74 Transactions of the South African Philosophical Society. 
flora obtained at Vereeniging, &c., by Mr. Draper, and as a result 
of their thoroughly accurate determinations, decided that such fossil 
plants were from a much older horizon than the Stormberg, and 
though they had’ never seen the locality were able to correct the 
mistakes of local observers. 
At Wesselton diamond-mine near Kimberley a piece of sandstone 
from these EHicca Beds was found with well-preserved fossil fish on 
it. Mr. Gardner Williams has the specimen. At Kimberley mine 
small sauroid remains have been found from time to time in the 
grey shales above the black shales. 
CONCLUSION. 
When my 1886 report was written there was no workable coal 
known to occur within the margin of the area outlined by the Dwyka 
conglomerate (Pl. I), and the northern limit of the conglomerate 
remained to be filled in. Now this northern course of the con- 
elomerate is known, and it is found that within these bounds, and 
above the Dwyka conglomerate sometimes resting directly upon it, 
there are coal seams of enormous thickness and apparently extending 
over immense areas. Formerly the question was, Do coal seams of 
workable character occur at the horizon of the Ecca Beds? This 
question is now most fully answered in the affirmative by such 
extensive deposits as are worked at Vereeniging, Middelberg and the 
South Rand coal-fields. 
The question remaining now is, How far south do these abnormally 
thick seams of coal extend? This is partly answered by the occur- 
rence of great bodies of broken coal, fireclay, iron pyrites in large 
nodules, and black shales with impression of glossopteris and 
calamities all mixed together in faults at the Camdeboo and near 
Beaufort West. It is scarcely to be expected that over an area 800 
miles long, and from 150 to 350 miles wide, an unbroken seam of 
coal exists, but that there are great areas within the margin of the 
Dwyka conglomerate of workable coal is now proved at the northern 
end, and systematic drilling would doubtless soon result in proving 
extensive coal seams to exist in other portions of the basin. 
At East London probably the coal may be found nearest to the 
seaboard ; Port Elizabeth might draw supplies from near Cradock, 
and Cape Town from near Beaufort West; but unless active 
operations in the way of boring are undertaken it is very certain 
that the Sub-Karroo coal will not supply fuel at a cheaper rate 
to the railways nor assist the development of Cape Colony by 
furnishing fuel for passing merchantmen and ships of war, provide 
fuel for pumping water on to the Karroo soil, nor wed house- 
hold grates with fuel at reasonable rates. 
