is a whitish limestone, the stratification of
which is obliterated, and the rock projects in irregular masses full of
cavities passing deep into the mass of limestone, which is partly crystal-
line, and in many places mixed or coated with jasper and quartz crystals.
Much calcareous tuff (“ Kunkur’) is associated with these altered rocks,
and it fills up many of the cavities; it is also found in the divisions of
the nodular basalt, and masses of it, scattered over the surrounding
country, are the only remains of springs which have been long closed up.
Some portions of the rock had the appearance, on the surface, of a
semifused brick, and had assumed something of a regular arrangement,
while the centre was composed of the limestone little altered. Large
masses of porous scoria also lay about.

' The principal springs issue at the foot of the rising ground, where the
rock is most remarkably altered. Their temperature (87°) was the same
as that of Urjunah, on the other side of the Pindee hills, and it did not
vary during the hot and cold months of 1831 and 1833. The water
of this and many other springs is said to be equally copious at all seasons,
covering the neighbouring country with the richest vegetation, when all
beyond is a black and parched waste. On issuing from the rock, the
water is sensibly acid, and in one spring, carbonic gas escapes with
the water. Itis remarkably agreeable to the taste, and sparkles in the
glass, as well as where the stream passes over rapids. It contains a little
muriate of soda, a minute quantity of sulphates, and much carbonate of
lime in solution, which is deposited on boiling, and in the bed of the
rivulet, where it has furmed considerable masses of rock chiefly composed
of the petrified vegetation of the banks. So quickly is this deposit
formed near some little falls, that shells appear to be imprisoned and
entombed while adhering to the face of the rock; and tufts of grass are
encrusted with sediment while their roots are still alive. If any doubt
remained as to the nature of the nodular limestone, known in India by
the name of “ Kunkur,” it would be removed by the sight here exhi-
bited of all gradations of this substance actually forming, and varying from
pulverulent lime to a crystalline rock. The water is probably derived
from a great depth, the springs having, as already stated, the same
temperature as those of Urjunah, and not being materially diminished by
the failure of the annual rains.

Sandstone forms the surface rock in different directions over the sur-
rounding country, but I had an opportunity of examining it carefully
only at Won, eight miles north of Kair, its junction with the limestone

1840.] of the Great Basaltic District of India. $1

being concealed by basaltic soil, mixed with calcedonies, fragments of
that rock, schist, and of a coarse puddingstone, which I did not find zz
situ. ‘The hill of Won is composed of sandstone, dipping in all directions
from the apes, and varying in colour from white to red and yellow. It
contains also feiruginous grains or scales, either in seams or disseminat-
ed through its substance. Ina fragment of this kind much resembling
the cement of the Bangnapilly diamond breccia, a fossil was discovered
having a compact structure and deep black colour, and it is probably
a portion of a hollow, compressed vegetable, the centre of which is
filled with the sandstone. It is the only instance that has come to my
knowledge of a fossil being found in the sandstone of Southern India ;
and as the rock corresponds in geological position and mineralogical
characters with the diamond sandstone, the fact is of considerable interest,
even if the formations were not found to be continuous, as will be stated.
hereafter. The specimen is deposited in the Museum of the Asiatic
Society of Bengal. 3

Sandstone, argillaceous limestone, and schist constitute the building-
stones of the surrounding country, which is much buried under basalt,
and a black alluvial soil containing calcedonies, jaspers, &c. A few
miles south of Chicknee,* (where the fossils were again met with,) the
red schist found above the limestone south of the Urjunah hot-springs
and in various places of the diamond districts of the south, reappears,
intermixed with protruding masses of basalt, which have altered it in
the most singular manner,—the lime of which it is in part composed,
being converted into a fine crystalline mineral, in which the red clay
is enveloped or diffused, giving the rock and even hand specimens a
very striking appearance. Near Chicknee, the schist rises slightly to-
wards a basaltic ridge, in which the fossiliferous chert is likewise imbed-
ded. The schist is divided into minute rhombs by vertical partings, in
which veins of caleareous spar from an eighth to halfan inch thick have
been formed, and give it a beautiful, reticulated appearance. Lime is
- found in the schist, and portions of the red clay are enveloped in the cry-
stalline limestone, which contains no magnesia.

The fossils occur on the surface, or are imbedded in nodular basalt
over seyeral miles, being found in blocks of indurated clay, chert, and
flinty slate. The appearance of the indurated clay is the same as in some
of the specimens from the Sichel Hills, but the clay is harder, full of
cavities, and in some cases passes into perfect chert, or has waved lines
of quartz or opalized matter diffused through the substance of the mass.

* Fossils were first found at Chicknee by Mr, W. Geddes, May, 1829,

82 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jury

Many Physz, Paludine, and a few Limnez of the same species as those
already noticed, are found in this indurated clay or imperfect chert.
Some of them are entirely converted into calcedony; others have the
lime replaced by quartz, which is finely crystallized and covers the surface
of the convolutions; or the columella only is preserved, passing across
an empty cast of the shell. In some cases, however, the structure of the
fossil is unaltered, and it effervesces in acids. Flinty slate without or-
ganic remains occurs in the neighbourhood of those amorphous masses,
and many fragments of the same kind containing large compressed
bivalves are scattered about. In one block of this kind, portions of palm
wood mineralized by black flint, intersected by fine veins of a light blue
opal, (of the same kind as occurs in some of the specimens of fossil wood
from Antigua, lately presented to the Society by Mr. Stokes,) was
found associated with compressed very thick bivalve shells, probably re-
ferable to the same species as those of Munnoor.

Every appearance presented by these rocks indicates the action of the
semifluid basalt on the beds of mud and sand, probably derived from the
neighbouring sandstones and schists, in which the shells previously ex-
isted.

At Hingan-ghat*, a few miles further to the north, considerable frag-
ments of silicified palms and other plants were found ina black chert
lying on the basalt, and similar masses, but without fossils, were imbedded
in it. I met with no organic remains to the north of this town, the whole

country as far as the city of Nagpoor being covered with a rich black |

goil, from which insulated basaltic hills with flattened summits rise
abruptly.

Of these hills the most remarkable is that of Seetabuldee, which is 4
based on decomposing gneiss and mica slate. To Dr. Voysey’s descrip-

* In examining with the microscope sections of 3ome of the silicified wood from the ~

district described, a specimen from the chert of Hingan-ghat appeared to me to be bone,
and Mr. Owen, who has had the kindness to examine it, has ascertained it to belong to a
mammiferous animal. He has favoured me with the following note on this important
fossil :

** A section of this fossil was prepared sufficiently thin to allow of its being examin«
ed by transmitted light under a high magnifying power, when it was found to possess

the structure characteristic of bone. Sections of ‘ Haversian canals,’ with their concene "|
tric lines, were everywhere present, interspersed with numerous Purkingian Cells or ~
corpuscles: the size and disposition of these characteristic parts of the osseous strud= Be
ture agreed with those of the bones of the Mammalia. It was highly satisfactory to find 4
the microscopic test as available in demonstrating the presence of bone, when ordinary =
characters and the unassisted eye would have left the matter doubtful, asit isin reference +

to the determination of the teeth,” —July, 1839,

=|

ee AS ae

1840.] of the Great Basaltic District of India. $3

tion* I have nothing to add; but as it has been inferredf, that the “ flat-
tened summits and long flat outline” of the low ranges connected with
this celebrated hill, and forming the eastern part of the great trap dis-
trict, are composed of basalt having the same stratified appearance as
that of other parts of the formation, it is necessary to mention, that they
are formed of globular basalt such as has been already described, or of
basaltic columns of very regular forms, which diverge from the centre of
the hill and incline outwards at an angle of 45° with the horizon, or form
a figured pavement on the flat summits.

Origin of Minerals in Trap Rocks.

The lower part of the hill of Seetabuldee itself exhibits a tendency to
columnar structure, caused by horizontal and vertical partings, the sides
of which are coated with thin plates of calcedony, and, according to
Captain Jenkins], of calc spar. These minerals are not confounded
with the substance of the basalt, and may be the result of infiltration
or sublimation of siliceous and calcareous matters. In no other situa-
tion did I meet with an example in which either of these processes
would account for the occurrence of the calcedonies, zeolites, cale-spar,
&e. found in the amygdaloids and nodular basalt of India. Almost
everywhere, calcareous spar is more rare than siliceous minerals, which
would not be the case were they derived from infiltration, if we are to
‘interpret the past by the present operations of nature. Wherever I have
met with the basalt, and in the neighbourhood of every greenstone dike
er insulated mass of that rock, and under every layer of basaltic soil
in India, calcareous matter is deposited, and has even occasionally a
crystalline structure. In the escarpments of the Mysore ghats, veins
of basalt, not two inches thick, ramify through the granite, and are
coated with a compact layer of carbonate of lime. Voysey found the
granite in the neighbourhood of the basalt intermixed with calcareous
matter, indications of which I have myself seen, in the deposit of tuff
on the summit of granitic logging-stones near greenstone. If, then, we
suppose infiltration to have deposited the calcedonies, agates, &c., &c.,
when chemical action is presumed to have been more powerful than at
present, a greater number of the cavities would have been filled with
lime than with such intractable substances, which is not the case. These
are also frequently intermixed with the basalt in a manner which could

* Asiatic Researches, vol. xviii.
+ Geological Transactions, Second Series, vol. 4th, p. 410.
t Asiatic Researches, vol. xviii., p. 199,

84 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jury

have been produced only by their being formed simultaneously. I have
seen masses of calcedony, passing into a black mineral not to be dis-
tinguished from the surrounding basalt. They also occur in the com»
pact nodules where no fluid could have had access, and even in the
cavities of the Seetabuldee basalt, lined by an impervious glassy coat.
In this rock, likewise, calc spar occurs, penetrated by needle-like cry-
stals of the same substance, invested with a crust of the basalt and con-
nected with each side of the cavity, and resembling chiastolite in struc~_
ture. It is indeed impossible to conceive how many of the appearances
presented by the agates, cornelians, or drusy cavities in calcedony,
partially or entirely filled by quartz crystals, or a central mass of calc
spar, could be formed in the way supposed, as the first coating of silex
would effectually close out the further access of the aqueous solution of
that substance; nor could layers so formed, separate into distinct cavi-
ties, having both sides covered with quartz crystals, as they are some-
times seen to do. It is, however, only by a careful study of the rocks
themselves, that this can be fully understood. I have selected a few
specimens to show that the majority, if not all the minerals of the Indian
trap rocks, are not formed by infiltration. One of these, perhaps, deserves
particular notice; it is a mass of calcedony, 8 or 10 inches in length and
6 or § in diameter, of a conical shape, and was found imbedded with its
apex downwards between the globular basalt, and impressed with the
irregularities of its surface. In another of these specimens the upper
part is perfectly flat and smooth, without any impressions of the basalt,
and is composed of a thick covering of cacholong, parallel stripes of
which appear to indicate the slow cooling of the surface. The centre of
the mass is composed of quartz crystals, radiating to the centre, which
is occupied by calcareous spar impressing or impressed by the quartz.
The mode of its occurrence increases the conviction in my mind, that the
only correct theory of the formation ofsuch mineralsin trap rocks, is the
play of the molecular attractions existing between similar particles of
matter. That so eminent an inquirer as Dr. Turner should have asserted
that all calcedonies, rock crystals, &c., even when occurring in voleanic
rocks, are the result of aqueous infiltration*, I can only account for, by
the difficulty of explaining how carbonic acid is retained at high tempe-
ratures, in any other way than by supposing a great pressure to have
existed at the time the rock was in an ignited state; but of the existence
of which, proof is often entirely wanting where crystals of carbonate of

* Lecture on the Chemistry of Geology, by Dr. E. Turner, Edin, New Phil. J ournal,
Oct., 1833,

1840.] of the Great Basaltic District of India. 85

lime occur. The phenomena exhibited by the vesicular trap, scorize, and
porous chert associated with the Indian basaltic and fossiliferous rocks,
satisfied me, that at the time of their formation they were subject to no
pressure sufficient to retain the carbonic acid of the altered limestones,
and of the shells and cale spar inclosed in the geodes; but no other ex-
planation presented itself, till I was informed by Mr. Faraday of his
beautiful experiment of exposing carbonate of lime in perfectly dry air
to the heat of the oxy-hydrogen blowpipe, without driving off its carbonic
acid. In the simple apparatus employed by him to show that the reten-
tion of the acid depended on the absence of moisture, no pressure of
any consequence could be exerted on the lime. Guy Lussac has lately
published some experiments on the effect of aqueous vapour in assisting
the escape of carbonic acid from limestone, and concludes, that its agency
is trifling* ; but as he does not appear to have taken the precaution of
drying the atmospheric air by passing it through sulphuric acid, as was
done by Mr. Faraday, they cannot be considered as invalidating the beau-
tiful results obtained by the latter. His observation, however, that the
water contained in limestones is driven off before the carbonic acid and at
a much lower heat, is important, in showing that the calcareous matter
in a rock exposed to volcanic action may lose its water before the car-
bonic acid, and be thus reduced to the state of the carbonate of lime in
Mr. Faraday’s platinum tube. These facts will assist in explaining the
anomalies observed in the fossils of the district above referred to, which
often retain their carbonic acid when portions of the rock in which they
occur have been fused by the inclosing basalt, while other portions are
vesicular from the escape of gaseous matters. The whole phenomena,
indeed, would admit of explanation by supposing, what must in fact have
occurred, the presence or absence of moisture during the various degrees
of heat to which the rocks were exposed in the progress of the eruption,
and in the course of cooling. A shell, in one part of a rock, may thus
retain its carbonic acid, while in another portion it may be reduced to
quick lime, subsequently carried off by the water, leaving only a cast ;
and a third may be replaced by silica, or the form of its convolutions taken
by fine quartz crystals, perhaps derived from silica rendered gelatinous
by the lime with which it was ignited‘.
In stating these views, I venture only to express an opinion forced on
me by the phenomena under description, and which appear to explain

_® Annales de Chimie et de Physique, Oct., 1836,

+ Fora knowledge of the fact, that lime calcined with finely-divided silica, acts like
he fixed alkalis in tendering it gelatinous and soluble in weak acids, I am indebted to
Capt. Smith of the Madras Engineers, F, R. 8,

86 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [ JuLy

some of them better than the theory of pressure, which, however useful
in removing the prejudices against the igneous origin of the trap rocks,
has been injurious in leading geologists to admit tvo easily the existence
of aqueous pressure, or extensive denudations of solid rocks, supposed to
have confined the carbonic acid at the time of eruption. No doubt pres-
sure is an efficient agent in some cases*, but not in many to which it has
been applied.

The trap terminates in the line of section, a few miles to the north of
the city of Nagpoor, and is succeeded by a red sandstone, the sfrata of
which are bent, fractured, and converted into a compact quartz rock, at
the point of contact with the granite which has burst throughit. With-
in a few hundred yards of the ravine where these phenomena were ob-
served, mica slate occurs, and a little beyond, some hills of gneiss. A
bed of granular limestone is quarried at the foot of a conical hill of basalt,
in part composed of a scabrous quartzose, and calcareous rock, abound-
ing in drusy cavities, calcedonies and cornelians. Further north, granite
veins pass through a much-elevated limestone, varying in colour from red
to gray and black, and the stratification of which is nearly obliterated.
The gneiss and mica slate forming the neighbouring hills are also pene-
trated by dykes and masses of granitet. To the north of this district
are 50 miles of a wild mountain country, composed of granitic rocks,
with trap in the ascents and tops of the passes; the basalt then reappears,
and composes great part of the valley of the Nerbudda.

In a direction south-west of Nagpoor, the nodular basalt is the only
formation met with as far as Baitool (90 miles), where granitic rocks re-
appear, but are succeeded by fine-grained sandstones with traces of coal,
and penetrated by trap dykes ranging from §.E. to N.Wj. Here, the
sandstone rises into mountains, and constitutes what appears to be the
continuation of the range forming the division between the valleys of the
‘Taptee and Nerbudda rivers; and “indurated clay,” containing casts of
the same shells as those of the Sichel range, also occurs.

Before proceeding to notice more particularly the fossils, and the evi~
dence they afford of the geological era of the intrusion of the basalt, it
is necessary to make some observations on the Sichel range, and the
connexions of the several formations occurting in the district described.
The basaltic rocks of Nagpoor and of the country to the south, have been

* Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. vi., p. 120.
+ Captain Jenkins, in Asiatic Researches, vol. xviii.

# Lieuts. Miles and Finnes, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Feb., 1834, and
Dr. Spilsbury, August, 1834,

1840. ] of the Great Basaitic District of India. 87

considered by every observer to form the eastern part of the great basal-
tic formation of Western India, with which it is continuous, and with
which it agrees in every particular of general character and mineralogical
structure, and in being connected with stratified rocks, which, as far as
is yet known, are of the same age. The only difference is, that towards
the eastern limits of the formation, the hills are less elevated and the trap
breaks through the granite and stratified rocks, while to the west the
mountains are, with a few exceptions, entirely vomposed of basalt from
the level of the sea to the loftiest summits.

Lonar Lake, &c.—The Sichel hills, which have heretofore attracted
little attention in a geological point of view, terminate to the west in the
neighbourhood of Lonar, near what appears to have been a vast crater in
the centre of the great basaltic district. As it is the only instance of a
volcanic outburst discovered in this immense Plutonic region, a more de«
tailed account of it than has yet been given to the public, may not be
unacceptable*.

It is a nearly circular or oval depression, in a country composed of ta-
bular and nodular basalt, and sloping gently towards it on every side.
It is between three and four miles in circumference at the upper margin
of the precipitous escarpment which rises from the bottom of the valley
about 500 feet. The extent from which the water is collected may be
about six miles in circumference, buf no measurements were made. Two
small streams fall into it from above; one issuing from a pagoda, to which
it is carried from the gentle slope behind; and the other passes over asmall
cliff, (Pl. B.) en which it deposits a considerable quantity of stalactite. The
sides of the crater are covered with a forest inhabited by tigers and game ;
and the bottom is occupied by underwood, a few fields, in the irrigation
of which the water of the streams is nevrly expended, and by a small
lake of salt and bitter, greenish water, surrounded by a muddy shore, and
varying in size at different seasons. Many sweet springs issue from the
saline mud, and a well is built within its highest level, the water of which
stands at the same height as that of the lake, though issuing from a depth
of nearly twenty-four feet.

I have carefully examined the water of this well, and that of the small
stream at the pagoda above. This last had a specific gravity of 1000-6 ;

* Captain Alexander has published a notice of this lake in the Transactions of the Lite-«
rary Society of Madras, andin the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal; but he must have
examined it very cursorily or he would not have overlooked its real nature, and stated it
to be unfathomable, when, in fact, the water is everywhere shallow. An extractfrom a
private letter to Mr. Prinsep, and published in his Journal for June 1834, was written
before I had myself examined the chemical history of the lake,

88 On the Fossits of the Eastern Portion [JuLy

and 2000 grains, evaporated at 212°, gave a solid residue of 7% of a grain,
the greater part of which consisted of muriate of soda with a little sul-
phate, and the remainder of carbonate of lime. The water of the well
below had nearly the same specific gravity, but contained in 2000 grains,
one grain of solid matter, of which ~% of a grain were soluble in water,
and contained muriate of soda and a little sulphuric acid and lime ; the
insoluble part consisted of carbonate of lime. Neither of the waters
contained any trace of alkaline carbonates or of magnesia. It is un-
necessary to go further into the analysis here, as another bottle of the
same water had a higher specific gravity, and contained more lime, a
circumstance sufficiently accounted for by the escape of a portion of the
carbonic acid from the other specimen. The water of the lake is clear,
and has no unpleasant smell; but the mud at its bottom is strongly im-
pregnated with sulphuretted hydrogen. In February, 1834, when the
specimens were collected, the lake was in no place more than 5 feet in
depth of water and mud, but when full it may be eight or ten feet deep in
some parts. A layer of salt 2 or 3 inches thick covered the bottom under
the mud, and when broken up and removed, was found to be composed of
a middle plate, with radiating lamine above, and having a striated ap-
pearance below. That obtained by diving and bringing up baskets of the
black mud, at a season when there was much more water in the lake*,
was also formed under the surface of the mud in lamellar spiculi radiat-
ing in every directionf. The salt accumulates slowly, and is collected
only once in several years, the quantity having diminished in consequence
of the mounds erected above the edge of the crater to regulate the supply
of water, having been neglected; but it is evident, from the great beauty
of the specimens obtained, that the quality is not affected by this cause.
The salt is collected at the end of the dry season, when the water is low ;
and I observed mounds of the black mud on the banks, covered with an
efflorescence of tabular crystals. The salt is used for washing and dying
chintzes, &c., and is exported to considerable distances. I imagined that
the water of the lake in which such large quantities of salt were deposit-
ed, was saturated ; but I found its specific gravity to be only 1027-65, a
solution of the salt itself obtained from the bottom at the same time
being 1148°4; and the water rapidly dissolved the crystals thrown into

* July, 1824.

+ The natron of a lake near Maracaybo in South America occurs in the same way, the
Indians breaking up the layers of salt with long poles; and then, by diving, they re-
move it from under a bed of mud which covers it, and they place it in small canoes, as is
done at Lonar, Journal of the Royal Institution, vol, i., p. 188.

1840.} of the Great Basaliic District of India. 89

it. On analysis, the salt was found to consist in 100 parts: of carbonic
acid, 38; soda, 40°9; water, 20°6; insoluble matter, ‘5, and a trace of a
sulphate. This nearly corresponds to the composition of the trona or
striated soda from the lakes of Fezzan, examined by Mr. R. Phillips* ;
but approaches somewhat nearer to the equivalent numbers of the ses-
quicarbonate established by that analysis, which is to be ascribed to the
greater purity of the Lonar salt. The water of the lake contained be-
sides, a little potash, muriate of soda 29 grains, sesquicarbonate of soda
4-2 nearly, and sulphate of soda ‘1 of a grain in 1000 grains of the water.
No lime could be detected in it, nor did I discover any magnesia. These
facts confirm Hberthollet’s theory of the formation of carbonate of soda
in the natron lakes of Egypt, viz. that of a mutual decomposition of the
muriate of soda and carbonte of lime when in a pasty state.

The striated soda of Fezzan and of this lake, containing half an equi-
valent more of carbonic acid than can be furnished by carbonate of lime,
renders some modification of his theory necessary ; and the most proeba-
ble explanation appears to be, that the carbonic acid by which the lime
is held in solution in the mud, furnishes the acid, and perhaps indicates
the existence of an unstable sesquicarbonate of that substance ; which
is not improbable from other facts in the history of the union with that
acid. This was suggested by my friend Captain Smith, of the Madras
Engineers, and explains the circumstance sufficiently.

Like most points in physical science, these observations have other
and more extensive applications than that of affording an explanation of
the production of natron in this lake. Carbonate of soda is extensively
distributed over the surface of the soil in various countries, more espe=
cially in the basaltic portion of Central and Western India, and in the
limestone districts of the south; the real relations of which have been a
subject of discussion amongst Indian geologists, and inferences unsup-
ported by fact have been drawn from it. In all the places where I have
met with it, or of which detailed information has been obtained, muriate
of scda and carbonate of lime existed in the soil, and the natron was
found on the surface of the moist earth or mud. Near Gundycottah on
the banks of the Pennar, common salt is interstratified with the upper
schistose strata of the argillaceous limestone on which the sandstone
rests ; aud on the surface of the neighbouring soil, natron, contaminated
with much muriate of soda, is collected and used in washing and in glass-
making. ‘The salt associated with the limestone, and the. water of a
‘saline weil dug through it, having the specific gravity of 1002°5, contain

® Journal of the Royal Institution, vol. vii-, p. 294,

90 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jury

common salt and a little sulphate without any carbonate of soda, which
is no doubt produced in the same manner as the Lonar salt. I did not
ascertain whether it was also a sesquicarbonate, but I have examined a
portion of native carbonate of soda from another part of India, with
which Mr. Faraday had the kindness to furnish me, and I found it to.be
composed of a mixture of that salt with muriate of soda and a little sul-
phate. The same is probably true of the carbonates found in other
countries in similar situations*. A specimen, however, procured from
the water of a deep well near London, passing through the London clay
into the chalk, which I received from Professor Daniell, contained the
carbonate ; but as the sesquicarbonate is decomposed by a low heat, no
inference can be founded on the examination of specimens obtained, as
this was, from the boiler of an engine.

The absence of Lime in the water of the Lonar Lake is a remarkable
circumstance, but easily accounted for, as the sesquicarbonate of soda
and the water itself precipitate the sulphate and muriate of lime, not-
withstanding the mutual decomposition they undergo when in a semifluid
state. The Lake of Ourmia, in Persia, is stated by Dr. Marcet to con-
tain no lime, although of a specific gravity of 1165-07, and abounding in
sulphates and muriates. This appeared very remarkable in an inland sea
nearly 300 miles in circumference, situated ina volcanic country. On
referring to the works of travellers}, it appeared that the streams flowing
into it abounded in lime, which is deposited in large quantity in the form
of a beautiful travertine. The lake is shallow, and at certain seasons
much of it is nearly dry ; the water is clear and transparent, but the mud
of the bottom is loaded with sulphuretted hydrogen, and thick layers of
salt, formed in it under the water, are redissolved on any agitation. No
fish can live in it. All these phenomena are exact counterparts of those
exhibited at Lonar, but no information is given as to the salt collected
from its saline mud, except that Sir John Malcolm states, the salts are
bitter and different from those of the sea. I am, therefore, strongly ime
pressed with the conviction, that sesquicarbonate of soda is formed from
its waters as at Lonar, and precipitates the lime. Dr. Marcet, however,
has given, in the Philosophical Transactions for 1819, the results of an
examination of a small quantity of this water, which he states to be as
follows :

* The carbonate of soda formed by the incineration of saline” plants in the deserts of
Northern India, and by the deflagration of nitrate of soda and charcoalin the south of
the Peninsula, must not be confounded with the natcon found in the soil.

+ Sir John Malcolm’s History of Persia; Sir Ker Porter’s Travels ; Spal ’s Travels ;
Journal of the Geographical Society, vol. iii. &c. °

1840.] of the Great Basaltic District of India. 91

I. Precipitate from 500 sis of the water by nitrate of sil-
aS cee ee OPS. Si cdsavatesoteasUucdeecdeetkewegnases BOLO
2. By nitrate of ae Doreen cides ode cbs se eg seneeae wadtedess EO
3. Magnesian precipitate by eioncke ot ammonia and ae
PUREE oo Sesh Sav conse a nclddeSve lied dos '<a% cubic eudisewen cua o2geet LOND
and he infers, that although it contains no lime, it yields twenty times as
much sulphuric acid and six times as much muriatic acid as sea water
does. But Dr. Marcet had only 150 grains of this water to operate on,
and merely gives in a tabular form, along with many specimens of sea
water, the quantity of precipitate caused by the various reagents; and
there is no evidence that the precipitate from muriate of baryta was not,
in part, caused by carbonate of soda. It is, at all events, worthy of the
inquiry of future travellers*.

The Lake of Ourmia, like that of Lonar, contains potash, which 1 did
not detect in the springs running into the latter, but its source is no
doubt in the decaying (and when I visited it, burning) trees on the sur-
rounding precipices. The sulphuretted hydrogen adhering to the clay
has been supposed to be derived from volcanic sources, but I have ob-
served the same phenomenon in the salt water inlets along the Indian
coast, wherever the bottom contained argillaceous and carbonaceous
matter ; and it even goes so far as to form considerable quantities of sul-
phur and, I have reason to believe, sulphuric acid, although on this point
the proof is defective. The effect is to be ascribed to the decomposi-
tion of the sulphates of the water by the carbon; and the clay probably
only prevents its passing off into the air or mixing with the water, by the
power of adhesion. Similar actions have gone on in former times in the
alluvium on which the city of Madras stands, and probably in more

ancient depositsf.

The ancient crater of Lonar seems never to have been an active erup~
tive vent, as no scoriz or lava currents can be traced around its margin,
which is too distinct and unaltered to admit of any probability of these
haying been subsequently removed by denudation. A certain degree of
forcible elevation was sustained by the margin of the lake, when the

* If a carbonate exists in the water, it must be of the same composition as that of
Fezzan, Maracaybo, and Lonar, as the carbonate would precipitate the magnesian salt,
which the sesquicarbonate would not.

+ No sulphuretted hydrogen can be detected in the water of the springs running inte
the lake. The hot spring of Anhoni Simhoni, in the sandstone and basaltic district bee
tween the valley of Berar and the Nerbudda, I have found to contain sulphuretted hye

drogen and muriate of soda, without lime,

92 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion (Jury

explosion or subsidence happened from which the great depression
took its origin.

From Lonar the basaltic district extends to the south as far as Beder;
to the west, 200 miles to Bombay; and northward, to the banks of the
Nerbudda, near the ancient cities of Indoor and Mhysir, reported to
have been buried at a remote period under volcanic eruptions. To the
east, the great basaltic country of Berar extends as far as Nagpoor; and
the Sichel range passes ina S. E. by E direction to the confluence of
the Wurdah and Godavery, and towards the eastern ghats. Hot springs
and streams loaded with carbonate of lime, occur along the line of eleva-
tion of these mountains at Mahoor, Urjunah, Kair, Byorah, and at
Badrachellum, a short distance above the pass through which the Goda-
very reaches the alluvial plains of the coast. The spring of Byorab is
surrounded by sandstone and limestone rocks, and carbonic avid escapes
with the water, which has a temperature of 110° and holds lime in solue
tion*. That of Badrachellum, which rises in the sandy bed of the Go-
davery, has a temperature of 140°, and contains sulphuretted hydrogen,
also sulphates and muriates of soda and lime. A sandstone resembling
the cement of the Bangnapilly diamond breccia and the rock of Won,
protrudes from the sandy bed of the river near the spring; and granite,
basalt, and a red schist resembling that so common in the diamond dis-
tricts, occur in the neighbourhood ; diamonds also are ocvasionally found.
Other hot springs are reported to exist in this line of elevation; but
that wild and little-known country, far removed from the residence of
any European, must long remain in a great measure unexplored.

The facts stated in the preceding pages prove that the basaltic rocks,
by which so much of Western and Central India are covered, are more
recent than the sandstone and argillaceous limestone of the basins of the
Pennar, Kistnah, Godavery, and of the mountains south of the Nerbud-
da; and that, notwithstanding the frequent occurrence of these rocks in
a horizontal position, they have been subjected to violent operations,
which have in many instances elevated the strata and remarkably altered
the rocks themselves. It also appears, from observations made on the
borders of the trap districts, and in other places where the primary rocks
and the sandstones and limestones are not entirely concealed, that the
basalt has burst forth from numerous fractures in these formations, pro-
bably simultaneously, although often forming insulated masses. It is
possible, that more than one period of eruptive violence may have oc-
curred between the era of the formation of the greenstone dykes, so

* Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. ii,, p. 397.

1840.} of the Great Basallic District of India. 93

common in the granitic districts, and the conclusion of the eruptions by
which the fossils were entombed ; but at present there is no proof of
such having been the case ; and all observers have considered the erup-
tions to have been contemporaneous; an opinion, to a certain extent,

confirmed by the occurrence of the same fossils in very distant locali-
ties.

The sandstone and argillaceous limestone I have myself traced, from
the neighbourhood of Nagpoor nearly to the junction of the Wurdah
with the Godavery, bearing the same characters as in the vicinity of the
fossil beds ; and I have collected specimens of the same rocks at vari-
ous places between this and Badrachellum and the diamond mines in
the neighbourhood of the Kistnah. ‘This tract, for 250 miles, is nearly
an uninterrupted forest, and presents many difficulties in the investiga -
tion of its geological structure. ‘I'rap rocks and basaltic soil oceur in
many parts of the course of the Godavery, and granite of the usual char-
acter is occasionally met with. Dr. Voysey, who investigated great
part of it with his usual accuracy, describes the sandstone as constituting
a range of mountains 60 miles in extent, to the north-west of Badra-
chellum ; and the surface rock 20 miles south of Ellore (near the allu-
yial plains of the Kistnah and the diamond mines), also at Mungapett on
the Godavery, where I found silicified wood resembling that of Pondi-
cherry*. Fossil wood was also seen by Mr. Geddes strewed over the
country N.W. of this point, towards the junction with the Wurdah.
Where the sandstone of the Godavery meets the granite to the west, Dr.
Voysey states that it can hardly be recognised as the same rock, con-
sisting of a conglomerate containing quartz, felspar, and rounded pieces
of granite resembling that of the eastern ghats. ‘The argillaceous lime-
stone occurs in the same district, andis more widely distributed than
Dr. Voysey supposed. He found it at an elevation of 2600 feet above
the sea, and exhibiting marks of great disturbance, dipping to the S.E.,
and at the summits of the hills intermixed with quartz rockf. Dr. Voy-
sey considers these formations at the lower part of the Godavery, to be
the same as those of the Kistnah and Pennar; and in this opinion I fully
coincide, although I have found the continuity of the sandstone and

* Journal of the Asiatic Society, vol. ii., p. 402. The tenor of Dr. Voysey’s obsere
vations in this*place seem to show that he considered the ‘* clay slate,”? in which he
included the sandstone, to belong to the same formation as the limestone ;a conclusion
I had formed before meeting with his paper, and which has not been expressly stated in
any of his writings yet given to the public.

+ The structure of the wood is beautifully preserved: itis coniferous. June 24, 1839,

94 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Juny

argillaceous limestone to be interrupted by a narrow band of granite, ex-
tending from the delta of the Kistnah to the granitic platform of the
Deckan. Some of the hills, however, have caps of sandstone. In the
present state of our knowledge, it is difficult to form any correct notion
as to the dip and direction of these rocks. Indications of derangement
and elevation by the granite are, however, sufficiently apparent.

Sandstones and schists of the same characters, and associated with
the same rocks, are also extensively distributed along the great tribu-
taries of the Kistnah, in the southern Mahratta country, near the west-
ern ghats, and a little to the south of the part of the basaltic district
described by Colonel Sykes (Geol. Trans., 2d Series, vol. IV.). The
limits of this part of the formations have been but imperfectly traced.
According to Dr. Christie’s observations and my own, they are the same
as those of the Cuddapah district*. The occurrence of sandstones and
stratified limestones in this situation, is a fact of great importance, which
has escaped the notice of those, who have speculated on the period of
elevation of the great mountain chains of the peninsula. It was for this
reason, that I selected the line of section from Madras to Atchera, on
the western coast, within the limits assigned by Colonel Sykes to the
basalt, and near to which I discovered the sandstone below the escarp-
ment of the western ghats. (Plate, Section 2). Im the pagoda
of the town, I observed several quartzose sandstone pillars; and I dis-
covered the rock itself forming a small range of hills to the south of the
town, and dipping at a considerable angle to the N.W. ‘The stone is
similar to that of the hills, near the Chinoor diamond mines. The rock
at the entrance of the inlet is laterite, having the appearance of horizon-
tal stratification; and there are some indications of trap below it; but of
this I could not obtain positive evidence. Colonel Sykes, however, states
that the basalt occurs a little to the south at Malwan; and I found it at
Colter, and other places to the north, underlying the laterite, at the foot
and on the escarpments of the hills. These facts are sufficient to show,
that the elevation of the western ghats in this part of their course, was
posterior to the deposition of the sandstones, which, for the present, must
be considered as contemporaneous over all the districts described. Iam
aware of the uncertain nature of mineralogical characters, as character-
izing different formations; but in rocks exhibiting such remarkable ap-
pearances and relations over such extensive areas, and when no organic
remains exist in them, I do not think it wrong, to place some confidence
in the evidence they afford, more particularly in the south of India,

* Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal, 1828 and [829.

1840.] of the Great Basaltic District of India. 95

where the rapid changes of formations, so common in Europe, are quite
unknown.

The speculations of Elie de Beaumont on the age of these mountains
is founded on negative evidence and analogies which appear to me to
have little weight ; nor can I consider the remarks of Dr. Benza, founded
on his excellent researches on the geology of the Neilgherry mountains,
as more conclusive. The non-occurrence of stratified rocks and of
organic remains in a high granitic table land, affords no proof that these
mountains have not been recently elevated ; and the plentiful occurrence of
ferruginous sandstone, containing brown coal, lignite, and mineral copal,
at the foot of the Travancore mountains, show that these inferences have
been too hastily drawn, when such gigantic generalizations were to be
established.

AGE oF THE Diamonp SANDSTONE AND ARGILLACEOUS LimMESTONE.

With regard to the age of the diamond sandstone and argillaceous
limestones, my own conviction is, that they belong to the more ancient
secondary, or even transition rocks; an opinion, which is not at all con-
tradicted by their frequent occurrence in horizontal strata, as they could
not have been deposited in the situations in which they are now found.
The facts I have stated, will enable others to estimate the correctness of
an impression founded on the structure, geological relations, and occa-
sional nearly vertical position of the strata. On this subject, I would
express no decided opinion, but recommend an examination of the junc-
tion of these formations with the stratified and unstratified primary rocks,
with a view to this question.

The sandstones and limestones of Bundlecund and Malwa correspond
in many particulars with those of the south of India, and have been con-
sidered by all writers as belonging to the same formations. The sand-
stone, Major Franklin considers to be the same as the saliferous sand-
stone of England* ; to which it has been objected, that the salt diffused
through the soil of Bundlecund may not be derived from this source, as
it has never been discovered in that rock. I have also ascertained that
salt occurs in all the formations of India, from granite to recent alluvium.
I have, indeed, never met with a saline spring in the sandstone, but this
I consider to be accidental, that rock being generally placed in inacces-
sible situations. I have, however, found thin seams of salt, interstrati-
fied with the upper schistose layers of the argillaceous limestone, in the

* Geol, Trans., 2nd Series, vol, iii,, Part I.

96 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion (Jury

immediate neighbourhood of a cliff of sandstone 300 feet in height, be-
tween the lower beds of which a similar schist was interposed. A more
important objection to Major Franklin’s opinion of the diamond sand-
stones belonging to the new red sandstone is, that in the peninsula, this
sandstone, throughout 800 miles of latitude, and half as much of longi-
tude, is superior to the limestone he has called “ Lias.” Nor can I find
sufficient proof in his memoirs, or in other papers on the country between
the Nerbudda and the Ganges, that this limestone reposes directly on the
sandstone ; and it is evident, that no inference can be founded on its
occurrence at a higher level in a country so much altered by denudation
and the intrusion of eruptive rocks. But should it be hereafter found,
that the limestone in certain parts of Bundlecund does actually occupy
a higher geological position, the fact would not be conclusive
against the diamond sandstones of the north and south, belonging
(as every thing indicates) to the same formation. I am indeed of opi-
niop, that the argillaceous limestone and the sandstone constitute only
one formation, although I do not think that they should be spoken of as
such in the present state of our knowledge. The basalt which has broken
up and penetrated these rocks to the north and south of the Nerbudda, is
connected with the same system of trap rocks, and was probably erupted
at a period much more recent than either of those to which the sand-
stones and limestones have been referred.

Inferences respecting the Freshwater Fossils.

On the evidence on this subject afforded by the fossils imbedded in or
covered by tie basalt, I shall now make a few observations. For the de-
scriptions of the shells, | am indebted to Mr. J. De Carle Sowerby*.

The-e fossils all belong to freshwater genera, and to species which
have not yet been discovered recent. I have not been able to obtain the
seeds of Asiatic Chare, nor the valves of any Cypris inhabiting the fresh
waters of India. ‘The shells, however, all differ from those inhabiting the
rivers of the neighbouring country, as far as Mr. Sowerby and myself
could judge, by comparing them with a collection of recent shells, which
I made during a residence of several years at Nagpoor ; nor do I think it
possible that any of the larger shells could have escaped my notice, did
they still iuhabit the northern branches of the Godavery. Colonel Sykes,
also, had the kindness to allow me to examine a collection of recent shells
made by him near the western ghats, consisting of the same species as

*# See Plate, ana Description.

1840.] of the Great Basaltic District of India. 97

those of the Berar valley, and they are of course different from the fossils.
I also failed to detect amongst them any of the shells contained in a
large collection of recent land and freshwater Testacea from Bengal, pre-
sented to the Zoological Society by Mr. Benson. It may therefore be
inferred, that the fossils do not belong to recent species.

Gyrogonites have not yet been observed in any deposit more ancient
than the freshwater formations of the basin of Paris. Cyprides occur
in the tertiary strata, and in the Weald clay below the chalk, and per-
haps in the Birdiehouse limestone of the Edinburgh coal-field. Of the
other five genera discovered in these fossil beds, two have hitherto been
found only recent or in tertiary deposits, viz. Limnea and Physa; and
the best characterized specimens of some of the others are referable to
_ the same period. It is therefore extremely probable, that the basalt in
which these fossils are imbedded, and which has altered the rocks in
which they occur, belongs to the tertiary epoch ; but to which period, I
fear we have not the means of forming any decided opinion. Though
none of the species are recent, yet they are too few andin too ruinous a
state to admit of any general conclusions ; although, from the very great
number of individuals collected in various localities, without adding
any fresh species, it is probable that nearly the whole which exist have
been procured. But when the vast extent of the country occupied by
the basalt is considered, and that a still greater tract was broken up or
disturbed at the time of its eruption, it will not appear improbable, that
a rule, founded on the disappearance of marine shells in districts ex-
posed to no such extensive causes of destruction of animal life, should
not apply.

In the preceding pages, I have described the fossils discovered by Mr.
Geddes and myself in various parts of the Sichel mountains, and the
Valley of Berar, extending through the great trap district for 140 miles;
and I shall now shortly refer to other localities at great distances from
each other, where the same fossils have been found in similar rocks,
buried under the basalt.

Oruer Districts oF INDIA IN WHICH SIMILAR FREsHWATER SHELLS
HAVE BEEN FOUND.

Dr. Spilsbury discovered, eighteen miles from Jubalpoor, in an undu-
lating piain studded with irregular masses of trap, blocks of “ indurated
clay,” containing casts of fossil shells, for the most part siliceous, and
resembling those discovered by Dr. Voysey in the Gawilghur range*. At

* Journal of the Asiatie Society of Bengal, vol, ii., p. 205,

28 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion { Juxy

Saugor, nearly 100 miles to the north-west, reversed shells, stated to be
exactly the same as those of Jubalpoor, were discovered by Dr. Spry in

a bed of limestone, entirely surrounded by an amphitheatre of trap hills,
in which a lower range of compact sandstone is included*. ‘This fossili-
ferous limestone is covered by 17 feet of basalt, and rests on a coarse si-
liceous grit, under which basalt is again met with. In the same neigh-
bourhood fine specimens of silicified palms are found. Jubalpoor and
Saugor are situated to the north of the Nerbudda, in the great Vindya

range ; and in the same district fossil bones of Mammalia occur in lime-
stone capped by basalt. The drawings of the shells differ a little from
each other}, but the fossils are stated to be the same; and, as far as Mr.
Sowerby could judge, they do not differ from the Physa Prinsepit. The
similarity was more obvious in other specimens left in India, and I have
no doubt of their being the same. It is, however, desirable that the spe-
cimens themselves, in the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
should be compared, that the connexion of the northern and southern
portions of the trap formation may be placed beyond a doubt. South of
the Nerbudda, fossils are again met with in the mountainous country,
north of the sources of the Taptee, at a place called Jirpah, near to
which trap hills have broken through the sandstone. Dr. Voysey, in
speaking of the heat of the steel furnaces of Neermul, notices the occur-
rence of an ‘“‘ indurated clay” containing fossils at this place, but he
gives no further information regarding them{. In a small specimen of
this rock, Mr. Sowerby recognized the Paludina Deccanensis, and a por-
tion of a larger shell, probably the Physa Prinsepii; and the matrix is
the same as the fossiliferous “ indurated clay’ from Gawilghur; it also
much resembles many of the varieties of chert in which the Berar fossils
are found. The third range of hills has been described by Dr. Voysey
under the name of the Gawilghur Mountains, and it forms a very re-
markable feature in the physical “geography of Central India. In this
lofty basaltic range, Dr. Voysey discovered fossil shells, the situation
of which he has accurately described§; but as his account. of them,
has been so far misunderstood, as to induce Mr. Conybeare to state
that they occur in “ lias-like beds||,” and Colonel Sykes in a recent

* Journal of the Asiatic Society, pp. 376, 639.
+ Ibid., p. 583, Plate 20.

+ Ibid., vol. i., p. 247.:

% Asiatic Researches, vol. XViii., p. 187.

|| Report to the British Association, 1852.

1840.] of the Great Basaltic District of India. 99

deposit*, it is necessary to mention that they are found in mountains in
great part composed of basalt resembling that of the Giant’s Causeway,
but containing, more frequently, crystals of olivine, of basaltic horn-
blende, and carbonate of lime. This rock passes into a wacké, having
every variety of structure and induration known amongst trap rocks,
or into what has been called stratified basalt, from the parallelism of its
planes, “‘ the summits of many of the ravines presenting a continued
stratum for many thousand yardsy.”

Ascending from the Taptee river, Dr. Voysey{ observed a group of
basaltic columns, and near the summit of the flat table-land of Jillan, he
entered a pass presenting a perpendicular section, above the road, of
30 feet, and below it, a rapid descent of between 40 and 50. The lower
part of the section, as well as the pathway, is composed of wacké, and
‘lying on it, isa stratum of earthy clay of different degrees of indura-
tion, 20 yards in length and about 2 feet thick, containing a great num-
ber of entire and broken shells,” which are much compressed, and do
not effervesce with acids. Some of them completely commix with the
matrix. This bed of clay possesses all the characters of a stratum,
which Dr. Voysey says, seems to have been depressed by an overlying
mass, 15 feet thick, of the nodular basalt or wacké so commen in these
hills. The vertical fissures, which are so “remarkable in trap rocks,
are prolonged from both the upper and lower rocks, into the shelly
stratum, although there is no intermixture of substance.” The stone in
which these fossils occur, is similar to that of Jirpah, and of many of
the specimens from the Sichel range and the valley of Berar; and the
easts and fragments of the shells resemble those of the Paludine and
other shells of that district. Between these mountains and the Sichel
hills, the great valley of Berar is included, but the two ranges closely
correspond in the nature of the soil and rocks, and in their fossiliferous
beds. They are not, however, exactly parallel; nor do I think, that we
are justified in classing them with the Vindya range to the north of the
Nerbudda, or with the range which separates the valley of that river from
the valley of the Taptee.

It is evident, from the same fossils being found in all these ranges, se-
yeral hundred miles distant from each other, and from the same secon-
dary rocks being broken up and altered, that the basalt of which they
are principally composed was, in part at least, erupted at the same time ;

* Geo). Trans., 2d Series, vol. iv., p. 426.

+ Dr. Voysey, Asiatic Researches, vol. xXviii., p. 127.

+ Asiatic Researches, vol. xviii., p. 192, and Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
vol. ii., p. 304,

-

100 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion [Jury

and that the western and eastern ghats must have partaken in this great
movement.

Shells, probably of the same genera, were also found by Dr. Voysey in
the insulated basaltic hills of Medcondah* and Sivalingapah, which rest
on the granite of the Deckan, south of the Godavery, and are probably
connected with the southern part of the great trap district, and the hills
of Bicknor Pett and Nugger shown in Section 1. The fossils are
imbedded in the basalt, ina siliceous rock containing lime, and cor-
responding in specific gravity, chemical composition, and appearance to
the fossiliferous cherts of the Nirmul Hills. Sivalingapah lies consider-
ably to the west, but nearly in the same latitude as Nirmul.

The only other locality where fossil shells have yet been discovered,

within or near the great basaltic district, is five miles south of Rajah- ©

mundry, a large town on the Godavery, a little above the alluvial plains
of its Deltat. They occur in some small hills ranging nearly W. and E.,
and composed of conglomerate and red sandstone supporting wacké,
overlaid by limestone containing shells, which is again covered by basalt,
The shells are in the best condition in the upper part of the limestone ;
of many only the impressions remain, but the oysters, which are the
most abundant, are well preserved. The basalt and some specimens of
the chert, jaspers, &e., from these hills, presented to me by Dr, Benza,
resemble the varieties found with the freshwater shells of the Sichel
range, and the hills in which they occur havingthe same direction, are
probably connected with the eastern termination of that range. They

are evidently associated with the sandstones of the diamond districts “—

to the north of the Kistnah, and with the continuation of the eastern
ghats; thus confirming the opinion aboye expressed, of these moun-
tains being of more modern elevation than is supposed by some geolo-
gists. It is impossible to separate the western ghats from the eastern in
any theory that can be formed, as they diverge from the same point,
support the same table-lands and the same stratified rocks; and where
these mountains meet at the Neilgherry Hills, the hornblende schist has
been noticed by Dr. Benza to dip in opposite directions from the eastern
and western mountains.

In the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. iv., p. 565, and

* In a specimen Of this chert in the Geological Society’s Museum, I have found a
gyrogonite of the same kind as those of Nirmul, and halves of a species of Cypris asso
ciated with shells. June 24, 1839.

+ Dr. Benza on the Neilgherries, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,"p. 435.,
Aug., 1835,

— VS

1840. ] of the Great Basaltic District of India. 101

our Plate, fossil shells are figured, which bear considerable resem-
blance to some specimens of Unio from the Sichel Hills, but not suf:
ficiently to identify them. They form part of the Dadapoor collection
of Sub-Himalayan fossils, so ably investigated by Lieuts. Baker and
Durand, and are stated by Mr. Prinsep, in a note, to be identical with
specimens collected by Colonel Burney with the bones of the Mastodon,
&c.in Ava. He adds, that they probably belong to the large and thick
species of Cyrena noticed by Professor Buckland as occurring in a blue
and marly clay near the locality of the fossil bones collected by Mr.
Crawford (Geol. Trans., 2nd Series, vol. v.) ; but I found the specimens
of these shells in the Society’s collection, to differ both from those of
the Sub-Himalayahs and of Central India.
= Mr. Pentland, in the same volume of the Geological Transactions,
! makes the following observations on Indian tertiary deposits: “ How far
| * the same formation may be prolonged in a southerly direction along the
' peninsulas of Malacca and of Hindoostan it is impossible to say ; al-
_ though we possess proofs of its existence at Madras, where it contains
** the same species of shells as on the Brahma-putra, and at Pondicherry,
*¢ where it envelopes the great masses of silicified wood found near that
“ city.” (p. 394). The formation on which Madras stands is, however,
erroneously referred to the tertiary epoch, being a recent alluvium, accu-
mulated by the joint action of the rivers and breakers, and containing
the same shells as now inhabit the mud of the salt-water inletsand sea> |
1 i shore of the Carnatic.
< With regard to the age of the silicified wood of Pondicherry, no facts —
have yet been ascertained which can justify any conclusion. It is, how-
ever, to be hoped, that a gentleman familiarly acquainted with the ter-
tiary and volcanic rocks of Greece and Italy, will soon communicate
positive information regarding the geological relations of the sandstones
containing the silicified trees and the fossil shells*, the conical hollows,
obsidians, and other indications of volcanic action said to exist in that
neighbourhood.

RELATIVE AGE or THE LATERITE AND TRAP,

I shall conclude this paper by one or two remarks on the relative age
of the Laterite and Trap. Dr. Babingtonf and Dr. Christie had observ-
ed this rock, both below and above the ghats in the latitudes of Seringa-

* The shells I have seen differ from those of Cen‘ral India,
‘+ Geol. Trans,, lst Series, vol, y., p. 329.

102 On the Fossiis of the Eastern Portion [Jury

patam and Goa, and I have traced it in the deep and narrow valleys
of Coorg, at various heights, from the level of the sea to several thou-
sand feet above it ; but as in all those places it rests on syenite or other
granitic rocks, from the decomposition of which, zm sééu, there is much
reason to suppose that this remarkable formation is derived, no inference
as to its age can be drawn from these facts. At Colter, however, and
other places on the coast of the great basaltic district, it rests on the
basalt, forming the summits of the hills, or an external layer over the
trap which constitutes the body of the hill. This superposition is exhi-
bited in ravines passing through the laterite, or where that rock has
thinned off so much, that it can be separated from the basalt below, which
has most commonly a stratified arrangement, often highly inclined and
parallel to the precipitous face of the hill. It has also been observed
above the ghats, and in the table-land of the Deckan, between the Go-
davery and Manjera rivers, resting on basalt; it is therefore probable,
that the trap has been protruded from below since the laterite assumed
its present form. It would be improper, in this place, to enter into any
details regarding a formation which extends over much of the Malay pen-
insula, Ceylon, the coasts of Coromandel and Malabar, and Central
India. In different portions of these vast countries, several varieties of
this rock are met with, well deserving of attention, yet its general char-
acter and composition is the same over 30 degrees of longitude and 20
of latitude, and nowhere is any proof to be found of its being of volcanic
origin*, or the equivalent of certain European rocks, as supposed by Elie
de Beaumont. Under the name of laterite, however, very different rocks
have been included; such as the ferruginous clays and sandy beds under-
lying the alluvium of the Irawady, near Rangoon, and a ferruginous con-
glomerate now forming in many places from decomposed and reconsoli-
dated laterite or syenite, and containing fragments of granite, and occa-
sionally enveloping a recent land shell.

Besides these, a rock, apparently of igneous origin, has been occa-
sionally confounded with laterite, and in the diamond districts is known
to the natives by the same name as is applied to that rock in the My-
sore. The thinner strata of the diamond sandstone of the Pennar have
been observed to be bent ina remarkable manner by the intrusion of
this rock ; and in other instances it had apparently escaped in a semifluid
state between the joints of the larger tables, carrying with it fragments
of the sandstone, whose angles are so well defined, that I thought I could
trace the very spot from which they had been broken off. Notwithstand-

* Calder, Asiatic Researches, vol. xviii. Conybeare, Report to British Association.

1840.] of the Great Basaltic District of India. 108

ing these appearances, the character of the rock differed so much from
any varieties of basalt I had then seen in India, that I hesitated about
referring it to the trap family, till I had seen varieties of a red wacké
much resembling it, constituting part of the basaltic mountains of the
island of Salsette. It is in a substance of this kind, interstratified with
sandstone, that Tavernier describes the diamond mines of Beejapoor to
have been worked in former times. The transitory nature of the politi-
cal divisions of this part of India, and the decay or desertion of many
towns and villages, have hitherto prevented the identification of these
mines; but enough has been said to show the importance of caution in
reasoning on individual facts, relative to one of the most singular and
extensive formations anywhere to be found.

Note,

The freshwater shells described in the preceding pages, must have in-
habited sheets of fresh water of which no traces can now be discovered,
in the configuration of the mountainous tracts, in which they for the
most part occur. No natural lakes exist in these districts, nor could
shells have accumulated in such quantity in rivers similar to those which
now intersect the country. It may, however, be supposed that the sand-
stone and limestone rocks of Berar had once a position similar to that
which the same rocks now occupy in the basins of the Kistnah and Pen-
nar. Voysey describes these rivers as passing through the Nulla-Mulla
range by gaps or fissures ‘“‘ which have been produced by some great con-
*¢ vulsion, which at the same time that it formed the beds of these rivers,
“¢ save passage to the accumulated waters of some vast lakes situated
*¢ near the outlets.” ‘‘ The tortuous course of the Kistnah is bounded
“ for upwards of 70 miles by lofty and precipitous banks, which in some
places rise 1000 feet above its level, the opposite sides of the chasm

** corresponding in an exact manner. Ravines of this description are not
unfrequent all over the range, and the exact correspondence of their
salient and re-entering angles, together with the abruptness of their
origin, totally preclude the supposition of their being hollowed out
by the action of running water™.’ Such seems also to have
been the case, where the Pennar passes through a narrow gorge
in the Gundicottah sandstone hills. ‘Through the upper part of
its course, this river flows over a flat country covered with

alluvial soil, at right angles to the hills; but it finds an exit

* Asiatic Researches, vol, Xv,, p. 123, 124.

104 On the Fossils of the Eastern Portion, Se. [Juny -

through them, by a fracture in the wall which in former times had ap-
parently dammed up its waters. The strata have been much disturbed,
probably by the eruption of the basalt, which is seen at the foot of the
sandstone hills on the opposite side of the valley, from which the Gun-
dicottah range appears to have been separated. Plate, Section 2d.
It should, however, be stated, that ravines formed in this sandstone, by.
the action of the streams now flowing in them, exhibit abrupt precipices,
the opposite sides of which correspond to each other as Voysey has
described.

The sections accompanying this paper were constructed by Captain
Smith, of the Madras Engineers, F. R. S., from information contained
in my notes made during several journeys in the lines represented, and
from some published papers. The information is by no means complete,
but, I believe, it will be found to be correct. as far as it goes. In conse~
quence of the great length of the lines to be represented, and the com-
paratively moderate height of the hills, it would have been impossible
to have given the different formations of sufficient size to have been
seen in a distinct manner without great distortion of the strata, had the
whole distance been represented. Breaks, therefore, have been intro-
duced, representing the continuance of the same rock for the number
of miles specified in each instance. In the Baulpilly valley and in some
other localities (Sect. 2) the summits of the hills are almost inaccessi-
ble, and it has consequently been impossible to represent them as they
occur in the exact line of section. Ihave therefore been eontent to
exhibit the strata as they occur at their bases, with the exception of a
few of the hills which have been more carefully examined, and which cor-
respond in appearance to those which are as yet unexplored.

Section Ist passes from the Bangnapilly diamond mines to the valley
of the Nerbudda, with the view of connecting Section No. 1, across the
peninsula, with a line running north and south through its centre ; and
which might easily be continued to the Himalayah mountains to the
north and Ceylon to the south.—7Z’ransactions of the Geological Society
of London, Second Series, vol. 5, part 3, pp. 537-575.

we a? 9D

1840.] On the Entomology of the Himalayas and of India. 105

VIII.—On the Entomology of the Himalayas and of India.—By the

Rev F. W. Hops, F.R.S., F.L.S., §c., President of the Entomolo-
gical Society of London.*

It may by some be considered a proof of presumption, that any indi-
vidual should undertake to describe the entomo-geographical character
of a country which he has never visited ; and bold, I am willing to allow,
is the attempt to embrace, in my views, not only the distribution of In-
sects in the Himalayas, but those also of the whole Continent of India
and its adjacent islands. Possessing, however, one of the richest Cabi-
nets of Oriental Entomology to be found in this or any other country,
the major part of the species collected at Calcutta, Madras, Poona, and
Singapore, and in the islands of Java and Ceylon ; and through the kind-
ness of my friends, the late lamented General Hardwicke, Colonels Sykes
and Whitehill, Captains Law, Smee, and Smith, having access to their
rich and extensive collections from Nepal, Bombay, and the Deccan; I
may be enabled, perhaps, from such a mass of materials, to offer some
new facts respecting the geographical distribution of Insects, a subject
apparently little studied, and certainly not sufficiently appreciated. It
is, indeed, with diffidence that I undertake a task beset on all sides with
difficulties; and before I enter on it, I claim the indulgence of my
readers, and solicit them to regard the present attempt merely as an
outline sketch, which can afterwards be filled up with greater accuracy,
as our acquaintance with the nature of the soil, and the forms of animal
and vegetable life belonging to the East, become better known. The
entomological character of a country is particularly influenced by three
things; first, by its temperature; secondly, by its vegetation; and,
lastly, by its soil; and, perhaps, a few remarks on these subjects (relating
chiefly to the Eastern world) may not here be deemed out of place, be-

fore entering more fully into the entomology of the Himalayas and of
India.

* The Author has to apologize to the Rev. Mr. Hope and te his readers for the long
delay which has eccurred in the publishing of this valuable Paper, written for him in

1834, and which has been in type for a considerable time. The Insects of the Author’s

collection which Mr. Hope has described, were collected in the neighbourhood of
Saharunpore, in the valleys of the Himalayas, and on the mountains in the neighbour.
hood of Mussooree, at 6,500 feet of an elevation in 30° of N. latitude. The reader will
observe that many of the desiderata required by Mr. H. on temperature and vegetation,
are detailed throughout the ‘‘ Illustrations,’’ and he cannot fail to be struck with the ree
markable ec incidence in opinion, respecting the distribution of Insects as given by Mr.

Hope, with that of the Author on the geographical distribution of the Flora of the plains
and mountains of India.—J, F. KR.

506 On the Entomology of the [ Jun

INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE AND OF MOISTURE.

In those regions of the world where we find a multiplicity of genera of
animals, united with a prolificness of species, we may naturally imagine
that circumstances are admirably suited to their existence; and, on the
contrary, where we find a small number of genera, and in many instances
a diminutive form, and a paucity of individuals, we arrive at an opposite
conclusion. Now, if we search for the cause of these discrepancies, we
shall find it to depend in a great measure on the influence of tempera-
ture. Let us examine, then, in what portion of the globe a super-
fecundity of organized life exists. Certainly not at the poles, or even in
the temperate zones ; to the tropical and equatorial regions we must next
proceed, and it is there, in those warmer districts of the earth that we
find the energies of life more early developed, and vigour and produc-
tiveness seem the characteristics of the elime. These remarks apply
not less to animal than to vegetable life, for no where do the Herbivora
abound more than in warm regions, and no where do we meet with more
luxuriance of foliage, or a greater exuberance of arboreous vegetation,
than within the tropics. As we recede from the equator, and approxi-
mate to the poles, temperature gradually diminishes; and probably nearly
in the same proportion as heat decreases, so shall we find the decrease of
animal and vegetable species, till we arrive at that degree of cold where
vegetation is stunted, circulation languid, animation becomes suspended,
and existence is scarcely tenable, if not actually destroyed.

To obviate the effects occasioned by a low temperature, some animals
burrow in the earth, and pass the winter in inactivity and torpor ; others
again, gifted with extraordinary locomotive powers, migrate into milder
regions in quest of food, which the rigour of a brumal season and a nor-
thern climate has rendered precarious. It appears to me an observation
worthy of attention, that at the very period the migratory birds visit us,
Insects are already teeming into life, while vegetation has arrived at a
state of forwardness sufficient to support, as it were, the expected in-
crease of animal beings. We infer, then, that as vegetation is apparently
regulated and influenced by temperature, so animalization is in a measure
dependent on vegetation as a secondary cause. It may naturally be ex-
pected, in a gigantic country like India, whose superficial area is nearly
one million and a half of miles in extent, that great diversities of climate
will be found; and when we take into our consideration the altitude of
its mountains, surpassing in grandeur the Andes of the American world §

we may expect every gradation of temperature which can occur, from the |
intense cold of the eternally snow-capped height, to the baneful heat of |
the tropical valley. The elevation of the land above the ocean, the

_{.

1840.] Himalayas and of India. 107

height and direction of its mountain ranges promoting or checking radia-
tion, its mighty rivers and interminable jungles, its soil, strata, and arid
deserts, absorbing and radiating heat, exert their varied influences, and
modify the temperature of that extensive Continent; and yet, admitting
thus much, I cannot help stating an opinion, that according to the extent
of the country, no other portion of the globe enjoys a more general and.
equable uniformity of temperature than India. This may satisfactorily
be proved, provided we take as the basis of our argument the wide range
of region, over which not individual species, but whole genera of Insects
extend, and the general uniformity of Oriental vegetation. Before dis-
missing the important subject of temperature, I wish to offer a few re-
marks on the variation of heat and cold throughout the summers and
winters in the Himalayas and in India. In the former Dr. Royle states,

‘in his admirable pages, that the Flora of the Himalayas in the spring

and summer of the year resembles that of Europe, while in the rainy
geason it becomes intermixed with tropic-like vegetation; and hence
there is a certain admixture of genera belonging to temperate and tro-
pical climes. The change of temperature and of moisture producing a
new vegetation, exercises a corresponding influence over the distribution
of Insects throughout the same country; and consequently we have
reason to expect, as will afterwards appear in my remarks, that its ento-
mological character is also twofold, uniting in itself that of both zones.
This intermingling of genera of tropical and temperate regions will ever
probably be found more perceptible in the rainy season, in advancing from
the valley to the mountain height; and perhaps we ought to know the
results of the following researches, before we attempt to arrive at any
conclusion respecting the distribution of animal groups in the Himalayas
orin India. I would therefore suggest to future travellers in these mag-
nificent regions, first, to endeavour to ascertain the differences of climate,
and the causes which affect its temperature; secondly, to find out the
average limit to which tropical forms extend, to state where they most
abound, where begin to lessen, and finally terminate; thirdly, to note
in what proportions the genera of tropical and temperate climes are in-
termingled; fourthly, at what altitude temperate forms predominate
over tropical; and, lastly, to mention as nearly as it is possible the
range of any group of animals in preference to that of any ia-

‘dividual species: both objects, however, are desirable. In addition

tothe above desiderata, it will be necessary to note the seasons of
Insects and times of their appearance, the soil in which they are found,
and the vegetation upon which they live; since the distribution of
animals in general is greatly dependent on food, which food will abound,

108 On the Entomology of the [Jury

or be found deficient, according to the richness or poverty of the soil, or
according as the degrees of heat and moisture influence the same. It
appears to me, that it is chiefly in swamps, and in low and marshy lands
acted on by the rays of the sun, where there is a union of heat and
moisture, that the major part of Insects seem particularly to flourish. In
such localities we find genera more abundant, a great increase of
species, the number of individuals prodigiously augmented, and the
energies of life more rapidly developed. Animals appear more than
usually productive, either in the alluvium of mighty rivers, or in the
tropical jungle. It was on the banks of the Nile, amid its slime, acted
on by the influence of the sun, that the doctrine of spontaneous gene-
ration originated, and Iam told also entertained by the ancient Brah-
mans on the banks of the Ganges, as seen in Susruta. It is in like
situations, where heat and moisture predominate, that nature still exhibits
her surpassing and inexhaustible fecundity. |

If we next turn our attention to the tropical jungle, we meet there
with nearly an equally teeming exuberance and productiveness of species.
The heavy tropical rains saturating the accumulated mass of heated
leaves, and vegetable matter, considerable vapour is produced peculiarly
adapted to increase insect life; and it is not a little singular, that as
soon as the first showers fall in these regions, all nature becomes reani-
mate ; and as the rains increase, so do the Insects in proportion more
and more, till the rainy season fairly sets in, at which period the jungle
and the forest literally teem with myriads of insect population, more
numerous than the stars of heaven, and as countless as the sands of
the sea-shore. In concluding this part of my subject, I need only re-
peat shortly, that heat and moisture combined, exercise a powerful con-
trol over the geographical distribution of insect life, and that this dis-
tribution is also influenced in a greater or less degree by vegetation,
as well as by the soil of a country; but these are subjects which require

further elucidation.

INFLUENCE OF VEGETATION.

The entomologist who wishes for accurate information respecting the
geographical distribution of Insects over the wide extent of our globe,
must take into his consideration wot only the influence of temperature,
but that of vegetation; nor should he omit to note the varieties of soil
which materially influence it. The dependence of this distribution of
animals, although greatly swayed by temperature, is no less so by the
supply of food and nourishment they can «btain. Insects are designat-
ed according to the kind of food they consume, as carnivorous or phy

1840.] fTimalayas and of India. 109

tyvorous; and in proportion as food is ample or deficient, so probably
they abound in numbers, or decrease and vary in magnitude and form.
To its abundance we may in some measure attribute size, to its defici-
ency the frequency of dwarfishness of stature, immaturity, and many
of the numerous crippled specimens, as also some of the monstrosities
found in our collections. The great Latreille has justly observed, that
where the empire of Flora ends, there also terminates that of Zoology ;
and I have little doubt, that where vegetation is richest, there animal
groups also will be found most abundant in genera, species, and- in-
dividuals, not only those which are herbivorous, but those also which are
carnivorous.

{t is not my intention here to enter into avy details respecting the
Himalayan or Indian Flora. If the reader requires information on these
points, I refer him at once to the accurate and invaluable pages of Dr.
Wallich and Dr. Royle; and as I at present look merely to the vegeta-
tion, as influencing in a great measure the character of the entomology
of the country, a concise outline of the leading features of the Botany
of those regions is all that is here requisite. Throughout India, accord-
ing to the above authorities, there appears to be an uniformity of vege-
tation, tropical species greatly predominating over those of the temperate
zones; there occurs also a considerable admixture of genera belonging
to temperate climes, and at a high elevation plants abound, which are
indicative of Alpine regions. Several genera appear common to Europe,
North America, and India; and in some instances identical species have
been recognized as existing in Europe and in Asia, as well as in the
New World. It still remains, however, with the botanist to determine
the similarity of vegetation in Western India and Africa, a similarity
which I anticipate will be eventually found to exist, if not at present
actually known—a similarity I am led to suspect solely from observing
a great resemblance in the character of the entomology of Western India
and Eastern Africa.* In many instances cognate species of Insects ap-
pear both in Africa and Asia, which, by a careless observer, might be
considered only as varieties ; they are, however, on examination, suf-
ficiently distinct, and I therefore think myself justified in esteeming them
the representatives of their respective countries, as undvubtedly they
fulfil the same offices and functions in both. In several cases we meet
with identity of species in Asia and Africa ; and there is an observation

® Vide p. 159 of the ‘“‘ Illustrations,’’ where the similarity of vegetation in parts of
India and in Western Africa is referred to, as originally remarked by Mr. Brown, and
which has been confirmed by subsequent discoveries.-J. F. R,

110 On the Entomology of the [Juny

I have made, worthy of still further investigation, that most of the In-
sects which are identical in both countries, are either coprophagous or
phytyphagous; in short, vegetable feeders, which circumstance would
lead one to suppose a similarity of vegetation in the different regions.

It may here be expected, perhaps, that I should state the relative pro-
portions of the carnivorous and phytyvorous Insects; and I cannot but
regret that I have not as yet followed up my investigations sufficiently to
enable me to draw a satisfactory conclusion. Messrs. Kirby and Spence,
in their interesting work, speaking of our British Fauna, esteem these
groups as nearly equalin number. I must confess my own observation
induces me to believe, that the latter greatly exceed the former in our
own country. With respect tothe phytyvorous group in tropical climates,
they certainly greatly out-number the carnivorous; and were it not so,
the air in those regions would scarcely be habitable, considering the nau-
seating effluvia arising from excrementous matter, which the Copridz in
particular tend to neutralise, by consuming, decomposing, and burying in
the earth, all that is cbnoxious and liable to putrify. In proof of this
assertion, I will only here add, that five of the greatest groups with
which we are acquainted, namely, the Lamelilicornes, the Sternoxes, and
the Longicornes, the Curculionidz and Chrysomelidze, are almost entirely
phytyvorous or xylobious ; and it may also be naturally inferred from the
superabundance of animal life of all classes within the tropics, particu-
larly the Ruminantia, that there also vegetation will be found most luxu-
riant ; yet, looking to Insects only, we find they are scarcely sufficient to
keep in check its excessive exuberance. In addition to multiplied forms
of genera, we have an extraordinary increase of species and of individuals.
It is in these same prolific regions also, that the mighty Goliathi and gi-
gantic Prionide abound, where they perforate the trunks of the proudest
monarchs of the forest, and hasten them onward to decay ; and, by means
apparently inefficient, check vegetation. Itis time, however, to add a
remark on the carnivorous Insects, which, although inferior in numbers
to the phytyvorous, are still an important group ; and in northern regions,
by removing the decomposing matter from the decaying and putrifying
carcass, fulfil the functions assigned to them by Providence. In tropical

regions they are certainly not always so abundant, as a dead body, from

the natural dryness of the air, and intense heat of the sun, is frequently
dried up before putridity has made much progress; at least, such is the
case in the Pampas. I cannot help thinking, however, although our ca-
binets contain but few species from equinoctial and tropical latitudes,
that eventually they will be found more numerous, and that in these re-
gions we shall still find them more proportioned to the excess of animal

a ee

er

a, ne ee) ny wee

1840. | Himalayas and of India. 111

life than appears to be the case at present. Religious prejudice, and
the filthy and disgusting habits of these Insects, may be the causes why
they have been neglected. In India, ifthe Necrophaga are not so numer-
ous as elsewhere, yet the numbers of some particular species being ex-
cessive beyond measure, are sufficient, perhaps, to compensate for want
of variety.

RANGE.

In the consideration of the geographical distribution of Insects,
especial notice should be taken of the range over which genera and
families extend. From want of attention to this subject, entomologists
have not sufficient data to form any just views respecting it. Every
naturalist who has studied animals, must be aware that certain tribes,
genera, and species, are peculiar to particular regions of the globe. On
the contrary, in various countries of the earth the Botanist meets with
genera of plants which are common to Europe, and the other quarters of
the globe, to the Old World as well as to the New. In some instances,
identity of species has been recognized in countries remotely situated,
between which seas and oceans intervene. It becomes, then, a question
of considerable importance to determine if any species of plants have an
unlimited or universal range, as probably all those insect races which
feed on vegetables are regulated in their distribution by the same laws
which govern the distribution of the plants themselves. It must be
evident even to the most careless observer, that where the climate is
materially changed in temperature, that there vegetation will be propor-
tionately altered, and I imagine that cventually the entomological char-
acter of a country willbe found much more dependent upon vegetation
than has hitherto been allowed. It is true, indeed, that although two
countries may agree in temperature and botanical character, the Insects
may be totally different in form and appearance; but, in looking to
their functions, if we find them the same, or nearly the same, we at once
acknowledge the resemblance, and imagine they take the place of other
known and existing groups elsewhere; a resemblance of character, which
Messrs. Kirby and Spence have very properly denominated representa-
tion, which representation will even be more perceptible as the soil and
general characters of the countries accord.

INFLUENCE OF SOIL.

Having already seen that both temperature and vegetation exercise
a powerful control over the geographical distribution of insect races,
there still remains a third subject of inquiry, namely, the influence of

112 On the Entomology of the [Jury

soil over the same groups. If we find that in particular rich soils vari-
ous genera of Insects abound, and that in others of an inferior quality
scarcely a species can be met with, may we not naturally infer that there
must be some peculiarity in it, and that the animal groups are influenc-

ed by their attachment to the same? The Botanist readily admits that-

vegetation is materially influenced by it, but as yet the Zoologist has
made little inquiry respecting this subject, replete as it ever must be
with high interest, and well worth most serious attention. Without
entering deeply into the geology of India, I may state, on the authority
of Co'onel Sykes, that the character of the geology of great part of the
Peainsula, like that of its vegetation, presents considerable uniformity :
unacquainted with its leading features, I can derive my observations res-
pecting it solely from the examination of the genera before me. I will,
therefore, merely give concisely what groups attach themselves to parti-
cular soils in different countries, and hope that the attempt, imperfect
as it is, may induce other naturalists to undertake an inquiry which must
lead to very important results. As the mountain, the valley, and the
plain, have their own peculiar temperature, vegetation, and soil, they
have also particular groups of animals attached to them; and if we look
more closely, we shall find that particular families and genera are al-
ways to be met with in certain strata and soils, evincinz, as it were, a
partiality and adaptation, by frequenting and thriving in them.

It may here be worth while to specify some of the genera of Insects attend-
ant on the difference of soil. It is in the sandy districts of our own country
that the few species of Cicindela, peculiar to our island, occur. Cicin-
dela maritima, however, prefers the vicinity of the sea-shore, while seve-
ral Oriental species, remarkable for their beauty and colouring, delight
more in the alluvial soil of rivers Frequenting the sandy heath are
found the splendid Chlorion, the fetid Sphex, and restless Ammophilus,
associated with numerous species of Andrena and Nomada. In the sand,
washed from the mountain height, at the sources of our Kuropean rivers,
some species of Nebria and Psammodius are exceedingly abundant. If
we visit the parched and burning sands of Africa, we there meet with the
rapacious Anthia, the desert-loving Graphiptera, the burrowing Scarites,
and countless species of Heteromera and Tetramera. In the same soil
also, on the banks of rivers, the genera Epaphius and Trechus, Clivina
and Dyschirius, are not unfrequent. On the sand of the sea-shore,
Broschus, Bradytus, Pedinus, and Agialia, occur in extraordinary num-
bers ; and where it is habitually covered with salt water at the departure
of the tide, we capture Cillenum, Pogonus, Hesperophilus, and Hetero
cserus, the singularly-formed Bledius, and wonderfully-abundant Ophonus

1840.} Himalayas and of India. 118

pubescens, all of which I have reason to believe can live submerged
beneath the sea a considerable period. Of all other soils, clay,* being
naturally cold, attracts fewer Insects, excepting the widely-disseminated

- Harpali. In gravel, occur the genera Opatrum, Halictus, Cerceris, with
numerous colonies of Ants. Toa chalky soil are attached the Ophoni,
Licini, Choeetophora, and various species of Polyommata, Osmia spinu-
losa, and Andrena hemorrhoidalis. When collecting in the mud of the
fresh-water marsh, we capture Blethisa, Chlenius, Omaseus, and Ago-
num, and several Carabide. In the slime of brackish waters, several No-
taphi are exceedingly abundant, though rare elsewhere; and in company
with them we find the subaquatics Elophorus, Parnus, and springing Sal-
da. It has also been observed, that Pimelia is only to be met with where
the plants of the genus Salsola abound. Catascopus and Elaphrus fre-
quent the alluvium of rivers. In the mud of lakes and pools various
genera of Hupodina, Nothiophilus, Bembidiade, and Trechide occur ;
and in vegetable mould, where the grass is luxuriant, numerous Diptera,
and Larve of Lepidoptera, abound. Even in this short and imperfect
account of different genera attached to varieties of soil, sufficient has
already been stated to prove that it exerts an important control over the
range and distribution of Insect races: however, to give the naturalist a
better insight into Indian groups, I shall here add an analysis of the
leading families and genera which have fallen under my observation, and
then conclude with an abstract describing the leading characters of Hi-
malayan and Indian Entomology.

From what has already been written, it will appear that Insects, in
their geographical distribution, are influenced by various causes; by tem-
perature, by excess or deficiency of moisture, by the influence of vege-
tation, and by soil. There is yet, however, another, which materially
affects, in some instances, particular groups, namely, the peculiarity of
the organization of the: Insects themselves. Should any genera of In-
sects occur which are deficient in the organs of locomotion, they would
naturally be restricted to certain localities. How many genera of the

. Coleoptera and other orders are apterous, and are only found in particu-
lar situations ; and they have necessarily particular functions to perform
in their restricted limits, and also particular organs adapted to the work
assigned them by the Creator. It is to the study then of the differences
of organization adapted to differences of situation, and other external
circumstances wherever we find Insects, that the entomologist should

* Mr. Shuckhard informs me, that Andrena labialis seems peculiarly attached to the

London clay.

114 On the Entomology of the [Jury

direct his attention. Contemplating all these instances of adaptation, we
reverence the wisdom of a creative and the beneficence of a superintend-
ing Providence, that prevents diminution and increase, both extremes of
which would prove injurious ; for without these “ armies of the living
God,” to keep in check the fecundity of nature, plague and pestilence
would walk abroad, and depopulate not a single country, or one quarter
of the globe, but the whole earth itself.*

ANALYSIS
Or THE ENTOMOLOGY or tue HIMALAYAS anp or INDIA.

CICINDELIDZ.

The following genera belonging to this family are not uncommon in
India, viz. Therates, Tricondyla, and Colliuris: the two former are
characteristic of a southern range, while the latter is abundant through-
out the eastern continent. Of Indian Cicindelide, more than sixty
species have fallen under my notice: the most splendid of the race
abound in Nepal. Among various species, however, peculiar to the
Himalayas, only one approaches the form of our European Germanica.

DRYPTIDA.

As Iam only acquainted with a single species of Indian Casnonia, I
pass on to Drypta, a Nepalese individual of this family belonging to the
genus Desera, Leach, which is described in General Hardwicke’s collec-
tion. Five others are also recorded as inhabiting India.

LEBIADZ..

Cymindis has not yet been discovered in India; eventually it may
occur in the Himalayas: it is difficult to imigine what genus takes its
place. Lebia is of rare occurrence in the East; a non-descript, named
unicolor, in my collection, is from the Himalayas. Aploa is found at
Poona. Orthogonius is common to Africa and Asia: the gigantic species,
however, predominate in the latter country.

* In concluding my observations on the geographical distribution of Insects, I think
it may be stated, that naturalists on this subject have almost exclusively directed their
attention to temperature. Where temperature fails, we may turn to vegetation; and
if the latter is not sufficient, then to the soil and strata of a country, and even to the
organization of the Insects themselves, as well as other causes. No one by itself is suf-
ficient to uuravel the difficulties which arise ; by uniting all, however, we may in a
great measure account for the various discrepancies that occur.

