Chap. I.] historical summary. 5 



The remaining portion of this Report which treats of abstract 

 palaeontological questions, and does not therefore belong, strictly speaking, 

 to the history of the subject before us, need not be quoted here. Until 

 the palseontological collections of the Geological Survey of India have 

 been worked out, and the generalizations of Professor Forbes have been 

 re-tested by the large additions made during the present survey, it 

 would be premature to offer any opinion of their accuracy. 



Previously to the publication of the papers above quoted, the 

 M E Chevalier 1836- fossiliferous beds of Pondicherry bad attracted the 

 ^*' attention of M. E. Chevalier, who visited Pondi- 



cherry in the French exploring vessel La Bonite in the year 1836 or 

 1837. The Report of M. Chevalier's observations was not published, 

 however, until 1844,* and precedence must therefore be given to the 

 works of Mr. Kaye already cited. I have not been able to obtain a 

 copy of M. Chevalier's Work, but as quoted by M. D'Archiac, he does 

 not appear to have done more than confirm the existence near Pondi- 

 cherry of beds of the Cretaceous epoch. 



In 1847, shortly previous to the appearance of Professor Forbes's 

 Fossils figured by M. Memoir, M. D'Orbigny gave in the Geology 

 0™giiy) 1847. ^£ ^-j^Q voyage of the Astrolabe-f figures of several 



species of the Pondicherry fossils, the originals of which had been sent 

 to France by M. Fontauier some years before. From the examination 

 of these, M. D'Orbigny drew a conclusion, differing from that arrived at by 

 Professor Forbes, whose labors had been communicated to him.| He 



places the Pondicherry rocks in his etage Tiiro- 

 His opinions. 



nien, the English equivalent of which he states 

 to be the Lower Chalk of Mantell, and considers them to be also 



* Voyage autour de la monde de la coivette la Bonite, 1836-37, Geologic et Mineralogie, 

 page 349. Paris 1844. 



f Voyage au Pole Sud et dans V Oceanie. Geologie. PI. 4 — 8. 



J Bulletin de la Societe Geologique de la France. 2me Serie, Tome 4ine, page 507, Seance 

 du 1 Mars 1847. 



