2G0 Proceedings of Societies : [Jan. 



contains, in various localities, thin beds of coal, sometimes very im- 

 pure, but at others tolerably good; also layers of iron ore; and in 

 the shale as well as in the sandstone, casts of reeds and impressions 

 of ferns are stated to occur. With respect to the relative age of these 

 two formations, Capt. Grant was unable to procure any decisive infor- 

 mation ; but he thinks that the sandstone and shale system passes 

 beneath that of laminated clay and limestone. 



The iron ore is smelted by the natives to some extent, particularly 

 near the town of Doodye. The variety generally selected, on account 

 of the imperfect apparatus employed, has a spongiform texture, small 

 specific gravity, and is easily frangible. The ore is broken into small 

 pieces and disposed in layers, alternately with others of charcoal, in a 

 rude open furnace, acted upon by two small bellows made of sheep 

 skin. The metal on being fused, falls into a small hole at the bottom 

 of the furnace, whence it is removed into an inclosed furnace, and 

 subjected to the same blasts until it acquires a white heat, when it is 

 taken out and beaten into a bar. A considerable quantity of iron was 

 formerly made from another variety of ore, found in the superficial 

 soil at the north-western extremity of Cutch. 



In one part of the province, the author noticed a deposit of variegat- 

 ed sandstone and marl, but was unable to determine its position with 

 respect to the other formations. It is covered, in part, by an aluminous 

 earth, on which rests a bed of red clay. The former, when visited by 

 Capt. Grant, had been burning spontaneously for a long time, sending 

 forth a suffocating sulphureous smoke. Considerable quantities of 

 alum are made from the earth and exported to Bombay. 



Another formation, described by the author, occurs south of Luck- 

 put, near the eastern branch of the Indus. It consists of soft and 

 hard, whitish limestone, containing innumerable Nummulites and 

 Fasciolites, also Echini, Spatangi, Ostrea and Corals. 



The tertiary deposit consists of a hard, argillaceous grit covered by 

 a conglomerate. The organic remains, which are very numerous, are 

 often disposed in beds confined to one species ; the prevailing genera 

 being Area, Pecten, Ostrea, Cardium, Conus, Cypreea, Ovula, Fusus, 

 Trochus, Solarium, Strombus, and Cassis. Patches of Corals, two or 

 three acres in extent, sometimes also occur. 



Under the head of alluvial tracts, Capt. Grant gave an account 

 of changes, produced along the southern coast by the deposition of 

 sediment. At Mandavee is a ruin, at a spot called the old Bunder 

 or quay, now about three miles inland ; and in the centre of the 

 town is a small temple, built upon a rocky foundation, but said to 

 have stood in the sea when the old Bunder was the landing place. 



