of the Southern Mahratta Ccmntry. Ill 



greyish or reddish colour. This variety I found a few miles 

 from the Falls of Garsipa. Most frequently the talc is mixed 

 with quartz ; and the rock has then the general appearance of 

 mica-slate, excepting the difference in the characters of the two 

 minerals. This variety occurs in the central parts of the Dar- 

 war district, and in the Western Gauts. At Nurgoond and 

 Chick Nurgoond, the strata of this variety have a nearly verti- 

 cal dip ; and their direction is south-east and by south. 



Potstone is found associated with these rocks in the south- 

 east part of the Darwar district ; and is used by the natives for 

 the manufacture of various utensils. The Soapstone, which i* 

 sold in all the bazaars, is probably also obtained from the same 

 formation ; but I myself have never seen either it or the pot- 

 stone in situ *. 



A.11 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 well polished marble. 'ttla 



Limestone. — I have met with limestone only in the north-east 

 parts of the Darwar district. Numerous large beds of it occur 

 about Kulladghee and Bagulkote, where it is associated with 

 clayslates and greywacke. Its strata are highly inclined, and 

 their general direction appears to be north and by west, south 

 and by east. The principal colours of the limestone are yellow- 

 ish grey and blue; more rarely it approaches to white. Its 

 fracture is generally flat conchoidal. One of the varieties, from 

 near Bagulkote, answers well as a lithographic stone ; for which 

 purpose it has been used at Bombay. "»d 



Greywacke. — This rock, as already stated, is associated with 

 the clayslates and limestone at Kulladghee ; it also occurs in 

 some other parts of these districts. Most of the coarse grey- 

 wackes there have not the hardness that usually belongs to the 

 same rock in Britain ; but, on the other hand, they partake of 

 the loose aggregation of the clayslates with which they are as- 



* I am indebt^ to Walter Elliot, Esq. for the specimens of potstone which 

 I have, and which he took directly from the quarries. 



