Pond. — On the Occurrence of Platinum in Quartz Lodes. 419 



all the vegetable remains of the world to supply the demand, if the vege- 

 table growth is to go on, and the forests are to maintain their extent and 

 height. In this way the carbon is just the current capital of the vegetable 

 kingdom ; the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the daily balance in the 

 bank, which, like the reserve in the Bank of England, is found to be con- 

 stantly changing ; while the coal deposits are what corresponds to dead 

 capital, which man is doing a service to nature in digging up and oxidizing 

 so that it may enter afresh into the currency of the vegetable kingdom. No 

 doubt part of this carbon circulates through the animal kingdom as well, 

 but it can hardly be supposed that all the carbon used up in vegetation 

 could be supplied by the animal kingdom alone. It is much more probable 

 that the great vegetable kingdom is completely balanced as to the demand 

 and supply of its carbon, without the aid of the animal kingdom at all, and 

 that the latter is merely a kind of parasite on the former. 



The vast masses of carbonate of lime in the limestones of our marine 

 deposits is another instance of dead capital, but there can be no doubt that 

 the carbon gets away in this case too, and that the lime goes into combina- 

 tion with silica, etc., forming silicates, sulphates, etc., of lime, and that 

 the limestone rocks slowly change into sandstones of various kinds. In 

 this way the carbon of our planet seems only an instrument used in its 

 architecture, being always withdrawn to be used over again, but not 

 entering into its composition permanently. 



Art. LII. — On the Occurrence of Platinum in Quartz Lodes at the Thames Gold- 

 fields. By J. A. Pond. 

 [Read before the Auckland Institute, 23rd October, 1882.] 

 Some months ago, while the shaft in the Queen of Beauty Gold-mining 

 Company was being deepened from the 540 to the 600 feet level, a quartz 

 vein was cut which descended nearly vertical, and finding this to be impreg- 

 nated with massive pyrites, I decided to assay portions to prove as to its 

 gold-bearing character. The first assay of 200 grains yielded bullion -021, 

 which, on parting in nitric acid, still retained its silvery lustre and appear- 

 ance, showing that some other metal than gold was present, and this led 

 me to continue the further examination of this vein. Making assays of the 

 different portions of the stone, I obtained various values, the highest being 

 •776 grs. of bullion from 400 grs. of ore, which, after parting, was reduced 

 to -126 grs., or equal to 10 ozs. to the ton. 



Placing the various beads together, I proceeded to isolate the metal, 

 obtaining silver, gold, platinum, and iridium. My examination has only 

 been a qualitative one as yet, as the breaking of a flask containing the whole 



