47

H.—34

Mottjeka Subdivision. The map-drawings of the Motueka Subdivision are now ready for the printer, the manuscript is well forward, and the report should be in the press some time in 1930. Murohison Subdivision. Field-work was completed in the Murchison Subdivision in the season just ended, and Mr. Fyfe will continue the preparation of the manuscript during the winter. Makuia Subdivision. The season was favourable for field-work, and more than half the Maruia Subdivision was examined in detail. The report covering the work done and a preliminary account of the geology of the district is published on a later page. St. Bathan's Subdivision. The preparation of the manuscripts of the reports on the soils of Otago Central and on the Dargaville-Rodney Subdivision fully occupied Mr. Ferrar last winter, but he may be able to begin drafting the above bulletin before the next field season. Kaitangata-Milton Subdivision. The maps of the Kaitangata-Milton Subdivision require a final revision before they are ready for the printer ; Mr. Ongley will probably finish writing his report this year. The Soils of the Irrigation Areas in Otago Central. The final proofs of this report were returned to the printer in April; the proofs of the numerous maps have all been received, corrected, and coloured; and the report will probably be issued before 1930. Pal/eontological Work. Till November Dr. Marwick acted as locum tenens at Victoria College for Professor Cotton. For the rest of the year he worked chiefly on the Tertiary Mollusca. It had been hoped that the results of this work would have been ready for publication ere this. But some of the material on close examination was found to have unexpectedly rich undescribed faunas ; all required much preparation ; new collections have been received ; and the report, the manuscript of which is now well forward, will be much longer than first anticipated. Mr. R. A. Keble, of Melbourne, and Professor W. N. Benson, of Dunedin, examined the collections of grapt.olites the Geological Survey made a few seasons ago in the Mount Arthur district, and have described them in a paper recently published in volume 59 of the " Transactions of the New Zealand Institute." Some years ago Mr. R. S. Allan, a 1851 Exhibition Scholar, took collections of Palaeozoic fossils from the Baton River and Reefton districts to England. Professor 0. T. Jones, of Manchester, has consented to describe the Baton River fauna, which, as is well known, is of Silurian age. Mr. Allan himself undertook the description of the Reefton fossils, which he finds belong to the Devonian. Jlis account of the fauna and the plates he has had prepared should shortly be available for publication. Publications. The following official publications were issued in the year ending 31st May, 1929. " Twenty-second Annual Report (New Series) of the Geological Survey" (parliamentary paper H-34, 1928). Geological Survey Bulletin No. 30 : " The Geology of the Waiapu Subdivision, Raukumara Division," by M. Ongley and E. 0. Macpherson. Papers by J. Henderson (Pupu Springs, Takaka), 11. T. Ferrar (Classification of New Zealand Soils), and L. I. Grange (Eruption of Ngauruhoe, March, 1928) appeared in volume 10 of the New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology, and by H. T. Ferrar (Pleistocene Glaciation of Central Otago) and J. Marwick (Tertiary Molluscan Fauna of Chatton, Southland) in volume 59 of the " Transactions of the New Zealand Institute." In addition, several members of the staff read papers at the New Zealand Institute Science Congress held at Auckland in January, 1929. These will shortly be published. Office-work. A large amount of correspondence has been attended to, many requests for information more or less connected with the work of the Geological Survey have been answered, and samples of rock, minerals, and ores have been examined and identified. A good deal of time was taken up in seeing through the press the publications issued or about to be issued and in editing the reports of the different officers. During the year Mr. G. E. Harris drew for photo-lithographic reproductions sixteen maps to accompany the Kaitangata-Milton and Rotorua-Taupo Subdivisions. He also prepared nine block drawings, twenty-eight field sheets, and a number of tracings. Other draughtsmen prepared in the office, under Mr. Ferrar's supervision, the sixteen soil maps to be published with the report on the soils of irrigation areas in Otago Central. Many publications were received in exchange for Geological Survey bulletins, and a number of books, relating chiefly to economic and structural geology and palaeontology, were purchased. The library now contains about 7,000 volumes and many pamphlets, and is invaluable to the members of the staff for reference purposes.