ASIA 149 



Next upon these rocks rests the Kalddgi series, in which no fossils 

 have been found. It consists of quartzites, sandstones, cherty breccias, 

 limestone, and clay, of a total thickness of 10,000 to 15.000 ft. Their 

 local variations, as well as their relation to the physical features of the 

 countr)% are described in detail. Where much disturbed they have 

 acquired a submetamorphic character. No exact correlation of these 

 rocks with any distant ones is as yet possible ; they much resemble the 

 Kadapa series further east. In the E. part of the area rocks are found 

 named " JBhima series." They are not seen in contact with the preced- 

 ing, but, from lithological differences and the analogy of other districts, 

 appear to be newer, and to correspond to the Karnul or L. Vindhyan 

 series. Then follow deposits named " Infra-trappean," some of which 

 may represent the Lameta beds of Central India. They are soft marls 

 or clayey grits of small thickness and extent, probably of lacustrine 

 origin. 



Resting either on the last-named beds, or on the Kaladgi or the 

 Bhima series, is the great Deccan Trap formation, an accumulation of 

 lava-flows to a depth of 2000 to 2500 feet ; the lower flows are mostly 

 basaltic, the middle alternately basaltic and amygdaloidal, the upper 

 chiefly basaltic. The beds are very nearly horizontal. " Inter-trappean " 

 beds occur low down in the series — thin sedimentary beds, proved by 

 fossils (the same as are found in inter-trappean beds near Ndg-pur, &c.) 

 to be of freshwater-lake origin, showing that the traps of both regions 

 belong to the same period. 



The higher ridges and peaks are capped by what is named " iron- 

 clay," a substance of the character of laterite, supposed to result from 

 the decomposition of the topmost trap-bed ; the greatest observed 

 thickness was 50 to 70 feet. Resting on the denuded surface of 

 Deccan trap on the Konkan coast are the Ratnagiri plant beds. Later 

 Tertiary and recent deposits are also described. 



A chapter on economic geology records the use of many varieties of 

 building-stone, and shows by drawings the native method of smelting 

 iron from the red and the brown haematite and from the Konkan 

 laterite. Salt and saltpetre are collected by evaporation from the 

 waters of streams, and in one case from brine raised from weUs. F. D. 



Hochstetter, P. von. Asien, seine Zukunftsbahnen und seine Koh- 

 lenschiitze. [Asia, its future lines of traffic and its coal resources.] 

 Pp. 188, map. 8vo. Vienna. 



Hughes, T. W. H. On the relations of the fossiliferous strata at 

 Maleri and Kota, near Sironcha, Central Provinces, llec. Geol. 

 Sarv. Ind. vol. ix. p. 86. 



By recently discovered fossil-evidence these beds may be ranked not 

 younger than the Lias. 



Lydekker, R. Notes on the Fossil Mammalian Fauna) of India and 

 Burma. Rec. Qeol, Surv. Ind. vol. ix. pp. 86-106. 



