1848.] Proceedings of the Asiatic Society . 703 



tigable associate and contributor Capt. Sherwill, B.N. I. and refer our readers 

 to that paper for full details of the examination of it. 



Economic Geology. — From the late D. H. Williams, Esq. Company's Geo- 

 logist, we have received specimens of two new beds of Coal, the exact locality 

 of which is not given, but the one is stated to be from a new locality 15 or 20 

 miles to the south-east of Hazareebagh, and the other from two new beds in 

 the Damooda Coal field ; and specimens of Iron ore, also from the Hazareebagh 

 and Burdwan districts. 



From Messrs. Jardine, Skinner and Co. a specimen of Coal from New- 

 castle, N. S. Wales, from which part of the world we hitherto had no spe- 

 cimens for comparison if required. 



From J. Homfray, Esq. some small but highly curious specimens of the 

 Ball Coal from the Seetarampore Colliery in Burdwan, of all sizes, from that 

 of a walnut to a small Cheshire cheese. Mr. Homfray has also presented the 

 Museum with another splendid specimen, which appears to be the carbonised 

 and flattened stem of a tree, the first tree stem, I think, of any kind, which 

 has been found in the Coal in this country. 



Mr. Homfray's letter is as follows : — 



My dear Mr. Piddington, — I have now the pleasure to send you some 

 specimens of the " Boulders of Coal" from a new Colliery opened upon the same 

 vein of Coal as that to which my printed notice refers. The largest boulder 

 I think very unique, and some of the small ones still more so, but you will 

 observe that in some pieces I have sent there are 2 small boulders or nodules 

 close to each other, and imbedded in the circumjacent Coal remarkably — the 

 boulders having their concentric layers of Coal, whilst the masses in which 

 they are imbeded has the layers horizontally disposed. 



There is one specimen which has the appearance of the stem of a tree, 

 as though it had been cut across. The layers of Coal are also concentric, 

 just similar to those in the stems of trees — this specimen was originally about 

 3 feet in height, but broke across in its carriage from the Colliery to this place. 

 I am still very undecided what to say about the formation of the balls, the 

 manner in which they originally increased by additional coats of carbonaceous 

 matter, or, if you please, Coal. About 175 feet above the Coal vein are found 

 the Ironstone measures 43 feet in thickness, and having several veins of Iron- 

 stone, some of which are what we call ball Ironstone. In my survey of the Pa- 

 lamow Coal July 183/) recorded in the Coal Committee's Report, (page 15.9, 

 and section, p. 162,) the Ironstone thence alluded to contains beautiful " Ball 

 Ironstone," and in page 163 you will see the allusion to the existence of peb- 

 bles and rounded conglomerates in the sandstone overlying one of the veins 

 of Coal. I mention these to call your attention to the fact of its having been 



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