1868.] KINGSIIILL GEOLOGY OF CHINA. 129 



down, and which form a continuation of those at Snichang. This 

 series contains in the district at least one coal-seam, which is worked 

 at a place called Yishan, some six miles distant from the river ; the 

 coal is slightly bituminous, but soft and friable, and does not appear 

 to occur in quantity ; the seam is said to be about 3 feet thick, and 

 dips towards the west at a slight angle. The coal rests on a bed of 

 whitish clay containing the remains of roots, and is capped with a 

 black shale in which occur plentifully remains of Sigillarice (appa- 

 rently S. reniformis), as well as leaves resembling in their striae those 

 before spoken of. The series seems to be overlain at no great 

 distance by the succeeding formations ; but a hasty visit some four 

 years ago did not give me time to note the sequence satisfactorily. 

 At Hingkwoh, situated in the same district, but more to the east, a 

 bed of similar coal is said to occur ; the district is surrounded by the 

 earlier rocks of Suichang. 



At Nanking, however, the lower Tungting beds are succeeded by 

 a very important series of newer rocks, which, as occurring preemi- 

 nently in the Chung-shan outside the north-east angle of the city, 

 may conveniently be named the Chung-shan series. Following the 

 system adopted in the nomenclature of the lower beds, they may be 

 subdivided as follows : — 



4 1 i / J Grits and coarse yellow sandstones 1 , 



1 "m 05 I containing beds of coal j 



3. )■ «io-§ < Quartzose conglomerate About 100 feet. 



2. I § 2^ Red flagstones „ 1800 „ 



1- j O V Coarse red grits and sandstones „ 500 ,, 



I do not know the lateral extension of the series, which assumes 

 some importance in this district ; it seems to extend to some distance 

 to the south and west of Nanking, and to be repeated to the north 

 of the river Yangtse, where, however, as yet, I have had no oppor- 

 tunity of becoming acquainted with the rock-masses. I am disposed, 

 however, to look upon it as the representative of the newer coal- 

 beds of North China, at least until further investigation has proved 

 their dissimilarity. South of Nanking, in a range of detached hills 

 between that city and Taiping-fu, rising to some 1000 feet over the 

 plain, another series of yellow quartzose grits and conglomerate 

 occurs ; the conglomerate is remarkable from containing fragments 

 of the Tungting limestones, as well as pebbles of quartz rock, which 

 can only be referred to that formation : this I am disposed pro- 

 visionally to look upon as the summit of the series ; but as I have 

 never met with a similar formation in other localities, this is of the 

 less importance to our present purpose. 



The lower beds of the Chuug-shan series offer few peculiarities. 

 They lie unconformably over the edges of the Tungting rocks, as 

 may be readily observed on the road leading from the Taiping-men 

 at Nanking, and contain occasional fragments of the older rocks im- 

 bedded in them. The lowermost rocks are very irregularly deposited, 

 but are followed by a system of fine-grained dark red sandstones 

 (No. 2), which attain a considerable thickness. The series within the 

 immediate district of Nanking (fig, 5) ranges from the neighbourhood 



