262 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA. 



generally the product of decomposition in situ of underlying 

 ferruginous rocks. A very curious feature connected with this red 

 loamy soil is the enormous number of "white-ants' nests, which are 

 of a bright red colour, attain a height of five to eight feet, and are 

 often so numerous as to affect very strikingly the character of the 

 foreground. There is no part of the south of India in which blown 

 sands play so large and important a part as in the Tinnevelly 

 district and along the south coast of Madura. They are of two 

 kinds — the red sand or teris and the white, which are ordinary sand 

 dunes. The former are attributed by Mr. Foote to the action of 

 the heavy and continuous gales prevalent (sometimes for four 

 months) during the S.W. monsoon on the broad belt of deep red 

 loam which skirts the eastern base of the Ghats. It is evident that 

 these sands bear a great resemblance, though on a smaller scale, to 

 the red sands of the Nefud or great desert of Central Arabia 

 described by Mr. Palgrave, Lady Anne Blunt, M. Huber, and other 

 Arabian travellers. But the origin of the red sands of the Nefud is 

 still involved in uncertainty. 



Mr. Mallet's investigation of the iron ores in the Katni district, 

 in north Jabalpur,* shewed that all the other conditions for extensive 

 iron manufacture were favourable if suitable coal could be found. 

 Mr. Fedden, by prolonging the season's work well into the hot 

 weather, was enabled to complete his survey of Kathiawar. 

 The area is principally occupied by Deccan trap, of which it was 

 not desirable to attempt a detailed survey throughout, so the work 

 lay principally in tertiary or post-tertiary deposits of the coastal 

 region, with some secondary rocks on the north-east margin. 



Five parts of the " Memoirs " were published during the year. 

 Part 3 of Volume XIX. contained the catalogue of Indian earthquakes 

 mentioned above ( page 258, note), and Part 4 Mr. Oldham's account 

 of his examination of an area of about 1,800 square miles to the east 

 and in the north of the valley of Manipur, with the neighbouring Naga 

 hills. This country is densely covered with vegetation, and for whole 

 days one may march without seeing a single rock, while the want 

 of population or else savages of doubtful temperament offered great 

 impediments to Mr. Oldham's researches. Geologically, the region 

 has no great feature of interest, and the economic minerals are 

 poor. 



• " Records," Vol. XV., Part 2. 



