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BIRMAH. 139
edge of this ridge, stands the stupendous pagoda of
Shoe-dagun; and to the north of it, in a hollow
formed by the rains, is a pool of water, limpid but
acid to the taste.* Wherever the blue, ponderous
stone (which forms the sixth stratum) has been laid
bare by the monsoon torrents, and is exposed to the
rays of the sun, a native copperas is formed. The
rocks on the surface near the large pool have the
appearance of sandstone, in many places skinned over
with a thin crust of red, dephlogisticated iron ore ;
but when exposed to the air, they fall into a yellowish
white impalpable powder.
On the surface of the mud
deposited in those pools which have been dried up by
evaporation, a yellow scum appears; and among the
rocks and hollows, the presence of sulphur is strongly
indicated.
" The general course of the river is to the S.E., but
with frequent and deep windings, where the reaches
on the river are about 250 yards broad, winding
sometimes less than 100 yards, but with depth suf-
ficient for ships. The banks are low, highest on the
north-eastern side, and appear well cultivated and
interspersed with straggling houses. The spontaneous
growth of the banks are cane reeds from six to ten feet
high, the tops of which are excellent provender for
cattle. The soil from the edge of the
unvaried stratum of rich, sandy loam
river, is an
"
ceous earth, white clay ; 5th. Blue, silicious earth, with a large
Cth, immediately
proportion of iron ore and vitriolic acid and ;
below it, is a dark blue, ponderous, granular stone, emitting fire
on collision with steel, containing a large proportion of iron ore
and vitriolic acid.
* From the result of some experiments on the water, Captain
Cox was led to conclude that it is a pure chalybeate, contain-
ing iron held in solution by either sulphuric or vitriolic acid, with
a very small proportion of magnesia and common salt.