OF CENTRAL INDIA AND BENGAL. 323 



occupied a hollow in the coal sandstone,"(«) an( i ne thinks that this is 

 the general fact also. 



Such a marked break in continuity of deposit accompanied by a con- 

 siderable amount of denudation of the lower group, would seem to in- 

 dicate a considerable lapse of time between the two deposits. But, without 

 in the least giving too much weight to this fact, it unquestionably fol- 

 lows, that the beds of sandstone with coal in Cutch are decidedly not 

 more recent than the epoch of the lower oolites of England, and are 

 possibly much older. And as a consequence of this, that the " Rajmahal" 

 beds, which contain identical fossils are equally not more recent than the 

 same epoch — the lower oolite. 



But we have obtained some further evidence also, and from a different 

 locality. Beneath the whole of the cretaceous rocks so well developed 

 in the district of Trichinopoly to the south of Madras, and from which 

 such a beautiful series of fossils were described by Edward Forbes,(#) 

 beneath the lowest of these beds, occur a series of soft whitish, and green- 

 ish-white sandstones and pebbly beds, generally soapy to the feel, and 

 regularly bedded. In these, remains of Zamise had been firs«t found by 

 Mr. Chas. JE. Oldham in 1858. These beds are separated by a marked 

 and defined unconformity evidencing a very considerable lapse of time 

 from the marine cretaceous beds, and are thus separated from the lowest 

 division of these cretaceous rocks, which division, so far as the fossil 

 evidence has been examined, are certainly not more recent than the 

 etage Aptien of D'Orbigny, or the upper portion of the lower green sand 

 of English Geologists. 



I had an opportunity of examining these sandstones, (the age of which, 

 as undoubtedly precretaceous is thus fixed,) during last year, and in them 

 I found remains of two Palseozamise, (P. cutchensis and P. acutifolium), 

 identical with those occurring in the " Rajmahal" beds and identical 

 also with those found in Cutch. With these cycadeous remains, I found 



(a) Trans. Geol. Soc. London, Vol. V, 2nd Series, p. 297. 

 (J>) Trans. Geol. Soc. London, 2nd Series, Vol. VII, p..97. 



