The New Zealand Institute.

Otago Witness, Issue 1501, 21 August 1880, Page 22

The New Zealand Institute.

We make the following extracts from the twelfth annual report of the New Zealand Institute, recently presented- to Parliament :—: — GEOLOGICAL SURVEY BBANOH. A number of important surveys have been made during the past ssason, the full results of which will appear in the annual volume of reports. Owing to my protracted absence from the Colony in connection with the Sydney Exhibition, the field-work for the year has chiefly devolved on Messrs Cox and M'Kay, certain special reports having been obtained ftom Mr W. E. Rowe, who was employed. Reports have been obtained on the following mines: — Antimony Lodes.—Hindon, Stony Creek. Copper Lodes. —Big Bay, Dusky Sound, Wsitahuna, Aniseed Valley, Aniseed Valley (Johnston's), Roding River, Dun Mountain. Chrome Lodes. —Ben Nevis, Dun Mountain, Aniseed Valley. Auriferous Reefs. — Wairarapa, Longwood Range, Mount Ophir (Collingwood), Mount Arthur. Coal Seama. —Paringa River, Springfield, Motanau. The following extensions of the Geological Survey hava afforded important additions to the general mapping of the Colony :—: — 1. Auckland District.—The country lying between Whangarei and Kaipara, about 1500 pquare miles. 2. Canterbury District.—The country between Motanau and the Rakaia River, about 1000 square miles. 3. Ofcogo District.—Special examination of the Jurassic strata at the Mataura. 4. Otago District. —The alpine district lying to the north-west of the WakaI tipu Lake, about 1400 square miles. A resume of the geology of the Colony has been published in the " Handbook of New Zealand," and the second edition of the same work is illustrated by a small-scale geological map, printed in colonrs. The comparison of the geology of New Zealand with that of Australia formed the subject of a lecture delivered by myself in Sydney, which has been printedjin the "Transactions "of the Royal Society of New South Wales. MINERAL COLLECTIONS. During the past year a large and interesting collection of inineials and rock-specimens has been made from the Wakatipu district by Mr M'Kfiy, who was employed in running detailed Hections through that part of the couutry went of the Wakatipu Lake, in continuance of what was done last year in that district by Mr Cox and myself. Amougst others may be mentioned specular iron ore, magnetite, pyrrhotine, rhodonite, copper-pyrites, cbromite, a very rare chromium mineral (chroma mica), and echeelite; bearing out'the statement which I made in 1864, that the country lying to the westward of the faulted area abut Lake Wakatipu would, in all probability, prove to be highly mineralised. Good collections of rock-specimens, illustrating the geology of the district, have also | bpen made ia the Wakatipu district by Mr M'Kay; while the volcanic rocks of the Auckland district were largely collected from by Mr Cox. At West Oxford the occurrence of a considerable and highly important dep3Bit of chalk has beßn proved, which ia not less thau 100 feet in thickness, which will be of great value for the manufacture of " whiting " and " Portland cement." The special examination of the beds at the Mataura Falls was lnacJo by Mr M'Kay, with the view of plioinp: beyond doubt the position at which Macrolwnioplcris occurs. The result of this work is to prove that this focsil plant, which has special interest on account of it also being found ia the "R^jmahal bed 3in India, occurs in strata of Upper Oolite age. A fine Heries of fofeils, numbering Borne 100 specimens, were added to Hie collections by Mr M'Kay during thief borvey. In the bfdri which overlie t\e coal in the Mataura basin Saurian remains occur. Mauisau'i'us haasli and Plesiosaunts a>'asskostatm

| have been identified as present ia these boulders ; and another species also occurs, which may be Plesiosaurus australis, but this is less certain. Remains of Saurians in the shape of teeth of Plesioßaurus were also found in the younger rocks which occur at the Twelve-mile Creek on Lake Wakatipu, and are of interest as confirming my previous determination of the a#e of these beds as being of the Mesozoic and not Tertiary period. Besting on them uneonformaibly, Mr M'Kay has shown, however, that beds belonging to the Miocene tertiary (Pareora series) also occur in the same district.