382 Proceedings. 



There are immense accnmnlations of saw-dust adjoining every saw-mill in 

 New Zealand, and if these heaps could be converted into good fuel, for steam 

 or other purposes, by a mixtxii'e with peat or with coal-dust, a gi'eat gain 

 would be achieved. 



" Extract from ' Coraitry Gentleman's Magazine, ' of November, 1872. 



" ' The Duke of Sutherland is utilizing surface peat by making it into a composite 

 fuel, and if this succeeds a great public gain will accrue to Scotland. The project had 

 its rise thus. Mr. Forrester had a lot of sawdust lying in his way about the mill, when 

 the idea occurred to him that if it could be cemented together with peat it might be 

 converted into good fuel for his engine. He, therefore, prepared a plan of a machine to 

 do the mixing, and submitted it to the Duke, who at once approved of it and suggested 

 some improvements. They were adopted, the machine was set to work under steam 

 power, and in a short time cakes of composite fuel were produced. It occurred to the 

 Duke that if small coal or slack were used, as well as saw-dust, or without the saw- 

 dust, a still better article might be obtained. This was tried, and with promising 

 results. It is difficult to describe tHis process ; but some idea may be formed of it when 

 we state that tlie machine is erected on a large open space near the mass. It has a shaft 

 nine feet long. From the centre to the end, on which there is no journal, there are 

 fourteen knives, with other knives set at right angles, which are turned at the rate of 

 two revolutions a minute. The peat is thrown in, and, with the coal and saw -dust, 

 soon comes out again in a mixed state, of sufficient consistency to be wheeled away to 

 the drying ground, where it is put into a mould frame, prejjared for the drying field, and 

 racked. In the course of a week the cakes are ready for use, if the weather be fine, 

 and then it is found that sixty of the sawdust peats are equal to one cwt. of best 

 Sunderland coal, and cost 25 per cent, less money ; while thirty of the coal composites 

 are set down as of this strength and value. If the cakes can be dried by artificial 

 means, and there seems no good reason why they should not be thus dried, there wiU 

 soon be abundance of peat fuel in Scotland, " &c., &c. 



5. " Further Report on the Chemistry of Phormium tenax" by Arthur 

 Herbert Church, M.A. Oxon., Professor of Chemistry in the Iloyal 

 Agricultural College at Cirencester, England.— April, 1873. Communicated 

 by the Hon. the Colonial Secretary. [Transactions, p. 260.) 



Samples of Tobacco, in the leaf and prepared state, grown in Auckland, 

 were exhibited by His Honour Mr. Gillies, who gave some explanation as to 

 its growth and mode of preparation. 



FouETH Meeting. 22m? September, 1873. 

 Captain F. W. Hutton, F.G.S., Yice-Pi-esident, in the chair, 

 New member. — E. W. Lowe. 



1. "JSTotes on Delphinus forsteri,'^ by James Hector, M.D., F.R.S. 

 (Transactions, p. 85.) 



The Chairman pointed out the value of this paper, and said that this 



