78 F. II. Pullew — Wood and Soil dug out near Baddibati. [Makck, 



3. From the Editor, A copy of Meghaduta with commentaries, edited 

 by Babu Prananath Pandit. 



4. From the Director General of Geological Survey of England and 

 Wales, A copy each of several eai'lier Memoirs of the Survey with maps, &c. 



5. From the Chief Signal Officer, Washington, U. S. Three copies of 

 the tri-daily Weather Bulletin. 



6. From F. H. Pellew, Esq., C. S., specimens of wood and soil dug out 

 near Baddibati, District Hugh. 



The following letter accompanied the donation. 



" I send you three specimens. 1st of wood cut from a prostrate stem of 

 a tree found in a stratum about five feet below mean sea level — or at the level 

 of low tide — and about 25 feet below the present surface of land at Baddi- 

 bati ; 2nd, of twigs found in the same stratum ; and 3rd, of some con- 

 solidated earth at a little higher level — believed by some to be of vegetable 

 origin, though I think it is only clay. These were found in excavations for 

 the Hiighli drainage works, which I visited this morning. The logs or 

 prostrate stems are pretty numerous, the wood, as you will observe, is quite 

 soft and is cut clean through with the spade ; below the stratum is a soft 

 greasy blue clay, — above are alternate strata of clay and sand. I have asked 

 the engineer to look for littoral shells, which I looked for, but could not 

 find. The prostrate trees look like trees stranded on a muddy beach of 

 shore of a deltaic estuary. I have seen hundreds such near the mouths of 

 the Sunderban khalls lying half buried in the same sort of mud. 



The importance of the ' find' lies in the fact that it proves, so far as it 

 goes, that the Delta has not sunk since the deposition of this stratum. 



I would suppose that the land at Baddibati was then low estuary 

 land with tidal creeks, such as the land east of Saugor Island is now, and that 

 the Damuda and Ganges have since that period simply covered over this 

 low land with strata of sand and clay at the same time pushing forward the 

 shore. In other words that there has been nothing abnormal, no .subsidence, 

 at any rate. 



This is contrary to the evidence afforded by other borings, but the 

 question is whether the levels in the other cases were accurately taken. 

 If they were, then the upright trees, &c. discovered far below the present sea 

 level in those other cases, must be much more ancient than these — 

 or else there must have been partial subsidences confined to particular 

 localities." 



The President remarked on the interest attaching to all such notices of 

 change of condition of surface, more especially when it was possible, as in 

 this case, to determine the levels accurately. But he would advise much, 

 caution in attempting to apply conclusions derived from such very local 

 changes in a great delta to the delta at large. Such appearances of elevation 



