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Examination of a remarkable Red Sandstone from the junction of the 

 Diamond Limestone and Sandstone at Nurnoor in the Kurnool Ter- 

 ritory, Southern India. Received for the Museum of Economic Geo~ 

 logy, from Capt. Newbold, M. N. I. Assistant Commissioner, 

 Kurnool. By Henry Piddington, Curator Museum of Economic 

 Geology of India and of Geological and Mineralogical Depart- 

 ments, Asiatic Society Museum. 



It is with many good writers, and I think with justice, a subject of 

 regret that the chemistry of geology is so little attended to. One of 

 the reasons for this may perhaps be, that the results are often unsatis- 

 factory, or at least offer nothing striking, and we are thus much tempted 

 when we have bestowed our labour in researches of this kind to put 

 them aside, being unwilling to obtrude them on the notice of the 

 scientific world, which has indeed so many more brilliant and at first 

 sight more interesting things to occupy its attention. 



It may however be doubted whether in so doing we do rightly and 

 well ; for although our results may be always, as results, of little moment, 

 (and this is not always certain,) yet if we consider that by recording 

 our own work, even when obtaining mere negative results, we may save 

 work to others we might perhaps oftener do so, and this with that 

 amount of benefit to science which arises from sparing the labours of 

 our brother workmen, and informing them where our researches quan- 

 tum valeant, may have failed to elicit any thing striking, though ap- 

 pearances might lead us to suspect that a rock did contain more re- 

 markable constituents. It is from this motive then that I have thought 

 it right to place upon record my examination of this remarkable sand- 

 stone, which would certainly attract the attention of any geologist or 

 mineralogist, who might meet with it in situ. Its geological position, 

 in the diamond tracts, also adds something to the interest of the 

 specimen. 



Capt. Newbold thus describes it, and I quote his description as one 

 conveying very faithfully, as far as it goes, the appearance of the rock : 

 " Examining it hastily, the rock appears to be composed of a dark red 

 earthy and sometimes spongy-looking mineral, veined and streaked 

 with a dark green chert, and imbedding curious crystals of a flesh-like- 

 looking mineral with a fracture resembling that of rock crystal." 

 I should further add, as to appearance, 



