50 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 



far away to the west, the coal ought to exist with all the regu- 

 larity which composes its formation. Unfortunately, on the west 

 side is the sea ; and the actual level ought to he raised some 

 hundreds of metres to enable us to easily work out the riches to 

 which the Ocean now interdicts the access. In fact, it is 

 probable that the waters which actually cover the ancient coal- 

 beds have preserved them from the destruction which those have 

 suffered that were emerged, i.e., exposed to the violence of 

 atmospheric erosions. That which is here remarkable is, that 

 frequently the rocks that accompany the coal are very friable and 

 decompose into sand under the feeblest force. 



" Whatever the cause, as I have said in my 'Geology' p. 53, 54, 

 the plain of St. Vincent may cover coal deposits, whilst on the 

 upper part of the Ouenghi River, where I have found traces of 

 coal, where the eruptive rocks are less abundant, where the 

 Carboniferous zone shows itself on a broader area, we ought to 

 have solid expectations of finding a working combustible. 



"At Mont d'Or search for coal would be venturesome and costly ; 

 it would consist in the sinking of a shaft situated in the spot I 

 have pointed out under the name of ' Hot au charbon.' This 

 shaft, if it did not meet with the beds of coal, which in these 

 shore-districts sink beneath the waters, ought to be, at a certain 

 depth, the point of departure of adits suitably directed for 

 traversing the strata. But, I repeat, that would be an enterprise 

 which would require an important expenditure of capital and 

 able engineers. The geographical situation of this locality as 

 well as the pretty good character of the coal I have seen, never- 

 theless, would justify this trial. 



" Jules Garnier." 



" P.S. — I have just looked over, before I send off this notice, 

 my geological collection from New Caledonia, at the Permanent 

 Exhibition of the Wavy and Colonies. I have not found there 

 less than eleven specimens of rocks marked on the labels, and in 

 the catalogue as ' nickeUfere. Many specimens are also so rich 

 in nickel that I believed (in 1867) that it was right to arrange 



