136 GEOLOGY OF THE NEIgAboUKIKX)!) OF STELLENBOSCH. 



however, can be recognized as fine-grained sandstones, quartzites, 

 and vein quartz, and a few contain cjuartz grains in a dense base, 

 and may be decomposed quartz-porphyries. On the whole, the 

 difficulty of studying these rocks is due more to weathering and 

 inadequate exposures than to crushing. 



These beds were included by Rogers in his French Hoek 

 Series, and he suggests their correlation with the Ibiquas or 

 Upper Nama beds. Their relation to the Malmesbury beds is, 

 in this neighbourhood at least, not clearly ascertainable. It will 

 be seen from the geological map that the central lobe of the 

 granite mass has Malmesbury beds on one side, French Hoek 

 beds on the other. Where this tongue of granite dies out the 

 two must come into contact. Just at that point, unfortunately, 

 all useful exposures cease, and one can only presume that the 

 strike of the Malmesbury beds swings round and becomes 

 parallel to that of the French Hoek beds. This is certainly the 

 case in the Malmesbury series a cou]>le of miles to the west, on 

 the top of the Papegaaisberg rid.u'e. There is no clear indication 

 of unconformity between the two series, but, on the other hand, 

 it would not be permissible definitely to assert their conformity: 

 the jx)int must remain open for the present. Personally, I think 

 the two series are conformable, or that the unconformity, if it 

 exists, is only a slight one like that between the Malmesbury 

 and the Ibiquas. I have already pointed out that a tourmalinized 

 contact zone exists on the east side of the granite tongue, to- 

 wards the French Hoek beds, and (although no French Hoek 

 rocks are exposed along the contact) this {X)ints to the granite 

 being intrusive towards the latter. For this reason it would, 

 perhaps, be more satisfactory to compare our conglomerate 

 series witli the Nieuwerust or Lower Nama than with the 

 Ibiquas or Upper Nama, for the latter is younger than the 

 granites intrusive in the ^Malmesbury Series. Further than this, 

 the evidence available in the neighbourhood of Stellenbosch does 

 not enable one to go. 



South African Geographical Society.— 



It was resolved, at what is reported to have been a large and 

 representative meeting held in the School of Mines, Johannes- 

 burg, on the 8th June, to establish a South African Geographical 

 Society. The chair was occupied by Princij^al G. S. Corstor- 

 phine, B.Sc, Ph.D., and an address on "^ Geography, its Field and 

 its Future,"' was given by Mr. J. Hutcheon, M.A., F.R.S.G.S. 

 In the course of his remarks Mr. Hutcheon explained that the ob- 

 jects of the proposed Society would be to raise the standard and 

 safeguard the interests of the subject and those teaching it, to 

 encourage geographical research in all its branches, and to arouse 

 in the general public more enthusiasm therein. In time the 

 Society would, it was hoped, grant a di|>lonia of fellowship. It 

 has been arranged to hold a series of popular lectures in connec- 

 tion with the newly formed institution. 



