jan.— —mar. 1857.] Dr. Walker's Beporton Coal at Kotah 263 



and but four inches were got through in three days. From this date 

 (the 20th) to the 29th the average boring was about 8 inches a day, the 

 rock being softer although composed of much the same matter as 

 the harder rock, clayey limestone or shale. On the 30th at 29 feet 

 4 inches from the surface, and 9 feet 4 inches from the overlying 

 rock a bed of shale and slate coal of the thickness of 2 \ feet was 

 reached, a specimen of this as taken up by the auger of the machine 

 is marked No. II. Hard rock again occurred and a fortnight was 

 exhausted in penetrating a foot and a half deeper, when another 

 bed of coal and shale like the last but of nine inches only in thick- 

 ness was reached, earth too had fallen into the bore, and some 

 time was occupied in clearing it out. From this time until the 29th 

 of May when the rising of the river and the constant breaking of 

 the drill and auger warned us to stop the work, not more than half 

 a foot of hard rock which again occurred was bored through. 



Thus the whole depth of the bore only amounted to thirty-four 

 feet seven inches, an inconsiderable distance when compared to 

 the extent commonly gone through in search of coal in Europe. 

 Surface coal too is usually of an inferior quality, such as the 

 specimens now sent. But that a true coal field exists at Kotah 

 I think may be inferred from the following reasons. 



1st. The strata accompanying the slate coal are those which 

 are found along with deposits of this mineral in other parts 

 of the world, argillaceous limestone and shale, as the specimens 

 sent will abundantly show. 



2nd. The fossil plants, of which in the specimens sent the 

 scales of a lepidodendrous plant are most conspicuous, are identical 

 with the fossil plants of the true coal measure, this may be learnt 

 by inspecting them. 



Should coal be ever required in this part of India for the pur- 

 poses of steam, or for smelting the iron ore so profusely scattered 

 through the neighbouring sandstone, it would appear that suffi- 

 cient data have been now afforded to warrant the sinking of a 

 shaft at kotah whereby a more effectual search can be made than by 

 a boring machine. No difficulty would be met with in procuring 



