226 SEVENTH REPORT—1837. 
the source from whence come the particles of kunkur mixed 
with the black basaltic earth of the neighbouring valley, in such 
proportion as to add increased fertility to it; and, if a rivulet 
meanders through that valley, (and such is generally the fact), 
patches, made up of aggregated particles of the same, will 
here and there be found; and this it is which the native 
families pick out and work into lime.” Captain Coulthard 
refers the origin of the nodules to limestone rock underlying 
basaltic strata, but I cannot trace them to such a source, not 
having seen strata of compact limestone, properly so called, in 
the Dukhun. The only specimen of compact limestone met 
with by me, was in the bed of the Beema river, near Pundur- 
poor ; it was an insulated, amorphous, gray mass, four or five 
feet in diameter. I looked upon it as an aggregation of the 
pulverulent particles of lime disseminated in the neighbourin 
banks. . 
Crystalline Limestone.—Lime in a crystalline state occurs 
only as an imbedded mineral in the amygdaloidal strata in 
quartz geodes, and in the nucleus, or compact part of masses 
of mesotype or stilbite. It is rare compared with the preceding 
varieties. 
Loose Stones.—Another feature of Dukhun is the occurrence 
of immense quantities of loose basalt stones, as if showered upon 
the land; also masses of rock heaped and piled into mounds, 
as if by the labour of man. Their partial distribution is not 
less remarkable than their abundance. For the most part the 
stones have a disposition to a geometrical form, and it is by 
no means rare to meet with prisms of three or four sides and 
cubes almost perfect; stones with one or two perfect planes 
are very common. Their texture is close-grained, and the 
colour verging to black. 
Rocky Heaps.—The singular heapsof rocks and stones above 
noticed occur at Kanoor, Patus, Kheir, between Kurjut and 
Meerujgaon, and at other places in the Mawals, or hilly tracts 
of the Ghats. The heaps are from twenty to seventy feet in 
diameter, and the same in height. When composed of rocky 
masses, without small stones, blocks of three or four feet 
in diameter, and with a disposition to determinate forms, are 
piled upon each other, constituting rude pillars. In certain 
parts of the country from fifty to sixty of these heaps are seen 
within the area of a couple of square miles, and it excites sur- 
prise that the intermediate ground is destitute of stones. 
Sheets of Rock.—Mention must not be omitted of the constant 
recurrence of sheets of rock of considerable extent at the sur- 
face, and totally destitute of soil; this is particularly the case 
