May l; nm.] THE TKOPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
759 
The crew of each boat ]ivi> on board the 
b(iat, vi.siriiiir the shore only for the purpose 
of tr.uif, i)uichasiuf>- their stoves, and pack- 
ing their shells for export; and, as their work 
is in most instances carried on outside of 
the three-mile limit, none of tliose dan^^ers 
which the Immigration Plestriction Act is 
designed to prevent can possibly be antici- 
pated. This question is of such vital import- 
ance to a vast number of boat-owners and 
business people settled in the northern por- 
tion of the continent that T feel justified in 
urging your Government to give it your 
earliest and most favourable consideration." 
Brisbane, Slarch 25.— The Home Secretary 
lias received an important telagram from 
the Government Resident at Thursday 
Island bearing on the threatened removal 
of the headquarters of the pearl shelling 
industry to Dutch New Guinea on account 
of the operation of the Innnigration Restric- 
tion Act. Mr. Mitchell, manager of Messrs. 
Burn, Philp. and Co., arrived from Dutch 
New Guinea on Sunday, find reports favour- 
ably regarding the Marouky's River. The 
entrance to the river, he states, is well 
marked. There is 3^ fathoms of water on 
the bar, and the river is n-'vigable for 40 
miles. He describes the soil as rich with 
extensive groves of coconuts. The Dutch have 
built spacious houses and barracks, and 
have 4U0 soldiers besides artificers. The com- 
munity numbers 600, and more are expected 
shortly. There is a monthly service by 
steamer from Java. Mr. Kroesen, the 
President, sa3's the port will l)e full. "The 
pearl-shellers here," says tlie Hon. John 
DougUis, "are a good deal attracted by the 
prospects opened out to them. l)ut as yet 
have made no move." Mr. Douglas's report 
was confirmed. The Pi-emier regards it as 
extremely likely that in the present condi- 
tions there will be an exodus to Dutch New 
Guinea. He would not sit quietly down and 
see this brought about, and it is probilile 
that a direct appeal in connection with the 
matter will be made to Mr. Chamberlain. — 
Adelaide Observer, March 29. 
CRYSTALLINE LIMESTONES OF 
CEYLON. 
[from the aijsteagt of proceedings of the 
geological society of london.] 
. March I2tli, 1902.— Sir Arciiibald Geikie, D.CL., 
LL.D., F.R.S., Vice-Pie.siilent, in tiie Chair. 
The Hev. H H. Windwoou tli!U]ked the Uliair- 
nian for allowing him to introduce llie watei- 
colour drawings by his tiiend, Mi.^.s Breton, of 
some of the grandest canons in North America. 
The geological accuracy of the drawings niij^lit lie 
atcributed to the fact that Mis.s Breton wa.s the 
daughter of an old Fellow of the Geological Society. 
The following coninuiiiication wa.-> read : — 
1. ' The Crystalline Linie.stones of Ceylon.' By 
Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Esq., C, sc., F L S, 
F G S. 
Tlie cryst;alline rocks of Ceylon may be divided 
into three series : — 
(1) The Older Gneisses. 
(2) The Crystalline Limestones. 
(3) The Granulites (Charnockite Series) — pyroxene- 
gjrauulite, lept^nite, etc, A local sub(?,ivision of thjg 
series i.s (lie Point de Galle Group — wollastonite' 
bc poli tOKnei-iSc-. ttf. 
Th-.^ Ciy>fc:il lilt! I 111 '.-t jiies of Ceyl 'ii are inti- 
mately a^sori Ueil wil'i the banded pro.\ene and 
.".cid ii;raimliies (Ohar/ ccldic Series). They form 
bands with outcrops from a few feet to over a 
quarter of a mile in w idth, intci bedded with the 
}:raiiulitrs : The iinipstones themselves have a 
lianded siruclnre (foliation) parallel to that of the 
granulites and to the i'oundaries. This foliation 
of the limestone depenits on variations in struc- 
ture, amount of accessory mineral-, ami reb.tive 
proportion of calcite and dolomite. The grain \s 
coarse, sometimes i xccftdinp;ly so. Parallel and 
graphic inters>iowtlis of calcite and (loloniite are 
very characteiistic. The most abundant accessory 
minerals are olivine, plilognpite, pink or violet 
spinel, diop.sidc, pyiite, and blue apatite ; less 
common are ampliiboles, cHnoliumite; i;reen .spinel, 
etc. The most; charactei istic contact-minerals are 
iliopside, amphibolc, oreen spinel, and f/reenisli 
niicas; and, rather in the graiiulilo llian the 
limestone, scapol te, pliloj;opite, diopside, sphene. 
There occur also in Llic limestone.*, nodular 
mineral auK''*?.£:'''-.f'?s conipo.sed of characterivtic 
minerals such as dioriside, |)hlogopite, blue apatite, 
and spinel. 
There are often tran.-.itions between the lime- 
s oncs and granulites. In some other cases a zone 
of crreen rocks (with diopside, dark mica, amphi- 
bole, and green spiiicd) intervene-. Bands (sills) 
ofgianulite of varion=i widili, down to less than 
a foot, njay occur in the limestone, and are parallel 
to the toliation anil general strike. They 
sliow peripheral transitions to the limestone by 
incoming of original calcite and the appearance of, 
lime-silicates, or are separated from it; by a z me a 
fciv inches wide, in which the minerals dinpside, 
amphiiiole, and green spinel are characteristic. 
Some interrupted sills are desciibed, and com- 
pared with the interrupted dykes of neplieline- 
syenite in the crystalline limestones of Aliio, 
ilcscribed by Professor Hegboiii. A sill niay thus 
lie continued along the strike as a series of leiiliele.". 
KUewlieie quite isolated masses of pyio.xene- 
grannlite occur as inclusions in the limestone. 
Alihoii^gh tlie relation of the granulites to the 
liniesioiies is on tlie whole intrusive, the two locks 
in their present condition are essentially con- 
temporaneous, and seem alike to have consolidated 
from a molten magma. The calcite occurring in 
the granulites near the contact lia.s all the a| pear- 
ance of an original mineral. The foliation of the 
limestones is reg uded as a sort of llow-structure, 
and correspond? wiih that of the granulites to 
which it is always paralled. That the foliation 
does not result from the action of earth-movements 
on a solid ro(d< is shown by this, that the very 
minerals whose variable disliribution is one of its 
chief causes, have cortaiiily not been allected by 
(k-'i i 111' earth-movements, nor are they such as 
to hav. hren produced by these; moreover, in this 
re.-pe.-; :i ■li.stiiiclion cannot be made between the 
liniPsioiKs and granuliies, which would necessarily 
have snilered alike had they been subjected to de- 
forming strains since the consolidation of the latter, 
Tiie original nature of t he limestones is less evident: 
they may have been sedimentary or tufacecus, and, 
if so, subsequently softened and metamorphosed ; 
or jiossibly ah iniiio truly igneous rocks, and re- 
lated to the cliarnockite-niagina. Reasons for and 
against these views are given. The relations be- 
tween the crystalline limestones and nepheline* 
