FOR THE PEOPLE.
| FOR EDVCATION |
|
ROR SCLEN CE |
LIBRARY
OF
THE AMERICAN MUSEUM
OF
NATURAL HISTORY
AND
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
opal Soacty of Victoria.
VOL. XXI.
Edited under the Authority of the Council of the Society.
ISSUED JUNE 30th, 1885.
THE AUTHORS OF THE SEVERAL PAPERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SOUNDNESS OF THE
OPINIONS GIVEN AND FOR THE ACCURACY OF THE STATEMENTS MADE THEREIN.
MELBOURNE :
MASON, FIRTH & M‘CUTCHEON, PRINTERS,
FLInDERS LANE WEST.
AGENTS TO THE SOCIETY.
WILLIAMS & NORGATE, 14 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON :
To whom all communications for transmission to the Royal Society of Victoria,
from ali parts of Europe, should be sent.
CONTENTS OF VOL. XXI.
PRESIDENT’s ADDREss, 1884 ..
Art. I.
(ae
1g 0%
EY.
V..
VI.
XVI.
XVII,
On the Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria during
Post-Miocene Times, by G. S. Grirritus oe
The Recent Red Sunsets, by Proresson ANDREW
The Phanerogamia of the Mitta-Mitta Source Basin
(Art. IT.), by James Stiruine, F.L.S.
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand, by W. W.
CuncHETH, M. Inst. C.E., F.R. Met. Soc. ..
Notes on the Electroscope, by PRorrEsson ANDREW
On a Recent Shower of Mud-stained Rain, ie R. L. J.
Ewuery, F.R.S., F.R.A.S. Se
Suggestions for Reducing Excessively High Temperature
in Ships and Buildings, by J. LockHart Morton, Esq.
Experience of the Barque ‘‘ W. H. Besse”’ in the Java
Earthquake, August, 1883, by Mr. G. H. Ripce
Deseriptions of New or Little Known Polyzoa (Part
VII.), by P. H. MacGruirvray, M.R.C.S., F.L.8. ..
Fire Alarms, by Mr, A. E. Joszra = =F a
Australian Cave Paintings, by Dr. S. M. Curt .. Se
An Inquiry into the Cause of Gravitation, es Mr. T,
WAKELIN ee
Supplementary Notes on the Diabase Rocks of the
Buchan Distriet, by A. W. Howitt, F.G.S...
Deseriptions of New or Little Known Polyzoa (Part
VIII.) by P. H. MacGrutrvray, M.R.C.S8., E.LS. ..
Note on the Reproduction of the Ornithorhynchus, by
iP. HH. MacGinrrvray, M.A., M.BR.C.S., F.L.8. oe
Notes on the Meteocolory of the Australian Alps, by
James Sriruine, F.LS.
On the Extinction of Waves at the Entrance of Harbours,
by Dr.Epwarp Davy, L.8.A., M.R.C.S. .. or
PAGE
KI—XXV
1—28
28
29—51
52—85
86
86
86—88
89—91
92—99
100
100
100
101—105
106—119
120—122
123—145
146—147
vi Contents.
OxBITUARY—
The Rev. John Ignatius Bleasdale, D,D... ae
Mr. William Gillbee, M.R.C.S., Eng.
Mr. Edward Davy, M.R.C.S.
John File Bailey .. ie a ae
PROCEEDINGS, &c., 1884
MEMBERS ae ae
InsTITUTIONS, &c., Receryine Copres oF’ ‘‘ TRANSACTIONS ”’
PAGE
148
149
150 —152
152
. 153—172
173—180
181—184
[23828 4
Patron.
HIS EXCELLENCY SIR HENRY BROUGHAM LOCH, K.C.B.
President,
R. L. J. ELLERY, Esq., F.B.S., F.R.AS., &.
Vice-Dresidents.
PROFESSOR W. C. KERNOT, M.A., C.E. | E. J. WHITE, Esq., F.R.A.S.
Bon, Creasurer,
HENRY MOORS, Esa.
Bon. Secretaries.
GEORGE W. SELBY, Esq., JUNR. | ALEX. SUTHERLAND, Eseq., M.A.
Bon. Librarian.
JAMES E. NEILD, Esq., M.D.
Gowneil.
JOSEPH BOSISTO, Ese., M.L.A. J. COSMO NEWBERY, Ese., B.Sc., C.M.G.
JAMES DUERDIN, Esg@., LL.B. JAMES JAMIESON, Ese., M.D.
a S. W. MGOWAN, Esa. W. H. STEEL, Esea., C.E.
JAMES T. RUDALL, Esq., F.R.C.S. Cc. R. BLACKETT, Ese.
R. E. JOSEPH, Esa. R. S. BRADLEY, Esa.
W. LYNCH, Esa. PROFESSOR H. M. ANDREW, M.A.
PRESIDENT’S ADDRESS, _
Roval Society of Victoria.
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS
OF
The President,
Me. R. L. J. Evtery, F.RS., F.B.AS., Government
Astronomer.
(Delivered to the Members of the Royal Society of Victoria, at their
Annual Conversazione, held October 3rd, 1884.)
GENTLEMEN OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY,
I think you must experience a sense of monotony as year
after year I inflict you with the inevitable presidential
address, which, do what one can to impart e little freshness
into it, must, coming always from the same pen, necessarily |
lack that novelty of stuff and style which alone would make
such deliverances tolerable. If it be so, as I fear it is, you
have yourselves to blame for electing me your President so
continually. While keenly appreciating the great honour
you have done me in electing me your President for eighteen
consecutive years, I have come to the conclusion it will be
better for the Society and for me that I should cease to
occupy its chair after the end of the present session. New
blood, new ideas, new ways of looking at and dealing with
things, | am sure, are most desirable in the interests of the
Society, and at our next annual gathering of this kind I
intend being a listener to a brilliant address from my
successor.
xii President's Address
PROGRESS AND PROSPECTS OF THE SOCIETY.
The Society is now approaching the termination of its
twenty-sixth year, and it is pleasant to be able to tell you
that it is in a prosperous condition and full of vitality. The
ordinary income, added by the grant. annually voted to us
by the Parliament, now places us in a satisfactory position.
The Society is not only solvent, but it has a small reserve
for current requirements. Our buildings are in good order
and repair; we have added to our library accommodation,
and had a large number of our valuable books bound, so as
to be accessible to our members. The increase of the
Society, and more especially the want of more space for our
large meetings and gatherings like this, has already given
rise to a wish for more accommodation in the shape of a
large lecture or assembly room, and I have no doubt the
Council will take the matter into serious consideration
before our next session. Our last session was a busy one, as
will be seen by reference to our twentieth volume, issued in
May last, and it is gratifying to note how promptly our
‘secretaries have placed the volume for 1883 before our
members.
DECEASED MEMBERS.
I regret I have to record the loss by death during the
past year of three members and one associate of the Society
—viz., Mr. W. C. Watts, C.E., late city surveyor; the Rev.
J. I. Bleasdale, F.G.8., who died in San Francisco on the
2nd August; Mr. W. Detacle died on 4th eS and Mr.
J. FF. Die who died in July.
AUSTRALIAN BOTANY.
I have usually availed myself of the occasion of our
annual gathering to inform you very briefly of any matters
of interest in connection with the past year’s history of the
several public scientific and technical departments, as well
Se ee
ees FAK,
for the year 1884. Xill
as to say a few words on what appear to me interesting
facts in the year’s advance in knowledge, and perhaps I
cannot do better than follow my old custom. You will
remember I referred in my former address to a valuable and
extensive work on the eucalypts of Australia, undertaken
by our State botanist and fellow-member, Baron von
Mueller, and you will be glad to hear that the tenth decade
of the Hucalyptography of Australia is now in the press,
and, with the exception of a few supplements, will complete
this most important botanical work. Baron von Mueller
has also been closely engaged in research concerning the
regional distribution of the 14,000 already known Australian
plants preliminary to further extension of his utilitarian
inquiries into their structural characteristics, as well as into
their industrial and therapeutic uses. He informs me that
through the liberality of the Government he is now able to
issue a monography of the Myoporine, an extensive and
important order of Australian shrubs, for which he has eighty
plates already prepared ; he proposes, also, shortly to prepare
a new edition of the Select Plants for Industrial Culture
and Naturalisation, and that at the instance of the Field
Naturalists’ Club he hopes soon to issue a Dichotomous Key
for the naming of Victorian plants—a work which will
no doubt be hailed with pleasure by all botanical students
among us. While on the subject of botanical science I will
call your attention to the great loss it has very recently sus-
tained by the death of the illustrious George Bentham, who
had by his great work, Flora Australiensis (in the produc-
tion of which our botanist, Baron von Mueller, lent most
valuable and substantial assistance), associated his name
more closely with Australia than any other part of the
world.
NATURAL HISTORY AND ZOOLOGY.
Our Museum of Natural History, so ably sce i
Professor M‘Coy, increases in scientific interest and popu-
larity every year, and has received numerous valuable
: A
XIV President's Address
additions since I last referred to it, more especially with
respect to the invertebrate groups of the general collections
of recent zoology, and to all classes illustrative of the zoology
of New Guinea and other islands of the Western Pacific.
Of the latter a very valuable series has been contributed by
the proprietors of the Argus newspaper, obtained by their
New Guinea exploring expedition. There have also been
important additions to the Borneo collection, presented by
the Australian Borneo Company. The collection of old red
sandstone fossils has been made more perfect by the
acquisition of many of the £slcz of that era. The growth of
these collections brings nearer every year the time when
more room will be required in our Natural History Museum.
TECHNOLOGICAL AND INDUSTRIAL MUSEUM,
The Industrial Museum and School of Technology, under
the direction of Mr. J. Cosmo Newbery, continues to im-
prove and widen its utilitarian functions each year. The
additions to the collections of the Museum, procured both
by donation and purchase, have been fully up to the aver-
age of previous years. Special endeavours have been made
to illustrate, as fully as possible, by specimens all matters of
public interest, and some of these collections will be shown
in the hall to-night, and will include the modes of occur-
rence of gold, the occurrence of silver in Australia, Aus-
tralian diamonds, with other ornamental stones, clays, and
other materials used in the manufacture of the finer
varieties of earthenware and porcelain, including a number
of specimens of ware made in the Museum laboratories.
The classes have been well attended, and it is pleasing to
note that young men joining the Jaboratories find that with
the knowledge gained in this institution, they can not only
enter manufactories where technical skill is required, but
that they can also obtain important public positions. A
former pupil assistant now holds a high Government post in
an adjoining colony, and his successor, Mr. Frederic Dunn,
Serer
for the year 1884. XV
has recently been appointed public analyst for the city of
Melbourne.
KINDRED SOCIETIES.
Of the varied kindred societies, I think I may with con-
fidence state that their progress has been puri pussw with
our own. The medical societies, the Microscopic Society,
the Field Naturalists’ Club, and the Pharmaceutical Society
are all in a vigorous and healthy state. With regard to the
latter, it is gratifying to see it has permanently established
the much-needed College of Pharmacy in Melbourne, where
the art will be taught on a basis commensurate with the
requirements of modern chemistry and other sciences ; and
T am glad to say that only a few days ago the Council of our
University agreed to accept the certificates of the College as
a proof of the proper training of our medical students in
this most indispensable branch of medical knowledge. The
College presents a means of gaining a thorough knowledge
of the art and science of pharmacy, which hitherto has not
existed in the Australian colonies. The Field Naturalists’
Club, although the most youthful, is perhaps the most
vigorous of the societies. It now numbers nearly two
hundred members; forty new members have joined the
ranks during the last few months, and, mirabile dictu, six
are ladies. This is a good sign; for considering the attrac-
tions offered in the practical study of the sciences embraced
by the club, we may reasonably hope the six lady members
will soon become sixty—not in age, but in numbers. The
Schools of Mines at Ballarat and Sandhurst are as pros-
perous and vigorous as ever, and are fulfilling their functions
admirably in our two principal rural cities. In view of the
vigorous administration of the Ballarat School, the excellent
class of work and teaching it has established, and the desire
to extend its functions wherever it may be of use to the
locality or community at large, we are led to hope it will
soon become a most important school, and centre of art,
science, and industry.
- AO?
~sF 14 A eh eS |
Se ce cane ie eae a
Xvi President's Address
ASTRONOMICAL PROGRESS IN AUSTRALIA.
A few words on the recent progress of astronomy in this
part of the world will perhaps not be without interest to
you. With well-equipped public observatories at Sydney,
Adelaide, and Melbourne,aided by several private astronomers
(prominent among which is Mr. Tebbutt, of Windsor, New
South Wales), possessing excellent telescopes and other
instruments, we are by no means behindhand in the pursuit
of knowledge in this direction. As regards our own
Observatory, you will be glad to hear its capacity and useful-
ness have been materially increased by the erection of a fine
transit circle of the most modern construction, made by
Troughton and Simms, of London. It has an object glass of
8-in. diameter, and is capable of the highest class meridian
work. The work done with the great telescope since its
erection in 1869, which consists of a revision of the southern
nebule observed by Sir John Herschel at the Cape from 1834
to 1838, is now in the press, and will be shortly issued in
parts, with lithographs of the nebule as they appear at
present. At the Sydney Observatory, Mr. Russell is busily
engaged with work in connection with the trigonometrical
survey of New South Wales, in addition to the ordinary
astronomical work. I had an opportunity of inspecting this
Observatory very recently, and it afforded me the greatest
interest and pleasure to examine the various improvements
in astronomical and physical instruments which have been
devised by my talented colleague. A noteworthy instance
is a new mounting of the Sydney 12-in. refractor, which is
the most stable mounting I have ever tried. While the large
telescope can be moved with great ease, when once it is
pointed on an object and clamped it is almost as rigid as a
meridian instrument, even while following the diurnal
motion of the object steadily and accurately, by means of
one of Mr. Russell’s double-pendulum governors. The Ade-
laide Observatory, which possesses a fine 8-in. equatorial by
Cook and Sons, has now been furnished with an excellent
for the year 1884. Xvli
6-in. transit circle by Troughton and Simms, and the direc-
tor, Mr. Todd, intends to extend his operations into standard
meridian work, In Queensland the Government are about
to carry out a geodetic survey, and to do this a central
observatory will be necessary. Steps have already been
taken to establish one on a small scale, and a naval gentle-
man of considerable astronomical experience (Lieutenant
Hoggan) has been appointed to take charge. Two or three
years ago Tasmania established a small observatory at
Hobart, in charge of Commander Shortt, R.N., chiefly for
meteorological observation, which is now regularly carried
out all over the island. It is, I believe, intended to gradu-
ally add standard astronomical instruments to the equipment,
and already a transit instrument has been erected for obtain-
ing local time. There are also several amateur observers in
Tasmania, who from time to time give valuable aid, and add
their guota to our general stock of astronomical knowledge.
Among the chief points of interest in the year’s history of
astronomy is the reappearance of Pons’ comet. This comet
was first discovered by Pons in 1812. On Ist September
last year Mr. Brooks, of Phelps, New York, found a very |
faint comet in Draco, and when a sufficient number of posi-
tions were obtained from which to compute its orbit, it was
found to be the comet of 1812 returning to perihelion. It
passed its perihelion on 25th January this year, and it
became visible for some time to us as a moderately bright
object in the western sky. An interesting fact in connection
with this comet was the occurrence of certain sudden out-
bursts of light in the nucleus. Ordinarily a comet increases
gradually in brilliancy as it gets nearer the sun ; but in this
case, between seven p.m. and eleven p.m. on 22nd September,
it increased its brightness forty times more than is commonly
the case,and then waned. Again, in one hour and three-
quarters, on Ist January, an outburst of light took place
which soon declined pretty rapidly to its original brightness.
The comet was not seen here till the 6th January. While
looking rather far afield for Pons’ comet in January last,
XVlli Presidents Address
Mr. David Ross, of Elsternwick, discovered on the 12th
an object which he thought was this body, and reported it
to the Observatory, where it was soon found to be another,
but very small comet, which we called Ross’ comet. Its
apparition was of short duration, and it was never visible in
the northern hemisphere. On 25th September next year
there will be a total eclipse of the sun, the central line of
which passes over New Zealand just about Cook’s Straits,
and this is the only land on which it will be visible as a total
eclipse. The duration of totality will, however, be small—
about two minutes and a half only. It nevertheless affords
for a few precious moments a view of the circum-solar
regions divested of its usual dazzling light, which will be of
inestimable value to astronomers, and which they are
content to travel half around the world to secure, for adding
further to our knowledge of the solar surface and surround-
ings, and to search for any planetary bodies that may exist
within the orbit of Mercury. It is not unlikely our Obser-
vatory will send a small observing party to Wellington, or
to the neighbourhood of Cook’s Straits, to undertake some
part of the requisite physical observations ; and although I
have yet heard of no Kuropean or American party being
organised for observing the phenomenon, there is little doubt
that several astronomers will visit New Zealand on this
occasion.
EARTHQUAKES AND EARTH TREMORS IN TASMANIA.
The remarkable prevalence of earthquakes and earth
tremors in Tasmania, Bass’s Straits, and the south-eastern
portion of Australia during the last twelve or fifteen months
affords a subject of considerable scientific interest. Fortu-
nately, none of the disturbances, so far, have been of sufficient
intensity to do much damage, although a few, and notably
oue of 13th July, were sufficiently severe to cause consider-
able alarm. ‘The tremors and shakes have been experi-
enced chiefly in the north-east districts, but to some extent
generally over Tasmania, since July, 1883. It was not
ae > = E oka
jor the year 1884, KIX
until February, 1884, that they were noticed on this side of
the Straits, when a severe shake was felt by the lighthouse
people on Gabo Island. Since that date, however, no less
than twelve shocks of small or moderate intensity have been
reported from this and other places in Gippsland, the last
occurring on the evening of the 19th of this month, when
the tremor was sufficiently intense to cause the lighthouse
at Gabo to tremble, and things on the table to dance about.
This shake was also felt at Port Albert, Wilson’s Promontory
(where it “shook windows and furniture violently”), Cape
Schanck, Omeo, and other localities in Gippsland. The
vibration lasted over a minute and a half, and appeared to
have a direction from south to north. There are one or two
remarkablefactsnoticed in Tasmania in connection with these
seismic disturbances. The first is the tremulous character
of most of them, producing a sensation of a distinct tremor
of the earth’s surface, frequently continuous for a consider-
able period—in some cases for hours, and very frequently for
over an hour. Many observers state as their experience
that the tremors appeared to be on the surface, and not
extending to deeper strata. This is somewhat supported 4
by reports I have received from Mr. Grant, mining manager
at Branxholme, on the Ringarooma River, North-east
Tasmania, who has kindly furnished me with his observa-
tions of over one hundred earthquakes and tremors which
have been experienced in his locality since January of this
year. This gentleman called my attention a year ago to
the fact that most of the tremors and rumblings, while
startlingly manifest on the surface, were not noticed 12 feet
or more below it, except sometimes in the open timbered
shaft of the mines. Even in deep cuttings they were often
unnoticeable. Another remarkable point is that in some of
the stronger tremors, while ferns and low bushes were
seen to tremble and wave about rapidly, no movement
whatever was noticed in taller trees. When it is low water
in the Tamar at Launceston a long range of mud-flats are
seen from the town, extending some distance down the river,
ee Se ee eee ee ae ee eT ae he ea ‘
op en en eee Eg oe ~ iT
' , ' ' ‘ 4
7 N
4 "
or ae
ot
xXx President's Address
and on one occasion during a strong tremor the surface of
these flats was seen to be agitated as by a series of very
short waves passing overit. I extract the following from
notes furnished me by Mr. Grant :—“25th July.— Barometer,
30°05. Fine and clear. 4.40 a.m. a shock, and 10.34 am. a
moderate shock. Thisshock causedapeculiar vibration ofsmall
ferns and under-scrub. They commenced to tremble quickly
at first, but increased in intensity till the maximum of the
shock, when the vibration died away as the wave passed
over. It did not appear to affect the large trees or moderate-
sized saplings, only the herbage close to the ground. This
was the first time I observed the phenomena. Again, on
11th August, at 2.41 p.m., during a slight shock, preceded
by a loud rumbling, no vibration of the ground was felt, but
the smaller or ground herbage was seen to tremble, the
motion proceeding from north-east to south-west; the
loftier scrub and trees showed no motion.’ Another
gentleman, who is strongly of opinion these disturbances
are superficial, and not subterranean, states that he has
spent much of his time below ground during the last twelve
months at Mount Victoria (North-east Tasmania), but during
all the tremors and earthquakes he never felt the slightest
indication of a tremor under the surface. He has heard
the rumbling noise near the surface in the shaft, but felt no
vibration. He says that his companions on the surface
have frequently hailed him to tell him an earthquake was
passing, but failed on every occasion to discover any vibra-
tion or tremor underground, though sufficiently near the
surface to hear the rumbling noises. Commander Shortt, of
Hobart, informs me that the ship “ Helena” felt the shock of
13th July, 150 miles to the. eastward of Cape Barren Island,
_and that the water around her appeared convulsed. The
collected observations of 13th July, and of the severer shakes
since, make it pretty certain the direction of the seismic
waves has been always from north-north-east to south-west
in Tasmania, and from south to north on the Australian coast.
This seems as if the waves radiated from a centre either in or
— for the year 1884, Xxi
about Banks’ Straits, or from some point at sea to the east-
ward of these places, and very probably about the locality
the “Helena” felt the shock. I regret I have got no
intelligence from the islands yet concerning the disturbances;
for any precise observation from there would greatly help in
giving a locus for the seismic centre. The evidence avail-
able, however, strongly supports the foregoing assumption.
While there is ample evidence of extensive old volcanic
action in the Australian group, we have always regarded
these regions (of course including Tasmania) as far removed
from any centres or line of seismic activity, and during my
thirty-three or thirty-four years’ experience in this country
earthquake shocks have been of considerable rarity, and
always of very small intensity. These repeated and con-
tinued tremblings, therefore, constitute a new order of things,
and a problem for the geologist and physicist; but let us
hope they will not become sufficiently severe to present a
problem also to the architect, as they do in Japan.
THE RED SUNSETS.
We have not yet done with the red sunsets and afterglows,
although they always appear now with much less intensity
than formerly. The true cause of them appears to be still
an open question, but I think we may assume that the
“ Krakatoa eruption theory” is not such a favourite as it was
six or eight months ago. It has been found out that red
sunsets and brilliant afterglows were not uncommon before
the Krakatoa outburst, as we in Australia well know, and I
dare say it will be eventually discovered that the great
catastrophe of Sunda Strait directed special attention to
peculiar atmospheric appearances, which after all were not
of any particular rarity.
RAINFALL AND WATER CONSERVATION.
The late disastrous droughts in the central districts of
Australia direct our attention to the questions of rainfall
XX President's Address
and conservation of water. If we gather together the
statistics of rainfall for Australia for all the years in which
records have been made, and plot them graphically, as I
have done in the rainfall maps for the last two years, a very
prominent fact appears—namely, it is only a fringe around
the great continent, deep in some places, narrow in others,
and much serrated in portions—that is blessed with sufficient
rainfall to render successful agriculture possible, while over
a vast central area the average is so small as to make it a
matter of surprise that in such an arid region can be main-
tained vast fiocks of sheep, which return in favourable
seasons enormous wealth in the shape of wool. Now, over
the regions Iam speaking of the average fall is from 10 in.
to 5in. per annum. This seems to be the maximum that
can be expected in the most favourable years, and it is now
well known that favourable years are the fewest. It appears
inevitable, therefore, that to avoid disaster and loss flock-
owners should not be tempted by a year or two, when the
rainfall has not only been near the maximum, but also well
timed, to increase their flocks beyond their power of main-
tenance in the drier years which are always found to follow.
If we examine the rainfall map we find that between these
comparatively arid central regions and the coastal fringe of
bountiful rainfall lies an area, in some measure parallel to
the coast line, but whose inland margin is very irregular
(owing to the physical features of the country), which is
shaded to represent an annual fall of from 15 in. to 20 in.
This margin may be assumed to be the limit of our wheat-
growing areas.
M. PASTEURS DISCOVERIES.
It has long been known that certain diseases to which
man is subject rarely attack the same individual twice, and
this is especially the case with small-pox, typhoid fever, and
less markedly with measles, scarlet fever, &c. We are also
familiar with the fact that inoculation with small-pox poison
used to be resorted to with the view of inducing the disease
a
eee
—e
for the year 1884. Xxill
in a mild form, and so purchasing future immunity from the
more severe and dreaded forms of the disease. Inoculation
with small-pox virus gave way to vaccination, which has
now for many years constituted the one great preventive of
the spread of small-pox, and the safeguard of the individual
against proneness to the disease, and especially to its most
virulent forms. The principle of inoculation for inducing
mild types of other diseases has been advocated, and, indeed,
practised, with more or less success, as was the case with
pleuro-pneumonia and anthrax in eattle. Pasteur some
time since made a number of experiments on animals, and
appears to have proved that some infectious diseases,
destructive to fowls, especially chicken-cholera, induced by
inoculation, protected the individual from future attacks of
the same disease. More recently he carried out a series of
analagous experiments with regard to rabies or hydrophobia
in dogs. The results he announced are not only interesting,
but, if borne out by future experience, of the utmost im-
portance; not merely as relating to hydrophobia, but in
connection with the general question of inoculation with
disease poison. The results of Pasteur’s investigations, as
given by himself, are that dogs inoculated with rabies poison
get the disease in a fatal form ; that if a monkey is inoculated
with the virus from a mad dog it contracts the disease, but
in a milder form; if a second monkey is inoculated with
the poison from the first it takes the disease still more
mildly, till after the third removal from the dog through
monkeys the virus becomes so far attenuated as to induce
hydrophobia in a very mild and non-fatal form, and dogs so
inoculated remain protected against the further virulent
poison of a bite from a rabid dog. M, Pasteur states he
found that if instead of monkeys he used rabbits or guinea
pigs for successive inoculations, the virus appeared to be so
intensified, rather than diluted, that dogs inoculated at the
third removal took the disease with greater virulence than
if the poison used had been taken from an ordinary rabid
dog. Should these results be confirmed it opens up a most
(More « no tem eke a, Mme amy
\
pew Senne eee ee ee ene
FS Ly a Te eel ee Re
z= ieee ee ces are —-y
“VV
XX1V Presidents Address
important field of research to the pathologist and physician,
and makes reasonable the hope that we may some day have
the prophylactic principle, so successful as regards vaccina-
tion against small-pox, applicable to other serious contagious
and epidemic diseases.
DISEASE GERMS.
During the last few years the question of disease germs
has occupied the attention of numerous well-known biolo-
gists, microscopists, and others, and we have seen announced
from time to time the discovery that certain forms of micro-
scopic organisms appeared in connection with certain
diseases, and are regarded rather as a cause than an effect. In
nearly every instance these organisms were found to be of
forms known as bacteria, bacilli, and micrococeci, which, in
one or other of their varieties, are said to be of all disease
the accursed germs. It is stated that in anthrax or
splenic fever, and in a peculiar malady known as wool-
sorters’ disease, a special form of bacterium is the delinquent ;
while in diphtheria, cow-pock, and in a disease amongst
fowls known as chicken-cholera, micrococci are the cause ;
and in tuberculosis and leprosy the bacilli are concerned. —
Recently during the cholera outbreak in Europe it was
announced that Professor Koch had discovered a peculiar
comma-shaped bacillus in the alimentary canal of persons
affected with the disease, leading to the inference that these
germs were the cause of cholera. If this be true, it. leads
the way to give successful battle to the disease. But
although the presence of these germs in various forms of
disease has been demonstrated beyond a doubt, the relation
they hold to the diseases themselves has not yet been so
satisfactorily proved. Those minute organisms in some of
their forms are universally present wherever organic change
or decay is going on—and especially where vitality is im-
paired—present in the saliva, in the fur of the tongue, and
about the teeth in healthy persons; indeed, it may be
doubted if they are not always present on every mucous
for the year 1884. XXV
surface exposed to air and chemical change. It is difficult,
therefore, to admit, in our present state of knowledge, that
they are necessarily the cause, or even the carrier, of the
disease which they are always found to accompany. On
the other hand, having regard to the part played by the
yeast plant in producing fermentation, and to the induction
of disease by inoculation, it appears quite possible that these
minute organisms might be carriers, if not germs, of disease.
While, therefore, withholding judgment, we cannot fail to
watch with the greatest interest and admiration the untiring
investigation of Professor Kohn, Professor Koch, Dreschfeld,
Pasteur, and others. In this particular line of research
some of our own members have already essayed inquiry, and
have contributed the results in our last year’s Transactions.
It is an ample field, every advance in which confers a boon
on humanity; and, in concluding, allow me to express the
hope that next year we may find that our Society has con-
tributed substantially to this most important subject—for
questions bearing upon prevention and arrest of disease, on
sanitation, and upon many cognate questions in social
science, are among the most useful and important our Society
can occupy itself with.
.
oa
Z,
oO
=
a
(ES)
<<
M
pe
=
=
Art. L—On the Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria
During Post-Miocene Times.
By G. 8. GRIFFITHS.
[Read 13th March, 1884.]
HAVING had occasion to pay frequent visits to our goldfields,
the boulder washes which accompany many of our alluviums,
especially the richer ones, have always excited my wonder
and curiosity. The heavy boulders of which they are com-
posed are embedded in a matrix of silicious cement, or of
hard clay, and the formation is found in strips and sheets,
flooring our leads and valleys, capping our hills, and terracing
our mountains; and they sometimes stream across country,
traversing the gullies and ranges, regardless of the levels or
of the drainage lines.
These conglomerates are generally believed to be the
remnants of ancient and deserted river beds. We are told
that the streams which deposited them have since shrunk
into trickling rivulets, and that, meanwhile, their courses
have shifted from time to time, until, at last, they for ever
left their old beds, although we now know, on the best
authority, that the river system of a country is even more
ancient, more permanent, more indelible, than its mountain
system (“Rivers and River Gorges,” A. Geikie, in Eng. Lil.
Mag., Jan., 1884). That as they shifted about they left
behind them, as well as above, these ancient, stone-paved
beds, winding about aimlessly and crossing older tracks,
until the geological map which records them is covered
with a network of lines. We are told, also, that the
denudation which this country has undergone is very great
in amount, and that it has entirely changed the aspect of
hill and vale, so much so that we find, here and there, old
river beds running along the backs of spurs, as is the case at
Cobungra.
This explanation, although it contains many truths, does
not seem, to me, to be entirely satisfactory ; and the more
carefully I examine the boulder washes the less do I feel .
disposed to acquiesce in it. ;
The facts which are not explained by the fluvial theory,
may be briefly stated. : ;
B
———————— ee le CC TCU = 7 ioe
*
2 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria
In the first place, the observer is struck by the frequency
with which washes containing huge boulders occur close to.
the sources of small rivulets. These insignificant gutters of
intermittent flow are quite inadequate in power to carve out
this drift. A stream of water with some volume is required
for the purpose. To get a stream a watershed is necessary,
but the gathering ground of some of the gullies which contain
these boulders in abundance is insignificant. Thus, the
water-power required is not only wanting, but, to all appear-
ance, always has been. This is not merely my own
individual opinion, but it is one which has been expressed
strongly by many geologists.
On a col. between Mounts Lookout and Taylor, in Gipps-
land, Mr. A. W. Howitt reports a wash of boulders and rolled
gravel (Smyth’s Goldfields, p. 123). On this saddle there is
no stream, and no watershed to feed one; even the surface
runnels cannot unite until they reach the lower ground,
where the hill flanks gather themselves up into folds and
troughs. Nor can it be shown that where the saddle now
stands:a watershed ever has served it, and has since been
removed by erosion. The only effect of erosion is that the
saddle has been lowered. In what manner, then, has flowing
water cut out and laid down this boulder bed ?
We find similar deposits placed high up the flanks of the
Warrenheip Range, 1750 feet above the sea level. . The
boulders are of immense size, and the wash has been traced
along the valley for miles. It once filled up the whole
depression, but now only remnants fringe the sides
(Murray’s Rep. Ballarat Geo. Survey, Vict., p. 66).
At Creswick, on two hills, there is a deposit which varies
in thickness between 4 and 60 feet. It occurs at an elevation
of 1400 feet, and consists of brown clay, quartz, gravel,
pebbles, and boulders. Some of the latter are as much as
four feet in diameter, and weigh over a ton. The age of this
deposit is lower pliocene (Lock’s Gold, p. 931).
Krausé describes a drift near Ararat, at 1100 feet above the
sea level, which is a mixture of clay, gravel, and angular
boulders, and which is occasionally 100 feet thick. In his
report he points out that these large boulders are found at
the very sources of the leads, where little or no fluvial action
can have taken place (Gold, p. 650).
Without multiplying such instances any further, I will
quote to you an opinion expressed many years ago by
Selwyn, who wrote as follows:—“ The wide spread of the
During Post-Miocene Times. 7 3
formation over hill, plain, and valley, its uniform character,
and the peculiar rounded and water-worn nature of much of
the material composing it, are features that appear to require
for their production some cause having a much more
extended, uniform, and powerful action than can well be
ascribed to river floods” (Selwyn’s Notes on Vict., p. 25).
Similar opinions have been expressed by Murray (Geo. Sur.
Rep., p. 68), Krausé (Gold, p. 650), Brough Smyth (Goldfields,
p. 154), Howitt, and others.
When we reflect upon the transport power of running
water, as it is exemplified around us, we must feel still more
dubious of the fluvial origin of these drifts. If we turn to
the well-observed rivers of Great Britain, we find that three
miles an hour is the maximum speed of the Thames, the
Clyde, and the Tay, and that one and a half miles per hour
is a moderately swift current (Stevenson on Reclamation, p.
18). Further, we see that a velocity of one and a third
miles per hour will transport pebbles one inch in diameter, and
one of two miles per hour pushes along the bottom slippery
stones of the size of an egg. Now, as three miles is the
maximum speed of any British river, and as a two-mile
eurrent cannot propel stones larger than an egg, no British
river could transport such boulders as encumber our drifts.
And as there are no Victorian rivers which exceed the
swiftest British rivers—the Tay, for instance—in the strength
and speed of their currents, these boulders must, in an equal
degree, be beyond their powers also. But if we suppose
that the Victorian rivers were, in late tertiary times, much
larger and swifter, so as to equal the swiftest known streams,
would they even then be able to create these conglomerates ?
I think not; for whatever speed our rivers may have had
down to the foot-hills, they could not have run swiftly across
the flat plains, and these deposits are found far out upon
them, as far away as the Murray banks at the Campaspe, and
even out on the Darling. These vast plains have at the out-
side a slope of two feet in the mile, and the Murray, between
Albury and Echuca, falls less than one foot (B. Smyth’s Geld-
Jields, p. 206). What evidence have we that such a small
incline could endow a river with the power to transport,
however slowly, these heavy conglomerates for long distances
across wide plains? Absolutely none that I can discover,
If we turn to mountain torrents as an efficient cause, we
find that they may have for short distances, and during brief
periods, a speed of from 18 to 20 miles per hour (Geikie’s
B2
+ Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria
Text Book, p. 363), and that they are the most powerful
fluvial agents known. But they lose their power when they
leave the mountain side, so that their agency will not avail
us to explain the occurrence of boulder deposits out on the
distant plain, or far down gentle valleys.
Nevertheless, as many of our conglomerates occur
amongst the hills, we will see what may be the precise
nature of torrential action.
On the coast of the Mediterranean, between Toulon and
Genoa, the Alps rise almost sheer from the beach, and a
number of streams descend through steep mountain gorges
and plunge intothe sea. Tor eight months in the year their
beds are dry, and during four months the snow waters come
down in tumultuous torrents, spreading out fanwise directly
they reach the mountain foot. No water-power of greater
force per volume than these streams show is known; and
yet, with all their force they are unable to keep open their
own channels. As the flood widens out on the short, flat
coast-strip, it weakens and drops its load. All that enters
the ocean is sand and mud, with some lime in solution. A
mass of shingle lines the strand.
Every year, after the snow waters have ceased to flow,
the Governments of France and Italy have to spend much
money to clear the coast road of the bouldery rubbish which
these torrents leave behind them. Thesame phenomena are
repeated wherever mountain streams reach the level lands
below, for the boulders come to rest directly the torrential
character is lost (Lyell’s Prin., Vol. L, p. 491). Therefore,
if our conglomerates were the product of torrents, they
~ would occur in fan-shaped deposits of limited extent, which
is certainly not the case; for, on the contrary, our boulders
stragele all over the country in irregular streaks, sometimes
fifty miles long.
If we can suppose the above objections to the fluvial
origin of the boulders to be explained away satisfactorily,
there yet remains another difficulty in the way of its
acceptance. This lies in the fact that the violent nature
of this mode of transport is such that the boulders would
be ground down into gravel, sand, and mud long before they
couid reach the distant points at which we find them. Pro-
fessor Geikie states that granite blocks lose 40 per cent. of
their bulk by the time they have travelled the first fifteen
miles, although the rate of wear is less afterwards (Geikie’s
Text Book, p. 372). Therefore, if we could suppose the
During Post-Miocene Times. 5
motive power to be available, still the boulders would be
reduced to pebbles while they were in the act of being con-
veyed between the ranges and the Murray. And yet great
boulders, which must have travelled long distances, abound
in the Murray bed, at the Campaspe junction, and else-
where (Hodgkinson “On the Geology of the Inter-Mitta-
Mitta and Campaspe,’ #. S. 7’, Vol. 1).
Surely their wide distribution requires some other agency
than that of flowing water. If, knowing as we do that the
sea covered these plains not long since, we seek it in the
ocean, we still fail to find any evidence that its waters could
have formed these deposits. The transport power of the
ocean is very limited. Where very strong currents prevail
strips of boulders occasionally line the strand, but they
never move seawards, and only during storms do they travel
along the coast at all. Ifa sea margin is encroaching on the
land these deposits are in time left out at sea, and in this
manner they may acquire a travelled appearance. But they
lose their size, as they pass through the surf, by getting
ground down. When Darwin found Patagonia buried under
a superficial stratum of such materials, he at first imagined
that the boulders might be products of the ocean, and he
tested the neighbouring seas to ascertain if they were simi-
larly boulder-strewn. Careful soundings showed him that
the boulders were always ground into pebbles before they
left the surf. At a distance from the shore of three miles
they were never larger than a walnut; at seven miles there
were none larger than a filbert, and at twenty-two miles out
they had been reduced to a coarse sand, the grains of which
were not larger than one-tenth of an inch in diameter. And
he found that throughout this width of littoral the diminu-
tion in size of the stones was gradual (Geological Notes on
South America, p. 16). We may therefore dismiss the
ocean from our minds, as far as this deposit is concerned.
Upon a review of all the circumstances, it appears to me
that the sculpture and distribution of boulders is not, in the
main, due to water-power, and Iam acquainted with only one
agency which is capable of doing the work, and that is ice.
The power of ice is unquestionable. Frost breaks up
rock surfaces rapidly, and wedges off masses. The surface
ice of frozen streams destroys the river sides. Ground ice,
or anchor ice, as it is sometimes called, envelopes the
boulders and gravel of the stream bed, lifting them up, and
floating them along with the current. In this manner
6 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria
streams may rapidly transport material that the current,.
unaided, could never stir. Glaciers carve into the moun-
tains, and scoop valleys and lakes out of stony plains. They
level hills, and fill up valleys with the spoil. They carry
débris as far as they go, and then drop it in huge mounds;
or, if they are situated on a water edge, they transfer it to
bergs and floes, which distribute it still more widely. Asa
transporting agency, ice is the most powerful known. In
the present age its potency is restricted by the moderate.
climatic conditions prevailing. But there have been periods
when very different conditions held sway, and this agent
was then free to operate upon a grander scale, and over vast:
regions of the earth now outside its influences. The zones,
now temperate, show land surfaces teeming with the evi-
dence of its vast mechanical powers.
If Victoria has ever had a climate which would supply the
ice required for boulder transport, we ought to find some
evidence of the fact besides simple boulder washes.
The characteristic signs of intense ice action consist in
rock strize, or scratches, more or less parallel ; in glacial lake
basins, in rounded rock surfaces, and hills of flowing out-
line; in the débris, the litter, the refuse of their work,,.
strewed sometimes in heaps, and at other times spread out
in sheets of clay, sand,and rock fragments. Lastly, we have
the loéss, or loamy secondary product—the sifted-out grind-
ings of the icemill, washed out of the coarser stuff by the
snow waters, and swept down the slopes in muddy torrents
to be dropped quietly in the still reaches of the flooded
plains, and in the shallow sea margins, as a mantle of fertile.
alluvium. |
Let us now see whether any such traces of glacial action:
—which can be assigned to post-miocene times—have been
discovered in Victoria.
I will preface the evidence I shali produce by admitting
that the indications, if viewed separately, are ambiguous; but
if they are regarded all together they show such a converg-
ing trend upon the part of a large number of small facts
that they carry conviction; for they all, to my mind, point
toward a period of great climatic extremes not far remote
in a geological sense.
Taking rock markings first, their occurrence here has been.
questioned by many. I do not claim to have seen any
myself, but Mr. Wm. Lee, a practical miner of experience,
assures me that he has seen ice striations near Wilson’s
During Post-Miocene Times. 7
Promontory. The Rev. W. B. Clark reports ice markings
on the mountains of New South Wales, and the Rev.
Julian Woods, in his Geological Observations wu South
Australia, writes (p. 20) that “it seemed to him that
there were very distinct marks of snow and action of
glaciers” on the flanks of Mount Lofty, near Adelaide.
Mr. Gavin Scoullar read a paper some time since before the
Adelaide Philosophical Society, in which he describes a ©
boulder drift at Hullett’s Cave which rests upon a well-
striated pavement of rock (P. 8S. T7., 1877-79, p. 65).
Professor Tait, in an address to the same society, describes
smooth, striated, grooved rocks in the bed of the Inman,
Cape Jarvis (id., Vol. LXV.). Selwyn had seen these last-
named rocks long before, and he tells us that “ the direction
of the grooves and scratches is east and west, in parallel
lines,” and he adds—“TI do not think they could have been
produced by the action of water. They strongly reminded
me of the similar markings I had so frequently seen in the
mountains of North Wales” (Selwyn’s Notes on South
Australia, p. 4). |
Professor Tait also describes smoothed, grooved, striated
rock surfaces, and morainic débris of angular blocks of red
granite, gneiss, hornblende, and quartz, at Black Point,
Holdfast Bay ; and he points out the circumstance that the
nearest source from which these rocks could have been
obtained is thirty-five miles distant. All these South Aus-
tralian indications of ice are said to be of pliocene age (id.,
Vol. LXIV.).
IT am not aware of the occurrence of any other examples
of rock strize, within South-eastern Australia, of post-tertiary
date. There are others to be found, as those of the Leder-
derg, but they are believed to be of miocene age.
The scarcity of such evidence is accounted for easily in.
several ways. For instance, rocks differ in their capacity to
retain markings. Limestone, serpentine, and clay ironstones
polish well, and preserve their striz long, while sandstones.
streak faintly and weather quickly. All the softer rocks,
and those which are highly jointed, break up rather than
polish (Great Ice Age, pp. 16-21). Further, those which
are impregnated with salts decay quickly. Now, our
silurian slates, sandstones, and shales are loaded with iron
oxides, and are upedged; while our recent marine sandstones
abound in the chlorides of magnesia and soda. ‘Therefore
our rocks are to a large extent ill-suited either to receive or
eae
8 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch mm Victoria
to retain ice scratches. Most persons must have been struck
by the rapidity with which the finer chisel marks upon the
stone faces of our.public buildings and the lettering of our
monuments and tombstones have lost their sharpness of out-
line, for, short as is the time during which they have been
exposed to the weather, they have begun to decay. But
even the hardest rocks will lose their markings if they are
not covered in some way; and in a newly-settled country
any marks so overspread as to be preserved might long
lie concealed. Again, thin ice does not leave behind it
striz, moraines, or till. Such are the products of massive ice
alone, and to nourish such high land is required. Now, Vic-
toria has not a large area of mountain land; the scope of such
ice action would be restricted to its neighbourhood, and there
would be but little use in searching for its traces over the
lower and larger area. Frigid as is Siberia’s climate, its
flatness is such that she cannot show any of the deeper
traces of glaciation, and yet snow and ice cover the country
during large portions of the year (Great Ice Age, p. 555).
Near the Rocky Mountains of North America there is a
large patch of country quite bare of such traces, while all
around it they abound (Geikie’s Text Book, p. 899). This
absence is due to some local peculiarity, and not to the non-
occurrence of a glacial climate, and therefore the absence
of such evidences is not conclusive as against the occurrence
of a giacial climate. Bearing all the circumstances to which
we have adverted in mind, we ought not to wonder at rock
striz being scarce, but rather we might feel surprised that
any should have been preserved.
We have, in the next place, to look for any ice-scooped
lake basins, which are only strize on a larger and deeper
scale. These, also, are infrequent here.
Lake Omeo seems to be fairly identifiable as one. It
occurs on a rocky plateau 3000 feet above the sea level, and
is three and a half miles long by one and a half broad. It
has no outlet, and appears to have been hollowed out of the
rock. Iunderstand that Mr. A. W. Howitt attributes several
other lakelets in this district to ice action.
Several of the Tasmanian lakes are of glacial origin,
having been ice-dug out of solid stone. Such an one is the
Great Lake, twelve miles long, and Lake St. Clair, ten miles
long (Wallace’s Australia, p. 242).
When considering the existence amongst our hills of
glacial lakes, we must remember that glaciers fill up, as well
During Post-Miocene Times. 8
as scoop out, these rock basins, and that they often leave
finally a plain of deep alluvium to replace a rocky floor
removed. Lake basins thus obliterated are hard to identify,
and may be overlooked easily. Some such levelled-up moun-
tain tarns are known to exist here. Mr. J. Stirling has
recently described one in a paper contributed to this Society
entitled the “ Physical Features of the Australian Alps.” In
it he writes thus :—“Occupying the valley of the Living-
stone Creek since the lower silurian rocks became metamor-
phosed into the present crystalline schists were a series of
ancient lakes or tarns, into which, by the breaking up of the
ancient lava flows, masses of igneous boulders became
deposited. Subsequently the gradual wearing down of the
metamorphic schists, with their associated auriferous quartz
veins, filled up these ancient lake beds with a deposit of
boulders and auriferous gravels. Ultimately the Livingstone
Creek . . . eroded a channel along its margin, leaving
the deposited gravels, with their underlying false bottom of
igneous boulders, literally high and dry above the bed of the
latter stream” (Rh. S. 7., 1882, p. 106). Now, there can be
but little doubt that it was the glacier which scooped out
this lakelet, and also broke up the débris with which it is
filled. As the ice melted a watery flood swept down the
glacier rubbish from above, and levelled it to the brim.
Then the surplus débris passed on to fill up other pools lower
down. The mountain creek which succeeded to the glacier
eventually cut through the formation and revealed the story.
Brough Smyth records that there are amongst the Gipps-
land hills many level tracts of alluvium, from 200 to 300
acres in extent, surrounded by precipitous rocks and situated
at the junction of streams. I think that these will eventually
prove to be similar filled-up tarns of glacial origin (B.
Smyth's Goldfields, p. 12).
In the watershed of the Ovens there are hollows in the
granite, now filled up with sedimentary strata, which may
also be numbered amongst the traces of ice erosion in Vic-
toria (B. Smyth’s Goldfields, p. 83). |
If we step down from the mountains we shall see that
our miners have discovered, beneath the smooth wide plains
and the softly swelling rises which diversify them, an
ancient land surface of very different contour. This con-
cealed earth-surface is composed of bare silurian rock, which
has been sculptured by natural agents until it is ribbed and
guttered like the fluted face of an old clay cutting, but with
10 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch wm Victoria
this great difference, that cuttings are generally steep enough
to create the waterflow required to carve them, whereas the
plains we have in view are inclined at very low angles, and
therefore are traversed only by sluggish streams. The cor-
rugations of this rocky surface are masked by an accumula-
tion of clay, sand, gravel, and boulders, and in part by inter-
calated lava flows. These gutters trend from the Dividing
Ranges at a broad angle, those to the north dipping under the
Murray at a depth of from 300 to 400 feet from the present
surface, and those to the south disappearing beneath the
recent alluviumswhich swathe the foot-hills(G.S. V., Vol. VIL,
pp. 80,81). These gutters are the “leads” of the miner; and
our present interest in them lies in discovering the means
which eroded them. Our choice of agencies lies between water
and ice, and if we incline towards the latter it is because we
see that these leads traverse country which has but a slight
fall, and because we see that they have been filled up by
the “spoil” characteristic of ice action. I believe that it was
theice plough first, and flowing ice-water last, which furrowed
them and then filled them up.
The next product of glaciation which I shall point out to
you is the smooth-swelling rock surface which tells of mas-
sive ice moving slowly across the country and planing down
all prominences into flowing outlines. Such contours we
have on a large scale—undulating, rounded hills,—a constant
feature of all Victorian landscapes ; but of the minor form
—the roche moutonnée—we have no example that I can hear
of in Victoria. We have to visit South Australia to secure
the missing link. Professor Tait has described the occur-
rence of dome-shaped rocks at Kaizerstiihl and Crafers,
two localities in that colony (P. S. T., Vol. LXIV.).
We therefore come to the last feature of glaciation—to
the rubbish which has been planed and ground off; to the
clays, the sand-drifts, the gravel beds ; to the cemented con-
glomerates and the loose boulders.
All these we have in abundance, filling up the hollows,
crowning the rises, terracing the mountains, and sometimes,
capped with basalt, standing out on the open plains all alone,
solitary outhers, the remnants and measure of eroded
plateaux.
Before we describe the alluviums in detail it will be a
guide to us, in discussing their origin, if we remember the
characteristics of well-attested ice ~débris in Europe and
_ America.
During Post-Miocene Times. 1k
Jas. Geikie in his work, The Great Ice Age, speaks of
them as consisting of sheets of “sand, gravel, and wide-
spread deposits of clay” (p. 4); also, as “a stiff sandy and
stony clay, varying in colour and composition, according to
the character of the rocks of the district in which it hes.
It is full of water-worn stones of all sizes, up to blocks.
weighing several tons” (A. Geikie’s Text Book, p. 161).
Let us compare these descriptions with the following :—
Mr. R. H. Stone, mining surveyor, writes as follows of
certain deposits in the Ovens :—“'The bed-rock is very
uneven, consisting principally of soft yellow sandstone with
veins of slate intermixed, and occasional bands of hard blue
stone (metamorphosed slate). . . . The auriferous drift
consists of heavy water-worn gravel and sandstone boulders,
slightly intermixed with quartz, and having here and there
layers of ironstone cement. In some places there are enormous
boulders of bluestone rock, sometimes weighing many tons.
The drift is from 3 to 50 feet in depth, and is covered with
red loam. . . . Some portions of the drift are very hard
and difficult to work, and others so loose as scarcely to
require the use of the pick” (B. Smyth’s Goldfields, p. 84).
The following example occurs in the Buninyong Estate.
Claim, near Ballarat, which is thus described -—‘“‘ From No,
8 shaft the drive at 410 feet suddenly entered a mixed mass
of clay, angular fragments of silurian, from a small size up.
to several feet in diameter, anoular quartz, and dense blocks
of exceedingly dense lava, piled one on another, or isolated.
through the mass. . . . A few isolated nests of gravel
were encountered” (Lock’s Gold, p. €73).
Mr. O'Farrell, chairman of the Maryborough Mining
Board, reports that on a hill two and a half miles from
that town the depth of sinking was from 16 to 24 feet,
“through hard cement mixed with large white boulders ;’
and also “that at Majorca the sinking was 85 feet, through
stiff clay, gravel, and cement. The washdirt was white
_ gravel intermixed with white boulders” (B. Smyth’s Gold-
Jelds, pp. 97, 98). Similar examples are so numerous that the
only difficulty has been to decide which to select.
To show how widely this deposit is distributed, I will give
three other instances. On the Wimmera, near the edge of
the mallee country, the wells pass through marly clay, sand,
shells, gravel, and boulders, and then bottom on a rotten
granite. At Kiandra, in New South Wales, the sinking shows
the following strata:—Surface soil with floating boulders of
|
:
'
Ki
i
'
:
/
12 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch im Victoria
basalt and large blocks of cement, 7 feet; clay, 20 feet;
lignite, 18 feet; sand, 3 feet; fine drift, 65 feet; coarse
drift, with big boulders of quartz, jasper, and ironstone, and
containing gold, 6 feet—total depth, 119 feet (Gold, p. 510).
At the Field River, in South Australia, there is a deposit
of clay and rough blocks of stone piled up indiscriminately
CUP: 8, Vol. 2X3):
At Gnomery, beyond the Darling, and Fort Burke a well
has recently been sunk 192 feet, through sand, clay, and silt.
At the depth mentioned a layer of granite boulders and
pebbles was encountered.
These deposits answer closely to the typical till of the Old
World; but if we examine the great bulk of our alluviums
we shall notice in them only a general resemblance. We dis-
cover similar materials, but they are more assorted and stra-
tified. Our deposits are those of till which has been re-
arranged. Massive ice first turned the glacial drift out of its
grinding mill; then melting mountain ice, in torrents, tum-
bling from level to level, stripped the till from hill flank and
valley side, swept it into the still reaches of the flooded low-
lands, and thence carried it out into the shallow sea which
occupied allthe plains. In these quiet. waters the materials
were roughly assorted and spread out. In this operation
the pre-existing features of the country were completely
obliterated by the débris shot upon them.
Geologists have described similar operations in other
countries. James Geikie, in his work, The Great Ice Age,
remarks that “the disappearance of a mer de glace was
doubtless accompanied by excessive floods ;” and further, that
“we might expect to meet with evidences of such floods in
the presence of more or less tumultuous accumulations of
gravel, shingle, and boulders. . . . This drift sweeps
up and over considerable hills, and occurs on the tops of
plateaux and on the dividing ridges of separate river basins.
That the drift is not now more continuous is due to
subsequent erosion” (pp. 264, 265).
As an illustration of the water-power set free during the
decline of a glacial period, the same author records that,
while America was passing through that ordeal, the ice-waters
augmented the Mississippi until its average width was
seventy-five miles where it is now a bare half-mile broad
(id., p. 475, and Lyell’s Principles, Vol. I. p., 441). |
To return to our own formations, we must not imagine
that when once these leads were buried out of sight they
During Post-Miccene Times. 13
remained forever undisturbed. On the contrary, they have
been scooped out and refilled repeatedLy.
Captain Couchman describes some hills at Fryer’s Creek
as being covered in a “most erratic manner by a gravelly
wash, which is as plentiful on the tops and flanks of the
hills as on the floor of the gullies” (B. Smyth’s Goldfields,
p. 158). A.W. Howitt reports gravel beds which occur upon
the Delegete at from 500 to 600 feet above the river (B.
Smyth’s Goldjields, p. 118), and also drifts of rounded quartz
between the Clifton and Nicholson. “These not only cover
the hills as surface, or form beds in the stream, but also, in
places, constitute ‘made’ hills’ (Gold, p. 681).
Ainsworth (mining surveyor) gives a description of a
drift of slate and granite boulders and clay on the Never-
mind Spur, Wood's Point, at an altitude of 1200 feet (B.
Smyth’s Goldjields, p. 87); and Hodgkinson, in a paper “On
the Inter-Mitta and Campaspe Geology,” mentions the
occurrence of recent alluviums of water-worn schist, quartz,
and slate on granite hills near the Campaspe mouth, which
drifts, he says, ‘‘are not only at a considerable elevation,
but must have been brought from very far-distant sources”
(heh: Ins. 2, Vol: .VE:).
Krausé reports similar deposits of clder pliocene date on
hills near Stawell (Lock’s Gold, p. 651).
From the condition of these alluviums, we can picture a
time when the sea was receding from till-covered plains. As
it withdrew the land surfaces became veined with creeks and
rivers. These, as they wound down the gentle slopes, slowly
scoured out the soft materials until, in time, gravel-capped
ridges separated the several watersheds.
Meteoric conditions approximating more and more closely
to those of this age then succeeded, and must have held sway
for a long period, perhaps 80,000 years (Croll, C. and T,, p.
325). Ordinary fluvial action has, therefore, been the
last and longest modeller of the suriace. It has given
the finishing touches, and, of necessity, all the super-
ficial appearances indicate the sculpture of flowing water.
The scour of the stream has dimmed the traces of all prior
agencies ; butif by the aid of experience gathered from other
countries which have been glaciated we can look through
the lighter outlines sketched on the rocks and sediments by.
aqueous action, we shall discern beneath them the touch of
the heavier hand and the sharper chisel of frost and ice
and snow.
(er ee ea a Sdn in, Ne ty A et ee
i4 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria
Therefore we are stimulated to inquire whether the sister
sciences can throw any side-lights upon the problem of the
post-miocene glaciation of Victoria.
It appears to me that very valuable aid is available from
these sources.
II,
Recent investigations have established the fact that the
earth’s climate, so uniform in character within historical
times, varies very considerably if we take long periods into
account. The climate known to man has been shown to be
a mean between two extremes of heat and cold which have
prevailed during previous epochs.
Dr. Croll has investigated the subject very fully, and the
conclusions which he has formed have been accepted by such
men as Archibald Geikie, the Inspector-General of the
Geological Survey of Great Britain, and by Sir William
Thomson.
He has shown that the earth’s climate at any period
‘depends upon a complex arrangement of circumstances.
It is, of course, in the first place, dependent upon the amount
of heat sent to it by the sun; but the effect of this, or its
amount at any particular time, is modified by the form of
the earth’s orbit at that time, by the position of the earth in
that orbit, by the precession of the equinoxes, the obliquity
of the ecliptic, and greatly by the distribution of snow and
cloud on either hemisphere. All-these conditions are incon-
‘stant, although they change but slowly. And as their rates
of alteration vary they sometimes coincide and augment
their effects, whilst at other times they neutralise each
other’s influence more or less.
The earth’s orbit varies from age toage. At this moment
it is losing the elliptic form it had not very long since, geo-
logically speaking, and it is becoming more and more
circular. The limits of its variations are known. Fourteen
million miles is the highest eccentricity to which it attains,
and its lowest is about half a million. At the present
moment its variation from a true circle amounts to three
million miles. The result of this inconstancy is that the
seasons, apparently so equally distributed throughout the
year, are variable in length from epoch to epoch. The
present eccentricity gives to us in the Southern Hemisphere
a summer half-year seven days shorter than our winter
half-year; but there have been periods when the difference
During Post-Miocene Times, 15
amounted to thirty-six days, and, on the other hand, times
when the difference was only forty-eight hours.
Indirectly the temperature of the earth is greatly affected
by these variations in the length of the seasons; and when
the winter of either hemisphere is prolonged by thirty-six
days the earth absorbs less heat than it does now by one-
fifth part (Croll, C. and T., p. 56). Whenever the orbit
attains to a high degree of eccentricity the climate of one
hemisphere becomes intensely cold, while the other grows
hot, moist, and winterless. The one which cools down is
the one which has wintered in aphelion; it finds itself
furthest from the sun just when it most needs its warmth.
The other hemisphere enters on its warm season as it is
approaching the sun, and it is heated up excessively in
consequence.
Owing to the effects of precession, each hemisphere
exchanges places and climates with the other about every
10,500 years, so that this period is the term during which
either hemisphere can experience extreme heator extreme cold.
But the orbital eccentricity may last many times longer,
and while it lasts the earth’s climate will be marked by
remarkable oscillations of temperatures between the two
hemispheres.
The last epoch of high eccentricity commenced 240,000
years ago, and, having lasted about 160,000 years, came to
a close 80,000 years since (Croll, C. and T., p. 325). During
this epoch each hemisphere .experienced about seven
oscillations of climate, passing through seven glacial and
seven sultry periods. The winter of one hemisphere was
always between eighteen and twenty-six days longer than
its summer, while the other hemisphere had its summers
from eighteen to twenty-six days longer than its winters.
In consequence of this the temperature of the cold hemi-
sphere was lowered from 29.5° to 37.7° F. below the present
winter temperature (C. and T., p. 320).
But the full effect of these changes was attained indirectly.
The long warm period in one hemisphere caused its polar
ice-cap to disappear after a time, and as it melted off one pole
it accumulated around the other. Thus the earth’s centre
of gravity became disturbed ; it shifted towards the loaded
pole, and, as it moved, it drew after it the fluids of the globe—
the sea, the plastic nucleus, if there be one, and perhaps the
atmosphere. As the ocean readjusted itself to the new
centre, by heaping up its waters around it, the low lands of
16 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria
that half of the globe were swamped, whilst the sea drained
off the shallower littoral of the other, converting large areas.
of sea bottom into dry land.
Dr. Croll goes further, and taking the present rate of
sub-aerial denudation as a measure of time, shows that there
are excellent grounds for believing that the period of
eccentricity just referred to corresponds with the last glacial
epoch in the Northern Hemisphere, which occurred towards
the close of the tertiary and the commencement of the
quaternary periods, that is to say, during post-miocene
times.
But if the Northern Hemisphere passed through a glacial
period about that time, the Southern cannot have escaped ;
and the only question to be discussed to-night is whether
Victoria was or was not within the range of its rigours.
Now, geologists have determined the range of glaciation
in the Northern Hemisphere so well, that their conclusions
will afford us great help in ascertaining the range of
glaciation here.
Croll and others find that the polar ice-cap must have been
two and a half miles thick at the least, and that it was
probably vastly more, perhaps as much as twelve miles
(C. and T., pp. 377-81); that the ice was two and a half miles
thick in Canada,and 2000 feetdeep overScotland (C_and T., p.
452). One vast ice-sheet covered all Kurope down to the lati-
tude of the Thames; while far southward of 52 degs. N. lati-
tude every mountain had its glacier system. The equatorial
margin of this ice-cap was as irregular as an isothermal line
on achart, and in places it overlapped latitudes corresponding
to that of Melbourne (Great Ice Age,p.457). Therefore, there
is nothing unlikely, in itself, in the statement that Victoria
has been glaciated ; and its probability is increased when we
remember that ail the lower lands of Australia must then
have been submerged, whereby the northern interior, which
now serves as a warming pan to our atmosphere, was
exchanged for cool sea-water; that the north-westanti-trades
would then be stronger and moister, and the south-west
Antarctic Ocean drift would then be stronger and colder ; that
then every zone of temperature must have been shifted
equatorward at least 10 devs. so that the wet west winds
which now circulate below 40° S., and which feed the
glaciers of New Zealand and Patagonia, would then blow
up to 30°8., soaking with rain or mantling with snow the
islands of Australia. For then Australia, partially sub-
During Post-Miocene Times. 17
merged by the ocean rise, was an island, shaped like a jack-
boot, with the Darling Downs for its uppers, the Howe for
its heel, the Grampians for its toe, and the Adelaide ranges
for its Sicily; while its long rocky length lay north and
south, right athwart the course of the chilly, moisture-
bearing winds.
In the other hemisphere the edge of permanent ice moved
down from 77° N. to 50° N., or an advance of 27 degs. If
a similar advance was made in this hemisphere the ice
barrier must have been in 43° S., which is the latitude of
Hobart. Nor is there anything extraordinary in this
supposition, for New Zealand has even now, in the same
latitude, a glacier which descends within 700 feet of the sea ;
while South America has, in 46° S., glaciers which dip imto
the sea and shed icebergs. If, therefore, the ice-barrier
were then as near to us as 43° S., our coast would have been
cumbered with bergs and floes, and the mountainous island
of Australia must have been as cloaked with ice and snow
as the Georgias are to-day. Australia might not be high
and large enough to nourish a true continental ice-sheet, but
every range would have its confluent glaciers, whose pro-
jecting feet might plough up the shallow foreshore.
According to Croll’s calculations there must have been a
lowering of the temperature, which would vary between
29.5° 8S, and 37.7 E. (C. and T., p. 316). The present mean
temperature of Victoria is 58° F. If we take this as a
standard, and deduct the lower amount, the result will give
us 3° below freezing point as the mean temperature of Vic-
toria during the glacial epoch; and if we make our mean
winter temperature, which is 49°, our standard, then the
temperature would have a mean of 12° below the freezing
point, and that of Sydney would be about 7° below—that is -
to say, the temperature would be that of South Greenland in
winter time. We must not forget that at this time there
was a lofty sandstone plateau of miocene age where our
Dividing Rangenow stands,and that these highlands probably
had an altitude of at least 2000 feet greater than the present
peaks. The glaciers these extensive chilly heights would
breed may have been the main factors in filing down their
even crowns into the existing series of sierras (Howitt,
RS. T., Vol. XVI). The débris of these peaks may. have
supplied the material to build up the sandstone plateaux of »
Central Australia, whose flat surface of cretaceous age was
in those times submerged, and which, it is probable, was
C
Se ee =
ie tt ae intact a Se Se
18 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria
covered with brackish ice-waters of shallow depth, loaded
with sediment, running northwards in strong currents. Let
us see what geological evidence we have to countenance
these theories.
It will be admitted, as a fair inference, I do not doubt,
that if the other lands situate in similar latitudes in this ~
hemisphere can be shown to have passed through a glacial
period about the close of the tertiary period, Victoria
cannot have escaped the same experience.
If, then, we turn to New Zealand, we shall find the
geologists of that colony recording the existence, during the
epoch in question, of glaciers so much greater than the
present ones, that, where the largest to-day does not
exceed from 15 to 18 miles in length, there then was at
least one 112 miles long (V. Haast’s Geo. of Canterbury,
. 385).
. In South Africa we find evidences of a similar climatal
condition. All over British Kaffraria and Natal—that is,
between 28° 8. and 34° §8.—dome-shaped rocks, enor-
mous erratics, unstratified boulder clays, and conglomerate
beds are abundant. There are ice-grooved rocks and boulders,
the latter being found in auriferous leads at the Moonlight
Diggings; and also long, winding kames running up the
valleys (G. S. J. Stow, 1874, pp. 588-658 ; XX VIL, p. 535 ;
and XVIII, p. 8).
It will be noticed that these occur nearer to the equator
than is either Sydney or Bourke.
In South America we find glacial drift at low levels up to
18° 8. and Agassiz reports similar deposits in Brazil.
David Forbes saw deeply furrowed rocks and other charac-
teristic evidence on the Cordilleras within the tropics, and
far below the present snow-line (Gold, p. 216). Darwin saw
immense moraines in Central Chili (Or. Species, p. 335), and
also widespread deposits of boulders, gravel, and clay, up to
1400 feet above the sea level, in the interior of Patagonia
(Geo. Obs. on South America, pp. 10-19), and he assigns
them to pliocene or pleistocene times.
I think that these facts should fairly suffice to establish
the occurrence of a glacial climate throughout the now tem-
perate regions of this hemisphere, and during post-miocene
times. If this be so, it is hard to see why Victoria should
have escaped the same experience ; and I think that we are
entitled to this opinion whether the local evidence is accepted
as sufficient or not.
During Post-Miocene Times. 19
But there is another of the sciences which we can call in
to aid us in fathoming the problem.
If we turn to the natural history of this hemisphere, we
find that the present geographical distribution of plants and
animals absolutely requires a glacial period to account for
its anomalies.
Darwin is emphatic enough on this point. He tells us
that “we must bear in mind the occurrence in both hemi-
spheres of former glacial periods, for these will account for
the many quite distinct species inhabiting the same widely
separated areas, and belonging to genera not now found in
the intermediate torrid zone. . . . In the regular course
of events, the Southern Hemisphere would in its turn be
subjected to a severe glacial period, . . . and then the
southern temperate forms would invade the equatorial low-
lands. The northern forms which had then been left on the
mountains would now descend and mingle with the southern
forms. Thus we would have some few species identically
the same in the northern and southern temperate zones, and
on the mountains of the intermediate tropical regions” (Or.
Species, ch. XII., pp. 339, 340).
When we seek confirmation of these views of Darwin’s,
we find it. Baron von Mueller reports the discovery of
HKuropean species of plants upon our mountains, and Dr.
Hooker points out that certain peculiarly Australian forms
of vegetation now live upon the heights of Malacca, India,
and Japan. further, there are northern forms of fish and
seaweed living upon our coasts, although absent from the
seas which intervene between Australia and the habitat of
the other members of these families.
No naturalist has given more consideration than has
Wallace to the distribution of the flora and fauna of this
quarter of the globe, and his statements are entitled to
attention. If we compare the distribution of our plants, as
he describes its occurrence, with the plan of distribution
which we should expect to succeed to a glacial and sub-
merged period, we must be struck with the remarkable
degree of accord which they present.
‘If our climate be recovering from a glacial period, as we .
believe that it is, then all the temperate zones will be
moving northward toward the equator, the warmer ones in
front, the colder ranked behind. As this occurs the flora
and fauna follow them, keeping slightly in the rear; for
each temperature as it withdraws from a district has to pu
C2 .
20 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria
after it the forms of life pecular to it, and the different
climate which follows on its heels cuts off the laggards and
stragglers before they fall very far in the rear of the main
body. Now, according to Wallace, this process is going on
in Australia. He tells us that our tropic flora is wanting in
several important tropic families, which are, singularly
enough, to be found in our temperate regions. Such are the
Dilleniacee, Inliacece, Polygalee, and many others (Wal-
lace’s Australia, 222). The presence of such tropic forms
in these temperate regions shows that not long since a tropic
climate reigned there, and that it has moved away equator-
ward faster than the vegetation could follow it. The tropic
regions to the north of them, and into which they have not
yet passed, is poor in vegetal life, because it has only recently
emerged from the sea, and the immigrants from the
south, and proper to it, have been slow in coming.
Again, such a submergence as we suppose accompanied
a glacial period would cut Australia into two parts at
least, an east and a west island; and the marked
difference between the eastern and western floras accord
with such a severance. Out of four hundred and fifty
known species of acacia, melaluca, and eucalyptus, not a
single one is common to the two provinces. “The large
genera common to both sides of the continent are,’ says
Wallace, “ wonderfully distinct” (Wallace’s Australia, 46).
Furthermore, as the retiring tide leaves behind it pools
which indicate levels recently attained to, so a retiring tem-
perature leaves in its wake its flotsam and jetsam to attest
its former presence in latitudes now behind it. As the tem-
perature of a locality rises, some of its flora and fauna may
remain, and yet save themselves from extinction by having
access to higher lands. Thus it is that the Antarctic genus
Drimys still lives far up on the lofty heights of New Guinea
(Wallace’s Australia, 444) and of Borneo (ib., 353), after its
congeners have wandered southward some thousands of miles,
and that thirty-eight species of European plants are found
on the mountain peaks of Victoria wherever they rise over
5000 feet in altitude.
Similarly, as the temperature falls, some plants secure.
themselves by retreating to sheltered spots, where they sur-
vive after their neighbcurs have either moved on or been
destroyed. We have such a relic of torrid times in Victoria
in the cabbage-palm, which is found in the warm, moist, and
well-sheltered gullies of Gippsland, although outside of these
-—
During Post-Miocene Times. 21
natural hot-houses it is sought in vain until we reach the
tropics, now its natural home (Wallace’s Australia, p. 130).
How could this heat-loving palm-tree have marched over the
Dividing Ranges into Gippsland, unless a rise in the tem-
peraturé at some earlier period had favoured the passage?
Again, we must call in glacial influences to account for the
disappearance of the huge beasts which tenanted Australia
in bygone times.
Wallace tells us that “we live in a zoologically impover-
ished world, from which all the lar gest, fiercest, and strongest
forms have recently disappeared” (Geo. Dist. P. and A. cp:
150), and he connects this remarkable fact with the refrige-
ration of climate during the glacial period.
Professor Phillips also connects the extinction of the
great carnivora and pachydermata with the same cause,
while Professor A. Geikie takes a similar view (Text Book,
p. 894). It must at once occur to every mind that our great
marsupials died out early in the quaternary epoch, if not
before then. If it was this cold which destroyed the monsters
of the other hemisphere, it was probably the same cause
which destroyed those of this half also. Their extinction
at this particular point of time indicates to us a severe fall
in the temperature of Australia.
The next question we shall have to consider is that of
‘secular oceanic oscillation. As we have already mentioned,
Croll and others believe that the loaded pole of a glacial
period shifts the centre of gravity and pulls around it the
waters of the ocean. Taking his. figures as a basis, an Ant-
arctic ice-cap extending only 55° S. latitude, and having
a slope of only half a degree, would cause the sea level. to
rise 1100 feet at the South Pole, and about 900 feet in the
latitude of Melbourne (Croll, C. and T., p. 389).
Now, any such a rise within the period we are discussing
would leave behind it traces which we could recognise ; and
as a glacial epoch and land submergence are connected
together in nature, the evidence which establishes the occur-
rence of the one may be brought in to support that of the
other.
A rise of 900 feet on the part of the ocean would convert
Australia into a long, narrow, mountainous island, with an
archipelago to the west of it, the former representing
Eastern and the latter Western Australia.
Now, we have in Victoria marine deposits of post-miocene
age up to and over the altitude of 1000 feet.
22 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch wn Victoria
Krausé, in his report upon the Otway Ranges, describes.
extensive marine deposits of pliocene age up to 1200 feet
above the sea (Geo. Sur. Rep., 1874, p. 103); and in another
report he has described horizontal tertiary sea beaches on
the flanks of the Grampians at an altitude of 900 feet (id.,.
p- 124), and another near Ararat at 1100 feet (G. S. £&.,
Oct., 1874).
At Creswick there are pliocene marine deposits at eleva-
tions which vary between 1420 feet and 1720 feet (Lock’s.
Gold, p. 931).
A. W. Howitt has described similar tertiary deposits near
Mount Taylor, at an elevation of about 600 or 700 feet (B.
Smyth’s Goldfields, p. 123).
At Portland we get further evidence. The beach cliffs
are of a kind of pliocene chalk, which is known as Globe-
gerina ooze because it is full of the foraminifera Globegerina
bulloides and Orbulina universa, which do not live in
waters of less depth than 1500 to 1600 feet. They are a well-
determined form of deep-sea life. To expose these deep-sea
beds above water the sea level must have fallen 1500 to 1600
feet within pliocene times, and this amount of alteration in
the relative level of sea and land fairly agrees in degree with
the evidence from the mountains (Woods’ Geo. of Portland,
pp. 14-16).
Again, on the flanks of Tower Hill, near ‘Warrnambool, a
well was sunk 123 feet. The first 63 feet was through vol-
canic ash, and the last 60 feet was through clay. At this
depth the skeleton of a dingo was found. The dingo is
believed to have been introduced to Australia by man; and
in any case it isa late introduction. Yet after it died the
ocean covered that part of the country, and had time to.
deposit many feet of sediment before it retired (Q. J. G.S.,.
1857, p. 227).
The Rev. Julian Woods has described a tertiary marine
limestone on Tapley’s Hill, near Adelaide, which occurs
1000 feet above sea level ; and another observer, in a paper
contributed to the Adelaide Philosophical Society (A. P.S. J...
1877-9), states that there are traces of Sue to 800
feet in late tertiary times.
Western Australia has risen above the waves since the
plocene era closed, but I cannot ascertain that any measure-
ments have been recorded.
As to New Zealand, Hutton declares himself strongly con-
vinced that the Canterbury Plains, now 1700 feet above the.
During Post-Miocene Times. 23
beach, were under the sea at the commencement of the
pleistocene period (Geo. Sur., N.Z., 1873-4, p. 58); and,
although Dr. von Haast disputes this conclusion, it har-
monises with the other evidence. Besides this, the latter
geologist admits that New Zealand was submerged to a con-
siderable depth during pliocene times (Geo. of Canterbury,
. 373).
‘ From South Africa we learn that pliocene shells are found
in deposits high above the sea level throughout Kaffraria,
but the exact height is not given (Stow, Q. J. G. S., XXVIL,,
. 544),
i Pe to South America, we find that on the east coast,
from Cape Horn up to 33° S. latitude, there are old sea
margins at seven different heights, the highest being 1400
feet above sea level, and these are of pliocene or later age.
Darwin is of opinion that during this period this part of the
country was an archipelago, a conclusion strangely similar
to that which we have already arrived at concerning Aus-
tralia at about the same time (Geo. Notes S. Am., p. 10).
On the west coast there are margins up to considerable
elevations; but their evidence is unreliable owing to the
voleanic disturbances on that coast which have interfered
with the levels. 3
This is the evidence that I have to offer in favour of the
view that within post-miocene times Victoria has been dipped
beneath the waves. The exact depth to which she sank it
is difficult to fix, for there have been several rises of
the sea, and each should have left its mark. As it
is unlikely that any two were alike in height, and
as most of the traces have disappeared, those remaining
probably represent the relics of not one, but of several
rises. And further than this, there are slow earth move-
ments which ought to be taken into account, if they
can be ascertained, when we endeavour to fix the exact
amount of alteration in the levels. The broad fact remains,
however, that the geological evidence fits still further into
that drawn from so many other sources, and it points to a
general submergence of the land throughout the latitudes
south of 33° 8.
The last evidence that I shall submit to you is that of the
seven or eight warm periods which were intercalated between
the seven or eight cold ones which occurred during the last
epoch of high eccentricity. We saw that each of these
periods had a length of a little over ten thousand years. The
a
24, Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria
cold periods have left behind them many inorganic traces of
their occurrence. The warm, interglacial periods, however,
produced a luxuriant growth of vegetation, and the remains
of this are fairly plentiful.
Thus, there are the fossils of the Haddon lead, which
Mueller declares to be indicative of a hot, humid, equable
climate during the newer-older pliocene period, and these
are closely adjacent to a deep boulder bed, indicative of
glacial times, the proximity of which tells us of a quick
succession of climatic changes.
At the mouth of the Cumberland Cr eek, near the Otway,
there is a lignite deposit, the product of warm, moist, equable
times, closely overlain by a conglomerate of sand, gravel,
and huge boulders, relics of the other extreme (Geo. Ss Rep.,
p- 96). Similar deposits, in close juxtaposition, occur in con-
siderable numbers throughout the colony, and notably in the
superficial alluviums of “Gippsland (Selwyn, Phy. G. Viet.,
p. 79). On the heights of Kiandra we have lignite inter-
calated between conglomerates of pliocene age.
Baron von Mueller has discovered evidence of these climatic
fluctuations in three complete changes in the character of
Australian vegetation, all of which have occurred since the
commencement of the pliocene period. The fossil remains
show that when the older pliocene deposits were being laid
down this country had a lauraceous flora. With the newer
pliocene this disappeared, and in its stead plants of the
meliaceous order became in the ascendant, and had associated
with them arichly tropic flora. This may have been the
period which yielded the palm frond discovered fossilised in
Tasmania (Geo. S., Vol. IL, p. 24); and our cabbage-palms, in
Gippsland, also may trace back their introduction to this era.
With the close of this period meliaceous plants disappear
completely from this continent; the tropic forms move
northward ; and in pleistocene times myrtaceous plants come
- upon the scene for the first time, and eventually give to our
scenery the peculiar and marked character that it now has
(GS. Viet., Vol. Il., 29).
When we reflect upon these three entire and rapid changes
in our vegetation, we can find no explanation that will
account for them as the glacial epoch will, with its climatic
fluctuations, its sea oscillations, and its fr equent breaking up
and reuniting of our continent.
But the fact that fossils indicative of warm temperatures
have been found in formations of pliocene and more recent
During Post-Miocene Times. 25
times has been used to prove the impossibility of a glacial
epoch having occurred in Australia. We must, therefore,
devote some consideration to the arguments and evidence of
those who hold views which differ from those set forth in
this paper.
erie
The Rev. Julian Woods, in the year 1867, contributed to
this Society a paper designed to prove that there had never
been a glacial period in Australia within tertiary times.
He based his conclusions upon the following grounds :—
Firstly, because our early tertiary fossils have a tropic facies ;
secondly, because our miocene shells are identical with
species now living under the equator; thirdly, because
South Australian pliocene shells are also identical with
tropical species; fourthly, because a Tasmanian pliocene
formation has been found with a fossil palm in it; fifthly,
because the quaternary shells of Western Australia present
a tropic aspect.
Upon the strength of such evidence he decides that Aus-
tralia has not experienced a glacial epoch within tertiary
times, but that, on the contrary, the climate was very warm
in early tertiary times, and has been cooling down ever
since.
In criticising this evidence we have a great advantage
over the rev. gentleman, because we to-day understand the
nature of glacial periods much better than we did fifteen or
twenty years ago, when he wrote.
In consequence of the greater acquaintance with the sub-
ject which geologists now have, we know that each glacial
epoch contained within it a set of warm periods as well as
of cold ones, and that the tropic forms which he has relied
upon would flourish during any one of them. These hot
and cold periods were complimentary to each other in a
glacial epoch, and their occurrence, as testified to by these
shells, is euonely: confirmatory of the occurrence of such an
epoch.
If we ose the evidence and examine it separately, we find
that it confirms this view ; for instance, Woods mentions the
fossil shell Fusus colossus, found in Western Australia, and
points out that it isnow represented only by species confined
to the tropics. Therefore he tells us that colony cannot have
experienced a cold period. I contend that the evidence
proves no more than this, that a warm climate prevailed
a a ae a ee ee nae
26 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Vactorea
there when that fossil flourished, and that its occurrence is.
not inconsistent with the pr evalence of a cold climate shortly
before and shortly afterwards.
In a South African pliocene formation a fossil (Veneri-
cardia) isabundant. The shell-fish has abandoned the coast,
and is now found only within the tropics. According to Mr.
Woods, this should be evidence that South Africa has never
been subjected to an arctic climate; and yet immediately
below the limestone containing this fossil a deposit of till,
scratched rocks, and other glacial indications are found
(C..and T.yp. 242).
Again, the tropic shells of South Australia are in forma-
tions which have for neighbours glacial drifts and grooved
rocks. Indeed, we need not go further than Mr. Woods’ own
writings to find counter arguments. That gentleman has
carefully described the crag formations of that colony, and
he has identified them with the typical crag of Norfolk
(Geo. Obs. of South Australia, p. 178). Now, this crag
indicates a cold climate. Lyall says that “the fauna of the
upper crag is very arctic in character’ (Principles, Vol. L,
pp. 197-9). The only deduction which the evidence war-
rants is that the climate was fluctuating, and passing
quickly from extreme to extreme, as it does in every glacial
period. Dr. Duncan confirms this view, after a careful
examination of the fossiliferous limestone of the cliffs of the
Australian Bight; for he says that its contents indicate a
change of climate, ‘an alteration in the distribution of marine
animals, and an elevation of the land (Wallace’s Australia,
p. 78).
iL 7 therefore, that the evidence which Mr. Woods
marshals in array against the occurrence of a glacial climate
here may be dismissed as inconclusive.
Ly.
Let me ask, What interpretation can be put upon all the
different facts which I have thrown together if the Sm
theory is rejected ?
