NOTES AND QUERIES. 



69 



From these rem arts, it must not be supposed that I wish, in any way, 

 to detract from Mr. Mitchell's merits as an observer, — he is one of the 

 most indefatigable as well as intelligent workers in that interesting field, 

 the Forfarshire Old Bed Sandstone ; besides, not having seen his speci- 

 mens, it would be unfair to speak too decidedly as to the correctness of 

 the restorations. Mr. Mitchell has omitted to mention the locality from 

 whence his specimens have been procured, so that the position of the con- 

 taining rock might be ascertained. I have, however, little doubt but that 

 this occupies the same horizon as that at Bridge of Allan, and that hence 

 his Pteraspis is, in all probability, specifically the same as those in my pos- 

 session. James Powrie. 



Seswallie, January 23rd, 1863. 



East Coast of China. — The geology of this region was described by 

 Mr. F. W. Kingsmill, in a paper read before the Geological Society of 

 Dublin during the past year, and is printed in the last number of the 

 ' Dublin Quarterly Journal.' Commencing with the igneous rocks, there 

 stretches, from the neighbourhood of the island of Hainan, N.N.E., to the 

 Chusan Archipelago, a range of low granite mountains, from a few hun- 

 dred to three thousand feet high, and in breadth from twelve to thirty 

 miles. These hills form, for the most part, the coast-line, seldom receding 

 more than a few miles inland. This granite, wherever it occurs, is deeply 

 disintegrated, sometimes to a depth of one or two hundred feet ; whilst 

 everywhere embedded in the soft, yielding matrix, there occur nodules of 

 more quartzose character, which have resisted the effects of time and che- 

 mical change. The masses are usually of a lozenge shape, and vary in 

 size from a few feet to several hundred. The original quartz veins, broken 

 into fragments, still traverse the disintegrated mass ; whilst in the enclosed 

 nodules concentric structure can generally be traced. In the higher 

 grounds, the soft, yielding matrix has generally been removed by denuda- 

 tion, leaving those pseudo-boulders perched all over the granite hills, and 

 presenting an aspect not unlike the boulder-formations of more northern 

 latitudes. These have led, the author says, to an error in Professor An- 

 sted's 'Elementary Treatise' — namely, that the southern limit of the 

 glacial drift reached as far as Macao. 



In the Quan-si, west of Canton, a gneissose rock is described. Resting 

 on the granite occurs a stratified formation, most likely of Silurian age. 

 It may be seen to advantage in the island of Hongkong. Over this is 

 found a red sandstone, in some parts runniug into conglomerate. At the 

 entrance to the West River (See-kiang) there is a dark, fine-grained, alu- 

 minous schist, much used for ink-stones and carved work. Over this red 

 sandstone is the great limestone formation of China — the representative, 

 probably, of the carboniferous limestone. In Quan-si it contains veins of 

 graphite. Near Peking, at Lu-sud-twang, occurs a bluish-yellow slate, of 

 so fissile a character as to be used for covering houses. The coal-mea- 

 sures succeed the limestone, the lowest member being apparently amicaceous 

 sandstone, interstratified, near Peking, with compact ironstone and beds of 

 ironstone. The coal-beds there are spoken of as overlaid by compact 

 limestone. In the province of Chu-kiang a coal district also occurs, the 

 measures probably being continuous ; in this case, the Chinese coal-fields 

 may prove to be the largest in the world, and at a future period will have 

 an important influence on the destinies of the East. 



The author knew of no formations of later date than the coal-measures, 

 with the exception of the alluvial deposits in the groat plains and perhaps 

 some Secondary rocks in the island of Hainan. Those plains occupy the 

 greater part of China, and are everywhere intersected with canals and 