1340.] Himalayas and of India. 115

BRACHINIDZ.

The French writers appear unacquainted with the true type of Helluo,
exclusively belonging to New Holland: the genus denomiaated Omphra
by Dr. Leach, applies solely to the Indian Helluones. Ozena and
Pseudo-zena inhabit Calcutta and Cayenne; while Trigonodactyla ap-
pears in Africa and Asia. The Graphi) tere of the sandy deserts have
no representative inthe East. This genus appears to unite Brachinus
and Anthia: the latter is found throughout the continent of India.
Some of the specimens from Nepal, however, are very diminutive.
Aptinus is partly confined to Northern Europe and America; while true
Brachinus enjoys the unlimited range of the world. Catascopus is
found in Nepal, and resembles in its habits Elaphrus of Europe, and
probably occupies its place. Dyscolus, Promecoptera, and Thyreopterus,
prefer the southern tropical regions, and are net found to range as far
north as the Himalayas.

SCRAITIDZ.

Siagona atrata is met with in Nepal and various parts of India: a
specimen lately received frum Egypt, if not the self-same, is so exceed-
ingly alike in size and sculpture, that it is very difficult to distinguish.
The Scaritide abound in both hemispheres. Scapterus of India is re-
presented by Oxystomus in the Brazils, and ia Africa by Acanthoscelis.
Morio and Clivina will, perhaps, be found in both the Old and New
World; the latter, indeed, is common to all temperatures; the former
may eventually occur in Europe, perhaps in Sicily.

- HARPALIDZ.

Harpali are found dispersed nearly in all the countries of the globe:
they abound more in the arctic than antarctic regions. The following
genera are recorded as belonging to India, viz. Harpalus, Platymetopus,
Selenophorus, Cyclosomus, and many others. Some species of Ophonus
from Bengal and Poona, closely resemble British species,

POGONID.

Some of the genera of this family are not confined to the temperate
zones ; the major part of them prefer the polar regions. Pogonus and
Cardiaderus are met with in Asia and Africa; while Patrobus is appa-

_ rently peculiar to Northern Europe and America.

CALATHIDA. |
Dolichus has not yet been discovered in India: it is probable, how-

116 On the Entomology of the [Jury

ever, that it will occur there. Pristonychus inhabits Nepal and Europe ;
while Calathus prefers a northern more than a southern climate.

FERONIADE.

Instead of finding Peecilus in India, we meet with Trigonotoma, Ca-
tadromus, Lesticus, and Distrigus: most of them peculiar to that conti-
nent. Argutor antiqua occurs inthe East; Omaseus and Platysma in
Nepal; and Steropus in the vicinity of Poona. It is by mistake that
Percus has been introduced among oriental genera. Cephalotes is found
in Nepal and Australia: Stomis, Zabrus, and Pelorus prefer the tempera-
ture of Southern Europe. They may, however, be expected to appear
in the Himalayas, Amara is captured in Japan; Antarctia and Maso-
reus are equally natives of Europe, Africa and Asia. Several non-
descript species from the East, of the latter genus, are to be found in our
English cabinets.

SPHODRIDZ.

The genus Sphodrus occurs in Nepal, and the anomalous form of Mor-
molyce in Java and Singapore; which last has been ranged with this
family, but appears to be sadly out of place, as it is most likely a sub-
cortical feeder.

ANCHOMENIDZ.

I am not aware that Platynus, Agonum, or Olistophus, have yet been
discovered in India: the two former will no doubt be found in the Himas
layas, when the Insects of that country are better known.

CALLISTIDA. —

Epomis and Chlenius abound in the tropics: the maculated set ap-
pear common to Asia and Africa, each country possessing species almost
exact representatives of each other. Chlenius nepalensis approaches
in form to Licinus; and although Oodes is widely dispersed over India,
no Nepalese examples have yet come under my notice. Callistus occurs
in the Mysore.

DICG LID.

Rembus is found on the Malabar and Coromandal coasts, at Calcutta,
and in Nepal: its allied genus, Licinus, may be expected to occur, as
some Asiatic species have already been described. Panageeus has its
metropolis in India.

PROCERIDZ.
Among the Insects collected by Dr. Wallich, there were four or five

1840. ] Himalayas and of India. 417

species of true Carabus, only one of which I was enabled to describe.
Several may occur in the colder mountain temperature, and it is probable
they will resemble Siberian forms. Wherever the oak grows, there Ca-
losoma will be found. Seven eastern species are known to me. C. indi-
cum inhabits Nepal. If caterpillars are necessary to keep in check the
luxuriance of tropical vegetation, surely the Calosomata are equally ne-
cessary to keep within bounds these Insects, which sometimes destroy,
in northern climes, nearly the foliage of the year.

NEBRIADA.

This family may be considered as belonging to a Northern and Alpine
range. Should it occur in Nepal, it will be found at a considerable ele-
vation, possibly amid the Himalayan snows. As to Elaphrus, I have
already stated an opinion that Catascopus represents it in India.

BEMBIDIIDA ayy TRECHIDA.

Of the former family, several genera will no doubt eventually be found
in Nepal: a single species of Tachys is the only example I am able to re-
cord at present. Ofthe latter, Stenolophus, Acupalpus and Tetrageno-
derus have occurred : the last of which may take the place of Bembi-
dium.

DYTICIDA.

Aquatic Coleoptera are apparently not much influenced by climate:
the temperature of water not varying like that of the earth or air, is the
reason we meet with the self-same species in the interior of India and
the south of France. Dyticus appears confined to Northern Europe or
America, while Cybister is dispersed throughout the world. Eunectes
and Hydaitcus belong to Nepal and India, and to the latter country we

may add also the following genera, viz. Colymbetes, Laccophilus, N oterus,
Hyphydrus and Hydroporus.

GYRINIDZ.

Many gigantic species of Gyrinide abound in India. Dineutus ne-
palensis, politus, and spinosus, have been found within the Himalayan
districts. ia ”

HYDROPHILIDZ.

Several genera of this family are as widely distributed as the Dyticide ;
and most of those found in India inhabit Nepal.

NECROPHAGA.

Differing with most entomologists, I am inclined to believe that the
eatrion feeders abound more in warm countries than is generally believed,

118 On the Entomology of the [Jury

The religious prejudices of the Indians not allowing them to touch a dead
body, may account for the few species which have hitherto reached
Europe from the East. Necrophorus, Necrodes, Silpha, and Oiceoptoma,
are met with in India and Nepal. It is probable that Necrophorus is
more peculiarly adapted to Northern climates, while the remaining genera
ailect those of tropical regions.

EROTYLIDE.

Passing Nitidulida, which have been captured in India, we arrive at
Engide and Erotylide. In the former family, we find Triplax, Ips, and
Dacne ; in the latter, Erotylus; and next to this group, Languiria and
Eumorphus should be placed ; genera abounding in species in Nepal and
india.

DERMESTIDA.

In General Hardwicke ’s Collection, there is a Nepalese specimen of
Dermestes, similar in every respect to D. lardarius of Europe: a second
species is closely allied to D. vulpinus of Africa. It is scarcely possible
that either of them can have been imported into the Himalayas by
commerce. This genus, and its congeners, is apparently a predominant
group throughout the world,

BYRRHIDA.

Tke foreign Helocerata require attentive examination. Among the
drawings of the Nepal Collection, made purposely for General Hard-
wicke, two species ef Anthrenus are figured : they appear novel in form.

HISTERIDA.

This family abounds in India. JI am acquainted with more than fifty
species from the East: some of the Nepalese specimens are in too muti-
lated a state to describe.

LUCANID.

I formerly described six species from Nepal : two more from the Hima-
layas are undescribed in Dr. Royle’s Collection. In no country is there
a greater admixture of temperate and tropical forms than in India; some
of the Lacani’z resemble our British species very closely, while others
are the same as those in Javaand Singapore. Forty species have been
submitted to my inspection. Passalidze are not equally abundant in the
Old as in the New World.

LAMELLICORNES. =
The celebrated Ateuchus ASgyptiorum,#or Sacred Beetle, has al-

1840.] : Himalayas and of India. 119

most an exact representative in India. Gymnopleurus capicola, Hope,
and azureus, Jab. both of them African species, are replaced in the
East by G. sinuatus, Jab. and splendens, Hope. Sisyphus is met
with in both hemispheres. Epirinus is an African, as well as an
oriental form. Several Indian Copridez resemble those of Egypt. Co-
pris Midas of India and Nepal, exactly corresponds with C. Isidis
of Africa. C. Sabzeus and Pithecius appear common to both contin-
ents, and are equally abundant in Ceylon; and several smaller species
of Copris, from the eastern part of Africa, if not the same, approach
so closely to those of Western Asia, as to induce a belief that they are
the same Insects, only modified by climate. Qnitis and Oniticellus
haye also several representatives in both regions, if not in some instances
the self-same species. Onthophagus abounds more in India than any
other country ; some of them unrivalled in size, splendour, and variety of
form. More than 120 oriental species may be seen in European cabinets ;
five only now are described from Nepal ; double that number, however,
are in too mutilated a state to be characterized. Pactolus of Nepal and
India, is represented in Senegal by Harpax, Jab. Aphodius, compared
with Onthophagus, as an Indian group, is quite insignificant; scarcely
twenty species are recorded, including those of Manilla_and the Eastern
Isles : a non-descript from Nepal will appear in the Appendix. As there
is only a single specimen of ‘Trox in General Hardwicke’s collection, I
pass on to

GEOTRUPIDA.

Geotrupes has been denied by Latreille to exist in India; the Baron
de Jean also makes no mention of any Eastern species from that country
in his last catalogue. Two species are in my recollection ; one from Delhi,
and a second from Japan; a third also, unique, is among Dr. Royle’s
Insects from the Himalayas. It is probable that this genus, when found
in India, appears on mountains at a considerable elevation: the species
also may be the common food of the Shrikes of that country, as they are
in Europe, should those birds be found there. Orphnus, Athyreus, and
Hybosorus, occur in India. Bolboceas appears in some measure to supply
the place of Geotrupes, which last is not so important a group in the
East, as in a northern region.

SCARABZUS.

Under this term, the gigantic and most remarkable Insects of the Old
World are ranged. Four species, allied to S. Atlas, Jab. are indigenous

to Nepal, a convincing proof that equatorial forms extend beyond the
%

120 On the Entomology of the [Jury

tropics, and that they are found in much colder temperature than is
generally believed. There are several genera of Scarabzide, besides
Oryctes, found on the Himalayas, as yet uncharacterized; some of them
approaching African types.

MELOLONTHID.

Some of the Melolonthe of Nepal are closely allied to our British M.
vulgaris ; others again, with the margins of the thorax serrated, evince
their affinity to tropical species. Geniates, Apogonia, &c. are common
to the Himalayas, the whole continent of India, and the Southern Isles.

MIMELZ anno EUCHLORA.
These genera appear peculiar to the East: in a monograph, read be-

fore the Entomological Society, there are thirteen Mimele described ;
several from Nepal. Euchlora appears wherever Mimela ranges, and is
more abundant in species.

POPILLIA.

This genus appears nearly equally abundant in Asia and Africa, and is
common to the Old and New World. Fourteen species have been col-
lected in Nepal. The following genera of Melolonthide, also, viz. Ano-
mala, Hoplia, Apogonia, and Adoretus, occur in the same territories.

TRICHIIDZ.

Acanthurus, Trichius, and Dicronocephalus, inhabit the Himalayas.
The first of these forms approaches our European type, the latter is the
representative in India of what Goliathus is in Africa, and Incas in Sou-
thern America. Goliatide isa conspicuous family, and may justly be
ranked among the most extraordinary forms of the Insect world.

CETONIAD.

Although I described seventeen species from Nepal, Dr. Royle’s col-
lection appears to contain at least six more, entirely new. Campsiura
xanthorhina, Hope, is represented in Africa by Cetonia scutellata, Jab-
C. cornuta, Jab. is found in Africa, as well as Asia. I am acquainted
with more than 111 species from India, and from this surprising number
still likely to be greatly increased, it is evident that the metropolis of

Cetoniade is situated in the tropical regions.
BUPRESTIDZ.

Of this superb and extensive family, comprising at present more than
one thousand species, existing in the cabinets of Europe, the most mag-
nificent inhabit India; the splendid Sternocera and giant Catoxantha

1840.] Himalayas and of India. 121

range the Equator and the Tropics. Ninety species belong to the conti-
nent of India, many to Nepal, the isles of Java and Sumatra: among
them are forms of temperate as well as of northern climes.

ELATERIDE.

This family persents us with types of form belonging both to the tropi-
cal and temperate regions : the former, however, are few in number, when
compared with the latter. Several of the Nepalese Elateride resemble
our British species, some so closely as to induce one to imagine that dif-
ference of climate is the cause of variety of the species. Elater murinus,
Jab. of England, is well represented in Nepal by Elater ecenosus, Hope ;
and various species, which in Europe frequent the oak, alder, and willow,
have Nepalese species nearly resembling them, and we have stated that
there is a correspondence of vegetation between Europe and the Hima-
layas.

LAMPYRIDZ.

Passing the Cebrionidz, few examples of which occur in India, we ar-
rive at the Lampyridz ; and justly may the East boast of its numerous
and fine species, unsurpassed probably by those of South America. The
warm damp of the jungle is peculiarly adapted to the habits of this
family. Lycus and Omalysus, as well as Lampyris, abound in the
Himalayan range.

MALACODERMATA.

By some writers, the families composing this group are considered rare
within the Tropics, and they certainly are more abundant in Nepal than
Central India ; and yet they are not of rare occurrence. Anisotelus,
Hope, appears to be peculiar to the East. Several species of Malachius
and Melyris enjoy an Asiatic and African clime.

CLERIDZ.

By the family Cleridz abounding in the Hast, we arrive at the Ptini-
dz; they, the latter prebably, exist in Nepal ; none, however, I be-
lieve, have yet been discovered in India, the nearest locality where they
are found being the Mauritius. The Bostrichide are, however, abun-

dant, and it is not unlikely that the Pausside commence where the
Ptinide terminate. ©

CUBRCULIONID#.

Without entering at large into the geographical range of the numerous
genera of this family, I briefiy state, that Nepal contains many tropical

429 On the Entomology of the [Jury

forms, as well as others, which are peculiar to temperate climes, some of
them extending from the Himalayas, even to New Holland, particularly
Sipalus,

PRIONIDZ.

By the Cucujidze (common to India and Nepal) we arrive at the Lon-
gicornes. Prionus loves the torrid and tropical zones; some of the
Himalayan species indicate an alliance to European types.

LAMIAD.

The largest, as well as the most beautiful species of this family, are
found in Nepal. Lamia Roylii, Hope, is unrivalled in size; and L. Wal-
Hichii surpasses all others in beauty and colouring ; it is found in Nepal,
Japan, at Singapore, and the Isle of Java. Cerambyx, Callidium, Cly-
tus, and Saperda, are predominant groups, and are found in all countries
and climates. Many Nepalese species exactly represent our Kuropean

types.
SAGRIDA.

Omitting Lepturidz, confined almost entirely to Northern Europe and
America, we arrive at Sagride. Donacia occurs in Java, and we may
expect to meet with it in Nepal, and other parts of India; if not, it is
probable that Sagra takes the place which Donacia does in northern re-
gions. Several species of this genus are found onthe Nympheace. I
am doubtful if Sagra attaches itself to peculiar water-plants, or frequents
the same as the former genus. Megalopus is foundin Nepal, in Africa,
as well as South America. Crioceris also appears to be a predominant
group, while Adorium is confined more to Asia than Africa.

GALLERUCIDA.

Galleruca and Auchenia abound in Nepal, Haltice are found through-
out the world, and are intended probably to keep in check particular ve-
getation. In Europe, the genera Brassica and Sinapis almost annually
suffer from their depredations ; they appear to abound more in light and
sandy soils ; and where lime is used instead of animal manure, the crops
are less attacked.

CHRYSOMELIDZ.

Many of the Nepalese species resemble those of Siberia; others ap-«
proximate closely to our European forms, so much so, that in many in-
stances they appear like one and the self-same Insect; and if not the
same, they are certainly similar representatives of their respective couns

1840.] - Himalayas and of India. 123

tries, and probably fulfil the same offices and functions. Podontia and
Phyllocharis seem peculiar to Asia and New Holland.

EUMOLPID.

The Eumolpide of India are not surpassed in beauty or splendour by
those of South America: they seldom, however, equal the latter in size.
Clytbra and Cryptocephalus occur in the East, both of them abounding
more in temperate than tropical countries; in Dr. Royle’s collection
there are found several undescribed species from the Himalayas.

CASSIDIDA.

About fifty species of Indian Cassida have come under my notice ;
some of the Nepalese species resemble our English specimens, and may
be parasitic on the thistle, as they are with us.

COCCINELLIDA.

Although I described twenty new species from General Hardwicke’s
collection of Nepal Insects, I find five others undescribed in Dr. Royle’s
collection from the Himalayas. Coccinella 7-puncata, Fab., appears
common to Europe and Asia; at least the specimens agree so exactly in
every respect, that after a very accurate examination, no important differ.
ence can be found ; and believing them to be the same, I still cannot
imagine that they have been imported into India by commerce. Endo-
mychus may eventually be expected to occur in Nepal.

HISPIDA.

Hispa erinacea is abundant in Nepa!; and two undescribed species are
in Dr. Royle’s collection from the same country.

TENEBRIONIDE,

The transition from Hispide to the present family by means of Sarro-
trium is rendered easy. Hegeter and Tagenia, common to India, ap-
pear to follow in successive order. Both Upis and Tenebris are found in
the Himalayas, and are abundant in the Tropics.

PIMELIARIZA.

Pimelia has not yet been described as existing in India; last year I
received two species from the vicinity of Poona. Sepidium, Blaps, Eue
rynotus, and Opatrum, occur in the East ; the first prefers the Southern
Tropic ; the two next appear at Bombay, Calcutta, and Nepal; and the
last is widely dispersed throughout the East. Passing Diaperide and

124 On the Entomology of the {Juxy

Cossyphus, both of them common to Asia and Africa, we next meet with
Cistela and Lagria: the latter apparently a predominant group. Pyro-
chroa, also, has been discovered in Java.

HELOPIDA.

This family is the grand receptacle for the various forms of Hetero-
mera. Among the Indian genera we find Amarygmus, Cnodulon, and
Platycrepis, with several true Helopide, rivalling in splendour and mag-
nitude those of the South American Continent.

MORDELLID.

Most of these Insects are parasites of the Hymenoptera, and abound
in tropical climates. Their office is probably to keep in check, and pre-
yent the too rapid increase of Vespide and Bombide : they are common
to the Old and New World.

CANTHARIDZ.

The geographical distribution of this family is particularly interesting,
as it contains those Insects which are used in Medicine, and denominated
Blister Flies. Lytta gigas, Fab., is found abundantly in India, and also
in Senegal ; and there is little doubt that several species of Mylabris will
be found common to both continents. These vesicatory Insects of the
Old World are replaced in the New by the genus Tetraonyx.

STAPHILINIDA.

By the families Notoxide and Scydmenide, we arrive at the Psela-
phidz, and afterwards at the Brachelytra, which terminate the Coleop-
tera. Anthilephila and Notoxus occur in Nepal, and Scydmzenus in Java;
while various other genera of Staphilinidz are widely dispersed through-
out the East.

ON THE REMAINING ORDERS.

Having entered fully into the consideration of Eastern Coleoptera, it
is not my intention at present to go into lengthened details of the re-
maining Orders. It is sufficient to state, thatin all of them there will
be found similar and corresponding characters as in the Coléoptera.
With regard to identity of species, I cannot help remarking, that of Le-
pidoptera, there appear to be amuch greater number of species, widely
disseminated throughout the world, than ‘of any other Order. In Asia
and Europe we meet with Papilio Machaon, Gonepteryx Rhamni; with
some species of Colias and Pontia, with Vanessa Atalanta, and Cynthia
Cardui; and to these might be added, several identical Sphingide, par-
ticularly Acherontia, Atropos, Deilephila, Celerio, and Sphynx. mong

eee ee

1840.] Himalayas and of India. 125

the Noctuide, Geometride, Tortricide, and Tineide, many species wil!
also be found inhabitants of both continents. In the Orthoptera, some
Gryllidz are common to countries remotely situated, which may partly be
accounted for by the migratory habits of these Insects; and the same
remarks may be applied to the Sphingida. Among the Blattide, several
tropical species range widely; some of them have become naturalized
even in 4 northern climate; and it is no uncommon occurrence to find
Indian, Brazilian, and New Holland, species in a high state of perfection
alive in the houses of London ; and among the Eastern Neuroptera, there
occur various Libellulinze and Hemerobeide, closely resembling our En-
glish species.

Among the Hymenoptera, may be noticed the universal ranger, Evania
appendigaster, ever attendant on Blatta; some !cheumonide, Crabro-
nid, Apidz, and Vespide, all of them presenting identical species with
those of our own country. In referring to the Diptera, J need only men-
tion the wide range of the Orange Fly, the same in England, India, and
America ; the Gnats and Mosquitoes, common to the four quarters of the
globe, alike the pest of the Indian and Laplander ; and, lastly, various
species of Musca, as widely dispersed asthe half-domesticated sparrow
of Great Britain. Passing bythe Aptera, and the various parasites of
birds, quadrupeds, and of man himself, we shall find also among the He-
miptera, several identical species of Pentatoma, Reduvius, Tetyra, besides
Cimez lectularius, the scourge of all countries and climates. It does ap-
pear, then, from the above Analysis, that Asia and HKurope have many
Insects in common, and probably other parts of the world will eventually
be found to present not only similar genera and representatives, but also
the same identical species, subject to the modifications of climate, and
other external circumstances.

CHARACTER or HIMALAYAN ENTOMOLOGY.

The character of Himalayan Entomology is twofold, Asiatic and Eu-
ropean ; and the intermingling of forms of temperate and tropical climes
is one ofits most distinguishing peculiarities. In its valleys (probably
influenced by the heat and moisture of the jungle) southern forms pre-
dominate over northern ; and it is not unlikely, that to the uninterrupted
belts of jungle stretching along the mountain ranges, we may partly trace
several tropical phytyvorous genera far beyond their apparent natural
limits. Some carnivorous Insects are also found ranging far to the north in
the Himalayas ; an example of which is Anthia 6-guttata, a well-known

126 On the Entomology of the [June

native of the Tropics : the specimens, however, are mere dwarfs, compar-
ed with those of Peninsular India, a fact which may be regarded as a proof,
that Anthia has here reached its extreme limits, and consequently will
soon disappear (as is the case) and be represented by another type,
fuliitling the same functions, only under a difference of form. The follow-
ing genera of Himalayan Insects, selected from many others, will evince
their tropical relationship. Among the Cicindelidz, Colliuris appears ;
among the Carabidz, we find Desera, Omphra, and Cyclosomus; among
the Lamellicornes, Euchlora, Mimela, and Dicronocephalus; and to these
may be added, Anisotelus belonging to Telephoride, and Podontia
and Phyllocharis to the Chrysomelide: all of them attached to warm
countries, and some, indeed, are seldom found but within the Torrid
Zone. It is needless to state many genera from the Himalayas evine-
ing an affinity to European types;* some few, however, are worth
noticing, such as Broschus and true Carabus, Geotrupes and Pi-
melia: the two last have been declared by high authority never
to be found in India. Regarding identity of Insects occurring in
the Himalayas, as well as in Europe, there are several species of the
following genera of Coleoptera, namely, Elater, Melolontha, Chry-
somela, Cassida, and Coccinella, which I cannot help thinking are the
same as those of England; particularly asthe vegetation of the two
countries greatly coincide, for in very many cases, genera, and in some
instances the self-same species of plants have been recognized. Among
the carnivorous Insects, I believe that Dermestes lardarius, and vulpinus,
Corynetes violaceus, and rufipes, and some of the Staphilinide, are
essentially the same in Europe and the Himalayas. Of Lepidoptera, I
figure Papilio Machaon, because it is evidently the same as what we meet
with in England ; the same remark will apply to Vanessa Atalanta, and
Cynthia Cardui. The French entomologists are inclined to regard the
Insects of widely separated countries as distinct species ; I wish to esteem
them as varieties, and I cannot help thinking, that as identity of Plants
has been satisfactorily proved by Dr. Royle, so also we may believe in
the identity of Insects in regions widely removed from each other. At
any rate, should these varieties eventually prove distinct (which may be
ascertained, I think, in the Lepidoptera order, when we become better
acquainted with the oval, larval, and chrysalidous stages), yet the

* I may here add, that various Himalayan genera closely approximate Siberian forms,
and thatsome of the species described by Dr. Gebler fromthe Altaic chain of moune
tains, particularly some Chrysomelide, I believe to be indigenous in both regions.

ve ee

1840.] Himalayas and of India. 127

differences will ever be so slight, that we cannot separate or distinguish
them in the imago state with any deeree of certainty. But whether they
be accounted species, or only varieties, we see the grand object of their
creation, in their fitness for performing certain functions which are
assigned them; one of these is, to keep in check the luxuviance of
vegetation and to restrain it within due limits; another may be, that
these puny agents may fecundate the flowers, by carrying the fertilizing
pollen from tree to tree, and thus be the means, in one case, of promoting
vegetation, asin another they are the agents of its destruction.

ENTOMOLOGICAL CHARACTER or INDIA.

From the foregoing Analysis, I have no hesitation in asserting that
the pervading character of Indian Entomology is uniformity. It is true
that we meet with numerous genera, both of tropical and temperate
climes, associated together ; the former more abundant, the latter less
frequent (as we might naturally expect) than inthe Himayalas. There
is, however, a greater interming!ing of forms than at first sight would be
readily imagined ; but when we take into our consideration, that many
of the species resembling those of Kurope may have been captured on
the mountain ranges, at a considerable elevation, we may partly account
for it. This attempted explanation, however, is not always available or
satisfactory ; for in the heated valleys of the Kast, we find many Euro-
pean types and species, in numbers sufficient to excite our astonishment.
It will appear, then, that many species taken in temperate and northern
climes, are not confined to them, and that the range they enjoy is very
considerable, extending not only over the Old World, but also to the
New. As we advance from the Poles to the Equator, vegetation is more
luxuriant, in proportion as heat increases, and the quantity of work as-
signed to Insect races is proportionately increased. Is it not natural to
imagine that the functions performed by them in a colder climate, would
in a warmer one require increased exertion and capabilities ? It does not
follow, because we find new types of form in tropical countries, and new
genera of superior bulk and power, and more abundant in individuals,
that therefore they necessarily replace the old ones, and are to perform
the duties peculiar to both regions; both may live and thrive together,
and abound in the same countries, and will eventually be found to do so,
When the genera of temperate climes appear within the Tropics, I see
no reason why they may not have the same functions assigned them there,
as in colder latitudes; but when we find new types of form, and a more
powerful organization, with the size of the Insects greatly increased (as

128 On the Entomology of the [Jury

is the case in tropical regions), does it not almost naturally follow that
they are intended solely for those regions, and for the increase of work
they are there destined to perform? ‘To return, however, to the subject
of uniformity of entomological character throughout the Peninsula and
the East, { think it probable that it is in a great measure to be accounted
for by the general uniformity of its temperature, vegetation, and soil;
there may, indeed, be other causes, which particularly influence it, but

these may be esteemed the most essential. When we look to the range

which genera here enjoy, it is very considerable: in part of the Hima-

layas, at the extreme southern points of India, in the West, and even in its
Eastern Isles, there is one pervading character, evincing every where the
prevalence of tropical genera. ‘To speak more specifically, in Nepal and
the southernmost extremity of the Mysore, and in Ceylon, at Bombay,

and at Madras, at Calcutta and Singapore, in Japan and Java, with the

rest of the Polynesian Isles, the majority of the same types abound ; and
what is of more consequence, a great majority of the same species also
occur in most of the above-mentioned regions. Hay ing noticed the in-
termingling of genera belonging to Europe and Asia, we may probably
find a slight accordance elsewhere. Now, if we turn our eyes to Africa,
we shall there find a considerable similarity in the entomology of this
quarter of the globe with that of Asia ; and this resemblance between the
two countries will be readily seen by the short annexed list of some of
the more particular genera, which are common to both of them. Among
the Carabide occur Anthia, Orthogonius, Trigonodactyla, and Siagona,
Among the Lamellicornes, Epirinus and Popillia, the conical Buprestide
and the extraordinary Paussidz, which last are chiefly found only in
these regions; and to these may be added, as well as many more,
the genera Melyris, Megalopus, Sagra, and. Adorium ; Dorylus, among
the Hymenoptera, and Diopsis among the Diptera. Passing from ge-
nera to species, we shall find that precisely the same occur in both con-
tinents ; among the most conspicuous, I shall mention but a few, name-
ly, Copris Midas, Sabzeus, and Pithecius, Cetonia cornuta, and
Lytta gigas. Even supposing that no identical species occurred, which
were common to Asia and Africa, yet we could not help observing the
very remarkable similarity in the representatives of each; one example
of which is, Ateuchus sanctus, which very closely resembles the celebrat-
ed Sacred Beetle of the Egyptians, the object of their worship, by some
regarded as an emblem of fertility, but I think more probably that of
eternity. Before concluding my remarks on the similarity of Insects found
in Asia and Africa, I cannot help expressing a wish that some individual
may be induced to develope the character of the entomology of these gi-

1840.] | Himalayas and of India. 129

gantic regions more thoroughly than has yet been attempted; or there rT)
an ample field for research and speculation. We shall feel much mdebt-
ed to him, if he will explain how the Copride were transported from one
country to another, and how they reached the island of Ceylon; how
also Cetonia cornuta, which is taken on the banks of the Gambia, be-
came an inhabitant of India. Lytta gigas may have travelled by land,
and perhaps the Copridz following the track and droppings of the camel,
may have pursued the same route. Lethimdescribe the sands of the
desert and those in the vicinity of the Indus, give us a comparative Fauaa
of the Ganges and the Nile, record the varieties of temperature, the
character of vegetation, and the genera peculiar to the diiferent
soils. Let him do this, following the steps of the celebrated Forskal, and
he indeed will advance the objects of science, deserve the thanks of the
present generation, and command the respect of posterity.*

Descriptions of Insects, by J. O. Westwoon, Esq., F.L.S.

ORDER DERMAPTERA LEACH.

ae Faminy Forricunipz.

Forricuta Macroryea, Westw.

Piceo-nigra, punctata, abdomine zneo submicante, marginibus thoracis,
tepminibusque rufescentibus, forcipe (4) longissimo valde curyato, et
gracili; (@) fere recto tenuissimo.

Long. Corp. (forcipe excluso) & lin. 6 @ lin. 5.

Ad genus Forficulam (stricte sic dictum Servilleo) appertinet, sta-
tura fere Forficulz auriculariz et paullo robustior, caput nigrum punc-
tatum, impressionibus duabus anticis inter oculos. Antenne
(4 mutilate) 13-articulate graciles rufescentes, articulis bassalibus
obscurioribus.—Prothorax planus antice vix “emarginatus, lateribus
antice rectis, postice rotundatis, niger punctatus, margine tenui
rufescenti ; foveolis duabus rotundatis, antice impressus.—Tegmina
piceo-refescentia, punctata, portio alarum detecta concolor. Abdomen

* By pursuing the course recommended by Mr. Hope, anaturalist would be enabled, not
only to display the connection between soil, temperature, and vegetation, as well as the
animal forms which the latter supports, but also prove the advantages of studying the
natural sciences in connection with each other, and be enabled to explain something of
the laws which influence the geographical distribution of plants and animals.—J, F, R.

130 On the Entomology of the [Juny

nigro-picum punctatum zeneo submicans ; sermento penultimo lateraliter
et angulariter producto (4) aut simplici (?). Forceps (4) niger valde
elongatus, gracilis ad basin, valde externé curvatus, in medio, dentibus
duobus parvis internis instructus, apice sursum et exterius producto,
acuto (2) elongatus multo gracilior, rufescens fere rectus et inermis,

ORDER LEPIDOPTERA LINN.
DIURNA. Famity PaApinionipm.

Paririo Macnaon, Linn.

This handsome butterfly, hike Vanessze Antiopa, and Atalanta, Cyn-
thia Cardui, and some others, affords an instance of wide geographical
range,* rather than of representative structure, since the individual
figured cannot be regarded as specifically distinct from the European spe-
cimens, which differ amongst themselves in various slight particulars, as
the size of the dark bars, and spots, &c. It may, however, be noticed,
that the specimen figured has the small oval black spot near the extre-
mity of the anterior wings almost entirely isolated, the large basal black
portion of the same wings is very strongly covered with yellow powder,
whilst the black lunules of the posterior wings are not nearly so much
powdered with blue bloom, as in the ordinary English specimens.

Fam. NyMPuHALIDE.

Paruia Paraxexra, Horsfield. Lepidopt. Javanica,

Paph. alis anticis ad apicem acutis, posticis subcaudatis ; anticis supra
ad basin ceruleis, fascia obliqua lata fulva in medio, apiceque nigro ;
macu'isque duabus parvis albis (una discoidali, altera apicali) ornatis ;
posticis czruleis.

The preceding characters, drawn from the upper surface of the wings
of this remarkable butterfly, will suffice for its determination until the
publication of Dr. Horsfield’s description. The under surface of the
wings are, however, much more remarkable, bearing a most striking re-
semblance to a pale dried leaf; the deception being much increased: by
the form of the wings, when brought in contact by the Insect, whilst
Sitting upon a flower in the sun-shine, the short caudal appendages

* Messrs. Godart and Latreille, in the Encyclopédie Méthodique (vol. IX., Art. Papil-
lon) state, that Pap. Machaon is found in Syria and Egypt.

1840,] Himalayas and of India. 131

giving rise to the idea of the stalk of the leaf, thus completing the de-
lusion.

DIVISION ?———_—— ? Fam. Zyemyipm=?P

Genus Campyrxorss, Westw.

Genus anomalum Heleone et Anthonoyze Sw. Gymnanto cereeque
Guér, affine, ale oblonge, subovales, integre, nervis apicalibus valde
curvatis, antice cellula discoidali clausa nervyos duos postice emittens,
quorum exterior trifurcatis, postice etiam cellula discoidali clausad, nervo
recurrente intermedio bifurcato. Corpus parvum abdomine gracili, pone
alas haud protenso. Caput parvum. Ocelli 2. Antenne graciles
biramosz. Palpi brevissimi supra haud discernendi, maxille elongate
s pirales.

CaMPYLOTES HISTRIoNicUs, Westw. AZneus, alis ad costam rufo—,
interne flayo-lineatis, maculisque apicalibus albis.

Long. Corp. lin. 11. Expans. alar. unc. 3. Habitat in Nepalia. Hard-
wicke ; in Montibus Himalayanis, Royle.

Corpus nigro-zneum, palagris maculisque abdominalibus lateralibus
flavis. Alz anticze znez, costa, fasciisque duabus discoidalibus rufis,
fasciiisque tribus internis per totam longitudinem alarum currentibus
flavis ; maculis 8 vel 9 (spatium inter nervos apicales oceupautibus)
albis. Ale posticz similiter colorate, at macule terminales flavo
ornantur. ;

This remarkable Insect appears to be the extreme type of a very nu-
merous Indian group of Lepidoptera, to which belong the species named
Capys pectinicornis, Thallo, and Rhodope. It is impossible to decide
upon their real affinities, until we obtain a knowledge of the metamor-
phoses of some of the species.

ORDER ORTHOPTERA. Fam. Mantipa.
Mantis Roylii. Hope, MSS.
ORDER HYMENOPTERA. Section Purivora.

Fam. CHaLcipip&.

Diresrmvus Hrmataranus, Westw.
Niger, pedibus 4 anterioribus, tarsisque posticis rufescentibus.
Capite obtuse bicornuto.

Habitat in Himalaya.
Long. corp. lin. 2. Exp. alar. lin. 3.

Caput nigrum punctatum, anticé obtusé bicornutum antennarum arti-

132 On the Entomology of the : (Juny

culo primo nigro (articulis reliquis deteritis), Thorax fortiter punctatus ;
metathorace 4 lineato et ad latera, angulariter producto. Abdomen
breve depressum thoracis latitudine. Pedes 4 anteriores rufescentes, 2
postici nigri, tarsis solummodo rufescentibus. — -

Obs. In hac specie partes oris valde elongate, labro oblongo-ovali

ciliato, mandibulis inter se similibus, gracilibus, sub apice dente interno
unico armatis.

ORDER HETEROPTERA. Section Lonaruaprees.

Fam. ScuTsELLERIDA,
ScuTrrirerA Purcuerzta, Hope, MSS.

Ceruleo-nigra vel-zneo, nitida prothoracis disco anticé, et margine
postico zneo vel cupreo tincto, scutello aureo viridiqne intenti, fascia
transversa basali, alteraque centrali obliqua, (in medio interrupta) et
maculis tribus rotundatis (postice et in triangulum positis) czruleo-
nigris.

Statura fere Scutelleree maure at paullo minor, scutelloqgue abdomen
omnino obtegenti. Scutelleree Stockeri affinis at robustior. Antenne
articulis duobus basalibus brevibus equalibus. 3tio. 2do. fere duplo lon-
giori, ultimo omnium longissimo.

Long. corp. lin. 5. lat. lin. 3.

Fam. PENTATOMID.

Mrcareyncnus TRANSVERSALIS, Westw.

Fusco-niger, capite acuté bicornuto, angulisque anticis thoracis acuté
antice productis, prothorace et scutello transverse striatis, parte coriacea
hemelytrorum nigra, tenuissime punctata, membrana apicali albida, an-
tennze et pedes nigri.

Long. corp. lin, 74. lat. lin. 34,

ORDER HOMOPTERA. Section SALTaToRIa.

Fam. ACADID.

Crcapa SurrnuREA, Horr, MSS.

Nigra, capite thoraceque sulphureo maculatis, alarum dimidio basali
sulphureo, parte anticarum sulphurea, fascia obliqua nigricanti divisa,
apicibusque fuscescentibus.

Long. corp. unc, 1}. Expans. alar. unc, 33.

1840. ] Himalayas and of India. 133

Affinis Cicadee maculata. Caput nigrum orbitu interno oculorum
sulphureo ; thorax niger maculis 8 sulphureis abdomen nigrum segmento-
rum marginibus pallidis. Ale antice costa sulphured, maculique ovali
maximd (plus quam dimidium basale alarum occupante) sulphurea fascid
obliqua tenui nigra interné dentata divisi; apice fusco nervis nigris
Alz postice ad basin sulphurez, ad apicem fusce nervis nigris ; pedes
nieri.

ORDER DIPTERA. Section Purrrara.

Fam. Hirroposcipz.
Hirrososca MAcuLaTA.

Thorace fusco, flavo variegato, scutello nigricanti, maculis tribus flavis,
medida majori, femoribus tibiisque posticis ad apicem fuscis.

Hippobosca equina; “ ex India orientali paullo major, thoraceque
magis albo variegato, at vix distincta.” Fab. Syst. Antl. p. 333,

Hippobosca maculata, Leach, “ On the genera and species of Epro-
boscideous Insects.” Wernerian Trans. vol. ii. p. 549.

Long. corp. lin. 4 Expans. alar. lin. 83.

Caput flavum, oculis fulvis, lined longitudinali inter oculos fusca.
Proboscis nigra. Thorax fuscus, macula magna ad angulos anticos
flavescenti in medio fusca ; fascia parva centrali lunulisque duabus in medio
conjunctis posticis flavescentibus, scutello nigricante maculis tribus flavis
media majori. Abdomen fuscum, punctatum, marginibus rufescentibus.
Pedes fulvescentes tarsis omnibus femoribus tibiisque posticis ad
apicem fuscis.

Fam, NycrTeripip2.

Nyctertpia Royri.

Obscure nigra pedibus fuscescentibus elongatis, vix compressis, coxis
anticis brevibus, abdomine ovalo, conico, depresso, 5-articulato, apice
subtruncato, stylis duobus incurvis subtus armato, capite compresso,

Long. corp. lin. 14.

Habitat in India Orentali.

Nyct. Roylii. Westw. in Trans. Zool. Soc. 1. p. 290-5.

ORDER COLEOPTERA.
Crtonra Royiu, Hope.
Long. lin. 12. lat. lin. 6.
Nigro-viridis thorace flavo marginato elytrisque quatuor maculis flayis
notatis. Clypeus quadratus. Antenne nigree, Caput quadratum puncta-

134 On the Entomology of the . [Jury

j
)

tum. ‘Thorax cupreis marginibus externis elevatis, lineaque flava
utrinque externa, disco fortissime punctato. Scutellum magnum postice
decitum. FElytra nigro-virescentia maculis quatuor flavis notata, bine

fere rotundatz ad basin posite, bine alie reniformes ante apicem locate.

Corpus infra nigro-zneum segmentis abdominis utrinque aurantiis capillis
obsitis pedibusque concoloribus.
In Mus. Dom. Royle ; in montibus Himalaye captus ceria.

GrEoTRUPES ORIENTALIS.
Long. lin. 10. Jat. lin. 63.

Violaceus thorace sparsim punctulato, elytris striatopunctatis, pedibus
supra nigris, infra violaceis nitidis. Antenne pices capitulo fuscanti,
thorax violaceus longitudinali serie punctorum in medio posita, variis alliis
sparsim dispositis. Elytra striato punctata striis quasi vermibas_ erosis.
Corpus infra violaceum nitidum, femoribus posticis uni-spinosis, tibiis
pilosis, tarsis chelisque piceis.

This singular species approaches very closely to some of our British
species, and is probably froma high elevation of the Himalayan mountains,

In Mus. Dom. Royle.

OnTHOPHAGUS PHANQGOIDES.
Long lin. 44. lat. lin. 22.

Niger obscurus, clypeo cornu reflexo abrupte truncato, thorace pha-
nzoformi, postice lateribus in spinam obtusam productis, femoribus
juteis. Antenne picez capitulo fuscanti: clypeus hexagonus cornu
reverso abrupte truncato, thorax fere quadratus ; punctatissimus, punc-
tulis erosis tuberculo antice, fossulaque postice in medio marginis im-
pressa, angulis posticis in spinas productis. Scutellum parvum nitidum.
Elytra striata. Corpus suptus atrum nitidum punctatum. Pedes femori-
bus luteis, tibiis tarsisque nigropiceis.

This singular Insect will, at some future period, form the gfe of a
new genus: in form it unites the South American Phanzeus, and the
widely- disseminated genus Onthophagus.

Lucanus LUNIFER.

Long. lin. 37. lat. lin. 10.

ZEneo-piceus, areolo tomento aspersus, mandibulis exsertis unidentatis,
denticulisque minoribus instructis, apice bifurcatis. Clypeo deflexo
lunifero, femoribus castaneis.

Hab. in Montibus Himalaye ; in Mus. Dom. Royle.

This Insect appears to unite in itself the characters of the Asiatic and

1840. ] | Himalayas and of India. 135

European species, the latter rather predominating over the former: it is
one of the finest forms of the Himalayan Fauna.

Lamia WALLICHII.

Long. lin. 16. lat. lin. 5.

Viridisericeus, Antennis penicillatis, elytris tribus fasciis nigris, binis-
que penicillis dosalibus ornatis. Antennz corpore longiores et nigro =
virides, primo articulo subpenicillato, tribus sequentibus atris, penicillis
magnis pilorum barbatis, et reliquis pubescentibus, ultimo tamen
pubescentia densiori tecto. Thorax viridis, spinosus. Elytra ornata
tribus fasciis vix suturam attingentibus, una in medio elytrorum, secunda
inter mediam et apivem, tertiaque binis penicillis dorsalibus interrupta.
Corpus subtus nigro-virens, sanguinea pubescentia aspersum. Segmenta
quatuor abdominis sanguineo colore fucata, ultimum omne autem viride
et nitidum. Pedes viridi-pubescentes, femoribus macula rufa notatis
tarsisque infra flavis.

It is impossible to describe accurately the beauty of this Insect ; the
sericeous covering, in different lights, imitating the various tints of opal,
while the dark fasciz flash with the iridescence of Labrador felspar.

PORUS, — Hope.

Stentipz, ML.

LoneI1Pari, Lat.

Corpus oblongum fere parallelum subdepressum. Caput mediocre
oculis magnis lateralibus. Antenne crassz articulis transversis. Man-
dibule acutz dente interiori armate. Labrum transversum integrum
ciliatum. Maxille elongate bilobate. Palpi maxillares longitudine
mediocres articulo 3tio. longo clavato, ultimo minimo. Labium elong-
atum apice lanceolato, paraglossis lateralibus. Palpi labiales breves,
articulo ultimo parvo conico. ‘Thorax fere circularis. Abdomen elong-
atum marginatum. Pedes simplices. ‘Tibie calcaribus binis armate
T arsis articulis simplicibus.

Porus ocuraceus. Long. lin. 4. lat. lin. 2.

Elytris punctatis antennis fuscis, mandibulisque ad apicem nigris.
Hab. in Montibus Himalaye ; in Mus. Dom. Royle.

This genus somewhat approaches our European Evesthetus.

APHODIUS.

APHODIUS IRREGULARIS, Hope.
Long. lin. 4. lat. lin. 2.
Flayus thorace nigro, elytris subaurantiis, fascia media maculis quatuor

136 On the Eutomology of the [Jury

nigris, pedibusque piceis. Antenne piceo capitulo fusco. Caput angu-
lis anticis oblique truncatis. Thorax niger nitidus punctatus, angulis
anterioribus flavis. Elytra flava, seu subaurantia, fasciaé media irregulari
nigra, binis maculis humeralibus, binisque aliis fere ad apicem locatis.
concoloribus.

Hab. in Montibus Himalaye ; in Mus. Dom. Royle.

ANISOTELUS, Hope:
TELEPHORIDE.

Antenne articulo Imo. crasso, reliquis multo crassiori, 9-10 obco-
nices magnitudine paululum creseentibus ultimo majori ovato apice
acuto. Mandibule valde acute. Maxille membranacez lobo unico intus
tomentoso. Palpi articulo 1mo. minimo, 2do. et quarto zequalibus, ulti-
mo subsecuriforme. Mentum transversum. Labrum membranaceum
fere rotundatum. Palpi labiales breves, articulo ultimo majori securi-
formi. Caput transversum oculis prominulis. Thorax transversus
Jateribus rotundatis, angulis posticis acutis elevatis. Elytra sicut in
Telephoris, in medio nonnihil dilatata. Tarsi 5-articulati, articulo
penultimo bilobato.

ANISOTELUS BimacuLatus, Hope.

Long. lin. 43., lat. lin. 2.

Lividus, elytris 2-maculatis. Antenne articulo primo testaceo, reliquis
fuscis. Thorax rufo-testaceus nitidus, elytris pallidioribus macula ovali
nigra in singulo fere ad apicem posita. Corpus infra testaceum.

Hab. in Montibus Himalaye ; in Mus. Dom. Royle.

Exater Cyanoprerus, Hope.

Long. lin. 43., lat. lin. 12.

Cyaneus, antennis fuscis, marginibus thoracis pedibusque rubris.
Caput nigrum antennis fuscis. ‘Thorax in medio nigro-cyaneus, margini-
bus lateralibus rubris. Elytra striato-punctata subpubescentia. Pedes
rubris.

Hab. in Montibus Himalaye ; in Mus. Dom. Royle.

Ripirworvus APICcALIs.

Long. lin. 3., lat. lin. 1.

Rufus, thorace pedibusque nigris, elytris flavo-rufis: quatuor maculis
notatis, Caput atrum ramo antennarum piceo, foliisque nigris. Thorax
‘concolor. Elytra flavo-rufa, basi nigrofasciata, maculis binis fere
mediis, apicibusque corporeque infra nigris.

Hab. in Montibus Himalaye ; in Mus. Dom. Royle.— Royle’s Illustra-
tions of the Botany, Sc. of the Himalayan Mountains, Supplementary Part.

1840.] Desidcrata in the Entomology of India. 137

(in connexion with the foregoing the following Desiderata in the
Entomology of India, by the Rev. F. W. Horn, are republished from the
Calcutta Journal of Natural History. No. 1.)

1.—Parasites of Birds, Lice, (Nirmi). Parasites of Reptilia (Acart)
the name ef the genus and species should be given on which they are
found. Parasites of Quadrupeds, Ticks, &c. -

2.—Endeayour to ascertain if the larger Beetles of India live more
than one year; it isimportant also to ascertain the sexes of the Adlas
Beetles, and the uses to which their horns are applied.

3.—Ascertain the names of the trees which yield Resin Anime; and
if any other resins in India contain insects.

4.—Among Coleoptera, attend chiefly to the ZLamellicorn Beetles,
Cetonia, Copris, Scarabeus, and Baprestide.

5.—Ascertain by dissection of gigantic Coleoptera if the organs of
hearing are in the basis of the antenne as in Crustacea; collect the
larvee of alllarge Beetles, and try if they have the power of hearing.

6.—Send me an account of the habits of Paussus, and all the species
you can obtain.

7.—Any species of insects infested with worms, should be noticed.
The worms should have drawings made of them before put into spirits.

$.—Ali hermaphrodite insects to be noticed, as well as irregular copu-
lation of different genera. | :

9.—All Carrion Beeiles to be attended to. ‘They are supposed to be
scarce in India, The prejudice of caste and of religion will not allow
many of the natives to touch a dead body of any animal.

10.—All species of silk-bearing insects used in commerce, with their
local names and larva, eggs, &c. It is probable we may breed the Atlas
Moths in England. Send Larve of any, placed in mould, when an op-
portunity occurs. Colonel Withill introduced alive into England Bombyz
Selene. Any reports of the annual produce of silk useful.

11.—Cochineal, new species; intelligence wanted about its range.
How many species in commerce in India. Lac insect also.

12.— Bees. All species of Bees to be collected. Any accounts of
the produce of honey. The native names of Bees much wanted; any
thing remarkable in the combs to be figured. All parasite beetles found
in Bees’ nests much wanted. Imports and exports of honey and wax.

_ What are the Bees which produce the wax of the Chinese candles ? there

are several sorts.

13.—Anis. Collect all species of Ants—males, females, and neuters.
_ Ascertain if they Jay up stores of grain, seeds, &c.; be careful in mark-
ing the specics: What Ants will drive out the White-Ants? Are the

i38 Desiderata in the Entomology of India. [Juny

different kinds employed by the natives, to drive out those which annoy
them? Experiment on the formic acid. If the White-Ants’ nests are
ever used as ovens.

14.— White-Ants. Collect all species; attend to their parasites, par-

ticularly the Beetles, which attack them, and are found in their nests.

15.—What insects are eaten as food? ‘Their Indian names. What
Locusts are eaten, &e. ?

16.—Mark those insects which cause any particular destruction of
crops, and if the destruction is periodical.

17.—Mark all Juminous insects. Ascertain if the Zantern Fly is
luminous, it is disputed.

18.—What species of Muygale are in India? Their habits. What
spiders yield silks, such as are found in commerce ?

19.—What species of vesicatory insects are usedin India? If any

besides Lyitaand Mylabris. Ifany insects are used medicinally. Their

names.

20. Record any instance of death occasioned by insects, by Bees,
Wasps, Hornets, or hy Flyblowing, &e. Any ailments produced by in-
sects swallowed in the larva state, &c.

21.—Is Resine Anime a preservative against the attacks of insects ?
Said to be used in corking bottles. Is cloth coloured by Indigo ever at-
tacked by the White-Ants and other insects ?

22.—Any native remedies against Cockroaches ? Collect all species
of, and particularly all sorts of Earwigs.

23.— Native remedies used after the stings of insects, and the attacks
of Gnats, Scorpions, Centipedes, &c. .

24.—Note all insects infesting houses. Does any true Ptinus occur in
the East Indies ? .

25.—Species of strus attacking quadrupeds; collect them. Do any
attack man in the Kast?

26.—Collect all Aquatic Beetles. Do the Gyrene of India emit a pe-
culiar smell? Do the Carabe emit an ammoniacal odour ?

27.— Collect all Land-Crabs and inland Crustacea.

28.—Observe particularly the insects which destroy corn, rice, and all
stores. What checks are in use?

29.—Note any extraordinary migration of Caterpillars, and indeed of
all other insects. . :

30.—The Mole Cricket of the East Indies. What are its habits ?

31.—Note the appearance of the clouds of Locusts.

32.— What are the preservatives used by the Indians in guarding their
feathers and shawls ? Colocynth supposed to be used.

E
}
—
“

suet PRAT

1840.] Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 139

33.—What genera and species of insects are used by the natives, in
necklaces and ornaments, &c. ?

34.—The habits of the large Stag Beetles. Do they destroy leaves ?

35.—Note all odorous smelling insects.

36,.—Are Beehives in use in India? Send specimens of domestic Bees,
if they are domesticated.

37.—Is the Sherifah, or Custard-Apple seed, injurious to vermin?
Flies are reported never to settle on the tree orits fruits. Ants will

attack both.
38.—From what quarters chiefly do clouds of Locusts come ?

EAT oo A I

IX.— Memoir on the Mammalogy of the Himalayas.—By Wm. Ocisy,
Esq., m.a., Fellow of the Royal Astronomical, Geological, Linnean,
and Statistical Societies; Secretary of the Zoological Society.

In the early part of the year 1833, Professor Royle put into my hands
an extensive Collection of Zoological Specimens, made during his excur-
sions through the Western parts of the Himalayan Mountains, of which
the rich Botanical results are now in course of publication, with a request
that I would furnish him with a Catalogue Ratsonnée of the different
species of which it contained the spoils, to be added as an Appendix to
his work. Whilst occupied in this easy and unostentatious task, various
observations presented themselves, which induced me to propose to my
friend a slight alteration of his original plan, so as to embrace a general
outline of the Mammalogy of the Mountain Regions of Northern India,
for the purpose of exhibiting, at one view, the intimate relations which I
soon perceived to subsist between the animal productions of this elevated
and extensive mountain chain and those of Northern Europe, Asia, and
America. It soon became obvious, in fact, that the Zoology, like the
Botany of the Hills, differed essentially from that of the sultry plains of
India, which skirt their southern base ; that, though occasionally mixed
with tropical forms, it was, upon the whole, of acharacter closely re-
sembling that of the more temperate and northern latitudes; and that
the insulated position of these remarkable mountains, exhibiting, as they
do, the rare and interesting phenomenon of a temperate and even a boreal
climate on the very confines of the tropic, where the summer heat is ne-
cessarily greater than even under the equator itself, gave an importance
to the inquiry, as connected with the geographical distribution of Ani-
mal Life, which promised the most important results. The nature of the

F40 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. [Suny

problem, indeed, and the very different conditions of Animal Life, as
compared with that of Vegetables, forbade me to anticipate the discovery
of laws of distribution in the Animal Kingdom, so definite and eircum-
scribed as those which Baron Humboldt has established with regard to

Plants; the principle of animality, if I may be allowed the expression, —

possesses an innate power of adaptation which renders Animals in some
measure independent of climate, particularly as compared with Vegeta-
bles, and which increases in proportion as we ascend in the scale of life;
but I felt that if any such laws of geographical distribution prevailed in
Zoology, they might naturally be expected to be exhibited most clearly
and unequivocally on a theatre like this, and therefore that the opportu-
nity should not be neglected of investigating the circumstances of a
problem which appeared to promise so much scientific interest.

From the observation just made, viz. that the power which all animals
possess, in a greater or less degree, of adapting. themselves to different
varieties of climate, and of withstanding, uninjured, the effects of tem-
peratures foreign to their natural habits, increases in proportion as we

ascend from the lower to the higher tribes, it will be seen that the Mam- ~

malia—the class which I had undertaken to review—form one of the
most unfavourable groups for the discussion of this important question.
Indeed, were it not from thei limited powers of locomotion, they
would be the very worst of all, because their high position in the
scale of life, and the superior intelligence and resources with which
it endows them, necessarily protect them against changes and casualties,
which would prove fatal to more simply organized beings ; but, deprived
of the powers of flight, ordinary Mammals haye not the means of travers-
ing the wide deserts and oceans, which separate the habitable portions of
the earth : the nature oftheir locomotive powers consequently confines
them to particular regions ; and, in spite of the more favourable circum-
stances of their physical organization, their more varied resources and
superior intelligence, they afford better materials for studying the problem
of geographical distribution, than the kindred class of Birds, whose.faculty
of rapid flight enables them to set oceans and deserts equally at defiance,
in passing to the most distant quarters of the globe, and, as it were, to
choose their own temperature and climate in the boundless fields of air.
Hence it is that the circumstances of the important problem of geographical
distribution are less favourably presented in Ornithology than in M umma-
logy ; but, with this exception, the observation above made holds good

throughout all other classes of animals, andthe simplest tribes will al=

ways be found to present the most certain results. Insulated fami-
Kies also occasionally occur, which possess peculiar advantages for the

1840. } ; Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 141

prosecution of this inquiry ; as, for instance, in the case of fresh-water
Fishes, than which I am acquainted with no other group of animals so
well calculated to illustrate the laws of geographical distribution, or so
likely to repay a careful study under this point of view; and I am only
surprised that no competent Ichthyologist has hitherto occupied himself
with so promising an inquiry.

The only other principle which can well be regarded as influencing the
geoeraphical distribution of Animals, zzz. the dispersion of Plants, upon
which all Animals live, either mediately or immediately, is obviously sub-
ordinate to that of climate, with which it has been shown to be most in-
timately connected. Ona limited scale the distribution of particular
species may be seriously affected by the influence which civilization and
cultivation produce upon the face of particular countries ; wild animals
necessarily disappear with the woods and forests which afforded them food
and shelter ; the Wolf, the Bear, and the Beaver, have thus disappeared
from our own country ; the Capercalzie, exterminated about a century
ago, is once more spreading rapidly over the pine forests of Scotland ; but
these are partial cases, which do not bear upon the general problem of
geographical distribution ; and it is obvious, that upon the great theatre
of nature, climate and temperature are the only laws «vhich regulate it,
limited, indeed, by the physical structure of the animals, as has been al-
ready observed, and by their powers of transporting themselves to dis-
tant regions. Hence it is that terrestrial and fresh-water tribes are more
favourable for this study than marine or pelagic ; though even among the
latter, the comparative simplicity oftheir structure, and their consequent
susceptibility of changes in temperature, render the habits of different
genera and species more definite and confined than might otherwise be
expected. Of the former, again, land and fresh-water Mollusks being
among the most simply organized, are consequently most limited in point
of range ; the species of Insects are almost equally confined, unless in the
ease of certain tribes, which are susceptible of being transported to distant
countries in wood and other extraneous substances ; next follow Reptiles
and fresh-water Fishes ; and, last of all, Birds and Mammals ; the former,
as already observed, having an almost unlimited range of habitat, from
the facilities which they derive from their powers of flight, of passing to
the most distant quarters of the globe. The common Sparrow, the Snipe,
- and the Woodcock, for instance, are found in the Himalayas and in Japan,
as well asin the North of Europe; nature has endowed these birds with
means of trayersing the arid climes and extensive deserts which intervene
between these localities, which she hes denied to Quadrupeds ; and hence
we must not expect to find the Badger and the Fox so widely distributed

1412 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. [ Jury

as the Owl and the wild Goose. But if the same species of Mammals
are confined to particular regions, the great question still remains, whe-
ther similar regions, wherever situated, or however separated from one
another by intervening seas and deserts, produce kindred or analogous
species of Mammals? and it is the general solution of this question in the
affirmative, as far at least as the great continents of the globe are con-
cerned, which renders the Mammalogy of the Himalayas so interesting
in this point of view. We have here an insulated territory on the con-
fines of the tropic, with a climate varying from the most intense heats
of the Equator to the greatest rigours of the Pole; and we shall find, in
discussing its animal inhabitants, that it presents, as it were, an epitome
of the Mammalogy of the world ; an intermixture, or rather a succession
of species and genera similar to that which we meet in enue from
India to Kamtschatka, or from Brazil to Labrador.

Having thus fully explained the objects, it now only remains for me
to acknowledge the sources from whence I have derived the materials of
the following Memoir. The principal of these has been, of course, the
Collection of Professor Royle himself, and the few notes, rendered par-
ticularly valuable, however, by containing the native names and locali-
ties, made by that gentleman during his tours. Besides which, the ex-
tensive Collections of the British Museum, of the Museums of the Zoo-
logical Society, the East-India Company, and various private collections
of less note, which are occasionally made by Officers, and sent to their
friends in this country, many of which I have had the good fortune to
examine, have furnished me with valuable materials; whilst the different
Notices and Memcirs on Indian Zoology, dispersed through the pages of
the Asiatic Researches, the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,
the Zoologica! Proceedings, and other similar publications, have been
consulted with the greatest advantage. By carefully quoting my autho-
rities, I have invariably taken care to distinguish what I have seen or
know myself, from what is merely given on the faith of others, Yet with
all these resources at my command, I have found my materials much too
limited to give any thing beyond a mere outline of the Mammalogy of
the Himalayas; but if this Memoir should prove to be the means of in-
ducing future travellers, or residents, in those interesting regions, to fill
up the sketch thus imperfectly traced, or assist them to distinguish what
is already well known, from what still continue to be desiderata, in these
inquiries, it will not have been without its use. The present time,
indeed, is peculiarly favourable for such pursuits. India now contains
many able and zealous naturalists; and what is not less fortunate, has a
Nobleman for its Supreme Governor who both understands and can ap-

F

1840.] Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 143

preciate the value of their pursuits. Drs, Cantor, M‘Clelland, and Fal-
coner, are skilful and practised observers; and Mr. Hodgson appears
only to want access to European libraries and museums, an advantage
unfortunately beyond the reach of the Indian Naturalist, to illustrate the
Mammalogy of Nepal in the most ample and satisfactory manner.

Before leaving this part of the subject, I shall take the opportunity of
offering a few remarks, which may-be useful to that numerous class of
intelligent and educated gentlemen, who are dispersed over every part of
India ; and who, from their taste for field sports and the facilities afford-
ed by their situations, have the means of making the most valuable ob-
servations in various departments of Natural History; but which are too
often neglected, not from any deficieucy of zeal or inclination on the part
of the observers, but from a want of practical experience in observing,
from the difficulty of naming and describing the animals which fall
under their notice, and from not knowing exactly what points to
attend to. An accurate knowledge of specific differences, however,
is by no means indispensable for this purpose ; generally speaking,
it is sufficient to indicate the affinity of the animal to the most
approximate European species, and to ascertain its native name, in orde”
to enable the more practised Zoologist to recognize it with sufficient ac-
curacy, especially if the forms of the feet, teeth, ears, &c. be carefully
noted : but the main points to be attended to, and those, unfortunately,
which the generality of observers most neglect, are the habits and eco-
nomy of the animals which fall under their notice ; their manners, whether
aquatic, arborial or terrestrial ; whether they inhabit burrows, or reside
among thick jungle, or on the naked open plain; whether they livein socie-
ty or solitary ; the number of young which they produce ata birth; their
period of gestation; the duration of life; their instincts, and the stra-
tagems which they employ to capture their prey or to escape from
their enemies; the nature of their food; whether they hibernate or
migrate from place to place, according to the season; whether they
are turned to any account by the natives, or are capable of yielding any
products applicable to the purposes of commerce or domestic economy.
These, and other similar inquiries, of the utmost importance to the
philosophical Zoologist, are within the ordinary range of daily observa~
tion to most gentlemen in India, with respect to many rare and interest-
ing animals; whilst they are, generally speaking, attended with so little
trouble, and at the same time productive of so much mental recreation
and instruction, that it is only surprising how much they haye been
heretofore neglected. One principal cause of the apathy which our
countrymen in India have shown, if not in making, at least in recording,

i44 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. | Jury

their observations on various branches of Natural History, may, indeed,
have arisen from the want of some common central institution, where
they could be properly arranged and published ; but the establishment
of the Zoological Society of London, and the unrivalled resources
which it possesses, offer facilities for this purpose, which it is hoped’
will hereafter be made extensively available by Englishmen in all
parts of the world. It is scarcely necessary to add, that any interesting
details relative to the habits and manners of foreign animals, observed in
their native climates, will be gladly received from any quarter, and
published in the Proceedings of the Society ; especially if accompanied
by the skins of the animals (the skulls, legs, and tail, being carefully
preserved), for the purpose of identification. The Journal of the Asiatic
Society contains numerous articles on Natural History, but its contributi-
ons in this department are fewer than could be wished: whilst the
Bengal Sporting Magazine, hitherto in a great measure confined to mere
journals of shooting excursions, might likewise be made a ready and
appropriate medium for the publication of such observations; and the
contributions of its various correspondents prove them abundantly quali-
fied for this higher and more important object.

These introductory observations being premised, I shall now proceed
to enumerate such Mammals as I know to inhabit the great Tlimalayan
Chain ; and without following any formal arrangement, shall throw them
into such natural groups or families, as appear best suited to illustrate
their geographical distribution with respect to climate and temperatures
the principal object of the present Memoir.

QUADRUMANA.

Throughout Bengal and the nothern provinces of British India, there
appear to be only two species of Simie, the Hoonuman (Semnopithecus
Fintellus), and the Bhunder (Papio. Fihesus) ; both of which ascend the
hills to a very considerable elevation during the summer heats, and return :
again to the plains at the commencement of the cold season. This

migration is a very interesting fact in the history of these Simie ;it isthe

only instance of a similar phenomenon, which has been recorded of this

family of Mammals, and may become of great value in its application to q

geological reasoning on the climate and temperature of Europe during
the tertiary epochs, in the deposits of which periods the bones of Apes —
and Monkeys have lately been found, associated with the remains of
Pachydermata, and other inhabitants of more tropical latitudes. The ©
Hoonuman, called Lungoor by the Hill tribes, is not unfrequently found at ;

1840. } Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 145

an elevation of from 9,000 to 11,000 feet, as among the Pine forests in the
neighbourhood of Choor, and sometimes even at the verge of the snow-
line. Nay, it even appears to have succeeded in crossing the mountains ;
_ Turner* mentions having seen a large troop of these monkeys in Bootan,
where they are held in the same veneration asin Hindustan; and that it
has found its way, and is capable of subsisting in a state of nature, at a
considerable elevation, and a comparatively low temperature, is sufficiently
evinced by these facts, as well as by the testimony of Fraser,f Traill{
and other intelligent travellers. Dr. Royle found it common enough in
the neighbourhood of Hurdwar in April,andon Tuen and Manma at
9,000 feet of elevation in the latter end of May and in June.

The Bhunder, Bender, or Bandar, the Common Monkey of Bengal and
Upper India (Papio Rhesus), though said by Mr. Hodgson to exist in
the central regions of Nepal, only in the viciuity of the temples, and ina
semi-domestic state, whence he conjectures it to have been introduced
from religious motives, is also reported to abound in Kumaon; and it is
highly probable, that the nearly allied species (Papio Assamensis) lately
discovered by Mr. M‘Clelland in Assam, ascends the more eastern hills,
as its congener does the central and western ranges. Of this, however,
we have no positive knowledge, though the close affinity of the animals
gives a strong degree of probability to the fact ; but the various species
of Monkeys which Mr. Fraser thinks may be found along the upper courses
of the Jumna and Ganges, rest on more questionable authority ; and it is
not unlikely that this intelligent traveller, asindeed he has himself con-
jectured, was deceived by distance, variety of size, and other circum-
stances, which give a very different appearance to individuals of the same
species. Mr. Hodgson§ gives the Bonnet Monkey (Cercopithecus ra-
diatus) as a native of Nepal ; but this species is confined, as far as at pre-
sent known, to the Peninsula and western coast of India, and seems to
have been confounded by Mr. H. with the Papio Rhesus, or Bhunder of
Hindustan. The same gentleman, in a letter to the Zoological Society,
written some years ago, mentions that his shooters were once alarmed in
the Kachar, or Alpine regions of Nepal, by the appearance of a wild man,
which walked erect, was covered with long dark hair, and had no tail.
The improbability of finding a real Ape in such a situation led him to
question the truth of the report; but it is well known that the woods of
the lower ranges to the east of Nepal contain at least one species of Gib-
bon, Hylobates Scyritus, called Hooloo or Hooloc by the Assamese ; and

* Journey to Thibet, p, 147. + Journey in the Himalayas, p 351.
+ Asiat, Res. XVI, 153.

3 Proc, Zool. Soc. Il, 96.

146 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. [Jury

itisnot improbable that individuals may occasionally wander to the higher
and more remote forests of the Central Hills.

CHEIROPTERA.

When it is recollected that of the sixteen species of Bats, now known
to inhabit the British islands, no fewer than ten have been discovered
within the last few years, it will not appear surprising that we should be
so imperfectly acquainted with this department of Himalayan Mamma-
logy. Mr. Hodgson, indeed, is the only author who has furnished us
with any details on the subject: his “ Synopsis of the Vespertilionidee
of Nepal,” published in the Journal of the Asiatic. Society of Bengal,
vol. iv. p. 699, contains an enumeration of seven species of Cheiroptera:
but, ashe himself very candidly observes, his specific identifications
must be received with considerable caution, from his want of access to
extensive libraries and museums, for the purpose of comparison. Of the
two species of Pteropus, for instance, which he has there briefly describ-
ed under the names of P. leucocephalus and P. pyrivorus, the former
does not appear to differ from the P. medius or Edwardsié of the Plains ;
and the probability of its identity with that species is increased by the
fact, which Mr. Hodgson mentions, ofits only visiting the temperate
regions of Nepal during the autumn, returning of course to the more
sultry plains of India onthe approach of the cold season. ‘The Pteropus
rubicoliis of Mr. M‘Clelland’s “ list of objects of Natural History collected
in Assam,” is likewise identical with the P. Edwardsit. The only other
species of tailless Pteropus known to inhabit the continent of India,
Pteropus Dussuinieri, is very different in its characters from Pteropus
medius; andas Dr. Royle brought undoubted specimens of this latter
species from the lower hills alittle farther west, it is but reasonable to
suppose that it is equally common in Nepal, and consequently identical
with Mr. Hodgson’s animal. The Pieropus pyrivorus, to judge from the
short description given by Mr. Hodgson, appears to be less questionably
a new species : it belongs to the second section of the genus, having a short
tail, partly free and partly enveloped in the membrane, and derives its spe-
cific name from the depredations which it commits among the ripe pears
in the central regions of Nepal. ‘The migratory habits ascribed to these
Pteropi ave common to the Pieropus poliocephaius of New South Wales,
and many other species of the same genus ; for these large frugivorous
Cheiroptera are essentially tropical in their habitats, and only visit more
temperate climates during the summer and autumn heats, when the ripe
fruits tempt them to wander from their native regions. ‘They are conse-

2840. | Mammalogy of the Himalauas. 147

quently but occasional visitors to the higher elevations and latitudes of
the glebe ; and the Pteropus dasymallus and Pteropus pselaphon, which
have been hitherto observed only in Japan, comparatively a high latitude
for these animals, do not probably form an exception to the general law.
Of the Znsectivorous Chetroptera, a family far more abundantly and
extensively dispersed over the surface of the globe, Mr. Hodgson indi-
cates only five species as natives of Nepal. ‘Three of these are describ-
edas Vesperizliones, by the specific names of formosa, fuliginosa, and
labiata, and two as Rhinolophi, by the names of armiger and tragatus
respectively ; but without a more careful examination and comparison with
other species than Mr. Hodgson had it in his power to make, it is impos-
sible to say how far these Bats may be distinct from, or identical with,
species already described. One thing at least is certain, that the tempe-
_rate and more elevated regions of the Himalayas must contain many
species of Insecitvorous Cheiroptera, still unknown or undistinguished,
besides those enumerated by Mr. Hodgson ; it has been already observed,
that this section of the family is very widely and generally distributed in
temperate climates ; and the rich harvest which has attended the re-
searches of British naturalists, within the last few years, in their own
country, ought to stimulate our Indian brethren to a pursuit which can-
not fail to be rewarded by still more extensive discoveries. It would
be extremely interesting, for example, to procure a complete series of
Himalayan Bats, with the seasons, temperatures, and elevations at which
they were captured carefully noted down, soas to compare them with
analogous species of higher latitudes, and thus ascertain what law of
succession the different forms may follow, or within what limits they may
be confined in respect to temperature, in their geographical distribution
over the surface of the earth. Speaking of these Insectivorous Bats, Mr.
Hodgson observes, that ‘‘ they are neither migratory nor subject to hi-
bernation ;” two properties which in more northern climates would be con-
sidered incompatible with one another, and which even in the central
regions of the Himalayas require a very careful revision before they can
be admitted as established facts. I am not aware that these animals
ever migrate in any climate; hibernation is the resource which nature
has provided to preserve them during the season when their natural food
disappears ; and it is the general opinion, that even within the tropics,
the Insect-feeding Bats go to sleep at certain seasons, as they do through -
out the winter in more northern latitudes: should the fact be otherwise,
it would prove a highly interesting addition to our knowledge of their
habits; but it is possible that Mr. Hodgson may have been led into error,
by the casual appearance of a few individuals during an occasional fine

148 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. [ June

evening, as sometimes occurs in Britain even in the depth of winter. The
subject is well worth the attention of Indian Zoologists.

INSECTIVORA.

Ascending gradually from the frugévorous Chezroptera of the Plains of
India, which visit the hills only during the summer heats, through the
insectivorous genera of the same family, which remain throughout the
whole year, we next come to the Jnsectzvora, properly so called ; a family
which belongs almost exclusively to the temperate regions of the earth ;
and of which it is therefore extremely interesting to find the common
forms of Europe and Northern Asia occurring in the analogous climates
ofthe Himalayas. No fewer than three distinct species of Hedgehogs,
for instance, have been described from the Western Hills:

Erinaceus spatangus, a small dark-coloured species, not more thar
twice the size of a large mouse ;

Erinaceus Grayti, of a grizzled black and yellow, from the spines
being annulated with these two colours, rather smaller than the common
European species; and |

Erinaceus collaris, by some supposed to be identical with ZL. Grayit,
but easily distinguished by a white collar half surrounding the neck. All
these species, however, require a careful revision; they are founded on
single specimens, those of the two former deposited in the Zoological
Society's Collection, that of the last in the British Museum, and of
which a figure is published in the Indian Zoology of Messrs. Hardwicke
and Gray. Ht is possible that more extensive and accurate observation
may prove the whole three to be identical: at all events, it is certain
that one, either of these, or a different species (Hrinuceus indicus of
Royle’s Illustrations, &c. p. 6), inhabits the neighbourhood of Delhi,
where it would be interesting to observe the phenomena attending its
hibernation, such as the temperature of its body, the nature of its respi-
ration, &c. during the period of repose. Mr. Hodgson, in the letter to
the Zoological Society, already referred to, denies that there are any
Hedgehogs in Nepal, but mentions a small dull slaty-blue variety of the
common Indian Shrew or Musk Rat (Sorex indicus), as common in the
lower and central regions, to which he speaks of it as being confined.
Other species no doubt exist in the more temperate parts of the moun-
tains, though their small size and shy habits screen them from observa-
tion. ‘The same gentleman mentions the Mole (Talpa), as abounding in
the Kachar, or northern region of Nepal, and Traill* says it is common

® Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi, 153.

1840. ] Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 149

in Kemaon ; but no one appears to have described, or even examined it,
and we are ignorant of every thing relating to it, except the name. It
will probably prove to be a distinct species from its European congener,
if it exist at all; but the question is involved in great doubt, and is well
worthy of a careful examination.

CARNIVORA PLANTIGRADA.

Of this family, the majority of which likewise belong to the temperate
regions of the earth, various forms and species occur among the Himalay-
as. First, of the genus Ursus, we have the Bhaloo, or Common Bear of
India (Ursus labiatus), and, according to Mr. Hodgson,* the Malay Bear
(Ursus Malayanus), inhabiting the Turai, or sultry regions, at the base
of the mountains, to which localities he appears to intimate that they
are coufined. But the habitat here assigned to the Malay Bear is ex-
tremely doubtful. It rests solely on the authority of Mr. Hodgson,
who, from the want of proper means of comparison, is often mistaken in
the identification of species; moreover, we have never received this
animal from any part of Continental India, but only from the great
islands of the Indian Archipelago; and it is therefore not improbable
that it may have been in this instance confounded with the Ursus Thibe-
tanus, which, from the general similarity of the two species, may have
readily happened. Mr. Hodgson, indeed, expressly mentions this latter
species as an inhabitant of the Central and Northern regions of Nepal ;
and Dr. Royle informs me, that it is confined among the more western
hills, to the Doon and warm valleys, where it is called Reech by the
natives. Lieut. I. Smith, of the 15th regiment N. I., however, an officer
well acquainted with the Mammals of the Himalayas, and a keen sports-
man, assures me that the Common Sloth Bear (Ursus labiatus) does not
ascend above the lower spurs of the great Mountain Chain of Northern
India; that it is there replaced by the I?eeck or Reek, which occupies
the whole of the more elevated hills, as far up as the snow line, where
it is succeeded in its turn by the Bar7z or Yellow Bear (Ursus tsabellinus),
a species hitherto very imperfectly described, though mentioned
by every tourist as extremely abundant in the higher regions of
the Himalayas. Capt. Skinnerf met with it in the neighbourhood
of Bhairo Ghati; Traill{ found it in Kemaon, though he says it
is peculiar to Bhot; and it is probably the Brown Bear mention-
ed by Mr. Fraser :§ so that upon the whole it appears, that whilst the

* Proc, Zool. Soc., ii. 96. + Excursions, &c. ii. 72,
+ Asiat. Res., xvii, 16. 4 Journey, &c. p. 35},

150 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. [Juny

Common Sloth Bear (Ursus labiatus) is on all hands admitted to be
confined to the sultry plains of India, the Reech (Ursus thibetanus)
succeeds it, as the legitimate representative of the European Bear (Ursus
Arctos), and of its American analogue (Ursus americanus), in the middle
or temperate regions of the hills, to be itself replaced among the frozen
peaks of the higher mountains, by the Barji, or Yellow Bear of the
Himalayas (Ursus isubellinus), a species in all respects analogous, in its
colour and habitat, as well as in its decidedly carnivorous appetite, to its
congener, the Polar or Sea Bear of the North (Ursus maritimus).

Various animals, either belonging or closely allied to the Gluttons and
Badgers (Gulo and Meles), pre-eminently northern forms, likewise inhabit
the elevated rarges of the Himalayas. Among the lower terraces we
have the Ratel (Rattelus mellivorous), called Peejoo by the Hindoos,
which is common over all the plains of Northern India, and differs from
the same animal, as found at the Cape of Good Hope, only in being of a
lighter colour on the back. This wide distribution of the Carnivora,
and the common occurrence of the same species in India, and the most
remote parts of Africa, will be more particularly mentioned in the follow-
ing article: Mr. Hodgson,* under the erroneous impression that the
Peejoo, which the Nepalese call Bharsiah, was an unknown animal, and
evidently misled by some imperfect or faulty account of its dentition, has
recently described it as anew genus under the name of Ursitaxus inauri-
tus ; but the species has long been well known in Europe. M. F. Cuvier
figured, and accurately described its teeth in the “ Dents des Mammi-
feres,’ so long ago as the year 1825; and the late Mr. Bennett described
and figured the animal itself in 1830, from an Indian specimen then
living in the menagerie of the Zoological Society.t The Salloo-scor,
(perhaps more properly Bhalloo-soor ?), Meles collaris,t which M. F.
Cuvier likewise elevated to the rank of a generic form, under the name
of Arctonyx, upon the faith of a distorted native drawing sent to him by
M. Duvyaucel, is a real Badger, and was described and figured by the
celebrated Bewick, at least thirty years before M. Duvaucel’s visit to
India. It inhabits the northern plains of Hindostan, and probably as-
cends the hills, but of this fact I have no certain information. Of the
Gluttons, properly so called, the Gulo nepalensis of Mr. Hodgson, which

does not differ specifically from the Gulo orientalis of Dr. Horsfield, the

only distinction being ina lighter shade of ground colour, inhabits the

* Res, Asiat. Soc. xix., and Journal of Asiat, Soc., v. 671,
+ Gard. and Menag., &c. i. 138. ;
+ Penny Cyclopedia, iii. 264,

-1840.] Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 151

lower terraces of the hills; whilst the Wah, or Chitwah (Adlurus fulgens)
and the Benturong (Arctitis Albifrons)* are said to be confined to the
Kachar, and regions bordering on the snow-line. As regards the Wah,
there is no doubt about the truth of the habitat here assigned to it; but
the Benturong is a native of the Indian Archipelago, and of the Penin-
sulaof Malacca; and I strongly suspect, that it has been confounded
with some other animal, perhaps with Paradoxurus bondar, or some close-
ly allied species. The habitat of Bootan, assigned to it in the Regne
Animal, is altogether erroneous. Messrs. Gray and Isidore Geoffroy
have proposed to consider the Gulo nepalensis as the type of a new
genus, the former under the name of Helictis moschata, the latter under
that of Melogaie personata.