We shall have to believe that since the pliocene era com-
menced Victoria has been elevated and depressed to a con-
siderable extent at least five or six times. Surely these great
movements would have involved a degree of flexure of the
earth’s crust in these regions such as must have left behind
it great traces in the aaa deposits.
During Post-Miocene Times. 27
And yet, when we search for such traces we cannot find
any. Undisturbed sedimentary deposits overlie the upturned
edges of our paleeozoic rocks.
Sir Andrew Clark in 1855 reported to our Government
that the “tertiary beds” of the southern parts of Victoria
“are always (a few cases of local disturbance excepted)
elther horizontal, or dip at very small angles—viz., 1 deg.
to 5 degs.” (Geo. Sur. Vict., 1855, p. 9).
The limestone pliocene deposits of Mount Gambier, 8.A.,
are reported to be perfectly horizontal also. Woods tells us
that an area of many thousand square miles is “ occupied by
one formation without alteration of level, break, or interrup-
tion... . : The strata occur in nearly every case
parallel with the horizon” (Geo. Obs. S. A., pp. 59, 60).
The tall cliffs which wall in the Great Australian Bight
for hundreds of miles are reported to be fairly level through-.
out the whole distance.
A. W. Howitt, writing of the Murray Plains in-an official
report, remarks that “the elevation and depression of the
land from far back in tertiary times have been equable and
regular over wide districts” (Geo. Sur. Vict., Vol. IL.,.
p- 89).
If we turn our eyes to South America we find exactly the
same condition of things.
Although the east coast has no less than seven elevated
sea beaches, the topmost one being 1400 feet above the
ocean, there is no flexure to indicate movements of the
earth’s crust, and no dislocation of the formations. Darwin
tells us that the beaches preserve an altitude which does not
vary 10 feet throughout a distance of 700 miles. They
excited on his part expressions of the utmost wonder from
their extraordinary degree of horizontality. On the west
coast, where volcanic action is elevating the surface, the
raised beaches can be traced for a distance of 2000 miles;
but they, on the contrary, show the utmost irregularity in
altitude, and are much “thrown” in parts (Darwin's Votes
on Geo. of So. Am., pp. 53-55).
The evidence of frequent alterations in the relative levels
of land and sea in the Southern Hemisphere is as abundant
as that of flexure and fracture in the superficial deposits of
the crust is rare.
Oscillations of the ocean, due to cosmical causes, better fit
the conditions ; they explain all the facts more simply, and.
they harmonise with the glacial theory.
28 Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria.
T havenow completed the task I had set myself, and
hasten to conclude.
We have seen that, owing to various obscure causes,
Victoria must have its climate lowered at various times. On
the last occasion a miocene plateau, of great height and unde-
‘termined area, was ground off the face of the country by
glacial ice. Its non-auriferous sandstone yielded the value-
less early washes of our goldfields (Selwyn’s Geo. Obs. Vict., p.
22). The poor upper silurian shales and slates were next
reached, and scoured away over wide tracks,and these yielded
the inferior washes of middle date ; and last, the rich lower
-silurian rock was uncovered, and literally quarried away by
‘wedge of frost and chisel of ice, and the débris was reduced
to boulders, gravel, sand, and clay in the glacier battery.
These products, sround-sluiced by the ice-waters, remain
‘behind as the golden washes of the latest period.
We have seen that these operations were not continuous,
but were interrupted by periods of warmer temperature.
With these changes the ocean oscillated, its waters now
rising until Australia was an archipelago, and anon
‘sinking until Bass’s Straits were dry land, and a promon-
tory stretched its long horn far southward of Tasmania.
And while these operations were proceeding the flora and
‘fauna were being shifted from point to point, exterminated,
renewed, and varied in a remarkable manner.
Such is a bald sketch of the picture which presents itself
to the mind as one reviews the evidence by the light of the
geological revelations of the Northern Hemisphere. It
appears to me that a glacial climate in Victoria during post-
‘miocene times will account for many local phenomena which
are not explained by the fluvial theory, and will render
intelligible many of the peculiarities of our deep leads and
-of our alluviums.
ABT, 1 The Recent Red Sunsets.
By Proressor ANDREW.
[Read | 13th | March, | 1884. ]
Arr, I11—The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source
Basin.
ARTICLE II.
By JAMES STIRLING, F.L.S., OME.
[Read 13th March, 1884. ]
CHORIPETALEA HYPOGYNA.
RANUNCULACEE (A, L. de Jussieu).
Clematis microphylla (De Candolle).—On the steep ranges.
west from junction of Livingstone Creek and Mitta
River, on argillaceous schist formation, a variety,
Stenophylla, is occasionally met with. This species
covers many shrubs with its clusters of cream-
coloured blossoms; it ascends to 3000 feet elevation; on
the moist southern coastal regions in Mitchell River
source-basin it 1s more abundant. The same remark
applies to C. aristata.
Ranunculus rivularis (Banks et Solander)—This variable
species is very common on damp situations within this
area, particularly on Wilson’s Creek, near Omeo; mica-
schist formation; on the alluvium at Omeo Plains and
on the Victoria River, ascending in the valley of the
latter to 4000 feet.
Ranunculus parviflorus (Linné).—On the marshy sub-
alpine flats near heads of Livingstone Creek this small-
flowered species is abundant, but it occurs also on damp
situations near Omeo. It is very much affected by a
fungus—eecidium ranunculacearum.
Ranunculus aquatilis (Linné)—The races near Omeo used
for mining purposes are frequently so much choked up
with the vigorous growth of this species and some-
species of Chara and Conferva as to require periodical
cleaning ; nearly all the shallow waterholes about Omeo.
are more or less full of a growth of this species,
30 The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin.
Caltha introloba (F. v. M.)—This dwarfed, stemless herb
is restricted to the snowy regions at elevations of 5000
to 6000 feet at the source-runnels of the Cobungra
River, on the edge of the basaltic plateau, Bogong
High Plains; also at Mount Hotham, 6015 feet; Mount
Latrobe, at 6200 feet elevations.
DILLENIACEZ (Salisbury).
Hibbertia stricta (R. Brown).—This widely-distributed
species is found on the sandy soils and gravelly banks
near the junction of Livingstone Creek and Mitta
Mitta River at. 1600 feet elevation.
Hibbertia linearis (R. Brown).—Common along with H.
diffusa on the open sunny northern slopes of mica-
schist formation near Omeo Plains, at 3000 feet
elevations.
Monimie# (A. L. de Jussieu).
Atherosperma moschatum (Labillardiére)—See pt. 1, p. 5.
Hedycarya Cunninghami (Tulasne).—This is the “Rurnai’
of the Gippsland aborigines, used by them for procur-
ing fire—twigs being rubbed together for that purpose.
?
CRUCIFERZ (A. L. de Jussieu).
Barbaraea vulgaris (R. Brown).—Frequent on damp culti-
vated ground, and on springy spots along the western
affluents of Livingstore Creek, on metamorphic-schist
formation; at elevations of 1600 to 3000 feet.
Arabis glabra (Crantz)—At elevations of 2000 to 3000 feet
on Livingstone Creek, at higher elevations on the
Cobungra and Victoria Rivers; generally on bluffs or
rocky sidelings of granitic or gneissic schist.
Cardamine dictyosperma (Hooker).—In moist crevices of
felspathic rocks, Wilson’s Creek, near Omeo; 2500
feet elevation.
VIOLACE (De Candolle).
Viola Caleyana (G. Don)—Common on Hinnomunjie Flat,
on alluvium, and on the Livingstone Creek ranges ;
ascends to 3200 feet, and probably to higher levels.
Hymenanthera Banksii (F. v. M.).—The marked difference
between the lowland and alpine form of this shrubby
species renders it an object of interest to the phyto-
erapher; at elevations of from 3000 to 5000 feet it
ee merci ca
The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin. 31
forms a procumbent shrub, hard-wooded and strongly
spinous, the berries larger, and paler purple in colour
than the arboreous lowland form.—See pt. 1, p. 5.
PITTOSPOREE (R. Brown).
Marianthus procumbens (Bentham).—Is occasionally met
with on the open spurs from the Dividing Range
toward the head. of Livingstone Creek, where the
metamorphosed schists merge into the Silurian slates ;
at elevations of 3000 to 4000 feet. ?
Billardiera longiflora (Labillardiere)—In scrubby situations
along the Dividing Range, on Silurian formation,
particularly where there is much vegetable mould,
climbing over branches of Lomatia ilicifolia and
Pittosporum bicolour ; it ascends, near Mount Phipps, to
4000 feet.
DROSERACEZ (Salisbury).
Drosera auriculata (Backhouse).—On damp, grassy, and
mossy depressions at the summit of Mount Sisters;
3000 to 3600 feet elevation ; in metamorphic or intru-
sive granite formation.
Drosera peltata (Smith)—Common on damp pastures near
Omeo, at elevations of from 2000 to 3000 feet. In an
interesting paper read before the Field Naturalists’
Club, by my friend Mr. Sullivan, of Moyston, the fact
of the absorption of insect substance by the leaves of
our Australian Droseracez is questioned, and the
results of experiments detailed. I have now to state,
that recent observations made by me by the aid of a
powerful microscope on the leaves of D. peltata (and
upon which insects had been smothered by the infolding
of the tentacular hair and the secretion of a viscid fluid
from their terminal glands), clearly indicated absorption
taking place through the cells forming the cuticle of the
leaf, apparently by a process of endosmose. ‘The insects
were representatives of the Diptera.
HYPERICINE (J. de St. Hilaire).
Hypericum Japonicum (Thunberg).—All over the undulating )
ranges, near Omeo, on mica-schist formation; on the
Omeo Plains, alluvium, and ascending on the flats along
the upper course of the Victoria River; granitic areas,
up to 4000 feet.
~ oat Aart
SE LE ke F —— i ;
— - -—— yo - rn eS
32 The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin.
PoLYGALEH (A. L. de Jussieu).
Comesperma volubile (Labillarditre).—This twining species.
is more common on the coast regions of the Mitchell
River basin; apparently rare on the Mitta Mitta
affluents. A few plants are met with on the Dividing
Range, near Mount Phipps, in scrubby localities of
Silurian formation, at elevations of 3000 to 4000. feet.
Comesperma ericinum (De Candolle)—Very abundant on
the auriferous areas; Dry Gully near Omeo, particularly
on stony northern slopes, near junction of intrusive
granite and metamorphic schists; at 2000 to 3000 feet.
elevations.
TREMANDREZ (R. Brown).
Tetratheca ciliata (Lindley).—Sparsely distributed on sandy
soils near the -head of Livingstone Creek, at 3000 feet
elevations; more abundant in the Wentworth Valley;
its bright carmine-coloured petals render it easily dis-
tinguishable amid its sombre-coloured foliage. It is
extremely sensitive to moisture, closing its petals (like
some species of Helipterum and Helichrysum) on damp
or rainy days, and opening again with the sunshine.
Rutacez (A. L. de Jussieu). _
Zieria Smithii (Andrews).—See pt. 1, p. 7.
Boronia Algida (F. v. M.).—This shrubby species is abundant
at high elevations—for instance, on the sources of Big
River, and on the rocky, rolling ridges towards Bogong
High Plains at 5000 to 6000 feet elevations ; also near
the summit of Mount Hotham. It appears to be
governed in its distribution more by climatic conditions
than by character of soil—sSee pt. I, p. 7.
Eriostemon Crowei (f. v. M.).—Var. Exalata—On granitic
areas, near the junction of the Cobungra and Big Rivers;
at about 3000 feet elevation—See pt. 1, p. 7.
Eriostemon phylicifolius (F-v. M.).—This somewhat dwarfed.
species is found growing on the quartz-porphyry forma-
tion near Mount Sisters at elevations of about 3000:
feet, and on Dividing Range toward Mount Tambo.
Eriostemon ozothamnoides (F’. v. M.).—On the river gravels.
at the junction of Livingstone Creek and the Mitta
Mitta River, thence ascending along the margins of the
The Phanerogania of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin. 33
Big River, Cobungra River and Bundara River; on
granitic and argillaceous schist areas up to 5000 feet.
The plant is very much stunted at the higher elevations.
Eriostemon trachyphyllus (F. v. M.).—Common on Silurian
soils along crest of Dividing Range at heads of Living-
stone Creek ; 4000 feet elevation ; more abundant and
gregarious on the upper sources of Wentworth River,
there forming dense scrubs, 20 feet high, to the total
exclusion of other vegetation.
GERANIACEE (A. L. de Jussieu).
Geranium Carolinianum (Linné).—Abundant near Omeo
on the soft mica-schist areas; up to 3000 feet. Baron
von Mueller thinks that the Australian plant might be
kept distinct as G. pilosum (Forster).
Oxalis corniculata (Linné)—Common all over the lower
ridges of the eastern watershed of the Livingstone
Creek; up to 3000 feet.
EUPHORBIACE (A, L. de Jussieu),
Poranthera microphylla (Brongniart).—All over the area
this widely-spread species is abundant. On the mica-
schist formation near Omeo it attains a height of only
3 or 4 inches; but on the Silurian ranges near Grant
it frequently grows to a height of 10 to 12 inches,
Micrantheum hexandrum (J. Hooker).—A robust shrub 10
to 12 feet high; at the junction of Livingstone Creek
and Mitta Mitta River.
Bertya Cunninghami (Planchon).—In similar locality to
M. hexandrum, and on lower levels along Mitta Mitta
River.
CASUARINEE (Mirbel),
Casuarina quadrivalvis (Labillardiere)—This species, so
common in littoral regions in the upland, is here met
with in the granite area of the Mount Sisters, near
Omeo Plains, at 3000 feet elevation.
SAPINDACEH (A, L. de Jussieu):
Dodonaea viscosa (Linné).—The var. attenuata is common
.on the Mitta Mitta at Hinnomunjie Flat on tertiary
gravels; the leaves have a sour and bitter taste. —
D
34 The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin.
STACKHOUSIEZE (R. Brown).
Stackhousia pulvinaris (F. v. M.)—A dwarfed species most
abundant on the basaltic (tertiary) tablelands, Paw Paw
and Precipice Plains, 4000 feet elevation, and on the
ledges of the higher Bogong High Plains, at 5000 feet.
PORTULACEE (A. L. de Jussieu).
Claytonia Australasica (J. Hooker)—In cliffs of granite-
porphyry rocks on summit of Mount Brothers, north of
~ Omeo Plains, at 4600 feet elevation.
CARYOPHYLLEZ (Linné),
Stellaria multiflora (Hooker).—In fern-tree gullies of the
Dividing Range, near Tongio Gap, at an altitude of
3800 feet.
Colobanthus Benthamianus (Fenzl).—On the highest Alps
only.
steers biflorus (J. Hooker)—At higher elevations on
the Victoria and Cobungra Rivers up to 5000 feet.
S. minaroides occupies places 5000 to 6500 feet high
on the sources of the Mitta Mitta——See pt. 1, p. 9.
CHORIPETALEA PERIGYNZ:.
LEGUMINOS& (Haller).
Oxylobium ellipticum (R. Brown).—At the head of Benambra
Creek ; on stony ridges; Silurian formation; at 3800 to
4400 feet elevation.
Oxylobium alpestre (F. v. M.)—In similar situations with
O. ellipticum, but more abundant on the other side of
the Limestone Creek; on the porphyritic rocks of Mount
Cobboras, at about 6000 feet elevation.
Daviesia corymbosa (Smith).—Abundant on the warmer
northern slopes of Dry Gully watershed, near Omeo;
on metamorphic-schist formation; at about 3000 feet
elevations.
Pultenaea) daphnoides (Wendland).—On ridges of_ the
Dividing Range, forming the eastern watershed of
the Livingstone Creek; sparsely distributed on heathy
localities at elevations from 2600 to 6000 feet; more
abundant on the Tambo River, towards the coast
‘region, .
The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin. 35
Pultenaea subumbellata (Hooker).—On the Dividing Range,
toward Mount Hotham, at about 4000 feet elevations ;
generally on mica-schist formation.
Bossiaea microphylla (Smith)—On the granitic area near
the head of Livingstone Creek, at 3000 to 4000 feet
elevation, but more abundant in the Dargo River
Valley; at lower levels from 1000 to 2000 feet, on
Silurian areas.
Bossiaea prostrata (R. Brown).—Common on the undulating
ranges around Omeo, especially in the neighbourhood
of felspathic intrusions.
Hovea longifolia (R. Brown)—A robust bush, at the
junction of the Livingstone Creek and the Mitta Mitta
River, attaining a height of 12 feet; ascending along
the banks of the Cobungra and Big Rivers to 4000 feet.
Lotus australis (Andrews).—More abundant on the sub-
alpine ridges east of Victoria Plains—See pt. 1, p. 10.
Indigofera australis (Willdenow).—Nowhere gregarious
within the area, but met with almost at all ‘elevations
up to 5000 feet. The purgative properties attributed
to this plant elsewhere are not so strongly marked
here.
Swainsona phacoides (Bentham).—On the banks of Day’s
Creek, near Omeo, in the neighbourhood of quartzitic
schists ; prevalent.
Glycine clandestina (Wendland).—Abundant on the eastern
watershed of the Livingstone Creek, twining over low
shrubs ; ascends to 4000 feet elevations.
Kennedya monophylla (Ventenat).—This pretty creeper is
very abundant all over the area under the name of
“Native Sarsaparilla;’ it is said to possess medicinal
properties, the roots being used to make a tonic
beverage; ascends to 5000 feet, as well on grass lands
as on rocky slopes.
Kennedya prostrata (R. Brown).—Sparsely distributed on
the Omeo Plains tableland, and on the ranges near
Omeo ; generally at elevations from 2000 to 3000 feet.
Acacia siculiformis (Cunningham).—Found on granitic
areas along the margin of the Big River; up to 4000
feet elevations.—See pt. 1, p. 11.
Acacia juniperina (Willdenow). —On coarse, gritty, and
sandy soils; decomposed from intrusive granite, near
the sources of Livingstone Creek; at 3000 to 4000 feet
elevations,
p2
36 The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin.
Acacia lunata (Sieber).— At the junction of the Livingstone
Creek and the Mitta Mitta River; on tertiary gravels
and alluvium.
Acacia penninervis (Sieber)—Forms on the crest of the
Dividing Range; at the head of Livingstone, and on the
Wentworth River falls a dense scrub; most abundant
on Silurian areas; at 2000 to 4000 feet elevations.
Acacia dealbata (Link), “silver wattle.”.—On undulating
Ranges, near Omeo ; closely allied to A. decurrens.
Rosacea (A. Li de Jussieu).
Aczena ovina (Cunningham).—A common herb on the Omeo
Ranges, where it attains a height of 2 feet; ascending
on the metamorphic-schist formation to 4000 feet.
CRASSULACEE (De Candolle),
Tillaea verticillaris (De Candolle)—Common on the dry
gneissic schists near Omeo; on crevices of these rocks ;
ascends to 4000 feet elevations.
SALICARIEZ (Adanson).
Lythrum Salicaria (Linné)—On Morass Creek, near Omeo
Plains.—See pt. 1, p. 12.
HALORAGES (R. Brown).
Haloragis teucrioides (A. Gray)—Common on the granite
area near Tongio Gap, at 2600 feet, and on mica-schist
ranges near Omeo.
Myrio¢hyllum pedunculatum (Hooker).—On the mossy beds
at sources of Victoria River, at about 4000 feet
elevations, and in water races near Omeo.
Myrtacre# (Adanson).
Beckea Gunniana (S chauer). —COn the eastern slopes of the
Bogong High Plains; along watercourses at about 6000
feet elevation.— See pt. 1p 2.
Leptospermum attenuatum (Smith)—Common on _ the
Silurian soils near the Mitta Mitta River, at about
2000 feet elevations, and on the Livingstone Creek; in
mica-schist formation at higher elevations.
Kunzea peduncularis (Ff. v. M.).—On source-runnels of the
The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin. 37
Bundara and Big Rivers; in swampy localities at 4000
to 5000 feet.
Eucalyptus Gunnii (J. Hooker).—This species was named
by me incorrectly in the first list as EH. amyedalina;
and the alpine species, E. pauciflora, as E. alpina. This
correction in the nomenclature is necessary to be here
olven, aS misapprehension might arise as to the distribu-
tion of EH. alpina, which, as Baron von Mueller informs
me, is restricted to the summit of Mount William, in
Victoria.
Eucalyptus hemiphloia (F. v. M.).—See Part I, p. 13, as
HK. melliodora.
Eucalyptus piperita (Smith).—See Part L, p. 13, as E. fissilis.
Eucalyptus stellulata (Sieber).—Locally known as “ Black
Sally.”—See pt. 1, p. 14.
Eucalyptus amygdalina (Labillardiére)—This species is
abundant in moist, southerly slopes, along with LE.
olobulus;. ascending to fully 4000 feet; on meta-
morphic-schist formation.
RHAMNACEZ (A. L. de Jussieu).
Pomaderris vaccinifolia (Reisseck).—Confined to the mica-
schist bluffs of Livingstone Creek, near Omeo; elevation
of 2100 feet.
UMBELLIFERZ (Morison).
Azorella cuneifolia (F. v. M.).—On the spagnum beds at
the head of the Victoria River; in basaltic formation
(tertiary); at elevations of 4000 to 5000 feet.
Huanaca hydroctylea (Bentham).—With the former plant ;
also northerly to Bogong High Plains; on wet, marshy
upland flats; from 4000 to 6300 feet.
Apium prostratum (Labillarditre).—In crevices of felsitic
rocks at Day’s Creek, near Omeo, at about 2000 feet
elevation.
Seseli Harveyanum (F. v. M.).—This somewhat aromatic
herb is common on the moist, grassy upland flats near
Mount Cope, and on the Bogong High Plains, at eleva-
tions of 5000 to 6000 feet.
Aciphylla glacialis (F. v. M.).—On the Bogong High Plains ;
also on the basaltic plateaux at Mount Hotham, and on
the slopes of Mount Cope, at about 6000 feet elevations. .
=
38 The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Souree Basin.
| SYNPETALEZ PERIGYNE.
SANTALACEZ (R. Brown).
Thesium Australe (R. Brown).—On the undulating ridges
between Lake Omeo and the Mitta Mitta River; on
argillaceous schist formation; at semanas from 2600:
to 3000 feet.
Choretrum lateriflorum (R. Brown).—On ranges west of the
Mitta Mitta, toward Mount Wills; argillaceous schist
formation; at about 3000 feet Bere and on the
heads of Benambra Creek toward the Limestone Creek
watershed, at about 4000 feet elevation.
Exocarpos cupressiformis (Labillardiere)—The “ turndun”
of the Gippsland blacks is made from the wood of this
species.—See pt. 1, p. 15.
PROTEACES (A. L. de Jussieu).
Persoonia Chameepeuce (Lhotsky).
dulating metamorphic schistose ranges of the western
watershed of the Livingstone Creek, near Omeo; ascend-
ing to about 4000 feet.
Orites lancifolia (fF. v. M.).—A handsome shrub, restricted.
to the rocky summits of the Great Dividing Range, and
of the high lateral ranges, such as Mount Hotham,
Mount Cope, Mount Latrobe (Bogong); in Silurian
formation.
Grevillea ramosissima (Meissner)—At the junction of
Livingstone Creek and Mitta Mitta; ascending on the
granitic area of the Big River to about 3000 feet
elevations.
Hakea eriantha (R. Brown).—On the lower lev de of the
Mitta Mitta source-basin, principally on gneissi¢ schist
and in the Silurian formation : ascends to about 3000
feet.
CAPRIFOLIACE (Adanson).
Sambucus Gaudichaudiana (De Candolle)—This native elder
is common on moist, rocky situations on the Dividing
Range, near the heads of the Victoria River, at from
3000 to 5000 feet.
CompositT# (Vaillant).
Brachycome diversifolia (Fischer and Meyer).—Common all
over the hills near Omeo, ascending to about 4000 feet.
The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Sowrce Basin. 39
Brachycome decipiens (J. Hooker)—Very common all over
the area, flowering during early summer, ascending to
about 5000 feet.
Brachycome augustifolia (Cunningham)—Abundant on the
pasture land toward Omeo Plains; from 2400 to 3000
feet elevations; generally on alluvial areas.
Calotis scabiosifolia (Sonder and Mueller)—On the ranges
east and west from Omeo and on the Victoria and Omeo
Plains this species is prevalent; at elevations of 2000
to 3000 feet; proving troublesome to sheep-farmers
owing to awns of the pappus getting entangled in the
wool of the sheep.
Aster alpicola (F. v. M.)—On the higher ranges at the
sources of Cobungra and Bundara Rivers, near Mount
Cope; from 4000 to 6000 feet elevations; in Silurian
and metamorphic-schist areas,and on Livingstone Creek,
Omeo.
Aster stellulatus (Labillardiére)—At the heads of Benambra
and Livingstone Creeks, in paleeozoic soils, ascending to
about 5000 feet.
Aster florulentus (F. v. M.)—On the ranges west from Omeo
and on the upland flats at Benambra Creek.
Aster celmisia (F. v. M.)—Near Mount Hotham at about
6000 feet elevation; on Silurian formation, and on the
Bogong High Plains, in basaltic areas from 5000 to 6000
feet. This species is very abundant and gregarious,
sometimes almost to the exclusion of every other plant.
Gnaphalium Japonicum (Thunberg)—On the slopes of
Mount Cope, Mount Wells, Mount Latrobe (Bogong) ;
at elevations of 4000 to 6000 feet; in granitic and
Silurian formation.
Leontopodium catipes (F. v. M.)—On the summit of
Mount Hotham, and on high peaks near it; at about
6000 feet elevation ; in Silurian formation.
Podolepis longipedata (Cunningham).—Common on the
grassy valleys at eastern watershed of the Livingstone
Creek and the Mitta Mitta River; in mica-schist forma-
tion ; ascends to about 3000 feet elevations.
Podolepis acuminata (R. Brown).—Abundant on grass land
around Omeo; ascends to about 5000 feet along the
upper sources of the Victoria, Cobungra, and Big Rivers;
_ on mica schist, in granitic and Silurian formation.
Helichrysum rosmarinifolium (Lessing),—On the Livingstone
Creek and Mitta Mitta River, and many of their tribu-
40 The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin.
taries; ascends to about 5000 feet, but nowhere gre-
gariously, nor restricted to any formation.
Craspedia Richea (Cassini)—Common on the ranges near
Omeo and on the Victoria River up to about 5000 feet ;
also on Flourbag and Precipice Plains.
Abrotanella nivigena (F. vy. M.)—On the eastern slopes of
the Bogong Plains, from 4000 to 6000 feet ; in Silurian |
and metamorphic areas.
Senecio Georgianus (De Candolle)—On the ranges near
Omeo, and on the Mitta Mitta River; in Silurian and
metamorphic areas, on moist, shaded sidelings ; ascends
to about 4000 feet.
Cymbonotus Lawsonianus (Gaudichaud).—Very abundant
all over the area, but most prolific on Silurian soils in
shaded sidelings ; ascends to about 6000 feet.
Erechtites hispidula (De Candolle).—On the rich alluvium
at Omeo Plains, at about 2600 feet elevations.
Centaurea Australis (Bentham).—In similar localities with
the foregoing, and on the low hills near Omeo Plains ;
ascends to 3500 feet.
Microseris Forsteri (J. Hooker)—Common along Living-
stone Creek and at the Omeo Plains; ascends to about
6000 feet; on the upper courses of Victoria and Cobun-
gra Rivers.
CAMPANULACEE (A. L. de Jussieu).
Lobelia simplicicaulis (R. Brown).—On the granitic detritus
near the heads of Livingstone Creek, at about 3500 feet
elevation. |
Isotoma fluviatilis (F. v. M.)\—Common on the Morass Creek
flats, near the Omeo Plains; in Silurian formation, grow-
ing in patches gregariously on the alluvial flats up to
elevations of about 3000 feet.
GOODENIACEZ (R. Brown).
Goodenia hederacea, var. Cordifolia (Smith).—On the quartz
porphyry slopes of M‘Farlane’s Lookout, near Omeo,
at about 3000 feet elevation. Baron von Mueller is
inclined to restore this to specific rank.
Velleya montana (J. Hooker).—Common on the open grass
land near the Omeo Plains and Mount Leinster, in
metamorphic-schist and porphyritic-granite areas ; from
3000 to 4000 feet elevations.
The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin, 41
SYNPETALEA HYPOGYNA.
GENTIANEZ (Necker).
Limnanthemum crenatum (F. v. M.).—In the Morass Creek,
near Omeo Plains, this handsome species is abundant ;
the fringed crest of the lobes of the corolla distinguish
it from the following species.
Limnanthemum geminatum (Grisebach)—Also on Morass
Creek, in similar situations.
CoNVOLVULACE# (A. L. de Jussieu).
Convolvulus erubescens (Sims)—Common on the ranges
near Omeo, between 2000 and 3000 feet elevation.
Convolvulus sepium (Linné).—Abundant on reeds in Morass
Creek, near Omeo ; not ascending higher than 3000 feet
within the area.
Dichondra repens (R. and G. Forster)—vVery common on
mica-schist formation near Omeo, and near the margins
of the western affluents of the Mitta Mitta on gneissic
schistose areas ; ascends to 4000 feet.
SOLANACEZ (Haller).
Solanum aviculare (G. Forster)—On the alluvium near the
junction of Livingstone Creek and the Mitta Mitta
River, and on the tertiary gravels of the latter stream
at lower levels.
Solanum vescum (F. v. M.).—Common on the moist heads of
gullies south of the Dividing Range; thence to the
littoral regions.
SCROPHULARINZ (Mirbel).
Veronica nivea (Lindley).—At the sources of the Big River,
near Mount Latrobe (Bogong), and on adjoining high-
lands. This species is seen principally on granitic areas
from 5000 to 6300 feet elevations.
Euphrasia Antarctica (Bentham).—At the Bogong High Plains,
on the basaltic plateaux, at about 6000 feet elevations.
LENTIBULARINE (L. C. Richard).
Utricularia flexuosa (Vahl)—Sparsely distributed on damp,
grassy flats near Omeo Lake, at about 2600 feet
elevation.
42 The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin.
Utricularia dichotoma (Labillardiére)—Common on moist
slopes at the sources of springs, near Bogong High
Plains, in Silurian and basaltic areas, at about 6000 feet
elevation.
BIGNONIACES (Ventenat).
Tecoma australis (R. Brown).—This handsome climber, so
prolific in the littoral regions at the entrance to the
Gippsland Lakes, ascends to elevations of about 3000
feet in this source-basin from the lower levels; generally
in thickly wooded gullies.
ASPERIFOLLE (Haller).
Myosotis australis (R. Brown)—Common in similar localities
with the following.
Myosotis sauveolens (Poiret). —Ascends to about 5000 feet
elevations, towards the Bogong High Plains, along the
western affluents of the Mitta Mitta—See vt. Lip.21.
LABIATEZ (Adanson).
Mentha laxiflora (Bentham).—On the Livingstone Creek,
near Omeo, in the mica-schist formation, “at. elevations
of 2000 to 3000 feet.
Scutellaria humilis (R. Brown).—Sparsely distributed on
the flats toward the Livingstone Creek sources, from
3000 to 4000 feet.
Prostanthera lasiantha (Labillardiére)—See pt. 1, p. 21.
Prostanthera rotundifolia (R. Brown).—See pt. 1, p. 21.
Prostanthera cuneata (Bentham).—This erect or dicumbent
species is restricted to the higher elevations, on rocky
situations, occurring toward Mount Latrobe, at about
6000 feet elevations; and on the Cobboras Mountains,
in granitic and por phyr itie areas.
Westringia senifolia (Ff. v. M. ).—On the alluvium at the
junction of the Livingstone Creek and Mitta Mitta; an
erect, bushy shrub, 5 feet high.
VERBENACEZ (Adanson).
Verbena officinalis (Linné)—Not common within the Mitta
Mitta source-basin (there confined to the flats along
the Livingstone Creek); on the Tambo River more
abundant.
The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin. 48
EPACRIDEE (R. Brown).
Styphelia collina (Labillardiére)—Common on the ridges.
dividing the western affluents of the Mitta Mitta, par-
ticularly in granitic areas ; ascends to about 5000 feet.
Styphelia Macrei (F. v. M.)—Along the margins of the
Mitta Mitta River and Livingstone Creek; ascends to
about 5000 feet on the tributaries of the former. At the
lower elevations this species attains a height of 10 feet ;
at higher places it becomes dwarfed, the branches get. ~
more densely pubescent, and the leaves are then less.
petiolated.
Styphelia ericoides (Smith).—On the upland flats at heads
of the Livingstone Creek this species is very gregarious,
forming a low, diffuse, heathy shrub; while on the
porphyritic areas near Omeo Plains, from 3000 to 4000
feet elevations, it frequently attains a height of 3 feet,
forming an erect, although bushy, shrub.
Styphelia juniperina (Sprengel).—This pretty shrub is most
abundant on the Dividing Range at the head of Living-
stone Creek ; in Silurian formation, at about 4000 feet
elevations, and is descending into the Livingstone
Creek valley, in mica-schist formation, to 2000 feet.
Brachyloma daphnoides (Bentham).—Common on_ the
northern stony slopes of Mount Livingstone, particularly
in the neighbourhood of the auriferous belts of meta-
morphic schist, Dry Gully, Omeo, at elevations from
2000 to 4000 feet.
Trochocarpa pumila (EF. v. M.).—On the granitic ridges at
the junction of Cobungra and Big Rivers; at elevations.
of 3000 to 5000 feet.
Epacris petrophila (J. Hooker).—This low shrub is only
met with at the higher elevations, not descending below
3000 feet. It is common on the upper sources of the
Mitta Mitta, toward Mount Latrobe and the Bogong
High Plains, at about 5000 feet elevations.
Epacris paludosa (R. Brown).—In similar localities with E..
petrophila, but descending to 2000 feet elevations, as on
the granitic area near the junction of the Big and.
Cobungra Rivers.
Epacris heteronema (Labillardiére).—Along grassy gullies at.
the sources of the Cobungra and Big Rivers; in granitic,
metamorphic, and Silurian areas; ascends to about 5000
feet, but becomes dwarfed and stunted at the higher
elevations.
44 The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin,
Richea Gunnii (J. Hooker)—Common on beds of spagnum
on the Paw Paw and Bogong High Plains; in basaltic
areas, from 4000 to 6000 feet height.
APETALEA GYMNOSPERMEA,
CONIFER (Haller).
Nageia alpina (F. v. M.).—This is the only representative
of the Coniferze to be met with in this source- basin, and
it appears to be restricted to the rocky alpme summits
of the highest peaks, as Mount Wills, Mount Cope, and
Mount Latrobe ; in granitic and metamorphic schistose
areas, of 5000 to 6500 feet. It extends easterly to the
porphyritic summits of the Cobboras at about 6000
feet.
MONOCOTYLEDONEZ.
CALYCEA PERIGYN Aj,
ORCHIDEZ (Haller).
Dipodium punctatum (R. Brown).—This beautiful, leafless
orchid is sparsely distributed over the dry, stony
ridges within this area, being more abundant on the
crests of the Silurian ridges on the littoral slopes of the
Wentworth River, in the argillaceo-mica schist area, west
of Lake Omeo, and on the Silurian ranges west from the
Mitta Mitta River, toward Mount Wills; at elevations
of 2000 to 4000 feet.
Spiranthes Australis (Lindley).—Abundant on the rich grass
land at Mount Leinster Creek; on alluvial flats over-
lying granite-porphyry formation, at elevations of 3000
to 4000 feet.
‘Thelymitra aristata (Lindley)—Common on the open
pasture lands on Livingstone Creek, at elevations of
about 2500 feet, in metamorphic-schist formation ;
ascends to fully 4000 feet.
Diuris maculata (Smith)—Very common along the Living-
stone Creek, Cobungra, Victoria, Bundara, and Big
River valleys; on grass land; up to 4000 feet.
Diuris pedunculata (R. Brown).—Abundant along with the
preceding species, in similar localities, and ascending to
5000 feet. :
The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin, 45
Prasophyllum patens (R. Brown).—On undulating ridges
near Omeo and the Victoria Plains; at elevations of
2000 to 4000 feet; on mica-schist and gneissose-rock
formations.
Pterostylis curta (R. Brown). —In the Livingstone Creek
valley, at elevations of 3000 feet, and lower, it 1s
frequently to be met with, particularly on rich orass
land.
Caladenia Patersoni (R. Brown).—This very variable species
is only sparsely distributed along Livingstone Creek
and at Omeo on plains and grass land; it ascends to
4000 feet.
Glossodia major (R. Br own). —Common on pasture lands on
the Victoria, Cobungra,and Big River valleys ; also, on
Livingstone Creek, at elevations of 2000 to 4000 feet.
AMARYLLIDEZ (J. de St. Hilaire).
Hypoxis hygrometrica (Labillardiere)—On the damp, rich
flats of creeks flowing into the Livingstone Creek, in
metamorphic-schist formation. It ascends to the higher
plateaux, Paw Paw and Precipice Plains, at head of
Victoria and Cobungra Rivers, in basaltic formation, at
elevations of 4000 and 5000 feet.
CALYCEH HYPOGYN.
LILIACE# (Haller).
Drymophila cyanocarpa (R. Brown).—Rare in this source-
basin; on the crest of the Dividing Range, near the
head of the Livingstone Creek, at about 4000 feet, in ~
Silurian formation; more abundantly it occurs on
ranges near Grant, in Mitchell River source-basin,
Dianella revoluta (R. Brown) .—Common on the dry, humid
slopes of Mount Livingstone, near Omeo; at an elevation
of about 3000 feet, in gneissic and mica-schist formation ;
also, on the Dividing Range, near the heads of the
Victoria River, at about 4000 feet.
Wurmbea dioica (F. v. M.).—This pretty little species 1s seen
very abundantly during early spring on the pasture
lands around Omeo and at Omeo Plains; in fact, every-
where on moist flats, up to 4000 feet.
46 The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Sowrce Basin.
Bulbine bulbosa (Haworth).—This succulent annual is pro-
lific on the grassy ridges near Omeo, at elevations of
2000 to 3000 feet.
‘Thysanotus tuberosus (R. Brown).—This handsome species
is very abundant on the Mount Leinster Creek, near the
Omeo Plains, on granite-porphyry formation, at an
elevation of about 3000 feet; it is also to be met with
on the slopes of Day’s Hill, near Omeo, at about 3500
feet, on intrusive quartz-porphyry formation.
Ceesia vittata (R. Brown).—On rolling pasture-hills of the
eastern watershed of the Livingstone Creek. This
species is prevalent at elevations of 2000 to 3000 feet,
in metamorphic-schist formation.
Tricoryne elatior (R. Brown).—On grassy edges of small
streams flowing into Livingstone Creek, at elevations
of 2000 feet; more abundant on the limestone area of
Bindi, south of the Dividing Range.
Stypandra glauca (R. Brown)—On grassy flats along the
Livingstone Creek (especially in tufts of Poa ceespitosa)
this species is plentiful; it ascends to 4000 feet.
Xerotes longifolia (R. Brown).—On rocky slopes of the
eastern watershed of the Livingstone Creek, on mica-
schist formation, at elevations of about 3000 feet.
Xanthorrhcea australis (Smith).—Not frequent in this
source-basin ; confined to the dry, stony slopes of the
Dividing Range, near Omeo, on argillaceo-mica-schist
formation, at elevations of about 3000 feet; more
abundant on granitic areas south of the Dividing
Range.
TYPHACE (A. L. de Jussieu).
Sparganium augustifolium (R. Brown).—Only known at
resent from Lake Omeo and Morass Creeks; at an
altitude of about 3000 feet above the sea-level.
F'LUVIALES (Ventenat).
Potamogeton natans (Linné).—'This species was seen by me
only in the waterholes of Wilson’s Creek (eastern
affluent of Livingstone’s Creek), at an altitude of about
2200 feet; it is probable, however, that it is yet to be
met with at higher elevations within this source-basin.
J UNCEE (R. Brown).
Luzula campestris (De Candolle)—Abundant almost all over
the area, up to 5000 feet, in-damp situations.
The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin. 47
Juncus bufonius (Linné).—Along the banks of watercourses
of the Livingstone Creek watershed, up to 4000 feet ;
particularly prolific on the soft mica-schistose formation
near Omeo.
Juncus communis (HK. Meyer)—Abundant on wet flats near
Omeo, on metamorphic-schist formation, from 2000 to
3000 feet, and ascending to much greater elevations.
Juncus prismatocarpus (R. Brown).—Similar in its stations’
to Juncus bufonius.
RESTIACEZ (R. Brown).
Restio australis (R. Brown).—On marshy alluvium at the
head of Livingstone Creek, from 3000 to 4000 feet
elevation, and along the Dividing Range, from Mount
Tambo to Mount Cobboras and Mount Pilot, at about
6000 feet elevation ; on marshy flats.
Calostrophus lateriflorus (F.v. M.)—On the source-runnels of
the Cobungra and Bundara Rivers, intersecting Bogong
High Plains; in basaltic areas. This species 1s abundant,
and generally found growing on beds of spagnum,
sometimes attaining a height of 3 feet.
ACALYCEA HYPOGYNEAL.
CYPERACEZ (Haller).
Kyllinga intermedia (R. Brown).—On the alluvial flats at the
junction of the Livingstone Creek and the Mitta River,
at about 1600 feet; not seen at higher elevations, It
ascends to this station from the Murray River at lower
levels.
Cyperus Eragrostis (Vahl).—On the granitic area at the junc-
tion of the Cobungra and Big Rivers, at about 2200
feet, and on the Mitta Mitta below its junction with the
Livingstone Creek ; on metamorphic-schist formation, at
an altitude of 1000 to 1600 feet.
Cyperus lucidus (R. Brown).—Common on shaded hill-sides,
at the sources of springs, on the Livingstone Creek; up
to 4000 feet. On southern side of Mount Livingstone,
at elevations of 3000 feet, it occurs in its greatest
Pepe the stems frequently attaining a height of
5 feet,
48 The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin.
Scripus polystachyus (I. v. M.).—On Morass Creek, near Lake
Omeo, and on the Mitta Mitta River, at elevations from
1000 to 3000 feet.
Schcenus Brownii (J. Hooker)—On damp soils near Omeo.
Lepidosperma concavum (R. Brown).—Common on the rocky,
exposed northern slopes of Mount Livingstone, near
Omeo, at elevations of about 3000 feet, on mica-schist
formation, and on the northern slopes of the Dividing
Range, east from Omeo, in argillaceo-schist formation,
at between 2000 and 4000 feet elevation.
Lepidosperma lineare (R. Brown).—In similar localities to
L. concavum, and northerly toward Mount Leinster, on
granitic-por phyry formation, at elevations from 3000 to
4000 feet.
Uncinia tenella (R. Brown).—In shaded gullies among fern-
trees on the Dividing Range, east from Omeo, in argil-
laceo-mica-schist formation, at elevations from 3000 to
4000 feet.
Carex acicularis (Boott)—On the Paw Paw tableland, in
basaltic formation, at about 5000 feet, and on the heads
of the Cobungra River, near Mount William, in argil-
laceo-schist formation, at elevations of about 6000 feet.
This small species is abundant ; it does not appear to
descend within this source-basin below 4000 feet.
Carex inversa (R. Brown) —Common along the sandy allu-
vial flats of Livingstone Creek; at elevations of 2000 to
4000 feet.
Carex vulgaris (Fries)—On swampy flats and marshes along
Wilson’s Creek, near Omeo, ascending the Dividing
Range to 4000 feet.
Carex acuta (Linné)—On the heads of the Cobungra, Vic-
toria, and Big Rivers, at elevations from 8000 to 5000
feet.
Carex Buxbaumii (Wahlenberg).—On the upland flats near
Mount Hotham and on the Bogong High Plains, at
elevations from 3000 to 5000 feet, and on the Living-
stone Creek and Omeo Plains, at about 3000 feet eleva-
tion. It appears to flourish best on rich basaltic soils in
marshy localities. Identified with numerous other
alpine plants already by Baron von Mueller, 1853-55.
Carex breviculmis (R. Brown). —On the eastern watershed of
the Livingstone Creek, near Omeo, and on the Victoria
Plains, at elevations from 2000 to 4000 feet, in mica-
schist and eemorphic- -granite areas.
The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin. 49
Carex longifolia (R. Brown).—Common on marshy upland
flats at Wilson’s Creek, near Omeo, in metamorphic
schistose formation, and along the flanks of Mount
Livingstone, at elevations of about 3000 feet, and at
higher elevations in the Australian Alps.
Carex Pseudo-Cyperus (Linné)—ZIn similar localities with
C. longifolia, and even more widely distributed in
marshy localities at lower elevations; ascends to 4000
feet.
s
GRAMINEZ (Haller).
Panicum melananthum (I. v. M.).—On the eastern margin of
the Omeo Plains, near Mount Sisters, at elevations from
2000 to 3000 feet, and thence easterly in the Tambo
River watershed to Bindi, at 1600 feet, in metamorphie,
eranite, and limestone (Middle Devonian) areas,
Hemarthria compressa (R. Brown).—Along margins of races
on the Livingstone Creek watershed, near Omeo, on
mica schists, at elevations from 2000 to 3000 feet.
Andropogon refractus (R. Brown).—On the Hinnomunjie
Flats, at the junction of the Livingstone Creek and
Mitta Mitta River, at about 1600 feet elevation. It
appears to be emigrating to sub-alpine heights from the
lower Mitta Mitta.
Anthisteria ciliata filices (Linné)—This, the well-known
kangaroo grass, is, perhaps, the most abundant of the
Graminez throughout the area, ascending from the
undulating metamorphic ranges near Omeo to the
higher basaltic plateaux at Paw Paw and Precipice
Plains, and to the still higher Bogong High Plains, at
about 6000 feet elevation. Near Omeo the stems are
frequently seen to attain a height of 4 feet, and on
shaded hillsides even 5 feet.
Hierochloe redolens (R. Brown)—A common species on the
undulating ranges on eastern watershed of Livingstone
Creek and at the Victoria Plains, and on the southern
granitic slopes of mountains near the junction of Big
River and Cobungra; it ascends to 5000 feet; that
found near Omeo belongs to the variety called Sub-
mutica.
Stipa scabra (Lindley)—On the grassy slopes of the
Dividing Range, on the eastern watershed of the
Livingstone Creek, at Omeo Plains, and on the Victoria
River ; ascends to 4000 feet. :
1D
50 The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mitta Source Basin.
Dichelachne crinita (J. Hooker).—On shaded, grassy gullies,
near Omeo, at elevations from 2000 to 3000 feet;
abundant. :
Agrostis Solandri (Ff. v. M.).—Very common within the area
on the metamorphic-schist and Silurian formations, up
to 4000 feet. This forms a good winter grass.
Echinopegon ovatus (Palizot)——Common on the Livingstone
- Creek, near Omeo, at about 2000 feet, and on the
et Victoria Plains and Omeo Plains, at 3000 feet elevation ;
ascends to 5000 feet.
Aira ceespitosa (Linné).—On the Livingstone Creek flats,
very abundant, at elevations of about 2000 feet;
ascends to 4000 feet. After bush fires this tussocky
grass forms good forage.
Trisetum subspicatum (Palizot)—This alpine species is
common on the upper affiuents of the Mitta Mitta, on
the grassy slopes of the higher plateaux at the heads
of the Victoria, Cobungra, and Big Rivers, and on the
moist flats at head of the Livingstone Creek; ascends
to 6000 feet.
Danthonia penicillata (F. v. M.).—A common species on the
slopes of Mount Cope, at 6600 feet; at the head of
Cobungra River; on the undulatory rises of the Bogong
High Plains, up to 6000 feet; and at the rocky ridges,
near Mount Bogong, up to 6500 feet. Most prolific on
the basaltic areas, but not restricted to this formation.
Poa ceespitosa (G. Forster).—This densely tufted and variable
species is common allover the area on upland dry flats;
ascends to 5000 feet. The stems attain a height of 5
feet in favourable localities, especially on the western
watershed of the Livingstone Creek; at 2500 feet
elevation.
Poa dives (F. v. M.).—On the southern slopes of shaded hill-
sides this erect grass attains a height of 12 feet. It is
seen on the southern side of Mount Livingstone,
and on the Big River, at elevations of 2000 to 5000
feet; also on the Dividing Range, near Tongio Gap, at
4000 feet. It appears to be most prolific on Silurian
- areas. The whole plant is succulent and tender, and if
cultivated should form an excellent fodder grass.
Festuca bromoides (Linné).—Common on the ranges near
Omeo at from 2000 to 3000 feet; at Omeo Plains, and
generally on open situations in the area, up to 4000
feet ; on dry, gneissic areas.
The Phanerogamia of the Mitta Mrtta Source Basin. 51
Festuca Hookeriana (F. v. M.).—On the Bundara River, at
about 3000 feet elevation; on the Benambra Creek
uplands, to 4000 feet; thence easterly to the Cobboras
Mountains; abundant on porphyritic areas. Forms at
these stations one of the best pasture grasses.
Agropyron velutinum (Nees),—At the head of the Cobungra
River, near Mount Hotham, on Silurian areas, from
4000 to 6000 feet, and on the Dividing Range, east of
Omeo, at about 4000 feet.
Nearly the whole of the plants here enumerated were
named by Baron von Mueller from specimens transmitted
for this purpose to his office.
no
Art, IV.—Shingle on the East Coasts of. New Zealand,
By W. W. CuLcHETH, M. Inst. C.E., F.R. Met. Soc.
[Read 8th May, 1884.]
1. THE following has been written from observations lately
made by the author in New Zealand. The conditions
attending the shifting of the materials which form the coast
in many “places are of great interest to the engineer who has
to design protective works or harbours in such localities.
This paper deals more particularly with travelling shingle,
a subject that has given rise to much controversy. So long
ago as 1853 a paper on the Chesil Bank on the south coast
of England was read before the Institution of Civil Engi-
neers by Mr. (now Sir) John Coode, whose name is well
known in these colonies. The late Astronomer Royal, Sir
George Airy, took part in the discussion on that paper,
differing in opinion on certain points from Sir John Coode.
This discussion was renewed at intervals, and so lately as
1875 an agreement on the points of difference had not been
arrived at. The opinion of those of the leading engineers
who were not prepared to support one side or the other in
these discussions, was that more information was required
from other localities, and that it was unsafe to generalise
from the results observed at the Chesil Bank.
2. In this paper a few facts only will be stated, with some
deductions from them, the object being to direct attention to
the subject in this part of the world, in order that more
information may be collected and further light thrown on
the movements of shingle under varied conditions. Sir J.
Coode remarked in his paper of 1853 :—“ There are few sub-
jects of greater professional interest than the accumulation
and travel of shingle, since the very existence of many har-
bours depends, in a great degree, upon a correct understanding
and judicious application “of the laws which govern its
movement; and without a knowledge of these it is impos-
sible to devise such measures as may with confidence be
adopted, either to assist its progress, direct its course, or to
remove accumulations that may have taken place.”* Shingle
* See Proceedings of the Institution of Civil. Engineers, vol. xii., p. 520,
?
“Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 53
- ig the chief subject of this paper; but the action of the waves
on sand cannot be wholly neglected, as the difference is
chiefly one of degree.
I.—DESCRIPTION OF THE TWO BEACHES VISITED.
3. The author visited what is known as the Ninety-mile
Beach, on the east coast of the South, or, as 1t used to be
called, the Middle, Island, and the beach near Napier, in
Hawke’s Bay, on the east coast of the North Island.
4, The Ninety-mile Beach extends from Banks’ Peninsula
in asouth-west direction to Timaru, but the same beach
really extends some 50 miles further down the coast ina
southerly direction to Oamaru. There is an uninterrupted
shingle beach over 130 miles in length. The principal
source of supply of this shingle is the River Waitaki, or, as
it is called on the Admiralty chart, the Waitangi, which
is about 14 miles north of Oamaru. “Cliffs from 30 to
40 feet high” are marked on each side of the mouth of this
river. Some of the shingle is said to come from these cliffs.
The shingle on the beach opposite Oamaru is evidently
driven there when the wind is north of east. -South-
easterly weather would formerly tend to denude the beach,
but since a breakwater has been constructed at that place
shingle has been collecting opposite the town. It is said
that the accumulation near the mole on the north side of the
new harbour has ceased; but this may be only temporary.
The same agency which caused the present accumulation is
‘still at work. North-easterly weather must continue to
drive shingle down the coast from the River Waitaki, and
unless the mole causes the shingle to be deposited at a point
sufficiently distant to allow of its being carried back during
south-easterly weather the accumulation must go on, though
it may be but slowly.
5. South-easterly weather prevails on this coast, and as
the beach between Oamaru and the River Waitaki is supplied
chiefly from that river, which is to the northward, this beach °
is probably at times denuded, the cliffs being then cut
away. ‘The beach between the river and Timaru is probably
less subject to change, owing to the chief supply of shingle
being at the end from which the prevailing seas come.
6. South-west of Timaru, at the end of the town, is
Patiti Point, where there is a low cliff with a shingle beach
n front. It is at first difficult to account for the beach
«84 Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand.
existing at this point, and for the cliff, which is composed
simply of earth, not being cut away ; but there is a sunken
reef running some distance out to sea in front, which
evidently protects the cliff in bad weather. The beach can
take care of itself, and can also protect the cliff at ordinary
times. North of this is another reef, but of less extent; it
shelters the harbour somewhat from heavy south-east seas.
7. At Timaru a breakwater is being constructed with a
view of making the harbour more safe than hitherto. This
work has given rise to much controversy from the fact of its
being in the middle of a beach of. travelling shingle. Sir J.
Coode gave a design for a breakwater and harbour detached
from the shore to allow of the shingle travel going on unin-
terruptedly. The plan was not locally considered satisfac-
tory, and a solid breakwater running out from the shore was
resolved upon instead. This work is now going on. At
first it was proposed ‘to construct a length of some 400 or
500 feet only ; but it being found that the shingle was likely
to get round the end of the work, its length was increased,
first to something less than 1000 feet, the author believes,
and then to 1400 feet. The latter length has now been
constructed, and the result is, in Timaru itself, generally
considered very satisfactory, the shingle having been driven
back by the waves reflected from the breakwater., After the
work had been carried out to a length of something over
700 feet, the shore line at high-water level began to recede,
and continued to do so fora year or more. It has since
advanced a little, but this is probably of no great importance,
as changes must be expected, according to the weather.
Occasionally, during a gale, the shingle is thrown up on to
the top of the breakwater, which is 6 feet above high-water
level. Theshingle would be carried over the work were it not
cleared away by manual labour.
8. A far more serious point is that an accnmillanien is
taking place a few hundred yards away from the breakwater,
where the reflected waves cease to have any effect. The
Government engineers and others who were opposed to the
work from the first, expressed the opinion that in time shingle
would swamp the work, and render the harbour useless.
Various periods of time, some extending as far ahead as
twenty years, were allowed before this should take place.
The people of Timaru, however, laugh at these opinions, and
consider the work will be a success. It is not denied that
shingle continues to. come up the coast, but the breakwater
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 55
having kept back the shingle some four years or more, it is
hoped that it will do so always. They do not ask what
becomes of the shingle, or what will become of it in course
of time. The action at Napier, which will be mentioned
presently, may prove instructive in connection with this
matter. (See pars. 15 and 14.)
9. Another result of the construction of the breakwater
at Timaru may be mentioned to show that travelling shingle
cannot always be obstructed without some evil following.
When the shingle was stopped by the breakwater the beach
in the bay in front of Timaru was entirely denuded, and
a serious erosion of the banks commenced. Very heavy
expenditure has been incurred in throwing down large blocks
of stone along the shore to protect the railway from being
destroyed. It wasat one time even proposed that the break-
water should be cut through to allow of shingle passing as
before. This was not done. The denuding of this beach
occurred before the breakwater had been carried out far
enough to shelter the beach from the action of south-easterly
seas, although it was sufficient to keep back shingle coming
up the coast from the south. The bay is now more sheltered,
and will become more and more so as the breakwater is
carried further out. The northern part of the bay is, how-
ever, exposed to seas from the east and north-east, which must
carry shingle down the coast,contrary to the general direction.
There is shingle less than 14 miles up the coast, in front of
the Waitarakao lagoon. Some of the shingle so carried
down the coast is likely to come under the shelter of the
breakwater, so that it will not be carried up the coast again
by south-easterly seas. Shingle will. then begin once more
to accumulate in front of the town as at Oamaru. This
result may already have commenced, although possibly
there is too little shingle to have attracted notice as yet.
10. Between Timaru and Banks’ Peninsula there are
several rivers, against four of which it is noted on the chart,
“ Mouth always open;” the others are probably closed except
during freshets. The author does not know whether these
rivers bring down further supplies of shingle or not; probably
they do, for the whole of this part of the country is said to
have a substratum of shingle. The beach is, however, con-
tinuous up to Banks’ Peninsula. The last twelve or thirteen
miles, in front of the Waihora Lake (also called Lake
Ellesmere), is really a broad neck of shingle, in some places
nearly amile in width. This encloses a large sheet of water,
56 Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand.
marked “Very shallow and brackish.” The bed of this lake,
and the bank in front of it, represent the shingle accumula-
tion since the present beach began to be formed. The
author was informed that a series of ridges are to be seen
where probably the beach has been in successive periods, and
at the extreme end the shingle has been thrown up against
a cliff to a height of 30 feet above sea-level.
11. The advance of shingle beyond this point is prevented
by the trend of the coast-line changing suddenly to east-
south-east, so that shingle could not be carried on unless by
a sea coming from the west-south-west, or a more westerly
point, which would be directly along the shore or off-shore.
Waves of any size could not therefore be formed; and
should any small quantity of shingle be carried forward by
these waves, it would be carried back by a change to the
south-east, the prevailing direction.
12. The shingle beach in Hawke's Bay extends from
eleven miles south of Napier to ten miles north of that
place, where a projecting cliff arrests the steady advance of
the shingle. Beyond this cliff is a beach, partly of sand and
partly of shingle, for a further length of over thirty miles,
the general direction being north-easterly. The chief
source of supply of the shingle is the River Tuki Tuki; and
the prevailing direction of the seas on this coast, as on the
Ninety-mile Beach, is south-easterly, but north-east seas at
times cause great changes in the shingle. The general
movement of the shingle, from the mouth of the River Tuki
Tuki as far as Napier, is due to seas coming from any
direction south of east. For some distance south of Napier
there is merely a narrow belt of shingle, forming the only
connection between the mainland and the town, the high
part of which was formerly known as Scinde Island, Iti is,
indeed, asserted that Captain Cook sailed round this island,
If this be correct, the shingle accumulated in the neighbour-
hood is but of recent growth. Beyond the Bluff, at Napier,
the south-east seas have very little effect, and the chief
movement is due to seas coming north of east.* From the
exposed position of the Bluff, the beach below it is liable to
change very much. It would, doubtless, often be entirely
denuded of shingle but for the protection afforded by large
blocks of stone which have fallen into the sea from the cliff
* The difference, at times, between the direction of the wind and that of
the waves must not be overlooked. (See App. 0, p. 81.)
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. aie
13. One mile and a quarter west of the Bluff is the
entrance to the present harbour. To improve this, a few
years ago, two moles or jetties were run out into the sea.
As that on the east side of the entrance was being con-
structed the shingle, for a time, advanced with the work.
At last “the work got ahead of the shingle, which gathered
at a much slower rate; but although the high-water line did
not advance, the shingle at low-water line was spreading
further out.” The waves reflected from the work drove
back the shingle along the shore at the high-water line a
distance, at first, of about 800 yards, which gradually was.
reduced to 500 yards. The shingle here accumulated for a
year or more, when “a very heavy north-easterly sea set
into the bay,” and this “accumulation of shingle, &. . . . .
advanced right up to the mole within the space of two
days.”
14. Such was the end of this attempt to keep back the
shingle. The mole projects a less distance out than the
breakwater at Timaru does, but the result at Timaru must
in the end be similar, though it may take a longer time.
There is one other difference between the two cases. The
mole at Napier is sheltered from south-east seas, though the
swell is felt. The breakwater at Timaru is also sheltered
from the full force of heavy south-east seas, but sufficient
wave-action from that direction is felt to cause the shingle
to advance. It is difficult at present to estimate the
different results likely to ensue from this difference, but
it is not likely to alter much the final result, unless, in
the case of Timaru, the advance be more gradual than at
Napier. It may be remarked that, in the same way as at
Timaru, shingle is, in bad weather, thrown up on to the
mole at Napier, the top of which is also 6 feet above high-
water level. Not being cleared away, the shingle is washed
completely over the mole.
15. After passing the entrance to the present Napier
harbour there is now a large accumulation of shingle, which
is mainly due to the shelter afforded by the western mole.
After this there is a long spit of shingle, the trend of which
gradually changes from north-west to north, enclosing a
large lagoon, called the Ahuriri Lake. The spit joins the
mainland four miles from Napier. Seven miles further on,.
after enclosing another small lagoon, the beach ends at the
cliff before-mentioned. This cliff projects from the main-
land for about a mile, in an east-south-east direction. As:
58 Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand.
this is almost at right angles to the beach, no waves of
any size can be formed to carry the shingle along it. The
advance of shingle beyond this point is probably due to
the cutting-out action which takes place at times, the finer
material being drawn under the water-line by certain
waves. On this point more information is required.
16. The largest stones, or pebbles, which composed the
shingle seen by the author in New Zealand seldom measured
more than 6 inches by 4 or 5 inches by 3 inches. Several
stones, measuring a third or so more each way, were seen
near the mouth of the River Waitaki. The usual size of
those on the beach was, however, much less than above
stated; occasionally, near Napier, it was little more than
that of coarse sand. These stones have, evidently, from their
rounded appearance, before being thrown on to the beach,
been subjected to the action of water in a former age,
and are now found embedded in earth. They are chiefly
derived from the rivers already mentioned, down which
they are carried during freshets.
17. A further source of supply is in the mountains in
which the Canterbury rivers have their source, where there
-are “long slopes from 500 to 1000 feet high, as regular as the
slopes of a railway embankment, and formed entirely of
clay-slates, broken up to the size of road metal; the stone
lies at an exact angle of repose, and if a shovelful were taken
from the foot the movement would extend to the top of the
slope. . . . Even where the rocks are not actually
broken up, they are so easily disintegrated that every small
stream forms a large fan of shingle when it reaches the
valley. During floods the streams cut deep gulches through
these fans, carrying the shingle away into the main river.
The inclination of the bed of the River Waitaki “is between
30 and 40 feet per mile, while that which the bed of a river
of the same size would take if no new shingle were brought
into it would not be greater than 3 or 4 feet per mile.”*
The cliffs along the coast, particularly on the South Island,
are said also ‘to furnish a large portion of the supply of
shingle.
18. The banks of the rivers are very subject to erosion,
and great changes frequently take place in the course of
* See New Zealand Parliamentary Paper, No. 2, of 1880, pp. 10, 11.
‘Evidence of Mr. Carruthers, Engineer-in-Chief, relative to the Oamaru and
“Timaru Harbour Works,
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 59
some of the rivers. During floods, the material cut away
from the banks is carried down stream, and a portion is
deposited where the force of the current is diminished from
any cause. The beds of the rivers above mentioned are
strewn in places with stones and pebbles of all sizes. As the
force of the stream is reduced and becomes insufficient to
keep material in suspension, it is thrown down; and thus
it is at the mouth of the rivers the largest deposit
takes place. The stones and pebbles are there thrown
in a large mass on the shore, almost, sometimes quite,
blocking up the mouth, while the earth is carried
away into the sea. _Soundings show that much stone
(described as gravel on the charts) is also carried into
the sea; but a great deal of this is doubtless thrown up
again on to the beach, as the author will endeavour to show
later on. The material is mostly a bluish-grey stone, usually
described as clay-slate.* The shape of the stones, or, more
correctly, pebbles, may be described as flattened ovoids.
I]—AGENCY BY WHICH SHINGLE IS CAUSED TO TRAVEL.
19. Material once deposited as above must, owing to its vis
anertie, remain till some greater force than that of the current
from which it was deposited comes into play. That deposited
in the river bed may be removed by a succeeding flood; that
near the mouth of the river may be removed by a greater
flood than the first one; but the disturbance by floods of
the material once deposited in the sea or on the seashore
must be limited. Theaction of the sea itself must be looked
to for any further movements of the material. In the sea
two forces may be considered—(1) currents, which may be
tidal or otherwise; and (2) waves. Currents along a coast,
unless in exceptional localities, are usually of no great
velocity, and, consequently, able to transport the finer
materials only. The tidal flow into and out of an estuary,
creek, or lagoon may be strong, and capable of moving Jarge
and heavy bodies, like a flood of similar strength in a river;
but the action fails soon after the current enters the sea, in
the same manner as the flood ofa river then loses its force.
With the exception of this tidal flow into and out of rivers
* Most of the stones from both coasts show, when fractured, a silicious
composition. Some stones, frequently found near Napier, are evidently
from a sandstone formation.
60 Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand.
and lagoons, the author does not know of any current of
much strength on the coasts to which this paper more
especially relates. The wave-action, then, is the chief agent
concerned in the transport of the shingle ‘along the Ninety-
mile Beach, and near Napier.
20. The power of waves during a heavy sea is sometimes
extraordinary. At the Plymouth Breakwater, blocks of
stone weighing several tons each have been washed from the
sea-slope over to the land side of the work. At Wick, a
mass of concrete and stone, weighing nearly 1400 tons, was,
in 1872, gradually slewed round by successive strokes of the
waves until it was finally removed from its place and
deposited inside the pier. During one storm, “two stones,
of 8 and 10 tons in weight respectively, had been carried
over the parapet and lodged on the roadway of the break-
water.” During a heavy gale on the west coast of Scotland,
in 1829, waves were observed to exert a force of nearly 3 tons
per square foot. At the south-east end of the Chesil Bank
pebbles have been thrown to a height of 42 feet above high-
water level. Numerous other examples might be given, but
these will be sufficient to show that a very moderate sea is
likely to be sufficient to move pebbles of the size above given
and weighing not more than 7 lbs. or so. Professor Rankine
gives a table* showing that large shingle is moved by water
having a velocity of 4 feet per ‘second close to the bed, which
would ordinarily be equivalent to a surface velocity of, say,
5 miles an hour. This velocity might, under favourable
conditions, be generated by waves of one foot or so in
height. Little is, however, known accurately of the actual
power of waves to move stones of given sizes. The author has
observed pebbles of about the above weight (say 7 lbs.) not to
be moved by waves of 2 to 3 feet in height; but this might
be partly due to a thin edge of the stone being exposed to
the water. Again, stones which have resisted the force of
several waves in succession may be suddenly removed by a
wave gpuerently no larger than those immediately preceding
it.
II.—Action or Waves on A BEAcu,
21. The tendency of wave-action is, when not otherwise
expressed, referred to in the following remarks on this sub-
ject. The actual effect is that due to the resultant of the
* See Civil Engineering, 9th ed. (1873), p. 708.
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 61
several forces at work. The real difficulties of the subject
le in apportioning to the several forces at work their
relative value, so as to obtain a proper resultant, and, more
particularly, in ascertaining what force is required to move
materials of a given size and weight, and where such
materials will be deposited as the power of the water to
retain them in suspension is destroyed.
(a.) How Shingle is caused to Travel along the Shore.
22. Waves before breaking, being waves of oscillation
merely, have, in general, very little effect on the material
forming the bed of the sea. After the waves have broken
they become waves of translation. On a wave breaking on
any shore, or on a wave which has broken at a distance
reaching the shore, a large quantity of water is, as every-
one may have seen, thrown forward and flows up the slope,
gradually decreasing in velocity till it reaches a certain point,
from which it flows back down the slope. The water falling
from the crest of a wave, on breaking, stirs up some of the
material forming the beach. This will take place to a con-
siderable extent if the water fall directly on to the beach,
but to a less extent if it fall on to a cushion of water of
some thickness. In the former case, a portion of the material
disturbed is carried up the slope by the force of the water,
and probably some material is carried by a back current (or
under-tow) down the slope under the water-line. In both
cases the return wave also will carry some material, when
not too large, down the slope with it.
- «23, If the waves come directly on-shore, the material is
carried alternately up and down the slope in lines nearly at
right angles to the shore-line, so that the position of the
particles laterally is altered but little. If, however, the waves
come obliquely on to the shore, the particles are carried up the
slope obliquely, and, on being washed down again, are some-
what in advance of the position they first occupied, the
advance corresponding with the motion of the waves along
the shore. The more acute the angle, within certain limits
(probably about 45°), at which the waves strike the shore,
the greater the advance of the material at each movement.
- (b.) Wave-action on a Beach wnder various conditions.
24, When a wave breaks on a shingle beach and carries
stones up the slope, these stones will be gradually deposited
as the velocity of the water decreases, the largest first and
62 Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand.
the smallest where the force of the water is least. The
return wave will increase in force as 1t descends the slope,
and it will gradually remove larger and larger stones till its
force be checked. ‘The steeper the slope the more rapidly
will the on-shore wave be destroyed, and the more rapidly
will the return wave increase in force; and vice versd.
Whether the return wave can remove and carry down the
slope as large stones as had been deposited by the on-shore
wave, or not, will depend on the slope of the beach. On
a flatter slope than usual, the return wave will not acquire
sufficient force; but, on a slope steeper than ordinary,
it will doubtless acquire the force. Under certain con-
ditions, all the largest stones are deposited at the highest
level; under certain otber conditions, at the lowest level.
It must be noted that the return wave flowing down a slope
is not destroyed on meeting an on-shore wave. The two waves
cross, and the return wave continues its course away from
the shore, gradually becoming less and less.
25. It was remarked just now that a wave breaking on,
or close to, the shore stirs up the material of the beach, and
doubtless some material is also carried by a back current down
the slope under the water-line. Thisis a very important point
to consider; the more so, as it is difficult to observe clearly
this action on the material of which the beach is composed.
A floating body may be seen on the point of being thrown
by the waves on to the beach, when it will be suddenly
drawn under the surface of the water, and will in a short
time reappear some distance off the shore. When a wave
breaks, it is probable that the particles of water in the trough
of the wave continue the backward (off-shore) motion they
had immediately before the wave broke. If such be the
case, each wave breaking on the shore, or so close to it for
this backward motion to be felt on the beach, has a tendency
to draw under the water-line some of the material disturbed,
as well as to carry material up the slope, as above explained.
26. If an on-shore wave break at a distance from the
shore, and on to a considerable cushion of water, the back-
ward motion of the water in the trough of the wave is not
likely to have any appreciable effect on the material dis-
turbed from the beach. The water falling on to a cushion
of water from the crest of a wave would, as before remarked,
stir up the material of the beach more or less according to
the thickness of the cushion and the size of the material.
The chief horizontal movement likely to take place would be’
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 63°
due to the return waves flowing as an undercurrent down
the slope. The material would therefore be carried seawards.
The slope is here supposed to be fairly uniform from above
the shore-line downwards; the case being, in fact, a beach,
and not a shoal or bar on which waves break. The effect
in the latter case would be different, there not being a return
wave of a similar description.
27. The movement of the larger material down the slope
is doubtless soon arrested. The flow from an incoming wave
after breaking would cause most of it to be deposited at the
point of meeting the return wave; or, on reaching the
water-line, it would receive a check and be deposited ;
hence, large shingle is often not found below the water-line.
Waves following at long intervals, or so as to allow the
return waves full play, would allow large stones to be
washed down to the water-line, or possibly a little below it.
But waves following in rapid succession must check early
the action of the return waves, and either prevent their -
taking up much material, or cause the deposition above the -
water-line of any large stones they may have moved. Small
shingle and sand might be carried on, as the return wave
would not, as before remarked, be destroyed. An incoming,
or on-shore, wave passing over would, by causing an oscil-
latory motion, temporarily arrest the seaward motion, and
might allow some of the material to be deposited, but the
finer material would be carried on. Fine sand would prob-
ably be carried a long distance out. These results may be
briefly stated as follows:—The coarser and heavier the
material of the beach, the less it will be drawn below the-
water-line; the finer and lighter the material, the more
readily it will be drawn below that line; the slope in each
case being the same.
28. It would appear, then, from the foregoing remarks, |
that, theoretically, the shingle should be arranged in regular
order on a beach, the largest stones at the water-line, or at
the level where the force of the waves is greatest, that is, _
probably from a little above low-water level to a little
above high-water level, and smaller stones higher up; the -
stones should also decrease very rapidly in size downwards
under low-water level. The vertical cross section, or profile,
of the shore tends to become convex above high-water level
and concave below low-water level, and perhaps straight.
between the two levels. Practically, these results are not
always arrived at, and when obtained they are seldom.
ee
G4 Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand.
lasting; the arrangement of the shingle on a beach is, as a
rule, perpetually changing. Occasionally, a permanent
arrangement may be met with, as, for instance, when a heavy
sea, especially during a high spring tide, has thrown pebbles
up toa position from which the ordinary waves may be
unable to displace them.
(c.) Action on the Bed of the Sea near the Shore.
29. Water falling from the crest of a wave on to a cushion
of water would, in stirring up the bed, cause some of the
material to rise in the water. The deeper the water-cushion
the greater the force necessary to disturb the bed, the
material being the same. The particles, on approaching
the surface, would be carried towards the shore by the
waves (after breaking), or, in some cases, by the wind
if blowing in that direction. The greater the force of
the waves, as a rule, the coarser and heavier the material
liable to disturbance. With a heavy sea and a gale blowing
on shore, large stones might easily be transported from a
-considerable depth in the bed to the beach.
30. The greatest depth at which this action could take
place is uncertain. It is often said that loose rubble is safe
from disturbance at a depth of 15 feet; some say at any
depth over 12 feet. The rubble foundation of the Alderney
Breakwater was, however, disturbed at a depth of 20 feet
below low-water level.* Much must depend on the size
of the stones used for rubble. It is on record that “ drift
stones of large dimensions, measuring upwards of 30 cubic
feet, or more than two tons in weight, have, during storms,
been thrown upon the [Bell] Rock from deep water.”- For
shingle the above limits of depth are far too little. Sir
John Coode remarked, after an examination of pebbles
in the bed of the sea in front of the Chesil Bank :—“ These
facts demonstrate clearly that at a depth of 6 and 8
fathoms there must have been a considerable amount of
motion during heavy gales.”{ The late Astronomer Royal
concluded that in some places the stones on the beach “‘ had
been torn up by the violence of the surf from the bottom of
the sea.’§
31. The opinion of the late Astronomer Royal did not
meet with general acceptance. It was controverted, as
* Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, vol. xxxvii., pp. 74 and 108.
-t Ibid., vol. vii., p. 333. t Ibid., vol, xii., p. 535. § Ibid. , vol. xxiii, p. 228.
Shingle on the Hast Coasts of New Zealand. 65
regards shingle, by Sir John Coode in particular, who
admitted the disturbance by wave-action of shingle at
depths of 6 and 8 tathoms, but denied that the material
was thrown up on to the beach.* The author, without
pretending to decide a point on which such authorities are
at variance, will venture to suggest that the difference is
chiefly one of degree, since there are numerous instances
recorded of stones being thrown up from great depths.
Sir John Coode, therefore, could not have intended to deny
the action in toto; he evidently meant that it did not take
place to any great extent. At great depths, unless there is
a projecting rock or other obstruction to the waves, there
is little more than an oscillatory motion of stones, the
size of large shingle, caused by even the heaviest waves at
the surface of the sea, such waves not being waves of transla-
tion so long as the depth of water exceeds the height of
the waves. Although these waves might not have power
to transport to a distance stones of the size alluded to, a
current of moderate strength could do so when the stones
had once commenced to move, or had been lifted from the
bed by wave-action. Now and then the stones might be
carried within the influence of waves of translation, and
might then be thrown up on to a beach or elsewhere. In
this way, the facts just mentioned can be understood, while,
at the same time, the results, as dependent on wave-action,
may be looked upon as exceptional.t
32, A belt of discoloured water may often be seen along
the shore when nothing but shingle is to be seen on the
beach. This may be due to fine material carried down-
wards by the return waves (flowing off-shore as an under-
current), or to material stirred up from the bed of the sea
by the on-shore waves. The apparent width of this belt is
not necessarily the extent to which material is held im sus-
pension, because that on the surface is frequently in motion
towards the shore. The attention of the author was.
drawn to the fact of this belt of discoloured water beimg
sometimes wider in fine weather than in bad weather, the
reverse of what might have been expected. The stronger
wind in bad weather would, if on-shore, cause particles of
matter floating, or in suspension near the surface, to ap-
proach the shore ; the waves also would break further from.
* Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers, vol. xxiii. p. 241, and
vol. xl., p. 107.
+ See further illustration of this point in note on p. 79.
F
66 Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand.
the shore, and carry towards the shore material in suspension
near the surface. In fine and calm weather there would be
less to obstruct the motion seawards of particles of matter
held in suspension near the surface.
33. Even when the waves are not removing material from
one part of the slope to another, the bed of the sea near the
shore—that is, in shallow water—must be in a state of per-
petual motion, unless the sea is too quiet to stir the material
of which the bed is composed. The finer the material the
greater the depth of water in which it would be moved.
Coarser material at a considerable depth and heavy material
near the shore might not be similarly disturbed except by a
heavy sea. The author has observed this action on a small
scale through clear water. The sand, a little way from the
water-line, was continually oscillating up and down the
slope—towards the shore as each wave came in, and away
from it as the wave returned. With large waves the motion
would be similar at a greater depth. It is almost certain
that, at times, this disturbance takes place at a very
considerable depth.
(d.) Relation between Wave-action and the Slope of a
Beach.
34. The effect of the slope on the waves, or the action of
waves on different slopes, may now be considered. Not only
boulders and shingle, but sand, merely, is sufficient, under
certain conditions, to withstand the force of the waves, even
in the heaviest sea. It will, however, be observed that
where the seashore consists of sand, there is a very flat slope;
where the material is shingle or small stones, under similar
conditions, the slope is greater; and where there are large
stones or boulders, the slope may be very steep. It will also
be. observed that below the water-line in each case, as a
rule, the slope gradually becomes less and less ; and further,
where there is shingle on the beach, smaller and finer
material is usually found below the water-line, sometimes .
sand only, and not BEE is to be found below low-water
level.
35. It would seem that, as shingle or sand is carried ‘alter-
nately up and down the slope, and boulders also in a heavy
sea, the normal slope in either case is that which allows the
usual waves so to break as to move the material to the same
extent both up and down. If a little material in excess is
moved upwards.at one time, the irregularity is corrected by
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 67
more being moved downwards at another time, and vice
versd. ‘The less slope of the sandy shore destroys much of
the force of the incoming waves a long distance out,
and causes the waves to break before reaching the
shore. Several broken waves, one behind the other, may
be observed in almost calm weather rolling in at one
time on to a sandy shore. Hach incoming wave having
to meet several return waves, the power of each to carry
material one way or the other is, in consequence, to a great
extent neutralised. With a similar sea coming on to a
steeper beach of shingle, the waves break much closer to the
shore; but the shingle is better able than the sand to with-
stand the greater shock. <A heavier sea, in both cases,
would break further out, and the incoming waves having to
meet a greater number of return waves, the excessive
removal of the material of the beach would be checked, as
above explained, notwithstanding the greater power of the
waves. Doubtless all waves coming into shallow water
lose much of their force, before they break, in causing
oscillation of the material forming the bed.
36. It will be interesting, and will serve to illustrate this
point, to inquire what would happen supposing the waves
to break with too great force on a shore of sand or shingle,
or when the slope of either of these materials might be too
great. It has been already shown that some of the material
stirred up from the beach would be carried up the slope
and some down it. The steeper the slope the less would be
the quantity carried up the slope and the more that
carried down it. That carried downwards would be more
in the case of fine material than with coarse material. In
this way the slope would gradually be reduced to that best
suited to the material, or to that which would enable the
material just to withstand the waves. The force of the
waves would at the same time be lessened by the reduced
slope. An equilibrium would thus be gradually established.
37. The reduction of the slope may be seen on any steep
slope of easily yielding material exposed to wave-action. At
the water-line the bank is cut into, and the material drawn
down the slope. Of course, the case of a slope too steep to
permit of the material when wet standing by itself must
not be selected. Where the slope is not so steep as to cause
the material to slip from its own weight, the material can
only be carried down by the action of the waves. The
slope is thus gradually flattened, and this goes ee the
F
68 Shingle on the Hast Coasts of New Zealand.
slope becomes flat enough to withstand the wave-action.,
Increased force of the waves in a heavy sea probably has
less effect on the slope than is usually supposed, if that slope
be the one best suited to the material forming the beach; the
increased force is destroyed by the waves breaking further
out. More important points, in the opinion of the author,
are the rapidity with which the waves follow one another
and, more especially, the direction from which they come on
to the beach. On the seashore, where the action of the
waves is perpetually varying, the slope may often change ;
though the author is of opinion that other causes are usually
at work when the changes are considerable.
38. If the above reasoning be correct, as the shingle
becomes reduced in size, as will be presently explained, in
moving along the coast, the slope of the beach should
gradually become flatter. Further, so long as shingle
remains on the beach any sand formed by attrition of the
pebbles against one another is liable to be drawn under the
water-line, and thus to be lost to view ordinarily. The
observations of the author lead him to believe that these two
‘propositions will generally prove to be correct. Where such
is not the case, or where the slope of any beach differs much
from that of a beach exposed to similar wave-action else-
where, it is probable that some other agency is at work.
39. If the author may refer to the Chesil Bank in illus-
tration of this point, he would suggest that the steep slope
on the southern side of that bank is due to the strong
current which flows round Portland Island. This slope at
the south-east end of the bank is given at 1 in 53, some-
times increasing to 1 in 3}; at the other end of the bank
the slope is flatter. After a gale, the slope sometimes
decreases to 1 in 9. The slopes observed by the author
in New Zealand, when the beach had its normal slope
—that is, when it was not being denuded of shingle—
was about 1 in 10, decreasing when the material became
finer to probably 1 im 15, or thereabouts. When the
shingle was being carried forward rapidly, a portion of the
slope might become as steep as 1 in 4, but this was only
temporary. More definite information regarding the normal
slope of shingle is required.
(e.) Illustrations of the Foregowng Remarks.
40. It may serve to make clearer some of the foregoing
remarks to state here the result of an examination, by the
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 69
author, of the beach along the Western Spit at Napier, about
the time of high-water. Waves were coming from the
north-east, and were breaking some few hundred feet off the
most exposed part of the beach, the trend of which was
north-west and south-east. Now and then as many as four
broken waves were to be seen at a time one behind the
other, although there was very little sea beyond, and else-
where the waves were not breaking till close in shore.
