Some Inquiries in the Province of Kemaon, relative to Geology, and other branches of natural science

Front matter

SOME INQUIRIES ••< THE PROVINCE OF KEMAON, RELATIVE TO GEOLOGY, AND OTHER BRANCHES 01 NATURAL SCIENCE. BY ASSIST.-SURGEON JOHN McCLELLAND, MEMBER OF THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF SURGEONS IN LONDON, AND OP THE MEDICAL AND PHYSICAL SOCIETY, CALCUTTA. " While idle speculations about the structure ot the earth lead to nothing better than wrangling and confusion; every new fact respecting the relative position of rocks, every accurate description of a district adds somewhat to our former know ledge, and contributes towards the completion of the science- Geognosy will be com plete only when we are accurately acquainted with the structure of the whole surface of the globe, and when we understand completely the laws which regulate the changes which it is slowly undergoing."— Thomas Thomson, M. D. CALCUTTA: PRINTED AT THE BAPTIST MISSION PRESS, CIRCULAR ROAD.

SOLD BY MESSRS. THACKER & CO. AND MESSRS. CANTOR & CO. MDCCCXXXV. TO THE HONORABLE SIR C. T. METCALFE, Bart. GOVERNOR GENERAL OF INDIA, &c. &c. &c. THIS HUMBLE EFFORT TO BE USEFUL, IS. WITH PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY AND GRATEFULLY INSCRIBED, BY HIS DEVOTED HUMBLE SERVANT, THE AUTHOR.

Preface

. In submitting the following pages to the public, my object is to induce others more competent than myself, to enter into similar inquiries relative to the Geology of districts in India. I do not flatter myself, that my humble efforts possess any intrinsic value. If they are found to have any interest ; it is derived only from the importance of the subjects to which they refer. Geology has, indeed, become a subject of popular interest in every country in the civilized world ; so much so, that it may now almost be taken as the criterion of national intelligence and prosperity. A noble effort has recently been made by a few eminent members of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, (with their distinguished President, the

PREFACE.

. VI Honorable Sir Edward Ryan, at their head,) to remove the reproach to which British institutions in India were liable, by adapting a department of the Asiatic Society exclusively to the cultivation of Natural Science. A few months had hardly passed after this change, when a volume of Transactions issued from the Physical class, that would do honour to any Society in Europe. India, however, is not a country in which new publications are advertised in every village; and such are the disadvantages of private individuals in remote districts, that they often remain ignorant of the existence of the most important works, until some peculiar circumstance or accident presents them to notice. I mention this, as an apology for not having availed myself of some interesting papers that have recently appeared in India on Geological subjects, and which I had no opportunity of seeing, till my return to Calcutta.

There is one point that may require a word in explanation, namely, that of having departed from the practice of confining systematic descriptions, to what are called simple minerals ; but

PREFACE.

. VII in a country so remote from the observations of others, my object was rather to trust to descriptions than to names. Should a mere name, unaccompanied with the description of the substance on which it is conferred, be misapplied, the error would lead to irremediable confusion. On the other hand, descriptions admit of comparison with each other, and with the things to which they relate ; and by this means, correct not merely their own errors, but also the erroneous application of names : while they at the same time expose to our view the nature and peculiarity of whatever is submitted to them. It may therefore be supposed that I was anxious to avail myself, as much as possible, of systematic descriptions as the only sure basis of inquiry, and I could see no objection to their being applied, as well to mountain rocks, as to the rarer minerals.

The labours which I here take the liberty to submit to the public, are the result of a temporary residence in Kemaon, while on the regular tour of duty with my regiment in that province. Placed in Medical charge of two detachments,

PREFACE.

. thirty miles apart in the mountains, with occasional liability to be called into head -quarters, fifty miles in another direction, I had frequent opportunities of collecting information, that it would have been difficult, if not, quite impossible, to resist, and I am only ashamed to have turned such advantages to so poor account. There are, however, circumstances to be offered in palliation of the numerous faults that pervade this work. The first, is that of my unexpected removal from the province, with the troops to which I was attached, and the conse quent interruption of my inquiries before they were completed. I still, however, hoped, that on my arrival at the station to which my corps was destined, I should there have sufficient repose to correct and arrange my MSS. and collections.

