THE GEOLOGY OF AUCKLAND.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XII, Issue 708, 20 August 1859, Page 2

THE GEOLOGY OF AUCKLAND.

We have had before us for Bomotimtt the report r-of a lecture by Dr. Hcwhstetter on the' Geology of tfio Prpyinccs of t Auckland, but; liavo delayed' giving :\i publication, (bxpectiiigHhttt the( '"of his [observation's would: appear in a more; ipxact shape •than-can-be attained in alectui^e. -This expectation is, to a* certain extent, realised in the following revised report'lately'published, containing some additiottß made sinoeuts first puyication j—tj Ts i lectube W TftE oEoitooT a* Wb' tadvihcit

OF AUCKLAND.

BY DB. FBBDIN«LND HOOHMTUTUBB.

I [Delivered to the Members of the Auckland ■""•. Mechanics' Institute, June 24,18^9.]

■£From 'the Auckland Provincial "Gazette.?'.] ; Ma.' Ebesident; Ladies, "and ,'.G ehtlejmbn',— uiW | The meriibers of the' Auckland Mechanics' Institute having done me the honour to elect'me as (honorary member .of their institution, and the • committee having invited me to give a'lecture*upori 'the geology of this, province, I have much .pleasure fin complying with their request.: It is, however, with some hesitation that I undertake this task, :'fearing tha| r my imperfect. knowledge .of the>English language -will prevent my making the short f sketch'l wislr to lay" before you as interesting as'it \ might otherwise have been. Notwithstanding'this ) drawback,?! am fgla9.it<f have this" opportunrty^bf giving the inhabitants'of this province, through the members of this ..institute, such a resume as 1 < can of. the chief. results of the geological survey.l have jmade ofithose. the <countiy i have visiWd.

'I feel nideeaV'to be1-a -duty I owe to the '■ community at large, in return, ribr the very kind reception that-haseyeKyvbei1© (teen me; -for '-- th&ready help; that has always;beeri afforded me hj all whom '£"have" niet* with/; 1 arid for'the interest 'thaVhas been >shovvn *by ail-fa the proceedings of the Imperial I - Having; s in .the-moiiths^ofiranuary and February completed; my survey, and finished a geological ■ map., of-the Auckland district, which II now-have the pleasure of, showing you, the > necessity arose for my-choosing either tfye,northern or the,southern portion1 of the province '' 'for my farther'Tesearch^s, !my -limited stayiih. !Ne%«Z£da"nd rendering it im- ■ possible .for me to make a;sufficient, examination in ■both atrectionsi . • - - ■ >.u^> ,<.... I diii not hesitate to. choose/the southern dis- • tricts,V&r these/reasons :--4That the country over which. I should; there proceediis^inhabite^l almost • exclusively by Maories, and has hitherto bejen almost unknown and .totally unsuryeyed, both topographically and geologically. "The northern districts, on the., contrary, are, for the most/.part, better known; and, from the number, of European settlers in them, I was: led to hope I should be enabled to.colleefr some information through specimens;, forwarded to me for examination, and from the verbal descriptions .of those who are well acquainted with the various' localities.'

Myhope was not unfounded in either respect. J *I have received-many'specimens of interest from yarious ilocalities jralso some Valuable) information from, daiFerent settlers,..and :^especially from my friends,: ; the Rev. A. G. .Purchas .and Mr. C. Heaphy,,vyho in.the last few months have had opportunities of visiting several . parts ;of = the northern, portion of this province, and of collecting veryi-valuable .specimens. In addition to this must be reaiembered the fact-that other scientific men, especial.lyjMM. jDieffenbach arid Dana, had already visited and described .at length some parts of ihe northern country. , ; ;.! ; j; ;■ >'\\.) "i \ ; -\\- < - r ,\ ;;m Through the liberaHiy and' excellent, arrange.ments1 ofthe^General and Provincial Gb.verrimerits1, I haye1 been enabled, lnva.com to travel over and fo: examine the'larger portion qf the province south 'of 'Airckland^ extending ras! far asLake Taupp and Tongariro Volcano, the boundaries between this pfbviiice and those of Wellington and JHawkes Bay. I have thus obtained materials which will enable me, on my^tiirn to Europe', to construct a topographical iand.geological map of the central part of the -Northern jslapd., ■'';: My obsefiytftioris have/ with tiiß -Jable assistance ot <Mi%Drummond Hay^'exteMed >from> the^East to the rWest Goast; arid the numerous peaks r and ranges'have afforded facilities for fixing with satisfactory accuracy, 'by; means :of magnetic;'bearirigs, i on the basis of points ipreviously fisted, hj the nautical survey of Captain 'Druiy ori^ the coast line,; all the natural features of this: portion of.(the! country. A great number -of .barometrical obser-« vations have ilifprded me fee. means i of, ascertaining■; the heights of mountains and plains in the interior, 5 iwhich-Iv shall beiable wal& abcura%,: .by,; the. aid i of'*corresponding vdttilyr'observations, taken in, Auckland by Colonel -Mould, 'who has .kindly forwarded 'me a cbpy-of his ; tables.. ■■■:: •■■,-, ;-i ; ;i,I have also obtained photographic and otherviews ■ ;-of great, inttsrest, many-of which were talrcnby.the , gentlemen who accompanied -me on the expeditioin ' ,for|-ithis purpose? and a large namber of: exceed-; litigly valuable-sketches ihave[ been;'Contri,buted by ,the talented pencil of our president,-Mr. o;Heaphy,; Tor future publication in a geological atlas. Many; of theseuare decorating the: walls, and others ; are^ • lyingon^ the table; and-1 shall be happy to'show: them to any ladies and gentlemen L whp maj^ feel fan interest; in. seeing- "them at;the; conclusionJof-.Sie^ , I le.Ctlirev.--; J.;':>3.-:- ! - „':'• ■-: ' f:' '.-,..■;• ■-■■> ■■■■.•;v t 'l- : ■-•:■' \ '"' My collections, have, 'been growing from;*lay today, and include specimens of great interest ■ 'iri most .^ranches of natural, history. Ifovye a.great; .deal to,,the indefatigable zeal, pf my,friend and fellow-t.rayeller, Mr. j, Haast, who assisted me in coßecting during our expedition, : . I;ara also much: indebted to Mr. J. Crawford, -at . Wellington;;,Mr.: i A. S. Atkinson, of .Taraaaki^ Mr. Triphook, of Hawkes, Bay; Mr. M. ]S. Kemp, of the Bay of Islands; to the Missionaries; and to almost.innumerable friends in Auckland.'

'PRE-LIKINAIIY EEMARKS,

- I_ cannot^ suppose that all my audience are acquainted with'-'the ;4firS-t principles of geology.- I shall, therefore, be.under the' necessity, in order to! make my report intelligible, of prefacing a few re-: marks upon the chief divisions of geological formations. ; ; ■ '• : '

The various - rocks,' soils, and minerals, which occur upon the surface of the earth, or at Various depths beneath it—in one word, the materials of the earth's crust—are classified in the first lolace with reference to their different'brigni, or"; in other words, with reference to the different circumstances and causes by which they have been produced; 1 hey are divided into four great classes-^Plutonic; Metaniorplnc,. Aqueous, and;* Volcanic Crocks. Another mode of classificatiQa is with reference to their age—that as,: :;to the comparative periods of their formation.'.These divisions will be easily understood. „. v v * _ , ThVPlutbnlcVbckscomprehend all the granites, syenites, porphyries;'diorites—rocks which agtee in being highly crystalline, unstratified,: and destitute 1 pt organic remains—which are^considered as''cjf igneous, origin, formed in the earliest peridds' 6( the earth, in great depths, and cooled and crystallized Si3wly<under great pressure. ''■■■'":'.'< | The Metamorphic rocks are the crystalline skatl or schists; gneiss, mica schist, or mica slate, chlMdl schist, hornblende schist—also destitute of organid remains. According to the most probable theory! these strata were originally, deposited from waterl m the usual form of sediment,,hut were subsequently altered by subterranean heat, so as to assume a new texture. :■'■';■■■■■■ } ■^ The two- first classes of, the rocks,.are .usually found in such a positiph thatthey form the foundatibii ou winch the aqueous rocks Were afterwards super-

imposed. For instance, they compose the central line of a range of mountains/ on both sides of whick sedimentary rockß|ar/depo«*t^;:;Tfl|iw, in reference to their age, they -tke oldest, an* Theie-aite'exceptioys to thwrnle? in reference to the aggpf #iaioij)lutt>nic .^rbcltii - of eruptiv fr character. Bufci, I am now'^Stiting onty genera? principles, and therefore avoid all questions ieadW to scientific discussions.

I V ie .nexfc / .ln order are the aqueou* rocks—the production of watery action. They are also called sedimentary rocks, irom the fact that they are the hardened-,»edimentß.accumulated at.the bottom of the sea or of fresh-water lakes. are stratified, or divided^tO di^tmct layer*; or/ijtrat^aß/foir example, clay-slate, marl, sandsWe;HmesWrie and : aMivjdeijn^^^ /siliceous, argillaceous 91-, .clayey, and calcareous"b r ichalky—according to the respective predominance fof silica, alilminaj;' ■ -Rdcks of this class a larger part of«tbe-earth's surface than any 'others, and are of the greatest interest on account ■of the organic remiaihs V«rel'found embedded ;in 'the different stratai'; .■ ''-''],, ■: > '

There are two principal,meanspf-ascertainingth& ■relative age,of aqueous rocks, derived,,the one from 'their position, the. other frbin the fossil remains ;they';contain. i:r''""' f: :■'.""''.'." -i;f;';; 'i . . 'With) reference1 td'pos'itibn; the' bed which lies 'Uppermost is, of course, the newest of aH,iatad that which.lies at?the bottom; the most ancient.

