92 HUGHES : WARDHA VALLEY COAL-FIELD. 



Some of these are quarried for metalling the Trunk Koad. The most 

 extensive deposit is that near the Police lines at Chanda ; minor areas 

 occur at Kadholi, Buranj, Sakarwai, &c. Beyond the field many of the 

 hills south-east of Muhl, and some of the peaks of the Manikgarh range, 

 are capped by laterite. It is well and distinctly stratified, and contains 

 small fragments of quartz. 



Under this head are included, in addition to surface soil or alluvium, 



all the deposits forming the sub-recent sandstones, 

 Surface deposits. 



gravels and conglomerates that are seen in the 



banks of the "Wardha. They might, if only cursorily examined, be often 



mistaken for rocks of much older date than they really are ; but there is 



one feature which enables them to be readily distinguished, and that is 



the presence of pieces of trap and agates, jasper and other intertrappean 



debris. 



Fragments of bones were noticed in the coarse sub-recent sandstone at 



Kona, and also in hard calcareous conglomerate at 

 Bones. 



Ahiri (Wun District). These beds do not extend 



far from the river; they are confined to a limited margin on each side 



of the Wardha, and were evidently deposited by the river itself. They 



are not usually of any considerable thickness, but at Kona they are fully 



40 feet. 



Besides these rocks just alluded to, there are some fine loose sandy 



silts, light-brown and grey in color, which underlie the ossiferous 



series. They are very obliquely laminated. In the Chanda district I only 



met with them in the Chopan nala. They yield salt. 



The general character of the surface soil of the Wardha valley is a 

 tenacious brown clay, with nodules of kunkur. It 



Soil. 



varies, however, in color and consistence, being 

 often black and sometimes containing a large proportion of sand. 



The most important variety agriculturally is that known as " regar, 

 black soil or cotton soil.'"' It is very adhesive when wetted and is very 

 ( 92 ) 



