464 Geology of 



Four Point range on the right, and Frank's Knob on the left bank of 

 the Selwyn, as "well as in the Middle Kakahu, where excellent lime- 

 stones and marbles, the latter sometimes consisting of nearly pure 

 carbonate of lime, exist in considerable quantities. Some of the 

 calcareous deposits of the Waipara and Oamaru formations will also 

 burn to good lime, either for the usual building purposes or for 

 hydraulic work. Some of the flaggy limestones, consisting mostly of 

 minute pieces of shells and corals, as for instance at Mount Somers 

 caves, form excellent material for the limekiln. 



The lithographic stone obtained at the Abbey rocks, West Coast, in 

 good sized blocks, although not able to compete entirely with the 

 Solenhofen and some other Bavarian stones, will nevertheless be of con- 

 siderable use for transfer work, and many other purposes where the 

 partially veined appearance of the surface is not a drawback- Other- 

 wise its quality is excellent. At the same mentioned locality and at 

 th3 Grey an almost inexhaustible supply of very good limestones for 

 the kiln is available. 



Clays. 



In the yonnger palaeozoic rocks in connection with shaly beds and 

 conglomerates, as for instance in the Malvern Hills, the Clent Hills 

 and a few other localities, there occur some indurated clays (shales) 

 which in times to come will doubtless be extensively used by the 

 potter. Both the Waipara and Oamaru formations are rich in clays 

 of various character, and useful for many purposes. 



There are some very fine fire-clays in connection with the coal seams 

 in the former, for ornamental work (Terracotta) and for more general 

 purposes such as drainage pipes, earthenware, fire bricks, and many 

 other objects, which formerly had all to be imported from the home 

 country. The Malvern Hills are particularly rich in fine pottery 

 material, and a siliceous conglomerate (ganister) its component parts 

 mostly derived from the disintegration of the quartziferous porphyries 

 is also abundant there. I may add that some of the fire-clays from 

 Almerode, near the Meissner, are of such excellent quality that they 

 are exported in considerable quantities to the United States of 

 North America (see Zinken, Braunkhole, Vol. I, page 550). Consider- 

 ing the expense incurred for railway and sea carriage from the centre 

 of Germany to the United States, it appears to me, that under favour- 

 able circumstances, some of our fire-clays could also be exported with 

 advantage. 