A few days had hardly elapsed, after a harassing march, when I found myself under orders to join Dr. Wallich in Calcutta, (from which I was distant 1,100 miles,) with the view of proceeding, with that eminent man, on a Scientific Deputation to Upper Assam.

PREFACE.

. IX The multiplicity of objects, connected with my new appointment, appeai-ed likely to engross the short time I had to remain in Calcutta ; so that I at first abandoned all hope of being able to publish these labours. But the kind assurance of Dr. Wallich, that the world, though a severe, is yet a generous, arbiter in cases of this nature, as well as the kind offers I received from distinguished individuals, to correct such portion of the proof copy, as I might be compelled to leave unprinted on my departure from Calcutta, have encouraged me to submit the work, with all its defects, to the indulgence of the public. Having once commenced printing, my object was to proceed with the greatest expedition ; so as to accomplish as much as possible previous to my departure from Calcutta. I was therefore obliged to content myself with the inspection of a single proof — a circumstance, which, without great care on the part of the Printer, must have given rise to still more numerous errors than have occurred.

The indifference of Printers and Publishers in general to the appearance of works in which X PREFACE, they have no property, is such as to deter authors from publishing, until they are enabled themselves to superintend the press at leisure ; but the solicitude evinced by Mr. Pearce, for the works which pass through his hands, is a subject of gratulation to the Indian community, and is not the least of those new facilities that are now opened to the spread of literature. Calcutta, August, 1835. CONTENTS.

Part I

— GEOLOGY. PACE Chap. I. — Introduction, 1 Chap. II. — General Description of the District. Burmdeo Pass — Road to Belket — Choura Pany — Snowy Peaks, their Physiognomy, their Altitudes, and Incli nations of their Acclivities — Formula for calculating inaccessible Heights — Valleys of the Gogra — Physiog nomy of the Mountains of different Rocks — Geographi cal Boundaries of the District about to be described — More Minute Observations on the Character of the Mountains composing it — Sections into which it is naturally divided — Superstiti on of the Natives — Humboldt 24 Chap. III. — Primitive Formations — Granite, Gneiss, Hornblende-Slate. On the Arrangement of Mountain Rocks — Observations of Werner and Reaumur on this Subject at variance — Granite — the Direction of the Principal Mountain Chain indicated by the Granite — Concentric Disintegration of Granite — Description of the Granite of Kemaon — Gneiss — its Disintegration and Central Nuclei — the Decay of Gneiss Mountains, and the Destruction of the City of Chompawut from this Cause— The Ruins of Chompawut — Description of Gneiss resumed — Subordinate Beds in Granite and Gneiss — Hornblende-Slate, its Geognostic Position, its Stratification, its Description, its Varieties, its Foreign Beds — Chlorit Slate — Porphyritic Green Stone,.... 3?

CONTENTS. XII PAGF Chap. IV. — Primitive Formations — Mica- Slate, Clay- Slate, Primitive Limestone. Nature and Geognostic Position of Mica-Slate — Oldest Gypsum, its Description — Clay-Slate — Nature of this Formation, and Peculiarity of the Principal Mountain Chain in regard to it — Mountains of Clay-Slate Contrasted with those of Hornblende-Slate, and an Attempt to explain the Cause of Difference between them — Providential Association of Clay-Slate with Limestone, more especially in Alpine Countries — Varieties of Clay- Slate, with their Descriptions and Distinctions — Distinction between the fine curved Clay-Slate and Transition Slate — Quartz, and the singular Septarium occurring with it — Description of Drawing Slate — Primitive Limestone — Description of its Varieties — Splintery Hornstone, 63 Chap. V. — Transition Rocks, Oldest Transition Limestone, Slate and Limestone, Magnesian Limestone, Common Dolomite.

