PREVIOUS OBSERVERS AND HISTORY OF THE FIELD. 7 



In 1854 1 a ^ so R ev - S. Hislop's paper on the Age of the coal 



strata in Western Bengal and Central India was 

 Rev. S. Hislop. 



published. 



In 1885 Mr. J. G. Medlicott 2 wrote a brief report on the results 



of his examination of the Narbada valley with 

 1855. . J 



Mr.J.G. Medlicott's regard to the commercial value of the coal and 



iron deposits then known to exist in that dis- 

 trict. He visited the seam at the junction of the Hard and Sakar 

 rivers, and after a careful examination came to the conclusion that 

 "the coal was commercially worthless and offered no reasonable 

 prospect whatever of repaying the labour of digging down on the 

 chance of improvement." Of the coal at Mohpani he seems to have 

 formed a favourable opinion. He also visited the Shahpur outcrops, 

 from which Mr. Johnstone extracted the coal which was sent to Bombay 

 for trial. He considered that the hope of finding any beds of good 

 coal in that part of the district was slight, and that the country to 

 the east was more likely to reward future examination. 



In 1 855 a paper 3 by Rev. S. Hislop was published, on the connection of 



g the Umreth coal-beds with the plant beds of Nag- 



Rev. S. Hislop. p ur ^ & c ^ \ n which he refers to the coal at Barkoi. 



ig 6 In 1856 Dr. T. Oldham 4 read a paper before 



Dr. Oldham. t j le Asiatic Society of Bengal on the Geology 



of Central India. 



In 1857 5 Mr. J. H. Blackwell, Mineral Viewer for Bombay, report- 



ig ed on the mineral districts of the Nerbudda 



Mr. Blackwell. valley. He seems to have visited only the 



Mohpani outcrop, of which he formed a good opinion both as regards 



position and the quality of the coal, and the outcrop in the Sher 



river of Jabalpur age. 



1 Q. J. Geol. Soc, London, XI, 1,555. 

 3 Sel. Rec. Govt. India, X, 12. 



3 Q. J. Geol Soc, London, V, 179. 



4 four. As. Soc. Bengal, XXV, 249 



5 Sel. Rec. Bomb. Govt., XLIV. 



( 7 ) 



