291 
Borneo Proper consists, as far as Mr. Lay’s observations extended, 
of sandstone; but near the mouth of the river is a little island on 
which coal is found, and called by the natives Pulu-cheomin, or 
Mirror island, in allusion, it is supposed, to the brightness of the coal. 
Mr. Lay says, if he understood his informant rightly, a large supply 
of fuel might be obtained from the island. Lignite is also found 
by the natives in sandstone in a deep valley or ravine, not far from 
Borneo city, and believed by the author to be that called Kianggi. 
The bed extends obliquely from one side of the ravine to the other, 
forming an angle of about 45°, with the direction of a rivulet, 
which flows through the valley ; and it is stated to be more than 
two yards in breadth. The valley is accessible by a path called 
Jalan-subrek, and conspicuous from the palace of the Sultan, but it 
is steep, rugged, and narrow. ‘The distance from the water-edge is 
less than two miles. The whole of the peninsula lying on one side 
of the river is formed of very steep hills, which gradually become 
more lofty towards the south-west. Upon the main land, or oppo- 
site side of the river, the ridges are supposed to range at right angles 
to the mountains. They are composed, generally, of a soft sand- 
stone, alternating with clay; but on the summit of one of the 
hills, Mr. Lay noticed the outcrop of a hard red sandstone, formed 
of round and angular masses of quartz, particles of black mica, and 
a ferruginous cement. 
A paper was last read, “On some Geological Specimens from 
Syria;” by Mr. W. C. Williamson. 
The specimens were sent to England by Mr. Heugh, to whom 
the author states, he is indebted for a few notes respecting the local- 
ities, whence they were obtained. The chief districts are the vici- 
nity of Beyroot, especially Mount Gebeel Suneen, which forms the 
part of the Lebanon range immediately above Beyroot. The tri- 
angular tongue of land, on which that town is built, is about four 
miles in extent from the mountains to the coast, and it presents an 
undulating surface, some of the higher points attaining 500 feet 
above the level of the sea. The formation of which it is composed, 
is a hard cream-coloured limestone, which exhibits in the cliffs along 
the sea-shore numerous veins of flint; and it is in one part of the 
coast overlaid by a soft calcareous rock, occasionally 100 feet thick. 
The latter stone is easily wrought, and is employed as a building 
material, being better able to resist the effects of the earthquakes 
than the harder and more compact rock. 
On ascending Gebeel Suneen from the flat plain, which extends 
along its foot, and is 400 feet above the level of the sea, the follow- 
ing rocks are passed over :—- 
Compact limestone........... sae . 1200 to 1500 feet. 
Coarse siliceous conglomerate, “containing 
thin seams of lignite, and fragments ai 
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