Coarse sand was on the beach, the slope of which was. very
easy. A short distance (100 to 200 yards) west, the waves
were breaking directly on the beach, which was running in
the same direction ; the slope was steeper, and there was
shingle, not sand. Further west, the beach curves towards
the south-west, and then to the south. Here the waves
scarcely broke; there was little more than a wash along the
beach; the material was sand, with shingle higher up. In
a sheltered bay further west the beach, running north and
south, was steep, and formed of shingle; no waves were
breaking on it. On going partly round the bay to where
the beach runs east and west the waves were beginning to
break again; the slope was flatter, and the material was
coarse sand once more. Further round, where the beach
trends to the north-north-west, there was fine sand, with a
very easy slope; two or three small waves were flowing
on it at one time, the furthest out breaking at a height of
about a foot: Large pebbles projected above the sand in
places, and here, as at other places where there was sand
near the water-line, there was shingle higher up the slope.
Further on, the beach taking a north-westerly direction, the
material was coarse sand, with small pieces of shell. Beyond
this the trend of the beach was more northerly, and the
waves were larger.
41, The coarse sand above mentioned was found on closer
examination to be really very fine shingle. It was met with
in other places also. It appeared to the author at the time to
be deposited by waves coming directly on-shore, as men-
tioned in the Appendix (c) to this paper. The following expla-
nation is suggested :—After the beach has been partly or
wholly denuded of its surplus shingle, the slope would be
reduced from the water-line upwards for a certain distance.
_On-shore waves would now throw up material from below
the water-line without the power of carrying it down again.
42. Some observations as to the action of waves from
different directions (on the Chesil Bank ?) were made by Sir
70 ~=Shingle on the Hast Coasts of New. Zealand.
John Coode. The main points are given in an Appendix to
this paper, with the results of observations by the author.
The two do not agree; but the former, being applicable to
the locality where the observations were made, may apply to
some localities in this part of the world. Both are given, as
they may be useful to other observers. To assist in this,
remarks as to the chief points of difference are added (see
6 in pendix):
(f.) Summary of the Foregoing Remarks on Wave-action.
43. The following is a summary of the foregoing remarks
on wave-action on a beach :—
(1.) Waves breaking on any beach stir up some of the
material, and carry a portion up the slope. |
(2.) The return waves wash some material down the slope,
the force of the waves rapidly increasing till checked.
(5.) Return waves may, or may not, move as large stones
down the slope as the incoming waves carried up it,
depending on the slope being more or less steep than usual.
(4.) A return wave is not destroyed on meeting an incom-
ing wave; the two cross, and continue their course. But
the motion of the material held in suspension by the two
waves receives a check which tends to cause the deposition
of the heavier particles.
(5.) Waves breaking obliquely on-shore cause the material
to advance along the shore in the direction the waves take ;
but waves breaking directly on-shore merely cause the
material to move up and down the slope without altering
its position laterally.
(6.) The lower part of a wave breaking on-shore has
probably a backward (off-shore) motion, tending to carry
material away from the shore.
(7.) Waves breaking at a distance from the shore stir up
the bed of the sea, and material is in consequence carried
away trom the shore ee the return waves flowing as an
undercurrent.
(8.) Waves so breaking cause some of the material forming
the bed to rise in the water. Such material on approaching
the surface is likely to be carried towards the shore.
(9.) The bed of the sea near the shore is in a state of con-
tinued oscillation, unless when the sea is too quiet to move
the material. |
(10.) If the slope of the shore be too steep for the material
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 71
of which it is composed, the waves have a tendency to draw
material down below the water-line—that is, to flatten the
slope. In consequence of this the force of the waves is
reduced.
(11.) If the slope be too flat, material on being thrown up
by the waves will be likely to remain on the beach, and thus
the slope will be gradually increased. The power of the
waves will be increased in consequence.
ITV.—MOVEMENT OF SHINGLE ALONG THE SHORE.
44, The way in which the waves cause the shingle to
travel along the shore having been explained, the effect of
the varying directions of the wind, and of the waves resulting
therefrom, on a coast of very irregular outline may be first
noticed under this head. In connection with this matter, it
must not be overlooked that waves on coming into shallow
water have a tendency to shift round a little towards the
coast, and thus strike more directly on a shore than the
direction in which they are moving in the open sea would
seem to indicate. Shingle will not only move at varying
rates at different times, but on many, perhaps most, parts
of the coast 1t will move sometimes in one direction and
sometimes in the opposite direction, though, as a rule, there
is decidedly a greater movement one way than the other.
Waves will impinge at different angles on different parts of
the coast, and will sometimes drive the shingle entirely
away from an exposed point. In this way some cliffs, which
are at times protected from the sea by a beach of shingle, are
at other times much cut away. But even where a beach is
never thus entirely denuded, very great differences in the
quantity of shingle are generally noticeable at different times.
_ 45, Another point not to be overlooked is that, although
the quantity of shingle in motion may be constant, it may,
nevertheless, appear to be different at different points.
Where the trend of the coast favours a rapid movement one
way, the width of beach is likely to be less than where the
movement is less constantly in one direction, or the waves
strike with less force. In other words, the sectional area
would be in inverse ratio to the mean velocity.
46. As shingle is carried along it is gradually reduced in
size; large stones are reduced to small pebbles, and small
pebbles to sand. The softer the material the more rapidly
the reduction takes place. This reduction is not, however, »
72 Shingle on the Lust Coasts of New Zealand.
regular along the coast. Where the movement along that
portion of the coast fully exposed to the prevailing seas is
rapid, the shingle might appear to be of one size for a long
distance ; where the trend of the coast is different—is partly
sheltered from the prevailing seas, or is much exposed to
seas from other directions, giving rise to a contrary move-
ment at times—the movement of the shingle in the prevailing
direction being less rapid, it is likely to be reduced in size
in a comparatively short length of coast.
47, Shingle may disappear at certain points of the coast-
line notwithstanding the supply is continuous. It will be
well to consider how this takes place. Wave-action does
not ordinarily carry shingle of any size much below low-
~ water level, except where, from some cause or other, a steeper
slope than the normal exists. A current flowing round a
point, or a current sweeping round a bay, may remove the
finer material forming the base of the shingle, and may thus
increase the slope. In such case some shingle will probably
be carried below low-water level by the action of certain
waves, as, for instance, waves breaking at long intervals, and
allowing the return wave to act with the greatest effect.
But, when the beach has its normal slope, shingle may
disappear under the following circumstances :—
(1.) The fresh water, or tidal, flow at the mouth of a river
or lagoon must carry below the water-line any shingle that
may be thrown into the stream by wave-action or other-
wise, especially at the point of each tongue of shingle, which
is generally formed where a break in the beach occurs from
the above cause.
(2.) As the shingle is worn and reduced in size, the finer
particles are carried under the water-line, while the shingle
‘remains on the beach.
(3.) Where a shingle beach appears to die out gradually,
running into sand, the slope becomes flatter and flatter as the
shingle changes to sand. Then, the sand, if not accumulat-
ing, notwithstanding the continued travel of the shingle
towards the spot, must be drawn under the water-line, and
tend to raise the sea-bed. It goes, in fact, as is very com-
monly the ease, to silt up the head of the bay.
48. It may have been noticed in a former part of this
paper that the formation of a lagoon by a strip of shingle
beach is not unfrequent on these coasts. This occurs at a
point where, before the shingle beach was formed, a deep
indentation in the coast-line existed. Owing to the shore-
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 73
‘line suddenly receding, the wave-action must have been
insufficient to drive the shingle along the shore of the bay
as fast as it accumulated at the commencement of the
indentation in the coast-line. The shingle wouid then be
deposited in a line between the points of the shore termin-
ating the bay. Nosuch action takes place, ordinarily, across
the mouth of a bay when the waves can break fairly
on the shores of the bay, as in Caroline Bay at Timaru,
and at the present time north of Napier. Other instances
are to be found where the shore-line, along which shingle is
moving, suddenly recedes and, being protected in some
way, the wave-action is insufficient to drive the shingle
along the receding shore-line as fast as it accumulates at the
point. The point will then advance steadily further and
further out. This was probably the action going on south
of Napier before Scinde Island was connected with the
mainland. Similar action is going on at Hurst Castle and
Dungeness, on the south coast of England, and at other places.
49. As the action at the mouth of the River Ngaruroro, six
miles south of Napier, is due to a similar cause, the case may
here be briefly described. The mouth of this river has been
for some time past shifting steadily northwards, the shingle
travelling from the southwards. The shore behind the shingle
is formed of earth, and would be easily cut away but for the
shingle beach in front. The line of the beach is fixed, and
could be altered but slowly. The stream from the river
having first worked as far northwards as the bank would
allow, began to cut away the bank and to form a channel
behind the shingle. !
50. This has gone on, the river near the mouth having
changed its course, extending further and further north,
parallel with and behind the beach, and cutting away more
-and more of the original shore, and would go on indefinitely
if there were only a steady fresh-water stream to form the
current. When heavy floods come down the river at inter-
vals, a fresh mouth is opened through the shingle, when
the water can more easily escape in this way than along
the channel. The old mouth of this channel is then
quickly closed up by the shingle, and that opened by the
flood continues in use; but, as before, it gradually shifts
more and more to the north, and the same action as
before goes on. If the channel were kept open by the
tidal flow, this flow would gradually become less and less
as the channel lengthened, and the mouth of the channel
74 Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand.
would get smaller, and at length it would close up alto-
gether. Several of the smaller rivers on the Ninety-mile
Beach appear from the chart to be so circumstanced (see
par. 10). The water of the rivers then would either filter
through the shingle, or it would accumulate till it was Jee
to force its way through now and then.
51. The mouth of the River Tuki Tuki, two miles come
of the River Ngaruroro, is at present more constant than
that of the latter river. The author attributes this to the
very large mass of shingle which is lying in front of the
former river. The tendency is for the mouth to shift north-
wards, but the large mass of shingle is not quickly cut
away, and, before any great change can be made, a flood
coming down the river brings the opening in the shingle
opposite the mouth of the river once more. It is easier for
the smalier river, Ngaruroro, to cut away the earthen bank,
than for the larger river, Tuki Tuki, to cut away the shingle.
The author was informed that several rivers of New
Zealand are subject to frequent and heavy floods for a series
of years, and then the reverse is the case for another series
of years. This is expressed, in other words, by there being a
cycle of wet seasons at intervals. When the time comes for
the floods of the rivers to be less for a few years in succession,
the shingle will be less frequently broken through, and then
the mouth of the River Tuki Tuki may shift like that of
the River Negaruroro; probably both will have one and the
same mouth for a time.
V.
52. This is a matter upon which the author is not pre-
pared to say much. Although there may not ordinarily be
any tendency for the shingle to descend below the water-
line, so long as the beach is continuous and has its normal
slope, and the movement of the shingle is unobstructed, this
will happen when a sudden change in the trend of the coast-
line occurs, as mentioned ahove (in par. 48), or when a break
occurs in the beach at the mouth of a river or other channel
which is kept open by a strong current of water. In such
a case a spur is formed in the direction the shingle is
moving. This extends a certain distance, depending on
the strength of the current and the force of the waves; the
current has to force its way on the one side, and the waves of
the sea on the other side either driving the shingle towards.
Shingle. on the Hast Coasts of New Zealand. 75
the shore or keeping it in the direction necessitated by the
slope of the bed of the sea. The shingle is at lencth forced
over into the water, and forms a bar where the waves break ;
over this the current from the river flows.
53. The shingle being forced into the water would fall
to the bottom as soon as the forces acting on it failed to
keep it in suspension. Here it would accumulate till it
raised the bed or formed a bar across the channel just
sufficient for the current to pass over it without disturbing
it. Any shingle in excess of this washed into the bed
would, with the current on the one side and the waves on
the other, be forced across the channel, when it would be
thrown up again on to the beach. It is impossible here to
analyse the action going on; it must sufiice to state the fact.
54, The depth at which this action would take place
would vary according to circumstances. Thus, before the
channel leading to the inner harbour at Napier was con-
tracted by the present moles, the bar was at times not more
than 4 or 5 feet at low water. It will obviously be as
little as the current will permit. The important point
to ascertain is, what is the greatest depth at which the
action will go on?—in other words, what depth can be.
obtained and maintained over a bar where there is travelling
shingle? Reverting to the case of the Napier channel, all
attempts to keep it clear have, except when the shingle
was trapped for a time behind the east mole, failed to
secure for any length of time a greater depth than 8
or 9 feet at low water. During westerly weather, in the
summer, a foot or two more may be obtained ; but the depth
is reduced by heavy easterly weather. There is a very
strong current through the channel—six to seven knots an
hour in mid-stream—and yet the above-mentioned depth
only is obtainable. A slightly weaker current might not
make much difference; but if the current could be reduced
considerably in strength, the depth of water over the bar
would certainly decrease. A stronger current would probably
cause the bar to move further from the mouth without
improving the depth in any way; or it might increase the
depth, and at the same time form a long spit in a direction
between that of the beach and that of the stream, diverting
the latter and causing the channel to curve round. ;
55. Mr. C. H. Weber, late engineer to the Napier Harbour
‘Board, who very carefully observed the action going on in
Hawke's Bay during many years, prepared a memorandum
76 + ~= Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand.
for the information of Sir John Coode, which is dated 20th
March, 1879. In it he remarked :—“ The depth at which
the shingle travels can be judged to some extent from the
difference in the soundings north-west of the Bluff. The
cavities in the bottom, 15 feet below water, are found
emptied of shingle after easterly weather.” Around the
Bluff the sea has “a very uneven bottom, which traps the
shingle in its journey round the Bluff. Soundings have
proved that, in this very exposed locality, shingle travels to
the depth of fully 18 feet.”"* It may be open to question
whether the movement of shingle at this depth is due
entirely to wave-action, or is partly due to a current flowing
round the Bluff;f also, whether much of this shingle is
thrown up again from a depth of 18 feet on to the beach or
not. Much depends on the size of the waves at the point.
56. The important point to consider here is, whether the
fact of shingle shifting at a depth of 18 feet at the Bluff
can be taken as evidence that it would cross the bar at the
entrance to the present harbour at such a depth or not. In
face of the other facts before referred to{[—that during
westerly weather (when the shingle would be driven back-
wards) the depth increases, but easterly weather (which
drives the shingle forward) reduces the depth again—the
author cannot admit that any such depth on the bar could
be maintained so long as the supply of shingle is unchecked.
If this depth were obtained in any way, the author is of
opinion that the shingle would not cross the entrance; it
would accumulate till the bar became nearly as at present,
and then it would begin to travel once more.§
57. A depth of 8 to 10 feet would therefore appear to be
the maximum at which the shingle can travel freely in this
case. Under altered conditions a different depth would
perhaps result. Further observations are necessary before
anything more definite can be stated on this pomt. One
thing, however, is scarcely open to question: no harbour suited
to vessels of any size can be secured where there is travelling
shingle, unless means be adopted to keep the shingle from
the entrance.
CONCLUDING REMARKS.
58. The following deductions from the foregoing remarks
regarding shingle on the beaches visited by the author are
* See note on p. 79. t See par. 31. t See par. 54,
. § See Appendix IL, at p. 84.
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 77
given as a summary. Many of these deductions may be
of general application :-—
(1.) Shingle is caused to move up and down the slope of
any beach by the action of the waves, and is reduced in
size by constant attrition.
(2.) Shingle is caused to travel along the coast by waves.
striking obliquely on the shore.
(3.) Shingle of any considerable size is rarely carried much
below the water-line by wave-action alone. On the contrary,.
waves tend to throw up on to the beach material from the
bed near the shore. At times very heavy stones have been
so thrown up. The finer material is carried down again by
the return waves.
(4.) There is a certain slope, peculiar to each size of shingle,
which may be called its normal slope, and which enables a
shingle beach best to withstand the action of the waves.
The larger the shingle the steeper its normal slope, and
vice versd.
(5.) The tendency of wave-action is to arrange the shingle
in regular order on a beach, as follows :—
(a) The largest pebbles to collect near the water-line,
or between the levels of high andlow water. The
size should diminish slightly from high-water level
upwards, and-very rapidly from low-water level
downwards.
(0) The slope will be steepest between the levels of
high-water and low-water. Above high-water level
the beach will assume a convex shape; below low-
water level the profile of the bed will be concave.
(c) With a slope flatter than the normal, the largest.
shingle ought to be at, or above, high-water level.
With a slope steeper than the normal, the large
shingle should be looked for near low-water level.
(d) Ifthe slope differ from the normal, the wave-action
_ tends to restore the slope, reducing it if too steep,
and increasing it if too flat.
The theoretical results are seldom attained, owing to the
perpetual changes going on. The longer the forces at
work remain constant, the nearer the theoretical cendition
is approached. :
(6.) When the shore runs in one, or nearly one, direction
for several miles, without any projecting points or bays to
break the uniformity of the coast-line, shingle will be
uniform in its character.
‘78 Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand.
(7.) Where the coast-line is irregular so that the movement
of shingle is likely to be arrested at times, great changes in »
the beach may be looked for. The shingle will sometimes
accumulate, and at other times the excess will be removed.
In places the beach may be almost, or entirely, denuded of
shingle.
(8.) When an accumulation of shingle takes place at any
point, the beach is raised. This may be called a “high” beach.
In this case low-water mark may extend further out from
the shore than usual. }
(9.) When the surplus shingle is in process of removal,
being carried along the coast, a flat slope is formed from the
water-line upwards. This may be called a“ low” beach. At
the upper edge of this low beach is a steep slope between
the low beach and the high beach. This slope gradually
recedes further and further frora the water-line till the
surplus shingle is entirely removed.
(10.) A high beach will have a steeper slope, and will
consequently be formed of larger shingle, than a low beach.
(11.) Shingle is lost from the beach as follows :—
(a) By being carried below the water-line by streams,
flowing across the beach into the sea, and by wave-
action at each projecting point of the beach.
(b) By the finer particles being separated from the
shingle, and drawn under the water-line all along
the coast.
(c) By the remainder being gradually reduced to sand.
(12.) When the supply of shingle at any point, where its
movement along the coast is arrested, is too great to permit
of the whole being reduced to sand, the shingle accumulates.
If this accumulation occurs against a cliff, or where waves -
break with great force, a high bank is likely to be formed ;
but if the accumulation occur where the ordinary wave-
action on a beach takes place, the shingle is arranged in
successive ridges one in front of the other.
(13.) Where there is travelling shingle, a bar will form
under the following conditions :—
(a) Across the entrance to a river or lagoon. The
depth of water over this bar is not likely to
exceed 8 or 10 feet at low water.
(b) From any point where the trend of the coast-line
suddenly changes, or from the end of any jetty or
other similar projection from the shore.
(14.) Shingle may travel in other situations at consider-
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 79
able depths. It has been observed to do so to a limited
extent at as great depths as 6 and 8 fathoms. But whether
shingle is thrown up again from such depths on to the beach
is doubtful.
(15.) These propositions need to be confirmed by further
information before they can be considered of general appli-
cation.
59. This paper has extended to a much greater length than
the author anticipated, and is not so complete or satisfac-
torily arranged as he would have liked. He trusts, however,
that it may not be without interest to members. Much
remains to be learnt regarding the movements of shingle,
even in the cases dealt with in this paper. Observations
elsewhere require to be made before general conclusions can
be safely drawn. The author has, nevertheless, attempted
to generalise to some extent, in order that others may be the
better able to make use of what he has written; for a bare
relation of facts of this nature is, as a rule, of very little
use unless the facts are connected and the principle under-
lying them explained in some way. The author trusts that
any errors into which he may have fallen will be pointed out,
and that some one else having opportunities of observing
the action of shingle will be induced to give some further
information on the subject.
60. To facilitate the collectionof information of an uniform
character, a few points which ought to be noted are
mentioned in the Appendix (e—p. 84). Such particulars
collected from different localities would be comparable and
would probably soon remove most of the difficulties which
now surround the subject.
Note to Par. 55, regarding Wave-action at considerable
depths (see also par. 29 et seg.) :-—
On a rocky bottom, small stones and sand would be very
liable to be scooped out of crevices and hollows and forced
to rise to the surface by wave-action ; while a similar result
would not take place, at the same depth, on a homogeneous
bottom, which would yield equally in all directions. A
rocky bottom would reflect the waves.
80 Shingle on the Hast Coasts of New Zealand.
PN ge ae Ne Le
(See par. 42.)
(1.) RESULT OF SIR JOHN COODE’'S OBSERVATIONS OF
WAVE-ACTION ON SHINGLE.
(a.) Extracts from Proceedings of the Institution of Civil '
Engwmeers (Vol. XII. pp. 539-541) :—
“ An examination at low-water with the wind off-shore, or
just along the shore, will show that, as a rule, the largest
shingle to be found on any particular beach, at that par-
ticular time, is just about the level of the previous high-
water, or so far above it as the wash of the previous tide
may have extended ; and the size decreases from this down
to low-water.”
“After the prevalence of heavy on-shore winds, or a.
‘sround-swell, the large shingle will be found to be
entirely scoured away from the beach.” “Shingle accumu-
lates upon any beach with off-shore winds, whilst it is carried
off, or scoured away, during on-shore winds, and more especi-
ally by the ground-swell which follows.”
“ Seven, or any less number of waves per minute, indicate
the destructive action, and nine, or any greater number, the
accumulative action ; but no very precise rule can be framed
upon this basis.’ “A more certain indication is found by
watching the course of the water as it falls from the crest of
the wave after breaking. If it falls upon the water which
may be returning down the slope from the wave immediately
preceding—as it will do when the waves follow in rapid
succession—this may be taken as an evidence that the
accumulative action is going on. If, on the other hand, the
water descends directly upon the pebbles—as is the case
when the waves break at comparatively long intervals—it.
carries down with it a portion of shingle, and is, in fact, a
case of destructive action.” yin
The cross-section or profile of the Chesil Bank, near the
west end, taken after a gale, was very nearly a “parabolic
curve from a point more than 25 feet above high-water level.
down toa little below high-water level.” The slope between
high-water and low-water levels was, after the same gale,
“slichtly flatter than 1 in 9; and precisely the same incli-
nation has been observed, within the same limits, after a.
heavy ground-swell. . . . After a continuance of off-
ie A E CL : oh oa S = . 4
. os = f- < : n ea
aie
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 81
shore winds for two or three days, the case is very different.
Under such circumstances, the shingle takes a perfectly
uniform inclination, within the limits of the tidal range,
and lies generally at a slope of 1 in 34 to I in 4,”
(b.) Remarks by the Author on Sir John Coode’s
Observations.
The “on-shore winds” would, as a rule, be accompanied
by waves from the same, or nearly the same, direction
as the wind, and striking the shore obliquely or at right
angles as the case may be; but the “off-shore winds,” or
winds just along the shore, would be accompanied by waves
from some other direction than that from which the wind
might be blowing. Whether the waves strike the shore ~
obliquely or nearly at right angles—very important con-
siderations in relation to the movements of shingle—is
not known from the description given by Sir J. Coode.
In all cases, it would be far more satisfactory if the direc-
tion and character of the waves, rather than of the winds,
were described. The term “ground-swell” also is vague.
The scouring away, or destructive action, mentioned
by Sir J. Coode, is, in the opinion of the author, really the
surplus shingle, which has been accumulating for a time,
being carried forward by waves striking the shore obliquely.
This gives the appearance of some having been cut out,
leaving a steep slope above the water-line. The sectional
area of the shingle in motion is simply reduced to correspond
with the more rapid advance of the shingle. In the case of —
the steep slope of the Chesil Bank (1 in 34 to 1 in 4), the
general action of on-shore waves, especially if following one
another at long intervals, must be to cut into the bank—
that is, to reduce the slope above the water-line.
With regard to the effect of waves striking the shore at
different intervals, another observer, Mr. H. R. Palmer,
remarked—‘“that when ten breakers arrived in a minute,
the destructive action was but just commenced, and when
only eight breakers . . . the pebbles began to accu-
mulate.” These results, it will be observed, differ from
those stated by Sir J. Coode. Perhaps Mr. Palmer referred
to the lower part of the beach, and Sir J. Coode to the
upper part. .
The water falling from the crest of a wave after break-
ing “upon the water which may be returning down the
G
82 Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand.
slope from the wave immediately preceding,” is understood by
the author to mean a meeting of the waves on the slope, in
which case the downward movement of material would
be arrested, and the cutting-out action consequently _
prevented. Any shingle thrown up by the waves would
then remain on the beach. When “the water descends
directly upon the pebbles, as is the case where the waves
break at comparatively long intervals,’ the return waves
are able to act with full effect, and, the slope being steep,
the destructive action goes on freely.
(2.) RESULTS OF OBSERVATIONS BY THE AUTHOR.
(c.) Results Noted. (See pav. 41.)
The author did not notice the different effects of off-
shore and on-shore winds, as above; but the difference
resulting from waves coming obliquely on-shore, and from
those coming directly on-shore or striking the shore nearly
at right angles, was most marked, particularly near the
time of high-water, when the lower portion of the beach
would be submerged.
Waves coming obliquely on-shore appeared to scoop out
the shingle, to throw back the beach, and to form a steep
slope with large shingle on it. These observations apply
more particularly to the upper part of the beach; the lower
portion, when it could be observed, was usually flatter than
before.
Waves coming directly on-shore, or striking the shore
nearly at right angles, appear to form a flatter slope, to
widen the beach, and often to cover it with fine material,
which when wet appeared from a little distance like mud;
but on close examination it was found to be coarse sand,
formed of material similar to that of the shingle. These
waves would draw down the shingle from the steep slope
formed by waves striking the shore obliquely, and raise the
lower part of the beach; and further, as material is not
carried along the shore by these waves, fine shingle or
coarse sand thrown up on the lower and flatter part of the
beach must remain there.
(d.) Modifications of the above probably necessary under
certain conditions.
The author doubts whether the effect of waves striking
the shore, either obliquely or at right angles, would be
Peete ee 5 eT ye tS
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. 83
always as above. The results stated were observed shortly
after there had been a full beach, surplus shingle having
formed what may, perhaps, more accurately be described as
a high beach. Consideration of the subject, since the
observations were made, leads the author to believe that
after the denuding of the beach of its surplus shingle and
the forming of a low beach, the result of waves continuing -
to. strike the shore obliquely would depend chiefly upon
whether there were, or were not, a further supply of shingle
ready to be carried on to the portion of the beach under
observation; that is, whether there were surplus shingle
lying near on the side from which the waves were moving
or not.
If there were a further supply of shingle, the lower part
of the beach would probably not be flattened to any great
extent by waves striking the shore obliquely ; or, if flattened
for a time during changes in the weather, it would be covered
shortly with fresh shingle. If there were no further supply
of shingle, the beach would be still further denuded, would be
reduced in width and have a still flatter slope ; the material”
would probably become smaller and smaller and in time
perhaps sand only would be visible above the water-line.
This action would go on till the beach disappeared
altogether, or became so much reduced as to afford no
protection to the shore which, if of yielding material, would
begin to wear away.
The result of waves striking the shore nearly at right
angles, when there was a full beach down to low-water
level, would probably not be noticeable during a short
period of time, unless in the exceptional case of the slope
below low-water level being steeper than above that level.
In such a case, these waves would tend to draw the material
downwards, make the beach wider, and gradually reduce
the slope. Fine material would not be thrown up unless
the slope became very flat from some other action going on
at the same time. Long continued action of waves nearly
at right angles on a full beach would gradually reduce the
material by constant attrition ; the finer particles would then
be drawn downwards under the water-line. In this
way, shingle moving towards one part of a beach may
slowly disappear, instead of accumulating, as it does
when the supply is too large to be all disposed of in this
way.
Be
"aimee
2" 7 2 x IS -
EELS a ee ee ee ey
84 Shingle on the Eust Coasts of New Zealand. —
(@.) A few points to be noted when observing the movements
of shingle. (See par. 60.)
- Besides the main features of the locality and the state of
the weather at the time, it is important to ascertain what
the weather for a few days previously has been, and the
corresponding action on the beach. Not only the direction
of the wind but the direction of the waves with reference
to the shore should be noted. The approximate height of
the waves, the number of waves per minute, and whether
the water falling from the crest.of the waves, as they break,
strikes directly on the beach or on to a cushion of water,
may be usefully observed. The general form of section, or
profile, of the beach should be recorded, with the state of
the tide at the time of observation, remembering that,
except at low-water, the whole of the beach would not be
visible. Any information regarding the material and slope
below the water-line, when obtainable, is likely to be
particularly useful and instructive. Observations should
be carried on for as great a length of beach as possible,
carefully noting the bearing of different portions, if not
uniform, and ascertaining whether the beach is full or
empty at each part, or, in other words, whether there is
more or less shingle than usual.
AppEeNnpbIx II.
TRAVEL OF SHINGLE BELOW THE WATER-LINE.
(See par. 56.)
SINCE writing the paper, the author has come across a case
where the travel of shingle is interrupted by deep water.
This occurs at Harwich, on the east coast of England.
Shingle works down the coast from the north and has
formed, partly across the combined mouth of the rivers
Orwell and Stour, a long spit called Landguard Point, which
advanced in a southerly direction some 700 yards between
the years 1760 and 1865. In the last twenty-five years of
this period, the advance was nearly 300 yards; this rapid
elongation being accompanied by a thinning out of the
Shingle on the East Coasts of New Zealand. — 85
point, there being an evident tendency to form a long spit
entirely across the mouth of the channel, as has occurred a
few miles to the north of Harwich. The North Sea Pilot
states that between 1804 and 1826 there was “a narrow
seven-fathoms channel close to the walls of Landguard Fort.”
In 1826, the point advancing, gradually “reduced the avail-
able depth into the harbour to 11 feet.” About 1845,
dredging was commenced; this has increased the depth to
17 feet at low-water springs, which was the depth in 1874.
The point to which the author wishes to draw special
attention is that at one time no shingle seems to have crossed
the channel. Then, as the depth was reduced, shingle began
to give trouble on the south side; and latterly, it would
appear from various accounts, the shingle has decreased
again. ‘The conclusion forced on one is, that with a depth
of 11 feet, some shingle crossed the channel, but that with
a depth of 17 feet or 18 feet it does not cross under ordinary
circumstances, During heavy weather, some small quantity
_may be carried across the increased depth. |
It may be interesting to note here that sand has formed a
similar spit, called Spurn Point, partly across the mouth of
the River Humber. The depth at which this material can
cross the channel would appear, from the soundings given on
the chart, to be from 40 feet to 45 feet.
These two instances are not conclusive, because the chain
of circumstances is not as complete as could be desired; but
they help to support the author’s arguments. They show
that shingle does not cross freely a channel the depth of
which exceeds 11 feet or so, and that the lighter the material
the greater the depth at which it can travel. It may be
remarked here that the shingle on the east coast of England
is, by all accounts, smaller than that on the east coast of
New Zealand. In this case, the former would be able to
travel at a greater depth than the latter.
Art, V.—WNotes on the Electroscope.
By PRoFESSsoR ANDREW.
[Read 8th May, 1884.]
Art. VI—On a Recent Shower of Mud-stained Rain.
By R. L. J. Evtery, F.RS., F.R.AS.
[Read 8th May, 1884.]
Art. VIl.—Suggestions for Reducing Kacessiwely High
Temperature in Ships and Buildings.
By J. LockHart Morton, Esa.
_ [Read by the Hon, Secretary, 12th June, 1884.]
{N the present age, when applied science is being so much
directed to mitigate human suffering or to benefit the race,
it may be worth while to consider what new direction may
be given to any of the recent discoveries, in the hope that
something, however little, may be done to make life more
enjoyable to those in health, and to reduce the suffering and
distress of invalids, and of the sick and the dying. |
About twelve or fifteen years ago I took occasion to sug-
gest, through a London paper, how pure air might be
supplied to houses in large cities by compressing air in the
country and forcing it through pipes to the chambers of sick
Suggestions for Reducing Temperature. 87
people or to hospitals. This could not be done on a very
extensive scale, or, indeed, at all, without a great loss of
power, for, in compressing air to be forced through tubes to
a distance from the compressing engine or water-power, .
much of the applied power is necessarily lost. I was aware
that great heat is evolved by compressing air, having often
seen fire procured by suddenly compressing air in a tube a
few inches in length with a little tinder placed at the bottom,
to which a piston was driven down by a blow with the
palm of the hand ; but, as my idea was to supply pure air
discharged through a small tube from which heat would be
absorbed as it expanded to escape, I calculated that the
temperature of a room would not become much reduced,
and, as there would be no occasion for the discharge to be
constant, it could be turned off by a tap. I do not know if
my communication was published. Probably the editor
thought that, coming from Australia, it was unworthy of
any consideration.
On reading recently the very interesting paper read by
Dr. Cutts before the Medical Society of Victoria, especially
that portion of it referring to the intense heat which has to
be endured by every one on board the mail steamers in
tropical regions, but chiefly in the Red Sea, where persons in
delicate health, returning to their native land from India
or the Colonies, almost invariably die or experience great
distress, in consequence of the fearful and excessive heat by
night and day, from which, as Dr. Cutts says, there is no
escape—the sea-water itself being nearly of the same tem-
perature as the atmosphere—I at once thought it would be
an easy matter to overcome such fatal heat. I may mention
that, on communicating my ideas on the subject to Dr.
Cutts, he advised me to bring them into public notice.
When we have on many of our passenger steamers —
appliances for keeping beef and mutton in a frozen state
throughout the whole voyage, why should living human
beings in the saloons or on deck be exposed to such high
temperature as to cause suffermg and death? It seems
nothing short of an oversight to keep everything within the
meat chamber frozen, and yet permit men, women, and
children in the saloons, between decks, or even on the deck,
to suffer or die from excessive heat. :
It seems only necessary to make a suggestion that living
human beings are as worthy of being taken care of and
preserved as beef and mutton, to find that it will be
= =
| ae rl - pts - }
88 Suggestions for Reducing Temperature.
promptly accomplished. I will venture to predict that,
when this subject is once fairly considered, there will
be an immediate application of the refrigerating process
by the expansion of dry compressed air to all steamers
carrying passengers through the tropics, as well as to
hospitals, legislative chambers, town halls, and, perhaps, to
private houses in hot summer weather in tropical or sub-
tropical countries.
All that would be necessary to moderate the temperature
in saloons or between decks in steamers would be to provide
a few small tubes fitted with stop-cocks to discharge dry
compressed air within them. These should be overhead, as
the expanding cool air in absorbing heat from the surround-
ing atmosphere would have a tendency to descend, whilst
the warmer air below \ould have a tendency to rise and
mix with it. Thus, in a few seconds, the temperature of the
air within the whole space would be reduced.
No arrangement for reducing high temperature in pas-
senger steamers or ships would be complete unless it could
be applied to both decks as well. The difficulty in reducing
high temperature in the open air, say on the poop or main
deck, would be greater than in the saloon or between decks,
but I do not think it would be insurmountable. A few
small tubes provided with stop-cocks should be placed over-
head under the awning, and a few also in the fore part of
the main deck and poop. In calm weather these would be
available, especially the latter, for in the forward motion of
the vessel the cool air would drift aft towards the stern.
Should a wind blow from either quarter, I assume that a
curtain would be placed to windward to protect the pas- —
sengers. Movable standards with flexible tubes, so that
they could be shifted to suit the direction of the wind,
would, perhaps, be most serviceable with a wind from either
quarter.
It would be a great gain to have this suggestion earried
out between decks. It could be applied subsequently to
the upper deck in the hest way to be determined by
experiment.
OM aN ae
: ‘
Art. VIII —Ezperience of the Barque “W. H. Besse’ im
the Java Earthquake, August, 1883.
By Mr. G. H. Riper.
[Read 12th June, 1884.]
SOME days ago Captain Gibbs, of the American barque
“W. H. Besse,” spoke to me of his experience in the Java
earthquake (he being at that time chief officer). The vessel
was on a voyage from Manila to Boston. I thought that
any information I could obtain of such a terrible disaster
would be of interest to the members of the Royal Society,
and I requested permission to look at the chart and make
extracts from the log-book, which was readily granted. On
looking at the chart of Sunda Straits, although they had only
been partially re-surveyed at the time the “ W. H. Besse”
left Boston for Melbourne, I found that a large portion of
Krakatoa Island had been submerged ; two new islands and a
large reef have appeared where deep water was previously
indicated. During the time of the earthquake the shower
of ashes was so heavy that they covered the deck to a depth
of five or six inches, and the darkness so intense it was
almost impossible to distinguish an object a few inches
distant. The day following the crew were engaged most of
the day in throwing the ashes overboard. The captain
filled a small cask out of those that had fallen on the sails.
The present chief officer, not knowing that the captain
desired to bring them to Melbourne to distribute amongst
his friends, used most of them when scrubbing paint-work.
However, I am pleased to say I obtained a small quantity
and handed them to our worthy president for microscopical
examination and analysis. I shall now proceed to read the
extracts taken from the log-book :—
Friday, 24th August.
“Off Amsterdam Island. Moderate winds and cloudy -
weather; barometer 30:14, thermometer 95.”
*
50 Experience of the Barque “ W. H. Besse”
Saturday, 25th August.
“ Moderate winds and fine weather; barometer 30°15, ther-
mometer 90.”
Sunday, 26th August.
“The day commenced with strong breezes and thick, cloudy
weather, barometer 30°15. At 4 a.m. hove short, and at 6
a.m. got under weigh, wind south-west. At 4 p.m., wind
hauling ahead, came to an anchor, the sky at this time
having a threatening appearance, atmosphere very close and
-stnoky. At 5 p.m. heard a quick succession of heavy reports
sounding like a broadside of a man-of-war, only far louder
and heavier; heard these reports at intervals throughout the
night. The sky was intensely dark, the wind having a dull
moaning. sound through the rigging; also noticed a light fall
of ashes. The sun, when it rose the next morning (Monday,
_ 27th August), had the appearance of a ball of fire, the air so
smoky could see but a short distance. At 6 am., thinking
the worst of the eruption was over (as the reports were not
so frequent or heavy as during the night), got under weigh.
Having a fair wind, was in hopes to get-out clear of the
Straits before night. At 10 a.m. were within 6 miles of St.
Nicholas Point, when we heard some terrific reports ; also
observed a heavy black bank rising up from the direction of
Krakatoa Island. The barometer fell an inch at once,
_ suddenly rising and falling an inch ata time. Called all
hands, furled all sail securely, which was scarcely done
before the squall struck the ship with terrific force. Let go
port anchor and all the chain in the locker; wind increasing
to a hurricane. Let go starboard anchor. It had gradually
_ been growing dark since 9 am.; by the time the squall
struck us it was darker than any night I ever saw—this was
12 o’clock noon. A heavy shower of ashes came with the
squall, the air being so thick it was difficult to breathe; also
noticed a strong smell of sulphur—all hands expecting to be
suffocated—the terrible noises from the volcano, the sky
filled with forked lightning running in all directions, making
the darkness more intense than ever. The howling of the
wind through the rigging formed one of the wildest and most
awful scenes imaginable—one that will never be forgotten by
anyone on board—all expecting that the last day of the
earth had come. The water at this time was running by us
in the Java Earthquake, August, 1883. 91
in the direction of the volcano at the rate of twelve miles an
hour. At 4 p.m. wind moderating, the explosions had nearly
ceased, the shower of ashes was not so heavy, so was enabled
to see our way round the decks. The ship was covered with
tons of fine ashes resembling pumice-stone. It stuck to
the sails, rigging, and masts like glue, so it was weeks before
it was removed, some of it still remaining on the wire back-
- stays. One seaman was severely injured by walking off the
forward house; he died the day after the ship’s arrival in
Boston. All day Tuesday, 28th August, crew were employed
in shovelling the ashes off the decks, clearing the cables, and
heaving up one anchor. Wednesday afternoon, 29th August,
got under weigh. Was abreast of Anger at 8 in the evening ;
saw no lights on shore‘or signs of life. Although a fair wind,
furled all sail but topsails. Kept on our course slowly, and
cautiously heaving the lead every few minutes. At daylight
the Straits were covered with trees, so 1t was difficult find-
ing a passage through them. Passed a large number of dead
bodies and fish, and thousands of green cocoanuts. At 6 p.m.
were outside of the Straits. The ocean for 600 miles was
covered with ashes and lava, the water for 1000 miles having
a dull grey colour. Five of the crew were taken sick with
the Java fever the day after leaving the Straits. Buried one
man at sea. After rounding the Cape experienced a very
heavy gale in the Gulf and bad weather on the coast, with
only five men to work the ship, and those completely laid
up by the time we got a pilot on board off Highland Light,
one seaman dying the day after we arrived, and several more
‘going to the Hospital.”
ArT. I[X.—Deseriptions of New, or Intile Known,
Polyzou.
Part VII.
By P. H. MacGiitrvray, M.R.CS., F.LS.
[Read 10th July, 1884.]
Family, CELLULARIDA,
Maplestonia, n.gen. Plate L., fig. 9.
POLYZOARY consisting of series of single and geminate cells,
connected by distinct, corneous tubes. Cells with the front
wholly occupied by a membranous area, or with the lower
part filled in; imperforate behind. No avicularia or vibra-
cula.
M. crrata.
Portland, Mr. Maplestone ; Warrnambool, Mr. Watts.
M. cirrata seems to be very rare, and I have only had an
opportunity of examining three or four specimens. It occurs
in minute purplish tufts, the branches curling inwards.
They are arranged in series of single and geminate cells. In
the single cells the front is usually entirely membranous, the
margins being thick and bevelled inwards; in the geminate
cells the lower part is usually filled in by the cell wall. The
posterior surface is imperforate, and generally marked by
transverse, faint lines. The mode of branching is very
irregular. In all cases of geminate cells, each gives origin to
the first of a series, but in some cases two branches spring
from the summit of a single cell, or they may originate from
the sides of a cell. There is no appearance of avicularia or
vibracula.
Family, SALICORNARIIDA,
Cellaria rigida, n. sp. Plate I, figs. 1, 2.
Polyzoary regularly dichotomously branched; branches
cylindrical, slightly arcuate, usually enlarging upwards.
Cells mostly rhomboidal, pointed above and below; mouth
in the upper half, lofty, slightly contracted towards the
Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa. 98
straight lower lip; operculum with, on each side, a cervicorn
mark, and posteriorly a projecting, somewhat wedge-shaped
process for the attachment of the occlusor muscles. Avicu-
larium very large, replacing a cell ; mandible of great size,
nearly semicircular, Ovarian cells rounded above, narrowed
below ; the pore semilunar, at the extreme upper end of the
cell, with the lower edge usually projecting and smooth or
obscurely crenulate.
Port Phillip Heads, mostly on Dictyopora.
This fine species forms tufts 1 to 5 inches high. The
articulations are frequently rigid from calcification. The
internodes are thick, and usually slightly curved. The cells
are nearly regularly rhomboidal; the ovarian cells broad,
and rounded above, and narrowed below. The mouth is
situated in the upper halt, the lower lip corresponding to
about the middle of the cell; deep in the interior are two
sharp, stout, calcareous denticles from each of the upper and
lower margins, directed vertically upwards and downwards.
The operculum is very peculiar. It has a large cervicorn
mark on each side, and the occlusor muscles are attached to
projecting, wedge- shaped processes. The avicularium is of
great size, replacing a cell; the upper margin projects much
forwards, and the mandible is very large, nearly semicircular,
and directed upwards. The ovarian pores are mostly semi-
lunar, situated close to the upper margin of the cell, and
about the same width as the ‘mouth ; the lower edge projects
upwards as a sort of lip, which is either smooth or very
faintly crenulate.
Cellaria Australis.
When I first described this form in Decade V. of Al‘Coy’s
Prodromus, 1 had not had an opportunity of examining
specimens of the European C. jistulosa, and somewhat
doubtfully considered it as a variety of that species. After
examination of specimens kindly sent by Mr. Waters and
Mr. Hincks, I am now quite satisfied that the present is a
totally distinct species, and Mr. Hincks is inclined to the
same opinion (Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., May, 1884). The
mode of growth is quite different. All the other Cellaric
with which I am acquainted are regularly, dichotomously
branched, while in C. Australis the branches arise by
corneous tubes from the surface of cells (or spaces repre-
senting cells), from the sides of the parent branches, and
not from the extremities. Frequently three or four spring
94 Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa.
from different parts of one cylinder. They are all directed
upwards, and are frequently nearly parallel to that from
which they have risen. The cylinders are very much
thicker, and the situation and form of the mouths of the
cells are different. Moreover, the opercula and avicularia
differ considerably, as will be seen by a reference to the
fioures. The lower part of the operculum is clouded with
a close mottling, which is wanting in that of C. fistulosa,
which is also smaller; and the avicularium is much wider,
shallower, and sharper at the extremities.
As the opercula of the different species of Cellaria afford
a valuable and easily applicable mode of discrimination,
which has not hitherto been made use of, I have figured
those of all with which I am acquainted, including the
European C. fistulosa and sinwosa. In every case it is
characteristic; and where there is the closest resemblance
(C. fistulosa and hirsuta and C. gracilis and tenwtrostris)
the avicularia are totally distinct.
Family, TUBULIPORIDZ.
Tubulipora concinna, n. sp. Plate L, fig. 10.
Zoarium nearly discoid, with a thin, smooth, or concen-
trically wrinkled famina. Cells arranged in radiating,
linear series, partially immersed in greater part of their
extent, distinct and separated from each other, slightly
contracted towards the orifice, which is produced into a long
peristome ; surface of cells with numerous white, prominent
puncta, and frequently slightly rugose; intervening surface
punctate in the same manner, or with white-bordered pores.
Ovicells long, narrow inflations transverse to the rows of
cells.
Port Phillip Heads, on shell and alge; found also by
Mr. J. B. Wilson.
This is a well-marked species, and shows the transition
to Diastopora. The zoarium is discoid, but with the origin
of the rows of cells in some specimens eccentric. One speci-
men shows a flabelliform arrangement, so that no doubt
this is the primary form. The cells are arranged in more or
less radiating series, separated from each other by the
general surface of the zoarium. They are in great part sub-
immersed, but mostly free and turned forwards at the
extremities, especially in the cells remote from the margin.
Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa. 95
They are thickly punctate, and occasionally trans-
versely rugose. The surface of the zoarilum between the
cells is glistening with numerous elevated white puncta
or (from the perforation of these) white-bordered pores,
frequently arranged in transverse curved rows, between
which there are often also slight corrugations. The
opening of the peristome is circular in the central cells and
triangular in the marginal, the orifices of the cells being of
the same shape. It differs from the other Victorian species,
and is at the same time allied to Diastopora in the greater
immersion of the cells, and in their separation by portions of
the general surface of the zoarium.
Tubulipora pulchra, n. sp. Plate IL, fig. 1.
Zoarium at first flabelliform, but becoming, by growth, of
various forms. Cells in greater part decumbent and united
to each other laterally, extremities free and more or less
erect, narrowed towards the mouth, which is produced into
a long, cylindrical peristome; surface thickly punctate,
except the peristome, which is smooth, glossy, and usually
annularly lined. Ovicells forming large inflations, elon-
gated transversely to the direction of the cells. Colour,
white.
Frequent on shells and alge.
This species is closely related to the HKuropean 7. jlabel-
laris, of which it may prove to be a variety. It originates
in the same manner by a single or multiple flabelliform
growth, which ultimately assumes various forms, usually
lobed at the margins. The cells are distinct throughout
their whole length, for the greater part decumbent, and
adhering to each other, but free and bent forwards towards
the mouth. They are arranged in irregular, radiating or
divergent lines, and are slightly contracted towards the
mouth, which is nearly circular and produced into a long,
nearly erect peristome. Their surface is glassy, thickly
covered with round, raised white puncta, which, from the
opening of the summits, usually appear as white-bordered
pores. The surface of the cells is sometimes annularly
rugose, and the mouth is occasionally closed by a punctate
membrane. The ovicells are large, stretching across the
lobules at the base or middle.
Lubulipora connata,n.sp. Plate IL, fig. 2.
Zoarium originally flabelliform, becoming usually more or
SSS a eee ta
\
|
96 Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa.
less lobed or discoid. Cells slender, arranged in radiating
lines, adherent in greater part, but with the orifices
upturned and produced into long peristomes which, as well
as the cells, are mostly connate in each series. Surface of
cells punctate as in the last species. Ovicells considerable
inflations, parallel to the axis of the cells. Colour, bluish-
purple.
Port Phillip Heads.
This species is at once distinguished by the peculiar
arrangement of the cells and their peristomes. These are
arranged i in more or less perfect rows, radiating obliquely in
the direction of the original lobules, those of each row being
united in broken series quite to the orifices of the peris-
tomes, so as to form wall-like rows. The number of cells
united in each group varies from two to six or seven. The
cells are, however, not all connate, many remaining single,
and not being arranged in definite order, but the general
arrangement is usually very marked and characteristic.
Tubulipora clavata,n.sp. Plate II., fig. 3.
Zoarium divided into clavate branches. Cells adherent or
immersed, except at the extremities, which are free and
turned forwards, arranged in oblique lines from the middle
of the branch to the edges; surface punctate; mouth
circular.
Port Phillip Heads. Dredged by Mr. Wilson and myself.
I have only seen one perfect specimen, for which I am
indebted to Mr. Wilson. It consists of seven branches,
united at their bases. The cells are closely packed, distinct
but adherent, except at the extremities, which are free and
turned forwards; they are punctate, with a circular mouth
frequently produced into a short tubular peristome. They
are arranged in nearly regular oblique lines from the middle
of the branch to the edge, and each row has three to five at
the narrow parts and six or seven at the expanded clavate
portion ; in many of the rows the cells are entirely connate.
The front of each branch is considerably elevated.
Diastopora limeata,n. sp. Plate IIL, fig. 1.
Zoarium thick, adnate. Cells arranged in raised radiating
rows, in single series at first, but at the extremities increasing
to two or three. Intermediate surface and sides of rows
finely punctate and transversely ridged.
Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa. 97
Port Phillip Heads.
In this species the zoarium is thick, and surrounded by a
lamina. The cells are arranged in radiating, prominent
rows, from which they very sliohtly project. The central
parts of the rows consist usually of only a single series,
increasing towards the margin of the zoarium to two or
three. In some specimens there are two series almost from
the commencement. These series are in all cases continuous,
and the ridges formed by them are considerably raised, some-
times much more so than in the specimen figured. The
mouth is elliptical, and usually, except at the termination of
the rows, closed by a punctate membrane. I have not seen
any of the peculiar calyptriform covers on any of the cells,
such as are found in D. sarniensis. The whole surface is
thickly punctate, and the deep spaces between the ridges
transversely rugose. It is readily distinguished by the great
projection of the regular, radiating rows of cells.
Diastopora fasciculata, n. sp. Plate IIL, fig. 2.
Zoarium adnate, with a distinct lamina, partly free at the
edges. Cells arranged in distinct, elevated, radiating ridges,
very much enlarged and prominent at the extremities; the
narrow parts very prominent, transversely wrinkled, and
showing the mouths of a few closed cells, the extremities
forming bundles of closely packed cells, mostly opening
terminally. The surface between the ridges punctate and
transversely rugose.
Port Phillip Heads, Mr. J. B, Wilson.
The only specimen I have seen is the one figured. The
basis is a calcareous lamina, much twisted, probably from
the nature of the object, seemingly a friable nodule, to which
it was attached. The whole is irregularly divided into two
lobes. The cells are arranged in distinct, radiating bundles,
very prominent and narrow at their first portions, but
becoming broader and partially free at their extremities.
The narrow convex parts are transversely rugose, and the
closed orifices of a few cells can be obscurely distinguished.
The outer parts present the orifices of numerous, close-packed
cells, opening in clusters or in a vertical single or double
series.
Although entirely Diastoporidan, D. fasciculata shows a
decided approach to the structure of Fasciculipora in the
distinct bundles of cells opening at the extremities.
<—oEe
98 Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa.
Family, DISCCPORELLID2.
Favosipora, n. genus. Plate IL, fig. 4.
Zoarium adherent, raised at intervals in irregular, elevated,
rounded ridges, with a distinct lamina. Cells large, of
unequal size, closely packed, prismatic.
Ff, rugosa, ni. sp.
Forms small, crustaceous expansions, growing on a lamina
like Discoporella, The zoarium is composed of large, closely
set, prismatic cells. Their openings vary in shape, and also
a good deal in size, but there is no structural difference
between the largest and smallest. There are usually
some irregular, elevated ridges, sometimes obscurely parallel,
on different parts of the zoarium. In some cases the cells
open all over these elevations, but frequently, especially in
the higher, the sides are smooth, the cells opening only on
the summit. Some of the cells are closed by a punctate or
perforated calcareous membrane, confined to a single cell, or
spreading over a number, as in the specimen figured. I
cannot detect any spines in the interior of the cells.
This genus is evidently allied to Densipora corrugata,
and there can be no doubt that they belong to the same
family as Discoporella. On a fragment of stone I have two
small, nearly discoid, specimens, which are forcibly sugges-
tive of some forms of D. radiata.
NoTE ON DIPLOPORA.
When I proposed the genus. Diplopora for Mr. Hutton’s
Membranipora cincta, I was not aware that the name had
already been used, and I would therefore now alter it to
Dviploporella.
EXPLANATION OF FIGURES.
PLATE I,
Fig. 1. Cellaria rigida, natural size. Fig. la. Portion of a
branch, magnified. Fig. 1b. Group of cells and an
avicularium, replacing a cell. Fig. 1c. Three cells,
showing ovarian pores in two. Fig. ld. Single cell,
showing the intra-oral denticles. ;
ue
aa ST ne
Wii —
a oe
Ale scatutisnmreene
Rewer
: Ved Pe, guee® Pig ta
i
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig,
fo)
Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa. 99
. 2. Operculum of C. rigida, posterior view, to show the
attachment of the occlusor muscles. Fig. 2a. Anterior
view of the same.
>)
3. Opercula of C. Australis. Fig. 3a. Avicularian
mandible of the same.
. 4, Opercula of C. fistwlosa, from a Mediterranean speci-
men. Fig. 4a. Avicularian mandibles of the same.
. 5. Operculum of C. sinuosa, from a Mediterranean
specimen, showing processes for the attachment of the
muscles.
o. 6. Operculum of C. hirsuta.
. 7. Operculum of C. tenwirostris. It will be seen that
the lower edge is more deeply hollowed than in the
next.
. 8. Operculum of C. gracilis.
. 9. Maplestonia cirrata, natural size. Fig. 9a. Portion.
magnified, anterior view. Fig. 9b. Posterior view.
. 10. Tubulipora concinna, natural size. Fig. 10a.
Portion magnified, showing two ovicells. Fig. 100.
Portion more highly magnified.
linn JOE
1. Tubulipora pulchra, natural size. Fig. Ila.
Lobule magnified, showing an ovicell. Fig. 1b. Portion
more highly magnified. The wrong scale has been
accidentally placed to this figure; it should be the same
as that in Plate I., fig. 100.
.2. Tubulipora connata, natural size. Fig. 2b. Portion
magnified.
3. Tubulipora clavata, natural size. Fig. 3a. One of
the branches magnified. 3
4, Favosupora rugosa, natural size. Fig. 4a. Portion
magnified. Fig. 45. Small portion more highly magni-
fied, showing the openings of the cells and the punctate
calcareous membrane. The wrong scale has also been
put to this figure ; it should be the same as in Plate I,
fig. 100.
Prare Di
1. Diastopora lineata, natural size and magnified.
2. D. fasciculata, natural size and magnified. On the
left of the magnified figure a portion of the lamina is
shown.
H 2
ArT. X.—Fire Alarms.
By Mer. R. E. JOSEPH.
[Read 10th July, 1884.]
Art, Xl.—Australian Cave Paintings.
By Dr. S. M. Curt, oF NEw ZEALAND.
[Read by the Secretary 14th August, 1884.]
Art, XIl.—An Inquiry inte the Cause of Gravitation.
By Mr. T. WAKELIN.
‘Read by the Secretary 14th August, 1884, ]
Art. XI1]—Supplementary Notes on the Diabase Rocks
of the Buchan District.
By A. W. Howitt, E.GS.
[Read 16th October, 1884.]
On a former occasion I laid before the members of this
Society a paper on the Diabase rocks of the Buchan district.*
I was unable to speak at that time with desirable confidence
as to the exact position and character of some of the forma-
tions which I found at Murendel South. Since then, how-
ever, | have taken occasion to carry out further examinations,
and to collect materials for microscopic analysis of the
rocks. The results are embodied in these notes and in the
accompanying diagram section. I hope thereby to make
my former account of the Upper Buchan beds somewhat
more complete.
For convenience of treatment I have arranged my subject
under the following sections :—
The Quartz Porphyrites—The lowest rocks which I
found at Murendel South are rough-textured, often massive,
and always dark-coloured (red or purple) igneous rocks. In_
some places I have also observed just such rocks forming
the higher ridges, and in such cases their position is probably
due to the extensive faulting which has effected the district.
In the diagram section I show rocks of this kind at the
level of the Murendel River, and also at the summit of the
ridge marked (k).
The rocks at the place marked (a) and (e) are rudely
bedded, and dip 8. 30°—40° W. at about 15°. I prepared
several thin slices of the samples I collected at (a) and (e). ~
The ground-mass in these slices is crypto-crystalline, and
is apparently composed altogether of minute granules of
felspar and quartz, with some intermixed felsitic basis, which
also fills in certain spots almost exclusively. In other places
* Royal Society of Victoria, read 19th May, 1881.
102 Supplementary Notes on the Diabase Rocks
the ground-mass becomes coarser in its elements, and the
basis disappears.
In the ground-mass there are numerous fragments of
quartz crystals, but these are “ eroded,’ as is so frequently
the case with quartz crystals in rocks of the quartz
porphyry or quartz porphyrite classes, as, for instance, in
those I have lately described from Noyang.*
I observed in some slices more than in others porphyritic
felspars, as well as quartz crystals. These felspars have
been so much altered that it is difficult to speak with abso-
lute certainty as to what some of them have been. Some
are converted into a saussurite-like compound, others are
kaolinised and infiltrated by iron ore; but after a careful
examination and comparison I have come to the conclusion
that the majority of these porphyritic felspars were plagio-
clase.
I have not observed either mica or hornblende. The
general red colour of these rocks is due to their being per-
meated by ferric hydrate, which is a secondary product.
According to the above definitions these rocks belong to
the quartz porphyrites.
Somewhat to the north of the high point marked (k) in
the diagram section, I have found an outcrop of rocks in
one of the gullies leading to the Murendel River. The
samples which I collected prove upon examination to belong
to this section of my description. They are harsh textured
rocks of a dark colour, inclining to grey or olive. They dip
S: 10° W. at about 15°, and they appear to be bedded lavas,
for I observed in them very numerous vesicles drawn out
in a direction not quite that of the dip, indicating move-
ments in the rocks when they took up their present
positions. I found by the examination of thin slices that
this rock has a ground-mass composed of quartz and felspar
in variable proportions. In one part of a slice I also
observed a mass of brown glassy basis enclosing portions of
the micro-crystalline granular materials.
In this ground-mass there are very numerous quartz
crystals, one of which is eroded and filled in by it
in the characteristic manner. I found also several por-
phyritic crystals of felspar,in some of which I could observe
the twin structure of the triclinic felspars. As a rule,
these felspars are too much altered for their original
* Royal Society of Victoria, read 10th May, 1883.
of the Buchan District. 103
character to be seen. I have not observed any crystals of
mica, or of hornblende, nor any alteration products which I
could refer to those species, unless it were some slight traces
of chloritic minerals.
This rock may, with some reasonable certainty, be referred
to the quartz porphyrites, and I feel little doubt that it
represents the former condition of the “red rocks” which I
have just before described.
The Diabase Rocks.—Resting upon the red porphyrites
there is a considerable thickness, perhaps 200 feet, of Diabase
rocks. The lowest of these hes on the porphyrites, but I
cannot feel sure that they are entirely conformable in dip to
them.
The lowest Diabase rocks which I could examine are
those indicated at (d), and they are a good example of the
Diabase tuffs of the district, containing also rounded frag-
ments of the underlying red porphyrites. These tufas are
so friable and so much altered that none of the samples I
collected would admit of a thin slice being prepared for
examination.
It is in a continuation of these fragmental beds that the
adit of the now long-defunct Murendel South Mining Com-
pany was driven, at the place where the beds are cut off by
a strong north and south nearly vertical fault, which I have
shown on the diagram by (z).
The heaps of stuff brought out of this adit during the
time it was being worked show that the rocks adjoining the
fault are much more altered than those at a little distance,
and that they have been slightly enriched by deposits of
lead and copper, and massed together by a good deal of red
jasper and chalcedony.
The rest of the Diabase upwards from (c) consists of bands
of various texture, some being fragmental and others compact.
The latter show along the steep hill sides in several strongly
marked outcrops.
I collected samples from the beds marked (b) and (c) and
also at the place (h).
On examining thin slices I found all to have the well-
marked characters of the Diabase porphyrites, as described by
me in the previous paper. All that I need note is that
enstatite is rare, seemingly, as I found it only in one slice,
and that the samples taken from (¢) near the fault contain
olivine. These samples are much altered, and the olivine
is converted more or less into a translucent, red micaceous
:
5
:
I
:
i
Se . ae a
aD hhh Spr
— AS yas NE:
| om tn
+
:
eave
104 Supplementary Notes on the Diabase Rocks
mineral (Rubellane), the final stage being to a hydrated ore
of iron.* All these Diabase rocks belong to the same
formation, and the same period of time as those I have
described as occurring to the eastward of the Murendel
River, and also at the Snowy River.
The Livmestones.—On these Diabase rocks rest conform-
ably about 150 to 200 feet of the Buchan limestones, I
collected and examined examples from the places marked
(f) and (g).
These are all composed mainly of carbonates, whose yellow
colour indicates the presence of iron among their bases. The
carbonates are confusedly aggregated together as masses of
rhombic crystals, including numerous angular fragments of
quartz crystals, and of pieces of more or less altered
porphyrite rocks. Here and there spaces are filled in by
choritic minerals. __
These limestones, without doubt, representthe passage beds
which I have before described as connecting the upper and
lower divisions of the Buchan beds.
The Faults—The group of formations which I have now
briefly described are cut off on the western side by a double
fault shown upon the diagram section as (a#)—(z!). The
eastern fault of the two is, I suspect, a continuation of that
on which the workings of the Murendel Mine have been
carried on.
Such faults as these seem to be common in the district.
Perhaps to speak more correctly, I might say that such
faults are more easily recognised in’ the Buchan district,
where the succeeding formations differ so much from each
other than in other parts of North Gippsland, where are
found only the Silurian series, and the igneous rocks which
have intruded into it.
The faults at Murendel seem to me to have an essential
relation to the ore deposits. In their neighbourhood the
rocks of whatever kind are seen to have been more or less
altered. The quartz porphyrites have been least affected ;
the Diabase rocks most so ; and the limestones have, as a rule,
been bleached and crystallised. All the rocks traversed by
these faults near Murendel have been more or less impreg-
nated with ores of various metals, and in certain places the
deposits of ore have been such as to induce mining com-
panies to attempt working them.
* See Progress Report, No. 5, Geological Survey of Victoria, p. 143.
West
Déagram Section at Murendel South
Approximate Scale, 300 f¢.4o one Inch
S25 pacha bimestones! cI Diabase Porplyrrite C= | Diabaselulas BoM acccurts Porphyrites
of the Buchan District. 105
As to the period at which these faults were formed, I
cannot well-form an opinion beyond this: that they are
subsequent in age to the Middle Devonian, for they pass
through the Buchan beds, which, in the locality referred to,
terminate the geological record.*
*In the Report of Progress, No. 5, of the Geological Survey of Victoria,
p. 134, Isuggested an explanation of the formation of the ore deposits at
Murendel. At that time I inclined to the belief that the black basalt-like
rocks at Back Creek might be intrusive. Subsequent investigations have shown
that these rocks belong to the Diabase porphyrites, and are contemporane-
ously interbedded in the Buchan series. It is therefore necessary to point
out that in so far my suggestion requires to be modified, but 1t may remain
as to the probable reactions between metallic solutions permeating the faults
and the organic constituents of the limestones which they traversed.
Art. XIV.—Descriptions of New, or Lrttle Known,
Polyzoa.
Part VIII.
By P. H. MacGiiiivray, M.R.CS., F.LS.
[Read 20th November, 1884. |
Family CATENICELLIDZ.
Catenicella gracilenta, n. sp. Plate L, fig. 3.
CELLS much elongated, very narrow; mouth arched above,
slightiy hollowed below, or subcircular. Anterior surface
papillose; posterior, smooth. A narrow, entirely lateral
vitta extending the whole length of the cell. Lateral
processes small, usually with a sharp angle above projecting
outwards and forwards ; a minute avicularium opening out-
wards on the outer edge. Ovicell cemented to the front of
the cell above, which is sessile on the ovicelligerous cell, with
a, quadrate smooth area.
Port Phillip Heads, dredged by Mr. J. B. Wilson and
myself. |
This is a small species, readily distinguished by its
exceedingly slender cells. The ovicell is peculiar. As in
C. elegans, Busku, fusca, and some others, it is cemented to
the front of the cell above, which is sessile on the ovicelli-
gerous cell. On the front of the ovicell is a quadrate,
srnooth area, about twice as high as broad, totally different
from the marking of any other species. I had, unfortunately,
not seen the ovicell before the plate was lithographed, so
that it is not figured. The specific name was suggested by
Mr. Wilson. |
We have several other forms of Catentcella, which I believe
to be different from those described. The discrimination
of the minute species is not always easy, and the whole
genus requires a careful revision, which I hope to be soon
able to make. i
Descriptions of New, or Lntile Known, Polyzoa. 107
Family CELLULARIIDE.
Canda tenwis,n.sp. Plate IV., fig. 1.
Zoarium very slender; cells biserial, elongated; a spine
on each side above; margins thick and crenulated ; aperture
elliptical, occupying about two-thirds of the front; avicularia
on the median tract large, with the mandible opening up-
wards; vibracula with groove extending beyond the cell
and encroaching on that of the opposite series; sete slender,
smooth ; radical connecting tubes slender.
Port Phillip Heads.
This is closely allied to the common C. arachnoides, from
which it is distinguished by its much smaller size,more slender
branches, and especially by the vibracular grooves for the
lodgment of the setee extending on the surface of the cell on
the other series; while in C. wrachnoides they are confined
to the cells to which they belong, not reaching quite to their
inner edges. —
Maplestonia simplex, n. sp. Plate I, fig. 2.
Zoarium formed of slender, dichotomously-divided branches,
each division rising from the outer angle of a cell, and each
internode being unicellular. Cells elongated, expanded
above, narrowed below; margin thickened and inflected ;
the anterior surface filled in by a thin membrane, with the
mouth opening by a flap at the upper extremity. Posterior
surface smooth.
Port Phillip Heads, Mr. J. B. Wilson.
Forms small tufts, about three-quarters of an inch in
height, of slender dichotomously-divided branches. The
cells are elongated, wide and square above, tapering below,.
and each gives rise to another at each upper angle, so that
the internodes are unicellular. The joints are annulated.
Family SALICORNARIIDZ.
Tubucellaria cereoides, Ellis and Sol. Plate I, fig. 4
Zoarium consisting of cylindrical branches, each branch
articulated by a corneous tube to the side of that from which.
it springs. Cells indistinct; mouth circular; peristome
slightly projecting; whole surface punctate.
Port Phillip Heads, Mr. J. B. Wilson.
108 Descriptions of New, or Inttle Known, Polyzoa.
Of this I have only seen two specimens, sent to me by Mr.
J. B. Wilson; one three-quarters of an inch in length, the ©
other smaller. The zoarium consists of cylinders branched
exactly as in Cellaria australis, the branches not dviding
dichotomously, but rising from the sides by flexible corneous
tubes. The cells are, on the surface, quite confluent, and
mostly only distinguishable by their mouths. The whole
surface is beautifully punctate, the punctations being caused
by the reticulation of chains of small depressions or pores.
The cells are slightly bulging below, and there is usually a
minute circular opening above the middle, not shown in the
ficure. ,
In a Mediterranean specimen, the cylinders present the
same appearance, but are more calcified, and some are larger.
The chains of reticulation are raised by calcareous deposi-
tion, so as to leave pits corresponding to the punctations in
the Victorian specimen figured. The cells are more bulging,
mostly separated by distinct lines, and the peristome is more
prominent. The corneous tubes connecting the smaller tubes
are annulated. The connection of some of the larger
cylinders is composed of bundles of tubes similar to the
radical tubes, by a mass of which the whole zoarium has
been attached. The latter, however, are very loose, branched
_ and jointed.
Family BICELLARIIDE.
Beania Wilsom, n. sp. Plate IL, fig. 1.
Cells connected with six others by long, corneous tubes,
suberect, entirely open in front ; two or three short, straight,
slender spines, and one or two sharp, incurved spines on the
margin on each side. Posterior surface smooth. A large,
capitate avicularium articulated at the upper part of the
cell on each side.
Port Phillip Heads, Mr. J. B. Wilson.
This is undoubtedly distinct from the other Australian
forms described, although in some respects approaching B.
(Diachoris) spinigera. It is, however, closely allied to the
South African Diachoris distans of Hincks, from which it
differs in having avicularia on both sides, and in the absence
of the round mark of the radical tube posteriorly.
Another species of Beania, which has been dredged at the
Heads by Mr. Wilson and myself, seems to be identical with
Busk’s D. costata, described from Kerguelen’s Land (Phil.
Descriptions of New, or Intile Known, Polyzoa. 109
Trans. 1879, extra vol.), from which it differs only slightly
in the size and direction of the avicularia, which in the
Kerguelen form are described as large and reclinate, and seem
to be very similar to those of B. spinigera, while in the
Victorian specimens they are smaller, and poited more
forwards.
I have already given my reasons for uniting most of the
species of Diachoris with Beania, and referring the others
elsewhere.
Fanvily GEMELLARIIDZ.
Urceolipora dentata, n. sp. Plate I., fig. 1.
Cells arranged in a double series facing opposite ways,
alternate, elongated, subcylindrical, but narrowed below and
projecting in front. Mouth terminal, oblique, lower margin
straight, upper semicircular with usually five short, stiff
spines. Ovicell large, imbedded in the front of the cell
above.
Port Phillip Heads, dredged by Mr. Wilson and myself.
Forms small tufts about an inch high. The cells bear a
marked resemblance to those of Calwellia bicornis, although
there is not the same peculiar mode of connection. On the
lower lip there is on each side a minute mark or pit, and
immediately below a small median pore.
Family FLUSTRIDZ.
Cabasea reticulum, Hincks. Plate IV., fig. 2.
I have received some small fragments from Mr. Wilson
which seem referable to the Flustra reticulum of Hincks
(Ann. and Mag. Nat. Hist., Aug. 1882). The zoarium is
divided into broad, short, ligulate branches. The cells, which
are disposed in a single layer, are of large size, rounded above,
wider at the middle, and contracted below. The margins are
very prominent, and the mouth is small, situated at the
upper part. |
In one of the specimens a cell is surmounted by an ovicell,
which is rounded, extending about half way up the cell
above. In the same specimen there is a single avicularium
which agrees with Hincks’ description, and is very peculiar.
It replaces a cell and is of the same size. The mandible is
very large, rounded above, and convex, fitting closely to the
thin margin. The lower part of the avicularian cell, below
110 Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa.
the articulation of the mandible, is very small, membranous,
and triangular. The specimens present an extraordinary
development of spines. These are situated along the
posterior edges of the zoarium, are directed upwards, back-
wards, and inwards, and are divided into numerous long,
nearly straight, sharp branches. They are not noticed by
Hincks, and as the specimens agree with his figure and de-
scription in other respects, I think they can only be varietal,
and cannot consider them as of specific value.
Family MEMBRANIPORID.
Membranipora bimamilata,n. sp. Plate IL., fig. 2.
Zoarium encrusting. Cells elongated, quadrate, separated
by raised margins. Aperture elliptical, the edge formed by
a thickened, crenulated rim; the lower part of the aperture
occupied by a large plate or denticle, sloping backwards and
usually with a fissure or notch on one side. Front of the
cell formed by a calcareous, granulated lamina, sloping
inwards to the aperture. At the lower part of the cell are
two rounded prominences or mamille, or occasionally only a
single, transversely elongated mass. |
Portland, Mr. Maplestone. 3
The broad, smooth plate at the lower part of the aperture
is evidently of the same nature as the serrated denticle of
Biflustra delicatula, with which, and M. papulifera, this
species is closely related.
Membranipora iporcellana,n.sp. Plate IL, fig. 3.
Cells small, quadrate, separated by distinct, narrow, raised
margins; upper part membranous; lower part occupied by a
large, smooth, white elevation ; a short, thick, rounded pro-
cess on each side at the upper angle.
Portland, Mr. Maplestone.
The cells in this species are very peculiar. They are
quadrate, separated by narrow, raised margins. The upper
half is membranous, the membranous front being situated at
a considerable depth, with the flap-shaped mouth at the
upper end. The lower half is prominent, smooth, white,
calcareous, rising higher than the separating margin. The
upper part of the cell is in the form of a broad, shallow arch
hollowed out in the base of the prominent portion of the
cell above. 7
Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa. 111
_ Family MicroPpoRELLID&.
Microporella scandens, n. sp. Plate IV., fig. 7.
Alysidota ciliata, MG.
In 1869 I described a form which I referred to Busk’s
genus Alysidota as A. ciliata. I am, however, satisfied
that Alysidota is founded on insufficient characters, and
that this species is rightly referred to Mtcroporella, one of
the commonest species of which is the well-known MW. ~
ciltata, so that it 1s necessary to give it a new specific
name. I have only seen one specimen, which consists of
a chain of eight cells, four surmounted by ovicells, running
up a branch of Bicellaria grandis. The cells are pyriform.
The mouth is arched above and straight below. There are
four or six long, articulated oral spines. The surface is
smooth, and presents no marks except the suboral pore,
which is small.and semilunar. The ovicell is of large size,
rounded, and the upper edge, where attached to the cell
above, is slightly dentate in the same manner, but not so
distinctly as occurs in VM. Malusii.
Microporella diadema, M‘G. Plate IV., figs. 3—6.
This beautiful species varies considerably in the appear-
ance of the surface of the cell and ovicell, according to the
amount of calcareous deposit, in the size of the spines, the
form and size of the suboral pore, and the situation and
direction of the avicularia. In fact, it is even more variable
than its well-known congener, J. ciliata.
In the typical form the surface is only slightly calcareous,
smooth or with a few impressions round the margin. The
suboral pore is not more than a third part of the width of
the mouth, and is rounded or semicircular. The avicularia
are situated on one or both sides on a level with, or rather
above, the pore, and are directed outwards and slightly
downwards. The front of the ovicell is smooth, surrounded
by a prominent broad band of radiating beaded ridges.
The following varieties, which I have figured, seem
worthy of distinction :—
Var. lunipuncta—In this variety the cells are broad,
smooth, and slightly grooved at the edges. The suboral
pore is a narrow, lunate slit, equalling the mouth in width.
The avicularia are of large size, situated below the pore, and
112 Descriptions of New, or Inttle Known, Polyzoa.
with the mandibles pointed outwards and upwards. The
ovicell presents the usual arrangement, but is flatter.
Var. longisptna.—Cells broad, smooth, flat, and slightly
calcareous, grooved at the edges. The spines round the
mouth are very large and long, articulated and jointed; the
lower, on one or both sides, of enormous length, and divided
by two or three corneous joints. Suboral pore round, oval,
or semicircular; about the same width as in the normal
form. Avicularia large, opposite the pore, and pointing
downwards and outwards.
Var. lata.—Cells broad, flat, smooth, except some faint
grooving at the edges. Pore of moderate size, semilunar.
Usually an avicularium on one side only, although occa-
sionally on both; generally situated above the level of the
pore, sometimes by the side of the mouth, the long slender
mandible directed mostly downwards, with a slight inclina-
tion outwards, but at other times directed more outwards.
Var. canaliculata.—1 have had some doubt about this
form, but am satisfied, after an examination of specimens in
various stages, that it is merely a variety of WM. diadema,
the differences being caused by a large deposition of cal-
careous matter. The edges of the cells are deeply grooved,
the intervening walls, as well as the cell margin, very
calcareous. A mass of calcareous matter is heaped up in a
sort of semilunar ridge in the middle of the cell. The
suboral pore is of moderate size,round. There is a large
avicularium on one side, on the level of the pore, the
mandible directed straight outwards. In the ovicell the
beaded band has become smooth, and from its inner edge a
series of deep grooves, with calcareous intervening ridges,
radiate inwards to the centre, Which is elevated into a cal-
careous mound.
Family MyRriozoipe.
Schizoporella cryptostoma, nu. sp. Plate IL, fig. 4.
Cells indistinct. Mouth arched above, straight below,
with a large sinus. 4—6 articulated spines on the margin,
the lower, on one or both sides, frequently larger. A large,
conical process arising from the centre of the lower margin
of the peristome, and almost entirely concealing the oral
sinus. Surface of cells tubercular and glistening. Ovicell
large, rounded, prominent, shining, surface smooth, or with
faint, converging lines. Avicularia of two kinds, either
=
Daeeninee of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa. 118
small, broad, and situated on a calcareous eminence, usually
by the side of the mouth, or of great size, with a long,
narrow, acute mandible, nearly equalling the cell in length,
~ Port Phillip Heads, Mr. J. B. Wilson.
At first sight this species has a striking resemblance to a
Rhyncopora, especially R. longirostris of Hincks, the large
avicularia of which are very similar. The formation of the
oral process, however, is quite distinct. It is not an out-
growth from the side of the mouth, but is a process of the
peristome springing from the lower margin below the sinus.
Fanily CELLEPORIDZ.
Lekythopora hystrix, M‘G. Plate IL, fig. 6.
Of this species I have given an illustration to show the
form of the mouth, which, in my previous figures, was
obscured by the growth of the peristome. It is lofty, and
with a sinus in the lower lip.
Cellepora munita, n. sp. Plate II, fig 5.
Zoarium erect, branched ; branches cylindrical, annulated
by slight depressions surrounding the branches. Cells con-
fused, indistinct. Mouth wide, with a deep rounded sinus
below. An avicularium on one or both sides. Numerous
scattered avicularia of varying size, some very large.
Ovicell with a distinct area, with numerous small depres-
sions.
Port Phillip Heads, dredged by Mr. Wilson and myself.
Readily recognised from’ our other Victorian species by the
distinctly annular appearance of the thick, blunt branches.
Cellepora longirostris, n. sp. Plate IIL, fig. 1
Zoarium erect, branched, cylindrical. Cells very indistinct,
decumbent. Mouth with a distinct, rounded sinus. A
small avicularium is found on one side of the sinus, becoming
carried forward by the development of the peristome, the
opposite corners of which arch over in front of the sinus,
meeting to form a rounded opening, which afterwards is°
filled in. Numerous scattered avicularia, with very long,
narrow mandibles, pointed downwards.
Port Phillip Heads, Mr. J. B. Wilson and myself.
r
114 Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa.
Cellepora platalea, MG. Plate IIL, fig. 2
This species has been already described (Trans. Roy.
Soc., Vict., 1869), but not figured.
Zoarium very small, glassy, encrusting. Cells very smail,
rounded, irregularly heaped. Mouth slightly hollowed
below, but without a distinct sinus; frequently a broad,
suboral mucro. Avicularia with very long, slender, spatu-
late mandibles. Ovicells globular, with a distinct arched
area, with radiating grooves.
A very minute and probably common species, distinguished
by the markings on the area of the ovicell, and the long, very
narrow spatulate avicularia. The fioure is not quite
correctly lithographed, the lower lip of the mouth showing a
sinus instead of a slight hollow.
Cellepora Costazvi, Aud. Plate IIL, fig. 3.
Zoarium encrusting. Cells ovate, smooth, irregularly
arranged, confused. Mouth wide, with a broad, rounded
sinus in the lower lip. Usually a prominent mucro below
the mouth supporting a small avicularium, and occasionally
an aviculiferous process from the peristome on one or both
sides. Numerous scattered avicularia, some very large, with
broadly expanded spatulate mandibles. Ovicells of moderate
size, with a rounded or mitriform area, bounded by a distinct
raised margin, pitted or sculptured in a radiate manner.
Port Phillip Heads, probably common.
There can be no doubt of the identity of this with the
European species (described also as C. Hassallw). The only
difference I can see in Australian specimens is that the
spatulate avicularia attain a considerably larger size.
Cellepora serratirostris, n. sp. Plate IIL, fig. 4.
_ Zoarlum encrusting. Cells much confused, granulated;
the outer, towards the growing edge, decumbent, elongated,
the older more erect, stouter, and thicker, Primary mouth
with a deep sinus, which becomes bridged across or closed
by the junction of the opposite angles. A suboral process,
usually bending to one side, with a large avicularium at
the summit. Avicularia very numerous, and of various
forms, thickly scattered over the zoarium; some very large,
with long, spatulate, blunt or pointed mandibles, raised on
Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa, 115
considerable boat-like elevations; some spatulate and smaller;
some on rounded cells, with broad mandibles, the upper edge
of the rostrum serrated.
Port Phillip Heads.
The most marked peculiarity of this species is the great
abundance and extraordinary forms of the avicularia. The
marginal cells are elongated and decumbent; the very
youngest have the mouth straight and entire below, but in
almost all a process of the peristome is seen rising on each
side and meeting in the centre, leaving a round opening
(Fig. 4c), which in time becomes filled in. Below the mouth
a process rises on one side, extending upwards and curving
over to the opposite side, with a considerable avicularium on
its summit, the top of the process, where the mandible shuts
down, being serrated. In some marginal cells this process
is very large and directed upwards (4a), the avicularium
situated obliquely on the summit. In some (4c) it is much
smaller. The older cells vary much in shape, being usually
short and oblique, or nearly erect. The oral pore of the
peristome can frequently still be seen, and the peristome
is also in some cases produced above in a hooded manner
somewhat like a commencing ovicell. In one or two the
peristome is almost tubular, with a slit in the lower edge.
The aviculiferous process below the mouth is usually of
small size. Besides, the avicularium on this process, there
is a multitude of others scattered over the zoarium. Some
are small and spatulate, others of the same shape but of
enormous size and much raised, the point of the calcareous
eminence projecting over part of the neighbouring cells.
Others are broad and thick, almost globular, either separate
or taking the place of the suboral process, with broad man-
dibles, the upper receiving edge of the cell or rostrum bemg
serrated. Besides these, there are a few of great size, pro-
jecting above the surface of the zoarium, with very large
broad mandibles and the upper edge serrated (Fig. 4d).
The whole surface of the cells and avicularian cells is finely
oranular.
Cellepora megasoma, M‘G. Plate III, fig. 5
Zoarium encrusting. Cells ovoid, irregularly arranged,
frequently bulging below, and with an imperfect umbo.
