Buarr.—On the Building Materials of Otago. 131 
Second, Metamorphic rocks, gneiss, clay slates, schist, and quartz rock. 
Third, Volcanic and trap rocks, basalt, bluestone, greenstone, dolomite, 
phonolite, timarite, breccia, and trachytes, with an endless variety of inter- 
mediate links and gradations. 
Granites 
Granite is the monarch of building stones ; although hard and tough, it 
is not difficult to work with the hammer, pick, or chisel. It can be got in 
any sized blocks, and takes a polish like marble. Granite has been used 
for centuries in engineering works and other structures that were calculated 
to last for ages; but it is only of late years that it has been extensively 
used for ordinary architectural purposes. The introduction of stone-cutting 
and dressing machinery into the granite quarries has given this branch of 
the trade a great impetus, and it is possible that within a few years granite 
will supersede freestone in the more important public buildings of large 
cities. 
According to Captain Hutton, Preservation and Chalky Inlcts are the 
only localities in the province where true granite is found in mountain 
masses; but it exists in large veins and blocks in Stewart Island and the 
whole of the West Coast. Professor Black, in Stewart Island, and Dr. 
Hector, on the West Coast, report its occurrence at every step. 
In appearance the Preservation Inlet granite is not unlike that found in 
the Island of Mull; it is of a pinkish tinge with grey spots, and rather 
coarse in the grain. Although it, in all probability, is equal in strength 
and durability to most of the granites of the old country, and consequently 
suitable for kerbing, paving, and engineering purposes; its colour will be an 
objection in architectural works. 
I have no doubt our supply of granite for monumental and architectural 
purposes will ultimately come from the veins and blocks that are so pro- 
fusely scattered in the various localities above-mentioned. Some specimens 
already obtained are most beautiful in colour, fine in the grain, and other- 
wise admirably adapted for the best class of work. 
There is a vein of light grey granite at Seal Island, the colour of which 
is uniform and agreeable; it has a white ground and dark spots, and the 
grain is very smooth. 
Similar veins of clear white granite, with spots of brown mica, have 
been found at George Sound. In one sample, the mica is in mere specks, 
but in the other the mineral appears in large lustrous flakes. Both are 
extremely beautiful, and seem capable of taking a fine polish; but it is 
possible the latter, from an excess of mica, would lose its appearance in an 
exposed situation. 
