NOTICES OF AN EXCURSION ALONG THE ARRACAN Coast.

'On the 26th January, the party anchored off Cheduba, and visited the site of the cantonments, which is now overrun with luxuriant grass, although the barracks are in good order: the population of the island has much increased of late, and is now estimated at between eleven and twelve thousand at least, there being two thousand and three hundred houses, and five individuals to one house, being below the usual average.

'On the 31st, a visit was paid to the volcanoes, which are about fourteen miles from the cantonments: the route lay through a highly picturesque country, and several villages were passed: of the last half of the distance, about five miles proceeded through a thick jungle, with occasional patches of grass, and watered by hill streams, along the borders of which extended plots of tobacco, and red pepper cultivated, with some cotton: the tobacco was of luxuriant growth. The plantain was every where in great abundance. The approach to the crater, for about two miles, was along a barren ridge, between two deep ravines, the interval between which was scarcely wide enough for an elephant to pass. As it approaches the summit, the path widens, and the ravines become more rugged. The two principle volcanoes are on the summit of the mountain, and about three quarters of a mile apart. The diameter of the crater visited, was about three hundred feet, and the mud thrown up, was strongly impregnated with sulphur: specimens of pyrites were numerous. There are no elephants in Cheduba, and the approach of such an animal to the shrine of the Naga, was supposed by the people to be a novelty by no means agreeable to the latter. As mentioned in our last, worship is addressed by the Mugs to the crater of the volcano, as the shrine of the serpent deity, or rather, probably, as one of the ventilators of Patala, the region immediately below the earth, which, according to the Hindoos, is the domain of the Naga race.

The party, after resting for the night at a village at the foot of the hill, returned to the cantonments by a different route, through a cultivated and populous country: around the villages, hemp, tobacco, cotton, and sugar cane, were in cultivation, and the stubble of an extensive rice crop was observable. The rice is trodden out here by buffaloes, but the husking is performed by the wooden mill, generally used by the Burmans. It is worked by two men, and will clean about thirty maunds of paddy in a day.

'Leaving Cheduba on the 2d, the party anchored off the Hayes on the evening of the same day, and went on shore to the old station

withered and died one after another; and of the few that remain, all, but one, have been intimidated, or cajoled, or bought over; they are accordingly, tools in the hands of Government secretaries, and of their tools, their Native moonshies or chief servants.

of Juggao, which is a thriving place; the Commissary of Stores, and officer in charge of the boat establishment, occupy Bungalows, pleasantly situated on an elevated ridge, about a mile from the beach. The cultivation on this side of the island is extensive, and cattle and poultry abundant.

'After paying some visits to the Islands between Ramree and the main land, and navigating to the head of Combermere bay, the party proceeded to Sandoway. The town is much extended. The cantonments are situated on the right bank of a river, and the ground being well cleared and drained, maintains its character for salubrity. The 68th N. I. had only fifteen men in hospital out of six hundred.

'From Sandoway, a journey was perfomed by land to Ghoa, the chief town of the Tongkhwen division. The distance was about one hundred and twelve miles. The route for the greater part of the way, lay through thick forests of lofty trees, or along the beach of the sea, sometimes up the beds of mountain streams, and occasionally over extensive plains covered with long grass. Red and spotted deer were numerous, and traces of wild elephants frequent. The coast was studded as far as the eye could discern, with rocks and işlets, which must make it dangerous at all seasons, and quite impracticable in the south-west monsoon. The road was intersected by several creeks which were not fordable, and which, in the rains, must render the land communication precarious. The division of Tongkhwen, extends from near Sandoway to Cape Negrais. Ghor was formerly a considerable town, but has been on the decline for some years, and now contains but about eighty houses. The people of Bassein, and those from the other side of the Yooma-dong, are beginning to resort thither, and there is every probability of its recovering its flourishing condition. The whole district is, indeed, more thinly peopled than any part of Arracan, but there is no want of resources, and with a protecting and mild government, it will, no doubt, speedily attract inhabitants.

