﻿PRELIMINARY. 
  6 
  

  

  to 
  be 
  closely 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  Lameta 
  beds. 
  Mr. 
  Blanford 
  had 
  not 
  then 
  

   seen 
  either 
  of 
  these 
  groups 
  elsewhere, 
  and 
  he 
  naturally 
  suggested 
  their 
  

   correlation 
  with 
  the 
  limestone 
  and 
  sandstone 
  of 
  Bag. 
  Mr. 
  Medlicott 
  

   subsequently 
  showed 
  the 
  Mahadevas 
  to 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  Gondwana 
  system, 
  1 
  

   and 
  afterwards 
  identified 
  the 
  Barwai 
  sandstone 
  as 
  Mahadeva 
  on 
  the 
  

   grounds 
  of 
  similarity 
  and 
  the 
  unconformability 
  at 
  Ghatia. 
  2 
  With 
  regard 
  

   to 
  the 
  sandstones 
  in 
  the 
  Bag 
  and 
  Rajpur 
  — 
  Chota 
  Udepur 
  regions, 
  included 
  

   under 
  the 
  title 
  of 
  " 
  Nimar 
  sandstone," 
  the 
  lower 
  beds 
  bear 
  strong 
  resem- 
  

   blance 
  to 
  the 
  Barwai 
  Mahadevas 
  ; 
  but, 
  unlike 
  the 
  latter, 
  they 
  pass 
  above 
  

   quite 
  conformably 
  into 
  an 
  oyster-bearing 
  bed, 
  which, 
  on 
  strati 
  graphical 
  

   and 
  palseontological 
  grounds, 
  must 
  be 
  affiliated 
  with 
  the 
  cretaceous 
  system. 
  

   The 
  typical 
  area 
  of 
  this 
  sandstone, 
  lying 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  of 
  the 
  country 
  

   now 
  described, 
  has 
  not, 
  however, 
  yet 
  been 
  examined 
  in 
  detail, 
  pending 
  the 
  

   publication 
  of 
  the 
  new 
  survey 
  maps. 
  As 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  prospect 
  of 
  these 
  

   being 
  published 
  soon, 
  the 
  age 
  of 
  the 
  Nimar 
  sandstone 
  must 
  remain 
  an 
  open 
  

   question 
  for 
  some 
  time 
  yet. 
  If 
  that 
  age 
  prove 
  to 
  be 
  the 
  same 
  as 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  

   Mahadevas, 
  i. 
  e. 
  y 
  Upper 
  Gondwanas, 
  a 
  highly 
  important 
  economic 
  

   question 
  suggests 
  itself 
  ; 
  namely, 
  what 
  chance 
  there 
  is 
  of 
  the 
  occurrence 
  

   of 
  coal 
  ? 
  As 
  not 
  a 
  trace 
  of 
  the 
  coal-bearing 
  strata 
  (Lower 
  Gondwanas) 
  

   has 
  hitherto 
  been 
  found 
  in 
  the 
  Barwai 
  area, 
  where 
  there 
  can 
  be 
  no 
  doubt 
  

   about 
  the 
  existence 
  of 
  the 
  Upper 
  Gondwanas 
  ; 
  all 
  that 
  can 
  be 
  said 
  at 
  

   present 
  is 
  that 
  the 
  prospect 
  is 
  very 
  remote. 
  

  

  In 
  accordance 
  with 
  my 
  instructions, 
  the 
  fossiliferous 
  and 
  the 
  igneous 
  

   rocks, 
  the 
  former 
  specially, 
  have 
  been 
  studied 
  in 
  greater 
  detail 
  than 
  the 
  

   older 
  azoic 
  formations. 
  This 
  accounts 
  for 
  the 
  unequal 
  distribution 
  of 
  

   space 
  in 
  the 
  present 
  memoir. 
  

  

  I 
  have 
  to 
  express 
  my 
  obligations 
  to 
  Mr. 
  H. 
  B. 
  Medlicott 
  for 
  numerous 
  

   corrections 
  and 
  suggestions 
  ; 
  to 
  Mr. 
  F. 
  R. 
  Mallet 
  for 
  his 
  kind 
  help 
  in 
  

   determining 
  minerals 
  about 
  which 
  I 
  felt 
  doubtful; 
  and 
  to 
  Dr. 
  O. 
  

   Feistmantel, 
  who 
  guided 
  me 
  in 
  identifying 
  the 
  fossils 
  I 
  collected 
  from 
  the 
  

   cretaceous 
  beds. 
  

  

  1 
  Records, 
  Vol. 
  V, 
  p. 
  115 
  (1872) 
  ; 
  Memoirs, 
  Vol. 
  X, 
  p. 
  133 
  (1873). 
  

  

  2 
  Records, 
  Vol. 
  VIII, 
  p. 
  72 
  (L875). 
  

  

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