Feb. 1848. SOANE VALLEY, NATURAL HISTORY. 53 



beetles. Lamellicorn beetles were very rare, even Jji/wdius, 

 and of Cetonice I did not see one. 



We marched on the 28th to Kota, at the junction of the 

 river of that name with the Soane, over hills of flinty rock, 

 which projected everywhere, to the utter ruin of the ele- 

 phants' feet, and then over undulating hills of limestone ; 

 on the latter I found trees of CocJdospermum, whose curious 

 thick branches spread out somewhat awkwardly, each tipped 

 with a cluster of golden yellow flowers, as large as the palm 

 of the hand, and very beautiful : it is a tropical Gum-Cistus 

 in the appearance and texture of the petals, and their frail 

 nature. The bark abounds in a transparent gum, of which 

 the white ants seem fond, for they had killed many trees. 

 Of the leaves the curious rude leaf-bellows are made, with 

 which the natives of these hills smelt iron. Scorpions 

 appeared very common here, of a small kind, lJr inch long ; 

 several were captured, and one of our party was stung on 

 the finger ; the smart was burning for an hour or two, and 

 then ceased. 



At Kota we were nearly opposite the cliffs at Beejaghur, 

 where coal is reported to exist ; and here we again crossed 

 the Soane, and for the last time. The ford is three miles 

 up the river, and we marched to it through deep sand. 

 The bed of the river is here 500 feet above the sea, and 

 about three-quarters of a mile broad, the rapid stream 

 being 50 or 60 yards wide, and breast deep. The sand is 

 firm and siliceous, with no mica ; nodules of coal are said 

 to be washed down thus far from the coal-beds of Burdee, 

 a good deal higher up, but we saw none. 



The cliffs come close to the river on the opposite side, 

 their bases clothed with woods which teemed with birds. 

 The soil is richer, and individual trees, especially of 

 BombaWy Terminalia and MaJiowa, very fine ; one tree of 



