40 



JOURNAL, R.A.S. (CEYLON). [VOL. XV. 



In favouring me with a copy of his " Guide Book to the 

 Minerals in the British Museum* (which has been of immense 

 use and service to me), the distinguished author, whose kind 

 sympathy with me in my undertaking I cannot adequately 

 express my gratitude for, wrote to me : — 



I am afraid you will find it difficult to do very much in the examina- 

 tion of your rocks at Ceylon, unless you are provided with a peno- 

 logical microscope and have the skill and patience and time for the 

 preparation of thin sections for examination by that instrument — 



and added with an amount of grim humour :-— 



People like yourself, with scientific tastes, can do very useful work 

 in these countries, which are practically inaccessible to those who, like 

 myself, are chained down in these remote regions. 



Conscious of the manifold shortcomings in this Paper — the 

 result of desultory work undertaken during the leisure which 

 a busy professional life has stintingly bestowed on me — I 

 should hesitate to submit it to this Society, but that my object 

 is to invite the attention and to excite the interest of the 

 authorities, the capitalist, as well as of the student of Nature, 

 to the rich and unlimited field of scientific research which 

 the vast undeveloped geological and mineral resources of the 

 Island afford. 



Introductory. 

 Ceylon has not been geologically surveyed. Davy (1821) 

 made the first real attempt at describing the geology of the 

 Island, but his personal observations were chiefly confined 

 to the interior.! Bennett's work (1843) contains a slight 

 reference ;J while Macvicar's comments§ and Gardner's 

 sketch|| (1847) clearly show that beyond a general sur- 

 vey, these scientists had not the opportunity of diving 



* "An Introduction to the Study of Rocks," by L. Fletcher, M. A., F.R.S.. 

 Keeper of Minerals in the British Museum ; formerly Fellow of University 

 College and Millard Lecturer at Trinity College, Oxford. 1896. 



f " An Account of the Interior of Ceylon and its Inhabitants." 2 vols. 

 London, 1821. 



t " Ceylon and its Capabilities," by J. W. Bennett. London, 1843. 

 § A Paper originally read before the Royal Physical Society of Edinburgh^ 

 by the Rev. J. Gr. Macvicar, D.D. 



|| Appendix to Lee's Translation of Rebeiro. 



