] 30 Mr. Verchere on the Geology of Kashmir, [No. 2, 



15. Dark brown calcareo-ferruginous shales, exfoliating in thin plates and 

 undergoing quick decay. It weathers nearly black. Extremely rich in 

 fossils 10 ft. 



16. Limestone , 10 ft. 



1 7. Dark brown calcareo-ferruginous shale 15 ft. 



18. Limestone 10 ft. 



19. Sandy shales, very dark nearly black ; do not effervesce with acids j 

 very rich in fossils 10 ft. 



20. Limestone ; less coarse than preceding ; very fossiliferous. . 15 ft. 



21. Limestone ; hard and arenaceous ; separated by thin layers of shale 

 which weather dark brown and appear in relief on the section of the 

 bed 5 ft. 



Any further bed which may exist is concealed under Eboulis. 



22. When I first met with this bed of limestone, I was particularly 

 delighted, as I had seen no limestone in Kashmir, except the huge 

 carved blocks of the Buddhist ruins near Srinagar and at Pandrettan. 

 I was told that the fine bluish-grey limestone of these ruins 

 was no longer to be found in the country, and that nobody could 

 guess whence the stone had been obtained. Even some of the Sur- 

 veyors of the Kashmir Series, Gr. T. S. corroborated this opinion, 

 which appears to be the received one amongst the natives. I could 

 see at a glance that here I had the very stone, and in examining the 

 bed I came across the remains of an old quarry. I subsequently found 

 some much larger Buddhist quarries of limestone, as we shall see by 

 and bye. 



Misled by Mr. Vigne and Dr. A. Fleming, who, as I have said, 

 stated that they obtained nummulites from the Kashmir valley, I 

 began to look diligently for these foraminifers. I found indeed a few 

 rounded bodies which might be taken either for nummulites or 

 rings of crinoid stems. I did not at first hit on a very good 

 portion of the bed for fossils ; those I found were extremely weather- 

 ed, and I could only pay flying visits to Zeeawan. But I tried once 

 more to discover nummulites, when lo ! I came across a Productus ! 

 The following genera were found to be abundant : Productus, 

 Athyris, Orthis, Strophomena or Leptsena, and Spirifers amongst 

 the Brachiopods. Very few lamellibranchiates and gasteropods 

 were seen, but an immense number of Bryozoa, especially two or 

 three genera of Fencstellides — viz, Acanthocladia and Fenestella and 



