1G2 " A Oeologist''s contrihution to the History of India. ^^ [Dec, 



9. From the Zoological Society of London, — List of Vertebrated 

 Animals now or lately living in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of 

 London, Eighth Edition. 



10. From the Officer in Charge, Tidal and Levelling Operations, Survey 

 of India,— (1) Tide Tables for the Indian Ports for 1884i ; (2) Tide Tables 

 for the Eiver Hooghly for 1884 (sheet and pamphlet). 



11. From Dr. Ram Das Sen, — Dosa Sandarshani, by Gangadhar Raya 

 Kaviratna Kaviraj. 



12. From the Royal Zoological Society of Amsterdam, — De Toerako's 

 afgebeeld en beschreven door H. Schlegel onder medewerkiug van G. F. 

 Westerman. 



In drawing special attention to Mr. Ball's pamphlet, entitled '' A 

 Geologist's Contribution to the History of India," the Natural Histoet 

 Secretary said — 



Professor Ball has in this pamphlet attempted to identify the sources 

 whence the mineral productions mentioned by the historians of India, from 

 the earliest times to the close of the eighteenth century, were derived. 

 Since his departure from Lidia, the rich library of Trinity College, Dublin, 

 has enabled him to add considerably to the facts which had been collected by 

 him in this country and communicated to the Asiatic Society in several papers 

 published in the Journal. Mr. Ball has placed within the reach of histo- 

 rians a number of facts that serve to elucidate several subjects hitherto 

 puzzling to those unacquainted with the results which have been arrived at 

 by the systematic examination of the Geology of India. The conclusions 

 which he draws are : 



1. The great antiquity of the knowledge possessed by the natives of 

 India with reference to certain metallurgical processes, is, Mr. Ball 

 thinks, fairly established. The most notable of these is, undoubtedly, that 

 by which wootz or cast steel was manufactured. Probably the method of 

 refining gold which is mentioned in the Ain-i-Akbari is also very old ; but 

 we have no earlier record of it. Mr. Ball questions the accuracy of a 

 statement made by Strabo, or at least its applicability even in his time 

 to the whole of India, where he says, " The Indians, unacquainted with 

 mining and smelting, are ignorant of their own wealth." 



2. Many ancient long-forgotten mines, of which the names alone 

 have survived in more or less archaic garbs, have, by the methods here 

 adopted, been identified with modern sites. In most of these cases geologi- 

 cal evidence has established these conclusions, and in some instances they 

 have been further ratified by local traditions acquired as the result of 

 personal inquiries. 



3. Several fables of world-wide notoriety have been shown to have 



