38 Ohservatiijns on the. Fosdlifcrous beds near Poiidiclierry, [July 



and it might cert.dnly have been committed to more scientific and ex- 

 perienced hands. I trust, however, that the facts which we were fortu- 

 nate enough to collect were not altogether unirap irtant, and that, im» 

 perfect as our researches must necessarily have been, thay may pave the 

 way to more interesting discoveries. 



Before proceeding further, I may as well mention, that, although the 

 geology of India has generally been considered uninteresting on account 

 of the absence of fossiliferous strata, Pondicherry is not the only locality 

 in the south of the peninsula, where fossils are to be met with in abund- 

 ance. In the inland district of Tricliinopoly marine shells are also 

 found imbedded in limestone, and the kindness of Mr. Onslow has put 

 me in possession of several interesting specimens, of which notice will be 

 taken hereafter. 



The village of Seedrapett, the site of the shell limestone which is the 

 subject of the present notice, is seven miles west of Pondicherry, and 

 Trivacary is about eight miles to the west of Seedrapett. The form of 

 the country may be characterized as an undulating plain : ^'the limestone 

 formation is flanked both on the east and west by one of the red sandy 

 soil, which on the one side forms ihe low mounds of Trivacary, and on the 

 other the " Red Hills"' of Pondicherry, the latter being perhaps a con- 

 tinuation of the same formation which contains the silicified wood. If 

 this be the case, it is evident that the limestone rests upon a basin or 

 depression of the red sand, but owing to the absence of sections, and 

 the imperfect means we had of ascertaining the position of the strata, 

 this fact is by no means laid down as established, but is merely suggest- 

 ed as a point for future investigation. 



The petrifactions of Trivacary have been often described, especially of 

 late, it is only necessary therefore to state that they consist of numer- 

 ous silicified trees, some of them of vast dimensions, resting more or less 

 buried on low bare hills of a friable red sandstone. The hills are 

 grouped in a circular form, and the petrifactions in many instances re- 

 tain a perfect resemblance to the trunks of fallen trees. The red hills 

 are bounded by others of a dark granite : the line of demarcation being 

 very distinct. The trees, however, are not found reposing on the hillocks 

 at Trivacary alone, but we observed them at a distance of at least throe 

 miles from that place, imbedded in the red sand, on the road to Seedra- 

 pett. We were totally unable to discover any other fossil, or any 

 indication of such a thing, in the red soil which so abounds with the 

 silicified wood. 



There is a gradual descent from Trivacary towards Seedrapett, and the 

 limestone commences immediately ou the boundaries of the red soil ; 



