LIGNITE. 35 



From the account given by an intelligent native of some 

 rocks in the western part of Madagascar, and a little to the 

 south of the centre, a conglomerate seems to be found there, 

 for he describes hard rocks of great size as being filled as 

 thickly as possible with rolled pebbles of all dimensions and 

 shapes. He also mentions that near the sea he found a hard 

 black stone which rang like iron when struck. This occurred 

 in large, flat masses, scattered over the plain, and was full of 

 shells in good preservation. But here, again, no specimens 

 were brought for examination. 



A little more information as to the geology of Madagascar 

 is found in papers contributed to scientific periodicals in 

 England and Prance several years ago. The earbest of these 

 is by the late Dr. Buckland, who, in a " Notice on the Geolo- 

 gical Structure of a Part of the Island of Madagascar " * (Port 

 Louquez, near the northern extremity), describes a sandstone 

 without fossils, which he compares to the New Red Sandstone, 

 and in which are intercalated trap rocks similar to those of 

 Antrim in Ireland. 



As to the north-west side of Madagascar, in the Annates 

 des Mines (1854, Sme serie, t. vi. pp. 570-576) there is an 

 account of the discovery of beds of lignite, both in the island 

 of Ndsibe" and at two points on the neighbouring coast. In 

 the opinion of the officers who made the exploration, the beds 

 of this combustible are more ancient than the Tertiary forma- 

 tion. It is contained in layers of sandstone and clay schists, 

 is fibrous and shining, and burns readily with a long and 

 white flame, leaving little ash. If beds of this lignite should 

 be discovered in greater thickness, it would therefore be valu- 

 able both as steam coal and for use in the industrial arts. 



In the same French publication of a little later date (5 me 

 serie, t. viii., 1856) there is an " Essai sur la Geologie de 

 ISTdsibe," in which the soil of that island is described as con- 

 sisting of three different groups of strata : ( 1 ) Granitic rock, 

 gneiss, mica schist, slaty schist, and plastic clay; (2) red and 

 yellow sandstones, traversed by veins of gneiss and quartz ; 

 while (3) is essentially volcanic, consisting of basaltic and 

 trap lavas, overlaid in some places by beds of sandy material, 



* Trans. Geol. Soc, London, vol. v. p. 478. 



