of the Island of Sumatra, ^c. 403 



In the interior of the Lampong country is a lake^ the position of which was 

 not sufficiently determined to enable Mr. Marsden to lay it down in his map. 

 This lake has been twice visited within the two last years by the orders of 

 Sir T. S. Raffles : from its neighbourhood are obtained jasper, slate rock, and 

 trap ; there is a hot spring on one side of it. It gives origin, near its soutli- 

 ern extremity, to a river which, after passing through the country of Haji, 

 takes the name of Kamring, and falls into the Palembang river a little below 

 the town. 



Tulang Bawang rises in Gunong Ompo, to the southward of lake Ranau, 

 and has no communication, as was formerly supposed, with the Palembang. 



Among the islands which skirt the western coast of Sumatra, the largest and 

 most important is that of Pulo Nias ; which has hitherto remained almost 

 unknow^n to Europeans. It is about seventy miles long by twenty-five broad, 

 and is for the most part hilly, though none of its mountains are of great eleva- 

 tion. It is very populous, and its soil, which is naturally rich, is highly culti- 

 vated. The most singular circumstance in its geological structure, is the 

 extensive occurrence of calcareous masses of coral origin, which are found 

 near the surface on almost all the hills, lying immediately above the rocky 

 strata, and to all appearance precisely in their original position *. These coral 

 masses are in general so little altered that their different species can be deter- 

 mined with certainty, and even the fragile stems of the Madrepora muricata, 

 and other branched kinds, may be found no otherwise injured than by the 



* The specimens of coral which were received from Piilo Nias, and which were collected from 

 the hills by Dr. Jack, as appears from the labels attached to them, are all rounded masses, evi- 

 dently water-worn, and they may be divided into two classes. The 1st appears indeed exactly 

 to resemble recent coral ; the structure of the coral is unaltered, and the cells of the polypes 

 empty, and consequently the rock is of the usual lightness of coral. The 2d class consists of a 

 calcareous rock of the ordinary specific gravity of limestone : in specimens Nos. 19,105 and 19,106 

 the rock resembles some of the oolitic beds of Europe, and there are dispersed through it faint 

 traces of coralline bodies, which probably indicate that it has been originally derived from corals; 

 but in general the substance of the coral has been almost entirely dissolved, and the pores of 

 what remains filled up by sparry matter. This specimen has the aspect of an ancient rock. 

 Another specimen, No. 19,104, exhibits very faint traces of coralline bodies; but the rock is 

 filled with innumerable irregular cavities, which are stained internally by oxide of iron : the spe- 

 cific gravity of this last is also that usual to limestone. The rounded shape of the specimens, 

 Nos. 19,104, 19,105, 19,106, leads us to infer, that they were not procured from a rock in situ, 

 but were perhaps found lying on the surface, or imbedded in the soil of the hills : if so, they may 

 be considered as detritus ; and may therefore very possibly be portions of solid strata existing 

 in the island. The specimen of recent coral, stated to be found in the hills, is water-worn, and 

 appears to have been a detached piece. — Note by the Secretaries. 



