442 Transactions. — Oeology. 



It is useless to point out how entirely different are the 

 opinions of these geological experts, and it seems to me that 

 this Society, or at least those members who take an interest in 

 geology, should endeavour to clear up the pomts of difference as 

 soon as possible. 



It is a curious circumstance that each geologist who has 

 written about Sciude Island differs as to the dip of the beds. 

 Mr. Cox* says : "At Scinde Island, Napier, where the typical 

 development of these beds occurs, they are forming a low 

 anticline, dipping on the sea face S. 10°, but on the harbour 

 side N.W. 25°." Mr. McKay* says : " These marls form the 

 west side of the Napier Harbour . . . the lowest beds ex- 

 posed on the south-west side of the island . . . they dip 

 N.E., briugmg the limestones to the sea level at the north end 

 of Shakespeare Eoad." As Mr. McKay says in his recent paper 

 that there is no unconformabihty between the upper and lower 

 Napier limestones, and as the marls are certainly not the lowest 

 beds, but are above the lower limestones, I infer that he wishes 

 it to be understood that the general dip of the Napier rocks is to 

 the north-east. 



On the other hand. Captain Hutton, in the paper from which 

 I have already quoted,! says: "On the south-east side of the 

 island this series [i.e. the Ahuriri series] dips about S.E. 5°. To 

 the northward it gets horizontal, and then dips to the north- 

 west. On the east side, at Curling's Gully, the dip is N.W. 20°, 

 and on the west side, at Taradale Bridge, it is N.N.W. 10°." 



These quotations will serve to show how wide are the dif- 

 ferences of opinion between the geologists on a question of 

 fundamental importance, and to me they constitute strong pre- 

 sumptive evidence in favour of unconformability between the 

 Napier series. 



The conclusions at which I have arrived with respect to the 

 Napier series are that, exclusive of the comparatively recent 

 surface-deposits of brick and pumiceous clays and sands and 

 ordinary soils, there are three distinct series of rocks forming 

 the Napier hills. These series are unconformable to one another, 

 the lower limestones being succeeded by marls, and the marls 

 by limestones, which in this paper are termed the upper Napier 

 limestones. My reason for arriving at these conclusions will be 

 found in the following evidence : — 



In a journey round the base of the Napier hills the fol- 

 lowing principal alterations in the dip of the beds will be 

 seen : — 



Commencing at the junction of Byron Street with Beach 

 Eoad, there is at this point an important exposure of what I 



• " Geological Keport," 1874-76, p. 100. 

 f " Geological Report," 1876-77, p. 84. 

 { " Traus. N.Z. Inst.," vol. x,viii., p. 329. 



