26$ Scientific Intelligence, [no. 2 9 new series, 



ficulty in giving to steel at an up-country station the requisite 

 hardness and temper it was feared by Captain FitzGerald, the Offi- 

 cer in charge of the Ordnance Department, that much obstruction 

 to the work would be experienced in boring through the harder 

 strata; that these apprehensions were well grounded, the result 

 showed. 



The boring machine reached its destination towards the end of 

 March, but owing to the heavy rods, one and a half inch square, 

 not arriving till the 4th of April the work was not begun in earn- 

 est till then, as the lighter rods of an inch square were found to 

 be nearly useless and it was only by affixing heavy weights to the 

 stronger rods that any progress was made. No difficulty was ex- 

 perienced in procuring coolies to work the machine for the mo- 

 derate hire of a seer of rice and three small pice a day, they were 

 divided into two working parties of eight or nine men each. 



At Kotah, the river is about half a mile in breadth from bank to 

 bank, and during the hot weather it is a large stream containing at 

 least double the quantity of water of the Godavery and by a rough 

 estimate is a couple of hundred yards in width. The alluvion on 

 its left bank is of various depth, from 60 to 100 feet, and is com- 

 posed of tough cotton soil with Chalcedony Jasper and other 

 quartzose pebbles; towards the margin of the river the alluvion 

 is much thinner. 



In consequence of the tendency of this soil to fall in and by 

 clogging the machine and filling up the bore seriously to impede 

 the work, it was resolved to bore where it was as shallow as could be 

 found, and this occurred in the immediate vicinity of the river ten 

 yards from its blink. 



The alluvion of 20 feet was pierced on the first day but so hard 

 was the subjacent rock, composed of argillaceous limestone, and so 

 frequently did the drill require repairs that it took nine days to get 

 through a foot, from the 5th to the 12th of April ; a specimen of 

 what was taken up during that time accompanies this report and 

 is marked No. I. On the 13th the rock became softer, and of a 

 yellowish color and a foot and a half were pierced in three days, then 

 followed a foot of blue clay when again the hard rock intervened, 



