ON EOCENE FOEMATIONS OF WESTERN SEEVIA. 565 



47. On certain Eocene Foemations of Western Servia. By Dr. A. 

 B. Griefiths, P.R.S.E., P.C.S., &c. (Read June 23, 1886.) 



(Communicated bj the President.) 

 [Abridged.] 



The formation described, consisting of shales containing paraffin 

 wax, is met with near the river Golabara,in the west of Servia, and is 

 known to extend over about 30 square miles of country. It forms 

 cliffs rising about 200 feet above the surrounding plains ; these 

 show numerous very thin layers of white and grey shale, sometimes 

 separated by thin beds of whitish clay containing rock-salt. The 

 whole geology of the district closely resembles that of the paraffin 

 and salt districts of Galicia. The shales are very rich in paraffin, 

 are entirely free from bituminous impurities, and have no odour. 

 The paraffin in these deposits is probably of vegetable origin *, pro- 

 duced by natural distillation of the old Brown Coals which abound 

 in the vicinity. 



On analysis the paraffin shale gave by distillation 2 per cent, of 

 a semisolid hydrocarbon, resembling ozokerite wax, which, when ex- 

 tracted with benzoline, gave 1*75 per cent, of wax. The analysis 

 gave: — 



°Cer'af7o4T*'°"^' ^^^' I ^''^'^= I ^'^S HyTr'ocarbon oils of 



'^ -' [ the QnB~2n+2 serics. 



Water of combination 3*02 



Carbonaceous matter containing 



Nitrogen 2-94 (yielding 1-18 Ammonia) 



Alumina (Al^Og) 30-24 



Iron oxide (Ee^Og) 4-79 



Magnesia (MgO) 1-16 



Lime(CaO) 1-11 



Potash (K,0) 2-00 



Soda(JsXO) 0-38 



Silica (SiO^) 52-32 



Loss 0-04 



100-00 



The old Brown Coals of the vicinity (which contain more or less 

 rhombic iron pyrites, often in rather large macles) gave on 

 analysis : — 



* See the author's paper " On the Occurrence of Phenol in Pinits sylvestris ; a 

 Discovery bearing on the Flora of the Carboniferous Epoch and the Formation 

 of Petroleum," 'Chemical News,' vol. xHx. p. 95 ; ' Chemiker Zeituug,' vol. viii. 

 p. 342 ; and ' Berichte der deutschen chemischen Gesellsch.' no. 628, April 

 1884, p. 171. 



Q.J.G.S. No. 168. 2q 