General Remarks — Transition observed between Primitive and Secondary Strata — Proofs and Conclusions — Oldest Transition Limestone, its Description — Slate and Limestone, its Description and Nature — Coarse Magnesian Limestone, its Description — Common Dolomite, or Steatitic Sand-Stone, its Description, its Variety and Nature — Further Description and Remarks — Transition Slate, 30 Chap. VI. — Transition Rocks, Transition Limestone, Coiurr.on Dolomite. The Varieties of Transition Limestone — Remarks on its Stratification, its Description — Overlying Variety Described — Compact and Common Dolomites Compared — Mountains of Compact Dolomite Described ; its Geognostic Relations, Stratification, and Localities. — Nature and Cause of its Transitions into Substances apparently different from each other — Description of Granular CONTENTS.

XIII paoe Compact Dolomite, its Chemical Characters aad Locali ties — Splintery Compact Dolocnite Described— Oolite or Grit-Stone ; Character of its Mountains, its Descrip tion—General Remarks on the Rocks here Described as Dolomites, and the Reason for supposing them to be of a different Nature 101 Chap. VII. — Rocks subordinate to the Transition Class, occurring in Beds. Peculiarity of the Older Strata, and an Attempt to explain the Cause — Miscellaneous Rocks — Granatine — Fibrous Limestone — Common Talc — Variety of Ditto — Minerals Associated with Talc — Variegated Clay-Slate — Brecciated Serpentine — Noble Serpentine 121 Chap. VIII. — Fioetz Rocks, First Fioetz Limestone, Magnesian Fioetz Limestone, Vesicular Limestone, Supplementary Observations on Additional Fioetz Rocks. First Floetz Limestone, divided into three Beds, viz. Copper-Slate, Alpine Limestone, and Tabular Limestone — their General Description — Magnesian Floetz Liraestone, subdivided into Crystalline and Earthy — Description of Crystalline Variety — Ditto of Earthy Ditto — Vesicular Limestone, its Probable Identity with the Rauch-Wac-e of the Germans, and the Nagelflugh of the Swiss — Singular Porphyritic Septarium, its Doubtful Origin and Nature, its Resemblance to the Ironstone Septarium of Aberlady, described by the Late Dr. Hutton — Hornstone — Arragonite — Supplementary Observations — Road from Belket to Burmdeo Pass — Bituuienous Marlslate — Calcareous Gritstone and Argillaceous Sandstone — Descent to Burmdeo — Slate-Clay Organised Fossils — Conglomerate — Physical Remarks, CONTENTS.

XIV PAGE Chap. IX. — Alluvial Rocks. Mountains are the Source of Alluvial Deposites— the Nature of these Deposites— How Produced— Siliceous Alluvial Deposites— Aluminous Clay— Nagelflugh— Calctuff— Calc Sinter— Volcanic Rocks ,e0 CHAr. X.— Mines of the North-Eastern Frontier of Kemaon. Mining, how it ought to be considered— the necessity of Mines being more attended to in India — Condition of the Mines in Kemaon— Condition of the Persons employed in them— the Deformities of these Persons — How the Mines might be Improved— Copper Glance- Remarks upon the same— Copper Pyrites— Description of a Mine of this Ore — Description of the Ore— Native Mode of Reducing these Ores— Yellow Sulphuret of C0pper — Ores of Iron — Micaceous Iron Glance — Common Iron Glance — Concluding Observations, lfiy Chap. XI. — Climatology and Earthquakes.

Effects of Changes in the Condition of the Atmosphere on our Sensations Illustrated — Radiation of Heat at the Azores, and Canary Islands, where the Ocean is the Radiating Surface — Ditto from the land in Europe and America, compared with the same from Hindustan — Peculiar Atmospheric Phenomena — Mean Diurnal Varia tions of Heat at Lohooghat — Difficulty of procuring Philosophical Instruments in the Interior of India — Extraordinary Fall of Rain — Earthquakes in Kemaon— Connexion between them and the Eruption of Volcanoes — Physiognomy of the High Peaks of the Himalaya, 194

