THE GEOLOGY OE NELSOY. 
97 
to indicate a secondary age for the formations. If I were to 
trace any analogy between these strata and any European 
formation, I should say that they occupied in New Zealand 
the place filled by the Muschelkalk in Europe. 
I have described now the formations of the higher ranges of 
the Province. Before leaving them I will observe that they 
possess an extraordinary interest for the botanist. Dr. Monro 
and Dr. Sinclair have brought from those regions specimens 
of the greatest interest, and new to science. And a large 
field is still open for those who will follow in their steps. 
Zoologists may be surprised to hear that on the top of 
limestone ranges between 3,000 to 4,000 feet high, at the 
Pikikerunga and the Mlaunga-tapu, a large land snail, or helix, 
is found, as large as the Helix Busbyi of the Northern Island, 
Mr. Sheet found a live specimen on the Anatoki mountains ; 
and to Mr. W. Askew, at Riwaka, I am indebted for a perfect 
specimen of that new and rare shell. 
Pulcawau Coal Fields. 
I come now to speak about the Pakawau coal-field, as 
probably belonging to the secondary period. The Pakawau 
coal-field overlies the mica and clay-slate formations of the 
western ranges. The Pakawau stream exposes various strata 
of the coal-field, its conglomerate, sandstone, shales, and seams 
of coal. There have been workings on the exposed seams on 
both sides of the stream. A quantity of coal extracted from a 
seam of four feet thickness on the north side, which has lain 
exposed to the weather for two years, and still remains in the 
condition in which it was extracted, at once convinced me of 
the difference existing between this coal and the other New 
Zealand coals which I have seen. The coal is a dense, heavy, 
black coal, of a laminated structure, breaking in large pieces 
which do not crumble. In the evening I burned the coal in 
a fireplace, and was pleased with the large amount of flame and 
heat given out by it, without sulphureous or other disagreeable 
smell. It burned away to a clean white ash. Mr Curtis has 
kindly forwarded to me an analysis of this coal, made in the 
year 1853, by Mr. Theoph. Ileale, at Auckland. Mr. Heale 
proved the excellent qualities of the coal as a gas coal; the 
quantity of carbon (not more than 53 per cent.) would not 
