Page:Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol 1.djvu/508

456 at the end of the windlasses, and the handspikes being removed also, arise of a few inches in the water throws the whole dam open at once—a method that is usually practised in the cold-weather floods, and when the rise of the water is not very great. In the height of the rains, the logs of wood and rubbish borne in the waters makes this out of the question; fig. 3 being the state of the sluices at that period.

August 18, 1832, Northern Doab.

In consequence of a hint from Dr. Hugh Falconer, that he had heard of the discovery of some fossil hones at Jabalpúr, I inserted a notice in the June number of the Journal, soliciting information on the subject from some of my correspondents on the Nerbadá.

I am happy to say, that my appeal has not been ineffectual, and that the subject has been taken up with zeal by Doctor G. G. Spilsbury, Civil Surgeon at Jabalpúr. That gentleman has sent me by dâk three specimens of the fossil bones for presentation to the Society, promising a further supply when the season shall enable him to visit the spot, and offering to conduct any extended investigations which the Physical Class may point out as desirable to elucidate the subject. Doctor Spilsbury informs me, that the fossil remains were discovered by Captain Sleeman two years ago. They are not mentioned by Capt. Franklin in his survey of that part of the country, printed in the 1st pt. ''Trans. Phys. Cl''. neither by Dr. Voysey, nor Captain Coulthard: Captain Sleeman is therefore entitled to the sole credit of having brought the interesting fact to light, and we may hope from his official situation that he will zealously take measures for making a particular examination of the spot, so as to extract if possible some fragments of bone in better preservation, and enable us to ascertain to what animals they belong, and to what epoch of the world's history they may be referred.

Dr. Spilsbury describes the locality as being about 1½ miles N. E. of the residency at Jabalpúr, on the northern side of a broken range of limestone hills, capped with a horizontal layer of trap, rising from the valley of the Nerbadá, about 150 feet to the east of the small rising ground, where the petrified tree was discovered, which is in the museum.

The three specimens sent are in too mutilated a condition to enable us to pronounce what they may be, but the osseous structure of the two first is very apparent.

They differ materially from the fragments of Himalayan fossil bone brought down by Mr. Royle in January, inasmuch as the latter contain-