CARNIVORA DIGITIGRADA.

It was mentioned incidentally in the preceding article, that many species
of Carnivora were common to India, and the Continent of Africa ; and it
is not a little singular, that this migration appears to have proceeded exclu-
sively from west to east, and never in the opposite direction ; or, in other
words, that whilst the Carnivora of Africa have found their way freely into
the neighbouring Continent, those of India have never passed the Arabi-
an desert. I do not pretend to account for this. Perhaps it may depend
upon the physical character of the two Continents, and the influence
which this circuinstance exerts in modifying the nature and habits of
their respective inhabitants. The Lion of the burning Sahara, for in-
stance, like the wild Taurick or Bedoween ofthe same regions, would
find the parched deserts of Syria and Persia no barrier to his pro-
gress towards the East ; whilst, on the other hand, the Tiger of the moist
jungles of Bengal could no more pass the arid plains of Arabia than the
puny and luxurious Hindoo, accustomed to the same humid soil and
atmosphere. But whatever may be its cause, the fact itself is as un-
doubted as it is interesting. ‘The common distribution of the Rate/ over
both Continents has been already mentioned. This animal is spread
over the whole of Africa ; it is common in every part of the Cape colony,
and Denham and Clapperton brought it from Bornou ; and though its
geographical limits have not been accurately ascertained in Asia, we
know that it abounds on the plains of Northern India, which do not differ
much in their physical structure from the Karroos of South Africa. So

* Mr. Hodgson, in Zool, Proc., ii. 96,

152 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. [Jury

likewise the Lion (Felis Zeo), the Leopard or Panther, for they are
both the same species (Felis Pardus and Leopardus), the Cheetah
(Felis jubata), the Persian and Red-eared Lynxes (felés Caracal and
Felis Chaus), the striped Hyena (Hyena virgata), and the Jackall
(Canis aureus), all pre-eminently African species, are found in most
parts of India, without offering any striking variety either in form or
colour; whilst the Tigers, Wolves, Paradoxures, &c. of the latter country
have never passed far to the west of the Indus, and some of these are
even withoul generic representation on the Continent of Africa: nor is
it less singular that, as far at least as at present known, this migration
should have been confined to the Carnivora. ‘There is nota single au-
thenticated instance of any of the numerous Antelopes in which Africa
abounds above all other parts of the world, and which nature has pecu-
liarly adapted to inhabit the most parched and arid deserts, having
crossed the Isthmus of Suez, any more than of the various species of
Deer so common throughout the whole extent of Asia having migrated
in an opposite direction. Ifthe various indications which Mr. Hodgson
has given of the occurrence of species known to inhabit the great islands
ofthe Indian Archipelago, and the southern extremity of the Malay
Peninsula, such as the Benturong (Arctitis albifrons), the Malay
Bear (Ursus malayanus), and the Javanese Ichneumon (Herpestes
javanica), in the forests of the Turai, which skirt the southern foot
of the Himalayas, should turn out to be correct, (and it is certain
that Felis minuta and Gulo orientalis are common to both these
localities), it would appear that India Proper, besides its own appro-
priate Mammals, is a kind of neutral ground upon which the species
of the most distant countries to the east and west of it meet and min-
gle together. One fact, abundantly singular, but which I have never
seen accounted for, is the alleged total absence of every species of
the genus Canis, so numerous and so common throughout all parts of
India, in Burma, Siam, and those other countries east of the Brahmapoo-
tra, which compose the great Malay Peniusula. This is a phenomenon
well worth the attention of Indian Naturalists.

As far as regards the occurrence of the Digitigrade Carnivora among
the Himalayan Mountains, it is certain that the Lion, called Baug by the
indians, ascends the western hills to a very considerable elevation. Mr.
Fraser often heard of it during his journey tothe sources of the Ganges

.

“1840.]). Mammalogy of the Himaiayas. 153

and Jumma,* and Bernier, whilst travelling to Cashmere, in the train of
Aurungzebe, had frequent opportunities of witnessing the chace of this
animal: the amusement was reserved for the Emperor alone, and the
“success of a day’s sport was recorded by the Imperial Historiographer in
the annals of the empire. The same indifference to climate character-
ises the Lion in Africa; in the time of Herodotus and Aristotle, he was
common among the coldest mountains of Macedon; at the present day
he is as often found among the snowy peaks of the Atlas, or on the chilly
slopes of the Snueuberg, as in the desert of Barca, or on the banks of
the Gareip. Travellers should look for him to the east of the Brahma-
pootra, as though not known to inhabit any part of Eastern India, the
Burmese are said to have figures which can be intended for no other
animal, and which can only have been drawn from the living model. ‘The
Tiger and Leopard are well known to inhabit every part of the Himalay-
as, even to the line of perpetual congelation: they exist equally in Japan,
in the Caucasus, and in the Altai Mountains in Southern Siberia.t The
Tiger of Bockhara is less than the Bengal variety, and chiefly confined
to the Valley of the Oxus;{ whilst in Japan he is covered with a thick
coat of long soft fur, to protect him from the rigours of that northern
climate. The Cheetah is said by Mr. Hodgson§ to occur chiefly among
the lower valleys of the Himalayas, but Pallas found it as far north as
the Caspian Sea and the deserts of the Khirgis Tartars, so that it may
possibly ascend the Hills to a greater height than has yet been suspected.
Lieut. Smith mentions a small dark coloured variety of the Leopard,

called Luckur-backer, extremely fierce, and common in every part of the
Hills.

Among the smaller species of the genus Fels, the Moormi Cat (Felis
moormansis) first described by Mr. Hodgson, and hitherto observed only
by that gentleman, as likewise the Felis Bengalensis or nepalensis, are
stated to inhabit the middle terraces of Nepal§. The Felis Viverrinus,
first described by Mr. Bennet|| in 1833, and three years afterwards by
Mr. Hodgson, under the nearly identical name of Felis Viverriceps,{ in-
habits the lower terraces and valleys of the Turai. Felts Chaus, (called

* I beg to observe here, that I frequently made inquiries on this subject, and could
never learn anything positive on the subject; nor had any of the numerous sportsmen
to whom I spoke on the subject, ever seen a Lion or its skin, obtained from within the
Himalayas. At present, the Lion is I believe only found to the west of the Jumna, espe-
cially on the edge of the desert, near Hansi. J. F. R.

+ Pallas Zoog. Res., i, 16. % Burnes’ Travels, ii. 178.
3 Zool Proc., ii, 97. || Zool. Proc., i, 68,
1 Journal Asiat. Soc., v. 232.

154 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. [Juny

Biraloo in Nepal), of which I have compared numerous African and
Indian specimens, extends over every part of the Hills: it isthe Fels
erythrotus of Mr. Hodgson ;* and there isa specimen of a Himalayan
Cat in the Museum of the Zoological Society, so closely resembling the

common Wild Cat of Europe, that it differs only in the absence of the

dark transverse and longitudinal stripes which mark that species, and
which may not improbably be a mere effect of locality.

Mr. Hodgsonf has described three species of Paradoxuri as inhabi-
tants of the Southern, Central, and Northern regions of Nepal respect-
ively, two of which at least I have seen from the more Western Hills;
P. Bondar (P. hirsutus, Hodg.) is confined to the Turai; P. nepalensis,
Hodg. frequents the* middle ranges of the mountains, and P. larvatus,
(P. lanigerus ? Hodg.) is only found in the higher regions. Two species
of Mungoos ( Herpestes) likewise inhabit the lower terraces ; H. gvréseus,
called Nyool in Nepal, does not extend beyond the Turai, but H. Ed-
wardsit (H. auropunctata, Hodg.)t ascends the central hills; whilst
Viverra Rasse and indica, and Viverra Zibetta, are said to frequent the
same localities respectively.

The true Mustelz, a genus proper to more northern latitudes, abound
in the Himalayas, where there appear to be many different species, some
of which, according to Mr. Hodgson, differ but little from those of
Northern Europe and Asia. It is tobe remarked, however, that they
have never been properly compared ; but it is interesting to find this
additional instance of the relation between generic forms and climate. In
the central region, besides Musiela flavigula, Mr. Hodgson mentions two
closely allied species, one larger and of a fuller habit of body, (query,
Paradoxurus larvatus ?); the other, which he has described under the
name of Mustela Kathiah, is much smaller, and often domesticated by the
Nepalese for the purpose of destroying vermin, and sometimes even
large animals.§ This appears to be the Kukar of Kemaon, where it
likewise frequents the villages, burrows in the walls of houses, and is
similarly protected by the inhabitants.|| The Mustela lanigera of Mr.
Hodgson resembles the common Weasel of Europe, but differs in its
spirally twisted hair; and the same gentleman mentioned another
species so nearly approaching our common Pole-cat, that he is unable
to perceive any specific difference ; however it will probably turn out
to be distinct. Both these latter species abound in the northern and

* Journ. Asiat. Soc., v. 232. + Asiat. Res., xix. Ee 22s
+ Zool. Proc., i. 68. * $ Journ, As, Soc., iv. 703.
|| Asiat, Res., xvii. 16,

1840.) Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 155

central regions. No fewer than seven species of Otters are said by Mr.
Hodgson to inhabit the Himalayas; but they require to be carefully
studied and compared, before we can venture to pronounce definitely
upon their specific distinction. It is certain, indeed, that several species
do actually exist in these Hills; Mr. Hodgson has himself given brief
characters of four which he regards as new,* besides the two common
species of the plains, (Zuérae Nair and Leptonyx), and seems to intimate
that the seventh may be no more than a variety of the common Euro-
pean Otter.t The following is the substance of Mr. Hodgson’s obser-
vations in the letter already referred to, and I give them at length in
the hope that they may induce other observers to co-operate with that
gentleman in filling up the sketch of which he has given an outline.
“Of Lutre we have seven species, five differing from the two usually
found in the plains, as well as from all described species, except the
common Otter (Z. vulgaris), of which the largest Nepal species seems
to be only a variety. It is five feet long, including the tail, and is the
largest, though not the longest of our species. It is peculiar to the
lower region, where also three other species inhabit : two more belong
to the central, and one to the Kachar. One species is yellowish brown
all over; the others brown, more or less dark, some having the chin and
throat much paler than the rest of the body, and approaching nearly to
white or yellow. ‘They differ in length from five feet to one and a half
feet; some being quite vermiform, and others as bulky as the Badger.
Detailed descriptions, skulls, and skins of these animals, are much
wanted.”

Of the genus Canis, different species are found everywhere. The com-
mon Pariah Dog is universally dispersed through the mountains, but the
Thibet Mastiffis confined to the Kachar, into which it is imported from
its native country. There are many distinct varieties of this noble ani-
mal. That called Sassa, a large black kind, with dew claws on the hind
feet, is esteemed the finest : another called Mustang is of a bright red
colour. The common Wild Dog, called simply Junglee Coota in the
Plains and Buansu in Nepal (Canis Duckunensis of Sykes and C. primevas
of Hodgson) is only found in the lower regions, but is replaced farther up
by two other wild species, likewise called Junglee Coota by English
sportsmen. Lieut. Smith informs me that one of these is larger and the
other smaller than the Junglee Coota of the Plains, from which they both
differ in having shorter tails and a lighter or more ashy colour: both

species ascend the Hills even to the snow line; they hunt in packs, and

* Journ, As. Soc., viii. 319, + Letter to Zool. Soc,

156 ~ Mammalogy of the Himalayas. (JuLy

inhabit ravines and rocky dells; but, being excessively shy, are not very
often seen. The Junglee Coota of the Plains, in other respects, does
not appear to me to differ from the Canis Sumatrensis of General Hard-
wicke. The Kokree, or small Indian fox (Canis Corsac, Indicus, Benga-
lensis, Kokree, &c.); and the Berrta, or Wolf of India (Canis pallipes,
Sykes), never ascend the Hills. The Jackall (Canis aureus), is how-
ever occasionally said to be found in the central regions; but the
higher mountains are inhabited by a very beautiful species of Fox,
which Dr. Royle first noticed as the Hill Fox,* and of which he
brought home the first skin ever seen in England, and which was
described at the time in the present memoir, and afterwards in the Pro-
ceedings of the Zoological Society, Part iv. p. 103, by the name of Canis
Himalaicus. Mr. Pearson, then Curator of the Museum of the Astatic
Society at Calcutta, likewise described it about the same time as the
latter ;} and as he had a few months priority in point of publication, his
name of Canis montana must have the preference.

The Hyena of India (ZZ. Virgata), a native of the Plains, sometimes
ascends even to Simla.

RODENTIA.

The remark which was formerly made to account for our limited
knowledge of the Chezroptera and Insectivora of these mountains, may be
applied with equal force to the present family; viz. that the compara-
tively diminutive size and timid habits of the animals which compose it
screen them from general observation. Still we have much more de-
tailed accounts of the Himalayan Rodentia than of either of the two
former families, though even these are far from being so complete as could
be wished.

The striped Squirrel of the Plains (S. palmarum) is, according to Mr.
Hodgson,} abundant in the lower hills of Nepal ; and I have seen a second
species (Sciurus Lokriah, Hodg.) of the same size, but of a uniform
earthy brown colour, tipped with golden yellow, which is said to be an
inhabitant of the central regions. Mr. Hodgson mentions a third (S.
Lokroides) similar to the latter, and perhaps not specifically distinct.§
Two beautiful species of flying Squirrell] (Pteromys magnificus and P.
aldoniger, Hodg.) are found both in the northern and central regions,

* Journ. As, Soc., i, p. 99, 1832, + Journ. As. Soc., v. 113.
+ Proc. Zool. Soc., ii. 98. 3 Asiat. Res,, xvi, 153.
|| Asiat, Res,, xvii, 16,

1840.] Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 157

but do not extend to the very elevated parts of the mountains.* Here,
however, are found a small brown kind of Marmot, called Bhiat by the
natives, hitherto undescribed ; and an equally undescribed species
of Rat,{ with a tail not more than half an inch in length, most
probably a Lemming (Georychus, Iliger), if it be not rathera La-
gomys, of whichrare and essentially arctic genus Doctor Royle has
brought a beautiful specimen from the Choor Mountain. Captain
- Herbert, in his tour up the Valley of the Sutlej,} met with this
tailless rat at an elevation of 12,000 feet, and observes that the ground
was every where cut up into groves by it in search of food. He conjec-
tures the animal to be a species of Spalax, but Dr. Royle israther dis-
posed to think that it was no other than the Lagomys, as he observed
the ground similarly cut up in the vicinity of the spot where he obtained
his specimen. The circumstance of the tail, however, which, short as it
is, is expressly mentioned by both Capt. Herbert and Mr. Traill, ap-
pears to me to preclude Dr. Royle’s supposition, since the Lagomys of
the Himalayas, like the rest of its congeners, is absolutely without any
rudiment of this organ. It is not improbable, indeed, that species of all
the three genera here mentioned may be found among the more elevated
ridges of the Himalayas, of which the climate is perfectly adapted to
their habits ; and it is to be hoped that future observers will direct their
attention to the elucidation of this, as well as the numerous other un-
settled points of Himalayan Mammalogy, to which I have already been
so frequently obliged to refer.

Dr. Faiconer, in the report of his recent journey to Cashmere and
Little Thibet, mentions a Rodent under the name of the Thibet Marmot,
which he says was first found in a bleak and rocky tract of country, imme-
diately after passing to the northern slope of the great Himalayan range ;
but we have no farther knowledge of its characters : however, this is pre-
cisely the locality in which Mammals of this description might naturally
be expected to abound. Rats and Mice, differing little, if at all, from
our common European species, are abundant in all the houses. Mr.
Hodgson,j indeed, expressly states that both our black and brown, or
Norway rats, (Mus Rattus and M. decumanus), are the common species
of Nepal, and Mr. Traill mentions them incidentally as inhabitants of the
province of Kemaon. This is another interesting and important point
of similarity between the Zoology of the Himalayas and that of the more
northern parts of Europe and Asia ; nor can we attribute the presence

* Journ, As. Soe,, v. 232.
+ Asiat, Res., xv. 5. + Proc. Zool. Soc., ii, 98,

158 Mummalogy of the Himalayas. [Jury

of these animals, in this part of the globe, to the introduction of European
conquerors, as is well ascertained to have been the case in America* and
Australia, since they are confined to the mountains, and altogether unknown
in the Plains of India, except perhaps in some of the largest seaports. They
must consequently have travelled south to reach their present’ habitat ; —
and, no doubt, exist in Thibet, Tartary, and other intermediate countries, —
where the climate is suitable, as far as Northern Asia, from which at least

one of the species (AZ. decumanus) is said to have been originally intro-

duced into Europe. Besides these, Mr. Hodgson describes two other

species (Mus niviventur and M. nemorivagus) as peculiar to the Hima-

layas ; and I have received a Rat from Dr. Royle, which in the dried

state of the specimen I cannot distinguish from the common European

Campagnol (Arvicola vulgaris), a fact the more interesting from this

genus being confined to the temperate and colder regions of the Old

World. The Bandicoot, or great Rat of the Plains (M. giganteus) does

not exist in Nepal ;f but various kinds of Field Mice, of what precise

species is not mentioned, are stated to be sufficiently common.{ The

Porcupine (Hystrix cristata var. leucarus, Sykes) is found in Kemaon,§

and the lower and central regions of Nepal.||

Mr. Hodgson{[mentions two species of Hares as inhabiting Nepal. One
he calls the common small species (probably the black-necked Hare of
F. Cuvier, ‘ Lepus nigricolilis’), which, he says, is confined to the Turai;
the other, which he considers a new species, as large as the common
English Hare and nearly resembling it, inhabits the higher and colder
parts of the mountains. This is probably the red-tailed Hare of M. Isidore
Geoffroy St. Hilaire,** (Z. ruficaudatus), of which Dr. Royle obtained a
specimen at Hurdwar (?) and which, he informs me, is very common in
the Doon and in the neighbourhood of Delhi. As M. Is. Geoffroy’s
short description of this species is necessarily imperfect, from the muti-
lated state of the only skin which he had an opportunity of examining,
the following more detailed account will not be unacceptable to the
scientific Zoologist :—

The skin obtained by Dr. Royle is that of a full-grown female ; it is in
perfect condition, and measures one foot ten inches from the nose to the
origin of the tail: the ears are about five inches in length, and the tail
four inches. The face, back and sides are regularly brindled, or varie-

* Proc. Zool, Soc., ii. 98.
+ Asiat. Res., xvi. 153. + Richardson Faun. Bor. Amer., i. 140-1.
% Journ. Asiat. Soc., v. 234, || Proce. Zool. Soc., ii, 97, 98.
7 Traillin Asiat. Res., xvi. 153, ** Dict. Class., ix, 381.

1840.| Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 159

gated with alternate wavy lines of black and light sandy brown, arising
from the hairs on those parts being annulated with these two colours.
The whole coat is short, smooth and glossy; it consists of a short fine
internal fur, of a cottony texture, and pale bluish white colour, and of a
long, coarse, external hair, which, as just observed, is annulated with
black and light sandy brown, and gives the general colour to the upper
parts of the body. In the distribution of these colours, each hair is
divided into three equal parts, the top and bottom being black, and the
centre light reddish brown. The dark colour predominates most on the
face, hips, and along the median line of the back, but becomes gradually
fainter upon the shoulders and flanks, and is separated from the pure
white of the belly by a narrow band of pale rufous. The cheeks are
grey, pointed or intermixed with black; a light grey spot occupies the
space in front of each eye; the chin is also grey, and the moustaches
long and stiff, black at the roots and grey at the points. ‘The ears appear
to be reddish brown tipped with black, but the hair has been partly rub-
bed off ia tlie specimen described, which prevents me from speaking with
certainty. The whole upper part of the neck is pure unmixed sandy
red, the fur being of the same quality as the internal fur upon other
parts of the body, and without any intermixture of the long external
silky hairs.. The outer face of the arms, the whole of the fore legs, and
the outer face of the hind, are also red; the tail red, or rather reddish
brown above, and pure white beneath ; and the belly and under parts of
the body unmixed white. The animal had probably been killed whilst
suckling her young, as the skin exhibited four very large teats, one pair
on the breast and the other on the abdomen. ‘These were all I could
observe, but there may have been more, as the skin had been a good deal
rubbed about these parts.

But by far the most interesting and unexpected acquisition, which Dr.
Royle’s discoveries among the Himalayas has produced tothe Zoologist,
is a new and beautiful species of Layomys, a genus heretofore only found
in Northern Asia and among the rocky mountains in North America.
This discovery, of the greatest importance to our inquiries into the prin-
ciples which regulate the geographical distribution of animals, is entirely
due to Dr. Royle, and furnishes another, anda most glaring instance of
the paramount influence of climate upon the dispersion of animals, as
well as vegetables. Unfortunately, the only skin which Dr. Royle has
brought to England, is too imperfect to admit of sodetailed a descripti-
on as would be desirable. The skull has been taken out, (it is now in
the Museum of University College, and, Professor Grant informs me, ex-
hibits the same form of dentition as the other species of Lagomys des-

160 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. (Jury —

cribed by Drs. Pallas and Richardson), and the hind legs cut off, but in
other respects it is in a sufficiently good state of preservation to enable
me to assign its specific characters. I propose, under the specific de-
nomination of Lagomys Roylii, to dedicate it to my friend Dr. Royle, in
commemoration of the important service which that distinguished
Botanist has rendered by its discovery to the kindred ‘science of Zoology.

The Z. Roylii more nearly resembles the Sulgan (L. pusillus, Pallas),
and the American species (L. princeps, Richardson), than either the
Pico or Ogotona (L. alpinus and Ogotona of Pallas). With the exception
of the Pica; however, it is considerably larger than any other species of
Logomys : the skin here described, notwithstanding its imperfect state—
for the hinder parts have been partially mutilated, measuring eight and
a half inches in length, which is more than one-third as large again as
the Ogotona, Sulgan or American species. From the Ogotuna, however,
it is easily distinguished by its colours, which, in that species, are light
grey above and pure white beneath, as well as by its naked soles. The
triangular form of the ears in L. puséllus, prevents that animal from being
confounded with any other species, and the Pica (L. alpinus), which
alone approaches the size of LZ. Roylii, isat once distinguished by the
sandy red colour of its fur. The Z. princeps of Dr. Richardson is the
only remaining species of the genus at present known ;it is very similar
to our animal in the colour and quality of the fur, but may be readily
distinguished by its inferior size, and by the deep black hair which covers
the external surface of its ears, and which is replaced in Z. Roylit by
long fur of a pure white colour.

The fur of this species is of two kinds, .a very soft and fine internal
one of a beautiful blue black over every part of the head and body, as
well above as below, and a coarser external kind, of the same colour at
the base, but afterwards marked with a broad ring of a greyish yellow
colour, and finally tipped with dark brown. These two kinds of fur,
however, are not produced by an actual difference in the individual hairs ;_
on the contrary, the same hairs exhibit both the appearances here de-
scribed, being extremely soft and fine at the root, and assuming a harsh
and rigid structure towards the extremity. These harsh tips, being the
only parts of the fur seen from without, give their general colour to the
whole body. On the upper parts of the body, the head, back and sides,
this is uniform brown, slightly mixed with yellowish grey, very dark on
the back, much more so, for instance, than in the common Rat (M. Decu-
manus), but rather paler on the sides, and yellowish white on the belly;
the hairs on this part wanting the harsh brown point, though in other

1840,] Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 161

respects perfectly similar to those of the back. The fur on the body is
about an inch in length, and nearly as long on the head, which gives the
face a rough shaggy appearance. The nose is entirely covered with
short harsh hair of a uniform brown colour; the upper lip is bilobed as
in the Hare; the ears are of an elliptical form with regularly rounded
tops, covered internally with very short brown hair, and on the outside
with long white hair at the base, and short brown at the top, the poste-
rior edges having a scarcely perceptible narrow white border. They are
about half an inch broad and three quarters of an inch in length, with
a small internal lobe about a quarter of an inch long, and have the fold-
ing inwards of the anterior margin, and, consequently, the resulting fun-
nel shape of their basal portions, which Pallas noticed in the species of
Northern Asia. Dr. Richardson could observe nothing of this appear-
ance in his Z. princeps, but I presume this must have arisen from the im-
perfect state of his specimens in a part so liable to be injured, since an
individual in the British Museum exhibits the structure too obviously to
have otherwise escaped the notice of that accurate Zoologist. The
vibrissee of Z., Roylii are nearly as long as the head and ears together, and
of a uniform brown colour. The arms and fore-arms, and, I presume, the
thighs and legs, for, as I have already observed, the_posterior members
are wanting in the specimen, are covered with fur of the same colour and
quality as that on the body, only shorter; but the whole upper face of
the carpus, and probably also of the tarsus, is covered with short adpres-
sed hair of a bright reddish yellow colour. ‘The soles of the fore feet
present four naked tubercles, corresponding to the extremities of the toes,
and a fifth, considerably farther back, which represents the heel, and is
separated from the others by a space covered with very short brown hair.
The thumb is situated behind the other toes, and, like them, has a small
sharp claw of a dusky horn colour.

Dr. Royle obtained his specimen on the Choor Mountain. I take it
to be this animal which Captain Mundy* met with during his interesting
tour recently published, and which he describes as something between a
hare and a guinea-pig ; and it is probably, also, the tailless rat which
Turner} observed in Thibet, where the banks of a lake were every where
perforated by its burrows.{

* Tour in India, II., 196.
+ Journey to Thibet, 211.

$ I have since seen perfect specimens of this animal, but have nothing to add to the
description here given.

162 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. [ Juny

EDENTATA.

Of this family, the only species known to inhabit the Continent of
Asia, the short-tailed Manis, or Scaly Anteater of authors (Manis penta-
dactyla of Linnzus, M. macroura of Desmarest) is found in the lower -
and less elevated parts of the central regions: but all the Edentata are
essentially inhabitants of the warmer parts of the earth, more especially
of tropical America, and we cannot therefore expect to find their forms
reproduced in the Himalayas. Mr. Hodgson has described the Manis of
Nepal as a new species, under the name of MM. auritus,* on the supposi-
tion of its being distinct from the common species of the plains of Upper
India, the Badjarkita of the Bengalese (MZ. macroura), which has been
known ever since the expedition of Alexander the Great, and is men-
tioned by lian under the name of Matzayye; but Mr. Hodgson in
this, as in many other instances, has been misled by Griffith’s Transla-
tion of the Regne Animal, a compilation which has obtained a much
greater authority in India than its merits entitle it to, or than it enjoys
at home.

PACHYDERMATA.

The great Saul Forest, which extends for many hundred miles along the
bases of the Himalayan Mountains, affords shelter to vast multitudes of
animals, of which it is probable that many species still remain undescrib-
ed. Among other genera, the large Pachydermata abound in these situ =
ations; the Elephant and Rhinoceros (Elephas indicus and Rhinoceros
unicornis), are extremely numerous ; and in the rainy season, or in times
of scarcity, make frequent inroads into the lower hills, and commit great
depredations among the crops cf the natives. The Indian Rhinoceros
affords a remarkable instance of the obstructions which the progress of
knowledge may suffer, and the gross absurdities which not unfrequently
result from the wrong application of a name. This animal, to whose horn
the superstition of the Persians and Arabs has in all ages attributed
peculiar virtues, became known to the Greeks through the description of
Ctesias, a credulous physician of that nation, who appears to have re-
sided at the court of Persia in the time ofthe younger Cyrus, about
400 years before the birth of Christ. His account, though mixed up
with a great deal of credulous absurdity, contains a very tolerable and
perfectly recognizable description of the Rhinoceros, under the ridiculous
name, however, of the Indian Ass ; and as he attributed to it a whole hoof,

* Journ. As. Soc., ¥. 234,

1840.] Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 163

like the horse, and a single horn in the forehead, speculation required but
one step further to produce the fabulous Unicorn, such as it appears in the
royal arms of England, and such as it has retained its hold on popular
credulity for the last two thousand years. ‘The works of Ctesias have
perished, but this curious passage is preserved by Phocius ;* Aristotlet
adopted his statements regarding the Indian Ass, from Ctesias ; and no
other passage of his writings has given rise to a tenth part of the com-
mentaries, discussions, and speculations which have originated in this.
Religion was, as usual, pressed into the discussion, and as the Septuagint
had used the word Monoceros, it was at one time next to rank heresy to
doubt the existence of the Unicorn, and might have brought the impru-
dent sceptic to the stake. But it is not my intention to renew this fruit-
less and childish discussion ; my only wish is to point out the perfect ap-
plicability of Ctesias’s description to the Indian Rhinoceros, as it is now
well known to naturalists; those who wish to pursue a subject of consi-
derable interest in the history of human knowledge, will find many curious
details in the writings of the learned Bochart,{ in Scaliger, Hardouin,
Sivry, and others of the older commentators on Aristotle and Pliny.

Wild Hogs, but of a smaller variety than those of Bengal, are extreme-
ly numerous in all the wooded parts of the mountains; they do not appear
to be specifically different from the common wild boar of Europe. Horses
do not breed on the southern face of the mountains, but are imported
from Thibet.§ <A valuable and sure-footed variety, called Tangun, is de-
scribed by Turner.|| The Ass does not appear to have been introduced
into any part of the mountains, at least neither Dr. Hamilton nor Mr.
Hodgson makes any allusion to its being found in Nepal,q and Mr. Trail!
expressly states that it does not exist in Kemaon.** The Dziggetai, how-
ever (Equus hemionus), is found on the plains of Thibet and Tartary,
and is called Kiang by the natives.

RUMINANTIA.

The Ruminantia of the Himalayas, as composed of the larger four-foot-
ed game most commonly followed by sportsmen, are probably better
known than any other department of Hill Mammalogy. Yet even here
much still remains to be done to make us thoroughly acquainted with all
the different species or varieties which have been mentioned by Mr. Hodg-

* Photii Biblioth. cod., 72, p. 91. +. Hist., lib. im, e. 1:
+ Hierozei, lib. iii., c. 26, ? Mundy’s Tour, ii., 75.
| Fraser’s Journey, p. 351, Hamilton’s Nepaul, 79,

** Journey, 21,

164 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. [Jury

son* and other writers; the nomenclature, iu particular, is extremely
confused, and there is strong reason to believe that the number of species,
particularly among the deer tribe, has been greatly increased by the

variety of names given to the same animal in the ever varying dialects of .

the hill tribes. I have, however, only mentioned those of which the
existence is known with some degree of certainty.

The Musk ( Moschus moschiferus), called Kastooree, is not uncommon
in the higher hills. It is said to derive its peculiar odoriferous secretion
from feeding on the Kastooree plant, a kind of ground nut, which is
strongly impregnated with the same pungent scent, and which the animal
digs up with its long tusk. Mr. Hedgson, ina recent number of the
Journal of the Asiatic Society,t expresses his belief in the existence of
three different species of this animal among the Himalayas, and even
assigns them distinct names; but the characters are founded entirely on
the difference of colour, which is too variable to be depended on for the
purpose of specific distinction; and, in fact, Lieut. Smith assures me
that the colours vary with the age of the animal; a remark on which I
am disposed to place the greater reliance from its agreeing with my own
observations, made on many individuals preserved in the museums of
this country and the Continent. Whether the “ Second species of Musk,”
mentioned by Dr. Falconer as having been discovered during his recent
journey into Cashmere and Little Thibet, be founded on more important
characters, we have no means of ascertaining, that Naturalist not having
yet published his observations.

Of the genus Cervus, the Chittra or Spotted Axis (C. axis), and the
Laguna or Para and Sigoriah, called also Jhou Laghuna and Khar La-
guna, or spotted and brown varieties of the Hog-deer (C. porcinus) are
common in the lower hills and forests, but do not ascend the mountains.
The specific distinetion or identity of the two latter animals has long
been a subject of dispute among naturalists; Lieut. Smith believes that
the spotted variety is only the young; but I have myself seen animals
at least three or four years old, with a row of spots on each side of the
spine, though, at the same time, I do not believe them to be distinct from
the plain coloured or common brown variety, with which they perfectly
agreed in every other respect. The subject is worth the attention of
those who have an opportunity of settling the question. Three other
species of the Axine group of deer are mentioned by Mr. Hodgson, under
the collective name of Jarai, but individually distinguished by the Nepa-
lese as the Phiisro, Rato, and Kalo, or hoary, red, and black Jarais res~

* Asiat, Res., Xvi., dol. + New Series, I., 202.

1840, | Mammalogy cf the Himalayas. 165

pectively. The two former have been identified with the Cervus Hippe-
_ laphus and Cervus equinus of Cuvier, the latter certainly without foun-
dation, and the former at least very doubtful; the third, said to be unde-
sctibed, is probably the C. Aristotelis of Cuvier; but the truth is, that
we know very little about them, nor are these different species mention-
ed by any other author besides Mr. Hodgson. The Cervus Hippelaphus,
indeed, called Saumer or Sambre in the Plains, is well known in this
country, where he has long existed in our menageries, and is probably
the C. Aristotelis, which is familiarly called Elk in the Hills, and of
which the native name in the British hill provinces is Jerow for the male,
and Mahu for the female, names which have been not unfrequently ap-
plied to different species ; of the Phisro, or Hoary Jarai of Mr. Hodgson,
which, whatever else it may be, is certainly not the C. equinus, since that
species does not inhabit Continental India, nothing is known but the
name, if, indeed, it be not a mere variety of sex or age. Lieut. Smith
describes the Jerow of the Hills as a larger and heavier animal, and with
finer horns, than the Saumer of the Plains: the tan and black colours of
these two species appears to identify them with the Rato and Kélo Jarais
of Mr. Hodgson.

No fewer than three species of deer, with characters approaching to
those of the common stag (C. Elaphus) of Kurope, have been mentioned
as inhabitants of Nepal. Two of these, the Cervus Wallichti and
Cervus Duvaucellii of Cuvier, are known, though not so perfectly as
could be wished ; the third, which has been identified with the common
stag, appears to be fuunded upon error. Mr. Hodgson has briefly de-
scribed the Cervus Duvaucelli? under the name of C. Hlaphoides, and I
have seen a full-grown male in the Zoological Gardens; the comparison
of the skull figured by Mr. Hodgson* with the horns in the Ossemens
Fossiles leaves no doubt as to the identity of the species. Itis called in
Nepal Baraiyo, and, according to Mr. Hodgson, Maha in the Western
Hills, a name which, as observed above, Lieut, Smith applies to the
female Jerow. Cervus Wallichiz, called Barah Singha, is mentioned by
Mr. Walterf as an inhabitant of the mountains of Silhet, and by Mr.
Hodgson,t who confounds it with the common stag, as found in the Saul
Forest, which skirts the foot of the Nepal Mountains, whence it was
originally sent to Calcutta by Dr. Wallich. ‘There is no grounds for
supposing the existence of a third species of this group in the Hima-
layas, identical with the Red Deer of Europe (C. Elaphus), though the

* Journ. Roy, As. Soc., IV., 648. + Asiat. Res., xvii, 499,° + Loe. Cit.

166 Mammalogy of the Himalayas. [Jury

fact is distinctly stated both by Duvaucel and Mr. Hodgson :* these
authors appear to have mistaken the C. Wailichit for that animal,
though the specific distinction was afterwards well known to Duvaucel,
who sent to Baron Cuvier the description published in the “‘ Ossemens .
Fossiles.” Dr. Falconer mentions the discovery of a new species of
deer in the Report of his recent Journey to Cashmere and Little
Thibet,f and Dr. Royle has figured (tab. 5, fig. 1) a female under the
name of C. Dodur, by which it is known about Saharunpore. He de-
scribes it as being about the size of the female Hirn (Antilope cervicap-
ra), lighter and more graceful than the Hog-deer, and of an ashy brown
colour; but this is all I know of the animal, nor do I find it even mention-
ed by any other writer. It appears to be unquestionably a new species,
and is well worth the attention of Indian naturalists. ™

Of the Muntjac tribe of deer, Iam acquainted with three distinct
species inhabiting the Indian continent: one entirely black (C. melas),
one of a light sandy fawn colour, probably the fatwa of the Nepalese
(C. ratwa, Hodg.), and the third the common Muntjac, called Kacker by
the natives, and Barking Deer by the Kuropeans (C. Muntjac, Lin.), of a
deeper bay and much smaller size than the Ratwa : the former is scarcely
the size of the Roe-buck (C. Capreolus); the latter nearly equals the
Fallow Deer (C. Dama, Lin.). Dr. Royle has figured the “ Barking
Deer” of the North Western Himalayas, v. tab. 5, fig. 2, under the name
of Cervus Rutwa, conceiving it to be identical with Mr. Hodgson’s
species. All these animals may be readily distinguished from the other
species of Deer, by their long projecting tusks, horns mounted upon long
bony pedicles, and the glandular folds of skin on the forehead. ‘Lhey
require, however, to be more attentively examined, and compared with
one another.

Of Hollow-horned Ruminants, the Ghoral and Thar (Antilope Ghoral
and A. Thar), are now pretty well known from the researches of Mr.
Hodgson, who has set a praiseworthy example to our Indian countrymen,
by the laudable zeal with which he perseveres in illustrating the Zoology
of Nepal. Both these species are proper to the middle and northern re-
gions of the Hills. The Thar of Mr. Hodgson is universally called
Surow and Jmoo in the more western parts of the mountains, the latter
name predominating in the higher, and the former, in the lower hills :
the name of Thar, according to Lieut. Smith, is there applied exclusively
to the species of goat which Mr. Hodgson calls the Jharal. That beau»
tiful and stately antelope, the Chiru (A. Hodgsonii), of which our

* Asiat. Reg., xv., 120. + Journ, Asiat. Soc,, iv., 710,

1840.] Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 167

knowledge is entirely due to Mr. Hodgson’s researches, is confined to
Bhot, Thibet, and the surrounding countries ; it appears to be altogether
unknown on the southern face of the Mountains, except from an occa-
sional specimen imported by the traders, either for presents or barter.
The common Indian antelope, called Hirn, and the Chickarra, or four-
horned species (4. cervicapra and quadricornis), are confined to the
lower hills and forests, and the Neel-ghau (A. pict) principally to the
plains and jungles of the north-western districts. Mr. Colebrooke says
that, in the opinion of the Hindoos, the resort of the Antelope sanctfiies
the countries graced by his presence, while his absence degrades the
regions which he avoids. This seems more connected with physical ob-
servation than with popular prejudice. The wide and open range in
mhich the Antelope delights is equally denied by the forests of the
mountain and by the inundation of the fens.* These are the only ante-
lopes of which we have any precise knowledge, as inhabitants of this
part of India; but it is probable that others still remain undescribed.
Captain Herbert.f in his ‘‘ Tour to the Sutlej,” mentions two animals
by the names of Skin and War, the accounts of which do not agree with
any known species, and which are therefore well worth the attention of
future observers. The War, according to Capt. Herbert, is somewhat
like the Musk Deer (Moschus Moschiferus), but with a face more like
that of a sheep, divided hoofs, and horns more nearly resembling those
of a buffalo than of any other animal ; a description which, in spite of the
similarity of names, is inapplicable either to the Thar or Jharal, though
indeed, little dependence is to be placed in the descriptions of unscien-
tifie observers.

The Neel-ghau deserves a more particular notice, for the purpose of
clearing up a point inits history, equally interesting to the Classical
Scholar and to the Zoologist. It has been already observed that Modern
Naturalists, after the example of Baron Cuvier, have identified the
great Saumer Deer of India with the animal which Aristotle describes
by the name of Hippelaphus. “ The Hippelaphus,” says the Greek phi-
losopher,{ “ has also a mane, (he is talking of the mane of the Horse),
above the shoulders, but from this to the head along the top of the neck
at ts very thin; it has likewise a beard on the larynz ;...... it is about the
size of the Stag...... the female has no horns...... those of the male re-
semble the horns of the Dorcas (A. Gazelle)...... it inhabits Arachosia.”’

* Colebrooke on Bengal Husbandry. + Asiat. Res., xv., 397.
+ Hist. lib. I. ¢. 5.

168 ~ Mammalogy of the Himalayas. [Jury

Any one acquainted with the Neel-ghau will readily perceive the appli-
cability of this passage to its most obvious characters: in fact Aristotle’s
description of this animal, under the name of Hippelaphus, is more
exact and minute than the description of any other animal mentioned in
his history; it is evidently taken from personal observation, and it is sur- |
prising that the application should have hitherto escaped the penetration
both of critics and Zoologists. The older naturalists, such as Gesner and
Aldrovandus may be excused for misapplying the passage in question,
sometimes to the Elk, sometimes to the common Stag in his winter-dress,
when the hair of the neck becomes longer than ordinary, since they were
unacquainted with the form and characters of the Neel-ghau; but the
continuation of the mistake by their successors, to whom the animal has
been long familiar, is altogether unpardonable. This identification,
indeed, was absurd enough from the beginning : the habitat of Arachosia,
and the assigned form of the horns, were alone sufficient to distinguish
the Hippelaphus from either the Elk or common Stag, independently of
the critical absurdity of supposing Aristotle to describe such well-known
animals at such length and under a new name: but the truth is, that all
modern commentators have been misled by a wrong translation of the term
A opkac, employed by Aristotle, as the name of an animal, to the horns
of which he compares those of the Hippelaphus. Now, it is to be ob-
served that the Dorcas of the Greeks and Romans is universally admitted
to be the Gazelle of Egypt and Northern Africa, as may be easily proved
from many passages in Herodotus and other ancient writers. Theodore
Gaza, himself a Greek, and the first translator of Aristotle, very properly
renders the word by capra, but Buffon* having criticised Gaza’s ieno-
rance, and affirmed that the word should really be translated caprea,
every body has since followed the translation of Buffon, and the Dorcas
of Aristotle has been accordingly considered identical with the Roe-buck,
whilst the Dorcas of all other ancient writers is acknowledged to be the
Gazelle.

This seems to have been one of the principal sources of error which
misled Baron Cuvier, after the example of his predecessors, to identify
the Hippelaphus of Aristotle with a species of Deer. The head and
skin of the large Indian Sawmer had been sent to Paris by Diard and
Duyaucel ; the hair of the neck was observed to be considerably longer
and coarser than that on the rest of the body, the horns: had only two
antlers, like those of the Roe-buck, and it came from India. Baron Cuvier
immediately concluded that he had discovered the real Hippelaphus of

* Hist, Nat. XI. 402,

1840.] Mammalogy of the Himalayas. 169

Aristotle, and takes considerable pains to prove it.* Against this opini-
on of the most distinguished of modern naturalists, however, I have to
urge objections as grave as those which lay against the ancient error
which identified the Hippelaphus with the Stag and Elk. In the first
place, as I have just shown, the fancied similarity of the horns of
the Hippelaphus to those of the Roe-buck, arises from a false translation
of the word Dorcas; when this term is properly translated, Gazelle, the
horns of the Hippelaphus, to be similar to those of the Dorcas, should
be small, round, and without branches ;—such are the horns of Neel-
ghau, and such are not the horns of the Saumer. In the second
place, the Sawmer Deer has certainly longer and stiffer hair on the
neck than elsewhere, but it is equally long and rough over the
whole neck, as well on the sides as above and below, and has no resem-~
blance whatever to the mane of the Horse and Mule to which
Aristotle compares it. In fact the description of Aristotle does not
apply to it in any particular. Zhe Saumer does not show the least ap-
pearance of the thin mane along the top of the neck, longest and thickest on
the shoulders ; neither has it anything that can be called a beard, distinct,
at least from the general roughness of the neck which Baron Cuvier calls
its mane. But even allowing the rough hair on the under surface to be
called a beard, still Aristotle’s description does not apply, for this rough
hair covers the whole throat in the Saumer from the head to the chest,
whilst the Greek philosopher restricts the beard of the Aippelaphus
to the Larynz, and this is precisely the situation in which the long bunch
of coarse hair, nearly a foot in length, is found on the throat of the Neel-
ghau. In fact there is not a single point, even to the most minute par-
ticular, the habitat of Arachosia, for instance, the modern Punjab, where
the Neel-ghau is extremely abundant, and where the Saumer does not
exist, at least we have no evidence of the fact,—in which Aristotle’s de-
scription of the Hippelaphus does not perfectly agree with this now well-
known animal; and we may therefore safely conclude that we have at
length finally settled a question which has long puzzled both critics and
Zoologists. The Neel-ghau should consequently assume in future the
specific appellation of Antilope Hippelaphus, whilst the Saumer Deer,
to which that name has been erroneously applied, may be more appro-
priately called Cervus Saumer.

Two distinct species of the genus Capra occur in the Himalayas:
Capra jemblaica of Hamilton Smith, called Jiaralin Nepal, and Thar
in the British provinces, is by far the more common of the two, and is

* Oss, Foss, IV. 42.

170 Mammalogy ef the Himalayas. [Juxx

stated by Mr. Hodgson* to differ from other goats by having four teats,
The second species has never been described, but its existence is placed
beyond a doubt; Major Kennedy, while resident at Simla, had two stuff-

ed specimens, procured in the neighbouring mountains, and the animal is .

mentioned by various tourists under the name of the Ibex, which it ap-
pears to resemble in the form of the horns and other characters. Dr.
Falconer, in the Report of his late Journey to Cashmere and Little
Thibet, mentions the discovery of two new species of goats; but as he
does not enter into any detail on the subject, we have no means of ascer-
taining how far they may prove to be identical with, or different from, the
two species here mentioned. Different varieties of the domestic goat,

the most valuable of which are the Changra, or shawl goats, of two breeds, -

distinguished as the larger and the smalier Changra, are found in the
more alpine regions ; their wool forms an article of extensive traffic, but
we are much in want of detailed comparative descriptions and good
ficures of these, as of all the different breeds of cattle and other domestic
animals in India ; a subject of great interest, which has been extensively
il'ustrated at home, but which has met with little or no attention out of
Europe.

Of sheep there are likewise two wild species, and numerous domestic
varieties, found in these mountains. The Burrhal, called Nahoor by the
Nepalese (Ovts Nahoor of Mr. Hodgson), is intermediate in character be-
tween the Mouflon (O. Musmon) of Corsica, the supposed parent of our
domestic sheep, and the Aoudad (O. tragelaphus) of Northern Africa,
which latter species it resembles in the form of the horns and the absence
of the crumens, or tear-pits, which distinguish the rest of the genus. The
second species, called Banbhera in Nepal, is less known, but appears to
approach very nearly to the Argali of Siberia (O. Ammon), if, indeed, it
be not identical with that animal. I have seen the skull and horns in the
Museum of the Royal Asiatic Society, to which it was presented by Sir

Alexander Burnes; but as there is no specimen of the Argali in this °

country with which to compare it, I cau offer no opinion as to its specific
difference. The animal seems to be more properly a native of Thibet
and Chinese Tartary, and seldom appears on the southern part of the
Himalayas ; at least none of my sporting acquaintances ever met with it,
and Mr. Hodgson waz long doubtful of its existence. Of the domestic
sheep of the Hills, besides the Dimba, or common variety of Upper India,
Mr. Hodgson mentions a breed called Barwaé as occurring in the Kachar,
and another called Hoaniah, peculiar to Thibet : these are used as beasts

* Journ. Asiat. Soc., iv. 710.

1840.] On the Beryl Mine of Paddioor. 171

of burden for carrying grain and other products across the mountains, but
we know little of their peculiar forms or qualities.

Of the genus Bos, the buffalo (B. Budalus), and its representative,
the Arnee, or Urnee Bhinse, are confined to the sultry forests at the
foot of the mountains. The latter is a very distinct variety, if not. a
different species, from the Junglee Bhinse of Bengal and Assam, so well
known for the great length of its horns; the Arnee of the Sanl forest
is the short thick horned variety, of which there are many skalls, pre-
served in our Museums, and is said to be a much lighter made animal,
though with a thicker skin than the Junglee Bhinse. ‘The Zebu (Bos
indicus) is common in every part of the Hills; but the peculiar and ap-
propriate species of the Himalayas is the Changree, or Yak (Bos
pephagus, Pallas), which composes the domestic cattle of Tartary, and
is not uncommon on the soufhern slopes of the higher Mountains, where
a cross between it andthe Zebu, or common Indian Ox, is much used in
agriculture, and preferred to either of the pure races. This hybrid is
not uncommon at Simla, and it isto be hoped that some intelligent ob-
server will take advantage of this circumstance to ascertain from actual
experiments whether the sexes be productive inter se, or when united
with one of the pure races; or whether, like the common mule, they be
absolutely barren. Lieut. Smith informs me that he has seen the Yak
wild on the confines of Chinese Tartary.—Royle’s Iliustrations of the
Botany, &c. of the Himalayan Mountains, Supplementary Part.

Art. X.— Beryl Mine of Paddioor, and Geognostic Position of _ this
Gem, in Coimbatoor, Southern India.—By Lieut. Newsoiv, Madras
Army, A. D. C. io Brigadier-General Witson, C.B.

The Beryl mine of Paddioor, or Patialey as it is sometimes termed, is
situated at the eastern extremity of a village of the same name, in the
Kanghyum Taluk, in the Coimbatoor Collectorate, about forty miles
E.N.E. from the town cf Coimbatoor, which lies in Lat. 11° N., and Long.
77° 1’ &. The surrounding country is an undulating plain, studded with
a few short clusters of hills, principally of gneiss and quartz rock. The
surface of the plain is intersected by a few ravines and rivulets, flowing
towards the Noel river, which, rising in the Nilgherry Chain, pursues an
easterly course tothe Cauvery. The latter river flows through the midst
of this great plain, which is bounded by the Nilgherries to the west, and

172 On the Beryl Mine of Paddioor. (Jury

the Shevaroy and Salem Mountains to the east. All these ranges con-
sist of normal rocks, principally gneiss, hornblende-slate, and mica-slate,
associated with granite, greenstone, and basalt in dykes. ‘The rocks that
occur in the plain are of a similar description, with beds of quartz dis-
tinctly stratified, sometimes highly ferruginous, and passing into garnet
rock. Garnets, regularly crystallized, often occur in the gneiss and horn-
blende slate. Primitive crystalline limestone and atalcoserock occur,though
rarely, interstratified with the gneiss and hornblende slate. A remarkable
feature is the prevalence of basaltic dykes, accompanied by large traver-
tine and tufa-like deposits of carbonate of lime. The influence exerted by
these dykes over crystalline and metalliferous developments in these dis-
tricts is interesting and instructive. Dykes, or veins, of a porphyritic gra-
nite too, traverse the gneiss in various directions. The larger veins are ge-
nerally from W. to E., varying a few degrees to the S. of E. The metallic
ores and minerals found associated with these rocks are chiefly the mag-
netic or black iron ore, disseminated and interstratified with quartz rock
in a state of great purity. It sometimes occurs in octahedral crystals,
with a whitish micaceous looking enduit. Both varieties are often highly
magnetic with polarity. Manganese also occurs in the form of the black
oxide; also garnets, corundum, magnesite, nephrite, asbestus, chromate
of iron, adularia, pyrites, &c. Rubies have been found associated with
the corundum which oceurs imbedded in gneiss. Iam not aware that
the other beautiful variety of rhomboidal corundum, viz. the sapphire,
has ever been discovered ; but, from certain indications, I should be led
to suppose its existence. Gold-dust is found in many of the rivulets
flowing down the sides of the Nilgherry and Salem Mountains.

I will now proceed to describe the bed, and minerals with which the
Beryl is more immediately associated in the particular locality which has
already been adverted to, viz. Paddioor. The mine has been sunk
through a bed or dyke in the gneiss and mica-slate on the line of contact ;
it is about eighteen paces long, by fourteen broad ; it has about seven
feet of water covering the lower part, and is about twenty-four deep to
the surface of the water. The dyke is composed of a highly crystalline
porphyritic granite, the component minerals of which are generally
beautifully characteristic and distinct. The quartz is sometimes regularly
crystallized, but usually in amorphous translucent masses, imbedded. in
large tabular crystals of pale rose-coloured felspar, with cleavlandite,
garnet, and white, black, and bottle-green mica. A crystallized pyrami-
dal prism of quartz that had been dug out of this mine measured 2 feet
34 inches in length, and 1 foot 3 inches in diameter; it had, however,
been fractured, and four only of the sides were tolerably perfect. The

1840. ] On the Beryl Mine of Paddioor. 173

mica occurred both in six-sided tables and in large irregularly-shaped
nests, one of which measured 2 feet in length ; the laminz highly elastic
and transparent. A few of the garnets were crystallized in dodecahed-
rons, sparingly disseminated in the rock ; one of these crystals measured
2 inches in diameter. The crystals of cleavlandite were remarkably
fine, and characteristic of this beautiful variety of felspar. The various
minerals composing this bed pass from the porphyritic structure into a
curiously fibrous arrangement: the quartz, felspar, and cleavlandite
occurring in alternate prismatic laminz ; sections of this rock, at right
angles with the long axis of the prisms, exhibit on their surfaces the
appearance of eraphic granite. Where this arrangement is observed, the
mica is partially and irregularly distributed in thin pyramidal nests,
rarely in direction with the lamine of the rock. The quartz and felspar,
where they meet with a large nest of mica, usually lose their laminar
structure, becoming confused and lumpy. The felspar and cleavlandite
is both white and translucent, and opaque and reddish; the latter ig
often crossed by microscopic fissures, inclined ata great angle to the
axis of the prism. Ghunpore, in the Nizam’s dominions, is the only
other locality in India where I have met with this fibrous rock ; it was
there also associated with gneiss and granite. The cleavlandite often occur
in large masses, with small cavities partly formed by the decomposition
of the rock, and partly by the intersection of the longer and more distinct
crystals of the cleavlandite ; it isin this gangue, and in these cavities,
that the Beryl, or aquamarine, is almost invariably found, in long deeply
striated hexahedral prisms, with small crystals of quartz.

The whole of the rock, composing the dyke, is divided by seams,
almost horizontal, intersected by fissures, thus dividing it into cuboidal
masses. Many of the seams are filled by a whitish earthy incrustation
of carbonate of lime, that has a tendency to collect in nodules. The
larger calcareous veins attenuate as they ascend in the rock, and appear
to have penetrated it from below, rather than to have been deposited
from above. On reaching the surface, which it often overspreads, in
beds of great extent, underlying the present soil, it assumes a_ closer
texture, with a nodular or pisiform surface, the interior having a sphe-
roidal structure, not unfrequently assimilating that of the travertine of
San Filippo. It has been deposited, no doubt, by springs of water
ascending through the subjacent strata, charged with carbonic acid, and
holding lime in solution.

Small springs are still observed percolating upwards through the
fissures of the rock ; and, as they trickle over its surface, depositing a
thin black crust composed of carbon, a little iron, calcareous and saline

174 On the Beryl Mine of Paddioor. [Jury

matter; the latter contained both the muriate and sulphate of soda;
which salts, and nitrate of potass exist abundantly in the soil of the
adjacent district. The water at the bottom of the mine is sufficiently
pure for irrigation and the purposes of life. :

There are marks of other excavations in this vicinity, and in the same
bed. The natives, however, assert their perfect ignorance of their use.
Judging from the high barren situation in which I found them, these
excavations could hardly have been made for wells. Blocks of the
cleavlandite, which forms the matrix of the gem, had been thrown out,
and evidently broken up in search of what it might be supposed to
contain. ‘The excavations were shallow, but extensive, and the quantity
of the broken up gangue very large; it (the cleavlandite) can be traced
in the rocks in the vicinity to an extent, east and west, of about thirty-
eight miles ; and it is likely that, in ancient times, antecedent to Maho-
medan conquest, when rights to landed property were more secure, the
gem was obtained in abundance. Now, the surface veins appear to be
completely exhausted in all the excavations I examined ; but it is pro-
bable, from the inquiries I made, that it is still secretly procured by
natives from certain localities in this district, as it still forms an article
of traffic in Indian bazaars. It has been thought, with some reason, that
the largest crystallized Beryl ever known, weighing six ounces, and
costing £500, and which was supposed to have been brought to Europe
from Ceylon, was the produce of the Beryl mines of Coimbatoor, as
neither Davy, nor any of the authors conversant with the mineralogy of
Ceylon, mention its existence on that island. It has been stated posi-
tively that it does not occur there.

To Mr. Heath the merit is due of having first brought these mines
under the notice of government. Mr. Fischer, the enterprising land-
proprietor of Salem, informed me that the gem was first discovered by
the diggers of a well on the estate of the village Potail, who sold them
secretly to the itinerant jewellers and chittys, who purchased them in
large quantities for a mere trifle, and sold them at an immense profit at
Madras, Pondicherry, and other European settlements. ‘This, coming
to Mr. Heath’s knowledge, afforded a clue by which he was enabled to
trace the beryl to its situs. He lost no time in obtaining the condi-
tional consent of government, and arranging with the native owner .of
the land. Mining operations were carried on for about two years, and
were discontinued in consequence of the mines being exhausted, and ©
the expense of draining off the water. It has now (1840) reverted to
its original purpose of irrigation, and is still the property of the Potail
who originally caused it to be dug. ‘This venerable old Hindoo, Chin-

1840.] On the Skin in the Dark Races of Mankind. 175

nana Gouda, whose hair and beard are blanched by age, paid me a visit
at the mine. He informed me that it is upwards of forty years ago
since he dug it; and that, until Mr Heath’s discovery, about twenty-two
years ago, he had not the slightest idea of the treasures contained in his
own well, and of which he had been robbed for eighteen years by the
people he employed.

In India, the beryl appears to be almost confined to this particular
district. The natives, however, inform me that it occurs at Vaniam-
badi, at the northern base of the Nilgherries, in rocks of a similar age
and petrographical character. In Europe it occurs also in the primitive
rocks—in the granite and gneiss formations.—Hdinburgh New Philoso-
phical Journal, October 1810—January 1841.

XI.—On the Functions of the Colouring Matter of the Skin in the
Dark Races of Mankind.—By Roserrt Mortimer Guover, M.
D., Lecturer on Chemistry in the Newcastle-on-Tyne School of
Medicine.

Various hints and hypotheses have been put forth as to the functions
performed by the peculiar organization of the skin in the dark races of
mankind. The opinions of Sir Everard Home, published in the
Philosophical Transactions for 1821, have been generally adopted by
physiologists as apparently founded on a methodical attempt to investigate
the subject by direct experiment, and to elucidate it by analogical
reasoning. The experiments of Sir Everard give results certainly quite
opposed to what has been determined by physical observers respecting
the laws which affect the radiation from, and absorption of, heat by
coloured surfaces. This circumstance drew my attention to the subject,
and led me to repeat some of the experiments related by Sir Everard.

It may be mentioned, before entering on the subject, that this inquiry
was proposed by Lord Bacon.

The structure of the skin and of its layers is yet involved in some
doubt as to many particulars; but so far as our inquiry is concerned
there is no doubt whatever. Itis clear that there is a spongy or vascular
layer between the cuticle and true skin; or on the surface of the latter,
constituting a portion of it. It is also certain that the colouring matter
of the skin resides in this region. And that the intensity of shade is the
greater or less abundance of the colouring matter. Hence the European

176 On ihe Shin in the Dark Races of Mankind. {Juny

and the Negro furnish extreme instances in this inquiry; since in the
one the colouring matter is in small quantity or of light shade, whereas
the other has it so abundantly that in him we speak of the pigmentum
nigrum. Between these extremes exist many curious varieties, in whom.
the functions of the colouring matter are well worthy of consideration,
but we have data to reason only with regard to the European or Wiuite,
and the Negro. Indeed, in many of the coloured races, the existence of
something analogous to the dark pigment is only inferred, although the
occurrence of Albinoes in all races should induce us to believe the
presence of a pigment universal. So that what is said of the colouring
matter in the Negro may be extended to all varieties of colour, reasoning
by analogy.

It is scarcely possible to regard the dark colouring matter otherwise
than as a provision for, in some way, enabling those who possess it in
abundance to withstand the heat of the climate they inhabit. Accor-
dingly, there are facts which prove such individuals to be more capable
of withstanding the heat of torrid regions than acclimatized Europeans,
or other whites born there. There are also facts to connect this power
of withstanding excessive heat with the development of the dark
colouring matter. Thus, Albinoes of Guinea, differing from both
Europeans and their countrymen in this, that they totally want the
colouring matter, according to many authors, are even less capable of
resisting the heat of their native country than European strangers; in-
deed their skins are said to crack and blister on exposure to the sun’s
rays. And Iam informed by Mr. Granidge of Barbadoes, that he has
observed the same fact in that island.

Now, when we reflect that the Kuropean cannot be without some
colouring matter between the true skin and cuticle, since he must differ
in this respect from the Albino, it seems as if a relation were established
between the development of the pigment, and probably of the rete
mucosum along with it, and the power of resisting the sun’s heat in torrid
regions.

It is clear that in this inquiry we should regard, not merely the phy-
sical properties of the organization we consider, nor its vital properties
only, but the action and reaction of the whole, and their effect on the
system of the individual. For want of a consideration. of all circum-
stances, before the publication of Sir Everard Home’s views, it was not
conceived how the tint, which, on analogy, should absorb more heat than
any other, could, in the hottest regions of the earth, confer any exemp-
tion on its possessor, And perhaps before this paper is concluded, it

1840,] On the Skin in the Dark Races of Mankind. 177

may be apparent that, since Sir Everard published, the matter has been
misunderstood.

The notions entertained at present by physiologists, with regard to the
operation of this pigment, are implicitly those of Sir Everard. And what
they are, will appear from the following brief quotation from an elemen-
tary work :—‘“* The secretion on the cutis vera, which gives the black
colour to the skin, appears to assist in fitting men for residence in hot
climates, because although such skin, by absorbing more caloric, rises to
a higher temperature under the sun’s rays than white skin does, yet it
does not inflame so readily from arise of temperature.” Dr. Alison's
meaning is, that although the skin of a negro may rise toa higher tem-
perature under the sun’s rays than a white skin in the same circumstances,
yet the dark skin is less likely to inflame at that higher temperature than
the white skin at that lower one. This, then, isthe conclusionof Sir
Everard Home, whose paper I now proceed to examine.

The paper of Sir Everard Home contains alleged facts and experi-
ments, tending to prove the Negro more capable of withstanding exces-
sive heat of the sun’s rays than the white man, and attributing this to a
supposed propeity in dark surfaces of destroying the scorching and blis-
tering effect of the sun’s rays. ‘The former conclusion has already been
admitted. The facts by which Sir Everard supports his second position
are to be considered.

Sir Everard haying failen asleep on the deck ofa vessel exposed to a
tropical sun, found, on awaking, his thigh scorched through a pair of thin
white linen trousers. From this simple observation, the extravagant
conclusion is drawn of black being a better protection against the sun’s
raysthan white.

An experiment is next related, in which Sir Everard found, on expos+
ing his hand to the sun’s rays for 45 minutes, while a thermometer at-
tached to it stood at 90°, that blisters rose and coagulated lymph was
exuded. J have attempted to produce the same effect by the concen-
trated rays of the sun at the same temperature indicated in a similar way,
and kept up to within one or two minutes of the time, when my patience
was exhausted, without any result except slight reddening. Six years
ago, while off the coast of Algiers, I sat for half an hour immoveable in
the sun, having the greater part of my face exposed, the thermometer in
the sun’s rays being considerably above 100°, and though my face was
scorched, nothing like the effect described by Sir Everard took place.

Sir Everard next attempted to compare the inflaming and blistering
power of the sun’s rays with that of hot water. He says, that water at
the temperature of 120° was painful to the body, and became unbearable

178 On the Skin in the Dark Races of Mankind. [Juxx

when still further heated. From this experiment and the preceding, he
wishes us to infer a power of vesicating in the sun’s rays not in proportion
to their temperature.

- In a third experiment, he exposed the backs of his hands to the sun
with a thermometer on each, the one hand being uncovered, while the
other had a covering of black cloth under which the thermometer was:
placed. After ten minutes, the degree of heat on each was marked, and
the state of the surface examined, and this was repeated three times.
During the last trial, the thermometer which had its ball covered by the
eloth stood at 106,° while the other was at 98.° ‘The exposed hand was
scorched, that covered was unaffected in all the trials. I have not re-
peated this experiment because it is subject to an obvious fallacy, for the
ball of the thermometer being between the cloth and the part, a space
intervened, and across this space the heat from the cloth could only pass
by radiation or by transmission through the thermometer, but not direct-
ly from the cloth to the hand, so that the heat might not accumulate on
the skin.

In a fourth experiment, a Negro bore the sun’s rays on his hand when
a thermometer on the part indicated 100° without any scorching being
the result. As the scorching of which Sir Everard’ speaks could be only
a slight blush, it might not be observed on a sable skin. However, Ido
not question the result of this experiment.

Sir Everard observed in his next experiment, during the course of an.
eclipse, as the darkness on the sun’s disk diminished, the scorching power
of the rays, concentrated by a lens,increased in a ratio which is assumed to
be greater than could be accounted for by the mere rise of temperature
during the time of the experiment. Whence it is to be inferred that the
excess of effect is due to the increased quantity of light present with the
heating rays at each advance of time. A reference to the original paper
will convince the reader that this assumption is established without
sufficient data.

Most stress has been laid by Sir Everard, and those who have adopted
his views, on the seventh experiment. Weare told that, on the 9th of
September, at 1] a. m., thermometer 90° inthe sun, the concentrated
rays applied to a piece of black kerseymere wrapped round the arm, gave
no real pain, as it is expressed, during 15 minutes; and at the end of
that time left no appearance on the arm ; whereas, when white kersey-
niere was substituted, during the same time, and the coneentration: we
are led to suppose being the same, the heat of a thermometer in tlie sun:
only 86%, yet blisters were formed From this experiment, taken along
with those preceding, it is supposed to be fully proved that although

1840.] On the Skin in the Dark Races of Mankind. 179

black surfaces rise to a higher temperature than white under the sun’s
rays, yet they scorch the surface of the body less; the scorching effect
depending on a union of the rays of heat with those of light, the latter
being supposed, by way of explanation, to be excluded by the black sur-
face. First, I shall state my repetition of the experiment, and then at-
tend to Sir Everard’s explanation of his supposed fact.

I have attempted to ascertain the rise which the absorption of heat
by black and white cloths respectively gives to the thermometer; to
compare this observation with the effects of the same cloths under the
sun’s rays upon the body, and with the effect of the sun’s rays on the
naked skin. When the thermometer stands at about 80° in the sun, the
solar rays concentrated on white cloth over the ball of a thermometer, to
a space of an inch and a half in diameter by a burning-glass, caused a
rise of the thermometer to 125° in a quarter of an hour. When black
cloth was substituted the rise during the same period was to 172°. In five
minutes, with the white, the rise was to 108°, with the black to 140°;
and in some experiments in a proportion nearer that given by the longer
period.

When the black and white cloths were applied to the skin at the same
temperature, and with the same degree of concentration, as already men-
tioned, the black cloth generally caused intense pain in the course of a
few minutes, and on being allowed to remain for five or at most seven
minutes, produced blisters. During the same period very little apparent
effect followed the application of the white cloth, though considerable
pain was sometimes produced. ‘The experiment was at different times
performed on several individuals, ail of whom found the black cloth give
the sensation of pain sooner than the white. On the whole, I found
nothing like the difference described by Sir Everard, though certainly
the vesicating effect of the black surface appeared to be much greater
than that of the white. From many experiments I conclude, that the
rays of the sun willscorch when they are applied to the surface so as to
cause a heat of about 130° and upwards, And from the experiment
related by Sir Everard, it appears that hot water is capable of producing
a similar effect at that temperature. From al! this, I am inclined to
deny the existence of a scorching power in the sun’s rays, independent
of the heat they contain, or at least of the effect they produce on the
thermometer. Moreover, if such a power do exist, black cloth should
yet scorch more than white, since it will absorb all the rays of light,
whereas the other surface will reflect them.

In those experiments which I performed, care was taken to have the
white and black cloth nearly of the same density. Sir Everard does not

180 On the Skin in the Dark Races of Mankind. [Jury

appear satisfied with his explanation of the extraordinary fact he relates,
for he gives another furnished by Davy, who, indeed, is made to ascribe
the alleged difference in v'sicating power between black and white sur-
faces, to the former rendering the heat sensible. Were I not quoting from
the Philosophical Transactions, a misprint might be suspected. I con-
clude that a black skin will absorb more heat thana white skin, and
were it not for other accompanying circumstances, would produce incon-
venience precisely in the rztio of the amount of heat absorbed. It must
not be overlooked, however, that in the Negro the pigment is not
superficial, but covered by a layer of translucent cuticle. The experi-
ments of Dr. Stark prove that colours absorb heat in proportion to
their depth of shade through transparent media. It only remains to
show the cuticle to be a medium in the condition of those. For this
purpose, I covered the balls of a differential thermometer, one with
cuticle, the other with cuticle of the same thickness, having ivory black
rubbed on its inner surface ; on bringing the thermometer into the sun’s
rays, the column of liquid descended rapidly in the stem, the ball of
which was covered with the blackened cuticle.

It is evident, from the resuit of experiments which I have related,
that a much less degree of heat can be borne when the heat is applied
locally, or so that the perspiratory process is not excited over the whole
system, than Sir Joseph Banks and others were able to bear in heated
apartments where perspiraticn was fully excited.

This circumstance leads me to offer an explanation of the functions,
or, not to speak mincingly, of the uses served by the peculiar colouring
matter in the dark races. Blumenbach and Dr. Winterbottom concur in
stating the Negro to perspire wore readily than the European or White,
and Dr John Davy, in the 3d vol. of the Medico-Chirurgical Transac-
tions, gives its due influence to this property. After noticing that the
excessive perspiration in dark people must keep down the temperature,
he proceeds, “* In the inhabitants of the tropics, the exhalant arteries of
the skin seem unusually expanded, and the whole apparatus peculiar to
this secretion unusually developed ; and I believe that the blood itself is
less viscid, more fluid, and flows more readily through the vessels, so as
to promote perspiration, and by that means contributing to the cooling
of the surface, and being cooled itself, it contributes again when it flows
back upon the heart, to the reduction of the temperature of the internal
parts.”

Were the inhabitant of the tropic not possessed of this organization,
his system could not respond to the stimulus of heat, by a determina-
tion of fluid to the surface of the body. And the heat absorbed by the

1840.) Proceedings of Societies. 18}

skin being prevented from entering the system by the perspiratory pro-
cess, the greater radiating power of a dark skin must be beneficial in
cooling.

Again, the dark skin places the Negro in the conditions of his cli-
mate by causing him to radiate heat at night, and become at that time
cooler than a White in the same circumstances. ‘This is a fact which
has been observed of the Negroes. Their propensity for exercise in
the open air at night has been remarked. ‘Thus we read that when
the fleet of Hanno approached the shores of Negroland, the country
which, during the day, presented only silent woods without the least
trace of man, at night was lighted up with immense fires, while the
woods resounded with the sounds of festivity. In a climate where,
during the day, vegetation appears burnt up, the earth is cracked by
the heat, and all living creatures languish; but where at night breezes
refresh the air, and cheer exhausted nature, plants run with dew, and
animals leave their haunts, man also, fitted by the structure of his
skin to throw off heat, issues forth animated by the irresistible pro-
pensity to exercise which is always given by the bracing air of colder
climates.—Ldinburgh New Philosophical Journal, October 1840.—Janu-
ary 1841.

XIl.—Proceedings of the Madras Literary Society and Auziliary of
the Royal Asiatic Society.

Thursday Evening, 6th August 1840.—A. D. CamppeLt, Esq. Pre-
sident of the Committee of Papers, in the Chair.

The following works, presented to the Society, were laid on the table,
and thanks voted to the donors :—

Transactions of the Geological Society of London, Second Series,
parts 1st and 2d of vol. Sth.—By the Society.

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal for December 1839 and
January 1840.—By the Society.

The Calcutta Journal of Natural History, No. 2.—By the Editor.

Dr. Corbyn’s India Review, No. 50.—By the Editor.

Journal Asiatique for January 1840.—By the Society.

182 Proceedings of Societies : [Juny

Asiatic Journal for March and April 1840.-—By the Editor.

The following communications to the Society were laid before the
Meeting :—

A notice, accompanied with a diagram, of the rocks passed over during
a march from Secunderabad to Ahmednugeur in the Dekkan.—By Assist.
Surgeon Balfour, 4th Battalion Madras Artillery.

An attempt to enumerate and form a Diagram of the Rocks near the
Cantonment of Secunderabad—drawn up in 1838—By the same.

Some particulars respecting the statue of Sir Thomas Munro—By C.

On the basaltic granite of the Barramahal and the Basalt dykes of
India, with asketch—By Captain Campbell, Assistant Surveyor General.

Note on the Chenchu Wandlu or wild people of the Nulla Mulla hills.
—By Lieutenant Newbold.

Note on the defaced state in which the statues of the Jains are now
generally found, as connected with their persecutions and _ over-
throw.—-By the same.

Note on an ancient Hindu Grant—By Walter Elliot, Esq.

The following letter from the Right Honourable the Earl of Munster
was read.

Stz,—I beg to apologize for addressing you, but, my object in so
doing being of an interesting literary nature, I trust that you will not
only forgive my thus intruding on your valuable time, but that you
will (as much depends on your co-operation), kindly, and warmly, enter
into my views.

I have been for many years employed in collecting materials for a
Military History of the Mahomedan nations, from the rise of their
founder till the present time, and have already made great progress in
all details relative to the different people, who have embraced that
religion, whether of Arabian or Tartar origin.

I have lately drawn up, in Arabic, a list of military and historical
books, which I am desirous to procure, and have accompanied it with
a military notice, of some length, in order to point out the subject of
the works, which would be most adapted to my researches.

Perhaps you may be so situated, as to assist me in its dissemination,
and although Iam fully aware of the difficulty that surrounds an at-

1840.] Madras Literary Society, &c. 183

tempt of this nature in some Mahomedan cities, yet I hope you may
have formed an acquaintance with some Sheick or learned man, who
might be persuaded to aid in searching for, and purchasing for me, the
books I require.

Should such a person exist, I shali be grateful if you will, with what-
ever precaution or secresy that may be deemed necessary, put the
accompanying Memoir into his hand, and invite him to meet my wishes,
by procuring for me the class of historical and military works, named
er indicated in it, not only in Arabic, but in Turkish, Chagatai or Tar-
tar, in Persian, Hindostanee, and in all the indigenous languages of
India.

But, not only do I look for books, but I should be greatly pleased
and aided, by any learned and intelligent Mahomedan gentleman or
officer (some of the latter of Western Asia having been of late years
educated in Europe) referring to my military memoir, and answering
my questions, one by one, and if he would give me in writing the infor-
mation I desire, including all military technical synonimous terms, of the
present as well as of past times.

Tt is possible, in Egypt, Western Asia and Persia, and still more
likely in India, that some European gentlemen from long residence in
those countries, may be equal to answering the various ztems of my
Memoir. I have reason to believe, that there are several intelligent
European Officers in the armies of the Osmanli, of Mahomet Aly Pascha
and of Persia—thus situated—while in India, many Civilians and Of-
ficers of the India Company’s Service, I know to be highly qualified to
give me the aid | solicit, and who might, from advantages of vicinity and
other circumstances, enter fully upon the Mahomedan art of war in India,
of all past centuries, to the present time.

If any gentleman in India, would thus enter into my views, I would
particularly point out (besides the past art of war of Persian and Tartar
origin and the coilection of the past and existing military terms and
expressions, of the present native camps and armies) the ancient indi-
genous Hindoo mode of warfare, previous to, and wholly unconnected
with, that introduced by their northern conqueror, and to the military
terms (not forgetting the modern) either in the Sanscrit, or as preserved
in its cognate existing languages.

I need hardly say, that I shall not be backward in acknowledging, both
privately and publicly any such assistance.

Thave limited the notices in my Memoir, to the end of the temporal
power of the Kastern Khalifs (384 H.); considering the details I have

184 Proceedings of Societies : [Jony

brought forward, sufficient to be a guide for similar researches in after
periods and dynasties, and which I wish to be equally illustrated, whe-
ther of the Ommiades of Spain, of the Fatimites of Egypt, of the
minor kingdoms of the West of Asia on the decline of the court of
Bagdad, of the Siljuks, of the Moguls of Ghinges Khan, of Persia, and,
of farther East—of the Ghisnivides, Goarides of the Pitan Kanes, and
of the family of Timour, at Delhi, and of the numerous govereignties
both of Hindostan and of the Dekkun.

I have reason to believe that the price of books (whatever it may be
in Persia, India, or Cabul) in Western Asia, is far from exorbitant,
having just received two volumes from Egypt of considerable intrinsic
value, for which I only paid 123 Piastres or 23 shillings, and would
not wish you (as I am making similar purchases throughout the Maho-
medan world) to give, on ordinary occasions, above one pound or 30
to 100 Piastres, for a single volume.

But as some peculiarly scarce, interesting and yaluable works, may
be offered, I shall beg of you to use your own discretion, as to their
prices and immediate purchase, or in first letting me know, what is
asked for them or in that of the alternative of having them, if possible,
copied.

You may rest assured, I shall be perfectly satisfied with your decision,
and shall be grateful, (should you be inclined to meet my wishes) if
you will, as soon as you have ascertained that the books selected are
pertinent tomy objects, to pay for them, and I will instantly on re-
ceiving vour letter, transfer the amount to your Bankers in London,
including any expence on their transmission to 13 Belgrave Street,
London—the mode of which, I must leave to your friendly arrange-
ment.

T have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient Servant.
(Signed) Monster.

Lord Munster’s communication is referred to the Committee of Papers,
who are requested to further by all means in their power the wishes

of his Lordship.
Read the following letter from the same Nobleman, accompanying
his Index of bocks desired.
Sir,—I trust the Literary Society of Madras will kindly accept the
accompanying Memoir, rather as a literary curiosity than for any actual
merit it possesses, but I trust the subject and object—for which I

ie

Fi

1840 | Madras Literary Society, se. ; 185

pave drawn it up, will attract the notice of some of the Soviety’s Mem-
bers and cause them to aid my views and wishes.
Trusting I shall hear from you to that effect,
I have the honour to be,
Sir,
Your obedient Servant.
; (Signed) Munster.

Paris, 3d May 1840.

Resolved, that every assistance in the Society’s power be afforded to
his Lordship.

Read a letter from Lieutenant J. Whitlock, sth Cavalry, forwarding
a spherical sandstone concretion, from the red marle cliffs of Dawlish
in Devonshire, which he supposes to be of the same character as those
described in the proceedings of the Society's Meeting of the 13th of
February iast, as having been found in the laterite formation at Stree-
permadoor:— offering, also, to procure for the Society specimens of
the Alcyonites found at Gurrah, near Nagpore.

The thanks of the Society were voted to Lieutenant Whitlock for
his donation, and an assurance that the promised fossils will be thank-
fully received. ;

Read extract from a letter from Lieutenant T. J. Newbold, dated
Suez, 3lst May 1840, forwarding for the Society's Museum minerals

from the shores of the Red Sea.
The thauks of the Society were voted for the same.

Read a letter from the Secretary to the Geological Society expressing
thanks for the donation of the Society’s Journal No. 23.

Thursday Evening, 3d September 1840—Captain J. T. Smits, in
the Chair.

The following works, presented to the Society, were laid on the
table, and th anks voted for the same :—

Transactions of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India—
vol. 7th—By the Society.

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Nos. 13 and 14—By the
Socicty.

186 Proceedings of Societies. [Juxy

Corbyn’s India Review and Journal of Foreign Science and the Arts,
No. 53, August 1840—By the Editor.

Topography of Calcutta—By Dr. Strong, presented, on ihe part
of the author, by D. Ross, Esq.

The following communications to the Society, were laid before the
Meeting :—

Continuation of the Catalogue of the birds of Southern India, by
T. C. Jerdon, Esq.—Tribe Conirostres.