WitH refereiioe'to the fossils, it is notsotttisy to give an explanation in i a fewhwords • but some idea may;jbe>fdnnfed>from the well-ascertained feet that certain animals have! existed for? a certain period and then wholly disappeared, and-beefr succeeded % other animals of difi^i en t-species, which; in turn, i have again giveivpkce *to others. ■ So, as. Sir r CHariesijyen%rßly pays, "ajseries of ■pedimerttary vforhia'ti6Hß!%'like;^qlu an which each-writer has'^ecoi^eatftV annals of his • own times., :^a\3'<'d6wn||th0t book'with the flast-written 1 tippermbst." ::"Arid: tK^ 1 organic ■remains are, as^Dr; :Mutell;>beairtifidly expresses it, '"•the eoinsfoffjereation,", which-..<giver-tiis 7 thejnieaiis <6f tracing the history of the develqpment of - the organic kingdoms; ; -,-,;.■; "•; . :; [ : . ' ■■„■/■;%,' ,;v '.Thus, by superposition and by their organic rewftins, the «4ueou»;rocks are;.divided into groupsj :fonning, in reference to their age, what ifi-termeji an '< ascending Bewesi'^ol^begifttti^.wi.th4fe^?'oidesf inith'e;follo^ing>mai)ner-:r^-A; ,-,<^.: ;v ,,..-, ; . -i 1. Primary'formationsorpefioSf. . „, _, v 2. Secondary „ „ ..!-,„._ , „-;• •'?" ■ -. 3q?sßrtiary;;jj ? Vtr'M'V':V' '"'" „.,.,.4?9 6a' rt!i' ry's J"'~' -■ ; tt . . ■ ,ln referencejto the word "quartary," I may explain that, although it,J,s not an English word, 1 take the liberty Jo use;atjn thersense of " post tertiary," as following<the;analog^;of the other terms. Each of these f&rmaitionßrisHagain divided into numerous minor syitemSjbu'wtoch 1 have too time Renter. ...'.^,,,..' .. :^'^""'.""''.'T^". •! '?Fhe fourth1 and*JMt tgr4isit"|ivision!'tjF rodka are ■the volcanic—as :tracb)jlte,v basalt, breccia, and tuff —all, produced f b*y^upnimarine,-;or -submarine volcanic eruption, "it. is ]ascertained,that the earliest true volcanic eriap^ibns have'occurred' subsequently sto the secondary period, commencing in: the teFtiary, and continuing to^the present time; and it is ■a marked'difference.between the older and the more 'recent eruptions. J i ::. ; % '■; I<have:pripared a; diagram ;>wbich .rwill serve to 'these ;first principles upon your memory, ;ahd so enable -you to follow me in >ihe account 2 shave to give.:— ■•- .. ....... ---IDtkQmflfc •' .■■■.■.•'--' ; ■ ~. 'Origin. Age.; f©rgiraic]Remaini. and ]VKta- f Pfimffive :) *, „ ; morphicJßock^ .Iformtffipn: t).'»« fwnta. - " v t'Primary j - — (Quartary. 1 JWith these.preliminary remarks, IHow proceed to the mainrsubjecixof my lecture. .. : ; GEOLOffT?OF THE PBOyiNOfi OF itTCKLAND. The first "striking characteristic of tlie geology of •this-province, and< prdbably : -of the?whole of the Northern island ot^pew Zealand, iis, the absence of the primitive, plutonic, and metambrphic fbrmations, as granite, gfteiss, micarslate, and the"! like. I have been; informed -by Mr. Heaphy that'these rocks are'ofwide^spreaa eitetft iif* the Middle Island, forming mountain ranges of great altitude, covered with perpetual snotv, and reaching in MoiintCook probably to 13,@00 feet. The crocks of these formations? contain the principal metallic riches of thelearth.^ Therefore we cannot hope to find these riches developed in the highest degree in the-Northern Island ; btit as "other formations also contain metalliferous iveins, there, may be found many mines worth woi'king in the rocks I am about to described f^ ; ■:■>?■.*■■■ '-" ;<- yj'xivi"i v: •*

„<•'"} :T, g:;fnJB,iMABT fokmation. .. v.The oldest rock I have met with in the Province of Auckland belongs to the primary formation. /It is of a very variable:^character? sometimes bejng s :more f argillaceoTis, of a,dark blue colour (when deepnißosed^y^llpwWli J|ro^n ? "tb^eWour Igenerally preseriM t># thVtstirface)^, arid'moW'sr;' less dis-;,tmbtly";stratifisa-!aike T clay-slate' (at4firaitai on the •■Waitemata^^at'othev times ?the 'siliceoiis''' element "prepotfderates^aiidi fromj-the-'adniixtare'of oxide of iron; 1 the RJck,has a^ed-jaspei'-like' app|arance (at : WaiKeki^^ratiganese Point); c In other localities it is more distinctly, arenaceous, resemWin'g'the -»ld sahSstdnes'of 'the' Silurian 'and Bevonian systems, called gi-auwacUeT^at 'Taupoj -on " the Hauraki Gulf).,'/; , Tf . r ' r ..'^"."S/," ". '' As no fossil's liayeyeVbeen foftttd in this formation iii "New. Zealand, it is impossible to state; the; "exact age; :I,am;'hp,w;ever<ofopinipn;thiit these argillaceous silicepsus,.r,o.cks ;c will :be,found' v tp. correspond to the oldest Silurian strata of Europe. ."•■• The existence,and great extent of this formation are of tjonsiderable importance ;to this province, ns all the metalliferous veins hitherto discovered, or likely bp.h.eueafter found, ;occurjin rocks of this formation." „U---- .7 !,' To these rocks belong the copper-pyrites, which' liasibeen'iworked for some years at the Kawau and Great Barrier; the manganese (Psilomelan)' M Waikjeki; and ftihe"tgold-bearing quartz at Coro* mandelv-^'v^ *• <■•'<:■ ••;•••■ ■-, ..■-■>■-.-"''•■••■ „■■■:

The"gold which■ is washed -out from beds of quartz-graye},<iq the rivers and creeks flowing down from both sides of Corpmandel range, is derived from quarts vein&ofchrystallrne character and considerable thickness", runmngoin>ardirection from north tosouth, through the-olds primary rocks which foitn the foundation of the Coromandel range. In some places these.Veins; stand' out Hike a.wall on the summit of the range to'a*height of'eight or tenfeet. TheiclayislateTockitself is exposed only sat.the)bottoniv6£iaeep?gorgesrwhvc,h form the cliannels of the principal streams. In almost all places it is covered;by laVge> masses bf'trachytic tuff and breccia, of which the hills surrounding the harbour of Coromandel'toe^cbraposedv- The' well known Castle Hillyiwhiclvcnn b? seen from, Auckland, " 8 chafivfcteristic example off the trachytic ..breccia formation. The maguetic iron sand whichj in washing' is found withi/the,-'g6ld, is derived from, the sanw " sourceias&U; the magnetic iron sand of New; Zealand, namelyi ft*bm> the decomposition ,pf: trachytic rocks. Small veins of qiuirtz of, amorpnous eharacteri.(that> iisf, hob, cluy^taHinej ,'but in the shapo of, chalcedony, cornelian, agate, and jiwper)» arenfound 'in' numerous fplaces on ■,the.: shores « Coromandel. /-^hese-, veins occurring ,in .tiaohyt"s rocks are ; quit^j'differant to the .auriferous fluarfe veins in the primary formation-^ fiicti I think, w

imnch.pracl;i,qal. importance to^tate, to ;prevent the jfruitless search for gold where go\d. does not exist. All the gold-boaring gravel in the creeks is derived, as I 1 Have already said, not from'^he veins in the but frdln the much thicker and crystalline vefns'inihe primary rocks. The surface deposit inithose creeks'ife very*ri<Jh;ißut as compared with (Australian andviOalifornitvn^gold fields, of limited extent t and <ddpth, M I hashed a few .bueketsful of'surface .earth,and gravel,,at a creek .pointed outtome.by Miv^b^rtes Heaphy, near Wng's'mill, at the Kapanga. 'Every .panful shewed scales of thin gold, withWdll fragments' of quartz, 'streaked and studded "with veins' arid spangles of Sold. These '"specimens," asv #hey hx& oalled by iggers, show mo—or ..very little—sign of being water w.qrn, but^,re ) sliarpMand/cnis,p j'fragmcnts, as if they had been, broken,uj> on the "spot,, .or in the t immediate vicinity. ' I think the *> quartz veins in the mountains sliovild'be thoroughly examined, and 1 that, when on6e"tlie!'day has come'that'the Coro- ' mandel'gbld fields are worked, the attention of the . "digker"i should'be1 dimsted as well to the hills immediately,tabove any 'rich deposits as to the alluvial \\vorkings', below. The coal,beds,at.Corpmandel, occurring between strata of tracbjti'c jbrecda, are too ,tl;in to be of 'any'value, and, as'the coal formation is absent, "there is no ground forhdping that a workable seam may be found. , '

-The pi'htfary •formation occurs,'-to >a more con» Jsiderable(extent, to the' eastward of Auckland,^in ranges on.both sides of the -Wairoa river, attaining ,an altitude of 1,500 feet jaboye the sea —and striking from thence T north war.ds, over Waiheki and 'Kawau, to the Bay of Islands. In a southerly 'clirecti6n,'th(iy extend through the'Hangawera and TaUpiri ranges, across tlte 'Waik'ato,1 through' the JElakari-niata and Hauturu range—'parallel with -the-West Ooast-^to the flokau district,-where, at

