ON THE STATISTICS OF DUKHUN. 227 
in the Mawals, or hilly tracts along the Ghats. They abound 
with narrow vertical veins of quartz and chalcedony. When of 
sufficient thickness the vein splits in the centre, parallel to 
the surface of its walls, the interior being drusy with quartz 
crystals, The walls consist of layers of chalcedony, cachalong, 
horn-stone, and semi-opal. ‘These veins supply the. majority 
of the siliceous minerals so abundantly strewed over Dukhun. 
Strueture and Mineral Composition of the Trap Rocks. 
—The structure and mineral composition of trap rocks in 
Dukhun vary exceedingly in short distances, even in the 
same stratum; nevertheless, the predominant character does not 
disappear, although the basalt, in a continuous bed, may pass 
several times from close-grained, compact, and almost black, to 
grey, amygdaloidal, and externally decomposing. The same 
observation applies to the amygdaloids. A variety of compact 
basalt, of an intense green colour, is susceptible of a brilliant 
polish, and rivals the celebrated Egyptian kind. It is of great 
weight and remarkable hardness; the natives use it to work into 
idols for their temples, pedestals to the wooden columns to their 
mansions, and slabs for inscriptions. The bulls, of the size 
of life, always placed before the temples of Mahadeo, are 
cut out of this variety at Raseen, Wurwund and the renowned 
Boleshwur. Some of the pedestals in the gateway of the 
Mankéswur palace at Teimboornee, look like mirrors. In 
the temple of Pooluj, south of Punderpoor, there is a slab six 
or seven feet long, and two and a half broad, covered with an 
inscription in the Kanree language; and in Punderpoor the 
streets are paved apparently with the same basalt. At 
Jehoor, and near Ahmednuggur, is found a compact kind, 
like the last, but not so heavy; it has a crystalline character, 
and sharp fracture, and has angular siliceous pebbles im- 
bedded: an occasional pebble is found loose in its cell. In 
the Happy Valley, near Ahmednuggur, the basalt is compact 
and smooth, with reddish flat transparent crystals imbedded. 
It opposes a feeble resistance to the hammer, and flies into 
fragments, some of which have right angles. The basalt, 
even of the true columns, is not of a uniform texture in 
different localities ; at times it is blackish or grey, and very 
small, granular, or compact; at others, earthy and ferru- 
ginous, particularly externally. The base of the amygdal- 
oids is clay, with more or less hornblende disseminated; 
they embrace the cellular, porphyritic, hard, friable, and 
decomposing. I endeavoured to class them agreeably to the 
prevalence of quartz, chalcedony, lime, mesotype, or stilbite, 
as imbedded minerals, but ~— the method of very limited 
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