WELLINGTON PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5439, 2 September 1878, Page 2

WELLINGTON PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

There was a very won at ended meeting of this society at the Museum on Saturday evening; Mr, T. Kirk, F.L.S , President, occupying the chair.

After the minutes of the previous meeting were confirmed, the Secretary announced the election of the following new members;— Messrs. G. Morton, J. E. VV. Cook, and Wm. Berry. Additions to library were laid on the table, and Dr. Hector drew attention to the following fishes lately added to the Museum collection, viz., Holocanthus aouatus, monocanthns bippocrepis, and Serranos truta (the latter being a new species! from Fiji, collected and presented by Lord Hervey Phipps; also, Ceratodus forsteri, from Queensland, presented by Sir C. Wy ville Thompson. Mr. J. P. Maxwell, A. J.0.E., then read his paper on “ Some of the Causes which Operate in Shingle-bearing Elvers in their Determination of their Courses and in the Formation of Plains.”

Dr. Hectoe said he agreed with the views of the author as far as they went, but he thought that the formation of the great fan-like deposits of shingle that go to make up the surface at least of the Canterbury plains was not so simple a process as stated. As stated, it might suit the conditions of a small deposit, but these fans were twenty to thirty miles in diameter, and could only have been built up by successive changes in the courses of rivers as they gradually raised their beds and then broke away from them. The resulting fan was made up of many river bods, radiating from one point or gorge. A most important feature not mentioned by the author was the formation of secondary fans in front of those earlier formed by the gradual erasion and deepening of the notch or gorge in the rooky bod through which tho river was finally liberated from the mountains. As this notch was lowered the river became confined to a deep terraced valley excavated in the shingle of the earlier fans, the shingle removed going to raise the bed in a lower part of its course. This, in his opinion, gave rise to the apparent concave surface of the plains in the author’s seotiou. Mr, Teaveks pointed out that the essential point in the fan-like arrangement of detritus was the diminished velocity of tho river after escaping from the' upper part of its course where the detritus was derived. He described the prodigious effects of the great flood of 1857 on the valley deposits of the Wairau Elver, high level terraces of gravel having been completely swept away by lateral tributaries, leaving shelves of bare rook, while the rocky and previously impassable bed of the main river was converted into a smooth surface or plain for miles. That was the effect of one short flood, and he thought that it was evidence that no flood of similar magnitude had occurred since the terrace . skirting the valley had been formed. Dr. Hectoe stated that the amount of detritus carried out to sea on that occasion had added ten chains width to the beach for miles along the coast, so that the fences running out on the shore had to be lengthened. Mr. Maxwell, in reply, considered the remarks made did not conflict with the views expressed in ids paper, but only extended their application. His object was to refute the idea that the changes in the direction of such rivers could be controlled by the rotation of the earth, as suggested by Dr. Haast and Mr. Baines in the last volume of ” Transactions.”

Mr. Cox next read a paper entitled “ Some Notes on the D’Urville Island Copper Mine.”

Dr. Hector remarked that Mr. Cox had not specified the value of the ore. That when pure, cuprite contained about 89 per cent, of metallic copper, and copper glance about 79 ner cent., but that the value of the ore raised at D’tJrville Island at present was about £ll per ton. He pointed out that the serpentine belt could be traced at intervals from D*Orville Island to Nelson, and thence through the ranges to Jackson's Bay, where Mr. Macfarlane had noticed its occurrence, and from this point it split into two belts. He also referred to the occurrence of copper ore iu the North Island, and said that the copper of Groat Barrier Island was probably not in the same formation, but that the relations at this point are more obscured by newer formations than in the South,

Mr. Travers said that he unfortunately had considerable experience of the patchy character of ore deposits in serpentine, having been one of those who worked the Dun Mountain ore. His advice was to take all the copper which could easily be found, and not to sink any large amount of capital in trying to open up regular mines in such uncertain deposits, as the ore occurred merely in bunches, which were disconnected, and which appeared only to occur on tho surface.

Mr. Watf.ruou.se was glad to have the information conveyed in Mr. Cox’s paper. He had some experience of the subject in South Australia, and quite agreed with Mr. Travers’ remarks, and he would he surprised if the D'Urville Island copper mine paid in the long run. He did not consider that the fact of rich specimens of copper being obtained from the mine in any way guaranteed the success of the undertaking, for there were innumerable instances in South Australia where quite as rich specimens were obtained, but no inducements offered to open up mines with a reasonable prospect of success, as where the ore was patchy, and the country hard.these deposits never turned out well. He stated that copper which would pay to work in England would not do so in the colonies, but that to prove a success here the following wore necessary:— Ist. Tlie ore must bo near the sea. 2nd. It must he in very largo quantity. 3rd. It must be in soft country, where it could bo worked with comparative ease. He pointed out that the only mines in South Australia which have ■ paid have been those which have beou started without any capital, instancing the Bulla Bulla and Moonta mines, &c., which yielded large quantities of ore from the very first, and were in soft ground, and stated that all the other mines which wore in hard ground did not pay. He referred to the South African mines, where large deposits of oto bad been found recently yielding as much as £60,000 worth of copper in six months. He advised caution in opening up the D’Urville Island mine, and said that only those who could afford to lose the money which they invested should take shares in this mine. Mr. Kibk said that we were indebted to the speakers for very vauablo remarks on this subject. He thought that the Great Barrier copper had been worked and abandoned, but that very probably there was yet much ore to be extracted from the mine.

Mr. Cox, in reply, said that the colonial mines wore generally extravagantly worked, and that although in Cornwall, ore yielding as little as 3 or 4 per cent, of copper could be worked, that the miners there were content to

make £3 per mouth, with the chance of a go .d month’s pay now and then, in consequence of rich deposits being found, all the mining there being let to tributers ; but that at D'Urville Island the miners were getting as much as £3 a week. The ore, also, in Cornwall is in well-defined lodes, whereas here it is in irregular deposits, and, as he had pointed oat in his paper, it would be necessary to follow the ora very carefully, and insure a considerable output before sinking capital in tramways to get the ore away, or smelting works to reduce it.

A paper entitled “ Additions to the Oaroinological Fauna of New Zealand,” by Mr. F. W. Kirk, was read. This paper recorded the additions of two European and two Californian sp-oios to New Zealand. Dr. Hector pointed out the value of such papers, and hoped the society would , have many others from the author of equal interest. Dr. Hector said that Sir. Skey wished him to state with reference to his discovery mentioned at last meeting, that hydrocarbons exist in many fats and oils not hitherto supposed to contain them, and that they cau be transformed into alkaloids by the aniline process ; that in pursuing his investigation he had obtained an alkaloid from butter, thus completing the general statement that both animal and vegetable facts contain such hydrocarbons. “On the Rotation of Camphor on tho Surface of Water,” by W. Skey. This paper was illustrated by experiments to show that the true cause for this movement is not that hitherto stated, but is due to the solution of the camphor and the formation of an hydrated oil, which is rapidly absorbed. The motion is duo to the tendency of the particles of camphor to slide off the elevated surface of the pellicle of oil that forms on the surface of the water. It was shown that small fragments of cork or other light substance moistened with oil, either a fixed oil or an essential oil, or a drop of bisulphide of oarbou, exhibits the same phenomena, and that it is therefore not due to the property which camphor possesses of giving off vapor in the solid state. The experiments exhibited by Dr. Hector to demonstrate this view were extremely interesting and beautiful. Mr. Travers stated that he remembered to have observed the same phenomena when a drop of iodised collodion was accidentally dropped on the surface of waf-or.