July, 1844.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society. Ixxi 



No. 1456. 



From Under-Secretary to the Government of Bengal, to the Vice President and Secretary of 

 the Asiatic Society, dated Fort William, 3rd June, 1844. 



Sir, — I am directed to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, dated the 20th 

 March last, submitting an indent for Chemical Apparatus and Re- agents, required 

 for the Laboratory of the Museum of Economic Geology. 



2. In reply, I am directed to state, that the Deputy Governor of Bengal having 

 consulted the Medical Board, they have been pleased to comply with the indent to 

 the extent shewn in the accompanying list, which specifies the articles and the 

 quantities of them available in the Dispensary for the purpose in question. 

 I have the honor to be, Sir, 



Your most obedient servant, 

 A. Tuunbull, 

 Under-Secy. to the Govt, of Bengal. 



Without entering into details which would not interest the meeting, I may say, 

 that we have now, with what we had before purchased and provided in various 

 ways, about two-thirds of what is required, so far to furnish our Laboratory, that 

 generally speaking, its operations can go on when required without the loss of time 

 and imperfection of research which arise from a deficiently provided one ; and for 

 the remaining third, which is fortunately the least expensive one, we shall be enabled 

 I hope to supply it from the European shops and Bazars, so, as at no great cost to 

 the Society, to avoid the loss of time and labour which the preparation of our own 

 re- agents and apparatus entails.* It may not be out of place here to say, for it may 

 a little enlighten many who have no conception of the difficulties attending chemi- 

 cal research in India, that I have recently found that it is impossible to procure even 

 so common an article as chemically pure Carbonate of Soda in Calcutta ! None of the 

 shops having any but the common pharmacopeial drug, which always contains a 

 little sulphate or muriate, or both. Professor O'Shaughnessy informs me, that he 

 has also failed in finding any. 



Geological and Miner alogical. — We have received from Captain Newbold, M. N. I. 

 a valuable paper, being a *' Note on a recent Fresh-water Deposit," with a few re- 

 marks on the origin and age of the Kunkur of the South of India, and supposed de- 

 crease of thermal temperature, which throws much light on the origin of this curious 

 mineral, at least in that quarter ; and it is hoped, that Captain N., with his known 

 activity of research, will not lose sight of this subject, forming as it does, one of the 

 great problems of Indian Geology. The paper should have early insertion in our 

 Journal. 



* Sec letter and resolution at p. lxiii and lxiv. 



M 



