The one he was in then would yield
20,000,000 tons of coal, and so serve
two generations to come. An
analysis of the coal fresh from the
pit showed volatile combustible
matter, 33*75; fixed carbon, 43*70;
ash, 13*00 ; moisture, 9*55. Ooe
cubic foot weighed 81*25 lb., and
27*5 cubic feet 1 ton. This showed
ash and water in excess of Great
Britain, but fixed carbon was in
excess, and that was a redeeming
quality. Considering the enormous
expense to get coal to India from
England, it might safely be said
that the Indian coal was pro raid
better.
The Diamond-Fields of
South Africa.— The Hon. Theo-
philuB Shepstone, the Secretary for
Tfative Anairs in NataL at the
Society of Arts, described the con-
ditions under which the diamond is
found on the Vaal River. He
pointed out that Africa south of the
equator conBists of a ^preat central,
irregularly-shaped basin, the enter



from 4000 to 10,000 feet above the
level of the sea, and that through
this river the Orange River to the
south-west, and the Limpopo River
to the north-east, cut their way.
