1835.] from Masuri to Gangautri. 691 



of a coal-pit. These carboniferous or coaly varieties have, however, 

 one peculiarity. They are in some places highly vesicular, so much 

 so as to re?emhle a grey lava ; and in this state appear to have par- 

 tially suffered from the action of heat. Mr. Fisher, in his account 

 of the Mussooree limestone, (see Gleanings for May, 1832, p. 194) 

 states that it is " highly crystallized," but I did not meet with any 

 such rock during my stay in the neighbourhood, nor see any speci- 

 mens of it. 



The slate that alternates with the limestone is of various colours, 

 bluish black, grey, greenish grey, brownish red, purplish, and yellow. 

 It is generally soft, and crumbling, and will not split into large 

 plates: but about two miles west of the station, below the peak called 

 Hdti-paon and nearly half way down the hill, a bluish black variety 

 is found, hard enough to be used as a roofing-slate. Somewhat to 

 the west of this, on the Dudhillee hill (a station of the Trigonome- 

 trical Survey), a trap rock makes its appearance. It is to be met with 

 at the bottom of a small water-course, and may be traced for about 

 half a mile in a direction nearly parallel to the range of the moun- 

 tains. It is composed in some parts principally of compact white 

 felspar and green diallage, in others principally of hornblende. 

 It was not possible to trace the manner of its connection with the 

 adjacent strata, which are evidently much disturbed, though they had 

 not suffered any change in mineral character by contact with it. 

 Probably it has cut through them as a dyke, and the continuation of 

 it may again be met with about a mile to the eastward, where a black 

 heavy trap is to be seen, containing crystals of bronzite imbedded. 

 The general range of these alternating beds of slate and limestone 

 appears to be nearly parallel to that of the direction of the moun- 

 tains, but not exactly so, as it approaches somewhat more to a north 

 and south line, the dip being a little to the northward of the east, and 

 the angle of it from 20° to 30*. The slopes are very steep, usually 

 covered with a luxuriant vegetation, and remind us of those in Cum- 

 berland and Derbyshire, though, of course, on a much larger scale. 

 In the Mussooree rock, however, there is a great deficiency of mineral 

 veins. As we travelled eastwards from Mussooree to Landour, we 

 found, a short distance beyond the hospital, quartzy-sandstone, of a 

 white and grevish colour lying upon the soft, earthy slate. This 

 appearance continued four miles further on to Soakolly, the quartzy- 

 sandstone capping the peaks, and the slate underlying it. From 

 Soakolly we descended for several miles, in a N. N. E. direction, 

 over alternating beds of quartzy-sandstone and slate, to the Agilwar 

 river, which runs with a westerly course to the Jumna. The slate, 



