J. R, Gregory — Lignite-bed near Cape Town. 15 



IV. — The Lignite Bed near Cape Town, South Afeica. 

 By James R. Gregory. 



AT the commencement of the present year some considerable 

 interest was excited at Cape Town through the announcement 

 in the newspapers that coal had been discovered at the Cape, and 

 pronounced by reputed competent authorities to be of very good 

 quality. Very soon afterwards it was reported, however, that it 

 was not coal but peat, or lignite, and of bad quality ; but still the 

 newspapers persisted in calling it " The Coal diggings." I heard of 

 the discovery on my first arrival at Cape Town, in April last, and 

 resolved to visit the spot at the first opportunity. In the meantime 

 I obtained some information, and also the name of the person who 

 was superintending the working, and on April 24th went to the 

 Klapmuts Station on the Cape Town and Wellington Eailway, and 

 walked across to the Joostenberg workings, about five miles from 

 the station. 



I found on my arrival that a pit had been sunk to the depth of 

 91 feet through a constant series of sands and clays, apparently of 

 Tertiary age. Whilst I was there, Mr. Thomas, who was super- 

 intending the sinking, most obligingly measured and gave me the 

 various thicknesses of the different beds, which I subjoin : these 

 were published some time afterwards in the newspapers at Cape 

 Town : — 



Fine wliite sand 6* o' 



Black, or nearly black, very friable sandstone, highly bituminous 4 3 



Lignite. 1 2 



Black highly bituminous clay 7 \ 



Soft bluish sand 1 



Bluish friable sandstone 2 



Loose blue sand 3 g 



Mottled bluish clay 5 4 



Eed and bluish clay and sand 7 2 



Bed ochreous clay ,, 3 g 



White and yellowish mottled pipe-clay 15 



Brown clay, like fuller's earth 6 8 



E,ed and white mottled clay 4 9 



Brown cl y, like fuller's earth 3 5 



Bluish clay 2 



Purple or slate-coloured clay 1 5 



Brown clay, like fuller's earth 2 6 



Bluish clay i 3 



Brown friable sandstone 8 6 



Purple or slate-coloured friable sandstone 2 9 



.Chocolate-brown fr-iable sandstone 16 



90 II 

 Now as this lignite did not turn out to be coal, the Cape geoloo-ists, 

 who professed to have much knowledge of coal-mining as well as of 

 everything else relating to minerals, suggested to dig deeper and 

 deeper till they came to coal ; for as lignite was coal half- finished, 

 coal quite finished was certain to be found below. To go deeper is 

 unfortunately the idea with many persons unacquainted with coal- 

 mining and the geological age of rocks. Now, by the table above, 



