476 Transactions. — Geology. 



are sufficient to bring about all the physical changes neces- 

 sary, and the conditions I have offered in explanation are 

 capable of producing all those phenomena which are charac- 

 teristic of the period preceding, during, and following what is 

 generally known as the Glacial period. 



Akt. LVII. — On the Occurrence of Moa-footprints in the 

 Bed of the Manawatu Biver, near Palmerston North. 



By H. Hill, F.G.S. 



[Bead before the Hawke's Bay Philosophical Institute, 9th July, 1894:.'] 



Plate XLVII. 



Duking a brief stay at Palmerston North, in February last, 

 my attention was directed by Mr. H. J. Gilberd, one of our 

 members, to some footprints of a bird he had lately discovered 

 in the bed of the Manawatu Eiver, not far from his place of 

 residence. Being well acquainted with the character of the 

 area in which similar footprints are found at the mouth of 

 the Turanganui Biver, and having several of the footprints 

 in my possession, I was curious to see whether the footprints 

 and the deposits bore any resemblance to one another in the 

 two localities. The place where the footprints under notice 

 were found is situated towards the right bank of the Mana- 

 watu Biver, and about 6ft. above water-mark at the time of 

 my visit. The place, however, must be covered with water, 

 or nearly so, during the winter season. The top of the river- 

 bank would be about 18ft. above the deposit containing the 

 footprints. A recent flood in the river had washed away a 

 portion of the river-bank, and a number of large- sized logs 

 had become exposed, all of them lying parallel to the present 

 flow of the river, and suggesting a different direction or flow 

 at the time of their deposition. The deposit in which the 

 trees are found is an alluvium running into a bluish sandy 

 clay, which, however, does not appear to be of any large 

 extent, as a shingle conglomerate is seen to underlie the 

 alluvium in several places both above and below where the 

 blue sandy clays rest on the conglomerates. The area where 

 the footprints were was possibly a swamp or depression, 

 which was filled by flood-waters heavily charged with clay 

 and pumice-sands, and which became exposed as soon as the 

 river assumed its normal flow. The deep impressions show 



