366 Transactions. — Geology. 



the river) at 180ft. per mile. As the glacier advances to its 

 nieltiug-point it no doubt decreases in depth, despite the fact 

 that it is protected fi-om the rays of the sun to a large extent 

 by the load of detritus which it carries ; and the probabiHties 

 are that, if we could by any means get at the bed of the 

 glacier ten miles from its terminal, we should find that 130ft. 

 per mile would be sufficient to allow for the rise of the valley- 

 bottom, in which case we could add another loOft. to our 600ft. 

 arrived at, making the depth of the glacier 750ft. at a point 

 ■close to its side ; and it is only reasonable to suppose that the 

 bed of the glacier would dip towards its centre, so that pro- 

 bably a still gi-eater thickness obtains in its middle portion. I 

 imagine it would be a very difficult matter to obtain measui'e- 

 ments of the depth of crevasses, as their sides are seldom or 

 never quite vertical for any great depth. 



The stratification of glacier neve is a further subject of in- 

 terest, and whilst in the upper part of the Murchison we were 

 favoured with a view of some sections of consolidated iieve 

 which had been disturbed by avalanches, exposing very 

 mai'kedly the stratification and strata of impui-e snow which 

 accumulate on the level of each season's surface from dead 

 insects and impmities and floating matter in the atmosphere 

 •dm-ing the warmer months of the year. Whether the strata in 

 this instance marked the summer and winter seasons, or were 

 occasioned by shorter periods of tine weather and snowfalls 

 alternately, I am unable to say. 



[Note. — In January, 1891, the Government survey of the 

 Murchison Glacier was completed, confimiing the topogi-a- 

 phical conclusions contained in this paper as correct. — 

 -G. E. M., Chi-istchurch, 17th March, 1891.] 



Art. XXXVII. — On Avian Eemains found luuler a Lava- 

 floio near Tiniaru, in Cantcrhury. 



By H. O. Forbes. 



Communicated by the Secretai-y. 



Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 6th Xoveinber, 



1S90.\ 



Pliite XXXVI. 



At the end of last year I received information that some avian 

 bones had been found under a lava-stream near Timaru. On 

 the 3rd February of this year (1890) I paid a visit to <-he dis- 

 ti-ict. Mr. Hogben, head master of the Boys' High School, 



