294 Transactions, — Geology. 



ment in Wellington, in 1882, and since that time I have used 

 it for various purposes. Under the microscope I found dia- 

 toms in it, but was then very ignorant of the whole subject, 

 and was unaware that any new forms existed in it ; but from 

 remarks passed by Mr. McKay I gathered that the earth, or 

 ooze, had more than passnag interest, and thus I was induced 

 to give some of it to Mr. Eobinson for the Exhibition. Shortly 

 after Mr. Eobinson informed me that he had received a report 

 on the earth from the Geological Department that it was not 

 kaolin, but " diatomaceous earth." 



Messrs. Grove and Sturt are amongst the foremost of the 

 authorities on Diatomaccce in Great Britain. The former 

 some years ago investigated and described some of our 

 New Zealand freshwater Diatoviacece sent to him by the 

 late Mr. Inglis, of Christchurch.-'' These gentlemen at 

 once recognised the richness of this deposit, and ascer- 

 tained the presence of a number of forms new to science. 

 In their papers and reports referred to above they give a 

 description and list of 283 forms, of which 107 are new 

 species or varieties. They also have discovered four new 

 genera — AntJwdiscus, Kittonia, Monojjsia, and Huttonia, the 

 latter named after Captain Huttou — and a new sub-genus, 

 Pseudo-rutilaria. Since then other samples of diatomaceous 

 ooze from other localities — which, as I will presently show, 

 vary considerably from that at Cormack's siding — have been 

 sent to these gentlemen ; and I have no doubt but that the 

 list of species will be much extended. 



In their first communication Messrs. Grove and Sturt note 

 that the deposit consists "mainly of diatomaceous remains, 

 with a small proportion of Badiolaria and sponge-spicules : " 

 and they call attention to the interesting and curious fact that 

 several of the forms existing here have previously only been 

 found in the Cambridge Estate, Barbadoes ; that others, again, 

 resembled forms found previously only in Simbirsk, in Eussia, 

 and also at Briinn, in the fossil condition ; and they remark 

 that several of the forms are still to be found living in the 

 Indian Ocean. 



Since I commenced this paper I have received from Mr. 

 Grove a very valuable and representative collection of Dia- 

 tomacecB from various parts of the world, in which he has 

 taken the trouble to select and mark diatoms found in Japan, 

 Hongkong, Fiji, and Bombay, in the living conditions, exactly 

 similar to those found here in Oamaru as fossils. A slide 

 from the Barbadoes deposit is very similar to one prepared 

 from our deposit ; and I have found similar diatoms in 

 ooze gathered in the " Challenger " expedition given me by 



* " Trans. N.Z. Inst.," vol. xv., p. 340. 



