110 Notes on Geological Specimens from [Feb. 



rest directly on granite of a reddish color. The shells are of very vari- 

 ous forms : several belong to the genus Ostrea of Linnaeus ; one very 

 perfect Cardia was entire, both valves being connected, and one frag- 

 ment, of a very large shell, has the water- worn appearance often seen 

 on the sea- shore. The edges of the large shells are harder than the 

 rest of the rock, and stand out from it, which has led the natives to 

 compare its surface to the impression left by the feet of sheep, and to 

 name it " Bakri ke paun ka patthar." Over the surface, many frag- 

 ments of basalt, calcedonies, &c. are scattered, derived from a lofty 

 spur of the higher point of the mountain, which rises precipitously 

 from the terrace within a few hundred feet of the fossil strata. A very 

 remarkable mass of soft peperino, resembling ashes, of which a specimen 

 is forwarded, seemed to proceed from the limestone, where it begins to be 

 lost amongst the debris of the mountain ; and amongst the loose frag- 

 ments, were some very tough clayey stones, having the forms of small 

 univalve shells adhering and embedded. 



The facts above described, and the nature of the different fossil beds, 

 more especially this great accumulation of marine shells resting imme- 

 diately on granite, and the fossil seeds of charse, now perhaps first found 

 in India, leave no doubt on my mind, that this wild mountain country, 

 now covered with a dense forest, had once been the bed of an inland 

 sea or great estuary, on whose shore the chara? and associated fresh- 

 water shells had flourished. 



On descending the pass towards Eidlabad, the rock changes to 

 amygdaloidal trap, with occasional masses of greenstone porphyry, 

 having large crystals of felspar imbedded. The opake milk-white 

 quartz, and the beautiful white porous crystalline mineral, which accom- 

 pany the fossils, were found here, and were not met with elsewhere. 

 At the foot of the pass, granite re-appears, and protrudes in great 

 masses from the soil, for about four miles on either side of the town 

 of Eidlabad*. 



Basaltic Tract between Eidlabad and Ndgpur. 



The greater variety of rocks that occur between Eidlabad and Nag- 

 pur, and the interesting appearances they exhibit, will render it necessary 

 to enter somewhat more into detail in describing the localities whence 

 the specimens were collected ; so as to afford the means of determining 

 their relations to each other, and to the fossil deposits already described > 

 as well as to the great western trap formation, and the stratified rocks 

 to the north and south. 



* The localities of some other minerals found in the Nirmul hills are marked 

 on the specimens. The blood-red chert found in the valley of Ankni is 

 remarkable. 



