PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL,

FOR JANUARY, 1880.

The monthly General Meeting of the Asiatic Society of Bengal was held on Wednesday, the 7th instant, at 9 o'clock P. M.

H. B MEDLICOTT., Esq., M. a., F. R. S., President, in the Chair. The minutes of the last Meeting were read and confirmed:The following presentations made since last meeting were laid on the Table—

1. From the Government of India, Home, Revenue and Agricultural Department, Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission; (1) Syringosphærida, by Professor P. M. Duncan, and (2) Lepidoptera, by F. Moore.

From the Author,-Note on Elephants (supplementary to that of the 3rd April 1879); by Captain H. W. Clarke.

3.

From the Cherbourg Society of Natural Science,-Catalogue of their Library, Part II; by Aug. le Jolis.

4.

From the Zoological Society of London,-List of the Vertebrate Animals now or lately living in the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London. Seventh Edition.

5.

From the Author,-Metrical Translations from Sanskrit Writers; by J. Muir.

6.

From the Superintendent, Marine Surveys,-(1) Chart of the Mutlah River to the Chittagong Coast, (2) Chart of Tuticorin Roadstead and Harbour.

Library.

From Die Verein für Naturkunde in Cassel,-Catalogue of their

From Dr. G. Leitner,-Proceedings of the Anjuman-i-Punjab in connexion with the proposed Vaccination Bill and Dr. Cunningham's Sanitary Primer.

9. From the Royal Zoological Society of Amsterdam,-—A number of their publications, the names of which will be found in the Library List. 10. From the Madras Government, Education Department,-A Classified Index to the Sanskrit MSS. in the Palace at Tanjore; by A. C. Burnell.

11. From the königliche bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaften in München,-Ueber Calderons Sibylle des Orients; by W. Meyer. The following gentlemen, duly proposed and seconded at the last Meeting, were ballotted for and elected Ordinary Members

Fred. E. Pargiter, Esq., B. A., C. S.

Lieut. W. H. Johnstone, R. E.

Bábu Govinda Kumara Chaudhuri (re-election).

H. Kisch, Esq., c. s.

J. W. Parry, Esq.

The following Gentlemen were announced as candidates for ballot at the next meeting

1. Beharilal Gupta, Esq., B. c. s., proposed by Dr. Rájendralála Mitra, seconded by Bábu P. C. Ghosha.

2. The Hon'ble Arthur Wilson, proposed by H. B. Medlicott, Esq., seconded by J. Crawfurd, Esq.

The SECRETARY reported that Mr. R. Parry had intimated his desire to withdraw from the Society.

The SECRETARY announced that a limited number of coloured copies of Messrs. Moore and Hewitson's "Descriptions of new Indian Lepidoptera in the collection of the late Mr. W. S. Atkinson" were available for sale to Members at Rs. 4-8 per copy and to Non-Subscribers at Rs. 6 per copy.

With reference to the Ethnological Queries put by Professor Schaffhausen of Bonn to Mr. H. Rivett-Carnac, and which were published in the August Proceedings, the Secretary read a letter from Mr. W. King, dated 9th December, in which he says:

I have just seen in the Proceedings, Asiatic Society of Bengal for August 1879, the series of questions put to Mr. H. Rivett-Carnac by Professor Schaffhausen of Bonn.

Perhaps it may not be too late to let it be known that I saw two Yanádi men (of an aboriginal tribe living about Sriharikota and the Palicah Lake) produce fire from the friction of wood in (I think) 1862. It was a rainy day, and within a short distance of a village whence fire could easily have been found: yet these men worked industriously for

about half an hour until the fire was produced. The man sat on his haunches, with a small horizontal bar of wood, kept in its place underneath his feet. There was a small hole made or worn in this bar, and in this was inserted the point of a vertical stick which the men alternately rolled between the palms of their hands. Under this rapid friction of the vertical stick in the small hole in the horizontal one carbonized dust gradually collected, when at last a first spark of fire was produced which the men gently blew into a flame around a piece of rag which they held close to the bit of carbonized dust. I neglected to ascertain the kinds of wood used; but the men had evidently had them for some time in their possession.

The PRESIDENT exhibited some Geological Specimens from Afghánis

tán and said—

At the June and August meetings of the Society specimens were exhibited from the hills between Dera Ghází Khán and the Pishin Valley, on the Thal Chotiáli route, passing north of Quetta. The presence of bitumen and nummulitic rocks was proved; and there were no specimens that might not belong to these formations. There were also many samples of baser irruptive rocks, and some partially metamorphosed rocks, but which may only be connected with the contact of the trappean masses.

The collections now to be noticed are from the region of the Safed Koh. There are 12 specimens sent by Major Tanner from the north or Gandamak side of the range, and three by Mr. Scott from the same ground, one being from the summit of Sikarám the highest peak (15,620 feet) of the range. Both of these contributors are officers of the Topographical Survey. A larger collection, numbering some 40 specimens, was made by Dr. J. E. Tierney Aicheson, attached as botanist to the Kuram column; these are from the southern or Peiwar Kotal flanks of Sikarám. The two latter collections were communicated through Mr. A. B. Wynne, of the Geological Survey.

From all these specimens we soon form a rough idea of the geology of the ground. The ridge of the Safed Koh at Sikarám, and all the country to the north seems to be formed of much altered rocks, though with only few samples of the extreme gneissic type. There is a remarkable preponderance (as represented by these specimens) of magnesian and calcareous rocks; amongst them come very fine white montitis and stratitis. The culminating point of the Safed Koh is approximately formed of pure white quartzite, but the range most likely owes its name to its snow beds. white rock from which Safed Sang takes its name is a beautiful statuary marble.

The

On the western flanks of Sikarám, at elevations of 10,000 feet, quite unaltered shales, with impressions of Algæ, and similar rocks from the south side, occur among Dr. Aicheson's specimens. There are no observations to suggest what may be the stratigraphical solutions of these highly contracting series of rocks, The only clue as to age for any of these formations is in a large pebble of limestone found in the Shalinar stream on the east side of the Peiwar Kotal; it is a lithodendroid coral, testifying to the presence of triassic or carboniferous strata in the vicinity.

A serpentinous trappean rock or diallagic serpentine seems to be in force about Ali Khel.

its crystalline form, in regular octahedrons, as is well seen in the specimens furnished by Major Stewart. A good specimen of the rock in which it occurs was also sent; it is a largely crystalline micaceous limestone.

I have also laid on the table a specimen of beautiful verdeantique marble, or calcareous serpentine, brought by Major Biddulph from Shigar in Ladakh where it is continuously worked and sold as "yessham" or jade. Dr. RAJENDRALÁLA MITRA exhibited some very old palm-leaf MSS. and some ancient coins.

Dr. Mitra said that, in his paper on the Pála and the Sena Rájás of Bengal, he had occasion to advert to the era of Lakshmana Sena, and to refer to certain Sanskrit MSS. which were dated in that era. He had since been able to obtain some MSS. of the kind as also some others of very old dates. These he submitted as proofs of the era in question having been current all along from the time of its initiation to a very recent date. The codices were written with ink on palm-leaf (Corypha elata), and appeared very much decayed and crumbling; but the writing was clear and fairly