386 
GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY 
proper and the British Territory. Throughout its whole ex¬ 
tent, Islands of various magnitude occur, generally within a 
short distance of the shore, of which from sea-ward they 
appear to form a part. The island of Belugyun situated 
opposite Maulmain, is by far the most important of all. Sepa¬ 
rated on’y by one of the mouths of the river from the metropo¬ 
lis, with rich alluvial lands of surprising fertility, (when the rude 
process of cultivation which prevails is considered) and a 
greater number of inhabitants in proportion than any other 
portion of the Provinces, these advantages combine to render 
it the granary of the Province of Amherst. From this point the 
Islands are few and isolated until the latitude of Tavoy 
Island in 13- is attained, from the southern extremity of which 
those numerous groups of Islands forming the Mergui Archi¬ 
pelago may be said to commence ; innumerable in numbers, 
of all varieties of form and size, separated from each other 
by shallow mud banks, which oppose a complete barrier even 
to the native traders, and consequently, with the exception of 
those on the sea bord track possessing water, little known or 
frequented. 
The large Islands of St. Matthew, Domel, King's Island, 
Tavoy Island, and farther to the northward those of Kalagouk 
and Double Island, present an evenly undulating outline, 
clothed to the summits with jungle vegetation of noble pro¬ 
portions, and varying in altitude from 100 to 450 feet. 
Interspersed with these, extending as far as the Mascoes 
group of small islands off the promontory opposite Tavoy, 
limestone rocks occur, whose perpendicular sides and rug¬ 
ged summits contrast boldly with those of rounder outline: 
these rocks are cavernous, having in some instances open 
passages through them, all are bare of vegetation and form 
the resort of the sea bird from whose labors the edible nests 
are obtained. Bock specimens from the Islands above no¬ 
ticed exhibit a predominant granitic and porphyritic cha¬ 
racter, invariably associated with fragmentary trap rocks, 
principally greenstone, with lines of quartz of various di¬ 
mensions passing through the mass in all directions ; at 
the base, covered by the high water of the spring tides, 
lie masses of laterite of various stages of induration, but 
possessing a uniform highly cellular structure. On several 
of the larger islands broken and disseminated masses of the 
“ hypogene schists” occur, with their various modifications 
consequent on their proximity to, or distance from the granite 
of the main formation, and all more or less permeated by 
lines of quartz and granite ;—the latter very fine grained and 