Mr. Elliot’s notice of some Roman coins found near Sholapoor.

1840. ] Horary Meteorological Observations at Madras. 187

Horary Meteorological Observations made agreeably with the sugges
tions of Sir Joun Herscuen.

Ist.—At the Madras Observatory on the 2\st June 1840.

Thermo-

Ge Get
: meter. is 2
o 63d led
S Ee S ae 5
SH = cS are RO HE 2
= a a ayy aes i
June
21] 6 a.M./29,816} 86,5|12,0;| s w | 2
7 840] 86,9)11,9| w | 2,3
8 850] 87,9|12,5| w | 3
9 862! 90,0|14,0) w | 3
10 860| 91,0/14,8| w | 3,4
11 843] 92,9)16,3} s w | 4
12 824] 95,7|18,7| w | 3
TPM} 818) 97,7\20,2) w }.3
2 792| 98,7|21,0|} w |3
3 170) 99,7 291 w | 4
4 756| 99,8|22,4\w by N| 3
5 758) 98,2)21,4|swbyw) 2,3
6 764| 98,0/21,5|s sw | 2
7 FIOM OG AAG 4 sew. jo
8 800} 89, 3| 7 2 sw | l
9 810 92,8 17, S W 2,3
10 848} 94,3118, : w | 23
11 846] 93.0 ial Ww | 38
12 832| 92,0|16,0]. w | 2,3
1Aa.M.| 804) 89,0/14,0)> w | 3
2 786) 87,5/12,4| wi | 3,4
3 778) 87,0)12.1) sw | 3
4 772\ 86,2|11,2|sw byw) 3
5 790} 85,9|10,9\sw by w| 3
22] 6 800} 85,4)10,5\sw byw) 3
7 806| 36,4|11,2'sw by w| 2,3
8 810) 88,4 13,2 sw by w 3,4
9 816} 90,3 Ww 4,
10 820 92,3 a w | 4
ll 808} 92,8/16,3| w | 4,5
12 774) 95,7|18,3) w | 4
Lp.m.| 750} 97,7|20,2| w | 4
2 726) 98,9/21,9) w | 4
3 734|100,5/23,5| w | 3
4 682/100,3\23,5| w nw] 2,3
5 678)100,0/23,3) w by s| 3
6 702| 98,2/21,9) ws w| 2

oo

REMARKS.

Thick haze—strong wind.

Haze do. do.

Do do. do

Do do. do

Do. do. do

Fl. clouds do. do.
Do. do. do.
Do. do. do.
Do. do. do
Do. do. do

Cloudy
Do.
Do.
Do. gentle wind—lightn.
Do. do. do. do.
Do. strong wind—thr. & It.
Do. do. _ lightning
Do. do. do.

Thick haze, strong wind, Itn.
Dow, doy do.) ) de:

Haze —-strong wind.
Haze—very strong wind.
Fl. cl.—very strong wind.
Bl cl. dome dow do:
Fl. cl. do. do. do.
Kiel do. do. || das
Thick hz.—very strong wind.
Cloudy—-strong wind.
Cloudy.

Cloudy.

Cloudy.

8 Horary Meteorological Observations at Trevandrum. [Jour

2d.— At the Trevandrum Observatory at the Autumnal Equinox 1840.

Mo |
ao s
28 = E
By at le Ss os
SES Boe EN f=
E SRG Sheps i —
IS 55] & y mn = aig Clouds, aspect of the sky and
feck 2) 5 12 ea =} ° remarks,
ae°| = |osr = 2 lets
= S |l-os|] ¢ iBea| ® 2 =
= Oo jecs!| 8 los! o = lol so
Q ~ Z mM =) l =) Q i! DM
cee la 81 9.4! 90.87
21) 6 A.M. l29, 671/73.8| 2.4, 70.27\N. w by w.| 3 Sky rather clear cold wind,
7 697:75.2| 2.6 71.43 do 3] 2.5 Do. do.
8 714177.0] 3.6) 71.82 do 5| 3.0 Do. gentle wind.
9 719/79 .5) 4.9) 72,52 do 5| 5.5)/ Flying clouds. do.
10 .715181.5} 6.4) 72.40] do 5| 4.5] Do. do.
ll -687'84.0) 7.9] 72.85 do 5!Cly. Do. do.
Noon.; .664/85.0) 7.9; 73.97 do 5) 7.0 Do. do.
lp.m.} .641/85.6) 9.0) 72.95 w 3) 2.0 Do. cumuli about hor. do,
increasing,
2 -615/85.0! 9.2! 71.94 do. 6| 8.0 Do. do. pleasant wind.
3 -609/84.7| 9.1) 71.75 do. 3 3.0 Do. do. gentle wind,
2 -606'83.9} 8.1) 72,43 do. 4 3.3 Do. do. do.
5 .628/81.8) 6.0! 73.34, do, | 4 Sky cloudy do.
6 645 |79.9 5.4, 72°19) do. 2 Sky getting clear light air.
7 668'78.8 4.3] 72.68! w. by nN. | 2 Sky pretty clear do.
t .697|78.2| 4.4] 71.88] do. Liege Do. do.
9 115/77.7| 4.2) 71.65) do. Lis Do. do.
10 -726/77.2, 3.7} 71.88] do. »| w|Sky getting cloudy calm.
11 709/76.4, 3.1] 71.94] do. mS fees |Cloudy do.
Mids | J0Tt6.0| 2.71 92222\" do. 1531's do.
22; la.M.} .681|75.6; 2.1] 72.59 Ww. Z Do. at lh. 10m. rain—wind just
° perceptible.
2 .652 75.4) 1,6| 73.12 do. >) . Zenith clear nearly calm.
3 '649|75.2} 15| 73.06] do. »| “Sky rather cloudy. do.
4 .647/75.0| 1.7| 72.56] do. | Do. do
5 .651|74.3! 1.7! 71.841 do. oh Do. do,
6 672 |74.5 1.6) 72,19 N.w by w.| 2| Do. light air.
7 .687;75.9; 1.5! 73.78) w. N. w. ; 2| 0.5 Do. do.
8 .630:77 .2| 2.4) 73. 81, N. W by N. 5, 1.8 Do. gentle wind.
9 .701\79.2| 3.1] 74.87) w. by n. | 4, 4.3) Flying clouds do.
10 688.81.0| 4.7| 74.43/ w. | 3\Cly \Cloudy do.
il .665,82.2| 5.5) 74.53] do 6) 9. 0/Thick cumuli rising ; pleasant do.
Noon.| .642/84.6| 7.1| 74.73] do 3} 8.8'Sky eee clear gentle do.
1p.M. 609|85.5 8.1] 74.21{ do 4/11.0 Do do.
2 087/85.0! 7.9) 73.97/ do 4| 9.5 Do. do.
3 .070/59.5} 8.4) 73.76) do 4; 3.5)Cirrus in the zenith ; cumuli about
| the hor. gentle wind.
4 067 |85.0| 9.6) 71.29 do, 3} 4.5 Clear do.
5 582 82.0) 7.7} 70.91 do. 3| 2.5) Very clear do.
6 29.606 79.8) 5.1) 72.54] do. 3 | Do. do.
RES a ee OE, ONE SEE SEE EIEIES,

September 21st rain fell from 6 A. M, to6 Pp. mM. None.

do. 6PM. to64. mM. ‘0421.
September 22d do. 6 a. M. to6 Pp. m. None.

Total. -0421

The Instruments are the same, and situated exactly as before.
G. SPERSCHNEIDER, Superintendent.

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Meteorological Register.

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192 Meteorological Register. [JuLy

The instruments with which the foregoing observations are made, are
placed in the Western Verandah of the Honourable Company’s Obser-
vatory ; at about five feet above the surface of the ground, and twenty-
seven feet above the level of the Sea: the thermometer was made on
purpose for the Observatory, and at 75° (the only point at which a com-
parison has been made) it was found to differ insensibly from the Royal
Society’s Standard; the barometer is one of two Standards which
have been lately constructed, and may be depended upon to 0,0100

an inch.

J. Crisp, Major.
H. C. Acting Astronomer.

MADRAS JOURNAL

OF

PePeRAtuURE AND SCIENCE.

No. 29—October 1840,

1.—Caialogue of the Birds of the Peninsula of India, arranged ac-
cording to the modern system of Classification; with brief Notes on
their Habits and Geographical Distribution, and description of new,
doubtful and imperfectly described Species.—By 'T. C. Jerpon, Assis-
tant Surgeon, 2d Madras Light Cavalry.

(Concluded from No. 28 page 15.)

Orv. GRALLATORES.— Waders.

FamiLy ARDEAD A.—Cranes and Herons.
Genus GRUS, L.—Crane.

I shall commence this family with the Cranes, which have been
accidentally omitted in Swainson’s Synopsis.

297.—G. Antigone, Edw. pl. 45.—Sarrus, H.—Greater Indian Crane.

Ihave only observed this fine bird once or twice on the banks of
the Godavery and Kistnah rivers, but extract from Mr. Elliot’s notes
the following excellent observations, chiefly made in Guzrat, it being
but a rare visitant to the Southern Mahratta Country.

194 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.

“The Sarrus lives always in pairs, though several pairs are frequent-
ly seen together, and occasionally, though rarely, a stray bird, either a
young one, or one that has lost its mate, with another pair. Every
morning they are seen at sun-rise winging their way to the cultivated fields, -
to feed upon grain, their sole aliment—and about 11 or 12 o’clock, they
make their way to the nearest water to drink, always preferring the
sandy beds of rivers, where they are seen in the greatest numbers, but
not disdaining to resort to tanks, should no stream be near. There
they remain all day, and at evening again, betake themselves to the
fields, returning to pass the night by the water side. When alarmed
and when onthe wing in the morning flights, they utter a fine clear
trumpet-like note.”

The Sarrus is migratory, appearing in the Peninsula only in the cold
weather.

Trides vinous red; bill pale sea green, brownish at the tip; legs
rosy red, passing into brown in front. Length 52 inches; expansion of
wings 7 feet 9 inches; tarsus 13; bill 6; weight 17 lbs.

From the testimony of Shikaries and others, there appears to be
another large Crane, which occasionally visits the Peninsula, and from
the descriptions I have heard, it is probably the Grus Torquata of Vieil-
lot and Wagler.

298.—G. cinerea.—Ardea Grus, L.—Koolung, H.—Common Crane.

The well known Crane is found in India in the cold season only,
living in pairs or small parties of 6, 8, or more. Has similar habits and
food with the Sarrus Crane. On one occasion I found the flowers of
the Koosoom (Carthamus tinctorius) to have been the only food partaken
of. This was late in March when most of the grains were cut. The
Koolung is often seen in company with the next bird.

Trides reddish yellow, brown in some; bill sea green; legs black.
Length 33 feet; expansion of wings about 6 feet; tarsus 81; bill at
front 4.

Sus Gexus ANTHROPOIDES, Vieillot.

299.—A. Virgo.—Ardea Virgo, L.—La Demoiselle, Buff. P. E., 241.
—Kurronch, H. also Kurkurrah.—Kurkoncha, Can.; all named from the
eall of the bird—Demoiselle Crane.

This most elegant, and chastely coloured bird is found over most of
ihe Peninsula, during the cold weather, and in much greater numbers

1340.] of the Peninsula of India. 195

than either of the two last Cranes. Like these it is most abundant
in the neighbourhood of the larger rivers, and has similar habits and
food.

Mr. Elliot in his notes says “ Flies in vast flocks—from 50 to 100,
and even 500, with great regularity of arrangement, in a long line, a few
of the leading ones disposing themselves in another line at an angle,
varying from a right to an acute one with it. This is when they are in
progress—at other times, as when disturbed duringthe heat of the day,
they may be seen circling round at a great height, but still a regular
order of lines may be distinguished. Their favourite food is chenna
(Cicer arietinum). They never go to tanks to drink but always to
rivers.’ When this bird is struck by a Bhyree (Falco peregrinus) its
mate generally comes to its assistance. The Bhyree always strikes it
on the back and wings, to avoid being wounded by the sharp inner claw,
with which, if struck on the head, it generally manages to inflict severe
wounds on the breast of the falcon.

Irides fine vinous red; bill greenish at the base, yellowish in the
middle, and inclining to pink at the tip; legs black. Length 22 feet;
expansion about 5 feet; tarsus 63 inches; bill to front 2.3 ths.

The inner claw of all these Cranes is much hooked, and exceedingly
sharp, and it always in self-defence strikes with its claw and never with
its bill.

Genus ARDEA, Heron.—Bugiah, H.

Sus Gexus ARDEA, Swains.

300.—A cinerea, Lath—A. major, Gmel.—Kabood, H.— Common
Heron.

The European Heron is found all over India throughout the year,
frequenting tanks and rivers. It is generally solitary, but is occasionally
met with in parties of 4 or 5 together. It breeds in the more wooded
districts on the top of lofty tress, during the hot weather, generally 4 or
5 nests being placed together. Length 3 feet; bill at front 5%,, at gape

63; tarsus 633 centre toe and claw 47; hind do. 25.

301.—A. purpurea, Auct. also A. purpurata.—Naree, H.—Purpled
Heron.

This species is much less numerous, and less generally spread than the

196 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.

last one. I have seen it most abundant in the wooded western coast
in the wet paddy-fields. It is also a permanent resident in India, but I
have not yet seen its breeding places.

Irides yellow ; bill brown above, yellow beneath ; legs yellow, brown
in front. Length 30 to 32 inches ; bill to front 4,8ths inch, at gape near-

ly 6 ; tarsus 6; centre toe and claw nearly 6; hind toe 33.
Sus-Genus EGRETTA, Briss. Swains.

302.—E. flavirostris—A. flavirostris, Temm. and Wagl.—A. Torra,
Buchanan and Franklin.—A. egreita, Sykes’ Catal.—Mu/lung Buglah, H.
—also Turrur Buglah.— Larger Egret—yellow-billed Egret.

This bird appears to have been first described as distinct by Buchanan
(according to Franklin), who named it A. Torva—and when without the
appendages, A. putea. It has, however, been since named by Temminck
with a more scientific appellation, which I have therefore adopted.

The large yellow-billed Egret is tolerably abundant in most parts of
India, frequenting rivers, tanks, marshes, and the inundated paddy-fields.

Length nearly 3 feet; billat front 4 inches, at gape 5; tarsus 54; bill
yellow ; legs black.

303.—E. alba.—A. alba, Gmel., Lath. and Wagler ?—A. Egretia of
Temm. and others ?—Puttvka Buglah, H.— Large black-billed Egret.

Though I have not hitherto obtained specimens of the large Black-
billed Egret, I have on several occasions observed it in different parts of
the country, always alone. It is probably the Egret of Europe, said to
be found in numbers in Central Asia.

304.—E. Garzetta—A. Garzetta, Auct.—Keerchea (or Kilcheeah)
Buglah, H.—Small Egret.

This Egret abounds over all the Peninsula, occasionally associating
in numerous flocks, and frequenting rivers, tanks, paddy-fields, pools of
water, &e. &c.

Irides light yellow; bill black; legs do.; feet greenish yellow.
Length about 2 feet; bill at front 34,th inch; at gape 4; tarsus 4. It
is said by the natives that the bones of this bird, if reduced to powder,
and a little employed in the cooking of bony fishes, render the fish bones.
quite soft, so that they can be eaten with satisfaction! !

305.—E. asha.—A. asha, Sykes.—A. jugularis of Forster and Wag-
ler ?.—Kala Buglah, H.—Small blue Heron,

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 197

This is acomparatively rare bird. I have seen it but once or twice
solitary in small rivers, in the northeri part of the table land. My only
specimen differs somewhat from Colonel Sykes’ description, in having
the whole under surface of the body grey, dashed slightly with white
on the neck and lower part of the body, chin and throat alone are pure
white. It appears to resemble much the description of Ard. jugularis,
but Sykes pronounces his bird distinct, so for the present I place my
specimev under his appellation, as the only recorded similar Indian
species. Mr. Elliot in his notes says, ‘‘ Is common on the western
coast at the mouths of rivers.”

Trides light yellow; bill brownish horny above, yellowish beneath ;
legs greenish black; feet greenish. Length about 2 feet ; bill at front 33;
at gape 4. ths; tarsus 4.

306.—-H. Javanica. Sw.—A. Javanica, Horsf.—A. Scapularis, Wagl.
—Kunchur Buglah, .-—Indian Green Heron.

This pretty little Heron differs according to Horsfield and Swainson
from the closely allied South American bird (Ard. Scapularis) in the
comparative length of the toes, and in the legs being feathered close
down to the knee. Itis only found solitary on the banks of wooded
streams, perching in general on a low branch overhanging the water.
It is spread over all the Peninsula.

Irides light yellow; bill blackish above, yellowish horny beneath ;
legs dark green; feet yellow; lores light green. Length 17-18 inches;
tarsus nearly 2; bill to front 2.4 ths, at gape 33.

307.—E. Malaccensis.—Ard. Malaccensis, Auct.—A. Grayii, Sykes,
Hardw Ill. ind. Zool.—A. affinis, Horsf. ?—A. Coromandelica, Lich. ?—
Buglee, H. also Undhe Buglee.—Marroon-backed Heron or White wing-
ed Heron.

The supposed new species of Colonel Sykes, named by him Ard. Grayzz,
I have ascertained to be the summer or breeding plumage of the common
Ard. Malaccensis. It begins to moult in April or May, and resumes its
plain winter livery about September or October. Perhaps the most re»
markable circumstance connected with this is the change of colouring
the bill undergoes, from the usual plain dusky tint to the three coloured

_ hues it presents during the hot season.
The Buglee is a very common and familiar bird, frequenting rivers,
tanks, marshes, wet paddy-fields and pools of water—and often seen in
the rivers, feeding among crowds of people, bathing and washing, with-

198 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.

out any alarm or suspicion. It is often struck down by a trained Shikra
(Accip. Dukhunensis).

Trides light yellow; legs and feet light greenish. Length 19 inches ;
bill at front 24, at gape 3,2,ths; tarsus 2,3,th inches.

308.—E. Caboga.— Ard. Caboga, Pennant.—A. ruficapilla ; Vieill. ?—
A. russata, Wagler ?—Dorreah Buglah, H.—Soorheah Buglah of some.—
Cattle Heron.

This well known species is generally found in flocks of various size
in company with herds of cattle, feeding on grasshoppers, and other insects
disturbed by them whilst grazing. It seldom resorts to water like its
other congeners, except during the heat of the day. Like the last, it
assumes its beautiful golden or ruddy tint on head, neck and back, only
during the breeding season,

Irides bright yellow ; bill dark yellow ; legs and feet blackish. Length
about 20 inches.

The specific name is derived from the Hindustani‘ Guo Buglah’,
meaning Cow Heron.

Suz Genus BOTAURUS, Briss.— Bitterns.

309.—B. cinnamomeus.—Ard. cinnamomea, Gmel.—Lal Buglah, . of
some.—Litile Chestnut Heron or Bittern.

I have only found this little species at all common on the wooded
regions of the western coast, generally in marshy ground, or in the wet
paddy-fields. Ihave also seen it on the banks of the Pykarra river on
the Neilgherries, and Mr. Elliot mentions it as common in parts of
Dharwar.

Length about 15 inches; bill at front 2, at gape 2-7 ths; tarsus 1-9,ths,

310.—B. Stellaris, Briss.— Nir Goung, H.— Common Bittern.

Ihave not myself hitherto procured a specimen of the Bittern, but
know that it has been killed near Jaulnah and Aurungabad, in marshy
ground. It is enumerated, moreover, both in Sykes’ Catalogue and by
Mr. Elliot, and the latter gentleman has lately shown me a fine specimen
shot on the Neilgherries, during the hot season.

Sos Genus NYCTICORAX, Steph.

311.—N. Europeus.—Ard. nycticoraz, L.—Wakh, H.—Night Heron.

The Wakh is of universal occurrence throughout the Peninsula,

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 199

but most common in the more wooded regions. It roosts during the
day on high trees, often in palm groves, and sallies forth to the waters
in the neighbourhood after sunset to feed upon fish, frogs, and other
aquatic animals. It breeds on palm and other trees, many nests to-
gether. Its Hindustani name is derived from its harsh call.

Irides crimson. Length 21 to 23 inches; tarsus 3; bill at gape 4, at
front 2-8, ths.

Genus PLATALEA, L.

312.—P-. lencorodia, L.—Chumuch Boozah, H.— White Spoonbill.

The Spoonbdiil is tolerably abundant over India, frequenting rivers
and tanks, occasionally in numerous flocks, and feeding on various aqua
tic insects, crustacea, small fish, &c.

The Hindustani name signifies ‘ Spoon Jbis, and TI think from its
manner of feeding, its small gape, and its flight, the Spoonhill shews
more aflinity to the dis family than to that of the Herons, with which
most authors associate it.

Genus CICONTA, Briss.—Storks.

Besides the Mycterta, already separated from the Storks, there ap-
pear to be three types (which might be made into as many sub-genera)
among the Indian Ciconte. One is represented by the whéte Stork,
a second by the black Stork, and .a third by the carrion eating Storks,
or Adjutants. ‘The white-necked stork appears to be a link between
the white and black Stork, as well in form as in its habits, being partly
terrestrial, and partly aquatic in its habits.

313.—C. alba, Briss.—Lug-lug or Oojlee, 1. also Hajee Lug-lug.—
White Stork.

The white Stork is found, though rarely, throughout India, during the
cold weather only, feeding in large flocks on the open dry plains on
grasshoppers, beetles, and other land insects, also on lizards and small
snakes.

Trides brown ; bill, legs and feet red.

314.—C. leucocephaia.—Ard. leucocephala, Auct.—Cic. umbellata,
Wagler.—Kalee, H.—Manukjor, in Hindostan.— White necked Stork.

This handsome Stork is a permanent resident in India, breeding on
high trees in the more wooded parts of the country. In its habits it

200 Caialogue of the Birds [Ocr.

partakes somewhat of both the Cie. alba, and Cie. nigra, being, though
perhaps most generally found about rivers, streams, marshes and tanks,
often seen feeding on the open dry plains, or on bare cultivated ground.
It feeds alike on tish, frogs, crabs and other aquatic food, and on grass-
hoppers, bectles, and other land insects.

Trides dark scarlet, surrounded by an external narrow ring of pale
yellow ; bill black, dark red at the edges and point; naked skin of the
face black; legs red. Length 30 to 34 inches; bill at frent 63-7.

315.—C. nigra, Auct.-—Soormaee, H.— Black Stork.

This, like the Oojlee is also migratory, being only found in the Penin-
sula during the cold season. It is a rare bird, and generally seen solitary
near tanks, rivers, and small streams, feeding on fish, frogs, and various
aquatic insects, and their larve. A good Shyree will strike it down,
and it is eagerly sought after for this purpose,

Orbits naked and red; bill deep red; irides brown; legs brownish red,
Length &} fect; expansion of wings 6 feet; bill at front 74 inches ;

tarsus 84.

316.—C. 4rgala, Steph.—Ard. dubia, Gmel.—Cic. Marabou, Temm.
—Adjutant of Calcutta.

I have but once seen this enormous bird during the early part of the
monsoon in the table Jand near Jaulnah, but did not obtain it.

317.—C. nudifrons.— New species ?,.— Dusta, H.—Black-maniled Ad-
jutant.

Descr.—Plumage above glossy black; the greater coverts pale dusky
brown, edged with whitish, beneath pure white. Bill, frontal plate, and
occiput, dirty greenish; bead, neck and gular bag, reddish pink above,

yellowish beneath ; head, neck, and as far as the end of the gular bag,
covered with strong scattered hairs, or rather hair-like feathers: Irides
light greyish brown or grey; feet blackish; forehead, only, naked and
horny. Length 43-5 feet ; bill at gape 114 inches, 2 inches broad
beneath at the base; 3 inches high at base; tarsus 11; tibia 15; tail 12;
wing about 80; face, throat and lower part of neck with numerous black
spots; gular bag when stretched about 6 or 7 inches long.

This species is tolerably common in the northern portion of the
Dekhan, more especially during the monsoon. It is usually solitary—
occasionally in parties of 4 or 5. It descends like the Vultures on any
careasses, or stalks about the plains, sometimes close to cantonments,

picking up reptiles, insects, and garbage of any description.

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 201

318.—C. calva.—New species ?—Chinjara, H.—Crab-eating Adjutant.

Descr.— Above glossy black, with purple and green reflections ; the
feathers of the back and coverts obsoletely marked with numerous black
bars; greater coverts dark brown; tertials and scapulars, bottle green,
edged with white; beneath pure white; bill dirty greenish; head per-
fectly naked and horny. <A thick tuft of hairs on the occiput, anda
few scattered hairs onthe neck. Hasno gular pouch. Length 43 feet ;
bill 114 inches ; much more slender than in the last. Breadth at base be-
neath 13; height at do. 24; tail nearly 12; tarsus 10; wing 25 inches. I
found the stomach of one crammed with crabs, and a few large grass-
hoppers.

The under tail coverts of the 3 last species are known under the name
of Marabou feathers, and are highly prized, and much sought after.

Sus Guenus MYCTERIA, L.

319.—M. Australis, Lath.—M. Asiatica, Lath. ?~- Bunarus, H.— Large
black and white Stork.

This gigantic looking bird is rare in Southern India, being found singly

occasionally in tanks and large rivers. It lives on fish, frogs, and various

other aquatic animals. Its length of limb gives it the appearance of
being a much Jarger bird than it really is. ‘The young bird has the neck
light brown, and very downy, and the colours much less vivid throughout ;
the irides also dark brown.

Irides yellow; bill black ; legs rosy red. Length 43 feet; expansion
about 7 feet; bill 13 inches; tarsus 133; weight about 11 lbs.

Genus HAZMATOPUS, L.

320.—H. ostralegus, L.—Durya Gujpaon, H. i. e. Sea Longshanks
(Himantopus).

This bird is included in Mr. Elliot’s Catalogue, having been found by
him on the western coast, towards the more northern part of the Penin-
sula, and I have since heard of its having been procured as far to the
southward as Mangalore.

Famity TANTALIDA.—lsis.

Genus ANASTOMUS.—IIl.— Open beak.

321.—A. typus, Temm.—Ard. Coromandelica and Ard. Ponticeriana,
Auct.—Goongloo or Goonglah, H.—Jndian Shell Eater.

202 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.

This curious bird is tolerably common in those parts of the country
where tanks and marshes abound. It lives in flocks of various size or
solitary, and feeds on fish, frogs, and various other aquatic animals, but
chiefly when procurable, on shell-fish (a species of Unio), the breaking of
the shell of which to get at the contents, 1s the cause of the open space
or gape between the mandibles, which does not exist in the young birds.
Colonel Sykes I see, however, appears to think that the gape exists origi-
nally in the youhg bird, and that it is a provision of nature to effect the
opening of the shells, on which it feeds. From my own observations, how-
ever, corroborated moreover by Mr. Elliot’s, I am inclined to think that
the former is the more correct opinion, viz. that the open space is
caused by the constant attrition of the mandibles on the hard testa-
ceous covering of the shell-fish. The Goongloo frequently perches on
trees, and breeds, I am informed, on lofty trees.

Trides bright yellow; bill dark greenish ; orbits and pouch, naked and
black ; legs greenish, with a shade of pink; middle claw, with a sharp edge
internally, but not serrated. Length 32 inches; expansion of wings 4}

feet.

This bird flies tolerably rapidly, and with more quickly repeated strokes
of its wings than any of the Heron family, with which it has generally
been placed by systematists.

Genus TANTALUS, L.

322.—T. leucocephaius, Lath.—T. Indicus, Cuv.—Dokh, H.—Jaunghul,
in Hindostan.— Pelican Ibis.

The Pelican {bis (as it may be named) is common over all India,
frequenting rivers, tanks, pools and marshes, generally in parties more
or less numerous, and feeding on fish, frogs and aquatic insects, and
also according to Sykes, on vegetable matter. It perches freely on trees,
and breeds on lofty trees, during the hot weather and monsoon. Dur-
ing the heat of the day, they may be seen standing motionless in the
water knee-deep, digesting their morning’s meal. They are said to feed
a good deal, during the night. The scapulars assume their most beauti-
ful rosy tinge, during the hot weather, or breeding season. The Bhyree
strikes this bird always on the head, its mandibles being sharp, and in-
flicting a severe cut.

Irides yellowish brown; bill, naked face and crown, and chin pouch,
deep ochre or orange yellow; legs pale dirty pink. Length 33 feet;
expansion of wings about 6 feet; bill (at gape) sometimes nearly 1 foot.

1840.) of the Peninsula of India. 203
Gunvus IBIS.

$23. --I. Macei, Cuv. and Wagl.—TI. religiosa, of Sykes’ Cat.—Tant.
melanocephalus of Lath.--the young bird.—JZoonda, H.—Suffeid Boozah
of some.— Black-headed Ibis.

The Indian Black-headed Ibis, is generally supposed to be a different
species from the one found in Egypt, and which was held sacred, and
embalmed by the ancient Egyptians. Colonel Sykes, however, asserts
their identity. This bird is found in tanks, rivers, marshes, wet paddy-
fields. &c. in flocks of various size, and feeds on small fish, frogs, crabs,
shrimps, and a variety of insects, both water and land, for it is occasion-
ally seen feeding on the dry ground, near rivers and tanks. It is found
at all seasons, and therefore most probably, breeds in this country, though
I have not yet seen its nest. Inside the bone of the wings is covered
by a bright red skin, as in the Cte. leucocephala. The young bird
has the head and neck partly covered with small white feathers, and
is therefore, as Wagler imagines, the Zant. melanacephalus of Latham.

Irides lake red; bill, naked head and neck, and feet black. Length
30 to 34 inches; bill at gape about 7; tarsus 4; weight 33 lbs.

324.—TI. papillosa, Temm. P. C.—Boozah, H.— Kala Boozah of some.
- —Warty-headed Ibis.

This bird is of common occurrence throughout India, being found in
numerous flocks, feeding on the open plains, chiefly on grasshoppers,
beetles, and other land insects, also few even on water insects, frogs, &c.
It breeds on trees in the neighbourhood of water, sometimes alone, but
at times in numerous parties. Colonel Sykes says correctly “ Soar
high in the air, uttering melancholy screams.” It makes a long flight
with a Bhyree, and requires a good one to capture it.

Irides light red ; bill brownish red; legs dirty brick red ; papilla of
the crown and occiput, bright red—naked skin on which they are placed
black. Length 25 te 30; bill at gape 6 ; tarsus 3 ; weight 3]b.

325.—T. falcinellus, Temm.—J. igneus—young bird of the 2d year, ac-
cording to Wagler.—Kewaree, H.—Gilossy Lbis.

As [have always shot the so called J, igneus in company with the
other species, I am induced to agree with those who consider it as the
young bird of the J. falcinellus.

The Glossy Jbis frequents shallow water at the edge of tanks and
rivers—also marshes and wet paddy-fields. It is always found in flocks,

204 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.

and feeds on frogs, shell-fish, shrimps and various insects, and their larve,
both aquatic and terrestrial.

rides brown ; bill and legs dark olive green; a whitish skin goes
round the base of the bill, the eyes and the gape. Length varies from
22 to 26 inches ; of a full grown male, the bill is nearly 6 inches ; and
tarsus 43.

Famity RALLIDA..—Rails, &c.
Genus PARRA, L.—Peeho, H.—Tank-runner.

326.—P. Indica, Lath.—P. enea, Cuv.—P. melanchloris, Vieill.—P.
superciliosa, Horsf.—Indian Tank-runner.

This curious bird is found over most of the Peninsula, in tanks covered
with weeds, and water lilies, on the leaves of which it runs with great
facility. It feeds chiefly on seeds, and other vegetable matter.

Bill green at the base, yellowish at the tip ; legs dark green.
Length about 1 foot ; bill to posterior end of frontal plate 13; tarsus

2-8 ths ; centre toe aia claw 43; hind do. 4.

327.—P. Sinensis, Gmel., Gould. Cent. Him. Birds. —Golden-necked

Tank-runner.

This handsome species, is perhaps, more generally spread than the
last, but not so numerous, except in some few localities. It frequents,
like the last, weeded and lily-covered tanks, but is also often to be seen
feeding at the edges of rivers and tanks, totally devoid of weeds. Feeds
on seeds, also on shells and water bugs.

Inides deep brown ; bill and legs olive green. Length 22 inches ;
tail 113 ; tarsus 2 ; middle toe and claw 3; hind do. 2; bill at front 1.

Genus PORPHYRIO, Briss.

328.—P. smaragnotus, Temm.—Gall. poliscephala, Lath. eee H.
— Sultana Coot or Purple Coot.

This handsome bird is tolerably common on most of the weedy and
grassy tanks, throughout the country, especially when covered with the
lotus, walking easily on the leaves, and oma chiefly on seeds and
vegetable matters.

Trides blood red; bill and frontal plate, cherry red; legs pale brick

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 205

red ; wing spur also reddish. Length 18 inches; bill at gape Ii; tarsus
875 ; middle toe and claw nearly 5; hind do. 2.

Genus FULICA, L.— Coot.

329.--F. atra, L.—Dasree or Dasurnee, H.— Bald Coot.

The Common Coot of Europe is a common and abundant bird on most
of the Indian tanks, even on those that dry up during the hot months.
Lives chiefly on vegetable matters.

Trides blood red ; bill and frontal plate white ; legs green reddish at
the sides ; feet leaden coloured. Length nearly 18 inches.

Genus RALLUS, L.—Rail.

330.—R. Gularis, Horsf.?—R. cerulescens, Lath. ?— Blue-throated
Rail.

The species of Rail, of which I give a description below, is found in
reeds and long grass,.by the sides of tanks, rivers and water-courses. I
have only seen it in Travancore and Cochin, but it is also enumerated
in Mr. Elliot’s Catalogue, as found in Dharwar.

Descr.—Crown, top of the head and nape, deep chestnut, diverging
into twe streaks on the back of neck ; chin white ; cheeks, sides of neck,
throat and breast, light leaden ; back, beneath, and wings dark brownish,
with a strong olive gloss, and numerous narrow white transverse bars,
most numerous on the abdomen and thighs.

Bill sanguineous at the base, and diaphanous, brownish at the tip ;
Jegs brown, with areddish tinge. Length about 11 inches ; wing 42, ;
tarsus 1-S~ ; bill at frent 1—,.

331.—R. rufescens, Vicill.?--R. Philippensis.?—R. striatus. ?—R.
Ceylonicus. ?—Larger brown rail.

I procured a single specimen of a Rail near Cochin, which I cannot
refer exactly to any described species, but which appears to approach
some of the species named above. Iadd a brief description: head
deep brown ; above olive brown; the feather edged with pale yellowish
rufous ; cheeks and sides of neck fawn ; chin and throat white ; beneath
pale fawn, with numerous transverse dark marks ; middle of abdomen
white ; shoulder with a tinge of cinereous and edged white. Length
14 inches ; wing 7; tarsus 24 ; tail 3; bill at the front, including frontal
plate 13.

206 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.

Gexus GALLINULA.

332.— G. akool, Sykes.—Indian Water Hen.

This common bird is found chiefly in reeds and long grass, by the sides _
of tanks, rivers, and water-courses, and is flushed with difficulty.

I have seen specimens exactly like those described by Sykes, others
in which the chin was entirely black,—and others in which there was
much white, extending down the middle of the abdomen. ‘These were
all irom different localities, but most probably, were only different ages
of the same bird. There may, however, be several varieties, or it may
be distinct species. Length nearly 1 foot; bill at gape l inch; tarsus

1,7, ; middle toe and claw nearly 3; hind do. 1,2.

333.—G. Javanica, Horsf., most probably the same as the G. pheni-
cura.— Dawuk, H.— White-cheeked Gallinule.

This handsome bird is by no means uncommon in many parts of the
country, though seldom seen in some districts. It frequents bushes in
the neighbourhood of water or marshy spots—also gardens and hedges in
dry ground. Found both solitary, and in parties of 5 and 6. Feeds
upon insects of various kinds, both land and water.

Irides red ; bill green, whitish at the tip ; legs greenish yellow ; dusky
behind. Length 12 inches ; bill at gape 13 ; tarsus 2,%,ths ; middle toe

and claw 23 ; hind do. 1,2, ths.

Famity SCOLOPACID A.—Snipes and Sand-pipers.

Genus SCOLOPAX, L.

Sus Genus RHYNCHZA.—Cuv.

334.— R. picta, Gray, Proc. Zool. Soc.—R. capensis, Auct.—~ Painted
Snipe of Europeans in India.

The Painted Snipe is a permanent resident in India, being found at all
seasons in suitable ground, viz. the grassy edges of tanks, marshes, inun-
dated paddy-fields, and the usual haunts of the common snipes. It,
however, appears in much greater numbers at the commencement of the
cold season, along with the other snipes, so probably the greater num-
ber breed towards the more northern part of India. This has, probably,

1840. } of the Peninsula of India. 207

Jed Colonel Sykes and others to consider it as migratory. I have, how-
ever, seen it throughout the hot weather and monsoon in two succes-
sive years, and find the same fact stated by Mr. Elliot.

Trides dark brown; bill dusky reddish; legs green. Length about 9
inches ; bill 2; tarsus 1 8,ths.

Sus Genus SCOLOPAX.

335.—S. rusticola 2—S. minor ?—S. saturata, Horsf. ?—Neilgherry
Woodcock.

I find it impossible from the meagre descriptions of authors, to as-
certain whether this bird is identical with the European bird or not,
or whether, as some have supposed, it may be the American species,
from its smaller size. It appears to correspond in plumage pretty close-
ly with the European bird, but from the examination of a good num-
ber of fresh specimens, it seems to be a considerably lighter bird. It
arrives on the hills about November ; a stray bird or two being some-
times killed in October, and leaves in March.

Length 15 to 16 inches; wing 83; bill at front 3 to 3,%,ths; tarsus
1,8.ths; tail3i; average weight about 9 or 93 0z.; varies from 7 to
11 oz.

336.—S. nemoricola, Hodgson, Journ. Asia. Soc. No. 66.—Solitary
Snipe of the Neilgherries.

This bird differs considerably from the solitary snipe of Europe (S.
major, L.). It is a rare visitant to the Neilgherries during the cold sea-
son, and has not, as far as Iam aware, been killed elsewhere in the
Peninsula. It frequents the marshy ground at the foot of the dense
woods of the hills. I obtained a specimen from J. Scott, Esq. of the M.
C. §. which is about 13 inches long, the bill being 2 5, ths.

337.—S. gallinago, L.— Bhuruk or Buruk, H.— Common Snipe.
The Snipe is found in great numbers all over the Peninsula during the

cold season, frequenting grass by the sides of tanks, and streams, marsh-
es, but more especially the inundated paddy-fields.

338.—S8. gallinula, L.—Jack Snipe.

The Little Jack Snipe is tolerably abundant along with the last in some
parts of the country, especially towards the more northern part of
the Peninsula.

208 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.

Sus Genus LIMOSA, Briss. and Swains.— Godwit.

339.—L. leucophea ? ?2.—New species ?—Chaha, H.—Large Godwit.

This bird, which, in absence of more precise information, I have
referred to the European G'odwit, though strongly suspecting it to be
distinct, is arare visitant to the Peninsula, during the cold weather,
and frequents the shallow water at the edge of large tanks, Iadda
brief description.

Above ashen grey, darkest on the back and rump; beneath white,
ashy on the neck, breast and sides ; upper tail coverts white, black tipt ;
tail white at the base, the rest black, with a narrow black tip. Length
20-21 inches; bill 5; tarsus 4; wing 9; tail 34; billreddish white, dusky
at the tip; legs and feet greenish black.

340.—L. melanura ?.—Chota Chaha, H.—Lesser Godwit.

] have only seen this species on two or three occasions, at the edges of
tanks, on the northern part of the table land. As Iam by no means
certain, that it is the same as the European bird, I also add a descrip-
tion of this one. Plumage above brown; the feathers edged with fawn ;
head, neck and breast, pale ashy brown; throat white; tail black, white
at the base; tail coverts as in the last. Length of one specimen 17
inches; bill 3 =+,ths; tarsus 23; wing 8; tail 22.

341.—ZL, terek, Uorsf.—-S. terek, Lath.— Limicola Indiana, Vieill.

I have only seen this curious bird on one occasion at the edge of the
Trichoor lake. Length nearly 9 inches; bill 1 ;8,; wing 5; tail 2; tar-
sus 1,1,ths; bill blackish, green at the base; legs orange.

Sus Genus TRINGA, L. Swains.

342.—T. Hardwickit.—Limosa Hardwickii, Gray and Hardw. Ill. Ind.
Zoo).— Gehwola, H.—Large brown Sand-piper.

I can find no description of this handsomely plumaged Sand-piper in
any of the works I possess. It appears, however, to be the same as the
species figured in Gray and Hardwicke. It is one of the first that make
their appearance hcre, at the commencement of the cold weather. I
have seen them in the middle of September, and as late as the end of
March. It frequents the edges of large tanks in numerous flocks. I
add here a brief description. Plumage above brown, of various shades
of intensity, each of the feathers edged with pale brown, or whitish, or in
some with rufous fawn; head and neck paler; face, throat, and plumage
beneath white, ashy on the neck and breast. In those specimens killed

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 209

earliest in the season, the colour of the back is most intense brown, and
the feathers are broadly edged with rufous. The neck and head too are

‘tinctured with rufous ; tail ashy pale brown, some of the centre feathers
‘barred at the tip with black and white.

Length 12-13 inches; bill 12,; tail 2}; wing 7}; tarsus 2 ; legs

103
fieshy, ochrey colour ; weight about 67 ounces.

343.— 7. Indica.— Tot. Indicus, Gray and Hardw., Ill. Ind. Zool. ? ?

This very closely resembles the last, and indeed only differs in size,
weighing little more than half of the last. As, however, I have found it
of the same size throughout all the cold weather, and the species of
Sand-piper in general are very uniform in size, I have ventured to place
it as a distinct species.

Length 93-103; wing 6; tail 2%; bill 15%; tarsus 1 .6,; weight
about 35 to 4 ounces.

344.—T7. subarcuata ?

I have only seen this Tringa once or twice, frequenting the sides of
tanks in the northern part of the Peninsula.

Length about 8 inches ; wing 4 ,5, ; tail 2 ; tarsus rather more than 1 ;
bill deep black ; legs greenish brown.

3845.—T’., pusilla ?.—Chota pun-loha, H.
I have found this bird all over India, frequenting rivers, sides of tanks,
and inundated paddy-fields, in numerous flocks.
Bills and legs black; irides dark brown. Length 6 inches; wing 3
f>ths, a little longer than the tail, which is somewhat above 13; bill
at front .7,ths; tarsus .9-ths.

=|Q

346.—T. Temminckit, Leister ?

Not nearly so common, I think, as the last species, to which’ it is
closely allied, and has the same habits.

Bill greenish at the base, black at the tip; legs green, with a tinge of
reddish. Length 67; wing 3 8 ; tail nearly 2; bill 7,3 tarsus 74 ths,

Genus HIMANTOPUS, Briss. and Swains.
Sus Genus RECURVIROSTRA, L. Avoset.

347,.—R. Avocetta.—European Avoset.

210 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.

Ihave only seen this curious bird at the edge of a large tank at the
extreme north of the Peninsula, but I have seen stuffed specimens killed
as far south as Madras.

Trides red brown; bill black; legs French grey. Length 18 inches;
bill 3 <3, ; tarsus 33. ict.

Sus Genus HIMANTOPUS.— Longshanks.

348.—H. melanopterus, Auct.—Guj-paong, H.—Common Longshanks
or Siilis.

Very common all over India, during the cold weather, not leaving till
April, frequents rivers, tanks and marshes in numerous flocks. A few
couple probably remain here the whole season, as I have seen them as
late as June, in pairs on the banks of wooded streams and reedy tanks.

Sus Genus TOTANUS, Sw.—Sand-piper.

349.—T. gilottoides, Vigors, Gould’s Century of Himalayan Birds.—
Timtimma or Toomtomma, H.—Indian Greenshanks.

Found solitary all over India in rivers, brooks and tanks. Is a wary
bird, rising with a very shrill and loud cry— hence its Indian name.

Trides dark brown; bill greenish black; legs pale olive. Length 14;
bill 2-2 ths; wing 7; tarsus 23; middle toe 1,%ths.

350.—T7. Horsfieldit.—Limosa Dorset Sykes.— Chota Timtimma
H.—Lesser Greenshanks.

This, like the last, is in general found solitary, but much more rare.
I have, however, seen it in very large flocks at the Trichoor lake.

Irides dark brown; bill blackish; legs pale olive green. Length 10
inches or 103; wing 53; tail 23; tarsus 2.3-ths; bill to front 1,6 ths ;
weight 3 ounces.

351.—TZ. fuscus 2—Butan, H.—Large red-legged Sand-piper.

Whether this is the species to which I have temporarily referred it
or not, can only be determined by actual comparison. I have found
this bird very rarely in the Peninsula of India, and only towards the
more northern portion of it, by the side of rivers or tanks, and solitary.
Specimens killed towards the end of the cold season in April, had as-
sumed the dark summer plumage.

1840.) of the Peninsula of India. 211

_ Irides dark brown; bill brown, red at the base beneath; legs orange

red. Length 14 inches; wing 63; tail 2}; bill 2,2,ths; tarsus 2,%,ths.

352.—T7’. calidris, Auct.?—Chota Butan, H.—Redshanks.

As the bird I am now speaking of, is about the same length, and
answers nearly to the description of the European Redshanks, I have
for the present referred it to that bird. I have only obtained a single
specimen of this Sand-piper, shot at the edge of a tank in the northern
part of the table land.

Irides dark brown; Dill brown; legs orange red. Length 103-11
inches ; wing 6; tail 2,4,ths; bill 1,5,ths; tarsus 1,8 ths.

353.—T. glareola, L.

Found in small parties, or sometimes solitary at the edges of tanks,
rivers, brooks and pools of water, common every where. Length 9
inches.

354.—T. Ochropus.

Almost always found solitary, occasionally in parties of 3 or 4, in the
same localities as the last, and still more common.
Length 10 inches.

355.—Hypoleucos.

Found solitary in similar situations with the 2 last species, but not
nearly so common.
Length 8 to 8} inches; wing 43; tail 2,% ths; tarsus 1; bill nearly

1; bill brown, greenish at base beneath ; tarsus pale green.

Genus STREPSILAS, Ul.—Turnstone.

356.—S. interpres, Auct.—Common Turnstone.

I obtained a pair of these prettily marked birds at the tank of Jaul-
nah, 200 miles inland, in the month of April, and have since seen speci-«
mens procured as far to the southward as Madras.

Irides dark brown; bill black; legs orange. Length 9 inches; wing
G; tail 24; tarsus nearly 1 inch; bill at front ,% ths. —

Genus NUMENIUS, Briss.—Curlew.

357.—N. arquata.—Goungh, H.— Curlew.

I obtained a single specimen of the Curlew at the edge of a tank, near

212 Catalogue of the Birds ‘ [Ocr.

Jaulnah. It is enumerated also in Mr. Elliot’s Catalogue as found in
Dharwar.

308. N. pheopus.— Chota Goungh, H.—The Whimbrel.

I saw the Whimbrel in considerable numbers at the Chilka lake, and
have also seen it on the sea coast, near Madras, and in various other
places. Mr. Elliot says; ‘Found every where along the sea-shore, and
mouths of large rivers.’

Famity CHARADRIADA.—Plovers.

Genus CHARADRIUS, L.

359.—C. pluvialis, L.— Golden Plover.

The Golden Plover is but rarely met with in the Peninsula. I have
only seen it on two or three occasions on the banks of large rivers on
the table land, and on grass plains, near the sea coast—usually in small
flocks of 5 or 6. I have seen specimens killed in the neighbourhood of
Madras, in the breeding plumage viz. withthe whole under surface of
the body deep black. It therefore, most probably, breeds in this country.

360.—C. Philippensis, Lath. ?—Zirreah, H. of some.—Common ringed
Plover.

This pretty little bird is found not only at the sides of rivers, and tanks,
but also, and perhaps more generally, in the open dry plains, in flocks of
various size, running rapidly along the ground, and picking up various
small insects. Ihave found it all over the Peninsula.

Trides deep brown; bill black ; legs yellowish ; orbits bright yellow.
Length 73 ; wing 43; tail 24; bill at front 4 inch ; tarsus nearly L.

861.—C. minor, Wag). ?—C. hiaticuloides,Frankl?.—Lesser ringedPlover

This species differs but little from the last. Itis smaller—has the
upper plumage of a darker shade, the quills also much darker, the tertials
less lengthened, the lateral tail feather have more white, and the base
of the lower mandible is yellow.

I have only found it at the northern part of the table land, at the po
‘of rivers.

Irides deep brown; bill black, yellow at the base beneath; legs yel-
low ; orbits deep yellow. Length hardly 63; wing 4; tail2; bill to
front +4, ; tarsus ;%;ths.

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 218

362.—C. cantianus. ?—C. ruficapillus, Temm. ?—New species.?

Thave found this plover at the edge of rivers and tanks, at the
Morthern part of the table land, and also more lately by the side
of salt-water inlets, and the sea shore on the east coast, during tlie hot
season in June.

As I am uncertain of its being the European species indicated, I shall
give a brief description.

Forehead, eyebrows, face and beneath, pure white ; a narrow line from
the gape, passing through the eyes and ears, cinereous; a narrow blackish
band behind the white forehead; crown of head and nape ferrugineous ;
plumage above cinereous ; external tail feathers pure white ; no naked skin
round eyes; bill black; legs greenish yellow.

Length 7 inches ; wing 4 5%, ; tail 1 =8, ; bill at front 6, ; tarsus rather
more than | inch.

363.—C. russatus.—New species. ?

Descr. Forehead, streak on either side, extending through the eyes,
ears, and meeting behind, and a broad pectoral band deep brownish
black; top of the head, back and wing coverts of the usual brown cine-
reous hue of the Ringed Plovers ; band above the eyes, encircling the
head, except in front, and plumage beneath white; wing coverts edged
with white; quills and medial tail feathers, dark brown; external tail
feathers white, with a brown band which almost disappears on the outer-
most feather ; scapulars deep marroca colour; upper tail coverts, tinged
with rufous; bill yellow with black tip; orbits bright yellow; legs orange
yellow.

Length 6} inches ; wing 44 ; tail 2 ,2, ; bill at front nearly ;S ths ; tar-
sus rather more than | inch.

I procured a single specimen of this apparently new species of Ring-
ed Plover at the edge of the Pulicat lake near Madras, in the month of
June. Its distinguishing feature is the marroon colour of the scapulars.
Whether this is a permanent mark, or, as I conjecture may be the case,
only assumed during the breeding season, 1 am at present unable to
determine.

Genus VANELLUS.—Lapwing.

364.—V. bilobus.—Charadrius bilobus, Gmel. and Wagler.—Zirdee,
H.—Yellow watiled Lapwing.

214 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.

This Plover is found throughout India, usually frequenting the dry
stony plains, or open sandy downs in small flocks, and feeding on various
insects. Has a feeble cry, which Colonel Sykes renders as ‘‘ Deewit
Deewit.’ 1 found the eggs of this bird on one occasion on a grass plain,
on the west coast, in the month of September. They were of a light
salmon colour with dusky spots, 4 in number, and laid on a slight depres-
sion of the ground.

Irides silvery grey ; bill black, yellow at the base; naked skin yellow ;
legs do. Length nearly 12 inches ; wing 84; tail5 =% ; tarsus 2 74;
bill to front 1 inch.

365.—V. Goensis.—Tringa Goensis, Lath.—Char. atrogularis, Wage
ler.— Teteechree (vulgo Teetooree), H.—Red wattled Lapwing.

This well known bird is common throughout most of India, single
eccasionally, but usually in small parties. It frequents the land in the
neighbourhood of water, feeding on various insects, chiefly water ones,
shells, &c. It has aloud shrill cry, something like ‘ Did he do it, or
as others say ‘ Pity to doit. This call is much heard at night, even in
places where none were seen during the day. It is often very annoying
to sportsmen, hovering over him, and uttering its shrill cries for some
distance.

The Teteehree is said by the natives to sleep with its legs upwards,
and the Indian proverb ‘ Teteehree se asman thama jaega, or can the
Leteehree support the Heavens ? is applied to a person who undertakes
something far above his strength.

Trides red ; bill at the base and fleshy skin, lake red ; tip of bill black ;
legs yellow. Length nearly 13 inches.

366.—V. ventralis.—Charad. ventralis, Gray “and Hardw., Ill. Ind.
Z,ool.—C. coronatus, Vieill, ?

I obtained a single specimen of a bird which appears to be the young
or female of the one figured in Gray and Hardwicke, at the edge of a
large tank near Jaulnah. It answers the description too (with the ex-
ception of the black spot on the abdomen) of Wagler’s C. ventralis, but
that bird is deseribed among the 3-toed Charadrii.. My bird has a
hinder toe, though a very small one.

This bird is evidently a link joining the Vanelli to the Gidicnemi, its
bill being larger and more robust than that of most Vaneili.

Irides dark brown ; bill and legs black. Length 13 inches ; wing 8} ;
tail 3% ; tarsus 23, ; bill to front 1,2ths.

1

}

/

si
4

U

et

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 215

Grunus GEDICNEMUS, Cuv.

367.—. crepitans, Temm.— Char. Gidicnemus, L.—Burseree or Kurs
wanuk, H.—-also sometimes Lumbee.—Bastard Florikin of English.

The Thick-kneed-plover of Europe is found all over the Peninsula, and
remains the whole year. It frequents the open stony plains—also bushy
tracts, and open spaces in jungly districts. Found in pairs, or in small
parties. When approached, it often conceals itself behind a bush or
stone, and sometimes squats close to the ground, and is with difficulty

-seen. It feeds on various insects chiefly, also sometimes on seeds of
various kinds. It wanders much at night, and has a peculiar long shrill
piping note ; seldom heard except at this time—its usual cry,
being a single harsh creaking note. The Shikra (Accipiter Dukhunensis)
is often flown at this bird. Its flesh is of excellent favour, and much
esteemed by some.

Irides pale greenish yellow; legs pale olive. Length 16-17 inches;
wing 9 ; tail 44 ; tarsus 3,4 ; bill at front 14 ; weight about 12 to 13 oz.

368.—C2. recurvirostris, Swains., Lardn. Cycl.—Aubee, H.

This curious bird which has been lately accurately described by;Swain-
son, is by no means common, and is only found by the sides of the larger
rivers, and tanks, and salt-water inlets, in pairs, sometimes two or three
pairs together. It feeds on various aquatic insects and their larve.
Its cry of alarm is a loud harsh creaking note, and like the last species,
it occasionally squats, when approached.

Trides pale yellow ; bill black, yellow at base; legs yellowish green.
Length 20 inches; wing 11; tail 45; bill to front 2.5 the ; tarsus 32.

Genus TACHYDROMUS, III.

Sug Genus GLAREOLA, L.—Swallow Plover.

369.—G. Orientalis, Leach.—Lesser or square-tailed Swallow Plover.

This neatly plumaged little bird is rare in most parts of Southern
India. I have seen it occasionally in pairs, by the sides of tanks, run-
ning briskly along the edge, and picking up various small insects. I on one
occasion saw a large flock of them, apparently migrating from one dis-
trict to another, it was in the month of September, and near the extreme
south of the Peninsula,

216 Catalogue of the Birds fOcr. -

Irides .dark brown ; bill black; gape dark red; legs black. Length
7 inches ; wing beyond tail 1,5ths; from base 6; bill at front + 4ths ;
tarsus =%ths.

370.—G. torquata, Temm.—Fork-tailed Swallow Plover.

Ihave seen this bird but very rarely in small flocks, or pairs, by the
edges of tanks or rivers, feeding chiefly like the last, on various aquatic in-
sects and larvee, especially on Nepe. On one occasion, I saw a numerous
flock of them flying low over some grain fields, apparently capturing
insects on the wing. Its flight is remarkably swift, and swallow-like, as is
that of the last species. :

Inides dark brown; bill and legs black; the posterior portion of the
gape red. Leneth 11 inches, of which the tail is 43; wing 73 ; bill at
front 4 inch; at gape nearly 1 inch; tarsus 1 ;%ths.

Suz Genus TACHYDROMUS, Ill—Cursorius, Lath.—Courier
Flover.

871.—T. Asiaticus.— Char. Coromandelicus, L.—Nookree, H.—Indian
Courier Flover.

The Courier is very numerous towards the more northern part of the
table land, much less so towards the south. It frequents the open bare
plains only, in numerous flocks, running along with great celerity, and
picking up various insects, beetles and small grasshoppers and their
larvee. It breeds in the more retired spot during the hot weather, lay- _
ing $ eggs of a pale greenish yellow colour, much blotched, and spotted
with black, and also with a few olive spots. They are deposited ina
slight hollow.

Trides deep brown ; bill black ; legs creamy white, as if coated with
ae Length varies from 83 to nearly 10 inches ; wing 6; tail

; bill at front 58, ; tarsus 2,2. As I have frequently killed birds of
various length from the same flock, I fancy that Swainson’s supposed
new species 17’. Orientalts, said to differ only in size from the T Astale
cus of authors, must be abandoned.

Susp Genus AMMOPTILA, Sw.

372.—A. charadroides, Sw. ?—Sand Plover.

A bird of this remarkable genus is mentioned in Mr. Elliot’s Catalogue,
but without any description, so 1am uncertain if it is the same species as

1840.) of the Peninsula of India. 217
the one indicated by Swainson, in his Synopsis. Mr. E. mentions his
having found it in flocks on the sea-shore, on the west coast of India.
Bill black ; legs and feet plumbeous. Length 15 inches.

” Orv. NATATORES.—Swimmers.

N Famity ANATIDA.—Ducks.

Sus Famiry PHAENICOPTINZA,—Sw.
Genus PHAZXNICOPTERUS.—L.,

3/3.—P, Europeus.—P. ruber, L.—Bug Huns, H.—Rajah Huns
of some.—Flamingo.

The Flamingo is found throughout the Peninsula, in large rivers and
tanks, though not a very common hird. JI saw it in the greatest abund-
ance in the large Chilka lake, on the low flat islands of which I have
seen many hundreds congregated together. It feeds on vegetable matter,
and minute water insects, &c. and much eravel is in general found in its
stomach. It is tamed, and kept at Hydrabad by some of the nobles of
that city, and fed on grain of various kinds. I think Swainson is per-
fectly justified in placing this bird among the ducks, from its external
structure alone, and I see that its internal anatomy fully confirms this
view. In fact the natives of India recognize its alliance with this fami-
ly, by calling it Heron Goose or King Goose.

Bill pink, black at the tip; legs pale rose coloured; irides pale golden
yellow. Length 33 to 4 feet.

374.—P. minor.—Lesser Flamingo.

I have seen a flock of this bird at the Jaulnah tank, last cold season,
and am informed by Shikarees, that it pays an annual visit here, about
Christmas.

Susp Faminy ANSERIN 2.
Genus ANSER, Aniiq.

375.—A. Indicus, Lath., Gould Cent. Him. Birds.~—Indian or Barred-
headed Goose.

218 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.

This Goose is not so common in Southern India, as it appears to be in
Bengal, and the more northern Provinces. Ihave seen it in pairs in

August, within a few miles of Cape Comorin, and once or twice in flocks

of 15 or 20 in large tanks, on the central table land.

Genus DENDROCYGNA, Sw.—Tree Ducks.

376.—D. Awsuree.—Mareca Awsuree, Sykes’ Cat.—Anas arcuata,
Horsf. Java.— Sillee, H.— Whistling Teal of Europeans.

As my specimens agree exactly with the description of Sykes, of his
M. Awsuree, and also the description in Mr. E!liot’s Catalogue, I think
it may be considered distinct from the Javanese bird. It is found in
numerous flocks, in various parts of the country, most abundant, perhaps,
in the wooded districts, frequenting tanks, and often seen perched on
the boughs of trees that overhang the water. I have not seen its breed-
ing places. :

Length about 18 inches; bill to front 145 tarsus 1 =6.; centre toe and
claw 22; wing 8; tail 24; bill and legs plumbeous; irides brown; eye-
lids, bright yellow. It is not esteemed good eating.

377.—D. major.—New species ?—Large Whistling Teal.

Tam strongly inclined to consider this as a distinct species from the
last. It differs in its larger size, in the whole head, neck and under
parts, being rufous or chestnut, and not so dark in the belly as the former
bird. The upper tail coverts are yellowish white, instead of deep chest-
nut. There is a blackish line down the back of the neck from the nape.
The tip of the head is deep chestnut instead of brown, and there isa
broad patch round the centre of the neck, in which the feathers are
somewhat hackled or lanceolate, whitish at the tip, and blackish at the
base. The feathers of the loins are highly elongated, chestnut on one
side of the shaft, and creamy white on the other side, broadly edged
with dusky.

Length 20-21 inches; wing 93; tail 2 2 inches; tarsus 2; bill at front
1,8 ths ; centre toe and claw 33.

378.—D. ? girra.—Anas girra, Gray and Hardw., Ill. Ind. Zool.—A.
Coromandelica.—Geerjah, 11.—Cotton Teal of Europeans in India.

This pretty little bird is not very common in Southern India, and
like the last, abounds most in the more wooded districts, and it is said
to breed in some of the forests of the western coast. It hasa peculiar

Pa he

;. --y840.] : OF the Peninsula of India. 219

_ changing note, not unlike that of the Grouse, which it generally keeps up
_ whilst flying. It is found both in pairs and flocks—sexes alike.
Trides bright crimson ; bill black ; legs greenish ochrey yellow, blackish
ee insome. Length 13 inches; weight 9 ounces.
This bird, by its bill, appears to approach the Dendronesse of Swain-
[ gen.

| 378. bis.—D. affinis. New species ?—Guirree, H.

| This species or variety, is mentioned in Mr, Elliot’s notes as differing
| from the last in the permanent want of the collar in both sexes and at

} all ages.
, Length nearly 14 inches.

Genus PLECTROPTERUS, Leach.

3/9.—Fl. melanotos, Steph.--Anas Melanotos, Gmel.—Nooktah,H. also
of the Mahrattahs.— Bronze-backed Goose —Comb-Duck, (Sykes) of the
Residents in the Madras Presidency.

This splendid bird is found all over India, in tanks and rivers, though
not very abundant. It breeds during the monsoon in most of the wood-
ed districts, and as I am informed, in long grass, near rivers or tanks. The
female is much less than the male, and wants the iarge protuberance at
the base ofthe bill. It feeds on various seeds and vegetable matters—
also on paddy, jowaree, and other grains. The flesh is hard, and not held
in much esteem. Length of male 34 inches ; wing 16; tarsus 3; bill
straight to gape 22: height of protuberance above 2 inches, from the
edge of the mandible, length of do. at the centre nearly 2. Female from
26 to 28 inches long.

Irides dark brown ; bill and protuberance black ; legs greenish plum-
beous ; weight nearly 6-lb.

Sus Famiry ANATINZA, Sw.—wiver Ducks.
Genus MARECA, Leach.— Widgeon.

380.—WM. fistularis, Steph.—Anas Penelope, L.—Common Widgeon.

Common in the cold weather throughout India in the rivers and tanks,

found in large flocks.
Trides dark brown ; bill light plumbeous, black at the tip.

220 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.
Genus ANAS, L.

Sus Genus CHAULIODUS, Sw.

381.—C. strepera, Sw.— Anas strepera, L.—The Gadwall. f

Not so numerous as the last, but by no means rare—only found in the
cold season.

Trides brown ; bill blackish, reddish at the sides and lower mandible ; Wy
legs and feet ochrey yellow. }
|
Sug Genus ANAS. \

382.—A. clypeata, L.— Tredaree, H.—Shoveler.

Common over all India, in flocks during the cold weather.
Trides yellow ; bill black; legs orange ; bill of female brown, reddish
beneath.

Sus Genus BOSCHAS, Sw.

383.—B. circia.—A. circia, L.—Garganey Teal.

Common throughout the cold weather, being one of the first to arrive
in the country, sometimes before the end of September,
Trides brown ; bill black ; legs greenish plumbeous.

384.—B. crecca, Sw.—A. crecca, L.—Common Teal.

Common along with the last.
Sus Genus DAFILA, Leach.

385.—D. caudacuta.

Tolerably abundant towards the more northern parts of the Peninsula,
rare in the south, found in large flocks.
Bill plumbeous, with a black line down the centre, also at edges ;

legs plumbeous.
Trides dark brown.

Genus TADOMA, Leach.

386.— 7. rutila, Steph.— A. casarca, L.—Soorkhab, H.—also Chukwa.
—Ruddy Shieldrake.—Brahminy Duck of Europeans. :

fl _ of the Peninsula of India. | 221

than in the more northern parts of the Peninsula. Is frequently seen in
¥ pairs, or small parties of 4, 5 or G, but occasionally, as in the Chilka lake,

in numerous flocks of some hundreds. Only found, as far as I can learn,
in the Peninsula, during the cold weather. Colonel Sykes, however, ap-

_ pears to think that they are resident in India, throughout the whole

year. Found much on rivers. Mr. Elliot in his notes says ‘‘ Found in
pairs, often several pairs together, shy, uttering a peculiar deep note
which has a strong resemblance to deeply intonated d-oung.” ‘The
Hindoos consider them the models of conjugal tenderness. The flesh
is held in no esteem in this country.

Irides dark brown; bill and legs black.

887.—T. ? pecilorhyncha.—A. pecilorhyncha, Gmel.—Gurm-pace, H.
Spotted-billed Duck.—Large Grey Duck.

This fine duck ismost common in the more wooded parts of the
country, and is a permanent resident, breeding in retired places and
marshy spots, among the jungles, during the hot weather.

{rides brown ; bill black, yellow at the tip, red at the base ; legs deep
red. Length 2 feet to 26 inches ; tarsus 22 ; weight about 3-lbs. Is
excellent eating. Jam by no means certain, that it is a true Tadomer,
being perhaps a species of Boschas, or Chauliodus; but the elevation of
the bill at the base, has induced me to consider it asa Tadomer. Ton
one occasion found acouple of small fish in the gizzard of this Duck, be-
sides yegetable matter and gravel.

363.—T". ? cayophyllacea.—Pink-headed Duck, Lath.

Though I have not yet seen this Duck, I venture to include it in my
present Catalogue, from the concurrent testimony of several Shikarees,
who described it, so as to leave no doubt in my mind of its being the spe-
cies named asabove. It is said to be an occasional, though very rare
visitor to the rivers and tanks of the country, about Jaulnah, during the
cold weather only.

Susp Faminy FULIGULIN, Sw.
Genus FULIGULA.

389.—F’. rufina, Stephens.—Red-headed Pochard.
Not very common in the Peninsula, generally in small parties in the

cold weather.

222 Catalogue of the Birds [Ocr.

Irides deep yellow.
390.--F". cristata, Steph.—A. fuligula, L.— Tufted Duck.

Tolerably common throughout the Peninsula, during the cold weather. .
It is one of the latest to quit the country, and I have on one occasion
found a single one in the month of June, in a tank near Hydrabad.

Irides bright yellow; bill plumbeous ; legs blackish. Length 19-20

inches.

391.—F. nyroca.—A. leucophthalmos.— Bechstein.

Rare in the Peninsula, generally in pairs, or very small parties in tanks.
Irides greyish white. These 3 last species dive remarkably well.

Famity COLYENBID A.— Grebes.

Gunus PODICEPS, Lath.

392.—P. Philippensis, Steph.—Choorakah, H. ?—Indian bay-necked
Crepe, |

Common in the tanks all over India, evenin those which dry up early
in the season. Feed on various water insects, &c.

Irides ochrey yellow. Length 92 inches.

?—Lesser Grebe.—Pun-doobee, H. ?

392, bis.—P.

I have hitherto not procured this little species of Diver, which is men-
tioned in Mr. Elliot’s Catalogue, though without any description, but I
have seen it on several occasions, in grassy tanks, and among weeds. It
appears much smaller than the common one.

Famiry PELECANID:.
Genus PLOTUS, L.— Darter.

393.—P. melanogaster, Gmel.— Banwah, H.—Darter or Snake bird.

Not very uncommon in the Northern Circars, and in other districts
Where tanks abound. Feeds on fish chiefly, swims and dives with great
rapidity, and as Colonel Sykes remarks, has the faculty of being enabled
to swim with the whole of its body under water, the long head and neck
being alone visible, looking like a snake. |

Length about 3 feet ; tail 93 ; bill front 3,%,ths.

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 223
Genus CARBO, Mayer and Swains,— Cormorant.

394.—C. Javanicus, Horsf.-- Phal. Africanus ?--Joghrabee, H.--vulgo
Pun-khowa—i. e. Water crow.

Very common in all the tanks and rivers of India. Feeds on fish, and
is very voracious.

Trides crimson ; bill black, reddish at base beneath; legs black.

I may state that I have specimens, shot in company with many others
of the same plumage, which have the wing coverts and scapulars blue
grey, margined with black, and in the belly and neck, having much
white in their plumage, mixed with dusky blackish.

Length 28 ; tail 6 inches; bill at front 1 2,th.

-

399.— C. Cormeranus.—Pelicanus Carbo, L.—Gho-ghur, H.

This is much more rare than the last. Ihave only seen it on the
wooded Bhowany river, at the foot of the Neilgherries, and once or
twice in the northern part of the table land, in large tanks. I have
seen it inthe month of June, as far inland as Hiydrabad, so it most
probably remains here the whole year and breeds. Mr. Elliot mentions
it in his Catalogue, and I learn from him that it is far from being uncom-
mon in parts of the Southern Mahratta Country, and that it may some-
times be seen in considerable numbers, sitting on trees in the neigh-
bourhood of tanks. oe |

Length 2 feet 10 inches; bill at front 27; weight 43 lbs.

Genus PELICANUS, L.

$96.—P. onocrotalus, L.—Hawaseel, H.—The Pelican.

The Pelican is tolerably common in many of the tanks all over the
country, even very far inland, occasionally perches on lofty trees.

Sus Famity LARIDA.—Gulls and Terns.

Genus STERNA, Swains.
Sus Genus STERNA, L.— Sea Swallow, or Tern.—Kaghuzee, H.

397.—S. melanogaster, Temm.—S. acuticauda, Gray and Hardw.,
Ind. Zool.

This Tern I have found all over the country, frequenting tanks, and
more especially rivers.

224 Catalogue of the Birds [Qer.

398.—S. similis, Gray and Hardwicke, Ill. Ind. Zool.

Found in the same localities as the last, and still more common and
numerous.

Length 113 inches; wing 94; tail 3 ,*,th; bill at front 1 th: tar-
sus —°-th ; bill dark lake colour ; feet and legs black.

399.—S. Seena, Sykes.

Spread throughout all the Peninsula, but less common than the last.
Bill bright yellow; legs red. Length 17 inches; wing 11; tail 83;
bill at front 14.

400.—S. anglica, Montagu.—Marsh Tern.

Common all over the country. |

Length about 16 inches; but it varies a good deal in size: of one 16
inches long, the wing is 133, 24 inches beyond the tail, which from base
is nearly 6; bill and tarsus black.

401.—S. minuta, L.

I have seen this pretty little Z’evn most abundant in the west coast, at
the mouths of rivers, but have also met it above 200 miies inland.

Length nearly 9 inches ; wing 63 ; half an inch beyond the tail, which is
nearly 3; bill at front 1,2, ; yellow, dusky at the tip; legs orange ; tarsus
~aths.

402.—S.

.—New species ?

Descr. Head and back of neck sub-crested deep glossy black, plumage
above light grey; beneath white; tail much forked; lateral feathers
white ; bill yellow ; legs black.

Length 173 ; wings 123; 1 inch beyond tail ; tail 63; bill (at front) 2
,3;ths ; tarsus | inch.

I have only found this very elegant species on the sea coast, on the
west of India, at the mouths of rivers.

403.—S.

.— New species ?

Back, wings and tail pale grey ; rest of body white, except a blackish
grey streak through the eye; head and neck with a tinge of grey.

Length 143 inches; wing 11; tail 4; bill at front 1 3,th; tarsus I}
bill black, within orange red; legs and feet dusky sienna reddish.

1840.] of the Peninsula of India. 225

This species appears tolerably common on the east coast of the
Peninsula, near Madras.

104.—S.

.—New species.

Deser.—Head and nape blackish ; feathers edged with white; body
above grey, beneath white ; bill deep lake red ; legs sienna.
Length 11 inches ; wing 84; tail 3; bill at front 1 inch.

Genus THALASSITES, Swains.

405.—T.

.—New species ?

Descr.— Head and upper part of the neck glossy black, above light
grey ; beneath, and tail white; bill orange red ; legs black.

Length 21 inches; wing 16, reaching 3 inches beyond the tail, which
is 53; bill at front 2 -5,th; tarsus 1 58th.

Ihaye found this large Tern most abundant on the west coast of
India, at the mouths of rivers, but also far inland, frequenting tanks.

The young bird differs in the head being spotted white and black, in-
stead of being pure black.

Genus LARUS, L.—Gull.

406.—L. brunnicephalus ?.—New species ?.—Brown-headed Gull.

Descr.—Hood pale ashy brown, terminated by a darker edge; mantle
and wings light grey; the rest of the body pure white; bill and legs
deep lake red; ahalfcircle of white feathers round the back part of the eye.

Length 19 inches ; wing 14 ; tail nearly 6; bill at front 14 ; tarsus 2.

I have found this Guél common on the west coast of India, and also
inland above 200 miles, frequenting rivers and tanks. A Gull which
corresponds exactly in size with this one, and which I have usually seen
in company with it is probably the young bird. It differs in wanting
the brown hood, and in the tail being broadly tipped with black.

407.—L. .—New species ?

I possess only a young specimen of this G'u// in the usual mottled plu-
mage, so shall content myself with giving its measurements.
200 miles inland.

Length 2 feet; wing 18 inches; tail 8; bill (front) 1 th; tarsus 2
=*sth ; bill and legs yellowish.

It was shot

226 Catalogue of the Birds of the Peninsula of India. (Oct.

I have seen other species of Gudl on the sea coast, but not having
procured specimens, refrain from noticing them at present.

I have now brought to a conclusion this imperfect Catalogue, the chief
object of which has been an enumeration of all the birds found in
Southern India; the few brief notes 1 have added having been hastily
drawn up, without method, to relieve the monotony of a bare list of names.
I purpose in a future, and I hope, an early number, to add a supplement,
containing the description of a few additional species J have obtained
since the first parts of the Catalogue were printed—and also to correct
several errors of nomenclature, and to add some brief additional notes
on the habits and geographical distribution of a few of the species, which
more recent and extended observations have enabled me to offer.

The specimens on which my Catalogne was founded, are now on their
way home to a distinguished Ornithologist, and as soon as they are ex-
amined, and identified by him, I willin another supplement give the re-
sult of his examination, and a synopsis of all the species with their cor-
rect names and synonymes. By way of rendering this part more gene
rally useful, I may probably also add asynopsis of the different genera
found in India, and a brief description of all the species, so that it may
serve as a text book for the Peninsular birds, and supply to the ornitho-
logist in this country, the want of the numerous bulky and ill-compiled
works of reference, which often perplex as much as they inform.

I trust also to be able to add to this, through the kindness of Walter
Elliot, Esq., a list of the names of many of the birds in several of the
native languages, and in the native characters, by which collectors may
be much facilitated occasionally, both in the acquisition and identification
of various species. Ata future period, I hope that my observations on
the habits and manners of many of the Indian birds may be so far extend- —
ed as to enable me to publish a much more full and enlarged account
than I am now able to attempt, and illustrated by coloured figures of
many of the unfigured species. To enable me, however, to effect this,
I look confidently for the assistance and co-operation of other observers,
without which it will be impossible to present any thing like a tolerably
complete history of Indian Ornithology; for, from the nature of a tropical
climate precluding much or constant exercise on the openair, and the
necessary occupations of most of the residents here, no one individual
can ever expect to give from his own observations a faithful transcript of
the habits and manners of even alimited number of the birds; and it is
only from a series of detached observations, and from many individuals
co-operating together, that such a much wished for result can be obtained.

1840.) § On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. 227

With this view, I earnestly solicit any of the readers of this Catalogue,
(who may have the opportunity and inclination), to forward me
any observations they may make, and let them not deem the small-
est scrap of information too trifling to send. I would more parti-
cularly request further “intelligence regarding the nidification of the
Indian birds, of which so little is known, their various notes, food, and
manner of feeding, times of appearance and disappearance of migra-
tory species, names in any of the native languages, and any tales,
proverbs or superstitious ideas the natives may have concerning them.
There are also a few desiderata which I shall here enumerate, and any
individuals who may have it in their power to give any information
regarding them, will receive my best thanks.

No 6.—Specimen of the large Fishing Eagle of the Chilka lake, which
I suspect may be the Hal. ichthyetus, No. 8 of the Cat.

No. 34.—Specimen and descriptions of the Besra.

Specimen and description of the Kandesrah of Indian Falconry, a
species of Sparrow-hawk, I suspect, nearly allied to the Besra.

Specimen or description of the Gorbesrah which I suspect is the
same as my No. 36, a species of Goshawk, differing in its smaller size
from the Baz or true Goshawk.

No. 268. bis.—Whether the Ortygis Taigoor, of Sykes, is a distinct
species, or the young bird of the O. pugnaz. 7

No. 282.—Any information regarding the Black Florikin, its time of
appearance in different districts, at what season it is seenin a state of
change, &c. &c. &c.

Il.—On the General Application of Low Steam Power to all Vessels,
instead of Sails.

It is very surprising that though so much has been done in applying
Steam Power to move vessels at high speeds for the conveyance of pas-
sengers, it does not appear that as yet, any considerable trials have been
made of it, for the conveyance of merchandize at moderate rates. The
quantity of fuel and power of engine requisite to propel a ship at high
speeds is so-great, that for a voyage of any considerable length, the ves-
sel is almost taken up with them, leaving so little room for merchandize
that it will not answer, except principally employed in the transport of
passengers, But this is no reason that it should not answer to use

228 On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. [Ocr:

steam for the transport of merchandize at low rates, and the subject is

well worthy of investigation. The question is, whether merchandize

can be transported at the raée it is at present conveyed by sailing vessels, .
cheaper or safer by steam ; or whether it can be conveyed at the same

cost as in sailing vessels, but quicker by steam. —

It seems strange to conclude, that, because it will not answer to use
steam for the common purposes of commerce at high speeds, therefore
it will not be advisable to use it at moderate rates. On land, horses
are used at high speeds for passengers, and at low rates for goods, and
on examination it may be found to be just the same with Steam Power
at sea. The two cases are in effect precisely similar; in moving land
conveyances the resistance at higher speeds does not increase, but animal
power rapidly diminishes, which is the cause of the rapid increase of
cost. In steam vessels, there is indeed no less of power at higher speeds,
but the resistance to a vessel moving through the water rapidly increases,
and hence the effect is the same as in land conveyance ; viz. a rapid in-«
crease of expence. In the one case, there is no increase of resistance,
but a decrease of power as the speed increases; in the other there is no
decrease of power, but there isan increase of resistance. Hence upon
the first glance at the subject, it would appear probable that asit is found
to answer on shore to use horses for passengers at high speeds and for
goods at low ones, so it may be found in the case of steam afloat.

The best way of attempting to arrive at a sound conclusion in this
case, is, to compare the actual cost of the two modes from the data we
have, and then to consider what further important points there are in
the matter, which it is not so easy to make subjects of calculation.

But it may be well first to consider the leading principles, which
affect the motion of vessels through water. It is well ascertained that
up to about 8 knots, an hour, the resistance of water to vessels increases
more rapidly than in the proportion of the square of the velocity ;
that is, with a double velocity resistance is more than four times
as great, with a treble velocity more than 9 times as great and
so on. Hence to move a vessel a certain distance, it takes
more than four times as much fuel and more than four times the
power of engine to do it at a double speed, and more than 9 times as
much fuel and steam power, to do it at three times the rate. This
appears to hold good up to a certain speed, about 8 knots an hour, after
that the resistance does not increase quite so rapidly, but still in rather
a greater proportion than the velocity. Hence if a vessel can carry suf-
ficient fuel to go 4000 miles at the rate of ten knots she can carry
enough to go about 12,000 at 5 knots, and more than 50,000 miles at 24
knots. But further, asin going at the double speed the engine must

1840.] On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. 229

not only overcome more than a proportional resistance, but also do it
in half the time, the actual power of engine employed for 10 knots
speed must in fact be about 6 times the power of that required for 5
knots or about 10 times, what is necessary for 4 knots, though it will only
be in action half and two-fifths the time respectively, in accomplishing
the same distance.

