404^ OCCURRENCE OF COAL, 



The localities of the mountain Coal yet discovered, are; 1. That men- 

 tioned in Lieutenant Cautley's communication, which has been already 

 submitted to the Society. This vein or seam, I am told by Dr. Govan, w^as 

 oi iginally discovered, when the British army were encamped under N^han, 

 at the opening of the Gorkha war. 2. In the Timli Pass, leading into the 

 Dehra Duti, in a stratum of conglomerate. This Coal has the ligneous struc- 

 ture almost perfect, and differs but little in appearance from common Char- 

 coal. The site is rendered remarkable by the saline efflorescence, and sul- 

 phurous incrustations which accompany it. Who was the first to observe this 

 Coal, I cannot say ; but in 1817, I made notes of its occurrence, and in that 

 year or the following, I sent specimens of it, by desire of a friend, to Mr. 

 Ricketts, which the late Dr. Voysey pronounced to be the brown Coal 

 of Werner. 3. In the Kheri Pass, where it occurs in sand-stone, both 

 in the form of an imbedded tree or log, with the ligneous structure al- 

 most perfect, and in numerous thin seams, having a strong resemblance 

 in lustre and compactness to jet. This locality I discovered in April last : it 

 is much more productive than either of the others : the principal vein, which I 

 have compared to an imbedded tree, may be about twelve inches square. 

 The product of this seam has a specific gravity of 1,4984. It is inflammable, 

 but not without a high heat. It is most remarkable for its want of lustre till 

 reduced to fragments, in which state it is not distinguishable from the jet-like 

 variety : another curious peculiarity is the ease with which it is reducible into 

 fragments of a certain size, and the resistance it opposes to any further com- 

 minution. In this property, its lustre in fragments, and its high specific gra- 

 vity, it is easily distinguished from Charcoal, which it, in other respects, so 

 closely resembles, as to be liable to be mistaken for it. It contains about 

 fifty-four per cent, volatile matter, which being driven off, leaves a brilliant 

 looking Coke, part of which was found to have a specific gravity exceeding 

 that of water, part, less; this induces the supposition, that the proportion of 

 volatile ingredients is underrated, although it was found that, in the last hour 



