342 Transactions. — Geology. 



2. Grey and brown sandstone, with several bands of con- 

 glomerate (c). 

 1. Bluish argillaceous sandstone (c). 



The whole series is estimated by Mr. Percy Smith to be 

 4,500 feet in thickness. I could detect no pumice in any of 

 these beds, but it occurs in abundance at Titiokura Saddle, 

 between Pohui and the Mohaka, 1 and at other places in beds 

 lying unconformably on the Petane series, as has already been 

 pointed out by Mr. Cox. I know 174 species of mollusca from 

 the upper beds (4 and 5), of which 65 per cent, are recent. 



At Puketapu, on the Tutaekuri Kiver, the Petane limestone 

 is largely developed, and can be well studied on both banks of 

 the river at Moteo, a little above Puketapu. Here, amongst 

 other shells, we found a broken and worn fragment of Pecten 

 triphooki, which is now in my collection. It is doubtful 

 whether this is a rolled fragment derived from the Napier lime- 

 stone, or whether it lived during the Wanganui period. If the 

 latter be correct, other specimens will, no doubt, be found. 

 Below the limestone comes a calcareous sandstone, and a little 

 higher up the river this is seen to be underlain by sands and 

 shingle-beds, with fossils, like those at Petane. There is no 

 appearance of the blue clay here ; neither could we find the 

 pumice sands, mentioned by Mr. McKay as occurring under 

 the limestone at Puketapu. 2 



At Matapiro Station, on the Ngaruroro Eiver, the limestones 

 and calcareous sands (PI. XIIL, fig. 5, c) belonging to the Petane 

 series, which form the tops of the hills, are underlain by a thick 

 bed of sandy clay (b) ; and below this, in the bed of the 

 Kikowheru Creek, occur beds of fine gravel, sand, and thin beds 

 of clay (a), dipping S.E. at angles varying from 25° to 6°. These 

 contain abundance of fossils. We collected 96 species, of which 

 71 per cent, are recent. In some very limited spots the sands 

 are pale yellowish-white and of small specific gravity. These 

 patches may be formed of decomposed pumice, although I could 

 not recognise pumice with certainty by means of a lens. No 

 doubt they are the pumice sands mentioned by Mr. McKay as 

 occurring sparingly in Kikowheru Creek. 3 



PiELATION TO THE PAEEORA SYSTEM. 



No junction between the Wanganui system and the Pareora 

 system has as yet been observed on the western side of the 

 Wellington Provincial District, although the Pareora system 

 undoubtedly exists up the Waitotara Eiver. But on the eastern 



1 These pumice beds are very different from those which overlie the 

 river gravels in the Mohaka Valley. 



2 " Eep. Geol. Expl.," 1876-77, p. 84. 



3 " Bep. Geol. Expl.," 1876-77, p. 83. 



