384 PEOCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [June 19, 



It has been supposed that the locality is very fatal to animal life, 

 from the presence of sulphurous vapours — that it is a sort of Avernus, 

 destroying birds and insects which pass in its neighbourhood ; but 

 I cannot endorse this view. I myself observed birds and insects 

 flying over it with ease and impunity, nor was any noxious smell 

 perceptible. Any ill effects could be produced only by the direct 

 action of the steam, with which th.^, sulphur could have little or 

 nothing to do ; and if any corroboration of this were required, it 

 need only be mentioned that the patch occupied by the sulphur- 

 springs is immediately surrounded by the brightest verdure, and a 

 stream of clear water runs along its edge and alone separates it from 

 paddy-fields in the most green and healthy condition. 



At the present time no attempt is made to obtain sulphur from 

 this prolific source. Although it can be obtained at the rate of 

 45 cents per picul of 133 lbs. (about 25. per cwt.), the Chinese go- 

 vernment stupidly and obstinately forbid its being worked. Still 

 sulphur has been largely obtained from these springs on the sly, or 

 by means of a bribe, and it yet remains for European enterprise to 

 open up so important and probably almost inexhaustible a source of 

 this valuable material. 



11. On the Geology o/ Benghazi, Baebaky; and an Account of the 

 Subsidences in its Yicinity. By G. B. Stacey, Esq. 



[Communicated by the President.] 



The town of Benghazi is built on a sandy foundation with a super- 

 stratum of clay. It is protected from the sea by a reef of sandstone 

 rocks, now only 2 or 3 feet above the level of the water. 



Inside the reef, the water reaches nearly to the clay cliffs, on 

 which, during the winter gales, it has a very destructive effect. 



Eifty years since, according to the testimony of natives, horse-races 

 were held inside the reef, where now the water is in some places 

 5 feet deep ; and, according to a European inhabitant, only a small 

 strip of water existed there twenty-five years ago. 



On the reef, remains of buildings are to be seen under water ; and 

 at Juliana Point the sea has made a breach, forming an island of 

 the point, between which and the mainland the water is very shallow. 



Hamilton, in his ' Travels in ^N'orth Africa,' mentions that the 

 land has sunk, and supposes a sudden catastrophe ; but, from the above 

 and other evidence, I imagine that the land is sinking regularly, and 

 comparatively quickly. 



Small hills of sandstone exist to the north-east and south-east of 

 the town, and are quarried for the stones of which the town is 

 built. 



The fundamental rock of the country is a Tertiary limestone, in 

 which several interesting subsidences have occurred, some of which 

 (the " Gardens of the Hesperides " of Beechey) are cultivated ; others, 

 more extensive, are filled with brackish water, and contain a large 

 eel and another fish of small size. 



