NERBUDDA DISTRICT. 205 



speculations published by both these geologists for which their papers 

 may be referred to. 



The trees are embedded in a layer of calcareous black earth, which 

 formed the surface soil in which they grew : this soil rests on, and was 

 made up of the disintegration of, a layer of basalt. It is covered over 

 by another and similar layer of the same rock near where the trees 

 occur. The ordinary fossil shells of the inter trappean beds are found in 

 the continuation of the same intertrappean layer which contains the 

 trees, both where the tree-bed is still soft black calcareous clay, and 

 further on where it is a hard limestone. Large distorted specimens of 

 Physa Prinsepii have been found in this bed. 



The trees must have been thrown down or have fallen, and been sili- 

 cified before the advent of the layer of basalt which now lies on them ; 

 and they could not have been transported by water from a distance and 

 deposited here together. Thus they of course cannot be supposed to be- 

 long to an older formation, and to have been re-deposited in an intertrap- 

 pean bed after fossilization during a geologically anterior period.(a) 



These remarks on the intertrappean beds of our district must be con- 

 sidered as purely geological as distinguished from palaeontological ; and 

 leave the fossil evidence untouched. This latter part of the subject does 

 not seem to the writer to have obtained a developement which warrants 

 any very satisfactory conclusions : whereas it is hoped that facts of obser- 

 vation may serve -pro tanto some useful purposes to future observers.^) 



Since the above was written a short abstract of a paper " On the 

 tertiary deposits associated with trap rocks in the East Indies" read by 

 the Rev. S. Hislop before the Geological Society of London at their 

 meeting of the 15th June 1859, has been received. 



(a) Vide Contribution to Geology of Western India by Dr Carter, Bombay Asiatic 

 Soc. Jour. Vol. V, p. 614. 



(b) During the geological examination of the Nerbudda district, special attention being 

 directed to the more detailed examination of the several groups of rocks described above the 

 time at the disposal of the geologists for the investigation of the intertrappean series was 



