October i, 1887.] THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
found generally in association with quartz, and 
its great purity is due to the fact that in this 
island, unlike the conditions in India, it is scarcely 
ever found in association with and contaminated 
by lime. Gold in the form of dust is widely dis- 
tributed. It was gathered in the rivers from far 
back in antiquity, and Austratian diggers, a 
generation ago, created a "rush" to the Mahaoya. 
More fever than gold was the result, but it seems 
pretty certain that deep digging into the quartz 
reefs near the sources of this river in Dolosbage, 
as well as in other places (notably Batpapura, 
where small nuggets have been gathered), would 
give profitable results to skilful miners backed by 
capitalists. Meantime the true wraith of Ceylon 
is in its soil, under the influence of its genial climate. 
The vast mass of Ceylon consists of primary 
rooks or soil and alluvial matter derived from 
their decay. Our recent formations consist, we 
believe, we may say, exclusively of various forms 
of what geologists term breccia. This formation, 
or rathor re-formation, of existing material and 
of foreign material driven on our shores by cur- 
rents (which specially abound off Ceylon, reaching 
our island in some cases from far of! Australia) 
is confined almost exclusively to the sea coast. 
The only marked exception is in the case of the 
recently elevated northern end of the island, 
where in a sketoh map Tennent represents the 
"Madrepore" region as extending southwards as 
far as a straight line from Mannar to Mullaittivu 
would inolude, while, going well inland from 
Mannar, it stretches along the north-west shore 
until it comes to u point opposite the island of 
Karaitlivu and the principal pearl banks. The 
total area thus shown compares in size with the 
mountain system, but wo cannot help suspecting 
it is somewhat exaggerated, for during a recent 
journey nothing struck us more than the ab- 
solute disappearance of any traoe of marine 
formations or products at a short distance in- 
land from Mannar. On the bund of the Giant's 
Tunk, for instance, thero are some blocks of 
coral breccia. But they are as markedly of 
distant as the gneiss is of local origin, the latter 
rock being abundant in the river olose by. One of 
the most curious and valuable forms of breccia 
in the island is that which forms on the sea- 
shore north of the Kelani river, near Colombo, 
and which, beautifully stratified, as grey, yel- 
low, or black ferruginous sand predominates, 
forms cliffs rising to twelve feet high in some 
oases. '1 in, rock, which can be absolutely seen 
in the process 01 daily formation, and which yet 
yields a valuable building material (l'aniunagama 
stone), is from its highly arenaceous character, 
naturally enough, known popularly as sandstone. 
Its constituents include not only the soa shore- 
aami and matters carried by and deposited from 
currents, but detritus brought down by the rivers 
and driven on the shores by the monsoon waves. 
Fragments may bo found in this formation, not only 
of all the materials— quartz, mioa hornblende 
and felspar, — of our primitivo rocks, but also 
of the piecious stones which exist in (he 
alluvium through which the rivors, after escap- 
ing from the mountains run. We quoted re- 
cently, Irom Mr. llaly'a Museum Report, a 
notice of Home ourious breccias found by him 
IB) the shores of the bay in which our chiof 
poarl banks aro situated. This we now requote : — 
Opposit.. Kumittivu tho coast in particularly inturost- 
iug, and I explored it in far as Kudramalai pcint, 
and . oil,. ■ v 1 apocimom of th» formations, duplicates 
of which tin v a boou sent to Berlin with u short de- 
■toriptiuii ut th<. coast. The specimens I procured were, 
firm, a kind Ol .alerito, of which frugmuuts that had 
lalluu in tint sja bevame hardened, and acquired a 
2S3 
polish, showing the. constituents of the rock very 
clearly. The most remarkable circumstance about the 
fragments is, that they are f ull of pieces of shell. I 
had little time at my disposal tor thoroughly examining 
the formation, but as far as 1 could see, there was no 
trace of fossil shells to be fouud in the cliffs themselves. 
Whether the)' really do exist in the cliff's, or whether 
the fragments are first broken upandtlieu mixed witb 
the broken shells, and reunited by the action of the 
water, I cannot say, and I trust the Berliu geologists 
will be able to inform us. Secondly, fragments of the 
upper part of some lofty limestone cliffs, most pecu- 
liarly weathered these cliffs looHike coarse sandstone, 
but the applicatiou of acid reveals their true charac- 
ter. Thirdly, fossil shells, all of one species, from the 
base of these cliffs. These are undoubtedly true fossils. 
Fourthly, specimens of tho limestoue, as it crops up 
through tho beach. Fifthly, specimens of raised beach 
at few feet above the sea-level — a conglomorate ot 
recent shells and corals. Sixthly, specimens of shells 
from the forest soil resting on this raised beach ; it is 
in some parts ten ft. ormorein thickness, and is full 
of shells of the same species as arc now living on the 
surface. Seventhly, specimens of the same soil hard- 
ened by tho action of the sea, and again worn by 
exposure to the atmosphere. Pottery aud recent fresh 
water shells are sculptured out in the most, delicate 
manner by the gradual weariug away of the hardened 
earth. Numerous specimens of recent marine shells 
are found in the lower pa.t of the forest soil, and 
also immense quantities of pearl-oyster shells mixed 
with pottery, showing that a pearl-fishery existed here 
in very ancient times. 
We also quote our own remark on Mr. Haly's 
statement : — 
'• As to the curious formations and re-formations 
fouud by Mr. Haly on the shores opposite the pearl 
banks, we venture to predict that the sapants in 
Berliu will decide that tho rocks were first com- 
minuted by attrition and thou glued together, with 
shells intermixed by the large quantities of carbonate 
of lime in the sea water, the mineral mentioned being 
that, without abundance of which present, pearl sheila 
in millions of millions during countless generations could 
not have been formed." 
We may also refer our correspondent to our 
recent article, in which we traced the mud 
which so bounds near Puttalam and is filling 
one lagoon after another on the north-western 
coast, to currents from Southern India, sweep- 
ing round and striking on to our coasts. To 
currents such as these are attributed the shift- 
ing sheets and " danes " of sand and even the 
red soil which overlie the so-called madrepore 
formation of the Jaffna Peninsula. That form- 
ation in geological parlance is as much a breccia 
as is tho "sandstone" near Colombo. But the 
Jaffna breccia, blocks of which also make good 
building material, are composed almost ex- 
clusively of carbonate of lime, while the soil 
which overlies them is largely siliceous. If the 
geological theory is correct, only the coral found- 
ation is of local origin, the sand and the arable 
soil being con.ributions from the coast of Coro- 
mandel, borne across the strait between 1'oint 
Calimere and Point Pedro by bountiful cur- 
rents. The origin of the limestone breccia 
seems obvious enough. The sea- water off the 
northern coast of Ceylon (and the same is truo 
of the southern coast between Galle and Matara) 
must be permeated with carbonate of lime, and 
the coarl insects (polyparia) aro now, as they 
have been for countless age, incessantly at work' 
• When resident at Poiut P«dro we wore able occa- 
sionally to iuo these curious creatures at work ou their 
•tony skeletons or abodes. Tbuy were covered with a 
slirao of jelly like carbonato of lime, which ihoy were 
depositing on strictly mathematical line*, their up and 
down motion in the proci MS reminding us oi that of 
a saw, rising out ot and sinking iuto a pit 
