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JOUHKAI4 B, A, S, (CEYLON,) [Vol III. 



Imbedded in the gneiss, at various places, one finds magnesian 

 limestone, generally of a brilliant white colour and of a coarse 

 crystalline structure ; occasionally it contains crystals of horn- 

 blende, and also orange-red spots, the composition of which I 

 have not ascertained. The stone bears a good polish, and I am 

 now trying it for flooring, a purpose for which it will, I think, 

 be found well adapted, being clean, cool, cheerful looking, 

 enduring, and ornamental. It is only within the last couple of 

 years that the majority of the localities where this mineral 

 occurs has been ascertained, and the discovery happened most 

 opportunely, as numerous public works are in progress or 

 contemplation. Hitherto lime has been brought from Arippu, a 

 distance of forty-four miles. 



In the early part of this year, I discovered in the bed of the 

 Kalu-ar, about six miles east of " The Doric," a number of fossil 

 shells and corals converted into a beautiful semi-transparent 

 amber-coloured mass ; the associated nodules of variegated 

 chert also contain numerous petrifactions and casts. I was 

 unable to examine the beds at leisure, and therefore only obtained 

 mutilated specimens, but judging from these, I should think 

 that these limestone strata belong not to the present, but to the 

 tertiary formation. 



On a late circuit Mr. Quinton pointed out to me considerable 

 quantities of a dark, heavy, metalliferous stone, which has all the 

 outward appearance of furnace slag. The native tradition is, 

 that it is the refuse from the forges of giants who lived of old ; 

 but as I have since found it in many places, and as Mr. Quinton 

 tells me that it is common over a large part of the Mullaittlvu 

 district, I am inclined to hope that it may be a natural product, 

 and have instituted inquiries into the matter. 



The soil of the district is generally of a reddish hue, occa- 

 sionally intensely so, but, where liable to inundation, whether 

 natural or artificial, it is darker and richer. Potter's clay is 

 abundant, but so far as I know, none of it is adapted to the 

 manufacture of the finer kinds of earthenware. The soil, on the 

 whole, is not unfavorable to cultivation. 



