1898.] Funafuti, Rotuma and Fiji. 453 



In the quarry at Suva two kinds of rock are found, a limestone 

 usually called coral-rock, and a sandstone to which the term 

 soapstone is locally applied. The coral-rock derives its name from 

 the presence of corals, many of genera still found living on the reefs 

 in the vicinity ; shells of Echinoidea and Mollusca, principally 

 bivalves, are abundant, while sponges occur locally. The remains 

 of organic life, mentioned above, does not, I should consider, 

 exceed 10 per cent, of the total mass of the rock, the greater part 

 being of a coarse grained, friable nature, apparently formed by a 

 sand composed principally of rounded nodules and shells of Fora- 

 minifera. In places the remains of calcareous algae can be 

 recognised ; much of the rock, being of a very fine texture, round 

 and between masses of coral, implies from its position that it has 

 been formed by incrusting nullipores, as it has no appearance of 

 any organic origin, and loose sand is sometimes found underneath. 

 The rock then is a highly fossiliferous soft limestone. Between 

 Nailega and Soutoka on the Rewa crops out a dense, white, finely 

 crystalline limestone, closely resembling Carrara marble, only 

 harder. It is absolutely destitute of any trace of organic origin 

 to the unaided eye and its fractured surface has always the same 

 pure white colour. I received specimens too of a similar lime- 

 stone from some cliffs near the mouth of the Singatoke river. 



The so-called soapstone is a fine grained sandy rock in which 

 the shells of Foraminifera are very common, and those of Lamelli- 

 branchiata can occasionally be found ; its colour, when dry, varies 

 from light grey to pure white. According to Brady this rock 

 contains about 50 per cent, of silica, 18 per cent, of alumina, 3 — 8 

 per cent, of ferric oxide, 16 per cent, of water and traces of 

 potassium carbonate, etc. 1 When first exposed in the quarry, it 

 has almost a blue lustre ; then, as it dries, it gets a soapy feel, 

 and finally can be seen to be a very fine grained, friable, sandy 

 rock. ' Where it is covered by the water in the beds of streams, it 

 remains hard and firm, but by the banks there is a tendency for 

 its surface to flake off. 



From Viti Levu Bay to Navatu on the Rewa the rock is all 

 soapstone, but below this village there is an outcrop of volcanic 

 rock which it overlies. By the village of Nailega, lower down, 

 both soft limestone and soapstone rocks are found, the former 

 resting on the latter. Then the banks of the river show soapstone 

 overlying the crystalline limestone, of which there is a small out- 

 crop on the right bank. A volcanic conglomerate is next found, 

 to be succeeded on the right bank by several low lying hills, 

 formed apparently entirely of crystalline limestone. From this 

 point soft limestone and soapstone rocks alone occur down to the 

 delta of the Rewa. 



1 Note on the so-called " Soapstone of Fiji." Quart. Jour. Geo. Soc. Feb. 1888. 