Part II

— GENERAL VIEW OF THE ZOO- LOGY OF KEMAON. Chap. XII. — Quadrupeds, 2!5 Chap. XIII. — General View of the Insects of Kemaon, 231 Chap. XIV. — General View of the Birds of Kemaon, CONTENTS. XV

Part III

— AN INQUIRY INTO THE CAUSES OF GOITRE. PAGE Introductory Section, 255 Sec. II. — Inhabitants of Primitive Rocks, v.... 264 Sec. III.— Statistics of Shore Valley 277 Sec. IV. — Statistics of various Valleys and Districts, . . 300 Sec V. — Description of Goitre as it occurs in Kemaon, •with an Attempt to Account for the foregoing Results, 312 Sec VI. — General Observations on the Examination of Waters, 329 Sec VII. — Examination of the Waters of Kemaon,.. 339 Sec VIII. — On the connexion between Goitre and Cretinism, their Nature and Causes, NAMES OF SUBSCRIBERS Metcalpe, Hon'ble Sir C. T., Bart., Gov. Gen., 10 copies. Lord Bishop of Calcutta, 2 copies. Ryan, Hon'ble Sir E., Kt. 2 copies. Ross, A. Esq. Hon'ble Grant, Hon'ble Sir J. P., Kt. Macauley, T. B. Esq. Hon'ble Morrison, Col. Hon'ble, C. B. A a Allahabad B. C. Garbett, Dr. C. Glasfurd, Lieut. J. Glyn, R. C. Esq. C. S. Grant, J. W. Esq. 2 copies.

Grant, J. Esq. Griffith, Dr. W. B Bacon, Lieut. T., Horse Art. Baker, T. E. Esq., 10th L.C. Bell, H. P. Esq. M. D. Bignell, M. A. Esq. Blunt, W. Esq. Hon'ble. Bramley, M. J. Esq. 2 copies. Brown, Captain W. Burke, Dr. W. A. C If Hamilton, R. N. C. Esq. C. 8. Hutchinson, J. R. Esq. C. S. Hutchinson, Jas. Esq. I&J Campbell, Lieut. W. C. Cantor, CA. Esq. Cartwright, Brigadier. Cautley, Captain P. T. Cockerell, Messrs. and Co. Cooper, Dr. H. D Irvine, Major A. Jack, Lieut.A.,30thN.I.2cops, Jenkins, Captain F. K Kyd, J. Esq. L Langstafl", J. Esq. Latouche, Captain P. Lindsay, Dr. A. K. Liptrott, Lieut. J., 30th N. I. Low, H. M. Esq. M Dempster, Dr. T. E. Dollard, Asst. Surg. W. Downes, Lieut. D., 30th N. I. Drever, Dr. T. Duncan, R. B. Esq. Durant, Lieut. H. M. E McDowell, Rev. J. F. McFarlan, D. Esq. McRae, Dr. J. Edgeworth, M. P. Esq. Ewart.

Lieut. R. S., 30th N. I. Ewer, W. Esq. McSherry, Capt. T., 30th N. I. Milner, Captain T. E. N I' Falconer, Dr. H. Falconer, A. Esq. Forbes, Captain N. W. Frith, R. W. G. Esq. Nicolson, Dr. S. O Oglander, Col. H. Orr, Captain E. M. NAMES OF SUBSCRIBERS. P Sweeney, Capt., H. M.'s 26th Foot. Payne, Captain W., 30th N*. I Prinsep, Jas. Esq. R Swetenharr., Capt. E., Engr. T Ramcomul Sen, Babu. Ranken, Dr. Jas. Thomason, Jas. Esq. Thomas, E. T. Esq. Tottenham, Captain J. L. Tritton, Dr. E. Twining, Dr. W. W Wallich, N. Esq. M. D. Watson, General. Wilson, J. C. Esq. Woodburn, Dr. D. Reid, A. Esq. Ross, Lieut. W. H., 30th N. I. S Sawers, J. Esq. Med. Bd. Smith, M. Esq. Stacy, Colonel L. R. StevensoD, W. Esq. M. D. Stewart, H. T. Esq. errata. The indulgent reader is requested to correct a number of errata which have occurred throughout this work, kindly bearing in mind the peculiar circumstances under which it went through the press, and which have been explained in the Preface.

