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of the Moutere Hills would afford a more thorough and convincing test. With this statement I am inclined to concur, and would therefore recommend that any further boring be done near the mouth of Eve's Valley or near Redwood Gully, as suggested in Bulletin No. 12 (p. 65). It ought to be pointed out, however, that a number of bores will be required to settle the question of the existence of payable coal; that the difficulty of boring through surface gravels and. the conglomerate of older age known as the Moutere Gravels is considerable; and that most of the bores will probably require to be deep (1,500 ft. or more). Some form of percussion drill will be needed to penetrate the Moutere Gravels, which will probably be 500 ft. or more thick. A combined percussion and rotary drill may be the most suitable form I understand that the capital of the Nelson Coalfields (Limited) is but a small sum, quite insufficient for any adequate scheme of prospecting. It is necessary, then, for the company to obtain fresh capital, but the circumstances are such that I do not wish to give any advice that will lead to the present shareholders or others risking their money without having a proper appreciation of the probability of failure. While prospecting for coal near Nelson may be regarded as a legitimate speculation, it is very far from being an ordinary business proposition, where the chances of success or failure may be more or less closely estimated. The chief known facts bearing on the question of boring the Waimea Plain and adjoining country for coal are — (1.) Some coal has been found near the eastern margin of the plain in a highly disturbed and faulted state. (2.) Some coal probably exists beneath the Waimea Plain. This coal may or may not be of workable extent, thickness, &c. (3.) A number of bores will be required to give positive results. (4.) Boring will be expensive owing to the nature of the strata and the probable depth of any coal that may exist. As regards further geological examination of the district near Nelson, personally I should be glad to have an opportunity of examining the important geological sections in that area, but doubt whether a brief inspection would add materially to our positive knowledge of the coal possibilities. The possible coal-bearing area extends westward and southward of that already geologically surveyed, and at some future time "will require detailed examination.

5. INDICATIONS OF COAL NEAR CHERWELL PLATS, GREENHILLS DISTRICT MARLBOROUGH. By Dr. J. Allan Thomson, Palaeontologist. Pursuant to instructions received, I proceeded to Cherwell Flats on the 21st February, 1912, accompanied by Mr. C. A. Cotton, and was engaged in examining the neighbourhood till the 23rd February. Mr. W. Scott, of Cherwell Flats, kindly conducted us to the places where coal had been found, and gave us much useful information about localities. The most promising coal-indication occurs on the south-east slopes of a hill on the southern side of the Cherwell River. This hill is one of the lower peaks of a small range running from Monkeyface past the southern ends of Cherwell Flats, and is about a mile north-east of the highest point of the road running from Cherwell Flats to the Stag River. The ground is Crown land, held at present by Mr. Gibson. An analysis of the coal, made for local settlers by a Christchurch analyst, shows that it is of rather peculiar composition, and approximates to an oil-shale in the quantity of hydrocarbons and of ash. It is very greasy to the touch, and burns with an offensive odour. The outcrop is due to an extensive landslip which has had as its sole the actual seam of coal. The latter has acted as a lubricant and has facilitated the slip. The seam has a general dip of 30° in a direction S. 30° E., but,the surface is gently undulating. The exposed thickness varies from several inches in the rolls ofthe bottom to almost nothing. There is no reason to suppose that any great thickness of coal has been removed by the slip, for the slipped material consists entirely of sand and rock material. The underlying rock is a grey sandstone with irregular veinlets of carbonaceous matter running down from the seam. The overlying rocks are not seen in situ, but they are represented in small cliffs at the edge of the slip by beds of soft sand with thin pebble-beds, both having the same strike and dip as the seam. They are much intersected by small faults with downthrows of a few feet each to the north-west. The continuation of the seam, should be found on the southern ,<lope of the hill, and, if the faulting continues at the same rate, at a continuously lower level going west. This slope of the hill affords few outcrops, but in a recently revived creek one-quarter mile to the south-west of the slip, at a level about 200 ft. lower, there is a thin vein of brown carbonaceous pug lying on a grey sandstone and covered by a thin bed of conglomerate, which probably represents the same horizon. The whole hill is composed of alternating beds of sandstone and conglomerate, which are well exposed in cliffs facing the Cherwell River. This, the main indication, is of no value in itself, but shows that the sandstone-conglomerate series is potentially coal-bearing. Of similar import are other small patches of coaly matter in the same rocks in the Cherwell River on the southern bank above the road-crossing. They are always thin and markedly lenticular, and in some cases merely represent carbonized driftwood.