74 THE TRAP FORMATION OF 



the verge of the summit of the last hill, which summit is more than a 

 mile in breadth, you look down, over an intervening conglomerate range, 

 into the valley of Hirapur ; — and on descending from the summit, within 

 one hundred yards from the base, speaking as to the line of road or slope, 

 not to the vertical height, you see the new red sand-stone reposing, in a 

 horizontal position, on a stratum of brownish black ferruginous clay, and 

 earthy iron ore of the same colour. — Was not the sand-stone to be seen 

 actually reposing on the stratum just mentioned, still that a change had 

 taken place no one could fail to observe ; for the ground, from being 

 bright brick red, suddenly changes to a brownish black, with a harsh 

 gritty gravelly tread, as if you were in the neighbourhood of some great 

 foundery; and so it continues to the base of the hill, and onwards along 

 the low ground as far as the conglomerate hills. These conglomerate hills 

 surround the whole valley of Hirapur, and are heaped up immediately 

 on the granite from whence they are derived, or else they rest on horn- 

 stone petrosilex. The individual hill at the south-vyest point, or the 

 point at which the road enters the valley, is not more than two hundred 

 yards removed from the base of the sand-stone hill, — only separated by 

 a small hollow or curviture, strewed over with lumps of iron ore and pieces 

 of quartz and felspar, &c., but not a fragment of the new red. The com- 

 ponent matter of this conglomerate hill, as well as all the rest around the 

 valley, is a sombre, dark red coloured clay, enveloping variously formed 

 large masses, the conglomerate, or Breccia proper, made up of angular 

 pieces of white felspar, and occasionally grey pseudo limpid quartz, sel- 

 dom less than an inch in size, agglutinated by a highly indurated cement 

 of the same sombre ferruginous clay just noticed; or the paste is still hard- 

 er, common quartz discoloured by theoxide of iron. From the conglomerate 

 boundaries to the centre of the valley, the granite every where is open to- 

 day and laid bare ; it rises also in the centre, sinking towards the bound- 

 ing hills, and iron ore is strewed about alj over those hills, and at their 



feet. 



