1837.] 



through the Northern Circars. 



53 



That jasper must have had its origin in sandstone, acted on by the 

 igneous rock, which, bursting through both the sandstone and the lime- 

 stone, altered their nature. 



Colonel Cullen informed me that, in the hills further east, the beds 

 of shell limestone are seen alternating with the corresponding beds of 

 trap, in more than one locality, and that tufaceous limestone contains 

 the shells of large ampullaria, living now in many of the tanks in India^ 



Rajahmundry, Jan. 31. — During the freshes, the Godavery must 

 carry an immense volume of water, judging by the breadth of the whole 

 bed, which cannot be less than three miles. Puddapangallee, being ten 

 miles from Rajahmundry, when we entered the dry bed of the river we 

 had gone only seven miles; therefore we had yet to go three miles to 

 the latter place, which space is all occupied by the water of the river 

 during the rains. At this time of the year the stream is hardly half a 

 mile broad ; of the remaining breadth, there are two miles of very fine 

 and deep sand, from the right bank to the margin of the present stream, 

 and half a mile of the same sand on the left bank. The tide does not 

 reach Rajahmundry, which is about 30 miles from the sea. 



The sand carried down by the Godavery, is the detritus, resulting 

 from the disintegration of the granitic rocks of the hills about twenty 

 miles north. Were we to judge by the alluvium, daily deposited on the 

 banks, and by the more ancient one some miles inland, the water, dur- 

 ing the freshes, must flow with extreme velocity, after having run 

 along a level, ground, to be able to propel large rounded pieces of rocks, 

 many the size of an orange, while the ordinary impetus of the stream 

 carries along only coarse sand. This difference in size of the trans- 

 ported pebbles, according to the velocity and the volume of the water, 

 produces in the silt deposited, and still depositing, strata of various 

 composition. We see, therefore, both in the ancient alluvium in the 

 plain round Rajahmundry, and in that close to the banks of the river, 

 strata of large rounded stones alternating conformably with those com- 

 posed of very fine materials (No. 28). This indurated silt is seen 

 clearly in the left bank of the river, and better still on the sides of the 

 Fort ditch. This conglomerate decomposes easily, however, covering 

 the soil about Rajahmundry with pebbly shingle. Mount Delight 

 (hardly ten fee^ above the plain !) is the only elevation about Rajah- 

 mundry, and is formed of this indurated, easily disintegrated, silt. 



In the sandy bed of the Godavery, are found the beautiful pietre- 

 dure, so much esteemed ; such as jaspers, agates, sardonyx, onyx, 

 cachalong, cornelians, &c. (No. 29), mixed with black, scabrous pieces 

 Of kankar (No. 30). These stones, collected so low down the river, 

 are not large ; but, I am told that, about twenty-five miles above this 

 place, they are commonly found of great size. They are undoubtedly 



