1832.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. 363 



genuineness is established." " The Kdshani mineral is of an antimo- 

 nial colour, and is ground up for the painting of glass and porcelain." 

 It is possible that this description may refer to the zajfre mineral or 

 sulphuret of cobalt. 



This last cursory notice, although foreign to the subject of the preci- 

 ous gems*, arouses a curiosity to know a little more of the contents of 

 the Ajdib-al-Makhluqdl, and I trust the Raja will continue his labours, 

 confining himself as far as possible to a literal translation of his text. 



V. — Proceedings of the Asiatic Society, Physical Class. 



Wednesday, 15th August, 1832. 

 Sir Edward Ryan, President, in the chair. 

 The proceedings of the last meeting having been approved, the following 

 letters were read. 



1. From Capt. P. Gerard, dated Kotgurh, 23rd July, announcing, that 

 he had dispatched to the address of the Society, a box containing 164 paper 

 parcels of fossils from the Himalaya, by direction of his brother, Dr. 

 Gerard, their discoverer. He further acquaints the Society, that Dr. Gerard 

 had forwarded from Cabul the first paper of his promised paper on the 

 valley and section of the Spiti, illustrative of these fossils, and that the 

 remainder is expected from Bokhara. 



2. From W. Cracroft, Esq. to Sir E. Ryan, President, dated Chirra 

 Punji, 25th June, announcing further discoveries of coal beds in the Kasya 

 hills. 



The present site is near a place called Monthan, where the coal seams occur 

 between the sandstone beds, accompanied as usual with bituminous shale,limestone, 

 and indurated clay ; the coal strata altogether are six feet in depth : this locality is 

 so far interesting, because it has been hitherto a desideratum to obtain coal near 

 the foot of the hills equally good with what is found above : the specific gravity 

 of this coal is stated to be only 1.31. 



3. From Dr. Alex. Turnbull Christie, dated Madras, lUh August, stating, 

 that he had been entrusted by the Geological Society of London with the 

 charge of a series of casts of the fossil bones discovered in Ava by Dr. 

 Crawfurd, for presentation to the Asiatic Society : further, in his own name, 

 begging its acceptance of a small collection of fossil shells from the tertiary 

 formations of France and Italy. 



[The package has not yet reached Calcutta.] 



4. From G. Swinton, Esq. Chief Secretary to Government, commu- 

 nicating a letter from the Rev. Wm. Vernon Harcourt, Secretary of the 

 British Association for the Advancement of Science, by direction of the 

 Central Committee, transmitting a copy of their first Report, and requesting 

 his assistance in extending to India the operation of the plan detailed 

 therein, by the formation of a Committee to correspond with the Association, 



* Lapis-lazuli, or azure stone, as has been already remarked, has been supposed 

 to be the <raTr<psipos of the Greeks. 



