GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA. 279 



of iron ore in the Dharwars. During the construction of the 

 Bengal-Nagpur Railway, a seam of coal was struck in the founda- 

 tion of a bridge on the lb river, in the Central Provinces ; but the 

 coal proved to be not of much better quality than that already 

 known in the field, though its uniformity and thickness were all 

 in its favour. In the Bengal Presidency the Daltonganj coal field 

 became the scene of fresh boring operations, while Mr. Bose 

 explored the coal area south of Kalimpong, in the Darjeeling district. 

 As a rule, the coal is yery high dipping and much crushed, while 

 faults are numerous ; thus the working of it will be very difficult 

 and precarious. The quality of the coal is, however, good, and a 

 great part of it can be coked. In Baluchistan, Mr. Oldham added 

 very considerably to our knowledge of the coal, oil, and water 

 resources in British Baluchistan, and a special report on the more 

 favourable sites for petroleum explorations in the Harnai district 

 was published in the May number of the Records. A hopeful, 

 specimen of mineral oil was obtained from the Sherani country, and 

 Mr. Oldham was enabled to visit the spot during the late Zhob 

 Valley expedition in November last. The oil is clear, limpid, of a 

 pale yellow colour, and issues from a band of hard unfossiliferous 

 sandstone, near Mogulkot, perfectly free from water. Mr. Oldham's 

 general conclusions are that there can be no doubt of the existence 

 of oil of excellent quality and great value in the district, but that it 

 would be premature to undertake any expensive operations at 

 present. Exploration for coal in the Baluchistan region has been 

 prosecuted in the Bolan valley and in the hills east and south-east 

 of Quetta. The best coal, as regards both quantity and quality, is 

 found in the Zarakhu valley. 



The elucidation of certain obscure points in the geological history 

 and structure of the Salt range was left to Mr. Middlemiss, who was 

 seconded by Mr. Datta ; the former also examined the coal tract in 

 the Hazara country. Tin exploitation is still being carried on in 

 Tenasserim under Mr. Hughes, but under considerable disadvantages 

 in the way of climate and insufficient means of communication. 

 Dr. Noetling has been engaged in directing the demarcation of the 

 oil-bearing tracts in the Magive, Mingyan, and Pakoku districts, 

 and in surveying the coal fields, ruby, and tourmaline mines in the 

 Shan States. 



As may be inferred from the foregoing, the larger and more 

 important results in 1890 were in economic research. Still geological 



