iSo 
THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 
[September i, 189: 
TJIK GEOLOGY OF rUT’TAL.Ul, 
The geology of PuttRlivni is of very con- 
sidcreble iotetosl keeauso of tbo uBjoufalod ao- 
oietioD being made to the dry laud by means of 
mud, sand, fragments of corals and ebolls and other 
substances swept by currents into the spacious lagoon 
known as "the Puttalam Lake.” An observant 
correspondent writes to us on the subject as 
follows : — 
» I have been much interested in the geology of this 
part of the country, I midersland no fossils to have been 
found previously in Ceylon, except as coral. I found 
in a bard sandstone at Obilaw several shellr, most of 
them well embedded in tbo 
“ I have also found a perfect fossil shell in what I 
believe to he a mngneaiaii liiuostoiio, and apparently 
verrmiioh older than the present time. I nm sending 
Sdown to you for inspection, and would like you 
tb have them shown to any real y good geologist. In 
rnv humble opinion the rocks enclosed are of later date 
than the coal formation, and 1 fee no reason to donbt 
coal being fonnd down in the lowooustry round here. 
We have no bills within 40 miles of this : the oldest 
rock found similar to Aberdeen grumte is fonnd 4 miles 
inland from Puttslam, but not so near the sea, at 
Pompatippu. I append a sketch showing where the 
rooks are found, and bopa it may interest you. 
Plnmbago is 1 believe crystallized coal, and if the 
heat &o were not sufacient bore to form otystalline 
rooks such as gneiss &o., but only enough to form 
aandstones and magnesian limestone, possibly we may 
get coal in the natural state. . , 
“ 11 In Englsnd I understand the formations run 
somewhat as follows— magnesian limestone, sandstone. 
Here we find blue clay all about Puttalam for tome 
miles North we find magnesian limestone ? Begin- 
ninir on the coast line about 8 miles N. and running 
the coast for 10 miles or so and then again inland. 
name stone is found 24 miles north ; the hard 
‘sandstoTe bdng found down at CUilaw I have not 
found it more than a mile or so north of Chilaw. 
D 
Pomparip pu 
A 
D 
A 
A Karaittivu 
A 
E 
Puttalam 
D 
Madurankuli 
Bataloya 
A M. limestone 
B Sandstone 
C Conglomerate 
called coral with 
shells &8an(l in it 
D Gravel 
E Blue clay. 
The speculations of our oorrespondeut about coal are 
of exoeeding interest, • and it would be a grand day for 
Oeylon if this valuable fuel substance were found in 
quanlily. We are not, however, prepared to agree 
that plumbago, wbioh a German savant traces to 
gas or water, whence it was deposited, is crystal- 
lized coal; the best geologisla have abandoned 
that idea. We submitted our correspondent’s 
letter to Mr. George Armitago, who has kindly 
reported as follows : — 
lie fPECIMENS OF HOCKS SENT FBOM PDTTAIiAM. 
One specimen is a recently formed sandstone con- 
taining a shell embedded in it. This formation is 
mnud m tbo neighbourhood of Colombo about 
Hendala on the sea coast, [The curious and nsofni 
breccia known as " Pnmiiuagama stone," utilized 
to a considerable extent as a building material?— 
Bo. T. .4.] 
The other specimens are magnesian limestones, with 
appearanocB of fOBfils. Particulars of analysis enolosod. 
Your correspondent writeo of sandstones and 
magnesian limestones as having been formtd by 
heat. From his loose mode of expression it is 
rather diflicnit to understand hia meaning. Sand- 
stones and magnesian limestones are not formed by 
beat, but doubtlosa much of the Oeylon crystalline 
magnesian limestone baa been subjected to heat. The 
•peoimen under examinatioa has more of a orypto- 
orystalline appearance, and should bo carefully examined 
for foasila if it ia wished to fix the relative geological 
date of the formation- It is idle speculating as to 
what may or may not be found. The thing required is 
to work at the formations that one comes across and 
try and find tbo Oeologiaal boundary-lines, and dates 
wnen fossils can be found. 
1 shall send my theories of our plumbago formations 
when rotorning Mr. A. M. Ferguson’s notes on the 
Geology of Nuwara Eliya. 
Mr. Armitaga’a analyaia of the magnoaian limestone 
ia as follows, and in quoting it we may say that 
this ia the lirat time we have heard of dolomite 
a much older rook than the ordinary oorui 
limestone of the north of the island, existing 
close to the sea shore ;— 
A-VALVSIB OF DOLOMITE FROM PUITALAM. 
Hardness 8-3. 
H. Cl. in powder, soluble with cff. slight gelat. 
residue. 
Filter, neutralized with Am. Liq. slight preo. Iron, 
Am. sol. copious prec. white 
O.xalato of Lime. 
s,i. o.pio„ 
The mmeral is a Magnesian Limestone, Dolomite . 
THE TALGASWELLA TEA ESTATE. 
Mr. E. S. Grioson’s Befobt. 
We recently mentioned that Mr. Edward S. 
Grigeon was vmting the Talgnswella estate ; and a 
Ih/ iwlhnidXo'^ distributed amongst 
the shareholders. He states that the property is 
only a few feet above sea-level, the oltmate moist 
and steamy, and therefore well suited to the 
from'''l80“to‘ 300 averages 
“lolies per annum and ia well 
of ^ “ouths of the year. Some 
of the rising features of the land are a little 
n=,? ‘ban 
usual, but It IS nothing to apeak of. The lay of 
*8-5 '1 being easy and undulating 
throughout, with no abrupt features. The estate 
oomprisea 2,017 acres of which there are 485 
aores of tea 3 years old and 196 acres 2 year 
old; and out of the balance it is estimated tha 
Kom 600 to faOO fioros aci ayailuble for the forth 
