1832.] Note on Indian Saline Deposits. 603 



V. — Note on Indian Saline Deposits. By Mr. Henry Harpur Spry, 

 Bengal Medical Service. 



[Read 3rd October.] 



In the fourth number of the Journal of the Asiatic Society, a note 

 was published by the Rev. R. Everest on Indian saline deposits, in 

 which particular attention was directed by that gentleman to the 

 large quantities of carbonate of soda found in a plain about a mile to 

 the west of Ghazipur. He states also, that " As the sulphate of soda, 

 is said to be collected in large quantities, from the soil of the ba- 

 saltic districts on the western side of India, it is not improbable, that 

 these saline deposits are distributed over the peninsula of India co- 

 extensively with the nodules of kankar (corbonate of lime), and hy- 

 drated iron ore." 



I have never met with any saline deposits among the trap formations 

 of this district ; but I am induced to believe the following notice re- 

 garding the sulphate of soda deposit in the Gangetic portion of the 

 Oude territory, contiguous to Cawnpore, may not be unacceptable. 



This saline deposit abounds in very large quantities about Unaii, 

 and is found in the ravines all the way on to Sultanpur. It has a 

 light earthy, and sometimes a dirty white, appearance in the mass, and 

 its fracture is brittle. It yields by the common native process full 50 

 per cent, of pure Glauber's salt, of which quantities are annually ma- 

 nufactured by them ; and on analysis I found 200 parts to contain of 



Dried Sulphate of soda, 145.9 



Muriate of soda, 6.0 



Alumina, 25.0 



Trace of iron, . 1.5 



Silicious sand, 9.0 



Trace of lime, 1.0 



Loss, 1 2.0 



200.4 

 The kankar formation is very abundant along the Cawnpore bank 

 of the Ganges, but the new sandstone formation of Bundelkhand, (which 

 is the nearest approach I am aware of,) must be further, even from the 

 sulphate of soda deposit of Unau, than the Ghazipur saline deposit 

 described by the Rev. R. Everest. 



Sugar, Aug. 14, 1832. 



2s 



