J 
154 miscellaneous notices «S*c, 
calcareous stratum lias a base composed of a little fine clay mixed 
with a considerable proportion of comminuted shells, and imbedding 
shells in great abundance. Most of these are slightly defective, but 
many are entire. The interior of some of the shells is filled with 
a substance similar to that of which the base is formed, but a consi¬ 
derable number are filled with crystallizations. The whole forms 
a compact heavy rock. The black rock was found to be incombus¬ 
tible in a furnace. Captain Congalton says that the layer extend¬ 
ed about 300 yards, and was bounded on both its east and west 
sides by a Iron Stone”. AYhat this was I cannot say. Masses or 
great slabs of the calcarous rock lay on the beach. On my return 
from Malacca, Colonel Butterworth shewed me a piece of rock 
which be had received a few days previously from the Hon’ble Mr. 
Galling, Resident Councillor at Pinang, I send a specimen. It ap¬ 
pears to be a fine specimen of bituminized wood or jet. It burns 
with a clear flame, occasionally greenish, and with a slight decrepi¬ 
tation. One portion has a beautiful lustre and high polish. The 
fracture shews a fine velvet black or brownish-black. It was found 
by a Pinang Siamese on the southern coast of the island of Junk- 
ceylon, (well known for its tin) near the bank of a river, and two 
or three hundred feet from its mouth. The man, having beard some¬ 
thing about coal, tried whether he could cook his food with it, and 
finding that it answered well, brought away 4 or 5 coyans (each 
coyan weigh 45 piculs, the picul weighs 133£ lbs.) He offer¬ 
ed to import it into Pinang at the rate of S 12. per coyan, 
but afterwards raised bis demand to S 150 for an 8 coyan boat¬ 
load. He said lie had found a layer of it three feet in thickness 
close under the surface. Could you ascertain the quality of this 
coal and oblige me with a memorandum of its comparative value? 
This could probably be easily obtained at the Museum of Econo ¬ 
mic Geology. Colonel Butterworth is very desirous of offering 
every facility and assistance to geological and other researches, and it 
would interest him to know the relative value of the first coal 
that has been discovered in the Peninsula. 
Esstraet of a letter from Professor Ansied to the Editor, 
dated, London, 17th May 1847. 
To begin with the subject of the coal, I am enabled to inform 