Hence if a vessel of 400 tons requited at. 10 knots an hour an engine
of 180 horse power, and 50 tons of coal per 1000 miles, she would at 5
knots an hour require an engine of 30 horse power, and 84 tons of coal
for that distance ; and at 4 knots, an engine of 18 horse power and 5d tons
of coal for the same. ‘This has been proved by experiments in many
ways, to be about the proportionate power required for the speed.

And with respect to the effect of the size of the vessel, it is also well
known that the resistance to a large vessel is less in proportion than to a
small one, that is, if a vessel for instance of 1600 tons, required an
engine of 400 horse power fcr any given speed, or one horse power
to every 4 tons, a vessel of } that size, or 200 tons, would re-
quire double that proportion, or 100 horse power, being 1 horse power to
every 2 tons; the cause of this is obvious, that the body of water
to be removed by any vessel is in proportion to the breadth and
depth multiplied together, but her capacity is in proportion to the
breadth, depth and length multiplied together. Thus a vessel of double
dimensions will displace four times as much water in moving, and conse-
quently meet with four times the resistance, but her capacity will be
increased 8 fold, so that while she carries 8 times as much cargo, she
only meets with 4 times as much resistance, and consequently requires
in proportion to her tonnage, only half as much power. It is on this
sround, that large vessels are found to answer better as steamers than
small ones, and it was because this principle was forgotten, that it
was so confidently asserted, that in the present state of the knowledge
of steam navigation, a vessel could not carry fuel enough to cross the
Atlantic, the calculations being made from small vessels without allow-
ing for this consequence of an increased size.

Hence we find that in steam navigation, the same vessel requires for
a double speed more than double the quantity of fuel, and about six
times as powerful an engine to go a certain distunce. ‘The same vessel to
go for a certain time at a double speed, requires about six times the
quantity of fuel, and six times the power of engine, but she will go in
that time double the distance. Fora given speed, a vessel of eight times
the tonnage as another, will only require four times as much fuel, and
four times as great a power of engine.

230 On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. (Ocr.

These points are so well known and have been so often ascertain-
ed practically, that it is not necessary to attempt the proof of them
here.

The point that remains is simply to estimate from these principles
and from the known cost of the various items in sailing and steaming,
which would be cheapest at different rates of speed, to work a vessel by
sails or by steam.

For this purpose the actual cost of working a vessel of 380 tons,
new measurement, in the Indian seas for near two years may be taken,
as a subject for comparison.

EXPENCES OF A SAILING VESSEL.

First class vessel of 380 tons new measurement, above an average

sailer, and working well, carrying 400 tons of a mixed cargo.

COST.
allies Scots ee ee Sibi -a 5's o c'asw wei 10 Ca oieta alae OO Dicky
Fitting for sea in every respect..... bn caper abaias . sisbol sae selena, OO
Total cost...... 6000 £
EXPENCES.

Insurance. at 6 per CeNt ss siscencedevecseerventesuia skis sleeiee sama OUO
@ommander picedwis etieaes dcneveinieie ladon sas ena eee OO

Let, Officers > cs, o wlaidintaiinldies a Giewwyne sty oe sive dicts) foe peat
DG iOS, iacain'diai te sieeve wrnic’c «ies «.vialoa eis clein ejetae emia 72
4 Sucunnies (helmsmen) .....ccecssecescccercssssuacee 120
Syrang and 2 tindals.......ser....-. Be ci eee 66
CDila, ICALPENLEL:. «10:00:00 ole = 0 erm 5 ote wie adecluseeeee Calan seen 48
Butler and boy....+2 soccer vcsccesesceeesvees Bie civ eSair eeeeen Detainee 24
De LASCAES ste ciateie wisn apie ink wo) en's oh » aieleia'n 3a ceieta a iemene sey
Victualling 38 persons............ wae es oneqaptice 2g ee ele eam Ae
Renewing sails........... wom c.steiate, = a <\etalelpketats be 6 wine aeieee’s 80

Do. BAUS oven one Scleisan an teiademer tana eeaeeaee Bjevoys eaciemeieletactes 40
Repairing hull, 23 per cent. - (including eee Ne stale 90
Sundries, patnt, (Gey... <0. « enanasemscutawnties -fak es ksi eee 50
Port charges... ..... ees Sci tee hee eae Skee ee ene aoe wearer wn. : 200
Replacing hull, 3 per cent............ ose gelicemeanise tse windeecterr OS
Stead | 40. DIVE, c. scacnbacwctis « o++ sas seseaevasccusiacp ieee eee 30

Total expences per annum.........2151 £

——

1840.] On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. 231

The actual distance run by above vessel measuring the nearest line
from port to port was 26,500 miles, in 23 months, or 13,800 miles per
annum ; and the number of days actually under way was 303, giving 88
miles distance per day, or 33 knots per hour, for the average of a good
sailing vessel in the Indian seas, allowing only the real distance between
the ports, which is done in order to compare her distances with those of

a@ steamer.

EXPENCE OF STEAMING.
__ Vessel of the same capacity, viz. measuring 380 tons, and capable
of carrying 400 tons of a mixed cargo, but built of course upon the
model of a steam vessel, that is with greater length and less draught
of water, propelled by a 30 horse engine.

COST.

SE ee See oat oat bss aptaeewccharscees cotsesameevesscter ss 3,400
SP ITGESGCCMOING, QCy. ccocscacses acscsercacre, ocreaccesemss «cee 1,200
Pineligrs anid cabless. 22... Soc) 5.- cies es eek “A: Sin) 00
Set of lug sails and moveable masts, in case of accidents... 200

Total Cost. «te. .esesjs asp: UO
Expences. £

iviemeanee atid? Per Cent... Howe cee cee ts eseeesectses. Gat
SEINAUIACT 0 cicete noe we oes ey oes ess Vi tulelee cee eran. 360
EROMEE ee eS. ceceaitices cetsclsadee Gav bs daeecct esas 800
POP IOR eco cinec Lec e ess OBE GOO as BIAS CS AONE 5. 120
MMMMCIEE EME A EE gS Lydia, coh oo g bea wse/da s AHERCR rele w eee calee ce 120

DELS chee ae IR ee RI A Oe Re 72
1 Syrang, 1 tindal, 10 lascars.......sseseecs sececcceersees 168
RMIEGALDORECT so.oc coerce oo. ec vesses ewe cesesctste) Gece ee 48
MOM RAISON ION ciao cicig dn seine dents, eapein Oya, 00. 08 a nip-eait.er eoees s 24
Hired labour in port in consequence of the small crew. ....... 100
PEM AUIOA 2) PELSOMS. 250 6 .c.cce woe vinvic wos ccovnesccnene oe a's ae 24
Frepaiine full 2 per CeMmt.. .....csosrovce- vaseroeresresssceocece | LOB
Renewing engine 9 per Cent. ..oc cies cccseseseeescremecees 108
Repairs of engine 5 per cent........... wyjcd ss oven sieeneneea aa 60
Oil. eet tae ee BSB ae igs vi sherals 12

Steaming 15,100 miles at 108 per day, at 8-Ibs of coals per horse

232 On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. [Ocr.

power, per hour, 350 tons at 16 shillings......-..22. .... 280

Total expence per annum. .... 2380
Deduct an account of 800£ less capital than in the case of the
sailing vessel, int. at 4 per Celt... cceecseeecaecsodeceess | UD

Total expense of steaming 15,100 miles....... 2848

Do. of 13,800 miles, the distance run by the sailing vessel ina
WER Oe aes anos tesg vee | 1 See eee 2 lane eine SD ae

Expenses of sailing vessel same distance. .....s.e« Seoree) ONOWe

That is by the above estimate, the expences of working the vessel by
steam and by sails is precisely the same. It remains to calculate the loss
of tonnage and consequently of freight that would be the consequence of
carrying the engine and fuel.

The average length of voyage made by the above vessel was 1800
miles each ; supposing the steamer to carry on an average, coal for 2400
miles, or 23 days, she would require, of coals.... ......+-«-. 58 tons.;

Wreienht of Engine 56a. 050- .. e225 us, a0 ensues) cape e eee eae 20 tons.

Lotal, sane seen
But as she would require scarcely any space for sails, and the various
stores of a sailing ship, we may deduct on that account, especially as
her upper deck will be quite clear........ ste: nacmeeeaeeae = Tagan 40

Actual loss of feight caused by engine......... 38 tons.

Further, as the sailing vessel would not be full every voyage, but pre-
bably be at least 38 tons deficient in an average of her voyages, the
steamer would in effect suffer no loss compared with the sailing vessel
in carrying her engine and fuel.

It is next necessary to ascertain what would be the comparative speed
on the two systems ; it has been before shown that the speed of the
sailing vessel averaged 33 miles per hour, and it must be remember-
ed that this vessel averaged considerably above merchant vessels in
general. The power of steam allowed is 30 horse for a vessel of 380
tons new measurement, which would be sufficient to propel her at 5
knots per hour, in smooth water and calm weather ; she would then go

seat fale’

1840.] On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. 233

6 with a strong leading wind and following sea (without sails), and 3
against a strong head wind; and incase of a gale of wind she would
easily go a head 2 knots keeping the sea on her bow. Her average then
in the Indian seas could not be reckoned at less than 43 knots or 108
miles per day, while a fast sailing vessel only averaged 82 knots, the
speed of the steamer would therefore be greater by 1, or she would
perform a voyage in 48 days, which the sailing vessel would not perform
~ in less than 60 days. The steamer, it is to be observed, carries no stand-
ing masts or rigging whatever, but merely 3 light masts with lug sails
which she can set up in case of accidents. Whether it might be worth
while to use those sails regularly in the trades or in any leading winds,
is a subject for further calculation.

For the safety of the two modes, there can be no room for doubt that
the steamer having no masts and sails, would be free from most of the
dangers to which sailing vessels are exposed ; she would in fact be always
in that state to which sailing vessels are obliged to reduce themselves
when they have no alternative, in order to avoid destruction, viz. by
cutting away their masts.

The conclusion therefore is, that it would be quite as cheap to work a
merchantman by steam at 43 knots per hour, as by sails at 33 knots in
yoyages of moderate length, that is not exceeding on the average 2,400
miles, or varying from 1,000 to 4,000 miles without taking in coal, and
that it would be far safer.

But in the above comparison, ordinary voyages only are supposed.

To show more strongly the effect of steam power, we may take the
case of a voyage in which the vessel was delayed by accidents, such as
frequently occur to sailing vessels ; this vessellately sailed from Singa-
poor to Madras; on her passage she lost one or two of her masts ina
white squall, and was obliged to put back into Penang ; and on her mak-
ing Madras, she encountered so strong acurrent that she was carried to
_lee-ward of her port ; and in consequence she was 80 days in completing
her voyage.

Comparison of profits of a steamer with the Ship
poor to Madras.

from Singa-

aime occupied in voyage ............. eeebilewhwehe se) SOAS
Add for loading and discharging......... dlaisig Mie 'afah We k/e a7) tO)

Total time of voyage...sose+ see eeeee- 90 days

234 On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. [Ocr.

Total expence of such a vessel per annum........2151£

Do. for 3 MODthS.......ccsccnseee coves OO
Actual receipts of the same vessel...... ecesces 100

no ees

INGE PLOLES. caicais css: ssclticw's ess onsvenes Meta nenn tae eed

Do.. per annum s....42.i ego omer

whieh upon..6,000E is 2: ws) ueavisidieh wie ance meee in eee tae
Calculation for steamer.
Expences (inclusive of coal)—per annum............ 2,100£

Do. for 3 months 77s ueieeee oe ee ce

Fue.
Miles.
Madras to Penang.... 02... v6 e's ov A Oe
Penang to Madras (in part) .....<«-- 1,000
Madras to Penang. si..25i.4)..5.04000 een oO

een we

Coal for miles. ....... vesecde secre seo 0,000 atte aeuane

for 100 miles, 82 tons at 17 Rupees...... se.» pple erties Ca,
Penang to Singapoor (4 times)..........1,500 miles
Penang towards Madras.........++++ pe cvaess OO

W ood for . ¢ o/.. ..0neki 4 cece eres deeaeaee nea les OO nes
at 5 tons, per 110 miles, 80 tons at 2 Rs. Serene, BG

Total expences for 3 months.,o.... ese. 6814

The steamer has a 30 horse engine with which she averages 44
knots, which she would do with ease, as she will encounter no head sea,
a great part of the voyage will be in perfectly smooth water, and there
will be very little head wind. She takes in at Madras coal
to work her to Penang, 1,300 miles, and also to work her part
of the way back, viz. 1,000 miles, in all 2,300 miles at 100 miles
for 24 tons, making 53 tons. At Penang she deposits coal for 1,000
miles, taking in wood both there and at Singapoor and Malacca if neces-
sary, for the Straits and also for the first 300 miles out of Penang to-
wards Madras. The wood is taken on deck, and does not interfere with
the tonnage. |

1840.] On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. 235

Tonnage taken up by fuel and engine.

Tons

From Madras; coal ....... scafaholeite ae 53
BNFING 125-2000 : weed awe Wied! welsuieness 20
73

Towards Madras ; coal

Engine...... @vse 98e8000090980098 00 @020°0900020080096' ©6050 500e@ 9080908 20

43
Average...... © © 8 @050000080 20 2 o 80 e202 e200080 MR ware COS 53

Deduct on account of tonnage saved in stowage of sails
and, stores.... ...0. A oe Pecan me 10)

oe eer2seen see + VREB 208000

Net MOSSE Ris coches s®0@0@0 000003 2#00900089088 080 18 tons

Tonnage FREOETS RENEE Ceo i owoms Secu aswer our cee ele Ghoveds 400

Available for freight.......s00« SH Per teas fos Sesame Ome Gowte 382 tons

As she would perform the voyage of 1,660 miles in 15 days, and allowe-
ing 10 for loading and discharging, she would in 90 days perform 34
voyages, and allowing her to carry 360 tons each time.

Receipts. £
So0toucvor dreicht at 20 Rupees: . 2... oc... cccceccees

720
Add profit on 2 passengers each trip.........0. ceeeess es ceceese 40
Receipts... cee eesees sla plelafelela ©(/cegaee.'c caelve sas ereseese 000
Or for 34 voyages..... Senses vaste oe tenes seceseessessees 2060

Total receipts in 3 months........

seveseccccesces 2000
DIEGUCE-EXPENCES:. Visas sasccdeeces os 5

SEE os seco eo 680

|

INGE Profitse vcccidesseccecssetoces TOSO

==

Or per annum... ....ss0.000.. 7920

Which upon an outlay of 5200 £ is 130 per cent per annum.

ee eT!

236 On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. [Ocr.

The above remarks and calculations refer chiefly to a vessel worked
with a very small power of engine, viz. 1 horse to 13 tons, in a vessel
of 880 tons; it should now be considered what would be the effect of
working with rather a higher power, though still one far short of that
of the present passenger steamers.

STEAMER OF 880 TONS, WITH A 50 HORSE ENGINE. |

COST.

Poll ca oke Shiccoeenewren tek waccaneae ee cee
00 Horse -eRGING we. dacs vicc.cc 3c ee cvie sis settee Cs Reese meOul

Anchors and. cables. iss...) veces as Sueuszce cite vate ene Oe ;
Masts and sails (3 logs) c2c0d5: .ee< vcs o> eee ammiiest <--> 200

Total costs......... £6000

EXPENCES.

Insurance at 43 percent... ... cc -.cteqsennssusticie epteeeeep meee naT
Commander... ...ccc..ccscccssses acase.cercoss Oe ann eee ce OU
Officer... i. sce eco nanos pus 'e eve ap vies ues eee ee
ist Engineers.) ...250..2:5- 6.2 hes wisi ete as bees ease ee eee ae

Darl G0; yh5.5s aoe ajceeeeie spa cuaemtoce oS y.ccapesecupeeeeewes! 7 Leo
ATMOUrer. 2. oo. <0ckc me © alee [sm eee cepa amaceion pte eee a AO
Carpenter ......000..sccscsscsccccscessscoscseennenseccsescssccsscsess 48
4 Speunnies A. os~- eedsensuct vousee eaawaweecicdtetesenaene sla diuls Rae Ueenina 120 .

1 Syrang, 1 tindal, 10 lascars........00..22ceecceresrccessecsessrere 168
G StOkers oss ...ecveeesecapasseuhen sescsce > site ae teet ae oease ee mamen amma
Batler and boy . 2... ..cteawes v oe wie + 4s. es ose eee ee
Wictualling 19 persoms.. 2 2. 2.5.55 come ca innnivniei memes eee
Hired labourer in port dase s/s. osiecizemicn Seen ee ie nloineiets ise ui OO
Repairing hull 2 per cent... ....seseos cocae essciees

Sundries, paint, KC... ce. ceccee cvcccccsccccs fe wlivile site eeeceers 530
Replacing hull 3 per cent...... Se seewercrecss sores ceeee 108
do. engine 9 per cent...... Seceside as So. eee -* 180

Repairs of do. 5 per cent e2eeve ereoes esoeseseeees issearneees 100
sesee 20

On ge sere oes sees Seavetecseseeevnersee eeese est epeneess @eeee

2376
Coal 26,500 miles at 132 miles per day or 240 days, in 194 |

1840.] On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. 237

months, 870 tons, or 500 tons per annum at 16 S.......,.6. 400

Total cost per annum ... ..cceasees 2776 £
But as the sailing vessel takes 303 days to run that distance,
while the steamer would take only 204, there would be 99
days saved out of the 23 months occupied by the former in
her voyages ; and while the former run 13,800 miles in the
year, the latter would run 16,200 in that time ; hence

E
Proportional expence of steaming 13,800 miles......... eicie see ooOO
Expence of sailing do. AIS) BELONG? hela (ois ale ionsss vie wielt ahead
Do. of steaming above sailing........... ich epneeerem ae yn tee 1K)

That is; the expence of working a vessel of 380 tons, with a sieam
power of one horse to 74 tons, would exceed that of sailing the same
distance, or of steaming with a power of 1 horse to 13 tons, by £210 in
13,800 miles or by about ;th.

Thus it appears that there isa certain speed at which steam vessels

_ean be worked as cheaply as sailing vessels, but at alittle higher speed,
the steam power is more expensive.
The loss of freight in consequence of the space occupied by the coals
and engine, must next be calculated.

Tons

Coal for 2,400 miles as before, being 18 days at 44 tons per day. 76
0 2 vbe a ndonbnagdée: Go0bSHdd 3 ciady cial Rect 1 ABR ais AH 30
UCLA EONS nec rtnie cles sideis con pecsas ies Be 106

MOSS Of tonnage. 2... cees «ss ed GRR os.
But as the sailing vessel would be deficient of freight on an
average at least 30 tons, the actual loss of freight would

Peeeest Fr OGBG* oevse 36

Allowing for this, the cost of conveying 350 tons of freightin £
me steamer WOuld De .50605 sores nese) verbwewce os sscseee 2000
Pema e SOLING VESSEL. |. ols ales, off ctuineaininia inte naiaienienties, aul O

ocean oe

238 On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. [Ocr. ’

Expence of steaming at this speed above that of sailing...... £450

In the above calculation, the steamer is supposed to average 132 miles
per day, or 53 knots per hour. The speed of a vessel of 380 tons,
with a 50 horse engine in smooth water, would be about 6 knots, 4
against a strong head wind and sea, and 7 with a fair wind and follow-
ing sea (without masts and sails) her average would be at least 54 knots,
This is exactly half as much again as the average of the above fast sail-
ing vessel. According to this the voyages of the steamer, would be per-
formed in two-thirds ofthe time required by the sailing vessel, but in
reality they would probably take considerably less than that.

Thus it appears, that to work a vessel with sucha power of steam as
would ensure the voyages being performed in two-thirds of the time of
a sailing vessel, it would cost one-fifth more; and there can scarcely be
a doubt that the other advantages of steam, would far more than com-
pensate for this increase of expence ; or we come to the conclusion ;

That it would answer as well to work a vessel by steam at an average
rate of 53 knots, as by sails at 53 knots, measuring the distances on the
nearest line from port te port, supposing that the average length of her
voyages without taking in coal, did not exceed 2,400 miles, or that they
varied from 1,000 to-4,000 miles, and hence that by the use of steam with-
out any masts or sails, commerce might be carried on in most parts of the ~
world at a speed exceeding by one-half that ordinarily attained at pre-
sent by sailing vessels, without any increase of expence, and with much
greater safety.

If a higher speed than this is required, it must evidently be purchased
at a rapidly increasing cost, though this might answer in particular lines
of trade, and especially where there was a considerable portion of pas-
sengers. And itis evident, that were this system extensively introduced,
the carriage of passengers would fornia much more considerable item of %
traffic ; for the safety, certainty, comfort and speed of this mode, would in-
crease the number of travellers by sea probably four-fold. The loss of time
and uncertainty of passages in sailing vessels, besides their discomforts,
make it almost impracticable for men much occupied, to move from one
port to another, and they can only do it in very urgent cases. Powerful
steamers working at ten knots, would of course be still more effectual,
but first, they could not afford to carry passengers, but ata high rate
of payment, and secondly, they are not likely at present to be established 4
except on some main lines of intercourse. At the same time, sucha :

1840.] On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. 239

means of proceeding at a high speed along a few main lines, would
greatly increase the number of passengers on the subordinate ones.

In all that has been said hitherto, it is supposed that the vessel has
no standing masts or rigging and never uses sails. She has three small
masts on board to be set up on the deck, with temporary rigging on
which can be set three lug sails containing in all about 4 of the full
spread of canvass for a ship of her tonnage; these are merely kept in
case of an accident which deprives the vessel of the use of her steam
power.

‘Whether it would be advisable to use these sails occasionally when
there was a steady leading wind is a separate question, which may now
be considered.

The effect of a spread of canvass equal to 3 of that of a ship under
full sails, would be 4 of her full speed, that is if under full sail she went
8 knots, with a leading wind, she would run 6 knots with 3 of that quan-
tity of canvass when the wind is on the beam, or quarter, but with the
wind nearly aft, it would make a less difference than that. Further as
she would be able to carry such low and small sails, without any weight
of masts aad yards above them, in a much heavier breeze than a sailing
ship could carry full sail, the average difference of rate in the two cases
would be much less than 5 to 8. ‘Thereisa third point which would

‘still further reduce this difference, viz. that as such a vessel would never
have to beat or carry a heavy press of sail, she would of course be
built on the model of a steamer, that is with a light draft of water, and
great length, and consequently would with a leading wind require less
sail than such as are built on the model of a sailing vessel, to give her
the same speed. Allowing for these three considerations, the average
speed of such a vessel with a leading wind could not be taken at less
than 2 of that ofa full rigged ship. Hence ifa sailing vessel averaged 7
knots while running down a trade, the speed of the steamer from her
sails, and without using her engine, would be 5i knots and she might
therefore put out her fires in such circumstances, without going below
her average speed more than j knot, if the vessel of 380 tons has a 50
horse engine ; and with a gain of 2 knot if she has only a 30 horse

engine. Or she might use both steam and sails. In such cases, if she
could run 52 knots by wind only, and 54 knots by her engine alone, she
would have a speed of at least 74 knots, if she used both together.

That is, such a vessel with a 50 horse engine would by the additional

use of her sails run at least two knots above her average, and at least
one knot more than she would go with her engine anda strong wind
: “nearly aft and a following sea, but without sails. And such a vessel

240 On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. [Ocr.

with a 30 horse engine would run at least 7 knots an hour, or 23 above
her average, and one knot more than she would go under the most
favourable circumstances without sails. Supposing then that such vessels
used light sails occasionally, such as when running with a trade or
monsoon on or abaft her beam, the calculation for her would be as
follows ;

STEAMER OF 380 TONS WITH 30 HORSE ENGINE.

£
Expences as before ................ wae wiecdravs vey CS) ata A eoetie an eRe
Renewing and repairing sails per ANNUM... 2. .sspesenee soveeees 60
2110

Coal for steaming 15,800 miles at 120 miles per day, 132
days at 8 lbs. per horse power per hour, 340 tons at 168.. 270

Total expence of steaming 15,800 miles ..... seb eldt wee csetens 2900
Do, do. 13;800 miles: .25\caecvs 1s woneies eeUDO
Do. do-of sailing do...cy6245 Sya-s0, sane neon ess 2100

Difference in favour of steaming. ......0csccesters oes os see 70 £

The speed of such a vessel would be 3 knots against a head sea and
wind, 5 knots in smooth water and calm weather, and 7 using her sails
with a trade of average strength; her average could not be less than 9
knots, while the sailing vessel averages only 33 knots; or the steamer
would perform her voyages in three-fourths of the time of the sailing
vessel. The sailing vessel was 303 days at sea out of 23 months, run-
ning a distance of 26,500 miles ; the steamer would in this case accom-
plish that distance in 220 days, and consequently allowing the same time
in port for both vessels, she would perform the same work in a little
more than 20 months, or at the rate of 15,800 miles per annum ; for
this, allowance has been made in the above calculation.

Hence it appears that a vessel of 380 tons, worked by an engine of
50 horse power, fitted with movable masts and 3 lug sails to be used
when there is a steady leading wind, would be worked cheaper at an
average speed of 5 knots than a sailing vessel at 33 knots ; that is, she
would at less expence perform her voyages in 3 of the time of a sailing
vessel,

Or ifsuch a vessel with a leading wind, made use of wind only, she

|

1840.] On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. 241

would on an average of voyages save about 4 of her fuel, and hence she
could run 6,000 miles with the same fuel, as she would require for 4,000
miles if she made no use of her sails, and as her speed in that case
would be 3 against wind and sea, 5 in calms, and 53 on an average, using
her sails only ; her total average would be about 43 miles or one-fourth
more than that ofa sailing vessel. ‘That is

A vessel of 380 tons, with a 30 horse engine and fitted with moveable
masts and light sails to be used inleading winds, without steaming at
such times, cou!d be worked as cheaply as a sailing vessel, in voyages
of from 1,000 to 7,000 miles without taking in coals, at 4 speed } greater,
or she would in her voyages save one day in 4.

The effect of occasional] use of sails in such a vessel, with a 59 horse
engine, may next be examined.

STEAMER OF 380 TONS WITH ENGINE OF 50 HORSE POWER, using light
sails occasionally.
£
expences as before, omitting coals... . 1... onceusscrsseee cesses 2000
Be MIes alls, PCr AMUN, 6. rc6....+0 aoseeese'sis ec ceS¥ased esse) ee) 400

x 2436

Coal for 16,800 miles at 150 miles per day at 8 Ibs. per horse
power-per hour, 480 tons at 168.60. wececacns eocscersee OO4

Total expense of steaming 16,800 miles. ,.....+.004 2820

Do. of COWES SOUR Ute torneo ose oe, Ween: 12520
Mor OL Saliaet COs or. .as beac ce ToeSececseasee 2150

Excess of expense of steaming... ..........- Svaeieon 1d.

The speed of this vessel would be 4 knots against a head wind and
sea, 6 knots in smooth water and 73 using her sails also ; taking her
average at 61 knots, she would perform her voyages in 2 of the time of
the sailing vessel. She would have performed the distance run by the
latter, viz. 26,500 miles in 177 days, instead of 303, saving 4 months
out of 23, the whole time occupied by the sailing vessel, and running in
the year 16,800 miles. Allowing the steamer to lose as before calculated
+, of her freight, the proportional expence for the same amount of tonnage
would be

242 On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. LOcr.

£
Expence of working steamer as ADOVEscessse ee eeceesceceteeeess O20
Add for loss of tonnage sree Pe ee MeGeoeteoees C8 ec Gee oo OFF THCERHOTS 220
2540
Expence of sailing vessel.... ss... ccsssessccssssccsscevesconccssees D100
Net increase.of expence in steaming... i: . sun's casossor bueetee eeoUO
ornot +

Hence it appears that at an increased expence of less than 1, a loss
which there can be little doubt would be far more than compensated by
the additional passengers, and other advantages hereafter enumerated,
vessels could by this means be worked at a speed increased from 32
knots to 63 or in the proportion of 3 to 5, ora voyage which now takes
GO days would be performed in 36. That is

That a vessel of 380 tons, with a 50 horse engine, and using light
sails in strong leading winds, would be worked as profitably at 150 miles
a day, as a Sailing vessel at 88 miles per day, or she would perform her
voyages in 3 of the time of a sailing vessel with far greater safety, cer-~
tainty and comfort to all on board ; voyages ranging from 1000 to 4000
miles without taking in coal.

The above calculations are made from the actual expences and voyages
of a fast sailing vessel, very profitably employed in the Indian seas. She
can take in coal at Calcutta, Madras, Bombay, Singapoor and Sydney,
and as she can obtain no freight on the return voyage from Sydney, she
could bring back a full cargo of coal, and deposit part of what she does
not use at P. Essington or King George’s Sound, according as she returns
by Torres Straits or C. Lewin, and part at Anjer, Singapoor or any
convenient port, as may best suit her. Or she could have coal
brought up by the numerous vessels sailing in ballast from Sydney
for India, at a moderate cost. Witha depot of coal at P. Essington,
King George’s Sound and Anjer, she would never have to steam more
than about 2000 miles without taking in coal, and the average distance

without a fresh supply would not exceed 1800, while the calculations —

allow an average of 2400 miles.

_ It must also be remembered that the vessel used for comparison was
undoubtedly much above an average sailer, so that the gain of speed and
time by the use of steam would be certainly on an average greater than
the calculation given.

|
4
;

1840.] On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. 248

We may now take anew case for examination, and that the compari-
son may be as complete as possible, the case of a vessel employed to
carry coal, and without passengers, on as long a voyage as it can be
necessary to carry coal, may be investigated. This must be consi-
dered an extreme case, for ifit will answer to carry coal on along voyage
by a steamer, there can be no doubt that it will answer for any thing else.

Vessels are sent from Llanelly in Wales, to Bombay with coal for the
steamers there. ‘They are quickly loaded, and get the coal at about 7s.
a ton, and receive from 35 to 40s. freight for it. A vessel making an
average voyage fully loaded with coal, wili perform the passage in 120
days, and complete her trip, so as to be ready to receive another cargo
in about 5 months.

EXPENCE OF A SAILING VESSEL oF 600 Tons, taking out 900 tons of coal.

Cost of hull,.., @esvi eevee esoee @2H8057%9 © +‘ Fee Beeeasesasscse 6000
RRR BSC vcs core ciniiate cls ceees cccaossesecsnassc%ecese+ eis eee OOUO

TOtAM COSE.«ccc.c paecc ans ease ec eo OUU

EXPENCES.
£
Ree anee, 2645, PET CONE Ni sc lawniasistocs cee (is veces seve ss .. 480
ea eee Oe a yae cicis ci Vnin bo wie pecs voces sachet scasaacaa cies ees LAO
4 OMRETS,..< «3 oo CRASS C8 Geet 2098 66% ge BEG OteeEE so oo FOOSRS 102

EERE a PCOOK OO oe a eicis. o.ce. bees iiicielmas cess’ ovis ec aie Giese Te
ORB 5. wore eolyo 5's, oheuaicceaie ese eoaesbhane Maaoeh cables vdeccdsdesse 6-900
SEE MMM E SS OTMCETS 2. 6.6.06 ee.c ono loc sie Canes o10'e cides dee ceedlene aOO

ee eandsiat Is) per day >. cinsts. oe sie’ «0 clejcclowseretesde OD

BRM VRS IALS oe 010.2 saicninoaicidnsae'nea.josiesasdajeseirtededeas Ahead 50
Rope eeeceser20ee20e0 © OSB EH Fl CHFHLOROEDEES 5 Deo eee HOE HOE Coxe HeO Heo eEaRDE 40
Spars, coe aeosoeee2e80 @@eeaeas @2 eoeeeeepeeee@anacneeeeaeeseeseees 30

ine Nes ee ey eet. 058-2 cie's |e siareie € vs «64° wpbihe cidecbae ¥'ele #0 —O
Beep esac Miilis per Cent... «2 sicise veers vst voided Haase Seah BOO
Replacing hull 33 per cent............. oe cee ve comecicesese’ 210
BRON ATSICS 9 o'eui s/t c's mn.a'e p p's a'siaie acon abe saccucine, aavsider mn aeO

3202

244 On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. [Oct.

STEEN Oo Coe eg eee aaa eeotsceospeeceoaee sec e Seg eeesseoaseessnes 40

Gist ee

Total per annum...e.e...... « $242

Do; for 5 months ....... 0.1350 £

Steamer of 600 tons.

£
EFT eile a's 's os adie “en win ov bogs vaneunet er, Ue G cicin ace is oleate ae
Engine 30 Fy. Poa. 5 asass-nccckaeies ose) aed tee ieenete eens ear mee
Masts and sails... ssi crates cee tnccte seanecoeue ae Bee epee ti SPE AS. 280
Anchors and cables..cscu.. . . . .vs0'sc os sss wunceecceeeegeminens « OOD

Total cost...... £7780

EXPENCES.

Commander and. offiers..c.c..00.. see ae aes ered Soeehew ees meneenis sted Doves
Engineer. cau aces a wiawk we. ouiceciendeeetcieae tu lnweiaacieeetaletenaeente sakes
Armourer ( capable of anni chaiee of annie pennies 6 Pagina mes
SE MStOKCY Ss vive cons aduidd vou awh ee bre ounces eons eae tae
ArPCNter 5... sea ratnudens canaebasees on ieee cade dtauaie eee ee OM
PREWATE ANd COOK «isc cs vw Seiden: Dues ae er cone ee venieetecitos th ae
ROS oe Sos ews caecebeats wia'h. 0p octbeaccdeah, eee en as CD
Wietualline Sas officers ..v2s 02 see's), oas's 0} samsaeed scouaeeneeereeees 225

Ch reaper: bars ay Cea wi atedwhelerewiok ys sraniche'é Siw a oe donee ea dieecs’ COO
Renewing sails ald ropes....sev...ss0nweversas ove wdeis as SR a et EO
ab anid pitches noe oo occ o, oa snness os ieontavig eens soe e Sa eee eae
Repairing hull 23 per cent.......... seeeee « dice aens Mevictabiess 150
Replacing hull 33 per cent... 2.000 cescew se seins ee ee

Repairing engine D Per, CNL sss. .secevive'vwwrn veveve wale sat be nae e
Replacing do. . 10 per Cent......000 vasseeees ei wtemudstsseme ee — 196
Insurance 3} per CeNt...0ccecere ovee ene: ovdsesevs “vvecuscussbeaece B00
Port charles. .assescs cveddeusedssscculleceh chun pee =aED

1840.] On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. 245

Sundries eeece SESS SS FCB S Hi SHFESSSFSH CFE FE ROB RSE DEEEEE ees? ee e808 C8 40

Expences per annum,.........£2610

Do. for 4 months and 5 days .......905 £

Coal for 95 days, at 8-lbs. per horse power per hour, 23 tons
per day at 7s... ..- eeepesae Sale as wescalces ipescanscsessd) Ba

Total expence for 640 tons 11,000 miles.....988 £

Do. DOAN per LONE seed der tnss ro eh ee
Expence by sailing vessel 900 tons...........1350
Wi rret) PECE WOlDaG Geiss ,. siesisstecrse is el OK

That is the expence of steaming would exceed that of sailing by Is. 6d.
per ton carried, but 25 days would be saved in the voyages.

PROFITS ON SAILING.

Supposing the freight to be 2£ per ton. £
Profit on 900 tons at 10s. (in 5 months) ...... cee. cessseves oe 450

SAeAeIIOAl PLOLt 10. A VEAL... +r-,.0ve0e0n vssesenssnncs ve'sevcese L080

Which upon a capital of 9800£ is...-.......... eeeee,11 per cent.

PROFITS ON STEAMING. £
640 tons at 8s. 6d. (in 4 months 5 days)... ......eseseeee 272

Proportional profit per annum...

2 @eo0e e@eeteees ee eeene2tt 63 782

Which upon 7780£ is... 2 -- ccccsevcccecees covseeccsereneo 10 per Cent.
That is the profits upon the voyage by the sailing vessel would be 11]
_ per cent. and in the steamer only 10 per cent.

In the above estimate, the coal carried by the steamer is thus reck-

oned Tons

Total coals conveyed in sailing vessel.... ...e00 cscseees $00
Deduct coals consumed 240 tons, engine 20 tons. .... 260

Coal conveyed by steamer...... 100006. 640 tons

=
=e

246 On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. [Ocz.

The sailing vessel in this case, with a full cargo of coal, is supposed
to make her voyage in 120 days, and as the distance measured on the
nearest line is 11,000 miles, this is, at the rate of 92 milesa day, or 33
knots perhour. The steamer is supposed to go 44 knots in smooth
water, on an average against the wind 3, and 7 with a good breeze and
steam together, averaging on the whole 43 knots, which would make
her voyage 95 days. It is to be observed that the steamer is built with
a light draft of water, and of great length like other steamers, and not
like a sailing vessel, so that light sails would give her much greater speed
than the same quantity set on an ordinary sailing vessel. Also that she
consumes 240 tons in the course of her voyage, so that her cargo taking
the average of the voyage is 120 tons less than that of the sailing vessel.
In the course of her passage, she would not encounter a head wind on
many days as she would of course choose her route, so as to avoid them
as much as possible ; for instance after crossing the line she would
keep so near the West Coast of Africa as to avoid the steady S. E. trade.

But if upon estimating such a case as the above, there should be any
thing like reason to believe that it might answer, how evident it must
be, that for the first class of passenger ships to India it would certain-
ly be in every respect the most eligible plan. Some trials are already
making on the use of steam of small power in such vessels, and there
cannot be a doubt that it will be a great advantage, but in applying
it as at present to assist a full rigged vessel, the main advantages are
lost, viz. safety, convenience and comfort. As long as ships carry
masts, they must be exposed to many dangers which they would not
otherwise encounter. By getting rid of the standing masts and rigging
altogether, the vessel is made almost independent of the weather, she
can scarcely ever receive any damage in the open sea, and even on a
lee shore, a very moderate power of engine would enable her to keep
an offing. She would be built on a steamer model with which -she
would require a much more moderate power of engine than the present
vessels to give her the same speed; besides which, both from her
greater length, and from her upper deck being unencumbered, she
would have about twice as much accommodation for passengers asa
sailing vessel of the same tonnage. Further, she would be always
nearly upright, and as she would be mostly in those parts of the ocean,
where she would find the lightest winds and smoothest water, she
would seldom have much motion. When it is thus considered that
such a vessel would have such decided advantages over any vessel with
standing masts, in safety, comfort, convenience, speed and extent of
accommodation, and it has been already shown how near she would

1840.] On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. 247

come to the latter in point of expence, there seems no room for doubt
that there could be no comparison between the two, as passenger
ships. In such a vessel the passengers would scarcely be disturbed one
night in a whole voyage.
But perhaps the most important application of this system at pre
sent would be to the emigration to New Holland. Those noble colo-
nies afford an unlimited field for the employment of all classes of
people, and the grand desideratum above all others for them, is the
means of a safe, convenient, rapid and cheap transport of emigrants.
At present the governments of the different colonies allow 20£ for every
adult male, and a proportional sum for women and children. A_ vessel
of 609 tons, new measurement is allowed to carry about 240 persons.
Such a vessel will ordinarily draw about 174 feet of water, with a length
of 125 feet. A vessel of the same tonnage, built asa steamer, need not
draw more than 11} feet, perhaps less; and with the same beam asa
sailing vessel of the same measurement, she would have a length of 180
feet, which would give her full half as much room again for passengers’
accommodation, and as her upper deck would be uneucumbered, and
might therefure be occupied for 3 of her length by passengers, her ac-
commodations altogether would be fully double those of a sailing vessel of
the same tonnage, or she could carry 480 persons of all ages. A vessel
of that class is at present chartered for about 2500£, which gives about
10£ a head for each individual emigrant exclusive of their food ; this
costs, it is said about 3£ 10s. making the total actual expense of trans-
port probably about 15£ ahead, including sundry expences ; the govern-
ment allows at present 20£ for men, and the profit may be on an aver-
age 2€ a head upon all ages. The question is at what cost a vessel of
this tonnage worked by steam could be taken out to New Hollaud, in
comparison of that of a sailing vessel. An average passage at present
is about 110 days, and the distance measured on the nearest line is
12,800 miles from Plymouth to Sydney, giving an average of 107 miles
per day or 43 knots per hour. A 600 ton steamer with an engine of
40 horse power would run 53 knots in smooth water, 3} on an average
head to wind, and § on an average with steam and light sails while in
the strong westerly winds between the Cape and Bass’ Straits (about
half of the voyage); giving a total average of about 5} knots
an hour, and a length of 90 days for the passage, of which the fires may
be out for at least 20 days, when the westerly winds are very strong,
| Teaving 70 days of steaming to be provided for. Her cargo at starting
would then be ;

248 On Low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. [Ocr.

Tons
75 days coal at 34 tonsper day ..ce0 wececcee voce cnceeesecs 260
Water and provisions for 360 persons ....0.+ seeeee seeeeee 180
Engine and sundries .....-..e0eee- co peasecse cee VCS ENEMA Mtae 90

Baggage, KC. ceccssscsecesee soecene seeees salbbcd cadet oeReeete anil iar

Te _~

Total weight on board.........++e<+.-tons 580
She would of course become lighter every day, and towards the end of
the voyage would have a considerably increased speed on that account,
while it would not be at all necessary to have any great weight in a ves-
sel not carrying any sails on a wind, and only very light ones when the
wind was fair. Her expences would be ;
£
Annual expences as before given, excepting coal.......se+2+. 2610

Do. for 110 GAyS.ccse canes Je ow Feeveoece 803 £
260 tons of coal taken in, in London at 18 ....... .......2.. 231

Tctal expences of voyage. ... « ssesessss eascessse 1040

Which for 360 persons would be per head ..... .0+eeseveee Sine B

A sailing vessel of that tonnage would carry 240 persons, and occupy
44 months in all on the voyage.

£
Annual expences of a 600 ton ship as before,...... sesee. 3240
Do. for 42 months... i.» oe kaiule eee ts Beets en
or per! head... ssscessasisssci2lcdev dean eee

Hence it appears that the cost would be 5£ a head in a sailing ves-
sel and only 3£a head in the steamer, while the voyage would be
shortened 20 days, besides all the advantages of safety, comfort and
certainty already enumerated, thus giving the advantage to the steamer
in a great degree, and in every respect.

The cost of provisions would also thus be reduaed nearly one-fifth,
causing a further saving per head of 12s. The expence of ship and feed- /
ing, would then be 6£ a head, or including sundries probably not more
than S£a head on an average. The expence in larger vessels would,
probably be still less, and there is therefore a fair prospect that the
colonies might get emigrants brought out at 3 of what they at present j
pay for them ; which is further shown thus;

1840,] On low Steam Power ta Vessels, instead of Sails. 249

_ 4ctual expences of sailing vessel........ cc .csscece sees cseseeseee 1215
Rate at which it can be chartered... ..ccccssee os. paideGaepessd Sones 2500
Actual expences of steamer...

@@ ee 223ee8 BO es 093075 6 soo a 2 oeeebe 1010.

Proportional rate of charter

ee e¢o230600 ®2eeGs speecest @8e¢8 ecoe 2106
240 persons in former gives per head........20cceece crvree LOE
340 do. inlatter do. do. sisters cldaisiters oi (2) ols:0 ee 6 £

BAVING. sewxdeaes 4h
Add do. food... 0 12

Total saving..... 4.¥2

which, taking men and women and children together, is about 4 of what the
colonies now pay for them. ‘This too allows a profit of 1060£ upon the
voyage which is probably too much, as such vessels would certainly have
the choice of freight and passengers for the home voyage. They would
generally go home by the Cape of Good Hope, instead of Cape Horn,
which would be a much preferable passage. For half the year, they
might go by C. Lewin, and the other half through Torres Straits. A
“vessel went home by the latter route this year, and there seems little
room for doubt, that shortly it will be preferred by all vessels, as being
shorter, anda fair weather-voyage almost throughout. The dread of
Torres Straits for sailing vessels has now nearly passed away, and there
is still less objection toa steamer making that passage than a sailing
vessel. Such vessels might also be used to meet the Indian steamers at
Batayia or Trincomalee, The former would take them but little out of
their way, on their passage home from Sydney by Torres Straits. ae
‘is a difficulty to be got over in respect of carrying the number of emi-

'” srants proposed, as being greater than that at present allowed by law

that is, if the vessel is measured for emigrants by the same rule as for
tonnage, viz. taking the depth into the calculation, but if they are mea~
sured as transports are measured for troops, viz. by the breadth and
length only, there would be no difficulty in the matter. If, However: the
‘number at present allowed is in proportion to the tonnage, it would
“be necessary to get an act passed for this new class of vessels, and as

250 On low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Saiis. [Ocr.

they would be in every respect so far preferable for conveying emigrants,
there is little doubt that the act required could be obtained.

It may yet be worth while considering how far this principle might be
applicable to men-of-war. The steam frigates already built, have as
usual in commercial vessels, engines of great power, but they consequent-
ly are subject to the serious drawback of carrying fuel for 20 or 30 days
only, and must consequently be fully rigged, which both obstructs them
when steaming to windward, and encumbers their decks. Steamers of
moderate power on the contrary, would have the disadvantage of being
less fast, but they would carry coal for several months, and would have
the whole battery on the upper deck, free from’ all encumbrance. It
seems probable that vessels of the three classes acting together, would
form the most effective squadron, that is, if it consisted of a small num-
ber of steamers of full power ; three or four times that number of steam-
ers of moderate power, and a few sailing vessels. As men-of-war probably
do not make their voyages on an average at a greater speed than 5
knots, measured on the nearest line from port to port, the proposed ves-
sels need not have engines of greater power than would be sufficient to
give them that average rate with the help of movable masts and light
sails—to be used in running in a trade or monsoon, and consequently they
might be perhaps one-fourth of the power of those in the present steam
frigates.

A 52 gun ship, supposing her tonnage to be 2,200 tons, would
require an engine of about 100 horse power to propel her at 53 knots in
smooth water, which would consume 9 tons of fuel per day, and conse-
quently with 900 tons, she could steam at her full speed on an average,
13,000 miles, and supposing that in the course of her voyages she sailed ¢
without using her engines 4,000 miles, she would then be provided for a
distance of 17,000 miles, with that quantity of fuel, which is perhaps as
much as men-of-war on an average sail in 12 months, measuring the dis-
tances on the nearest line from port to port. Butit would be seldom
if ever necessary for such a ship to be provided with fuel for 17000 miles,
as coal is now to be obtained in Calcutta and Sydney, as well as in Eng-
land and North America. These vessels in action would possess almost
all the advantages of steamers of full power, as they could choose their —
position independent of the wind, and all hands would be at liberty for the
guns, while from their carrying lighter engines, they could bear heavier

batteries.
Upon this review of this very important subject, there appears, to say
the least, abundant reason to believe that the use of steam of moderate

power in yessels of all classes is well worthy ef the attention of the 3

1840.] On low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sazls. 251

merchant, the naval officer, the statesman, and the philanthropist, as
well as of the iron master, the engine-maker and the coal proprietor.

Some of its advantages may be thus generally stated ;

1st.—Such a vessel would be far preferable for passengers ; the time
of her voyages would be only + of that of sailing vessels, and it would
be almost certain to a day; her upper deck would be quite clear, leav-
ing much more room for accommodations; she would be much cooler,
for there would always be a current of air through her; instead of
seeking those parts of the ocean where there is most wind and conse-
quently most sea, she would always rather choose those where there
were calins and smooth water; she would be so little affected by the
weather that it would very rarely happen that there would be any
cause of alarm from it. She would be liable to accidents from steam,
but many years of experience have now proved beyond a doubt that
the danger in steamers is extremely small, the number of accidents
compared with the number of voyages made, being much fewer than in
similar voyages in sailing vessels. On these accounts she would be
sure of a much larger proportion of passengers, and at the same time
be capable of carrying a greater number than a sailing vessel, so that
while she would carry as much freight, she would carry more passengers
and consequently be more profitable.

2d.—On account of the greater speed and certainty she would itlso
be preferable for freight and would be sure of the most valuable freight
in the market, and also she would be more generally filled than a sailing
vessel.

3d.—When leaving one port for another so situated that owing to
the monsoon or trade, a sailing vessel would have to make a vast cire-
cuit, she would run direct or nearly so, excepting in one or two pecu-
liar cases, such as leaving Bombay for the westward in the strength
of the south-west monsoon, but as sailing vessels could not then ate
tempt such a voyage, she would still be on a par with them even in such
a case.

4th.—There would not be half the objection to her touching at in-
termediate ports as to sailing vessels which are always liable to be
delayed by calms and variable winds when they are going in or out of
port, whereas a steamer would lose no more time by it, than was neces=
sary to steam such a distance out of her course.

dth.—The charge of such a vessel to both her commander and her
officers would be incomparably easier and more pleasant than that of
a sailing vessel ; nothing less than a gale of wind would make it necess
‘sary for them to undergo exposure or fatigue; the commander especi-

252 On low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Sails. [Ocr.

ally would scarcely have a cause of a moment's anxiety in a whole voy-
age, and even in approaching land they would be almost as much at ease
as in the open sea.

6th.—From the absence of all strain from the masts and sails, the
vessel would scarcely ever require repair, or be in danger of leaking,
and it must consequently be very seldom that she would require to be
docked ; for she would never be exposed to the trial which the passen-
ger steamers worked at high speeds undergo, in being forced with
great power of steam directly through the heaviest seas at 5 or 6 knots
an hour.

7th.—Such a vessel would often obtain a freight of unusual value, on
account of her speed and certainty, which might make it worth a mer-
chant’s while in many cases to charter her above the ordinary rate of
freight. And, indeed, it is not improbable that such a vessel would
regularly command a higher freight than sailing vessels.

8th.—She would frequently obtain employment asa tug or to assist
a vessel in distress, which she could do where sailing vessels would be
of no use, and so become entitled to salvage.

9th.—a\s the time she would require for any voyage would be almost
certain to a day, she would often obtain freight or charter for a short
trip, while waiting for cargo for a longer one; which a sailing vessel
could not venture to do, from the uncertainty of the time of her ab-
sence from port. The steamer would in this way be incomparably
more handy than a sailing vessel, and would in fact probably do half
as much again in the same time. For in a great prop ortion of mercantile
transactions certainty as to time must cause a preference.

10th.—In the case of emigrant ships, which generally have more spare
room in their hold than weuld carry the engine and fuel; the speed,
the unencumbered state of the upper deck, the certainty as to time, the
small number of the crew, the vessel being almost always upright, these
things must give her a prodigious advantage over sailing vessels.

11th.—The same reasons as mentioned in the last paragraph, would al-
ways secure the preference of such vessels for the conveyance of troops,
and indeed those advantages would be so considerable as probably to
secure a higher rate of charter as transports.

12th—Is it too much to suppose that if commerce were generally carried
on in these vessels, the loss of life and property would be reduced to onc-
fourth of what it is at present. Of vessels lost at present perhaps nine-
tenths are lost upon rocks or on the coast, but of all such how very few
there are that would not have been able to keep clear of the land, if
they had hada moderate power of steam on board, instead of being de-

.1840.] On low Steam Power to Vessels, instead of Satis. 253

pendent upon sails ; and of those that are lost in the open sea, almost
the whole are lost through their masts, from which cause of danger, the
steamers would be freed.

13th.—All possible improvements in chronometers, andthe means of
finding the latitude and longitude, would have an effect upon navigation
not worth mentioning in comparison of what would be effected by the
general use of steam, for there would then be no necessity whatever for
ascertaining a vessel’s position to a nicety ; in approaching the land it
would be a matter of little consequence to her whether the weather was
thick or clear, or whether she made the land to windward, or to lee-
ward of her port ;and when she did run into any danger she could just
as easily ryn out of it again; not that it is impossible for a steamer to
be lost, but in nine cases out of ten, a position which renders the loss of
a sailing vessel inevitable, would not in the least endanger a vessel with-
out masts but with a moderate steam power.

14th.—In the case of war steamers, a small squadron could carry a
large body of troops, as the length of the voyage would be almost cer-
tain, and they could not only appear at any moment upon any point of
an enemy’s coast, but they might proceed direct up any navigable river,
and iand the whole force, complete and fresh, in the heart of the country,
and also proceed up the rivers in support of them after they were landed.

15th.— It is by no means the least important feature in this plan, that
those vessels would draw little more than two-thirds of the water, that
vessels intended to carry heavy masts and te work to windward must
draw, so that they would enter ports, rivers and channels, where at pre-
sent vessels of two-thirds of their burthen could scarcely enter. Thus
many harbours and rivers at present almost useless as ports, would be-
come equalin value to those now containing half as much water again.

It may here be remarked, that in all the above calculations of expence
the commander and officers are supposed to be unacquainted with the
steam engine, but it isevident that if the system was introduced, they
would soon be men as well acquainted with the management ofan engine
as they are at present with that of the sails, for the former would be as
much their business in steamers without sails, as the latter is at present.
This would of course reduce the expence materially.

In conclusion it must be remembered that all the calculations in
this paper are made upon the present state of the marine steam engine.
Taking into consideration that every year adds some improvements, is it
too much to expect that by the further reduction in the quantity of fuel
required, the adyantages may be so decidedly in favour of steam, that
sailing vessels will in time, be as few in proportion as steamers are now.

254 On the Separation of the Pomegranate [Ocr.

For instance it is well known that the mine engines in Cornwall, are some
of them worked with less than 2-lbs. of coal per horse power per hour,
which is one-third of the quantity consumed in the best engines at present
afloat, and a quarter of what is allowed in the above calculations; and again
with respect to the weight of boilers, those used.on railroads and making
steam sufficient fur a 50 horse low pressure engine, weigh only about 6 tons.
From what has been thus already accomplished in other branches of
steam power, we may fairly conclude that much will yet be done in
engines used for marine purposes.

The principal difficulty to be overcome in the introduction of such a
new system as this in navigation would be the persuading men to trust
themselves at sea without standing masts ; it is well known how difficult
it is to lay aside any thing in which men have been accustomed to trust
for ages; the use of masts in the powerful coasting steamers, after so
many years have shown that they are of little or no use, is a case in point.
A remarkable instance was also seen in the case of the introduction of chain
cables ; ships were not trusted at sea without a hempen cable, till very
long after they had ceased to be used. But the removal of standing masts
is an essential feature in the proposed plan for neither can very low steam
power be used, if vessels are to encounter the resistance of the wind
to masts and rigging, nor can a masted vessel be worked with the small
crew proposed.

If a sufficient crew is to be carried to work sails, it alters the whole
case, and such an arrangement is not the one proposed. The question
is, whether it will not answer to work a vessel by low steam power instead
of by the winds.

October 1840.

III.— On the Separation of the Pomegravate as a distinct Natural Order
from Myrtacee —By Rozerr Wieut, mM. v., &c.

The most eminent botanists of the present day being divided in
opinion as to the propriety or otherwise of separating the Pomegranate
as a distinct natural order from Myrtacez, I have recently been induced
to examine this question, bringing to my aid the lights thrown on car-
pellary arrangement by my recent investigations of Cucurbitacez.

1840.] as a distinct Natural Order from Myrtaceae. 255

The result of this examination has led me to the conviction, not
only that Granatez is a distinct order, but that the pomegranate, if my
views are correct, is, so far as our information yet extends, the most
remarkable fruit in the system of plants. But, without further preface,
I shall at once proceed with the subject, introducing it by presenting a
Series of extracts from the leading disputanis on either side. The
whole controversy turns on a simple question. of fact, namely, what is
the structure of the ovary and fruit of Punica? To these points
therefore I shall, to save room, limit my extracts. The first of these,
taking them in chronological. order, is from Mr. D. Don’s paper, Edin.
New Philosop. Journal, for July 1826. The second is trom DeCan-
dolle’s frod. 8. p. 8. The third is from Dr. Lindley’s Natural System
of Botany, ed. Ist, page 64, and repeated in the second edition. The
Jast is from Mr. Arnott’s article Botany, Encycl. Brit. ed. 7, page 110,
under Myrtacez. ‘hese extracts, by placing the question before the
reader in all its bearings, will enable him at once to judge, how far I
have succeeded in setting the question at rest.

‘* Bacea pomiformis, limbo tubulosa dentato calycino, nune contracto,
coronata: cortex crassissimus, extis cuticuld levirubicunda punctata luci-
da vestitus, intus spongioso-carnosus, albus, dein, matura bacca, fissura
irregulariter rumpens. Placenta cortici bacce substantia simillima, at
magis carnosa et succulenta-baccam cmnino replens, in 1 oculis numerosis
polyspermis inzqualibus reticulatim atque interrupte excavata. Dis-
sepimenta vera nulla: spuria tamen adsunt, que e substantia placentze
orta, valdé sunt fragilia, et crassitie varia. Don (I c.)

“The real structure of the fruit of the pomegranate appears to have
been overlooked by all authors, I have consulted on the subject,
and even the distinguished Geertner has fallen into error both in his
description and figure. It is in reality a fleshy receptacle, formed by
the tube of the calyx into a unilocular berry, filled with a spongy placen-
ta, which is hollowed out into a number of irregular cells, in which the
seeds are placed ; the dissepiments being nothing more than thin por-
tions of the placenta. If we could conceive the fruit of Mosa to be filled
up with an interrupted pulpy matter, it would be exactly of the same
structure as the pomegranate.” Don (l.c.)

“ Fructus magnus, sphericus, calycis limbo subtubulosa coronatus,
ejusdem tubo corticatus, indehiscens, diaphragmate horizontali inaqua-
liter bicameratus ; camerA superiore 5-9-loculari, camera inferiore
minore 3-loculari, septis utriusque membranaceis loculos separan-
tibus ; placenta camera superioris carnose a parietibus ad centrum

256 On the Separation of the Pomegranate [Ocr.

tendentes, in inferiore processus irregulares ab ipso fundo” D.C.
(1.c.)

‘« The fruit of the pomegranate is described by Gertner and DeCan-
dolle, as being divided into two unequal divisions by a horizontal dia-
phragm, the upper half of which consists of fiom 5 to 9 cells, and the
lower of 3; the cells of both being separated by membranous dissepi-
ments ; the placenta of the upper half proceeding from the back to the
centre, and of the lower irregularly from their bottom ; and by Mr. Don
as a fleshy receptacle formed by the tube of the calyx into a unilocular
berry, filled with a spongy placenta, which is hollowed out into a number
of irregular cells. In fact, if a pomegranate is examined, it will be found
to agree more or less perfectly with both these descriptions. But it is
clear that a fruit as thus described*is at variance withall the known
laws upon which compound fruits are formed. Nothing, however, is
more common than that the primitive construction of fruits is obscured
by the additions, or suppressions, or alterations, which its parts undergo
during their progress to maturity. Hence it is always desirable to ob-
tain a clear idea of the structure of the ovarium of all fruits which do
not obviously agree with the ordinary laws of carpological composition.
Now, a section of the ovarium of the pomegranate in various directions,
if made about the time of the expansion of the flowers before impregna-
tion takes place, shews that‘it is in fact composed of two rows of carpella,
of which three or four surround the axis, and are placed in the bottom
of the tube of the calyx, and a number, varying from five to ten, surround
these, and adhere to the upper part of the tube of the calyx. The pla-
centze of these carpella contract an irregular kind of adhesion with the
back and front of their cells, and thus give the position ultimately ac-
quired by the seeds that anomalous appearance which it assumes in the
ripe fruit. Ifthis view of the structure of the pomegranate be correct,
its peculiarity consists in this, that, in an order the carpella of which
occupy but a single row around the axis, it possesses carpella in two
rows, the one placed above the other, in consequence of the contraction
of the tube of the calyx, from which they arise. Now, there are many
instances of a similar anomaly among genera of the same order, and they
exist even among species of the same genus. Examples of the latter
are, Nicotiana multivalvis and Nolana paradoxa, and of the former Ma-
lope among Malvaceze ; polycarpous Ranunculacee as compared with
Nigella and polycarpous Rasaceae as compared with Spirea. In Prunus

have seen a monstrous flower producing a number of carpella around
the central one, and also, in consequence of the situation, upon the calyx
above it ; and, finally, in the Revue Hucyclopédi que (43.762.) a perma-

as a distinct Natural Order from Myrtacee. 257

Ment variety of the apple is described, which is exactly to Pomee
what Punica is to Myrtacee. This plant has regularly 14 styles and
14 cells, arranged in two horizontal parallel planes, namely, 5 in the
middle, and 9 on the outside, smaller and nearer the top; a circumstance
which is evidently to be explained by the presence of an outer series
of carpella, and not upon the extravagant hypothesis of M. Tillette de
Clermont, who fancies that it is due to the cohesion of 3 flowers.” Lindley
(.c)

“ To the Myrteze we, with Mr. Lindley, unite the Granatez, because
Punica or the pomegranate only differs by having its two verticels of
carpels developed instead of one, and perhaps in a truly wild state the
upper or adventitious one may occasionally disappear. ‘The inner series
(or those at the bottom of the frvit) have their placentz in the axis ;
but the outer series, forced to the top of the fruit by the contraction of
the mouth of the tube of the calyx, having their placente in the ovary
at the back of the inner carpels, exhibit them in the ripe fruit in a
horizontal position on the upper surface of the lower cells.” Arnott (l.c.)
et Prod. Fl. Peninsule, 1, page 327.

Premising that the whole controversy turns on these questions, —1st
what is the true structure of a pomegranate? and 2d, whether the dif-
ference between it and Myrtus is sufficient to separate these genera as
distinct orders ?—I shall now proceed to examine these conflicting
statements, and endeavour to ascertain on which side the balance pre-
ponderates, and whether, indeed, there is not room for an explanation
different from any of those yet proposed.

Mr. Don’s description of this fruit, on the strength of which he first
proposed to remove this genus from Myrtacez, the order with which
it was previously associated, asa distinct family, appears to me most un-
philosophical and altogether untenable. He, as I understand, considers
the fruit a one-celled receptacle, the centre of which is filled with a
spongy placenta, round the surface of which there are a number of irregu-
lar cells occupied by clusters of ovules, but he does not tell us how the
central placenta got there, neither does he account for the ovules being
attached to the parietes of the cell, and not to the central placenta.
His whole description in fact proves that it had been drawn up from
inadequate examination, and that he, at the very time he is accusing all
authors of overlooking the real structure of the fruit, totally misappre-
hends it himself, as we shall by and by see.

DeCandolle gives a more correct description of it when he says, that
‘it consists of two chambers, the under 3-celled, the upper from 9 to &-

fe Ce
&

258 On the Separation of the Pomegranate [Ocr.

celled, with the placentas of the upper cells reaching from the parietes
to the centre, while those of the lower division proceed irregularly from
the bottom of the fruit. He does not, however, assign this peculiar struc-
ture as his principal reason for viewing the order as distinct from Myr-
tacee, but hus recourse to others, in my estimation, of minor import-
ance.

Lindley conceives that there are two rows of carpels, three or four
of which surround the axis at the bottom, while the remainder surround
these, and, occupying the upper part of the fruit, adhere to that part of

the tube of the calyx. The p'acentas of these upper carpels, he con-
ceives, contract an irregular kind of adhesion with the back and front of

their cells. The meaning of this is far from being clear to me, but if
it means that he considers the placentas of the upper as well as the
lower row to proceed from the axis towards the circumference, to which
last they contract accidental adhesions, then he takes an erroneous view,
and if the examples quoted in illustration support this view, they are
not in point as regards the structure of Punica.

Mr. Arnott, like Lindley, views the fruit as consisting of two rows of
carpels, an outer and inner, the former of which he thinks may be adyen-
titious. To understand lis theory, we must first suppose the tube of the
calyx spread out as a flat surface and covered with two eircles of carpels,
t he inner next the axis, and the other occupying a larger circle beyond,
that the margin of the calyx then contracts so as to turn the outer series
over the inner. According to this supposition, the attachment or base
of the placentas of the outer series should be in the circumference, and
the apex in the centre, while that of the inner should be in the opposite
direction, that is, have the base in the centre and the apex towards the
circumference ; an explanation which is in accordance with what we
find, except in so far as it does not account for the horizontal partition
between the two series: nor can J exactly understand on what ground -
Wwe are warranted in assuming that the outer series is adventitious and
the result of cultivation, as it has every where been found so constant in
all circumstances. But be that as it may, this theory certainly accounts
for the crossing of the placentas in the two rows which we so invariably
find, whether correctly or not, cannot be determined, until we get fruit
with a single row of carpels, which has not yet been found.

These explanations, which I venture to propose, of rather obscure des-
criptions, did not occur to myself until after I had formed a new theory
of my own, the result of a very careful examination of the ovary in all
stages from the earliest, up to the period of impregnation. At these
early stages, when the whole flower had not yet attained half an inch in

= x

as a distinct Natural Order from Myrtaceae. 259

length, probably a fortnight or more before expansion, I invariably find
two rows of carpels, one inferior, of 4 or 5, and one superior of 9, 6 or
more. In the lower series the placentas are ranged round the axis, with
their base in the centre, and the apex, which is free, towards the cir-
cumference. Inthe upper, the attachment, or base of the placentas,
is in the circumference, and the apex, also at first free, directed towards
the centre. Between the two rows a diaphragm is always interposed. The
apex of the upper placentas is, occasionally, afterwards prolonged and
contracts adhesions to the axis.

In the accompanying figures I have attempted to represent these
views. As the fruit advances in size considerable derangement of
this structure progressively occurs, which is apt to mask and confuse
the appearances now described.

Having previously ascertained the occasional existence of inversion
in the position of carpels, my first idea was, that such an inversion
took place in the upper row. This view, which, equally with the
preceding, accounts for the crossing of the placentas, I feel inclined to
adhere to, though I confess not without some hesitation, because it
implies a compiexity of arrangement rarely met with in the inimitably
simple and beautiful operations of nature; but I think it as difficult
to imagine the nearly equally complex and inconceivable operation of
the folding in of one set of carpels over the other, which Drs. Lind-
ley and Arnott’s explanation demands: while my explanation has the
advantage of at the same time accounting for the double chamber which
the ovary presents fromits earliest stages, and renders unnecessary
the doctrine of an adventitious verticel of carpels, which for the present

is Mere assumption.

With these explanations, I leave the question of structure to consi-
der the one pending on its determination, viz. whether or not Granateze
ought to be preserved as a distinct order or be re-united to Myrtaceze ?

On this point, so far as the unvarying evidence derived from cultivated
plants is entitled to carry weight on a disputed point —and which I pre-
sume it must do until we find that evidence invalidated by the examina
tion of others growing in a truly wild state—we must unquestionably,
I conceive, adopt the views of those who urge the separation, because
the complex structure, above described, being constant here and unknown
among the true Myrtacez, we have no right, in the total absence of
direct confirmatory evidence, to assume, that a part is adventitious,
merely because it is at variance with our ideas of what should be, espe-
cially while we have, in addition, difference of habit in the formation of

(

260 On the Separation of Pomegranate from Myrtacee. [Ocr.

the seed, and their pulpy envelope, in further confirmation of the cor-
rectness of these views.

In coming to this conclusion, I doso, mainly on the evidence I have
myself adduced: attaching no value to the opinion of Mr. Don, which,
being founded, according to his own showing, on most erroneous view of
the structure of the fruit, does not merit much consideration.

To the views of DeCandolle more imporiance must necessarily be
attached, as the reasons he assigns are more satisfactory, though I do
not think he has attached sufficient value to the very peculiar “ econo-
my of the fruit,’ while he has given too much to others of much less
note, such as the want of pellueid dots, the absence of the marginal
nerve of the leaves, andthe pulpy covering of the seed ; thereby throw-
ing into the shade the true essential character of the order, which un-
questionably lies in the double row of carpels, with the upper placentas
parietal and crossing the lower axillary ones, which, if I have rightly ac-
counted for, constitute this a truly curious and unique fruit ; and which,
whether or not my theory of its construction be correct, is yet so very
different from that of every true Myrtacea, as to leave no doubt of
its forming the type of a distinct order.

EXPLANATION OF PLATE.

1.—a. Section showing the lower series of carpels in the ovary of
the Pomegranate many days before the expansion of the flower.

b. Section showing the upper series of carpels. ‘These two figures
are taken from opposite sides of the same slice.

2.—a. Section showing the lower series of carpels in an ovary some
days after the expansion of the flower. At this time considerable
derangement has taken place apparently caused by the rapid expansion,
. in aconfined space, of the ovules afier impregnation.

b. Upper series in the same ovary, and, as in the former instance,
taken from the opposite sides of the same slice. Here the derange-
ment so obvious in the Jower section has not taken place,

Vol. XU. PL. VU.

AN

3 \ |
1840.] On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers. 261

IV.—On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers.—By Captais
J. CAMPBELL, Assistant Surveyor Gieneral.

1.—From some cause, not yet properly investigated, barometers, as
hitherto constructed for portability, generally become damaged on the
voyage to this country, and even are liable to injury during transport
on land in this climate. I consider it likely that the plan on which
these instruments are constructed is faulty, and that the expansion of
the mercury in those, the tubes of which are closed by a screw, is sufi-
cient to cause the fracture of the tube. It is even probable, when
carried in an inverted position, that the expansion of the mercury in the
tube and the air in the cistern, which in this position will be of course
in the bottom part of it, is sufficient to force out the mercury through
the pores of the cover, and that the alternate expansionand contraction
of this portion of air, according to the changes of temperature, may be
sufficient to force out all the mercury in the cistern, or to leave so little
in it, that, on setting up the instrument, there is not sufficient left to
cover the aperture of the tube.

2. Onexamining a damaged mountain barometer, on “ Newman’s
improved portable iron cistern” plan, I consider I have found some rea-
son to suppose that the above remarks may be correct, and as the con-
struction of the instrument is not generally known, I append the fol-
lowing description,

3. The cistern of this instrument is formed of acylinder of iron 24
inches long and | inch and three-tenths in diameter. The cover of it
is a close grained piece of box wood, cemented on to the tube and screw-
ed tightly into the cistern. Through the pores of this piece of wood
the air finds a passage to exert its pressure on the surface of the mer-
cury ; and, under considerable pressure, the mercury would probably also
be forced through the pores. The bottom of the cistern is double, the
lower part being about one-fifth of the capacity of the upper. ‘This
lower part turns on a centre, by which it is attached firmly to the other
piece, and when turned to “ not portable,” as engraved on the brass
ease, two holes in each part coincide, so as to open a passage between the
_ two divisions, and when turned to “ portable” these passages are tight-

ly closed. In constructing the instrument, the tube having heen
boiled, it is attached to .the cistern by cement, the cistern is
then filled full of mereury, and the bottom part is then turned
to “ portable”, which closes the apertures of communication,
and leaves the part of the cistern with which the tube is
connected perfectly full of mercury. By a screw hole the mer-
- eury in the movable bottom is then allowed to run nearly all out, and,

262 On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers. [Ocr.

the screw being replaced, the instrument is finished. The bottom part
is then turned to “ not portable,” and the instrument is set upright. In
this position, the air which was inthe movable bottom of course passes
up through the two apertares, and the mercury descends into the space
the air had occupied, thus leaving a part of the upper cistern empty
to allow of the descent of the mercury in the tube. The instrument is
then compared with a standard barometer, and the scale adjusted so as
to shew the proper height. The height of the column indicated at this
time is called the “ neutral point.” When the instrument is prepared
for transport, it is first inverted, by which the mercury again fills the
vacuum in the top of the tube, and also fills completely the upper part
of the cistern, and the bottom being turned to “‘ portable” all motion
of the mercury in the tube is prevented. But the consequence is, that
no allowance is made for the expansion of the mercury in the tube,
and supposing the instrument packed in London at the temperature of
32°, and that on the voyage it was exposed to a temperature of 140
(which is quite probable), the expansion of the mercury in the tube 32
inches long would amount to more than three-tenths ofan inch, and the
wooden cover of the cistern being nearly 50 times larger than the tube,
this expansion of the mercury would act with an zrreststible force, mul-
tiplied 50 times, to force out the cover, or the mercury into its pores.
There can be little doubt that the cover, after being exposed to this
enormous pressure,would become loose, after which the expansion of the
small quantity of air which would get into the cistern after the instru-
ment was exposed to cold again, would be able to force cut more mer-
cury from the cistern, an effect which would go on increasing until the
instrument was quite destroyed: or if set upright with the movable
bottom part turned to ‘ portable,” the weight of the mercury in the top
of the tube,would exert a pressure increasing as the barometrical pressure
at the place decreased; and most likely quite enough to force out more
mercury from the loosened joints. Another defect in the instrument
arises from the cover of the cistern being made of wood. In the instru-
ment examined, this has shrunk so much, that it is quite loose, so as to
afford a very easy escape to the mercury. This part should have been
made also of iron, with a small plug of loose grained wood inserted in it.
Another imperfection lays inthe scale not being connected with the
cistern by a brass rod, which it should have been, by which the uncer-
tain longitudinal expansion of the wood mounting would have been coun-
teracted. A very strong corroboration of the remarks of the late Lieut.
Braddock on this last imperfection may be seen in the iustrument ex-
amined. - The scale is 14 inches in length, and is attached at each end

\\
1810.) On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers. 263

to the wood mounting by a screw. In consequence of the shrinking in
the wood between these points, the scale had bowed out, and the person
who had used it had therefore removed the screw at the upper end; and
it could be easily seen, from the hole of the screw which was worked into
a piece of brass no longer coinciding with the hole in the scale, that the
wood within the length of this 14 inches had shrunk in length full one-
twentieth of an inch, and therefore the whole instrument has decreased
in length one-tenth of an inch—yet the scale very absurdly professes to
give the height of the mercury to the 500th part of an inch. Iam un-
able to see any advantage in this plan for a portable barometer, and on
the contrary have pointed out undeniable disadvantages.

4. The object to be gained in a portable barometer is principally to
prevent the column of mercury striking too heavily against the top of the
glass tube, which may, I think, be easily gained, by making the cistern
wholly of iron ; in the bottom an iron screw may be placed, the point of
which has a piece of India rubber attached to it, and which being screw-
ed up will close the bottom of the tube. A very fine capillary passage
should be worked down the point of this screw, and out laterally, so as
to allow of the gradual descent of the mercury, in case the instrument
should be placed upright, and also of the expansion in the tube. Such
an instrument could only be destroyed by inverting it witha jerk after
being held upright. |

5. Guy Lussac’s plan of the syphon barometer is the best portable
instrument I am acquainted with, and I consider the instrument here
described as constructed for me by Mess«s. W. and J. Jones of Holbourn,
London, to be the best adapted for use in India.

6. The case is constructed solely of brass, it 1s 363 inches long, and
is formed of two brass tubes, about seven hundred parts of an inch in
thickness, joined together by a short brass cylinder between them, into
which they are both screwed, the upper being seven-tenths of an inch
in diameter, and the lower nine. The top and bottom are closed with
screwed plugs with rings. In the front and back of each of these tubes,
a slit, 9 inches long, and a quarter of an inch wide, is worked, through

which the glass tube is visible. On the edges of these slits the divisions
are laid off upwards and downwards from a central point. On both the

upper and lower tubes, two short thin brass cylinders, each $ of an inch
long, slide freely. On the lower part of the upper of ihese pieces, on
each tube, a milled ring works in a groove, and the upper part of the
other cylinder, having an external screw cut on it, works into an internal
screw cut in the brass ring, by which on turning roundthe milled ring,
the lower portion of each of these cylinders is raised or lowered about

‘

264 On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers. [Ocr.

three-tenth of an inch, so as to allow of an adjustment in this manner to the
upper surface of the mercurial column, as seen through the slit. In each
of the lower pieces of these sliding cylinders, a portion is cut out $ an
inch long and a } wide. The sides of the notch thus formed coincide
with the line of the divisions, and on one of these sides the vernier is
cut ; the bottom of the lower piece of the sliding cylinder being the bot-
tom ofthe vernier, and being brought as a tangent to touch the top of
the mercury. The back and front part of the bottom of this piece, being
both made to apparently touch the mercury, prevent any error from pa-
rallax by the ‘uncertain position of the eye in taking the observation.

7. The glass tubes are formed in four parts, the upper is 11 inches
long, and at bottom is drawn out into a capillary quill 2 inches long. A
piece of tube, of a little larger diameter, and four inches Jong, is soldered
to this tube, above the contraction, so that the capillary quill projects
free two inches into the centre of this short piece of tube. To the other
end of this short piece is soldered the rest of the tube, which is bent
up as usual in syphon barometers, and the recurved end is finished as in
Guy Lussac’s plan with a small lateral hole, over which a piece of wash
leather is tightly bound, or a capillary glass quill 3 inches long is insert-
ed into the end and soldered, anda piece of wash leather is tied over
the outer orifice. Ifthe tubeis of the latter construction, it is neces-
sary to be careful after setting up the instrument to oscillate the mer-
cury up to the summit of the tube, so as to draw out any small portion
of mercury from the quill, which would make the mercurial column
stand too high. By the capillary quill in the centre of the tube no por=
tion of air can get into the top, and the tube is in no way affected by
any portion of air which may get into the lower part. As thick tubes
cannot be soliered together in the above manner, these tubes are neces-
sarily slight, but packing with India rubber, so as to support them
closely, for which Messrs. Jones have my directions, they are rendered
quite as safe in carriage as any others. The price charged for these
instruments by the makers was 7 guineas each, and one very great ad~
vantage in them is that fresh tubes can be inserted in a few minutes,
which no other kind of portable barometer will admit of.

8. Avery great advantage in syphon barometers is that the capil+
lary action of the tubes is neutralized, which, in India, where but few
opportunities of comparing barometers occur, is not to be lightly re-
garded. Experiments have not yet decided what the true capillary
action in barometer tubes really is, and in Daniel’s Essays it is plain-
ly shown that capillary action in the same tube differs according to
circumstances, 7

\

>
1840.] On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers. 265

9. Daniel has pointed out that many barometers are made and sold
in London, the tubes of which are not bozled, and the divisions are laid
off by comparison with other instruments. This is also often fraudulent-
ly done with instruments for exportation, and when they are made
with close cisterns, this fraud is difficult to detect, but in syphon baro-
meters is easily discovered, because the mercury in an unboiled tube
will net stand within an inch nearly of its proper altitude, and if the
divisions have been laid off from the ends of the mercurial column instead
of from a central point, the distance between the divisions, as numbered
onthe top and botiom parts of the instrument, will not be found to
agree. Thus between 7 onthe lower part, and 7 on the upper part,
should be 14 inches exactly; if it is less, then the instrument has been
improperly made.

10. Those who have sufficient mechanical skill and ingenuity to boil
the tubes themselves, may provide themselves with instruments like the
syphons above described at a much lower price by ordering the brass
cases without tubes, and a stock of empty tubes to be sent; for which
Messrs. Jones charge only 8 shillings each. These tubes are sent out. in
two pieces ; the recurved part being separated, and to be attached at the
lamp. But the method by which I prefer to fit them up, is the following.
I bend the end of the long part at right angles, and then cut it off close
to the side, so that a piece of 2 or 3 tenths of an inch projects; I then
fill the tube with water, and then with mercury, and free the upper part
from air, as hereafter described. I then heat the closed end gradually
over a chauffer, and make all the moisture simmer up tothe open end,
carrying the tube gradually across the fire. ‘The closed end is then again

heated (the tube being held at an angle of 20 degrees with the horizon),

until the mercury first becomes speckled and then forms large bubbles,
which by making the tubes revolve, are carried gradually and spirally
towards the openend, collecting all the smaller bubbles in their way.
The mercury must never be allowed to boil and snap, for if this is al-
lowed, minute portions of gas, hardly visible when cold, are carried down
towards the closed end, and cannot be removed except as directed. The

| gas I consider to be probably hydrogen, evolved from the decomposition

of minute organic substances in the tube. I find by frequent experi-

3 ment that filling the tube first with water is the best method to get all
| the air out, instead of carefully drying the tube as generally directed.

|
}
i
i
|
}
i

“The tube being properly boiled, the part for the recurved end is to be
- sealed at the lamp, and the end finished as customary by blowing, and

then the rounded end of a rod of glass being applied to the side of the
tube, 3 an inch from the sealedend, and this being pulled when the

f /

266 On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers. [Ocr.

tube is softened, a little cone is easily pulled out. ‘The end of this is to
be broken off, and the hole thus made opened and finished, to receive
the bent end of the long tube. The two tubes’ are then tied strongly
together with thread, and small pieces of cork between, and then the
junction between the tubes is to be made good with sealing wax, and
when cold, an inch of mercury being poured into the recurved end, the
tube is finished. ‘Two tubes thus constructed, I have fuund by hourly
observations for many days, never to differ one-hundredth part of an
inch.

