2 
Records of the Geological Survey of India. 
[vol. IX. 
of sucli difficulty, danger and cost in this country, that it certainly would not pay for many 
years to come, if ever, while even on general considerations, some of which have been 
partially explained before now, and have been confirmed by everything since noticed, I 
am not at all sanguine that any favorable deposits of coal will ever be found in the area 
indicated. 
The geological facts noticed by Mr. Medlicott are of the highest interest as regards 
the structure of the valley of the Nerbada, and his suggestions must not be lost sight of in 
future investigations. 
Up to date, no very definite results have been obtained by the borings now in progress 
at Tooudnee and Khappa, but neither has any proof been obtained that the rods have reached 
beds below the coal-bearing rocks. 
Mr. Medlicott, at the close of the season in the early part of the year, took advantage 
of an invitation to visit Khatmandu in Nepal, and a very interesting and suggestive notice 
of this visit is given by Mr. Medlicott in the lie cords ol the Geological Survey of India 
for November last. It must always be a source of great regret that the movements of 
Europeans are so jealously watched in Nepal, that it is impossible to do more than pay a 
hurried visit to the localities immediately round the capital, or the places actually on or 
adjoining the road there and back. Mr. Medlicott saw, perhaps, everything that he could 
have seen, that is, that he would have been permitted to see, but this was barely sufficient to 
suggest a few possibilities as to the structure of the adjoining country, the correctness or 
incorrectness of which could not be established by further research. The continuity of the zone 
of newer rocks which fringes the Himalayan range to the north-west has been established, 
and the occurrence of the newer tertiary groups also proved. 
At the commencement of the present working season, M r. Medlicott, in conjunction with 
Mr. Theobald and Mr. Lydekker, commenced a revision of the tertiary rocks of theNorth- 
AVest and Punjab. The very important fact of a marked stratigraphical separation of two 
distinct groups of rocks in the Naliun country, which had previously been all considered as a 
continuous series of beds, was first noticed by Mr. Medlicott himself. The locality where this 
marked unconformity was noticed unfortunately did not yield any fossils from the lower group 
of the rocks, so that the very important question as to whether this marked separation of the 
rocks physically was accompanied by any distinction in their organic contents was still un¬ 
decided. To determine this, it became necessary to trace the same two groups further to the 
north-west, and to collect the fossils from each group separately. In doing this, it 
became evident that the very marked unconformity noticed in the Markunda river did not 
continue to the north-west. And the separation of the groups must obviously be based on 
other considerations. Apparent distinctness in the fossils also on moi'e careful examination 
disappeared, il not entirely, nearly so. It became, therefore, of the last importance that the 
separation of these groups should be more carefully investigated, and their relations one to 
the other established. And with this object in view, I requested Mr. Medlicott to go care¬ 
fully over the entire ground again, giving him the aid of Mr. Theobald, who knew the 
fossil localities tolerably well, and had already brought together a very valuable collection 
from these rocks, and also the help of Mr. Lydekker, who had been all the previous part 
of the year engaged in a careful and earnest examination of tne fossils, ou which ho had 
been able to throw much light. And I confidently hope that before the season closes, the 
boundaries of these tertiary groups may he demarcated and their relations established. 
The vast importance, considered with reference to a study of the tertiary rocks of 
India, of a knowledge of the structure of Sind has long been patent. It has been more 
