164 



SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



discontinued, as better weapons than they could make 

 can be obtained elsewhere in the present day, without 

 the trouble attendant on making them themselves, in a 

 country where fuel is extremely scanty. The con- 

 tents of a mound of a deserted village in the vicinity 

 of Boia, explored by the writer, showed that an 

 industry in copper-smelting in a small way once 

 existed ; this, however, no longer exists, as the 

 natives find that since the British rule came their way, 

 their small wants in the shape of copper articles could 

 be supplied by melting down the baser coinage of the 

 Empress of India. 



That the Madda Khel have an artistic sense is 

 shown by their wood-carving, the doors of their 

 better houses, and their charpoys(beds) being roughly 

 carved out in strong patterns, the general effect 

 resembling that of the ruder work of England in the 

 early Middle Ages. The charpoys, unlike our idea of 

 having the principal decoration at the head of the 

 bed, are arranged like a settle, so as to form a com- 

 fortable seat with a handsome carved back-rest for 

 day use. 



Geologically the face of the country presented 

 Eocene strata cut up by igneous rocks, with interven- 

 ing plains formed apparently of recent alluvium, 

 pointing to the former existence of large mountain 

 lakes. These latter burst through their boundaries, 

 their deposit being subsequently eroded by rivers 

 boring channels, while the alluvial strata, except close 

 by one side of the modern rivers, became covered by 

 rocky detritus from the surrounding hills, forming a 

 sloping surface towards the streams. The more rapid 

 streams appear to have always maintained that nature 

 since their formation, as alluvium does not exist in 

 their course. The dried-up lakes through which they 

 now flow, generally only after heavy rain, or the 

 melting of the snow, present areas of large-stoned 

 gravel, to mark their former sites. This gravel is 

 frequently of a very solid nature owing to the amount 

 of lime in which it was deposited. An excavation 

 at Boia, which did not extend below twelve feet, as 

 the shaft ,became flooded, gave recent shells to 

 indicate the age of the deposit of the alluvium formed 

 only near the large streams having a less precipitous 

 ■fall. 



The Eocene strata presented a mass of nummulitic 

 limestones, much distorted, in the fork between the 

 Kazha and the Tochi rivers. These limestones' 

 showed near their visible base a white foraminiferal 

 limestone. At their top, in a hollow formed by the 

 nummulitic strata, a patch preserved by its situation 

 from denudation, of white sandstones and some clays, 

 containing crystals of selenite, reminded one of 

 somewhat similar formations near London. Un- 

 fortunately no fossils were observed in these sands 

 and clays during the necessarily hasty search carried 

 out durmg a march across these strata. Although 

 other localities showed sandstones, shales, and lime- 

 stones, no fo.ssils were found to indicate the age of 

 the strata. In this nummulitic region were found 

 species of Cerilhiniii, A'alica, Oslera (vcsiciilaris?), 

 and Coimis, associated generally with Alveolinae. 



The igneous rocks were almost invariably varieties, 

 of serpentine, generally of a dark bluish green 

 variety. Chrysolite was met with, near which 

 chromic iron ore also occurred. Sometimes the 

 serpentine appeared as marmolite ; frequently it was 

 found with diallage, and also mixed with calcite. 

 Limonite, talcose schist, magnesite, and a few other 

 minerals were also observed. 



Although the search for fossils became tedious from 

 the monotony of want of success, the country 

 appeared an interesting one, as presenting many 

 excellent illustrations of processes of earth sculpture. 

 Still, the piecing together of the distorted rocks 

 would be a task requiring considerable time and .skill ; 

 especially as many localities containing stratified rocks 

 have not yielded fossil remains, while their relations 

 to the nummulitic strata are disguised by belts of 

 igneous rocks. It is hoped, however, that this sketch 

 may prove of some interest, more especially when 

 read in conjunction with the notes on the foraminifera 

 of the region, which Mr. Earland has kindly appended. 



London^ jth Sepf ember ^ 1S99. 



FORAMINIFERA OF THE TOCHI 

 VALLEY. 



By Arthur Earl/^nd. 



■DY favour of Major B. M. Skinner, R.A.M.C, I 

 ^~^ have had an opportunity of examining the rock 

 specimens which he collected in Waziristan during the 

 recent North-West Frontier campaign, and mentioned 

 in the preceding article. Considering the difficulties 

 under which they were collected during an arduous 

 campaign, many of them while actually on the march 

 through the enemy's country, and the immense diffi- 

 culty of transport in such a region,' they form a proof 

 of zeal and energy of which their collector may well 

 be proud. 



From a microscopical point of view the specimens 

 are of great interest, for nearly all are Eocene lime- 

 stones of foraminiferal origin. They vary consider- 

 ably both in appearance and character, some being 

 comparatively soft and easily broken, while others are 

 wholly crystalline and capable of taking a marble-like 

 polish. Nearly all the specimens abound in foramini- 

 fera, some being wholly composed of their tests 

 cemented together by a matrix of foraminiferal debris. 



As the materials are all too hard to be prepared in 

 the customary manner, and no sections have as 

 yet beeir cut, only such of the foraminifera can be 

 identified as are visible with a lens on the surface 

 of the specimens. The limestones fall naturally into 

 two divisions. (l) Alveoline ; (2) Nummulitic. This 

 does not mean that the Alveoline specimens contain 

 no Nummulites, or vice versa, but that one form 

 predominates more or less to the exclusion of the 

 other. The Alveoline specimens contain representa - 

 tives both of the elongated forms, of which the type is 

 Alveoliiia boscii of Defrance, and of the ovoid and 

 spheroidal forms : type, Alveoliiia vielo of Fichtel 

 and Moll ; but the latter predominate to the almost 

 total exclusion of the former. The specimens are all of 