Mouth arched above, about as high as wide, with a rather
sharp sinus in the lower lip. Scattered avicularia, frequently
[ze
Di ties ;
‘ “i \
ate \ '
msi ¥,
pORAR OS SOS) fh)
116 Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa.
a small one, with a semicircular mandible below or to one side
of the mouth. Ovicell not prominent, granular, or pitted.
Port Phillip Heads.
Forms a large, encrusting zoarium, one specimen mea-
suring 2 inches by 14 inches. The marginal cells, as usual
in the Celleporw, are decumbent, and I believe it was a
cluster of these that I described previously as Lepralia
megasoma. The others are elevated in various degrees.
There is no distinct mucro. The surface of the cells is
normally smooth, but in portion of one specimen, in which
most are so, a number have a series of longitudinal, elevated
ribs extending the-whole length. The markings on the
ovicells are convex, but become worn off, and then appear as
pits. It forms a transition between the genera Schizoporella
and Cellepora.
Cellepora rota, n. sp. Plate IIL, fig. 6.
Zoarium encrusting. Cells irregularly arranged, nearly
erect, more or less globose. Mouth with a deep sinus in the
lower lip; an elevated process, surmounted by a short, broad
avicularium on each side, the mandible broadly triangular,
with an obtuse point; surface smooth or pitted. Ovicells
much raised, with a nearly circular, defined area, marked by
radiating grooves.
Port Phillip Heads.
The cells are very distinct, the old ones nearly globular,
and looking directly upwards. The peristome forms a
“narrow rim with a prominence on each side, on the summit
of which is a short, broad avicularium, with the mandible
pointed upwards and outwards. My specimens have no
avicularia except those at the sides of the mouth.
Family TUBULIPORIDZ.
Tubulipora lucida, n. sp. Plate V., fig. 1.
Zoarium small, flabelliform.. Cells mostly distinct, arranged
in irregular rows, smooth and glistening ; peristome long,
tubular, white, with a nearly circular mouth. Ovicells large
inflations, pierced by numerous cells, thickly covered with
white-bordered pores.
Port Phillip Heads; Portland, Mr. Maplestone.
I have seen several specimens of this species, the most
perfect being that figured, which was found at Portland by
~
Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa. 117
Mr. Maplestone. It is distinguished by the polished,
glistening surface of the cells, usually destitute of any
marks, but occasionally showing a few small puncta.
Sometimes a few cells in a series are united side to side,
and in that case the orifices of the peristome are somewhat
prismatic.
Diastopora bicolor, nu. sp. Plate V., fig. 2.
Zoarium nearly circular, consisting of three parts:ia
central elevated portion composed of perfect cells, sur-
rounded by a broad fringe of imperfectly developed cells,
beyond which is a thin lamina; the central portion is red,
the remainder glassy. The central portion is much raised,
flat and depressed at the centre. The cells are arranged in
irregular, radiating series; the series are distinct, but with-
out intervening spaces. The cells are slightly rugose and
thickly punctate. The mouth is oval or elliptical, with
slightly thickened margin ; those of the marginal cells are
open, most of the inner being filled in by a plate punctate
or perforated like the rest of the cell. In the central part are
numerous rounded eminences, mostly at the commencement
of the series of cells, and of the same width; they are punc-
tate or perforated in the same manner, but present no trace
of mouth. The surrounding fringe consists of a broad layer
of imperfectly developed cells; the thin lamina beyond this
is marked with slight, radiating grooves,’as occurs in the
corresponding part of other species of Diastopora and Disco-
porella,
Port Philip Heads, Mr. J. B. Wilson.
118 Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa.
-
x
*
oe |. Pei sx
EXPLANATION OF FIGURES.
:
*
7
Puate I. ;
Fig. 1. Urceolipora nana. Fig. 1a, Two cells more highly magni- |
fied. Fig. 16. Portion of branch showing two ovicells, from a ’
specimen mounted in balsam, and seen by transmitted light. o
Fig. 2. Maplestonia simplex, natural size. Figs. 2a and 2b. Front .
and back views of portion of the same. ‘
Fig. 8. Catenicella gracilenta, Fig. 8a. Back view of the same.
q
Fig. 4. Tubucellaria cereoides, natural size. Fig, 4a. Portion of
the same magnified.”
Pete EE:
Fig. 1. Beania Wilsoni, front view. Fig. 1a. Back view of single
cell. .
Fig. 2. Membranipora bimamullata.
Fig. 8. Membranipora porcellana. Fig. 3a. Portion of the same
more highly magnified. The wrong scale has been accidentally
given; the enlargement is about twice that of the other figures.
Fig, 4. Schizoporella cryptostoma, portion near the edge of the
zoarium. Fig. 4a. Group of cells from the same specimen,
showing ovicells and avicularia.
Fig. 5. Cellepora munita, natural size, Figs. 5a and 5d. Portions
magnified. Fig. 5c. Operculum, more highly magnified.
Fig. 6. Lekythopora hystrix, to show the form of the primary mouth.
Fig. 6a. Operculum.
——
2 ee eS a ee a
:
Puate III. 4
Fig. 1. Cellepora longirostris, natural size. Fig. 1a. Portion 3
= =
| magnified.
Fig. 2. Cellepora platalea, group from the growing edge. Fig, 2a:
Group of old cells, showing the avicularium and ovicells.
There is too marked a sinus in the lower lips of the cells, which
should be nearly straight or slightly hollowed.
Fig. 8. Cellepora Costazw. Fig. 3a. Ovicells of same. Fig. 30.
Single cell, with small avicularium on high process.
“peta
en
srl
Sn en th een ah
ea"
a ar
1 Noe
gli
in
Ko
i att
ee Aina el ee
uh
SSRN ITE TRAILS
4
NG ees
mae
2
S
E
rece i WE Ate, wer {
is j 7 ! ¥ ¥ : ‘ pany (ay a a:
; \ K Cave ras | hi
i >. e ¥e.
i 2 . :
7
|
4
} r
/ '
tone
— ae ‘neernrann ney \ -
sci ee rn ad el teeaheree ts Q,
a }
Ms ‘
Mins :
rt
\
ett a etry ama “re ,
“ oY ; ) ‘
>
?
1
:
~T
Say
AVL a
Nacrniititingn, alters
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
ig. 2. Diastopora bicolor.
Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa. 119
4, Cellepora serratirostris, natural size. Fig. 4a. A group of
cells from the edge of the zoarium. Fig. 46. Group of older
cells. Fig. 4c. Single cell, showing the pore formed by the
growth of the peristome, and a short aviculiferous process.
Fig. 4d. One of the peculiar large avicularia, with broad
mandible.
. 5. Cellepora megasoma. Fig. 5a. Group of cells showing
ovicells and avicularia. Fig. 5d. Small group more highly
magnified.
, 6. Cellepora rota, two young cells. Fig. 6a. Older cells and
ovicells. Fig. 65. Vertical view of single cell, showing the
form of the mouth.
Prare Ve
_1. Canda tenuis, natural size. Figs. la and 16. Anterior
and posterior views of the same magnified.
. 2. Carbasea reticulum, anterior view of cells, showing also an
avicularium. Fig. 2a. Posterior view to show the large
branched spines, not so much magnified. The outlines of the
cells are not shown, as they were obscured with mud.
r. 3. Microporella diadema, var. lunipuncta.
. Microporella diadema, var. longispina.
Microporella diadema, var. canaliculata.
. Microporella scandens.
a
*. 9. Microporella diadema, var. lata.
6.
7
PuatE V.
1. Tubulipora lucida.
Art. XV.—WNote on the Reproduction of the
Ornithorhynchus.
By P. H. MacGitiivray, M.A., M.R.CS., F.LS., President
of the Bendigo School of Mines Science Society.
[Read 20th November, 1884.]
THE Bendigo Science Society having offered a reward for
female specimens of Ornithorhynchus, procured in the end of
October or beginning of November, several have been for-
warded, a brief notice of the examination of which may be
of interest. The specimens were five in number. Of these,
two contained ova, two had given birth to the young or ova,
and one was unimpregnated.
Of the first specimen I received only the left uterus and
ovary, which had been removed and were sent to me by Mr.
Long, of Elmore. It was shot on Ist October. In the
ovary | found two ruptured ovisacs. One was much pro-
jecting, with a conical or mamilliform point, at the summit
_ of which was a transverse rupture. It was bright red, the
colour deepest at the apex. The other was not nearly so
prominent, of a yellow colour, the opening at the apex
nearly circular. In both, the edges of the openings were
everted. The walls of the uterus were very thick, and the
uterine glands were very distinct. The cavity contained a
considerable quantity of mucus. Two ova were found in it.
They were five millimetres in diameter, white, the envelope
tough and smooth. The contents could be seen to be fluid,
with a dense white mass occupying about a fourth part at
one side. One was situated in the upper part of the uterus,
and was slightly adherent at two points to the lining mem-
brane, which it dragged with it when moved. When sepa-
rated some minute filiform shreds remained projecting from
its surface. The uterus at this part was very vascular,
tinged red, but there was no vascular connection, and the
adhesion seemed to be caused by some accidental inflam-
matory action. The other ovum was situated in a pouch or
Tote on the Reproduction of the Ornithorhynchus. 121
hollow at the lower part of the uterus. It was not in any
way attached, and rolled freely out of its bed, which was not
more vascular than the neighbouring parts.
The second specimen containing ova was shot on the
Campaspe on 4th November. It was seventeen inches
long, in fine condition, with perfect fur, somewhat silvery on
the abdomen. The right uterus was large, with thickened.
walls, smooth internally, and containing a good deal of
mucus, but no ova. The corresponding ovary was little
developed, and there were no recently ruptured ovisacs or
appearance of any near maturity. The left uterus was very
large, the walls thick, the inner surface smooth, very vas-
cular, and covered with much mucus. Two ova, measuring
_ four and a half and five millimetres, were found in it. They
were whitish, softer than in the other specimen, the surface
of the smaller slightly wrinkled. They were quite loose,
and rolled freely. In the ovary were two recently ruptured
ovisacs close together, bright red, with circular, everted
openings. The mammary glands measured two inches by
one when undisturbed and the cellular membrane not
removed, The lobes were whitish, thick, and when cut
into were found not to contain any milk.
Of the two in which the young or ova had been born,
one was shot on the Campaspe on 27th October. It was
seventeen inches long, with dark fur. There were no ova
in either uterus, the walls of which were much thinner than
in the last two. The right ovary was very little developed.
The left was of much larger size, composed of numerous
granules, the largest the size of No. 3 or 4 shot. I could
not clearly detect the remains of any ruptured ovisacs. The
mammary glands were largely developed, with numerous
converging, thick, whitish lobes. They contained a con-
siderable quantity of milk, which, examined microscopically,
differed from cow’s milk only in the smaller size of the
globules.
The other in which the young had been born was dug,
on 30th October, out of a burrow on the Axe Creek. It |
was caught alive. In the nest was also found a single young
one, which the captor, thinking it of no value, threw into
the creek. It was described to me as being scarcely an inch
and a half in length, of a reddish colour, and perfectly
smooth, without hair. ‘The old one died before I got it. It
was eighteen inches long, thin, and the fur ragged and dirty.
The uterus and urogenital canal wereempty. The mammary
EE ee ee eo a
. 122 Note on the Reproduction of the Ornithorhynchus, :
glands were very large, as in the last. JI examined the
opened burrow two days afterwards. The entrance was at
the root of a tree, on the margin of a permanent water-hole.
Tt extended up the bank, which at its extremity was about
eight or ten feet high, following the contour of the ground,
at a uniform depth of from eighteen inches to two feet, the
total length being twenty feet. The nest, which must have
been of large size, was composed of small gum-leaves and
erass.
The unimpregnated female was sent from Hazelwood, in
Gippsland, by Mr. E. Keighly. It was sixteen inches long,
slender, the fur on the abdomen of a beautiful silvery grey,
with a reddish-brown streak in the centre. The ovaries
were small, granular, and contained no ripe ova. The
mammary glands were very small, of a reddish colour, the
lobes fleshy.
It has been recently announced that Mr. Caldwell, who
has been investigating the reproduction of the Monotremata
and Ceratodus in Queensland, has ascertained that the
Ornithorhynchus is oviparous, and that the ova are mero-
blastic. The full report of his researches is anxiously looked
for, and will be received with the greatest interest by all
biologists. In the meantime, all that is certainly known is
that ova of the size of those now shown have been found in
the uterus, that young of one and a half to two inches in -
length and upwards have been found in the nest, and that
these are suckled by the mother. The intermediate stages
of their development are absolutely unknown. It is to be
hoped that Mr. Caldwell has been able to clear up the early
life history of these extraordinary creatures, the mystery
shrouding which, we must all confess, is not very creditable
to Australian naturalists and observers.
sear
Art. XVI.—WNotes on the Meteorology of the Australian
Alps.
By JAMES STIRLING, F.L.S., Hon. Cor. Mem. Ro. Soc., 8.A.
[Read 11th December, 1884,]
In an interesting report on the physical character and
resources of Gippsland, by Mr. Skene, Surveyor-General, and
Mr. R. B. Smyth, late Secretary for Mines, the following
remarks concerning the meteorology of Gippsland are
made :—
“Tt is much to be regretted that so little is known of the
meteorology of Gippsland. A few observations have been made
at one or more points on the coast, but no information is obtain-
able respecting the climate of that part of Gippsland bordering on
the Dividing Range. In that area there are rich soils, much of
the land is well grassed, and the enclosures which we saw under
cultivation presented the most favourable aspects, and it is not
creditable to the colony that vague and probably incorrect state-
ments respecting the fall of rain, the temperature, and the ~
occurrence of snowstorms cannot be met by an appeal to accurate
records of the weather. It is our duty to recommend that no
time be lost in instituting a series of meteorological observations
in Gippsland; able and willing observers can be found in all
towns and settlements, and with a litile zeal at the seat of
Government the work would proceed rapidly, and many of the
representations which might deter settlers from occupying the
higher lands would, we are convinced, be proved to be untrust-
worthy or exaggerated.”’
Acting on the suggestions embodied in the foregoing, and
with a view to obtain some reliable data to aid physiographic
researches in the Australian Alps, 1 commenced, during 1879,
recording weather observations at Omeo, and, by a corre-
spondence with some of the oldest settlers and other
inhabitants, to elicit information respecting the weather
during previous years. So far the results seem to confirm |
the suggestions made in the above-mentioned report; for an
appeal to the records of the past five years would certainly
indicate that the empirical representations as to the extreme
severity of the climate are not altogether to be relied on,
PS
-
124 - Notes on the Meteorology
unless we assume, as some of the old residents still assert,
the climate has undergone considerable modification during
the period herein discussed. I have elsewhere* drawn
attention to the excellent yields of cereals on the Omeo
Plains during the past seven years, as disproving the notions
of the early pastoral settlers, that it would only be an
exceptional season in which wheat could be grown at these
sub-Alpine elevations, viz., between 2500 and 3000 feet,
owing, it was said, to late frosts, snow, and other unsuitable
climatic conditions. The adaptability of various portions of
the Australian Alps for most, if not all, the extra-tropical
European, Asiatic, and North American vegetable products,
is now being proved by the influx of settlers under the
provisions of the Land Act 1869. Many localities between
3000 and 4000 feet—such as the Benambra Creek uplands,
referred to in previous paper to the Royal Society,} have been
selected and in occupation of resident farmers for some time.
As an instance of what may be cultivated during summer even
at higher levels, it may be interesting to note that cabbage,
green peas, and other like culinary esculents are grown
every season—January and February—at Dargo High Plains
(4800 to 5000 feet above sea-level). The rapid growth of
vegetation during mid-summer is a noticeable feature
characteristic of these highlands, especially in those localities
where rich volcanic soils are disintegrated from the tertiary
basalts. As a summer sanatorium these highlands should
become valuable. Even to one accustomed to mountain
climbing, to cool pure air, and lovely scenery, the extreme
grandeur and sublimity of the landscape, the freshness,
rarity, and etherial purity of the air on our highest peaks
and table-lands, has a most exhilarating and invigorating
influence. The importance of meteorological observations
from the highest elevations over South-east Australia can,
I think, hardly be over-estimated, from the fact that there
is probably no other country where the necessary conditions
for studying weather phenomena are more favourable.
Surrounded by oceanic expanses, and with just sufficient
vertical relief to cause obstruction to wind and water circu-
lation, the higher regions of Australia offer a splendid area
for investigating many interesting meteorological changes.
* Notes on a Geological Sketch, Section Australian Alps. Trans. Royal
Soc., S.A., 1884.
+ Physical Features of Australian Alps. Trang. Royal Soe, Vict., p. 188.
of the Australian Alps. 125
‘The movements of circo-filum* in advance of cyclonic dis-
turbances, could be observed with greater clearness from the
Alpine stations free from the influence of smoke and other
obstructions incidental to large cities in the lowlands. The
causes which predominate in the deflection of extensive
aérial currents, and the consequent condensation and pre-
cipitation of rain, snow, &c., over the Alps—whether such
be due to ascensional movements of moisture-laden air;f to
other thermal influence ; or to the complex actions arising
from the irregular barometric depressions and anti-cyclones
which are constantly moving over the earth’s surface in the
temperate zones;{ the protrusions of areas of high and low
pressures, &c.,§ or other causes of like nature—would doubt-
less be more satisfactorily determined by establishing a
chain of high-level observatories from the Western Australian
ranges, across South Australia and the summits of the
Australian Alps, to the Blue Mountains in New South
Wales, and which might be expected to furnish data of
sufficient scientific importance to enable our able Australian
astronomers to establish some valuable weather laws, or, in
addition to determining more fully the laws of meteorology
prevailing over our Australian continent, enable them to
reduce the already formulated theories of Europe and
America to general laws, and, to quote the immortal Von
Humboldt, “by a combination of thought and observation
discern the constancy of phenomena in the midst of apparent
change.” The following statistics, relative to weather
observations at Omeo, with notes on the higher regions
surrounding this centre, are now given :—
*Rev. Clement Lay, Q. J. of Met. Soc., Vol. IX., 1883,
} Rainfall of Cherrapunji, Q. J. of M. S., Vol. VII, 1882.
t Scott’s Meteorology, p. 332. :
§ President’s Address, Vol, XVIII., p. 21, 1881, Trans, Ro. Soc. Vict. .
a ata, BL-PG | 96 |89-T] 8 99-6 |P- BILE |6-OT/9P-3 9-OT/L9-T |9-86L-T |P-8/9F-T 19-6/L9-T |G-2/66-T |8-L/88-6 F-LITT-% |6-F/46-0 |9-F| weopy
; ’ ;
; Be yee py es 807) 6 JOT-G] 4 198-1] TT T2-0] € |6F-T} LT/8P-T] 9 |TP-T] 6 100-8) 9 |F0-L| 9 [9FT] 6 | F8ST
68-06 | 86 |LT-1] 6 |PP-T) 8 |LP-G) PL |GO-G| SL |SL-T] 2 [8h T| OL/SF-1| S \ThT] TT/ST-T] ¢ 148-0] ¢ |€2-T] 9 116-0] ¢ | eget
“ae GO-F6 | V8 [49-6] 6 |S6-6) 8 |8L-F| OT 120-1] 2 |P8-T| TT8L-€] TT/8T-T] 6 |PL-T| & |ST-T! 6 [68-3] 9 | TL-0) & 199-0! & | S88T
86-16 | 06 09-1] 8 |69-S) GT/T8-3| OT |SG-T| TL |¥8-1] 6 |LP-0] 4 |6F-T| 6 |60-T| ¢ JLT-T| & [GP-S] 2 1FS-3' F 198-0) ¢ | TST
66-66 | PIT/83-T| 9 |P8-6) 9 OPS) ST j9P-G] TL |90-T) ¢ 99-6] 6 |18-T} ST/Z9-G| OTIF9- P| ST/Z8-T| SLIPF-S| 9 180-1] LT | OST
a (LSE) 8/683) 6 (96h) OL |09-4) ST OL-T) 8 (OLLI OpGGe Tl 9] Yo | 2 tel st esss Rts ss aii este ere
: Ay iB Z| i ra A ' rd ts cattle ‘1 Ss A iN be k= 4 ail ss) a
S les] 213) 2/2] 2/3) 21 3/215) 213] ee] Zl 2 3] Be) S12) eel eg
Bibel aisle isle) S| 8) ele )el” |e) 2 lols ieee eee
Sime S |S EUS) SPE le! Sl Sl Ie) ee
2 ia g : : g ; y
is "EQST ‘vaquardoag puv “QQeTy ‘huwnugasy we pasunoo0 yruow apburs
hup buranp us fo 170f gsarnay ays ybnoyyno “8007 aYyp se hanonunpe your puo j)ofurne woau ysaznalb fo ypuow
OYt 82 49Q029C) WY waas ag ppm yr yoy la § portad yoy) sof yuo wad abowaan oy, pun “FRQy ‘vaguacoyr oF
“GLST ‘aune wouf pjaf une yoryn uodn shvp. fo coqunw oyr ‘yswou yona sof 0Iud) FO 7pwfuns Humoys WIV]
ku
126
“IT VY af NOL YW
of the Australian Alps. 127
As the spring is fully three weeks later at Omeo, Omeo
Plains, and the higher uplands at 3000-feet elevations, than
on the lowlands up to 1000 feet, the October rains are generally
most favourable to agricultural pursuits, and ensure seasonal
regularity well adapted for cereal growths. The greatest fall
of rain during 24 hours occurred on 28th February, 1880,
when the gauge measured 3°38 inches, the wind blowing
from 8.W. That the amount of rainfall is greatest at the
normal line of cloud flotation, approximately 3000 to 4000
feet in the Australian Alps, will be seen by comparing the
records from those stations such as Grant, 4000 feet, in the
Mitchell River, with those at Dargo, 1000 feet, in the same
basin, only 14 miles distant. Thus during three or four
years the average annual rainfall at Grant is probably 50
inches, at Dargo not more than 30 inches. Independently
of the elevation, the situation of the station largely affects
the precipitation of rain, which helps to increase the differ-
ence ; for instance, the trend of the Dargo River valley from
Dargo is southerly, and although partly exposed to the
moisture-laden winds from the Pacific, it is nearly sur-
rounded by high ranges. Grant, on the contrary, is on the
erest of a high range fully exposed to the influence of south-
westerly moisture-laden winds which sweep up the Dargo
and Wongungarra Rivers, and to the north-western winds
which are carried across the Dargo High Plains from the
valley of the Ovens and tributaries. A station such as that
which it is hoped may be established at Mount St. Bernard*
would also show a proportionately large amount of snow or
rainfall, as the ascensional movements of air from the valleys
of the Ovens to the N.N.W., aad the Wongungarra to the
S.8.W., would doubtless be found to ensure a greater pre-
cipitation than other stations not so situated, although ata
similar elevation of 5000 feet. The relation between winds
and rainfall at Omeo is shown in the following table —
Year. North. | N.W. N.E. | South. | S.W. S.E. E. W.
1880 ate ie 20Ft 26.1 65. |, .— 29°49 725 — —
1881 pe: eae =O9) ta 74 |. 548%). 201 bas | - 4:87, —_ 20
1882 sak Ape 1:03 | 66:9 | £94 | 2:54 6.26 | 3°30 a2 "03
1883 siete Sie ‘64 | 10:36 Si Nove A SOs 1209 26 18
Average Teens (ora 245 he OO: “O° 76 (24063 09 ‘10
__ 6036-feet elevation, in charge of Mr. Boustead.
SE
_ * Since this was written I have erected instruments at Mount St. Bernard,
_— ~ ne :
a
128 Notes on the Meteorology "
Thus the average brought by southerly winds has exceeded
that brought by northerly in the proportion 13-4 to 114.
Arranged according to the seasons, we find the rainfall during
spring is nearly double that of summer or winter. The
heaviest flood on record occurred towards the close of the
autumnal season during May, 1870.
Year. Autumn. | Winter. | Spring. | Summer. Year.
1880 ... BAG 506 Soo 9°08 5°52 752 7:83 1879-80
SS. BBG she ie 5°68 | 3:74 7°84 4°38 1880-81
1882 ... 508 S00 aoe 5°21 6:80 8°78 2:26 1881-82
1883 ... & sek vale aees 3°44 4°64 8°93 4-21 1882-83
Average Sele i 5°85 5°19 8:27 4:67
The probable annual rainfall at Omeo amounts to 25 inches,
and the prevailing moisture-laden winds are south-westerly
and north-westerly. During exceptional seasons heavy rains
come from 8. or'S.E. Rev. Mr. Veal, of Bright, informs me
that the rainy months at Bright, which is N.W. from Omeo
in the valley of the Ovens, are June to October, and that
the moisture-laden winds are prevailingly north-westerly ;
that the greatest fall of rain which has been recorded within
24 hours is 4°68 inches. As Bright is situated where the
ascensional movements of north-westerly currents of air
commence to sweep over the high Bogong Ranges to the east,
it is not to be wondered at that the rainfall at this place
should be the heaviest for the number of days upon which
rain fell throughout the year among the official returns for
different parts of the colony, averaging ‘40 inches per day.
SNOW.
Snow falls at all heights above 2000 feet, but at the lower
levels seldom remains longer than a few days, thawing
quickly as it falls, unless on the shaded hill-sides, where the
frosts harden the crust. The distribution of snow seems to
be affected by many complex causes; it is noticed that at
similar elevations, in the same locality, the depth of snow after
a fallissvery unequal. It is possible that different radiating
properties of various soils or rock masses* may exert some
influence in the more rapid congelation or thawing of snow-
flakes, or that parallel air currents may be of different
* Phil, Trans. London,.1847, p. 119,
of the Australian Alps. 129
degrees of moisture or of temperature. It is not unusual
after a snowstorm to find at night that the snow which has
fallen in the open is more luminous than that which has
fallen in the shade of timber trees. This peculiar phosphor-
escence is no doubt due to exposure during the day of the
many reflecting surfaces of the small speculee of ice to the
sun’s rays, and to their retaining the light after the sun has
set.* The year 1882 was apparently an exceptionally
snowy season, both at Omeo and at the higher levels. Mr.
Easton, an old resident, informs me that the greatest depth of
snow which fell during 24 hours, within his recollection,
was a little over a foot in the open at Omeo during July,
1869. On July, 1876, fully 11 inches fell at Omeo during
24 hours; since then the average fall at one time has not
exceeded 6 inches. It must be borne in mind, however, that
a uniform fall of one foot of snow at a time is very unusual
in the British Islands, and consequently even at 2000 feet
elevation at this latitude, 37° south, such a fall would also
be unusual. From a calculation of the quantity or depth of
snow which fell at Omeo for the period under consideration,
we shall find that the mean annual fall does not exceed
2 feet 3 inches, or nearly the same as that at New Jersey in
North America. The heaviest fall on record at Grant
(according to Mr. Harrison, jun.), which is nearly 2000 feet
higher than Omeo, was from 24 to 3 feet; while Mr.
-Boustead informs me that the average maximum fall of snow
at Mount St. Bernard (5000 feet) measures 14 feet, with 20
to 30 feet in the drifts. I have observed near the summit
of Mount Kosciusko, at an elevation of 7200 feet, masses of
consolidated snow fully 30 feet deep—maiden glaciers—
resting in the hollows of verdant slopes during mid-summer.
And as the huge masses of tabular granite which form the
rocky crests of this important mountain chain (presenting
in many places escarpments fully 40 feet above the gentle
slopes which surround them) are covered with snow early
in June of each year, it is not improbable that the annual
fall at this elevation amounts to 50 feet, corresponding to an
annual rainfall of from 50 to 60 inches. JI am not aware
that there is any rule for increase of fall of snow with
elevation. I am inclined to believe that there are vapour
* Loomis’ Met., p, 126.
+ Scott’s Met., p, 141.
130 Notes on the Meteorology
planes, and that upon the percentage of moisture present in
any of these zones, or the degrees of temperature—which
are no doubt governed by many complex causes at present
little understood—the fall of snow depends. From the
following table of dates upon which snow fell at Omeo it
will be seen that June, July, and August are snowy months.
1879.
Min. Temp. Wind. |
Pe Oo ae Se NV,
1880.
Min. Temp. Wind.
1881.
Min. Temp. Wind.
|
June 18 | June -S .. 31... 8.W. | dune’ 2.2 ean eee
PORN AOE lu, | 4 15%. '40 LNG. |, a ee
Sty AD aro ates s ase) oa Lhe. ales Ee Welles 8, <3 eee
LON. SO pees spp he on 1D 2 27 22 NU | oe ee
30°20" 22 88 «, 4, | ouly 2 ...°33 22. NEW, July: Ao See
Maat 187382. Ou | 1, Bian 27m, BIW. |, BBE Sanaa
eh eiia Baas ch ea Aug... 23,05) oogp eee
| space een nes Oct... 4g cro ieee
ITE AM TS Ree ee +. 22h Sone
Total depth of) 1%. 6 in| Total depth of ) pitt Saal Total depth of ) 2 ft. 3in.
snow ..j snow ) snow ..J
1882, 1883. 1884,
Min. Temp. Wind. | Min. Temp. Wind. | Min. Temp. Wind.
june, 4°../36'.. N.- | July 10--...' 30 .. S.W. | Aug, 1892250 eee
ete DO N Hig,) OF - ala (OOP as: 1 Ne 1 . 19%. a0 eee
24 38 , EOS Tesh seb eval Pee
July 13 .. 36 .. N.W.| PRO Ne a:
ree OG 5. | Bepb. AB... Bet i. Save
2h eS
Nae lie 35a. OS.
pepi. 1 .: 55° ..8.
<a ae? ee
Total depth of) , », Total depth of ) Total depth of )
snow .. ye ft, snow ..j oe snow 1
Hath.
Hailstones, although frequent in the higher regions of the:
Australian Alps during summer and autumn, are not so at
sub-alpine altitudes, although it is somewhat remarkable
that the size of the hailstones is frequently much larger at
elevations of 2000 to 4000 feet than at higher levels. I have
noted hailstones fully half an inch to three-quarters of an:
inch in diameter,* and during October last some curiously-
* Fell at Gelantipy during May, 1869.
of the Australian Alps. 131
shaped masses fell at Dargo, fully half an inch in diameter;
some were ovoid, and others not unlike a truncated cone. As
a rule, the hailstones come from the westward, and are
generally accompanied by electric discharges or strong wind.
MOISTURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
Unfortunately the hygrometric records do not extend
further back than May, 1883, when wet and dry bulb
thermometers were supplied me by Mr. Ellery. The following
table exhibits the mean temperature of dew-point for each
month from May, 1883, to November, 1884, and for the
seasons of the year. The results for winter are more
complete, being the mean of two years. It will be seen that
the lowest mean temperature of the dew-point is reached
during the month of July, and highest during February, cor-
responding in this respect to the temperature of the air :-—
December... | 50°58 | March | 50° 39 | June | 38°04 | September | 40-51
January --- | 52°18] April | 48° 66 | | July 36-03 | October | 45-79
February _ ... | 53°08 | May ... | 38°33 | August | 37-93 | November | 49-95
Mean Summer | 51°94 co 45°79 | Winter | 36:66 | Spring ... | 45°35
—oiving a mean annual temperature of the dew-point of
45°16. During winter months, when the temperature of the
air fell below freezing point, I have discarded. the results
owing to the difficulty of registering the dew-point with
the dry and wet bulb thermometers.
I have not given the relative humidity or elastic force of
vapour, as it was thought better to defer these until a longer
serles of observations have been made. It may be interesting
to note that the humidity of the air varies greatly during the
summer months, especially at the higher elevations; and at
the lower levels, as at Omeo, the shitting of the wind from
N. to S.W. and S. sometimes causes an excessive humidity,
as shown by the dense fogs which frequently envelope the
. higher points over 4000 feet; during summer a feature
connected with such hyer ometric conditions are wine is
locally termed southern fogs.
Foas:
Often when the sky is clear during the morning” awaits
afternoon dense masses of vapour are seen floating up the
K 2
132 Jotes on the Meteorology
valleys of the Tambo and other streams from he seaboard,
at a mean elevation of 3000 feet, and settling on the ranges
round Omeo, causing a rapid fall of the temperature. These
fogs are, according to the old residents, generally the fore-
runners of dry seasons, and are altogether distinct from the
ordinary radiation fogs of Sir M. Herschel.* Last Christmas,
while botanising on “Mount Kosciusko, an opportunity was
afforded the writer of watching the progress of one of these
southern fogs coming from the seaboard. A warm cloudless
morning, with the thermometer 92 in the sun, at an eleva-
tion of 7000 feet at one p.m., was followed by a warm
cloudless afternoon; until five p.m. large masses of what
appeared to be dense nimbus clouds were seen on the
southern horizon; these gradually enlarged, and could be
seen surging up the valleys. At last the temperature sank
to 43° Fahr., when a dense fog suddenly enveloped the summit
of the mountain, and in a few minutes began to clear off
again, sinking to a level of about 6000 feet, and there
remained like a wide: expanse of silvery ocean during the
clear moonlight night, until dissipated by the warm golden
rays of the rising sun. A peculiar feature of such fogs is
that the upper part is cooler than the lower—+.c., when the
fog-masses are rising radiation of heat is greater at the upper
than at the lower part.
CLOUDS.
The following table shows the mean or average number of
days upon which the sky was overcast, cloudy, and clear at
nine a.m. for each month of the year. These results are
obtained from the daily observations between Ist April,
1879, and 1st November, 1884 :—
Months. | O’cast. | Cloudy. | Clear. | Months. O’éast. Clouay,| Clear.
January 3 14°6| 13°4|] August.. ..| 5:3 | 14:2) 115
February 2°8 | 13 12-2 || September ..| 9 |» Efs( |) oat
March .. 4°38 | 16°6! 9°6 || October.. ..| 4 16°8| 10-2
April 5 17°5 7°) || November 3°5 | 163 |) oe
May 5 17°3 8°9 || December 3 16°8 9°2
Ste een one ec) 1023 || —— —
July pin oe rf ser 10°3 | Yearly Average 55°8 | 184°8 | 123°4
* Scott’s Meteorology, p, 121,
— .- —_- a
of the Australian Alps. 133
SEASONS.
SPRING. SUMMER. AUTUMN. | WINTER.
\O’cast | Cldy. | Clear.| O’cast) Cldy. [oleae O’cast) Cldy. | Clear.) O’cast Cldy. | Clear.
|
| |
|
}
|
ie | | | |
Mean..| 14°8 Palas 8°8 |44-4| 44-8; 16°5 | 44°8 | 30°5 | 15-7 44°32 | 32-1
1 | | } | | |
'
Tt will be observed, that although the number of cloudy
days is in excess of the clear for the entire year, yet the
latter more than double those upon which the sky was
overcast. Itis also noticeable that the number of clear days
is greater during summer and winter than in the spring or
autumn. The beautifully clear cool days of winter are a
noticeable feature in the climate of the Australian Alps,
although frequently preceded by hard frosts and occasionally
followed by heavy snow falls.
FROSTS.
As the time of year in which frosts occur has an important
influence on the success or otherwise of agricultural opera-
tions, it becomes interesting to note how often they have
been found to take place within the period herein discussed.
The following table gives the number of days during each
month since 1879 upon which they have occurred :—
| {
|
fee | isso. | “1861. iss2, | 1883, iss4,
Days.| Days.) Days. Days. | Days. Days.
June 5 | June 5 | May 4|May .. 2 | May 2| May =
July . 4\July .. 8|June .. 5|/June .. 2|June .. 6| June .. 6
Aug GipAus. ...1| daly’. 3) July ..10 | doly- 2. 6 | July) 222
Sept. 2 | Aug. 2) Aug. . 3 | Aug. oo 4) Ane oo
oe Sept. .. 1} Sept. .. 1) Sept. 1
Reese ae ee an Se an oleae gi eee
daeaioryeae 15 | 16 14 18 | 19 26
Mean No, of days per month—May, 2; June, 4:8; July, 7:2; August, 3-2;
September, °83.
It will be seen by the above that the present year has been
unusually frosty, and ranged from May to 18th September.
As the seasons are later at sub-alpine habitats above 2000
secetant Verne
ee ee eee ee er ee a
s Senadatl Ramet he
134 Notes on the Meteorology
feet, the September frosts, which might prove injurious in
the lowlands, are not so much so at these elevations. The
month of July is noted for severe and successive hard frosts,
the minimum temperature during such frosts ranging from
32° to 19° Fahr. It is possible that the occurrence during
September of occasionally severe frosts has led to the state-
ments of the early pastoral settlers as to the uncertainty of
cereal growths. These facts serve to support the opinion of
the Surveyor-General and late Secretary for Mines, as quoted
at the commencement of this paper. It is only in the valleys
that the severest frosts take place. I have observed lowland
exotic plants flourishing on the ridges which perished under
extreme frost in’ the valleys, the temperature being more
equable at the former habitat than in the latter.
TEMPERATURE.
The range of temperature at sub-alpine elevations is
apparently large, while the rapidity of the changes increases
with the elevation (see remarks on Climate at 5000 feet,
p- 141). The mean annual temperature deduced from the
following table gives 53° 34’, almost the same as at Ballarat,*
although there is probably a greater absolute range of
annual temperature at Omeo than at the former place. The
highest recorded temperature in the shade at Omeo for the
period herein discussed occurred on the 21st January, 1880,
when the maximum thermometer registered 105° at 1.30
p-m.; and the lowest in July, 1883, at 6.10 am.—the
occasion of a severe frost, when the minimum thermometer
registered 19° Fahr., or 13° below freezing point—or an
absolute range of 128°, nearly as large as Chicago, Illinois,
America.}
* Exhib, Essays, ps 5.
+ Loomis’ Met., p. 272.
UOSVOS TOF
‘du10} uBoyp,
135
see poses yom "1 B09) G06] G-OF| 2-09) " | °° | S-1h) | PG) 9-26) G-OF| 1-89} §- 9S) L-PE| 8-86! P-L) 8G) 2-2) 6-0F| 1,99
ree fcr toes To | 9.54] gel ¢-€F] £99] °° | 77 | LGPL“ | 6G] 2-08] 8h] G-F4] 1.19] ¥-48] 9-8P| 6 64! 1-99] 9-82] 8-17] @-0L|'" roqutoaoyy )
se [ore foe | ss | @ 0G 8 GT] OTH 8-09] ““* |“ 1O-TF *° [9-89] 8-92] O-TF| 8-99] 9.44] G94) 8.98] SL! 6-85] G-28) BF] L-g9/"* — Toqoj0Q & E.
6 GF 1-63] F-Se| $-F9| 6-9h] 61] 6-98] Legs] “| 16-28] °° | 8-04] 0-28] 8-9] 8-29] F.0] 3-62) 8:48] 0 €9) L-0g 08
€:36| 6-88) Z-19| ** Toquaeydog
UOSBOS TOF
“du199 UBaTAT
0 SF] €-PG) 9-08] 3-99) 0-Gh| 9-61] G-6e] TG) “°° | °°" | TSS) °° 19.9) 9:88] T-EE) 2-99) 0. PF £06) 2-TE| 9:69) PLP) 0G] €-T§] 4-19 |
d9.69) “| | *** 1€9-69) °° |.8-6F) °° [eL-29] “* | 6 8P/eF-F8| 8-99) GLE) 9-9F| F-98) 0-99) P96
UOSBOS LOF |
‘dui9} UBOTT
ow G.OF| 6-16] f-SE| L-09| 8-6P| 8-63] FES] Z-9G) ~° | °° | SPE ~° | 9 OF 0 EZ 69S S89) 6.6F] §: FZ! 3-GE| 4-94! SZ PP] 6-8! 8-FE) 2-G) qsnony =
& | a6el ¥ 92) 0-921 F-26] 6 OF] ¢-81| LTE 005] “| [9.80] “| ¥ eF1 ¢-FG) B18) 2-24] T-OF| 0.02| T-0! 1-09] ¢.6¢| 8-FZl 6 9G) L-Tal"" Ame > B
xy P Sh 8-61] ¢-GEl &-8S| $- PF 8-L1i P-GEl GEG] ° | O° | P-BEl OL GOP) §-E3) 6-GE, Z-9G! O-ZF| 0-81! O SE] 0-19) L-OF| §-LZT! F-3E! 2-6)" ounig J ml.
Ss ee oe my a |... | ( wosves xo
S| ges] 7-92 6 07] 6.99 i elem 0.07] °° | u29| 9-12] 6 TF, 9-62] 8-€9| 61] 1-49] T-89e8 ta] “| | [yee amet
3S i] tee eS | eS | | | ee OO EO | | —_—_— | ——_ a
ics G-OF| 8-61] P-G8] 6-89) 8 OV 0-66) 8 GE 8-29) °° “" 16246) ~" | G9) @.86) [-68) §-29) 6 SP LT OT] @- LE) 6 SG! f-L7| L-8Phl L-88) 3-94)" AVN fe
B | 1.14] 9.08| -27| 0:89] “| |s-ts] 7 | ot | f62e 7 [B94] 6-86] 3-68 T-e2| 6-99) 0:22] 6-FF] 6:99] ¢.9¢1 F-Fe| G6) 2 GL)" wdy ¢
a 9.14] 6 8E| 9-88) 9-22) “" | -° | 2-89) °° | 0-19] ¢-€E)] § PF) 8-LL! 6 $9} G-3E| 9 LF, T-08) €-09| 8 61] F-09) OL) ~~ pO alia ee oe YOIvBIT ) 6
D
re
“>
>
G 2.68 crcity wee ae Gale wes ALenAqo if
FG. QQ] | Te ee ee ie ee AN USNC LER
Pp Topl o | ct | cet | cee | + xequreoeg:
6-€9| T-66] 1-67) 9-82) “" | 7° 12-8 << 9.99] F-F€] F-6F| 8-€8] 6 L9| 8-68] 0-8F, 8-28] 6-99] 8-28] 9-0
V-19| TPE! FFP] S-8L) | °° | L6F °° | 9-49) 0S} 0:05) 0-98) 9-49] 8 6§) 2-24, G-48) 8 49) P-1F| TL
ae 9:69) 6:66) T-2%) 0-22) -° | °° | GLb) °° | 0 G9) 0-6E) 0 GP, 0-T8/70-09} T-6E) 0
eee eee
JITaUaNng
woe
UvO |°0.3 yy COTA | XVI [UOT | O07 | UTE | XBT |UVOPT | O.0y | UT | XVPY |UvoP] ‘oSyy | ULL | "XVI | UOT | ‘o.oy | curpy | xe |UVOP]] “aSy | carp | XPT
“SILENO {AL
‘PSST ‘S88T ‘OS3l ‘TSS8T ‘08st ‘GLST
‘0AWG 1D “PERT ‘uaquiaao,r
0; ‘GLB “udp wows ‘opoys oy, ur aungouadua hryjuow woaw pun ‘abuns ‘unum “wnurenu buunoys WILLY J, :
136 Notes on the Meteorology
From this table the following mean monthly temperatures
are obtained :-—
January ... Ae SOOO 3 a Anretist 9 ase re
February ... 2. 40007 J Septemberia: 2) 4026
March ae i OOWME) October, aae= one DOF
April Be ... 56:28 | November ... soul Oates
May... ve ... 46°92 | December ... 6 36205
June he en Ad OZ
July... se ee AOS Mean annual temp. 53°34
And also the mean temperature for the seasons, as follow :—
Spring, 53; Summer, 64; Autumn, 54; Winter, 43.
The variation to which the law of decrease of temperature
with elevation is subject is well shown by many localities in
the Australian Alps, particularly by the presence of many
tropic types of vegetation in the humid soils on the most
southern slopes, at elevations of 3000 feet; and the mean
temperature is probably greater—at similar elevations—on
the northern sunny slopes than on the moist southern slopes ;
and the absolute range of temperature is also greater on the
former than on the latter at similar elevations. Again, those
localities open to the cooling influence of polar winds would,
doubtless, show a lower mean annual temperature than
those localities on the same latitude, at the same elevation,
although exposed to the warming influence of equatorial
winds.
The following table gives the mean monthly temperature
of the surface of the ground at 9 a.m., and also that for the
seasons :—
Summer. Autumn. Winter. Spring.
December... 79°52 | March .. 70-93 | June .. 46°43 | September 57:27
January .. 79°60; April .. 66-00} July .. 45°41 | October .. 65-04
February .. 81°82 | May .. 49°56 | August .. 55°37 | November.. 70:00
Mean temp. 80°45 | Mean temp. 62°16 | Mean temp. 49:07 | Mean temp. 64°10
This gives a mean annual surface temperature in the sun of
63° 88’, or a little over 10 degrees higher than the mean
annual temperature of the air in the shade, four feet from
the ground. This large mean annual surface temperature
must necessarily affect the amount of spontaneous evapora-
tion at Omeo.
of the Australian Alps. 137
The atmometric records are only available from October,
1883, to November of the present year; and the resulting
fioures are therefore an approximation only, yet sufficient, I
think, to indicate that spontaneous evaporation is in excess
of rainfall at Omeo. A noticeable instance of evaporation
over a large surface is furnished by Lake Omeo, which in
1882 was a sheet of water 2 miles long by 1 mile broad, and
with an average depth of probably 2 feet 6 inches, or less.
This lake became dry during the present year, and this
accords with the following approximate results from the
evapometer at Omeo, ¢.g., 304 inches per annum. It must
be borne in mind, however, that the evaporation from a
sheet of water freely exposed to the accelerating influence of
summer winds, would be greater than that from a situation
sheltered by high ranges. It is a remarkable fact that
during seasons of severe frosts many small creeks and water
channels become dried up thereby.
December .. 3°56 | March .. 2°80 | June .. 50| September .. 2°50
January .. 5°50/ April .. 1°10} July .. °30| October .. 4:28
February .. 4°68 | May Sap you | August .. ‘75 | November .. 3°75
Total for season 13°74 4°70 | 1°55 10°53
WINDS.
The following table exhibits the average number of days
the wind blew from the different points of the compass, and
the mean velocity in miles per hour for each month of the
year, and the mean velocity for each point for different
seasons :—
Notes on the Meteorology
138
G66 O59 a tae OG Le PRG | al age |S RSET ee" aROn |) eset pence eee
L-OT 8 | T |98 | G | OT/LOT/9-8 | 6 | OF|9-9 |8-81|6-6 1&8 |816| 6 | TT
1-6 PaaS los le OL BG alo. Bee | eG el HOR se. | TT neste a | emmeonee (eter eal emt rie ** TaqULOAON )
TIL DO OS ce (cheer ea leae filam a etme b ime tilt fo ihe) | ONL hye pee a 1900 f
1-6 (eeipeaitt RoR LG shee Le OMe ip tol fel @bis | Dy eee) aes ** goquioydag ) 08
G6 8 | 2 /¢8] 9 | 6 [98 | 8 | & [BB [SG |G-OL|8ST {6ST} 03/9-6 | 9.01
POL Bra ee alee G Ge me (ine sce lee at | atanaianS e | 6 Ss er hale Cale ekg Pes a ysnsny ) =
18 8 I 8 zg | 6 |9-€ | 8 T 8 etre Ne Oe |) Gye te "t “s AoE, B
G.6 ST or a fa alae Panic prciteal ame enl ere MSS let sane ee a Op hf G Paslae ce. "* eune) §
L-6 ee OnOn Gap) ener NOLL 9-0T| 9 | 6 | F |80T|8.0T/96 [¢-FE] 6 [TL
p-6 Sos Sp Maa On ep ee Ge le Ghee 2G (Ge Telex Oils PERO) | sem een eet ee ec pier 51/81) 3)
6-01 he age ene Toe) 9-F le Shel tS. 0h VGsT sees KOxce eee Om OWE [gore |} Of ac ee LOC Ata a=
6 mia) eso cop | On hes |2 8 "| eT 1 ge | Do see NGoe 4m e Cape aensne |e esi eset me yore) &
G.0T OL | GT 6 }, TL |G-IT/¢6 19:9 |9-6 |2-01T/}8-&81T/6-9 | €-OT | 6-ST PITH 8
36 Soe 1 6 Be | tree [os |e | er pe |e) Ge Se eter ee eee
II OL | &-T 8 oj | OL|8F IT | 9:2 G. eG) LT Liesl tea Cae a CTs Pcces| masks a ATeNUBE FE
US cet) alm OL ee Gtalee Tibia Nee: 2 nGemeae Ta EG nate] "+ goquiooay) &
TROT @au ‘sup i Btw ‘sep Boe ‘sAvp crore ‘sA'ep ® Bie sup e Be ‘sAvp G2e ‘sAup Boe ‘sAup
Reciarecul 28. 8/10 “ON ras JO “ON/ 8 § JO ‘ON BS $|f0 ‘ON 52.8 Jo ‘ON rae 10 ‘ON Bas J0 “ON Be.8 J0 “ON
yod pura gig UvOTAT eae UOT gage UBITAL aah WROT ged UvOT Bg UOT act WW Bd W ‘SIDLNOMW
yo Aywopoa | er eS aan Stim |i ;
Mee IN "M ‘a "A'S "a's ‘S “A'N ‘TN ‘N
of the Australian Alps. 139
The number of times which the wind blew from the N.E.
being greatly in excess of that from any other cardinal point,
may be partly accounted for by the trend of the Living-
stone Creek Valley and the Dividing Range to the east
deflecting the north and north-north-westerly currents of air.
The relatively small velocities are also probably owing to the
somewhat sheltered position of the observatory, partly
surrounded by high ranges, which intercept the strong N.W.
to S.W. winds. The greatest mean velocity of the wind
occurs during spring and summer, and principally with
north-westerly currents of air. The greatest velocity
recorded at Omeo with a cup anemometer was forty-eight
miles per hour during a strong gale from the N.N.W.
Anemometrical records from Mount Hotham would show
interesting results, as the strong westerly gales which flow at
this elevation are a noticeable feature during the equinoctial
season. On the whole, westerly winds may be said to pre-
dominate in the Australian Alps, although local influences at
lower sub-alpine altitudes cause deflection and obstruction
to aérial currents, as shown by the results at Omeo, where
the prevailing winds are northerly. A remarkable phe-
nomenon connected with the temperature of wind which has
been frequently noticed in the sub-alpine valleys of the
Australian Alps is the occasional whiffs, during frosty morn-
ings, of warm currents of air, producing an irritation of the
throat and nose similar to that felt when ozone is largely
present in the atmosphere. How far these peculiar
abnormal air-movements are due to electrical agencies, or to
the actual presence of isolated masses of warm dry air,
which have come to us from the heated interior of Australia,
I am unable to suggest; I simply note the fact as one which
requires some explanation. Owing to the situation of Omeo
with reference to the higher regions of the Australian Alps,
hot winds are comparatively unknown; the N.N.W. and
N.W. hot winds, during summer, come down to us cooled by
their passage over the Bogong High Plains.
PRESSURE OF THE ATMOSPHERE.
The maximum of mean monthly pressure of the atmo-:
sphere occurs during August, while the greatest absolute
pressure for the period during which observations were
taken occurred on 30th July, 1883, when the reading of the
barometer, reduced to sea level and temperature 32° Fahr.,
140 Notes on the Meteorology
gave 30°28), The lowest reading of the barometer, reduced
to sea level and 32° Fahr., took place on 28th December,
1881, viz., 29°600, with squalls from N. followed by a
thunderstorm. As a rule the barometer at Omeo stands
lower with the winds from N.N.E. to N.N.W., and higher
from 8.8.W. to 8.E., although frequent departures from this
rule occur.
Dec. .. 30-040 zB ( March 30-120] 3 (June.. 30-136 | 2 (Sept... 30:070
= /Jan... 29-683 | 2 rea 30°153 | = | July .. 30-210 £4 Oct. .. 30-090
5 (Feb. .. 30-053 | 2 |May .. 30-113 |= (Aug. .. 30-266 & (Nov. .. 29-920
Mean ,, 29-995| Mean 30:198| Mean ,, 30-214 | Mean Spring 30-126
Summer ~ | Autumn Winter |
The mean pressure during winter is oreatest, and during
fo) ro) ? fo)
summer least.
The following table shows the mean range in pressure for
the different months, and also that for the seasons :—
December .. ‘656 | March . 610| June .. .. °860 | September .. -825
January ..°616/April .. .. °506| July . °826 | October . (595
February .. °685 | May . ‘953 | August . 826 | November .. :746
Mean Season °645 | Mean Season °689 | Mean Season °837
Mean Spring :722
This gives a mean monthly range for the year of ‘717.
The rule for decrease of pressure with altitude would seem
to be subject to slight variations caused by lateral pressures,
aérial currents sweeping up the narrow valleys, and by
thermal influences of a local character, so that the difference
of surface configurations and surroundings of two stations
on the same parallels of latitude, and at the same altitude,
may differ slightly in their barometric pressures.
The following records, kindly supplied by Mr. William
Boustead of Mount St. Bernard, are very interesting, as show-
ing the character of the climate in the higher regions of
Victoria during winter. Unfortunately no records of maxi-
mum or minimum temperatures are available, although the
ten am. observations of thermometer in the shade are
extremely valuable. From this and other data, collected
when travelling over different parts of the Alps, the follow- —
ing abstract of the climate at elevations of 5000 to 6000 feet
is obtained. The mean winter temperature at Mount St.
of the Australian Alps. 141
Bernard, 5060 feet, would appear to be 33°91 Fahr., or about
two degrees above freezing point. The lowest temperature
recorded from ten a.m. observations is 29°, and the maximum
70° in the shade, 90° in the sun. July and August are the
coldest months, February and March the warmest. The
seasons of maximum cold for the past thirteen years appear
to have been 1876, 1881, and 1882; and the season of
greatest heat, 1882. The fall of snow sometimes commences
as early as April—although May is the usual month—and
begins to disappear during September, sometimes October.
April is frequently a rainy month, and during January and
February thunderstorms are prevalent, invariably from the
westward, Asa rule the prevailing winds are from—
S.W. to N.W. during summer.
S.W to S.E. te autumn.
N.W. . winter.
W. to N.W. ee Sprinc:
The wind blows with great force at these elevations, and the
changes are very rapid. Mr. Boustead informs me that he
has had thick fogs with rain all day at Mount St. Bernard,
while three miles lower down, or at an elevation of 4000
feet, the sun has been shining in a clear sky! He also
remarks that it is an unusual thing to have a Christmas
without snow.
»» £0, ees trond ee
Notes on the Meteorology
142
€0- LE QE-S | L&-FE [SUB
MOUS UAT ‘SOTRB" MAN SUOTIG | OF Aep [8 sutmous puv ‘Apnoig | og te
Aep [[@ Aous puv urey| Sp | JSOay pue MOUS ‘SpUTA“M\'N SuUOTYG | Oe {YSiU SpIVMO} o7BAOpoUr ‘spur SuoMG| OF og
SOF POY‘ SpUIM "MA “NSUOIG | PF TVITO “SPUIM “MAN JUST] “Qso0r,7 | Og SOO} puB sows Aavoy ‘ysory paveT| ve 63
SOF YOryY “urergysry | Op sysomy x 08 S8OF YOY} PUB SPUIM BUOYS] FE | 9g
SUIMVYY ‘Us ‘Avp [pe Sururey | OF STOMOYS MOUS “SPUIA 'M'N SYST] ge TOUJVIA OULT | PFE he
UIvI “ as OF ScO} puv sMous AAvoFT | OG | SurmoAo ut SSO} ‘ouTy puv SpuIA ‘W'S Ysoaq | 9 9%
SCOJ YOry} ‘spura Suomg! gf | sSoy pu Aous ‘spuTA* MN Su0lg | Ze IvETO pu djyeropoyy | 9e GZ
‘ if OF ‘AOUS PUB [IBY ‘SOTVS"A'N | FE | SPOT YOM, “sory pavy ‘sopes “MN Ssuotyg | Og FG
Aep [[B Ivepo puv ourq | oF Apoyo ‘spurm Suoays ‘sysorg | oe 3 us 9g 3
SOF YOTYY - iad TBOTO “SPUIAM FIST] ‘SISOLT | Bg s re SEs Ge
Apnojo ‘urea ‘spur aysrqz | SF ToU}VOM OUY ‘SpUIM “AA'N | Ge TOJVOA TVETO OUT] | Qe ite
IVO[D PUB OUT ‘SpUIM “AA'N | SP se te GE AOUS Y}IM SPUTA JUCIT | GE 0%
IBoyTO pu ou ‘sysorT | 98 uoou e oe ce AOUS pUB SPUIM "AA'N JUSIT | FE 61
SOO} YOY ‘Spur "MAN ‘poy | Fe Ivopo puB ou ‘sysonq | Ze AOUS PUB SPUIM “AA'N | FE SI
UIvI puv yooqs gs Ge OUT PUB SPUIA ‘W'G oyeropoy | ze MOUS ponuyuoD | Fe | - AT
MOUS TATA ‘SaTVs ANT SuUOTIG| ze qSO1f PUB SPUIM "W’G SUOTIG | Og AOUS PUB SPUIM “AN | ZE 9T
sf ‘SSOIT PAVET | FE “ # 0g AOUS ponulyuoDn | Ze CL
TBOTO POUT SPUIM' AA’ NIGYSIT | 98 | SpuIA ‘AA ‘'N FYSIT pus i Og | Mous AAVOT TTA SPUTA "MAN OPN SuOTIG | FE FI
Aep [[@ qvopo puv our | Fe AOUS penuUrTUoCS. pur 0g MOUS JIM SPUIM “HG oFUIOpOTT-| ge eT
a as oe MOUS pu ‘ssoz ‘YSOT,T | OF gilp Sale
AOUS ‘SPUTA YYSIT ue Gg | Sores Lavoy pur ‘mous ‘ssoz“4sorq | Oe sis ee TL
TOYPVOM IVF "M09 “4SOIZ pAVFT | GE | MOUS “Ysorj pavy ‘sees “AN “GIS | Ze zt ae OT
Apnojo yavd 1094] ‘avoyg | Ze AOUS PUB SPUTA JYSTT | Ge 3 a 6
MOUS JYOTS ‘SPUIM "MA 'N IT] OG: | SoZ yoryy ‘SPUIM "AUN O9B10poTy | ge os Ate 8
‘JFBULMOUS ‘SPUIM JYSTTAVOTO | Ze STOMOYS YIM PUTA “AA*N SUOTIG | Ge sos re) i
‘U10}jB OUT “suo UL MOG | Ze UIVI [JIM PUTA SUOTID | ge = ae 9
Awp ][@ SuIMOUg | Og ss ‘ Pg 3 ie ne
et ‘sdO} IOUT, | OF SGOJ PUB SOTRI “MN | GE aie soem"
MOUS UOO'SPUIM MN SUOTIG | GE | BETO uf “ oe ms at Ce
AOUS ‘WOO ‘SpUTA "M'N | OS xs os TS pe es j
Awp [[B SSoy yory, pue Moug | oe So[VS '"M'N SuOT]S puv ‘4so1f prveT | Te ee es T
“SY AUCULO YY - ‘opeys “SyAVULOYT ‘apeys ‘SyAVMAIOYy ‘apeys
ae ur aS ul Laps ut “OU
‘“LSaonY “ULIOU, ATAL ULIOULT, WANOAL “OMOUL
S88 “ony -P ‘hing aun ‘syzwom saguam Buranp “aaa)-nas aaogn *2f 090G ‘paula 2 “LAT 0 apwrus sworvaiosgo AMHLVA AA
143
of the Australian Alps.
°
nner prem my nn ae ae aT 1 Sled STS SSS SSS SSS SSS
99.9¢ [Suro
66 66
MOUS puB
© SPUIAL “MAN GSI
IOYJVOM TBOTO =
6 66
46
poo A19A ‘SoTes "AN SUOTIS
Apnoypo ‘spurs "MA 'N 9USUT.
66 66 oo
TOYPVOM ouTE =f
Ss i SUOAYS
See prvy ‘Spur’ A'S yqory
S00J “LOUB 'BOTBO" AA" Ni! suonS
Boyes “AN ‘guiva AAVOTT
UL ‘SBOF POTD ‘SOTV.G "AA Naas OTT
84SO.1] 880} AnoY ut
46 3
ssoj Aavoy
ous YIM sy
Ajtavoy surmous * it
ppoo' mous AA ef x mf
Apnojo * so[Vs "MA'N
*M, SUOTTG
Sd 0J estop ‘SPUTM "MAN IUSUT
Apnoypo “SpuLA "MAN 8UO1YS
Aap [18 LoyYBOM pPpoOo ApNoTp
SOOJ ‘AOUS ‘SPUTA “AA SUOAYG
MOUS SUIBA ‘SPUTM "MM YUSIry
S]SOTF HUSTLE SPULAY AA” NYLON
“ Spurat “A'S
‘IOYJVOM. VOTO OUY “HOD
*SIAVULOY,
‘LSovDOv
‘opeys
ul
ULLOTT,
TOYYVOM OT PUL “PUTA *A\'S
MOUS OUTE PUB ‘PUTA "AA
TOYFVOM AVOTO ‘SPUTAL * AA'S
SUTMOUS ‘SPUTA *AA'N oVBTOPOW,
pjoo Aroa ‘Surmous =“
sysoay‘mous = aN BuOTS
n ‘SPUTA "AA "NE ULSI
66 puta "M'N 6
S]sorf pavy ‘Avp [[B cvopD puv OUT
MoUs JUpsTy “teyyVem ApnoTD
66 66
- Avp ][w Lvopo puv oury
S}SOAF avy, ‘MOUS “PULA "G FULSIT
3}SOaj OLOAOS SAPHOTO ‘SpuUTA “A'S
Ivo] BISON pavy “PUTA "A
« *g90} osuop ‘MoUs ‘480R} pPAVyT
pfoo see is
SOF SOT y
“6
qoo[S pu’ Aous
qooTs ‘urV.t ‘SSO OSUOp ‘SOTVS "AA*N AIG
MOUS PUR JOOS ‘so]VS ‘A OUOLYS
ATIABOY GUTAMOUS ‘ScOF OSUOC,
MOUS YIM ‘SOTVd "A SUOA4S.
qsory ‘scoy ‘MOUS ‘SOTVD "MN CUOTLG
UTBA ‘MOUS ‘SGOT oe
S007 AAROY
Hf ‘SDUTM "M"N OFVIOPOTA
ErOUTBOM TBOTO “SPUIM *M'S OFBLOPOTN
SULUOAD UL OUT, PUB "pout ‘BoOF YOTyT,
UIvA ‘380] sory
S0OF pus UII Eager "AN" N Felon ula
cé
‘gyfaentoy
2S I Lp
‘opeys
ul
ULIOU,
UIVI FULSTT ‘SSOFOstop ‘SpUTA "AA'N YG
SOF OSUOP Spur “MAN
ULBA YYSTL BOO} susp
ULE PUB [IBY ‘SOF ‘HOTS "MA" N SUOTYG
ULRA PUB YOo]s Oy estop “pura "AN
goof AABOY puvw ‘yoo]s ‘pur "MN
SdofF ‘ BIRO Ty ‘AOus
sidoy ‘ured “JooTs
surea AAvoYy ‘SO[BS "MAN SUOTyS
sdoy AAvOY SSPUTA "AA N FUSTT
SULUOAS Ut UTeA ‘Sco} AAVOTT
scoy AAVOY ‘SPUIM ‘AA’ N 9}VLOPOPL
scoy AABOY ‘SPUTA "AA N
LOYYVOM AGO} YOULL,
6c 66
urea AAvOY ‘Sdoy osuOp
Joos ‘SdOy ort ‘SPUIA, “AN N suory9
Apnopy ” {SBOLOAO ‘SPUIM * AA" N
Apnoyo ‘so 50} sory} es
66
TOYZVOM OUT PUB “SPUIM "AA" N FUSIT
ep [[B cvo]O pUB OUT,
TOUJBOA. ee ‘Spurs ‘HE'S 0} VALOPOT
SOF OT SUAS "Cl hana etal
ek reejo = “*
SB0F YO, WS
LOYIVOM ATVE “SPUTA “AA *N 07 BAOPOTL
AOUS JUST] “PUTA “MN rh
qoo[s pus ‘ura “BCOF 3OTY,T,
ale nae SPUTA “AN N OY RAOPOJ,
66
é
C6
*BAVULOYT
GNoaAL
PE
9¢
9&
VE
VE
VE
VE
9&
96
96
BE
9¢
‘opeys
ul
TULLOULT,
ite ;
0g
6& |
8%
LG
Opal gi
|
|
mA wo Oreo
‘OVC
144 Notes on the Meteorology
In addition to the various meteorological elements herein
referred to, the amount of direct sunshine and percentage of
ozone in the atmosphere is now observed at Omeo, but as
the period of observation does not extend beyond July of
present year the results are not given. It may be remarked,
however, that the ozone reaction seems to be greatest with
winds from the south, and least with northerly winds,
although further more extended observations may modify
this result. In respect to the sunshine recorder, I may state
that from a number experiments made witha view to obtain
an inexpensive instrument, I have found that a blown glass
sphere filled with water, and with a glass tube bent like a
syphon, to allow for expansion of the water during great heat,
acts admirably ; the heat rays passing through the vessel,
without much interference, burning a line on the prepared
paper at the true focal length. The only difficulty in using
this instrument is the rapid expansion due to the reduced
temperature—+z.é., when the water freezes in the sphere in cold
weather; but as the temperature during the day never sinks
below the freezing-point—+z.e¢., when the sun is shining—this
difficulty is obviated by removing the instrument, which is
on a movable’stand, inside at night. Various other forms of
meteorological phenomena—such as optical, electrical, &e.—
remain to be discussed; but as these have not, so far as I
am aware, any direct influence in estimating the probable
climatology of a district, I have not thought it necessary to
furnish any particulars of records taken of the former in the
present paper.
TRACES OF A FORMER GLACIAL PERIOD IN THE AUSTRALIAN
ALPS,
In concluding the present introduction to the Meteorology
of the Australian Alps, I have great pleasure in reporting
what may, I think, be considered as conclusive evidence of
the existence of a glacial period in the Australian Alps
during Post-miocene Times. The able arguments set forth
by Mr. Griffiths, in his “ Evidences of a Glacial Period in
Victoria during Post-miocene Times,” read before this Society
on 19th March last, led me to examine carefully the
surroundings of the Dry Gully and Lake Omeo areas, with
the results that I have been fortunate enough to discover
undoubted evidences of glacial action. Distinct rock striz
on hard filsitic and porphyritic rocks at Omeo Plains; on
of the Australian Alps. 145°
the gneissose rocks, Livingstone Creek, near Omeo; groov-
ings and markings on the bottom of the old lake bed at Dry
Gully ; numerous erratic and ice-worn boulders, both on the
maroin of Omeo Plains, and in the Dry Gully, and Living-
stone Creek gold workings, which indicate translocating
agencies distinct from ordinary fluvial action; as well as
other interesting relics, all pointing to a period of great
refrigeration culminating in an ice-covered region. I have
to thank Mr. Griffiths for the incentive to examine with
oreater circumspection the geological features of the area
with which I thought I had been previously familiar, with
the result that I am able to confirm his splendid theoretical
deductions by an appeal to actual facts capable of direct
verification on the ground. I have been careful not to
confound these rock striz with the slickensides so frequent
in faulted geological districts, which would be produced by
the downward slidings and crushings of great rock masses
during times of volcanic activities. The situation and
character of these glaciated rock surfaces are distinctive,
and can hardly be mistaken for slickensides. The whole of
the proofs which I have to offer in support of Mr. Griffiths’
hypothesis, from geological and botanical data, will, I trust,
form the subject-matter for a subsequent paper. In the
meantime it is hoped that the announcement of the discovery
of geological evidences of glaciation in the Australian Alps
may not be without interest, and direct attention to the
question of pre-existing meteorological changes, suggesting
thoughtful inquiry as to the great cosmic causes which have
slowly but surely dominated in the evolution of existing
climatic conditions from the cycling meteorological changes
of past time.*
* Since the above was written Dr. von Lendenfeld reports the discovery
of evidences of glacial action on Mount Kosciusko, vide telegram in Argus
newspaper of January 16th, 1885.
I,
ee ee = Seth SS SF
ce Et Tae yrs = 7
X 7 ‘
aa \
' >
Art. XVIL—On the Extinction of Waves at the
Entrance of Harbours.
By Epwarp Davy, LS.A., M.R.CS.
[Read 11th December, 1884.]
To prevent the access of a heavy sea into a shipping harbour
has always been a desideratum. This object can be accom-
plished by means of what is called a breakwater—
namely, a strong stone wall, built up from the bottom of
the sea; and what has been called a floating breakwater, as
a, cheap substitute, is probably a fallacy.
If a principle can be pointed out by which, at an
enormously smaller expense, the same object can be even
partially obtained, there is no doubt a benefit would be
conferred on the world. I therefore offer the following in
the hope that others capable of reasoning correctly on the
matter will take the subject up.
The contrivance which I propose, and which, provisionally,
I will call a Wave Extinguisher, consists of three parts—
First, a float.
Second, a moorage.
Third, a tether.
I shall describe the contrivance as a unit, on the under-
standing that any number of them may be required for use.
First, the Float.—The float may be a log of light wood, or
hollow barrel of air, made of whatever material will suit.
The Moorage may be a basket of durable wood at the
bottom of the sea, sufficiently loaded with stones (with the
aid of the tether) to prevent the float from rising with the
waves.
The Tether will bea ropeorchain of the length to berequired,
according to circumstances. Now, it will appear that on
the approach of a wave the float, being so confined, will be
unable to rise with or to the top of it, and will consequently
be submerged in it; in so doing, it becomes, for the time
being, a part and parcel of that wave—displacing water
which thus takes its place in the trough between the waves.
As the wave passes on it is, of course, lessened by a bulk
equal to that of the float it has left behind it.
Extinction of Waves at the Entrance of Harbours, 147_
To carry this simple principle out for practical purposes,
we have now to come to other considerations. Let us
suppose the apparent height of a wave, as seen from a boat
in the bottom of the trough, to be twenty feet; now, as
half of this elevation belongs to the trough, the actual
height of the wave above the mean level of the sea is only
ten feet; supposing the sides to be inclined at an angle of
forty-five degrees, the area of a transverse section of that
wave will be one hundred square feet; and that area,
multiplied by the length, will give the solid bulk of all the
floats required to extinguish it.
A number of these elements in a double or multiplied row
would probably be more convenient than a few large ones,
and the construction, not being continuous, might be carried
out progressively until sufficiently effective.
One advantage in contradistinction to a sea stone wall
would be, that the depth of the water would make very
little difference in the expense—being a question of length
of tether only.
Among the obvious objections to the scheme must be
mentioned the variations of tide—the length of tether
suiting one tide not being suitable for another. In reference
to this point, it would seem more important to provide
against waves at high tides than at low ones; but in any
case this is only a question of multiplying the elements, or
altering the form of the floats, probably by lengthening in
the perpendicular direction.
However, the scheme, such as it is, is at the service of the
public, and I cannot help believing that the time will come
when some good will arise out of it.
Jig
3 oi ame ae ro
Obituary.
THE REV. JOHN IGNATIUS BLEASDALE, D.D.
Dr. BLEASDALE was born in 1822, and was a native of Lancashire.
At a very early age he was taken to Portugal, and his university
training was obtained at an English College in Lisbon. In 1844
he returned to England and completed his studies at St. Mary’s
College, Oscott. He-was ordained priest by the late Cardinal
Wiseman, and for five years was garrison-chaplain at Weedon
and Aylesbury. He came to Victoria in 1855, and was
appointed vice-president of St. Patrick’s College, where he taught
experimental physics, having at an early age given his attention
to this subject. He was also secretary to the Roman Catholic
Archbishop. He joined the Royal Society of Victoria soon
after its formation, and was for many years one of its prominent
members, being in 1865 elected president. When in Portugal
he had acquired an intimate knowledge of viticulture, and in
the early days of wine-making in this colony he gave much
valuable information on the subject, and read and published
several papers of great practical importance on the wine industry.
He had also an intimate knowledge of mineralogy, especially in
the section of gem-stones, and he submitted frequent interesting
communications thereon to this society. He was president of the
first Intercolonial Exhibition in 1865, and ten years after he
succeeded in procuring the establishment of a school of chemistry,
assaying, and mineralogy in connection with the Public Museum,
to the advancement of which institution he had steadily given
his attention. He was elected in 1860 an honorary member of
the Medical Society of Victoria, a distinction not until then
conferred upon a non-medical man, and he occasionally read
papers before that body having reference to his own special
knowledge, but yet not uninteresting to the medical profession.
Outside his sacerdotal duties he was well and widely known
and much liked for his convivial qualities. About six years
ago he left this colony for California, where he soon made himself
known by the interest he showed in practical science and wine-
producing. He died there about the middle of last year.
~ . “ ‘
uy 3
rs ee
= - ra - ¢ +>).
> ; a eae gee
Obituary. 149
MR. WILLIAM GILLBEE, M.R.C.8., ENG.
Diep 4TH JANUARY, 1885.
Mr. GILLBEE was a native of Hackney, near London, and was
60 years of age at the time of his death, which took place on
the 4th of January of the present year (1885). His general
education was conducted at Edinburgh, where also he attended
the lectures on hospital practice qualifying him for examination
by the London College of Surgeons, the diploma of which he
obtained in 1848. He came to Australia in the following year,
but did not then remain here, as he was attracted by the news of
the gold discoveries in California, whither he repaired, and there
remained two years, practising in the then unsettled mining com-
munities of the very Far West. Returning to this part of the
world, after experiencing somewhat romantic adventures both in
the Pacific States and on board ship, he at once settled down in
Melbourne, where he continued in the steady practice of his pro-
fession until the latter part of 1883, when his failing health
induced him to visit the old country. In 1853 he was elected
one of the surgeons of the Melbourne Hospital, an appointment
he continued to hold for twenty-two years, and the duties of
which he performed with singular fidelity. In 1855 he assisted
in founding the Medical Society of Victoria, and in the same year
he took a prominent part in bringing about the fusion of the
Philosophical Society and the Victorian Institute, which con-
jointly became the Philosophical Institute, and afterwards, at a
later period, the present Royal Society of Victoria. Mr. Gillbee
was a member of the Council of the Royal Society for several
years, and in 1864 was elected vice-president. In 1859 he was
elected on the Exploration Committee, a body which had the
onerous duty of directing the ill-fated Burke aad Wills Expedi-
tion. Although Mr. Gillbee was not a frequent contributor to
the Transactions of this Society, he was for many years an active
working member, and frequently took part in the discussions at
the meetings.
In 1855 he helped to commence the Australian Medical Journal,
a publication in which he took a warm interest, and to whose
pages he was a steady contributor. In 1865 he helped to found
the Medical Benevolent Association of Victoria; in 1879 he took
part in establishing the Victorian Branch of the British Medical -
Association, of which he was chosen first President. He had in
1863 been the President of the Medical Society of Victoria. In
1853 he was one of about a dozen others who started the
volunteer movement in this colony, and he eventually became
Surgeon-Major of the Victorian Forces. In 1872 he was elected
pe ness Soe bead
150 Obituary.
by a vote of the profession a member of the Medical Board of
Victoria, of which, in 1878, he became President, a position he
held until his death, which took place a few weeks after his
return from England. He was an active and useful citizen, a
good surgeon, and a genial companion.
MR. EDWARD DAVY, M.R.C.S8.
Dizp JANvARY, 1885.
EpwarpD Davy was born on June 6th, 1806, and received his
education at a school kept by Mr. Bontflower, his maternal uncle.
He was afterwards apprenticed to Mr. Wheeler, house surgeon at
St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, and about the year 1828 became a
member of the Royal College of Surgeons, and soon after a
member of the Society of. Apothecaries. Shortly after this he
bought a business at 390 Strand, London, and began to trade as
an operative chemist under the name of Davy and Co, In 1836
he published a small work, entitled Experimental Guide to
Chemistry ; in this book he mentions several modifications of
instruments he had invented, such as “ Davy’s Blow-pipe,” and
*“ Davy’s Improved Mercurial Trough.” In 1835 he invented and
patented a cement for mending broken china and glass, which was
known as ‘‘ Davy’s Diamond Cement,” and it was about this time
that he first experimented on the electric telegraph. His first
telegraph necessitated the employment of 24 wires, insulated from
each other, but he mentions that the number of wires might be
reduced to six, owing to the numerous changes which could be
made upon them by combination. The source of electricity was
to be the prime conductor of a frictional electrical machine; the
electricity was passed into the line by depressing keys suitably
arranged. At the receiving end pith balls hanging in front of the
letters of the alphabet were first attracted and then repelled from
brass balls, to which the respective line wires were led, their
discharge being effected by means of suitable earth connections.
But this plan was not the one which Dr. Davy recommended to
be put to practice ; he merely described it to give a clearer insight
into the principles involved. He very soon drew up a proposal
for a telegraph based on the electro-magnetic properties of the
voltaic current. This was to consist, like the former, of as many
line wires as there were letters of the alphabet, but the number
might be reduced by various combinations to which they would
obviously be susceptible. He used a separate line for the alarm,
and a common return wire. The ribbons or wires were to be all
insulated and laid underground in a slight frame of well-varnished
Obituary. 151
wood. In this telegraph, magnetic needles were to replace the
pith balls, and were, on deflection by a current transmitted from
the sending station through a small helix, to be caused to expose
the particular letters intended to be signalled. The alarm was to
consist of a small fulminate of silver caps, attached to a separate
needle, which, on being deflected, dipped into the flame of a lamp
and exploded. He soon saw that by employing reverse currents
the number of wires might be reduced to one-half. Other very
important improvements followed, enabling him at the commence- |
ment of 1837 to submit his apparatus to the test of actual experi-
ment in Regent’s Park, where, with the help of a friend, Mr. Grave,
he performed many successful experiments. Becoming alarmed by
hearing rumours that Professor Wheatstone was engaged on an
electric telegraph, and in order to secure himself priority, he
deposited with Mr. Aikin, the secretary of the Society of Arts, a
sealed description of his invention in its then state. Davy then
added the electrical renewer, or relay, which made his apparatus
complete and practical. He had at this time most complete ideas
of the capabilities of the electric telegraph, and the best mode of
working the stations. A working model embodying all his
improvements was shown November to December, 1837, at the
Belgrave Institution, London, afterwards from December 29, 1837,
to November 10, 1838, in Exeter Hall. He then invented a
chemical recording telegraph, which he perfected before December
1837. He wished to take outa patent at once for this instrument,
but, owing to the opposition of Cooke and Wheatstone, the specifi-
cation was not sealed until July 4, 1838. In February 1838 he
removed from 390 Strand to 199 Fleet-street, and for some time
persistently endeavoured to get the public or the Great Western
Railway Company to take the matter up. In 1839 he landed in
South Australia, having during the years 1837 to 1838 frequently
for private reasons intended leaving England. For the remainder
of his life he resided in these colonies, busying himself in
acclimatising trees, grasses, &c., the seeds of which he obtained
in England. His leisure he filled up with writing news-
paper articles on hygiene and other subjects. He also
invented and patented ‘A plan for saving fuel during
the process of smelting ores,” and was Assay Master of the
Melbourne Mint from 1853 to 1855. Davy then tried his hand
at farming, and finally settled down at Malmsbury to practise his
profession of surgeon. He was highly esteemed and respected in
the district, and, to the great regret of all who knew him, died
in January, 1885, at the age of 73. Not long prior to his
death he had been elected an honorary member of this Society,
and also of the Society of Telegraph Engineers, London, thus
living long enough to see his claims as an inventor of the electric
telegraph recognised both in England and in his adopted home.
‘ : i - = 4 = = ee eo
, yb = y : = gs ae pine be
7S & : , ~ - a aS te
= i ~ - a= =
e s ae >
: - 3 3 4
=. ,
NO} Oy Obituary.
He was one of the original founders of the Philosophical Institute
of Victoria—one of the parent bodies afterwards merged in this
Society—and contributed several papers to its Transactions.
JOHN FILE BAILEY.
Diep Jung, 1884.
MR. Baitey, who was one of the most successful and intelligent
collectors of natural history specimens that we have ever had in
Victoria, is deserving of remembrance by the scientific world
in Australia for the contributions with which he enriched mary
of our public institutions. He had to contend against many
difficulties when young, and all that he knew was acquired
by the most honourable devotion to a life-long course of self-
instruction. When a lad he served as signal-boy with the army
at the Crimea, and it was there, on foreign shores, that his
love of making collections of shells and fossils was first developed.
After coming to this colony he constantly filled up the leisure
left him by a laborious and exacting business in the collection
of specimens, and he was one of the most active and zealous
workers in the ranks of the Field Naturalist Club.
He has rendered most material assistance to some of our
leading scientific writers in the colonies, and their gratitude
has found its usual mode of expression in the designation of
species by the name of the collector. Purpura Bayleana, for
instance, is figured in our own Transactions, Vol. X VIL, p. 83.
One of Mr. Bailey’s most prominent discoveries was that of a
fossil species of whale hitherto unknown, and described in
Victorian Paleontology (Plate XLV., fig. 1, 2) under the name
Physetodon Baileyi.
Mr, Bailey’s death was occasioned by his devotion to his
scientific pursuits, In the search for fossil remains in a newly
opened bed in the rocks at Cheltenham, he entered the water
and continued his researches while wet; the result being a
chill which caused death in a few days.
1884.
PROCEEDINGS.
ROYAL SOCIETY OF VICTORIA.
ANe No -A E ) MOb Gel IN.G..
March 12th, 1884.
Present, the President and 23 members and associates.
The Report, and Balance-sheet for 1884 were read and adopted,
as follow :—
‘“« Report of the Council of the Royal Soctety of Victoria for the
Year 1884.
“The termination of another year finds the Society in a posi-
tion of great prosperity in so far as regards the number of
Members and Associates, and its financial condition, but, unfor-
tunately, your Council has to report that much less than the
average of scientific activity has been displayed by its Members
throughout the year. The number of papers contributed has
been small, and although several of them are of very consider-
able importance to the progress of science in the colonies, the
volume of Transactions will not, your Council regrets to say,
exhibit the amount of work which might naturally be expected
from so large a Society, including so many members of high ~
scientific attainments.
‘‘ During the year there have been elected 12 new Members,,
1 Corresponding Member, and 4 Associates.
‘“‘The Society now numbers 19 Life Members, 112 Ordinary
Members, 36 Country Members, 7 Corresponding Members,
9 Honorary Members, and 71 Associates—making a total of
254 gentlemen belonging to the Society.
‘Your Council regrets to announce the loss by death of the
following Members and Associates—viz., Mr. W. C. Watts, Mr.
J. FE’. Bailey, Rev. J. I. Bleasdale, Mr. W. Detmold, Mr. W.
Gillbee, M.R.C.S., and Mr. E. Davy, M.R.C.S.