The most important ones are here pointed out. Page 38, line 4, for ' slates,' read ' slaty.' „ — „ 5, for ' quartz gypsum,' read ' quartz and gypsum.' „ 55, „ 27, for • vol. VI., read ' vol. VII.' „ 115, „ 2, from bottom, for ' Gorou,' read ' Goron.' „ 130, ,, 16,/or ' clay-slate,' read ' slate-clay.' „ 139, ,, 12, for ' catastrophies,' read ' catastrophes.' „ 1/2, „ 14, for ' inertia,' read ' inertiæ.' „ 178, ,, 13, for ' slates,' read ' slate.' „ 216, for ' Murinus, Cristatus,' andgenerally all adjective specific names throughout the Zoological Catalogue,' read ' murinus, cristatus,' with small, and not capital, initials. „ 264, „ 1 6, after mineral, insert water. „ 267, „ 9,/or • two,' read ' three.* „ 340, „ 11, for ' 1.009,' read ' 1.0009.' „ 341, „ 7,/or ' 1.001,' read ' 1.0001.' ,, 356, „ 10,/or ' 1.001,' read' 1.0001.' „ 369, „ 3, from bottom, for ' Tarai,' read ' Taru.' RESEARCHES IS THE PROVINCE OF KEMAON.

Introduction

.

It may be considered presumptuous to take this opportunity of offering a few remarks on the present state of Geology in India : but as I have in my humble sphere laboured unassisted in this interest ing field, during the greater portion of my short residence in the country, I may be supposed to know something of the causes which here retard the cultivation of this science. B It is painful to reflect on the number of years the immense empire of Hindustan has been in our possession ; and that to this day we should remain as ignorant of its physical structure as we are of that of China, or the interior of Africa. It is painful to turn over the leaves of mineral systems, and to find such accidental speci mens as may have found their way from India to Europe alluded to, as regards the position from which they were derived, in as ambiguous terms as are usually adopted in explaining the source of those mysteri ous bodies called aerolites, which occasion ally fall from the clouds.

The labours of geologists, within the last thirty years, have put us in possession of a vast fund of information respecting the physical structure of almost every part of Europe, and a great portion of Ame rica; but of the continents of Africa and Asia, we are still ignorant of a sufficient number of facts to enable us to conceive, even a general notion of their formation, with any tolerable degree of accuracy. The remedy for this defect lies with those

INTRODUCTION.

. who reside in foreign countries ; for al though such persons may not be so com petent to convey information on difficult subjects, as those who live in enlightened nations, where a ready acquaintance may be formed with all that is known on any scientific question : yet it is to such sources we must chiefly look for the extension of geological science. Governments are not yet so liberal as to send philosophers to every portion of the earth, for purely scientific purposes; and philosophers them selves are seldom possessed of sufficient fortune to enable them, and disinterested ness to induce them, to incur the risk of losing both life and fortune even in such a cause. In the few instances in which British governments have patronized the travels of scientific men, the motives have been rather the extension of commerce than the pro motion of science ; and often so exclusively so, as was calculated to defeat, rather than to serve even the mere object in view; for who can deny the impolicy of those frivol ous instructions by which the traveller is B generally embarrassed on entering upon his mission, as if the interests of science, and those of commerce were incompatible.

Thus for instance, when the natural and artificial productions of Mysore were required to be known, Dr. Buchanan was directed to make the following the chief objects of his researches in that country, viz. esculent vegetables, cattle, farms, cotton, pepper, sandal-wood, cardamums, mines, quarries, minerals, mineral springs, manufactures and manufacturers, climates, seasons, and inhabitants*. A few years afterwards, as if to shew the caprice with which such missions are devised, three gentlemen were selected to survey the then unexplored source of the Ganges, without any other instructions than merely to determine that geographical questions : so that it is easy to see, that under such a system, geology, and indeed, natural history in general, must be greatly or en tirely neglected. * Buch., Lond., 1807, f Asiat. Res. 447-8, Lond. 1812.

