1921.] The Eighth Indian Science Congress. exci 
earth’s history when there is so much evidence to suppose the 
first rudiments of life appeared on the planet, the Cuddapah and 
Vindhvan formations are unique. These 35,000 ft. of littoral 
i f 
The Archaean- 
Dharawar Complex. : : pe 
Z during their deposition. The structural as 
well as metamorphic changes have been too few in them to have 
affected the original characters or contents of these rock-bodies 
and herein lies hope for the inquirer. Interest of another kind 
is associated with the archaean-Dharwar complex which bristles 
with problems of a different kind hitherto but partly solved. 
The views promulgated by the Mysore State Geological Depart- 
ment, based on their very detailed work on a large section of this 
rock-expanse, about their origin, mutual relations and age have 
tended to simplify some aspects of these problems, but much 
vesearch of long duration is still needed before this bewildering 
complex of sedimentary igneous rock bodies is made to dis- 
close its secrets in the interest of petrogenesis, rock-meta- 
morphism, the genesis of ores, plutonic action and reaction, 
ete. : 
When painstaking research is undertaken by specialists in 
this direction, these hitherto blank recods are sure to yield 
data of much interest and importance which may result in some 
definite contribution to the geology of the world. Far from 
being therefore, a useless dead-weight in the geological chron- 
icles of the earth, these great pre-cambrian rock-records of India 
may yet prove to be the more significant part of that chronology , 
though written in a script other than the common script of 
palaeontology. 
Il. Tur GroroetcaL ScrzNcES IN THEIR RELATION 
TO THE MASS OF THE PEOPLE 
But no advance in pure research, however great the results 
be in their philosophical aspects, can 
Economic Appli- ever be expected to awaken the minds of the 
aoa ee le at large unless at the same time they 
affect some vital industrial or social side of their life. Indian geo. 