11. But the best and most portable kind of barometer for India, is
with tubes to be filled wet, they can be carried empty, and therefore are
not liable to accident, and when wanted can be filled in five minutes.
The late Mr. James Prinsep, in the Journal of the Asiatic Society of
Bengal, has pointed out the advantage of this plan, and by frequent ex-
periment, and during long continued series of observations, I find tubes
thus filled are perfectly comparable together, and also with boiled tubes ;
the only precaution necessary is to make the column of mercury touch
the top of the tube by inclining the instrument about a minute before each
observation. To fill tubes thus, I use a little funnel of iron witha
small point and capillary tube attached to it. Having filled the tube
with mercury, it is to be set upright in some mercury in a cup, on which
half an inch of distilled or rain or any clean water has been poured. By
raising the end of the tube a little above the mercury, all the mercury
in the tube will descend, and its place be supplied with water. The
tube is to be then refilled with mercury, and again set upin the cup,
and again raised a little, so as to let one inch of water only ascend to
the top of the tube. A quantity of air bubbles extracted from the water
will ascend into the vacuum, andthe column of mercury is to be oscil-
lated to assist their escape. The tube is then to be inclined until it is
filled, and the end being closed with the finger, it is to be removed from
the cup and inverted. The bubbles of air which had collected ia the top
of the tube will now ascend to the open end, as also the water which
had been exposedin the vacuum. Mercury is then to be poured in
until the water lias reached the open end, and the tube is then to be set
up again in the mercury, and while upright the end is to be closed by the
finger, and inverted, by which the rest of the moisture in the bottom
of the tube will be exposed to the vacuum ; after which the tube is to
be again immersed in the mercury inthe cup, the vacuum being still
preserved with the finger, which is then to be gradually removed.
The tube is now to be gradually and very gently inclined until
the water touches the top, and it is then to be removed and in- —

1840.] On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers. 267

verted, when any bubbles of air in the top will ascend to the open
end, the water in the tube assisting its escape upwards. The tube is then
to be completely filled with mercury, and allowed to stand five minutes,
for the mercury to settle down. On setting it up now in the mercury,
if the operation has been properly done, it will be found that the mercury
will not fall in the tube, unless the tube is jarred heavily against the bot-
tom of the cup, shewing thereby that the air has been completely ex~
tracted. Even when dirty, the tubes answer nearly as well when thus
filled. Quilled tubes as before described may be thus used, and they
are easier freed from air than the common plain tubes. As they
are not required to be heated it is unnecessary to solder the
"parts together, and the upper quilled part may be made only six
inches in leagth, and the lower portion may be joined to the upper by a
sealing wax joint. When such tubes are required for high altitudes
where the mercurial column is less than 24 inches in length, the lower
portion of the tube may be shortened, by cracking off a piece, as it is
Detter to keep the top part as short as possible, it being then most easily
freed of air. :

12. The instrument which I prefer for measuring the altitude of
the mercury is very portable and simple, and Messrs. Jones have the
minute directions necessary for making it. ‘The following is a general
description of it. It is formed of a solid piece of dry mahogany, 39 inches
long, 2 inches wide, and 14 inches thick—along the centre to within
2 inches of each end, a groove three-quarter inch broad and the same in
depth is hollowed out. Across the bottom of this groove a piece of
plate glass 14 inches wide is let in level with the face of the piece of
wood. This glass forms the cistern for the bottom of the tube, and
allows the surface of the mercury to be distinctly seen. The tube is
laid in this groove loosely with cotton, and a flat piece of brass, which
turns on a pivot across the top of the groove, keeps it in its place.
The wood on the right side of the groove is cut away to allow a brass
bar, six-tenth inch wide, and quarter inch thick, and 32 inches long, to be
fitted in there. This bar is divided into inches from a standard scale,
at a noted temperature, and serves to measure the length of the column.
_Itis not fised, but can be moved up and down about } inch by an ad-
justing screw, to allow an ivory point which it bears on its lower end
to be brought into exact contact with the surface of the mercury in the
cistern. The vernier slides on the upper part of this bar, and has an
adjusting screw also. The tongue attached to the vernier turns on a
hinge joint to give room for putting in the tube. A cover, formed of a
piece of mahogany of the same length and breadth, and 3 inch thick, is

268 On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers. |Ucr.

attached to the left side of the instrument by three hinges, and closes
by 3 hooks and a small lock and key. Hollows cut out in the cover
admit the heads of the adjusting screws, and in it are also imbeddeda
small delicate thermometer, a hook with a conical screw, to screw into
a tree or post, to hang the instrument on, and an ivory plate with the
aqueous tension in inches engraved on it from 32? to 120° of Fahren-
heits. A brass swivel ring attached to the top serew serves to hang the
instrument up by.

13. To take an observation the tube is filled as directed above, and
the case being held by an assistant to an angle of 45° with the lower
end over a plate, or handkerchief on the ground, the cistern is filled with
mercury until it runs over. In this the end of the tube is immersed
while closed with the finger, and it is then laid in the groove, the secur-
ing piece of brass turned down, and the instrument held vertical, the
surplus mercury in the cistern running oyer into the plate or handker-
chief. The bar is then screwed up as far as it will move, and some of
the mercury in the cistern, is allowed to run out, by a little channel
through the wood, which is stopped by an ivory pin; until the end of
the ivory pin altavhed tothe bar becomes visible (which projects about
six-tenth inches below the edge of the glass plate). The point is then
brought into exact contact with the mercury in the cistern by the ad-
justing screw, and the height read off by the vernier. As tubes 4 an
inch diameter in the upper part, can be used in this manner, the effect of
capillary attraction is avoided, and the length of the mercurial column,
added to the aqueous tension for the temperature, gives the correct
pressure, with a degree of precision never exceeded in portable barome-
ters, and comparable even with the best standard instruments.

14. In publishing barometrical observations, whether for altitudes or —
for a series of meteorological observations, observers should be always
careful to describe their instruments, and to give certain evidence of their
being in good order. For want of this many series of observations re-
corded, are hardly worth the trouble of making them ; and it must be
recollected, that having compared a barometer at one time with a stand-
ard instrument, is no proof of its being in good order at another. It
might seem to some that the last remark was somewhat gratuitous,
put in turning over some recorded meteorological observations, I
find a gentleman remarking that his barometer “ had been compared
with Mr Prinsep’s standards, and had proved correct, and that it had
since been emptied, and the mercury purified” —which is almost as
much as to say that his observations were worth nothing, although Sir
John Herschel in remarking on them was too polite to say so. In general

1840.] On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers. 269

a single tube barometer is useless for nice observations, unless it has
been compared with another, even if it is in good order, for the capil-
lary action in the tube can never be valued unless by comparison with a
barometer which can be depended on. The double syphon tubes I
have above remarked are free from this defect, but whatever the con-
struction may be, the mercury in a good boiled tube must be free from
specks or cloudiness throughout its whole length; and it must jar
against the top of the tube (not lump), as a bar of steel might be sup-
posed to do.

15. Since the above was written, I have had the opportunity of
examining another of Newman’s barometers, like that described in para.
3, and I found the lid or cover of the cistern so shrunk and loose, that
nearly all the mercury had escaped, and also that the tube had been
attached to the cover by glue and tow, which, in the damp weather in
this climate, had been softened so much, that the mercury had been forced
completely through the joint. As there are many of these instruments
in India, the following directions regarding them may be useful.

16. Whenever any mercury has been found to have escaped into the
case of the instrument, it may be generally considered as certain, that
it has become useless until put again into order, and it should in con-
sequence be carefully kept with the cistern upwards, becauseif set up-
right, some air might get into the tube, and render necessary the trouble
of reboiling the tube. The brass ring at the bottom of these instruments
has 6 brass screws in it; the three nearest the wood attach the ring to
the wood, the lower three screws are screwed into the wooden lid of the
cistern. In the lower piece of brass by which the bottom of the cistern
is turned, there are two iron screws, which open into the cavity of the
cistern; care must be therefore taken that they are never taken out ex-
cept when necessary to take the instrument to pieces. The three brass
screws which hold the cover of the cistern being removed, the part of
the cistern which is movable being pulled, the cistern and tube will
come out easily, but great care must be taken not to turn it round in
the least, which would snap off the little thermometer. To put a baro-
meter of this kind in order, if any air has got into the tube, the first thing
- to do, will be to ascertain if the lid of the cistern is tight. ‘The two iron
screws in the movable bottom piece being removed, the brass cap
may be pulled off easily, and the cistern and tube, can be filled with
mercury through the holes. The cistern being quite full, the tube is to
be held downwards, and the bottom of the cistern turned round a quarter
turn. The tube is then set up in an erect position, and on jerking it
slightly up and down, if the lid of the cistern is loose, the mercury will

270 On the Construction and use of Portable Barometers. [Ocr.

spurt out in radiating streams, all round the juncture with the cistern.
To remove the cistern, a small iron screw in the edge of it must be
sought for and removed, and it can then be screwed off the cover. To
remove the cover of the cistern from the tube, it must be soaked for a
day or two in water at 140 deg. Farhenheit (hotter would break the
thermometer), which will soften the glue, andthe tube and thermometer
must both be pulled out. The interior of the tube must then be washed
quite clean by filling it with distilled water, and emptying it again seve-
ral times. Generally alittle dust of black oxide of mercury will be
found in it, which must be removed by dropping some nitric acid into
it, and washing out again with water. The tube is then to be filled wet
with mercury, and freed from air,. as directed in para 1}, and then
boiled. To cement the cover of the cistern on to the tube again, both
the tube and the cover being made hot, some sealing wax is to be ap-
plied around the tube, and the cover isto be twisted on, while the wax
is still soft. The cistern is to be cemented also on to the cover, by heat-
ing it strongly over a charcoal fire until it is hot enough to melt sealing
wax, and some wax softened in the candle being applied all round
inside the screw, the cistern being held by a thick cloth is to be quick-
ly screwed again on to the cover. When all is cold, the hole for the
thermometer is tobe closed by apiece of soft wood, and the cistern
being filled with mercury through the two screw holes, the bottom is to
be turned, and the surplus mercury in the bottom isto be allowed to
run out. The screws having been inserted, the bottom is to be turned
again until the mark on the two pieces shews that the openings coin-
cide, and the tube is to be held upright. The next thing is to insert
the thermometer, which is now to be put into its place and cemented
with some putty made by rubbing chalk fine with wood oil, which will
dry in a couple of days. But as the thermometer is of no use, as it will
not shew the temperature of the mercury in the tube, where all the
hottest mercury of course ascends, it is better to remove it altogether,
and to stop the hole tightly with a deal peg. A thermometer attached
as in these instruments, is the ‘more inconvenient, because very liable to
be broken, and then of course might endanger the whole instrument by
letting the mercury out of the cistern. To finish the barometer, noth-
ing more is afterwards necessary but to adjust to its old neutral point,
by comparison with a good barometer, by adding or remoying a little
of the mercury in the cistern by the screw holes.

>)

1840.] Account of the Basava Puran. 271

V.—Account of the Basava Puran ;—the principal Book used asa reli-
gious Code by the Jangams.—By C. P. Brown, Esq.

The description of the Jancams, given ina former essay, may shew
how far these Vira Saivas differ in their creed from the other Hindus.
To render the view of their state more complete, a sketch of their
popular literature may be advantageous. Legendary lore is puerile
enough in all countries ; and is not worse in India than that which pre-
vailed in Kurope, before the invention of printing. That of the Jan-
gams deserves notice, because forming the creed ofa large body of
Windus, who venerate the Basava Puran as sincerely as Bramins do the
Ramayan.

The Puran or legend of Basava was originally composed in the Te-
lugu language by Palacuriki Somanatha, who likewise translated the
Pandit Aradhya Charitra from the Carnataca language. This poet

lived in the days of Pratapa Deva Rayalu, also called Praudha Rayalu,

who appears to have ruled the Telugu country from A. D. 1456 to

_1477.* That the poet was cotemporary with this prince is stated in

the introduction to the modernized cals metre) version of the Puran,
written by Piduparti Somaia.

That introduction further states that the “ Charitra” was versified
(written in padyams) by Sri Natha, the well known poet who translated
the Naishadham into Telugu.t Indeed the antiquated style in which
the Puran and Charitra were originally composed, is (though still ex-
tremely popular) so rude and inelegant that modern poets have re-
written these works, as Dryden and Pope have remodelled the poems
of Chaucer and Donne.

After Somaia had translated the Puran into padyams, he proceeded
to translate the Lila from Carnataca verse into Telugu dwipada. His
uncle Basavaya had already written a padya version of the Lila; as also
of the Diza Bodha, the Pilla Nayanar Catha and the Bramhotiara
Khundam. None of these works equal in beauty of style the Puran
and Zila in the modern version, written (perhaps about A. D. 1600) by
Somaia. Hindus are always apt to give a fictitious antiquity to their
favourite authors: and late enquiries have shewn me that the dates
mentioned in a former essay require correction.

Some of the more popular legends are contained in books which are con-

* See the chronological series of kings, framed by Col. Mackenzie, and printed in
Mr. Campbell’s Telugu Grammar.—See also note at end of this article.

+ I have not succeeded in obtaining Sri Natha’s version: but haye in my possession
all the other volumes here named,

272 Account of the Basava Puran. [Ocr.

sidered Purva Saiva or braminical; such as the story of Bhallana, that of
‘*¢ Chennappa the savage,” and a few others; which are given not only in
the Basava Puran but likewise in the Sri Calahasti Mahatmyam, in the
Vatjayanti Vilasam, the Vira Bhadra.Vijayam, the Raja Sekhara Cha-
ritra, and some other Canarese and Telugu books, not written by Jangams
but by Bramins ; and accordingly dedicated not to Basaya but to Ganesa
or Rama.

These legends, again, are distinct from those (now wholly obsolete)
which are given in the Siva Puran and Linga Puran: of these a sum-
mary may be seen in the preface to Professor Wilson’s translation of the
Vishnu Puran. Here, as also in his ‘‘ Two Lectures” (lately re-printed
at Madras*), the learned professor points out that “‘ the wise look upon
“ the outward emblem as nothing; and contemplate in their minds the
“invisible inscrutable type ; which is Siva himself. Whatever may have
“ been the origin of this form of worship in India, the notions upon
“which it was founded, according to the impure fancies of European
‘“* writers are not to be traved in even the Saiva Puranas.”

The Siddhdnta Sékharam, the Siva Siddhanta Tantram, and the
Suprabhéd Agamam do indeed describe the lingam; but these are bra-
minical treatises of modern days, written in Sanscrit. In the Tantras, of
which an outline may be seenin Professor Wilson’s Two Lectures (as
also in my former essay), there is not the slightest allusion to the lingam.
In the books now to be described, all the legends inculcate devotion to
this image of Siva: but regarding the image, or its origin, there is not
a single syllable.

The Purva Sativa being the ancient or braminical creed, offers homage
to the image placed in a pagoda or in any sacred situation. The Jan-
gama or Vira Sativa is the modern anti-braminical creed,t wherein each
individual wears the image. The ancient form directs pilgrimage, pen-
ance and sacrifice: the modern substitutes (Guru, Linga, Jangam)
devotion tothe teacher, adoration of the image, and benevolenee to
the fellow worshipper. The older form admits of caste, and considers
Bramips as sacred. The modern rejects caste, and certainly teaches no
veneration for Bramins. In the modern creed every homage is paid to
Basava, and paid exclusively to him as Siva: paying no regard to Par-

vati, to Ganésa, to Nandi, or any other attendant on Siva: in the older-

or braminical system (such as is taughtin the Calahasti Mahatmyam

* On sale at the Atheneum Library.

+ Opposing the braminical superstitions as vehemently as the Wahabi creed opposes
the older Musulman sects.

Ee

1840.) Account of the Basava Puran. 2738

and other books named with it) the name of Basava is never mentioned.

The Basava Puran is in seven books, containing (in the original Telugu
dwipada) 12,700 lines; it is an evident imitation, in some points, of the
braminical puranas; for instance, the introduction declares that to pro-
nounce the three syllables Ba-sa-va, and the syllables Gu-ru, is a means
of obtaining heaven: and that faith (bhacti) is the great foundation of
good. The book purports to be a series of legends regarding various de-
votees (bhactulu) or zealots who attained fuith ; and details the miracles
performed by these “ worthies.” These (in imitation of the braminical
mode) are narrated by the god Siva to his wife Parvati and the sage
Narada. The book opens with homage paid by Siva to Basava, who is
declared to be an incarnation of Nandi (the Apis or sacred bull): and
a few of the latter legends are concerning this confessor (Guru) Basav-
esa, closing with his death; but the greater number of the stories have
nothing to do with Basava, and merely describe the devotion of various
saints, who lived in ages previous to his birth. These are introduced
as being narrated by Basava, or in his presence. The first book describes
Basava’s parentage and birth as given in the former essay; and then
gives the following details.

In his eighth year his supposed father, being a Bramin, wished to
invest him as usual with the braminical thread: appointing him a (guru)
confessor or teacher. But Basava replied the great Siva is my teacher,

| and I desire no other. ‘The father tried to persuade him that the Bram-
_ hachari state, into which this rite introduces children is itself emblema-
tic of Siva. These words greatly offended Basava, who replied “ you
** speak of ordinary braminism and faith (bhacti), as if they were one and
“the same: whereas the yajua rites declare bramanism and faith to be
*‘ quite distinct. ‘There is no specific form of God asa visible shape :
** he is dead in his works who believes that the deity can dwell ina spe-
“cific form. None can attain eternal happiness unless he meditates on
“the (lingam) image, using the six-syllabied spell (Om Namasivaya)
“with adoration, and the rosary (rudraxa) and ashes. Further, divine
“bliss (linga-para-saukhyam) has not been expounded even in the
“ Vedas. Some assert that a religions profession (bramhanyam) and
“faith (bhacti) and spiritual intelligence (darsanam) are all one ; but
profession exists merely in the homage paid to gods, &c. and he who
* thus is tied to works has not faith. There is a wide distinction be-
“tween profession (achiram) and faith. Faith in the god is the hon-
* ourable wife: whereas profession is the (jara-stri) harlot. Consider
* that Brahmins, when invested with the thread commence the rite with

274 Account of the Basava Puran. [Ocr. %

“the adoration of (Nandi) the sacred bull: then why should they de-
“ part from faith in Siva? surely faith in Siva is our highest object. |

““ Again: the ties between our parents and ourselves are mere de-
*‘lusion, I will therefore depart from you,” &c. &c. Basava then leaves
his father’s house accompanied (as formerly described) by his sister Na-
gamamba ; they go tothe house of his father’s brother, whose daughter
Gangamba he marries. Basava then departs with his wife and sister to
Sangameswara the abode of his patron god; while offering his prayers
here the god Siva appeared to him, embraced him, and stood before him

with joined hands; lauding him, and encouraging him to continue stead-
fast in the faith: and declaring that even an enemy who adores the
image, is to be regarded as a friend : he desires Basava to shun all inter-
course with such as adore not the image. He further said ‘* Look upon
every Jangam as being verily myself.” _

The Seconp Boox describes the reign of Bizzala, king of Calyanam,
whose minister was Pasava’s uncle: on whose death Basava was made
minister ; he accepts office on the condition that the king will relinquish
the Jaina creed, and become a worshipper of Siva. Basava now devotes
himself to hospitality to the Saivites: and washes the feet of his guests.

He appears to have at this time contemplated making some innova-
tions in the religion. He having declined the braminical initiation, the —
legend declares that at the time of his birth, the god Siva himself des- —
cended and breathed the spell (Namasivaya; see former essay) in his
ear. In other words he framed or adopted the formula for himself, and
now communicated itto his nephew Chenna Basavana: this was the
son of his sister Nagarnma : but here is no mention of his other sister
Padmavati, whom the Jainas say Bizzala took to wife (see Mr. Elliot’s
remarks, in this Journal, Jan. 1838, p. 212). The legend here asserts
that Chenna Basava is a secondary form of Basava himself: the teacher —
and the pupil being one. ‘ts

Basava now receives a visit from AttaMA Prasuu, of whom a short |
account has already been given in the former essay. Basava adores him
as being Siva himself ; and Allama is described as bearing the image in
his hand. Allama probably isa fictitious personage: he is described |
as being one with Basava : but from the circumstances we may conclude
that at this period Basava determined on wearing the image. For he —
fs not stated to have already bestowed it on his wife nor on Chenna
Basava. At his birth indeed, Siva is stated to have himself descended
and placed the image on the neck of Basava : but we cannot suppose that
being the child of a Brahmin he was permitted to deviate from the fixed

dress of the caste.

1840.] Account of the Basava Puran. | 275

Here also we first find the mention of Mahéswards, that is, Jangams ;
who are introduced as a sect already known. But this style probably
is used merely to avoid the idea of innovation, for Basava declares re-
peatedly that all who are devout adorers of Siva are his brethren. And
throughout this book we find him lavishing his bounty and his worship on
pariars or others who are faithful worshippers of Siva. And it is evident
that very few of these are Jangams.

Then follows a discourse intended to prove that faith (bhacti) is all
in all. That this is the one boon to be sought; and that faith makes
the (bhacti) adorer equal to the deity. At the close of this conversation
Allama blesses Basava, to free him from the power of sin. He then is
‘‘ resolved into the image” (ling-aikyam), which here is interpreted that
he vanished ; but this phrase is elsewhere used to denote death.

Basava then devoted himself to mystic abstraction (Yoga-sastram), and
continued his bounteous treatment of the Jangams, “ gradually being
more and more absorbed in the image as camphor is absorbed by fire.”

The next legend describes some robbers who gained access to Basava
by wearing on their necks beans which they feigned were (lingams) im-
ages. On examination the beansare found to be changed into images.
On another occasion he converts a heap of corn into pearls.

Many miracles are related regarding other saints: and some are nar-
rated by Basava himself. :

In the Tuirp Boox Basava distributes in charity the treasures of his
master the king. But the treasury is still as full as ever. This intro-
duces another story, wherein a minister who had embezzled nioney given
him to purchase horses, cvllects some foxes and turns them into steeds.
In the next legend one of the Jangams requests Basava to give hima
silk dress then worn by his wife Gangamba. She is accordingly desired
to strip it off ; and does so; but in the usual mode it is merely a long
sheet, and as fast as she unrolls it more and richer dresses appear under
it. The Jangam then cuts off as much as he requires. This is a mere
Imitation of a story in the second book of the Mahabharat, wherein Drau-
padi is thus miraculously clothed.

The next set of legends is regarding the (mudha bhact), or s¢lly saints
_—whose feats certainly rival those of the simpletons (ahmaq) described
in the Musulman pious legends. These idiot monks, who have bid fare-
well to common sense always receive peculiar honour among Hindus of
all creeds. Several of them are called Minda-J angams or libertines
(as mentioned in the former essay ); and absolutely do not know right
from wrong. This exalts their merit ; as the force of their faith atones
for every other deficiency.

276 Account of the Basava Puran. | fOcr.

One of these is a pious woman who ponders how it should happen that
Siva should have every relation excepting a mother.* She reflected om
the grief she suffered at the loss of her own mother ; and, imagining it
might comfort him, she longed and prayed to become his mother. She
thereupon adopts a boy; but, to try her faith he occasionaily abstainsy
from the breast as a fast. She imagines the boy to be unwell, and as he
will not tell what ails him, she is about to knock her brains out (as usual
in these fables) when he bursts out in divine form as Siva : and offers to
grant her every wish. She makes no reauest and he bestows on her
(sayujiam) eternal happiness : and she is now worshipped as saint Am-
mavva : having been a mother (amma) to Siva.

A man and his wite who daily offered boiled milk to Siva leave home,
directing their daughter to attend the god daily. Sheone day put the
milk before him, and bowed to him as she left him to drink. On her
return, she finds he had not drunk it. She begs to know what had of-
fended him: as he remains silent she offers (as usual) to knock her head
against the wall ; but the god took pity on her and drank the milk. Vhis
he continued to do daily until it happened that on coming out she met
her parents who asked her for the milk in the vessel. She alleged that
the idolhad drunkit. This they disbelieved as he did not eat what they
offered. ‘They therefore took the girl to the image to repeat the story
to him. She bowed to the figure who opened his bosom ; she entered
and the marble closed again. Her fathercaught her by the hair; which
therefore did not enter, and still continues to grow! so that they keep
it cropped.{ Could you desire proof more complete of any miracle ?

The next legends are yet more marvellous: but they certainly have
this negative merit, that they are free from the foulness of the bramini-
cal legends, and we find none of the curses therein inflicted, as absurd
as they are cruel.

Some of the tales are merely ludicrous. Thus one of these simple-
tons sees a statue of Siva dancing. He imagines the god is contorted
with rheumatism. The story ends as usual by the god oe his
worshipper to (Cailas) Olympus.

* Compare the Legend of Saint Kentigern, as narratedin the second volume of Sou-
they’s Sir Thomas More ; or, Colloquies on the Progress and Prospects of Society. There
we even find the story of a fox or wolf used in lieu of a horse.

+ Like Saint Nicholas, the patron of thieves, who is noticed at a subsequent page
When an infant at the breast he fasted on Wednesdays and I'ridays.

$ There is a similar story regarding St. Francis. Compare also Napier’s Lights and
Shades of Military Life, 1840, vol. 2. p. 87, the story of a crucifix, the nails of which they
are obliged to cut from time to time,

1840.] Account of the Basava Puran. 277

The. next legend is that of ‘ Cannappa the (boya) savage.” This
story is remarkably popular ; it is narrated in various books : and many
Hindus at this day are named after this worthy. In the Sri Calahasiz
Mahaimyam the story is given in great detail, but may be summed up
briefly. Cannappa (who is one of the sélly saints) is a forester, who in
a dream beholds Siva in the form of a hermit : and is directed to plunge
into the forest to seek the god. He next day pursues a wild hog into
the wood ; where it vanishes and he finds an image of the lingam. Here
the god appears to him: the lad recognizing him, invites the god home.
The god was silent, and Cannappa imagined this might be the effect of
hunger : so he went to bring him venison. Another story is here
introduced to shew how the giants turned themselves into wild
animals, in the hope that being slain by the blessed hand of Cannappa
they should obtain (moxam) heaven. Cannappa now daily brought flesh
of wild hogs and deer with which he fed the god: but a Bramin hermit
who lived near the spot was offended that Cannapa, being a pariar or
outcast should thus gain the favour of Siva, while he himself daily exer-
cised an unprofitable devotion and offered fruits and milk to the image.
Here the Bramin introduces the following story. Once upon a time,
a devout spider* built her web so as to shade the image; which a de-
yout but jealous elephant tore down and daily bathed the god: which
he supposed to be a more acceptable homage : but the spider became 2
snake and got into his trunk and killed him. NowI, a weak Bramin
must thus contrive by cunning to kill this brawny forester. While he
thus plotted, the god determined to put the forester’s faith to proof. ‘There
was as usual a single eye painted on the image. From this eye Cannap-
pa perceived tears were flowing: which he wiped away with his shoe; and
then filled his mouth with water which he spirted over the image, which
now poured forth a stream of tears. He begged to know what was the
matter, whether the god was in want of food for his wife and children.
Perhaps, said he, you want another eye : if so take one of mine! so say-
ing he pulled out one eye and presented it : but the image still wept : so
he pulled out his other eye. Whereupon the god appeared in his true
form and restored his eyes.

The poet now proceeds to extol this saint, declaring that to be touch-
| ed by the spitile, and the shoe of this saint was no small honour te Siva.

* In this legend Sri is asserted to be a Sanscrit word for a spider; ameaning found
in no lexicon.
+ Compare the legend of Saint Lucia at Naples, whoin like manner tore ont hex
eyes, and had them restored.

278 Account of the Basava Puran. fOcr.

And asa satisfactory proof of this story he refers us to the temple at
Calahasti, where the image of Cannappa stands facing the image of
Siva. ‘There they jirst make offerings to the saint and then give the
leavings to Siva: they rinse the mouth of the saint, and then present this
as holy water to the god!

This concludes the eight legends of the ‘“ childish devotees ;” and
they are not represented as followers of Basava, who was born in a later
age.

The Srz Calahasti legend (a separate poem in four books, translated
from Tamil) gives this story with the additions that the spider, snake,

and elephant (sri—and cala~—and hasti) mentioned in this story were
adopted by Siva as his devout servants.

The next legend is remarkably popular, and has furnished the theme
of several poems. It is the Legend of Sri Sailam, a pagoda on the river

Krishna in Curnool: described by Colonel Mackenzie in the 5th vol. of
the Asiatic Researches.

A baron named Sacal Esa Madiraz ruled the town of Nambi: he
was a great musician, and devoted his talents to the praise of Siva.
Paying a visit to Mallarusu, a saint who lived at Sri Sailam, he admir-
ed that sacred hill: and particularly the guaking or dancing hillocks :
[here is given a long description of Sri Sailam]. It is here stated that
Mallarusu was in fact Mallic Arjuna: a personification of Iswara: and
to try the faith of his visitor, the god assumed a strange shape, wherein
neither his head nor his feet were visible. The pious Madiraz adored
him as incomprehensible. ‘The god was well pleased and brought him
into his temple where he invested him with the image, and told him
that as long as he dwelt on earth he must be subject to the (carma
canda) law of works. But Madiraz refused to return to earth, and
thereupon the god caused a ¢umma tree to spring from the.soil, and
under it he directed him to dwell. While he lodged there the god
again approached him in the guise of a herdsman, and began to hew
down the bough that gave him shade, while he sat at his devotions,
Madiraz was angry and forbade him to commit sucha sin. The swain
replied, thy being angry is a sin, for he who gives way to anger is-a
sinner. If this annoys you, you may go and seat yourself elsewhere.
Have you never heard the adage of the flood, at which a bear came
swimming down the stream? a man thought it was a sheep, and in at«
tempting to catch it, he was seized by the bear. Thus you sit here in
the hope of vanquishing (maya) the earthly passions, and are yourself
within their power, as the man was seized by the bear.

1840.] Account of the Basava Puran. 279

Madiraz, however, persisted in reviling him: while he replied by
preaching patience: at last the god blazed forth undisguised. ‘There-
upon Madiraz entreats to know how eternal happiness was to be at-
tained: and is answered that he must again descend to earth; that at
present there was on earth the great saint Basava ; and, said he, go and
listen to his preaching, and I will shortly summon thee to this place. Go
now to the city of Calyanam, where thou shalt find Basava.

On hearing these words the saint saluted the god, and the next mo-
ment found himself at Calyanam : where Basava had by a dream been
warned of his approach and received him with honour. This closes the
third book.

The fourth book contains the life of a celebrated saint named Madi-
rala Macaiia, who was a washerman by trade, and one of Basava’s
earliest proselytes. He performs great miracles ; a touch of
his hand slays an elephant ; and a second touch revives
him. ‘This man and other devotees lay themselves under a vow
to cherish or aid the Jangams in some specific mode, such as washing,
making clothes or shoes, &c. for them. A variety of such stories are
here inserted as being related by Macaya to Basava. One saint re-
ceives a sack of corn from a woman: at his touch they vanish, and at
the same moment all the wealth of the sender disappears ; this being
intended as a punishment for her feeling pride, at making so liberal a
donation. Another saint is gifted with Siva’s eye (as destructive as that
of the caliph Vathek), and entering a Vishnu temple, he consumes the
luckless statue of the god! Another devotee named Chiri Tondan Ambi
is extollel as having, with his wife, hospitably received Siva (disguised
as aJangam) and at his desire fo be feasted on human flesh, he and his
wife roast their son for dinner. On sitting downto table the god desires
them to call their child to dinver. On being called the boy re-appears
alive.* Hereupon the god shines forth and carries the whole party
home with him to Cailasa.

It is believed that this Tondan Ambi was in this manner carried seven
times to Cailasa from Canchi: and is to repeat the journey once more
at some future period.

The next legends are equally wild. Narasinga Nayanar was king of
the Chola country : his wife one day went to worship at the pagoda,
and happened to smeil to one of the flowers, which were to be presented
to the god: whereupon the priest cut her nose off. Her husband ap-

* Saint Servan performed a similar miracle ona pig: as is narrated in the life of
Saint Kentigern,

280 Account of the Basava Puran. [Ocr.

proved and cut her hands off. Whereupon Siva blazed forth, restored
his wife her limbs, and carried the pair to Cailas.

There are several stories to show how Siva was born in various places
as the son of various devout women. This appears to be a mode of
stating that their sons were pious men.

Several of these saints vitiate their sacrifices by a feeling ee :
whereupon they are punished in various modes.

The next story is regarding Miru Mindu Nainar whose faith exalted
him so greatly that Siva (by the name Valmik-esa) became his servant ;
nay his slave, and pander. The other devotees hereupon curse both the
god and his pet as equally infamous. ‘ At these words the god.was so
“« frightened that he fled and took his pet with him: they stole round
“« the idol, and passing under its front they ran away into the jungle.”
Siva’s follower Nandi expressed his wonder that a god should suffer
such distress : but Sivareplies, “I and my followers are one: nor can
Ibe free from grief while they suffer. Indeed on a former occasion,
when a devout woman was ordered by the king to produce a militia man,
as the fee on her land, I myself went and served* asa soldier furnished
by her.” ‘This ‘“‘ shews the wonderful power of faith : the good deeds
of a former birth would never suffice to obtain such a boon. Wert not
thou proud, O Nandi thou wouldst attain oneness with me.”

Here Basava is informed that Nandi ultimately became thoroughly
humble ; and this gained him the honour of canonization.

‘“‘ And next to faith, charity is the great means: for example this
Nambi after bestowing all he had on the poor, proposed even to bestow
his body in alms. He began by cutting off his hand: whereupon he
was at once borne to Cailasa.”

To this succeeds a series of miraculous stories, inculcating bountiful
ness to the poor : some devotees after redueing themselves to poverty
attempt suicide : whereupon they are as usual carried to Cailasa. Seve-
ral of these tales are interesting, but they are very long. One of these
men is visited by Siva disguised as a Sudra who refuses to honour the
god adored by his Jangam host : the zeal of the host is aroused and he
attempts to slay his guest, who thereupon displays his real form and
carries the zealot to Cailasa.

The narrative concludes with the moral that faith avails nothing if
clogged with pride. Pride ruined all the pious acts of Nambi, who

therefore long lingered on earth.

* Parallel to the Romish legend of the Virgin Mary, taking the place and doing the
duty of a devout nun who eloped for a period from the convent.

1840. ] Account of the Basava Puran. 281

The book closes with praise of Basava as being really the god Siva.

The fifth book commences with the life of a very celebrated saint,
Kinnara Brambaya (or, Bramhaya of the harp). He distributed all his
goods among the Jangams and then lived as a harper. Hearing of Basa-
va's liberality to ail the worshippers of Siva he resorted to him. After
dwelling with him for some time Bramhaya one day saw a (vitaca) gal-
lant carrying a sheep to his mistress. ‘The sheep escaped and ran into
the temple of Siva. Bramhaya begged it might be spared, on the plea
that it had thus offered itself for sacrifice : so he offered to pay for it:
the price being half a (varaha) pagoda: but the man demanded 2,000
pagodas for it. This money he obtained and paid. The man then got
two other sheep for the woman ; but she chose te demand the original
sheep alone. He therefore attempted to wrest the sheep from Bramhaya
who in the struggle cut off the man’s head. His relations complained
to king Bizzala, who sent for his minister (Basava) and reproached him
with the deeds of his fellow zealots. Basava recommended an enquiry
into the circumstances on the spot. The king therefore repaired to the
place, and the god was called on to bear witness. Siva thereupon burst
forth in divine form in flames and thunder, which ceased at their entrea-
ty : the king then offered homage to Bramhaya who consented to restore
the dead man to life.

The next four legends are full of miracles, but they are not so popular
as to call for notice. We may remark that in these stories Basava is by
no means exalted over his brother zezlots. It is stated that (on visit-
inga very charitable woodman, named Moliga Maraia) Basava looked
upon himself as sanctified by eating in the house of so excellent
a person ; he even envied the birds and beasts that were at this
holy abode. On Basava’s offering homage to Maraia, he replies by
attributing divine honours to Basava, saying all Ido is by thy grace:
Basava is much shocked at this homage, and replies, have mercy on
me a poor inferior creature: as far beneath thee as a crow is beneath an
eagle; for I am the very abode of all sin.*

The next legend is regarding Cannada Bramhaya, a saint of a singular
temperament, being (like saint Nicholas) by trade a housebreaker. If
on breaking into a house he found that the inmates were worshippers
of Siva, he spared them, but shewed no such delicacy towards those as were
not of the true faith. He once was digging through the wall of king
Bizzala’s treasury, and on entering he met Basava, who being the trea-

® His crossing the river dryshod is another incident paralleled in the legend of Saint
Kentigern.

282 Account of the Basava Puran. [Ocr

surer, invited him to walk in and help himself. On hearing this the
king was much displeased, he came to the treasury, found the hole made
and the money lying about. On asking an explanation of the affair,
Basava told him that this was the doing of Cananda Bramhaya (Bram-
haya the borer of the spade), who isa great saint The king raised a
query, how a house breaker could bea saint. Basava replied that he
bestowed his plunder on people of the true faith* ; adding that he had
broken into the treasury with the best designs towards his majesty. Then
the thief carried home a party of the Jangams and gave them a dinner.

In the next legenda saint feasts his friends on poison nuts, which
prove harmless. Another raises a corpse from the dead. In the next
story narrating a journey made by two devotees, there is mention ofa
fig tree called the Basava fig tree: so called from two bulls (the word
basava meaning a bull) having fought on this spot. On approaching
the tree they see the deity (Basava) therein and worship him. ‘They
next cross a river dryshod, the stream giving way before the brandished
sword ofa devotee. ‘The blessing given by a saint to a virgin wishes
her a century of life : but she next day dies, and he restores her to her
parents,

In the next story certain (ajnulu) unbelievers dress up a semblance
of a corpse which they bear before the house ofa saint to see if he could
detect the delusion : but he went up to the bier and took the doll up by
the hand and raised it to life. This of course persuaded his opponents
of the truth of his creed.

Another saint named Suraya Candaia who worshipped Siva, used to
pay yet greater homage to the Jangams : for he adored them first, and
the image afterwards: thus reversing the usualrule. Another used to
listen to his guests while eating, and declared that he heard Siva him-
self masticating. Nay he literally fed the zmage hanging at his neck,
which actually ate with him. Another saint and his desciple are visited

* Precisely the doctrine taught in Parnell’s tale of The Hermit, wherein the angel
steals a goldcup which he bestows on a miser. It frequently occurs in Hindu writings.
Thus in Vemana, II], 134. ‘* To give away what is our own is easy: he alone can
be called liberal who scruples not to bestow in gifts the property of others.’’ Likewise
in the Bhaseara Satacam, verse 42, Danamu seya cori, &e. ‘* If the liberal man when
* desiruus to bestow a gift, should lack the means, let him resort to the goods of .
«© others: as the cloud waters the desart with streams whichit borrows from ocean.’’
The same principle may be seen in the laws of Manu ;- and also in the Musulman rules
regarding the right that the faithful have to the goods of idolaters. Indeed Parnell’

ale has been traced to an Arabian source.

1840. ] Account of the Basava Puran. 283

by a troop of fairies (gandharva) with their wives, who protest they took
the saint for a bear, and his disciple for an ox.

He therefore cursed
them to be born as brutes.

They were released from the curse by fall-

ing under the arrows of a worthy named Zommaia, who continued to
offer seven animals daily to the image. :

This story is evidently copied from that of Cannappa the savage, men-
tioned in the third book. It is the only Jangam legend wherein I have
met with the mention of curses .*

This story concludes the fifth book: and the sixth describes those
acts of the saints which were performed to confute the assertions of the
Jainas. For instance ; a Jaina defies a devotee named Ecanta Ramaya,
and tells him that he is willing toadore Sivaif the devotee will prove
his faith by beheading himself. ‘This the saint declined as inconvenient,
replying that this step was superfluous ; as numbers of the devout had

cut their heads to Siva, and then recovered life. He proceeds to tell
various legends.

In the first of these a saint cuts off his head, and reeovers it at the
end of three days. Another thinks this delay must have arisen from the
want of faith: so he cut off his head before the god who instantly re-
placed it with another : and this feat was encored till the temple was
full of heads. The next stories are regarding Jaina persecutions: one
Jangam is condemned tothe flames, but fire will not burn him. He
then is released and destroys the Jaina images. Another is a blind man

who as a good deed digs a well, which the Jainas fillup. He gains his
sight and they go blind.

The next is a legend of Siva and Parvatidescending from heaven to
visit a Bramin boy, who thereupon embraces the Siva creed. ‘This fable
is very long but is narrated in a pleasing style of poetry. This Bramin
is allowed by the king to hold a public disputation with the Jainas. The
Jainas now by their spells invoked the god of fire to destroy him, but he
remained unhurt : this is interpreted as meaning that they tried to kill
him by burning his house. The Bramin now inflicts fever on the king,
and the Jainas are unableto cure him. The Bramin not only cures

* A curse is the mainspring of all the braminical narrations. Throughout the Mae
habharat this engine is constantly brought into play : even the present fable of Can-
nappa isof braminical origin: for the legend is traced to the Skanda puran. We may
recollect that a curse is the first moving cause of the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Mneid;
as wellasin the Bhagavat and the Cloud Messenger. But the peaceable puritanical
style of the Jangam books rarely admits even the mention of a curse, and this is pers
haps the only instance of one of theix saints resorting to that braminical weapon.

284 Account of the Basava Puran. [Ocr.

him, but removes a hump from his back. (This is one of the legends
told in the Socea-Natha Lila, or, Madhura Puran).

The Jainas having declared they would acknowledge no proof save
that by fire, the Bramin now wrote a Siva spell, and cast it into the flames
with a Jaina spell: the Jaina incantation is burnt, and the other is pre~
served. The Jainas now propose the water ordeal: and the writings
of both creeds are cast into the Cavary ; in this also their books perish-
ed, and the Saiva books floated.

The Siva disputant, who is named Pilla Nainar, now set up a number
of iron spikes on which he impaled the Jainas. ‘This persecution is
countenanced by a king. Another account in the next page states that
the Jainas were saved because they embraced the Saiva creed.

These stories regarding the Saivas and Jainas, appertain to an age
previous to that of Basava.

The same narrator adds the following legend. There was a faithful
devotee named Nami Nandi, who used to collect ghee (butter) as alms,
wherewith he lighted lamps in the temple of Siva. The Jainas opposed
him, and as he could get no oil he complained to Siva, using the common
threat of suicide. The god thereupon appeared to him, and desired him
to fill the lamps with water which burnt remarkably well. Then the
god smote all the cattle that supplied the oil butter: and the people
humbling themselves before Nami Nandi, the saint restored their cattle
to life—and they embraced the Saiva creed.

Another saint named Sankhya Tonda, lived in the Chola country : he
was the son of a Buddhist, and as he could no where find men who
adored Siva, he prayed his god to destroy all the Jainas ; and, added he,
until thou grantest this prayer, I will daily fling three stones at thee.
At last Siva appeared, stretched out his arms, embraced him and granted
his prayer by destroying all the Jainas in the town.

The next legend is of a saint named Covvuri Bramhaya, who held dis«
cussions with the Jains, and as they demanded a miracle, that of reviv-
ing a tree from its ashes, he accepted the challenge, and this convinced
them.

There was a Jain guru, who was the confessor to a petty prince or
baron named Desinga Ballahu. But his wife Suggalavva, had a Saiva
named Devara Dasaya as her spiritual guide. She requested him to
destroy all the Jainas. But the Jins* slandered him to the king, who
counselled her that it was very wrong for a husband and wife to have

* Jina or Jina Deva, is the name used for the deity by the people who call themselves

Jins, or Jainas.

1840, ] Account of the Basava Puran. 285

separate confessors, She was offended and replied that a penitent is
just as strongly bound to the confessor (guru) as a wife is to her husband,
She reminded him that this was stipulated at the time of their marriage :
and it would be better that they should separate than break that promise.
Assemble your Jins, said she, and let tnem dispute with my confessor,
and let the termination of the dispute decide our creed. This debate
took place, Devara Dasaya asserted that the deity (Siva) pervaded all
the universe. They replied, if your god fills all space, it surely is super-
fluous to assemble in temples to adore him. Dasaya replied :—‘* The
king rules the whole country, but it does not hence follow that every
one of his subjects isking. There is no occasion to attend temples as
the deity is present with us all. Consider, the Chandra canta stone
(selenites, amber) has the lunar influence inherent, and melts at the lunar
ray ; so does the heart of the pious man melt at the divine influence:
for in him the deity is inherent. If we desire to have the milk of the
cow we must buy the calf too: for it alone influences the udder to flow:
thus none but the faithful adorer can derive any good from worship.
The pear! shell rejects all common rain and is impregnated with pearls
only by the genial showers of (Swati) the asterism Arcturus. In like
manner the faithful Vira Saiva’s heart expands to the influence of Siva
alone.” :

They then asked whether Siva was the body or the soul of the world.
He replied “ Life and its properties do not appertain to the divine being.
The living soul is in bondage to works Lut the deity acts from will alone.
The deity is in our bodies, latent, as fire is in wood or oil in seeds: co-
existent and hidden.”

They replied saying, you say that Siva fills all space, and add that the
divine influence is immortal: while the vital spark is mortal. This
should be proved. Besides there must be one common principle of life
extending from brutes up to deity. Explain this,

He replied, oil exists in linseed though it is imperceptible.* The
deity shall be attained by the wise, no fool can attain to him for he per-
vades allnature. Of this I will convince you by destroying this Jaina
town (a town named Potla Cheruva) and as a mark of my power, said
he, tell me what is in this jar—verily the deity is therein. So saying
he produed a jar containing a snake: and on openingit the snake was
found metamorphosed into a crystal (lingam) image. This convinced

* I omit some further argumentation, which is tedious, and just as inconelusive as the
| above.

286 Account of the Basava Puran. — [Ocr.

his opponents. He then pulled down all the Jaina temples and set up
this image to be worshipped under the name Uttar Eswara.

‘The next legend is similar: describing the setting up of Saiva images .
in Jaina temples. The next is yet wilder. ‘The Jainas delude a Saivite
who is blind, into one of their temples and setting his face towards
(Jin-eswara) their idol, assure him it is (a lingam) an image of Siva: he
worships it: whereupon the Jaina image burst to pieces and in its stead
there appeared the image of Siva.

The prince Bizzala (who employed Basava as his minister) now op-
poses the Jangam faith ; being himself a Jain. On one occasion he sets
up an image of the god Gopala [this is the name of a braminical god :
but it is stated that this was done merely to annoy the Virasaivas]. He
desired all people to worship this image. A zealot named Bacayya re-
fuses to obey. The king complains of this: but Basava interpose sta-
ting that if Basaya neglected his duties he merited punishment but he
could not be expected to honour a new god.

‘The next legend (told in the braminical puranas likewise) is that of
Bhringi, and deserves notice (though pitiably silly) merely because very
popular. This bhringi was a devout servant of Siva (Jupiter) on Kai-
lasa (Olympus) and wished to honour Siva in the rite ealled pradaza-
nam (encircling him, circumambulation). But he declined paying any
homa.e to Parvati (Juno) and as Siva was in the (Arddha-nari) herma-
phrodite form* (the right half of his body being male and the left fe-
male) Bhringi asummed the form of a (bhringam) wasp and bored a
passage for himself between these figures: thus excluding Parvati trom
his homage. The goddess was offended at this and by a curse dried up
the zealot’s body, abstracting all his flesh and blood, and reducing him
to nobody. To comfort him Siva presented him with a third leg, and in
this reptile shape Bhringi (Tripos tripudians) appears in all the Siva
temples, being an especial favourite with the god, and celebrated as a
dancer, though a dwarf. Basava tells the king this story to shew the
value and potency of faith.

A variety of other legends of miracles may be passed over; as deserv-
ing less notice than a dispute regarding the comparative potency of
Siva and Krishna, who isthe great god of the Bramins. The sernion
against Krishna is delivered in the presence of the king by a Jangam
named Bachi Devaiia.

Both Krishna, said he, and all the other gods are vastly inferior to
Siva. For, were they really mighty how does it happen that they cannot

® See the prints in Moox’s Aindu Pantheon,

1840.] Account of the Basava Puran. 287

vindicate themselves when misfortunes befal them? Neither Jainas nor
Bauddhas worship the true god. Siva alone is supreme.

This book closes with a violent attack (in 400 lines of verse) on the
adorers of Krishna (Vishnu) who is declared to be by their own confes-
sion not only asinner but subject to degradation and death: “ Vishnu was
finally expelled from earth for his crimes and took refuge in the ocean.”
Siva is declared to be the supreme being, ‘“ one of whose servants would
suffice to destroy Vishnu with all his adorers.”. At the close of this dis-
course, the prince (Bizzala) renounces the new braminical god (Gopala,
or, Krishna) whom he had lately set up.

The seventh and last book (containing more than 2000 lines), describes
the homage paid by Basava, as king’s minister, to various paréar™
saints who adore Siva. The Bramins complain to the baron (Bizzala) of
this conduct: and being summoned, Basava brings the pariar (sitting
with him in his palankeen), to the palace. Being therefore excluded,
Basava spreads his shaw] at the gate and with his pariar friend seats
himself on it. Theking reproaches him for behaving in this manner,
setting at defiance all the rules of caste: and expresses his apprehension
that this may bring a curse on the land and heaven may withhold its
rain.

Basava replies by telling some stories to prove that pariars are quite
as good as Bramins, and that caste itself isa mere braminical device.
He states that ‘the Vedas define but two castes, namely ( pravartica
and nivartica) the active and the contemplative. What avail castes re-
cently instituted? Surely faith (bhacti) is the only point in which one
man is superior to another. ‘The Bramins here present are totally in-
ferior to this pariar.

Then follow other extravagant stories wherein “ the dog of a worship-
per of Siva is declared as good as any worshipper of Vishnu’—Ofa
snake that dies as a punishment for biting a Jangam—Of a Jangam girl
who considered herself defiled because touched by a Bramin woman :
* because touching a Bramin would be a defilement even to the dogs of
a Saivite’s house. ‘The Bramins are annoyed at being set below dogs,

* The word Parvar is originally Tamil, parey, plural pareyer; and signifies a drummer
(from parra, a drum whence parrayan). For the pariahs bold the hereditary village
employment of Toty, or Vetiiyaun: answering to the Saxon villein, or serf and one of
their stated duties is ¢o beat the drum on public eccasions. The Spaniards have used this
Hindu phrase in South America: where they apply it to labourers and Indians: from
Brazil too, they brought the word peon which there signifies either a foot soldier,
household servant, or a labourer in general.

288 | Account of the Basava Purai. (Ocr.

and affirm that at least a dog cannot read the vedas: a Jangam, however,
desires his dog to try, and it succeeds very well.

Besides, Basava assures the baron that in many houses the dogs read
the vedas quite as well as their masters. ‘This is not impossible.

A zealot hears aman reading the legends in honour of Vishnu: but
avoiding those which speak of Siva. Unable by argument to persuade
the reader to do justice to his patron god, he killed him.

A woman who is a leper is driver out of the town by the Bramins:
she attempts to visit a Siva temple: the god meets and heals her, and
inflicts the leprosy on the Bramins. ‘There follow many more miracles.

Basava’s zealous exertions had now encouraged the Saivites to treat
the Bramins and their temples with great neglect : and the king receives
many complaints that the Jangams were gradually infringing on the
rights of all other creeds. Some complaints are made by (boyas) herds-
men: who now lost the dinners (prasadam) which they (as cowherds)
had hitherto been used to receive from those who formerly worshipped
at the temple of Siva.

On being questioned regarding this by the prince, Basava declares that
these men had a claim to the (prasad) blessed food bestowed at the Siva
temples, but had no right to enter the houses of Jangams nor even to
see their food. The claimants replied that at Casi, Gaya, and Prayaga
(the sacred cities), they enjoyed this privilege: and therefore claimed it.
He answered that they could claim nothing that is not offered at a Siva
temple. ‘* We of the Vira Saiva sect, he added, will not even tolerate
the sight of a Saivite. But, said he, if you choose, you may dine with
me to-day on poison; I shall be happy to see you.’—The story ends in
Basava eating the poison with impunity, through the power of (prasadam)
the benediction which he utters over the food.

Bizzala then looks upon Basava as more mighty than Siva himself, |
as having swallowed the poison: whereas Siva does not venture to
swallow the venom, and merely holds it in his throat. This alludes to a
well known story regarding Siva.

On another occasion Basava is invited to dine in company with some
Bramins and declines it: because he will not eat with those who neglect
to bless the food in the name of Siva. :

The next is a story about some cows which are faithful to Siva, and
refuse food offered to them by any but Jangams: indeed, they will not
eat until they behold the image and make an obeisance to it. “ Thus
a cow in the house of a devotee has more religion than a Saiyite: then
how can you be so brutish as to wash the feet of Bramins ?”

1840.] Account of the Basava Puran. 289

Another devotee’s wife bears him twins: he has provided only one
image, which as usual, he hangs at the neck of the first born, and for want
of a second he refuses to receive the second infant. This is applauded
as a mark of great devotion.

Basava further says to the baron, ‘ How can I convince you of the
supremacy of Siva? it is as idle as teaching a blind man what light is.
Your conduct is as foolish as using a golden plough, and then sowing
thistles. Consider how unavailing were the sacrifices offered to Bramins

- by Gautama, by Dadhichi, by Daxa, the emperor Bali and others’ No
honours that you can offer to Bramins can in merit equal worship offered
to the (lingam) image.”

His friend Jagad-Eca malla is convinced of the folly of adoring Pra-
mins, and offered his thanks to Basava: who now spoke to him in cone
fidence, saying after a short time a dreadful crime will take place here:
and you are’to slay him who commits it: after which Siva will appear
visibly to you.

There were two brothers named Allaiia and Madhupaiia constantly in
attendance upon Basava: the baron (Bizzala) caused their eyes to be

- put out. but Basava and the other worthies restored their sight, after
_ which they blotted out all the accounts kept in the royal treasury. They
now sent for Jagadeca Malla, and told him that the appointed time was
come for him to slay an offender. Basava now retired from the town,
which was immediately filled with outrages, so much so that the devo-
tees fled from it. Malla was appointed to put the baron Bizzala to death
' but went home without effecting this. His mother reproached him for
_ failing to obey the command of Basava. She said, surely had they wish-
| ed it the worthies were well able to do this themselves: they entrusted
it to you merely as a favour conferred on you. Ifyou disobey them I

!

| wish you may become a dog and live on (prasadam) rice given as alms.

Hereupon she treated him asa dog, and threw tice on the floor for
him to eat. But the other worthies came to console him, and even ate
| what he left. They then led him to the palace of Bizzala whom these
| three men slew.* They then returned home, and Malla paid homage
'to his mother. Then remorse at the crime made them seek to kill them
| selves, but their god Siva appeared visibly and carried them all to

*® This murder resembles the deed committed in the House ef Commons on 30th Dec.
| 1654 (see Salmon’s Chronological History), when a quaker wounted several people de
| Claring that he was inspired to slay every man who sat in that house.

290 Account of the Basava Puran. [Ocr.

After the death of Bizzala,* Basava retired to the pagoda at Cudali
Sangaweswaram, and prayed to Siva to take him to himself. Hereupon
the god came out of the temple and appeared in visible form, and on
being adored by Basava took him to himself (ackyam, unitedness, one-
ness, took place), while the people sung his praise: and thenceforward
all the worthies adored Basava as being Siva himself.

The poet concludes by apologizing for the prosaic style in which he
has recorded the History of Basava.

In a former essay, on the Jangams, it has been shewn that from local
records the death of Bizzala appears to have occurred in the saca year
1090 or, A. D. 1168. Dr. Francis Buchanan, however, gives a more
remote date (357 years earlier) to the events in question. He states
that “in the year Vicrama (3875 of the Kaliyugam), Basava went with
his sister to Kalyanam”—and specifies that this corresponds with A. D.
775 ; and “ the time for Basava’s remaining on earth terminated in the
year Raxasa, 3911 of the Kaliyugam”’—adding that this corres-
ponds with A. D. 811: and that Basava’s “ absorption” or death took
place on Wednesday the first of Margarisiras, at 21 hours (ghurries) of
the night. Vide Buchanan’s Journal in Mysore and Canara, 4to, vol. 3,
p. 264.

But this author does not cite proofs of the dates thus minutely speci-
fied: and the later calculation (placing the death of Bizzala in A. D.
1168) is more likely to be correct.

Somia of Pidupadu (in his preface to his Padya version of the
Puran) states that his ancestor, Somanatha of Palacurru, wrote the
dwipada puran in the days of a prince named Pratapa Rudra. (This ~
king according to Colonel Mackenzie reigned at Warangole from A. D. |
1456 to 1477). And he adds that in those days the fear of the. ap-—
proaching Mahomedan rulers was prevalent. This agrees with the —
known period of the Mahomedan invasion of Warangole.f ‘That puran
is written by Somanatha in Telugu: it mentions no earlier poem: and —
is considered by the Jangams as their most ancient record. |

The strong antipathy that exists between the Bramins and the Jan=

* Jt will be remembered that the Jaina account of this murder deviates in several ime ~
portant particulars: and probably is the true account. It is printed by{Mr, Elliot in this
Journal for 1838, page 212. The miraculous absorption of Basava’s body is evidently
meant to denote that he was not buried. }

+ See Briggs’s Mahomedan Power in India, vol. 2, page 311, date of A. D. 1368 an
page 448 of A. D, 1456.

1840.] Notice regarding MSS. in England. 291

gams makes each party avoid mentioning the authors respected by their
opponents. ‘This renders a comparison of dates far from easy. The
Jaina chronologists mentioned in the former essay have perhaps records
ed the true dates of the history: and the precise antiquity of the puran
is interesting to those who cultivate Telugu literature ; because the
peculiarities of the dialect give reason to believe it the most ancient
existing composition in the language.

POSTSCRIPT.

Tose who wish well to the literature of India will hail with pleasure
a notification which appears én the Foreign Quarterly Review, regarding
a society now founded in London “ for the advancement of Oriental
Literature by the publication of the Original Texts.’ With the Harn
or Munster as President, and Professor Witson as Vice President,
there is every prospect of its leading to results highly desirable. The
Devanagari texts may be best published in Bengal or in Europe: that
type being foreign to Southern India. But the Telugu, Canarese and
Tamil printing Gncluding Sanscrit publications in those alphabets) to
be rapidly, cheaply, and correctly executed, should be ordered to be done
at Madras and other towns, where we find an abundance of presses well
supplied with the requisite types; and where there is no want of skilful
compositors who are themselves natives.

As noticed in a former page of this Journal* it is much to be re-
gretted that an ample collection ef native literature, more than a thou-
sand volumes, in the Telugu, Tamil and Canarese characters, should be
removed from their proper sphere and lie useless in Lonpon ; part being
at the Inpia House and part at the Royan Asiatic Socrsty’s Library ;
while at Madras we often are at aloss for the aid they might afford.
In those museums I found some volumes (treated as mere curiosities)
which if transferred to Madras might do solid service to Indian history
and literature. Regarding remote times, the documents are not want
ing: books of a date earlier than the Mahomedan invasion are easily
found. But the bigotry of the Mahomedans and the indifference of the
English rendered the survival of the more modern native literature
precarious, and several works of merit may now depend (as did the
writings of Pumprus) on a single manuscript. Because during these
ages of neglect a volume however excellent, was but seldom transcrib-

* Madras Journal, No, 26, page 177,

292 On the Sevalik Hills. [Ocr.

ed ; and some works have become as scarce as are the MSS. of Anrisro-
PHANES. Some of these have found their way to England: and as a
case in point there is a work (the Parama yoga Vilasam, in Telugin)
of which I with much difficulty obtained one copy at Masulipatam :
two others (incomplete) have with his usual kindness been transmitted
to me by Professor Wilson: and another manuscript I discovered at
Oxvorp in the Boprzian library, whence I yet hope to obtain per-
mission to borrow it. J would willingly transmit a more legible copy
along with it in returning the original, which if left to its fate will perhaps
before long feast the worms.

VI.—On the Structure of the Sevalik Hills and the Organic Remains
found in them.— By Prosy T. Caurrey, Kse., Capt. Bengal Artillery,
TEE ES od

The mountains, a part of which I am about to describe, range (with
the exception of the debouchures of rivers) almost uninterruptedly from
the Sutluj, which separates the territory of the British Government from
that of the Sikh chieftain, Runjeet Sing, to the Burhampootur river, and
the district of Cooch Bebar. ‘Their general bearing, in the portion near
the Sutluj, is N. W. and S E ; but in that approaching the Bur-
hampoctur, it is many points nearer direct east and west. ‘They lie at
the foot of the great Himalayan chain, with which they are in some
parts connected by a succession of low mountains ; but in others, as in
the districts under review, they are separated by valleys from three to
ten miles in width, and called by the natives Deyra Dhoon, Kearda
Dhoon, &e., or the Valley of Deyra, the Valley of Kearda, &c. The
highest peaks do not far exceed 3000 feet, and the generality of the sum-
mits vary from 2000 to 2500 above the level of the sea. It is necessary,
however, to premise, that my observations have not extended further
eastward than the Ganges; and that whatever I may record, in this
paper, beyond that river, is given on the authority of others.

Between the Ganges and Jumna rivers, this line of mountains is sepa
rated from the great chain of the Himalayas by the Dhoon, or valley of
Deyra, the average width of which may be under ten miles. At the

* From the Transactions of the Geological Society of London, Second Series, vol. 5.

1840.} On the Sevalik Hiils. 293

Ganges, or south-eastern extremity, a road passes between the chain and
the river ; and no difficulty whatever is offered to the approach to the
valley. At the opposite or Jumna extremity, on the contrary, the moun-
tains are in many places scarped into the river; and the footpath used
by the boat and raft people, is an irrecular track, over ridge and through °
hollow, and impinges upon the river at those points only where the stream,
in its meandering course, strikes the opposite side of the channel. The
intermediate roads, or ghats, follow the rivers or hill-streams; for in
such an utter confusion of mountains, any other passage is impossible.
A few of these roads are passable for wheeled carriages, but the general
ity are bad footpaths. Between the Jumna and the Sutluj are two other
valleys, the Kearda and the Pinjore, separated from each other by one
of those complex masses of mountains which connect the lower with the
upper Himalaya range. ‘The hills are generally less precipitous in this
neighbourhood; andthe higher points and ridges are separate! by
valleys, affording a drainage to the country, and displaying on each side
high and beautiful sections of the stratification These valleys, or pla-
teaux—for, with reference to the rivers running below them, they may
be considered as such—vary in width, but extend along the whole course
of the mountain-streams.

As much confusion my be avoided, in the absence ofa native name
for the whole range of these mountains between the Sutluj and the Bur-
hampootur, by establishing one, which may be considered legitimate, [
wish to propose that of Sevalik,* formerly applied to the portion be-

* In Smith’s Exotic Botany, vol.i. p. 9., is the description of the Rhododendron arboe
reum: he refers it ‘* to the mountainous tract called the Sewalic chain, which separates
the plains of Hindostan, between 75° and 85° E. long. from the Himalaya mountains. I
make the quotation for the value of the name, though the statement is evidently wrong;
the rhododendron in question growing in the Himalayas themselves at a high elevation,
and in company with oaks. The chain separating the plains of Hindostan from the Hie
malayas, which isthe one now under review, is subject to a mean temperature perfectly
inimical to oaks and the Rhododendron arboreuem. The name is quoted also in Dow’s
History, and in some traditional writings in the possession of the high priest or Mahant
residing at Deyra. The derivation supplied by the high priest ts as follows :—

_ «* SEWALIK, a corruption of Shzbwalla, a name given to the tract of mountains between
the Jumna and the Ganges, from having been the residence of Ayshoor Shib, a name of
Mahadeo and his son Gun, who, under the form of an elephant, had charge of the wese
terly portion, from the village of Doodhli to the Jumna; which portion is also called
Gunegujur (gufur, elephant) : the portion eastward from oodhli, or between that vile
lage and Hurdwar, is called Deodhar, from its being the especial residence of Deota, or
Ayshoor Shib. The whole tract, however, between the Jumna and the Ganges, is calle
ed Shibwalla, or the habitation of Shib.”’

294 On the Sevalik Hills. [Ocr.

tween the Ganges and the Jumna; a name which appears to me better
than that of the “ Lower Hills” or the “ Sub-Himalayan,” terms,
equally applicable to the subordinate ranges northwards of the Hima-

layas.

These preliminary observations will make the reader acquainted
with the field of our fossil discoveries; and I proceed to the descrip-
tion of the geological features of the tract. The formations composing
the hills, consist of beds of boulders or shingle, either loosely mix-
ed or agglutinated by clay and carbonate of lime; of sands of various
degrees of consistency ; of marl or clay conglomerate ;* and of an infinite
variety of clays; the two latter being most extensively developed to
the westward of the Jumna. The strata dip from 15 to 35 degrees,

generally towards the north ; and the breadth of the inclined beds is from
six to eight miles.

The succession of the strata is irregular, with the exception of the
shingle in the more northern tracts, where it appears to overlay as well
as to alternate with the sandstones; whereas, although the debris is in
considerable abundance in the water-courses, and on the flanks of the
hills, I have never met with these shingle-beds south of the most north-
ern half of the hills. A similar remark applies to the marl, but in a
contrary direction, as it occurs only to the south. The want of the
marl in the northern sections may be accounted for, by suppossing it to
have been either a local deposition or a general one, which is not exposed
throughout its entire range.

Although I consider the whole of this tract of mountain as composed
of one formation, it may be of use to divide the portion between the
Jumna and Ganges, from that westward of the former river, as it ap-
pears to me, that there is a marked difference (as before stated) in the
shingle strata, as well as in the position and number of the clay beds ;
although perhaps nothing further than would be exhibited on any ex-
tended line of country, formed of debris from different tracts of moun=
tains. The causes which upheaved this district, apparently acted more
energetically in the contracted surface eastward of the Jumna, than
in that to the westward ; though, in the latter, the surface upheaved is ©
much more extended. I shall therefore divide these notes into two

* I call this stratum clay-conglomerate, the beds being composed of fragments ofan
indurated clay, cemented together by clay, sand, and carbonate of lime; the clay itself
effervescing strongly with acids. The rock is, in general, exceedingly hard and tough, —
as is shown in those parts where it is in contact with the stream of the rivers, which ape
pear to have had little power upon it. ‘

1840.] On the Sevélik Hills. 295

sections; the first consisting of the tract between the Jumna and
Ganges; the second, that westward of the Jumna. ‘Te commence, there-
fore, with the range between the two rivers.

HiILLs BETWEEN THE JUMNA AND GANGES.

Shingle and Sandstone.—The beds of shingle are of enormous thick-
ness, and alternate with the sandstone. The former precisely resemble
the shingle in the beds of the existing great rivers of the country, and
consist of boulders of granite, gneiss, mica slate, quartz, hornblende
schist, and traps; and every other rock, through which these rivers hold
their course. If the beds of the Jumna and Ganges were to be upheav-
ed, inthe same way as those of former rivers, the appearance of the
Strata would be exactly similar. The sandstone consists either of grains
of pure quartz, with different proportions of mica, or of an admixture of
the other ingredients so common in all river sands. The presence of
oxyd of iron causes a great variety in colour, from red to gray, whilst
the induration of the rock appears to depend on the proportion of car-
bonate of lime. In the more easterly limit opposite Hurdwar, as well as
other places, the stone is quarried for building; and in many localities
where it is crystalline, it is highly valuable in architecture. On the
Jumna are the remains of an ancient hunting palace, built by the em-
peror Shah Juhan at the end ofthe 17th century; and although now in
utter ruin, amongst its fragments are capitals of columns, and scolloped
arch work, &c. cut in this sandstone, which prove it to be well adapted
for architectural purpeses. It is easily worked, and the mixture of mica
gives two splitting surfaces. On exposure to weather, however, it exfo-
liates and crumbles, as is conspicuously shown in some lintels, still in
position at Badshahmuhul. The colours of the clays are endless; and
a light blue variety, which is found under the marl, as well as higher up
in the series, where it contains fresh-water shel’s, is exceedingly pure.
The strata of this blue clay are thin, but those of the other varieties are
of all dimensions.

Lignite.—Carbonaceous matter occurs throughout the sandstones, either
ia detached fragments exhibiting vegetable origin, or in strata or seams
composed of sandstone and lignite in equal proportions. Lignite is also
found in the mar], but generally in the form of black dust; leaving, on
its removal, an indistinct, vegetable impression. In one instance, I also
met with it in the shingle strata. It has never been found in sufficient
abundance to excite an inquiry as to its adaptation for ceconomical pur-
poses; though itis common tothe whole of this tract of mountains.

296 On the Sevdlih Hills. [Ocr.

Eastward of the Ganges it has been found, to the north of the Morada-
bad distiict ; and it agrees in every respect with that found elsewhere.
It has also been met with at points still more easterly; but the examin-
ation of that tract has been very slight. The most interesting point at
which I have found lignite, is at the mouth of the Kalowala Pass, one of
the entrances into the Deyra Dhoon, from the plains. A stratum or
bed of yellow and red sand, about 18 inches thick, is there completely
charged with lignite, either in long flattened masses, or in transverse
sections of trunks of trees, which show, by their elliptical form, effects
of vertical pressure. The lignite, in these cases, constitutes merely the
outer covering; the interior of the trunk being composed of the sand-
stone matrix. The bed is enveloped in strata of the marl, abounding in
the remains of animals; and both the lignite bed and the marl, appear
at this point most distinctly to have been deposited ina hollow; the
beds, at their lateral extremities gradually attenuating, until they meet
the sandstone rock ; and the lower surface being concave. Although the
marl is evidently limited at this spot, it seems to exist so generally in
extended strata, that, supposing it to have formed tracts of marsh land,
those tracts must have been very extensive. Ihave before remarked,
that I have seen the marl only on the southern limits of these hills, be-
tween the Jumna and Ganges. In crossing the former river, however.
the same stratum, with the same organic remains, is met with on the
north of the mountain ridge, on which the town of Nahun stands. Here
the upheavement has been more violent thar elsewhere ; and the point
of junction of this tract with the higher Himalayas is consequently much
dislocated. It is necessary to state, that there are appearances of -
trap* in the neighbourhood of these disturbances; a fact which may
lead hereafter to an interesting geological disquisition on the point
of junction. Fossil wood, apparently dicotyledonous, abounds in the
sandstone The woody fibre is generally perfec!, but impregnated with
the sandstone, and frequently mixed with carbonaceous matter ; in which
case the fossil is black, and on fracture has the appearance of an inti-
mate mixture of coal and sand, or of an imperfect coal. The only re-
mains of animals yet found are fragments of tortoises.

Marl, with Organic Remains.—As the marl is in greatest abundance ©
in this section, I will now give an account of its organic remains ;
confining myself to classes and genera. ‘These fossils are in appearance
perfect, and the deep black colour which they have derived from hy-

* Dr. Falconer has made the same observation. Journ. Asiatic Soc. Bengal, vol. iv. |
p. 50; date of communication, 3d January 1835,

1840.]} On the Sevalic Hiils. 297

drate of iron, renders them ornamental. The medullary cavities are,
in many cases, filled with pyrites, and in others with pure white cry-
stallized carbonate of lime. The greater part of the fossils, already
procured, is from the deposit in the Kalowala Pass; and as my collec-
tion is not only large, but abundant in different genera, the number
already found in such a limited space, indicates the great variety of
animal remains, which a diligent and extensive search may produce.
Teeth, and the more solid part of the bones, are found in the greatest
quantity. Most of the former are perfect, andas sharp in their outline
as when the animals existed ; and even in the fragments, the sharpness
of the fracture proves, that they were quietly deposited in the sedi-
ment in which they are found. ‘The following is a list of the fossils al-
ready discovered in the marl :—

MAMMALIA.

Pachydermata..... Teeth, and the remains of a species of Anthracotherium.

Carntvora......: ....Genera doubtful; but some of the teeth correspond
with the third incisor of the bear.

TGACWIA. .:<cense 0's. Rat, and a small variety of castor.

Ruminantia ..... ...Deer, several varieties, and one molar of a very small
species.

Solipeda.......---Horse, one incisor, and one molar from the right side
of the upper jaw: they exhibit a peculiarity in the
form of the enamel flexures.

ReEprTILiIA.

Crocodilia........»..Gharial. (Gavial of naturalists.) Teeth and bones
7 in abundance.

Crocodile. Teeth, in great abundance, fragments of

the osseous plates, vertebre, and other bones.

Chelonia.......... -Emys. Fragments of the plates of the back very per-
fect; also ribs, with the attached osseous part of
the buckler.

Tryoniz. Ditto, ditto. Some marked differences in
the form and position of the rugous surface of the
fragments of the buckler, may hereafter point out
a variety of species.

Pisces.

Vertebre and Scales—The latter doubtful.

238 On the Sevalic Hills. [Ocr.

TESTACEA.

Bivalve.s.css.e.sc08..+ Imperfect, but resembling Unio. Univalve : a cast
resembling that of the Paludina of the present
fresh-water.* ;

Besides these more easily determinable remains, there have been
found a number of incisor teeth, which I cannot assign to any genus;
also quantities of bones, in fragments, and portions of ribs, one of which
must have belonged to a large animal ; also vertebree, matatarsal or car-
pal bones, &c. With the exception of the teeth, the remains are gene-
rally in fragments, and separated ; nor does it appear probable that we
shall meet with anything approaching to a complete skeleton.

In the tract then between the Jumna and Ganges, the fossil remains
as yet discovered are thus disposed :-—

Shingle, or Gravel Beds—Lignite, scarce.

Sandstone ..eee ses... runks of dicotyledonous trees in great abund-

ance; lignite, and remains of reptiles.

Marl... .....ee00.+0++..+0.. Remains of mammafers, reptiles, fishes, shells,

and lignite.

The mineral products are, carbonate of lime, the general cement of
the whole formation, also in stalactites and stalagmites; selenite, in
small tabular crystals; and pyrites, but apparently in the neighbour-
hood of organic remains only. Soda abounds throughout the mountains,
efflorescing on the shingle and sandstone rocks; and the presence- of
this alkali may explain the partial disintegration of the boulders of which
the shingle is composed: for, I believe, Iam right in asserting, that
every variety of boulder, from granite to quartz and sandstones, has been
acted on: and when it happens that the boulders can be removed entire
from the bed, they fall to pieces, either after exposure to the air fora
time, or by pressure of the hand immediately. With regard to fractures
in some of the boulders, and their consolidation on different planes, as
in a slip of stratification, no remark whatever appears requisite, as these
are the necessary consequences of that movement, which raised the beds
from their horizontal position. There does not appear to be any further
remark necessary on this tract, mere than can be reserved for the gene-
ral summary ; I shall therefore proceed to describe the hills westward of

the Jumna.

* The only univalve which has been yet found in the marl is the cast above-mention<
ed, from the rock north of Nahun. I have enteredit here, considering, asI do, that
the deposits are identical.

PM
£840. | On the Sevdlie Hills. 293

Hitits West oF THE JUMNA.

These, as I before stated, consist of the same series of shingle, sand,
clays, and marls; but they differ, in the beds of shingle being less abun-
dant, although equally inclined, and in containing a different description
of boulder. The rolled fragments eastward of the Jumna are all of pri-
mary or lower rocks, whilst those to the westward are confined to varie<
ties of clay slate, and quartz. The marl, which, between the Jumna
and Ganges shows itself in the southern limits, is here exposed at 4
point north of Nahun, cropping out on the northern slope of the moun-
tain ; and the fossil remains resemble those found in the marl eastward
of the Jumma, consisting of mammafers, crocodiles, tortoises, fishes, and
shells. From Nahun to the plains there is a succession of sandstones
and clays, without any abundance of shingle. The sandstone, which, in
the vicinity of Nahun, is much indurated, and used for building, be-
comes softer on approaching the plains; long before reaching which, the
whole formation consists of an interminable succession of sandstones and
clays, the latter being in the greatest abundance, of every variety of
colour, and dipping, on an average, 20° to the north. The topogra-
phical outline of these mountains, shows a considerable south-
ing of upheavement, in the hills westward of the Jumna:
and the circumstance of the fossil remains abounding in the
sandstones and clays in this tract, and not in that between the
Jumna and the Ganges, may probably be due to the non-upheave-
ment of the line on its prolongation eastward of the Jumna. The
action, in all probability, was exerted irregularly; and although in
the large scale we may lay down the dip and direction with accuracy, the
former as varying from 15° to 35°, and the latter from N. E. to 8S. W.,
local details give very different results.

The sandstone rock, from which the fossil remains sent to the So-
ciety's Museum were extracted, reposes at the above angle, over num-
berless beds of clays, more or less rich in testaceous remains. The
fossil bones lie in great abundance on the surface of the slopes in the
neighbourhood of the sandstone, amongst the ruins of fallen cliffs, in the
beds of water-courses, &c. The bones which we have had the good
fortune to dig out of the rock are perfectly sharp, and in all their
original perfection. I may here advert to a circumstance to which the
preservation of the water-worn specimens is chiefly due. ‘The sandstone is
generally soft, but in the proximity of the fossils it becomes ferrugin-
ous, concretionary, and so hard as to turn the edge of the chisel; and
thus protects the fossil from destruction in its progress, as a boulder
along the torrent’s bed. ‘These concretions are occasionally globular,

300 On the Sevalic Hills. [Ocr.

and become singularly conspicuous, by the weathering of some of the
ridges, when the mass of rock takes the appearance of huge spherical
concretions piled confusedly on each other.

The organic remains of this sandstone yet brought to light, belong to
the following classes and genera: most of the species are new; and
the appearance of totally undescribed forms will add very considerably
to our fossil genera. The new genera themselves will be the subject of
separate accounts in their proper place.

MAMMALIA.

Pachydermata... Mastodon—elephant—rhinoceros—hippopotamus—hog.
Carnivora ...... Canine and feline.

Ruminantia... ... E:1k—ox—deer in great varieties.

Solipeda... ... ... Horse. |

REPTILIA.

Crocodilia........Gharial—crocodile; both very closely corresponding
with the existing -species now in the rivers. Lacer=_
tine remains indeterminable.

Chelonia.......Emys and tryonix; some of the fragments are of the
most gigantic proportions. Of the smaller varieties,
nearly entire specimens have been found ; upper buck-
ler and carapax complete. My cabinet also contains
three heads, wanting only the occipital portion of the
cranium.

Pisces.

Genera not established.

Many other fragments have been found, but so imperfect as to render
a classification impossible. I may remark, that there appears to be no
end to the variety as well as quantity of these remains: and we may ex-
pect to do much, even in this remote region, in advancing the inquiries
respecting fossil zoology.

