President's Address. 
23 
is necessary that a sufficient specimen or sample, together 
with a full description of its mode of occurrence, localities, 
&c., should be sent to the “Director of the Geological 
Survey ” either through the Minister of Mines or any other 
channel, and if he thinks that it is a proper subject for 
examination, the analysis is made, and a report is forwarded 
to the sender, containing the results, with any notes or 
suggestions which appear of practical use. 
An analytical chemist was appointed in April last year, 
who has since been constantly at work. 
A great variety of interesting substances have been 
analysed during the year, as, for instance, the lignite from a 
remarkable deposit at Lai Lai. As a fuel, it was found both 
practically and theoretically to be a little better than wood ; 
in fact, some of it resembled wood very closely, not only in 
retaining the external form, but in its chemical composition. 
On being submitted to dry distillation at various tempera- 
tures, it yielded numerous products — solid, liquid, and 
gaseous, acid, alkaline, and neutral, and if this subject were 
worked out in detail, it is highly probable that compounds 
of commercial value might be obtained. 
The coal from Cape Paterson has also lately been the sub- 
ject of careful examination. The “ Cement Stones ” or 
Roman Cement nodules, from the Tertiary clays 
at Schnapper Point, in the Bay, the Antimony ores 
of MTvor, and the Silver ores of St. Arnaud, and various 
iron ores, fire clays, gold-quartz, and auriferous pyrites, &c., 
have also been analysed. 
Some minerals, collected by the officers of the Geological 
Survey, having a more purely scientific interest, have also 
been analysed. Of these, the most important have been the 
Albite and Pholerite, collected by Mr. Ulrich, at Blacksmith’s 
Gully, in a quartz reef, and the Oligoda.se and Ghabasite 
from the basalt of Balkan. The minerals, composing the 
heavy sand accompanying the gold, have been also under 
examination, which is not yet completed. 
In several cases the result of these examinations have 
prevented the useless expenditure of capital by detecting 
errors in the supposed nature of minerals ; thus Carbonate 
of Magnesia was mistaken by the discoverer for Carbonate 
of Zinc, Sulphide of Molybdenum for Graphite, and stranger 
still, a mixture of fine quartz sand, oxide of iron and iron 
pyrites, the product of a gold extracting process, has been 
