11

E.—6

1 ton quartz from Hindon by dry-crushing and cyanide process ; for Dr. Macpherson, Dunedin. 18 cwt. of blanketings by cyanide process : for Mr. A. Lorie, Dunedin. (Treated by Mr. A. Mosley.) tons quartz by wet-crushing and amalgamation ; for Mr. Green, Ophir. 16 cwt. mixture of quartz and serpentinous talc schist by wet-crushing and amalgamation; for G. D. Wilson and party, Kumara Junction. Determinations of Mineral and Rock Specimens. (Made by myself, and not charged for.) December 10, 1895.—A clayey mineral found on the slope of Flagstaff Hill by Mr. Booth, of Woodhaugh, proved to be halloysite, of no commercial value. February 20, 1896.—Sample of mineral from Eiversdale, forwarded by editor of Witness, proved to be common black hornblende with some quartz and felspar. February 27. —Supposed precious stone from the Clyde district, sent by Mr. L. 0. Beal, was found to be common amethyst, of no commercial value on account of flaws and cracks. April s.—White mineral found at Waikouaiti, forwarded by editor of Witness, proved to be a hydrous silicate of alumina allied to halloysite. June 30. —A sample of fine black sand, forwarded by Mr. W. Motherwell, Ophir, was found to consist of titaniferous iron with a small percentage of magnetite. Two rock specimens from same district proved to be argillaceous mica schist coated with manganiferous brown iron-ore. July 17.—A sample of coal from Fortrose, sent by editor of Witness, resembled pitch-coal, but was found to be so strongly impregnated with pyrite and to be generally so friable as to render it of very little value. July 25. —Sample of rocky material supposed to contain gold, found near Oamaru, and sent by Dr. Garland, proved to be non-auriferous. August 22.—Sample of rock from Raggedy Eidge, near Ophir, sent by Mr. W. Motherwell, and supposed to be of some value in containing gold and other metals, was found to be rather decomposed quartziferous phyllite mixed with micaceous quartz schist, all impregnated with small crystals of pyrite and magnetite; an assay gave a small trace of gold. September I.—Mineral specimens from western spur of Mount Cook, forwarded by D. M. Macfarlane, S.M., Hokitika: These specimens contained, in a matrix of quartz and tremolite, small crystals and granular patches of a red transparent mineral, supposed to resemble the Oriental ruby once found at Bimu, but the mineral proved to be common garnet of no value. November 3. —Specimen of rock from the Inkerman Mine, Beefton, forwarded by Mr. G. Dixon, was found to be a fine-grained somewhat felspathic sandstone. Information and Reports on Various Subjects. (Furnished by myself without charge.) December 3.—lnformation to editor of Witness about market price of aluminium. December 10.—Information by letter to Mr. W. H. Young, miner, Hyde, about prospecting of quartz reefs. April 4.—Furnished to editor of Witness instructions for the preparation of corrosive sublimate and nitrate of quicksilver, to be used for the amalgamation of copper-plates. July 16. —Prepared for the Council of the Bendigo School of Mines, Victoria, at their request, a detailed description of our crushing and gold-extraction plant. July 24.—Furnished information in answer to two inquiries—one from Watson Brothers, the other from Mr. A. Selby, Melbourne—regarding the occurrence and best mode of procuring scheelite in this province, to be used for the manufacture of fluorescent screens required for obtaining proper effects by means of the Rontgen X-rays. Donations and Acquisitions by Exchange to our Mining Museum. Our collections of rocks and minerals have during the year been enriched by a considerable number of specimens—some specially interesting and valuable—by many kind donors, and some good exchanges have been made as under : — Professor Black : Three fine specimens—viz., large garnet crystal, Amazon stone, and apophyllite from American localities, which I was permitted to pick out of a valuable collection, laid out for inspection at our laboratory by Mr. Ward, the proprietor of a large natural science establishment at Eochester, near New York, America. By the exchange of five duplicate specimens of New Zealand rocks and minerals there were acquired out of the Ward collection just mentioned five fine mineral specimens -viz., rubellite, cyanite, cancrinite, fluorite, and calcite, also from American localities. Mr. H. Clapcott : Two specimens of highly auriferous quartz from Macpherson's Reward Claim, Coolgardie, Western Australia. Mr. James Park : Fine specimens of blue iron earth (vivianite) and of epsoinite from the Thames district; one specimen of silver-ore from the Great Barrier Company's mine ; several specimens of rhyolite and andesite from the Hauraki district, and one specimen of ruby rock from Bimu, West Coast, Middle Island. Mr. F. Cutten : Two specimens of auriferous talc schist from the Mount Lyell Mine, Tasmania. Mr. A. Hamilton, the Eegistrar : Two interesting rock specimens, one consisting of coarse-