264 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA. 



depth of 16 feet, but nothing to show that the caves had ever been 

 used as dwellings or as a place of sepulture. Mr. Foote was also 

 called upon to explore for coal along au intended line of railway 

 between Haidarabad and the Kistna. Between Bezvada and the 

 Singareni coal field, and from the latter to Haidarabad, the country 

 proved to be all of gneissic rocks, but Mr. Foote's labours were 

 rewarded by the discovery of a strong lode of rich iron close to the 

 Singareni coal field. 



Dr. King's survey of the coal fields on the north-east confines of 

 Chattisgarh was described in the " Records " (Yol. XYIL, Part 3). 

 In South Rewa regular mining explorations of the Umaria coal 

 field had been commenced under Mr. Hughes's direction in 1883, 

 and the shafts proved so satisfactory that steps were taken to 

 establish a colliery there with a branch railway from Katni to 

 Jabalpur. Mr. Hughes also managed to complete the examination 

 of the southern coal fields of the Rewa Grondwana basin, the total 

 area of exposed measures proved to be no less than 1,800 square 

 miles. 



Mr. Bose took up new ground in the basin of the upper 

 Mahanadi, but the results were not deemed satisfactory by Mr. 

 Medlicott, who indeed referred prominently to this as an additional 

 proof of the unsuitableness of natives of India for the faculty of 

 independent research and critical observation required to make a 

 good geologist. Mr. Medlicott adds that the Geological Survey is 

 about the only branch of the public service in which natives could 

 not as yet reasonably find employment. 



Mr. Oldham submitted full progress reports of his work in the 

 Himalayan region, embracing a section from the plains to the base 

 of the main range ; his detailed conclusions are summarised under 

 nine different heads in Mr. Medlicott's report. Mr. Griesbach was, 

 unfortunately, taken seriously ill at Kohat, after the expedition to 

 Takht-i-Suliman, but after recovering his strength, at Simla he 

 was appointed to accompany the Afghan Boundary Commission in 

 the capacity of geologist. The results of the Takht-i-Suliman 

 observations were published in the " Records" (Vol. XVIL, Part 4), 

 and the same volume contains Mr. Mallet's examination of ores 

 from the Andaman islands. 



Early in the season Mr. La Touche accompanied the expedition 

 into the Aka hills, north of Tezpur, in Assam. The dense vegeta- 

 tion prevented any observation of the rocks except in the stream 



