REVIEW.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2642, 5 August 1871, Page 3

REVIEW.

,- transactions of the Zealand Imti'ute, 1870. . Vol. 1 HI.. Edited and published . under, the authority of the Board ofGovern© s of l the'lnstitute, by James’ • Hectory M.D. , F. R.S. H. ' The papers in the geologic-!I section, are few, ip number,, and not .very-important, .and they, clearly reveal the fact that the active -pursuit of geological .investigation in the f , Colony is left almost entirely to' Government oilicirs, the record of whoso- work must bo. chiefly looked for elsewhere than in the Transactions of -’ the Institute, .although, the: majority of.,the few- papers in the present, volume, are from their : i ons. C aptaiu Hutton givps hia reasons for differing with Dr Hoch.atetter as to the relative ages of the Auckland tertiari<?s; but the subject ia too intricate to be more than mentioned 'here Those social economist a who have looked to • White Island as a probable source of an .unlimited supply tot .sulphur' will be disappointed to learn that Dr,..Hec-tor’s-personal examinations show that - the fine specimens of that mineral which are 'exhibited in museums must be regarded as mere objects of curiosity, and not as indications, of, large deposits of commercial value, Mr'M'Kerrow’s piper : on' the Physical Geography of the Lake District of Otago, which • was read before our local Institute, seems to us to be worth careful- study, notwithstanding one or two hostile foot-notes by the editor, whose, views Mr M'Kerrow contro- ., verts. DrHaast draws attention to the thermal springs of the Hanraer plains (h.el.son)- and urges that steps should be taken to make their therapeutic--.properties widely known. Persons suffering- from rheumatism , and similar disorders have already tried these springs with the most beneficial results, There. arc -eight basins in’ all, the water in each being charged With sulphuretted hydrogen ; and the temperature of the various basins ranges from <3B. dogfi to 110 deg. , According to Dr. Haast’S -experiments, made apparently in the early part of last year, but Dr ilev;tor, who tested the heat of the water in May, 18(»7. found a temperature ■ greatly bcl,u\y .these figures. Commenting;on the circumstance, the Director of the Geological survey points out tliiit the'diverse results obtained by himself and DrHaast appear ‘to indicate that the springs are intermittent atid variable in their temperature. The confusion existing in the nomenclature of rocks is abiinadverted upon by the late Mr E. ILDavis, who comments especially on the varying definition of syenites given by different schools, . and urges the adoption of a ' common petrological nomenclature by students jn this country'. Mineralogy is, by the wdy, strangely neglected in New /calami,. although in .this respect our scientific observers merely follow the example of those at homfe. .. .. . . -’Mr W. 'Skey j the 1 Analyst’' to the (5 eologioal Survey, -naa.almost a monopoly of the chemical- section ; and , his papers for the most part defil with metallic sulphides. JProm a practical point of view, the subject ' does not look a promising one at first sight; blit it is in reality of very great importance to gold miners, 1 as affecting the loss ofgold through imperfect amalgamation. The posearchermade by MrSkcy oh the poisonous properties of the tutu plant have been fol-lowed-up by Mr Hughes, of Hokitika, who has found by experiment that lime andwater is an antidote to the ..poison. Mr Skey, however, questions the'accuracy of Mr Hughes’s experiments, which primil facie appear conclusive. The loss annually, sus, ■tained' ! by stock-owners from 'the deadly . ©ffects of tutu is so large that it is to be” .hoped other ch'einists will direct tlie-ir. enquiries -in this direction. In the botanical- department, Mf,;T. Kirk is the principal contributor. This-‘gentleman is engaged in working up the Auckland flora, and his industry deserves the highest commendation. In- a paper on the occurrence of Littoral Plants* ini the. Waikato District, he endeavors to show that the abundance of littoral plants in that district supports Dr lloch••Stebter’s thooVy of the’whole Waikato basin having been but recently a Shallow arm of r tb'SJfisa or a far extending estuary. Among the more practical papers is one by-Mes'sw . ; - T.jU. Potts and W. Gray, on the Cultivation of Native Trees and Shrubs, which has been much neglected throughout the Colony, QjTOgLP r esapiablys tO awjde?feprond belief that nativ! plants would cultiva- , tipn, -, It is rather ditficult to understand • a belief could have arisen, unless' .it. fie fiat people have been too indolent to test various modes of rearing indigenous trees, and have found it much easier to cultivate imported plants, with whose, habits they, are f;sailiar.-- vAt ' any; rate, Messrs Potts and Gray conclusively shbw the fallacy ,ofthe notion, by giving a long list of native tyefls and shrubs, which experience has prqyed can bo successfully raised, many being of the most ornamental description ; ; prefacing the list by a few remarks* bn flic* ~ usual"caiTSes 'of failure'in What may be called 1 ~ domesticating Jndigenousi ]daqts. Fern collectors will find a useful aul.ito their explorations in a corrected list of New Zealand ferns, which is published in the second part of the proceedings. Although the ‘‘Transactions” contain no special paper on the waritop ancj useless destruction of our forests, yet numerous incidental notices warn settlers of the mischief-which has-already resulted, and may -hereafter result, from such mischievous operations. The subject, however,' is stale by this .time, and all that can be done by-the -xyriter .or. observer, is to add additional proofs to the mass already collected of the wide spreading evils which flow from the indiscriminate sweeping away of the natural.covering-of the country. Legislation a’one, can effectually control the mischief; ; Some considerable time ..ago a comMVitteewas appointed by the Canterbury Institute to gather information with regard to native grasses, the bbject’beihg to ascertain,to what extent-these grasses could be made of permanent utility. One would imagine that the committee would have found runholdors and agriculturists eager to assist in ' the prosecution of . ther enquiries ; . but the cofifcrary seems to have been the and tiie committee Wfsei\n»ble to brhig;.up their final yepoj-t in time iur publication, in the “ Proceedings.” ; It . ought to. bo an exceedingly useful document, . . ; The miscellaneous papers are scarcely up to the mark of those in. former volumes. One of the. moat, interesting is Judge Cliap- ... man’s on .the .“.Political.,Economy of Hallways,” read by his Honor to the Otago Institute in August l-iab, ! and which was published add commented upo’h at the time. ' 1 With regard to the maiiiier r in which the book is got up, wj feel bound to say that it would have been improved,fiy ; a more careful editoi Ufi rcyijioa ot its contents,, Jt docS

not follow that because a well-meaning geutleriian' chobses 'to prepare and read a paper filled with elementary, scientific truths, or enunciating certain views, of the author which seem to be based 1 on hi| Own fancy, therefore this paper should appear in the forthcoming volume of Transactions. It maybe quite Suitable to read before, a'local Institute, as fending to evoke useful discussion, and yet not be worth 1 printing at ? the public expense. Again, the decisions of the editor or editors as to whose papers shall be published in full, and. whose 1 in the form of abstracts, are of tb<i mot't eccentric character. Had a little moro judgment 'been exercised in these respects, the inconvenient course of postponing the publication of; several papers might possibly have been avoided. M e also confess our inability to comprehend why it should be deemed'advisable'to issue the Proceedings in advance pt the Transactions,' seeing that the ordinary business of the ,various societies is usually reported in Hie local newspapers, 'So far as" the typography of-the book is concerned, it dqes credit to the printer, and the illustrations are both numerous and godd. . , i