PORCELAIN CLAY.

The clays have not been analyzed, but there are clays at the bases of some of the granite mountains, where the felspar has decomposed so much, that the paths are thick with a coarse quartzose sand, and a few grains of mica that remain. As porcelain clay is produced by the decomposition of felspar, such is probably the clay in the localities to which reference has been made.

POTTER'S CLAY.

The clay in which the petrified trees are found has the appearance of fine potter's clay; and clays from the banks of the Ataran and Gyaing rivers were found, Mr. O'Riley "after several trials at the Calcutta mint, to possess every good property of the best English fire clays."

says,

LOAM, Or BRICK EARTH.

The alluvial beds within the reach of tide waters, contain numerous strata from which bricks are made.

REDDLE.

Reddle, or red chalk is seen in the bazar, but it is imported, though it probably exists in the provinces.

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AUGITE.

On the banks of the rivers near Maulmain and Tavoy, masses of dolerite are found which contain augite. They are not however found in situ in the Provinces, and have probably been brought from the Isle of France.

HORNBLENDE.

I have met with hornblende as a constituent of greenstone; but never in the Provinces in any other connection,

LABRADOR HORNBLENDE, OF HYPERSTHENE.

Baron des Granges, to whom was sent specimens of the greenstone east of Tavoy, said that the hornblende it contained was Labrador hornblende.

BLUE SAPPHIRE.

Blue sapphires are brought from Burmah, and Dr. Helfer writing from Mergui says: "A Karen informed me, there are precious blue stones to be had, which the Shans collect and carry to Bangkok. He described the place as eight days distant, and did not know whether it was British or Siamese."

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RED SAPPHIRE, or ORIENTAL RUBY.

The red sapphire, or ruby, is brought from Burmah, where it is found with the common blue sapphire, probably in the valley of the Salwen. The Burmese call it by the same name that they do the precious garnet, and do not appear to be always able to distinguish them.

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VIOLET SAPPHIRE.

The violet sapphire, or Oriental amethyst; is found in the same localities as the common sapphire.

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YELLOW SAPPHIRE.

The most valuable topaz in Burmah, is the yellow sapphire, or Oriental topaz.

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GREEN SAPPHIRE, or ORIENTAL EMERALD.

A green gem is often seen for sale among the Burmese, brought from Burmah, which Europeans usually call emerald; but it is probably a blue sapphire. The true emerald may however be among them.

CORUNDUM.

Corundum pebbles are found in "the gem-sand of Ava river;" and they probably exist in the sands of some of

the rivers in these provinces.

variety of this species.

The common emery is a

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SPINELLE RUBY.

By far the larger proportion of the rubies offered for sale, are, it is believed, spinelle rubies. I have a small specimen which every native, who has seen it, regards as one of the best kind of rubies, or red sapphire, but its natural crystalline form is easily recognised, as a regular octahedron ; while that of the oriental ruby is a six sided figure, or some of its modifications. They are seen of all shades. Blood red, the proper spinelle ruby; rose red, the balas ruby, orange red, or rubicelle; and violet colored or almandine ruby. It is no easy task to distinguish, accurately, the true character of the different stones offered for sale as rubies. Both Europeans and natives often make great mistakes. An English officer bought a "ruby" in Maulmain a few years ago for fifteen rupees, his friend bought one for five rupees; and the rubies were thought to be of nearly equal value; but on walking into a jeweler's shop in Calcutta, a year or two afterwards, the jeweler offered four hundred and fifty rupees for the one, but refused to give two rupees for the other, characterizing it as " a worthless garnet." ကျောက်နီ။ ပတ္တမြား.

8 the inferior varieties.

CEYLANITE.

The dark blue, or blackish varieties of spinelle, called Ceylanite or pleonaste, are often offered for sale by the Shans under the same name as the sapphire.

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AVA GEM-SAND.

Gem sand from the neighborhood of Ava, is sometimes one of the Shan articles of merchandize. It consists, of small fragments of nearly all the precious stones found in the country, but garnet, beryl, and spinelle are its principal constituents, more especially the last, which seems to

constitute more than three fourths of the whole mass.

A single handful will contain specimens of every shade, black, blue, violet, scarlet, rose, orange, amber yellow, wine yellow, brown, and white. Many retain their original crystaline forms, some have the fundamental form of the species, a perfect octahedron ; but many others have some of the secondary forms, among which it is not uncommon to see twin crystals with three re-entering angles, formed by two segments of the tetrahedron truncated on the angles, and joined together by their bases.

COMMON SERPENTINE.

Dr. Helfer found serpentine on the islands of the Mergui Archipelago, and Dr. Morton picked up a boulder near Amherst, containing a small vein of common serpentine ; which indicate its existence in the Provinces, although no definite locality where it exists, is known.

PRECIOUS SERPENTINE.

Precious serpentine exists int he Hookhoong valley, north. west of Ava, whence it is exported to China, and brought into the southern parts of the empire, but it has not yet been discovered in these provinces.

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ZIRCON.

Some of the best of the Ceylon jewels are probably zircon, the pale variety of which supplies the diamonds used in the jeweling of watches; and Jameson says, it is often sold as an inferior kind of diamond.

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BERYL.

Beryls are found in the sands of the Irrawaddy; and may probably be found in some of the rivers, that descend from the granite mountains in these provinces.

ACIDIFEROUS EARTHY MINERALS.

CARBONATE OF LIME.

This is a very abundant mineral in the Provinces and embraces several varieties.

STALACTICAL CARBONATE OF LIME.

All the limestone caves have stalactites hanging from their roofs; and stalagmites raised on their floors. The Siamese Karens often bring over bits of limestone of the shape of a shell, and when broken, a shell usually of the genus melania that has been encrusted with car appears, bonate of lime. Much of the alabaster of which ornaments are made is stalagmite; but all the alabaster images of this coast are made of marble; and not of compact gypsum, which they much resemble.

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1891207.

GRANULAR LIMESTONE.

This is the marble of which the images of Gaudama are formed, which are usually called alabaster images. It is a primitive limestone which has not hitherto been found in the provinces; but is abundant near Ava.

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COMMON LIMESTONE.

All the limestone of the provinces that I have met with, belongs to the older secondary formation; which produces what is usually denominated common limestone.

Of the specimens sent to Dr. Ure by Mr. Blundell, he said: "The limestone from Tavoy has a specific gravity of 27, and is a perfectly pure, semi-crystaline carbonate of lime, akin to statuary marble. It is well adapted to act as a flux in the melting of iron. The limestone of Mergui has a specific gravity of 2.7; it is a pure calcareous carbonate."