1848.] and on its Coal and other Minerals. 501 



of the lateness of the season, the extreme heat of the weather and the 

 shortness of the time allotted for our researches, we were unable to 

 examine in detail the whole extent of the hills, yet from the uniformity 

 of character which, with one or two exceptions, these present at the 

 different points visited, we feel assured that little of practical importance 

 has been overlooked, and that the conclusions we have arrived at will 

 generally be found correct.* 



Foot of salt range. — Intervening between the Jhelum and the accli- 

 vity of the salt range in its eastern part, there exists a level plain which 

 extends west towards the Indus and stretches down between the two 

 rivers. In their immediate neighbourhood cultivation is pretty exten- 

 sive, but towards the foot of the hills, the soil becomes extremely barren 

 and is covered with a thick saline incrustation of sulphate and muriate 

 of soda, which to most plants appears to be highly injurious. 



Water. — The water in this plain becomes more and more brackish 

 as one approaches the hills, that which issues from their base being 

 a perfect brine and quite unfit for culinary purposes, the inhabitants 

 being entirely dependent for the supply of this necessary, on rain water, 

 or water brought from the Jhelum or upper point of the range, and 

 which is collected in tanks. These are generally kutcha except in. the 

 neighbourhood of Pind Dadud Khan, where through the exertions of 

 Misser RullaRam, the intelligent Superintendent of the salt mines, good 

 sized pucka tanks have been constructed and yield an abundant supply 

 of sweet water to the miners and natives around. 



Rolled Boulders. — The commencement of the acclivity of the range 

 is marked by a succession of small hills of a reddish sand, in which rol- 

 led boulders of rock become more and more numerous as one ascends, 

 and at last cover the base of the hills. These are of all sizes, from a 

 filbert up to a ton in weight, and consist of granite, gneiss, mica slate, 

 porphyry quartz, limestone and red sienite closely resembling what is 

 known in Scotland under the name of Peterhead granite. 



* Since writing the present report we have had the pleasure of perusing a paper 

 by Dr. Jameson of Saharunpore, which was reprinted from the Asiatic Society's 

 Journal for 1843, in a late number of the ' Bombay Times/ and contains an account 

 of his observations made during a trip to the salt range, which generally coincide 

 with our own, although in some of the details we will be found to differ. We re- 

 gret extremely not having been aware of the existence of this interesting article, 

 until we found it in the pages of the Bombay paper. 



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