1840.] 



On the Sevdiik Hills, 



295 



sections ; the first consisting of the tract between the Jumna and 

 Ganges ; the second, that westward of the Jumna. To commence, there- 

 fore, with the range between the two rivers. 



Hills between the Jumna and Ganges. 

 Shingle and Sandstone, — The beds of shingle are of enormous thick- 

 ness, and alternate with the sandstone. The former precisely resemble 

 the shingle in the beds of the existing great rivers of the country', and 

 consist of boulders of granite, gneiss, mica slate, quartz, hornblende 

 schist, and traps ; and every other rock, through which these rivers hold 

 their course. If the beds of the Jumna and Gangf^s were to be upheav- 

 ed, in the same way as those of former rivers, the appearance of the 

 strata would be exactly similar. The sandstone consists either of grains 

 of pure quartz, with different proportions of mica, or of an admixture of 

 the other ingredients so common in all river sands. The presence of 

 oxyd of iron causes a great variety in colour, from red to gray, whilst 

 the induration of the rock appears to depend on the proportion of car- 

 bonate of lime. In the more easterly lim.it opposite lJurdwar, as well as 

 other places, the stone is quarried for building; and in many localities 

 where it is crystalline, it is highly valuable in architecture. On the 

 Jumna are the remains of an ancient hunting palace, built by the em- 

 peror Shah Juhan at the end of the I7th century ; and although now in 

 utter ruin, amongst its fragments are capitals of columns, and scolloped 

 arch work, &c. cut in this sandstone, which prove it to be well adapted 

 for architectural purposes. It is easily worked, and the mixture of mica 

 gives two splitting surfaces. On exposure to weather, however, it exfo- 

 liates and crumbles, as is conspicuously shown in some lintels, still in 

 position at Bsdshahmuhul. The colours of the clays are endless ; and 

 a light blue variety, v\hich is found under the marl, as well as higher up 

 in the series, where it contains fresh water shel's, is exceedingly pure. 

 The strata of this blue clay are thin, but those of the other varieties are 

 of all dimensions. 



Carbonaceous matter occurs throughout the sandstones, either 

 in detached fragments exhibiting vegetable origin, or in strata or s^^ams 

 composed of sandstone and lignite in equal proportions. Lignite is also 

 found in the marl, but generally in the form of black dust ; leaving, on 

 its removal, an indistinct, vegetable impression. In one instance, I also 

 met with it in the shingle strata. It has never been found in sufficient 

 abundance to excite an inquiry as to its adaptation for oeconomical pur- 

 poses ; though it is common to the whole of this tract of mountains. 



