Ill A new system of supphjing tanks with water. [January 



was a trap vein which had the appearance of havins^ been ejected 

 from below iti a fluid state. The elevated table land of Beder con- 

 sisting' of iron clay rests on a substratum of basaltic trap. In the 

 bed of the Godavery there are two hot springs, rising up through 

 beds of trap, one of which is surrounded with blocks of porous, 

 black Limestone — now as to the origin of trap formationSj Maccul- 

 lock states their mineral composition in all fundamental points re- 

 sembles that of trap formations ; during the period however in which 

 he wrote, the dispute regarding the aqueous and volcanic origin of 

 trap was carried on with great acrimony ; on consulting therefore 

 later authorities, it is said, that trap formations, like common vol- 

 canic products have a tendency to recur in the same spot, also that 

 tlie/ contain cavities exactly similar to those observed in t^he 

 scuriacr of volcanoes. The identity of the chemical composition of 

 Basalt and Lava is mentioned, the constant occurrence of trap 

 rocks in volcanic districts ; that chalk under a bed of trap has 

 been found converted into granular marble, there are other eviden- 

 cies, but the above are sufficient to prove the intimate relation be- 

 tween trap forma,tions and visible volcanic products. 



V. — Hints for establishin*; a new system of supplying tanks with wa- 

 ter, adapted particularly for the Carnatic, to enable the cultivation 

 of rice and agriculture in general, to be carried to an indefinite ex- 

 tent without being dependent on the fall of rain in any particular 

 district for a supply of water. 



By Lieutenant H. Harriott, 36th Regt. M. N. /. 



The subject of the following paper is one well calculated to excite 

 a detiree of interest in the public mind at any time, but is more 

 particularly deserving of attention at the present period at the close 

 of a season of almost unexampled scarcity and distress occasioned 

 by the failure of the periodical rains. 



Throughout the Carnatic there are large and rapid rivers which 

 during some period of the year are filled from bank to bank, and 

 during the remainder are mere beds of sand. 



Hitherto the useless waters have pursued their rapid course to the 

 ocean without benefiting the country through which they pass, ex- 

 cept in some cases, where the even surface of the plain has been 

 favourable to directing the stream into artificial channels and by 

 that means irrigating a considerable portion of land, but this plan is 



