460 



Sketches of the Meteorology, $c. 



[Oct. 



.-ts natural colour. Some, on the other hand, are built of greenstone, 

 and are consequently black. 



The Hindoos polish all kinds of stones by means of powdered co- 

 rundum, mixed with melted lac. The mixture being allowed to cool, 

 is shaped into oblong pieces, of three or four inches in length. The 

 stone is polished by being sprinkled with water, and at the same 

 time rubbed with these oblong masses ; and the polish is increased by 

 masses being used successively with finer grains.* 



Transition Rocks. — These rocks occupy a very large part of the 

 Darwar and Canara districts, and of the territory of Goa. They ex- 

 tend from the eastern and southern parts of the Darwar district, where 

 they succeed the granite, to the western foot of the ghauts, being, in 

 a few spots only, interrupted by the granite, which protrudes from be- 

 neath them. On the coast, they are concealed by the ferruginous 

 claystone ; but, in a few places, are seen cropping out from beneath 

 it. In some parts of the ghauts they are covered by the same clay- 

 stone, and by trap rocks. In the northern parts of the Darwar dis- 

 trict, they are only seen in the bottom of the valleys, which intersect 

 the sandstone hills. In the central and southern parts of the district 

 they are only covered by the black soil, called Cotton Ground, which 

 there forms extensive plains, and will be afterwards described. To 

 the west of Darwar the transition rocks form parallel ranges of hills 9 

 having a general direction of south-east, which is the same as that of 

 the strata of which they are composed. 



The principal rocks of this series are clay-slate, chlorite-slate, talc- 

 slate, limestone, greywacke, gneiss, and quartz rock. The strata ap- 

 pear to have a general direction of north-west and south-east. They 

 are generally highly inclined, and, in many instances, quite vertical. 



Clay-Slate. — A great many varieties of this rock are met with in 

 these districts. Its principal colours are grey, blue, greenish, red and 

 white. The grey variety appears to be the most common. I have 



* There can be no doubt that Dr. Christie is right in his opinion, 

 and that trap and not granite, is the stone used in India for architec- 

 tural purposes, which, when polished, is of a beautiful black colour. 

 The Rosa, or mausoleum of Ibrahim Adil Sha, at Beejapore, is com- 

 posed of a stone of this kind, containing a large proportion of horn- 

 blende, and retains its original beautiful polish to this day. Also the 

 exquisite little mosque, within the citadel at the same place, called the 

 Mecca musjid, which has a glossy black polish, as if given only yester- 

 day. Beejapore is in the midst of the trap formation of the Deccan, 

 and no other stone is employed, or to be met with, there.— -EW/or 

 Madras J ournal. 



