400 



granite with blue slate, and has been discovered by a prospecting party fitted out by Mr 

 Daniels, of Riverton. 



(6. ) " On the Anatomy of the Tuatara (Hatteria punctata), " by F. J. Knox, 

 L.R.C.S.E. (See ante, p. 16.) This paper gives, as the result of the dissection and 

 preparation of two specimens which were exhibited, the points in the anatomy of this 

 interesting lizard, where the author had found it necessary to differ from the memoir by 

 Dr. Giinther on the same subject. Both the specimens examined by the author were, 

 however, females, while the single specimen dissected by Dr. Giinther was a male. Some 

 of the differences the author was almost inclined to regard as characteristic of a different 

 species. 



(7. ) " Comparative Review of the mode in which Gold occurs in the North and South 

 Islands of New Zealand," by Dr. Hector. The author rapidly reviewed the evidence 

 of the nature of the matrix of the gold in Otago, Westland, and Nelson, and showed that 

 in the North Island the essential conditions for the presence of gold are found in lines of 

 dislocation, which by creating vertical bands of metamorphic rock, render auriferous, 

 formations that never yield gold in the unaltered state. In the case of the Thames gold 

 fields this vertical metamorphism had been accompanied by the eruption of igneous rocks 

 of mesozoic age, and the metallic deposits have been still further concentrated by the eruption 

 of tertiary volcanic rocks and thermal waters in the same district. Around Wellington 

 there were no igneous rocks, and the gold that has as yet been found in the neighbourhood 

 was derived from bands of slaty rock, in lines of dislocation that run in a north and south 

 direction. With the assistance of coloured sections he explained the geological structure 

 of the country around Wellington, and compared it with the Thames district, showing 

 the absence of the most characteristic rocks which are associated with the gold there. 

 He warned miners from expecting too much from the hard compact quartz reefs that 

 traverse the indurated sandstone in the neighbourhood of Wellington, as most at least of 

 them were of higher antiquity than the dislocations by which the gold has escaped from 

 the deep seated rocks. 



In answer to Mr. Marchant, the author stated that at Taranaki similar volcanic rocks 

 occur as at the Thames, but no slate rocks had yet been found associated with them, 

 which, he believed was one essential required to complete the similarity of conditions ; at 

 the same time he had seen very likely-looking specimens from the Kaitaki ranges, but 

 they had not yielded gold on analysis. 



The most marked junction of the trachytic rocks with the slates he had met with 

 was on the west side of the Kaimanawa Range, south of Taupo Lake, and to which he 

 had referred in a recent report. 



(8.) "On the Alluvial Gold in the Province of Wellington," by J. C. Crawford, 

 F. G. S. (See ante, p. 160.) The author described the probable distribution of alluvial 

 gold, if any quantity exists in this province, and directed attention to the higher levels 

 in the old terraces which skirt the ranges on the west, and also are found in patches in 

 the wider valleys. 



Fourth Meeting. August 14, 1869. 

 J. C. Crawford, F.G.S., Vice President, in the chair. 



The election of the following new members was announced : — Sir David Monro, Mr. 

 F. A. Krull, and Dr. Knight. 



Dr. Hector gave an account of some interesting results obtained in the Laboratory 

 during the past month. He stated that the Urinui clay, which is being used in 

 the reduction of the iron sand at Taranaki, had been found to possess no special pro- 

 perties either as a means of binding the sand mechanically, or as a flux, in both of which 

 respects it is inferior to many other clays, as it only contains 30 per cent of clay, mixed 

 with 65 per cent, of sand, and oidy 3 per cent, of lime. The specimens analysed had been 

 forwarded by Mr. T. Kelly, the Provincial Secretary. A concretionary mass from the 

 same clay had been found to contain 30 per cent, of lime. 



A vesjcular rock which had been brought to the Museum by some diggers from 

 Makara as a volcanic tufa or scoria, had proved to be a porous form of silica that 

 had a very similar composition to the scinter deposited by the hot springs. It however 

 in no respect resembles the auriferous tufa from the Thames District. 



Papers read : — 



(1.) "On the Extraction of the Poisonous Principles of the Tutu Plant (Coriaria 

 r 'uscif blia), " by W. Skey. (See ante, p. 153.) By a process which he described he has 

 discovered the poison to be a greenish oil, five minims of which administered to a cat 

 produced, in the course of half an hour, a succession of violent convulsions, following at 

 intervals of twenty minutes, accompanied by twitchings and contraction of the extremi- 

 ties, and dilation of the pupils. A large proportion of the dose was vomited within a few 



