Capt. Cautley on the Sevdlik Hills. 273 



Shingle, or Gravel Beds — Lignite, scarce. 



Sandstone - - - - Trunks of dicotyledonous trees in great abundance; lignite, and 



remains of reptiles. 

 Marl Remains of mammafers, reptiles, fishes, shells, and lignite. 



The mineral products are, carbonate of lime, the general cement of the 

 whole formation, also in stalactites and stalagmites ; selenite, in small tabular 

 crystals; and pyrites, but apparently in the neighbourhood of organic re- 

 mains only. Soda abounds throughout the mountains, efflorescing on the 

 shingle and sandstone rocks ; and the presence of this alkali may explain 

 the partial disintegration of the boulders of which the shingle is composed : 

 for, I believe, I am right in asserting, that every variety of boulder, from 

 granite to quartz and sandstones, has been acted on : and when it happens 

 that the boulders can be removed entire from the bed, they fall to pieces, 

 either after exposure to the air for a time, or by pressure of the hand imme- 

 diately. With regard to fractures in some of the boulders, and their consoli- 

 dation on different planes, as in a slip of stratification, no remark whatever 

 appears requisite, as these are the necessary consequences of that movement, 

 which raised the beds from their horizontal position. There does not 

 appear to be any further remark necessary on this tract, more than can be 

 reserved for the general summary ; I shall therefore proceed to describe the 

 hills westward of the Jumna. 



Hills West of the Jumna. 



These, as I before stated, consist of the same series of shingle, sand, clays, 

 and marls ; but they differ, in the beds of shingle being less abundant, al- 

 though equally inclined, and in containing a different description of boulder. 

 The rolled fragments eastward of the Jumna are all of primary or lower rocks, 

 whilst those to the westward are confined to varieties of clay slate, and 

 quartz. The marl, which, between the Jumna and Ganges shows itself in the 

 southern limits, is here exposed at a point north of Nahun, cropping out on the 

 northern slope of the mountain ; and the fossil remains resemble those found 

 in the marl eastward of the Jumna, consisting of mammafers, crocodiles, 

 tortoises, fishes, and shells. From Nahun to the plains there is a succession of 

 sandstones and clays, without any abundance of shingle. The sandstone, 

 which, in the vicinity of Nahun, is much indurated, and used for building-, be- 

 comes softer on approaching the plains; long before reaching which, the 

 whole formation consists of an interminable succession of sandstones and clays, 

 the latter being in the greatest abundance, of every variety of colour, and 