Waicere, the Mokau river, falls in'a magnificent cascade over a lofty precipice iof that rock. The same formation occurs in the "Rangitoto mountain, on the Tipper Waiapa, >and west of 'Taupo lake, I'm the 'Tuhua mountains. v~But the n^ost extensive range 'of primary rocks is tha.t iwhich commences' near Wellington, under ,the name!of Tararaa and >Ruawahine, arid runs in a ■north-easterly-direction'^1 the east « shore of Taupo -lake,< under the name ( of Kaimanawa, in > which rise the jprincipal sources ,of the Waikato —there called Tongariro river. The range continues from the shoves of Taupo lake, in'a north-easterly direction,1 $o the1 East Cape, under the principal name of Tewhaiti, This lofty and extensive 'mountain .range—the trae baok :bone of'the Northern Island —with peaks- from-6,000 to! 7,000 ieet, is entirely unknown. In^this ,range the plutonic^ ( and metamorphic rocks, yet .unknown ia ( the Northern.ls,land, may perhaps be found. , Nearly all the primary ranges -are covered with dense virgin forests, -which rentier' them extremely -difficult of access. It must be' left to ihe~ labour And .enterprise 'of future yearsl to discover -and develop the mineral /riches, the r existence 'of-which appears.to.be.probable, not only from the geological (characteristics of the country, but also; from, some 'few , specimens of,lead and copper ore that have "from time,to time been .picked up by the natives. It is remarkable*"'that, while one of the oldest members of'the'prim'a'ry formation is found so expensively in New 'Zealand, the latter strata,-as the 'Devonian, Carboniferous, -and Permian system, -appear, to be * altogether wanting; while, on the ptherJiand/in the, neighbouring continent,of Australia these members of the primary period, to- | gather with plutonic and'rhetamorphoric rocks, coni ;Stitate; so 'far" as' we' know, alino'st the principal part i 'of' the continent. p * I • ll.'-SSCONDHH* rOEMITIOIf. I rA! very wide interval r occurs between' the prim ary f 'rocks rof'the'Northern'island and the next sedi-

mentary strata that_l;met -with. Mot only 'the Tipper members of the,(primary series are -absent, but also -nearly the whole'of the 1 secondary formations. The only instance of -secondary strata that I have met with,' consists of very regular and highly-inclined bdds .of marl alternately with micaceous 'sandfttorie,• 'extending(to' a thickness of i "smore than 1000 tfeet—which I 'first saw on the I jßouth head-of the Waikato, and afterwards met i with on,the western-shore of 1 Kawhia karbour. 1 These rocks,,possess great interest,from the fact f that they contain remarkable specimens of marine i "fossils, which belong exclusively.to'the secondary I 'period,' especially Ccp1 halopeds of the genera AmI monite and Belemnite,' Several species of Bele'mnite, I -all', belonging to the family of Canaticulatn These * Jare the'first specimens of those genera which have j J)een.discovered in, the regipns of Australasia. I Both fossils ,have been known, for centuries by our i ancestors in the Old World—the Ammonite,as the I horn of Jupiter Ammon, and the Belemnite as the <j 'bolts of the god of thunder, ' The latter, though I now first seen in the antipodes by'Euro'peans, have I long'been"known to the natives'of "Kawhia by a I (much -less < dignified name, —the fold'warrior-chief I Muitone te Pakuru,>having told me that the stones I I. prized, so much, and collected Iso greedily, are I nothing more than roherhanae, which means the | excrement of the fish commonly known amongst 4 settlers by'the name of mullet. In leality, I -the Belemnite '"belongs to'a creature long since ex- | rtinct, which -was allied to the liow living cuttle-fish. I Secondary rocks may-probably be found in some 1 .other parts of the Westi Coast,';and occur, as I fi have .been kindly informed hy the Rev. A. G. P,urj£ -chas, in the harbour of Hokianga j but everywhere I of limited superficial extent.

I , lII.—TEETIAR-y. FOBMATIONS. I,proceed now,to speak of the Tertiary, period, strata of which, of very various characters, occupy a large portion of the Northern Island. The various 'Tertiary strata'are found for the moat part in a 'horizontal position—a'remarkable fact, from which , 'we may conclude that even'the numerous volcanic I 1 eruptions, which itook place during arid after the > •J -period of their 'deposition, had not power enough to [.dislocate the whole system, but merely to produce local disturbances. The Tertiary period must be divided into twp distinct formations, which may perhaps correspond > to the' European Miocene and Miocene.' , There 'is j an older formation, which is found principally' on '• the West Coast, and'-in the'interior, on - both sides, of the primary rariges,;and t a newer one which may', ,$ be called'jbhe Auckland Tertiary .Formation. § You will probably be interested to have some' I more minute description of the different strata of' :j the'older of these formations, as to this belong the ! Brown Coal seams, to the discovery of which J am indebted for the opportunity-of'investigating the' • Geology of tliis Province, ana, on the-intelligent 'Working of which I believe very much!of the'future welfare of this Province depends. i A The Brown Coal Tormation is of very conm siderable extent, both in the Northern and Middle P Islands, of New Zealand, and is of similar character j£% everywhere. ' f I Some months ago, I furnished a Report on the ft Coalfield in the neighbourhood of Auckland.iv the H Drury and Hunua districts, of 'which-I will repeat || here the principal points. The< Drury coal belongs A to a very good sort of brown coal—to the so-called y Glanzkohle, with conchoidal fracture. I was not [i 1 able to convince myself of the existence of different series of seams, one above the other, on different ;i\ levels. lam much rather of opinion that the same Uj seam, disturbed in its level, occurs at the different }% localities in the Drury and Hunua district, where coal is found. The average thickness of that coal^ l|j beam may be estimated to six feet. The section ,of I" the seam at Mr. Fallwell'H farm.caa.to ,taien.,as a f fair average.

The 'seam, consists there of three portions; the the upper part a laminated coal of interior quality, one foot; then a band of shale, two inches; the middle-part coal of a good quality, one and a half feet; then a band of bituminous shale, six inches ; the lowest part coal of the best quality I have seen, two and si half feet. Thus the whole thickness of the coal itself may be considered to amount to about five feet. The bituminous shale accompanying the coal contains fossil plants, principally Dicotyledones. It is remarkable that no fossil ferns are'found in connection with the Drury coalbeds ; it is the more &o, as at the other locality which I must mention—on the West Coast) seven miles frOm the Waikato Heads—only fossil ferns, in a most beautiful state of, preservation, are imbedded in gray argillaceous strata, alternating with sandstone and small coal'seams, of probably the same geological age as the Drury coal. A considerable number of specimens'from both localities will, by,a future examination, furnish the opportunity for determining the principal features of the flora of the brown coal period in New Zealand. The fossil gum found in the coal is a kind of "'Retinite," derived from a coniferous tree, perhaps related to the kauri, but it is by no means identical with'the kauri gum which is only found in the surface soil in those localities where there ,have been kauri forests. The fossil gum and k^uri gum are very cliflVrent in their qualities, as the most simple experiments in their iguition will show. The thickness of the forest and the inaccessible character of the. country prevent our now ascertaining, in an exact manner, the extent of the Drury coal-field. Still the existing openings show an extent of the coal-field quite large enough to encourage any company to work the coal in an extensive manner.

I am glad to hear that the company, under the name of " The'Waihoihoi Mining and Coal Company," is formed, to begin the working of this coal.

The same kind of coal I saw again on the noithem slope of Taupiiiand Hakarimata range. At Kupakupa, on the left bank of the Waikato,, I examined a beautitul seam about 150 feet above the leveL'of the river. The thickness of the seam then exposed was about 15 feet; how much greater the^thiclmess may be it is impossible to say, as the floOr Jhas never been uncovered.

'This is the seam to which the attention of the "inhabitants of Auckland was directed several years ago by my fiiend the Rev. A. G. Purchas. I 'believe several tons were iat that time 'brought to Auckland; but, owing to various circumstances—the chief of 'which was native 'ownership — the hope of obtaining a supply from thence for Auckland was abandoned. No better position, could, however, 'be found for mining purposes; and the day cannot be far distant Vhen it 'will be worked to supply fuel for the steam navigation of the Waikato—the main artery of the province of Auckland. .1 have reason to believe that a coal field of considerable extent exists on the borders of the wide plains on both sides of the Waikato, between Taupiri and Mailgatawhiri—for which district, shut in on all sides by ranges, I propose the general geographical name of'"The Lower Waikato Basin." 4A third coal field exists on the western and southern boundaries of the very fertile alluvial plains above the junction of the Waipa and WaiJcato, .which may be distinguished as " The Middle Waikato Basin"—the future granaryof the northern portion of this, island. The localities in which coal has been discovered are the following:—ln the Hohinipanga range, west of Karakariki on the Waipa; near Mohoanui and Waitaiheki, in the Hauturu range, on the upper branches of the Waipa; and again in the WhaAvharua and Parepare ranges, oil the northern side of Rangitoto mountains. . THE-NEW ZEALAND BBCTWN COAX. .-"""Thefollowing are theresults of several analyses ,of;Speciraens of Drury Brown Coal, sent to Eng-. land some months:ago by Mr. Turnbull. The -analyses have been forwarded to me by Mr.; Farmer-:--- : ; .[The lecturer here quoted the reports upon,tie ."cbal'as tested at home, which reports were reprinted % full in the'Lyttelton Times'of July 20.] -.; fl,s'ubj6iri comparative average analyses of the %ree principal kinds ; of fuel, from which it may be ; seen that theDrury coal is precisely similar to the jEuropean.brown coals in the proportion of its three principal.constituents:—