'After visiting the southern boundary, the party returned by sea to Ramree. The innumerable reefs and islets along the coast, and the strong set of the current to the south-east, render this navigation intricate and perilous. There is no anchorage in the neighbourhood of Foul island, in less than fifty fathoms. The town of Ramree is becoming rapidly a place of considerable trade and population. It now contains not fewer than eight thousand inhabitants.'

DISCOVERY OF COAL IN AUSTRALIA.

'A discovery, which it is expected will turn out to be a valuable one, has been recently made by the Reverend Mr. Threlkeld, at Lake Macquarrie, in the district of Reid's Mistake. He was about to build a chimney with what he considered to be a very fine black stone, which he had found in abundance in the neighbourhood of his dwelling, when, upon close inspection, he ascertained it to be

what is called in England cannel coal (I think it is so spelt.) The overseer of the Newcastle mines has been at Reid's Mistake to examine the coal, and he reports it to be of a very superior quality, far beyond the Newcastle coal. The vein lies almost on the surface of the earth, and can, therefore, be worked at a trifling expense. First comes a layer of inferior coal, three feet thick, which is immediately succeeded by another layer of excellent coals, about five feet thick, and then comes the cannel coal, three feet thick, which can be taken out in solid masses a yard square. These coals have been discovered on the banks of Lake Macquarie, from which an easy communication can be opened with another lake, only about one hundred yards distant, which the stock-keepers say, empties itself into the sea somewhere about Bungaree's Noab (a bay a little to the southward of Broken Bay), but the black natives insist that the lake communicates with the Broken Bay itself. Should this latter be the fact, and it will soon be ascertained, the facility of communication from thence to Sydney, by water carriage, will greatly enhance the value of the discovery; but should it turn out otherwise, still it must be considered important. The bar of the river at Reid's Mistake, communicating with Lake Macquarie, has only four feet and a half of water on it at low water; but there is good anchorage, outside, for vessels of moderate buthen, equal, at all events, to the outer anchorage at Port Macquarie, with any wind except a strong north-easter, or when blowing a sourtherly gale, in which latter case the port of Newcastle would be open for their reception.'

ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL.

"A Meeting of the Society was held in November last, the Honourable W. B. Bayley, Esq. Vice-President, in the Chair. The Society on this occasion elected the Honourable Sir C. E. Grey, President, and Sir Charles Metcalf, Vice-President. The following Gentlemen were also chosen Members: Sir Edward Ryan, Captain Sterling, and Dr. Tytler. Monsieur Belanger, Naturalist at the French Government at Pondicherry, was elected an Honorary Member. Various works were presented to the Library by the Horticultural Society, the Society of Arts, and the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia; also a treatise on three ancient Sculptures on Java, Anniversaria Reipublicæ Sacræ, by Professor Reinhardt; the Soldier's Manuel, by Lieut.-Col. Harriot, Peck's Desiderata, Harris's Voyages, and other books, by Dr. Tytler, and Reflections sur les anciens peuples, Lessii Opera, and Doctrine of Ultimata, by Dr, Burlini; a variety of objects of Natural History, from the Eastward, was presented by Dr. Tytler, and a collection of Minerals from Bundeleund, by Captain Franklin.

With reference to the increasing zeal and activity in Geological Research of late in India, the Society resolved, that a Geological Class, or Committee, should be formed, of such Members of the

Society as may be inclined to associate for this purpose, forming such regulations as they may find expedient, to be submitted for the confirmation of the Society.

'Connected with this subject, also, an application was submitted by Mr. Ross, for the use of the Society's rooms, for a short course of Lectures on Mineralogy, which was readily granted. The course will consist of six Lectures, to commence on Tuesday, the 4th of December, and to be repeated weekly, on the same day, until completed.

