454 Transactions.—Chemistry. 
are operating—an estimate which, though still overstating the degree of this 
solubility, does so to such an insignificant extent that the excess need not 
be taken into account for practical purposes. 
I should state that in testing the solubility of calcic carbonate I use lithic 
carbonate for the precipitant, as the salts of lithia have far less solvent 
power over the calcic carbonate than those of soda have; with strontia 
carbonate the reverse seems to hold. 
Operating in this manner I got results which assign the ratios by weight 
of the solubility of the earthy carbonates in water as follows :— 
Calcic carbonate .. ae d .. 1 partin 75,000 parts. 
Strontia carbonate E à ES 00 ,, 
Baryta carbonate .. `.. ii e db 5 E00 cs: 
Caleie carbonate therefore appears to be soluble in water at a little under 
the rate of one grain per gallon instead of two, the lowest estimate hereto- 
fore assigned to it. The correctness of the rate of solubility of the strontia 
earbonate as given by Bineau is thus confirmed, while that of the baryta 
compound appears to be under one-fourth of that popularily assigned to it. 
Art. LXIX.—On the Presence of Nickel in the Auckland District. 
By J. A. Ponp. 
[Read before the Auckland Institute, 23rd July, 1877.] 
In bringing this subject before the Institute, I have not done so with the 
intention of chronicling any valuable discovery, but simply to bring before 
the members the fact that we have the metal nickel existing in several parts 
of the province ; nor can I lay claim to being the first to note the presence 
of this metal in New Zealand, as I find in the annual report on the Colonial 
Museum and Laboratory for 1876, Mr. Skey mentions its presence in troilite 
obtained in the geological survey of the Parenga River and Fox Glacier, 
Westland, by Mr. S. H. Cox. 
My first acquaintance with the nickel of this province was on receipt of 
some stone from Mahurangi, about two years since, said to contain silver. 
This, however, was not present, but on further examination I found that 
the stone contained either nickel or cobalt, but the small amount at my 
disposal prevented my deciding in reference to these two metals. On receipt 
of a larger portion I succeeded in isolating nickel, but finding it in too small 
a quantity for commercial value, I did not pursue the matter further. A 
few months since I obtained some more stone of a similar character from 
the Kaipara, and found this to be a serpentine which also yielded nickel. 