I embrace here the opportunity of saying a few words on the commercial value and. applicability of the New Zealand brown coal. Although of entirely different character, and, generally speaking, of inferior value, to the older coals of the primary formations, I cannot see any I reason why this kind of coal should not be used in New Zealand for the same purposes as a similar blown coal is extensively applied to in various ports of Europe, and particularly in Germany, where it supplies'the fuel for manufactures of all kinds, for locomotives and steamers, and for domestic purposes. I am perfectly familiar with this .kind of coal, and can assure the people of Auckland that the brown coal of this country 13 quite as good as that which is used in Germany for the purposes I have just mentioned. I would strongly recommend that any company which may be formed for 'the purpose oF working the coal should also at the .same time establish potteries for the manufacture of earthenware. Remarkably suitable clays of every necessary variety have been shown to exist in the immediate neighbourhood of the coal-fields by the borings which have been made by the Provincial Government at my request.* By the establishment of snch works, the value of the coal would be'inadeapparent to everybody, and the manufacture itself, if properly conducted, cannot fail to be remunerative. It may be interesting to you to know that the far-fanled " Bohemian porcelain" is ,burnt by means of brown coal, from a seam of, in some, places,, '90 feet thickness. While stating the 'uses to whicti'brpWn coal may be applied, .I^must warn t ydu"' against, thinking that it is suitable 'for'■'steamers' having to make long sea voyages. -The bulky-natur.o- of the " brown coal " will -always prevent such steamers taking it on board' when they can procure black coal. But, on the other hand, its qualities as a gas-producing coal, as the above analyses show, will render it 1 valuable as an article of expoi t. . - ■ '. I now come to another series of the elder tertiary strata, examples of which are found occurring ■in great regularity on the West Coast, from Waikato to Kawhia. The lowest are argillaceous ; the imifldle, calcareous: the upper, arenaceous. The characteristics of the first clayey, strata are, ,a light grey colour, very few fossils, small crystals „of iron pyrites and glauconitic grains, which give these clay marls a similarity to the gault and green •sands of the cretaceous formation in Europe. They are found on the eastern branches of Whaingaro, Aotea, and Kawhia harbours. Of great interest ami importance are the calcareous stiata, consisting of tabular limestone, sometimes of a conglomerate nature, sometimes more'ciystafflne, the whole masi of which is formed of fragments of shells, corals, an&foramiM-fer*, interspersed with perfect specimens ot terebratuls, oysters, and pectens, and other shells. The limeatone,' when burnt, makes excellent lime, and may be .wrought and polished for architectural purposes The beds of limestone worked by -Messrs. -Smth '.and Cooper, in the Wairoa district, .belong to this

foi?mral;i6ii,-as • do; also filie ricli'foasiliferoUs1 strata from the Waikato: Heads to Kawhia harbour. ■ , Picturesque columnar; rocks of the same nature, ! looking almost : as <if i they were m-tifieially *built of i tabular blocks, adorn the entranced■■»W/haingaroa. ■ harbour ? and the romantic limestone* scenery, ami ' therfine caves:of the IRakanui river—a? branch.of Kawhia liarboui', are,deseuvedly prized byi)the settlersiof Kawhia harbour.: ;S; •■ •/■,! i :.; , ■ .The ■ limestone formation attains its -greatest thickness—l rom> 400 to 1500 feet—an !the Tipper. Waipa and Mokau district, between: the Rangitoto range and the -West Coast. It has in; this country many remarkable features. >v;:. v : No one can .enter-without admiration the stalac-. tic caves of Tana-uri-uri at Hangatiki, . and of Parianewanewa, near the sources of therWaipa—the former haunts of the gigantic Moa.: I Iwent into those caves in the hope ofrmeeting with ia rich haryest of Moa skeletons, but l!was sadly disappointed ;i those who had been.;before me in the daysrof Moa enthusiasm having carried off every, vestige of a bone.: Great, however, was my labour/and .not'littje my satisfaction, in' dragging out the ■■ headless and -'legless skeleton ■■ of ia Moa from tbeneathrthe dust .and filth of an raupo hut! The Maories,.seeing the greediness with which, the 'pakehas' hunted afteroid Moa bones, have long since carefully collected all they could find, and deposited them in some safe'hiding-place waiting for ithe opportunity/of exchanging them for pieces of gold and silver; showing thus how well they have learnt "the - lesson: taught them by 'the example;of the "pakeha.''■•-., \ V".' : The subterranean passages of -the rivers in the Pehiope 'and:\Mairoa district are highly Characteristic; of the limestone formations The limestone rocks, fissured,and channelled, are penetrated by the .water, and the streams run .below : the "limestone .upon the:surface of the argillaceous strata, which I have before mentioned as underlying the: limestone. .This also explains the scarcity of water on the limestone plateau which divides the sources of the Waipa and Mokau rivers. The.plateau is covered with a splendid growth of grass, 'and would ;form ran excellent cattle run ! but for the deep funnelshaped holesiwhich every where abound. The natives call them: tomo. They are similar to the holes .which occur,in the limestone downs inr England, ,and on the Karst mountain on the shore of the Adriatic Gulf, where they are called dolines. I ; The third and^ uppermost stratum of the older tertiary; formation consists of beds of fine 'fossiliferous s;mdstoiie,iir which quarries of good building stone may be found. There are whole ranges parallel to the primary mountains which seem to consist of this sandstone. I will mention only the Tapui-wahine range, about 2,000 -feet above the level of the sea, in which is the pass from the Mokau to the Whanganui country. ; Without a map oh a large seal*, ■ which I have hadno time to prepare,it would be useless to. enter more minutely now. into a description of the various localities in which the different formations occur. I may, however, mention that limestone and brown coal have been found'in places to north of Auckland, in the districts from Gape Jiodney to the North Gape. ■ :'■ -' \, ~\ The horizontal beds of sandstone and iriarls which form the cliffs of the Waitemata, ) and extend in a northerly direction towards Kawau, belong to a newer tertiary formation, and, instead of cpal, have only thin , layers of lignite, A characteristic feature of this Auckland tertiary formation, is the existence;of beds of volcanic- ashes,;which are here and there interstratiiied with the"' ordinary tertiary1 layers. I must-say no more on-the tertiary formations, in order that I may leave sometime to "devote to the volcanic formations, which, from their.greatlextent, and from the beautiful phenomena connected with them, render the northern island of New Zealand, and especially the province1 of /Auckland, one of the most interesting parts, of the word. , VOLCANIC FORMATIONS AND: PHENOMENA.. Lofty"trachytic peaks, covered with; perpetual snow, a vast number of smaller voldanic cones, presenting all the varied characteristics of volcanic systems, and a long line of boiling springs, fumaroles, solfataras, present an'almost unbounded fi6ld of interest, arid, at the same time, a succession of magnificent scenery. It is only through a long series ,of volcanic eruptions, extending over the tertiary and post-tertiary periods, that the northern island has attained its present form. ,It would be a difficult task to. point out;the ancient.form of the antipodean: archipelago, .the; site .of which is now occupied by the islands of New Zealand. I must confine myself .to a simple indication of the events which have given this country the form it was found to have by the South Sea islanders on their arrival many centuries ago, from the Samoan group,—a form, in fll the main respejts, the same as is now before our eyes. The first volcanic eruptions were submarine, consisting of vast quantities of trachytic lava, brecchia, tuff, obsidian, and pumice-stone, which, flowing over the bottom of the sea, formed an extensive submarine volcanic plateau^ The volcanic action continuing, the whole mass was upheaved above the level of. the sea, and^new phenomena were developed. The eruptions going on in the air instead of under the sea, lofty cones of trachytic and phonolithic lava of ashes and cinders were gradually formed. These eruptions, breaking through the original submarine layers of trachytic lava, brecchia, and tuff, raised them, and left them, as we. now find them, forming a more or less regular belt found the central cones, and having a slight inclination from the centre outwards. These belts I shall have occasion to refer to.under the name of tuff-Craters, or cones of tuffs, or craters of elevation. In the course of time the volcanic action decreased, arid we must now imagine that tremendous earthquakes occurred—-that parts of the newly-formed crust gave way and fell in s forming vast chasms and fissures, which are'now occupied by the lakes, hot springs, and solfataras. Thus, we now find in the central part of the ; northern island an extensive volcanic plateau of an elevation, of 2.000 feet,, from which rise two .gigantic mountains, Tongariro and Ruapahu. They are surrounded by many smaller cones; as Pihanga, -Kakaramea, Kaharua, Rarigitnkua, Puke Onake, -Hauhanga. The natives have well named these latter," the wives and children of the two giants •Tongariro and Euapahu;" and.they have a legend to the effect, that a third giant, named Taranaki, formerly stood near these two—but quarrelling with his companions about their wives, was worsted in combat, and forced to fly to the west coast, where lie now stands in solitary grandeur, the magnificent snow-capped beacon of Mount Egmont (8,270 feet). These are the three principal trachytic cones of the northern island. . , . By far the grandest and loftiest of the three is Ruapahu, whose truncated cone, standing on a basis of about twenty-five miles in,diameter, attains a height of 9,000 to 10,000 feet above the level of the sea—about 3,000 : feet of which is covered with glaciers and perpetual snow^ Kuapahu, like Taranaki, is extinct. Tongariro alone can be fei»d to be .active, I was enabled to distinguish five craters on Tongariro, three of which are to a certain extent active. Steam is always issuing from them, and the natives state that, from the principal crater,, called Ngauruhoe, on the top of the highest cone of eruption (7,500 feet) occasional eruptions of black ashes and black dust take place, accompanied with loud subterranean noises, I may remark that the shape of the Cone is' changing, the western side, lor ; instance, havinov during the great earthquake at i Wellington, in'lßs4, fallen in, so that the interior [of the crater is now visible from the higher points In the 'JOuhua district, on the Upper Whanganm.

