436^ Report on the Valley of Spiti. [No. 6. 



bratulse, &c. &c. ; some of these beds may perhaps be attributed to the 

 primary fossiliferous or " Silurian" group, since they are in a horizontal 

 position, and have never been disturbed since their deposition, and they 

 are a dark gray argillaceous deposit, below which a slaty sandstone 

 is met with ; the fossils generally being, " pentamerus," " tentaculites" 

 ammonites and belemnites — all indicative of the Silurian group. 



Soil. — This brief description will so far tend to show that the pro- 

 ductive soil of Spiti, is in general calcareous. As far as Lidang it 

 is of a light colour ; from Lidang to Ki, the soil is blackened by 

 the fossils ; and above these places, to the head of the valley, the soil 

 assumes a reddish appearance, from the calcareous soil being more or 

 less mixed with the decomposing siliceous particles of red sandstone. 



These soils are all light, and easily turned up by the plough, and 

 should, if properly watered, be highly productive. 



Secondary Strata. — It is a fact to be noted, that Herbert in his 

 mineralogical survey of the Himalaya, travelled as far as the Hungrung 

 pass in Kunnawar, and leaves it with a remark, that lime-stone is never, 

 in these mountains, a principal formation : now, the principal lime- 

 stone formation is only there beginning, the whole of Spiti may be 

 said to be a lime-stone formation ; likewise, a great part of Lahoul. 

 Herbert also says, after mentioning the formation of gneiss, &c, that 

 "outside of the whole are very limited examples of the secondary 

 strata." Now the secondary strata are of great extent, but not as 

 observed by him. The secondary strata begin at the Hungrung pass, 

 which is a mere spur from higher mountains, chiefly composed of 

 lime-stone and sandstone, as the boulders in the river at Stingnam 

 might have pointed out, but he merely sighted the lime-stone, and 

 drew, in my opinion, an incorrect conclusion. 



The Bara Lacha, and many other mountains from 16,000 to 20,000 

 feet high, are secondary, although certainly very uncommon height for 

 secondary formations : and it will be a natural conclusion that nearly 

 the whole range, bounding the Tartar plains in this direction, are 

 secondary or certainly not older, which would give as great a breadth 

 of secondary as primary formation. 



Population. — The five Kotis into which Spiti is divided contain 

 upwards of , sixty villages, enumerated in Table No. 1. The whole of 



