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Waiapu Subdivision. The detailed report on Waiapu Subdivision was not completely revised last winter, but is now ready for the printer. Portions of this area are being actively prospected for petroleum at the present time. Wairoa Subdivision. The Wairoa Subdivision covers a large area of country south of the Gisborne Subdivision, surveyed a few years ago by Dr. J. Henderson and Mr. M. Ongley. (See N.Z. Geol. Surv. Bulletin No. 21.) Mr. Ongley's summary report on the work done by him during the past season is given on a later page. In and near the area examined there are at least two large domal or anticlinal structures favourable to the accumulation of oil and gas. The areas involved have been examined in great detail by the geological staff of Taranaki Oil Fields, Ltd., and that company is now about to start (frilling at what is believed to be a very favourable position east of Morere. Murchison Subdivision. The Murchison Subdivision lies south of the Motueka Subdivision, and on the west adjoins the Buller-Mokihinui and Reefton subdivisions. Its survey was begun last season, partly because it connects areas already surveyed in detail, and partly because active prospecting for petroleum has begun within its boundaries. Dr. Henderson's summary report on the past season's work appears on a later page. Kaitangata - Green Island Subdivision. Owing to Mr. Ongley's transference to the Wairoa district, no opportunity of completing the survey of this area as planned has been found. During the winter, however, a detailed account of its geology will be written. Soil and Geological Surveys, Central Otago. On later pages Mr. Ferrar submits a progress report on the soil survey of irrigation areas, Central Otago, and a second report describing the geology of the country examined by him and members of his party. Much of the geological work undertaken by Mr. Ferrar is too closely connected with soil survey to be dissociated from it; nevertheless in great measure it was done by working overtime. From the soil-survey report it would appear that, as stated in my last annual report, the areas where harmful salts accumulate are very small, and can be easily dealt with, Work. Large numbers of Tertia.ry and other fossils, both in old and new collections, have been examined and identified by Dr. J. Marwick, palaeontologist. Many new species have been observed, and these are being described as opportunity permits. A brief report by Dr. Marwick on his work during the past year appears on page 28. Publications. During the year the following official publications were issued : — " Twentieth Annual Report (New Series) of the Geological Survey " (parliamentary paper C.-2c, 1926). Geological Bulletin No. 28 : " The Geology of the Huntly-Kawhia Subdivision, Pirongia Division," by J. Henderson and L. I. Grange. Geological Bulletin No. 29 : " The Geology of the Egmont Subdivision, Taranaki," by P. G. Morgan and W. Gibson. Palaeontological Bulletin No. 11 : " The Cretaceous and Tertiary Foraminifera of New Zealand, with an Appendix on the Ostracoda," by Frederick Chapman (Melbourne Museum). Palseontological Bulletin No. 12 : " Contributions to the Palaeontology of the New Zealand Trias," by Otto Wilckens (Bonn University). The palfeontological papers by Dr. J. Marwick mentioned in last year's report were published in volume 56 of the " Transactions of the New Zealand Institute," as announced. Volume 56 of the Transactions also contained two short papers by L. I. Grange, one entitled " Geology of the Upper Waitotara Valley, Taranaki." and the other " Significance of Fossils from the Huiroa Oil-bore, Taranaki." An important paper by Dr. Marwick, " The Veneridse of New Zealand " appeared in volume 57 of the Transactions, published last March, and in the same volume was a brief paper by H. T. Ferrar, " Soil Survey of New Zealand." The paper by Dr. F. R. Cowper Reed, Sedgwick Museum, Cambridge, " New Trilobites from the Ordovician Beds of New Zealand," also published in volume 57 of the Transactions, dealt with fossils collected by this Survey in Nelson. A paper by P. G. Morgan, entitled " The Definition, Classification, and Nomenclature of the Quaternary Periods, with Special Reference to New Zealand," and a paper by Dr. J. Marwick, entitled " Cretaceous Fossils from Waiapu Subdivision," appeared in volume 8 of the New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology. Office-work, etc. Throughout the winter and early spring of 1926 the various professional members of the Geological Survey staff were engaged in the preparation of detailed reports and in work connected therewith. During the year numerous requests for geological and other information were answered, and many samples .of rock, minerals, and fossils were examined and identified. Among the more interesting

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