The i'eniarkable. fed; ithat snow does toot 'teSf; upon some of tlie upper points of;the Tongariro system, while the lower. ;bnes ai-e covered all. the winter through, shows that these parts are of a high temperature. Iliad no opportunity my self'of ascending Ton"gai'iro, but I have met with the following interesting account.of an ascenfe of tihe highest cone of eruption ;by Miv H. iDyson, .vvhich was comirrunicated to the 'NewiZealaftdei-'by AS.Thomson, M.D. :—

mr. >i)yßon!s agcoun'r of his: ascent oe . . .;;ton,gariiio,

;In the month of March, 1851, a little .before sun rise, I commenced my ascent alone, from the northwestern side of the, Rotoaire lake. I crossed the plain, and ;; ascended .the:space to the northward of the Wiiangariui river. , Here I got into a valley covered with large blocks of scoria, which made riiy progress very difficult. At the bottom of the valley runs the Whanganni river. After crossing the river, which at! this place was then not more than' a yard broad, ;I had^toria'scend the other side• of the valley, j ■which, from the unequal nature of the.ground,:was very tedious, and I kep.t onwards as straight as I could ;for the top of s the. mountain. At last;l came to the base of the cone, around which there [were large blocks of scoria,'.which had evidently been 'vomited out of the crater, and had rolled cjowri ,the cone. The most formidable part of my jdurney lay yet'before me; namely, the ascent of ' the cone, and •it appeared to me from the positioA where X stood •that' it -composed nearly one-fourth of the-total 'height iof -the mountain. I cannot say> slt < what angle! the cone ;lies, but I had to crawl up a considerable portion of it on my hands and feetj and as it is covered with loose cinders -arid!fashes, I often slid down again several feet. There-Svas no snow o^l the cone or the -mountain, unlesf 4n some-cre-vices to which the sun's\ ray^^^Vot, penetrate. There was not on the cone any vegetation, .-not even the long wiry grass'which grows in scanty patches up to the very base of the cone. The ascent of the cone :t6blc.me,Tshdxild think, four hours at least; but as'l had no watch, it is possible,'from the laborious occupation I was at* that the ascent of the cone ilooked longer than it was. But whether it was three hours or four that I was clambering up the cone, Lrecollect I hailed with delight theimouth of .;the. great .chimney up which I had been tolling; The sun had just begun to dip, and I thpught.it .'might be about one p.m.,-so that I ascended the mountain from the Rotoaire lake in about eight hours. Tjiiust confess, as I had scarcely- any food with me, that I; kept pushing on ata good pace. On the top of Torigariro .T expected to behold a magnificent prospect, but the day was .now cloudy and.l could •see no distance. ' Tlie'crater is nearly circular;1 and from :afterwards 'measuring with the eye a pieceof ground about utbe -same; size, Lshould think ifciwas six hundred yards in. diameter. The lip of the crater was sharp;,outside there was almost nothing but loose cinders and ashes^ inside of the crater there were, large'ov'erhanging rocks;of: a pale yellow color, evidently' produced- by the sublimation of sulphur. The lip of the crater is not of equal height all round, but T think11 could" have walked found it. The southern side, is the highest,. and. the , northern, where-Lstood, the lowest. There was no possible ,way of descending'the crater. I stretched out my neck ,and looked down the fearful abyss which lay gaping- before, me, but my sight, was obstructed by large cloiids of steam; or vapour, and I don't think;! saw thirty feet down. I dropped into the:crater several; large stones, and it made me shudder to hear sonic of them rebounding as I supposed from rock to rock; of some of thestones" s thrown in I heard nothing. There was a low murmuring sound during the whole time' I was at the top, such as you hear at the boiling springs at Rotomahana and Taupo, and which is notunlike the noise heard:in a steaftiengine room,;when the engine is at work. There -was no eruption of Water or ashes during the time I was; there, nor was; there any appearance that there had been one lately. I saw no lava which had a recent appearance; notwithstanding all this,l;did not feel comfortable where I stood in case; of an eruption. The air was not cold;ythe ascent had made me hot; but I had time to cool,, for I remained at the crater nearly an hour. About two, p.riv, 1 cpmmenced my desce.ntby the/same way that! ascended. "Afog w'6r ' elqu'd"passed over where I was, and caused me 'to ;lose rmy way for a-short time. When descending^ I saw between Tbngariro and Ruapahua lake about-a-mile in diameter. I could see no stream flowing out of lit on its western side. An extinct crater may also be seen near the base of Tongariro. It was almost dark before I reached the Whanganui river, and, although in strong condition and a good walker, I felt completely done up, and I fell asleep in a dry watercourse. The night was cold, but I slept soundly until daylight, when I im■hiediately rose and continued my descent, and at ten, a:m., I reached my residence at Rotoaire^ with the shoes almtfst torn off my feet. , As far as I can learn, Mn D.jsbh, in 1851, and Mr.'Bidwell, in 1839, are the only Europeans who have ascended the highest cone of Tongariro. The difficulty of Tongariro is stillthe Same as when JJr. Thomson published the foregoing account. "Itdoes," as he says,— Not entirely arise from its height, or the rougb> ness of the scoria, but from the hostility of the natives, who have-made the mountain "tapu,"or sacredyby calling it the backbone and head of their great ancestor. All travellers who have asked permission of the natives to ascend Tongariro have met with indirect refusals. The only way to get over this: difficulty is, to ascend the mountain unknown to the natives of the place, or even your own natives. Mr. Dyson did this, but his ascent was discovered by a curious accident. During his pro-

gress up the mountain he took for.a time the littlel frequented path which leads along the base of Tongariro to Whahganui. A native returning from that place observed his footmarks, and knew them to be those of an European. : As he saw where the footsteps left the ;path, he, on his arrival at Rotoairei proclaimed that an European was no# wandering ■about alone on the sacred mountain of Tongariro. The natives immediately suspected it was Mr.

Dyson, and they went to his house, waited his return, and took several things from him. He was now a suspected man, and his conduct was watched.

The second active crater of the Tongariro system* at the top of a lower cone north of Ngauruhoe, is called Ketetahi; According to the natives, the first eruption of this crater took place simultaneously with the Wellington earthquake of 1854. Prom Taupo Lake-,1 saw large and dense volumes' of steam, larger than those from Ngaurulioe, emerging from the Eetetahi crater. The third active point on the Tongariro system is a great sdlfatara on the north-Western slope of the range. The hot sulphurous springs of that solt'atara are often visited by the natives, on account of the relief they experience in respect td their cutaneous diseases; A grand impression is made upon the traveller by those two magnificent volcanic cones—Ruapahu, shining with the brilliancy of perpetual snow;-— Tongariro, with its black cinder cone, capped with a rising cloud of white steam •—the two majestic mountains standing side by side; upon a barren desert of pumice; (called by the natives One-fapxi) and .the whble reflected, as by a mirror; by the waters of Lake Taupo. Lake Taupo is about twenty-eight. English miles long, and twenty broad. This lake is surrounded by elevated pumice atone plateau&j about 2,000 feet above the sea and 700 feet above the lake* The. Waikato river, takiug (its .rise from ■Tongariro, flows through the lake; traversing the pumice stone"-plateaus ou either side; In accordance with the names I have already proposed for : the Middle and Lower Waikatb Plains, the' Tatipo Country will form the " Upper Waikato Basin;" ■ Ifc is ono of the most characteristic features in

the structure of the Northern Island, that, from the shores of Taupe/ lalce, an almost level pumice stone plain, called Kaingaroa plain, stretches at the foot of the EM C;tpo range, • with a very gradual descent to the coast between Whakatanc and Matata i a plain which, though how presenting a.steiilei appearance, will, I hope, at no distant day, be^converted into h"Wgrassy plains, capable of supporting large flocks of sheep.

