86 
Records of the Geological Survey of Lidia. 
[VOL. II. 
down to a period subsequent to the final deposition of the fossil-wood group, though from 
the mineral character of the upper beds, any movements they have been subjected to are 
with difficulty determined, and these movements may have, to some extent, interfered 
with the effect of a coup d'oeil, but from several points of elevated ground beyond the 
area of the fossil-wood beds, I have been struck by the manner in which those beds 
were spread out; on a lower level, in a fashion strongly suggestive of their accumulation 
under lacustrine conditions along a stretch of elevated country almost coincident with the 
present boundary. This -is notably the case at the extreme north of the district near the 
British boundary above Teybiu and Bilugon, and is also to be remarked elsewhere, though 
the forest is so dense that it is rarely one is able to get a glimpse of any large extent ”of 
country- Had it been otherwise than here supposed, it would be extremely hard to under¬ 
stand how the imperishable testimony of fossil-wood logs and fragments had been so com¬ 
pletely removed from the hilly tract, where as a matter of fact they are wanting. They arc 
certainly the hardest bodies met with, and having hold their own among the quartzoso rocks 
which comprise the bulk of the Irawadi gravels, must, a fortiori, have no less successfully 
withstood the destructive action of denudation amidst the softer miocene beds which 
alone are met with in the Pegu ranges. I need not, however, dilate more on this subject, 
which will he readily enough cleared up when the geology of those regions above the present 
British frontier comes to bo carefully examined into which these fossil woods extend and 
wherein they seem to he more largely developed than within British territory. 
MINERAL PRODUCE OP INDIA. 
Towards the close of the year 1868, I solicited from the Commissioner of Kumaon 
(and some other officers) information as to the quantity and value of the minerals raised and 
brought to market within their jurisdiction. Such local operations, where minerals are 
raised solely for local use, and in reality are never exported, or, only in very small quanti¬ 
ties, even transported from one district to another, taken separately, are of small importance, 
hut when aggregated for the country at large, they represent an amount and value which 
must be very considerable. And those small local mining operations can only become known 
by the assistance of the local officers. To Colonel II. Ramsay, C. B., Commissioner of Kumaon, 
I am indebted for the returns now given for Kumaon and O-urlmal. The information 
has been collected, under his orders, by Mr. Lawdcr, Civil Divisional Engineer, Kumaon. 
Mr. Lawder was for several years one of the office stall' of the Geological Survey, and 
possessed, therefore, a general knowledge of the subject referred to him, aud has evidently 
devoted himself with zeai to the collection and preparation of information. 
I was, I confess, surprised at the quantities stated to he raised and the extent of the mineral 
industry. Viewed merely as a source of employment of labour, these returns show the equiva¬ 
lent of the continuous labour during every day in the year of no less than 154 persons, 
and yet the effect is scarcely felt beyond the narrow limits of the province itself, excepting in so 
far as this local supply obviates the necessity for imports of materials from elsewhere. 
Minebalogicai. Statistics op Kumaon Division, collected under instructions from 
the CojiMissioNEB, Colonel H. Ramsay, C. B., by A. W. Lawbeii, Esq., Civil 
Divisional Engineer. 
My endeavours to collect reliable memoranda of the mineral resources of Kumaon have 
not been so successful in their result as I could have wished. The entire absence of reliable 
native information, and the general unwillingness exhibited by the inhabitants to speak 
at all on the matter, arising from the fear that any knowledge they might communicate 
would perhaps eventually he the cause of increased rental demand or of the appropriation 
by the Government of the land in which the miuerals occurred, have presented many 
difficulties. The information obtained from the Bhoteeas was given with great reluctance. 
Owing also to my having but little surplus time to devote to the full elucidation of the 
subject, the memoranda supplied here are doubtless .somewhat imperfect and incomplete; my 
duties, although carrying me to all parts of the Kumaon district, confine me (with some 
exceptions) more particularly to the roads, and I have probably repeatedly passed by old 
mines, or places rich in minerals, in utter ignorance as to their existence, not to mention 
other places remote from any frequented thoroughfare. 