Of each genus above mentioned, with the exception of the horse and
the carnivora, I have already almost perfect skulls. The bones of the —
body, however, appear to have been much broken and mutilated; but
it is a singular fact, that from many places where the fossils have been
found as mere debris of fallen cliffs, fragments of bone have been obtain-
ed, which have admitted of being joined, although the fractured ends
were coated with carbonate of lime, as if they had been fossilized se- _
parately. A beautiful example of this, is exhibited in an almost perfect

»

1840.) On the Sevdlic Hillis. 801

rib of an elephant or mastodon, which is forwarded to the Society’s Mu-
seum, and which consisted of no less than eight pieces. A perfect hu-
merus of a ruminant has been secured in this state; and the bones of
two hind legs, namely, the upper part of the metatarsal connected to the
lower portion of the tibia by the intermediate tarsal bones, with, also,
the os calcis entire, and all the smaller bones of the tarsus equally so.
These remains haye belonged to an enormous animal, and, I believe, to
the same genus as that of a skull in my possession, and now under des-
cription by my friend Dr. Hugh Falconer, of the Bengal medical service,
and myself. Although I refrain from zoological details, I must mention,

that we have an animal evidently forming a connecting link between the

Pachydermata and Ruminantia, or between the Tapir or Paleotherium,
and the latter order of mammalia. The hippopotamus of this sandstone

appears to be a new species, having six incisive teeth, besides other pe-

culiarities, particularly in the proportion of the bones of the head: the
tusks also differ from those described by Cuvier in his Ossemens Fossiles,
The great depth at which the marl lies beneath the upper strata, with
the discovery in it of remains of the horse, is an interesting fact. In the
sandstone strata the remains of the horse are by no means scarce.
There appears, however, to be a local disposition in the deposits of
these remains. In some places the hippopotamus, elephant, mastodon,
crocodile, tortoise, &c., are found in abundance, with the remains of
ruminants; in others the hippopotamus and the water reptiles are al-
most totally absent, and only the remains of ruminants and carnivora

occur; all tending to prove that these animals were destroyed on the
site of their habitats; and that this former world was not more myste-
rious than the present; that there were vast tracts of marsh and river,
with their attendant hippopotamiand crocodiles in the waters, and ele-
phants and mastodons in the neighbourhood; and that there were other
tracts free from water and marsh, and frequented by their natural inha-

bitants, ruminants, carnivora, &c.

Dr. Falconer, in a note read at a meeting of the Asiatic Society of
Calcutta*, suggested the identity of this deposit with that near Prome,
some of the fossils from which have been so beautifully lithogiaphed in
the Society’s Transactionsf. The mastodons in the Sevalik strata are
in great abundance ; and as we have perfect skulls, we are enabled to
form some opinion of the dentition and the change of teeth. Three of
these skulls, now in my cabinet, have the front tooth worn, and the rear

_ * Journal Asiatic Society, vol. iy. p. 58; date of communication, 3d January 1835,
+ Geological Transactions, 2nd Series, vol, iii, p.377 et, seq. ; pl, 36 to 43.

802 On the Sevalic Hills. [Oct.

one coming into use ; the whole line of teeth stretching on a surface of
19 inches, and forming an are of 90°. The front tooth I cannot distin-
guish from that of the MJ. Latidens figured in the Geological Transac-
tions; and the rear one, in the same animal, bears such perfect resem-
blance to the M. Elephanioides, that I cannot help risking the conjec-
ture that the M. Latidens and the M. Elephantoides are one and the
same animal; the specimens, from which the specific characters were
taken, having been detached teeth.

Bringing this forward in the way of suggestion may be of use, in ul-
timately leading to truth. The question, however, must be determined
by a strict examination of specimens; and having advanced the above
supposition, I will take care that the means shall be provided.*

The minerals in this tract, west of the Jumna, correspond with those
to the eastward, with the exception of the presence of the gold, which
occurs in the beds of the rivers in these mountains, both eastward of the
Ganges, and westward of the Jumna; but I am not aware of its existence
in the intermediate tract. Under Nahun, gold-washers are constantly
employed during the dry months; their daily return varying from two
annas to two rupees, or from 3d. to 4s. The process is extremely rude.
A piece of board, a long wooden trough, a ladle made out ofa gourd, a
sieve of the large grass which grows so abundantly in this part of the
country, and a piece of hollow bamboo with a little quicksilver, consti-
tute the portable apparatus of these most primitive washers for the pre-
cious metal.f A great deal of the gold-dust must necessarily be lost by
this method of proceeding; and all the mercury, as it is evaporated in
open air. The grains of gold are not larger than the small scales of
mica, so common inriver sand; and I have not heard that the metal has
been found in large masses, This gold, too, has its localities, some
streams being much richer than others. Where is the fountain head?

* The rear or newly-formed teeth of every species of mastodon resemble those of the
elephant, so far as relates to the integrity of the apices or summits oftheir transverse
ridges ; and they might therefore be mistaken for those of the M. Elephantotdes ; but the
observations which led to the conclusion, that the Ava specimens of mastodon belonged
to two distinct species, were not made on detached teeth. A repeated examination of
the jaws and teeth described by Mr. Clift, and the knowledge that his opinion was
formed from considering the size and number of the transverse ridges in relation to the
length and breadth of the teeth, have tended to confirm my belief in the establishment
of two species, which I must retain until further and more definite evidence to the con-
trary is adduced.—REFEREE.

+ See further particulars of the gold-washings in the Gimté river, by Capt. Cautley,
Journal Asiatic Society of Bengal, vol. iy. p. 279; Plate VII, ; Apri), 1835,

1840.] On the Sevdélic Hills. 803

In some stratum of this alluvium, perhaps, yet to be discovered, as the
streams have no connexion with the higher mountains. A description
of the washers , and the method practised by them eastward of the Gan-
ges, have been given in the Journal of the Asiatic Society ; and as there
is little difference in the apparatus used at both places, it is not neces-
sary to refer to it further.

Some of the fossils obtained by Mr. Colebrooke in the hills near Cooch
Behar, and described by Mr. Pentland*, are identical with some of those
obtained by the present discovery ; and as the former were found in the
most eastern extremity of this line, it is possible that a careful examina-
tion would prove the existence of animal remains throughout the whole
of the intermediate mountains; all the tract being probably tertiary.
An inquiry into the difference between the hills bounded by the Ganges
and Jumna, and those westward of the latter; and into the confused
and interminable dislocations, without any flats in the former, and the
more scattered ridges with the intermediate plateaux of the latter, would
only lead to a disquisition on the general formation of the dhoons or val-
leys lying between the Sevalik hills and the great chain, which the li-
mits of this communication will not admit, and must be left for future
inquiry. It will be sufficient to state, that the general form of the moun-
tains approaches more or less to a right angle, the long slope being co-
vered with vegetation, and the crest terminating in a perpendicular and
generally mural cliff, which descends into the beds of the torrents. The
scenery from these cliffs is most picturesque, and many of the passes or
ghats up the torrents are bounded by gigantic walls of sandstone, vary-
ing both in height and character, and subject to all the tortuosities de-
pendent on a river’s course, forcing its channel through a complication
of mountains. ‘This effect is considerably heightened by the pointed
and jagged style of the outline, depending on that abundance of clay
and carbonate of lime throughout the whole formation, which permits
even the shingle-beds to hold up their pointed summits in the wildest
manner imaginable. At places, a perfectly inaccessible needle of shingle
raises its head far above the others, and is crowned by one solitary fir
tree, Pinus longifolia. This conical form, produced in the clays by
weathering, is sometimes magnificently displayed, by the whole face of a
cliff, consisting of light pink, yellow, and blue clays, being externally de-=
corated with small conical spires of the clay from top to bottom, a height
of 1000 feet from the bed of the river. The origin of this structure is
_ due simply to a little coping stone, of some harder material than the

* Geological Transactions, Second Series, vol, iii, p, 393; Plate XLY.

804 On Fossil Quadrumana. [Ocr.

matrix of the strata, and upon which the weather does not act so rapidly
as upon the clay. Under a bright sun, the beauty of these cliffs, with
their illumined pinnacles, is exquisite; particularly westward of the
Jumna. I have before adverted to the presence of great abundance of
lime, forming stalactites, and the cement of the sandstone and conglo<
merate. ‘There is another striking method of deposition on the sur-
face of the large stones which lie in the beds of the rivers, and which,
during the greater part of the year, are in contact withthe water. The
substance is very similar in appearance to the coarse brown paper made
in this country ; and is produced by the water, while washing the stone,
depositing its lime, and entangling the finer particles of vegetable mat -
ter, sand and mica, until the stone acquires a superficial coating, of a
brownish yellow colour, which on removal resembles the substance be-
fore mentioned.

Notr py THE Epitor Grou. Trans.

For detailed descriptions, by Capt. Cautley, Dr. Falconer, Lieut.
Baker, and others, of the most important animals found in the Sevdlic
Hills, see Asiatic Researches; Calcutta, 1836; vol. xix. Part. I.; and
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, No 35. vol. i. p. 527; Nos.
45, 46, and 48. vol. iv. pp. 495, 565, 706.; Nos. 49, 53, 55, 57, 58, 59,
60. vol. v. pp. 38, 291, 294, 486, 579, 661, 739, 763.

VII.—Notice on the Remains of a Fossil Monkey from the Tertiary
Strata of the Sewalik Hills in the North of Hindoostan.*—By Capt.
P: T. Cautiey, F. G. S., Bengal Artillery; and H. Fauconzr, Esq.,
M. D., Bengal Medical Service.

The most highly organized mammifers hitherto described in a fossil
state, so far as our information extends, belonged tothe Chezroptera;
and the instances of these on record are very few.f That quadruma-~
nous remains should be wanting is by no means surprising, without the
necessity of supposing that they did not exist. The countries of which
the ancient races have been most completely investigated, had a climate
unsuited to be the habitat of the tribe, as we now know it, when the

* From the Zransactions of the Geological Society of London, Second Series, vol. 5.
+ Brewster’s Edinburgh Journal of Science.

1840. ]} On Fossil Quadrumana. 308

more recent or superficial deposits were in progress of formation. If we
refer to the remote epochs when the climate was suitable, and when
genera now associated with the Monkeys were abundant, it is easy to
conceive that the latter might have existed in numbers, without their
remains being entombed. It requires in all instances many unconnected
circumstances for the preservation of organic bodies, and their subse-
quent disclosure. Amongst the most important of these are the habits
and organization of the animals themselves. As in the case of birds, it
might be predicated, that this lucky concurrence of circumstances would
be rare with quadrumanous remains. he very perfection in the orga-
nization of the Monkey entails, as a consequence, that his solid frame
should seldom continue to indicate the previous existence of the indivi-
dual. His admirable agility and social habits protect him against most
ageressions. A flood might suffocate in their dens, over a large tract of
country, the burrowing tribes; and might sweep from under the feet of
the monkey hundreds of its herbivorous and predaceous fellow-tenants of
the forest, and bury them in the near shingle or far-distant estuary, or
drown and deposit them in the stagnant swamp—while he would remain
secure. ‘The tree on which he was perched might totter, and yield to
the undermining current, and he still escape and feed on his wonted
fruits, undisturbed by the destruction around, When the debt of na«
ture comes to be paid, his carcase falls to the ground, and immediately
becomes the prey of the numerous predaceous scavengers of torrid re-
gions, the Hyzena, the Chacal, and the Wolf. So speedily does this oc«
eur, that in India, where Monkeys occupy, in large societies, mango
groves around villages, unmolested and cherished by man, the traces of
casualties among them are so rarely seen, that the simple Hindoo be-
lieves that they bury their dead by night.

When the ancient races of India began to open upon us in the new
forms and the exuberant variety which the fossils ofthe Sewalik Hills
exhibit, we were early led to anticipate that some trace of quadruman-
ous animals would soon be met with to perfect a series, which would be
incomplete without them. Several months ago we became possessed of
a solitary specimen, which put the matter, in our own minds, beyond all
doubt. We deferred making it public, however, in the hope of soon find-
ing specimens of the cranium and teeth ; being unwilling to rest the an-
nouncement on any thing less characteristic. That chance has since
fallen to our fellow-labourers in the pursuit, Messrs. Baker and Durand,
of the Bengal Engineers, who have lately discovered a specimen, consist-
ing of a considerable portion of the face, and the whole series of molars

ace A Or
306 On Fossil Quadrumana. [Ocr.

of one side, of a quadrumanous animal belonging to a much larger species
than the bone we found. |

Our fossil is the specimen which accompanies this communication. It
is the astragalus of a right hind leg. It is completely mineralized,
having a specific gravity of about 2°8, and it appears to be impregnated
with hydrate ofiron. Although but a solitary bone of the foot, the re-
lations of structure are so fixed that the identity of the fossil is as cer-
tain as if the entire skeleton were before us. ‘The very shallow excaya-
tion of the superior surface for the pulley-like articulation with the tibia;
the form and extent of the lateral articulating surfaces for the external
and internal malleoli; the considerable elongation of the apophysis for
the head and neck of the bone; the slight obliquity with which it is sent
off from the body; and the diagonal direction and form of the principal
articulating surface with the calcaneum, are characters which, taken in
conjunction, incontestably prove that the fossil is a quadrumanous.astra-
galus. It would be needless, therefore, to dweil on the points of differ-
ence between it and the astragali of those orders of Mammalia which
have an allied form. It is only requisite to ascertain how it agrees with
the corresponding bone in existing species of Quadrumana. It closely
resembles, in size and general form, the astragalus of the Semnopithecus
Entellus, which we send along with the fossil for comparison.

The principal dimensions are as follow:—

Dimentions. Sewalik Fossil Monkey. Semnopithecus Entellus.

Extreme length of astragalus........... 1:3 inch. ....-«:.-.. 1°35 inch.
Extreme width of body of astragalus.... 1-: soe ceeeee 1:03 ——~
ength lofgbotly, cerns. 2. nets on ween e OB ——— secs eseeeee O85 ——
Greatest diameter of navicular head.... 0°65 —— ......... + 0°65 —=
Thickness of ditto... 1... 2 cece, O45 —— ieee OO (=

The chief peculiarities of the fossil astragalus, compared with that of
the Entellus, are these :—The upper articulating surface for the tibia
is more convex than in the Entellus, and less square in the outline, the
lateral margins approximating as they run backwards; the outer one
being also more elevated. The peroneal articulation is precisely of
the same fourm and -extent as in the Entellus ; and the rough fossa be-
tween it and the large calcanean surface also corresponds. The articu-
Jar surface for the inner malleolus somewhat differs: in the fossil it is
long, shallow, and rather pyriform in outline, while in the Entellus it is
cup-shaped, deeper, and more extensive. ‘The other pits and inequa-
lities of the inner side correspond; but the entire surface slopes off
more obliquely in the fossil. The great caleanean surface has the same

1840.] On Fossil Quadrumana. 307

diagonal direction, with reference to the upper surface, as in the Entel-
lus: it has also the same form, but it is more vaulted, and has less
stretch and width.Its inaer mirgin is b ounded by the shallow, pulley-
shaped fossa for the tendon of the flexor pollicis longus muscle, en-
tirely as in the Entellus; and the rough pit between it and the anterior
calcanean surface is alike in both. The head-and-neck apophysis is
sent off asin the Entellus. The upper surface of the neck is nar-
rower and less sloped. The scaphoid surface of the head is altogether
less extensive. ‘The head itself is not so thick and massive, and its
long direction slopes more obliquely upwards than in the Entellus; its
inferior articular surface is less, and there is a wide, rectagonal, rough
gutter or fossa running half way across, so as to make two surfaces. In
the Entellus the fossa is obsolete, and only indicated by a minute fora-
men, so that these articular surfaces run into one. This is the greatest
difference observable in the fossil. The rough fossa at the outer side of
the neck is alike in both.

With these inconsiderable peculiarities, the fossil agrees so closely in
size and yeneral form with the astragalus of the Entellus, that it proba-
bly belonged to the same sub-genus: still the points of difference are
sufficient to leave no doubt, that the fossil must be assigned to a distinct
species. In equalling the Entellus, it would belong to the larger Quad-
rumana. ‘This is all the information the specimen conveys, regarding the
animal from which it came; but we may hope to meet with remains,
which will develope its entire osteology, more especially that of the cra-
nium and face. The fossil was found by a party of Hindoo collectors
employed by us on the fossil tract of the Sewalik Hills ; and was brought
to us mixed up with a promiscuous collection of the remains of the Hip-
popotamus, Mastodon, Ruminants, &c., like the specimens which have
been sent to the Society. We have not therefore the means of knowing
the exact locality where, and the circumstances under which, it. was
found. |

The discovery is interesting in itself as supplying a deficient link in the
series of the former tenants ofthe globe; but greatly more so in con-
nexion with the races with which the fossil was associated. We have
excavated from, or found in the debris of, different beds of the same for-
mation which yielded the fossil astragalus, the remains of a species of
Anoplotherium,* the Crocodilus biporcatus and C. (Leptorhynchus)

* Anoploiherium Sivalense, a new species, of a size somewhat larger than the
A. commune of the Paris basin. The species is known to us by two upper jaws in our
possession with the series of molars complete. We therefore quote it unhesitatingly.

308 On Fossil Quadrumana. | Ocr,

Gangeticus,* respectively the Magar and Gavial, two species which at
the present day inhabit the quiet waters of the Ganges. Here then are
two most instructive facts: Quadrumana eo-existed with a member of
the oldest ascertained pachydermatous genus of Europe; and two rep-
tiles now the contemporaries of man in the East, lived, and may have
laved, in the same waters along with a species of one of the mammifer-
ous genera which characterise the Eocene period of the West ;—affording
another illustration of constancy in the order of nature, of an identity of
condition in the earth of the olden time with what it exhibits now, and
of the invariableness of organized forms. ‘The two decurrent ridges on
the face which specifically distinguish the C’.. biporcatus of the present day,
are as marked and distinct on the individuals which existed perhaps
centuries of centuries ago; and an ankle bone of the Sewalik fossil
Monkey so closely resembles that of a living species, that it is difficult
to explain the difference.

The Sewalik fossils abound in monuments of this sort. There isa
mixture of the new and of the old, of the past and of the present, of
familiar with surprising forms, together with a numerical richness, such
as no other explored region has exhibited within so comparatively limit-
ed a space. The Camel,f the Antelope, and Anoplotherium, have
been found, intermixed with each other in the same bed. ‘There are
remains of the Elephant, Mastodon, Hippopotames{, Anthracotheriam,
Rhinoceros§, Hog, and Horse; the Tapir alone of the large existing
Pachydermata being without a representative. In the Sivatherium||
is seen a huge Ruminant exceeding in size the largest Rhinoceros ; it
is also armed with four enormous sheathed horns, divided and foliated
like the Dicranocerine Antelopes, and able to contend for mastery with
the Mastodon. Contrasted with him in the same family is the puny

* Known to us by specimens comprising the whole of the cranium and muzzle. They
do not differ more from the existing individuals than these do from one another in vari-
eties dependent on age and sex. Asiatic Researches, Vol. xix. Part Il., Art. II,

+ Camelus Sivalensis (Nob.), Asiatic Researches, Vol. xix. Part II., Art. X., a species
of the size of the existing Camel. :

+ Asiatic Res., Art. Ill. Hippopetamus Sivalensis (Nob. & H. dissimilis, Nob.).
$ Journal of the Asiatic Society, Vol. iv. p. 706, and vol. v. p. 486.

|| Asiatic Research. ut supra, Art. I. Sivathertum Giganteum (Nob.). Since the memoir
was printed, Col. Colvin, Bengal Engineers, has got a specimen of the cranium with the
bases of the four horns attached, and we have in our possession an almost entire tear
hoyn, which has given the characters noted above.

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 308

' Musk Deer, scarcely larger than a Hare. There are the Cat* and the
Dog tribe, the Hyzna, Beart, and Ratelf, and other Carnivora. In
the feathered races, there are Gralla, greatly surpassing in size the
Gigantic Crane of Bengal (Ciconia Argala). Among the Reptilia,
besides the Magar and Gavial, there were other Crocodiles§ of enor-
mous bulk, approaching the largest Saurians; and the Testudinata,
which have hitherto held but a humble rank beside their Saurian
co-crdinals, here show their giant representatives. In addition to
numerous species of Emys and Trionyx not bigger than the small
Terrapins of the sluggish brooks of Hindoostan, we possess humeri and
femora of this tribe (with corresponding fragments of the bucklers) as
large as the equivalent bones of the Indian Rhinoceros. As the Ptero-
dactyle more than realized the most extravagant idea of the Winged
Dragon, so does this huge Tortoise come up to the lofty conceptions of
Hindoo mythology: and could we but recall the monsters to life, it were
not difficult to imagine an Elephant supported on its back.

VIIL—Memoir on the Geology of Cutch.|—By C. W. Grant, Esa.
Capt. Bombay Engineers.

GeoGrarHicat Position, ano Puysicau Aspect.

The province of Cutch, inthe East Indies, is situated between the
22° and 24° of north latitude, and 68° and 70° of east longitude. It is
bounded to the north by the Grand Runn, beyond which is the Thur or
Little Desert ; to the 8. W. and S. by the Gulf of Cutch and the Indian
Ocean ; to the E. and S.E.by the district of Guzerat ; and to the N.
W. by the eastern branch of the Indus and the territory of Sinde. Its
extreme length from E. to W. isabout 180 English miles, and its ex-
treme breadth is 50 miles ; but in one place it is not more than 15 miles
across. It contains about 6500 square miles, independently of the

* Asiatic Researches, Art. XI. Felis cristata (Nob.). Smaller than the Tiger.
+ Ibid. Art. XII. Ursus Siralensis (Nob.). Size of the U. Spelzus.
~ Messrs. Baker and Durand, Journal Asiatic Society, Vol. v. p, 581.

3 C. Leptorhynchus crassidens (Nob.), an immense species far exceeding existing ones,
and forming a passage from the Gavials into the true Crocodiles. It has the cylindrical
muzzle and synostorized lower jaw of the former with the blunt thick teeth of the latter.

|| From the 7ransactions of the Geological Society of London, Second Series, Vol. vy.

310 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

Grand Runn, which ought, however, to be considered as a part of the
province, and which, including the islands with the portion bounded by
the Guzerat coast, occupies an area of at least 9000 square miles.

Physical Aspect of the Country.—The province is hilly and rocky,
with the exception of the part forming the southern coast, which isa
dead flat covered witha fine rich soil. Three distinct ranges of hills,
having an easterly and westerly direction, may be traced. The most
northern forms an irregular chain bordering the Runn, and, for the grea-
ter part, presents to the north a perpendicular cliff surmounting a slop-
ing talus, and to the south an inclined plane. It is composed chiefly of
rocks, containing marine remains. ‘The next, called the Charwar range,
passes transversely through the centre ofthe province, and is connected
with the former, at its north-western extremity, by a cluster of hills. It
consists partly of sandstone containing beds of coal, and partly of a series
of strata of slate clay, limestone slate, and slaty sandstone. The third,
or southern range, and composed entirely of volcanic materials, has the
same direction as the other two ; but it is of smaller extent, and a branch
of it, striking nearly north and south, passes through the centre of the
Charwar range. A number of isolated volcanic hills are also scattered
over the plain and in other parts of the province, particularly on the
borders of the Runn, where is situated the hill called Denodur, the
largest in Cutch.

There are no constant streams, the river courses being merely chan-
nels for conveying the periodical floods to the sea, and containing, during
the remainder of the year, only detached pools. The banks of these
courses are, however, very high and precipitous, and afford excellent
sections of the strata through which they pass.

FoRMATIONS.

I have divided the country into the following eight distinct forma-
tions :—

1. Syenite and quartz rock.

2. Sandstone and clay, with beds of coal.

3. Red sandstone.—This formation I have been unable to trace the
boundaries of. In mineralogical characters it resembles the new
red sandstone of England, and differs materially from No. 2.,
or the formation which contains the coal.

4. Upper secondary formation, consisting of slate clay, limestone
slate, and slaty sandstone, and containing Ammonites, with other
fossils characteristic of the secondary formations of Europe.

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 311

5. Nummulitic limestone and marl.

6. Tertiary strata.

7. Alluvial, or recent deposits.

8. Volcanic and trappean rocks, including all such as bear evident
marks of a perfectly igneous origin, as basalt, &c.

These eight divisions, considering the red sandstone as one, represent
generally the geological structure of the province, though many minor
subdivisions might doubtlessly be made.

1. SyenirE AND Quartz Rock.

The only good example of syenite en masse is a hill called Calunja,
near the town of Nuggur in Parkur, a district in the Thur, and not far
from the mouth of the Loonee river. It is not in Cutch Proper ; but as
it forms part of the northern coast of the Runn, and isin other respects
connected with the geology of the province, I haveintroduced it as one
of the formations.

The Calunja hill isa confused heap of light red syenitic rocks, com-
posed of quartz, red or white felspar, and large long crystals of horn
blende ; the compound being sometimes coarsely grained, and some-
times finely. The base of the main hill is surrounded with small conical
mounds, which, at a distance, resemble the huts ofa village. On enter-
ing the space occupied by these mounds, the hill presents a number of
irregular, shattered masses, the sides or which are so steep, and are worn
so smooth by the action of the elements, as to be extremely difficult of
access. Between these masses the sand lies very deep. It is quite evi-
dent, that this hill has been violently acted upon by earthquakes.

In the bed of a river near the village of Koonerea, in the Puchum is-
land, situated in the Grand Runn, I found some masses of precisely
similar syenite, which were probably erratic blocks from the Calunja
hill ; this island lies nearly in the direction which would be taken by any
sudden floods, coming down the Loonee river.

Quartz Rock.—This rock is principally developed in a hill of consider-
able height near the town of Mhurr, situated towards the western side
of the province. The upper part of the hillis entirely composed of it,
and huge masses are scattered about the base. A_ large cleft extends
about half way up the western face of the hill, and displays its internal
structure, consisting ofa centre of quartz rock, surrounded by horizontal

_ strata of loose, quartzose sandstone. The quartz rock varies considera-

bly in character, being sometimes perfectly compact, exceedingly hard,

312 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

conchoidal in its fracture, and smooth or foliated on the surface ; in
other parts it is saccharoidal ; occasionally it consists of larger particles,
so firmly cemented together that they break with smooth surfaces : some
masses, again, have adecidedly granular texture ; and one variety is com-
posed of rounded pebbles of quartz ofthe size of marbles; but in no
specimen did | find any other material than pure quartz.

From the extremely fractured appearance of this hill, and from the
quantities of basalt lying about, and forming the principal part of some
small hills immediately adjoining it, therecan be no doubt that it has
been subjected to igneous influence ; and to the same cause the variety
in the texture of the quartz is also probably due, some portions appear-
ing to have been sufficently fused, for its particles to have agglutinated
into a solid mass. This opinion may perhaps be further strengthened
by an examination of the country near the town of Mhurr, distant about
one mile and a half, where various dykes of basalt traverse the strata.
Similar intermixtures of quartz with basalt occur in a hill called Peaka,
from its piebald appearance, not far from Joorun, on the Runn, and near-
ly opposite the south-west extremity of the Bunnee : also in some low
hillocks at the base of the Katrore hillin the Charwar range. At the
village of Ghuranee, about ten miles east of Mhurr, a large dyke or vein
of quartz protrudes from alevel plain, and forms a ridge of solid rock
about 30 feetin height. Basalt also crops out near the same spot.

2. SANDSTONE AND Cuay, witH Beps oF Coat.

This formation occupies a considerable portion of the country, and
consists of a regularly stratified series of thick beds of sandstone, alter-
nating with slate-clay, which contains, occasionally, bands of ironstone ;
and where the coal occurs, it is intermixed with blue clay or shale, and a
greasy substance resembling fullers’-earth. South of the Charwar range,
the general dip of the strata is §. by W.and S. W., at about one foot in
twenty or thirty ; but north of that range, the dip variesso much, that
it is impossible to ascertain the prevailing direction; and the whole
series is so broken, and intersected with dykes and dislocations, as to ren-
der fruitless all attempts to determine its general strike.

The centre of the province is dotted with hills containing
igneous rocks; and the disturbed state of the beds, in their
vicinity, may easily be conceived. The smaller hills are com-
posed of confused heaps of a very ferruginous sandstone and ironstone, —
belonging to this formation, and the surface soil isa deep sand. The —

1840. | On the Geology of Catch. ) 313

texture of the strata varies from a coarse, loose sandstone to a compact
and extremely hard quartzose grit and conglomerate, cemented by fere
ruginous matter, some specimens being almost black.

fron Ore.-—In this formation, the iron ore smelted for commerce is
procured. [tis found in different parts of the country, but has been
principally extracted near the town of Doodye, opposite the 5. W. ter-
mination of the Bunnee. It there occurs in small lumps, which are of a
spongiform texture, small specific gravity, and are very frangible. The
natives, however, value this variety more than the heavier, fromits yield
ing with greater ease to their imperfect means of smelting.

Manufacture of Iron.—In extracting the metal, layers of very sntall
pieces are disposed alternately with others of charcoal, in a rude open
furnace, and exposed to the blast of two small bellows made of sheep=
skins. ‘The metal, when fused, falls into a hole at the bottom of the-
furnace, whence it is transferred to an inclosed furnace, and subjected
to similar blasts, until brought to a white heat, when it is taken out and’
beaten into a bar. No flux of any kind is used. <A considerable quan-
tity of iron was, at one time, made from a totally different description
of ore, found near the village of Punundrow, in a plain which extends to
the sea or eastern mouth of the Indus. This plain is bounded to the
south by low hills covered with fragments of basalt, being outliers of a
basaltic range further to the south-east. The surface of the plain is.
composed of a fine smooth gravel, composed of comminuted particles of
iron ore, and has every appearance of having been, at no distant period,
covered with water. The iron ore is found near the surface of the low
hills above mentioned, in small tabular fragments imbedded in a purple-
coloured earth ; and those pieces are selected, which give a bright streak
on being struck by a pointed instrument. Externally the ore is ofa pure
ple colour, and internally presents small dark blue fibres, arranged at
right angles to the surface of the specimen. In another place a variety
occurs, which resembles small fragments of tile, but has the same inters
nal structure. It is very hard, and of considerable specific gravity ; and
is said by the natives to have yielded a much greater per centage and
much better iron than the ore found at Doodye; but the manufacture
of it has been suspended, owing partly to the scarcity of fuel, and partly
to English iron being procured at a cheaper rate, as well as in much more
convenient. forms.

Coal.—Coal has been found in this formation in various places, but
not in beds sufficiently thick to be worth working. It was first dise

314 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

covered in the bank of a river near the city of Bhooj, forming a bed
about 18 inches thick, and associated with strata of sandstone and blue
clay, the dip being, to the eastward, one foot in twenty. This bed was
worked for some time, and considerable quantities of its produce were
sent to Bombay, but the quality was bad, being very slaty, and con-
taining a large proportion of incombustible matter. Attempts were
afterwards made to discover coal in other parts of the province; and
although various beds were met with, they were too thin to be of any
value. This search was carried on principally to the south of the
Charwar range, a few miles from the town and fort.of Seesaghud. One
bed was found of a very good quality, but only 9 inches thick. It con-
sisted of masses composed of small cubical pieces, which soiled the
fingers very much, had not the slightest appearance of a lignite, and
ignited quickly, burning with a brightflame, and leaving a small resi-
duum, but it would not cake. It was found on trial to get up the steam
of an engine-boiler very well and quickly, but a much larger quantity
was required than of English coal, owing, partly, to its breaking into so
small fragments as to fall through the bars of the grate.

Borings for Coal.—A boring for coal was made near this bed; and
although 270 feet of sandstone and blue clay were penetrated, no coal
was found. A similar attempt was made six miles further to the east-
ward, and to the depth of 191 feet, but with no better success; and simi-
lar researches were made in one or two other places. ‘The second trial
passed through a regularly alternating series of sandstone and blue clay.
Some of the sandstones were so extremely hard (being composed of
quartzose particles cemented by ferruginous matter) as to be almost im-
penetrable. A jumper, worked by a lever-bar, making eighteen strokes
in a minute, penetrated, after eight hours’ work only, from 13 to 2 inches.
Other specimens of sandstone varied both in hardness and quality; and
at a depth of 190 feet, a bed of white, pure quartzose sand was entered,
when water immediately rushed to the surface, and continued to flow in
such quantities as to stop the work. ‘The shale was of a very dark blue
when first brought up, but it lost the greater part of its colour after ex-
posure to the sun. Iron ore and iron pyrites were found. All the banks
of the rivers in the neighbourhood present strata of sandstone and slate-
clay, with bands of ironstone, and, in places, thin beds of coal. The ge-
neral dip is, to the south-west, about one foot in twenty; but the strata
are greatly shattered and dislocated by dykes, slips, and hitches.

Vegetable Impressions.—The slate-clay, and, in some cases, the
| gandstone, contained numerous impressions of ferns and reeds, occas

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 315

sionally of a large size. One specimen, which was flattened, was four
inches in breadth, and the outer surface was carbonised, but the interior
was filled with sand: this was generally the case, though other speci-
mens were carbonised throughout, and some were mere impressions.
In digging wells within the limits in which they occur, coal was frequent-
ly found, but always in thin beds; and some of it ought more properly
to be called lignite.

Extent of Coal-field.—The coal-field, if it may so be termed, is
bounded to the north by the upper secondary or laminated slate-clay
and limestone slate formation; and to the south it is cut off abruptly
by a low range of volcanic and trap hills. I could not ascertain whether
it had ever been covered by any conformable, stratified deposits. Thin
beds of coal have been found in various other parts of the formation.
The general structure of this series of strata, the quality of some of the
coal, the nature of the sandstone and slate-clay, the impressions and re-
mains of reeds, ferns, &c., the bands of ironstone, the dislocations by
dykes, slips, &c., all bear an analogy to the coal-fields of England; but
I am inclined, from the vegetable remains, to consider this deposit an
equivalent of the oolitic coal of England, and not of the regular carboni-
ferous system. )

Auum Works NEAR Muurr.

The ground on which Mhurr is built, consists of high, irregular banks
of marl of every variety of colour, but in a most confused and shattered
state. It is surrounded on three sides by steep hills, forming a kind of
amphitheatre ; and nothing can be more desolate than its appearance.
North of the town is a high table-land, which extends to some hills about
one mile and a half distant. It is composed, near their base, of a ferrue
ginous quartzose sandstone, on which the variegated marls rest; the lat-
ter being covered, in many places, with a bed of coarse gravelly detritus,
six or eight feet thick. Imbedded in this gravel, are some very large
masses of basalt, and of a very hard, black stone, composed of grains of
quartz cemented by an almost black oxide. They are cut into mill-stones
for grinding flour. ‘The whole are evidently boulders from the hills to
the northward, which were mentioned in the first part of this memoir, as
consisting of quartz and basalt. This plain terminates, to the south”
ward, ina high bank overlooking the town, and intersected in one part
by a large dyke of spheroidal basalt, which has apparently so indurated
the strata of variegated marl in its vicinity, as to permit them to be

316 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

quarried for building. A large quantity of alum is made at this place,
and exported to different parts of India.

Manufacture.—The shale from which alum is obtained, forms beds in
the variegated marl; and in a kind of blue clay. Long galleries are
cut for the purpose of extracting it; but so plentiful is the supply, that
no means are taken to support them, and they generally fallin during
the rainy season. The manner in which the alum is prepared is very
simple. The earth is exposed in heaps to the sun and air for about
five months, during which it burns spontaneously. It is next laid out
in little beds similar to those of a field prepared for irrigation, and it is
watered by a small stream for ten or fifteen days, by which time the
aluminous matter accumulates into semi-crystalline plates. This sube
stance is boiled in water for about seven hours; after which, a third,
or one half, by weight, of potash is added, and it is again boiled for a
few hours, according to the strength of the ley. It is then poured into
large open vessels, where, after settling for some time, it is washed, and
the liquid drawn off, leaving an impure crystalline sediment. This is
once more boiled, and when it arrives at a proper state, ‘which is learned
by practice, it is poured into large earthen vessels with a small mouth,
and sunk into the ground to prevent their breaking. After a time, the
vessels are dug out, broken to pieces, and a lump of pure alum extract
ed. Six or eight measures, by weight, of alum, are produced from ten
measures of the substance from the irrigating beds, and four or five
measures of potash. It is not so much esteemed in the Bombay market
as that brought from China, on account of its yellow tinge.

Some of the marls resemble chalk, being white, and soiling the fingers ;
and some are very calcareous, whilst other varieties scarcely effervesce
with diluted muriatic acid. In one mass I found a very minute speci-
men of Buecinum pumilum. These marls also occur of every variety of
colour as well as texture ; some of them consisting of innumerable thin
laminze curiously twisted and arranged in the most intricate manner;
and others of a kind of breccia, composed of small broken portions of
marls. Several dykes of basalt cut through these beds ; the whole pre-
senting a most confused assemblage, partly due to natural causes, and
partly to the numerous mines which have fallen in. One of the banks
has been burning spontaneously for several years, in a similar manner to
that at Ruttrea, and apparently from the samecause. The exact geolo-
gical position of these marls 1 conld not determine.

1840, ] On the Geology of Cutch. 317

3. Rep SANDSTONE.

I have mentioned a red sandstone formation, which may be described
now. It occurs to the southward of the coal series, and is separated
from it by a low range of hills about six miles broad, composed partly
of basaltic rocks, and partly of a variety of porphyry. This sandstone
is regularly stratified, and has the same dip and inclination as the
sandstone and coal series, but differs very materially from it, in being
much softer, generally finer-grained, of a vast variety of colours, and by
containing no organic remains. Associated with the sandstone are beds
of clay, varying in colour from purple to deep red. One of the heds
is aluminous, and has been burning spontaneously for a long period.
The smoke issues from a deep crevice in the bank, and the fumes are
highly sulphureous. A stick thrust into the crevice soon ignites, and
the whole bank has a burnt appearance; the red clay, which rests
immediately upon the stratum, having been converted into a perfect
brick, and the other variegated clays having been variously acted on.
Although this bed would yield a large per centage of sulphate of alumi-
na, it has never been worked. The strata dip at an acute angle to the
south, and are covered, in that direction, by beds of gravel, succeeded by
others of sand and soil, which extend to the sea.

4. LAMINATED Serres oR Uprer SeconpAry FormMarIOoN.

Alternating strata of slate-clay, limestone-slate, and occasionally slaty
sandstone, constitute this formation. ‘The more calcareous beds are
very hard and compact, whilst some of the others are very earthy and
friable. In many of the calcareous slabs, the upper and under surfaces
are argillaceous, hard, and compact, but the centre is a grey limestone,
which takes a good polish, and might be used for lithography. The slate-
clay is of a dark blue colour, and generally peels in thin flakes, leaving a
flat, lenticular nodule or centre. In many places, vast thickness
of this laminated slate-clay occur without the least admixture of the
sandstone-slate, whilst in others, the latter alternates very often with it.

The beds being horizontal, except where they have been disturbed,
the formation occupies considerable tracts ; and where it rises into hills
it is generally capped by a thick bed either of coarse, soft sandstone, as
in the ghats of the Charwar range, the Bhooda hill (near Bhoo}), the
Jarra (near the Indus), and other hills ; or of a very compact, hard, cry-
stalline sandstone, with a conchoidal fracture, as in the Chuppal hills,
the Jarra, and in other places, including the natural walls of the Ruan,
described in a subsequent part.

318 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

Relative Position with respect to the other Strata.—1 searched diligent-
ly to find the relative position of this formation distinctly defined, but in
vain, as, at its apparent junction with other beds, the whole of the strata
were broken up, and so confused as to baffle every attempt to ascertain
the boundary. Iam induced, however, to believe that it occupies hol-
lows in the sandstone and coal formation, or abuts against it. It cannot
underlie that series, because its strata are always horizontal, except
where locally disturbed ; while the beds of sandstone and coal are as in-
variably inclined at a considerable angle, and are everywhere intersected
with dykes, slips, and other dislocations, from which the upper secon-
dary strata are generally free. In one instance the formation evidently
occupied a hollow in the coal sandstone.

In many places it appears to abut against the sandstone, occupying
large tracts which may, at some period, have been covered by beds of
that formation, subsequently washed away. From what has been stated
above, it is at all events newer than the coal beds ; and this conclusion
isalso borne out by its imbedded fossils.

Apparent Position with respect to the English Series.—In its mineralo-
gical character and general appearance, this formation greatly resembles
the English lias ; but its fossils have been found, after a careful exami-
nation by Mr. James Sowerby, to assimilate very closely to those of the
oolitic beds ; and a very few belonging to the green sand.

Fossils.—Of the fossils found in these beds, the Ammonites are the
most characteristic, occurring in vast quantities, particularly in some
hills bordering the Runn. Of the eleven species which I collected,
eight are unknown to Mr. James Sowerby, to whom I am entirely indebt-
ed for all my informatioa regarding them. Ofthe other three species,
one so closely agrees with A. Herveyzi of the English cornbrash, that
le is induced to consider it only a variety of that species ; another in
the outer whorl resembles A. perarmatus of the coral rag, but differs in
the structure of the inner whorls ; and the third, of which there is only
one imperfect specimen, is like A corrugatus of the inferior oolite of En-
gland. They generally vary in diameter, from three to five inches: the
largest I found being eight inches. It wasimbedded ina mass of vold-
coloured oolite. The genus next abundant is the Terebratuia. Of the
seven species collected by me, five bear so close an analogy to the 7.
biplicata, T. dimidiata, T. sella, T. intermedia, and T. concinna of the
green sand and oolitic scries, that it has been found impossible to con-
sider them distinct species, The Trigonias are numerous, though con-

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 319

fined to two species, one of which differs so very little from T. costata of
the lower oolites of England, that Mr. Sowerby considers it only a varie-
ty of that fossil. The genus Pholadomya also abounds, but the speci-
mens are generally broken. Of the three species I collected, Mr. Sower-
by has not been able to establish an identity with any known Pholadomya
in England, although there is a general resemblance to the oolitic and
lias fossils. I found two species of Belemnites, one of which resembles
B. canaliculatus of the inferior oolite ; the other is not determinable,
Of the species of oysters, one resembles the Ostrea Marshit of the En-
glish cornbrash. I found it ina bank high up the Katrore hill, in the
Charwar range, in friable, laminated strata of slate-clay and sandstone
slate, associated with Ammonites of the same description as those at
Charee and along the Runn*. [didnot finda single specimen ofa Gry-
phza, although numbers of the genus have been collected from this pro-
vince. Some crinoidal stems, which I collected from the same localities
resemble those of a species found in the mountain limestone; but as the
fossils above enumerated characterize the middle series of the English up-
per secondary rocks, fossils belonging toso much older a formation can
hardly be associated withthem. These crinoidal remains, therefore, pro-
bably belong to an undescribed species. The only fossil bone which
I discovered, Messrs. Clift and Owen consider to be a caudal vertebra of a
Saurian. ‘This determination is, however, very interesting, as it shows
how widely these animals were distributed; being, in this distant country,
also associated with the same mollusca (one valveofa Trigonia costata
is imbedded in the mass containing the bone) as accompany their remains
in the English strata.

In the Appendix to this paper Ihave given acomplete and systematic
list of all these fossils, stating the localities where I collected them.

General Shape of the Hills belonging to this Formation.—Many of the
hillsin Cutch present, on the north side, a perpendicular cliff surmount-
ing a sloping talus, and on the south an inclined plane ; and they owe
this peculiar outline to their being composed of a base of laminated clay
or sandstone, capped bya thick bed of coarse and brittle sandstone.
This is particularly the casein the Jarra hill, and the hills of Hubbye,
Lodye, and Roha-ké- Koss, near the village of Joorun, on the Runn ; also
those of the Puchum and Khureer islandsin the Runn, particularly the

* At the base of these hills, and forming the immediate borders of the Runn, fossil
shells are found of a very different description, among which I may enumerate Cardium,
Pecten, Corbula, Venus, Globulus, and vast quantities of Turritella ; which last form
large masses of rock protruding every here and there above the bed of the Runn,

320 On the Geology of Cuich. [Octr.

latter ; likewise those near Beyla, at the north-eastern extremity of the
province, and many others’ ‘The Katrore hill, forming the eastern extre-
inity of the Charwar range, belongs to this formation, and, therefore, dif-
fers materially from the greater part of the range, which is composed
principally of sandstone, except in the portion opposite Bhooj, where
this laminated series also occurs. The strata being principally horizon-
tal, the hills have a conical form.

It is a curious circumstance, that, in the same group, some of the hills
of the laminated strata have a thick capping of sandstone, whilst an im-
mediately adjoining peak, of equal height, has none. I conceive the
thick beds of the sandstone once covered the whole surface, and that
on their upheavement they broke into masses, which have been since de-
nuded from some of the hills, the debris forming the deep sandy plain
around Bhooj. |

In the hill of Jogé-ki-bit, near Nurra, on the Runv, the beds dip from
40° to 50° to the north, and alternate three times with basalt. The
strata vary greatly in character, some of them being very hard and cry-
stalline, particularly those containing calcareous matter; whilst other
parts of the series, immediately adjoining, are very friable and earthy.
Some of the schists assume the character of a roofing-slate, and others
are only soft, laminated blue clay.

A cluster of hills, occupying a surface of three or four square miles
to the north-west of the city of Bhooj, called the Bhoodha hills, also be«
longs to this formation, being composed of slate-clay, tabular sandstone,
and limestone slate, in many parts assuming a very friable, earthy tex-
ture, and frequently capped with thick beds of coarse, soft sandstone.
The strata are often horizontal ; in which case the hills are conical ; but
in many instances the beds incline at a considerable angle; and the hills
assume, when capped by the sandstone, the usual form of an abrupt es-
carpment, with along inclined opposite side. ‘They are intersected by
numerous ravines and nullahs; the looseness of the soil, and peculiar
tabular construction of the strata, offering a very slight resistance to the
action of the rains. ‘The Chuppal hills, between Guranee and Nurra, in
the north-western division of the province, afford another example of the
elevation of these strata into hills. They consist of beds of a very earthy
and friable description, covered by a thick stratum of hard crystalline
sandstone, slightly calcareous ; and the lower part forming a sloping ta-
lus, capped by the hard rock, in masses 20 feet thick; they appear as if — ;
they were surmounted by old ruins or turrets. j

Manner in which the Hills have been formed.—From an attentive ex- —
amination of these hills, I am led to infer, that they have all been uplift- —

1840.) On the Geology of Cutch. 321

ed by a movement which proceeded from below; the laminated series
having yeilded to the upheaving power, and the loose brittle sandstone
having broken off abruptly. ‘That this has been the case with the minor
ridges, and what I may term the natural walls in the Runn, described in
treating upon that district, there can be no doubt, as I have found them
at angles, varying from a few degrees above the horizontal position to the
vertical, aud even turned over beyond that point.

That these beds have been disturbed and broken through by igneous

agents is quite evident from the dykes of basalt, which occasionally in-
tersect them. .

5d. Nummutiric Limestone AND Mart,

Although the imbedded fossils of the Nummulitic group resemble those
of some tertiary beds of England and France, still the strata of which it
consists, differ so totally in mineralogical character and general appear-
ance from any of the other formations in Cutch, that it deserves a se-
parate notice. It is bounded partly by the second or sandstone and
coal formation, partly by beds which I have named tertiary, and
partly by the alluvial banks of the eastern branch of the Indus, extending
from Luckput to a plain between the villages of Wagé-ké-Pudda and
Eyeraio, about thirty miles to the southward. It consists of a mass of
small Nummulites mixed with Fasciolites ; and some of the river banks
present a perpendicular section of solid rock, from 60 to 70 feet in
height, entirely composed of these small fossils agglutinated together,
and varied only by a species of Orbitolites, frequently bent into a saddle
shape, ‘This stone has much the appearance of chalk, and the beds are
horizontal, except where they have been disturbed. In some parts, how-
ever, it is much harder, particularly near the town of Luckput, where it
is quarried as a building stone, and is also burnt for lime. ‘The surface-
soil is entirely composed of the small fossils lying loose, and generally
known by the name of Luckput sixpences.

The beds of nummulitic limestone on which Luckput stands have been
affected in a manner deserving of notice.

The high ground to the east of the town sends off three parallel ridges
to the westward, ranging nearly east and west. On the two northern-
most of ihese ridges, the north and south walls of the fort of Luckput are
built ; whilst the southernmost lies at a distance of about 200 yards from
the south wall. A kind of valley runs through the town, ending, at its
western side, ina swamp, whichis crossed by the western wall of the
fort. A cut through the northern ridge exposes avery good section of
the nummulitic stone, dipping 40° tothe north; whilst, in a similar cut

322 On the Geology of Cutch. {Ocr.

through the southern ridge, made for the purpose of connecting two
tanks, the same beds dip from 40° to 50° due south. In the centre
ridge the section is not quite so perfect, but the beds are nearly, if not
truly, horizontal, forming an anticlinal axis to the other two.

This elevated tract of the nummulitic limestone extends only three
miles to the eastward of Luckput, the ground there descending abruptly
into a plain, composed of various clays, a coarse ferruginous stone and
sandstone, with quantities of selenite scattered about, the whole present~
ing a confused appearance, as if it had been the site of an igneous out»
burst. Patches of ground, every here and there, have also an altered ap-
pearance, and are covered with small fragments of igneous rock. ‘The
plain is bounded to the south by a low range of basaltic hills. From
Luckput southward to the village of Punundrow, the same nummulitic
rock continues, but varies in hardness froma compact limestone to a
white mar]. It is also very well exposed between the villiges of Kyeraio
and Wagé-ké-Pudda, at the southern limits of the formation. To the
S. W. of Eyeraio is a plain, composed ofa white calcareous marl, and
flanked to the south by a low range of hills of the same material, sending
off into the plain numerous small projections, with rounded terminations
precisely like headlands. Numerous isolated hillocks, or high banks,
with sides worn in the same way, and resembling islands, are scattered
about the plain, and the whole surface looks as if it had only lately been
deserted by water, or as if a violent flood had swept over it. The banks
of the small nullahs, which intersect the plain, are composed of gravel,
containing rounded masses of a variety of the calcareous marl. Advanc-
ing westward, the ground rises a little, and the surface consists of a hard
rock, which contains oysters and other bivalves, whilst in some places
large patches are entirely composed of silicified corals. I also found in
this place fragments of fossil bone, said by Messrs. Clift and Owen to
be parts of rib-bones, like those of the Manatus, but flatter. To the
north, this plain is bounded by a river, the perpendicular banks of which,
60 or 70 feet in height, consist entirely of nummulitic marl, capped by a
thin stratum of gravel. In one part, the bed of the river is subjected to
the action of a small stream of water, so strongly impregnated with saline
ingredients, that large lumps of salt are formed in the hollows worn in
the rock, which here assumes the character ofa hard limestone, probably
in part due to the quality of the water that passes over it. The beds
are horizontal, except where they have been disturbed and shattered.

Characteristic Fossils. —The most characteristic fossils of this forma-
tion, next to the Nummulites and Fasciolites, are Echini, Galerites, —

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 323

Clypeasters, and Spatangi. The species of Echini and Galerites are all
new. A (lypeaster resembles C. affinis of the sandy marl of Brabant ;
and a Spatangus, the S. Bucklandit of the marly chalk of Westphalia ;
while another species agrees with the Spatangus acuminatus of the terti-
ary deposits of Dusseldorf. The other fossils consist of species of Telli-
na, Astarte, Cardium, Arca, Pectunculus, Pecten, Nucula, Ostrea, Ceri-
thium, Turbinellus, Globulus, and Seraphe. The Turbinella abounds
and is often very large. In the bed of the river above described, I found
large blocks composed entirely of small oysters, similar to Ostrea Fla-
bellulum, but more regularly and finely striated.

6. Tertiary STRATA.

I have called all that portion of the province ¢ertiary which is compose
ed of rocks containing fossils belonging to this period. It consists prin-
cipally of a lard argillaceous grit, interspersed with fossil shells, and
covered by beds of pebbles or conglomerate. Some portions of this con-
glomerate are very coarse, and constituted of rolled or boulder stones
loosely connected ; whilst other portions are sufficiently indurated to be
used as a building stone. A calcareous grit, which soils the fingers like
chalk, also occurs in patches, and contains innumerable small shells. It
is used for building, and is burnt forlime. ‘The beds are horizontal, and
the surface of the country is generally covered with a fine rich soil

At the village of Soomrow, about tcn miles north-east of the fort and
harbour of Juckow, on the south-western coast, the banks of a broad
river-bed are composed partly ofa loose gravelly soil, and partly of a
very hard, compact, calcareous rock, full of shells, and burnt for lime;
and below this rock is a coralline limestone. The river-bed, in some
places, is nearly a mile across, the banks being cut into ledges or steps,
whilst numerous small hillocks, or high banks of gravel and clay, stand
is lated in its middle. Only a small stream now winds from shore to
shore. One part of the northern bank rises into a small hill, the surface
of which is composed of the same hard, compact, shelly rock as that
which is found even with the bed of the river. For some distance north
of this spot, the ground is also high, and cut into innumerable ravines ;
and there are breaks in the surface, as well as circular hollows, or large,
deep pits. The natives have a tradition, that an earthquake occurred at
this spot, some centuries since, during a severe battle between the Sin-
dians and the natives of Cutch. he raised position of the shelly rock,
and the peculiarly rent and broken appearance of the ground, indicate
some convulsive movement; and it should be noticed, that, as all the

324 On the Geology of Cuich. [Ocr.

beds are horizontal, those forming the hill cannot be an unbroken con-
tinuation of those in the banks of the river.

This formation continues a few miles further to the northward, where
it abuts against the nummulitic beds.

In many places towards its northern limits, it rises into hills, and con-
siderable tracts of high, undulating country; the loftier portions consist-
ing invariably of hard, shelly rock, including large patches, of one or two
acres io extent, of silicified corals; and the lower parts, or intervening
spaces, of a loose gravel or clay, equally full vf organic remains. Some
parts of this district, particularly that near the village of Kotra, have a
very remarkable appearance, as if they had been subjected toa violent
flood, which had washed away the surface-soil to a depth of 30 or 40
feet, leaving a broad, shallow valley, two or three miles across, with nu-
merous isolated and rounded bluff hills of gravel, scattered about its bed.
The banks, or bounding lines, consist of low hills, cut into innumerable
small ravines; the whole being composed of the same shelly rock, and
gravel, and clay as above described.

The fossil shells found in this district occur often in‘beds, consisting
of a single species. One of the hillocks, above described, is about 60
yards long by 20 broad, and 15 feet in height, and is entirely covered
with Ostrea callifera, lying loosely on a gravelly soil, or cemented into a
solid rock. The highest part of the table-land in one place, near the
village of Kotra, is also composed solely of oysters, forming a very hard
rock or limestone; other isolated banks are completely covered with
what appears to be a species of large Serpula, or else fragments of coral.
Numerous other fossils are found, either lying loose or imbedded in the
rock, and consist of species of Lucina, Venus, Cardium, Pecten, Ostrea,
Turritella, and Clypeaster. The Turritelle are imperfect, but particu-
larly numerous.

This flat valley or broad river-bed (for a small stream still winds
through it,) continues to the hills surrounding the town of Mhurr,
spreading, in places, into lake-basins, all of the same description as
above detailed; but, a short distance south of the Mhurr hills, its course
is cut across by a dyke of very compact basalt, of perfectly columnar
structure ; each face of the polygons being about two feet in breadth.
This basalt forms both banks of the river for 50 or 60 yards, and to the

height of 20 or 25 feet; the bed of the river being also formed of sec- 4

tions of the columns. The clay through which the basalt passes is hard,
and of a brick red; and quantities of iron ore, of a spongiform texture,
are scattered about. ig

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 325

The southern base of the Mhurr hills is now approached, and pre-
sents a most confused appearance, the country at their foot being shat-
tered in all directions. It is impossible to conceive ground in a more
disturbed state. The banks and ridges, varying from 20 to 60 feet in
height, are partly composed of a coarse, calcareous grit, full of the
marine shells already enumerated, and partly of a blood-red coloured
clay, which has apparently been altered by a trap dyke. One bank
exposes a section, 60 to 70 feet high, of horizontal layers of gravel, clay,
shelly rock, and iron clay, which in one spot appear to have fallen in bodi-
ly, dipping abruptly from both sides to a point.

Fosstls.— The principal deposit of fossil shells which came under my
inspection, was at the village of Soomrow, just described. The speci-
mens which I collected have been examined by Mr. James Sowerby,
and found to consist of 33 known genera. Of the 57 species belonging
to these genera, 47 are new, 6 are known, and 4 are doubtful. The
most numerous among the univalves beiong tothe genera Mitra and
Voluta: there are also great quantities of the genera Cerithium and
Terebra; some of the latter being very beautifully marked. The
genera Solarium, Conus, and Strombus also abound. Among the
bivalves, the Pectens are most numerous; and among the Radiata, are
great numbers of Clypeaster. Most of the fossils which I collected,
either lay closely on the gravelly bank, or were ceimented into large ta-
bular slabs of’ rock.

I was informed by the natives, that, about the year 1834, great quan-
tities of large fossil shells, called by the country people Sonk or Conk,
being a species of Turbinella, were found in a land-crack, in a field
about two miles from this spot; and se per‘ect, that they were given
to the priests of the different temples in the neighbourhood, who, by
inserting a metal tube into the apex of the shell, converted them into
horns, to call the devout to prayer. I could not, however, find any
when I visited the spot, the crack having been filled up by subsequent
floods.

Extent of the Tertiary Formation.—These tertiary beds reach, in
one place, to the town of Mhurr, a distance of thirty miles from the
sea, and extend in a belt of, perhaps, a third of that breadth, through-
out the whole southern coast of the province. A narrow line should
also be drawn along the borders of the Runn, and around the islands in
it, as the fossils, found on the immediate shores, belong to the tertiary
period.

326 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

7. AxupnuviaL, on Recent Deposits.

These consist entirely of plains covered with soil, evidently detritus
which has been washed from the hills, or of land recovered from the
sea by the blowing up of sand. ‘The whole of the province south of
the volcanic range might be considered alluvial; tbe surface being
composed of a thick soil, formed by the rapid decomposition of the
basaltic or igneous hills; but asthe banks of the rivers contain ter-
tiary shells, I have thought it better to designate the district as con-
sisting of rocks of that age. The boundary between the tertiary and
alluyial districts must, therefore, be considered partly imaginary, as I
have thought it more correct to give a general outline, than to mark,
with apparent minuteness, limits, which my examination of the district,
did not enable me to ascertain.

Lan? gaining on the Sea.—\n many places along the coast, where there
are ridges of sand, the land gains upon the sea. ‘These dunes are con-
stantly increasing, from the particles blown up by the sea-breezes, or the
south-west winds, which prevail during so great a portion of the year ;
and the ridges frequently occur in double rows, occupying a considera-
ble breadth, and varying from 50 to 100 feet in height. During strong
winds the whole appear to bein motion, from the sand drifting along their
surfaces.

At Mandavee, the principal seaport in Cutch, is a ruin on a spot call-
ed the Old Bunder, or Quay. Jt is now about three miles inland, and is
situated on the bank of the river, which flows into the sea near the pre-
sent town ; but at the time when this old quay was in use, the town must
have been some distance from the present shore. A small temple, built
upon a rock, now in the middle of the town, is said to have been at that
time also in the sea. Even now, a considerable space, composed of loose
sand and sand-hills, intervenes between the town and the sea; and the
distance is continually increasing, owing to the quantity of sandy detritus
brought down by the river during the periodical floods, and washed back —
by the sea in the dry season. A baris also thus formed across the
mouth of the river, and the position of it varies so much, and so often,
as to render the entrance to the river very difficult. Even boatmen be-
longing to the port, who have been absent a few months, cannot pilot —
their vessels in. During very dry seasons, this bar increases to so great
a degree as almost to block up the entrance entirely ; and the laden —
boats always strand upon it at high water, their cargoes being carried —
away by carts, when the tide is out. he

At Moondrah, Budraseer, and other seaports up the Gulf of Cutch, the :

1840. ] On the Geology of Cutch. 327

land also gains upon the sea, rendering necessary the frequent removal
further seaward, of the quays or landing: places. Where rivers enter the
gulf, this increase of land at their mouths is easily understood, as the
sea, for nine months of the year, washes back the sandy detritus accumu-
lated by the river at its delta during the periodical floods. Where rivers
flow all the year round, they may be enabled to keep a channel through
the deltas constantly free ; but when the stream is inert during three
fourths of the year, and the wind and sea are continually at work, ihe case
must be very different.

Marine Forests.—The same operation is in progress at places separat-
ed from the main waters of the gulf by small creeks.

Some of these inlets penetrate six or seven miles from the coast
through a tract covered for miles in extent with shurbs. At low water,
these plants are exposed to their roots ; but at high tides merely their
upper branches are visible, so that the boats sail through a marine for-
est, the sails and yards frequently brushing against the boughs of the
trees. ‘The growth of these shrubs is so rapid, that the sailors have
very often to force their boats through the upper branches, particularly
at the various angles of the very tortuous creeks, when they wish to save
a tack, and the wind is scant. ‘The stems and branches of the trees are
covered with Crustacea and Mollusca, whilst numerous water-fowl occu-
py the higher branches ; the whole presenting a most curious picture.
That the land should gain on the sea, in these places also, is very natu-
ral, as during the monsoons, when the numerous small streams convey
their muddy alluvium into the gulf, the roots and stems of the shrubs
act asa filter, and the water passing slowly between them, a great por-
tion of the earthy matter is precipitated ; a portion also adhering to the

stems.

Liffects of Floods.—Considerable damage is frequently done by the
periodical floods, which, from the peculiar hilly structure of the country,
sometimes rush down with a force, that carries all things before them.

In August 1834, the rains were very violent and long-continued, and
did considerable damage. ‘The river, which flows past Nurra, and
through the flat, from six to eight miles broad, which extends from the
town to the Runn, brought down so much alluvium, as to cover witha
fine soil a surface of 150 pragas, or nearly 1000 acres of land. ‘This tract
had been sunk by the earthquake of 1819 so nearly to a level with the
Runn, as to have remained unfit for cultivation. On the opposite side
of the province, at a village called Kundagra, not far from Mandavee, 50
: pragas or 300 acres of soil were entirely washed away, leaving a bare

328 On the Geology of Catch. {Ocr.

sandy surface, similar to the bed ofa river; and not far from the same
spot, half a sinall village, with a quantity of land, was swept bodily into
the ssa; large trees being uprooted and carried down by the flood. At
Pheraudee, 12 miles N. E. from Mandavee, at Mandavee, and many other
places, great devastations are said to have been produced. A few simi-
lar inundations would alter the features of the country, consisting of such
abrupt hills and loose surtace-soil.

8, YVoncANic AND TRAPPEAN Rocks.

The district composed of volcanic and trappean rocks is one of the
principal features in the geology of Cutch, not only from the space it
occupies, but from the phenomena which it presents..

The igneous origin of trap being acknowledged, I shall always speak
of it and lava under the comprehensive term of igneous rocks, as in com-
position they differ only in the proportions of hornblende, felspar, and
augite, and as they all appear to have originated in the same cause, and
to have equally disturbed or affected the neighbouring strata. But there
appears to be a very marked distinction between those rocks which have
been in fusion below the surface, and subsequently forced up, and those
sedimentary formations, which have an altered appearance, and have been.
evidently subjected to violent heat since they were deposited in their

present position. The latter rocks, however, bear a very small propor-
tion to the former.

Evidence of the disturbing power of Igneous Agents.—It is impossible
to desire clearer evidence of the disturbing power of igneous agents than
is developed in Cutch. ‘The shattered appearance of the country in
some places, the upraised hills in others, with the igneous rock or moving
agent, either directly under them, or immediately in front of the outcrop
of their strata ; the angles to which the beds have been raised varying
from a gentle, unfractured slope to the most complete dislocations ; the —
vast variety in the composition of the igneous matter, from the most
loose and clay-like form to the most compact and perfect columnar ba-
salt ; the crater-like shape and construction of some of the hills, from —
which large lava or basaltic streams can be traced, prove the igneous —
origin of these rocks, and the vast effects which they have produced on the
general appearance of the country. Moreover, it is not necessary that
the igneous matter should be on every occasion apparent ; as, where we
find a large mass of basalt which has evidently come from below, lying :
on a plain, behind a hill presenting a bluff cliff towards the igneous rocks,

1840.] On the Geology of Cuich. 329

and the strata sloping sharply from them, the conclusion is obvious, that
the hill must have been raised by the outburst of the volcanic matter 3
and it is equally just to infer, that, in its passage from below, it must
have disturbed, more or less, the various beds through which it passed ;
and, therefore, that the form of many hills may be owing to a latent exer-
cise of this power, even where no traces of the igneous matter are visible
near the surface, or near the raised strata. That the greater number of
these igneous rocks have been forced up, and are not portions of lava
Stre:ms which have flowed from volcanos, is very evident, from the man-
her in which the superimposed strata are affected by them.

In a preceding part of the paper I have described a hill of quartz rock
near Mhurr, and shown thatits strata have been violently disturbed ;
and I have also inferred, from the nature of the rock, that its characters
are due to grains of sand having been agglutinated by volcanic heat.
In detailing the phenomena presented by the second formation, I have
shown that its strata have been also subject to great dislocations.

In describing the upper secondary formation, { have stated, that I con-
ceive the hills owe their outline, presenting to the north anu abrupt es-
carpment resting on a slope, and to the south an inclined plane, to the
ageucy of volcanic forces. Inthe Karee river, near Bhooj, these beds
have been disturbed to an extent which defies representation. Near the
village of Jarra, on the borders of the Runn, a bank affords a good exame
ple of the manner in which this upheaving power has acted. The la-
minated beds (upper secondary formation) being of a loose earthy char-
acter have yielded to the disturbing agent ; whilst the overlying com-
pact stone has broken short off, and presents a wall of rock, split by
such perfectly vertical lines, that at first sight I thought the stone was
columnar.

The range of Roha-ké-Koss, composed of beds of the fourth or upper
secondary formation, is a good example of disturbing action. It is situe
ated between the villages of Joorun and Lodye, on the borders of the
Runn, and-extends nearly east and west for eight miles, presenting, to
the north, a perpendicular cliff of sandstone, which rests on a sloping
talus of laminated sandstone and slate-clay, and dipping at a high angle
to the southward. About three quarters ofa mile from this main range,
and parallel to it, is a ridge of smaller hills, consisting principally of ba-
salt, intermixed, in some places, with the same sandstone as that of the
main hill; and which, in the banks ofthe nullahs at its base. overlies,
the laminated strata. The space between the two ridges is composed
of large broken masses of sandstone, covered by a thick bed of gravel

330 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

evidently the detritus of the hills. In this instance, the strata of the
Koss range dip towards the south ; and, at a short distance to the north
of it, we find a mass of basaltic or igneous matter, which probably raised
the hills in its passage up, and established itself at their foot. Large
basaltic dykes, disturbing the strata through which they pass, are obser-
vable in many of the river banks in the immediate neighbourhood.

The beds of nummulitic limestone, on which Luckput stands, present,
as before stated (p. 321), most decided marks of elevatory movements,
consisting of a central platform of horizontal strata, with inclined beds on
the flanks,

Another most striking example of the effects of igneous action in up-
raising hills, occurs in the nummulitic limestone, near the village of Pun-
undrow ; and the phenomena are so strongly marked, that they deservea
detailed description. |

On leaving the village of Korah, in the north-west department of the
province, and proceeding westward, a range of hills is entered, of small
altitude, but covering aconsiderable area. It is composed of a confused
assemblage of basaltic cones in broken columns, or rather of a number
of sugar-loaf-shaped masses piled one on the other. The surface of the
hills is covered with fragments of a hard greenstone, the crystals of fels-
par being numerous. The perpendicular banks of the nullahs and rayines
which intersect this range, present, in some places, entire sections of
the columnar basalt ; whilst others consist of a friable, sandy clay, dis-
posed in horizontal, thinly laminated strata of every shade of black, red,
and yellow, to white ; and associated with it is a beautiful purple loam.
The basalt sometimes overlies these beds, sometimes forms dykes in
them ; and one side of the ravine frequently consists of this variegated
loam, and the opposite of basaltic pillars. In many places the ground
has an altered appearance ; the ironstone, of which large quantities are
lying about, appearing partially fused, and the clays or variegated marls
variously acted on, and always accompanied by dykes of basalt. These
hills continue about eight miles from Korah to the village of Ukri, where
they gradually decline into a plain, throwing off numerous ridges or forks.
About three miles distant, a solitary hill, witha flat but uneven top,
called Baboa, rises out of the plain. To this bill I wish to draw particu-
lar attention ; and the furegoing account of the basaltic range has been
given as necessary to a proper understanding of it.

The first part of this plain is composed of thick beds of gravel, but fur-
ther westward it consists of the nummulitic formation. Out of this soil
rises the Baboa hill, composed of hard limestone, full of marine remains.
One of the forks projecting from the basaltic range reaches to within

1840, ] On the Geology of Cutch. 331

half a mile of the hill, the ground near it being strewed with small frag-
ments of igneous rock.

The cause of the elevation of this hill is, in my opinion, distinctly visie
ble in the banks ofa river which passes by its western base. ‘They are
from 20 to 30 feet in height, and are composed of white calcareous marl,
covered by a thin bed of gravel. Immediately opposite the hill, these
beds are cut through by a dyke of very compact dark green basalt, forme
ing, towards the river, a wall about eight feet high ; its base being hid
by a talus of gravel. In several places on each side of this dyke, which
is about 50 yards in breadth, independent masses of igneous rock break
throngh the marl. ‘They are principally of a blunt, conical form, capped
‘with portions of the marl, and consist of spheroids of basalt, which des-«
quamate in concentric layers, precisely resembling scales of iron. At a
short distance up the river, or northward, this marl is covered by a stratifi-
ed series, dipping at a high angle to the north, and consisting of a yellowish
marl, with small imbedded fragments of lignite, covered by a bed of blue
clay, containing also fragments of lignite and quantities of an olive-brown
earth, in which small pieces of either amber or mineral resin are inclosed.
Above this bed is a stratum of red sandstone ; and the whole is covered,
at its lower extremity, by a thick bed of gravel. These inclined beds
reach the level of the water about 400 yards from the basaltic dyke, be-
yond which the marl again appears in horizontal beds. Southward of
the dyke, the change from the broken part to the undisturbed horizon-
tal strata, is much more abrupt, occurring within a very short distance.
On the top of the bank adjoining the south end of the dyke the stratified
beds of blue clay, &c. are horizontal.

From the above description it appears, that the only place in which
the basalt is exposed, is directly under the hill, no trace of it being dis-
cernible either above or below this spot ; also, that the most compact and
extensive mass of basalt is exactly under the highest part of the hill .
and that detached masses of igneous rock present themselves, with
large portions of the marl adheringto them. A series of stratified beds
is also noticed rising from the north towards the hill, meeting the sur-
face at its foot, and is again found in a horizontal position just south of
the hill. All these facts surely prove, that the hill must have been ele-
vated by an outburst of igneous matter, which was probably a branch
from the basaltic hills to the eastward ; one of its forks reaching within
half a mile of the spot.

Quantities, of what I believe to be frothy or foam lava, being a brown:
ish black substance, very vesicular or spongiform, extremely light, and

332 On the Geology of Cuich. [Ocr.

somewhat similar to a very porous cinder, are found adhering to the
marl, and in the rubble of the bank. j

hill, are scattered about its sides and base ; and some of them, my guide
informed me, fell during the earthquake of 1819; and the abrupt and
steep sides are, no doubt, due to the action of water. Numerous fossils
are found lying about, characteristic of the nummulitic limestone.

T have minutely described this hill, in the hopes of impressing others
with the same belief as myself, of the cause of its elevation,

Near the village of Nambye, in the Charwar range, a basaltic dyke
traverses beds of thinly laminated slate-clay and layers of Himestone slate.
In the immediate vicinity of the dyke the s'rata dip in all directions, and
form even anticlinal lines. The basalt is very hard, compact, and ofa
dark blue colour, and presents irregular masses, without the slightest ap«

Large blocks of the shelly limestone, composing the summit of the

proach to a columnar structure.

Distinct Periods of Volcanic Eruption.—That the voleanic eruptions
have occurred at many distinct periods, is also evident, from the different
formations with which the igneous rocks are associated, and from
the variations in their characters. Thus, in the same _ section,
the lower part frequently consists of large, rolled, or water-wora
masses, whilst the upper portion is columnar: in other places
the basalt alternates with a calcareous grit or coarse limestone,
having a tabular structure, but always. distinctly stratified, and very
brittle, soas to present perpendicular banks. ‘This limestone is ge-
nerally associated with basalt, where the latter is raised into hills ; and
from the fact of angular pieces of basalt or igneous matter being imbed-
ded in it, would incline one to believe that,in such cases, it must be
contemporaneous, though it often regularly alternates with it. in other
places the basalt is interstratified with a pure crystalline limestone or

travertin.

The principal mass of igneous rocks lies towards the southern. departs
ment of the province, and forms a group of hills called the Doura range ;
the intervening spaces and the ground at their sout»ern base generaily
assuming a porphyritic structure. ‘The northern parts of the range have,
for the greater part, a flat, smooth outline ; but in the interior of the
group are many clusters of small, conical hills, arranged round a circular
space, inclosing a kind of hollow. The sides of these cones are very
steep, and invariably present innumerable horizontal lines, forming rings
resembling narrow paths. ‘The surface being covered with basalt, in
very small pieces, is totally devoid of vegetation, and has precisely the

1840.) On the Geology of Cutch. 833

appearance of anewly-laid macadamised road. Their interior, how-
ever, has a much more solid construction, as-is well seen in numerous
deep clefts and ravines with which the hills are in all directions inter-
sected.

One of these ravines, near the village of Doonee, is 50 or 60 yards
bread, and nearly 100 feet deep ; and its perpendicular sides are composed
of compact columnar basalt of a greenish grey colour; the columns being
perfect polygons, and of a.very large size. This rent must have been
formed by some convulsion, as it reaches nearly to the summit of the hill ;
and the only water that could ever have flowed down it being that which
falls on its sides and bed, and must be very little.

Alternaticns of Basalt with Strata of the Upper Secondary Formation.
—Near Nurra, on the borders of the Runn, a hill called Jogé-ki-bit,
basalt alternates with slate-clay, limestone slate, slaty limestone,
and a laminated loam. The strata dip from 40° to 50° to the north,
which being ata higher angle than that at which the hill itself rises, it
causes them to crop out; the surface being also broken into several
distinct ridges. ‘The igneous rock alternates three times. In one ine
stance it underlies a stratum of hard slate-clay; in another it occurs
between a coarse, soit sandstone, and slate-clay, and sandstone slate;
and it aiso forms the conical summit of the hill, whichis not more than
ten feet in diameter. The basalt desquamates in flakes, but has a

centre of compact rock. The same inclination of the beds is continued
through the hill.

Alternations of the Calcureous Grit with Basalt.—At the village of
Doonee, above mentioned, the banks of the river present a perfectly
perpendicular wall, from 15 to 20 feet high, and are composed of the
calcareous grit, or coarse limestone alternating with basalt, in the fol-
lowing order : first, grit; then a horizontal bed of rounded pieces of ba-
salt; and next, another stratum of the grit, 15 feet in thickness; the
whole being covered by the basalt forming the hills.

Another good example of this alternation is near the village of Keroee,
at the eastern limit of the formation. The banks ofa river are here come
posed, in some places, of the basalt forming the Doura range; and in
others, entirely of the limestone grit, which in one place overlies the ba-
salt, but forced up into anticlinal lines, as if the igneous rock had been
protruded from below; the broken state of the strata showing that it
was not originally deposited in this position. The bed of the river at
this place is entirely composed of basaltic columns; their horizontal
sections forming a regular pavement ; and large masses of the columns,

334 On the Geology of Cutch. [Oct.

occupying from 200 to 300 square yards, and being about eight feet in
height, remain every here and there, similar to a field of corn partially
reaped. The columns are very regular, generally four-sided, with
smooth, even surfaces, and are composed of a hard, compact, dark blue
basalt.

Another instance of the junction of the limestone grit with the basalt
is near the village of Choolree, a little to the westward of Kaira. The
basaltic range is completely divided by a narrow ravine, in which the
two rocks appear in contact, the limestone being broken in all direc-
tions. One side of the ravine presents a perpendicular cliff, of nearly
80 feet in height, of irregular columnar basalt, overlying a bed of round-
ed masses of the same, though the opposite bank is composed of the
limestone grit. Advancing through the Pass, the basalt terminates ab-
raptly, and is succeeded by the limestone grit, which forms both sides of
the ravine. Further on, the basalt again appears in the form of a dyke;
beyond which is the grit, once more succeeded by a dyke of basalt, form-
ing, at this extremity of the Pass, both banks. Where the dykes of basalt
occur the limestone lies in immense masses, evidently broken off at the
time of the projection of the upper bed of igneous rock; being itself
of subsequent formation to the lower basaltic bed of rolled masses.
This is very distinctly shown at one part of the Pass; and it should be
mentioned, that the bed of the ravine consists throughout of irregular or
broken basalt.

The intervening spaces and the ground at the base of these hills
are composed, for the most part, of a red clay much resembling bricks
a variety of it being amygdaloidal, of a darker colour, extremely hard
and tough, and containing quantities of calcareous spar, chalcedony, rock
erystal, &c.

In some places it forms low ranges of hills of a hard rock, ofa dingy
red colour, thickly interspersed with cylindrical kernels of zeclite, with
a light green coating, some of them dividing into two parts. Other
specimens contain numerous crystals of felspar; and, in many in-
stances, all the mineral substances have disappeared, leaving a vesicular
mass. Occasionally, thin beds or layers of calcareous spar, of a leek-
green colour, are met with, also of rock crystal and chalcedony in all

its varieties. ‘The surface of the plains is covered with fragments of —

these minerals, derived from the disintegration of the amygdaloids, which —
are rapidly affected by exposure to air and water. Some of the sides of —
the hills are covered with heaps of rock crystal, as if cart-loads had been —
purposely thrown down. .

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 335

Alternation of Basalt with Travertin—A very good example of suc-
cessive eruptions of basalt occurs near the small village of Wurrowsow,
on the south-western flanks of the Charwar range. This point must at
one period have been a lake, it being now a dead flat, about 43 miles
in diameter, and surrounded by low but steep hills, whose surfaces
are covered with small fragments of basalt ; its general level is about 20
feet above the ground to the east of it. The soil consists of alluvial
matter and fine gravel, totally different from the sandy plain by which
it is bounded ; but its most interesting feature is the basalt at the eas-
tern outlet or break in the low surrounding hills. This mass of trap
consists of perfectly polygonal columns about 25 feet in height, but
broken into lengths, forming a series of regular steps, cut into a horse-
shoe shape by a small stream, which discharges itself during the rainy
season. The hills that flank it on each side are composed of a base of
coarse sandstone capped by an earthy basalt, a dyke of which, 8 or 9
inches wide, has, in one spot, penetrated the subjacent sandstone.

The friable basalt forms the base of the fall. Above the columns
the bed of the small stream consists of a loose, calcareous calc-tuff.

This section presents several interesting facts; as, from the alterna-
tion of basalt with the limestone or travertin, it is evident, that a consi-
derable time must have elapsed between the igneous eruptions. The
variety in the texture of the limestone or travertin may be accounted
for by supposing, that the waters under which it was deposited were
sometimes perturbed, or rendered muddy by a flood; but at other sea-
sons clear, when a pure calcareous precipitate would take place. The
basalt forming the columns is very hard, compact, of a dark blue colour,
and smooth surface ; and it may be traced to some small hills northward
of the spot.

Near this place the surface has been affected in a manner worthy of
observation. Every here and there, a small spot, varying in size from
& to 20 yards in diameter, has been raised into a convex form; the
pavement, that covers it, consisting of tabular plates of slaty sandstone,
broken into small masses; and the fractured lines generally radiating,
though in an irregular manner, from a centre. In some places the tops
of these little globular elevations have been removed, leaving a regular
circle of stones, whose bounding lines are disposed like the stones of an
arch. In other instances they assume a more conical shape, resembling
small hillocks, from the upper part of which the outer coating or tabular
masses have generally fallen away. When they are of a larger character,
the whole presents a heap of broken masses of rock,

336 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

Denodur Fill, an extinct Voleano.—Of the detached hills, the eleva-
tion of which I conceive to be due to voleanic influence, the principal is
that called Denodur, and is situated near the shores of the Runn. It
is the largest and highest hill in the country, and is evidently the re-
mains of an extinct volcano, an irregular crater being still visible. In
the north side is a large gap, reaching neatly to the foot of the hill, but
partially blocked up by a lower ridge, or a kind of traverse. Its western
flanks are composed of a series of ridges of laminated clay and loam,
interspersed with flat, angular fragments of slaty sandstone and slate-
clay. The surface of some of these ridges is smooth, consisting either
of thin slabs of slate-clay, or of thicker slabs of a very compact, ery-
stalline, and slightly calcareous stone, the same as that which overlies
the laminated series, and forms the wallson the Runn, &. Near the
base of the hill and for more than two-thirds up its side the construc-
tion alters, being composed partly of a loose sandstone, and partly of
the calcareous grit, containing imbedded, angular fragments of basalt ;
the uppermost part is a perpendicular wall of basalt, which, apparently,
continues all round the top. Astream of very compact basalt runs
past its north-western flank, and in other places. Numerous small conical
hills, compesed of horizontal layers of limestone grit, or of basalt, are
scattered over its sides, and its base is covered with a thick mould,
formed of decayed vegetables, with earthy matter. Nowhere did I find
any traces of recent disturbance, although the people of the neighbour
hood, particularly the Jogees, or religious devotees, who inhabit a temple
on its northern flank, asserted that fire issued from it during the earth-
quake of 1819. If it did, there would, of course, be some signs of it re-
maining; but I was unable to penetrate into the interior of the hill,
owing to the dense Bauble Jungle, or crooked thorn tree with which it
is covered.