' 'In asimilav \vay a higher volcanic plateau, tjonaisting /of trachVtic tuff and "breccia, and various other volcanic, rocks, stretches in a oiore northerly direction'to the East Coast, between Maketu and

Tuninga, the farthest "exti'emities of which, reach even to the Auckland 'district. ;Gn one side of HaufakiiGtilf the Corotnandel range is covered with, tr«a(;hyticbrecciav:and again,on the West Coast, tho sameTock forms the coast range from ilanukau 16 Eaipara. This extensive plateau is intersected by many deep valleys, the sides of which are characterised by a succession of remarkable terraces. Tlia same plateau :is 'also: broken, in many places by im(jre or less regular trachytic cones from 1,000 to 3,000 feet iiigh. Tliat'you iitaay become acquainted with the geological character :6f such mountirins, I will mention several examples, the names "of Hvhich, are well known" airiqngst European' settlers-; ; : To this class of mountains belong Karoi, on the .Wost Coast,; near Whaingaroa- 'i Pirongia, onthe' Waipa>, the regular cone pfi.Kakepuku, bet\veen;the Waipa, and Waikato1; Maniigatautari, on the Waikato ; .Aroha, on the Waihou'; Putiialvi, or Mount Edge',combe, on the East Coast, aiid many others/ The only active mountain which belongs to this'class is .WhAkari! or Whitejlsland,;in;the Bay of Plenty, a solfatara, like the active'crater of Tohgariro. , - Mr.Bayid Burn, in'his account of "A Trip \is ■ the East Cape/ says :-r- ■■■■.- •

In about an '-hour "after passing flat island, 'the snowy vapouffupori White Islaridbegan; 'fd'fre dis* cernible. By one; p.m., we were in" immediate con* tiguity.with-this remarkable island, .fkssing' quite close to "its south^rm extreriiity. As .we made oui? .gradual approach, ,-its ]aspect was vof ;.tHe Wosifi singular, description. Except on its^nqrthern point* to which the sulphurous ,y,apqur does not seemt» reach, it is utterly destitute Of vegetation \ th£?6 are patches of growing underwood ;'but in every* other direction the island is bald, bleak, and furrowed into countless.deep-worn ravines. After we had passed it a'sftort YHstdmSe'td t'fte 'eßtwi'fd, l\i& capacious basin of the crater, with its numerous geysers roaring and raging, exposed" its sulphurous -bosom to our eyes and nostrils. >If Ith6 -outer "aha western ;sides ;of White Islandbe blank ah:d fufrSVedi itsinaer circle is chased, as it where,'in; a fare rand picturesque ,inahner: ;. : the : : sides. o;f the ; hills, front their lofty^.mountain ■ summits; to^ the ,baSe,-..bein^ combed into innumerable' joiigittidinal iidges" of i». florescent bronze of brilliant and yarigated hueV Of this island, Captain Drury, 6f H.M.S. Pa;idorav gives the following description in the * .New Zealand ■Pilot •— ■: ..■•"."-■•'. ■■"-' •■■■. "-: '■ ■' ■■• •."■■■-..■ "

"White Island, or 'Whakari^ is about three tniles in circumference, and 860 feet high: > The base b£ the crater is one and a half miles in circuifcjafrd leVel vyith the sea. In the centre is a boiling.spring,'aWu'i; 100 yards incircuniference; sending volumes of steanl full 2,000 feet high in calm -weather. lArp'und tW& edges of the crater are nutiQberiess small gey Wt% sounding like so rnany.higK'.pressure engines, and "emitting steani' with such velocity,!, that a -stop© thrown.into..the Vortex would' immediately be sii'oS in the air. .

" Here and there are lakes of sulphurous dormant ; but the whole island is isd jre'a^d: as 16 make it difficult to walk. From the edge; of' ttid crater the i; scene below is only to be comiiared i%ft "•& well-dressed.meadow ofigorgeous: green, with meaft* dering. stream's feeding the boiling cauldron -, but. oft approaching, vve find. this green to, be thepufes^ crystalised sulphur. „

'• No animal or insect breathes on this-island scarcely/a limpet oil the stones, and 26o.fathpm| will hardly reach the bottom within half a mile-x>£ its-shores.": ''• \ •'• ;'':-! \ ' ' ]>: '' '' ' ; : ' Being under the lee of the island "aiid in snioo'tß watery Captain Bowden, in the most obliging ma iP ncr, hove the steamer to, and lowering one of thi quarter-boats, conveyed us on "shore to enjoy a per's sonal inspection of this jgrand natural euridsfryj There are two spots fat-which a landing.may.b'4 effected, at the openings of the miter base t)f th'S crater. .By. a very little exertion in clearing away sonic of the boulders,the landing may be reriderea perfectly edsy; but althouglv this day the Vate'rrjw^.l •smooth, still there was such'a swell that judgn'Wnfe and caution were requisite to. pick out a spot whefd best to escape tlie rollers that tumbled on the roUgll and broken beach. • -

, Never shall we forget the grand displays 'which ; We beheld.;in this' sulphurous cauldron. Its pain= tings, fresh from nature's hand, itsilake' of gorgeouS green, its roaring jets of .stormy vapour,'are;thin'g§ to be-witnessed, difficult to be ; described; bnt', Surpassing. alHhese, and as if their central attraction* there was a fount ah'v .seemingly of molten iulph'iVrj in active play, which shot a column "of "wide-sp£ead» ing green and gold into the searching atmosphere^ The beauty of tliis fountain was surpassing, arid. Vr'ft -were under the impression that, from its energy; the volcano was more than commonly active In it's workings. We w ere circumspect in bur approaches* -as the surface* in places, was soft'and yielding, and we knew not to what brimstone depths an unwary step might sink us. Our difficulty in walking1; therefore, arose less from the heat, that in plac'teil .was greatj than from the apprehension of sinking too far in the soft cnistaeeous surface* froni wliicli .diminutive spouts of vapour would spit forth as iE to resent our intrusion. Whenever \ve thought the* ground at ail doubtful, we sounded our way, by hurling large stoneSi to see what impression they would make, and we ventured or avoided proceed' ing accordingly-. Time, to our great regret* woiild -not admit of a minute exploration, but all the grand features of tlttj | island had passed under view. We looked in vhhfc for the gorgeous meadow described by Captaiit I Drury; but we had only to enlarge any of the minis berless miniature vapour holes to obtain pure crys; talised sulphur hot from the bakery^ and at tliß sarrie time to convert these holes into more active vapour jets. The streams that'issued in various directions were of boiling heat, limpid and tasteless j but, though sulphur was everywhere strewn around} .it did not appear to be in quantities sufficient Taj? shipment. After an hour's stop, we returned tc! '■■pur ship, greatly delighted with bur visit; and mu'cU indebted to our obliging captain for having put it iji bur power to enjoy it; Mr. Heaphy has kindly furnished, mS with a ma£ and views of this singularly interesting island; If \ve take' a wider vievv of the geological featur§.4 and the physical outline of these just described higjK. , plains, aiid plateaus, consisting of regular layers of trachytie rocks, breccia, and tuff, we shall find thai; the steep cones of Euapahii and Tongariro rise front ' the centre of a vast tuif; coiie of extremely gradiial inclination/the basis of which occupies the. whold country from shore to shore—from east to west— j having a diameter of one hundred sea miles, anil •fbnnirig the, largest cone of tuffs, or in other wbrdsj the largest crater of elevation in the whole worlds THE HOT S^EISGS. intimately connected with the described volcaxife r phenomena of the .active and extinct volcanic moiih'tains are the solfataras, funiaroles, and hot SpritigS;: They are found in a long series, sketching across the country in a NiN.ti. direction, from the active crater Njjauruhoe, in the Tongariro system, to the active crater of White Island.' (Whakari); . tiiey.occupy the fchasms and fissures" to which I hayS already referred. , , .-,. There is only one Other place in the world ill which, such a nctmber of hot springs are found that have periodical 'outbursts of bbili ag water—-tliat is in' Iceland, the well-known gejSers of' whica" aro of precisely similar character to those in New Zealand; The geysers; or boiling fountains of Iceland; long celebrated for possessing this property in ail extraordinary degree, havej indeed, strong rivals, in thii . puias and ngawhas of New Zealand: Although there' tiiay' be ho single intermittent spring iii Jfe\\ r Zealand of equal magnitude, with the great geyser in Iceland, yet in the- extent of. country iii which\ such spring's occvu 1, in Vlie iminehsc , hninber ot them, and in the beauty and extent of the siiiceotiS - incrustations aiid deposits, New Ze'nlarid far exdeedS Iceland; In enumerating the' principal of these'phenomena: we may begin with—-

- &. active, craters of Tcngariro, which- are at; present •Jn-tlje'Condition of solfataras, that may he ] billed the state of .repose of active cratcu-s, and; mtih the hot springs dsing-on.the slope aiid.afc.tho '•base of:.tliat mountain. ; ■ ■■ m 2; We then on to the Tokanu and Terapa ■ -sprin^i on:the southern extremity of ltmpo lake.: '^The principal Vpuia '.at Tokana is. callod Piron. an ; •intermibtent -fountain, whose column of .boiling "water.-of-two feet in.diameter, sometimes .reaches* , height of more than-ibrty feet . ■.■■:■■■■ •- •;. . ; 3 On the opposite, side of iaupo, at tne northern -extremity of the lake, we again ;meet with, hot "sprih"?, -and with a-river of warm water; called Waipahihi,-which, rising in the extinct volcanio , cone-ofTauhara; -falls in a vapour-crowned "cascade into Tflupo. PTTr • 4. Descending from Taupo by'the outlet of Wai'•■kato, wo'lnd; oil the left bank, in the midst of- a ..great number of pools of boiling mud, a fumarole, Karapiti, an enormous jet of high pressure ■•steam, escaping with such force as to produce a •sound like letting off the steam from huge boilers,: -and as to eject to a great height sticks, or the like, .thrown in by the curious traveller. On the right .bank, is another fumarole, of similar character,; ■ called Parakiri. :. '■"* ' ; 5. About twenty-five miles below the outlet of; ;the Waikato from Taupo, at the ,". Pa" Orakei- ; .korako, both banlis of the rapidly -flowing river; .are perforated in more than, a hundred different places, by fumaroles and boiling springs, most of •which are of the intermittent kind; and .siliceous -incrustations, of beautiful colors, decorate the banks ' of the river. Temimi-a-Homaiterangi, the princi-: -pal geyser, throws up its large' column of boiling ■water at intervals of about two hours, to a height: from 20 to 30 feet. An immense volume of steam ; : Bucceeds the jet, and the water then, suddenly-sinks ■ into the basin. - , - . ..,...,. :^

