nizam's dominions. 55 



13th January 1874. They were all confined to the circuit of Rajur,. 

 Sasti, Manoli, Kolgaon, Kadoli, Paoni, and Gaori, an area about 7 miles 

 long 1 and 4 or 5 miles broad. They proved the ocurrence of coal only 

 over a very restricted area, and showed that there were two local basins : one 

 between Paoni and Gaori, and another east of Sasti. The limits of the 

 Sasti basin would appear, by reference to the journals, to be in the im- 

 mediate vicinity of the two shafts, A and C. I cannot, however, help 

 expressing my conviction that these borings are incomplete sources of 

 evidence as to the continuity of the coal, and that, with the exception 

 of No. 1 bore-hole near Rajur, scarcely one was carried to the depth that 

 it ought to have been, to be accepted as testimony against the occurrence 

 of coal. Unless excessive denudation has taken place, it is strange that 

 coal, which was proved to be 50 feet thick at C, should be entirely absent 

 in the direction of its dip, and that not one out of several borings should 

 have struck it. In no part of the Chanda or Wun district has it been 

 shown that such a sudden and abrupt cessation of the seam takes place, 

 as is implied by the record of the borings in the Nizam's dominions. 

 No system appears to have been adopted in selecting sites. Out of the 

 total of 52 borings commenced, many were begun 50 and 100 feet below 

 the horizon of the coal. Others were started in fair positions, but un- 

 familiarity with the measures led to their being abandoned in the most 

 arbitrary manner, and thus it happens that so few are recorded as having 

 pierced the thick workable coal. "Blue sandstone" appears to have been 

 accepted as the index rock of the unproductive horizon of the Earakar 

 group. What this blue sandstone was, I cannot tell. It may have been 

 dark carbonaceous sandstone, and if so, was an index rather of produc- 

 tive than sterile measures. Of course one can only hazard an opinion, 

 but I believe many, if not most, of the bore-holes were too shallow. 



No. 1 bore-hole, near Rajur, was carried fairly into the unproductive 



measures, and I think the absence of coal south of 

 Rajur. No coal. 



this, to the Talchir boundary, is highly probable. 



( 55 ) 