ME Pas REP MS TLS ct ete Enon (te Be : = Se
\ =
eee ae has
154. Proceedings, &¢., for 1884.
‘‘ During the year we have received for our library 64 volumes
and 542 parts of scientific publications issued by learned and
scientific bodies in all parts of the world, and in exchange have
_ forwarded our annual volume of Transactions to 149 institutions
of a similar character.
“Vol. XX. of the Society's Transactions was issued to
Members in June, 1884. Vol. XXI. will be ready for distribu-
tion in April next.
‘During the year, in addition to the Annual Conyersazione,
the Society held nine meetings, at which the following Papers
were read :— :
‘‘March 13th.—Mr. G. S. Griffiths: ‘On the Evidences of a
Glacial Epoch in Victoria During Post-Miocene Times ;’ Mr. J.
Stirling, F.L.8.: ‘The Phanerogamia of the Mitta-Mitta Source
Basin,’ Part IL.
‘April 17th.—Hon. Dr. Wilkie: ‘On the Determination of
Small Circular Arcs by means of the Cycloid.’
‘“‘ May 8th.—Mr..W. W. Culcheth, C.H. : ‘ Shingle on the Hast
Coasts of New Zealand.’
“June 12th.—Mr. Lockhart Morton: ‘Suggestions for the
Reduction of Excessively High Temperature in Ships and
Buildings ;’ Mr. G. H. Ridge: ‘Experiences of the Barque ‘ W.
H. Besse’ in the Java Earthquake.’
“July 10th.—Mr. R. E. Joseph: ‘ Notes on Fire-Alarms ;’
Mr. MacGillivray, M.A., M.R.C.8.: ‘ Description of New, or
Little Known, Polyzoa,’ Part VIL.
“ August 14th.—Dr. Curl, F.L.S.: ‘Cave Paintings in Aus-
tralia ;’> Mr. T. Wakelin, B.A.: ‘An Enquiry into the Cause of
Gravitation.’
‘“November 20th..— Mr. MacGillivray, M.A., M.R.C.S8.:
‘Note on the Mode of Reproduction of the Ornithorhynchus ;’
‘ Description of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa,’ Part VIII.
‘“« December 11th.—Mr. E. Davy, M.R.C.S.: ‘On the TEixtine-
tion of Waves at the Entrance of Harbours.’ Mr. J. Stirling:
‘ Notes on the Meteorology of the Australian Alps.’
<¢ DISCUSSIONS AND EXHIBITS.
‘‘ March 13th.—Professor Andrew opened a discussion on the
Recent Red Sunsets. —
‘April 17th.—Discussion on Mr. Griffiths’ paper, on ‘ The
Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria during Post-Miocene
Times.’ Mr. P. Behrendt exhibited a Telemeter.
Proceedings, &c., for 1884. 155
‘‘May 8th.—Mr. Ellery opened a discussion on some showers
that had recently fallen stamed with mud; Professor Andrew
exhibited and explained to the meeting a new method of inducing
a charge in the Electroscope, with less trouble than is necessary
in the ordinary way.
“July 10th.—Professor Kernot exhibited some harmonic
curves produced by a compound pendulum constructed by Mr.
Russell, the Government Astronomer of New South Wales;
Mr. Ellery read an abstract of a report by Mr. Verbeek on the
Krakatoa eruption, translated by Jonkheer Ploos van Amstel.
‘‘ October 16th.—Mr. Ellery opened a discussion on the
probable effect of the removal of the falls of the Yarra on the
water used for the Botanic Gardens.
“Report of Section A.
‘‘ During the year 1884 eleven meetings were held. The attend-
ance at the meetings and the interest taken in the work has
been very encouraging. The chief local event which came under
notice of the Section was the Engineers’ Exhibition, under the
auspices of the Engineers’ Association, which furnished many
interesting topics for discussion.
‘“‘The papers read and discussed gave evidence of careful
thought and accurate observation on the part of the Members.
‘The following is a list of the chief papers which were dis-
cussed :—
‘“«* Underground Telegraphs.’ Mr. J. H. Fraser, C.E.
«<The Strength of Timber.’ Mr. G. R. B. Steane, C.E.
«<The Web of Plate Girders.’ Mr. J. H. Fraser, C.E.
‘“‘« Indicator Diagrams.’ Mr. C. W. M‘Lean, C.H.
“«« Speed Regulators.’ Mr. J. Booth, C.H.
«The Strength of Cast and Wrought Iron Beams.’ Mr. J.
HH Fraser, CH.
‘“«* Accurate Chainage.’ Mr. Steane.
«Boiler Explosions.’ Professor Kernot.
“BA. SMILE. - Hon. See”
HdaSOfl ‘A ‘UY
‘SYOLIGNYV |
ING@1ID a SANvl
’
‘uaUNsvVaYL ‘NOH ‘SYOOW ‘H
"S991 ‘Asonsgay ysSEe : |
‘yaII0D puno} pue ‘yoo ysey pure ‘yxooq-ssvg yurg ‘s1syono,A oy} YM poiedwu0|)
g o1 6SL¥ | 9 or 6SL¥
< 6 Li ovr coe eee coe ose eoo yueg ul J0uvleq 66
ca Il gr zifF Oo €1 £1 2 ae “eg ne 3 ysorajuy “
a) cea — 3 o IO S ae es si _ SUSHOESUENL JO SIS ch
ee OI € soupung pus SUIS ISAPY * yse9 Anog tosh fh sex) puv juoy “
5 ¢ PI Qz 600 506 6 gav1sog 66 re} Li Llz ora
SS O OL ¢ oe ° e00 ee eee 200 souvinsuy 66 9 z re) eee eos eee "** LOISSIUUWIOZ) :
Se TM QUGTE 3.5 ; os Joyoyon Os) fate ae “ sIvoay
Sh Oe Or1Oa= °° ue oy e a “ yodaox-yeH “ 9 III _ (erv0k ge ‘op =
3 0 oO of were ood eee oe “+ queysIssy [eOHa1D 6 Oo 8 oS Seis soye1o0ssy gt
> z a e a a = vs me "* *92p ‘saredayy Of Ole : oes sioquisy Arjunogd Sz
ee ob yg CeGEn as
Oo (@) I see eee eee ; S19 wo (@)
Sse ORY Ot ° a 1 “* -Svay, puv auOIzesI9AUOD ‘ Os (Om lay ee ea aa ean sa I
S& 11919 a “suoHjoesuer], Puy sxoog jo sosieyD pure JUSIO1 ; —suondiuosqns “
a fe) 9 gt eee se coe eee eae eee SuIpUuld oO OI OI eoe vee eee S907 souvIJUA VSIA 66
Be Be Ie Bgl "2 Bate
fe) g = aanyUIM O; 0 705 ess: “+ Pg-€9er Jo sourjeq—juviy JUSMIUIaAOL) “
9 91 L6F see ee ae euoweis pue Sunuug Aq Ve Qo ye see “+ yQoys-2ouKleg jsv] Wor sOULTEg OF, f
xD "AGE
‘wIso0j91y f0 431905 JohOsy ayy Yswar JUNOIIPT UL AaANSVALT “UOT IY.
156
“LAOH AS-HAONVIVGA
157
Proceedings, &c., for 1884.
is eae Swe yee ie ee oe
6 Lr 1668F 6 i 1668
6 S 9f6E een soe aoe ooo eoe eee soured 66
Oo Zr 6S 7
GouET gb doo iets Abo arate eee yuvg ul vouryeg 66 wena
OO) G05 <7 a 4 gmprammy ‘Arerqry “eH “* (oye to) SY sonia] BurEEISINO oyj}O Jo yuNoLY poyeuNsy |
eG ane sue ve anp syuoy ‘op ‘op i On BON GCle a aes "+ poulrepoun ysotojuy ff
0 o ObF + suonduosqns SuIpurysnC jo anjeA payeunjsy Ag OF Oneailey as a rie SUIpUL}S]NO SamNnjUIqo(T 914], OL
2) ‘SLUSSV ‘SHILITIGVIT — “ad
"SLHOSSW GQNYV SHILITIGAVIT FAO LNAWALYLS
-
158 Proceedings, de., for 1884.
March 13th, 1884.
Present, the President (in the chair) and 40 members and associates.
Professor Andrew read a note on “The Red Sunsets,” in which
he explained the principle according to which the fine dust, sup-
posed by some to be the cause of these phenomena, might float in
the upper regions of the atmosphere without showing any tendency
to descend. He said that Mr. Ellery had raised a difficulty in
connection with one of the theories that had been propounded to
account for the remarkable afterglows which created so much
public interest, to the effect that. if they had been due to the
suspension of fine particles of volcanic or meteoric dust, they
would have ceased long ago, as the particles would be quickly
precipitated. ‘The theory that the red sunsets were due to the
presence of particles in the air would naturally lead any thinking
person to ask how it was possible that particles specifically heavier
than the air could remain for a long time in the atmosphere?
Three theories had been propounded to account for the remarkable
afterglows, and from those three were two offshoots. The theory
_ which Mr. Ellery announced was, that the red glow after sundown
was due to the accumulation of an unusual quantity of aqueous
vapour in the upper regions of the atmosphere. That theory had
received the support of the President’s colleague, Mr. Russell,
Government Astronomer, Sydney, and of Professor Michie Smith, of
Madras College, who attributed the peculiar green colour of the sun
and moon, which had been observed in India, to the presence of
aqueous vapour in the atmosphere. The second theory was that
the earth at present is, and had for some time past been passing
through a band or zone of meteoric dust; and the third theory
attributed the afterglow to the distribution in the atmosphere of
voleanic dust, consequent on the explosion at Krakatoa. The two
offshoot theories were—(1) a combination of the first and third,
and (2) a combination of the second and third. The only modes
of testing the truth of these theories was the use of the spectro-
scope and the actual production of dust precipitated from the
atmosphere. His own observations, made with an inferior instru-
ment, and without actual measurements, led him to agree with
those made much more carefully by Mr. Ellery ; but the fact that
in Holland there had been falls of rain impregnated with black
dust, and in Spain falls of snow similarly impregnated, and that
this dust was found on careful analysis to be identical with that
brought from the scene of disaster, rendered the evidence from the
two sources antagonistic. The volcanic-dust theory was most
generally adopted at home, though with very great diffidence; but
no scientific man of any eminence had ventured to say that the
problem had been solved with any certainty; indeed, Professor
Proceedings, &c., for 1884. 159
Piazzi Smith was of opinion that some years must elapse before it
would be possible to arrive at any definite conclusion, and he sug-
gested a more careful analysis of the constitution of the very high
strata of the atmosphere than had hitherto been made. Of the
theories put forward, certainly three of them required for their
complete establishment the removal of the one difficulty which
had been raised by Mr. Ellery as to the precipitation of the dust.
Some very curious theories had been started to account for the
suspension in the atmosphere of meteoric or volcanic dust. Preece
was said to have suggested that the particles were similarly
electrified, so that by mutual repulsion they were maintained at a
high altitude. Professor Andrew then proceeded to prove from
dynamical principles that the suspension in the atmosphere, for
long periods, of particles of dust specifically heavier than the air
was not incompatible with known dynamical laws.
The President said that there were instances of the extra-
ordinary afterglow and of a green sun noticed prior to the
Krakatoa eruption, and he reminded the members of the Society
of the great aurora of 1869, when at 10 o’clock on a moonless
night one could read the newspaper by the red light of the
aurora, which was far more intense than even the recent remark-
able sunsets. He did not think the volcanic dust found in Spain
and Holland proved anything more than that it had probably
been thrown up into the air by the explosion at Krakatoa, and
had fallen in the countries named. But that did not, in his
opinion, account for the peculiar sunsets. The theory that we
were passing through a region of cosmic dust was equally possible,
but very improbable, considering, from the time the afterglows
have continued, that we must have passed through a _ belt
180,000,000 miles in thickness, and are still in it, the sunset
that evening being as beautiful as any we have had. He believed
it would yet be found that water, in some form, had played the
principal part in the sunsets. He had had another idea, but it
was more of a speculation than a theory. At the time of the
Krakatoa earthquake there was noticed all round the world a
peculiar disturbance of all the barometers, repeated at certain
intervals for several days after the explosion, and he could
imagine that a terrific blow by the lower to the more elastic
portion of the upper atmosphere had given a kind of shudder
round the earth, disturbing the whole region of the upper atmo-
sphere, the upper air having a kind of shiver, so to speak. If it
were admitted that such a thing was possible—and they must
admit also, as chemists, that there are states of matters, com-
pounds and mixtures, combinations, and so forth, where they are
in a state of equilibrium, just on the verge of combining or
breaking up—a shock like that would cause a total alteration of
the physical character of the mixture or matter on which it was
160 _ Proceedings, &e., for 1884.
effected. Now, if they could suppose that the upper portion of
the earth’s atmosphere were go loosely combined as to be altered
in its constitution by a shiver of that kind, it would perhaps be a
-tenable theory that those red sunsets may have been caused by
some alteration of the upper region of the air from that cause.
Tt was only a hypothesis, but the barometric disturbances were so
universally felt, and were so terrific, that something of the kind
he now suggested might easily be conceived as possible. He
believed we should have to wait for the true theory. He certainly
could not accept the dust theory, because he could not explain
how it was possible that the dust could have been so universally
diffused as to bring about the phenomena that had been observed
in various parts of the world.
Professor Kernot pointed out, in support of the observations of
Professor Andrew as to the suspensicn in the air for a long time
of particles specifically heavier than the atmosphere, that to test
its accuracy one had only to observe the floating particles revealed
by admitting a ray of sunlight into a darkened room.
The President said he had lately received some fresh reports,
one or two of which were rather curious. A gentleman in his
garden at Urana, New South Wales, wrote to say that during one
of the wonderful afterglows it became so suddenly dark, although
the red glow remained, that he had to put down his watering-pot.
Then there was a sudden accession of light, a quarter of an hour
of twilight; and these pulsations of light occurred at intervals
lasting each time for a considerable period. In the Western
District, on one occasion, the beautiful rose-coloured light was
seen bounded by an intensely black band, defining the margin with
great distinctness.
Mr. Griffiths read hig paper on “The Evidences of a Glacial
Epoch in Victoria during Post-Miocene Times.”
Mr. James Stirling read his paper on “The Phanerogamia of
the Mitta-Mitta Source Basin.”
April 17th, 1884.
Present, the President (in the chair) and 21 members and associates.
Captain Wagemann was elected a member, Dr. Wagner a cor-
responding member, and Mr. Ludovic Hart an associate of the
Society. 3
A discussion took place on the paper read by Mr, Griffiths at
the previous meeting. Mr. Ellery, Professor Kernot, and Mr.
Rosales mentioned a number of facts which seemed to support
Mr. Griffiths’ views as to the existence of a glacial epoch in Vic-
toria during comparatively recent geologic times. Mr. Selby and
Proceedings, &e., for 1884. 161
Mr. Sutherland supported the views enunciated in the paper, as ~
to the probability that the recurrence of glacial epochs is to be
explained on Dr. Croll’s theory by the combined effects of the
precession of the equinoxes and of the variation in the eccentri-
city of the earth’s orbit.
A paper by the Hon. Dr, Wilkie, “On the Determination of
Small Circular Arcs by means of the Cycloid,” was taken as read.
May 8th, 1884.
Present, the President (in the chair), 27 members and associates.
Mr. James Chapman, C.H., was elected a member, and Mr.
Francis O. Hill as an associate, of the Society.
Mr, Ellery exhibited some specimens of mud which had recently
fallen in various parts of the colony as rain-showers.
Mr. Newbery said he had examined some of this mud which
had been submitted to him for inspection, and found it to consist
of powdered basalt and organic matter, such as would be swept off
the roads by the wind. He had no doubt but that the prevailing
dust storms had carried up into the higher regions of air great
quantities of finely pulverised matter, and that this had been
brought down by a shower of rain to such an extent as to colour
the raindrops, and give them the appearance of mud.
Professor Andrew explained to the Society a little point in
connection with the charging of an electroscope. All that was
necessary was merely to rub the knob of the instrument, thus
doing away with the use of an electrophorus every time the
instrument was to be employed.
Mr. Culcheth read his paper on ‘‘ Shingle on the Hast Coasts
of New Zealand.”
A discussion followed on the means of keeping naturai and
artificial harbours clear of shingle.
| June 12th, 1884.
Present, the President (in the chair) and 17 members and associates.
Mr, A. M‘Petrie, Mr. W. H. O. Smeaton, and Mr. J. Ce
Wilson were elected members of the Society.
One of the Honorary Secretaries read a paper by Mr. Lockhart
Morton, entitled “Suggestions for the Reduction of Excessively
High Temperatures in Ships and Buildings.”
M
had
pape sae
162 Proceedings, &c., for 1884.
A discussion ensued, in which Mr. Griffiths stated that this very
principle advocated by Mr. L. Morton had been applied in the
case ef a vessel recently built. Mr. Ellery stated that the idea
proposed was perfectly practicable, and that there was much room
for something of this sort in the management of hospitals in this
hot climate.
Mr. Ridge read a paper entitled ‘‘ Experiences of the Barque
‘W. H. Besse’ in the Java Earthquake.”
In connection with this paper Mr. Hillery read some interesting
memoranda from the meteorological observers of the northern
parts of Western Australia, showing the effect of the Java
earthquake on the tides and barometers of that colony.
July 10th, 1884.
Present, the President (in the chair) and 27 members and associates.
Mr. A. C. Smith was elected an associate of the Society.
Dr. MacGillivray’s paper on ‘‘ New or Little Known Polyzoa,’’
Part VII., was taken as read.
Mr. Verbeek’s report on the Krakatoa earthquake was read by
the President, as translated by Mr. Ploos van Amstel. The
thanks of the Society were directed to be conveyed to Mr. Van
Amstel.
The President read a letter from Messrs. Hughes, Pye & Rigby,
in which they stated that the compressed-air principle for cooling
ships and buildings, as suggested at the last meeting by Mr.
Lockhart Morton, had been applied by them, some time previously,
on board the s.s. “‘ You Yangs.”
Mr. Joseph read his paper on “ Fire Alarms.”
Professor Kernot showed some harmonic curves produced by a
compound pendulum, the property of Mr. Russel], of Sydney.
Special Meeting, August 14th, 1884.
Present, the President (in the chair) and 38 members and associates.
The President stated that the meeting was called in order to
devise some means of organising a subscription to raise a testi-
monial to Dr. Davy, of Malmsbury, who was now allowed on all
sides to have been one of the chief workers in the early develop-
ment of the electric telegraph.
Professor Kernot said that he was one of the committee
appointed to inquire into the merits of Dr. Davy’s work in
connection with the discovery and development of the electric —
Proceedings, &c., for 1884. 163
telegraph. It would be an invidious and indeed impossible task
to arrange in order of merit the names of the early workers
in this direction. But he thought there could be no doubt that
Dr. Davy’s name could deservedly take its place among those of
the founders of the electric telegraph.
Mr. M‘Gowan said he had the honour of intimate acquaintance
with Dr. Davy, and he could attest, from his own personal
knowledge, that the relay instrument, invented and constructed by
Dr. Davy nearly fifty years ago, was identical in principle with
that now universally used.
Mr. Selby said that, having studied the history of the early
development of the electric telegraph, he was quite certain that
Dr. Davy had every claim to be considered one of the founders of
the telegraph.
Mr. Bosisto moved, and Mr. Rosales seconded, the following
motion, which was unanimously adopted :—“ That the Royal
Society, being assured of Dr. Davy’s claims to consideration as
one of the inventors of the electric telegraph, resolves to do ali in
its power to secure the recognition cf his services.”
Mr. Sutherland moved, and Mr. Macdonald seconded, the
following resolution, which was adopted unanimously :—“ That
the President, the Vice-Presidents, Mr. Bosisto, Mr. M‘Gowan,
Mr. Blackett, Mr. Newbery, and Mr. Selby be asked to form a
deputation to the Premier to urge the claims of Dr. Davy on the
Government of Victoria.”
Mr. Sutherland moved, and Mr. White seconded, the following
resolution, which was carried unanimously :—‘“‘ That a subscrip-
tion list be opened for the purpose of presenting a testimonial to
Dr. Davy, and that the Council of the Society be empowered to
grant a sum not exceeding £50 with which to head the list.”
The meeting then resolved itself into an ordinary meeting of
the Society, when the librarian reported the receipt of 26 volumes
and 192 parts during the past three months.
Mr. Johnston Hicks and the Hon. W. M. K. Vale were elected
members.
A paper by Dr. Curl, of New Zealand, was read, in which he
endeavoured to prove that the drawings and inscriptions found by
Captain Grey in caves in Western Australia are of Phcenician
origin. He considered that the marks as given in Captain Grey’s
volumes are sufficiently close in appearance to some of the Syrian
alphabets to warrant the translation, ‘“‘ I am Goliath,” and that the
figure is in many respects in keeping with such an origin.
A vote of thanks was passed to Dr. Curl for his paper, and the
secretaries were directed to refer it to Mr. Andrew Harper, M.A.,
for his opinion as to the correctness of the views it contained in
regard to the alleged resemblance of the inscriptions to the letters
of the Syrian alphabet.
M 2
164 Proceedings, &¢., for 1884,
October 16th, 1884.
Present, the President and 11 members and associates.
There being no quorum, the election of gentlemen nominated
for membership was postponed till next meeting.
The President stated that at the last Council meeting of the
Society the sum of twenty guineas had been voted to Dr. Davy,
and that subscriptions would be received by Mr. Selby towards the
proposed testimonial.
Mr. Howitt’s paper, on “The Diabase Rocks of the Buchan
District,’ was taken as read, and ordered to be printed.
The President made some rémarks on the probable effects that
would follow the removal of the obstructions in the river at the
place known as the ‘ Falls.” He considered that the Botanic
Gardens, which depended for their supplies of water on the river,
would suffer severely.
Professor Kernot remarked on the want of proper gauging of
the volume of water delivered by the Yarra, and gave the result
of numerous observations of his own.
November 20th, 1884.
Present, the President (in the chair), 18 members and associates.
The President stated that he had received from the Society of
Electric Telegraph Engineers a telegram stating that Dr. Davy
had been unanimously elected an honorary member of that Society.
The following gentlemen were duly elected :—Mr. Hubbard, as
a member; Mr. Bruce Smith, as a member; Mr. J. A. Spring-
hall, as a member; Mr. A, Newham, B.A., as an associate.
Two papers by Dr. MacGillivray were then read, entitled “‘ The
Mode of Reproduction of the Monotremata ;” and ‘“‘ New or Little
Known Polyzoa,” Part VIII.
In connection with the former paper he exhibited five fine
specimens from the female Ornithorhynchus, showing the uterus,
ovaries, and mamme of these animals. 2
A discussion arose as to the significance of certain apparent
attachments, Dr. MacGillivray considering them as indicating a
rudimentary placenta, Dr. Jamieson being disposed to dispute
that interpretation.
_ December 11th, 1884.
Present, the President (in the chair), 13 members and associates.
Mr. A. A. Lucas was elected a member. Mr. Donald Manson
was elected a member.
ogt ~ 3
Proceedings, &c., for 1884. 165
A letter was read from Dr. Davy, of Malmsbury, on the
“Extinction of Waves at the Entrance of Harbours.” Mr.
Davy’s proposal was to moor floating bodies, which, being unable
to rise with the waves, would reduce the volume of the wave
when it had passed them. With two or three series of these
floating bodies, Mr. Davy thought that the interior of harbours
might be rendered perfectly safe.
A discussion ensued, in which it was asserted that the impos-
sibility of mooring large bodies to the rocks at the bottom of the
sea, so as to withstand the momentum of great waves, would be
an insuperable obstacle.
Mr. Stirling read a paper on the “ Meteorology of the Austra-
lian Alps.”
A discussion ensued, in which some peculiarities of climate in
the Australian Alps were noticed, particularly a fact stated by
Mr. Ellery to be of frequent occurrence—the higher temperature
of the higher portions of mountain valleys. It seems that crops,
such as potatoes, are often killed by the cold in the lower part of
the valleys, while they sometimes thrive well half-way up the
hill-sides overlooking the same valleys.
ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION A.
February 27th, 1884.
Mr. J. H. Fraser read a paper on “ Underground Telegraphs.”
He pointed out the dangers arising from aérial lines, and con-
tended that, as the underground system is being extensively used
in Europe with satisfactory results, we should lose no time in
adopting it in this country.
One great advantage of underground telegraphs is immunity
from thunderstorms.
During the course of his remarks Mr. Fraser exhibited several
pieces of cables of the kind in common use, and pointed out their
various advantages. One of the best is the Patterson Cable, in
which about fifty insulated wires, surrounding a return wire, are
enclosed in a lead pipe. The great difficulty hitherto has been to
exclude moisture ; this is fairly well done in the Patterson Cable
by forcing paraffin oil and carbonic dioxide into the pipes by
= heavy pressure. ;
As to the distribution of the wires, Mr. Fraser suggests that
main cables should be laid along the principal streets in such a
way as to divide the area supplied into rectangular sections, one
| le tan ail, Sit Bi * of oe 5 age Sl Y ~ oa Ct ts aa i
166 Proceedings, &c., for 1884.
for each main cable, and then to subdivide this into small rec-
tangles by means of the several bundles of wires of which the
main cable is composed. Hach of these small sections would be
supplied by the individual wires of the bundles.
March 26th, 1884.
Mr. G. R. B. Steane read a paper on ‘‘ Timber.”
A piece of timber may fail-in many ways, ¢.g., by tension,
detrusion, shearing, direct crushing, as in a short block; crushing
and flexure, as in struts of medium length; and pure flexure, as in
long columns.
It is essential that we should know the limits of strength and
elasticity. Up to the elastic limit it is found that the elasticity is
approximately equal in tension and compression, but beyond that
limit this is no longer the case. This is probably the reason of
the very remarkable behaviour of beams of every material when
approaching their breaking load.
In the conduct of experiments on timber but little care is usually
bestowed on the selection of suitable pieces for testing. The pieces
tested are usually of small size, and in this case the various
apparent strengths are invariably too high.
With regard to factors of safety, the question arises, “Should
we use the same factor for all timber structures, as some writers
seem to imply?” He thought not, for some timbers are more
reliable than others, and it is only by numerous and very careful
observations on the behaviour of any kind of timber that we can
come to any satisfactory determination of its proper factor of
safety.
In the discussion which followed Mr. Steane’s paper arose the
important question of cheap flood-openings.
The ordinary culverts and small timber bridges to be seen in
the colonies show great diversity of practice.
In one of the colonies the bridges for a single line narrow-gauge
railway are 15 feet wide, and decked all across; and one rather
. important bridge has an open space in the centre, and is decked
ne at the sides.
ue Timber railway bridges should never be built on the skew ; for,
il! in that case, part of the weight of the engine comes on a rigid pile,
ve and another part on a yielding beam, causing the engine to roll.
Af A very cheap form is that used on the Victorian light lines,
i 10 or 11 feet spans, with planks 7 inches square section, going
i . over two spans and breaking joint over each. Ballast is laid over
t Ba the whole deck, and sleepers put on it as on the earth formation.
Proceedings, &c., for 1884. 167
The comparative cost of a few types of single-line railway
bridges is :—
Strutted Bridges ie ... £4 10s. per foot rise
Timber 4s oe ke Gee i@ 55 ”
Iron 9 Sete eee 50 O 23 99
Limber ic 24; 0 ss ;
Yankee Cobweb | fon aa i
April 30th, 1884.
Mr. Fraser read a paper on ‘‘The Web of Plate Girders,” a
subject which has attracted very slight attention from scientific
men, but which, from its theoretical interest and practical import-
ance, is worthy of close study.
The function of the web is to carry the weight of the load on
the girder to the abutments, hence every element must be acted on
by two internal inclined forces; a tension directed along a line
sloping upwards and outwards, and a compression downwards and
outwards, It has been usual to design the web as if it were a
column merely under the action of the compression, quite ignoring
(except, perhaps, by implication) the assistance which it receives
from the lines of tension crossing those of the compression.
Now, in an open girder loaded on the bottom member, when a
tension diagonal crosses a compression diagonal the stress in the
tie is always greater than that in the strut. Hence, treating the
web girder as a limiting case of an open girder, in which the
number of diagonals is indefinitely increased and their distance
indefinitely diminished, it follows that the same statement must
apply to a web girder.
Therefore any tendency of the web to bulge to either side on
account of the compression will be overcome by the tendency,
exerted by the tension in the web, to keep it in one plane, so that
the web cannot fail in this way, ,
But if the web tend to crumple under the compression, the
tendency to straighten under the tension is less than the tendency
to further crumple, so that the web would fail.
In order to prevent this crumpling, stiffeners are introduced.
But from what we have seen above, it follows that these need
only be of the very lightest angle iron, say 24 x 24 x 4, and on
one side only of the web, An apparent exception is over the bed
plate, but in this place the 4 irons do not act as stiffeners, but as
true struts, and must be made accordingly. As a rule, the
stiffeners should be inclined downwards, and outwards at an angle
of 45°.
Be Se
Sa
= - —
= — =
SS Se NS SS
Sse
==
eer 1
ry
=~
eae:
y
168 Proceedings, &c., for 1884.
In the discussion which followed, Professor Kernot mentioned
that, as a general rule, he was averse to spreading the metal in
the form of thin plates, as is done in web girders, on account of
corrosion, but in some cases their use is unavoidable. From a
series of experiments on cardboard models, he has come to the
conclusion that their behaviour is very different when loaded on
the top and on the bottom member ; but he is not aware of any
difference of construction in the two cases. Further discussion
was postponed till next meeting.
Mr. Behrendt then exhibited a telemeter, a new instrument to
serve the purpose of a stadiometer, but on a base of only 18
inches in length. The inventor claims that the error in measuring
a length of 1000 yards is less than two feet.
From a series of careful experiments, carried out under the
superintendence of Mr. A. C. Allan, who has had considerable
experience in careful observation while carrying out the geodetic
survey of this colony, it appears that at so short a distance as 15
chains the instrument cannot be depended on to within 10 or
15 feet.
At a distance of 1000 feet an error of one second in the
measurement of the angle, subtended by a distance of 18 inches,
~ ig equivalent to an error in the apparent distance of the object of
over three feet. So that very accurate results can hardly be
looked for. 7
Professor Kernot showed some photographs of the Tay Bridge,
and some of the rolling stock, taken after the accident. Then
followed a few words about the bridge, the cause of the accident,
and a general discussion on the “ Factors of Safety’’ to be used
for wind pressure.
May 21st, 1884.
Mr. Behrendt opened the discussion on Mr. Fraser’s paper.
He pointed out concisely the action of a load, distributed in
any manner, on a beam; giving the mathematical expression for
the various results. Though no English work contains any
examination of the web stresses, yet the subject is very fully
considered in many German works, a few of which Mr. Behrendt
mentioned,
Professor Kernot pointed out the desirability of experimenting
on models; these should be of iron rather than paper, since paper
has no lateral stiffness to resist the crumpling action.
Several members joined in the discussion.
- Proceedings, &c., for 1884. 169
June 25th, 1884.
A paper was read giving a brief description of a visit to a coal
mine at Kilcunda.
Mr. M‘Lean then read a paper on “ Some Remarkable Indicator
Diagrams.” They were taken from the compound engine of the
dredge “ Crocodile.”
This engine had been designed heavy enough to bring the-
dredge out from England, and hence it was much too heavy for the
ordinary work of dredging. Again, it is subjected to very
varying resistances, according to the material cut out by the
buckets, so that the horse-power required from it may vary within
very wide limit.
The most curious result was obtained with light load and boiler
pressure 50-lb., engines making 60 revolutions per minute. In
the high-pressure cylinder the maximum pressure was 24 lbs,
while the minimum was actually 3 lbs. below atmosphere. In the
low pressure the maximum pressure was 3 lbs., and the minimum
12 lbs., giving about one-quarter work of high-pressure cylinder.
With higher boiler pressure, and the engine more heavily loaded,
the diagrams are of the normal form for compound engines.
The ‘‘ Crocodile” has two boilers, and the consumption of fuel with
one and two boilers at work deserves notice.
Under ordinary conditions, Mr, M‘Lean found it more economical
to use one boiler with a good fire than to use both even with a
very slow fire.
But when the engines are heavily loaded, so that one boiler
would require to be forced, he found that the two with ordinary
fires gave better results.
July 27th, 1884.
Mr. Booth read a paper on “Speed Regulators.”
He divides speed regulators into three classes:—(1) Those
which use up none of the driving power, but simply store energy,
as the fly-wheel. (2) Using a small fraction of the driving power
in regulating the speed of the engine, such as ordinary governors.
(3) Those in which regular speed is essential, and to attain which .
we can use up all the driving power ; such are astronomical pendu-
lums of various kinds.
The incandescent light is, perhaps, the most delicate test of
speed which we commonly meet ; eight per cent. variation in speed
makes all the difference between full on and quite out. le
The chief causes of inaccuracy in governors of the second class,
and the methods to be used in order to overcome them, would
seem to be—
: ; +
ee ee othe : 7
Se ae Val on na a] ;
i ]
= SSS
)
a
=
SS
vad A eas
170 Proceedings, Le. for 1884.
(1.) The steam between the governor and the piston is beyond
the control of the governor. To remedy this, we must make this
distance as short as possible.
(2.) Irregularity in driving power and resistance. This is the
great difficulty which the governor has to overcome. Perhaps the
most we can do is to assist the governor as much as possible by
making the fly-wheel much larger than is usually done.
(3.) Loss of time in the governor, arising from friction, &c.
We should therefore relieve it from as much work as possible.
In this respect, the gas-engine governors are the best with which
we are yet acquainted.
(4.) The governor is not isochronous.
This may be corrected, very approximately, by giving the arms a
short range, and using.a high-speed governor.
Where a very delicate governor is required, Mr. Booth advocates
the use of a combination of the Cross-arm and Porter governor,
having a very small range, which may be attained by using the
gas-engine link motion to regulate the supply of steam.
It will be noticed that this form possesses all the necessary
qualities mentioned above.
A short discussion followed, most of those present agreeing with
Mr. Booth’s views.
Professor Kernot then laid Mr. Mais’ report on the table.
August 27th, 1884.
_- Mr. Steane gave the dimensions of the new girders, and details of
the sizes of iron used, at the Victoria-street Bridge. After going
rapidly through the calculations of the stresses on the various
parts, a conclusion was arrived at, that these girders do not seem
to have been designed in accordance with the result of accurate
_ calculation.
October 1st, 1884.
Mr. Fraser read a paper on ‘The Sources of Unexplained
Strength in Cast and Wrought Tron Beams.”
In all physical investigations it may be taken as an axiom, that
we must introduce no new law to account for an apparent anomaly,
until we have made a complete examination of all aspects of the
case in the light of laws already known, and still fail to account
for the peculiar case.
Proceedings, &e., for 1884. | 171
This remark applies very directly to the case under notice, but
if seems to have been quite neglected by the chief authorities on
the strength of beams, with the result that what is really a
simple consequence of two facts to be presently mentioned, is
looked on as an obscure anomaly.
The ordinary formula for the moment of resistance of a
rectangular beam (4 fd h 2), rests on two assumptions—
1. That elasticity is equal in tension and compression.
2. That elasticity is constant up to breakage.
Neither of these is strictly correct, though both are approximately
true till near breaking load.
In cast-iron beams the formula gives strength only 40 per cent.
of the truth ; and in wrought-iron, only 60 per cent.
To correct this, it is usual to increase f to f + ®, ® being arranged
to make results agree with experiment.
This empirical formula gives results very closely in accord with
experiment, but throws no light whatever on the source of the
extra strength.
To account for this strength, we need only examine the effect of
the variations in the elasticity —
(1). Suppose elasticity constant up to breakage, and equal in
tension and compression, then the neutral axis will be at the
centre of the beam, and the stress will vary uniformly over the
section. In this case weshall have the formula (3 // 6 h 2) rigorously
exact.
(2). Suppose the modulus of elasticity decreases slowly with the
stress, but is equal in tension and compression, then the neutral
axis will be at the centre ; but the stress at any point increases in a
less ratio than the distance of the point from the neutral axis, so
that the stress-curve bulges and the beam is slightly stronger than
appears from the formula.
(3). Suppose the modulus of elasticity is greater in compression
than in tension, and that elasticity varies with the stress, then the
neutral axis will rise above the centre of the beam, and the curves
bulge considerably, then the beam will fail by compression, but
will be considerably stronger than appears from the formula. This
is the case with cast iron. With wrought iron the modulus of
elasticity is less in compression, so that the neutral axis falls and
the beam fails in tension ; but as the difference between the two
elasticities is not so marked as in cast iron, the discrepancy from
the formula is not so great.
26th November, 1884.
Professor Kernot brought up the subject of the Richmond ~
boiler explosion of the 7th inst. This was a Cornish boiler,
x oe Woe :
nS ee eS Saher thre
REELS
ees i ere
‘ \
we
———
I=
— =~ — ae
;
ROG es
ie >
aed
t
rca x
Sega Ss
1 it: Sar
i he
| hee
Poi ba
a
}
h|
~
172 Proceedings, &c., for 1884.
14 feet 2 inch x 4 feet 10 inch, ;5;-inch thick ; end plate, 3-inch.
No stay pieces were used. The angle irons used at the ends were
of very poor quality, 24 inch x 24 inch x } inch, having a square
instead of a rounded internal angle. Boiler pressure was usually
50 lbs. per square inch. Fracture took place by the back end of
the boiler separating completely from the shell, which shot cut
like a rocket across the street. The cause of the explosion seems
to have been the bulging of the ends; this split the angle irons at
one end completely, and then came the explosion.
Passing on from this particular case, Professor Kernot gave
some information on the subject of the design of boilers.
In all boiler questions there are three important questions of
strength—
1, As against bursting ;
2. As against collapsing ;
3. As against ends failing ;
of which the last is by far the most difficult to deal with.
The chief authorities on the subject are Wilson on Boilers, The
Board of Trade, and the classical experiment of the Manchester
Steam Users, described in Hngineering of May, 1876.
Wilson says, a 2-inch plate for working pressure of 50 lbs. per
square inch should be supported at 84-inch intervals. Board of
Trade says at 10-inch intervals. The Richmond boiler was 235
inches in one place, so that one could never have qalled it a safe
boiler.
Professor Kernot mentioned that it has been his experience that
explosions occur not so much from hidden causes as from very
simple ones. The explanation invariably is exceedingly bad
design or culpable negligence on the part of the man in charge.
The question of factors of safety was raised. In answer to this,
Professor Kernot gave the instructions of the Board of Trade :—
‘‘ For boilers, in accordance with their design, the working pressure
must not exceed one-fifth of the calculated bursting pressure, and
the testing pressure must be two-fifths the calculated bursting
pressure.”
In testing a second-hand boiler, Mr. M‘Lean stated that he
simply tests it to one-third more than the working pressure, so as
not to overstrain it.
Locomotive boilers are worked to 130 Ibs., and tested to 180 lbs.
Mr, M‘Lean described a new form of diaphragm pressure gauge,
which gives very accurate results.
The meetings then closed for the year, to recommence after the
TeCess.
Mee ME Be Rees
The Roval Society of Victoria.
Lire MEMBERS.
Barkly, His Excellency Sir Henry, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., Carlton
Club, London
Bosisto, Joseph, Hsq., M.L.A., Richmond
Butters, J. 8., Esq., Collins-street West
Eaton, H. -F., Esq., Treasury, Melbourne
Elliot, Sizar, Esq., 6 Porter-street, Prahran
Elliot, T. 8., Esq., Railway Department, Spencer-street
Gibbons, Sidney W., Esq., F.C.S., care of Mr. Lewis, Chemist,
Collins-street East
Gilbert, J. E., Esq., Melbourne Observatory
Higinbotham, His Honour Mr. Justice, Supreme Court
Iffia, Solomon, Esq., L.F.P.S8.G., South Melbourne
Mueller, Baron F. Von, K.C.M.G., M.D., Ph.D., F.R.S., South
Yarra
Nicholas, William, Esq., F.G.S., Melbourne University
Nicholson, Germain, Esq., Esplanade, St. Kilda
Reed, Joseph, Esq., Elizabeth-street South
Thompson, H. A., Esq., Lucknow, New South Wales
Were, J. B., Esq. (K.C.D., Denmark ; K.O.W., Sweden), Collins
street West
White, H. J., Esq., F.R.A.S., Melbourne Observatory
Wilkie, Hon. D. E., M.D., 215 Albert-street, East Melbourne
Wilson, Sir Samuel, Knt., Oakley Hall, Hast St. Kilda ;
oe ee tt
r ’ <
Ais
i
a
iy
ii
—o
——
~ SQ es
ae
174 - List of Members.
ORDINARY MEMBERS.
Allan, Alexander C., Esq., Fitzroy-street, St. Kilda
Anderson, Major J. A., Melbourne Club
Andrew, H. M., Professor, M.A., Melbourne University
Bage, Edward, Hsq., jun., Redan-street, Hast St. Kilda
Beaney, Hon. J. G., M.D., M.R.LA., F.R.C.S. Ed., Collins-street
East
Bear, J. P., Esq., 834 Collins-street West
Beckx, Gustave, Esq., 56 Hoddle-street, South Yarra
Behrendt, P., Esq., C.H., 35 Queen-street
Blackett, C. R., Hsq., Gertrude House, Fitzroy
Blair, John, Esq., M.D., Collins-street East
Bradley, R. 8., Hsq., Queen’s College, Barkly-street, St. Kilda
Browning, J. H., Esq., M.D., 12 Brunswick-street, Fitzroy
Chapman, J., Esq., Grandview Grove, East Prahran
Clarke, George Payne, Esq., F.C.S., Apollo Candle Works,
Footscray
Cohen, Joseph B., Esq., A.R.I.B.A., Public Works Department,
Melbourne
Cornell, Henry, Esq., Barkly-square, East Richmond
Corr, J.B. , Esq., M.A., Holstein House, South Yarra
Culcheth, W. W., Esq., M.ILC.E., 86 Collins-street West
Daley, W. J., Esq., St. Kilda-street, Elsternwick
Danks, John, Ksq.,42 Bourke-street West
Davidson, William, Esq., C.H., Melbourne Water Supply Office
Deverell, Spencer R., Esq., 1 Lygon-street
Duerdin, James, Esq., LL.B., 105 Collins-street West
Dunn, Frederick, Esq., Technological Museum
Ellery, R. L. J., Esq., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., &c., Melbourne Observa-
tory
Fitzpatrick, Rev. J., D.D., Archbishop’s Palace, Hast Melbourne
-Foord, Geo., Esq., F.C.8., Royal Mint, Melbourne
Foster, C. W., Esq., 29 Collins-street Hast
Godfrey, F. R., Esq., Alma-street, East St. Kilda
Goldstein, J. R. Y., Hsq., Office of Titles
Gotch, J. 8., Esq., 236 Albert-street, East Melbourne
Gregson, W. H., Esq., Bairnsdale
Griffiths, G. S., Esq., Grosvenor-street, Middle Brighton
Grut, Percy de Jersey, Esq., E. S. & A. C. Bank, Elizabeth-street
List of Members. 175
Heffernan, E. B., Esq., M.D., Gertrude-street, Fitzroy
Henderson, A. M., Esq., C.E., Elizabeth-street South
Henry, Louis, Esq., M.D., Sydney-road, Brunswick
Hewlett, T., Esq., M.R.C.S., Nicholson-street, Fitzroy
Hicks, Johnson, Esq., Office of Patents
Howitt, Edward, Esq., Yorick Club
Hubbard J. Reynolds, Esq., 3 Market-street, Melbourne
Hull, W. Bennett, Esq., 64 Temple-court, Collins-street West
James, E. M., Esq., M.R.C.S., Collins-street Hast
Jamieson, James, Esq., M.D., 129 Collins-street East
Joseph, R. E., Esq., Electric Light Company, Little Collins-street
East
Kernot, W. C., Professor, M.A., C.E., Melbourne University
Lane, W. H. H., Esq., 6 Bligh-street, Sydney
Le Fevre, G., Esq., M.D., 93 Collins-street East
Lilly, Arnold, Esq., 221 Albert-road, South Melbourne
Lucas, A. H. S., Esq., B.Sc., M.A. FE. G.S., 7 Albert Park Road,
South Melbourne
Lucas, C. J., Esq., F.1.A., 77 Collins-street West
Lynch, William, Ksq., 10 Market Buildings, Collins-street West
M‘Coy, F., Professor, F.R.S., Melbourne University
Macdonald, A. C., Esq., 95 Collins-street West
M‘Gowan, Samuel W., Esq., General Post Office
M‘Petrie, A., Esq., Rouse Street, Port Melbourne
Main, Thomas, Esq., City Surveyor’s Office, Melbourne
Manton, C. A., Esq., The Treasury
Moerlin, C., Esq., Melbourne Observatory
Moloney, Patrick, Esq., M.B., Collins-street East, Melbourne
Moors, H., Esq., ‘Chief Secretary’ s Office, Melbourne
Morley, J. an , Esq. , Chelsworth House, Dacron street, Catron
Munday, J. , Esq. , care of J. Hood, Esq. , Exchange, Melbourne
Muntz, T. B. , Esq., C.E., 41 Collins-street West
Murray, elt. , Esq., Railway Department, Melbourne
Nanson, E. J., Professor, M.A., Melbourne University
Neild, J. E., Esq., M.D., Collins-street East
Newbery, J. Cosmo, Esq., B.Sc., C.M.G., Technological Museum
Noone, J., Esq., Lands Department ;
Parkes, Edmund §., Esq., Bank of Australasia
Parnell, Major E., 148 Latrobe-street West
Phelps, J. J., Esq., Melbourne Club
Ploos van Amstel, Jonkheer Daniel, 49 Collins-street West
BEEF EINE OS RES
ies yey *
{
=r
SoS SN Ste Se
ae Kee ie
FE sy,
See
176 List of Members.
Rennick, Charles, Esq., 55 Little Collins-street West
Rennick, Francis, Esq., Railway Department, Melbourne
Ridge, Samuel H., Esq., B.A., 66 Park-street West, South
Melbourne
Rosales, Henry, Esq., care of J. Hood, Esq., Alta Mira, Grand
View Grove, Armadale
Rowan, Capt. F. C., 29 Queen-street
Rudall, J. T., Esq., F.R.C.8., 121 Collins-street East
Rule, O. R., Esq., Technological Museum, Melbourne
Sargood, Hon. F. T., M.L.C., Elsternwick
Selby, G. W., Esq., junr., 28 Queen-street
Shakespear, Major R. H., 47 Queen-street
Shaw, Thomas, Esq., Domain-road, South Yarra
Skene, A. J., Esq., M.A., Lands Department
Smeaton, W. H. O., Esq., 3 Bay View Cottage, Collins-place
Springhall, John A., Esq., General Post Office
Smith, Bruce, Esq., 18 Market Buildings, Market-street
Steane, G. R. B., Esq., Town Hall, St. Kilda
Steel, W. H., Esq., C.E., Public Works Department
Sutherland, Alex., Esq., M.A., Carlton College, Royal Park
Talbot, Robert, Esq., M.D., Brunswick
ae IR, WE Sg.5 C. E., , Barkly-street, St. Kilda
Tisdall, H. T. | Esq., Walhalla
Vale, Hon. W. M. K., 13 Selborne Chambers, Chancery-lane
Vautin, Claude, T. I., Esq., care of George Hardie, Esq., 131
Pitt-street, Sydney
Wagemann, Capt. C., 40 Elizabeth-street
Walker, Alex. R., Esq., 40 Latrobe-street West
Wall, H. B. De La Poer, Esq., M.A., Hamilton
Wallis, A. R., Esq., Woodford, Kew
Walters, Thomas, Esq., 20 Market Buildings
Way, A.8., Esq., M.A., Wesley College
Whitley, David, Esq., Queen-street, Melbourne
~Wigg, Henry C., Esq., M.D., F.R.C.S., Lygon-street, Carlton
Willimott, W. C., Esg., Lloyd’s Rooms, Collins-street West
Wilson, J. 8., Esq., Pottery Works, Yarraville
Woods, Hon. John, M.L.A., Spottiswood
Wyatt, Alfred, Esq., P.M., Yorick Club
Country MEMBERS.
Ballarat, The Bishop of, Bishopscourt, Ballarat
Barnes, Benjamin, Esq., Queen’s-terrace, South Melbourne
List of Members. 177
Bechervaise, W. P., Esq., Post Office, Ballarat
Bland, R. H., Esq., Clunes
Bone, William, Esq., M.D., Castlemaine
Campbell, F. A., Esq., C.E., Deepwater, New South Wales
Chesney, Charles Alfred, Esq., C.E., Tindarey Station, Cobar,
Bourke, N.S.W.
Clough, C. F., Esq., A.I.C.E., Engineer-in-Chief’s Office, Adelaide,
S.A
Conroy, James Macdowall, Esq., Yass, N. S. Wales
Field, William Graham, Esq., C.E., Railway Camp, Poowong
Fowler, Thomas Walker, Esq., C.E., Mason-street, Hawthorn
Henderson, J. B., Esq., Water Supply Department, Brisbane
Howitt, A. W., Esq., P.M., F.G.S., Sale
Hunt, Robert, Esq., Royal Mint, Sydney
Kane, Rev. H.'P., M.A., Brighton
Keogh, Laurence F’,, Esq., Brucknell Banks, Cobden
Loughrey, B., Esq., M.A., C.E., City Surveyor, Wellington, New
Zealand
Luplau, W., Esq., Lydiard-street, Ballarat
McClelland, D. C., Esq., State School, Garibaldi, Buninyong
MacGillivray, P. H., Esq., M.A., M.R.C.S. Ed., Sandhurst
Manns, G. 8., Esq., Leneva, near Wodonga
Manson, Donald, Esq., Waltham-buildings, Sydney
Marks, Edward Lloyd, Esq., General Post Office
Murray, Stewart, Esq., C.E., Kyneton
Naylor, John, Esq., Stawell
Oddie, James, Esq., Dana-street, Ballarat
Oliver, C. E. , Esq., care of ieee C. & E. Millar, 8 Collins-street
East
Rowand, C., Esq., Town Hall, Prahran
Stirling, James, Esq., F.L.S., Survey Office, Omeo
Stuart, “Tes J. A., B.A., 256 Victoria-street, Richmond
Sutton, Este Sturt- -street, Ballarat
Taylor, W. F., Esq., M.D.
178 — List of Members.
Wakelin, T., Esq., B.A., Greytown, Wellington, New Zealand
Wall, John, Esq., Town Hall, Sebastopol
Wilson, J. B., Esq., M.A., Church of England Grammar School,
Geelong.
CORRESPONDING MEMBERS.
Bailey, F. M., Esq., The Museum, Brisbane
Clarke, Hyde, Hsq., 32 St. George’s Square, London, 8. W.
Etheridge, Robert, Esq., junr., F.G.S., British Museum, London
Stirton, James, Esq., M.D., F. Th Sh 15 Newton-street, Glasgow
Ulrich, G. H. F., Professor, F.GS., Dunedin, Otago, N.Z.
Wagner, William, Ksq., IPE Phil ladelphia
Woods, Rev. J ulian E. Tsien F.G.8., 162 Albion-street, Surrey
Hills, Sydney
_ Honorary MEMBERS.
Clarke, Colonel Sir Andrew, K.C.M.G., C.B., C.I.E., Calcutta
Davy, Edward, Hsq., M.R.C.S., Malmsbury
Goepper, H. R., Esq., M.D., Ph.D.
Haast, Julius Von, Esq., Ph.D., F.R.S., C.M.G., Christchurch,
New Zealand
Neumayer, George, Professor, Ph.D., Bavaria
Perry, Right Rev. Charles, D. D., Avenue- road, London
Scoit, Rev. W., M.A, Kurrajong Heights, N.S.W.
Smith, John, Esq., M.D. , Sydney University
Todd, Charles, Esq., C.M.G., F.R.A.S., Adelaide, 8.A.
ASSOCIATES.
Anderson, D., Esq., Fair View, Stawell
Askew, David C., Hsq., C.E., 43 Bourke-street West
Bage, C., Esq., M.D., 89 Toorak-road, South Yarra
Bage, W., Hsq., C.E., Fulton-street, St, Kilda
Bagge, M. L. , Esa, 5 Royal Mint, Melbourne
Booth, John, Esq., C.E., Rennie. street, Coburg
Brockenshire, W. HH. , Esq., 208 George- street, Fitzroy
Brownscombe, W. J., Esq., Bridge- road, Richmond
Challen, Peter R. , Esq., Post Orne! ieatheore
Champion, H. v Esq., 27 Swanston-street
Clark, Lindesay, Esq., Grace Park, Hawthorn
Crouch, C. F., Esq., 7 Darling-street, South Yarra
Danks, A. T., Esq., 42 Bourke-street West
Dunlop, G. H., Esq., 60 Montague-street, South Melbourne
Edwards, J. E., Esq., 37 Erskine-street, Hotham
List of Members. 179
Fenton, J. J., Esq., Office of Government Statist
Finney, W. H., Esq., 81 Graham-street, Port Melbourne
Fletcher, R. E., Esq., 29 Queen-street
Fraser, J. H., Esq., Railway Department
Gibbs, H. B., Esq., Crimea-street, St. Kilda
Grant, A. M., Esq., Kerferd-road, Albert Park
Guilfoyle, W. R., Esq., F.L.8., Botanical Gardens
Halley, Rev. J. J., Williamstown
Hart, Ludovic, Esq., 109 Elizabeth-street
Hill, F. O., Esq., Argus Office
Hill, J. H., Esq., Westbury-street, East St. Kilda
Hiscox, J. C., Esq.
Holmes, W. A., Esq., Telegraph Engineers’ Office, Railway
Department, Spencer-street
Howden, J. M., Esq., Messrs. Lyell & Gowan’s, 46 Elizabeth-street
Jones, John Clark, Esq., Bridge-road, Richmond
Kernot, Frederick A., Esq., Royal Park, Hotham
Kirkland, J. B., Esq., Lygon-street, North Carlton
Lucas, T. P., Esq., M.R.C.8., 2 Bank-street West, South Melbourne
MacLean, C. W., Esq., Domain-street, South Yarra
Magee, W.S. T., Esq., Victoria-street, Melbourne
Maplestone, C. M., Esq., Post-office, Portland
Mills, H. W., Esq., Glan-y-mor, Brighton
Morris, David, Esq., Wilson-street, South Brighton
Murray, L. L., Esq., West Beach, St. Kilda
Murray, T., Esq., C.E., Rochester
Newham, Arthur, Esq., B.A., Trinity College, Melbourne
Noall, A. J., Esq., Trinity College, Melbourne
Outtrim, Frank Leon, Esq., Morris-street, Williamstown
Parry, EK. W., Esq., Sydney-road, Carlton
Paul, A. W. L., Esq., Male-street, North Brighton
Phillips, A. E., Esq , 30 Stanley-street, West Melbourne
Quarry, Herbert, Esq., Alma Cottage, Macaulay-road, Kensington
Rennick, E. C., Esq., Mont Albert Road, Balwyn
Rennick, W. R., Esq., Denham-street, Hawthorn
Schafer, R., Esq., 17 Union-street, Windsor
Shaw, A. G., Esq., 1 Merton Crescent, South Melbourne
Shaw, H., Esq., Powlett-street, East Melbourne
Slater, H. A., Esq., 121 Collins-street West
Smibert, G., Hsq,, General Post Office
Smith, A. G., Esq., 2 Buckingham Terrace, St. Vincent ae
North, South Melbourne
Smith, B. ik , Esq., Rosendale, Westbury-street, St. Kilda
Smith, E. L., Esq., George-street, Hast Melbourne
Smith, Frederick Dudley, Ksq,, Oakover- road, South Preston
Steane, W. P., Esq., 63 Park-street West, South Melbourne
Stewart, C., Esq., 9 Murphy-street, South Yarra
List of Members. : Ris
Taylor, Norman, oa . Studley Park Terrace, Simpson’ s-road, <—
Richmond —
Thompson, J. J., Esq., 11 Bouverie-street, Carlton ~ 2) 9 oe.
Thorne, T. Rhymer, Esq., General Post Office : . .
Tyers, A., Esq., Trinity College, Melbourne . es ae
Walsh, Fred., Esq., 6 Bridge-street, Sydney : 2
Wight, Gerard, Esq., The Ridge, Kensington
Williams, C. G. Wis, sae Cin Messrs. Muntz & Bage, 45 Collins-
street West
y Willimott, Sydney, Esq., Waltham Terrace, Richmond
ee Wills, Arthur, Esq., Walpole-street, Kew
i Young, John W., Esq., London Chartered Bank
-
LIST OF THE INSTITUTIONS AND LEARNED
SOCIETIES THAT RECEIVE COPIES OF THE
“TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL
OF VICTORIA.”
BRITISH.
Royal Society ...
Royal Society of Arts
Royal Geographical Society
Royal Asiatic Society
Royal Astronomical Society
Royal College of Physicians
Royal Microscopical Society
Statistical Society ee
Institute of Civil Engineers
Institute of Naval Architects
The British Museum
The Geological Society
Museum of Economic Geology
Meteorological Society
Anthropological Institute
Linnzean Society
Royal College of Surgeons
Zoological Society
“ Atheneum” ...
*¢ Klectrician”’
“Geological Magazine”
“Quarterly Journal of Science”
“ Nature” 5A
Colonial Office Librar 4
Foreign Office Library
Agent-General of Victoria
SOCIETY
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
London
Natural History Museum . South ‘Kensington
University Library S50 his ane Cambridge
Philosophical Society _... ae ale Cambridge
The Bodleian Library... see on «v2 Oxtord
Public Library Liverpool
_ Literary and Philosophical Society 0 of Liverpool Liverpool
Owen’s College Library ... Manchester
Free Public Library : ; bis Manchester
Literary and Philosophical Society 33 Manchester
Yorkshire College of Science - ---: \ Leeds
Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, Newcastle-on-Tyne-
Fe 4 - = _ Se = _ t dake eal cc 2 a= dann he! re ie Ce ee
f ig x x ‘ Sei 3 eae ey sie we 2 Rare ee eee
H 7 3 a : . tS = sat Cn ie ce a
ae , rs = ~ eS ¥ ~ = 2 a
iw , ; oR pote eae
ne : * mote
Bi
182 _ Inst of Institutions, &e., —
Royal Society ... oes ous a Edinburgh
a University Library ae ae a Edinburgh
He Royal Botanic Garden ... $3. i. Edinburgh
is Royal Physical Society ... = mht Edinburgh
i Royal Scottish Society of Arts... sue Edinburgh
f Geological Society ac Se. aa Edinburgh
Philosophical Society ... 357 ae ... Glasgow
University Library ae ee ... Glasgow
Institute of Engineers of Scotland.. ase ... Glasgow
Naturalists’ Society ras sor woe . | Brstel
Royal Irish Academy ... as es .-- Dublin
Trinity College Library . sae we “Dublin
Royal Geological Society of Ireland oe ... Dublin
Royal Dublin Society ... : aaa .ai) Darbha
EUROPEAN.
Geographical Society ... ae 3 i, Paris
Acclimatisation Society ... re os a Paris
Royal Academy of Sciences ae ae ... Brussels
Royal Geographicai Society ae aids Copenhagen
Royal Danish Society of Sciences . bes Copenhagen
Academy of Science sc oui See Stockholm
Royal Academy of Sciences shi ete 6 - Wipaal
The University ee ae if Christiania
_ Imperiai Academy ae oe see St. Petersburg
Geographical Society _.... sil ep St. Petersburg
Imperial Society of Naturalists ... oe -.. Moscow
“ Petermann’s Geological Journal”... oe Hamburgh
Society of Naturalists ... a a ' Hamburgh
e: Royal Institution ae ... Utrecht
Me Royal Netherlands Meteorological Society B. ... Utrecht
a Royal Academy of Science ; oe Amsterdam
Geological Society cee 52h Soc Darmstadt
Linnean Society ay a Darmstadt
Academy of Natural History a Es ... Giessen
Geographical Society... SH ... Frankfort-on-Main
Royal Academy of Science ns e's ... Munich
Royal Academy : ame a) 3 ... Wienna
loyal Geological Society Es BS ... Vienna
Royal Geographical Society ae oe ... Vienna
Royal Botanical Society ... =A was ... Ratisbon
Imperial Academy : sie ee .- Breslau
Society for Culture of Science se ao .. Breslau
Royal Society of Sciences oy An ... Leipzig
Royal Society ... a eve “AS /. esl
~ Geographical Society ... Ss so ies ... Berlin
That Receive Copies of the “Transactions.” 183
Ornithological society -...
Royal Academy of Petrarch for Seiences
Vienna
Arezzo
Imperial Leopoldian Carolinian Academy of German
Naturalists Ae
Society of Sciences of Finland
Society of Naturalists
Physico-Graphico Society
Bureau of Nautical Meteorology
Academy of Arts and Sciences
Geographical Society of ee
Royal Society ...
Natural History Society ..
Royal Academy of Science
Royal Academy of Science
Geographical Society
Society for Culture of Science
Royal Academy of Agriculture
Italian Geographical Society
Academy of Sciences 3
Royal Institute for Science, Liter ature, and Aré
Royal Society of Science
Academy of Sciences...
Scientific Academy of Leghorn
Academy of Sciences...
Physical and Medical Society
Helvetic Society of Natural Sciences
Society of Natural History and Medicine
Academy of Science ,
Teyler Museum
National Society of Natural Sciences
Zoological Society of France
Minister of Public Works
AMERICAN.
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Natural History Society ...
Halle
Helsingfors
Halle
a Lund
Srockenonn
Modena
Rome
Geettingen
? Geneva
.» _ Madrid: -
Lisbon
Lisbon
Bremen
Florence
Florence
Bologna
Milan
Naples
Turin
Leghorn
: Lyons
Wine temburg
Berne
er eidelberg
Paler ane
..- Harlem
Cherbourg
Paris
Rome.
Boston, Mass.
Boston, Mass.
Geographical Society New York
Smithsonian Institute Washington
Philosophical Society of Sciences Washington
War Department, United States Navy Washington
Geological Survey Department 3 Washington
Department of the Interior Washington
Academy of Natural Sciences Philadeiphia
American Philosophical Society Ae Philadelphia
Academy of Science ... ot. Louis, Missouri
Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences
Towa, U.S.
184
Californian Academy of Arts and Sciences
“ Science ”
Royal Society of Canada
Department of Industry and Commerce
Central Meteorological Observatory
National Academy of Sciences
ASIATIC.
Madras Literary Society ...
Geological Survey Department
Royal Bengal Asiatic Society
Meteorological Society
Royal Society of Natural Sciences i in n Netherlands India
Society of Arts and Sciences
COLONIAL.
Parliamentary Library
University Library
Public Library...
Registrar- -General’s s Department
Medical Society
German Association
- Atheneum ;
Eclectic Association of Victoria
Pharmaceutical Society
Victorian Institute of Surveyors
Chief Secretary’s Office
School of Mines
Sandhurst Free Library ..
School of Mines oe
Free Library
Free Library
Free Library ... nee
Royal Society of South Australia Sas
South Australian Institute
Royal Society ...
Linnean Society of New South Wales
The Observatory ap
Royal Society ... ae
New Zealand Institute ..
Otago Institute
Philosophical Society of Queensland
List of Institutions.
San Francisco
Cambridge, Mass.
. Montreal
Mexico
Mexico
Cordoba
Madras
Calcutta
Calcutta
Mauritius
Batavia
Batavia
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne
Ballarat
Sandhurst
Sandhurst
Fitzroy
Echuca
... Geelong
Adelaide, 8. A.
. Hobart, Tasmania
Wellington, N.Z.
Dunedin, N.Z.
. Brisbane
Mason, Firth & M‘Cutcheon, Printers, Flinders Lane West, Melbourne.
— Roval Society of Victoria.
TRANSACTIONS
AND
PROCEEDINGS
OF THE
Aopal Society of Pictorwa.
VOI Orr:
Edited under the Authority of the Council of the Society.
ISSUED MAY ist, 1886. : |
THE AUTHORS OF THE SEVERAL PAPERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE SOUNDNESS OF THE
OPINIONS GIVEN AND FOR THE ACCURACY OF THE STATEMENTS MADE THEREIN.
MELBOURNE :
MASON, FIRTH & M‘CUTCHEON, PRINTERS,
Fuinpers Lane WEST.
_ AGENTS TO THE SOCIETY.
WILLIAMS & NORGATE, 14 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON :
To whom all communications for transmission to the Royal Society of Victoria,
from all parts of Europe, should be sent.
CONTENTS OF VOL. XXII.
PRESIDENT’s ADDRESS, 1885
Art. I.
Il.
III,
IV.
Vi.
Vin.
The Examination of Waters, by J. Cosmo Newsery,
B.Se., C.M.G.
Photography: Its Past and Present, by Lupovic Harr..
On the Recent Earth Tremors, and the Conditions
which they Indicate, by G. 8. GRIFFITHS
The Atmosphere a Source of Nitrogen in Plant Economy,
by E. Liovp Marks
Notes on some Evidences of Glaciation in the Australian
Alps (Art. 1), by James Sriruine, F.L.S., F.G.8. ..
On the Dynamical Equivalent of a Pressure, by T.
Wake in, B.A. .. ais 56 54 oo
International Statistical Uniformity, by Henry
D’EsterreE Taylor ae :
The Cryptogamia of the Australian Alps (Part L.), sy
JAMES STIRLING, F'.L.S., F.G.S. ee
Fuller’s Calculating Slide-Rule, by Jauzs J. Fenton
Note on the Habits of Hermit Crabs, by A. H. 8. Lucas,
M.A., B.Sc. Me a cre
The Sedimentary, Metamorphic, and Igneous Rocks of
Ensay, by A. W. Howirt, F.G.8.
Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa, by P. H.
MacGiiuivray, M.A., M.B.C.S., F.L.8. .. Be
On an Apparatus for Utilising the Force of the Tides, by
Mr. LockHart Morton oes
On an Apparatus for Determining the ae of ae
by C. W. M‘Lran ae A
PAGE
XI—XXVi
1—9
10
10—19
19
20—34
34
35—48
49—56
57—61
61—63
63—127
128—139
139
139
V1 Contents.
OBITUARY— PAGE
The Hon. David Elliott Wilkie, M.D. Ed., and L.RB.C:S.
Ed, ae a a Ss ae Be .. 140—141
Edward Barker, M.D. Melb., F.R.C.S. Eng. ote .. 141—142
Jonathan Binns Were, C.M.G., J.P., &e. oe -. 142—148
PROCEEDINGS, &c,, 1885 Sie 56 ae 50 os .. 145—162
Laws 2 x a are Ne 3° SC ae .. 178—187
MEMBERS 5c ss ere ae sis 5 = .. 188—195
Institutions, &c., Reczivinc Copies or ‘“‘ TRANSACTIONS’’ -. 196—199
Hopal Society of Victoria.
Soro
Putron.
HIS EXCELLENCY SIR HENRY BROUGHAM LOCH, K.C.B.
President.
PROFESSOR KERNOT, M.A.
Vice-Dresidents.
E. J. WHITE, Esq., F.R.A.S. | J. COSMO NEWBERY, B.Sc.
Hon, Crevsuvrer,
HENRY MOORS, Esa.
How. Secretaries,
GEORGE W. SELBY, Esq. JUNR. | ALEX. SUTHERLAND, Esa., M.A.
Bor. Librarian.
JAMES E. NEILD, Esq., M.D.
Council.
JAMES DUERDIN, Esq., LL.B. C. R. BLACKETT, Esa.
Ss. W. M‘SGOWAN, Esq. R. S. BRADLEY, Esq.
JAMES T. RUDALL, Esa., F.R.C.S. H. ROSALES, Esa.
R. E. JOSEPH, Esa. R. L. J. ELLERY, Esq., F.R.S.
JAMES JAMIESON, Ese., M.D. G. 8. GRIFFITHS, Esa.
W. H. STEEL, Es@., C.E. Dr. HENRY.
_ PRESIDENTS ADDRESS,
Moval Society of Victoria.
ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS
OF
Che President,
PROFESSOR KERNOT, M.A.
(Delivered to the Members of the Royal Society of Victoria, at their
Annual Conversazione, held March 11th, 1886.)
GENTLEMEN OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY,
My presence upon this platform to-night is an evidence
to you that a great change has taken place in our Society.
For nearly twenty years past you have been in the habit
of listening, upon these annual occasions, to a gentleman
of European reputation—a Fellow of the two leading
scientific societies in the British Empire, whose extensive
acquaintance with all branches of research specially fitted
him for the position of the leader and President of the Royal
Society of Victoria. Under him the Society has grown up;
to him the scientific workers of this colony look as to a
father in science, ready at all times with advice, information,
and assistance. Under his wise rule our affairs have pro-
gressed smoothly and successfully, good work has been done,
and we have shown to those residing in other parts of the
world that, amidst the turmoil and excitement, the rapid
changes and animated contests that characterise the founding
of a new empire in a land but a few years since unknown
and unoccupied, the arduous paths of scientific investigation
are not wholly deserted, nor the labours of the great masters
of research altogether unappreciated. But now the familiar
re ee ee » — “te? La 7° t. /* h- a ‘
WR Og Ne nage ton eS SESS >, tenor £ — oa “ = = x 24 a ¢ .
Se LRU So reat eet te a Phe Coes Re Di rf otis yee <oSSEe z oe ; ay SOTA
“= acts ; —— Hea TAT RS E 3 Se = i : = 3 Bas SRS Hiss ;
ee: cae Sy, ire pean ae rete pe) fees ote eee Re Se ee ere SS a ee : NT See .
4 © PLS A ba Se Re ee Se Set ip Sha SG es te ape PS rs ao EME 2 os 7 ae
5 <st st = = por rt 3 5 ey he org > = 0 e — — en 5 es = a £ ~
Wy 8 a SS = = = +o Se ty = x > a
Xi President's Addvess
face is no longer seen, the familiar voice no longer heard from
the presidential chair. While yet in the full vigour of his
strength and usefulness, he has chosen to withdraw from the
position of greatest prominence, and to serve the Society
in a sphere similar to that occupied by Nestor amongst the
Grecian leaders before Troy. Long may he continue to aid
by his wise counsel and effective support the future Presi-
dents of the Royal Society of Victoria.
It was with some trepidation that I understood that hee
was a probability of my being proposed as a candidate for
the vacant office. To give satisfaction in a position long
occupied by such a veteran in science as our late President
must assuredly be by no means easy, while any shortcoming
cannot fail to provoke unpleasant comparisons. But while
the words nolo episcopary well expressed my private senti-
ments, I felt that I should be acting an unworthy part were
I to decline the combined honour and responsibility my
brother scientists were anxious to confer upon me. Thus,
though strongly of opinion that it would have been better
had the choice fallen upon some older and more experienced
member, I accepted the office, and crave your kindly
indulgence for my inaugural address.
And now, and appropriately, at a meeting at which many
visitors or non-members are present, let us inquire, What is
a Royal Society, and what are its objects? The Royal
Society, it may be replied, is that great and honoured
association of learned men which had its origin, under
kingly patronage, in London more than two centuries ago,
and which from that day to the present has interested itself
in all branches of science, and has included in its member-
ship the most illustrious names the world has known. It
assisted in publishing Newton’s Principia ; it aided Bradley
in his great discoveries of aberration and nutation; it
introduced the Gregorian Calendar ; it encouraged Harvey in
his discovery of the circulation of the blood; to it Dollond
and Ramsden, Davy and Cavendish, Faraday, Herschel, and
a host of other scientific worthies are indebted in a thousand
for the year 1885. Xiil
ways. Its published Transactions are most voluminous,
and are to be found in every library of scientific pretensions.
Through evil report and good report; hissed at by the
vulgar, who, in their ignorance, thought they had been
robbed of eleven days out of their lifetime ; ridiculed by wits
and satirists, who were unable to grasp the importance of
real knowledge, and to whom exhaustive experimental
investigation looked like childish trifling—the Royal Society
held on its way; and now in its maturity, and with all its
glorious history behind it, stands one of the grandest and
most beneficent organisations the world has ever seen.
The Royal Society recognises no authority but that which
submits to the most crucial test. It does not accept the
law of gravitation because Newton enunciated it, or the
circulation of the blood because Harvey described its course,
but it places Newton and Harvey in the highest seat of
honour, because the facts they first pointed out have been
verified by every succeeding investigation. Its methods are
accurate observation, conscientious experimenting, logical
deduction. Its aim is not the advocacy of a theory, the
bolstering up of a case, but the discovery of absolute truth.
In humble imitation of this magnificent association, local
societies such as our own have been formed in many
countries, and have enjoyed in various degrees the public
favour and the support of Government. These are known
as the Royal Societies of Victoria, New South Wales, South
Australia, or otherwise, as the case may be. They recognise
the same duty, adopt the same methods, and keep in view
the same objects as the parent Society. To discover and
record that which is true, to widen the bounds of human
knowledge, to expose error, to assist the bond fide
investigator, this constitutes their legitimate work.
But why, some one not specially interested in scientific
pursuits may ask, all this enthusiasm about truth? Do we
not all seek truth ? and is not truth easily attainable in most
matters of practical moment? We are intelligent men; we
do not believe in witchcraft and astrology; we belong to
A
a i ie al il
X1V President's Address
the enlightened city of Melbourne in the last quarter of the
nineteenth century. Ah! my friends, if you read history,
you will find that those of olden time who burnt witches
and consulted the stars, who persecuted Galileo and
denounced the system of Copernicus as impious, were
experienced, sensible, enlightened people—at least, in their
own estimation ; and it will be no astonishing thing if not
a few of the beliefs and practices of the present day come
in a century’s time, to be regarded as we now regard astrology
and demonology. aoe
The human mind is peculiarly susceptible to bias. It
is ike a compass, which, left alone, points to the pole, but
is most easily deflected by any magnetic mass in the vicinity.
Nothing is easier than to take a side and fight for it through
thick and thin; nothing more difficult than to preserve an
unbiassed mind, to suspend judgment until the evidence is
all duly set forth. We are born advocates, but we need long
and severe training before we become competent judges. To
hold the balance true is, then, the part of the really scientific
mind—a part most difficult wlien gusts of personal feeling
or the attractions of personal interest affect one all the
time. Even in the history of scientific discovery it is most
noticeable how an ingenious man concocts a clever theory,
and then becomes enamoured with his own creation, and
resolutely refuses duly to weigh the evidence against it;
while as to inventors of schemes of supposed practical
utility, I speak from a large experience when I say that they
are, as a rule, utterly unable to form any sound judgment
whatever upon their own proposals.
Rest assured, then, that the amount of fallacy, error, and
prejudice existing amongst us is far greater, and the amount
of real knowledge far less, than we fondly suppose ; and the
noblest use of life is to expose error and bring truth to light,
even if the error is of the most apparently mnocuous sort,
and the truth of the least opvious importance.
But what of the practical value of scientific knowledge ?
Do not scientific men, some one will probably ask, spend
for the year 1885. XV
years of valuable time in learned trifling, in elaborately
investigating matters of little or no real importance? The
reply is, that the true philosopher seeks knowledge for its
own sake, and in finding it experiences the highest intel-
lectual joy. To him life is more than meat, and the body
than raiment; and to explore the dim beginnings of organised
creatures in remote geological epochs, to observe the genesis
of a new world in some inconceivably distant region of
space, or to measure the size and investigate the properties
of the ultimate atoms of which the universe is built up,
affords a profound, a noble satisfaction, so that he is infinitely
happier amongst his formule and specimens, his fossils and
re-agents, than, in their absence, the wealth of Crcesus
could make him.
But, further, it is to be observed that it not infrequently
happens that lines of investigation of the most apparently
useless kind ultimately lead to results of the highest practical
importance, which would have been altogether missed had
the investigator too anxiously asked, Cuz bono? at the outset.
Had the scientists of the centuries preceding our own not
faithfully and patiently laid the foundations of mathe-
matical and physical science, we should never have had the
wonderful practical developments which at the present time
are amongst the first necessities of life and the most potent
appliances of civilisation. They ijaboured, and we have
entered into their labours. Had they not spent precious
years upon apparently trivial inquiries as towhy pumps would
not suck from a greater depth than thirty-three feet, or what
was the reason that the legs of a dead frog twitched when
touched with a piece of metal, we might not have had our
ocean steamships, our swift locomotives, or our wondrous
telegraphic system, permeating the whole civilised world as
the nerves do the sentient human body. All honour to thé
worthies of old who, without the faintest presentiment of
the wonderful result, patiently and conscientiously did their
duty, and laid the foundations of the glorious temple of
science in which we, their happy successors, worship.
AZ
SPT ET RT Tee TE PRR STARTER TS eS Teng nee
XV1 Presidents Address
There are lines of scientific investigation in various direc-
tions which are at present in a similar state to the science of
physics in the days of Galileo or Galvani. To the keen
practical business man, who looks for immediate results
expressible in terms of pounds, shillings, and pence, they are
apt to bear the aspect of laborious trifling. A century hence,
when we have passed off the scene, we know not but what
they may lead to results of incalculable value, and the names
of those who at present labour in obscurity be extolled as
the greatest benefactors the human race has ever known.
Then, again, it is to be remembered that the various
sciences are mutually dependent—the well-being and
advancement of each requires that the other should not be
neglected. The astronomer is constantly indebted to the
mathematician, the chemist to the electrician, and vice versa.
Not only the results, but the words of inquiry adopted in one
direction throw new light upon apparently remote questions.
Hence the importance of all-round education, and the danger
of too close specialisation. Hence the desirability of bringing
scientists of various orders into contact, and the advantage
of having one general Society, such as our own, with its
necessary sections devoted to special studies, rather than
separate and independent societies, conducting their affairs
without reference to each other, and affording no opportunity
for that intellectual friction which ensues when men who
have been educated in different ways, and whose pursuits
tend to develop different mental qualities, come together.
POSITION AND PROSPECTS OF THE SOCIETY.
The Royal Society of Victoria, now twenty-seven years
old, is in a fairly prosperous condition financially and other-
wise, though the meetings are not so numerously attended
as we might desire. The discussions depend too much upon
a few regular speakers, and thus lack the interest that
springs from variety. No doubt the numerous societies for
special purposes compete with the present body, and divert
in another direction much of our-younger talent. Could our
for the year 1885. XV
friends have seen their way to come in and form sections of
the Royal Society, I cannot help thinking it would have
been advantageous toall parties. They would have imparted
life and vigour, while we lent dignity and prestige, and
secured a more permanent record and wider circulation for
their investigations. However, it has been decided other-
wise, and we ought to rejoice at the numerous manifestations
of scientific activity, even though they do not take place
under the immediate control of the Royal Society. Our
library continues to grow by constant accessions, and our
Transactions are eagerly sought for by similar institutions in
other lands, who send us their publications in return. The
question of increased accommodation is at present in the
hands of a committee of the Council, and should they report
favourably it is gratifying to know that land on which to
build, and funds to meet the expenditure, will n¢+ be lacking.
A number of interesting and valuable paper have been
read during the year. Of the questions discussed, that of a
glacial period in Australia is perhaps the most interesting.
The discussion was opened early last year by an exhaustive
paper by Mr. Griffiths, who maintained that the beds of
boulders found in many parts of our colony, notably on our
goldfields, cannot be accounted for by the comparatively
feeble action of streams with restricted watersheds, but need
a more potent agency, that of ice, to fully explain them.
The explorations of Dr. Von Lindenfeld, at Mount Kosciusko,
appear to have led to the identification of the well-known
glacial phenomenon of rocks planed down to smooth and
flowing outlines. More recently Mr. Stirling, who has done
so much to elucidate the flora and meteorology of the
Australian Alps, has submitted specimens of supposed
glaciation from the neighbourhood of Omeo. With regard
to these specimens there has been some difference of opinion ;
but even those who question the evidences admit the reason-
ableness of the theory.
Of the sections—-the formation of which the laws of the
Society provide for—Section A is the only one in esse, the
XVill President's Address
others being merely in posse. Section A meets regularly,
and does good work in discussing engineering questions or
the day, amongst which the Cootamundra disaster, the
discharge of streams, the design of beams and girders, the
production and distribution of electric currents may be
noted.
DECEASED MEMBERS.
The Society has lost several members by death during the
past year.
Mr. Gillbee, M.R.C.S., was one of the founders of the
Royal Society of Victoria, and at one time held the position
of Vice-President. He took an active part in connection
with the Burke and Wills expedition, and at the time of his
death occupied the. position of President of the Medical
Board of Victoria.
Mr. E. Davy, M.R.C.S., was one of the early investigators
in telegraphy, and to him is due the invention of the relay.
His meritorious services were long overlooked, but recently
his claims have been recognised. Shortly before his death
he contributed a paper on the “ Extinction of Waves” to the
Transactions of the Society.
Dr. Edward Barker was one of the earliest members of the
Philosophical Institute, which afterwards merged in the
Royal Society, his name appearing on the roll in company -
with those of Sir H. Barkly, Sir W. a’Beckett, Sir Redmond
Barry, and other founders of the Institute.
Dr. David E. Wilkie was also one of the earliest members,
and at one time a contributor to the Transactions. He
occupied the position of Chairman of the Exploration Com-
mittee of the Philosophical Institute.
KINDRED INSTITUTIONS.
The Field Naturalists’ Club reports steady progress.
With a membership of one hundred and sixty, with well
attended meetings, interesting papers, and pleasant excursions
into the country, it seems to be in the heyday of its youth
and vigour. Unlike other scientific bodies whose votaries all
jor the year 1885. xix
belong to the sterner sex, the Field Naturalists’ Club
presents singular attractions to our lady friends, of whom
about twenty are members, and some of them office-bearers.
The Club has laid the public under an obligation by its
endeavours to prevent the destruction of spots of natural
beauty near Melbourne.
The Geographical Society of Australasia is engaged busily
in practical work. .A number of valuable papers have been
read and published, and, in addition to this, an exploring
party has been sent to New Guinea, the expense of which is
defrayed from sums contributed by the Governments of
Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria. The Society
has branches in New South Wales and Victoria, South
Australia, Queensland, and Tasmania.
A Historical Society has recently been constituted, and
_ has held a very successful inaugural meeting. It proposes
to rescue from oblivion, while yet it is possible to do so,
accurate particulars concerning the exploration, settlement,
and early history of the Australian colonies. How desirable
such a work is, is evidenced by the contradictions, confusion,
and uncertainty which already invest the early chronicles of
our land.
The Pharmacy board and Pharmaceutical Society have
continued their work during the year, the subjects dealt
with being chemistry, materia medica, and botany. A
special arrangement has been made for a lectureship in
pharmacy for the medical students of the University. The
museum of specimens and the library have received valuable
additions, and the work of instruction has been greatly facili-
tated by the ample accommodation provided by Government.