6. At Orfikei-k'orako the line .of hot springs crosses the Waikato, and continues along the foot of ■the very remarkable Dairoa range on the easterly ; side of the Waikato. The almost perpendicular, western side of- this range is caused by an-immense '* fault' in the volcanic plateau, corresponding to a •deep fissure in the earth-crust, from which sulphureous acid, sulphuretted hydrogen, sulphur and steam are continually escaping, while huge bubbles of boiling ash-colored .mud are rising' on the -■6Urfa'«J. ' '.■ '••• .': ', . . I.:;'--'.;; ■„ .. ,' :■..':; ;: ■

7. From the same range the warm-water river ; Waikite. takes its origin; On both sides are deep ' pools of. boiling water, on the margins of which we discovered most beautiful ferns hitherto nn- - known, : one species belonging to the genus .Nephrolepis, the other to the genus Gonebpteris.. •These ferns are remarkable not only for their «legance, but also from; the peculiar'circumstances •under which they exist, as they are always surrounded by'an ajtmosphere of steam. : 8. We noWcoine to the well known Kotomahana, the most wonderful of all the wonders of the hot ■i springs 'district of New Zealand. I will not .attempt, to.describe in a hasty lecture like this the . beauties of this Faery-land.. Whoever has once had the happiness-to look into the blue eyes of Otukapuarangi and Te Tarafca can1 never forget "their -charms;: and whoever-has stood beside the boiling ■ surf of the Ngahapu basin will always retain a vivid impression of its terrors. The terraces of Biliceous deposit on the shores of Kotoniahfina are unequalled in the world, nor is there anything that even bears, any resemblance to-them. \. 9. On the Eotorua lake the intermittent boiling . -Bprings of Whaka-rewarewa sire the most interesting. Waikite, the principal " ngawha," issues from the top of a siliceous cone some 20 feet high, . and is surrounded by several smaller geysers,' boil■ing mud-pools, and solfataras. At intervals of considerable length; sometimes extending to many months; all these^nghawha's begin to. play together, ■•and form a scene which must .be .wonderful- and .Tjeautiful. . ;^ The hot springs of Ohinemptu form agreeable 'bathing places, the fame of which is already established. ; . 10..The.last.in.the line are the great sotfataras --on the pumice-stone-plateau between Rotoruq and Kotoitij such as Tikitere and Ruahine. I will-now say a few words in explanation of r -these phenomena. , All the waters cf the springß are derived from atmospheric moisture, which, - falling on the high ■ volcanic plateau, permeates the surface and ;sinks ; . into" fissures. -Taupo—-the axis of which■••-corres- ' ponds with the line of the hot springs—may also ' be considered as a vast reservoir, from which the lower springs .are supplied. The water, sinking --■•into the fissures, becomes heated by the still existing volcanic .fires. . High-pressure steam is thus fenerated,1 which, together withthe volcanicgasses,. ecompose the trachytic rocks. "The" soluble substances are thus removed by the, water, which is forced up by the expansive force of:the steam and 'by hydrostatic-pressure, in the ■ shape of boiling - .springs. The insoluble substances form a residuum of white or red fumarole clay, of which the hills at Terapa.ronnd Rotomahana and the Puiroa consist. All .the-New:Zealand hot springs, like-those of ■ Iceland, abound in silica, and are to be divided into ":'two distinct classes—the one alkaline, and the other -acid..' To the latter belong the solfntarascharacter'ized by deposits of sulphur, and never forming ' intermittent, fountains. All the intermittent springs belong to-the alkaline cJass,.in which. are also inclndtd the most of the ordinary boiling springs. Sulphurets of sodium.and p(|bassium,,and carbonates • of potash and soda, are- the solvents of the silica/ . which, on the cooling and evaporation of the water, is deposited in such^uantities as to forma striking -characteristic in the appearance of these springs. j Here I must leave this interesting subject. To- j enter more deeply into the theory' of these pheno- < xnena would be out of place here. It may be/however, well to mention that numerous facts prove that the action which gives rise to the hot springs is slowly diminishing. I must also -state my con vie'ion that ere ions; ' these hot spVinus will be visited by snany travellers, -. not only fcr the sake of their b^iiitv and interest, - but also for tl.e medicinal vivtu's they have heen 'proved to pos.-es-*. Already many Europeans have bathed in and derived benefit Iromthewctrm waters at O.akeikorako and Rotomahanu. 1 am unwilling'to omit the interesting legend curi'ptit among the natives in reference to the origin of thi»«e hot spring. The le»end, jis told ly Te H»uhfii, the great chief of the Taupo lake, is the following :— The great, chief Ngatimirangi, after his arrival at Malcetu, at the time of -the immigration of the' M.iories from Hawaii:?, set off with his slave ' Kg.miuhoe to vi^it the interior, 'and 'in order* to obtain'a bettf'r view nf the couritrv, they ascended the highest .peak of T<insrariro. ' ll<>i c tliey' suffered' -''severely fioin cnl<l, and the chief sjumted to his' sisters^ on. VVI^ a k;iri (White -Mancl) "to seiid iiim pom»'ili'H. This they did. , Th'cy sent on the sacred, ■'fire they hrnlght iroin Hau-aiki^by (he laniwlus' ' Pupu and T,' Haeafa. through a.suhlerrdnoan .]iassa^c to. the top of Twi;cniiro., The fire arrived just; -in time to '«avp the l^fe of the chief, !>ut, poor' Njjauiuhne was dead when the chic' lurried togiv.ei him ll>e fis-f. On tins iu-c'mnf--the hoi,- th ouy'h' which tho'fireiyirtfjoit' a;>peaiance —the active cr.iier' of Toii<,Miir»—i-« ci'lud <o this duv l>y the name of th° s!/! v ve']^au-.rilioe^ an-1 tin 1 sa<Tcd fiu: .-till hum-. within the «h"l'' U'rljcirvonnd ps-aye along which it was carried from Whakari to T'n>ir<iriro. Tlii" legend afford- a icm-nk-ilile iii-tsmco of tho arcr.rate ohservation •<{ fV native1"-;, who h.ive Ihua -indieaf-el the true 'line of fha c'nief volcanic action in this island. ■ '

'Hiwhyr-nnw cie'-icribocl tbo oicler.wl more exten-

she volcanic iphenomena of the interior, I proceed to notice the later phenomena of:volcanic,action in the immediate neighbourhood of Auckland.!

THE AUCKLAND .VOLCANIC DISTRICT.

The Lsthmusof Auckland is completely perforated by volcanic action, and presents a large number of true volcanic hills, which,'.although extinct and of •small,size, are perfect-models of volcanic mountains. ■These hills—once;the funnels out. of which torrents of burning lava .were -vomited forth, and afterwards the stronghokls'roi1- savago cannibals —are now the ornaments of a happy land, the home of peaceful st-'t-tlei>.s,'Whose fruitful, gardens and smiling rieldsdOTiye their fertility from the substances long ago thrown up from the fiery bowels of the.earth.. _ _ . My geological map,of the Auckland district contains no less" than sixty points of volcanic eruption, within a radius of ten miles—the variety of which, together with the regularity of; their formations, gives very great interest to this: neighbourhood. The newer volcanic hills round Auckland aye distinguished from the older ones in the interior, not only by their age, but by the different character of their -lava—the older being trachytic, while the Auckland are all basaltic. I have not yet mentioned the difference between trachyte and basalt; I Will, therefore, say a few words in explanation.The difference consists in the minerals of-which the rocks are'composed. , Trachyte is composed of a -mixture of glassy M&sysx (Samd™) and hornblende : obsidian and pumice stone are the usual concomitants of trachytic lava. Basalt conn^ts of a minutely crystalline mass of feldspar, mixed with augit: an admixture of greenish grains of oh-vin is characteristic of basalt. V

In order to gain a clear idea of'the History.of the Auckland volcanoes, we must suppose that before the period ,in which the Auckland Isthmus was slowly raised above the level of :the sea, a submarine.volcanic.action was.already going on. ;The products, of tliis submarine action are regular beds of volcanic ashes, which, form highly interesting circular basins, with strata always inclining from within outwards. 'You will at once remember several striking examples which I can mention—as : the Pupuki Lake, on the north shore; Orakei Bay, inthe Waitemata; Geddes's Basin (Hopua) atOnehimga; and the tidal basiii (Waitnagoia) at Panmure. Pupuki.Lake, believed to he bottomless, has been ascertained by Captain Burgess, .who. kindly,sounded it at.my request, to be only twenty- • eight fathoms. I call those basins and similar; formations, tuff-craters or tuff-cones. The excellence of the soil of Onehunga anct Otahuhu is owing to the abundance of such formations, decomposed strata of which form the richest soil that can be ; met. with. Ifc is curious to, observe how the : shrewder amongst the settlers, without-any .geological knowledge^ have picked Out these tuff-craters for themselves, while those with less acute powers of observation have quietly sat down upon the cold tertiary clays. . , ~ After, the submarine formation of the tuffrcraters, the volcanic action .continuing, the isthmus of: Auckland was slowly-raised above the sea, and then the more recent eruptions took place by which the.cones of scoria, like Mount Eden, Mount Wei- ; lington, One-tree-hill, Mount Smart, Mount Albert, and Riingitoto, were formed and great outflowings of lava :- took place. Many1 peculiar circumstances, however,'prove that those mountains have not been burning all simultaneously. It can easily be ohsei'ved, that some lava streams are of an older date than others. In general,, the scoria cones rise from the centre of the tuff-craters (Three Kings, Waitomokia^ Pigeon-hill, near Howick.) Occasion- ; ally, as in the instance of Mount Wellington^ they break through the margin of the tuff-crater. . Tlie crater system of Mount Wellington is one of the most interesting in this' neighbourhood, as beauti- ' fully shown by the large map which Mr. Heaphy has prepared for me from actual survey. There are craters and cones of evidently different ages. ...The result of.the earliest submarine eruptions is a tuffcrater. . The. Panmure road passes :through sthe tuff-crater, .and .the catting through its brira exhibits beautifully^ the. characteristic outward inclination of the beds of ashes, elevated from their former horizontal levels by the eruptions,- which threw up the two; minor crater cones south of the road, one of which is now cut into by a scoria quarry. After a comparatively' longperiod of quiescence, arose from the margin of the first crater system the great scoria cone of Mount Vfellington, from whose three craters large streams of .basaltic lava -flowed out in a westerly direction, extending ■north and .south along the existing valleys of/the country,, one stream flowing into the Old tuff-crater, and spreading round the bases of -the smaller crater ..cones.. The larger masses of these streams flowed in a south-westerly direction towards theManukau, coming into contact with the older and long-before hardened lava streams of One-tree-hill. The traveller on the Great South Road will observe, about one mile east of the Harp Inn,' the peculiar difference in the colour on the road, suddenly changing from red to:black, where the; road leaves the older and more decomposed lava streams of One-tree-hill and passes on to the new and undecemp'osed.iava streams of Mount 'Wellington. The farmers have been Ale to avail themselves of the decomposed lava surface, winch is now beautifully grass-covered, but not of the Stonefield of the newer Mount Wellington and Mount Smart streams.:■ ;

