124 Memorandum for guidance of lh e Yurie and Mission. [JUNE, 



allied to forms co-existing in the surrounding country, and had their eyes 

 least affected of all, while of those that occupied the deepest recesses 

 none had even representatives in the fauna of the country around, and all 

 had their organs of vision completely aborted by disuse, — may receive cor- 

 roboration . 



Geology. — In Geology there is an immense field for observation. One 

 of the principal tasks for the Geologist should be to construct a geological 

 section across the Himala} r an and Karakoram ranges, a section which would 

 bear comparison with similar ones made across the Alps in Europe. It is 

 needless to say that the officer entrusted with this work should be well 

 acquainted with the geological structure of the Alps. 



Collections of fossils made in these regions would materially aid in 

 establishing a proper correlation between the geological formations of the 

 Himalayas and those of the Alps. It is known from previous travellers 

 that the large plain of Tibet was formerly inhabited by huge Pachyderms 

 such as, Elephants, Mammoths, &c. similar to those which we find on this 

 side of the Himalayas in the Sewalik deposits. As yet only stray frag- 

 ments of these ancient relics have reached the scientific world, and an en- 

 deavour should be made not only to collect as many of these fossils as pos- 

 sible, but also to ascertain the age and stratigraphical relations of the 

 deposits which contain them. Further, it is possible that the great Vienna 

 and Hungarian Miocene basin, which gradually retreated towards the Caspian 

 Sea as the centre, extended eastwards as far as the Pamir heights. Any 

 information on the subject would prove of very great geological interest. 

 We know on the one hand that the Eocene nummulitic deposits are found 

 in Japan, while the southern parts of China, according to the recent ex- 

 plorations of Baron Bichthofen, chiefly consist of crystalline and other rocks 

 not younger than the Trias. It is possible that the Eocene Sea extended 

 from Europe right through Central Asia to Japan. Geological data bearing 

 on this subject should be recorded with particular care. 



Mineralogy. — Among useful minerals, Coal may be found, as it is 

 believed that rocks of the carboniferous age have been brought from beyond 

 the Karakoram. Again the Geological position of Jade, Turquoise, Amber, 

 and other minerals brought from Trans-Himalayan regions, should as far 

 as possible be ascertained. The Gold-washings should if possible be 

 inspected. 



Physical Geography. — The general physical features of a country are 

 so intimately connected with its Geological Structure, that a Geologist 

 ought to be able to do justice to them, if he co-operate with the Topographi- 

 cal Surveyor. Particular attention should be paid to the former extent and 

 depth of the Central Asian lakes and water-basins, and their gradual diminu- 

 tion, because information on this subject will give us an idea of the former 