The Microscopical Society does not relax its endeavours,
and the gentlemen belonging to it year by year lay the
Royal Society under great obligation by the interesting-and
attractive exhibits which form so prominent a feature at our
annual conversazione.
The Industrial Museum and School of Technology, under
the direction of Mr. J. Cosmo Newbery, efficiently perform
XxX Presidents Address
their functions. The collections of minerals are constantly
being made more complete, and the classes in Chemistry,
Mechanical Engineering, and Telegraphy continue to attract
students, the Telegraphy Class being particularly popular.
The Museum of Natural History, under the able director-
ship of Professor M‘Coy, is from time to time receiving
valuable additions, and the need for extended accommoda-
tion is daily becoming more apparent. There is room upon
the site at the University for a second building cf similar
dimensions to the existing one, and it is to be hoped that
this may before long be provided. The position of this
Museum in the University Grounds adds greatly to its
educational value, as the University students are enabled at
once to inspect the specimens, and verify with their own
eyes the statements they have listened to in the lectures.
The Schools of Mines at Ballarat and Sandhurst continue
to flourish. At Ballarat anew chemical laboratory has been
fitted up, and the museum and library are becoming more
complete every year. A set of standard thermometers and
a standard barometer are daily observed, and a proposal for
the affiliation of the institution to the Melbourne University
is under consideration. At Sandhurst similar work is being
done. A museum,a well-equipped meteorological observa-
tory, field lectures on geology, and popular science lectures
are established, while a mechanical workshop and astro-
nomical observatory are in contemplation. It is to be
hoped that in course of time every large centre of popula-
tion in Australia will be provided with a similar institution
for the purpose of imparting reliable information on scientific
subjects of practical importance.
- THE MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY.
This, the great centre of higher education for the colony,
attracts a larger number of students every year, there
being at present between four and five hundred in attend-
ance upon lectures. In every branch we find increasing
activity, and the very defects and evils which we cannot
for the year 1885. XX
avoid seeing are due to the unexampled rapidity with which
the institution has grown. Not only is the accommodation
insufficient, but the arrangements and organisation, which
worked well with a quarter the number of students, and
less than half as many courses of lectures, are now over-
weighted. The want of accommodation, as far as the
Medical School is concerned, has been met: by the erection
of a handsome stone building, fitted with every modern
improvement; but the Arts and Engineering Classes
urgently need costly extensions. Larger lecture theatres,
modern apparatus, a physical laboratory, a powerful testing-
machine for investigations upon the efiects of stress on
materials, have been asked for, and it is to be hoped will
before long be obtained. These, together with additional
teaching power, will go far to enable our University to take
a proper stand, and not fear comparison with Universities in
older countries.
ASTRONOMICAL WORK.
The results of the work done with the great Melbourne
telescope are now being published, and comprise descrip-
tions and lithographs of the southern nebule as observed
by Mr. Le Sueur, Mr. M‘George, the late Mr. Turner, and
the present observer, Mr. Baracchi.
The new transit circle referred to by our late President
last year gives every satisfaction after a year’s trial, and is
without doubt unsurpassed by any similar instrument else-
where.
In September last a total eclipse of the sun took place,
visible in New Zealand. It was at first proposed to send a
party of observers from Melbourne, but the idea was
abandoned in view of the uncertainty of the weather at that
time of the year. The eclipse was observed by the local
astronomers with but partial success, owing to cloudy
weather and snowstorms. In Wellington the best results
were obtained, the character and position of the corona being
well seen, and some good photographs obtained.
XXil President's Addvress
Several small telescopic comets have been observed during
the year.
An interesting theory is propounded by M. Faye in the
Comptes Rendus. He explains the comparatively uniform
temperature of the globe without climates or seasons in
early geologic times, by supposing that the earth was then
warm with its own heat, while the sun was a vast and
barely Juminous group of meteors.
The past year has not been a very eventful one in
astronomical circles. Steady work and gradually increasing
efficiency have characterised it, rather than novel and
startling discoveries.
ENGINEERING.
No very remarkable engineering werk has been initiated
or completedjduring the past year. The Great Forth Bridge
in Scotland slowly progresses, but years must elapse before
it is completed. With its huge girders, spanning 1600 feet
without a support, it will be at once the most gigantic as
well as the most original structure in the world.
A structure of a type not uncommon in America, but new
in Australia, has been erected by the Victorian Railway
Department over the River Werribee, and will shortly be
ready for traffic. It is about a quarter of a mile long, and
125 feet high from the water level.
The Panama Canal progresses slowly. It is an enor-
mously more difficult work than that at Suez, owing to hilly
ground, flooded rivers, and the unhealthy climate. It will
be many years before we can hope to send our mails and
passengers through it on their way to Europe.
In December, 1883, I submitted a brief paper to the
Society, in which I pointed out that, in view of the ascer-
tained laws of Thermodynamics, the possibilities of improve-
ment in our best steam engines were very limited, whereas.
in the case of the gas engine they were enormously wider,
and that therefore the gas engine, which even then was.
superseding steam under certain special conditions, might be-
jor the year 1885. XXHE
expected to come into much greater prominence, and be
used on a very large scale. This prediction is, according to
accounts received from England, in a fair way to be accom-
plished. Not only have gas engines of the ordinary type—
a type that is, theoretically, very imperfect—succeeded when
supplied with gas from a suitable gas-producing apparatus.
in giving as much power per pound of coal as the very
largest and best steam engines, but a new type of gas engine
has been brought out, in which the principal defects of the
present form are remedied, and which, provided no. unfore-
seen practical difficulty intervenes, will nearly double the
power obtained froma given quantity of gas. This new
engine, in conjunction with a proper gas-producer, should
far excel in economic result any steam engine ever made or
likely to be made. Amongst other advantages that will
accrue from -the extended employment of gas as a motive
power will be the cessation of boiler explosions and the
abolition of the smoke nuisance, both matters of the highest
importance in large cities.
In electric lighting a substantial advance is being effected.
The age of extravagant expectations and reckless speculation
being over, steady, slow, but healthy progress is the order of
the day. The incandescent lamp is now regarded as a
necessary fitting on board passenger steamers of any preten-
sions whatever, while on land permanent installations for
public buildings and private mansions are being from time
to time made. A great desideratwum is some means of
storing up the electricity, some arrangement which shall
play apart analogous to the gasholder at a gasworks. At
present we work on what may be called the hand-to-mouth
system. The electricity is used just as fast as produced.
The slightest variation or most transient stoppage of the
generating mechanism dims or extinguishes the light.
Could we obtain some reliable accumulator or storage battery
it would afford invaluable help. But though many such
batteries have been made and tested, none have proved
permanently reliable. We must therefore do the best we
XX1V President's Address
ean without them, and by means of better engines, more
accurate governors, efficient dynamos, and other improve-
ments, coupled with increasing experience on the part of
those who manage the system, breakdowns can be rendered
very infrequent, even if they cannot be wholly abolished.
The transmission of power by means of electricity does
not progress much, though an interesting example has
recently come into existence in New Zealand, and a few
electric tramways are running in Kurope. There is not
much difficulty in effecting the result, the operation being by
no means so delicate as the production of electric ight, but
other and rougher means snilige to attain the same object.
We are about to have tramcars propelled through our city
by means of underground cables of enormous length.
Suppose, instead of these cables, we placed metallic con-
ductors in the tunnels that run along our streets, and thus
conveyed the power from dynamos at the engine-house to
electro-motors upon the cars, we could unquestionably carry
on the traffic; but whether the cost of coal for the
engines, the cost of maintaining the apparatus, and the risk
of derangement, would be as small under the electrical as
under the mechanical system can only be ascertained by
experiment. Asa mode of transmitting power, electricity
has several formidable competitors. As an illuminant it
really should have none, for it is the only illuminant that is
unobjectionable from a sanitary point of view.
The most notable advance in telegraphic matters in our
own corner of the world is the duplication of the Tasmanian
line. The cable steamer “Sherard Osborn” charged with
this work is at present in our waters, and will shortly lay a
second wire across the straits. This will ensure constant
communication, in spite of occasional temporary intone
tions of either line. 3
The much-desired abolition of overhead telegraph and
telephone wires in our cities is not yet un fart accompli.
Every year the poles grow larger, and the web of wires
thicker, till they threaten like the Parthian arrows to darken
for the year 1885. XXV
the sun. Not only do these masts and wires seriously mar the
architectural effect of our most costly buildings, but they
constitute a very perceptible source of danger by breaking
or sagging so low as to come in contact with passing
vehicles. He who succeeds in indicating a successful mode
of disposing of the maze of electric conductors underground
or out of sight will indeed be a public benefactor.
The great question of water conservation still engages
earnest attention—Royal Commissions have been taking
evidence both in Victoria and New South Wales, while a
Victorian minister, accompanied by his professional adviser,
has visited America, and inspected the water-supply works
there. Various schemes are proposed or in progress under
the various water trusts in this colony, and some curious
questions of intercolonial water-right are looming. It 1s to
be hoped that our engineers will hasten slowly, and that the
inception of a general irrigation system will not be charac-
terised by the mistakes, disasters, and waste of money that
have accompanied some of our domestic and mining schemes
of water supply in days past.
There is one work of which we may speak with unhesi-
tating commendation, and that is the systematic gauging of
our principal streams. This costs but little, and if regularly
carried out will in a few years supply us with data of the
highest value to the engineer, whether he be constructing
reservoirs or bridges, railways or schemes of water supply.
AUSTRALIAN BOTANY.
The valuable work undertaken by our State Botanist and
fellow-member, Baron von Mueller, continues to advance.
An enlarged edition of Select Plants for Industrial Culture
end Naturalisation will be in the Government Printer’s
hands by the end of the year. An atlas of 80 quarto plates
of the Myoporine will be exhibited at the forthcoming -
Indian and Colonial Exhibition. The Census of Australian
Plants will receive aS new supplement at the end of the
present year. The Dichotomous Key for the naming of
XXvi President's Address for the year 1885.
Victorian plants is making progress, but is found to be a
more laborious task than was at first anticipated. The
sixth part of Descriptive Notes on Papuan Plants has been
published, and great results are expected from the botanical
work of the two expeditions at present engaged in exploring
New Guinea.
New species of Utricularia have been discovered in North
West Australia, and additions to the flora of Queensland
and New Caledonia have been duly recorded.
Our Botanical Gardens, under the supervision of Mr.
W. R. Guilfoyle, are ina flourishing state; the moist weather
and warmth have given rise to an unusual display of both
foliage and flowers. The limited extent of the conservatory
accommodation, hampers the cultivation of the many valuable
exotics, This circumstance is to be regretted, and it is to be
hoped that the comparatively small sum necessary for
extension may be speedily obtained. ‘The classification and
nomenclature of plants is not neglected, and facilities are
afforded for students of botany, pharmacy, &c., to inspect
and form collections of their own.
In concluding this address, permit me to urge upon our
members, and especially the younger ones, are importance
of regular attendance upon the meetings, and the duty of
taking part in the discussions, and contributing papers on
subjects of scientific interest. The field of research is
unlimited. Many important lines of investigation are as
yet almost untouched. There is work for all—work that
will extend the knowledge and promote the happiness of
the human race. As the older members are removed by
death, or laid aside by the infirmities of age, we ought to
have young scientists full of enthusiasm ready to take their
places, to bear the burden, and reap the reward. What can
_be more replete with the highest enjoyment, upon what can
we look back with oreater Pahisection: than a life spent in
the search after truth, in combating error, and aiding. the
material and intellectual well-being of our fellow-men?
Art. 1—The Exanination of Waters.
By J. Cosmo Nrwsery, B.Sc., C.M.G.
[Read 16th April, 1885. |]
THIS subject, being one of the very greatest importance to
the well-being of any community, has at the present day a
literature of its own in almost every modern language, and
numbers of able men—engineers, medical men, microscopists,
and chemists—are devoting themselves to the study. The
results of their labours show the necessity of having pure
drinking water, and the absolute elimination of all possible
sources of contamination by sewage matter.
For a number of years past I have been examining, in a
more or less irregular manner, the waters of Victoria—in
former years, with the assistance of the late Mr. Manley
Hopwood and my late assistant, Mr. Frederic Dunn, now
our public analyst, and more recently with Mr. Savage and
Mr. Dunn. Some of our analytical results have appeared in
the publications of the Department of Mines ; and I must
admit that if these are taken into consideration without full
knowledge of all the circumstances connected with the
method of collection and the sources of supply, they form a
most confusing table, and without such information give but
little idea of the real condition of the water from a sanitary
point of view, especially when taken singly. Tor instance,
an undoubtedly contaminated well-water from Kyneton gave
us in parts per million: Free ammonia, 0:19; albuminoid
ammonia, 0°22; while rain-water from the Observatory
gauge gave: free ammonia, 1:088; albuminoid ammonia,
0-947. The rain-water was the first which fell after a long
drought, and had washed a contaminated atmosphere.
A chemist may, by any of the well-known methods,
determine the amount of nitrogenous matter contained in
the water, as free or saline ammonia, albuminoid ammonia,
nitrites or nitrates, and from the results obtained, with or
without an estimation of the amount of combined carbon
and chlorides present, form some idea of its character; but
B
2 The Examination of Waters.
these determinations do not prove in the slightest degree ©
whether the water is fit to drink, or whether it carries the
germs of disease, ready and able to reproduce the disease
whenever any one of the germs may meet a suitable
subject.
When the results obtained are what may be considered
abnormal, they simply show that a source of contamination
should be sought for; and for this reason these tests should
be continually applied to all our large sources of public
supply. The determination of combined carbon and chlorides
seems to me to be of less value here than in England, for all
our surface waters are more or less saline, with the excep-
tion of those derived from the mountain ranges and the
more elevated portions of the colony. Many of the streams in
the more level parts of the colony become brackish during
droughts, or in our ordinary summer weather; and an idea
of the amount of salt these streams carry may be formed
when we look at the lakes in the Western District, and see
that all those which have not some natural outlet become
strong brines during the summer months, though they are
filled by streams of almost tasteless water in the winter;
they yield annually many tons of salt to the factories. In
most of our river valleys we have numerous mineral springs,
many of them yielding waters charged with alkaline carbon-
ates; and these alkaline salts, acting upon the dead organic
matters, dissolve some of the carbonaceous substances, and
carry it into the stream and reservoirs. These facts show
that we must be very careful in drawing conclusions from
our analytical results. If we have some previous know-
ledge of the impurities in a water, our analysis will, however,
indicate any changes that may be taking place, and the
necessity for a careful examination of the sources of supply.
For instance, in the year 1877 the waters from the Geelong
supply gave as an average in one million parts, 0°00085
of a part of free or saline ammonia, and 0:0076 of albuminoid
ammonia, and still less nitrogen as nitrites or nitrates. The
water which had been cleared by lime contained only a
little more than one-half of the quantity of albuminoid
ammonia given in these small fractions, and the people of
Geelong flattered themselves that they had one of the purest
water supplies in the colony.
At the present time we find 150 times as much free
ammonia, and of albuminoid ammonia nearly 200 times as
much, besides a very notable amount of nitrites and nitrates
The Examination of Waters. 3
—over three per million. A similar statement may, I am
afraid, be made with regard to almost every public water
supply in the colony, except Yan Yean, which, owing to the
ereat care taken, is steadily improving, and, apart from its
colour, is an exceptionally pure water.
The figures just given do not prove that the water is
poisonous; and we know that the people of Geelong who
drink this water have not suffered more, or as much, from
typhoid fever—the real filth disease—as the people who are
- drinking the purer Yan Yean; and this argument, amongst
others, is used to prove that though the water has chemically
deteriorated to such a great extent, it is still a wholesome
water. To investigate it further, I tried to follow the
experiments described by the late Dr. Angus Smith in his
last report to the Local Government Board of Great Britain,
dated 1884, and convinced myself that the water was directly
contaminated by filth. I found many difficulties in follow-
ine Dr. Smith’s experiments; but even though not suc-
cessful in proving the quantity or energy of the contami-
nation, | found no difficulty in developing a large variety
of bacteria only to be found in filthy water, or water
contaminated by filth. I find similar bacteria in the waters
from both branches of the Moorabool, Lal Lal Creek, Stoney
Creek reservoir, some cattle tanks near the Anakies, the
Clunes supply, the Coliban, the Wimmera at Dimboola, the
Horsham supply, and several others.
I feel considerable diffidence in naming the various
forms which I have observed, as some do not agree with
the descriptions given by the “best authorities,” and of
late we have seen that these same “best authorities” do
not agree with one another, not only about the name a
certain form shall take, but also as to whether these in-
teresting micro-organisms are vegetables or animals. I
have no doubt, however, that I have recognised in the
waters named all the common types of bacteria which —
always accompany filth. The greatest variety of forms
are to be found in the water from the Western Moorabool
and Lal Lal Creek, and they may be developed by any of
the ordinary means in such numbers in a bottle of either of
these waters that in a short time it is simply a bacteria
jelly with an offensive, sickly smell. The number
developed may in some measure have prevented my being
successful with Dr. Smith’s gelatine method, as these
organisms render a thin gelatine jelly liquid, and if the
B 2
SAS bier ie aye ae
SR NET See on feetens
Saye scare > ¢ ae oe < 4.
: AN Spt My Er
ee Eipanread 5 aan 2 ac aR cart
See
Siti guanine sina ramped
+ The Examination of Waters.
jelly is too stiff they do not seem to have the power to
act. At the time I was making my experiments the tem-
perature of the laboratory often rose to 80° F., and, as at
this temperature the 5 per. cent. jellies became liquid, the
bacteria were able to move freely through the tubes, the
experiments were lost.
I then used the well-known solutions of tartarate of
ammonia, phosphate of sodium, sugar, and nitrates, singly
and mixed, having previously carefully sterilised them by
boiling, and using precautions to prevent outside contamina-
tion, and as a check testing distilled water contaminated by
the air of the laboratory. In these experiments the Yan
Yean (filtered) was the only natural water which would not
develop its germs without the addition of ammonium
tartarate. When mixed with sugar the mud separated from
the Yan Yean water by a high-pressure filter produced
alcohol—(another exception, which can hardly he called a
natural water, is the water from the Lovely Banks Reservoir,
which has been treated by lime)—while all the other waters
became offensive, producing ropy liquids undergoing putre-
factive changes, giving off hydrogen, and smelling at times
of butyric and lactic acids.
Most of my experiments were repeated several times, and
I noted that in those waters which contain the germs of
many varieties of bacteria the sequence of development
and duration of the existence of each class or variety might
be varied by slight alterations in the method of treatment ;
and this may in some measure account for the contradictory
statements made by scientific observers as to the types
found in certain waters, and the chemical changes produced
by them. With this part of the subject I hope to be able to
deal at a future time, but in this inquiry I was satisfied
in obtaining evidence which confirmed the results of the
chemical tests, proving the contamination by filth, and that
the germs introduced by this filth contamination were still
active. While these experiments were being conducted I had
the opportunity of visiting one of the watersheds in question
—the Moorabool—under the guidance of Mr. Wm. Davidson,
the engineer of the Yan Yean Water Supply, and found that
the river, with its tributaries, is simply the drain of a pas-
toral and farming district, with a rapidly increasing farming
population.
Some pure water may get into the river from springs
along the banks, and before the recent rain these springs
Y
The Examination of Waters. 5
may have contributed a considerable proportion of the very
limited stream, and at the same time account for the large
amount of saline matter present, amounting to from 16 to 20
grains per gallon. But after the rain the main supply will
come from the small tributary streams and soakage, the best
of which will take their supply from well-stocked pastures
and farm lands, and the worst from farmyards, piggeries,
dwellings, and closets. A glance at a recent map of the
colony will show that a similar state of affairs must exist,
more or less,in the collecting area of most of our water-
supply schemes, Yan Yean excepted. Iam told that the
Yan Yean catchment area does not receive the drainage ofa
single dwelling of any kind, and this statement proves the
accuracy of the methods of detecting filth. We found none.
The future management of the other schemes will, I fear,
tax the energies of our engineers if they are called on to
give pure water, for as population increases these waters
must become worse. I don't wish to meddle with the
medical aspeet of the case beyond my own sphere; but we
all acknowledge that typhoid fever is only communicated by
means of excreta, that it is essentially a filth disease, that it
is now very prevalent throughout the colony, and that
water is the best possible carrier of the disease. What I
have shown proves—first, chemically these waters should be
suspected ; second, microscopically they contain living forms,
only found in connection with filth; and third, in the case of
the Moorabool, ocular demonstration may be obtained of
direct pollution; and I have no doubt I should have
found the same evidence of pollution on visiting the
other watersheds in the populated districts. It
may be asked why, with such a foul watershed for its
supply, Geelong has not suffered more from typhoid fever ;
and there are, I believe, known cases within the water
supply area. The answer, I think, is, that the source of
supply has been dry while typhoid has been prevalent, and
that there is no intake to the reservoirs, and that the
method of treatment of the water by lime at the Lovely
Banks Reservoir to a very great degree destroys the living
germs. ‘l'’o what extent this lime treatment may be effective
in killing fever germs is unknown. It prevents the develop-
ment of Stoney Creek Reservoir bacteria; but in the Lovely
Banks water | find certain minute living cells, and the
presence of life of any kind throws a doubt upon the value
of the process. Somewhat similar means are adopted to —
6 The Examination of Waters.
purify the water drawn from the Thames for the supply of
London. Above the point at which the water is taken
there is a very large population ; but the circumstances are
not similar to ours; and compared to the Moorabool or
smaller streams which supply the reservoirs in question, the
Thames is a great river,and chemical changes caused by the
very filth that falls into it may tend to purify it; and,
further, we can have no evidence whatever of the amount of
disease that it actually conveys. I may quote from an
essay on water supply, by J. H. Balfour Brown, lent to me
by Mr. Davidson. He says, in writing of purified sewage :—
“Common sense is revolted by water which is mixed with
sewage, and although common sense is often behind science, in
many cases, like children who stray before grown-up people, it
runs before. The chemist cannot point to the specific
infecting substance, but can tell you whether the water is
open to suspicion ; whether it is injurious to health can
only be determined by physiological tests. Dr. Frankland,
than whom we have no greater authority, says normal
sewage may be drunk with impunity; water mixed with
healthy sewage is quite wholesome to drink; probably half
the population of the country (England) are drinking such
water.’ But what happens if the sewage is not healthy ?
I need not quote the well-authenticated instances in which
one single individual has contaminated a water supply, and
by this means has communicated the disease to hundreds; of
how in the village of Lausen the poisoned water had to filter
through a mountain range before it reached the victims, and
yet the filtering power of the mountain rocks through which
the water passed was sufficient to prevent the passage of
starch granules, showing that there was no fissure or channel
through which to convey solid particles. Nearer home
we have an instance that would be worth investigating.
The New South Wales Government made soakage dams
below the new town of Silverton, in a direct line with the
natural drainage, and during the late drought all water had
to be obtained from these dams or wells in the sand.
Typhoid was taken to the new town, and in a very short
time the local hospital was too small to hold the number of
typhoid patients. Recently we have had numerous filters
devised which pretend to prevent the passage of germs, but
at present I have not met with one or been able to make one
which answers the purpose. The high-pressure filters now
coming into common use, in which there is a cell of earthen-
The Examination of Waters. vf
ware, will separate the minute bacteria forms from the Yan
Yean, but the beautiful, bright filtered water obtained from
this filter contains their germs. Some good scientific
observers claim to have made filters which will separate
germs; but it is possible, I think, that they have been
experimenting on water in which the bacteria were exhausted
or dying, and in which there were no germs; for after they
(the bacteria) have brought about the chemical changes of
which they are capable they do die out; and it has been a
point of interest to watch how each of the waters under
examination passed through its various stages, and one form
replaced another till all died. Whether we ever reach a
stage in which there are no germs present I am not certain,
but think that it is probable, and that in the rapid
changes the disease germs may suffer in the same way as
harmless bacteria. Bacteria are so easily killed, and it is so
easy to destroy, or perhaps I should say prevent, their
germs from developing that we may hope for some means
for in a like manner destroying disease germs, and I think
some simple salt may do this.
But, as Mr. Balfour Brown says, for proof in connection
with this subject “we must be content to wait for the
fuller revelation, which may be reached through long bills
of mortality in time to come ;” and quoting from Dr. Cayley’s
Croonian lectures, “1 think these two instances (the
Catherum and Lausen cases) are sufficient of themselves to
Serve aS a warning against trusting to irrigation and down-
ward filtration as a means of purifying water, and also
against the dictum that water containing less than a certain
proportion of organic impurity is practically wholesome and
fit for drinking irrespective of its original source. It ought,
I think, to be laid down as a rule of hygiene that human
excrements shouid under no circumstances be mixed with
crinking water, however completely they may be subse-
quently removed by filtration or rendered innocuous by
oxidation. Of course, in the case of London this can only
be looked upon as an ideal to be realised in some distant
future ; but with jess than this we ought not to rest satisfied.”
“ Living matter,” says Dr. Alfred Hill, “ does not get oxidised
by flowing down a stream any more than a fish. It is not
decomposing animal matter which is prejudicial, but actual —
living matter. Mere dilution by water does not deprive it of
its dangerous qualities.” Dr. Frankland says: “I do not
think it possible by any practical means that have been
Fe
¥ a
sida ar aac aatiume iemaar uiten mete aaeaiaieninen ines sapien aiiaaaee rn
eg: i f : ’
\ ea. Le
b | 4 \
/
t
8 The Examination of Waters.
suggested so to purify water as to guarantee its freedom
from these germs of disease.” And these authorities believe
that “if a spoonful of unhealthy sewage is put into the
Thames at Oxford it may poison some persons in London.”
In a recent article in the Argus I noticed a statement that
during the epidemic of cholera in Italy none of the people
employed in the manufacture of borax, or in connection with
the works, were attacked by the disease. The claims of
borax as a disinfectant and preservative for food have been
advanced a great many times of late years, but without
much success. But seeing the statement referred to, I added
a boiled solution of borax to some freshly filtered water,
together with sterilised ammonium tartarate and sodium
phosphate, and though the bottle has stood in the laboratory
for 30 days there are no bacteria yet to be found init. The
same water, treated in the same way, but without borax,
becomes cloudy with bacteria in two or three days; and in
the same water unfiltered, in which there are developed
bacteria, the borax has no effect; the increase in number
goes on just as rapidly with as without it. This explains
some of the contradictory results obtained with borax and
boracic acid. It has some effect on the germs, but not on
the developed bacteria. If the statement from Italy is
true, and I see no reason to doubt it, the explanation seems
to be that all the water about the borax works contains this
salt, and the workmen are continually taking it into their
systems, and that the germs became passive, or died in the
borax water. On fully active bacteria I have tried the
action of several so-called disinfectants, and find that dilute
solutions have little or no effect. They swim about in a
distinctly purple solution of permanganate of potash, and
_ seem to reject it; and 1 per cent. carbolic acid takes a lone
time to kill them. Lime water kills them, but not if too
dilute ; but lime-like borax seems to prevent the growth of
the germs, and a mere trace of benzine destroys both germ
and bacteria, and probably most hydro-carbons do the same ;
and we may yet have to return to the work of the late Dr.
Day, of Geelong, and study the action of hydro-carbons, and
the formation of peroxide of hydrogen, and there find our
best disinfectant. These crude experiments, with which I
do not offer any figures, as I do not yet know the minimum
quantity of disinfectant required, suggest many others.
Though it is possible that some means may be found to
prevent infection by killing germs in poisonous waters, I
The Examination of Waters. 9
hardly think that any portion of our community will be
satisfied to accept as a water supply one which may largely
consist of sterilised sewage.
TABLE SHOWING NITROGENOUS MATTER IN SOME OF THE
WATERS REFERRED TO,
(Amounts given in parts per million. )
: wih Nitrates
Free Albuminoid aad
Locality. Ammonia, Ammonia, wit ites
OBSERVATORY GAUGE—
January 0:1088 ... 0:0947 ... 01334
Mar. 1ith & 15th 05598 .. 00799 ... 0:2499
mo oth -; 03998 ...-0:0622 ... 01419
olst .-. 0:0999 ... 00499 ... 0°1500
April 17th ... 0°2503 ... 0°1001 ... 0:2002
5S lst -... 02002 ... 0:0500 ... 0°3002
5o . 26th ..- 0°1000 ... 0:0500 ... 04005
May 10th to 15th 0°2603 ... 0°1001 ... 0:4505
» 20th to 3lst 03103 ... 0:1939 ... 02326
June 7th to 13th 00640 ... 00512 ... not determined
» 13th to 14th 0-2560 ... 0°1152 ... nf
So fitn: to 20th 0°3712 ... 01920 -... ae
Museum Yard, Jan. 00788 ... 0°0710 ... 012
7 LO261 =. O0788=2.20128
Observatory gauge, lt o. ; ae after long drought, 21st
Thunderstorm Jan. co = UES ore (VaR ; January, 1879
Mr. Macepon GAauGE—
April ze5, O°591 45-2? Smal ~ 3.2" 02045
May 26th to 30th = nil_—l.. Sate ae game vl |
Sept. 22nd to 27th 0°3984 ... 0:1092 ... 0 3664
Oct. 7th to 18th 1H apenas ill [tenia eaee 47 1)
eesti to 19th 0-225 - =. Sa rea O99?
Nov. 24th to 26th 0623 ... 0:0900 ... 03985
Dec. 18th & 19th 0-4564 ... 0:1092 ... 0°-2185
» 19th 221 .0:2828 2. O:167 22 -0:3985
Yan Yean Reservoir 01001 ... 0:2003 ... 03004 9th February, 1880
Middle ,, os 00200 ... 0-4500 ... undet. 3rd May, 1880
Plenty River son) Hal 5.401008. 2 2ard Pebruacry, User
Yan Yean Intake ... 0°0350 ... 01001... ,, 22nd January, 1881
West Moorabool ... 00265 ... 0106 ... 0119 March, 1885
Fiskin’s Dam eee s2O csc, OU 4 an as. 424
Connell’s Dam ___.... 00928 ... 0-452... 0°331 oes a -
Stoney Creek Resvr. 0:0133 ... 0146... 0°332 as 5 Geelong
Lovely Banks ,, 00199 ... 0081 ... 0-292 a: im ; Supply
— Geelong Supply ....0°0006 ...0013 ... nil 1877
. 5S ree OOUQD ee O00 Ten. ts, ‘
a x Sekar ae COOGEE 903 -,, Lovely Banks Resrvr.
Art, Il.—Photography: Its Past and Present.
By Lupovic HART,
[Read 14th May, 1885.]
Art. III.—On the Recent Harth-Tremors, and the
Conditions which they Indicate.
By G. 8. GRIFFITHS.
[Read 11th June, 1885.]
THE EARTHQUAKE OF 13TH May, 1885.
It having grown apparent to every one that the earth’s crust
in the vicinity of Tasmania has lately, from some obscure
cause, become unstable, I have collected all the notices of
the last shock which I could obtain, and have examined
them with a view—first, to discover the precise seat of
seismic activity ; and, secondly, to determine the character of
that action. If the evidence available enables us to accu-
rately diagnose the conditions now prevailing below Bass’s
Straits we may be able, in some degree, to anticipate the
immediate seismic future of those regions.
I have obtained a record of over forty observations, but
as some of these are obviously inexact, I have had to exclude
them from consideration, retaining thirty-five for exami-
nation. Of these, nineteen come from Tasmania, four from
New South Wales, and twelve from Victoria. To facilitate
comparison I have, in every case, reduced the local time to
that of Hobart.
TABLE OF OBSERVATION.
VICTORIA, N
. W+E
PLACE Locan Hopart DURATION DIRECTION
2 TIME, . Time. ; Z
Melbourne CE QO BT Me 18-3 8
Beechworth see Oo 2 9-40
Wilson’s Prom, ... 9°27 ba pai vie Of 450 “aay ees
Warragul wi 9BT “Ao ges OES
Flinders ban OraO) we. GAD
PLACE.
Geelong
Bairnsdale
Bruthen
Foster
Buchan
Omeo
Sale
Bega ...
Albury
Bombala
Gahoras
Hobart
Launceston
Sandhills
East Coast
Scottsdale
Corinna
Fingal
Springbay
Cressy
Circular Head
Low Head
St. Leonards
Beaconsfield
Longford
Westbury
Deloraine
Campbell
Georgetown ~
Moorina
On the Recent Karth-Tremors.
Loca
TIME.
9:27
. 9:20
.. 9:28
9:30
2 OO
ea . .
CO S00
., 9:28
9-30
VICTORIA.
HopBart
Time.
cee ON
7 9730
a 5b weeks
see ee)
par hate)
Pawar
. 9-40
DURATION,
6 O20 tol 307
Be AUS -
some On
oO cbOe
Sea Ou
2 Oma07
New SoutH WALES.
Ol en Or Or
Cor Or
=)
> Bear
eec
TASMANIA.
ae)
“I
co WwW OD
WOOO ODOODOOOODOO DOW
NOoowIwnytrntoococO OMUI® ony
HHS HS OD OD OD G2 He CO HS HE CO OD HR OD
sor OF 40%
cn, OR aOK
Rothe eV
aca 04
4h
E
DIRECTION.
eX eae ae ah
be ee
Es
An examination of the table reveals several discrepancies
as to time which detract from its value.
For instance,
Flinders reports the shock at 9°40, although Geelong, some
50 miles further away from the focus, notes it at 9°37, or
three minutes earlier.
also gives 9°37,so that there is the same discrepancy of three _
But the Wilson’s Promontory report
1 On the Recent EHarth-Tremors,
minutes between the neighbouring stations of Flinders and
Wilson’s Promontory. Again, it 1s strange that Geelong and
Wilson’s Promontory, 120 miles apart, should both note it at
the same moment, when between Sale and Bairnsdale on
the same co-seismic lines, there is a difference of ten minutes.
I have sought to reduce the minor errors of observation
by ascertaining the mean time of the record of each colony,
and this method gives more intelligible results.
TABLE OF MEAN TIME.
Tasmania... ae Su PCOS
Wactoriay 2. Gere ... 938-81
New South Wales ... OE GAS
From the first table we learn that the shock was felt
simultaneously at Gabo and on the east coast of Tasmania,
the time being 9°35.
The wave passed from the coast of Tasmania to Launceston
(a distance of 55 miles) in two minutes; from Launceston
to Circular Head (110 miles), in three minutes, reaching
the latter place at 9°40.
The accepted method of determining the seismic centre is
to group together the localities whose records, synchronize.
These will be found to arrange themselves in curved lines,
and the whole series of these curves will form more or less
perfect concentric circles, within the innermost of which les
the seat of disturbance.
This method gives us Gabo and the east coast of Tasmania
as points on inner circle; time, 9°35. The next ring yielded
by the reports cuts Launceston, Hobart, Wilson’s Promon-
tory, Geelong, Melbourne, the Buchan, and Omeo, at
9°37-9°38; and, still further from the centre, the wave, at
9-40, strikes Cressy and Circular Head in Tasmania,
Beechworth and Warragul in Victoria, and Albury and
Bega in New South Wales. The outermost ring seems to
be recorded at Bombala, N.S.W., at 9°50.
A glance at these rings shows that they are asymmetric,
from which we judge that the earthquake wave travelled out-.
wards at unequal speeds, and we have other evidence to show
that the speed of a tremor varies with the elasticity of
the medium. Mallet’s experiments showed that the shock
caused by blasting travels through wet sand at the rate of
951 feet per second; through friable granite at 1283 feet per
j
j
4
?
a
and the Conditions which they Indicate. 13
second; and through solid granite at 1640 feet per second.
The rates of speed recorded in Hurope are various, but the
maximum speed is 33 miles per minute. The rate of the
Calabrian earthquake, of 1857, was 8 miles per minute in
one direction, and 11 miles in another. That of Viege, 1855,
was 33 miles to the north, and 14 miles to the south. The
central Kuropean earthquake of 1872 recorded 27 miles per
minute, and that of Travancore, E.L., was but eight miles.
The rates noted here at the earthquake of the 13th May
vary very much, and some are extraordinarily high. From
the east coast to Launceston the rate was 27 miles per
minute ; from thence to Circular Head, 36 miles per minute ;
from Wilson’s Promontory to Beechworth, 63 miles; from
Sale to Warragul, 66 miles; and from Omeo to Beechworth,
30 miles. On the other hand, from Gabo to Bombala the
rate was only 74 miles per minute. It is very doubtful
whether all of these records can be relied upon. Nevertheless,
we have a mass of evidence to justify the belief that the
speed of the tremor in some parts may have been double
that of the shocks noted elsewhere.
The direction of the wave varies with the locality: thus in
Tasmania it was from east to west; in New South Wales it
was from south to north ; and in Victoria it was from south-
east to north-west. These lines all converge upon the
seismic centre which we have already determined.
The duration of the shock varied from point to point,
being from three seconds up to three minutes. In this fact
we have evidence that more than one rupture occurred.
For, if there had been but one, the length of the resultant
tremor would have been everywhere proportioned to the one
movement. ‘The duration of such a tremor might indeed be
expected to increase regularly with the distance, for an
earthquake is compounded of two dissimilar movements,
the one longitudinal and the other horizontal, and these two
motions travel at different rates of speed. Consequently, as
the distance traversed increases, the two motions straggle
apart, and the effect is that the vibrations are spread
over a period which lengthens as they travel outwards.
But the duration of the recent tremors varies most
eccentrically. It does not increase as the focus is
left behind, nor does it diminish regularly in any one
direction. The nearest approach to uniformity is. noticed
in the vicinity of Cape Howe; for at Gabo, Bombala,
Bruthen, and Foster, the time was from fifty to sixty
oe
a
- SLSpAinnE aruse./aaseumaad (asa Reale nein meaemnaiaarareaal atime aidialea hae a neta . — = "
as ot pete era eee ee ES t. ~ i “ye by
te u : : " ‘ |
\ ,
“ ut f ,
14 On the Recent Eurth-Tremors,
seconds. The only conclusion tenable is that there were
distinct movements at various distant points. And this
conclusion harmonises with the view that ruptures took
place simultaneously at the centre of the disturbed area
and around its margin.
The effects of the shock were most violent in Tasmania.
Walls cracked, plate-glass windows were shivered, stacks
of wood and bricks toppled over, trees swayed, church
bells tolled, boulders started from their beds, while men
left their houses, and flocks of sheep scattered in affright.
A church finial broke off and fell to the eastward ; another
one was shifted half an inch in the same direction, and
the débris of the chimneys lay along the ground in an
easterly and westerly direction. The pendulum of a
seisometer swayed half an inch, and other instruments
indicated a horizontal movement of 0°05 inch, and a
vertical of 0:112.inch, and water in a sawpit oscillated
two inches vertically. The shock was felt in the under-
eround workings of two mines.
In Victoria the locality most strongly shaken was
Wilson’s Promontory, but thé movement was severe at
Geelong, Warragul, and Bairnsdale.
It was generally reported that the motion was greatest
in lighthouses, belfries, and wharves, and least on terra
firma.
Every earthquake takes three phases, as it affects the
land, the sea, or the air. The land shock we have
described. The sea shock has not been recorded in its
entirety ; it consists of two waves, and of these the second
has not been noticed by the observers. At Beauty
Point, in Tasmania, a tidal wave was reported. In the
Esk the waters grew discoloured, and at the Sandhills
they were agitated. These disturbances coincided in time
with the land shock, as far as I can learn, and this was
to have been expected; but the characteristic second _
wave, which should have followed, has not been noted.
Its absence may be accounted for in three ways—firstly,
by the dulness of the observers; secondly, by the circum-
stance that the shores of Tasmania generally have deep
water round them, and that where this is the case, the
sea surface simply rises and falls, which movement might
not attract attention. But where the beach is shelving,
as it is at the entrance to the Gippsland Lakes, on the
Ninety-mile Beach, a roller is formed, which would be more
and the Conditions which they Indicate. 15.
notable. Mr. Quail, the pilot, tells me that nothing of the
kind was noticed there by him, although he was on the
beach when he felt the shock, and simultaneously saw
the sea agitated in an unusual manner.
Thirdly, it may be explained by supposing that the
disturbed area was so close to the coast that the second
wave must have arrived as soon as the first, or so quickly
after it as not to have been distinguishable from it. The
secondary sea wave of an earthquake travels more slowly
than the first. On the occasion of the Lisbon earthquake,
the first wave reached Madeira in 25 minutes, but the
second took 24 hours, the rates of speed being as 6 is to 1.
Tf the seismic centre of the recent shock was 120 miles
distant from the coast, and the speed of the tremor was 30 —
miles per minute, the secondary wave would reach the shore
20 minutes after the first, and this ought to have been noted
somewhere. But if the distance off shore was only 30 miles,
the secondary wave would arrive within six minutes after
the first.
The conclusion I come to is, that the edge ae the seismic
centre was close to the east coast of Tasmania and to the
south-east extremity of Australia.
The last form of manifestation to be considered is the air
wave, which reveals itself by loud rolling rumbling sounds,
as of heavy-laden waggons. Such reverberations, loud and
long-continued, were noticed in innumerable places.
I have now set out all the facts known to me concerning
the recent earthquake, and I have founded certain conclu-
sions upon them. A comparison of times and places and
directions of the shock indicates that the seismic centre
must have been about the point intersected by 150 E. long.
and 40 §. lat. The high angle of emergence at the Sand-
hills, Tasmania, where boulders were ejected from their beds ;
the high speed of the land tremor, and the absence of a
second sea wave, all point to the margin of the disturbed
area having been much nearer to the land than the focus.
The high speed of the tremor again points unmistakably to
a deep focus. For it is known that the speed of the wave
of elastic compression is greatest when it traverses rigid
strata, and that it slackens in decomposed, faulted, or friable
rocks. The wave could have attained to the high rate
reported locally only where are extensive masses of unbroken, -
homogeneous, crystalline rocks. To obtain a free course
through strata of this character the wave must have
’ —_ a 2d pois ewe
- ° —_
~ 1 eae _ ee eae +}
paid “ : weer ieee ase = snoe —
Ar 8S apt 2h TRY ri ‘ 1K, Cn x apes ae
Poe = be) on ‘i
¥ hy or 5 a wi 0
¢ Sra es se hee alpen ener canara ee re:
. = ee
' \ ‘ 1 ~ |
i ‘
\
»
RP ag Sis Mey RR ns
ai : ‘
16 On the Recent EKarth-Tremors,
emanated from a point situated low down in the outer
crust. The greatest depth at which such movements can
occur is believed to be 30 miles, and most earthquakes
originate at depths of from 8 to 15 miles. J am of opiion
that, with ours, the latter distance must have been the
minimum depth. The exact depth of the focus can he
calculated by observing the mean direction of the rents in
the walls of buildings, and I regret that I have no data of
this kind to offer.
The next feature in connection with this earthquake which
I shall point out is that the seismic activity has returned
with the winter season. The previous shock occurred in
June of last year. The records of the northern hemisphere
show that three-fifths of the whole number of earthquakes
there occur in the winter season, and it is interesting to see
that the connection with that season is maintained in this
hemisphere. ;
Another interesting circumstance 1s that the focus occurs
within an area of high barometric pressure, as is well shown
by the weather chart of that date. The isobar of 30-2
surrounds it, and that of 30°3 overlies Bass’s Strait. Vol-
canic disturbances increase with a low barometer; with us
the converse has occurred, and this fact is important when
we are investigating the causes of the recent tremors.
IT.
Having described the features of this earthquake, I will
proceed to consider what are the subterranean conditions
which they indicate. An earthquake is the result of an
earth-rupture, and an earth-rupture is caused in three
different ways. It may occur through the contraction of the
globe, due to loss of heat, during which secular process
the inner cooling parts shrink away from the cold solidified
external shell, which latter part nevertheless clings to the
- retreating nucleus under the indraught of gravitation. This
crust, ever contracting, and yet ever too large, unceasingly
adjusts itself to the dwindling core by buckling up along
certain lines, and then cracking along the folds or anticlinal
crests. The ruptured edges, pressed together, stack up their
shattered strata into mountain chains. In other words,
mountains are the result of the crumpling and piling-up of
broken strata under the pressure of a tremendous tangential
and the Conditions which they Indicate. 17
thrust, but the process is a very slow one, characterised by
an infinite number of minute movements, small fractures,
and slight shocks, and a limited number of large displace-
ments and violent shocks.
It is then possible that the series of tremors to which the
last earthquake belongs indicates that such an operation is
in progress under foot, and, if so, it may have been going on,
intermittently, for ages past, and it may last for ages to
come. But if it has been so we ought to see its superficial
effects in the shape of chains of mountains occupying certain
determinate lines, and the plains upon which they stand
increasing their height relatively to the sea-level.
Let us test this hypothesis by applying it to the present
case.
A tract, the centre of which is near to 150° H, and 40° 8,
has been undermined by the shrinking of the subjacent
strata. As fast as the shallow cavity is formed, the
suspended stratum crushes down into it, simultaneously
sending outwards in all directions, and with every move,
tremors of varying intensity; for it cannot be supposed
that the hardest rock, however thick, is rigid enough to
withstand lone. the forces of gravity acting on it, directly,
through its own mass, and, indirectly, through that of the
overlying ocean andatmosphere. Of the latter two elements,
the atmosphere is probably the more potent crushing agent ;
for the ocean is a fixed dead-weight, and cannot try the
tenacity of a stretched stratum in the same degree as the
pressure of the unstable lively atmosphere does. The
difference between the weights indicated by a high and a
low barometer is very great. Two inches of mercury
represent a pressure of 2,000,000 tons to the square mile ;
a fluctuating barometer, therefore, means the fluctuation of
enormous pressures. The atmospheric waves as they dance
on and off the rocky floor must cause it to spring again, like
the seaffold plank undulating under the hodman’s foot, the
cohesion of its particles lessening with every vibration,
until at last a higher air-wave than usual crushes down
the weakened mass. Looked at from this point of view, the
resence of an area of high pressure over the seismic centre, ©
at the time of the shock, becomes significant ; and as volcanic
activity is repressed by a high and promoted by a low
barometer, this evidence tells as much against the theory
of the volcanic origin of the shocks as it does in favour of
their being due to secular contraction.
C
a
18 On the Recent Harth-Tremors.
The mass having now sunk, under pressure, to a lower
horizon—one nearer to the earth’s centre—it has to pack
into a space too small for it. Consequently the margins of
the area cannot sink equally with the main body. The lips
opposed to each other appear to rise because all the adjacent
parts fall. In actual fact, mountains have been but little
elevated ; all around them has been lowered, till they stand
up prominently, and they mark to-day the sea-level of a
past epoch.
The area itself now begins to assume the appearance of a
squeezed ice-floe, with its turned-up rim and sunken centre.
In the course of ages this slow piling up of the crushed con-
torted edges, and this gentle depression of the more level
but still fractured and flawed body, have created pronounced
physical features within the area under notice. Mountains
fringe it throughout an arc of over 200°, running parallel
with the co-seismal lines which I drew upon the map. They
rise at right-angles to the path of the earthquake wave,
which is just where we should look forthem. They traverse
Tasmania with a meridianal axis; they run N. E. from
Wilson’s Promontory, and 8. W.from Cape Howe. The plat-
form beneath this ring of mountains isrising also. The coast
of Victoria has risen within recent times. It has been
calculated that only 1400 years ago sea waves played over
the Flemington race-course, and fretted the base of
Flemington hill. About the same period St. Kilda was a
promontory jutting out between two shallow bays, one of
which covered the site of Albert Park, and the other that of
the Elwood swamp. Brighton was under water. Frankston
was cut off from Cheltenham by a strait which united Port
Phillip with Western Port. A little earlier all the Gippsland
lowlands were submerged up to the foot of the ranges. I
can speak less confidently of the movement in Tasmania, but
I learn that there are raised beaches on the banks of the
Derwent, to tell of a receding ocean.
Although I cannot say that the recent shocks have
travelled to New Zealand,.it is well to remember that
the west coasts of these islands have risen, in parts, 9 feet
during the last forty years, and a ship wrecked in 1814
now lies 200 yards inland. I have not heard that the
seafaring people of our coasts have noted any changes
in the sea marks, but the officers of vessels traversing
Bass’s Straits believe that the waters are shoaling.
It is probable that the west coast of New Zealand
and the Conditions which they Indicate. 19
supplies the easterly rim of the sinking area, while on
the N. E. a submarine ridge connects New Zealand with
Australia, and supplies another segment of the margin.
The floor of this scallop-shaped depression is 15,000 feet
below the sea-level, and the focus of the last earthquake
shocks is located beneath an ocean 12,000 feet deep. Here
then we have the area of subsidence which this hypothesis
requires. :
If the recent shocks have been due to such conditions
as these, it would be likely that ruptures would occur
almost simultaneously at the depressed centre, and around
the mountain margin. If such has been the case it would
account for the apparently very high rates of speed, and
explain many discrepancies in the time-record, such as
the synchronous shocks at Wilson’s Promontory and Beech-
worth, places on different seismal circles.
I have stated that there are two other conditions under
which the earth’s crust can be ruptured, and the surface
shaken. Both of these operations are superficial and local
in their effects, and both are connected with volcanic action.
The time at my disposal will not suffice to discuss their
applicability to the present case, and I will not stop to
describe them, as I consider that the conclusion best
justified by the phenomena recorded, is that the shocks
are due to secular shrinkage of the earth, this giving
rise to the fracture and distortion of the region about and
below us, with a depression of the sea-bed to the east of
Tasmania, and a slow elevation of the 8. E. of Australia,
and perhaps the west coast of New Zealand.
Art. IV.—The Atmosphere a Source of Nitrogen in
Plant Economy.
By E. Liuoyp Marks.
(Read 11th June, 1885.]
cQ
Art. V.—WNotes on some Evidences of Glaciation in the
Australian Alps.
ARTICLE I.
By JAMES STIRLING, F.LS., E.G.S.
[Read 9th July, 1885.]
ON examining a map of Victoria, it will be seen that the
watershed line of the main Dividing Range is deflected
south-easterly from Mount Hotham, round the sources of
the Livingstone Creek, forming a somewhat parabolic
curve. It is in this area that the evidences of glaciation
herein described are to be seen, consisting of the following:—
1. Grooved, striated, and shattered rock surfaces.
2. Heavy transported boulders, bape wash-clays,
and auriferous gravels.
3. Erratics and morainic débris.
4, Glaciated contour of country and eroded lake-basins.
5. Roches moutonnées.
In the following pages I have endeavoured to describe the
various phenomena which seem to me to represent the
evidence of glacial action, giving in some instances rather
detailed geological descriptions, which, independent of the
glacial evidences, may prove interesting as supplying infor-
mation of a scientific character of this little-known area.
I have described each valley separately, in order that a
clearer picture of their physiography may be produced.
These valleys comprise the Victoria River, Livingstone
Creek, and the Benambra Creek, the latter margining the
Omeo Plains; but in the present article I confine my
remarks to the two former.
VICTORIA CREEK VALLEY.
Rising in the Paw-Paw tableland on the main Divide, at
an elevation of 5000 feet above sea-level, the Victoria
Creek has eroded its present channel—first through the
mrs Surface soil
| Gravels Boulders
| & Clays
| Unstratified, clay
* heavy Boulders.clays
2} | and Aurfercus gravels
9. SSS
\
j & White Gravelly wash
: & Sand
False bi rttom-Hea y Boulders
TUL Ta ITT
aia cum
LIVINGSTONE C&
SSE Yellow Friable clays
\ Stratified with Nodules
Mica schist true bottorn
— SECTION ACROSS DRY HILL — near OMEO —
— Scale: Vertical 100 beet to 1 Inch
— do Horizontal 8 chs.to1 do —
J. Stirling.
Evidences of Glaciation im the Australian Alps. 21
tertiary basalts, and then into some hard crystalline
(gneissose) rocks. Unlike many other streams which have -
cut their way through these old lava flows—notably, the
Dargo River—there are no bold escarpments of pentagonal
basaltic columns, but the sides of the valley have been
planed down in uniform slopes, presenting rather an undu-
lating appearance for the first four or five miles. At lower
levels, the hard gneissose rocks are seen to be planed and
rounded in the direction of the main valley, giving to them
a moutonné appearance. On examining the surface of some
blocks standing out from the black peaty soil in the narrow
sub-alpine flats, their surfaces are seen to be striated by
parallel groovings in the direction of the valley, viz., east
and west; and that these markings cut the strike of the
bedding of the rocks at an angle of 25° to 30°, the latter
being 60’ to 65° N.W. At a point lower down (not more
than half-a-mile distant), the watercourse has eroded a
channel through a somewhat narrow gorge, the steep rocky
spurs on each side being composed of gneiss and other coarse
micaceous schists. At various points of low spurs, masses
of red earth, in which are angular fragments of metamorphic
and basaltic rocks, are found, and generally at heights vary-
ing between twenty and thirty feet above the level of the
present watercourse. About six miles lower down the valley
widens, and a good depth of alluvium forms some open
flats known as Parslow’s Plains. On examining some
superficial detritus on the hill-sides overlooking the
flat to the north, remnants of yellow indurated clays,
similar to those at Cobunera, are found. These laminated
clays have evidently been brought from old miocene river
beds similar to those at the sources of the Cobungra, some
twelve miles distant, and at the higher levels. The fact
of finding these fragments here seems to me sufficient proof
that they were not washed down by the translocating agency
of running water, otherwise it seems hardly possible that
these clays would not have been long since worn by attrition
to fine powder or sediment. In the creek bed which winds
sinuously through the Parslow’s Plain are masses of large
waterworn boulders of basalt, some of which are flattened
on one side, and striated altogether distinct from ordinary
weathering or the action of running water. At lower levels,
the Victoria receives an affluent from the south called Spring
Creek, which rises at the Dividing Range near Mount Phipps,
_where outcrops of silurian slates are found, and where the
22) Notes on some Evidences of
passage from unaltered slates to completely metamorphosed
schists may be well seen—the slates occupying the fall
towards the Dargo River, and the crystalline schists that of
the Victoria Valley.
This creek traverses generally well-timbered pastoral
country, the geological structure composed principally of
metamorphic schists, which are penetrated by numerous
diabasic, dioritic, and porphyritic dykes. At various bends
in the valley, where it narrows, masses of water-worn
shingle and igneous boulders are seen associated with what
is evidently a morainic débris of metamorphic schists, igneous
dykes and granite, left probably by a retreating subsidiary
glacier which once filled the valley. The watershed being
so small, there does not seem to be any possibility of running
water having deposited these masses of débris in the situation
where they now occur. At the junction of the two streams
some of the more dense boulders of andesite are seen to
be striated in a similar manner to the specimens, No. 1, now
exhibited in illustration of this paper. About two miles
further on—below Parslow’s homestead—several small water-
courses enter from the south: the principal of these from a
locality known as Victoria Plains, a natural ice-scooped
basin in the valley to the south, presenting on the whole a
distinctively moutonné aspect. It was Victoria Plains that
the Vice-Regal party, accompanied by the Surveyor-General
and late Secretary for Mines, passed through en route from
Omeo to Bright, and the scenery of which is so eloquently
described in their narrative, page 38, of “ Physical Resources
of North Gippsland,” that I cannot refrain from quoting it,
as follows:—‘ We diverged from our path in order to see
Victoria Plains; we saw it with the afternoon sun on it.
It is not flat, but slightly undulating ; it is in the form of
long, low smooth banks or ridges running parallel to each
other, with hollows not so deeply sculptured as to become
watercourses. The lghts thrown across the furrowed
surface, gilding the low ranges and leaving the hollows in
shadow, lent a beauty to this sequestered spot which under
other circumstances 1t might not present; set in a frame of
forest, itself destitute of timber and richly grassed, it made
a picture altogether strange and startling, entering upon it
as we did suddenly and with no idea of the character of
the landscape which was to open to our view.” The smooth
banks or ridges—sowbacks—above referred to are, I think,
clearly due to glacial abrasion. An examination of the
Glaciation in the Australian Alps. 23
boulders and débris at the lower levels where the valley
narrows and where the watercourse has cut through a hard
bar of quartz-porphyry and dense gneiss, tends to confirm
this impression, revealing other evidences in the shape of
striated boulders of yellow felsitic (micro-porphyritic) dykes
on the hill-sides. A few miles below this point the Victoria
Valley suddenly narrows (the hills on either side rounded
and planed down), and the watercourse falls into a deep
gorge towards the Cobungra River. The elevation of
Parslow’s Plains is 3000 feet above sea-level. On con-
sidering the evidences of glaciation in this valley, I think
we are justified in inferring that the Victoria and Spring
Creeks, together with the sub-alpine basin at Parslow’s
Plains, was occupied by large masses of ice during later
Pleistocene times. The great amount of erodation which
has taken place elsewhere, notably in the Dargo River
valley, on the southern side of the main Dividing Range, is
in striking contrast with the small amount visible in the
upper sources of the Victoria Creek, where denudation has
been less active. These valleys would to a great extent be
sheltered from the influence of northern or north-western
hot winds by the high Bogong Ranges, while the Dargo is
open to the more constant precipitation of south-west and
south moisture-laden winds, so that long after the maximum
of glaciation had occurred the valleys of the Victoria Creeks
would retain their icy mantles.
LIVINGSTONE CREEK VALLEY.
Embracing an area of 138 square miles, with a total length
of 31 miles, this valley slopes uniformly from the open
moorland flats near its sources, in the main Divide, to the
Hinnomunjie Flats at the junction with the Mitta Mitta
River. The elevation of the Dividing Range at the sources
of the Livingstone Creek is 4500 feet, and of the Hinno-
munjie Flats about 1800 feet. The typical silurian slates
and sandstones of the goldfields occupy the southern
crest of the Divide and the fall towards the Wentworth -
River. About six miles further south, in the valley of, the
latter, are extensive outcrops of a grey quartz conglomerate
and coarse gritty sandstone, to be hereafter referred to.
On the northern crest of the Divide is a mass of grey
ternary granite, which gives place to the metamorphic
24 Notes on some Evidences of
schists and intrusive dykes which make up the formation —
of the Livingstone Creek Valley. Following the creek
downwards from the upper moorland flats, which vary in
width from 40 to 100 chains, the valley narrows by the
near approach of high lateral spurs of contorted mica schist,
which in some cases is seen to be intruded upon by masses
of quartz-mica diorite. About seven miles from its source,
the Livingstone receives a tributary from the east (New
Rush Creek), on which are situated some gold workings in
heavy auriferous gravels and bouldery wash ; many of the
boulders are striated and exhibit flat surfaces. On the —
margin of the raised flats, at the junction of the two streams,
are masses of angular detritus in a stiff clay, together with
large waterworn boulders and blocks of the quartz-mica
diorite of the higher levels, and also some rounded boulders
of quartz conglomerate similar to those in the Wentworth
Valley, and which, so far as known, do not occur in situ in
the Livingstone Creek watershed, but which are distributed
along the latter to lower levels, and are to all appearance
erratics. Some large flattened quartz boulders are also seen
similar to the mass which outcrops on the main Divide some
twelve miles distant (to the east), viz, at the New Rush
Creek. From this point the ranges forming the eastern
watershed of the Livingstone are more undulating and
lightly timbered, while on the west, high, bold, wooded
ranges rise rather abruptly in steep spurs from the creek
flats to an elevation of 4000 feet. Near Mount Living-
stone—a bold, rounded peak south-west from Omeo—
the Livingstone Creek receives an important affluent
from the west. This affluent—Jim-and-Jack Creek—
although it traverses a rock-bound gorge, where it flanks
Mount Livingstone, yet opens out into some richly
grassed upland flats and rolling pasture hills, with out-
crops of grey, crystalline rocks (gneiss) on the points of
the undulating spurs, which show faint traces of striation
in the direction of the valley. A low gap separates this
area from Parslow’s Plains, previously described. At various
points in the rocky gorge ofthe lower part of this stream
are rounded hiliocks, generally at the termination of spurs.
at an angle or trend of the valley. They are seen to consist
of masses of waterworn boulders in a stiff, tenacious clay,
capped generally with gravels of later date. From the
junction of Jim-and-Jack with the Livingstone Creek,
the latter has eroded its present channel through recurring
Oe
Glaciation in the Australian Alps. 25-
masses of boulder clay and auriferous gravels, and heavy
transported boulders, &c., for five or six miles to the town-
ship of Omeo. It is interesting to note the geological
structure of Mount Livingstone in connection with the
superficial accumulation of boulders, clays, and gravels at its
northern base. ‘The northern spurs and crest of the moun-
tain are made up of bands of mica schist, nodular argillaceo-
mica schist, quartzitic schist, intersected by numerous
diabasic, dioritic, and porphyritic dykes; and the southern
slopes, towards Jim-and-Jack Creek, consist principally of
gneiss— gneiss passing into metamorphic granite, with broad
dykes of brownish quartz-porphyry and granitite. ‘To the
east of Mount Livingstone, the country is more open and
undulating for about six miles, until the thickly timbered
and steeper rocky spurs from the Great Dividing Range are
reached. This lower area of undulating ridges and rounded
hills, which constitutes the settled area near Omeo, is.
intersected by several small watercourses, most of which
exhibit what appears to be very distinct evidences of
elaciation. One in particular, Deep Flume Creek, contains
numerous groovings and markings on the rocky outcrops.
where the surface soils have been removed on its southern
slopes. The creek runs westerly to its confluence with the
Livingstone, while the markings are persistently northerly,
and vary in diameter and depth from furrows six inches
deep and nine inches wide to fine markings—scratches like
those made with a sharp instrument. They are also con-
tinuous for ten or twelve feet, and cut the strike of the rocks.
on which they occur. The latter consist of mica schists,
hornfels and gneiss; while at higher levels, on the hill-side,
masses of an intrusive quartzite are seen to be planed and:
smoothed down in the direction of the lower markings, viz.,.
that of the Livingstone Creek Valley. In many places,
masses of clay and angular débris still cover the markings,.
while at higher levels the spurs and ridges are capped with:
gravel. Another creek, Day’s Creek, “which enters the
main stream near Omeo, has on its eastern slopes a rounded
hillock, which is abraded and worn down by glacier action 3.
for a hard hornblendic diorite dyke on its northern face is
grooved and striated, also in the direction of the Livingstone
Creek Valley. The lower courses of this stream have cut.
through the old lake-bed at Omeo, which extends from
Jim-and-Jack. Creek, previously described. Another
watercourse, Wilson’s Creek, which enters from the
26 Notes on some Evidences of
same side as Day’s Creek, opens out into two branches,
each taking its rise in the Dividing Range to the east of
Omeo. Along their present courses deposits of heavy water-
worn (dyke stone) boulders are frequent, some of which are
beautifully striated, particularly the diabase and micro-—
porphyrites; while on the points of rocky spurs on its
northern slopes are some distinct groovings at an eleva-
tion of sixty feet above the present creek bed. On the
opposite side of the Livingstone Creek, where this creek
joins it, is a deep hollow, worn to a lower level than the
former, and filled with immense masses of igneous basaltic
rock (large waterworn boulders), many of which exceed eight
feet in diameter. These are overlaid by smaller boulders of
the various igneous and metamorphic rocks of the valley
in a stiff clay, with occasional thick deposits of pipe clay
and auriferous gravels. The bed rock is shattered and
broken, and in some places rammed with hard quartzose
and igneous boulders of smaller dimensions for a foot below
the surface. In following the creek upwards from this point
these immense igneous boulders are seen to form a con-
tinuous line for fully 100 chains (where exposed by the
. gold workings), and seem to me to represent the products
of a lateral moraine extending from Mount Livingstone,
where a large glacier filled the valley. A short distance up
the creek from this point, where the road to’ Bingomunjie
leaves the Livingstone, a very large mass of andesite igneous
rock, fully ten feet in diameter, and with the lower side flat-
tened and planed down, is seen to rest on a friable yellow
clay, the latter crammed with angular and rounded rock
fragments—a veritable still, the igneous boulder being sur-
rounded and overlaid by auriferous gravels, bouldery wash
and clays. A mile higher up, on the eastern margin of these
deposits, and also on the east side of the Livingstone Creek,
is situate the township of Omeo. The gold workings ™m
situ afford excellent means of studying the relation of
the different materials filling up the old lake-bed. The
section across these deposits at Dry Hill, about a mile
west from Omeo, is given., These deposits have been cut
through by a small western affluent—Dry Gully. There is
a basin-shaped hollow near its source,.below some auriferous
quartz veins, which is also filled up with a deposit of
heavy boulders, clays, and auriferous gravels, known as
Power’s Gully, at an elevation of 900 feet above the Dry
Hill area.
is Glaciation in the Australian Alps. 27
Following the Livingstone Creek downwards from
Wilson’s Creek junction the hills on each side are more
or less planed down in flowing outlines, while masses of
dense grey gneiss, which outcrop on the hill-sides, are in
some places polished and striated, presenting a moutonné
appearance. Three miles lower down, another depression,
or old lake-basin, called Hinnomunjie Swamp, is reached.
Here are seen deposits similar to those at Dry Hill, while
the adjoining hillocks are abraded in rounded undulatory
outlines. Still lower, at the junction of the Livingstone
with the Mitta Hinnomunjie Station flats, is another basin
filed with similar materials. The present course of the
Livingstone seems to have eroded its channel in some
places quite out of the courses it assumed in Pliocene
times, notably between Wilson’s Creek and Hinnomunjie
Swamp, and between the latter and Hinnomunjie Flat,
where the Pliocene river-bed was more to the westward,
under the steep ridges proceeding from Mount Bingo-
munjie range.
From the evidences supplied by the various markings,
the heavy bouldery deposits, and what I believe to be heaps
of morainic débris in the Livingstone Creek valley, I think
it is highly probable that we have here represented at
least three interglacial periods since Pliocene times.
1. The deposits of friable, yellow, unstratified clays, as
well as that containing the small angular and rounded frag-
ments, seems to me to represent the remnants of a once
more extensive moraine profonde, which was the product of
the first period of a very extensive area of glaciation during
Pliocene times; whether such period of refrigeration be
due simply to elevation of the land surface, as suggested
by Professor Tate,* or to more complex cosmic and terres-
trial causes—such as changes of eccentricity of the earth’s
orbit; the occurrence of summer or winter in aphelion, in
conjunction with the slower or more irregular changes of
geographical conditions—these combined causes acting
chiefly through the agency of heat-bearing oceanic cur-
rents—and of snow and ice collecting highlands, as sug-
gested by Prof. Wallace}; or to the theory of variation of
heat of the sun, as advanced so ably by Prof. Siemens,
and referred to by Mr. Searles V. Wood, F.G.S. {—viz., that
* Anniversary Address, Adelaide Philosophical Society, p. 27.
7 Island Life, p. 484.
+ On the Newer Pliocene Deposits of England, Q.J.G.8., Vol. 38, p. 737.
28 Notes on some Evidences of
the heat of the sun is maintained by the combustion of
gases diffused in the medium through which it moves, and
which are drawn in at the polar and, after combustion,
returned by centrifugal force from the equatorial parts of
the sun into space.
Extensive sub-aérial denudation and a warmer climate
succeeded the breaking up of this first period of Pliocene
glaciation. Another, although less severe, refrigeration took
place, culminating in a second glacial period, during which
the surface contours of the more prominent low-lying ridges
near Omeo were greatly abraded, and during the latter part
of which the heavy boulders of the Dry Gully, &c., false
bottoms were deposited, as well as the erratics and blocs.
perchés of the Livingstone Creek valley. This was followed
by a period of comparative repose, when sub-aérial denuda-
tion was slower and less active, a warmer and more equable
climate prevailing. During this time the pipe-clays, white
gravelly wash, and sand-beds overlying the false bottom at
Dry Gully were deposited in the still icy waters of this
ancient mountain tarn. The fragments of fossilised wood
in the above deposits would also seem to prove that the
surrounding ranges were covered with a luxuriant timber
vegetation of myrtaceous genera, probably forms allied to |
Kucalyptus Pluti. A third and final period, of glaciation
occurred, less extensive than either of the preceding, at the
breaking up of which the auriferous gravels, clays, and
boulders of the Livingstone Creek were deposited, and also
the finer gravels on the ridges near Omeo and along the
spurs abutting on the Livingstone Creek. The whole of
the present surface configuration on the undulating ranges
near Omeo, the Victoria Plains, and Jim-and-Jack Creek,
seems to me to have been originally moulded by ice action ;
indeed, unless we accept the hypothesis of glacial abrasion,
it seems difficult to account for the rounded and flowing ;
outlines in a rock formation which elsewhere under sub- ¥
aérial influences presents surface contours bristling with 4
craggy peaks and rugged surfaces. JI have elsewhere*
sought to explain this peculiar feature of the ranges in
the Livingstone Creek valley, and in the other sources of
the Mitta Mitta, by differences in the amount of rainfall and
the slower degrading influences of frosts and snows; but on
viewing the orographical features in the light which the
* Physical Features of the Australian Alps, Trans. Roy. Soc., Vict., Vol. XXI,
Glaciation in the Australian Alps. 29
glacial evidences afford in this valley, it seems difficult to
resist the conviction that the present smooth outlines are
mainly due to ice erosion, Another fact which seems to
support this view is, that in recent times the erodation and
denudation that is taking place under sub-aérial conditions
presents sharper and more rugged outlines in the sides of
the gullies and creeks.
Tn an inquiry into the causation of these ancient mountain
lakes or tarns, we may consider three different hypotheses —
1, That they were caused by oscillations of the level of
the surface, such as that produced by faultings and
other dislocations, and consequently might be pre-
glacial.
2. That they were formed by the erosive action of glaciers.
3. That they were formed by the building up of terminal
moraines at the close of, or during, a glacial epoch.
The first of these propositions in a district which has
been subjected to violent convulsions, such as that occupied
by portion of the Mitta Mitta source basin, may appear
possible. For at Day’s Hill—a rounded elevation situate
near Omeo, and at the lower extremity of the old lake-bed
—there is an intrusive mass of granitoid rock, which has
sent out numerous radiating dykes of felso-porphyrite and
quartz porphyry; while associated with the former are
massive outcrops of quartz. One of these quartzitic out-
flows, or intrusions, crosses the lower end of the lake-bed
near Wilson’s Creek junction, and might have caused the
barrier to the discharge of the upper valley at this place
if it had been intruded subsequently to the excavation of
the latter; but, from the geological surroundings, these
intrusions are contemporaneous with the larger intrusive
mass at Day’s Hill, which a fortioré is regarded as probably
Devonian, and consequently intruded long prior to the exca-
vation of the Livingstone Creek valley. Faultings of the
metamorphic schists in this valley are plentiful enough;
yet no such dislocation of the surface has yet been found
at those points where they might be considered to have
produced a depression or elevation resulting in the formation
of existing lake-basins. It must not be forgotten that
eminent geologists in examining those districts elsewhere,
- where similar geological conditions exist, and where probably
similar climatic influences prevail, such as the highlands of
Scotland (the land of breaks and faults), have remarked
that instances where a fault could be said to be even a
~
30 ~ Notes on some Evidences of
proximate cause of a lake-basin are extremely rare, if any —
at all exist; while numerous instances have been given of
Scottish lochs having been scooped out by the erosive power
of glacial ice in unbroken strata. It does not appear probable
that the origin of the Livingstone Creek old lake-beds is to
be ascribed to any pre-glacial earth movements.
2. That they were scooped out by the erosive action of
glaciers is more in accordance with the observed facts. The
seeming difficulty in the apparent want of sufficient slope in
the valley may be answered by the well-known fact, “that
the slope of the upper surface of a plastic or fluid substance
determines the rate of the flow, and not that of the under
surface ; since, if ice were accumulated over a region so that
the upper surface had the requisite slope, there would be
motion in the mass in the direction of this slope whatever
the bottom of the slope might be. At the same time the
slope of the land at the bottom or the courses of the valleys
would determine to some extent the movement of the
bottom.”* In this case there would in all probability be
a sufficient slope to allow of a proper down-thrust of the
olacier mass at each of the localities previously referred to,
and the consequent rasping and carving-out of the lake-beds
by the harder rock fragments in the glacier bottom. Iam
sensible of the difficulties which beset the theory of glacier
excavation on mechanical and physical principles}, but the
facts observed in the Dry Gully area can be more satisfac-
torily explained by the theory than by any other means.
3. Should, however, the slope be considered insufficient
for erosion of the hollows, there are not wanting evidences
that the fillmg up was accelerated by the building up of
terminal moraines, where subsidiary lateral glaciers joined
the medial valley glacier. The heavy materials deposited
at the junction of New Rush, Jim-and-Jack, Dry Gully, and
Wilson’s Creek are striking evidences of such. Objections
may be raised to the cross markings or striz on the sample
of volcanic rock produced in illustration of the evidences
referred to in this paper, that “the scratches take such
a variety of directions, and occur in a manner that hardly
appears reconcilable with the idea that they were caused by
the passage of other materials under the grinding power of
ice ;’ but we must remember that, “as water is always
* Text Book of Geology: Dana, p. 224
{7 Mechanics of Glaciers: Rey, A. Irving, B.A,, Q.J.G.S., No. 153, p. 73.
Glaciation in the Australian Alps. 31
flowing under some parts of a glacier, and much melting
and relegation of ice are going on in different places, stones
are liable to change their position, in which case a second
set of strie and furrows may be imprinted in a new direc-
tion. In like manner, the solid rock underneath the glacier
may exhibit scratches and grooves in more than one direc-
tion; the furrows will, most of them, coincide with the
general course of the valley; but as the ice in different
seasons varies in quantity the direction of its motion at a
given time is not uniform, so that the grooves and scratches
will also vary, one set often intersecting another.”* Again,
it may be said that the samples of mica schist present only
weathered parts along cleavage lines and at softer spots;
but this objection may be met by stating that the groovings
are found exactly in that position where the grinding and
gouging power of glacial débris under the ice sheet would
be most likely to prove effective, and that the groovings are
persistent across the cleavage lines as well; and further,
that no similar markings are found on similar rock masses in
other parts of the valley, although exposed to the degrading
influences of atmospheric agencies.
The rounded outlines of the gneissic and other metamor-
phic rock masses on the hili-sides may also be attributed to.
mere weathering ; but the striations on these outcrops which
eross the bedding planes and cleavage lines seem to offer
indisputable evidences of glacial abrasion. They occur also
at what was probably the’ mean height of the latest valley
glaciers—i.e., along the margin or edge of the latter.
It must not be forgotten that the evolution of the existing
contours of the Australian Alps during tertiary times was
dominated over large areas by the violent volcanic outbursts
which occurred in early Pliocene tiraes. The immense sheets
of basalt which now form the Dargo, Bogong, and Paw-Paw
Plains—the latter at the head of the Victoria River, and
which sealed up the Miocene river-beds—are striking evi-
dences of the volcanic activity of that time ; while the deep
valley of the Dargo River, some 1500 feet below the Miocene
river-beds, is still more striking evidence of the enormous
erosion which subsequently took place in that valley. Mr.
Murray, our able Government geologist, has informed us{ —
* Lyell’s Geology, p. —.
+ Southern Science Record, 1885, p. 12.
t Geo. Sur., Vict.; Yol. VL, p. 41.
eS ae eS oe ee Se — aS - _ s ~ — > Pins ~ . oF 2 Pt ae en "4 2™N ieee
) s 5 <i ‘ Z LT pet Pee, > ee ze ‘ t= = ay - Sty
aL = . e > "2 3 - =4% , Sua Co)
ai - Be >. ‘ é - = 3
2 : : : 3 ~ Z :
,
B2 Notes on some Evidences of
that “it is probable that the outlines of all the main drain-
age courses of the tertiary period, whether Miocene or
: Pliocene, were formed early in the former epoch . . . No
es submergence below the sea to an elevation exceeding 900 feet
F above the present level appears to have taken place during
Et: or since tertiary times. Had there been no lava flows, the
i: general course of the rivers above that elevation would have
remained unaltered until the present day.” So that the
influences which dominated in the carving out of the surface
configuration of the Australian Alps during Pleistocene times
were certainly sub-aérial; and, for the reasons assigned in
this paper, it appears to me that we must concede the point
sought to be established by Mr. Griffiths, in his admirable
paper, “On the Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria
during Post-Miocene Times’—viz., that Australia, as well as
South Africa, South America, and New Zealand, partici-
pated in a glacial period.
In another article I hope to adduce further evidences of
glaciation in the Mitta-Mitta sources, and also direct further
attention to the question of interglacial periods ; but, in con-
cluding the present paper, have much pleasure in acknow-
ledging the receipt of an interesting paper by Dr. von
Lendenfeld, of Sydney,* in which that savant gives the
results of his explorations of the Kosciusko plateau during
January last, establishing the fact of the glaciation of the
2 highest mountain in Australia, although that gentleman’s
%s inferences as to the area over and altitude at which traces of
glaciation would be found to occur are somewhat at variance
with the evidences herein presented. In tabulating his
interesting results, the learned doctor informs us, page 9:
“The climate was then not very cold, so that the glaciers
only covered the highest part of the Australian Alps,
and were consequently very small.” If my evidences
are correct, the glaciers would not only have covered the
whole of the Australian Alps, but might have extended
their influence to the lower levels down the Murray basin.
Again, at page 4, it is stated in reference to the snow patches
that—“ These snow patches are never found in ‘ deep
ravines, as Mr. J. Stirling states.f Snow patches such as
those on Kosciusko only he close to the exposed parts where
* The Glacial Period in Australia, by R. von Lendenfeld, Ph.D,: Trans,
poc,, N.S. Ws Vol, X.; p. 45,
t Southern Science Record: Remarks on Flora of Australian Alps.
-— Glaciation in the Australian Alps, 33
the wind blows a greater amount of snow together, and
“stores it for the summer.” In reply to this, I can only say
that my experience during the past ten years over the
greater part of the Australian Alps confirms my previous
statement, that it is in the deep southern ravines at the
higher elevations that the snow is. most frequently found
during midsummer. A splendid example of this nature
occurred at Mount Hotham, and was observed by Lady Loch
during the Vice-Regal visit to that portion of the Australian
Alps on 15th January last. I would also remark that while
Dr. von Lendenfeld is to be congratulated on the results of
his scientific exploration of the Kosciusko plateaux, yet I
cannot help thinking that he has done but scant justice to
the writings of Professor Tate, of South Australia,* and Mr.
Griffiths, of Victoria, our fellow-member.- The dector has
informed us that (page 2) the observations of Professor Tate
and Mr. Griffiths “are very vague.’ I must certainly join
issue with him on that point. It appears to me that their
observations are quite the reverse of this; indeed, the
writings of both these gentlemen are very clear, and their
deductions from the evidences they present are very sound.
Again, we are reminded that “it is up to the mountains”
we are to look for glaciers, and “not down to the sea.” No
doubt this is correct if the area of glaciation was as circum-
scribed as the doctor would have us believe,{ but from the
altitude at which the evidences occur near Omeo—viz., as
low as 1000 feet above sea-level—there is nothing remark-
able in the statement that “erratic boulders and striated
rock surfaces” should be found on the beach near Adelaide;
for the refrigeration was not merely local, but general over
a very large area, and oscillations of the ocean level due to
cosmic causes may have played an important part in the
phenomena of glaciation. I quite agree with Dr. von
Lendenfeld that the date of the last glaciation was in com-
paratively recent times, probably later Pleistocene, and with
Mr. Griffiths that the “ golden washes of the latest period
are in reality the products of glacial débris ground-sluiced
by the ice waters.” The interest appertaining to the dis-
covery of a recent glacial epoch in Australia is, however, not
alone of relative scientific value, as indicating that those
* Tate: Anniversary Address, Phil. Soc., S.A., 1878 and 1879.
+ Griffiths’ Evidences of a Glacial Epoch in Victoria, Roy. Soc., Vict., 1884
t The Glacial Period in Australia, p. 10.
: D
= eS
34 Evidences of Glaciation in the Australian Alps.
cosmic or terrestrial causes which produced the glaciation of
the Northern Hemisphere were alike active in the Southern;
but it is of intrinsic scientific value as affording a clue to the
unravelment of many highly complex biological problems
relating to the distribution, evolution, and extinction of
endemic organic forms.
ADDENDA.
Since the foregoing remarks were made I have, in justice
to Dr. von Lendenfeld, to acknowledge the receipt of a letter
from him, dated 21st inst.,in which he has kindly drawn
my attention to the fact that glacier-polished rocks have
been photographed by Mr. Brown, Government Geologist at
Adelaide, or some other gentleman, and he remarks: “I
have seen the photos, and do not doubt that the rocks
photographed really are glacier polished.” This would con-
firm my previous suggestion, that the area of glaciation was
very extensive. I must thank the doctor for his kindness
in stating facts which would seem to be at variance with his
own original deductions from an examination of the Mount
Kosciusko plateaux.
Art. VI—On the Dynamical Equivalent of a Pressure.
By T, WAKELIN, B.A.
[Read 13th August, 1885, ]
Art. Vil—International Statistical Uniformity.
By Henry D’EsTeERRE TAYLOR.
jRead 8th August, 1885.]
C
In attempting to bring under notice some suggestions
tending to promote uniformity in international statistics, a
brief recapitulation of the circumstances which led to their
inception may not be out of place. One of the vital ques-
tions which, under various aspects, is engaging public
_ attention in the Australian colonies, is a consideration of the
more prominent characteristics of the growing native (white)
race, and the effects they are likely to produce on the future
history of this portion of the British Empire. Perhaps the
phase of this development which attracts most notice at
present is the one locally known as “larrikinism,” a term
having a somewhat similar signification as “rough” has in
London and “hoodlum” has in San Francisco. It includes
all the lighter offences against order usually committed by
young offenders up to twenty, or even five-and-twenty years
of age. A local lecturer, who is credited with having had
exceptional opportunities of forming a correct judgment,
went so far lately as to assert that juvenile crime, or larri-
kinism, was more rampant in the colony of Victoria than in
any other part of the world. Pressed for statistical or other
reliable authorities, he was only able to fall back on “his
own observation” in support of his statement. Doubting
the correctness of his conclusions from the tenor of other
statistics I had collected on the “ Young Australian” ques-
tion, I endeavoured to test them by procuring official figures
showing the amount of juvenile crime existing, in proportion
to their populations, in the principal English- speaking com-
munities—Great Britain, Canada, and the United States—
and comparing them with similar statistics from our own
colony of Victoria. The results, after many hours of labour
and research, only demonstrated the impossibility of suc-
ceeding in this task, owing to the dissimilarity existing in
the statistical divisions adopted by each country (and more
especially by individual departments in Great Britain,) in
oe returns on precisely similar subjects.
— 36 ; International Statistical Uniformity.