Not far from this place, and adjoining the village of Nuckutrana, is a
hill of some size, called Ungia-soorud, the elevation of which has also
been effected by volcanic agency. The flanks and base are composed of
a very loose, friable, calcareous sandstone and grit, apparently stratified,
‘but inclined at all angles; and the remainder consists of very compact
basalt. The hill is divided into two parts by a narrow, tortuous cleft,
the sides of which are nearly perpendicular, and composed of irregularly
triangular prisms of basalt. The cleft is not more than four feet wide at _
the bottom, though it is somewhat broader at the top; and as it passes —
completely through the hill, we must suppose the whole to be similarly —
composed. |

1840. | On the Geology of Cutch. 337

All the other numerous isolated hills scattered over this part of the
province, including that called the Nuanaw, next to Denodur, appear to
be similarly constructed.

The hill called Lecka, deserves particular notice. It forms one of a
group of hills on the borders of the Ruun, at the north-western extre-
mity of the province, and is composed of two portions ; one consisting of
stratified beds of sandstone ; and the other wholly of basalt, in irregular,
triangular columns. The beds of sandstone are horizontally disposed,
and of various colours and textures ; the lowest stratum being a coarse,
brown, quartzose grit. The igneous rocks crop out in various places
near this spot, forming a cluster of small hills between it and the Jooria
range; the interyening spaces being broken in the most confused man-
ner.

Recent Outbursts.—Waving given as many examples of the elevatory
effects of volcanic action as my space will admit, I shall conclude my
account of their phenomena with a description of some igneous out-
bursts of, apparently, a very recent epoch. ‘The principal one occurs
at the village of Wagé-ké-Pudda. ‘The spot which has been acted on
is arather high table-land, composed of the nummulitic marl, and is
flanked by low, irregular hills of ironstone and gravel, called by the
natives Kara Rurraw. The first view of it, is very striking. Con-
ceive a space of about two square miles, blown out into a flat basin,
the sides being broken into fissures, with craters, ravines, and hol«
lows; and the interior, or bed of the basin, interspersed with hillocks
and cones of every variety of colour, black, red, yellow, and white, and
with patches of cinders, similar to the refuse of a furnace; the whole
looking as fresh as if the igneous agents were still in operation.

The surface of the table-land immediately surrounding the blown-out
space, is covered with a burnt ironstone, divided into irregular cells,
similar to Septaria; below which are steep banks, 40 to 50 feet high, con-
sisting of comminuted particles of clay. sand, gravel, scoriz, and small
angular pieces of basalt; the whole being loose, and having a dry and
brittle fecl.

Within the centre are several small craters, or circular spaces,
surrounded by walls of basalt. None of them are perfect cir-
cles, being broken through by watercourses; but one has about
two thirds of its circumference complete, the sides of which,

@about forty feet high, are in the upper part quite perpendicu-
lar, and consist of very compact basalt, of a columnar structure ;
while the lower ten feet present a talus, composed of volcanic

338 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

sand, and scoria in very thin lamine. Below the columnar basalt is a
bed of a friable variety, three feet in thickness. In some parts the
columns are capped with a thin band of ironstone. The interior of this
crater is about 80 yards in diameter, and consists of volcanic sand, with
imbedded angular fragments of basalt. The most perfect of these cra-
ters, or circular spaces, are generally hid from view, being approachable
only by the narrow ravine forming the outlet of the watercourse which
cuts through them. The basalt varies greatly in texture and general ap-
pearance : in some places it is columnar, exceedingly hard and compact,
in others it contains imbedded crystals of felspar, and it occasionally pre-
sents the structure and texture of an amygdaloidal clay. Some varieties
also consist of concentric layers of a kind of brittle, clayey substance,
inclosing a nucleus of hard rock ; the whole being imbedded in a mass
of clay, which looks as if a number of small roots were entwined about
it. All the varieties are frequently found in the same bank or hillock,
Several other small basins have been blown out in the surrounding
table-land, forming inverted cones, about 15 or 20 feet in depth ; and
are composed of the same materials as those just described. Many of
them consist entirely of small, brittle particles, of a pale yellow colour,
evidently sulphuric. The clay has, in various places, been burnt into a
perfect brick ; and the marls, or sandy clays, are frequently of a beautiful
bright purple. Quantities of talc, or mica, lie scattered about, twisted
and contorted into a variety of shapes ; and some of the iron ore which
covers the surface, appears to have been partially fused, consisting of a
spongy, vesicular mass. The whole hasthe appearance of having been
for some time subjected to considerable heat, and then suddenly blown
up. The cones and banks of loose volcanic scoriz must be yearly wash-
ing away ; and it ig difficult to conceive, that the walls of solid basalt
forming the sides of the craters, can belong toa similar period, having
all the appearance and texture of very old basalt; butit is possible that
a recent eruption may have taken place in the site of one of a more anci-
ent date, thus presenting a mixture of old and recent volcanic products.
If it is true, that basalt owes its columnar structure to its cooling slowly
under a great pressure, it is impossible that these masses of columnar
basalt and the loose cones of scorize can be contemporaneous.
In the nummoulitic marl forming the banks ofa river which flows past
this patch of blown-up ground, isa stratum of earth containing small
nodules or rounded masses, of a pale yellow colour, translucent an at
brittle, and which burn with a bright flame, giving out a strong aromatic
odour. Itis contained in a dry, olive-brown earth, so light as to float —

in water.

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 339

Numerous Echinodermata, and other fossils, are found on the table-
land, and some of the fields are thickly stewed with casts of a Turbinel-
la of a very large size, the external shell being always wanting. On
breaking them, small fragments of igneous matter are found in their in-
terior. :

In the table-land just south of the outburst, is a large fissure, about a
quarter of a mile in length, 40 yards broad, and 40 or 50 feet deep. One
extremity communicates with the river, and the other is rounded, or
formed into a basin shape. The sides are perfectly perpendicular ; and
it is clearly an opening in the ground, there not being the slightest indi-
cation of anything of the kind, until directly at its brink. I was inform-
ed by a native of the village, (the only present inhabitant.) that smoke
issued from the outburst about twenty-two years since; but little de-
pendence can be placed on the statements of these people.

Another similar, but smaller, outburst occurs about three miles south
of Mhurr, near the spot in which, in my account of the tertiary deposits,
I mentioned that a large basaltic dyke crosses the river. The space
here blown out, does not exceed 100 yards in diameter, and 15 feet deep,
consisting of similar cones of volcanic scoriz, and comminuted particles,
as above described ; but there is no trave of any basalt nearer than the
dyke in the river.

From what I have now detailed, it appears, that igneous action has
affected all the formations of which the province is composed ; and it
will also appear, by the following details, that the Grand Runn, the
most remarkable feature of the country, owes its peculiar characters to
volcanic action.

Tus Granp RuNN.

With a short account of this large and singular tract, I shall conclude
the paper. It has been described by Captain Burnes, in a memoir in the
library of the Royal Asiatic Society; and referred to, at considerable
length, by Mr. Lyell, in his ‘‘ Principles of Geology.’’*

This tract, containing an area of upwards of 7000 square miles, ex-
clusive of the space occupied by the Bunnee, and the islands of Puchum,
Khureer, &c., is, perhaps, unparalleled in any known part of the globe,
as it may be said to be placed on a level between land and water. It is
- dry during the greater part of the year, when its surface consists of a
sandy flat, totally devoid of vegetation; but, perhaps, on account of its

* Sth Edit., vol. ii. p. 183 e¢ seq.

340 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

saline nature, always sufficiently moist to prevent its particles being
drifted. During the prevalence of the south-west winds, however, so
much water is blown up its eastern inlet by the Gulf of Cutch, and, at its
western extremity, by the eastern branch of the Indus, as to cover its
whole surface ; augmented by the freshes, which, at the same time, come
down the Loonee and Bunass rivers, and the numerous small streams
which intersect the northern coast of Cutch. At those seasons, the
Runn has all the appearance ofa sea, and is passable only on camels,
and, in some seasons, with difficulty. It has been described as the dried-
up bed of a sea; but itis not easy to account for its drying up, unless
we suppose a general depression of the ocean. We must, therefore, look
to other causes.

In several parts of the world, particularly in the Baltic, there are un-
deniable procfs of a gradual rising of the land; and, in time, parts of that
sea miglit be converted intoa tract similar to that of the Runn.* It
does not become me to inquire whether this gradual elevation is due to
a series of so minute elevatory movements as to be unnoticeable, except
from the effects which subsequent measurement proves them to have pro-
duced, or from a gradual expansion by volcanic heat. But in Cutch we
have evidence of movements within a very late date, and every reason to
believe that similar ones have occurred at various periods. The earth-
quake of 1819 is known to have produced a remarkable change on the
western extremity of the Runn, by throwing up a mound 50 miles in
length, 16 in breadth, and 18 feet ligh; and by depressing an adjoining
tract, so as to convert it, from a cultivated district, into a large salt la-
goon. As the changes in level, thus effected, have, however, been de-
tailed in other papers, I shall merely observe, that when I was at Luck-
put in January, 1834, very little if any change had occurred since Capt.
Burnes’ visit, in 1828; except that the Sindians had repaired all the
bunds across the river, and thus, by preventing further supplies of fresh
water, the lagoon had assumed much the same appearance as previous
to the freshes of 1828.

I was also informed by a boatman, who constantly plied up and down
from Ullah- Bund to the sea, that between Sindoo and Sindree, there is
a bank, six miles broad, covered by only one foot of water ; and as there
is no channel through it, the boatmen are obliged to get out and haul
the boats across the bank, after which they follow the windings of the
channel to Ullah-Bund. It would therefore appear that this portion

* See Mr. Lyell’s Memoir, on the proofs of gradual rising of the land in Sweden. Phil.
Trans, 1835, p. 1 ef seq.

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 34]

could not have been so much sunk as that around Sindree, and between
it and Luckput.

I was also assured that pieces of iron and ship-nails have been thrown
up from fissures in the Runn; and Capt. McMurdo* mentions a boat
which had been buried under 15 feet of alluvium, having become expos-
ed in a mud-bank, near the village of Wuwania, on the Kattywar side of
the Runn, or where it joins the Gulf of Cutch.

The number of places still pointed out as Bunders, or quays, together
with the large stones formerly used as anchors, one of which still lies on
a small elevation on the Runn, not far from the Puchum Island, and the
confident assertion of all the inhabitants on its coast, tend to confirm the
opinion that the district must once have been covered by a navigable
body of water.

Some parts of the shores have precisely the appearance of having been
recently deserted by the sea. This is particularly the case near the vil-
lage of Charee, which is separated from the Runn by alow range of hills.
To the northward of this range is an inlet, about one mile and a half
in breadth, and it looks precisely like a small creek or bay from which
the tide has just ebbed. Its surface is composed of smooth, whitish
clay, with numerous scattered gravel banks, the ends of which have been
worn round, and the sides present perpendicular or overhanging banks.
Several masses of crystalline sandstone also rise suddenly out of the
bed; and some of them consist of immense fragments, which look as if
they had been piled one on the other, and have a strange effect from a
short distance. Beyond the inlet is another range of hills of the same
description, but it is more broken and confused than any other in the
country. Insome places, the upper stratum of hard rock has been
thrown into a position like the roof of a house; in others, it precisely
resembles a ruined fort with towers ona hill; but the greater part of the
stratum is a confused assemblage of huge fragments of rock. Northward
of this range, and separated from it by a narrow belt of the Runn, is a
steep conical hill, called Keera, 600 or 700 feet in height, consisting
partly of the same materials as the others, and partly of basalt ; and it
appears to have been formed in a similar manner to the hill called Ungure
soorud, before described, and others of that class. It isalso more than
probable, that the peculiar, fractured appearance of all the ranges is due
to the same cause acting at the same period.

Supposing the bed of the Runn to have been raised by a series

| © Extract from Captain McMurdo’s MS, memoir on Kattywar, in Captain Burnes’
}) Travels in Bokkara, vol. iii, p. 329, note.

342 On the Geology of Cuich. (Ocz.

of violent movements, such as must have upheaved the Keera,
and its surface to have been broken, and covered with fragments
of rock, its present level outline may be ascribed to subsequent
operations. The Runn is bounded to the north, as already stated,
by the Thur or Little Desert, a district composed entirely of sand.
The Loonee and Bunass rivers also flow through a swndy soil, as do
many other streams which enter from the Cutch side. Now, during
the periodical floods, vast quantities of sandy alluvium must have
been brought down by these rivers, deposited at their mouths,
and washed thence and spread over the surface of the Runn by the sea-
water annually blown up at its eastern and western extremities. This
operation, repeated yearly, would fill up all inequalities, and produce in
time a level surface. It is probable, however, that the present state of
the district may also be, in some measure, owing to a gradual rising of
its bed, as it is only to such operations that some of its shores, as those
of the inlet above mentioned, can be ascribed.

There are also many facts to prove, that this tract has been elevated
at very different periods. ‘The high hills bordering its southern shore
are, as before stated, composed prineipally of the laminated series, and
their surfaces are covered with Ammonites, Nautilites, Belemnites, and
other fossils of that geological period ; whereas along its immediate line
of shore, there are generally low ridges, composed ofrocks full of ma-
rine remains of a totally different character, many of them belonging to
existing species. Numerous small rocky islets, consisting of shells ag-
glutinated into a solid mass, occur in various parts of the Runn, and are
barely raised above its present level. They are probably merely the
higher portions of large tracts, the lower parts of which are covered by
sediment.

Watural Walls on the Runn how formed.—Still more striking instances
of the effects of upheavement, since the Runn assumed its present char-
acters, are exhibited in the detached, elevated masses of rock which I
have called the Natural Walls on the Runn.

They consist of disconnected portions of rock rising abruptly from the
surface of the Runn, and presenting a smooth, vertical wall, occasionally
upwards of thirty feet in height, and in one instance upwards of two
miles in length. Some of them resemble domed or vaulted buildings,
the reversed side consisting of a talus of broken fragments of rock and
soil. In one place these walls form a semicircle about 500 yards in dia-
meter, both walls sloping outwards. That the walls have been uplifted
into their present form is quite evident, first, from the stones being all
on end, that is, with the grain in the direction of their present position,

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 343

and peeling off in scales down the face of the wall; and secondly, from
my having met with the same phenomena on a smaller scale, in other
parts of the country, where the slabs of rock are at ali angles, and even,
as those before mentioned, turned over. It should be noticed, also, that
the berders of the Runn, near these walls, are composed of friable beds
of the laminated series, covered with thick tabular masses of hard sand-
stone, precisely similar to those forming the walls.

Had they been uplifted during the permanent prevalence of the waters,
the sloping talus of earth and fragments of rock, with which they are
all backed, must have been washed away. It should be stated, that
these examples are situated on ground now almost recovered from a
state of Runn ; some parts having been sufficiently augmented by means
of the sandy alluvium, washed down from the neighbouring hills to sup-
port vegetation ; whereas the isolated rocks, several of which rise out
of that part of the Runn, and are still subjected to inundation, have no
detritus or talus, but present smooth walls of perpendicular rocks. [
could never perceive any water-marks on them, nor any remains of
marine testacea, which might oecur, had the sea ever washed the pre-
sent level of their foot. Itis probable that their original base lines have
become obliterated by the sediment which must have accumulated round
them in course of time, and which forms the existing surface. |

A very good example of a similar wall occurs in the centre of the
province, near the village of Rampoora ; it is a ridge of coarse sandstone
about 300 yards in length, and from 16 to 15 feet in height, the stones
being evidently placed edgeways, and in so regular a manner as to re-
semble precisely an artificial wall. It rises from a base of the same
sandstone, and on one side it is nearly flat, but broken into masses, while
on the other side are heaps of stone, broken and confused, and the in-
terstices are filled with sand and small trees. At the extremity of the
wall the stones slope up like the end of aroof. In the immediate vici-
nity of this wall isa small range of basaltic hills, striking however at
right angles to the direction of the sandstone ridge.

Some of the rivers which flow towards the Runn from the Cutch side
are lost in the sand at their mouths; though at a short distance up the
bed of the river, the stream runs freely. It would thus appear, that at
these spots, the bed of the Runn has been increased, by the sediment,
probably, brought down by the stream; but so loose is the soil, that the
water soaks into it and even flows under it, instead of wearing channels.
This phenomenon is observable in the sandy beds of many of the rivers

in the province. ‘The stream may be noticed running with some rapidity
and of a sudden to cease, the bottom of the river presenting a smooth
sandy surface; but a mile lower down the water again issues and con-

344 On the Geology of Cuitch. [Oecx.

tinues its course; the intervening parts being sometimes quite hard and
dry ; in others forming very dangerous quicksands.

‘The natives have various traditions that the drying up of this sea was
sudden, and that boats were tossed on the land and wrecked; they pre-
tend also to assign a date to this event, but their accounts differ so ma-
terially and are so vague, that not the slightest reliance can be placed
upon them, except to the general fact.

It is evident that the Runn could not have been drained by the burst-
ing of its boundaries, at least since it was deep enough to be navigable;
because its present surface, notwithstanding the sediment which yearly
accumulates on it, iseven now so little raised above the sea’s level as to
be flooded by the mere effects of the wind; but the most probable sup-
position is, not that it was ever a detached inland sea or lake, but that
it communicated with the ocean by its present outlets, and that its bed
has been raised, partly perhaps by a gradual movement, and partly by
violent upheavements during earthquakes. Even such marked changes
of level as the raising of Ullxh-Bund, and the sinking of the ground near
the large town of Luckput, would have passed unrecorded but for the
accidental circumstance of the district having been visited by a British
officer. Other portions of this vast area, the greater part of which is
never traversed by man, may have been similarly affected at that time,

and yet the changes remain unkown.

Successive Marine and Freshwater Beds.—The submerged tract near
Luckput, or Lake of Sindree, may, I think, illustrate the manner in
which successive marine and freshwater deposits may be produced.
This tract was at one period a richly cultivated district, periodically
flooded by a branch of a great river, and produced large quantities of
rice. In this state numerous land testacea no doubt occupied it, and
were mixed with the remains of fluviatile species brought down by the
floods. The bones of animals used in agriculture, and those of various
domestic species, also the remains of broken pottery, perhaps coins, and
other procfs of civilized life, might likewise have been imbedded. Sud-
denly, cwing to the damming up ofthe river by the Sindians, the sup-
ply of fresh water ceased, and the tract was no longer cultivated or inha- —
bited. Some time after this an earthquake occurred, uplifting one part —
and depressing below the level of the ocean another, which was imme-
diately converted into a salt lake. <A perfectly new description of de-
posit and organic remains must then have been accumulated, consisting
wholly of marine animals, principally such as inhabit shallows and tide- —
ways. Again, owing to the sudden melting of the snow on far distant 3
mountains (the Himalayahs) the waters of the river came down with }
such force as to burst all the bunds built across it, as well as that ~

1840. ] On the Geology of Cuich. 345

thrown up by the earthquake, and covered the tract with fresh water,

or perhaps with fresh at its upper or northern extremity, and brackish
at its southern near the sea. Supposing this state of things to have re-
mained for some time, the river continuing to pour its water into this
lagoon, another change would take place in the description of the sedi-
mentary deposit. Once more the bunds were erected across the river,
the supply of fresh water ceased, and as that on the lagoon evaporated,
the sea again flowed in and converted it into a salt lake, which is its pre-

sent state. All the above changes are known to have occurred; and

it is easy to suppose that if the shallow part at Sindoo were slightly rais-
ed above its present level, thus shutting out the sea, the part around
the Fort of Sindree would be converted once more into dry land. If,
therefore, at any future period, the river should again cut a channel, the
banks might present various, regular beds alternately enclosing marine
and freshwater exuvie, the latter being also associated with land
productions.

The ruins of one of the towers of the Fort of Sindree remained, when
I visited Luckput in 1834, and in all probability now stand asa monu-
ment of the changes, which are daily taking place on the earth’s surface.

Concluston.—In concluding this paper, I have only to observe, that I
have throughout endeavoured to describe facis as they appeared to me
at the time I examined them, without regard to any particular theory ;
and if I have failed in making my descriptions intelligible, I have only to
plead the difficulty of having had a great deal to describe in a limited
space. As the country to which this memoir relates is, however, unfor-
tunately from its geographical position, beyond the reach of general ob-

servers, I am induced to hope, that this sketch, however imperfect, may
be found to possess some interest.

For the arranged list of fossil shells, given in the Appendix, as well as

for all my information on that subject, 1am entirely indebted to Mr.

ig

James De Carl Sowerby, who had my specimens (now in the cabinets
of the Geological Society) for some time in his possession for examination.

Norz.—In conformity with our practice of extracting from scarce or
expensive works such articles on matters of Science connected with this
country, as appear in European Periodicals, we have taken from the
Transactions of the Geological Society of London the foregoing articles.
We wish we could give copies of all the figures of fossils which accom-
pany the original text, forming a most valuable addition to the paleon-
tology of India, but their number precludes us from so doing—the diffi-

culties and expence attending the execution of so great a number of litho-

graphs being greater than the resources of this Journal could meet.—
Ep. Mapras Journal.

eA

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On the Geology of Cutch.

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On the Geology of Cutch.

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349

On the Geology of Cutch.

1840.]

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On the Geology of Catch.

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On the Geology of Cutch.

1840.}

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S02 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

Plants from the Sandstone and Clay, with beds of coal: pp. 312, 317.
Described by Mr. J. Morris,*

Ptilophyllum.

Stem— ? Fronds pinnate; pinne closely approximated, ican lan-
ceolate, more or less elongate, imbricate at the base, attached obliquely ;
base semicircular or rounded ; veins equal, slender, parallel.

We have ventured to form these fossils into a distinct genus, conceiv-
ing that the circumstances of the oblique insertion of the pinne and their
overlapping each other at the base, are characters too important to
admit of their being united to the genus Zamites, to which somewhat
similar fossils have hitherto been referred ; the Z. pectinata of the Fossil
Flora belongs to this genus, and a careful revision of the fossil Cycadee
may probably discover other species having this mode of attachment ;
from the structure ofthe frond they may, however, be considered to
belong to Cycadee, and to differ from Zamites in the oblique insertion
of the pinne at the base, and from Conifere by the absence of a primary
vein in the pinne.

Prtilophyllum acutifolium.

Frond pinnate; pinne narrow, linear-elongate, acute at the apex.

This species differs from the Z. pectinata of the Fossil Flora, in its
pinne being narrower, longer, and more acute; and more nearly resem-
bles the Polypodites pecteniformis of ieee

P. Cutchense.

Frond pinnate ; pinne short, scarcely overlapping at the base, apex
obtuse. |

This specimen has been also referred to the genus from its pinnz
(although wider apart than in the other species) having apparently a —
rounded base; but the absence of all trace of venation in this fossil
must render its correct determination very doubtful. It resembles in ¥
form the Z. Bucklandii of Sternberg, parts 5 and 6, t. 23, f. 2, or even q
Z. taxina of the Fossil Flora; and it might also be compared to some
pinnatifid Polypodiums, as P. plumula and P. taxifolium. }

It is much to be regretted, that more numerous and_better-preserved 4
portions of these specimens have not been obtained, so as to compare —
them more rigidly with the already known forms of fossil vegetation; |
for it is remarkable the analogy that some of them present to the Stones-
field slate plants.

Lycopodites affinis.

* The plants are stated in p. 514 to consist of ferns and reeds, but when the Memoir
Was passed through the press the specimens had not been examined by Mr. Morris, — i:

1840. | On the Geology of Cutch. 358

Stem ? branches linear-elongate, leaves distichous, alternate,
ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, adnate at the base.

This specimen has been referred to Lycopodites from its resemblance
to the barren portions of Lycopodium Jussieni and L. volubile.

ed

3
These specimens were probably portions of stems belonging either to
Equisetites or some monocotyledonous plant.
Fucoides dichoiomus.
Frond compressed ? dichotomous; branches unequal, patulate, apex
obtusely rounded.

Shells from the Upper Secondary Formation described by Mr. James
de Cari Sowerby.

Pholadomya ? inornata. Transversely elongate, ovate, gibhose, con-
centrically corrugated; beaks very near the anterior extremity ; longi-
tudinal ribs very obscure, rounded. Width 14 inch, length nearly 11
lines.

Loc. near Charee.

Pholadomya granosa. Ovate, subtriangular, gibbose, ornamented with
four or five rows of transversely-elongated and but slightly-elevated tus
bercles; the anterior side nearly straight-flattened, the posterior produce
ed; beaks very prominent. Length 2 inches, width the same.

Loc. near Charee.

Pholadomya angulata. Subtrigonal, gibbose, ornamented with four or
five sharp ribs, which are most prominent near the edge ; anterior side
straight, nearly flat. Length and width equal; in some specimens 2
inches. .

Ph. angulata approaches Ph. Murchisont var. of Phillips. (Geol. of
Yorks., Pl. VII. f. 9.)

Loc. near Charee.

Amphidesma ? ovale. ‘Transversely elongate, ovate, convex, slightly
wrinkled, anterior side small, truncated, distinguished from the rest of
the shell by a gentle depression ; posterior extremity rounded, rather
pointed. Length 11 lines, width Ll inch 4 lines.

Loc. near Charee.

There is no proof whatever that either this or the following belong
to the genus Amphidesma ; they are, however, very nearly related to
A. donaciforme and A. securiforme of Phillips.

Amphidesma ? hians. Transversely elongated, convex, slightly wrinkl-

304 On the Geology of Cuteh. [Ocr.

ed ; sides gaping ; the anterior small, separated from the rest of the
shell by an obscure depression ; the posterior rounded, a litle flattened.
Length 1 ineh, width more than 13 inch: the specimen being broken
we have not the measure complete.

Loc. near Charee.

Corbula lyrata. Rounded, triangular, convex, transversely ribbed ;
ribs about 13, prominent, rounded ; posterior side of the larger valve
formed into a distinct lobe, convex, nearly smooth—the beak of the same
valve much ineurved, the margin toothed. Length and breadth nearly
equal, sometimes exceeding half an inch. -

Occurs grouped in dense masses with Trigonia Pullus, a smooth Uncu-
la, &c.

Loc. near Charee. .

Astarte unilateralis. 'Transversely obovate, anteriorly truncated, con-
vex, rather flattened and marked with 8 or 9 concentrie rugee near the
beaks. Anterior side at right angles with the hinge line ; lunette con-
cave, ovate, pointed. Width greater than the length, but variable in
proportion, generally about 14 inch.

Loc. near Charee.

Astarte pisiformis. Nearly globose, with pointed beaks; marked
with 8 or 9 sharp transverse ridges ; edge toothed. Length 3 lines.

Loc. near Charee.

Trigonia costata, var. This shell varies slightly both in form and
markings—generally the formis between that of J. costata, Parkinson or
M. C. t. 85; and 7. elongata, of M. C. t.431; which Lamarck, appa-
rently with justice, considers to be but one species.

Loc. near Charee.

Trigonia Puillus (M. C.t. 508, f. 2, 3.) ? The markings on the pos-
terior side are not so regular as in the English specimens, but there
is no other difference. ;

Loc. near Charee.

(Fossils from the Upper Secondary Formation, Cutch.)

Cucullea virgata. Transversely elongato-quadrate, with projecting —
incurved beaks, very convex, marked with many longitudinal irregular, —
sharp ribs ; posterior margin obliquely truncated. Length 14 inch, —
width 22 inches,

Loc. Between Hubbye and Joorun.

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 355

Nucula tenuistrata. Obliquely oval, finely striated concentrically ;
beaks close to the anterior extremity. Length 4 lines, width 5 lines.

Specimens very imperfect, along with Cucullea virgata

Loc. Between Hubbye and Joorun.

Nucula ? cuneiformis. 'Transversely elongate-elliptical, gibbose,
smooth ; beaks close to the anterior extremity, small, incurved. Length
6 lines, width 10 lines.

Loc. near Charee.

Pecten partitus. Broad, short-elliptical, depressed, marked with two
concave radii, which divide the surface into three parts, both externally
and internally, the lateral parts being flattened ; concentrically and
minutely waved, waves alternately larger and smaller; ears small, near-
ly equal. Length 6 lines, width 5 lines.

Loc. Hubbye Wills.

Plicatula pectinoides, (M. C. t. 409.). Ifthis differ at ail from the
British species, it isin having rather more the habit of an Ostrea, which
is apparent in the expansion of the edge. :

Loc. near Charee.

Exogyra conica, (M. C.t. 26 and 605.). The few specimens most de-
tached from the matrix appear not to be quite so deep a: as those fe ae
in the Mineral Conchology.

Loc. Katrore Hills.

Ostrea carinaia (Lam. Hist. Nat. VI. 216. M. C. 365.) ? The speci-
mens being generally much concealed in the stone or broken, the de-
termination of the species is not possible ; the most perfect individuals
resemble the young state of O. carinata, but that speciesis so near in
some slates to O. greguria, (M. C. t. 111.) and O. solitaria ( M. C. t.

-468.), that fragments cannot be distinguished.

Loc. near Charee.

Ostrea Marshii, (M. C. t. 48.). The O. Marshii varies so much in
different localities, that we find no difficulty in referring this shell to that
species, although the plaits are more numerous than usual.

This specimen is accompanied with an imperfect Plicatula.

Loe. Katrore Hill.

Terebratula intermedia, (M. C.t. 15. f. 8.) var. A small specimen, and
rather more deeply plaited than most of the European varieties of the
species,

Loe. near Charee.

. Terebratula biplicata, (M. C. t. 90 and 437,f 2,3.) var. A variety of this
variable species found in the red chalk at Hunstanton, is precisely simi-

256 On the Geology of Cutch. {Ocr.

lar in form to our specimen, except that it wants the angle on each side
of the beak which is here obscurely visible.
Loc. Jooria Hill.

Terebratula Sella, (M. C. t. 437, f. 1.) var. <A rather longer shell than
the British fossil, and deficient in the central plait which most generally
occurs in full-grown individuals of that species.

Loc. Pass of the Hubbye Hills.

Tercbratula concinna, (M. C. t. 83, f. 6.) ? A larger shell than the one
figured in M C. and not so neat, but hardly possessing any character
sufficier.tly strong to mark it as a species; there are, however, rather
fewer plaits.

Loc. Jooria Hill.

Terebratula nobilis. Tetrahedral, rounded, sharply plaited; plaits
about J6, extending to the beaks, 4 or 6 of them much elevated along
the middle of the disk ; beaks small, adpressed; sides concave near the
beaks.

A large handsome species ; when young the general form is depress-
ed, but the middle is even then much elevated. Length and width,
each 13 inch, depth of the valves united, sometimes more than 2 inches,

Loc. near Charee.

Terebratula dimidiata, (M. C. t. 277. f. 5.)? Whether this be Z. —
dimidiata or T. inconstans, (M. C. t. 277, f. 4.) is a question the specimens. _
are not perfect enough to settle. The flattened form of the specimen 4
figured agrees with that of 7. diméidiata, but the beaks of our specimens
appear too much incurved (perhaps from pressure) and so to approach q
T. inconstans.

Loc. Jooria Hill, and near Charee.

Terebratula major. ‘'Transversely obovate, gibbose, plaited; plaits —
angular, extending to the beaks, about 30, haif of them on one side of
the front slightly raised ; beak of the larger valve prominent, slightly —
incurved. A larger species than the last, of the same family, well dis-
tinguished by its width and even surface. Length, 13 inch, width 22
inches, depth of the valves united 13 inch.

Loc. near Charee,

(Fossils fiom the Upper Secondary Formation, Cutch.)

Buccinum pumilum. Ovate, pointed, transversely striated ; spire small; .
whorls 4, smooth in the middle, slightly convex ; aperture ovate, point- 3
ed at both extremities. Height 3 lines, diameter 2 lines.

Loc. Mhurr.

1840.] On the Geology of Cuich. 357

Beiemnites canaliculatus, Schloth. (Zieten, t. xxi. f.3.) ? The fragments
we have of this Belemnite agree well with Zieten’s figure of B. canalicu-
Jatus, which is very probably not distinct from B. suleatus of Miller
(Geol. Trans., 2nd Series, vol. ii. part 2, p. 59, Pl. VIIL f. 3).

Loc. near Charee.

Belemnites ? A nearly cylindrical fragment without a sulcus.
Very like 2. clongatus of Miller.

Loc. near Charee.

Nautilus heragonus (M. C. t. 529)? Flatted spheroidal, with a very
small umbilicus ; front approaching to flat; sides rather conical; septa
15 in a whorl; aperture wider than long; siphuncle unknown. Diameter
33 inches, thickness 23 inches, length of the aperture 13 inch.

This differs from N. heragonus in having a smaller umbilicus and in
being more rounded. It wants the line that occurs in the middle of the
front of N. déneatus, which it nearly resembles.

Loc. near Charee

Ammonites Herveyi, (M. C. t. 195, Zieten, 19. t. xiv. p. 3.) var.

This differs from the English specimens only in having a wider umbili-
cus. It agrees well with Zieten’s figure, which differs a little from the
English specimens, to which A. maerccephalus, figured by the same
author at Tab. 5. f. | and 4., approaches nearer.

Loc. near Charee.

Ammonites elephantinus. Approaching to globose, with a very wide
umbilicus exposing the inser whorls; whorls obtusely angular at their
sides, crossed by very prominent rounded costz, which divide into two
as they pass over the front; aperture transversely elongated, gently
arched. Diameter 4 inches, thickness 23 inches, length of aperture above
an inch.

Loc. near Charee.

Ammonites furmosus. Discoid, with a rounded edge, umbilicate, radi-
ated; umbilicus narrow, acutely conical; radii numerous, slightly elevat-
ed, obscure near the umbilicus, often forked near their commencement,
passi g in a direct course over the front; aperture sagittate, with trun-
cated angles. Diameter 5 inches, thickness 27 inches, length of aperture
13 inch.

Loc. near Charec.

Ammonites lamellosus. Discoid, thick, with a rounded margin, umbili-
cate, radiated ; umbilicus narrow, exposing a small portion of each inner
whorl, smooth ; radii numerous, elevated into obtuse lamella, commen-
cing with a curve upon the edge of the umbilicus, often forked upon the

358 On the Geology of Cutch. ‘[Ocr.

middle of the sides, bent forward as they pass over the margin. Diame-
ter 4 inches, thicknes 12 inch.

Loc. near Charee

Ammonites Opis...Discoid, compressed, with an obtuse edge, radia-
ted ; inner whorls one-third exposed; whorls slightly convex on their
sides, their inner edge rounded ; radii commencing with a curve at the
inner edge of the whorls, numerous, prominent, rounded, often forked
near the middle, slightly bent forward as they pass over the front;
aperture elliptical. Diameter 41 inches, thickness 14 inch, length of
aperture 1 inch.

Loc. near Charee.

Ammonites arthriticus. Discoid, thick, with convex whorls and a
rounded margin, tuberculated and ribbed ; whorls half-exposed, about 4,
their inner margin smooth ; tubercles large, near the middle of the sides
of the whorls, about 12 in each whorl; ribs prominent, rounded, 3 or 4
from each tubercle and sometimes an intermediate one; aperture nearly
circular, completed 3 or 4 times in each whorl with a thickened edge.
Diameter 24 inches, thickness 1 inch.

Loc. near Charee.

Ammonites ignobilis. Discoid, depressed, umbilicated, keeled, radia- .
ted; front rounded witha slightly prominent entire keel; umbilicus
small, with squarish edges, exposing a small portion of the inner whorls;
radii covering half the whorl, in pairs or forked, commencing and termi-
nating with obscure tubercles, waved ; aperture sagittate, narrow. Diame-
ter nearly 3 inches, thickness 10 lines. Length of the aperture 1} inch.

Loc. near Charee.

Ammonites corrugatus (M. C. t. 451, f. 3.) ? An imperfect specimen’
rather more strongly ribbed than the one figured in Mineral Conchology.

Loc. near Charee.

Ammonites Armiger. Discoid, inner volutions exposed ; inner whorls
radiated and furnished with a row of tubercles on their sides; outer
whorl with a row of tubercles near the inner edge, and a row of spines
near the outer edge on each side,—the tubercles and spines connected by
thick ribs; margin flat; aperture oblong, squarish. Diameter 7 inches:

Strongly resembling A. perarmatus (M. C. t. 352.), but the whorls in-=
crease more rapidly in size, and the aperture is longer, Probably A.
Catena, A. perarmatus, and this are only varieties of one species.

Loc. near Charee.

Crinoidal stems, apparently of 3 species.

Loc. near Charee.

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 359

(Fossils from the Nummulitic Limestone and Marl, Cutch, p. 321.)

Cardium intermedium. 'Yhis shell, of which we have only casts, is very
near in form to Cardita intermedia of Lamarck; the hinge, as we learn
from the impression, however, wants the long marginal tooth, which
marks the genus Cardita. Length i inch, width the same.

Loc. Baboa Hill.

Cardium ambiguum. The furrows upon the surface of this cast are
deeper than they would be ina cast from the European C. serratum ;
which, in the general form of the shell and number of furrows it resem-
bles more strongly than it does the C. levigatum of the Indian Seas.
Length 2 inches 1 line, width 1 inch 10 lines.

Loc. Baboa Hill.

Arca hyhrida. ‘Transversely oblong, oblique, longitudinally costated ;
costz strongly marked with the lines of growth,—those on the anterior
side, furrowed along the middle ; area narrow. Length 11 lines, width
14 lines.

Nearly related to the recent A. rhombea, but with a narrower area be-
tween the beaks, approaching to A. Indica of Linnzus.

Loc. Baboa Hill. :

Pectunculus Pecten. Orbicular, convex, ribbed; ribs about 30, radi-
ating, crenated by the lines of growth; hinge-line short. Length 10
lines, width 11 lines.

Very nearly like P. pectiénatus of Lamarck, but with more numerous
and more distinctly granulated rays.

Loc. Baboa Hill.

Nucula Baboensis. Transversely oval, convex, smooth ? ; lunette sunk;
beaks nearest the anterior side. Length ? inch, width 1 inch.

Nearly resembling N. Bowerbankit (Geol. Trans., 2d series., vol. v.
136. Pl. 8. f. 11.) but not truncated or pointed below the lunette.

Loc. Baboa Hill.

Pecten levi-costatus. Short, smooth, radiated; radii about 20, large,
equal to the spaces between them; ears large; inside furrowed. Length
1 inch 4 lines.

Length a little less than the width, but the ears enter so much into
the sides that they confine the beaks into a small angle, and make the
form appear more transverse than it really is.

Loc.

Ostrea callifera. (Lam. Hist. Nat, vol. vi. p. 218. Deshayes, Coq.
Fossiles des Envy. de Paris, vol. i. 339. Pl. LI., f. 1, 2.) ? A very ponder-

360 On the Geology of Cutch. [Qen.

ous shell, with only a shallow cavity for the animal. Length 3} inches,
width 23 inches, thickness of the shell above an inch and a quarter.

Loc. Wagé-ké-Pudda.

Ostrea orbicularis. Orbicular, plaited; both valves convex; plaits
angular, repeatedly forked; surface imbricated. Length and width
about two inches, resembling O. Flabedlulum, but more regularly and
finely striated. See p, 323.

Loc. Luckput.

Neritina grandis. Short-conical, smooth; spire concealed ; aperture
very large ; base convex, its margin rounded. Diameter 3 inches, height
13 inch.

This resembles N. Schmidelliana, but has a larger aperture in propor-
tion and a less excentric apex; it is also higher. The specimen is little
more than a cast, and does not exhibit the edge of the inner lip, but still
it shows the attachment of the ligament projecting from the lower sur-
face, and that the aperture occupied more than half the base.

Loc. Wagé-ké-pudda.

Globulus obtusus. Globose, with a very short spire; whorls about 6;
aperture ovate-elongated, pointed above; umbilicus open, narrow.
Height 1 inch, diameter the same.

The short spire of 5 whorls gives this shell a very blunt aspect.

Loc. Baboa Hill.

Turbinellus bulbiformis. Short-fusiform, smooth; spire pointed ;
whorls 6, flattened in the middle ; aperture narrow, pointed at both ends.
Height above 7 inches, diameter 5 inches. _

Resembles 7. Napus, but has a more elongated spire.

Loc, Wagé-ké-pudda.

Cyprea depressa. Obovate, with a blunt spire anda flattened space
across the middle of the back. Length 33 inches width 2 inches 7 lines.

This being only a cast, we can give but a very imperfect description.

Loc. Baboa Hill.

Nummularia acuta. Depressed, sides conical, decreasing in propor-
tional height by age ; when young radiated, when full-grown granulated ;
volutions and septa numerous ; edge sharp. Diameter 5 lines, thick-
ness 13 line.

Distinguished from most other species of Nummularia by the conical
form of the sides.

Loc. Luckput.
Nummalaria obtusa. Irregularly orbicular, thick, smooth, sides flatten-

ed : margin rounded ; volutions and septa very numerous. Diameter of

1840.) On the Geology of Cutch. 361

the largest individual 10 lines, thickness nearly five lines. A remarkably
thick species.

Loc. Wagé-ké-pudda.

Lycophris Ephippium. Orbicular, depressed, curved so as to resemble
a saddle, with a gently elevated umbo on each side; margin thick, obtuse,
with a narrow waved keel in the middle ; grains on the surface small and
equal. Diameter 1} inch, thickness 3 lines.

Lycophris dispansus. Lenticular, thick, with a very thin, expanded,
sharp-edged margin ; grains on the surface largest in the centre of the
disk. Diameter 3 an inch.

These two fossils may possibly be different stages of growth of the
same species; for there occur along with them many curved plates
which are intermediate in form. ‘The grains on the surface are the pro-
jecting extremities of internal columns, not merely granulations in the

substance of the fossil, as in some species of Nummularia. The inter-
nal structure is totally different from that of Nummularia, as it is only
on the inner surfaces of the two plates that any appearance of a spiral
or concentric series of cells can be traced. Inp. 321 these fossils are
assigned to the genus Orbitolites.

Loc. Both species very abundant at Baboa Hill and Wagé-ké-pudda.

Fasciolites (Parkinson) elliptica. Elliptical with blunt extremities,
bands curved. Length 5 lines, diameter 3 lines.

Several species of this genus occur in the tertiary formations of
Europe, but they are longer in proportion to their thickness.

Loc. Wagé-ké-pudda and Baboa Hill.

Fichinus dubius. Orbicular, depressed; areze granulated, concave,
and nearly free from grains along the middle; the larger furnished with
two rows of tubercles near each side; the lesser with one row on each
side; pores of the ambulacra in numerous, arched rows. Diameter
about 3 inches, height about 13 inch.

This has apparently imperfect tubercles, and is much longer than
Cidarites variolaris, Brongn., which however it much resembles.

Loc. Baboa Hill and Wagé-ké pudda.

Galerites pulvinatus. Orbicular, depressed, spheroidal, covered with
minute tubercles. Ambulacra obscure beneath, crossed by grooves
above. Diameter 33 inches, height 1 inch 10 lines.

_ Aspecies much like G. depressus, Lam., but more convex and ten
| times the size of it.

Loc. Baboa Hill.

Clypeasier affinis. (Goldfuss, p. 134. t. 43, f. 6.)? Our specimen
appears to be more orbicular than the C. affin’s of Goldfuss, but it is toe

362 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

imperfect to be determined,—the posterior half being nearly all broken
away. Length about 23 inches, width 2 inches, height 1 inch.

Loc. Baboa Hill.

Clypeaster varians. More or less obovate, hemispherical ; base slight-
ly concave in the middle ; ambulacra elongated; anus transverse. Length
23 to 3 inches, breadth 2 to 23 inches, height 12 to 2 inches.

C. Bonet of Munster, (Goldfuss, 131. t. 41. f. 7.) resembles this, but
is more depressed, and has a circular anus.

Loc. Baboa Hill and Wagé-ké-pudda.

Spatangus obliquatus. Gibbose; emarginate at the front ; behind obo-
vate, rather acuminated, and truncated obliquely upwards. Ambulacra
deeply sunk in 3 large and 2 smaller ovate pits; base slightly convex.
Length 23 inches, width 2 inches, height 14 inch.

Strongly resembling S. Bucklandz, (Goldfuss, 154, t. 47. f. 6.) it is
however much larger, and has unequal ambulacra. In this and the allied
species with concave ambulacra there is a reticulated band surrounding
the ambulacra, which deserves attention.

Loc. Baboa Hill.

Spatangus acuminatus. (Goldfuss, 158. t. 49. f.2.)? Our specimen is
not quite so much elevated posteriorly as the figure given by Goldfuss,
neither is it quite so wide; in both these circumstances it approaches
to S. lacunosus ; but it is laterally crushed, which may account for the
difference. Length 14 inch, width nearly the same, height 10 lines.

Loc. Baboa Hill.

Spatangus elongatus. Elongated, ovate, depressed ; front emarginate ;
base convex ; ambulacra concave, with two of the rows of pores nearly
central; apex excentric ; mouth remote from the margin. Length near-
ly 23 inches, width 12 inch, height 1 inch.

The two posterior ambulacra and the posterior portion of the shell
are broken; the description is therefore incomplete.

Loe. Baboa Hill.

Clypeaster oblongus. (C. scutiformis ? Lam.) Oblong, subpentagonal,
convex above, concave beneath ; ambulacra very broad, obtuse. Length
23 inches, breadth above 2 inches, height 7 lines.

The specimen is too much mutilated to show the anus. It is more
pentagonal than C. scutiformis, to which we have before referred it.

Tertiary Formation. Loc. Between Joongrea and Kotra.

Clypeaster depressus. Pentagonal, much depressed ; ambulacra oval ;

anus very near the margin. Length in the oldest individual a 2%

inches, breadth rather less, height about 4 inch.
This differs from C. Laganum in the position of the anus, which in that

1840.] On the Geology of Cuteh. 363

species is half-way between the mouth and the margin, in the greater
size of the papille, andin being much thinner.
Tertiary Formation. Loc. Soomrow.

(Fossils from the Tertiary Formations, Cutch.)

Serpula ? recta. Anoval, free, slightly-waved shelly tube, which we
have provisionally called a Serpula, although it is more like the tube of
a Teredo; but it appears to have been formed inloose sand. Diameter
3 inch.

Loc. near Kotra.

Siliquaria Grant. Spirally striated ; strie crossed by numerous
cracks ; fissure composed ofa series of oval pores. It differs from the
recent S. anguina only in the smallness of the pores which form the fise
sure.

Loc. Borders of the Runn.

Balonus sublevis. Subcylindrical with curved valves, nearly smooth.
Operculum ? Diameter 1] inch, height 9 lines. Parasitic upon shells.

Loc. Soomrow.

Corbula trigonalis. 'Trigonal, with the front rounded, gibbose, anti-
quated ; valves nearly equal, posterior side truncated obliquely with a
carina upon each valve, and pointed ; umbones equal, central. Length
6 lines, width § lines ; but these proportions pe

Loc. Borders of the Runn.

Corbula rugosa. (Lam. vol. v. 497.) This differs from the last in
being a much wider shell, with more regular and prominent laminze
upon the surface. Length 23 lines, width 33 lines.

Loc. Borders of the Runn.

Tellina exarata. Ovate, compressed, ornamented with many erect
concentric laminz ; the posterior extremity pointed, much bent. Length
nearly 2 of the width, which is nearly 2 inches.

Strongly resembling Vellina virgata, (Lam. Hist. Nat. vol. v. 52.)
but wider and more bent.

We have ventured (contrary to our usual custom) to complete the
surface of this shell, although much has been lost from the specimen.

Loc. Soomrow.

Venus granosa. Obovate, truncated, posteriorly convex, ornamented.
with erect concentric laminz, crossed by numerous striz which ent these
(near the margin) into rounded grains ; lanette broad, pointed, convex ;
beaks nearest the anterior extremity. Length 13 inch, width more than

2 inches.

364 On the Geology of Cutch. Orr.

This belongs to the same family of Venus as V. Corbis, and V. puer-
pera, and is scarcely distinguishable from V. puerpera, B. (Lam. Hist.
Nat. vol. v. 585.)

Loe. Soomrow.

Venus cancellata. Obovate, approaching orbicular, gibbose, ornamented
with erect concentric laminz, and many longitudinal strize ; lunette
wide, pointed, convex; beaks nearest the anterior extremity. Length
12 inch, width 1 inch 11] lines.

This resembles the last, except that it is rounder, with thinner
laminze, which are not cut into round grains.

Loc. Soomrow and Kotra.

Venus non-scripta. 'Tranversely oval, convex, smooth, concentrical-
ly undulated; lunette elongated, pointed, concave; beaks nearer the
anterior extremity. Length 1 inch 4 hnes, width 13 inch.

A smooth and thin shell, with little of the aspect of a Venus.

Loc. Soomrow.

Pullastra ? virgata. 'Transversely oval, elongated, decorated with
smooth concentric ridges ; beaks nearest the anterior extremity. Length
13 lines, width 1 inch 7 lines.

Several recent species of Pullastra are like this, but no described one
appears to be identical with it.

Loc. Soomrow.

Cardita intermedia, (Lam. Hist. Nat., vol. y. part 1.23. Brocchi. vol.
ii. 520. t. 12, f.15.) ? This strongly resembles several species of Veneri-
eardia, Lam.

Loc. Soomrow.

Cardium triforme. Orbicular, ventricose. longitudinally striated ; an-
terior side covered withround granules tormed by decussating strie ;
the posterior side crossed by oblique sets of reflected ridges. Length
and width | inch 4 lines.

Somewhat resembling the recent Cardium eolicum.

Loc. Soomrow.

Arca radiata. Transversely elongated, oblique, rather convex, radi-
ated ; radii elevated, furrowed; beaks almost close, nearest the anterior
side. | |

Length, 7 lines, width 1 inch.

Loc. Soomrow.

Arca tortuosa? Linn. This is only a fragment, and what there is,
seems to differ from the recent Arca tortuosa in the degree of curvature,

Loc. Soomrow. 3 )

a

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 56

Pecten Somrowensis. Obovate, convex, radiated; radii about 24,
squaimose, subdivided, in one valve into 3, in the other into 5: ears un-
equal, striated, and squamose. Length 2 inches 2 lines, width nearly 2
inches,

In form this Pecten approaches to P. varians, but in the structure of
the surface it is like P. plebetus of the Crag, and many recent species.

Loc. Soomrow.

Pecten articulatus. Orbicular, with pointed beaks, depressed, radia-
ted ; radii about 28, simple, rounded, crossed by distant scales ; ears
large, striated, and squamose. Length in an old specimen about 1 inch
8 lines, width 1 inch6 lines.

‘The radii when the scales are worn off appear jointed.

Loc. Bank of the Runn.

Gryphea globosa, (M. C. t. 392, Ostrea vesicularis, Lam, Wist. Nat.
vol. vi. part I. p. 219. Cuv. and Brongn. Env. de Paris, 383,t. 3. f. 5.

Podopsis grypheoides, Lam. Hist. Nat. vol. vi. part t. 195).

This exactly agrees with old specimens found in the chalk of Norfolk.
Loe. Kotra.

Ostrea anguiata. Suborbicular, arched, compressed, plaited; plaits
angular, numerous, branched towards the margin; lamine of “increase
regular, distant, raised at their edges. Length about 13 inch, width the
same.

Loc. Kotra.

Ostrea Flabellulum, (M. C. t. 253. Lam. Hist. Nat. vol. vi. part 1. 215.
Chama plicata, Brander, 84 and 85.). The identity of this oyster with
the O. Flabellulum of the tertiary formations of Europe is unquestiona~
ble.

Loc. Cheeosir.

Ostrea tubifera. Orbicular ; laminze of increase thick, raised into a
few large, nearly erect tubes arranged in about 6 rows. Diameter 2
inches.

Loc.

Ostrea Lingua. Much elongated, smooth, approaching to even ; up-
per valve flat or concave, the other very convex ; squamoso-fimbriated
at the edges. Length 23 inches, width 1} inch.

So variable are Ostree in form and so much do the species resemble
each other, that it is hardly possible to define some of them clearly.
That before us is very like O. tenera (M.C. t. 252, f. 2 and 3.), yet in

366 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

the depth of the attached valve it approaches to O. Meadti (M. C. 252,
f. 1 and 4.), but is not waved like that.
Loc. near Jconagrea and Kotra.

(Fossils from the Tertiary Formations, Cutch.)

Bulla lignaria, Linn. This agrees perfectly with the recent species as
far as we can ascertain from specimens which are not perfect ; but if is
quite distinct from both the fossil shells described by Deshayes under
the same name.

Loc. Soomrow.

Natica obscura. Globose, umbilicate ; spire small, pointed ; whorls
about 5, convex, flattened, and ornamented at the upper elge with fine
diverging plaits ; umbilicus partly filled with a semi-cylindrical, oblique-
ly-truncated callus. Height 14 inch, diameter the same.

Nearly related to N. Epiglottina, Lam., but distinguished by the flat-
tened upper margins of the whorls ; and to Nerita canrena of Broechi,
vol, 11. 296.

Loc. Soomrow.

Natica callosa. Obliquely depressed ; spire small, hardly projecting ;
umbilicus covered by the thickened and expanded inner lip: aperture
very large. Height 2 inches, diameter 13 inch.

A very distinct species.

Loc. Soomrow.

Globulus ? anguliferus. Oblong, obliquely striated : spire produced ;
whorls about 4, with their sides and upper edges flattened ; umbilicus
open, rather large. Height and diameter 2 inch.

The elevated lines or striz advancing towards the aperture as_ they
descend the sides of the whorls form a peculiar character. The aper-
ture appears to be small.

Loc. Borders of the Runn.

Solarium affine. Convex above, flattish beneath, marked with diverg-
ing striz on both sides ; whorls 4 or 5, with a deflected entire carina, |
above which are 4 furrows placed at nearly equal distances, and below,
2 furrows near the carina, and 2 near the umbilicus, which is large, with
a crenated edge. Diameter 13 inch, height } inch.

Perfectly distinct from Solarium perspectivum, which it somewhat re-
sembles.

Loc. Soomrow.

Trochus cognatus. Conical with straight sides ; whorls numerous, or- q

1840.] On the Geology of Cutch. 367

-namented with several rows of granules, which sometimes (especially to-
wards the apex) are united by elevated lines, and a row of tubercles
upon the inferior edges of the upper whorls, succeeded by 2 rows upon
the middle volutions, and crenated ridges of slight elevation on the
rounded border of the lowest whorls ; base flat, concentrically furrowed,
containing a thick plait within

Like 7. maculatus ; height 2 inches, diameter of the base nearly the
same.

Loc. Soomrow.

Turritella angulaia. Turrited, conical ; whorls convex, decorated by
about 7 caring, of which the lowest but one is much the most prominent.
Height 14 inch, diameter & lines.

Loc. Soomrow.

Turritelia assimilis. 'Turrited, whorls convex, ornamented with 6 or
7 carine, of which 2 or 3 are obscure, the 2d and 6th being prominent.
Height 14 inch, diameter 5 lines.

A smaller, narrower species than the last.

Loc. Soomrow.

Terebra reticulata. Subulate; sides of the whorls flat, cancellated; a
narrow upper portion of each whorl divided from the lower in the form
of a band by a ridge and furrow; beak short, curved.

In some specimens the transverse or spiral lines are less conspicuous,
particularly on the band and the upper half of the whorl.

Loc. Soomrow.

Cerithium rude. Subulate, with curved sides, ribbed and furrowed ;
ribs numerous, cut across by about 5 square furrows, of which the up-
permost is distant from the suture; whorls 10 or 12, nearly flat, with an
obtuse varix between each—the last varix very prominent; aperture
nearly round, with a canal at the upper angle; inner lip thick, with a
callus at the top; beak broken. Height 2 inches 8 lines, diameter about
8 lines.

Loc. Soomrow. .

Cerithium corrugatum. Subulate, ribbed and coarsely striated ; ribs
numerous, arched, and prominent, crossed. by deep striae ; whorls & or
more, rather convex, with a distinct varix upon each.

This has much of the contour of an elongated Fusus. The lip and
beak are wanting in the only specimen found.

Loc. Soomrow.

Fusus? granosus. Short-fusiform, ribbed; ribs about 12 upon each
whorl, divided into grains by 6 or 7 transverse ridges, convex; spire
half the length of the shell; beak suddenly contracted. Height 4 lines.

368 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

A pretty shell, much resembling some species of Nassa which occur in
the Crag.

Loc. Soomrow.

Fusus leviusculus. Short, fusiform, ribbed, and striated ; ribs irregu~
lar, mostly very short; whorls 6, angular; base conical; beak short.
Height 10 lines, diameter 5 lines.

Loc. Soomrow.

Fusus nodulosus. Fusiform, elongated, ribbed and strongly striated ;
ribs short, broad, about 8, in the middle of each whorl; whorls 6 or 7,
concave above, convex below; beak contracted.

Loc. Soomrow.

Fusus (Murex ?) hexagonus. Short-conical, with an elongated beak,
§-angled ; whorls about 6, with 6 ribs on each, which form the angles of
the spire, and are crossed by 3 strong ridges upon the spire, thickened
where they cross, convex; beak suddenly contracted.

Loc. Soomrow.

Ranella Bufo. Conical, with 2 rows of thin expanded varices and
several ribs, the whole crossed by 3 or 4 prominent and several inter-
mediate thin ridges; whorls 7 or 8, convex; varices obtuse at their
edges ; aperture oval; beak short, oblique. Height 1 inch 4 lines, dia-
meter 1 inch.

Nearly resembles Ranella bituberculata of Lamarck.

Loc. Soomrow.

Rostellaria rimosa, (M. C. 91. f. 4, 5, 6, Strombus cancellatus, Lam.
Hast. Nat. yol,.vi. t, 212) 2)

The fragment we have before us, is firmly imbedded in the stone, and
we are not able to clear the lip so as to ascertain whether it be striated
like the lip of the recent Strombus cancellatus, Lam., or smooth and
thickened as in Rostellaria rimosa and R. Fissurella, Lam., &c.; of
all these, the species nearest to the fossilis R. rimosa of the London
Clay, which is easily distinguished from R. Fissurella, Lam., of the
Paris Basin, by being striated all over, and having the canal continued
nearly to the apex of the spire, but not curved back. From Sérombus
concellatus, Lam., this fossil is distinguished by having a tumid varix upon’
the last whorl, a character also of Rostellaria rimosa, and we are conse-
quently induced to refer the Cutch shell to it rather than to Strombus
cancellatus.

Linnzus and his immediate followers did not distinguish between the
recent and fossil shells, although the recent one (Strombus decussatus,
Lam.) has the lip striated within, and is placed by Lamarck in another
genus, while Deshayes in the ‘ Coquilles fossiles des environs de q

1840. ] On the Geology of Cutch. : 369

Paris,” unites the French fossil and the two English ones under one
name, although they are perfectly distinct; probably he has not exa-
mined English specimens. We find the characters very constant, and
easily observed when once pointed out. The analogous shells of Bor-
deaux are equally distinct. About the same size as R. rimosa, M. C,,
from Barton.

Loc. Soomrow.

Rostellaria rectirostris. (lam. Hist. Nat. vol. vii. 192.) The elongat-
ed form induces us to refer this fossil to the recent &. rectirostris, in
preference to any other species.

Loc. Soomrow.

Strombus deperditus. 'Turbinate, tuberculated, and _ transversely
striated ; tubercles united by a slight carina gradually increasing in size ;
lip thickened, produced above into a short pointed lobe. Height 22
inches, diameter 1 inch 4 lines ineluding the wing.

Much like S/rombus Gallus, Linn., and S. bituberculatus, Lam., but
the tubercles are of an equal size on the last whorl and not much larger
than on the spire. The aperture is not much dilated, so that the wing
is rather small. It appears to be a very common shell in the Runn, but
perhaps there are several species, as many of the specimens are 80
firmly attached to the stone, and so much concealed, that the distin-
guishing marks cannot be traced.

Loc. Soomrow.

Strombus nodosus. Turbinate, elongated, tuberculated, transversely
and longitudinally striated; tubercles equal, numerous, prominent,
obtuse. Height 12? inches.

Distinguished by the rounded tubercles, of which there are about 12
to each whorl—and the elongated spire.

Rare—we have seen but one specimen and that. is very imperfect.

Loe. Soomrow. |

Cassis (Cyprecassis, Stutchbury,) sculpta. Ovate, transversely sul-
cated ; aperture narrow, the outer lip plaited, the inner smooth. Height
13 inch, diameter 1 inch.

Strongly resembling Cassis (Ci precassis, Stutchbury,) Testiculus
(Buce. Testiculus, Linn.), but smoother, and with a narrower aperture.

Loc. Soomrow.

Turbinellus affinis. Subfusiform, swelled in the middle, ornamented
with many transverse ridges and a row of flatted tubercles near the
upper margin of each whorl; beak produced transversely, ribbed ;
columella 5-plaited. Height 4 inches, width 2 inches.

370 On the Geology of Cutch. [Ocr.

Very nearly related to Turbinellus Scolymus, Lam., but it is more
elongated, has smaller tubercles, and 5 not 3 plaits on the columella.

Loc. Soomrow.

Mitra scrobiculata. (Brocchi, vol. ii. 317. t. iv. f. 3.) ? This is the
same as the fossil found at Piacenza.

Loc. Soomrow.

Mitra fusiformis. Fusiform, pointed, striated; striz distant, deep,
punctated, suture entire ; columella with 4 plaits. Height 2 inches,
diameter 93 lines.

Somewhat resembling Mitra adusta of Lamarck. -

Lec. Soomrow.

Volupta jugosa. Fusiform, pointed, transversely striated, costated ;
costz many, rounded, terminating in points above the suture; aperture
elliptical, elongated ; columella with 3 plaits. Height 23 inches, dia-
meter 14 inch.

This differs from V. Magorum of Brocchi, in the form of the ribs, and
the small number of plaits upon the columella, and from V. costata, (M.
C. t. 290.) in the form and in the greater number of the ribs.

Loc. Soomrow.

Viluta dentata. Turbinate, striated, spire short, conical, pointed ;
whorls crowned with tubercles which surround a concave space ;
aperture elongated ; the outer lip thick, crenato-dentated within.
Height | inch 7 lines, diameter 1 inch.

Loc. Soomrow.

Cyprea humerosa. Obovate, depressed with 3 protuberances upon
the back, and one on each side. Length 2inches, width 13 inch.

Loc. Soomrow.

Cyprea Prunum. Oval, ventricose ; aperture narrow, slightly curved
with about 20 teeth on each side ; base convex ; beak small, not much
produced ; a very even shell. Length nearly 2 inches, width 1} inch.

Loc. Eyerau.

Cyprea digona. Ovate, ventricose, slightly depressed ; base flatten-
ed on each side ; beak expanded, prominent, with sharp edges ; teeth
on each side the aperture, above 20. An obscurely-marked species.
Length 13 lines, width 94 lines.

Loc. Soomrow.

Cypreanasuta. Ovate-elongated, ventricose ; beak projecting, large ;
posterior extremity of the lip produced ; apex of the spire sunk. Length
10 lines, width 6 lines.

Loc. Soomrow.

Terebellum obtusum. Ovate, much elongated; spire 2 or3 whorls,
obtuse.

1840. | On certain Meteorological Phenomena, &c. 371

Length about 2 inches, width 6 lines.
This is more like the recent 7’. subulatum than the fossil T. fusiforme.
Loc. Soomrow.

Oliva Pupa. Elongated, subcylindrical, with a produced pointed
spire, a broad smooth band at the base, and a slightly-plaited callus on
the columella. Length 1 inch 9 lines, width 8 lines.

Loc. Soomrow.

Conus brevis. Short-conical; spire flat, with a produced apex marked
with 4 concentric strie decussated by the lines of growth; base ornae
men ed with several small, rather distant ridges. Height 11 inch,
diameter 1 inch.

Imperfect specimens are found, more than double the above diameter.

Loc. Soomrow.

Conus militaris. Conical, elongated, slightly contracted towards the
edge of the spire, coloured by many triangular spots arranged in zigzag
rows; spire flat, upper surfaces of the volutions concave; base nearly
smooth. Height 14 inch, diameter 11 lines.

This shell and the following retain traces in a remarkable manner of
the origina! colouring.

Loc. Soumrow.

Conus catenulatus. Conical, elongated, coloured with transverse rows
of white spots upon a dark groun|!—spire flat, elevated in the middle,
concentrically striated, mottled with white, the edge sharp; the base
obscurely furrowed. Length 14 inch, width 8 lines.

Loc. Soomrow.

Conus narginatus Conical, much elongated; spire conical, short,
surrouaded by an obtuse ridge from its base to itsapex; base of the
shell striated. Length 14 inch, width 8 lines.

Loc. Soomrew.

IX.—On certain Meteoralogical Phenomena in the Ghdts of Western
India.*—By Col. Syxes, F. B.S.

In the proceedings of the Physical Section at the meeting at New-

castle, the incidental mention of the annual fall of very many feet of

* From the Report of the Ninth Meeting of the British Association for the Adyance-
ment of Science for 1839.

372 On certain Meteorological Phenomena [Ocr.

rain in certain localities of India, instead of a few inches, as is thé case
in Europe, caused, I was told, some surprise, and the expression ofa
doubt whether the fact had beea ascertained with sufficient precision,
and by competent persons. J was not present on the occasion alluded
to, but the doubt having been brought to my notice subsequently, I lost
no time in applying to a friend to procure for me the official meteorolo-
gical records kept by order of the government of Bombay at the con-
valescent station of Mahabuleshwar, which records I knew would afford
sufficient evidence to remove all doubts, at least so far as related to one
locality ; and I have now the pleasure of submitting the abstract of the
Meteorology for 1834; the observations being wade by Dr. Murray, the
medical officer in charge of that station. The station is situated lat. 17°
58’ 53" N. and long. 73° 29’ 50” W., near the western scarp of the
Ghats, or mountain chain extending from Surat to Cape Comorin, and
varying from 1000 to 8000 feet in height. The elevation of the table-
Jand at Mahabuleshwar averages $500 feet. The temperature of a spring
is 65°5 Fahr., and the mean temperature of the air for three or four
years is nearly the same. There is a good deal of forest along the Ghats,
but in belts and patches, so that the wood can have little effect on the

phenomena which Iam about to describe. In this table-land is the
source of the celebrated Kistnah river, which runs across the peninsula.

he following table shows the state of the thermometer, fall of rain,
&c., at the station:

a : :
Ziel ieagtst Pic ies
a= 4.8 eh Fall of
Months. | e/66/¢.2| $s | Rain in Direction and force of the Wind,
= 2S « =I =% Inches.
g{ =| Ble
fe |e
eee A. M. - P.M
J anuary...... 65°7,71°2)60°2111° : E. light. E.N. E. & w. light,
February.....! 7°35 73°7;61°3'12°4 0°25 E. N. E. light. WwW. N. W. light.
Mareh........./74°0/81°7) 66°4 15:3 baat N. E. light. w. & N. w. fresh.
Aprilyst 1 2 a 4 82 att 15°5 § ge ae N. E. light. w. light.
} |
May. pasate \73°9,80°6 67°3.13°3 W116» SRN Wc Sa Male gat pr ta
sau peetetees eins aes 23 2a s. w. high & fresh.!s. w. high & fresh.
Uilyaereleriaveme eto °9 65°6)00°2 3° “0 S. Ww. strong. (Sn trong,
Auetet jos cee 65°3,66°9,63°8. 3-1 | 75-91 s. w. high: ee rise
September... 10) 0 66°4, '63°6 2°8 65°97 8, W. fresh. s, w. fresh.
October...... ; 69° sale: 1, 17 9°29 N. E. fresh. OSes ye
- N. EITC .
November.,., |63°5 69°5 oor 512: 0 ‘ - E. N. E, high. E. N. E, fresh.
December... .|62* “3 68° 4'56°2 12° 2 ee E.N. E. fresh. |£. N. E, & w. light.

aba jah CE LR el VE,

Mean. .(67°3 72°1162°6 9°5 | 302-91

Go
~“y
Go

i840.] in the Ghats of Western India.

Hence it appears that the mean temperature of 1834 was 67'S Fahr.,
that of the hottest month (April) 74°4, that of the coldest month (Dec.)
623; the mean maximum (April) 82-2, and the mean minimum (Dec.)
56°2. The mean variation was greatest in April, 15°5, and least in
September, 2°8 ; and the mean variation for the vear was only 9:5. The
fall of rain was prodigious, being equal to 25 feet 2 inches, and this
enormous mass of water fell almost entirely in the months of June, July,
August and September. General Lodwick, late president at the court
of Sattarah, who transmitted to me the official register, says, ‘‘ I send to
you a copy of Dr. Murray’s meteorological table. The inches of rain are
no less than 30221. This will astonish the philosophers, but it would
do more than astonish them, had they the opportunity of seeing and
hearing the rain fall in torrents through a dense fog or mass of clouds
which lie upon the ground for perhaps six weeks together, with a tem-
perature by no means cold, and with little variation.” ‘The excessive fall
of rain along the line of the Ghats does not seem to be incompatible
with health, for the military detachment stationed permanently at Ma-
habuleshwar is not characterized by any unusual sickness; and the statis-
tical returns of the population on the hills are as healthy as those of the
table-lands to the eastward. It now remains to notice some striking
facts on the western side of the peninsula. The quantity of rain that
fal's differs exceedingly between the coast, the Ghats within fifty miles
of the coast, and the table-land eastward of the Ghats. ‘The mean at
Bombay is 80°69. Dr. Murray shows a fall in the hills, at the elevation
4500 feet, of 302 inches, and my revords at Poonah give a mean annual
fall of 23°43 inches. The solution of the causes of the anomalous fall of
rain does not o%er any considerable difficulties. The enormous mass of
vapour taken up from the Indian Ocean on approaching India, does not

“appear to have its upper surface at a greater elevation than five or six
thousand feet, while the stratum is of great thickness; and [I can bear
testimony to its lower surface being below fifteen or eighteen hundred
feet. The temperature of the air over the equator is necessarily very
high, and its capacity for the support of aqueous vapour is proportioned
to its temperature. The vapour is converted into rain, as it is driven
into air of lower temperature ; and, as the temperature gradually lowers
proceeding to the north, and approaching the land, it follows, that out
at sea, and along shore, with equal supplies of vapour, a less quantity of
it would be converted into rain eastward. With respect to the prodigi-
ous fall at Mahabuleshwar and along the Ghats, it may be accounted for
by the supposition that the monsoon vapour being of low elevation and
high temperature, is driven against the mural faces, and up the chasms

374 Proceedings of Societies : (Oc:

of the Ghats, into higher regions, and into a colder atmosphere, and is
thus immediately converted into rain. The paucity ofrain forty or fifty
miles eastward of the Ghats, results from the comparatively small quan-
tity of vapour which escapes from the cold belt of air through which it

is forced to pass in the hills.

X.— Proceedings of the Madras Literary Society and Auxiliary of the
Royal Asiatic Society.

Thursday Evening, 1st October 1840.—A. D. Campsett, Esq., President
of the Committee of Papers, in the Chair.

The following works, presented to the Society, were laid before the
meeting, and thanks voted to the donors :—

Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland,
No. 11—By the Society.

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, No. 15—By the Society.

The India Journal of Medical and Physical Science, No. 57—By the
Editor

The India Review and Journal of Foreign Science and the Arts, No.
53—By the Editor. :

The Chinese Secret Triad Society of the Tien-ti-Huih, 22 copies—
By the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.

Lhursday Evening, 5th November 1840—J. CaprnnEan, Esa. in the
Chair.

The following works, presented to the Society, were laid on the table,
and thanks voted to the donors :— |

The Vishnu Purana, 4 copies—By the Madras Government.

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Nos. 16 and 17—By the
Asiatic Society.

Corbyn’s India Review and Journal of Foreign Science and the Arts,
for September and October 1840—Nos. 54 and 55—By the Editor.

1840. } Madras Literary Society. 375

Corbyn’s India Journal of Medical and Physical Science, Nos. 58 and
59—By the Editor.

McClelland’s Calcutta Journal of Natural History, Nos. 2 and 3—
By the Editor.

The Chinese Repository for May and June 1840—By the Editor.

Thursday Evening, 3d December 1840—Doctor R. Wianr, in the
Chair.

The following works, presented to the Society, were laid on the table,
and thanks voted to the donors :—

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, No. 18—By the Asiatic
Society. :

The India Journal of Medical and Physical Science, No. 58—By the
Editor.

The India Review and Journal of Foreign Science and the Arts, No.
55-—By the Editor.

The Chinese Repository, Nos. 9 and 10, January and February, 1840
—By the Editor.

376 Horary Meteorological Observations at Madras. [Ocr.

Horary Meteorological Observations made agreeably with the suggestions
of Sir Joun Herscnax,

lst.—At the Madras Observatory on the 21st September 1840.

So LSS ST SET EIS ea LE

Psa RD EIT a ae CN a eo

. |Thermo-| 6 |
s meter. fol
: = 3 | REMARKS.
S v OF | asthe ial
Sen | Bo een le here
— te eq en es
Sept. | eae
21| 6 a.m.|29,864'79,2) 0,6] ss w |Breeze wind, cloudy.
ik 29,876:79,7 0,4] sw Do. de. zenith clear
8 29,900'%1,7| 0,7) s 5 Do. do. do.
9 29,912/83,8 2,9} s |Fresh wind, do.
10 29,900) 85,3) 4,6) w Do. do. flying clouds.
11 29,898, 56,4) 6,5} w Do. do. do.
12 29,864/88,2| 8,7| w Do. “do. do.
1 P.M. 29,834/87,5| Tle Do. da, do.
29,310/88,0' 6,5] 2 Do. do. do.
5,6] sn [Strong wind do.and thunder.
29,818/83,2) 6,2) nn w-Clondy and very loud thunder

29,790'87,1
with drizzling rain.

5 29,778 (79,6 3,6] sw |Cloudy.

6 29,804'80,0} 2,7| ----. |Calm, clear.

7 29,815 80,2] 2,2! se |Very clear.

8 29,840,80,3| 2,3] sE Do. do.

1,9 Calm, clear, lightning and dew.
10 29,882 79,8) 1,6 Do. zenith clear, do- do.
11 29,886 80,8] 2,1 Do. flying clouds do. do.
12 29,870 82,3) 2,8 s |Gentle wind fl. cl. overcast light-
ning and thunder.

1 a.m./29,836,79,9] 1,9, s |Do. do. cloudy thunder and lig.
2 29,834,79,9| 2,3) s |Do. do.do. loud thunder and vivid

lightning.
s |Do. do. do do. do. do.
s |Do. do. do. thunder and lightng.
ssw |Do. do. do.

29,812 76,9] 1,7

3

6

Lic. 8 Wie DOmdourda:
7

9)

3

29,814/77,3

—

: NE FPL eye

3

4

5 29,820)77,0
6 |29,832)76,9
7

8

9

~

2
3
4
9 129.868 80,2
|

Calm do.

sw |Fresh wind do.

Do. do. do.

Do. do. zenith clear and some
haze in south. -

w 'Do. do. haze.

WwW

29,874!77,0
29,830179,7
29,876 '81,0
110 29,880 83,8

2

il 29,870185,1

12 29,840/86,1 Gentle wind, clear.
1 P.m.|29,800/87,8
29,774188,0 E {|Do. do.” Meda.

wsw |Gentle wind, flying clouds.
2} sw {Flying clouds.

8} sw |Do. do. thunder.

4/ sw |Cloudy.

1

6

3} & |Gentle breeze, do.
2 5
3 |29,764|8x,2| 8,2
4 —_|29,756!86,5| 5,2
5 |29,756/84,8
6 — |29,765)84,0

(TB ak «5 ev *
sf -

1840.] Horary Meteorological Observations at Trevandrum.

377

2d.-—At the Trevandrum Observatory at the Winter Solstice 1840.

ie)

= fan] py
a" | (4
Se
eee a [2
eon} S li
BeS| 8 lox
E53)/ 5 |?3
aie a = S 3
a55|5 las
4 8 |22S) 0 log
De Boe ae) Sec
= i) CP) 5 5 Siar
Q = IA M IQ
Dec.
21| 6a.M.|29°756|68°6) 8-0
7 “782168°4' 9+]
8 *803|73°5) 9-8
10 822/80°9 16.3
Lt °802|82°4 17°5
Noon.| °771 83°5,17°0
lpm 2747 84°3)17+2
2 *722/84°8117-7|
3 °710/84:0'15°9)
4 °709/82°8 15°5
5 °722/81-5!13-7
6 °744179°5112°4
|
cf °769/78°5110-
8 °7194|75°4 Opes
9 °808/74'9) g-2
io "8111710! g.3
11 “804 69°4| 5-4
Mid, °792'68°9| 9°90
a> 22| La.m.| *782/68-0) 1-9
2 *765/67°0| 3-9
3 *748\66°3) 3-7
4 "743 65°5| 3-9) |
5 *749 65°6 3°9
q °792 66°2 3°8
8 as 792
9 *820'77-9'11°0
10 *810'80-8'14-3
il 792/82°5,13°9
Noon 757|84°4)15°7
lp.M °730 85°6/18°9
*706|85°6)14°3
3 "693/84°6,14°8
4 *699/84°3:14°3
5 *703/83°0 12°9
6 *743/80°3,11°0

s
&
5
nl
«8 o
S| =}
6 {9
= >
> ©
o ae
Q =)
59°00) wn,
54°50] do.
57°30'n, by E
sg car
INE. by E
oa NN. W
i do.
56°10in. by E.
55°70] = sk.
58°30 S.
57°60! ss. w
59°40 Ss.
59°40) ss.w.
61°56} Ww.
60°17 xs. &
60°00 SE,
60°77 E.
60°60! do.
65°73) = do.
64°96; —
60°62] az,
60°24) do.
59-10 do.
59°20 Ww.
58°60)| ——
60°00) ——
60°09 N.
59°30| do:
57°40|N. by E.
60°30) NN. W.
59°20 do.
54°20) do.
a7 5a), “We
61°24) do.
61°81) do.
62°97 w. by S.
63:02! s. w.

dO tO G9 Co GND 00 D9 OD cool | oem! warmer e dD Oo CON O19 Ft Co HE Co O11 BO

| Velocity of the wind.

| Solar radiation.

SR i TE,

Clouds, aspect of the sky and
remarks,
Sky clear gentle wind.
Do. do.
: iy et ee do.
ight clouds rising up do.
| < Do. : do.
\Sky rather clear do,
D

0. do,

Do. wind hardly perceptible,

Do. gentle wind.
Light clouds do.
Do. do.

Do. do.
Zenith clear, rest cloudy, wind just
perceptible.

Sky clear light air.
Do. do.

(\Cumuli about horizon rest cl. do.

Do do. do.

Sky clear ~ gentle wind,
Do. F” do.
Do, calm.
Do. eold. wind,
Do. do.
Do. pleasant wind.
Do. gentle wind.
Do. haze about horizon, calm.

Do. do, do.
Light clouds in the zen. cum. about

horizon gentle wind.
Sky clear light air,
Sky pretty clear gentle wind.
Do. wind just percept.

Do. 0.
Sky covered with light clouds do.

No observations—On account of Actinometer being out of order

Do. do. pleasant wind.
Do. do. gentle wind.
Do. do. do.
Do. do light air.
Do. do. do.

_The Instruments are the same, and situated exactly as before.

G, SPERSCHNEIDER, Superintenden’

=

3)
©
ea

Meteorological Register.

378

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GREAT BASALTIC DISTRICT
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INDIA. :

to illustrate Malcolmséns memoir.

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