54 
GKANITE AND TEAP OF BAITOOL. 
are some cultivated grounds near that village; but with 
this exception, the whole road, for a distance of 50 miles, 
passes through one continued jungle, composed of a great 
variety of beautiful trees ; among which, the Cassia fistula 
(the Awmiltass of the natives) is very conspicuous ; and 
another tree, which yields vast quantities of the purest and 
most pellucid gum I have ever seen. At the time I passed 
through these hills, this last was destitute of leaves and 
quite bare, so that I could not determine its botanical cha- 
racters. It attains a middling height : the branches shoot 
from the main trunk, much like the common plane-tree, 
and the bark is of an unusually dark colour. Vast quanti- 
ties of gum, the produce of this tree, might be got in those 
hills, as it appears to be very abundant from the Baitool 
district as far west as Afsarghan. 
After passing the quartz formation in Baitool, we come 
to granite, which is seen in large ledges or masses, and is 
principally remarkable for the great size of the felspar con- 
cretions. The granite disappears under rocks of secondary 
greenstone, which form the hills adjoining to the village or 
town of Baitool, and these rocks continue to form the bed of 
the Baitool Nullah, or rivulet, to near the town of Teckaru, 
where the granite again appears. The greenstone is some- 
times amygdaloidalj and contains agates of various descrip- 
tions, and veins of calcareous spar and amygdaloidal green 
earth. 
The soil of the valley appears to be directly formed from 
decomposed secondary trap-rock, and, at a little distance, 
it is difficult to distinguish the solid mass from the fresh 
friable earth. This soil resembles in every respect that of 
the Nerbuddah Valley, having a great variety of pebbles 
of chalcedony and agate scattered over the surface; and, 
besides tliese, there are met with, at different parts, round- 
