146 
sketch of the Geology 
£Mat 
The soil through which the wells are sunk is clayey, mixed with scales of mica 
and fine sand; and beds of sand, exhibiting something of a stratiform appearance, 
occur at various depths below the surface 1 . The principal salt manufactories are 
at Bliartpfir, Dig, and Ktimber. 
From sources similar to the above, I believe, that salt is manufactured in various 
other districts in India; and an inquiry into the phenomena attending its occur- 
rence would be extremely interesting. 
Are such saline soils found only in connexion with rocks of the new red sand- 
stone formation ? Or, in other words, when sea salt is found intermixed with the 
soils, &c, of the Gangetic Provinces, is there any reason to believe that this circum- 
stance has any connexion with the occurrence of rocks of the above formation be- 
neath such soils, &c. ? Or, on the other hand, have these saline particles been trans- 
ported from a distance, in mixture with the other ingredients of the soils, and by 
the same causes which operated in forming the alluvial and diluvial deposits ? Or 
are they the produce of some chemical decomposition, which is still going forward 
in the great laboratory of nature ? 
The experiments of Sir J. Hall have rendered this a most interesting subject of 
inquiry ; and supposing, for a moment, that bis theory, relative to the influence of 
sea salt, as a consolidating agent, is correct, might we not, also, suppose that the 
salts, now found intermixed with our soils, had been originally employed in conso- 
lidating the strata below? and that, having passed through these strata in a state 
of vapour, the superjacent soils were thus impregnated with saline matters without 
being themselves consolidated ? 
Since the formation of the new red sandstones the strata have not been subject- 
ed to the influence of those violent causes which are supposed to have modified the 
position, &c. of the older rocks ; and it is not impossible, nay, not very improba- 
ble, but that future observations may discover that the deposition of some of our 
Indian diluvial beds was either synchronous with, or anterior to the consolidation 
of the sandstone strata. There is nothing in the phenomena of sublimation to mi- 
litate against such a conjecture ; and might not the identical agent, (supposing it 
to have been a body of water,) which was concerned in the deposition of the dilu- 
vium, have supplied the requisite pressure, See. necessary for the conditions of Sir 
J. Hall’s hypothesis? But enough of theory; I have already extended this communi- 
cation to an undue length, and I shall now conclude with a very short notice of the 
other rock formations of this district. I have already observed that sandstones, 
probably of an anterior date to those which have just come under our considera- 
tion, basset out in the northern portion of this district. These rise into low hills, 
and hill ranges,^ many of which present an abrupt escarpment to the west. The 
liil! of Fattehpfir Sicri, though, strictly speaking, in the modern district of 
Agra, may be quoted as an example of this formation ; and numerous other de- 
tached hills of a similar nature may be seen in this portion of the country. These 
rise abruptly from the alluvial platform, like islands from the bosom of an ocean. 
The sandstones ol these hills are quartzose and gritty: — they occasionally incline 
to coarse granular, and are very generally ferruginous. They are much 
fissured and broken, and are, in consequence, not well adapted for building. They 
me used, however, in the fabrication ot native mill stones, and seem well adapted 
for this purpose. They vary in color, from reddish to grayish white, and are ar- 
ranged in stiata, which are considerably inclined in an easterly direction. I have 
iru t v ith no organic remains from this formation, but specimens have been shown 
to me as such, which were instances of those beautiful dentritical appearances of 
metallic origin, which have so often deceived those who are unacquainted with 
geology. Such appearances are very often met with in these sandstones. With 
regard to the precise age of this formation, I have not sufficient data to enable 
me to speak decidedly on the subject : the strata, however, appear to dip under the 
newer rocks, and they may perhaps be identified with the old red sandstone 
strata of England. 
I have but little to say regarding the belt of rocks which I have mentioned as 
flanking the Bhartpur district to the west. About three miles W. S. W. from 
the city of Bliartpfir we meet with a low hill range, which, as before remarked, 
forms a portion ot the eastern limit of this belt. This range runs in a direction 
i d V ' ; • 16 V lls are veiy lovv > ( about 150 or 200 feet in height,) and 
Pbiir° C S i :om P osln ^ f bem belong to the submedial order of Conybeare and 
fillips. On approaching the range from the eastern side, the first rock met with 
The soil of the Bhartpur district is also very generally calcareous. 