'A paper by Dr. Tytler, on the Dugong, or Dayong, with drawings by Mr. Bennet, was read to the Meeting. The bones of four different individuals of this genus were picked up by Dr. Tytler at Raffles' Bay, on the north coast of New Holland: in one instance they were sufficiently numerous to form nearly an entire skeleton of the animal, which is placed in the Society's museum. The Dugong, from its peculiar upright position in the water, and the general appearance of the upper part of the body, is supposed to have given rise to the tales of Mermaids seen in the Eastern Seas. Although noticed by the Dutch travellers and naturalists, who termed it the Sea-cow, it was very imperfectly known, until descriptions and specimens were sent to Europe, by the late Sir Stamford Raffles, and observations from this source, by Sir Everard Home, were published in the Philosophical Transactions. The animal is not uncommon in the Eastern Archipelago, but its existence on the coast of New Holland is made known by Dr. Tytler for the first time. Dr. Tytler is disposed to think that same affinity may exist between the Duyong and the Dagon of the Philistines, as the latter was probably a compound of the head of a graminivorous animal, with the tail of a fish, and thus resembled the Sea-cow in structure as well as

name.

'A notice by Captain Herbert, of the site of Coal in the Himalaya, with specimens, was also submitted. This mineral is found throughout the whole line of Sandstone hills, that lie at the foot of the great Himalaya chain, forming the transition to the plains. It occurs in flat veins or seams, more or less inclined to the horizon, the greatest thickness of which has not been found to exceed nine inches or a foot, whilst, in general, they are much smaller, not exceeding, in some places, the twentieth of an inch. The composition is, in general, impalpable; but sometimes assumes the ligneous structure. Where the ligneous fibre has disappeared, the fracture is conchoidal, and frequently marked with concentric circles, similar to Cannel Coal. It burns with flame, giving out a thick smoke and bituminous smell, and leaves a reddish brown ash, of equal bulk with the original fragment. These properties refer it to the bituminous coal of Mohs.

'Besides the locality of the mountain coal pointed out by Lieut. T. Cautley, in his communications to the Society, Captain Herbert

has discovered the following: 1. The Timla Pass, leading into the Dehra-doon, specimens of the coal from which place were sent by Captain Herbert, in 1817, to the late Dr. Voysey, and pronounced by him to be the brown coal of Werner.-2. The Kheri Pass, where it principally exists as lignite of considerable thickness. It is found here in two places.-3. Ascent from Bhamouri to the Bhim Tal, in the bed of the Raliya. This is considered by Captain Herbert as best entitled to attention. The largest vein is about four inches thick, and the coal has a high lustre, and occasionally a perfect conchordal fracture, resembling Cannel coal: it burns with a brilliant flame, emitting a sulphurous smell, and being occasionally incrusted with sulphur the specific gravity averages about 1.3.-Captain Herbert seems to think, that these indications do not authorise any expectations that coal mines of any extent will be found in the Himalays, although it is not impossible, that they may exist in the trough between the secondary sandstone that skims the great chain, and the primary sandstone which makes its appearance at Delhi and other places.

:

A paper, by Dr. Govan, was laid before the Meeting, containing a report on the mineral and vegetable products of the country about Nahn, with registers of the weather for April and May last.

'An abstract of the registers of the barometer andth ermometer, kept at Singapore, from 1820 to 1825, by Captain Davis, was also submitted.

Observations on the Geology of part of Bundelcund, Boghelcund, Saugor, and Jubulpur, were also communicated by Captain Franklin. These observations commence at Mirzapore, and include different portions of the ranges of hills belonging to the great central zone of Hindoostan. The first range of hills, the tract in which the Falls of the Touse occur, and the country to Hathi, beyond Lohargong, are of sandstone. At Hathi, it is succeeded by argillaceous or lias limestone, which is considered by Captain Franklin as the same with has limestone of England. Beyond this, to Saugor, the overlying rocks are of trap, and, at the place below the upper surface of that rock, occur wacken and baysalt, and an earthy or impure limestone, beneath which is amygdaloid, lying on sandstone. The northern barrier of the valley of the Nerbudda consists of the primitive rocks. Jubulpur is situated at the foot of a range of granite hills. Captain Franklin is of opinion, that granite is the basis of the different ranges visited in his tour-in some places, near the surface, but in others separated from secondary formations, by intervening stratifications of primary rock. The sandstone formation is, in general, of considerable thickness, whilst the limestone differs from that found in other parts of the world, by being merely superficial, and not exceding an average thickness of fifty feet. A collection of specimens accompanied Captain Franklin's communication, as well as a geological map and section, and a series of barometrical elevations.

Oriental Herald, Vol. 17.

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