INTRODUCTION.

. Monuments of a people, or the external relations and mere connexions of rivers and kingdoms, force themselves on the antiquarian and the geographer ; but the researches of the geologist do not belong alone to external nature : they must penetrate the surface of the earth, as well as scrupulously trace, from the deepest valley to the highest summit, the boundaries, extent, and relations of every rock*. Thus it is, that in geology, a greater effort, mental as well as physical, is required to produce a given effect, than perhaps in any other branch of natural science. Hence it is, that geology is so incapable of being advanced by studies in the closet ; and so likely to be inj ured by careless or deficient observations in the mountain : and hence also, as well as from the practical utility * M. J. C. Braun Neergaard, in his Memoir on the most Proper Means of accelerating the Progress of Mi neralogy, read to the French Institute, 1812, observes : " In Mineralogy we have not' the advantage, as in Zoology, of subjecting living beings to rules ; nor as in Botany, plants, which, in dying, reproduce their genera and species." it promises, the reason why it requires for its cultivation, in unfavourable climates, the encouragement of governments, by which the number of operators may be increased.

To the characters of a mineral must be added the extent to which it occurs in nature, as well as its connexion with, and transition into, other substances, before the description can be considered com plete. To ascertain this, is generally beyond the means of individual exertion ; but by a judicious division of labour, it might be rendered comparatively easy, were residents in different situations to describe the characters and relations of the rocks composing the vicinities in which they live. The fact is, this interesting and import ant science is of too laborious a nature to be practised with the requisite zeal under ordinary circumstances, by foreign ers, in tropical climates. The effects of exposure to the baneful influence of those climates are so fatal, that persons are little disposed to incur any risk of life, beyond '

INTRODUCTION.

. what is necessary for the performance of their indispensable duties. Notwithstand ing these nearly insurmountable obstacles to the successful cultivation of geology in India, much might be done were the requisite facilities afforded ; and these, it might be supposed, would not be altogether withheld in a country which has been celebrated since the earliest times for the gold, diamonds, and other precious fossils which it affords. The first great step in improvement would be, the organization of Geological Societies in different parts of India, on such footing as would render it a desira ble object to the ambition of scientific men of all classes, to be enrolled on their lists. In order to give them practical effect, and to deprive them of the character of mere amateur societies, their expence should be borne by the state, and members thus freed from subscribing aught but their labours to their support.

Libraries, con sisting of ail the standard works on natural history, should be furnished at the expence of government, as well as all kinds of philosophical instruments and chemical apparatus. Additional stores of this kind should be supplied either to the public at large, or only to the members of the societies, at such low prices, as would merely cover the expence of their import ation. The importance of this may be under stood, when it is known, that the expence and difficulty of procuring philosophical instruments, books, &c. in the Upper Pro vinces of India, amount to an almost total prohibition of them, thus causing a perfect suppression of individual industry in the cause of national improvement, as well as of science. With respect to those philosophical instruments in particular, whose only value is their accurate adjustment, the submission of the purchaser to the most exorbitant charges for them seldom protects him from disappointment, such as is calculated to induce him, if not to force him, to relinquish all his efforts. There is nothing Utopian in the plan here recommended ; the expence of books and instruments for the libraries and

INTRODUCTION.

. 9 museums, as well as of the publication of Transactions, and other incidental charges would be little more than nominal, while the impulse which would be afforded to the science of geology, would be attended with practical and solid advantages to the state. A principal Society might be esta blished in Calcutta, with branch institutions, at each of the other presidencies, including Ceylon, Singapore, and Canton. In order that the more meritorious members might be rewarded for their services, as well as to secure the most deserving individuals, to fill public situa tions, the whole of the appointments in the departments of the Surveyors General of the different presidencies should be exclusively bestowed on such members of the Geological Societies as were not other wise employed. It may be said, that the Physical Class of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta is suffi cient for all the purposes that are required ; but the present state of geology in India is a proof, that however useful the Asiatic Society may have been in the promotion c of other branches of science, it has really done nothing in this ; and I very much doubt, if their Transactions up to a very late period, contain one mineral description that would be received by a systematic writer as correct*.

