Reviews — Geology and Races of India. 379 



III. — "The Geology and Eaces of India." (Edinburgh Eeview, 



April 1875.) 



AN article in the April number of " The Edinburgh " treats at 

 some length of the Geology of India, and its connexion with 

 the races of that country. With the latter part of the subject it is 

 not necessary to deal here, though the affinity between .Race and 

 Geology may be thought somewhat loosely and discursively treated as 

 an attribute of scenic and agrarian influences ; the reader being referred 

 to Buckle's " History of Civilization" for the laws which regulate the 

 influence of soil and climate upon the creation of wealth, civilization 

 and luxury : while it is difficult to gather from the article itself 

 the slender links between intellectual development of national 

 character and the " stupendous convulsion of the Himalaya," 

 the derivation of Begur, the existence of concealed coalbeds, 

 or the presence of "great trappean effusions." 



The writer's descriptions of the Geology of India are however 

 too startling to pass altogether unnoticed when advanced in the 

 pages of such a journal as the Edinburgh Review ; nor would it 

 be fair to authors upon Indian geology to allow him to claim 

 for strangely mingled misrepresentations that they are given 

 "as detailed by skilful observers." 



These descriptions being taken professedly from " amateur 

 authors " — but largely, one might imagine, from Dr. Carter's Sum- 

 mary and Mr. H. Blanford's recently published excellent little work 

 on the Physical Geography of India — it is to be regretted that the 

 writer of the article seems to have assumed the equally " admirable 

 accuracy " of all, and, relying upon this, to have failed in discrimina- 

 tion, while committing himself to statements at variance with facts, 

 familiar to those whose acquaintance with the subject is not 

 altogether circumscribed, or whose desire to increase this knowledge 

 might be stimulated by a paper in an ably-conducted journal. 



It is also matter for much regret that, without wading through the 

 whole of the amateur literature of the subject noticed by the writer, 

 besides all the Government publications, no means exist whereby a 

 more ample knowledge of the general features of Indian Geology 

 can be acquired than may be gathered from the chapters by Mr. 

 Henry Blanford — once an officer of the Indian Survey, and now Chief 

 of the Indian Meteorological Department. It has been suggested 

 that the Indian Geological Survey has now sufficiently progressed 

 to enable it to furnish some approximately accurate map and sum- 

 mary of the geology of the whole country. Nothing comprehensive 

 in this form has appeared as yet, but it is evident from the article in 

 question that such a publication is needed ; and this could hardly be 

 more competently edited than by the veteran Chief of the Survey, 

 with his long experience, if leisure could be found among his other 

 pressing labours. As it is, the science itself is progressive, and ample 

 time has passed since some of the amateur papers were written to 

 have placed them behind the age. 



This however will not excuse the writer of the article referred to 

 for want of acquaintance with some of his own sources of infor- 



