Remarks on the Geology of Tavoy. 365 



tal strata beneath Mata, at the waters edge ;* while Y and Z 

 are specimens of the petrified wood and lignite, discovered 

 by Mr. Wade, half a day's journey up the northern branch of 

 the Tenasserim ; and finally a is a specimen of the rocks on 

 the banks of the river in that direction. 



The above specimens are by no means offered as a com- 

 plete exhibition of all the rocks in the region they embrace, 

 but merely all that I have noticed without paying much 

 attention to the subject, the collection having been made for 

 my own amusement only. Still they certainly include the most 

 prominent ones, and geology has made such progress, that a 

 skilful geologist will often be able to supply the missing 

 numbers of a series, and from an imperfect set of spe- 

 cimens, form a correct judgment of the mineral or minerals 

 existing in the region from which they were taken. I am 

 desirous therefore to have these specimens examined by some 

 good geologist, and hear his opinion on them severally. I 

 make no pretensions to geology myself, yet the specimens 

 marked V, W, X, indicate I think coal ; and if f be graphic 

 slate, it points to authorities in connection with it, while the 

 clay slate s, bounding the stream tin region, gives fair 

 promise it seems to me of veins of that ore. I have no 

 inclination to doubt Dr. Heifer's scientific acquirements, 

 but he went so hastily over the ground, that the general 

 views which he gives of the geology of the coast, are but little 

 applicable to this province. He says, " a great portion of the 

 surface of the interior is composed of primitive rocks, chiefly 

 a granite, great parts of mountains running parallel from 

 north to south, through the peninsula are granite of gneiss ;" 

 yet I see nothing in the interior that makes any approach to 

 granite, except the rocks from which the specimen O and Q 

 were taken, and those I suppose, he would call gneiss ; and 



* These are characteristic rocks of the coal formation. A little fur- 

 ther examination at Mata will probably be attended with the discovery 

 of coal, if not already found there. — Ed. 



