104 Notes on Geological Specimens from [FfiB. 



of this last mentioned mineral, which had been imbedded between the 

 concentric nodules, were picked up (No. 67). At the bottom of the 

 hill, the basalt loses its concentric form, and occurs in tables or laminse, 

 having the appearance of having been subjected to violent forces. It 

 sounds under the hammer when struck. Various specimens of the 

 trap are much loaded with iron, sometimes in grains of a reddish brown 

 colour ; at others, it appears as if it had been partially smelted, and is 

 not very different in its appearance from some examples of laterite. 

 Much of the "kankar" that abounds in the soil is coloured with iron, 

 while other portions are perfectly white ; it is not, however, confined 

 to the soil, as it was observed to have formed between two laminae of 

 the basalt, and by the gradual deposition of the lime, to have nearly 

 broken up the upper stratum. From between some of the vertical 

 fissures in the tables, and round the large rounded masses that occur 

 in them, a formation of " kankar" projects in several places half a foot 

 from the surface of the rock. It was evident, that the water loaded 

 with lime, percolating through the alluvial black soil, or through the 

 rock itself, gradually deposits the earth, where its accumulation is 

 favoured by circumstances, of which the most important is the occur- 

 rence of an impervious rock or soil below that supplying the lime ; 

 and this explains the absence of organic remains in this recent forma- 

 tion, except where, in soils rich in lime, it forms round the roots of 

 plants, and unites with itself, here and there, a fresh-water shell. No. 

 47, is a specimen illustrative of these views, taken from the south bank 

 of the Godavery. The rock over which the river flows is granite, 

 intersected by some great dykes of greenstone, (No. 44,) whose surface 

 has a smooth metallic coating where washed by the stream. They 

 proiect eight or ten feet, and are divided into numerous rhomboidal 

 masses by fissures, into which lime has been deposited ; and in the 

 bed of the river, numerous fragments of calcedonies, zeolites, and other 

 minerals found in volcanic rocks, are partially cemented by lime. The 

 banks are mostly composed of black cotton soil, and the lower part is 

 covered with small irregular loose slabs, resembling the dried cow-dung 

 used for fire ; which are found in situ projecting from the bank, and 

 connected above with portions formed round the roots of plants, and 

 below with other layers spread out between different strata of the 

 alluvial earth. 



From the top of the hill of Nugger above spoken of, numerous in- 

 sulated hills, and short ranges of a similar form, are seen to rise from 

 the granitic tract to the east and west, but they do not observe any 

 particular line of bearing, although the whole group seems to pass 

 in a direction from east to west, like the other basalt ranges of the 



