102 Mineralogy of the Island of Ceylon* 



of the age of the coarse h'mestone of the Parisian for- 

 mation." 



2. Mineralogy of the Island of Ceylon. 



A letter reached me, a iew days since, from the Rev. 

 Miron Winslow, American Missionary in the East-Indies, 

 dated Oodooville, (Jaffna,) Jan. 11, 1821. It contains a 

 pumber of facts, relating to the mineralogy and geology of 

 Ceylon, some of which, I suspect, are not generally known 

 to the readers of your valuable work. I therefore copy a 

 large part of the letter, and send the transcript to you for 

 examination; and, if you think it of sufficient importance, 

 for insertion in the "American Journal of Science and the 

 Arts," please give it a place. Yours truly, 



FREDERICK HALL. 



Prop. Silliman. 

 Middlehury College, 27th August, 1 822. 



"I earnestly wish that by delaying so long I could now 

 say something as satisfactory to my own mind on the other 

 subject, — that of the mineralogy of this Island. I did hope, 

 in accordance with your request, to be able to send you 

 some specimens of the precious stones, at least; but have as 

 yet entirely failed in my attempts to obtain any ; and had 

 I obtained them, should have found it very difficult to for- 

 ward them from this corner of the Eastern world,which has 

 very little communication with any other part of India. In 

 coming to the Island we first landed at Trincomale, and af- 

 terwards at Point De Galle and Colombo, at all of which 

 places I tried to obtain specimens ; but could find none 

 except at Galle, and there only in the hands of the jewel- 

 lers, who demanded a great price for them. The precious 

 stones are found only in the interior of the Island ; and as 

 very few here pay attention to science of any kind, there 

 have been no considerable attempts to explore mineralogic- 

 al treasures, that might be there found; and no cabinets of 

 minerals have been formed from which one might borrow. 

 A Society has lately been instituted at Columbo, called the 

 ^^ Ceylon Literary Society,''^ which promises to do some- 

 thing in this way: and I do not despair of being able here- 

 after to give you a better account of the mineralogy of this 

 Island than I now can. 



