fart £.] Hughes: Slates in Kumaon. 4:J 
Note on the slates at Chiteli, Kumaon, by Theo. W. H. Hughes, F. G. S., Geological 
Survey of India. 
Whilst at the hill sanatorium of Almora during the late recess season, I was requested, 
in a letter addressed to me in September last by Colonel Hodgson, K. E., the Secretary to 
Government, North-Western Provinces, Public Works Department, to express an opinion, after 
visiting the spot, as tothe suitability of some slate for roofing purposes, which was known to 
occur near a village called Chiteli, distant only a few miles from Dwara Hat, one of the well 
known camping localities between Naini Tal and Masuri. 
Slate required for roofing. —The question to decide was one of importance, - for, if the 
slate were pronounced suitable, it was intended to use it extensively for roofing the military 
buildings that were to be constructed at the new station of llanikhet; it having been estimated 
by Captain Birney, K. E., the Executive Engineer in charge of Kanikhdt, that after taking 
into consideration the cost of extraction and carriage, the employment, of slate would be much 
cheaper than the corrugated iron in general use for roofing at most of the hill stations. 
The following short paper sets forth the views which I entertain rewarding both the 
quality of the slate and the quantity of it available. It would have been impossible, how¬ 
ever, for me to have arrived at a satisfactory and reliable conclusion on the first of these 
points had I not received considerable and courteous assistance from Captain Birney. 
Colonel Hodgson’s letter reached me on the 17th September, but I did not proceed to 
Chiteli until the 9th October owing to the lateness of the rains and the reported unhealthiness 
of the spot. 
Position. —The slate occurs in a spur of the hills overlooking a gorge, near the mouth of 
which the village of Chiteli is built. 
In this spur an experimental quarry was opened out, hut when I visited it, although 
efforts had been made to clear away the debris that obscured the section, the extraordinary 
continuance of the rains prevented the men at the quarry from working as rapidly as they 
otherwise would have done; and not more than 30 to 40 feet of rocks below the surface were 
exposed. 
The slates dip at high angles; and, as may he presumed, there are different hands varying 
in their comparative goodness. None of the slates are cleaved in a definite manner, but a 
few do exhibit this structure in an incipient stage. 
Before proceeding to purely economic matters, it may he useful to give, for the informa¬ 
tion of those who take some interest in geology, a generalised section of the Himalayas, in 
order to show roughly the horizon which the slate-rocks of Chiteli occupy. 
Geological Section. —•Commencing at Kalidiingi at the base of the hills, and carrying 
the section beyond the British frontier through the Milam pass, the rocks occur in the follow¬ 
ing order of succession:—• 
A. —Sedimentary rocks. Principally sandstones, shales, and limestones. A few 
carbonaceous beds occur. Seen on the road from Kalidiingi to Naini Tal. 
B. —Metamorphie rocks. Schists, quartzites; different varieties of gneiss; slates 
and greenstones. Seen at Naini Tal, and from thence to Munshiari. 
C. —Gneiss, with numerous granite veins. Seen between Munshiari and the 
upper Botia villages of Burl'd and Milam. 
D. —Sedimentary rocks,* corresponding to the older, secondary, and newer rocks 
of European classification. Seen between Milam and the Sutlej river. 
The Chiteli slate forms a horizon in the class of rocks under the heading B,—(lie 
same class in which the greater portion of the mineral wealth of the Himalayas is contained. 
The general quality of the Chiteli slate bears favorable comparison with other Indian 
specimens; hut it is below the standard of typical Welsh slate. 
Quality.*— It differs from the latter in splitting along the planes of lamination, instead 
of the planes of cleavage. It is coarser in texture: more silicious (sandy), heavier, and 
has a duller ring on being struck. Assuming the value of typical Welsh slate as 10, 
the general value of the Chiteli slate would not he more than 6. There are, however, 
* From this band come tbe Ammonite# (Srdiprrlm) and the JJelemnifea (Chuchi pathar), which those who 
cross the snows brinjr back with them ns mementos of their travails and their travels. 