The objects of the Asiatic Society are too comprehensive to be of much use in the cultivation of geology : this science itself requiring a greater variety of attainments in abstruse details, than could be well discussed in a Society devoted to general learning. In support of this fact, it is only neces sary to refer to the Transactions of the Geological Societies of Great Britain, and compare what has been done by those institutions within the last few years, with the few geological papers to be found in the whole series of Philosophical Transactions * The period to which I refer is 1817 : since which time, some late and much lamented authors, have evinced their zeal in behalf of geology, by communica tions of great interest. The more minute, and conse quently the most important, portion of their labours have not yet been published, and it is feared, will be ultimately lost to the world from the defects in our institutions here referred to.

INTRODUCTION.

. 11 of London and Edinburgh. The Royal Irish Academy is perhaps an exception to the rule here implied ; but if so, it is owing only to the influence of Richard Kirwan, the " the father of British mineralogy," whose writings on geological subjects attracted the attention of Europe, and gave a bias to the Society over which he presided, something like that which was occasioned by Newton in favour of mathematical philosophy. To the influence of Kirwan is ascribed, the honour possessed by the Dublin Society, of being the first institution in the British empire to endow a geological professorship. Yet, notwithstanding the interest evinced by already existing institutions in Ireland in behalf of geology, it has (I believe) been recently deemed expedient to increase their num ber, by the addition of a Royal Geological Society.

Before the world became acquainted with the labours of Werner, Bergman, Scheele, Klaproth, Kirwan, and Haiiy, geology could not be called a science, and its imperfect rudiments were then safely c confided to Societies celebrated for general learning. When however its objects be came defined, its importance pointed out, and principles laid down and established for facilitating our knowledge of the Natu ral History of the globe — for extending our researches into the chemical nature of the mineral substances, of which the crust of the earth is composed, and their uses in the economy of life : then did geology present itself to enlightened nations, as a science entitled to peculiar attention; and Societies composed of the most eminent men were suddenly called into existence. Great Britain and Ireland alone can boast of four such institutions : while our Indian empire, although it occupies a portion of the earth's surface, about twenty times greater, excites no interest or attention.

It is agreed by all, that mineral topogra phies of districts, by competent persons, constitute the only way by which the science of geology is to be extended. Up to the beginning of the present century, the English even at home were sadly behind other great nations in this

INTRODUCTION.

. 13 department of science, and from 1724 to 1799, nineteen works only were published on the mineral topography of districts in the United Kingdom. In France, from 1750 to 1799, sixty-two, and in Italy, thirty-six works on mineral topography were published ; while Ger many and the rest of Europe contributed to the world, two hundred treatises on the same subject. During the time the science of geology was thus progressing in Europe, (as well as in America, where twelve descriptions of districts were published about the close of the eighteenth century,) it may be curious to learn what attempts were made in India, either to improve the resources of our new empire, or to extend the boundaries of science. The papers on the subject of mineral topography of countries in the East Indies, up to the end of the eighteenth century, are four*.

The first of these is by Johannes Ger hardus Konig, and is published in the 4th volume of the Natural History Society of * Dryander's Bibliotheca Banksiana, vol. iv. p. 72. Upsal, entitled " Observationes Minera logicæ, in India Orientali ; e litteris ejus excerptæ a Joh. Jac. Ferber*." The second is by James Anderson, and is, " An attempt to discover such Minerals, as correspond with the classification of Cronstedt, and thus lead to a more exten sive knowledge of mineralogy in this country, the Coast of Coromandel, 1797*-" The third is by Carl Peter Thunberg ; and was published in 1785, under the title of " Beschreibung der Mineralien und edlen steine, aus der insel Ceylon*." The other is by Georgius Josephus Kamel, and is found in the early Philoso phical Transactions, under the title of " De Mineralibus et Fossilibus Philippen sibus*." * Dryander's Bibliotheca Banksiana, vol. iv. p. 7'2.