The Caves at the Three Kings, Pukaki, Mount Smart, Mount Wellington, '-Sic.-, are the result'of •great'bubbles in the lava streams—occasioned probably by the generation of gases and vapour as the hot mass rolled onward overmarslwphiins. Those bubbles bioKe down on then tlmne t r> at, the ie of, and the \ ay ml<> the cavea is dlmost daccth flow 1w ud. Examples o4 e\eiy giaHtun may be seen from the simple tuffuitn without an\ cone, to tho*N° which aie etitu *1\ flln 1 up b> the seem cones E-poci ill> mieiixlmg a ie I 1 o«e v hid m>> be s.id to lepie-ent them (idle in wlnc'i tl cie i> i sm^l cone standing li\e in inland in a luje tuff ci ile\ ird siiuouidcd Ly cul ci wafei or su nip PuL ips the most pufe' t pc rnions ol l! i> kiiidoruu dt Of ihuhu mdur-uC ipt m IlaulUi i\ a map of nhicli, iio'n itt\ al nudswe» °nt h -> been piej mlhj M\ W. B u lkon You need not h° abnrud uhtn I tel! rh ite\e it1 c vcij spot on uhich ne aie i<-soi iU cc ] ln the c ntie of mo d tuffci \h , fiom vuuli fien slnanis once is wd, and winch li i* (hi oun out its a«heb tow aids tin lull on the bu ic'v, stand In oitlu io d(count foi the c \ niou* si ipe^, it miiit be b)ine in mind tl at tliecoiuscf scoiui^eie once lu^hei, but on (ps'-alion o! \o' anic jc'iou they s\ml do*\n m cooling, aiKl some <n(ne^ disnppeaied Thit t'i" Aifkhnd volcmons wrap, m the tiue eras» of the void, " btumncr mo lntains," i>, pioved noi; onl> b\ tho lv i stieims, which ne immense in comp iison lothe °i/o o{ the coiie , bnt also fiom the peushiped vchmu bonib--, v,h eh, ijectrd fiotii ihc rnouni nn in a fin d sta^e h ye leuwed ihni hi .pc fiom (h n ioi i } in >tion t nouo-h tlin ,-i l Th it Hie pni|>tions ol tlif Au KLu '1 vokanres h ve^f^en pi to nj)rii iluel^ tecent d iio is shown by f.V f (tfhn t c i«hcb P'Ci )«'iPie otcupy th? viU c, md ih vt the U i stieims lnvo taken <ho ooujse of <he txisimg \ 'IV\ Tm- ]■, bpiu^nulh cvrrplifi d 1 1)\ lip iiobillc snftult npous hu -i-if irs of Jlonnt TtVn, Vo Ihuc ICin;^, and J\l mni Alcf 11, "V/'mii ri wul^; i\\ ou^li ifontuured v ilk \ T, "ii" t ihogc'hi i— o i Mir> ,k it iioith ioil — .vk1 loini on" In o si pirn to tin shoip of th° W°itnm1 i irimi uitmg on t1 i well Lnoun icof wo^i of tl < Sontinpl Rok IJtit in \ IlKir nduu-, iiiny Imvij i^a-^at'd since Kiingiloto, winch is proliahly the most recent of the Auckland volcanoes, was in an. active state. I have been freqnpntly asked whetlier it is trae, as a countryman of Biine,, who some years ago

travolled -in New Zealand, is mud to havo told t European aettlers, that New Zealand ma pleasant country, but that they had come n thousand-yms too soon. In answer to this I'havo'tp remark, that any one who knows un.ytl.in- of gcolog-i.!;il (> scieru:o must be aware, that " a tl.onsand > jenijs • w an almost innpprwiablo space of time in rclercnco to geological: changes. Aud I would rather wiy, (bat it would have been better, lor Now Zealand ll it had been .colonized a thousand years^a^o, a^ there would then have been no cause for the discussion ol the ■" land question." ; ' ! -. .: :I should have much pleasure in paying a preat doal more on the Geology of New Zealand, but time will not permit me. Mirny subjects I have boon compelled toomit altogether : such as the Qunrtary formationin the Prury, Papiikura, and Waiuku flats; the Basaltic Boulder-formation ; the Alluvial ■formations in the middle and lower'Waikato'basin, and other phices ; and I have said nothing of the changes which are now going on. 'The materials which-I have accumulated during my six months sojourn in New Zealand will, I expect, require several "years of labour to prepare for publication ;.and unless the war which now threatens my own country should unhappily, interfere to prevent the completion of 'the peaceful scientific undertaking of the expedition to which I belong, it will give me great pleasure to forward to Auckland copies of our publication respecting New Zealand, accompanied by an atlas ', containing the maps' and other illustrations. • • •

In.concluding this lecture, I cannot omit the opportunity of saying a, few .words of farewell to the 'inhabitant* of this province. ■■■•■: _ ;■• .Now.: that I am' Oil the point ofileaving Auckland, I turn in memory to t lie hour in which I made up my mind-to leave my: friends on board the frigate Novara and:to remain for a rwhilein-New Zealand. I can assure you it Avas an hourol" great ■■ anxiety, but Inm glad -to'say I never regretted the decision to which I with so mntihidifficuity^ brouglit myself. Having received assistance in my labours from all sides, I have armed- at resuHs which have afforded me much sati.-sfaetion, and which I hope will not.be without' g^oo'd fruit to the present and lv! lire lnhahitants of : this province. Having at first felt some difficulty in , malting up-my1 mind to remain,;! now. feel a similar difficulty in leaving. Home ties, however, .are drawing me homewards, and I must quit the country in which I have spent so many happy days. In - parting, I have one request to make—that you will; remember "me as kindly as I \yill remember you-; and I have one .wish^-which^fur the prosperity of the Colony-of ;New Zealand) and the advancement of the province of^Auckland. .'■■-' .•■■■ '■ '

De. Febdinand Hochstettee,

* THe following are the results of two borings madejm; the flats between . Drury Hotel and the JDrury Ranges, under the direction of Mr. Ninnis, to whom I am indebted for the tables subjoined:: — Boring No. I. ; ; Feet."'..lnches. ■: • -^ i 1. 2 0 Dark soil. 2. ,9 6 Plastic clay, yellow and blue. 3. 1 6 Gravel and pebbles. -4. 1 0 Yellow clay; 5.. 3 0 Grey clay, v • .',..'...,. 6. 6 0 Blue clay. 7. 11 0 Arenaceous clay. ' 8.. 15 0 Grey clay. 9. 2 0 Greenish clay. .' 10. 1 0 Dark grey clay. ; 11. 5 0 Blueish grey clay. . ; 12. 2., 0 Sandy, clay. 13. 5 2 Volcanic ashes and gravel. 14. • 5 6 Hard basaltic rock. ■.> '••69 . -; : 8' •-.".'" ; ■' • ■'. '.'; -^ . Boring No. 2. 1, . 1 0 Dark soil. 2, 7 ,0 Yellow clay. 3. '6 6 White clay. '", -\ 4. 7 0 . Yellow and red clay. '■ 5.' 1 4 Brown clay. 6. -8'- 0 Yellow clay. ' 7. 5 0 Brown. 8. . 4 ;O Reddish. 9.: 10 0 ' Brown; , , .. ,10. -4 6. Gravel.an 3 volcanic.ashes. 11. 9 6 Hard basaltic rocks. "'::v':.'' ;68' ■ io'.'". :';■ •,'; ;;\ '" .'■:.■ Of these I Would draw attention to No. 1.. 5, for common pottery; No. 1., 6 and 8, for finer stoneware; No. 1., 7, for fire-bricks. The various coloured clays,. No. 11., 2 to 9, will be applicable to every kind !of pottery. No. H.,8, may be used as a colour or pigment,-in -the same way asochte and umber are generally used. :;

Brown Black Coal Wood. Coal, and'Anthracite. Carbon......... 51^0 52.6 - 55to76 • 73to96.51 : Oxygen ...... 43.0 42.6 * 26 19-23 3.00 ; Hydrogen ... 6.0 5.5- 4.3 2.5- 5.5 0.5 I