No information of any practical use could be obtained,
because no table could be constructed which would include
similar figures from any two countries. In Victoria prisoners
are classified (according to age,) in decennial periods, com-
mencing at 20. Persons arrested are classified quinquenni-
ally from 10 years upwards. Therefore, under these heads
20 and 25 could be utilised as ages at which to institute a
comparison. Out of ten criminal and prison returns (ex-
clusive of industrial and reformatory schools,) hidden away
amongst the contents of some 56 volumes of Lords’ Papers,
which had to be examined, only two possessed classifica-
tions at the age of 25, and three at the age of 20. For
those who are fond’of variety there is great amusement to
be extracted from these returns—after you have managed
to find them. The ages are classified in such a number
of ways as to satisfy the most exacting. One English, one
Irish, and two Scotch tables are subdivided as follows :-—
Gnader, 12,12 to 16; 16 to-21, 21 to 30, sels Seyome
under-AG, 16 40. 18,18 to 21, 21 to 50; Jone alibi
20, 20: to. 25, 925 to 30, Ge.; -one under 15, 5 “toe
25 to 34; one under 20; '20- to 25, 25. to 305 ene
under 20, 20 to 30; two as under 16 and over 16; and,
finally, one convict return is differently classified for each
prison! In the United States they omit such information
altogether. Ina special prison report by Mr. C. H. Wines,
special agent, he states that “they have no criminal statistics
to be placed by the side of those of other countries.” In
Canada a similar state of affairs obtains, though a census of
confinees under and over 16 is to be found ina a special report
on the prisons of that country.
While any attempt to make a reliable comparison was
thus completely baffled, some general results could be
‘roughly estimated, but could not possibly be used statistically.
So far as they went, they showed that even as far as a com-
parison with Great Britain was concerned the statement of
the lecturer was incorrect, an inference afterwards confirmed
on referring to two of our most reliable authorities—Messrs.
H. H. Hayter, C.M.G., Government Statist, and A. J. Agg,
Esq., now Commissioner of Railways.
One great benefit which young communities anxious to
gauge their progress may derive from statistics, lies in the
standard of comparison they are enabled to set up on
various matters affecting their welfare. In the discussion of
public questions, it is often of great moment that authentic
I nternatrional Statistical Uniformity. 37
facts and figures should be published before interest in the
subject of inquiry has evaporated. The importance of being
able to procure readily and easily any essential information,
by leading-article writers, professors, lecturers, (public or
university,) and by persons engaged in the education of the
masses, can hardly be over-estimated. If the foregoing
allegation had been sustained, complete and correct infor-
mation on the subject would have been invaluable to us as a
community. It would immediately have led to a search for
any exceptional circumstances which might produce such a
result. The systems of education, state or private ; of reli-
gious instruction, and the manner of imparting it; the
method of dealing with “gutter children ;” the laws apply-
ing to, and the methods of dealing with, juvenile offenders
the class of prisons they were committed to; the variety of
punishments inflicted ; whether whipping was resorted to,
and under what restrictions ; and the arrangements adopted
in industrial or reformatory schools; are all questions which
might have been investigated to secure the experience of
other countries in which the evil could be proved to be less
rampant. Practical knowledge of this description would be
most useful in guiding future movement. It would supply
a firm basis for legislation, and prevent merely experimental
and, possibly, inefficacious action.
The disappointment arising from the result of this investi-
gation naturally led to a consideration of the possibility of
suggesting some means by which a certain amount of simi-
larity might be secured—not entire uniformity just yet, but
enough to make comparisons possible, and render them
trustworthy when they were made.
Comparisons on a large scale do not require to be made
continually. They are most useful when they cover a suffi-
ciently long period to manifest the action of any new
development of the laws, social conditions, resources, or dis-
coveries in the countries they refer to; and yet not solong as
to allow such progress to have been made, that the position
of any one state at each period of computation should be
perhaps more dissimilar than that of the various countries
to be contrasted with each other.
A vast amount of the statistics annually issued have one
a departmental interest, and are subdivided only to suit
departmental convenience. Another large portion repre-
sent the various branches of one subject. Only the ageregate
returns into which these should be condensed are required
38 International Statistical Uniformity.
for international purposes. Another division are principally
compiled for local information and use.’ Many annual
returns (those on population, births, and deaths, for
example) are estimated, and are therefore only approxi-
mately correct.
As this paper is confined to those which are requisite
for international comparison only, all of those enumerated
above, except the ageregate returns, may be excluded at once
from consideration. Therefore, returns which supply, as far
as possible, verified figures, ranged under a comprehensive
nomenclature, and which are published at moderately long
intervals, are most suitable to commence with, for purposes
of unification. The decennial census, which is taken in all
Hnglish-speaking communities, fulfils these conditions, and
the suggestions contained in this paper will be confined to
it. By thus restricting the consideration of the subject, and.
excluding all returns of a local or partial character, it is
trusted that an apparently hopeless question may be brought
within the range of practical effort. Any suggestions con-
tained herein must of necessity be general in application,
and point out as much the direction in which action appears
to be possible, as the action itself. The first point is prac-
ticability ; the second is, whether they are likely to lead
up to a further dev -elopment or improvement in the direc-
tion of uniformity.
As this census is now taken simultaneously thitodonene
the British dominions, the first advance towards the desired
end has been made. The last census of the United States.
was taken in 1880; ours was taken in1881. Ifthe Govern-
ment of the former country could be induced to postpone
the next for one year—to 1891—uniformity of date through-
out the English-speaking communities of the world would be
secured. If not, it isa matter worth careful consideration
whether it would not be advisable to alter our date to 1890,
in view of the gain likely to accrue ultimately ; or, better
still, for either or both Governments to accept the year
which is at present adopted by the majority of nations
collecting census returns. A mutual arrangement amongst
two countries whose influence on the rest of the world is so
powerful and so widespread would at once attract the
attention of other communities. If such an announcement
was made, it is probable that neighbouring nations would
sooner or later adopt the same year; and it is possible that this.
effect might ensue before the next succeeding enumeration.
International Statistical Uniformity. 39
Every such accession would not only induce others to enter
the combination, but also render it more difficult for them to
persist in a policy which might rapidly become one of isolation.
This opens a prospect of establishing unanimity amongst
nations, ina comparatively short period—statistically speak-
ine—in the foremost direction in which it has to be secured.
The next point for consideration is the form in which
international statistics should be issued. Each country has
its own method of compilation. In fact, in every branch of
this “ method” or “ science” the systems of each country have
(like Topsy) “ growed,” and bear little resemblance to each
other. Some issue ponderous publications, apparently bound
together at haphazard, where each return has no connection
with the one on either side of it, but an intimate association
with several others scattered promiscuously throughout the
whole work. Others issue “parts” containing prepared
tables, with a special report in aseparate volume. Ina third
case blue books, arranged in sections, in which the tables
and explanatory letterpress accompany each other as closely
as possible, are published. These systems are all too
cumbersome for our purpose. The first system may be
excluded from consideration at once. No one who has ever
had to examine “ Lords’ Papers” would ever wish to see it
perpetuated in any other publication. It would simply
render utterly confusing those returns which are at present
simple and orderly in arrangement. In the last two con- ~
siderable difficulties have to be overcome. In the first of —
them summary tables would have to be prepared, in which
the various headings at the top and the divisions enumerated
down the left-hand column would be subject to mutual
agreement by the various countries entering into combina-
tion. A fatal difficulty in the way of adopting this method
lies in the fact that the nomenclature to be mutually
assented to would be doubled,with a corresponding decrease
in any probability of agreement. To the last, or blue book,
plan there are several objections. It would have to contain
a small table for each subdivision, accompanied by explana- _
tory notes. It would necessitate a very considerable altera-
tion in almost every system of compilation at present
in force. Every statist would strenuously object to the
havoc it would cause amongst his pet creations. As no two
“- countries have even similar main divisions, confusion would
result, and the difficulties of comparison hardly be over-
come. It would be inconvenient for the general inquirer.
4
40 - International Statistical Uniformity.
In collecting his facts he would have a number of books
open before him, allat different pages. Reference backwards
and forwards would tend to disconcert and irritate him,
would make his labour more severe, and in many cases cause
his task to be abandoned in disgust. The difficulties which
itis sought to remove from the path of the investigator would
still exist, though perhaps in a less degree than at present.
The only way to secure uniformity would therefore appear
to lie in the organisation of a scheme which will require as
little agreement in nomenclature as possible, but which will
practically secure uniformity by including all statistics of
international interest which each country collects, and no
others. The only form which can be arranged to meet these
requirements is a tabulated form of summary sheet, in which
each statistical authority can supply the information required
from him from the statistics under his control. If each
state would fill up such a form, (which, if necessary, might
be printed in blank and supplied to them), and these were
collected together, international statistics uniform in charac-
ter would be secured. The principles on which such sheets
should be compiled are as follow :—
1. That the arrangement shall be as clear as possiole.
2. That they shall provide for uniformity on all necessary
points, but that these points shall be restricted as much as
possible, and shall leave the greatest freedom of’ contribution
to each country.
3. That they shall not interfere in the slightest degree
with the present method of compilation adopted by any
statistical department.
4, That they shall include all leading information collected
by any country consenting to adopt them, and therefore (a)
that they shall provide for each country supplying statistics
peculiar to itself alone, and (b) omitting information supplied
by others, but which it does not possess. —
5. That where, from unavoidable causes, uniformity is
apparently impossible, a standard common to all shall be
provided.
6. That they shall be capable of distribution in a form,
which shall render them easy of access, intelligible at a
glance, and instantaneously available for purposes of com-
parison.
First Clause.—To be thoroughly effective any such system
being simply a compendium of statistical matter, collected
and condensed from an immense chaos of bewildering figures,
Iniernational Statistical Uniformity. 41
should be tabulated on as simple and _ straightforward
a plan as possible. They should be as easy for the
student to read and consult as an ordinary catalogue.
They should be kept entirely separate from all other
matters, and contain nothing but the mere figures on
the subjects they represent. Letterpress should be rigidly.
excluded, otherwise authorities suffering from cacoéthes
scribendi would rapidly multiply bewildering explanations,
containing more matter than the returns themselves. If
further details or explanations on any subject are required,
the different official returns from which the figures appearing
in these tables are extracted, can be referred to. Clearness
is the first requisite in all tables of figures. These especially
require it, as they are for general reference by persons who
have not made figures the special study of their lives, and
who do not revel in them with the ardent enthusiasm of one
riding his favourite hobby. Indeed, most of those who wiil
consult them will do so from a strong sense of duty alone.
If they are to be quoted correctly, and proper deductions
are to be drawn from them, (without which they will be
worse than valueless), that duty must be made as easy as
possible. One or two of the simpler reforms which add to
their clearness may be noticed. In some returns the letters
B and G, M and W, are used to denote boys and girls, men
and women, respectively. ‘The headings Male and Female,
comprise each of these appellations respectively, and may
always be used to express the different sexes. Again, the
total column is sometimes placed on the left hand side, and |
the word “ aggregate,” “ persons,” or some similar term used.
The commoner practice of placing it after the subdivisions
it comprises, or at the right hand, should be uniformly
adopted, and the word “Total” should be the only one
used to express this meaning. In fact, a point carefully
considered has been, as in the “Specimen Return” attached,
to ascertain the most inclusive head-line, and adopt it in-
variably, to the exclusion of all less general or synonymous
termis,
Clause 2—To secure the advantages of the second and
fourth principles, the headings at the top of the columns of
the summary are the only ones which should be submitted
for generalagreement. Each heading should comprise every
subdivision of its subject, and no information should appear
a second time in any other place. Uniformity in this cir-
cumscribed nomenclature might be easily secured if a little
a
Hil
LE
ile
if
Bik
% H.
By;
if
AM
Sa ere Ee
Ses
42 = International Statistical Uniformity.
pliability on the part of individuals, enforced by an expressed
desire to co-operate on the part of Governments or Legisla-
tures, should be exhibited. Aneffort to bring about such an
agreement might eventuate in the formation of a statistical
union, somewhat similar to the Postal Union, which has
been so successfully established. To comprise in these
summaries only those tables which are really necessary, and
to have them as comprehensive as utility will permit, opens
a wide door for all nations to enter through, and will remove
many stumbling-blocks from the path of those who may
make the attempt. In the specimen table the column at the
left hand side is purposely left open. Each country can use
it according to its own method of classification. The lines
may contain the names of territorial or political divisions,
towns, institutions, denominations or dates, as the methods
of supplying the information required. They will not affect
the value of the statistics. The totals at foot are what are
wanted, and the detailed manner of procuring them will not
matter in the least.
Clause 3—In order to secure the co-operation which is
necessary to success, it is of the greatest importance that
these tables should not alter in any way the present statis-
tical system of any country. To interfere with any such
~ scheme, even in a slight degree, would immediately raise a
storm of opposition which would at once sweep any pro-
posed reform out of existence. They have been framed so
as to coincide with and utilise existing arrangements in every
way. As all care is taken to avoid unnecessary minuteness,
countries whose statistics are limited in character would find
little difficulty in complying with their principal require-
ments. Indeed, in such cases, the inclination latent in all
statisticians to multiply information would be fostered and
encouraged.
Clause 4, sub-clause “B.”—If a statistical department or
bureau omits to collect the information which any column
is intended to contain (as the United States, for instanee,
appears to do under the headings “ Religions of the People”
and in all criminal statistics), the space “has only to be left
blank. When it finds that surrounding Governments are
impressed with the necessity of securing authenticated
intelligence upon subjects which it has hitherto neglected, it
is possible, and even probable, that before long arrange-
ments will be made to occupy the vacant ground, and so
render the circle a information complete.
International Statistical Uniformity. 43.
Sub-clause “A.”"—To meet cases where one country
possesses information too important to its own interests to
be omitted, but which others cannot supply (for example,
in natural products), blank columns have been provided
under the spaces marked “ Other —————,,” for them to fill
up as they please, and so meet their requirements.
Where voluminous returns, infinite in particulars, are pre-
pared, they are sure to contain the intelligence wanted for
international purposes. It has only to be extracted from its
accompanying cloud of figures, and to be reprinted in the
form agreed upon. Neither the copiousness of the informa-
tion nor the form in which it was originally issued need be
altered in the slightest degree. There are few departments.
which. could refuse to fill up a table which would contain
only some of the information at their command.
We may indeed hope that by a similar process of reason-
ing to that in the previous case a corresponding result will
be arrived at, but in the opposite direction; that tables
not actually necessary would be by degrees discontinued,
and that a reform which would have the effect of curtailing
the too great multiplicity of statistical information, which
is felt to be a growing evil, would be silently inaugurated.
Clause 5.—In many cases, and particularly in the natural
productions of different countries, the variety of the forma-
tion supplied makes any comparison almost impossible.
The only apparent way to provide a common standard is to
adopt the commonest standard of all—the standard of
value. Therefore, where it is necessary, a column is pro-
vided at the end of the section in which the value of the ae
articles enumerated may be given.* The difficulty caused a
by different monetary systems may be avoided by providing
a second column of value. The first should contain the value e
in local currency ; in the second the same value should be- ;
expressed in the coinage of the country to whom the returns a
are to be supplied. For instance, in American returns ~
supplied to England, the first valuation would be in dollars, fe!
and the second in pounds sterling. In English returns sent | |
to America the first column would be headed “libra” (£), and a
the second “dollars.” The last column might be filled up a
by each individual country after receiving the returns, — |
f '
ticle iain
otherwise a great deal of labour would be entailed on the
* On a further examination I find the system of providing one column for 0
the monetary value is in force in the summaries attached to Hayter’s. ne
Victorian Year Book. ~ eg
Bi ta TPE
? ¢ :
oer
~~ © Dr ~ c rs 5 shi os -
a
— =a
—s
<> TPE
SR at
Ser
a
tw
harthemsiban Pee
aes
——_ ‘ ont Sine obra iat ee
Spey tie SSS sek
44 International Statistical Uniformity.
supplying countries in calculating values under a variety of
standards. Of course, the same trouble would be entailed
on receiving countries, with this difference, that they would
have tc turn foreign values into their own equivalents, and
that if they did not want the comparison they need not
make it. Great trouble in printing would also be occasioned
to the supplying countries if the type set up for this column
had to be constantly altered as impressions of the sheet
were being struck off.
Clause 6.—Returns containing ages display the greatest
lack of uniformity. They: are introduced into almost
all statistics, and on every subject, (even in the same
country), their enumeration is different. For instance, in
the Industrial and Reformatory Schools’ Returns of Great
Britain, there are at least fowr schemes in force for sub-
dividing the ten years of life between the ages of 6 and 16!
A close examination of the tables issued by various coun-
tries, shows that it is most usual to subdivide this informa-
tion into quinquennial periods up to the age of 30, and into
decennial ones afterwards. These are therefore adopted.
But as local authorities, where a different classification 1s
made use of, do not want to be hampered with this infor-
mation, and as international explorers do not require any
other, it is advisable that where such columns are intro-
duced they should be distinctly separated from the rest,
and arranged so that they could be recognised and picked
out at a glance. They could be enclosed between red lines,
which would signify that the columns so distinguished
contained international amongst merely local information.
Wherever most of the collected statistics fit in with the
proposed summaries, but occasional matter of only local
interest has to be introduced, the column containing it
may be distinguished by blue lines, which will therefore
signify that they enclose local figures amongst others that
were of international interest. Under these suggestions,
the compilation of International Statistics might proceed
simultaneously with, or even as part of, the usual statistics
of a country. Local arrangements might also be easily
made to have them published, (with a view to easy extrac-
tion afterwards), as an additional appendix or addendum to
the ordinary statistics of the nation.
The extension of these ideas to other local returns, and
the formulation of other statistical signals, would be easily
accomplished as the occasion arosefor them. Valuable ideas
International Statistical Uniformity. 45,
would be contributed from all parts of the world as
uniformity became gradually effected, and as a wish to fall
in with the statistical union was manifested.
Having agreed upon the form of summaries to be issued
uniformly, we have next to consider the easiest methods of
securing their completion and publication. Blank sheets to
any required number could be supplied to each country by
one entrusted with their production; or, better still, a
printer’s proof could be sent, and they could print off their
own supply. In addition to those necessary for their own
census publications, an extra number should be struck off
for binding with those of other countries in a volume to con-
tain these only and a grand total sheet for each section. In
the latter the left-hand column should contain the names of
the nations contributing, and the others the totals only of the
various summaries. In this form a condensed issue of
uniform statistics never before attempted would be given to
the world. They could be issued in volumes, which could
be sold to all countries and buyers, at a price just sufficient
to cover the cost of production. These books would contain
at first the uniform statistics of the English-speaking
communities, but eventually, we may hope, those of nearly
the whole world. Once let such a publication appear, and
there can be little doubt that, with each census compilation,
other countries would not only contribute, but also endeavour
to arange their methods of collection so as to make their
contributions as complete as possible.
If it is objected that it would be impossible to secure
this uniformity from British official departmefhts, I would
point to the collected and condensed statistics of Great
Britain published in Thom’s Official Directory. The same
amount of labour that is expended on that publication
would secure this object. If the proposed forms were once
adopted that directory would naturally follow in the same
direction. Arrangements might be made for the publishers
of that work to collect these summaries, and supply them
to those appointed to edit the statistical volume just referred
to. Or they might be collected by the latter, and utilised
by the former, the expense in either case being equally
divided. That work, however, shows the possibility of suc-
ceeding, and in this, for reform to be possible should mean that
it should be accomplished. The want of a central and per-
manent controlling department of statistics in Great Britain,
has been* forcibly pointed out in the report of the Special
> Se Faiss : 2, ee 7, tye rear 1 LS RM eee, ta
2 2 - ss Siar ] Be FS PS Ee nea
<> é : : , Biel e Ciesty
ae
AG International Statistical Uniformity.
Committee of the House of Lords appointed to consider the
subject, and is painfully felt in this connection. As the
leading country, and the one which, with her dependencies,
could contribute the largest number of returns, a request
from such a department would doubtless be complied with,
and the issue of the summarised statistics of the world
be confided to it. In formulating these suggestions J have
aimed at securing simplicity above all things. In dealing
with a subject of such vast dimensions as “ Statistical Uni-
formity,” the greatest danger of failure lies in attempting too
much. Far better to lay a firm foundation, on which a
superstructure more or less intricate may be gradually built
up. The present statistical system (or want of it),1s the growth
of manyyears,and yet a late president of the Statistical Society
(Mr. R. Giffen) has stated that there is still a deficiency
of statistics in some directions. The basis on which this
paper is laid is, that the first steps to effect its end must be
as straightforward and as plain as it is possible to make
them, without, at the same time, losing sight of com-
prehensiveness as a cardinal point; and, further, that it
will take time, and probably a long tyme, to secure
uniformity. I have kept fully in view that any sudden and
drastic reform is quite impossible. Gradual improvement
is all that can be looked for. If there is a reasonable ex-
pectation of securing uniformity under these suggestions in
the same period that has been occupied in producing the
present chaotic state, they would be worth further con-
sideration and practical effort. “Slow improvement,’ says
Mr. Giffen, “is no bar to a new system.”
Amongst the advantages’ which these suggestions aim at
securing in practice the following may be claimed :—They
do not stop any information at present collected; they simply
ask in some cases for a little more, that little being already
supplied by other countries, and so fall in with, and even
encourage, the natural bent of nearly all statisticians to
multiply information and create statistics. In most cases
the required figures (scattered, however, throughout a great
variety of returns) are already supplied, and the aim is to
collect them under one focus. They tread on no official
corns ; they offend no prejudices and upset no theories, per-
haps almost as dear as life itself. On the contrary, they
have been carefully devised with the intention of either
falling in with or evading each of these possible didticulties.
They purpose comprising everything and rejecting nothing
International Statistical Uniformity. 47
of sufficient interest. They introduce a system of statistical
signals, capable of indefinite amplification, and which may
be as easily recognised by competent inquirers as the flag
signals from one ship to another in mid-ocean. Instead
of attempting to unify the detailed statistics of different
nations, where, from unalterable causes—such as independent
legislation; climate; seaboard; or the want of it; national
characteristics ; and natural capacities, features, and pro-
ductions ;—uniformity in the conditions of life is impossible,
and therefore where uniformity in the information which is
the collected result and the outcome of those conditions is
impossible also, I have endeavoured to provide a common
ground, where all may display the best they have to bring.
It is like transplanting a half-grown tree, which we trust to
see, as it establishes itself in new soil, spread its roots
both downwards and outwards, till its wide-spreading
branches eventually encircle and embrace all matter which
ought to be sheltered beneath them; or, to put it in another
form, I have endeavoured to lay down broad parallel lines,
into which all smaller ones will gradually converge, between
which they may run, and into which they will finally be
absorbed.
Once adopted they should prevent, in the future, any com-
pilation of new statistics on an independent basis. By
persistently keeping their requirements under parliamentary -
or ministerial notice, the detail of future legislation and
legislative information might be so arranged as to harmonise
with their demands.
They would bring a study at present confined to a few
within the range of many investigators, would enable them
to make exact and accurate comparisons before suggesting
reforms, and add much to our knowledge of many subjects
not thoroughly understood at present. By removing Car-
lyle’s reproach against statistics as being “ dry as dust-bins
without an index,” they would assist not only to simplify
and popularise their study, but also to attain one of the
principal reforms which statists are so anxious to inaugurate
and complete.
The “Specimen Return” will be found over leaf.
eet} . E 5
cS, STVLOL |
. =| ‘on “SI ‘Sq ‘sab "gS ousn Suo04
asvuloy |AouoraNng tx o [va tf i esI at Sat |
US19.10,) B00 B =F) Sa eS is ST Sc Wee | SaaS Ail reel Gs ET | | eae ||| | eT ale Ea
Peake Oe Pie (Z| Flal Feel) 2 sl = lseeseslesaslae
i= (jo) — se me fo) ~ t 4 4 : f
E Bie al F1S i 8 | Bl e| Sl Fi] & |islsesislSesicla zis,
ct tor f= O = ct ct D © ao me S 2 a|)2 o 99 | 0 eT]
@ © 5 @ a2/o | @ a) 5)" B12) etl
Q, RB i) Q [or o O10/]o0
SNOLLONGOUT 4 st 4 lies: °13)%
Ty LO e etl male ele ee el ee = || = 2 —
WOIVA IVLOY, o S SLONGOU © a
SLOAGONT UALO |} =F TV INY, WONGOUT AMIVE MONGoV WAV
4?)
HOIVA HE OLTOONLDV ;
a | a ce aa aa ee aT 1 UY 1 un
: STV.LO“
|
|
|
|
|
|
International Statistical Uniformity.
‘ _—_— — ee ere ee prem a a a | ea | sme | Ec | a || ee || Re!
: by by n nan laolo|az || e Hlold|/slollalalw
a Se ie Be eee fe Se A te re be | "ony ION |p Oy, FONT | tonya| SONG! lees Ieee ena Oa ae
a =) @ KG) Ae 2 acts | instal o |e | 2) ® 5 '
5 y g Ss ist ° ar | Ba 4 B aa re =| == “1 wo | & =) g
oO i) : Ee A
o a 2 || BA | S& |ispreyoro sunny SWS je
S ef | eal es pur SULIV,T 10
8, HTLLVO =| B< ||? |lsuopsep suOTIVIS |] -sooopdurny
j - for] oO 2
ta) 55
= HO
- MOOLS WAIT Puce CuTdA0NG AOTT Sum1an000
[o)
“HU OLTNOIMOV
‘SNOTLONGOUd IVEOLVN GNV ZYOLTAOIDV—taang AUVNWAg NaWtowag ;
(0)
“H
Art, VIIL—The Cryptogamia of the Australian Alps.
PART.
By JAMES STIRLING, F.L.S., F.GS.
[Read 10th September, 1885. |
THE following brief notes on some Habitats of the Crypto-
gamic Plants of the Australian Alps are given in continua-
tion of the author’s Notes on the “ Phanerogamia of the
Mitta Mitta,” &c., previously published in the Transactions
of the Royal Society.* The value of a systematic descrip-
tion of the Florula of a region so unique in its geographical
position with respect to any other series of mountain
ranges, as the Australian Alps undoubtedly is, will no doubt
prove serviceable to students of Phytography. Although
we are all deeply indebted to the writings of Sir F. von
Mueller, K.C.M.G., &., our illustrious and even now vener-
able botanist—particularly the information given in Vol. XI.
of the Fragmenta Phytographieew and other publications ;
and also to the writings of several distinguished specialists,
as Mr. Mitten,j and other bryologists, mycologists, &¢.—yet,
if we except the general remarks given in the local writings
of Mr. Bailey, F.L.S., of Queensland, Mr. French of Mel-
bourne, Professor Tate of South Australia, and a few other
well-known Australian botanists, very little has been done
towards grouping together the Cryptogamic Florula of
typical areas. The altitudinal and, consequently, climatic
zones of the Australian Alps, with the varying conditions of
humidity and frequent alternations of geologic formations,
afford excellent means of studying the differentiation of
varietal forms, and, consequently, their biological develop-
ments. Ina subsequent article I hope to be able to supply
xylographic drawings of the micro-fungi and other lowly
mycologic forms. ‘To Baron von Mueller and Mr. Sullivan,
F.LS., of Moyston, the author tenders sincere thanks for.
assistance in naming the species herein recorded.
* Trans. Royal Society Vic,, Vols. XIX. and XX.
+ Australian Mosses, Vol. XIX, Trans, Royal Society Vict., BS 50.
‘+ , we
pee, meee tte
pa Oem ah
3 td =
\
50
The Cryptogamia of the Australian Alys.
ACOTYLEDONEZ..
ACOTYLEDONEZ VASCULARES.
1, Rhizospermee.
. Azolla magellianica (F. v. M.).—Is abundant in the still
waters of sub-alpine pools, along the courses of the
Livingstone Creek, especially near Omeo, at an eleva-
tion of 2200 feet, where its bright green, red, or
purplish imbricated leaves form a carpet-like coating
on the surface.
2, Lycopodines.
’ Lycopodium Selago (Linné)—This handsome club-
moss is most abundant in the shaded crevices of
granitic rocks, near the summits of Mount Kosciusko,
at elevations between 6000 and 7000 feet.
. Lycopodium ciavatum (Linné)—On the gravelly
depressions (old miocene river-beds) at the lower
levels of the Dargo High Plains; this interesting
species is found at an elevation of 4000 feet; and also
near the summits of Mount Kosciusko, in similar
situations to L. Selago; in the latter place in a
slightly altered form.
. Lycopodium densum (Labill.)—On the porphyritic
areas near Mount Cobboras, between 3000 and 5000
feet elevation.
. Selaginella Preissiana (Spr.)—In similar habitats to
Lycopodium densum, but exhibiting great variety in
the length of its stem, and in the character of its
foliage, being more close and dense at the higher
elevations.
2. Filices.
. Ophioglossum vulgatum (C. Bauh.)—Common on the
subalpine flats of the metamorphic schists near Omeo;
2000 to 3000 feet elevation.
. Botrychium Lunaria (Swartz)—The common British
moonwort ; also occurs on the flats of the Livingstone
Creek.
. Botrychium ternatum (Swartz).—In the moist. elens of
Silurian rocks in the Macalister River sources at
elevations of 2000 and 3000 feet.
. Hymenophyllum Tunbridgense (Sm.).—This beautiful
and delicately fronded fern is very prolific in the
The Cryptogamia of the Australian Alps. 51
heads of gullies on the littoral slopes of the Dividing
Range, growing luxuriantly on decaying logs of
deeply-shaded fern-tree gullies. It ascends to sub-
alpine stations of 3600 feet elevation. It also occurs
on some northern or inland slopes, such as the Buffalo
Ranges, but it appears to be most prolific on the
littoral areas where more equable temperature
prevails.
1. Gleichenia circumata (Swartz)—lIs more plentiful on
the northern sub-alpine flats, especially towards the
sources of the Benambra Creek, and in the Ovens
valley. In the former it is found growing in the
shade of various endemic shrubs, such as Drimys
aromatica, &c., with whose dark sap, green foliage, its
light emerald-tinted fronds form an _ agreeable
contrast.
2. Gleichenia dicarpa (R. B.).—In similar habitats with G.
circumata, but also at lower levels in the Mitta Mitta
sources.
1, Dicksonia Billardieri (F. v. M.).—This magnificent tree-
fern is the principal species clothing the heads of
culhes inthe Australian Alps. Its greatest luxuriance
is attained at elevations of 3000 feet, where the decay
of its lower fronds largely helps to form that deep
vegetable mould so characteristic of these localities.
A sub-alpine glen clothed with a vigorous growth of
these handsome fern-trees, with tall straight-stemmed
eucalyptus and acacias, and fringed with such
beautiful endemic shrubs as Lomatia ilicefolia, Zeria
Smithii, Senecio Bedfordii, and various asters, &c., is
perhaps the most recherché of all the varied forms of
botanical scenery to be met with in the sub-alpine
zone of the Australian Alps.
1. Alsophila Australis (R. B.)—Also an inhabitant of
the moist southern glens, but extending to the grassy
slopes as well. Does not ascend to the same eleva-
tion as D. Billardieri.
1. Davallia dubia (R. B.)—Common in some localities, in
the Wentworth Valley, near the Dividing Range, and
in the Indi above Tom Groggin. Ascends to 3600
feet, both on Silurian and metamorphic soils.
1. Lindsaya linearis (Swartz)—On the Tambo River,
especially on the quartz-mica-diorites of Mount
Elizabeth. Ascends to 3000 feet.
~—
BE 2
52 The Cryptogania of the Australian Alps. — — =
sTEEROEgraneane Nene m
Pe Sw RAE SSS tee a ea i
t
Adiantum Aithiopicum (Linné)—The Maidenhair is,
perhaps, one of the most abundant species of fern.
It is found growing at almost every elevation, in
rocky situations up to 6000 feet. Although most
prolific in the crevices of potash-yielding rocks, as in
aa the felsitic intrusions near Omeo, it is probable,
te however, that its greater luxuriance at these localities
; Bieh is, after all, an accidental circumstance, and that
Bie humidity of temperature predominates in causing its
vigorous growth at these elevations, 2000 to 3000
feet.
1. Cheilanthes tenuifolia (Swartz)— Common on rocky
situations at all elevations up to 4000 feet, par-
ticularly in granitic areas, and on the metamorphic
rocks near Omeo.
| 1. Pteris falcata (R. B.).—In the littoral areas along the
ae Tambo, Mitchell, and Dargo river valleys, in rich
| mould, of dense scrubs. Most prolific ascending to
elevations of 4000 feet. Near Omeo its character
ee approaches that of Pteris rotundifolia.
be i bi 2. Pteris umbrosa (R. B.)—Ascends in some gullies from
ee the coastal regions to an elevation of 3000 feet;
generally in shaded valleys, on rich moulds, where it
Brie attains a height of three feet.
|.) Sao 3. Pteris tremula (R. B.).—Found growing in the damp
oi entrances to caves on the upper Silurian limestone
ik formation, near sources of the Murray, 3000 feet
elevation ; also in fern-tree gullies between Went-
worth and Dargo Rivers, in Silurian slate, &e., at
similar elevations.
4, Pteris aquilina (Linn. var.)—Forms a dense under-
growth in the alluvial flats of some of the mountain
streams, where it frequently attains a height of eight
feet ; it ascends to elevations of 5000 feet, and appears
to be the most ubiquitous of all the endemic ferns.
5, Pteris incisa (Thunberg).—In the rich moulds of fern-tree
gullies, on the littoral slopes, this bright-green species
attains a great luxuriance, growing to a height of
eight feet; it ascends to elevations of 4000° feet.
Humidity seems to dominate the growth of this
species.
1. Lomaria discolor (Willd.)—A very abundant species
on the grassy heads of gullies, Dividing Range, near
Omeo, where it forms a characteristic feature in the
ee
» : . . eet
¥
a a a Se es
5 ae pa See
4 "5
) Shae
’
re
f om
Le
lame:
tiny
“™
{
/
fel
The Cryptogamia of the Australian Alps. 53
landscape. The form of its fronds differentiates very
much at sub-alpine habitats. Itascends to 5000 feet
elevations.
2. Lomaria lanceolata (Spreng.).—In similar habitats with
L. capensis, but confined chiefly to the fern-tree
gullies on the littoral areas, &c., towards Gippsland.
It ascends to 4000 feet, and at this elevation the
erowth is luxuriant.
Lomaria alpina (Spreng.).—This pretty little fern is very
common on the metamorphic and granite areas in
the Australian Alps, ascending to the Mount
Kosciusko plateaux, where it is found growing in the
crevices of the rocks at an elevation of 7100 feet.
Lomaria fiuvialitis (Spreng.)— Not uncommon in deeply
shaded gullies, near water channels, and at sources of
springs on all the streams flowing from the Australian
Alps ; ascends to fully 5600 feet, but most luxuriant
at the sub-alpine zone where moisture prevails.
Lomaria capensis (Willd.).—Is one of the most common of
all the endemic ferns; generally most abundant in
shaded grassy banks of creeks and gullies, On the
Silurian slates, Wentworth River, at an altitude of
3000 feet, its fronds attain a length of six feet,
with large pinne four feet long and over one inch
broad.
1, Blechnum cartilagineum (Swartz).—Only observed by ~
me on the Mitta Mitta metamorphic schists at an
altitude of 2000 feet, and on the Tambo River banks
at lower levels.
1. Doodia (Woodwardia) aspera (Mett.).—On the Silurian
formation in shaded hill sides of Dargo and Went-
worth rivers at an elevation of 2000 and 3000 feet :
also on the Mitta Mitta sources.
i. Asplenium Trichomanes (Linn.).—Very abundant on the
limestone rocks, in the Limestone Creek valley, at an
elevation of 3000 feet, ascending in the Mitta Mitta
sources on the granitic areas to 5000 feet.
2. Asplenium flabellifoliam (Cav.)—AIl over the sub-_
alpine areas in the Australian Alps, not restricted to
any formation, growing in rocky crevices, ascending
to elevations of 6000 feet.
se 3, Asplenium Hookerianum (Colens.).—In similar habitats
to A. Trichomanes, and at Day’s Hill, near Omeo, on-
intrusive granite areas; ascends to 4000 feet.
54 The Cryptogania of the Australian Alps.
4. Asplenium bulbiferum (Forst.).—Common on the moist
Silurian ranges around Grant; generally in shaded
gullies, on the littoral slopes; ascends to 3600
feet.
1. Aspidium acuelatum (Swartz)——Very abundant at
sub-alpine altitudes on Silurian formations, especially
towards the coastal regions.
2. Aspidium decompositum (Spreng.).—Occurs principally
in the moist heads of gullies in the Mitchell River
source basin; ascending to 3000 feet elevation.
1. Polypodium punctatum .(Thun.).—On the heads of
gullies in Dargo River valley, Silurian formation.
This somewhat ubiquitous species is abundant; it
ascends to 3000 feet.
1. Grammitis rutifolia (R. B.).—In the crevices of granite
rocks all over the Mitta Mitta sources, ascending to
5000 feet; also on the Tambo and Mitchell River
source basins, but most prolific on the metamorphic
areas.
ACOTYLEDONEZ EVASCULARES.
1, Dicraneze.
1, Dicranella rufo-aurea (Hampe).—On the porphyritic
cae rocks near summit of Mount Cobboras, at elevations.
UB of 5000 feet; and on the Limestone Creek at lower
levels.
1. Blindia robusta (Hampe)—F rom the shaded sidelings
of mica schist near Omeo (2000 feet) to the summits
of Mount Kosciusko, on granitic rocks, at an elevation
of 7000 feet.
1. Dicranum punctulatum (Hampe).— On the meta-
morphic schists near Omeo, between 2000 and 3500
feet.
1. Ceratodon purpureus (Bridel)—This moss is very
common on the sites of old gold workings near Omeo,
where the aluminous and potash soils are dis-
integrated ; it ascends to 4000 feet.
2, Grimmice.
1. Grimmiaapocarpa(Hed.).—Alsocommon on the gneissose-
rocks near Omeo, at 2000 feet elevations. Abundant.
along with G. cygnicolla (C. pulvinata) and forming
dense tufts. ?
The Cryptogamia of the Australian Alps. ao.
. Grimmia pulvinata (Hook. et Taylor).—Forms dense
patches of a greenish grey on the granitic and
oneissose rocks near Omeo, and at higher levels in the
Mitta Mitta sources.
. Grimmia languinosa (C. Muell.)—A form which iseither
this or a closely allied species, as found growing on
the granite rocks near summit of Mount Kosciusko,
at elevations of 7000 feet. ©
. Grimmia Sullivani (C. M.).—This species was first dis-
covered near Omeo by the gentleman whose name it
bears; it is common all over the alps up to 6000 feet,
principally on the metamorphic areas.
3. Tortulie.
. Phascum disrumpens (C. M.)—Not common, but where
found rather gregarious. Livingstone Creek, near
Omeo.
. Weisia nudifiora (C. M.).—Also uncommon, in similar
localities with P. disrumpens.
. Tortula rubra (Mitten.)—Common in the Mitta Mitta,
Mitchell, and Tambo River source basins, at various
elevations between 2000 and 6000 feet.
. Encalyptra Tasmanica (Hampe)—This is perhaps the
most widely distributed of all the mosses, being found
at all elevations from the sub-alpine zone to the
summits of the highest alps.
4, Orthotrichee.
. Orthotrichum laterale (Hampe).—On the banks of the
Indi River, at base of Mount Kosciusko (1200 feet),
and on Coowombat Creek at higher levels, princi-
pally on alluviuis, at 3600 feet. _
Apalodium lanceolatum (Mitten)—On the Moroko
River and towards its sources, near Mount Welling-
ton; upper Devonian and Silurian formations ;
ascends to 5000 feet.
. Zygodon sp.—Found by Mr. Sullivan on Mount
Kosciusko, when botanising with the writer during
January, 1884, at an altitude of 6500 feet.
5, HKunariee.
. Physcomitrium subserratum (C. M.).—Previously re- —
corded by Baron von Mueller from Dargo River,
56
The Cryptogamia of the Australian Alps.
but found by the writer on the Wentworth River
sources, near main Dividing Range; Silurian forma-
tion at 3600 feet.
. Enthostodon laxus (J. Hook. et Wils ).—On the southern
slopes of the great Dividing Range ; not common.
. Enthostodon minuticaulis (C. M.)—Found near Omeo,
on the mica-schists and alluvium, by Mr. Sullivan
during January, 1884.
. Enthostodon apophysatus (Tayl.)—On the edge of the
Omeo Plains, near Lake Omeo ; 3000 feet elevation.
. Funaria hygrometrica (Linné)—Common at the sites
of burnt evel logs and on clayey soils near
Omeo.,
. Funaria pulchridens (C.M.).—In similar localities with
I’. hygrometrica.
6. Bartramies.
. Bartramia Hampei (Mitten)—On the shaded banks of
the Livingstone Creek (2000 feet) and near the sum-
mits of Mount Kosciusko ; metamorphic and granitic
areas.
. Philonitis appressa (J. Hook.).—On the Dividing Range,
near Omeo; 4000 feet elevation.
. Philonitis fertelis (Mitt.).—On the sources of the
Mitta Mitta, ascending to Mount Hotham at 6000
feet elevation.
. Brutelia affinis (Hook.)— On the granitic bosses of
Mount Hope, between the Mitta Mitta and Hume
Rivers, and also on the Buffalo Ranges, in the Ovens
valley.
. Brutelia commutata (Hampe).—Very abundant on the
metamorphic schists in the Livingstone Creek
valley, where it forms thick coatings in shaded. side-
lings ; ascends to 5000 feet
. Conostomum curvirostre (Mitt.)—Baron von Mueller
records this moss from the Mienyang Mountains, but
it is common on Mount Sisters, near Omeo Plains, on
granitic and seat i-porphyny) areas; 3000 to 4000
feet.
. Meesia Muelleri (C. Muel.)—On the porphyritic rocks
at Mount Cobboras, and also on the summits of
Mount Kosciusko; the latter habitat discovered by
Mr. Sullivan.
Art. [X.—Fuller’s Calculating Slide-Rule.
By JAMES J. FENTON.
[Read 10th September, 1885.]
SLIDE-RULES, for use in approximate calculations, are not
nearly so well known as they deserve to be; for, whilst
possessing all the advantages to be derived from logarithms,
they are entirely divested of their attendant technicalities.
If a book of logarithms be placed in the hands of any
intelligent person, unskilled in mathematics—no matter
how well the method of using them, and their great
advantages over the ordinary methods have been
explained—it is most unlikely he will take the trouble to
master them; but with the slide-rule it is very different,
for, as the logarithms themselves are entirely ignored, and
ordinary numbers alone are dealt with, he might, by the~
aid of a few simple rules, in a very short time become quite
proficient in manipulating it. With the rule it is not
necessary, as in the case of tabular logarithms, to look first
for the numbers, then for the corresponding logarithms,
adding thereto the differences for the last figure, trans-
cribing them to paper, finding their sum or difference (as
the case may be), and then reversing the process, so as to
translate the result into ordinary notation. These opera-
tions, simple in themselves, often take so long that many
expert calculators can (except in calculations involving the
powers or roots of numbers) in most cases obtain the result
in less time. In the case of the slide-rule, however, all
these obstacles are avoided, and an ordinary result in multi-
plication, division, squares, or square-roots may be obtained
at once by inspection with one or two simple movements of
the scale, the mental operations of addition or subtraction
being mechanically performed by the rule itself.
The logarithmic scale, in its simplest form, consists of a
rule or line divided into parts proportional to the logarithms
of the natural numbers from 10 to 100. Take a line of any
length and assume it to be made up of 1000 equal parts;
then mark off the number of such divisions corresponding —
to the logarithms (indices being omitted) of 20, 30, 40, &, ©
to 100, viz., 301, 477, 602, &ec., to 1000; and place opposite ~
to these the corresponding numbers, after which the scale
~
Lab Sar cata
_—-3—
er
5
wees
am 1 alt lp
we . oe: ' 7
AES UT ee eee ee an anere i oa ate
: . we
AN ee
A en
aSE TA
=
mips’
e
Gaeta See
Sh te of Rare Seo eae SB Oe Oe
=
=
— 7, >
4 eT See ene o2
tes a SS
Cad: ak eo | : r a
i ; ais
\
f
= a <a ee? + : # se
Rae hc hn
oe
Se ate od ek 2a ee eh ENE Raat
, ; . : : y
ee ee
fi
“i
i
<hane ae
58 Fuller's Calculating Slide-Rule.
may be completed by interposing in like manner the inter-
mediate numbers, and any others in the third place that the
length of scale will allow. Now, if with a pair of com-
passes the space spanned from the commencement of the
scale to any number be simply added on to some other
number, the resulting product will be found indicated atthe
lower leg of the compass, and similarly if the space between
two numbers be measured, and an equal space be laid off
from the top of the scale, the resulting quotient will be also
shown at the lower point. A very few experiments with
this seale, however, will exhibit one defect, viz., that the
lower leg of the compass often falls altogether out of the
scale ; and hence the necessity of a double scale for practical
utility, such as is adopted in the common Carpenter's Slide-
Rule. In this rule, which is usually about a foot long, the
results are obtained by placing scale against scale. There are,
in fact, four distinct scales, marked A, B, C, and D respec-
tively—the:- three former, which are alike, being double
logarithmic scales, and the fourth being a single logarithmic
scale exactly double the length of the others. This latter is
employed for finding, in conjunction with the other scales,
squares and square-roots. This slide-rule is well known,
and is, I believe, much used in England amongst carpenters,
mechanics, and others for rough calculations, But in this
colony I have not met with a single workman who under-
stood its use, and it is usually looked upon merely as a
useful adjunct to the foot-rule for the measurement of
inches.
{ Another form of logarithmic rule to which reference ought
to be made is the circular one, which, although not so well
known as the common slide-rule, possesses many advantages
over it. In the circular rule only a single scale is necessary;
the slide is dispensed with, and the operations are performed
by two hands or indices instead.+]
* An interesting account of the history and use of this Rule is to be
found in a pamphlet entitled ‘‘ The Carpenter’s Slide-Rule,”’ published by
Messrs. John Rabone and Sons, of Birmingham,
+ Since the reading of this paper, I have had an opportunity of examining a
most ingenious and portable form of the circular logarithmic scale under the
name of the ‘‘ Cercle 4 Calcul.”’ In size and general appearance this instru-
ment resembles a watch. It has two hands or indices, one fixed and the other
movable, so that they may be placed in any required relation to each other;
and on the two faces are engraved the scales. One of these faces is movable
by means of a thumb-screw, such as is used in a keyless watch, whilst the
opposite face is fixed, and may be traversed by a needle on the same pivot
as, and with corresponding motions to, the needle (or movable index) on the
Fuller’s Calculating Slide-Rule. 59
The rules just referred to, however, will only give results
correct to two figures, and on this account they have been
available only for rough approximate caiculations, or merely
looked upon as mathematical curiosities. To give results
with even three figures one would require (r eckoning twenty
divisions to the inch) a straight rule 8 ft. 4 in. long, or &
circular rule 1 ft. 4 in.; and to give results with four figures,
one 83 ft. 4 in. or 13 ft. 5 in. respectively; and hence their
inapplicability for other than approximate calculations.
This great difficulty in regard to length of scale has,
however, at length been overcome by arranging the scale on a
spiral, The instrument I exhibit to- night—the Calculating
Slide-Rule of Professor George Fuller, C.E., of Queen’s
College, Belfast, Iveland—has a single logarithmic scale,
500 inches in length, wound in a spiral form round
cylinder barely six inches long by three inches in diameter.
The old plan of placing scale against scale has been aban-
doned, and two indices—one fixed and the other movable—
are substituted instead. ‘This rule will give correct results
to four and sometimes to five figures, and is therefore much
more reliable than a table of four-figure logarithms. There
is, moreover, an additional scale for finding the logarithms
themselves if required, and on the inner cylinder of the slide
are arranged, for ready reference, many useful mathematical
tables and formule, including a table of natural sines.
In regard to matters of calculation generally, I may state
that I have received the greatest assistance in statistical
calculations from the Arithmometer, Logarithms, and Recip-
rocals. In the calculation of percentages, or in calculations
involving a constant divisor, I consider Reciprocals* by
far the most convenient and readiest of the three methods
just named. The Arithmometer, I am of opinion, is still
unsurpassed when exact results in over six figures are
opposite side. The movable face has three scales—viz., a scale of numbers,
a scale of squares, and a scale of sines ; whilst the fixed face contains a
sealé of cubes, and a scale for finding, in conjunction with the scale of num-
bers, the logarithm of a number, or vice versa. By means of these scales,
ordinary results in multiplication ‘and division may be obtained; the squares,
cubes, square and cube roots may be found simply by inspection, and rough
arithmetical and trigonometrical calculations involving such powers and
roots may be readily made,—correct to the second, and often with an approxi-
mation to the third, figure. In many respects the “Cercle” is much more
useful and convenient than the Carpenter’s Slide-Rule; its price in France is
30 franes (about 25s.). A less portable but more useful instrument, having
a greater length of scale, is also obtainable.
* 4 valuable work on Reeiprocals i is by Lieut,-Col. Oakes, A.A. London:
C. & EH. Layton, 1865.
60 : Fuller's Ca oe Slide-Rule.
required ; also in the calculation of logarithmic or oe ;
series, But the Spiral Slide-Rule decidedly supersedes the
use of all three when results involving not more than four
figures are required. And when it is considered that few
calculations—at all events actuarial or statistical ones—can
be carried, to any purpose, beyond the fourth or fifth figure,
chiefly on account of the unreliability of the data, the
universal utility of this rule will be at once recognised.
Take, for example, the calculation of a death-rate based on
the population of a country. No one would surely imagine
that the number showing the population is correct in the
unit’s or ten’s place, and even the figures in the hundred’s
and thousand’s place can seldom be relied on. In deducing
a result of any value, it would therefore be necessary that
the number of figures in the result (quotient) should not
exceed the number of reliable figures in the divisor (or
population) ; in fact, it ought to be one less.
ADDENDUM.
[Written 6th November, 1885, ]
An objection often raised to the use of Slide-Rules gener-
ally is the trouble experienced (although there is no doubt
that in the great majority of cases it may be done simply by
inspection) in finding out where to place the decimal point
in the result; but in the Spiral Slide-Rule, by a simple device,
this difficulty has been overcome.
In calculating with the Spiral Slide-Rule it is advisable
that the operations should be so arranged that the result
may always be found at the fied index. In using
“constant” multipliers or divisors (as in the calculation of
percentages, &c.), moreover, it will be found advantageous to
set the “ constant” once for all the operations in which it may ©
be required. In the following examples of multiplication
and division let C be constant :—
(1.) Multiplication with a Constant Factor.
Cxd=a,Cxd=a,Cxd’=2", &., may be resolved into
(:)=4 a ne dts Les
SRM
& flde 1— log C) =log. d — log. =log. d’— log, # == 8G | a
- = = — = * [= —- a a = ait _ = i ee
E . et) SoSSaey: eh hee
q E - ge mae a ~ x me: a7. - xT ee eg - ous
— rene -- = oo TST Ue ee a Ee a rn ae
3 3 == = Fez eT Fe < yeons Pare Pais as Oa
= . a De - 2 ae woe awe oy “ aaah Se eee sears i
= 7s aaa — “ Soe <-> a = Pe paar at Loree gon er a oe aero RSTn a > ——. Tee
See ae ara wh sae a Rae el Et = = ee = =
— s, ; sanetal : ees re ; Ve . Ao py,
ety ee 7 - > ; ; a7) ;
a9 i ¢ CA i el r "a
x EN? " , ‘ * \
a G i \ «
PS ie a at i aaa A IS ‘Batis SOE
‘
el
1 St
=> i ee
<2 : nce
Se
Fuller's Calculating Slide-Rule. [= -6€
(2.) Division with a Constant Divisor.
d d’ dl” :
ee eee a’, == aw”, &c., may be resolved into
C dawned,
timeeaeae
ie. (log. C — log. 1) = log.d — log.@ = log. d’—log.z’ = &e.
This resolves the operations into questions of proportion.
If, therefore, in the first example, the indices be so arranged
that Z on the scale is opposite the movable index, and C
opposite the fixed index, the ratio7, will be represented,
logarithmetically, by the distance eee the two indices ;
and as this ratio is the same for all the other ratios, viz.,
ao a. d’
ee?
various values, d, dl’, @ ‘, &e., to the movable index, and the
results, viz., “, “, x", &e., may be read off, in turn, at the
fized index. In like manner, in the second example, the
fixed index is set at 7, and the movable index at C; and
then ve scale is moved so as to bring the different values—
d, a’, &e.—to the movable index, when the answers—
Lee * hea wil be found at the fixed index.*
&e., it will be only necessary to bring the
Art. X—WNote on the Habits of Hermit Crabs.
By A. HS. Locas: VA: CO BSc.
[Read 12th November, 1885.]
A STATEMENT is constantly repeated in the text-books of
zoology that the hermit crabs always protect their soft
abdomens by taking up their abode in the empty shells of
gasteropods. Thus Nicholson says: “ The animal is com-
pelled to protect the defenceless part of the body in some
* It is stated (in a footnote) in the Instructions issued with the-Rule that
the two stops, which were fixed to the instruments first made, so that the
beginning of the scale (100) might be brought at once to the fixed index, are
now omitted as useless; but this is to be resretted, as, from the second set of
examples shown above, it will be seen that such stops will prove of great
advantage.
62 Note on the Habits of Hermit Crabs.
artificial manner, and this it effects by appropriating the
empty shell of some dead mollusc, such as the common
periwinkle or whelk.”
Huxley (Anat. Invertebrated Animals, p. 340) says: “It
is by means of these (claspers) that the hermit crab retains
firm hold of the columella of the empty gasteropod shell, into
which it is his habit to thrust his unprotected abdomen,
and, covering over his retracted body with the enlarged
ehela, which takes the place of an operculum, resists all
attempts at forcible extraction.”
Even Van Beneden, the specialist on parasites and mess-
mates, writes (An. Parasites, p. 24): “The shells which give
them shelter are such as have been shed,* which they find at
the bottom of the sea, andin which they conceal their weak-
ness and their misery.”
At Portarlington I lately obtained a soldier or hermit
erab (Clibanarius barbatus, Heller), occupying a full-
grown shell of Phasianella Tritonis, which appeared quite
fresh in its colour, and very unlike a shed and rubbed
specimen, such as one does find among the rocks of the sea-
bed. I placed the soldier in his shell, in a large bottle of
water, in company with a living Fasciolaria coronata of
about the same size as the pheasant shell. In about an hour
the crab seemed to have inspected his companion, and to
have coveted his abode, for from that time his busy claws
were at work restlessly all the following evening and night,
tugging at the operculum of the whelk. The bottle was in
my bedroom, and I lay awake at times listening to the
scuffle. In the morning the crab was found seated at his
ease in the whelk’s shell, while the torn fresh fragments
of the foot and head of the latter were evidence in the
bottle of his forcible piecemeal ejectment. It was quite
clear that in this instance at least the hermit had not by any
means waited until the shell it desired was empty. Nor is
it likely that this is a solitary case. I believe that the
pheasant shell had been acquired from a living animal. My
brother, Dr. Lucas, informs me that, in a recent visit to
Northern Queensland, he noted that the appearance of the
tenements of the tropical hermit crabs was more often-that
of fresh than of dead shells.
Without denying that the hermits may content themselves
with empty shells which may suit their convenience (for
* The italics are mine,
Note on the Habits of Hermit Crabs. 63
this has often been observed), it is plain that they have also
the power to take them from living occupants in certain
cases. It is, J think, not a tenable hypothesis that the
members of the equi-chelate genera are alone capable of
such high-handed procedure. That the hermit crabs limit
themselves to empty shells isa statement which, once made,
has probably been handed down in the text-books, without
verification, as a sort of tradition.
I may remark that the hermit crab (Clibanarius bar-
batus) which furnished this interesting observation has not
been recorded before from Australia. It was described and
fioured by Dr. Heller as a New Zealand species in the
Voyage of the “ Novara,’ 1865." The distinguishing pecu-
liarities are the equal chele, which, with the second and
third pairs of legs, are densely pilose ; the long slender eyes
reaching beyond the peduncles of the antenne; and the
smooth gastric region of the carapace, rounded in front,
narrowed and truncate behind,
a a ee
* Crustacea, p. 90, pl. vii., fig. 5.
- THE SEDIMENTARY, METAMORPHIC,
AND IGNEOUS ROCKS OF ENSAY.
AoW. ERO IW2E a ie Ges:
-
CONTENTS.
tho Lyrropucrion - -—
_Awatytican EXAMINATION oF THE Rocks
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE Rocks - - -
THE RELATION oF THE Rock Massus to Each OTHER
Recronan anp Contact MzTaMoRPHISM — -
ConcLusions = - Re ONE Sen yr
_ Expnanation oF Puatzs III. anv IV.
ee Bia red es
Prates I.—IV. - - - -
BS a
Art. XL—The Sedimentary, Metamorphic, and Igneous
fiocks of Ensay.
By A. W. Howitt, F.G.S8.
[Read November 12th, 1885.]
SECTION I.—INTRODUCTION.
In describing the rock formations of Swift’s Creek and
Noyang, I have treated of the intrusive areas which border
the extensive tract of the metamorphic schists of Omeo. A
Swift's Creek the intrusion of the plutonic rocks was at the
very outside verge of the metamorphic schists, so that on one
side the invasive igneous masses were in contact with the
fine-grained mica schists of the Omeo series, and on the
other with Silurian sediments, which are in places converted
into varieties of hornfels. At Noyang the case is similar.
The quartz-mica diorites and porphyrites of that locality are
on their northern limits bounded by sedimentary rocks,
which show metamorphic alterations approaching to mica
schist ; on the southern boundary of the intrusive rocks there
are Silurian sediments converted into hornfels; so that,
although the features are not so marked as at Swift’s Creek,
this area is clearly one of those which, as I have elsewhere
pointed out, border the southern and eastern margin of the
so-called regional metamorphic schists of the Omeo district.
In this paper I leave the tracts exterior to the metamor-
phic region, and enter upon the consideration of an area
within it, wherein occurs a series of peculiar rocks, which not
only differ from those which I have described as “‘ contact
schists,” but which are in some respects peculiar, even when
compared with the so-called “regional schists” of Omeo.
There is to be seen at the junction of the Haunted Stream
with the Tambo River a part of the northern contact of the
quartz-mica diorite group with the Silurian sediments. I
have already elsewhere described this, and I now only refer
to it as a convenient starting-point for a new departure.
In following up the Tambo River from its junction with the
Haunted Stream the valley contracts between high and
barren mountains, whose spurs interlock so much that it is
equally difficult to travel, whether on the mountain sides,
i EF
~
66 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
the banks of the river, or its bed. Ata distance of about five
miles in a direct line from the Haunted Stream the hills on the
eastern side of the river suddenly become lower, their con-
tours smoother, and the vegetation changes favourably with
the change of formation. It is here that the Silurian sedi-
ments give place, on the eastern side, to intrusive and schis-
tose rocks. At this place I observed that the schists have
the character of phyllites, approaching to fine-grained silky
mica schist, and not that of hornfels,as at Noyang. They
resemble, therefore, the least metamorphosed examples of the
Omeo schists; and I may say that here is their margin, in
probably its most southern extension. The course of
the Tambo River from Swift’s Creek junction to this
place is generally south; and it is to be observed that
on the western side there are high, rough, and barren
ranges of more or less metamorphosed Silurian rocks,
rising steeply at a little distance from the river, which,
however, flows over varieties of massive holocrystalline
intrusive rocks of the quartz-diorite group. On the eastern
side of the river the country is much lower than on the
western side, and it is only at a distance of from seven to
eight miles that it again rises into high mountains, such as
Mt. Nukong or the northern peak of Mt. Elizabeth. This
ei wide extent includes the watersheds of several streams, of
ae which the Little River is the most considerable. Wherever
oe I have traced up the courses of these streams I have found,
te with slight exceptions, as at the Little River and Watts
~~. ~Creek at Ensay, that they are over massive intrusive rocks.
ays: It is therefore to be noticed that in the stream-beds which
show the deepest sections there are only to be seen holo-
crystalline rocks, while on the summits of some of the
ranges there are traces of schistose and sedimentary
formations.
In this part of the Tambo Valley I again find broadly
those features to which I drew attention when speaking of
the physical geology of Noyang. The river divides the
regions of sedimentary from those cf igneous rocks. Physical
features such as these are found in other parts of the district,
and are not confined to the Tambo River Valley.
Section I].—ANALYTICAL EXAMINATION OF THE ROCKS.
In the area which I propose to describe in this paper there
are but few sedimentary rocks in the immediate vicinity of
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 67
Ensay. Their great display is on the western side of the
Tambo River, and thence to Castle Hill, which is the termi-
nation in that direction of the section accompanying this
paper. They there occur in wide tracts, broken in places by
the exposure through denudation of intrusive quartz diorites.
The only part of the western moiety of the section which
now needs any special reference is that portion which is at
the western side of the Tambo, and where the Silurian
sediments are well shown.
The Silurian rocks at this place are highly inclined at
angles between 70° and 90° dipping to 8. 20° to 30° W.
This formation is continuous to Mt. Baldhead westward,
and northward to the Gum Forest, which is part of the
Swift’s Creek intrusive area.
On descending from these hills towards the river the
boundary of the invasive rocks is reached, at an elevation of
about 300 feet above the stream, but the actual contact is
not visible on the line of section.
I collected a number of samples of these sediments, and
examined them, with following results. Speaking generally,
they fall into two classes, representing the normal argilla-
ceous and quartzose Silurian beds; but they differ from them,
in so far that they have all been more or less metamorphosed.
Of the collected samples, I selected two for special exami-
nation. That which represents the argillaceous sediments is
a minutely-spotted schistose rock, inclined to slaty cleavage,
of a greenish-grey colour, a slightly silky lustre, and with
here and there minute plates of alkali-mica, to be seen under
the pocket lens in the otherwise crypto-crystalline mass of
the foliations.
Under the microscope, thin slices of this rock showed that
it is composed of two kinds of mica, together with granules
of quartz and some black material (opacite). The spots are
entirely composed of minute flakes of colourless alkali-mieca,
with some black material. The main mass of the rock is a
mixture of the two micas, of which the second is a brown,
magnesia-iron mica, which in places predominates, just as the
alkali-mica does in others. The difference between the two,
however, is that the brown mica occurs in the mass of the
rock, and also radiates from the exterior of the spots. The
quartz is In minute rounded grains. Here and there I
observed colourless rod-like microliths, which must be
apatite, and also rather stout colourless microliths, with
oblique terminations. These have the form of tourmaline ;
F2
oe
ee
68 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
but I did not find them so pleochroic as I should have
expected them to be.
I made a quantitative analysis of this sample, which I
subjoin :—
No. 1.—PHvyLuite.
EO ee ate he 13
SLO, ae an La 56°33
NO) nec.) bie ths 22°94
He Or a ee ae 2°19
Fe.O ee oe ae 454
Mn.O 553 ae cise tr.
Ca.O se Be me "25
Mg.O ae baa fa 3:27
K,O te oth cm 6°10
NasOs 137 aN as ‘88
ESO a seh Age 387
100°50
Hygroscopic moisture be ‘80
S) Ob ae vad nA ee 2
Allowing for the P,O, and a corresponding amount of
Ca.O as apatite, and for Fe,O, and H,O as hydrated iron
ore, which in parts forms thin coatings in the rock, there
remain the proportions of 1877 Mol. Si.0., -445 Mol. R.O,,
‘293 Mol. R.O., and ‘547 Mol. R,O, which very nearly close’
when calculated as alkali-mica, magnesia-mica, and quartz,
olving a oO of 1:5: 1:5: 1, respectively ; or of mica
to quartz as 3 to 1
The second sample which I selected for examination and
analysis represents the sandstones. As seen in thin slices
this rock has an approach to foliation; but this foliation also
coincides with the planes of deposit. It is made up of a
large number of angular grains of quartz, set in a ground-
mass of smaller quartz granules, together with a few grains
of triclinic felspar, and, relatively, a considerable amount of
micaceous material, In this rock the quartz grains have a
tendency to lie with their longer diameters parallel to the
obscure foliation of the rock.
The felspar fragments are of two kinds. One is compara-
tively fresh In appearance, and it is compound in structure,
and with low obscuration angles. ~The other is dull looking,
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 69
is simple in structure, and has the appearance of the ortho-
clase found in granitic rocks.* These felspars of both
kinds are original clastic grains,and not regenerated by
metamorphic action. They are just such as I have fre-
quently observed in the Silurian sandstones of the district.
The quartz grains are of different sizes, but as a rule they
have all their longer directions arranged one way, and linear
to each other. This arrangement I find in ordinary sand-
stones of the district, and is partly due to the process of
bedding; but in this case it has, I think, been increased by
pressure during the mechanical movements of the rocks.
Moreover, some grains have been broken across in directions
perpendicular to the foliation. The quartz grains vary both
as to the amount and nature of their inclusions. Some are
almost free from any, others have bands of fluid cavities,
and again others are full, not only of fluid cavities, but also
of microliths. The intersticial material representing that
which at one time was mud is now wholly converted into
mica, partly in scales, but also here and there in well-marked
flakes. This micaceous material forms foliations separating
the quartz grains.
The quartz grains of these rocks are evidently of
clastic origin, but I have observed cases where secondary
quartz has been added to them, so that I could with difficulty
say where the original grain ceased.
The quantitative analysis of this rock was as follows :—
No. 2.—QuartzosE PHYLLITE.
Si.0, kos ube Rae TO
I Oe: bie oo ep htoekl
Ke.0., 1:62
Ca.O ‘82
Meg.O 98
K,O 2-32
Na.,O 2°64
FLO 2:08
101:07
Hygroscopic moisture i. 50
Spread eta Bs. finch 20 Gam
* Tuse the word “ granitic” merely as a convenient term of description,
implying no more than that the rock in question has the crystalline-granular
appearance of the granites, quartz-mica diorites, granitites, &c.
\
70 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
This analysis may be calculated, after allowing for the
ferric hydrate, as being of the composition of 1:995 Mol.
free fate, 856 Mol. magnesia-mica, and ‘400 Mol. alkali-
mica, which is nearly in the proportion of 5: 2: 1; butim
this calculation the small amount of triclinic felspar is
disregarded.
As I have before said, it is extremely rare to find even
traces of sedimentary rocks on the eastern side of this part
of the Tambo River; that is to say, which can be determined
at first sight as being such. There are nowhere those tracts.
of alternating argillaceous and arenaceous beds tilted at high
angles, and otherwise showing~the familiar facies of the
Silurians of North Gippsland. Those schistose rocks on
the eastern side which can be determined as more or less
completely metamorphosed sediments are of limited extent,
are much broken and disturbed, and in places so much
involved with intrusive igneous rocks, and so greatly
erystallised, that it becomes extremely difficult to determine
whether certain samples are to be looked upon as the com-
pletely metamorphosed sediments, or as some of the schistose
varieties of the intrusive masses. Such instances I have
seen on the southern crest of Contentment Hill, where they
adjoin well-marked examples of the holocrystalline quartz
diorites of the character I have so frequently described as
occurring in this district. The schists are so much broken
up, that ‘I was not able to find any portions so indisputably
im situ that I could ascertain their dip or strike. Their
actual contact with the quartz diorites may also be partly
due to faulting. Although these rocks have a general
resemblance among themselves, I observed on examination
that there are two varieties at least—one resembling an
indurated and much and minutely contorted argillite, the
other having a more pronounced schistose structure. The
former variety | found, when examined in a thin slice, to be
much silicified, and with the argillaceous material converted
into minute scales and flakes of mica, some of which, when
examined by a high power, were fibrous. In these micaceous
foliations there is black granular material, much of which,
but not all, is removed, together with ochreous infiltrations,
by digestion of the slice in hydrochloric acid. The quartz
foliations are in places peculiar, for the crystalline grains of
which they are formed are so arranged as to meet in the
plane between the foliations of mica in the manner in which
quartz crystals can be seen to form a gangue in some lodes..
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay.
This quartz contains very numerous fluid cavities without
bubbles,
This rock has been so much crushed and contorted that
the foliations are in places reverted over each other.
The second variety which I examined I found to be much
more complex, and to show changes approaching to the
condition of a minutely-foliated gneiss. The proportion
between the quartz and the other component minerals is
much more equal in this than in the last-described example.
The rock is foliated, and the main part consists of micaceous
materials mixed with quartz grains and enclosing minute
erystals, which can scarcely be anything else than orthoclase ;
at any rate, they are not andalusite.
There are alsosome minute pinite pseudomorphs after this
felspar. The quartz occurs in very numerous interlock-
ing granules, which form foliations, and also veins, branch-
ing from one to the other across the micaceous foliations.
These rocks, although still bearmg much the outward
appearance of sediments, prove upon microscopic examina-
tion to have been so altered as to be almost within the
bounds of the group of metamorphic schists of Ensay.
The only other remaining traces of rocks which can be
referred to the less altered sediments rather than to the
schists are at the sources of the Watts Creek, or rather, to be
more correct, a little beyond them, where the track from
Ensay to Gellingall crosses a small stream before rising on to
the divide which falls to the Wilkinson River. I could not
find these rocks 7m situ, but only as fragments in the bed of
the stream, the sides of the hills being there covered with
soil. So far as lam able to judge, I think that these sedi-
ments adjoin a diabase mass on the west side, and may
therefore have been subject to two separate metamorphisms—
first, in common with all the sediments of the district, and
second, by the diabase.
The samples in this instance represent, as elsewhere, the
argillaceous and the arenaceous sediments, and I now give
the results of their examination.
The first example consists mainly of a micaceous mineral,
having a fibrous structure, and thus resembling sericite-mica
in appearance and in its reaction with polarised light. Itis
colourless, or of a pale greenish tint, where not stained by
iron ochre. In some of the foliations the small masses have
their fibres parallel to each other, whilst in others they are
twisted and lie across each other in a felted manner. In
Ree
STE
== ae
—
72 | The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
rare cases the mineral is inclined to form plates resembling
an alkali-mica. In this mass there are minute crystals of
what I believe to be magnetite.
The second example is more quartzose, being a mixture
of a yellowish micaceous mineral in irregularly-shaped
overlapping plates and scales, together with quartz grains.
Some of these latter are free from cavities, while others
contain them in great. numbers, so that one may conclude
that there are two generations of them, one being probably
original, clastic grains and the other secondary and
metamorphic. The rock is much stained by infiltrated iron
ore.
Besides these there are fragments of rock lying on the
hillside which have a remarkable amount of a soft silvery
mineral in small scales and plates showing on their planes
of separation. This rock was too soft and decomposed to
admit of being prepared satisfactorily as a thin slice, but the
examination which I could make led me to the conclusion
that it is a decomposed metamorphosed sediment containing
much talc in minute scales on the planes of foliation.
In the plan which I have laid down for this present work,
I now return to the line of section on the western side of
the Tambo River. It was more convenient to take those
rocks together which could be at all considered as being
within the sedimentary group, without reference to their
position in or near the line of section which I am describing.
But in treating of the metamorphic schists, and of the
igneous rocks connected with them, this plan would not
be satisfactory, for they are so intimately mixed that it
would only confuse were I to attempt to select the instances
of each group separately. I shall therefore now take the
rocks which I noted for observation in the section as they
follow each other, leaving to later on the task of summaris-
ing the respective and characteristic features of each group.
In proceeding eastwards towards the junction of the
Little River and the Tambo, from the contact with the
sediments on the west side of the latter river, no rocks are
met with in sitw until it is reached, where there are unmis-
takable examples of massive quartz-mica diorites in its bed.
At the junction of the Little River there is a mass of a red-
coloured crystalline granular rock, composed of reddish
felspar, quartz, and some chloritised magnesia-mica. This
rock is allied to the aplites, which I shall note later on as
of very frequent occurrence at Ensay.
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 73
About half-way between the junction of the Little River
and Tambo and the crossing of the Omeo-road over the
former there is a massive, rather light-coloured rock in the
bed and on the banks of the stream. It is composed of
felspars, quartz, some chlorite and apatite. The chlorite is
probably derived from hornblende, for I observed a portion
of that mineral in one case still intact. The chlorite is of
the character usual in the massive rocks of this district,
markedly dichroic in shades of green, and apparently filling
the place of some other mineral (hornblende) of the first
consolidation. In this chlorite there is always more or less
epidote, but not those minute black needles or minute
rods of iron ore which here almost always accompany the
chloritisation of iron magnesia-mica.
The felspars are very much altered, being filled with flakes
of mica and plates of chlorite, but enough remains of them
intact to show that they were triclinic. The quartz is very
plentiful in rather small grains, either singly or in inter-
locking groups. The apatite is in unusually stout crystals,
some of which have been broken across.
Part of this rock has a micro-crystalline appearance, and
I found it to be largely composed of colourless epidote
eranules and quartz, with traces of chlorite. The mass
included a few triclinic felspars. This micro-crystalline
portion of the rock resembles epidosite, and is analogous to
the numerous similar veins which are to be seen in the rocks
at Hnsay.
The main rock is a much altered quartz diorite, of a
slightly different type to the massive intrusive rock of the
district.. It has less quartz, and was, I think, compounded
with hornblende, and not with mica.
My description now brings me to those rocks which I
have separated from the sediments; that is to say, to the
metamorphic schists of Ensay. It might be said that some
examples which I have just described as belonging to the
sedimentary group should be placed among the schists—as,
for instance, the phyllites of Contentment Hill. Certainly
those rocks are so metamorphosed that their argillaceous
components are converted into mica; but, on the other hand,
they have not lost their microscopic structure to any great
extent. They are but one or two stages in advance of the
sediments on the western side of the Tambo, and it has
seemed to me best to draw the line there, and to count all
the formations which are more schistose with the metamor-
74 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
phic group. Indeed, the phyllites stand between the
argillites and the mica schists, and pass over into each of
them.
The Ensay schists are of a peculiar character, occurring
nowhere, so far as my investigations have shown me, at more
than perhaps a mile, or at the outside a mile and a half,
distant from the junction of Watts Creek with the Little
River. There are three marked varieties—quartzose-schist,
pinite-schist, and gneiss—to the latter being added some
examples which are, unless examined on the large scale,
apparently crystalline granular. The two former represent
the arenaceous and argillaceous sediments, and the latter
the same in a more completely metamorphosed condition.
The first of these schists occurs on the line of section
about 20 chains before reaching the crossing of the Omeo-
road over the Little River,at a low cliffat the mouth of asmall
rill from Ramrod Flat. They are bedded, and strike about
_ N. 45° W., being vertical in position. One set of joints
traverses them, dipping N. 60° W.; and a dyke of diabase
porphyrite, with accessory amphibol, scarcely distinguishable
from No. 37, described at page 100, about 3 feet in width,
crosses them, dipping in the same direction as the joints.
This schist is porphyritic, by reason of orthoclase nodules
forming “eyes” within the foliations, and there are also
irregular veins of felspar and quartz. Thé main mass of
the bed which I selected as typical is composed mainly of
pinite, which is pearly or silvery on the face of the foliations,
thus resembling the lustre of the basal planes of some pinite
pseudomorphs. The cross fractures of the foliations are
pale olive-green in colour, with a serpentinous appear-
ance. in places there is a good deal of brown magnesia-
mica forming part of the foliations.
To obtain a correct mental picture of this schist as a
whole, it would require a large number of thin slices to
average the composition. The sample which I selected
represented the mass fairly. Excluding the orthoclase
nodules and the veins of orthoclase and quartz, I found it to
be composed almost entirely of pinite material, together with
numerous divergent groups of colourless tale-plates. I also
observed that the felspars had been involved in the alteration,
for I found a portion of orthoclase of the micro-perthite
structure still remaining intact in the centre, whiist
externally the alteration to pinite was complete. In addition
to these constituents there is also a little magnesia-mica
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 15
and its chloritic alterations, together with a eonsiderable
amount of quartz, making up the remainder of the rock.
This rock is one of the characteristic schists of the district,
and in its unaltered condition must have been a gneiss rich
in magnesia-mica.
A quantitative analysis of this sample gave me the follow-
ing results :—
No. 3.—Metamorpuic GNEISS.
EO: Seg ee ste ‘10
S10, ae i = OOOE
ALO: ae $7 6 Ado
Fe.,O, ae ae se, “45
Fe.O a ate So eee ON,
Ca.O ms Bt Ae ‘81
Mzg.O oa a SOS
K,O os ba sen OS
Na.,O we rit vt AD
IOP fs 5-5 os so ed GO
100°99
Hyegroscopic moisture ea tak ase
Sp. grav. ee Sd he Ohi
Not far up stream from this place the river-bed becomes
rocky, and affords an admirable study of the formations.
From this spot I made a careful examination of the succes-
sive rock-masses for some distance, both up the Little River
and Watts Creek. In order to fully note and illustrate the
peculiar features of these rocks, I shall now describe them
with some fulness. The numbers given refer to those upon
the accompanying plan, Plate I.
1.—These schists are much distorted, and contain irregular
quartz foliations. The foliations of the schist appear to
coincide with former planes of deposit, and strike N.
35° to 40° W. Under the microscope this rock proves
to be a quartzose schist, with a little triclinic felspar,
two kinds of mica, and some pinite masses. The quartz
forms foliations of irregularly-shaped grains.
The felspar is also in irregularly-shaped grains, resembling
fragments of crystals. They are numerously compceunded,
and have the appearance of albite or oligoclase, and those
obscuration angles which I could measure were low, being
76 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
in the zone OP—o Po from 4° to 12°. These felspars
are remarkably clear and fresh.
The two kinds of mica are associated together, one being
a brown dichroic magnesia-mica, and the other a colourless
alkali-mica. The latter is least in amount, and the former
is partly converted into a pale-coloured chlorite, which is
not very dichroic. This mica shows signs of being crushed,
so that the folia are in places partly separated from each
other. Where it has been completely chloritised innumer-
able minute black needles have been formed.
These two micas and the pinite form foliations separating
the compound of quartz and felspar. I defer a more
extended description of the pinite until I reach that part
from which I obtained those typical examples, of one of
which I give a quantitative analysis.
Adjoining these schists there is a mass of crystalline
granular rock, which extends to 2. It is composed of the
following minerals in their order of consolidation :—
(a) Large, simple crystals of felspar, with straight obscu-
ration, which are much worn, or cavernous in places, or even
broken or crushed. (6) Smaller polysynthetic felspars, with
more perfect crystalline forms. These seem to be oligoclase.
Some of them are of less size than the others, and all of
them are later in consolidation than those before-mentioned.
The alteration of all the felspars is micaceous, and in all of
them there is a little viridite. (c) Chlorite, which seems to
be the alteration product of mica. It is associated with
epidote. Here the whole of the mica has been converted.
(d) Quartz in rather large grains, being the residual com-
ponent.
At 2 the crystalline-granular rocks are joined by a narrow
band of schist, which is followed by a vein of pegmatite, or-
coarse aplite, beyond which the schists again extend to 3.
I examined a sample of the narrow band of schist, and
found it to be composed of triclinic felspars, mica, pinite, and
other alteration products, and quartz. The felspars and
quartz, as in the former schist, form foliations separated by
the mica, chlorite, and pinite. As before, the obscuration
angles of the felspar are low.
The pegmatite vein is very light-coloured, approaching
white, and can be seen microscopically to be composed of
large, irregularly-shaped felspar crystals and grains of quartz.
The latter have interfered with each other in crystallising,
but conform to the outlines of the former. The felspar has,
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 17
in places, straight obscuration, but the crystals do not obscure
homogeneously, but in different parts successively. In the
basal section of these felspars | observed numerous minute
wedge-shaped crystals, arranged parallel, and perpendicular
to the plane of symmetry. The larger ones I could see were
twinned, and in places groups of these crystals suggested
the grated appearance of microcline. As inclusions, there are
also a few crystals of triclinic felspar and grains of quartz.
These latter have rounded sides, and have much the appear-
ance of pre-existing crystals enclosed in the felspar.
The quartz is in large masses, and is full of minute fluid
cavities massed together or in layers.
The only other constituent is 2 colourless alkali-mica in
small amount when compared with the quartz and felspar.
Rarely it occurs in the felspar itself.
The schists, which recommence at 3, and extend thence
to 4, are very characteristic. In saying that they are
schistose, it must not be supposed that the foliations are
either wide or strongly marked. On the contrary, in all the
rocks of this kind the foliations are often very narrow, and
only indicated to the eye by irregular stripes, differing
from each other more or less in colour. The rock thus
resembles in appearance some of the schistose varieties of
hornfels. These remarks apply, however, only to the
foliations of the mass of the rock, which seem to represent
the original planes of deposition; and I may here note
that where I found these foliations most regular they had a
strike near that of the normal sediments of the district.
They do not apply to the foliations of quartz or of crystalline-
oranular texture, which are a marked feature here. The term
foliation is indeed often inapplicable to these, for I have
observed that they frequently run, not only with the
foliations of the rock, but also across them at all angles.
The quartz veins are just such as are so commonly to be seen
in the Omeo district in places where there is a passage from
the sediments to the schists, and I have now come to look
upon them as an unfailing indication of metamorphic altera-
tions. The veins of crystalline-granular materials are more
irregular than those of quartz. They not only run with or
across the foliations, but also appear as isolated masses in
them. No doubt this appearance of isolation may lead to
the belief that portions of the schists have suffered complete
metamorphism and recrystallisation, but I am now confident
that such is not a true explanation of those cases, at least,
78 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
where the line of separation between them and the schists is
marked. When, however, one passes into the other, as I
shall show later on, at p. 79, it is different. In the cases of
which I am now speaking, I believe these apparently isolated
masses are connected below with other veins and masses of
intrusive kind. Such veins, therefore, as a whole, form a
branching network, whose meshes are filled with schists or
other rocks. Veins of this kind are clearly intrusive, while
the quartz veins have been deposited from solutions probably
during metamorphic processes. I give in fig. 1, Plate IIL, —
a rough sketch of part ofthis schist-mass, showing the
features I have. above spoken of. At 4 there is again a
sudden change to crystalline-granular rocks resembling those
at 1 to 2, extending to 5, with traces here and there of a
schistose structure.
Similar rocks extend to 6, where there are massive
crystalline-granular rocks, with joints dipping S. 45° W.
at about 80°. I found this rock to be a holocrystalline
compound of felspar, quartz, chlorite, with traces of black
mica. The mica is very ragged and worn in appearance,
and extensively converted into chlorite, together with
colourless epidote granules. It is evidently the first formed
of the constituent minerals; but beyond this all that can be
said is that it has the character of the black iron-magnesia
micas of the quartz-mica diorites of the district.
The felspars are next in order of generation, and are of two
kinds, one most probably orthoclase, the other triclinic, and
of a very compound structure. The quartz, which is the
latest in order of formation, is in interlocking grains, filling
in and conforming to the interspaces of the other minerals.
This rock therefore belongs to the quartz-mica diorites, and
is part of the invasive plutonic masses.
Adjoining this massive rock there is, again, a band of schist
similar to those already described. The crystalline-granular
rocks again reappear at 7, with two sets of joints, one
dipping 8S. 60° EK. at about 80°, the other vertical on
a strike of 8. 25° W.. Crossing these rocks at 8 is a
dyke of micro- porphyritic basalt about 5 to 6 feet in width,
dipping 8. 15° W. at 70°.
I found this basalt to have a ground-mass of numerous
small triclinic felspar prisms crossing each other in all
directions, and thus forming a network, in the meshes of
which are numerous grains of yellowish augite, together
with crystals of magnetite, either singly or forming character-
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 79
istic groups. In this ground-mass are porphyritic crystals
of serpentinised olivine and larger ones of colourless augite.
The crystalline-granular rocks, in a much jointed con-
dition, extend to 9. Some of them are fine-grained;
some coarser, and of a red or salmon colour. They are
traversed by veins of pegmatite or coarse aplite, and also by
compact veins of epidosite. I examined a sample of the
fine-grained variety, which I found to be a crystalline-
granular compound of felspar and quartz in nearly equal
amounts, together with some brown magnesia-mica. The
latter was first formed, and is extremely ragged, twisted,
and, in places, much chloritised. It has a little magnetite
associated with it. The felspars are of two kinds, some-
what large, very much eroded, even cavernous, crystals of
orthoclase, and less-wasted, or even almost well-formed,
erystals of plagioclase. The quartz fills in spaces. I have
no doubt that this rock is intrusive.
From 9 to .10 similar rocks extend, where then com-
mence some contorted schists, having im one place fibrolite
and quartz as a lenticular foliation. These schists cease at
11, where they are cut across by a dyke dipping 8. 10° W.
at about 70°. This dyke is micro-porphyritic. It has a
micro-crystalline ground-mass approaching to cryptocrystal-
line. This is composed of minute crystals of some mineral
which I cannot further determine than by saying that it
may be felspar. Besides these there are some crystals of
magnetite and minute grains of augite. In this mass there
are numerous small porphyritic colourless crystals of augite.
Frequently these crystals are broken, and their fragments
separated by the ground-mass. In other places several of
these crystals form groups. This rock seems to stand
among the diabases, very near to diabase-porphyrite.
The schists extend to 12, but towards that spot their
foliation is less well-marked. They then give place to
crystalline-granular rocks like those I have described
between 5 and6, and they contain patches of much-contorted
schist. The schists then recommence. In places there is
an alteration of schistose and crystalline-granular structure,
very suggestive of a process of recrystallisation. I have
attempted to give a representation of this appearance in
fio. 3 of Plate IIT., but I fear not successfully. ‘The passage
from one structure to the other is more gradual than I have
been able to delineate. I prepared slices of part of this
rock, Under the microscope I found it to have obscure
~~
80 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
traces of schistose structure in a linear arrangement of the
minerals, It is composed of rounded crystals of triclinic
felspars and numerous angular grains of felspar and quartz;
there are also magnesia-mica, chlorite, and small masses and
veins of pinite. The felspars are in preponderance. The
larger number are triclinic, and of first consolidation. Many
of them are extraordinarily worn and eroded.
The chlorite is pale in colour, and but slightly dichroic,
and is the alteration-product of a brown magnesia-mica,
portions of which are still remaining. The quartz is the
residual constituent in very numerous interlocking grains.
At 14 the schists become much distorted, and have coarse,
and also fine-grained, crystalline-granular veins and folia-
tions, which in places preponderate over the schist itself.
From 14 to 15 there are no rocks visible in the stream,
but they reappear at 15, which is close to the ford. The
rocks at this place are very siliceous, grey or greenish-grey
coloured, often much contorted schists, showing minute
plates of a silvery alkali-mica here and there on the folia-
tions. They also contain crystalline-granular foliations, and
small masses of red felspar, quartz, and magnesia-mica, or
chlorite, and in places also plates of a silvery alkali-mica.
These schists are also crossed by strings and patches of quartz.
I examined, both microscopically and chemically, a sample
of a schistose rock close to 15, and of which I have given a
rough sketch on Plate III. , fig. 2.
The schistose part is mainly composed of angular grains of
felspar, and still more angular grains of quartz, which fill in
all the spaces, and interlock with each other, likeapuzzle-map.
Parts of the mass are occupied by pinite pseudomorphs, after
some mineral of which now not even the smallest unaltered
portion remains. The schistose structure of this rock is
marked by the winding, yet linear, arrangement of the
plates of mica (and its alteration to chlorite), and successive
patches of pinite, connected by veins of the same. The
felspars are of two kinds. One is simple, having the appear-
ance of orthoclase, and a good deal altered to mica and
pinite; the other is a triclinic felspar, of an appearance
suggesting oligoclase, as do also its low angles of obscuration,
of which I obtained several measurements.
The mica is in small, ragged-sided crystals, and, so far as
one can judge from its colour, and from the pale and only —
slightly dichroic chlorite which results from its alteration, it
is a magnesia-mica,in which that base preponderates over iron.
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 81
No. 4.—Quartz-Scuist.
81.0, S35 se pie GAGE
Al.,O, feet are er sis .. 4314
ite: ©. are ae sees Ol
Fe.O He a Hea:
Ca.O ii fis eg taeda
Mg.O ee se aie, IO
K,O se sie sie + weg
Na.,O ede es ee 201
i © Oe pee Say ole
100:95
Hygroscopie moisture ce aS
Specific gravity Fe AOD
Thave not attempted to calculate the mineral percentages
in this schist. Without knowing the composition of the
alteration-products in it, the results to be so obtained would
be, in a great measure, hypothetical.
The coar sely crystalline part of this rock (b in sketch) is a
erystalline-granular compound of reddish felspar, quartz,
chlorite, and alkali-mica. Under the microscope I found it
to be as follows :—
The felspars are mostly triclinic, with low obscuration
angles. None are perfect in form, but they are broken
rather than rounded off. They give evidence of force with
which they have been driven against each other during the
movement of the mass. The felspars are much altered to
mica, some of the plates being of sufficient size to be
examined under the microscope, and I found them to react
in all respects like one of the alkali-micas.
Some few of these felspars are not striated, and may
possibly be orthoclase.
Chlorite occurs, representing magnesia-mica, and there is
an alkali-mica, both in aggregates of small scales and in
larger crystals.
The quartz is filled with innumerable minute fluid
cavities, without bubbles, and also with greenish microliths,
in flakes, whose nature I am unable to conjecture, unless
they are chlorite.
I observed, also, as showing the mechanical changes which
have occurred in this rock, that several crystals of felspar
had been broken across in the same line, together with the
intersticial quartz between them. The fissure thus formed
G 2
82 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
had then been filled by a new generation of quartz grains,
forming a wedge-shaped vein. In this secondary quartz
there are very numerous minute and well-formed crystals of
chlorite, of the variety which has been called Helminth, from
its curious resemblance to larval forms.
Some of these crystals are geniculated, and show both the
basal and prismatic planes. They are not strongly dich
in shades of green to colourless.
I have mentioned the numerous crystalline-granular veins
which traverse the schists at this place. I prepared a slice
of one at the junction of Watts Creek. It is composed as
follows :—(a) Felspars which are almost all triclinic and of
very polysynthetic structure; none have any external planes
remaining, but are broken and eroded in a great degree.
Some of the felspars are much larger than others, and there
are also mere fragments in the interspaces. The composition
is mostly according to the Albite law, and the obscuration
angles are low, being in the zone OP—o Po between 4°
andl 2°; (b) Chlorite chrystals after mica in small
amount. (¢) Quartz in considerable amount filling in all
spaces.
This vein is a variety of aplite.
A second example from another vein here is, as seen in the
hand specimen, a mixture of reddish felspar, ‘quartz, and a
little chlorite, with rarely plates of alkali-mica. In a thin
slice I observed: (a) Very irregularly-shaped and broken
crystals of orthoclase, which include a few rounded quartz
grains; (b) a lesser number of triclinic felspars; (c) a very
little chlorite after magnesia-mica ; (d) quartz as the residual
mineral. The felspars are all more or less altered to mica,
and the ultimate result seems to be pinite pseudomorphs,
with some alkali-mica.
This rock is also an aplite.
I now proceed to trace up the Little River for a short
distance before following Watts Creek, which lies along the
course of the descriptive section.
Above the ford and on the south bank of the Little River
(marked 16 on the plan), there are rocks which have characters
intermediate between the schists which I have described
and the other more massive metamorphic rocks. They are
in places crystalline-cranular, and in others schistose. They
are much jointed, and also traversed by veins and strings of
quartz, and contain some foliation, such as these I have
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 83
already described, composed of reddish felspar quartz and a
little mica or chlorite. As is commonly the case in the
schists at this place, pinite is plentiful in small dark olive-
green to blackish-green masses, and less frequently hexagonal
crystals. The sample which I examined from 16 is a light-
coloured crystalline compound of felspar,mica, chlorite, quartz,
and apatite, with some pinite. The felspars are better formed
crystals than is usually the case in these massive schists.
They are all more or less altered to pinite, small masses of
which are connected by veins running between the other
constituent minerals. The magnesia-mica is ragged-sided,
and in places crushed, and appears to be the first formed
mineral of this rock. It has been much chloritised in the
manner which I have already described. Crystalline-granular
epidote is associated with the chlorite, and also occurs
elsewhere in small spaces between other minerals. The
quartz fills in spaces as the latest formed of the constituents.
This rock is one of the massive varieties of the schists, but
in this sample shows scarcely any traces of foliation.
In following up the river from this place, there are small
cliffs of rock on the left-hand side which approach in character
some of the crystalline-granular, and some of the schistose
examples which I have now described.
At 17 the rocks are crystalline granular, but contain
lenticular patches, such as I have spoken of as occurring also
in the schists ; one of these I observed to be composed of
fibrolite and quartz.
At 18 the schists again show adjoining the crystalline-
granular rocks. They are much contorted and are reticulated
with veins of red felspar, quartz, and pinite, or of quartz and
pinite only. It was at this spot that I collected the samples
of pinite for examination and analysis. The pinite veins
are between schist foliations, and thin out at each end.
The colour of this pinite is dark green to greenish black
at the edges, or in thin splinters it is slightly translucent.
It is massive, or with a sub-micaceous cleavage, when the
mineral occurs in stout prisms. The lustre is waxy, except-
ing when there is an imperfect basal cleavage, when it
approaches a light pinchbeck colour. Hardness 2 to 2:5.
Before the blowpipe it fuses in splinters to a grey enamel.
The streak and powder are greyish white. It is partly —
decomposed by hydrochloric acid.
I found a few individuals showing crystalline planes,
and the most perfect one which I could extract from the
G2
BN a a ae a ae on vi
84 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
quartz-gangue was a stout prism, about ‘5 x ‘25 inches
across the base, with the planes
OP (001), «© P (110), « Pn, (hko), @ Po (100).
These planes were imperfect and with rough surfaces,
excepting the basal pinnacoid, which, as usual, had a smooth
surface and a somewhat sub-metallic lustre. The prismatic
angles were near 120° and 60°.
These particulars indicate that this pinite is a pseudomorph
after cordierite, but I cannot feel sure that all the other
examples which I extracted from this vein were alterations
of the same mineral species; and still more must this be
doubtful as to pinite found in the rocks, for the numerous
thin slices which I have prepared of the Ensay Rocks *
show that other minerals have been pinitised, notably the
felspars, and most probably also magnesia-mica, very
extensively.
I found this pinite, when examined under the microscope,
in a thin slice parallel to the basal cleavage, to have aggre-
gate polarisation almost uniformly throughout, but in places
there were small clear portions which obscured homo-
geneously. Numerous cracks traverse it, along which iron
ochre has been deposited. In places connected with these
cracks small divergent groups of colourless talc-plates have
been formed. When examined by ordinary light, and with
a high power, the slice is seen to be full of microliths, there
being stout, somewhat short fibres, some straight and some
curved. In places these are almost “felted.” In other
places they are grouped together. }
A slice parallel to the prism was somewhat different to the
one just described. A large part of this is homogeneous,
and has straight obscuration parallel and perpendicular to
the basal cleavage. This mineral is colourless and very faintly
I
dichroic, the ray vibrating parallel to the axis c being
colourless, and the other (either a or b) being pale yellow.
The remainder of the slice shows aggregate polarisation,
and iron ochre stains parts adjoining cracks. With a high
ower I observed the same short fibres arranged linearly
parallel with the basal cleavage in those parts which have
- aggregate polarisation, but not in the homogeneous colourless
* T prepared seventy thin slices of the Ensay Rocks for the purposes of
this paper.
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 85
parts. This sample shows clearly that the pinite of this
vein has, in fact, resulted from the alteration of cordierite.
In order to gain some further insight into the composition
of this pinite, and into the mode of its occurrence in this
vein, I prepared a thin slice. Under the microscope this is
seen to be composed of pinite individuals, quartz, and some
alkali-mica. The pinite has, in some instances, when seen
by polarised light, a peculiar meshed appearance, resembling
that of serpentine. I have observed the same in samples
of pinite from Bodenmais, in Bavaria, and Schneeberg and
Aue,in Saxony. This kind of alteration proceeds evidently
from the cleavages and cracks inwards. With a high power,
all that I could make out, in addition to that which I have
already said, was that some of the pinite 1s made up of
minute colourless flakes, which are in places contorted and
twisted together. In other places very numerous, yellowish-
coloured, thornlike microliths occur in the basal sections, at
all horizontal angles to each other.
The pinite individuals are evidently not all in the same
state of change. In some there are still remaining portions
of the unaltered cordierite, whilst others are so completely
altered as to have only aggregate polarisation. In some
there are included grains of quartz or plates of allkali-mica,
and the latter almost always borders the pinite, and extends
beyond into flaws which traverse the quartz. Magnesia-
mica in chlorite pseudomorphs is only present in very small
amount.
The quartz is full of fluid cavities, some of which have
small bubbles.
The following is a quantitative analysis of a sample
collected from this vein :—
No. 5.—Pinrts.
Sie) aah ae owe p46 16
BO) ee at So ERODES
Fe.O Be ae a 3°34
Mn.O Bae ce: 4c ‘O1
Ca.O =. ales ee 50
Meg.O Bes ae. Ex 2:66
KO oe ee Pe 8°75
Nas Oe. ae Bs 25 Oe
ine @) oe ae ae 5°08
SS See ee >
ZENS.
86 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
Hygroscopic moisture we wl ah
Sp. grav. ire Br aie (5.0
Pinite is not a mineral of definite mineral composition.
The numerous published analyses show this, while at the
same time there is a general resemblance in the percentages
given. The microscopical examination of the Ensay mineral
shows that it has two varieties of structure : one which is
compounded of minute scales, together with larger flakes of
a colourless mica; the other somewhat resembles serpen-
tine in its “meshed” appearance. Taking this asa basis, the
following calculation may be ‘made of the probable con-
stituent minerals of this pinite :—
Molicular Ratio.
Alkali-mica—81.0, ... soe ie) Ae
DAO, mi BRE ‘626
1 © psi. Ae "186
FEN ae De. a wae ‘018
EO Bice it ot ‘4.22
2°504
This leaves for the second constituent of the pinite the
following :—
Molicular Ratio.
81.0, 5k sd ia i ie SL
Fe.O is its sie Se «wis Oe
Ca.O ne ee ae es cc ONS
H,O pe a8 ave d or OL
‘650
This calculation very nearly closes, leaving a deficiency of
H,O of ‘061 Mol, and a surplus of SiO, of 039 Mol. If
the interpretation is correct, the second mineral must be a-
massive tale, and the two minerals would be in the propor-
tion of talc to alkali-mica as 1 to 3°85, or about 17 per cent.
of the former, to 83 per cent. of the latter. I must, how-
ever, point out that, although the sample was collected within
the space of a few inches, there was a slight perceptible
difference between some of the pieces, showing that even in
so short a distance there was probably some slight difference.
in composition. Either the colour varied in shade, or there.
was a difference in the completeness of the basal cleavage.
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 87
At 19 the rocks are again crystalline-granular and of two
varieties. One is of finer texture than the other. The
coarser-grained variety consists of felspar and quartz in
nearly equal amount, with a very little brown magnesia-
mica. A marked feature in this rock, as seen in a thin slice,
is the angular and eroded appearance of the felspars. Some
are mere remains of crystals. The larger individuals, which
are also those which are most eroded, have the appearance of
orthoclase. They include some small crystals of triclinic
felspar. The remainder of the felspars are smaller in size,
and are plagioclase. The quartz has not any peculiar
features, and in appearance is like that of the intrusive rocks
of the district.
The finer-grained variety, which is much intermixed with
the coarser, is a micro-crystalline granular compound of felspar
and quartz, with a good deal of brown mica in scattered
flakes. The felspars are all in angular fragments, and, to
judge from their structure and from their low obscuration
angles, one of-the more acid of the soda-lime group. They
are very clear and unaltered. Besides these, there are other
and larger porphyritic crystals, less numerously compounded
than the others, being either Carlsbad twins, or else this
combined with a few lamellz according to the Pericline law.
This rock is traversed by very fine-grained light-coloured
veins. I have before said that such veins are commonly
to be seen in the Ensay Rocks, more especially the intrusive
ones. This sample is composed almost wholly of almost
colourless epidote in characteristic crystals, and also in
masses of crystalline grains, the remainder of the mass being
made up of quartz. The larger epidote crystals are in the
centre of the vein, and the granular mixture of quartz and
epidote is at the sides. Isolated epidote crystals occur in
the rock bounding the vein.
These crystalline-oranular rocks extend to 21, where
is a binary compound of felspar and quartz, which at 20
contains portions of contorted schists, together with patches
of coarser materials, such as I have described before.
Beyond this piace the rocks to be seen in tracing the
Little River up to the contact of the intrusive massive rock,
which is near the Ensay homestead, are schists. Some have _
a massive character, while others are like much-altered
phyllites. In order to learn something of the character of
these schists, I prepared slices both of the schistose and the
massive types. |
4
Se
88 The Sedimentary, M etamorphic,
Here, as elsewhere, two kinds of schist can be dis-
tinguished, one representing the arenaceous and the other
the argillaceous sediments. J found a sample of the former
to be composed of irregular foliations of quartz and felspar,
mica and pinite. The micaceous foliations are comparatively
narrow, and are in places mere partings. The quartzose
foliations are made up of grains of quartz, which are in
most cases, as seen in the thin slice, much longer than wide.
As these grains can be seen in the slice to overlap, it is
evident that they represent small discoidal or lenticular
masses lying with their flat sides parallel to the foliations.
Some of the quartz foliations bifurcate and again combine,
enclosing micaceous portions.
The quartz is full of minute fluid cavities, some of which
contain bubbles. Of inclusions there are few, and these are
oval colourless to brown microliths and colourless minute
rods or prisms, which are probably apatite.
The felspar grains are few in number, and as they are
unstriated I consider them to be orthoclase, which in other
respects they resemble. They are kaolinised and contain
minute flakes of viridite. These felspar grains only occur
in the quartz foliations.
The micaceous foliations are narrow, but in places widen
out to “bulges,” and include grains of quartz. Under a
high objective the mica is seen to be of a light-brown colour
and to be pleochroic. Much of this mica is chloritised.
The argillaceous variety I found to be composed of
alternating foliations of quartz and of mica. This mica, is
partly in scales and partly in ragged fibrous flakes. There
is also some chlorite.
The quartz grains are angular, and are arranged ina linear
manner, thus forming foliations. They contain very numerous
fluid cavities, with bubbles, and in parts many colourless
minute prisms or needles of apatite, which throughout the
slice all lie in, approximately, the same direction, parallel to -
the foliations.
This rock resembles the last described, but the proportion
between the quartzose and .micaceous materials is reversed.
The magnesia-mica in this rock has also a distinctly fibrous
structure, and is associated also with alkali-mica, which I did
not observe in the other. In places the mica and quartz
form a confused aggregate, and not foliations.
These rocks, it seems to me, have been completely re-
crystallised, for I am unable to satisfy myself that any of
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 89
the quartz grains are of clastic origin; yet I can feel no
doubt, after the extended examination which I have now
made of the Ensay Rocks, that these schists were once sedi-
ments.
These two examples are from 22, and represent the schis-
tose types. It yet remains to examine the massive variety.
For this purpose I prepared slices of two samples—one
collected at 23, and the other at 24.
The former is a compound of angular grains of quartz,
brown mica, and micaceous alteration-products, in about
equal amounts. I cannot say what the micaceous ageregates
may represent, unless felspars, of which there is no trace in
the slice. The mica is brown and pleochroic, and it is partly
converted into a rather pale and not very dichroic chlorite,
with the elimination of iron, in needle-like crystals. When
examined by a high objective I find that the micaceous aggre-
gates are full of minute stout, straight, or curved micro-
liths. I might call them stout fibres, similar to those which
I have spoken of finding in the pinite. In places these are
arranged linearly, or in linear groups, so that they produce a
fibrous effect.
The quartz grains are of two kinds—one which contains
very numerous colourless hair-like microliths, the other
without them. Where the microliths are absent there seem
to be many more fluid cavities. ‘This may, perhaps, indicate
two generations of quartz grains.
The second sample is from the massive bedded schists at
24, Under the microscope it is seen to be composed of
small masses, having aggregate polarisation, such as occur
also in the last-described rock. There are also spaces filled —
by pinite; and a rudely foliated structure is produced by
the association together ofthese with a little brown magnesia-
mica, colourless alkali-mica, and divergent fan-shaped tufts
of tale.
The quartz grains are numerous, and generally scattered
irregularly in the mass, but also more or less lying between
the foliations.
There are no felspars to be seen in this sample, but it may
be that they have been wholly converted into the micaceous
aggregates of the foliations.
At the spot marked 25 upon the plan there is’a strong
dyke having a meridianal strike. It probably extends much
further to the north, for there is an outcrop of a similar but
somewhat altered dyke close to the Ensay homestead,and,as it
90 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
seems to me, in the line of strike of this one. To the south-
ward, also, there is another dyke of the same kind close to the
Omeo-road. These three occurrences, I suspect, are either ,
of one and the same dyke or of separate dykes in the same
strike.
The dyke-stone is greenish-grey in colour, with a compact
ground-mass with porphyritic long-bladed crystals of horn-
blende, which are now much chloritised. In places there
are also hexagonal crystals of chlorite after magnesia-mica.
Under the microscope this rock has a ground-mass con-
taining a little yellowish-coloured basis, but the greater part
is a micro-crystalline aggregate of felspar and quartz in
grains. Throughout this ground-mass there is a good deal of
chlorite in minute flakes and fibres. The ground-mass con-
tains—(a@) Rather large rectangular crystals of titanic iron,
which all show more or less alteration to Leucoxen. Some
of these crystals are what I can only describe as skeleton
crystals, having partly-formed bounding planes, including
ground-mass, (2) Eroded quartz crystals, which include
magma. (3) Long-bladed, hght-coloured crystals of am-
phibol, with broken terminations. They are pleochroic in
shades of green. Intergrown with this amphibol, but on
only a small scale, is a fibrous rhombic pyroxene, which is
dichroic in shades of brown.
The alteration of the amphibolis to chlorite. The felspars
are altered to a great extent to granular materials, which,
together with flakes of viridite, make up most of their sub-
stance; but traces remain of their former structure, which
show that they were triclinic. This rock is therefore a
variety of quartz-diorite. |
I now return to the junction of Watts Creek and the
Little River, in order to complete the description of the rocks
seen in tracing up the former stream in the line of the
general section.
From the junction of Watts Creek to the spot marked 26
there are continuous outcrops of schistose and igneous rocks,
intermixed more or less. The latter are mostly as veins,
with the characters of aplite. At 26 there is a mass of
schists with numerous foliations of quartz and small masses
or irregular veins of mixed felspar and quartz, up to 6 inches
‘in width. The schists resemble those which I have
mentioned, and described at 1, but are more altered.
At 27 occurs another patch of much-contorted and winding
vertical schists, but having perhaps an average strike to N.
\
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 91
20° W. These schists also resemble those at 1, but have
suffered more alteration in so far that in places the schistose
structure is almost obliterated in the finely crystalline-
granular mass, with quartz foliations, quartz veins, and veins
of felspar and quartz traversing it.
I found a thin slice, which I prepared from one of the
most altered of the foliations in which the schistose structure
was not quite lost, to be composed of innumerable grains of
quartz fitting into each other and into the other minerals
lke a puzzle-map. Among the quartz grains some are much
longer in the direction of the foliated structure than in the
other, and in some of these I observed to be included small
rounded grains of quartz. It has suggested itself to me that
in these included grains one may perhaps recognise the
remains of the former clastic quartz grains of the sediments,
and in the larger ones surrounding them secondary quartz,
deposited during the metamorphic processes. This view
would require that the original quartz of the sediments
should, under such conditions, have been dissolved and
re-deposited. I shall later on return to this question, when
considering the principal and characteristic features of the
Ensay Rocks, which I am now describing in detail.
The mainiy siliceous mass of this rock is rudely parted
into foliations by irregular masses and connecting veins of
pinite, with a little brownish magnesia-mica, and its resulting
alteration to chlorite, which, as in other cases, has eliminated
ores of iron, to be re-deposited in the basal section of the
chlorite in the form of minute opaque black needles, crossing
each other approximately at angles of 60° and 120°.
There are also felspars, as angular grains, some of which
are orthoclase and others plagioclase. The former are
much altered, and in places completely, to pinite. The
latter are comparatively fresh, the only change which I
observed being the production of flakes of mica along cracks
and cleavage planes. These triclinic felspars are very com-
pound, according to the Albite law, and their low obscuration
angles suggest albite or oligoclase.
At 28 occurs another outcrop of schists which have some
interesting features. Taken asa whole they are not siliceous,
but belong i in great part to that section of the gr oup which I
have spoken of before as pinite schist.
The schists are very much contorted, and are penetrated
by veins of felspar and quartz, and also of crystalline-
granular materials.
Ae
92 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
The strike of the schists is probably about N. 10° W.,
and the veins are intrusive.
I prepared examples of the two varieties of this schist,
one siliceous and the other pinite. The former is grey in
colour, with a tinge of olive-green. In the hand specimen
one can see that the quartzose foliations are separated by
narrow partings of basic materials. Under the microscope
I observed it to be a schistose compound of quartz,
felspars, two kinds of mica, pinite, and chlorite. The
felspars are in angular grains, and are all triclinic,
with low obscuration angles. _The measurements which I
made in the zone OP—@ Po were between 1° 30’ and
11° 30’. The micas are magnesia and alkali micas,
which in many cases are associated together. The
former is much chloritised, but where intact the dichroism
isnotstrong. The pinite occurs in irregularly-shaped masses.
The quartz grains are such as I have before described in
these schists, and make up by far the larger part of the rock.
The second variety examined is a pinite schist with quartz
grains.
The pinite forms foliations separated more or less by
irregular continuous partings of magnesia-mica with some
alkali-mica. The pinite has the same appearance under the
microscope which I have already described, but a few addi-
tional remarks may be made with advantage. In slices
parallel to the foliations it has aggregate polarisation, and in
placesalsoa “meshed” structure, resembling that of serpentine.
No unaltered parts of any origina] mineral remain, but in
place thereare what seem to be pseudomorphs after cordierite.
When examined by ordinary light, and with a power of about
55 linear, such individuals are seen to be made up principally
of minute bent and twisted flakes, which, as seen edgeways,
have the appearance of fibres. The larger ones react like an
alkali-mica. |
In a slice across the foliations the pinite had a much more
serpentinous appearance, the meshed structure being more
marked.
The magnesia-mica is brown in tint, and not very
pleochroic. It is very much intergrown with alkali-mica,
not only by alternations, but also by the juxtaposition of
the two micas. The quartz is in isolated rounded grains,
almost in all cases in the micaceous foliations, and but rarely
in the pinite.
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 93
In one slice I observed a patch of a colourless or grey fibrous
mass. The fibres formed long-bladed crystals; or it might
be said that the fibres were in bundles, and these lay across
each other at acute angles, thus forming an approach to a
radial ageregate. It has straight obscuration, and very
much resembles pyrophyllite. Talc also occurs in divergent
scales.
A little higher up the creek, at 29, there is another cut-
crop of similar schists, of which I examined the pinite
variety both optically and chemically.
As seen in a hand specimen, the foliations have in them
numerous small silvery scales, which yield to the nail, and
have the appearance of talc. Ona cross fracture the rock
has a greenish tint, and at the edges is slightly translucent.
The hardness of the rock is from 2° to 3°.
Under the microscope it proves to be a confused mixture
of pinite material, magnesia-mica, alkali-mica, tale, and
grains of quartz. The pinite does not differ from that just
described. The magnesia-mica is here and there intergrown
with alkali-mica, and is much altered to a pale-coloured
chlorite. The quartz is in isolated rounded grains,
Subjoined is the quantitative analysis of this sample :—
No. 6.——PinitE Scuist.
lee sie fis Sb ‘tr.
Si.0, Sin si = 45°72
PIERO 22 et sas 24°31
Fe:,0, Le ae 4°72,
Fe.O 7:32
Ca.O 61
Mg.O 427
K,O 6:47
Na.,O vé
H,O 5°83
100:02
Hygroscopic moisture i> PSs
Sp. gray. ES ape Se 2a
Without some more definite knowledge as to the consti-
tution of the different minerals in this schist, it would be
merely haphazard to attempt to calculate the percentages.
94 The Sedimentary, Metamorphie,
The analysis shows a marked resemblance to that of the
pinite given at p. 85; and perhaps this much may be ven-
tured upon, that the main part of the rock is composed of
pinite. In this view, I have applied the name Pinite-schist
to it.
From here the rocks seen in following up Watts Creek
are less schistose, and more crystalline-granular. Of the
former, some are so massive that it is only when looking at
them in sitw that their schistose character becomes evident,
the hand specimens seeming to be crystalline-granular
or porphyritic. Some schists have the structure of
“ Augeneneiss. ”
I collected samples of the typical rocks which I observed
at the place indicated, as before, in the map by numbers, up
to the place at which undoubted invasive rocks appear—that
is to say, where it is possible to place the contact boundary
of the Ensay schists.
30.—There is here a mass of pale, flesh-coloured crystalline-
granular rock, composed of reddish felspar and quartz, with
very rare plates of alkali-mica. Under the microscope I
determined it to have the following composition :—(q@)
Felspars. The most prominent felspar is orthoclase in
much-wasted and eroded crystals, which obscured succes-
‘sively in different parts after the manner of the potassa fel-
spars of some pegmatites. The second felspar is triclinic
in crystals, compounded according to the Albite law. These
are also very cavernous. The angles of obscuration which
I could measure in the zone OP— o Po were low, being
between 1° and 14°, and in a section approximately
ss |
near ao Po 19° 30’. This felspar seems, from these
observations, to be oligoclase.
There is a very little chlorite and a few flakes of alkali-
mica, and the remainder of the rock is made up of quartz
oranules.
This rock is an aplite, and, according to its appearance 7m
situ, would have been formerly described as Eurite.
I also examined a similar rock near at hand. It resembled
the one just described, with this exception, that it contained
a rather larger amount of chlorite after mica, and that some
of the felspars were pinitised.
In both examples the felspars, as also the residual quartz,
contained small quartz grains,
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 3 95
The marked feature of these rocks, as also of others of the
same class at Ensay, is the wasted and cavernous condition
of the felspars.
31.—A massive, rather fine-grained, aplite occurs here.
It is composed of reddish felspar, quartz, and a little
magnesia-mica. It is traversed by east and west joints.
Following it, and continuing up to 32, are coarsely foliated
schists, with pinite. The partings of these rocks strike N.
20° W.,and in places the schistose structure is very evident.
At 33 there is an outcrop of rocks which, it seemed. to
me, fairly represent the most completely metamorphosed
schists in this part of Watts Creek, in which not only the
sedimentary but also the more foliated schistose structure
has been obliterated.
I found it to be composed of large felspars, mica, and
quartz. The felspars are of two varieties. One is in large,
ill-formed crystals, or, more properly, crystalline masses, in
which the obscuration indicated orthoclase. One instance
had veinlets of a second felspar included in it, as is the case
with orthoclase perthites. These felspars are not uniformly
altered, being in places kaolinised, and in others converted
more or less into pinite and mica.
The other felspar is in smaller and more perfectly deve-
loped crystals. It is very compound, and the obscuration
angles which I could measure I found to be in the zone
OP— o Po between 1° 45° and 16° 30’, suggestive of
oligoclase.
The magnesia-mica 1s almost wholly chloritised, and it is
associated with rounded, or nearly rectangular, pinite
pseudomorphs. Alkali-mica is also present, accompanying
the pinite.
The quartz is residual, filling in spaces, in rather large
interlocking grains.
The microscopic examination of this rock shows that its
features are those rather of the massive schists than of the
intrusive rocks. The orthoclase felspars resemble those of
the pegmatite contact veins; the magnesia-mica is poorer
in iron than that of the intrusive rocks which I have
examined, and the pinite pseudomorphs are just such as
those I have already described.
Rocks which are somewhat more distinctly schistose
extend to 34 on a strike north, where they again become
more massive, and adjoin aplites.
96 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
These massive schists are in places porphyritic by reason
of small masses of felspar and quartz, or of one or other, which
form the centres of bulges in the schist foliations. In other
respects a sample of this rock, when examined under the
microscope, did not differ materially from that which I have
just described.
35.—At this place the rocks are distinctly erystalline-
granular, having a “granitic’ appearance. They are
traversed by winding veins of a reddish-coloured aplite, and
by narrow veins of epidosite.
T examined samples of these two rocks. A slice of one of
the most “ granitic” samples I found to be a holocrystalline
rock, formed of triclinic felspars, quartz, and chlorite. The
last-named mineral is in large, ragged masses, of precisely
the character of the chlorite after the Haughtonite mica of
Noyang. The original mica is now all converted, but I can
feel no doubt that it was the first-formed mineral after
magnetite. The felspars came next in order of consolida-
tion. They are in very compound crystals, with higher
obscuration angles than any which I have had to record
yet in this paper. I made measurements in the zone
OP— oP co, between 3° 30" and 30° 30’, and in one section
which was near the plane o Pp oo, the angle wasas high as 40°.
In this section, which was otherwise ‘simple, there were a
few short twin lamellz interposed in one corner, not pre-
eisely in accordance with the Pericline law.
The quartz was last formed, and differed in no respect
from that of the quartz-mica diorites of the district. A
slice from a second sample from this place shows a well-
marked crystalline-granular compound of felspar, with much
dark-coloured hornblende and chlorite and some quartz. -
The first-formed constituent is hornblende, in very much
wasted and cavernous crystals, which are in all cases more
‘or less chloritised or replaced by crystalline masses of
epidote. The felspars followed next in order of consolida-
tion, mostly triclinic, but with a very few individuals of
orthoclase. The triclinic felspars are not well bounded by
crystalline planes, but are very compound, according to the
Albite law, and also in some instances again after the Carlsbad
and Pericline laws. The obscuration measurements were not
satisfactory, but two in the zone OP—o Po were 13°
30’ and 30° respectively. The triclinic felspars in these
rocks seem to be of the Labradorite group.
ee a eee.
and I gneous Rocks of Ensay. 97
These rocks are clearly quartz-mica diorites, and also the
first of what I may call the normal intrusive rocks of the
district, which I have had to describe in following this section
from Ensay.
The aplite veins which traverse these rocks are reddish in
colour, and rather compact in appearance, showing in places
a little grey-coloured quartz. They are themselves traversed
by very small veins, almost mere partings of epidosite.
The felspar of the sample which I examined is mainly
orthoclase, in large irregularly-formed masses rather than
erystals, including quartz grains. This felspar is orthoclase.
A second felspar is in few small and broken crystals, many
of which are much wasted. There is a very little magnesia-
iron mica, and the remainder of the rock is made up of
quartz grains,
I made a quantitative analysis of this rock for comparison.
No. 7.—APLITE.
AS SO) a? o/s cnn she Sine 12°45
Hey Oo jms w. cs iF 1:02
Ca.O ae as i 1:00
Mg.O Ao 5B oa ‘08
K.0 si wis ee 677
NO ones sisi as 2°91
EO ah ie a ‘33
100°30
Hygroscopie moisture STAG
Sp. grav. ae pot ie, DOSS
™n calculating the mineral per sintatke of this rock, I have
kept in view the small amounts of epidote unavoidably
included in the sample, the traces of magnesia-mica, and the
hydrated iron ore which colours the rock. Allowing for
these, there remain only constituents of the felspars, the
surplus SLO, representing free quartz.
On this basis a calculation is ees which gives a
result of felspar to quartz as. ies Swe Lee
Or, Orthoclase_... ue ss Les, ye HL OO
Albite ... sa sie she earner 57:
Qnngtiae c= «sere ie ae Efe 32°48
100-00
H
- - { 4 % : = = i Ne 2 ; ge):
v9 r &
Re er és
98 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
In this are disregarded the amount of about 4 per cent. of
the rock, which is composed of epidote, magnesia-mica, and
ferric-hydrate.
At this place there is a strong diabase dyke which crosses
the creek bed. The rock is much altered, most of the ground-
mass being serpentinised, and in the remainder chlorite has_
been produced together with very numerous minute colour-
less rounded grains with rough surfaces, which are doubly
refracting, and which I think are epidote. The marked
features of this rock, as seen in a thin slice, are the amount of
unalteredaugite in colourless or slightly reddish stout crystals,
and also the | paucity of felspars. The augite obscures up to
f angles of 36°.
2 36.—At this place there appears a typical example of the
a massive intrusive rocks of the district, and it is here that, I
ri | think, must be placed the approximate contact boundary
it between them and the metamorphic schists.
For the purpose of comparison, I have made a quantita-
tive analysis of this rock, as well as examined it in a thin
slice. Under the microscope I find that it consists of the
following minerals, noted in their order of consolidation :—
Amphibol is in cavernous crystals, which are pleochroic in
ee shades of yellow to dark-green, the several rays being—c,
; dark green; >b, dull green; >a, yellow. The angle c:C
\
Tes: I found in a section near to o Po to be 26° 45’, and
aes, in a second, 29°. These angles are very high, but the
characteristic prismatic cleavage of very nearly 124°
30’, and the strong pleochroism of the mineral, leaves
no doubt as to its being amphibol. Mica is in ragged
and crushed crystals, which in the slice become translucent
in dark shades of yellow ; macroscopically, they are black
and shining. It is dichroic in shades of yellow to nearly
black, and in places is intergrown with the amphibol. There
are traces of chloritisation of this mica, which commence at
the outside and follow the plates unequally. This mica
contrasts with that of the schists by its large percentage of
iron, which is evidenced by its more marked pleochroism ;
also by that of its resulting chlorite. It is probably, as is
that of the Noyang quartz-mica diorites, a Haughtonite:
The felspars are all triclinic. There may have been two
generations, if it is possible to draw such an inference from
the observation that some felspars are very much broken
and worn away at the sides, while others are tolerably well 3
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 99
developed and intact. I obtained some fairly satisfactory
measurements of the obscuration angles, Taking those
which were in the zone OP— oP o, I had measurements
of 8° 30’, 14°, 18°, 20°, and 30°, and there were four
=)
sections which were approximately in accordance with P o,
in which the measurements were 14° 45’, 15°, 16°, and 19°,
but two other similar sections gave me angles of 28° and 35°.
respectively. ‘These angles cannot well indicate a felspar
more acid than a Labradorite. The crystals are compounded,
some after the Albite law, some after both it and the Carlsbad
law. In some individuals zonal growth is well shown. The
alteration of all these felspars is micaceous.
Quartz is in considerable amount, and of the usual
character of that found in the massive holocrystalline quartz
diorites.
The subjoined is a quantitative analysis of this rock :—
No. 8.—Quvartz-Mica Diortte.
Ar» aes ie xe tr.
Pe O:, ee ios Be tr.
81.0, a ue ... 62°43
Als Oe at a ses ee OO
HexO, ee oe Dit ae leh
Fe.O vee ss sadc a, OWS
Ca.O be aes ww. 343
Mzg.O ae ae soe OO.
KO ae Ae ian 2
Na.,O Si a eG,
H,O es hE Cote ao
100°77
Hygroscopic moisture au ono
Spe Orava as 2°74
At this place the schists, eat tae been the special
objects of this paper, cease. That is to say, there are from
here onwards up the course of Watts Creek only here and
there traces of schistose rocks, the whole tract being
occupied with massive intrusive rocks. Of these I shall
note a few examples as illustrating this part of the section,
before proceeding to briefly note some rocks which occur
in the latter part before it terminates on the eastern side
of the Tambarra River,
H 2
LOO The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
In the upper part of Watts Creek there are numerous
examples of intrusive dykes. Some are quartz porphyrites,
others are basic dykes, which can only be distinguished from
each other by means of microscopic examination. One
such, which in appearance would formerly have been classed
as Aphanite, I found to be a Diabase porphyrite, having a
ground-mass of light-brown basis, and exceedingly
numerous minute lathlike felspars. In this are short and
isolated stout prismatic crystals or groups of crystals of an
almost colourless augite, and a few large serpentine
pseudomorphs, which may have been olivine, but which
have not the marked rhombic outlines so frequently found
with this mineral.
37.—This sample is taken from a mass of rock which fills
up the whole bed of Watts Creek, at a distance of about
half a mile from 36.. It is composed of orthoclase, a little
plagioclase, some chlorite and quartz, and a considerable
amount of pinite material, with its usually associated alkali-
mica. The felspars have been, as in many of the Ensay
Rocks, considerably broken and crushed. I feel myself
unable to determine whether this is a completely metamor-
phosed schist or an intrusive rock. Judging from its
appearance in situ I incline to the latter belief.
Near this place there isa pegmatite vein composed of cleav-
able masses of yellowish felspar, glassy-looking quartz, and
silvery alkali-mica; in fact, a typical example of a very
common class of veins, which occur in the Omeo district in
connection with the metamorphic schists, and less frequently
in other. parts of the mountains where there are contact
schists of the horntels type.
The felspar in this vein is in cleavable masses up to three
inches in diameter. and I collected an example of it for both
microscopic and chemical analysis.
I prepared several thin slices in three directions, from
pieces struck from the most marked cleavage (OP), from
others from the less perfect cleavage o P o, and thirdly
from slices as nearly perpendicular to those two directions
as I could prepare them.
Sections prepared from the most perfect cleavage ahers a
main felspar mass, which is, however, not homogeneous
throughout. It becomes obscured in different parts as the
slice is slowly rotated between the crossed nicols; but these
areas are not sharply defined, but it is rather that.the
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 101
obscuration passes like a cloud from one part to the other,
The limits of this variation in the obscuration angle I found
to be about 2° 30’; for observations varied in different parts
of the slice from 6° to 8° 30’ as referred to the trace of
the second cleavage.
Numerous veinlets of a second felspar traverse the main
mass approximately at right angles to the above-mentioned
- cleavage, and thus may be considered to agree in position
with the macroaxis.. This is further shown by their extreme
irregularity in width, being in parts mere threads, and in
others bulging out into small masses. Some veins bifurcate
and others run out. This irregularity of structure is, I
think, connected with the difficult separation of the felspar
in the direction of the macropinnacoid. This second felspar
is sharply twinned parallel to the edge OP— om Po, and
obscures on either side of that direction at angles, as
measured in different parts of different slices from the same
sample, of from 30’ to 3°.
I have attempted to show the structure of the felspars as
I have now described it in fig. 4, Plate IV.
In the slices prepared from pieces of the second cleavage
I found the same two felspars. The main mass obscured in
the same partial manner as in the basal sections at angles
which differed by 2°. These observations, as referred to
traces of the basal cleavage, were from 6° 30° to 8° 30’.
Traversing the main mass there are veinlets of the second
felspar, which are here also very irregular, both in width
and extent, as will be seen from the sketch given in fig. 5,
Plate II. As referred to the traces of the basal cleavage in
the slice, the inclination of these veinlets was 63° from the
direction of the axis c. These veinlets, therefore, follow
the direction of the macropinnacoid, and, as I have said, their
extreme irregularity conforms with the obscure cleavage in
that direction. This second felspar obscured in different
parts of the same slice at from 15° to 18°, as referred to the
trace of the basal cleavage.
In one slice I observed some fine lines of a felspar which
obscured at a position of the slice different to that of either.
- of the others. I did not find it practicable to measure its
obscuration angle, owing to the extreme thinness of the
lamelle. It may be, however, conjectured as being oligoclase,
to which also the small percentage of Ca.O. in the analysis
points. |
102 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
The slices cut perpendicular to the planes OP and
co Poo showed, as might be forecast, features in conformity
with the structure I have described. The main felspar
obscured at angles as referred to the trace of the less perfect
cleavage of 6° 30’ to 9°, thus agreeing fairly with the other
observations, taking into the consideration that the slices
were not precisely true to the intended direction. The
second felspar showed in these slices in much larger amount
than in those of either of the other directions, no doubt,
owing to the slight angle which the slice formed with the
veinlets. It is sharply twinned: in very numerous lamelle,
the obscuration angles of which are from 10° to 14° on either
side of the composition face.
In addition to this form of twinning, according to the
Albite law, I also observed a number of twinned crystals,
seldom compounded of more than two members, which were
interposed according to the Pericline law. These crystals
occurred singly or several near to each other, and their
terminal planes were sharply marked, while the others were
usually irregularly bounded by the walls of the veins
themselves.
The only other inclusions which I observed in this felspar
were a few small quartz grains, and several small divergent
masses of talc plates. This felspar is entirely in.accordance,
in its characters, with the felspars which I have collected
and examined from similar veins at Omeo, and in other
parts of the district.
The main felspar does not obscure in the bea section
parallel to the edge P.M. It is therefore not monoclinic; and
this is also further shown by the inclination which I find
the cleavage faces always have to each other. It has not the
extinction angle usually given for microcline; but I have
observed that in felspars such as this the angle is not a
constant one, and I therefore class with microcline all those
potassa felspars which are triclinic in form, although their
obscuration angles may, as in this case, be less than 15°
30’. The second felspar is evidently albite; and the very
small amount of the third felspar may, with fair prob-
ability of correctness, be designated as oligoclase. The
felspar, as a whole, is a microcline-perthite.
The abnormal structure of this felspar, as indicated by the
variation in the angles of extinction, shows quite clearly —
how very disturbed the conditions were under which these
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 103
pegmatite veins were formed, in-connection with metamorphic
action. The great constancy with which these irregularities
of structure occur in felspars of this kind in different
localities, shows, moreover, that the processes of formation
have also some degree of uniformity in their action.
I carried out a quantitative analysis of this sample, with
the following results :—
No. 9.—Microcuine-PERtHItTE.
SEOR is. ee of: 63°55
Oo S: ree os 20°36
ecO, io: 2 soe tr
Carn 2. ses ine "35
MgO... oe aut ‘20
He Owens: ae up 12-00
Nas Os. Be ee 3°52
EOP it by "52
100°50
Hygroscopic moisture... eee Pr!
Pa OUANAe aes sr se ine Pode
The Mg.O and some of the H,O in the above can be
referred to talc, a few flakes of which occur in the sample.
Some of the combined water belongs to kaolinised parts of
the felspar. Disregarding these extraneous constituents, the
remainder can be calculated out as potassa, soda, and lime
felspars, in the molicular proportions of 2:040, ‘904, and ‘052
respectively. The last probably represents the third felspar,
which I have mentioned as being determinable in the thin
slices. Assuming it to be an oligoclase, and to have a normal
constitution—for instance, of Alb. 3 to An. 1—I may then
say, with some reasonable probability of being not far from
the truth, that this microcline-perthite is composed of
microcline, albite, and oligoclase, in the proportions of
10: 36: 1 nearly; or, taking the two latter felspars together,
the proportion between microcline and albite, + oligoclase,
would be nearly as 2: 1.
This fairly agrees with the mental conception which I
have formed by an inspection of the thin slices under the
microscope. ‘The sketches given in Plate IV. differ from this -
in so far that, as I intentionally selected a part of each slice —
Se or hi
Se Lae
omy :
, & =e as
Se
NS Sag Fees aw
ee
—_—"
ee ee ee ee
Ts oom ty :
eae Heese, pons
’ . ray
104 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
in which the albite veins were more strongly formed than
elsewhere, a false proportion between the two felspars may
seem to be indicated.
Still further up Watts Creek from the contact I found
some interesting massive crystalline-granular rocks, which
are worth notice as being of a type which is occasionally,
though rarely, met with in the intrusive areas of this district.
The rock is exceedingly tough, and difficult to prepare as a
thin slice. Under the microscope I found it to be composed
of felspar and amphibol, with a little reddish-brown mica
and quartz. The mica appears to have been of the first
consolidation, but theré is so little difference in the three
minerals that I cannot feel confident on this point. The
mica is reddish-brown in colour and not deep in tint, and it
is dichroic in shades of the same to colourless. It is largely
chloritised, and otherwise does not call for further notice.
The amphibol is of a peculiar character. It occurs
broadly-bladed to fibrous. There are no defined crystals,
but masses, which, when cut across by the slice, show the
characteristic prismatic cleavage of amphibol on a minute
scale. When lying more or less in the plane of the slice
the long narrow blades rarely have the same direction, but
lie across each other and extend to different lengths. In
places the mineral forms bundles of long and very attenuated
prisms, which, extending to different lengths, give the mass
a ragged-ended appearance. This mineral is faintly
pleochroic, and the obscuration angles reach in the highest
measurements 18°. In places [I have observed a mass
which, although fibrous, shows twinning, the composition
face of which crosses all the fibres, which reach as parts of
the same mass on each side. This suggests that the bladed
or fibrous structure has been superadded upon the original
condition of the mineral. There are no traces of the form
of augite in the masses of this mineral, and it can therefore
scarcely be a true uralite, to which it has much resemblance,
but more probably one of the amphibols similarly altered.
The felspars are all triclinic, but very few show any well-
defined bounding planes. Their structure is very varied,
as well as compound. Some crystals are twinned according
to the Albite law, others according to this and also to the
Carlsbad law. The greater number have either portions in
which the lamellee differ in width from the others, or extend
only partly across the section. Perhaps half the individuals
in a slice are compounded according to the Pericline law, in
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 105
addition to the other two forms. These felspars have
brilliant chromatic polarisation, and the appearance, physic-
ally and optically, of the basic Labradorites and the Anorthite
felspars which I have observed in similar rocks at the
Sheep Station Creek Gap, in the Swift’s Creek district.
I could obtain but few obscuration measurements, but
those confirmed the general conclusion, being, in the
zone OP—aPoa, 24° to 31°, and in three sections
approximately near a Po, 30°, 33°, 37°. A slice digested
in hydrochloric acid showed this felspar to be much attacked,
but not completely destroyed.
The quartz is in large amount as an original residuary
constituent filling spaces in the manner usually seen in the
quartz diorites, to which group I assign this rock.
About three miles from the Ensay ford there is a small
outcrop of schists, which is an unusual occurrence in the
upper part of Watts Creek. I collected two samples.
One is finely foliated and dark in colour, with rarely
small orthoclase crystals forming bulges in the folia-
tions, -which are rather fibrous in places, and show
also plates of dark-brown mica and_ scales of tale.
Examined in thin slices, this rock proves to be composed
almost wholly of pinite material, together with numerous
flakes of brown magnesia iron-mica. With polarised light
the slices have much resemblance to serpentine. This rock, -
therefore, is a variety of pinite schist. The second sample
is foliated, lighter in colour and showing small grains of
quartz and felspars in the foliations. It is composed, accord-
ing to microscopic examination, of much pinite, which is partly
the result of the alteration of orthoclase, the remains of
which can be plainly seen in some of the masses. The mica
is more or less converted into a pale slightly dichroic
chlorite. The quartz is in foliations, separating the other
constituents. This rock is therefore a variety of those quart-
zose schists which I have before described; and here again it~
is seen that there are two varieties of these schists analogous
to the quartzose and argillaceous sediments.
The line of section crosses the high range at the sources of
Watts Creek, where the Ensay and Gellingall track descends
from it to a small stream before ascending the dividing ridge ©
which falls toward the Wilkinson River. The granitic rocks
continue from the sources of Watts Creek to this stream,
where as I have already said, at p. 71, there are traces of
Dy sr
ie ;
Ae ree way
—
’ ‘
ms a m “a
set Ne +E EOE. Somes pki
i '
eaters +
aero gps
106 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
sedimentary rocks. On the eastern side of this small stream
there are some very interesting rocks of the Diabase group,
which are evidently intrusive into the crystalline-granular
acid rocks, and which extend over a large tract, probably
not less than a square mile in area. There are several
varieties of these rocks, of which I collected samples, the
examination of which gave the following results:—
38.—This rock has a black colour and micro-porphyritic
structure, as seen in a hand sample. Under the microscope
the ground-mass is found to be composed of—(q) traces of
micro-felsitic basis; (6) innumerable colourless acicular
erystals lying at all angles ; (c) very numerous rounded grains
of devitrified magma; (d) very numerous crystals and grains
of iron ore (magnetite or ilmenite), in clusters or groups ;
(¢) many brown-coloured bladed crystals, which are sensibly
pleochroic in shades of brown to colourless.
The obscuration in some is straight, and in others inclined.
The mineral is therefore monoclinic; and when the slice is
examined by a higher objective, it is seen that cross sections
have the prismatic angles of amphibol, some with the planes
o P only, others with those of « P and o P o combined.
The same examination shows that many of the crystals are
spindle-shaped, or perhaps with very steep pyramidal planes,
the ends of most being ragged. This mineral is clearly an
amphibol. It is the largest of the constituents of the
’ ground-mass, and one of the most numerous. ‘There are
finally (f) minute grains of yellowish augite.
In this ground-mass are porphyritically—(g) a few com-
pletely serpentinised olivine crystals; (h) prismatic crystals
of augite, which are almost colourless and non-pleochroie.
The extinction angle is as high as 40°. Groups of
crystalline grains of the same augite also occur. Both the
olivine and the augite are quite free from inclusions. (v) Very
irregularly-formed felspars, as to which all that can be said is
that they are triclinic. This rock is an “ Olivine diabase
porphyrite, with accessory amphibol.”
A second sample I found to have the following com-
position. The ground-mass is much altered, but it can
be seen to be made up in great measure of minute prisms
and fragments of ' felspar. They are extended in the direc-
tion of the edge oP « (100)- co P a (010). Intheleast altered
individuals I observed that the obscuration angle is high,
indicating, probably, a Labradorite felspar.
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 107
In this ground-mass are—(q) large, very cavernous augite
erystals, some of which are twinned in the usual manner.
These are of the first consolidation, but there is also a later
generation of augite, in well-developed short prisms, with the
\ iS
planes co P (110)— @ P o (010)— a P o (100).
These crystals contain magnetite, and also colourless
granules of magma, arranged in concentric lines of growth.
The earlier augite crystals contain much fewer inclusions.
(6) Rhombic pyroxene, both in irregular-shaped masses and
prisms with rectangular terminations. This pyroxene is very
fibrous, in some sections roughly fibrous, of a brown colour,
and markedly dichroic in shades of brown and brownish
yellow. The absorption is c>b>a. It does not contain
any inclusions. It is traversed across the prism by flaws,
from which alteration extends on either side. The smaller
prismatic crystals, which may possibly be of a second genera-
tion, resemble the crystals of enstatite, which I have observed
in the Diabase porphyrite at Buchan.
As the monoclinic and rhombic pyroxenes are about equal
in amount, this rock can be considered to stand midway
between Diabase and Norite.
Other samples are of very light colour, with outlines |
showing of felspar crystals. One sample I found to be -
composed of a ground-mass of triclinic felspars. In this are
other triclinic felspars, as porphyritic crystals, but much
altered to epidote. Besides these there is a little iron ore,
but neither augite nor any other bisilicates. Traces of
viridite and very numerous small apatite prisms complete
the composition.
I also examined a sample which resembled the above; but
the ground-mass in this case consists of small felspars and
innumerable rounded granules of coloured doubly-refracting
‘material, apparently devitrified magma. In this are traces of
porphyritic plagioclase felspars, and also masses of epidote
erystals and crystalline grains, which, I think, probably replace
augite. These interesting rocks are also to be classed with
Diabase, and the two types which occur here remind one, in
some of their features, of those paleeozoic Diabases which
have received from Giimbel the names reper of
Proterobas and Leukophyr.
The Diabase rocks which I have now briefly noted have,
in some respects, a strong family resemblance to the Diabase
porphyrites of the Buchan district, and may be thought
108 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
perhaps to represent one of the deeper-seated masses with
which such palzeozoic lavas have been connected.
T may now note further that in the line of this section,
and between the Wilkinson and Tambarra Rivers, there is a
second considerable exposure of porphyritic rocks, which, I
think, will be found to belong to the above group, as I have
provisionally noted in the section.
There remains but little to notice in the final part of the
section. The massive intrusive rocks extend, only broken
by the porphyritic Diabases which I have referred to, from
the summit of the divide west of the Wilkinson to the
summit of the mountains on the eastern side of the Tambarra
River, where they are capped by tertiary basaltic sheets,
and succeeded to the east by well-marked members of the
Buchan beds, including both the fragmental, tufaceous and
marine limestones of that series. In a former descrip-
tion of the Gellingall area I stated that the Buchan beds at
that place were laid down on the granitic rocks.* Since
then I have seen some reasons to doubt that such is the case,
but that the positions of the two formations are perhaps
more probably due to faulting. At present I must leave the
matter uncertain.
The description of the samples collected in this final part
of the section will conclude the account which I have to
give of the rocks met with in its course.
39.—The granitic rocks are exposed in the bed of the
Wilkinson River, where the Gellingall track crosses it.
They are traversed by several basic dykes, and by joints,
one set dipping 8. 30° W. at 45°, and the other to
N. 30° E. at 27°. The thin slice which I prepared
shows —(a@) an iron magnesia-mica, which has been almost
wholly converted into chlorite, with exclusion of ores of
iron; (0) felspars of two kinds, of which orthoclase is one,
extending over a considerable part of the slice in large
masses,and having in parts veinlets of a second felspar; it
also includes mica and a few small well-formed plagioclase
crystals, small serpentine pseudomorphs and quartz grains ;
(c) Triclinic felspars oecur in large imperfectly-shaped
crystals, some of which have been broken or have been
rounded off; (d) quartz is in moderate amount, as the residual
constituent. The most peculiar feature of this rock is the
* Notes on the Devonian Rocks of North Gippsland, Geological Survey of
Victoria Progress Report, Part V., p, 117.
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 109
occurrence of a number of oval or irregularly-shaped serpen-
tine pseudomorphs, in which no trace of the original mineral
remains. Did they occur, for instance, in a basalt, I
should feel very little doubt as to their representing olivine.
This rock is probably a granitite.
40.—I collected this sample on the summit of the
mountain, on the eastern side of the Tambarra River, where
it shows out in large masses. It has the following composi-
tion:—(a@) Mica, which is reddish brown with ordinary
transmitted light in basal sections. In those parallel to the
“c,” axis it is dichroic, when examined over the polariser, in
shades of brown and yellow. The only inclusions are
magnetite crystals. The alteration is to chlorite. (b)
Orthoclase. (c) Triclinic felspars, in crystals, which are
better formed than the orthoclase, and compounded accord-
ing to the Albite law. The few measurements of obscura-
tion angles which I could obtain were not satisfactory, being
in the zone OP — wo P o, between 2° 30’ and 24°.
The alterations of all the felspars are micaceous. (d)
Residual quartz, of the usual kind in such rocks. (@)
A little apatite, and rarely titanite. This rock 1s also a
oranitite.
PRINCIPAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ROCKS.
I have now described at some length the mineral composi-
tion of the rocks which I have found along a line of section
crossing the Ensay district. These rocks fairly represent
the formation of the whole district, of which Ensay is the
central part.
Tt will now be well, for the sake of clearness, to summarise
the principal and characteristic features of these groups of
rocks, before proceeding to consider how they are related to
each other.
It is to be first noted that the sediments which I have
described have not the normal mineral character of the least
altered Silurian formations of North Gippsland. These latter
are best seen in tracts where there are no signs of the nearness
of intrusive plutonic masses—as, for instance, in the valleys
of the Wongungarra, or the Thomson River below the
crossing of the Walhalla-road.
The mineral condition of the argillaceous and arenaceous
beds in such localities is most certainly not such as one can
110 The Sedimentary, Metamorphie,
imagine to have been originally that of the Silurian sedi-
ments when lying still, undisturbed, in a horizontal position ;
but it is also far removed from the condition of those forma-
tions which have been subject to regional or contact
metamorphism.
Broadly speaking, so far as my investigations have
yet gone, the Silurian sedimentary rocks of Gippsland
may be arranged under three types. The first is that
of the Argillites, or those beds which are found where there
are no signs of intrusive masses of plutonic rocks, and which,
therefore, are least altered.. The changes which I have
observed are usually some degree of induration by silica, and
the conversion of the argillaceous material into some mineral
allied to chlorite. The second type is that represented by
the well-known rock Hornfels, and includes the contact
schists. In such rocks the argillaceous material has been
converted into mica, which most frequently is a brown
magnesia-iron mica with a subordinate potassa-mica. These
rocks are far more indurated by silica than the argillites,
and the original clastic grains of quartz are frequently sur-
rounded by secondary silica, oriented in accordance with the
older grains. The third type, which departs most in mineral
character from the normal argillites, includes the so-called
Regional Schists. In this group, the first sign of alteration is
the minute wrinkling of the argillites, and the appearance of
a silky micaceous lustre on the planes of bedding or of
cleavage. ‘Silica is also eliminated in the conversion of the
argillaceous material into mica, and becomes deposited in
strings or lenticular masses in or across the beds. The
ultimate resuit of this type of metamorphic alteration is mica
schist and eneiss.
The distinction between the argillites and the metamor-
phic schists, contact or regional, is that in the former the
argillaceous material is converted into some mineral allied to
chlorite, while in the latter it has been converted into
mica.
The distinction between the contact and regional schists
is the more foliated structure of the latter, and the prevalence
in them of an alkali-mica.
Strictly speaking, all the schistose rocks which I have
spoken of in this paper should be considered as metamorphic,
but I have found it more convenient to separate the beds on
the western side of the Tambo River, and to treat them as.
being sedimentary. In outward oeneral appearance they are
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. tsi:
recognisable as being part of that great series of slaty and
sandstone rocks, which I have spoken of under the general
term Silurian Argillites. But their inner structure differs
much from that of the normal type, and a principal distinc-
tion is that the argillaceous part has been converted almost
wholly, if not entirely, into minute flakes of mica.
In some respects the less altered beds, and specially those
which are minutely “spotted,” resemble some of the less
altered of the contact schists.
As a rule, the quartz grains of these beds have been little,
if at ali, affected, except in so far that in places they appear
to have been arranged with their longer diameters in line,
probably by pressure.
The least quartzose and the most altered of these beds,
approach in their microscopical characters near to a mica
schist, in which the structure is very minute ; that is to say,
they retain the outward general appearance of the argillites,
but have been so far metamorphosed that there has been
produced in them the structure and composition of a mica
schist. In other words they are phyllites.
The rocks which, in accordance with the distinction I have
now drawn, are to be considered as the true metamorphic
schists of Ensay, are found in three main varieties. The first
includes the quartz schists and the fine-grained mica schists;
the pinite schists form the second; and the third includes
the gneiss. The somewhat peculiar rocks found at Content-
ment Hill connect the phyllites and the mica schists.
The quartz schists always have either a magnesia-mica or
its alteration-product, chlorite. An alkali-mica almost invari-
ably occurs in connection with the small pinite masses and
veins in these schists. These constituents would bring such
a rock in its unaltered state within the term Mica-schist
rich in quartz. But as I have found in almost all cases, in
addition to the above-mentioned constituents, more or less
of a triclinic felspar (albite or oligoclase), the schists might
be considered even to be a variety of a very siliceous gneiss.
Yet, as the micas are never absent, while the felspars are in
some cases wanting, I think the term Quartzose Mica-schist is
the most appropriate.
The quartz of these schists is peculiar, and its study has
raised questions which it is not easy to answer satisfactorily.
The schists are metamorphosed sediments, and of all their
original constituents one might expect to find the quartz to
be least altered. I have observed that in the contact
112 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
schists, for instance in Hornfels, the clastic origin of the
quartz grains is always more or less perfectly recognisable.
But in the Ensay schists this is not the case. They are
eminently schistose, and, broadly speaking, the quartz
and the mica form separate foliations. Frequently the
quartz is In crystalline grains, whose form is rudely rect-
angular. In places *the sections of these grains merely touch
each other, while in others they overlap in the direction of
the foliation. In other cases the foliation is continuous or
even branching, the quartz being traversed by cross-flaws.
Such observations point to the grains being flattened
parallel to the foliated structure, and to be probably, in some
cases at least, discoidal inform. In some slices I have found
all the quartz to be evidently of the same period of forma-
tion, as, for instance, where inclusions or fluid cavities are of
the same character throughout the thin slice. I note such
an instance wherein numerous fine, colourless, hair-like
microliths lie in the quartz veins throughout the slice, and
have all of them a uniform direction. In a few eases I
have been able to distinguish two generations of quartz, and
in others J have observed small rounded granules of quartz
included in the larger grains of the foliations.
I have thus been led to the conclusion that during the
metamorphism of these once sediments the original quartz
grains have been taken into solution, and’ then finally
redeposited between the micaceous foliations.
It seems to me that the silicification of these rocks could
have scarcely been effected by extraneous solutions permeat-
ing them as a whole, for in such a case one should, I think,
expect to find general and similar effects throughout. Such
has not been the case in this instance ; but, on the contrary,
one can observe that there are still two main varieties of
these schists corresponding to the arenaceous and argillaceous
sediments, and therefore the conclusion may be perhaps
justified that the silica, if taken into solution during the
metamorphic process, was, as they ceased, again redeposited
mainly in the sets of beds from which it had been derived.
If this view proves to be maintainable, it will have a strong
bearing upon other questions as to metamorphism which
await solution in the Omeo district as well as elsewhere.
The fine-grained mica schists show somewhat similar
features, but as they are much more micaceous than quartz-
ose, the peculiar appearances which I have just noted are
not so apparent.
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 113
The pinite schists, so far as concerns the principal con-
stituent, are evidently pseudomorphic, and it is probable
that they are so after magnesia-mica mainly. In the
examples which I have examined microscopically I have
found two kinds of mica, in addition to the pinite material.
One is a brown magnesia iron-mica, and the other an alkali-
mica. The latter is in many cases, but not in all, greatest
in amount, and is evidently in some instances of secondary
origin. The analysis of the pinite schist shows that it is not
far removed from the composition of the pure pinite mineral.
The pinite in these schists when-seen under the micro-
scope and by polarised light, especially in slices across the
foliations of the rock, has a “meshed” appearance, resembling
that of serpentine, to which mineral it has also a resemblance
macroscopically when the rock is examined on a cross
fracture. In places these schists contain masses of a!kali-
mica flakes, and more rarely colourless, divergent, or fan-
shaped clusters of tale plates.
On the whole, I can see no more probable conclusion than
that these pinite schists are pseudomorphic alterations of
a schist rich in magnesia-mica. The conversion of magnesia-~
mica to pinite has been recorded by Blum, Dana, and Vom
Rath,* and it may have been the case here on a large scale.
Yet I must notice, as not falling in with this view, that I
have not met with a single instance in all the thin slices
which I have prepared and examined wherein magnesia-
mica has been partly, or indeed, so far as I could see, entirely
converted into anything else than chlorite. That is to say,
in all the slices I have referred to there have been numerous
individuals of magnesia-mica, either intact or partly
chloritised ; others wholly converted into chlorite; but not
one single flake which showed a partial conversion into
pinite, such as is so commonly the case in the felspars.
Therefore the complete proof of the origin of the pinite is
still wanting.
The gneissic schists are characterised by the pre-
valence of a monoclinic potassa felspar, often in porphy-
ritic crystals, or that mode of occurrence which gives occa-
sion to the term “Augen-gneiss” of the German writers.
This orthoclase has been the first formed of the felsparsin —
* Quoted by Roth, Allgemeine Chemische Geologie, Vol. I., p. 332; Blum, —
Pseudom, I., 79, and II., 142; Dana, Amer. J. of Sc. (8), 8, 449, 1874; Vom ~
Rath, Zs, Geol, Ges., 27, 382, 1875.
I
114 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
these rocks, for it is very frequently crushed, broken, worn
at the edges, and generally showing the effects produced by
long subjection to heat, and also physical movements of the
mass in which it existed in a crystallised form. Fragments
of orthoclase also occur “ jammed” into corners or included
in the residual quartz.
The triclinic felspars are almost always in smaller and
better-formed, much-compounded crystals.
It is characteristic of these gneissic schists to have two
kinds of mica.
The earlier-formed one is a, magnesia-mica, much poorer
in iron than that of those gneisses which I have found else-
where in the district as margins to the massive intrusive ©
rocks. This mica of the gneissic schists is usually in the
- foliations with the felspars, but is also to be found included
in the quartz. The second mica is a colourless alkali-mica,
such as I have already mentioned when speaking of the mica
schists, and I think that in many cases it is a secondary
production. It is very characteristic of these gneisses that
some of their constituent minerals have been altered to
pinite. Some of the felspars certainly have ; cordierite, also,
so far as one can judge from pseudomorphs, and perhaps in
the largest measure the magnesia-mica, which in an unalter ed
state is still plentiful in some of the foliations. |
Many of the gneissic schists are so massive that it is only
when they are examined 7m situ on the large scale that their
character as metamorphosed sediments, and not varieties of
igneous rocks, can be fully recognised.
Aplite is the first of the igneous rocks which I have to
notice. Rosenbusch* defines aplite as a very fine-grained
rock composed of quartz, orthoclase, plagioclase, and potassa-
mica. Pegmatite includes the coarser-grained varieties.
He includes both under the section “ Muscovite granites.”
He notices as an exception the occurrence of magnesia-mica
in the aplites of Cornwall.
My own observations in the Australian Alps show me
that there are here also instances of aplites which have
either magnesia-mica together with a potassa-mica or alone,
but in all cases the formeris in very small amount. — -
Besides the essential general characteristics of this rock,
- —namely, a paucity, or even almost absence, of mica, with
* Physiographie der Massigen Gesteine, p, 19.
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 115
felspars and quartz all combined in a holocrystalline structure
—the aplites at Ensay are marked by the abraded, fractured,
and eroded state of the felspars. Both the orthoclase and
plagioclase crystals show these signs of violence, and of long-
continued action of the molten, or pasty and still moving,
magma. Of the two the potassa felspar has usually been
the first formed.
These appearances accord with my observations that the
veins and masses of aplite were forced when in a plastic state
into the already metamorphosed sediments. One may in
some measure imagine what must have been the pressure
and the temperature to which these rocks were then
subjected by considering that at that time the locality in
question was part of the plane of contact between the
Silurian sediments and the invading plutonic masses.
With the aplites must be classed the pegmatite veins, for
their distinction is mainly one of structure. There is, how-
ever, this distinction to be noted as regards Ensay: In the
pegmatite veins the constituents are much larger individu-
ally than in the aplites, but the felspars do not form
separate crystals, but are in compound cleavable masses. I
have very rarely found any other felspar than an orthoclase
or microcline-perthite. In the aplites, however, the mono-
clinic potassa and the triclinic soda-lime felspars have most
frequently, if not always, been formed independently of each
other.
The massive intrusive rocks of the Ensay district are of
the quartz-diorite group. They are massive holocrystalline,
and have either a magnesia-iron mica or hornblende, or
both together. The samples which I have examined from
Ensay do not differ materially from those collected else-
where in the district, as, for instance, at Noyang.
The Ensay dykes belong evidently, with the exception of
the rarely-occurring basalts, to two classes which correspond
to the massive quartz diorites and to the massive diabases
of the district respectively. Of the two groups the Diabase
dykes are the younger.
Still more recent are the dykes of basalt, which may
probably be referable to the time of the miocene volcanic
lava flows of Gippsland.
T have not thought it necessary to enter into a longer
description of the dykes found at Ensay than was necessary
to bring them into relation with the other rocks, My
principal object has been to work out, so far as I could do,
| 12
116 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
the relations of the three great groups of sedimentary,
metamorphic, and massive intrusive igneous rocks.
THE RELATION OF THE Rock MASSES To EACH OTHER.
At Ensay, as elsewhere in North Gippsland, the oldest
rocks which can be discovered are members of the great
series of auriferous argillites and sandstones, which is with
fair certainty referable to the lower Silurian age. When a
lengthened section is examined in almost any tract in the
Gippsland mountains, it soon becomes clear to the observer
that these sediments were once continuous in a crushed
and folded condition throughout, but that by the combined
action of faulting, denudation, and erosion, this continuity
has been broken, so that while in places the whole country,
down to some given datum line, shows no other formations
than these tilted and slightly metamorphosed sediments, in
other places their merest traces remain as distorted and
fractured contact schists attached to the massive plutonic
rocks which have invaded them.
In other papers upon the geology of North Gippsland I
have insisted upon the clear evidence there is that the
plutonic rocks have disturbed and metamorphosed the
Silurian sediments, and to a greater or less extent melted off
and absorbed, not only the lower part of the folds into which
they had been previously forced, but also, so far as is yet
known, every portion of the older formations, whatever
they may have been, upon which they were laid down.
It is possible to note, by a few striking geological features,
the sequence of the terrestrial movements which are in-
dicated by the folding and crushing together of the Silurian
sediments, their metamorphism and invasion by plutonic ~
rocks, their denudation, and the subsequent laying down
upon them of other formations, both sedimentary and
volcanic.
In North Gippsland the Silurian formations, as a whole,
have been folded more or less sharply together. The next
succeeding sediments—namely, those of Middle Devonian
age—have not been so generally and regularly affected ; for
while at Tabberabbera the beds have been folded much as
have been the Silurians, the limestones of Buchan or Bindi
remain comparatively level, as compared with the acutely
folded older strata adjoining and inferior to them.
ae
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 117
The Upper Devonian sediments, which are next in order,
are entirely discordant with those of Middle Devonian age,
and are in most places but little disturbed from a horizontal
position.
The four groups— Lower and Upper Silurian, Middle and
Upper Devonian—all show a marked decrease in mineralisa-
tion in the ascending order. Some of the nearly horizontal
beds of the Iguana Creek Upper Devonians are little more
than indurated clays or friable sand-rock.
So much in brief as to the sediments. Between the
acutely folded Silurian and the much less folded Middle
Devonian sediments there intervenes, in the chronological
arrangement, as in the field, an immense thickness of igneous
rocks, whose lower members rest upon the denuded edges of
partially metamorphosed Silurians, while the upper beds
pass as tufas into the Middle Devonian marine limestones of
Buchan.*
On the grounds which I have now very briefly stated, I
place the folding of the Silurian sediments and their invasion
by plutonic masses at the close of the Silurian age. The
Devonian volcanic rocks clearly followed this invasion, and
I think that they may prove to have been connected with a
second great series of younger igneous rocks, which are to be
found in different parts of Gippsland, rising through both
the Silurian sediments and the older plutonic masses. The
younger igneous rocks are in most cases porphyritic, and I
note, asinstances, The Sisters and Mount Leinster,near Omeo,
and Mount Taylor, near Bairnsdale. These younger plutonic
rocks are probably all older than the Upper Devonian age,
for the last named mountain is still capped on its denuded
summit by nearly horizontal beds of the Iguana Creek
series.}
Of the formations which I have now noted there are found
at Ensay only the Silurian sediments, the older plutonic
masses, and the metamorphosed representatives of the
former. The later plutonic rocks are not met with, nor any
of the Devonian sediments.
* « Notes on the Devonian Rocks of North Gippsland’’—Geological Survey
of Victoria, Progress Report, I., p. 117. _‘‘Notes on the Diabase Rocks of
the Buchan District”—Transactions of the Royal Society of Victoria, Vol.
PENEED Sp. (;
+ Geological Survey of Victoria, Progress Reports, II. p. 63, and II. p. 211.
on =
aes 1
\
118 The Sedimentary, Metamorphie,
- It is to the close of the Silurian, or to the commencement
of the Devonian, age that for the present I refer the
igneous and metamorphic rocks of Ensay. )
It remains now for me to consider what may have been
the sequence in which the present relations of the Ensay
Rocks have been brought about.
Although the sediments on the western side of the Tambo
River are not continuous with the schists at Ensay, yet an
examination of both groups im situ, and of samples in thin
slices under the microscope, leaves no doubt in my mind
that the latter are the very much metamorphosed forms of
sediments which represented the latter. The schistose rocks
of Contentment Hill, some of the very fine-grained mica
schists at the Little River, and the altered sediments whose
traces now only remain at the sources of Watts Creek, supply
intermediate stages connecting the extreme examples. With
these exceptions, the sedimentary rocks have been com-
pletely denuded on the eastern side of the Tambo River
from the country crossed by the section.
The most interesting part of the locality, and the one to
which I have desired to direct attention, is that at the junc-
tion of Watts Creek and the Little River. It is there that
the schists have been preserved from denudation, either
by having formed a depression below the general plane of
contact, or by having been let down by faults. It is im-
material which may be the true explanation. That which
is material is the very instructive manner in which the
schistose and igneous rocks are associated. At first sight it
seems that they are in complete confusion, but on further
examination this seeming disorder is capable of explanation.
It is to be borne in mind that this locality is,as I have
before said, part of the plane of contact between the sedi-
ments and the invasive igneous rocks. Taking a general
view of the whole of the Australian Alps, I find that this
plane of contact is a most irregularone. Its highest and
lowest limits are beyond an accurate determination, for to
estimate them it would be necessary to have a knowledge of
the faults which have disturbed the continuity of the con-
tact plane, of the probable thickness of the sediments where
the contact is deep below the surface, and of the amount
denuded from the highest points of the now protruding
plutonic masses. The Ensay district is a good example of
the difficulties in the way of such a determination. The
Silurian beds at the west side of the Tambo River are at its
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. tie
level, while on the east side the massive igneous rocks rise
in a vast tract of mountains to some 4000 feet higher in the
Nunnyong tableland. One cannot tell to what depth the
contact plane sinks on the western side of the Tambo River,
or to what former elevation it rose at Nunnyong on the
north-east.
The plane of contact is as irregular in the small scale as in
the large. In the few places where I have been able to
inspect it in vertical sections I have observed that the
invasive plutonic rocks have affected the sediments in a
manner which I can best illustrate by likening it to the
action of warm water upon masses of ice. They appear to
have eaten their way upwards in an irregular manner, leaving
portions of sediment hanging down or detached in the heated
materials.* That this action has been accompanied by great
pressure of the molten masses against the sediments is
evidenced by the fractured and, so to say, “ dog-eared” state
of the beds where they strike or dip against the former, and
by the constant occurrence of masses and veins of the intru-
sive rock penetrating the sediments.
It is not necessary to consider whether this pressure
was by expansive forces acting from beneath upwards, or
whether it was by the downward pressure of parts of the
earth’s crust upon the molten masses, or by both combined.
All that Iam concerned with now is to point out the fact,
that the action of the invasive plutonic rocks has been to
force themselves, or to be forced, into the lower parts of the
sediments, and to gradually metamorphose, melt off, and
absorb them.
As seen at Ensay, the first igneous rocks which were forced
into the sediments as veins and masses were varieties of
aplites, which either penetrated between planes of bedding
(foliation ?) or through cross fractures. In some places these
aplite veins are very numerous, so that in a horizontal section
they appear as small isolated masses surrounded by the
aelsts, or as veins crossing or apparently interfoliated with
them.
Following the aplites were those masses of plutonic rocks
which are now the holocrystalline quartz-mica diorites.
The whole complex of rocks, metamorphosed sediments,
veins, and masses of aplite and quartz diorite have been
* T have given a sketch of such an occurrence at p. 77, Progress Report, —
Geological Survey of Victoria, Part II.
4
20a The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
crossed by dykes of quartz porphyrite,and still later by dykes
of diabase, finally in tertiary times by a few dykes of
basalt.
The confused manner in which the various classes of
rocks are “jumbled” together at Ensay, often within the
space of a few yards, is due to their being part of an
approximately horizontal contact plane, wherein they have
been all welded into a complex whole.
REGIONAL AND CONTACT METAMORPHISM.
An important question now awaits some reply, What has
caused the peculiar metamorphism of the Ensay sediments ?
That is to say—Why is it that, although in contact with
intrusive igneous masses, metamorphism has, in this instance,
converted the sediments into mica schist and gneiss, and not,
as is the case in other intrusive areas in Gippsland, into
rocks of the hornfels type ?
It seems that there may be two alternative replies, one
being that the schists were regionally metamorphosed before
the plutonic masses invaded them, and the other that they
are no more than abnormal instances of contact action.
The schists at Ensay are most probably the metamorphosed
sediments of the district. Their mineral and structural
character is that of the regional schists of Omeo, and not
that of the contact schists. It seems that they were meta-
morphosed before they were invaded by the plutonic rocks,
yet, like the contact schists, they are most altered in the
neighbourhood of the igneous masses.
Any explanation which is satisfactory must reconcile these
seeming contradictory phenomena.
I have already drawn attention, at page 110, to the three
types of more or less metamorphosed Silurian sediments in
North Gippsland, and of which the argillites are the least
altered. Their molecular re-arrangement—that is to say,
the re-crystallisation of their argillaceous parts—is one of
the lesser stages of metamorphism as I observe it in this
district. I note, further, that it is clearly connected with
the folding together of the strata; for rocks of this class,
which have been most disturbed, folded, and crushed
together, are also most altered in their mineral structure.
This may be observed in wide tracts, where there are no
surface indications of the proximity of igneous rock masses
to which such alterations might be attributed.
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 127
It might be thought that such mineral alterations as those
I allude to in the argillites might be produced by the perco-
lation downwards of surface waters. No doubt the action
of such mineralised waters must not be lost sight of in any
hypothesis which proposes to account for the present condi-
tion of rocks at the earth’s surface.
But an explanation relying upon such solutions as a
principal cause of even the lesser metamorphic changes will
not account for the connection there is between the molecular
regeneration of the sediments and the disturbance, disloca-
tion, and compression to which they have been subjected.
Nor will an explanation which relies upon the action of
heated mineral waters from below be more satisfactory, and
for the same reasons. The structural changes which the |
mineralised beds show point to other causes, which must be
considered. It seems to me that an hypothesis to be satis-
factory, in conforming to observed facts, must not overlook
the forces brought into play during the vast tilting, folding,
and especially crushing, to which, in Paleozoic ages, the
Silurian sediments were affected: that is to say, during
those periods of time when the mineralisation of the strata
was effected.
It is quite certain that in Gippsland, at the close of the
Silurian age, gigantic movements of the earth’s crust folded
the sediments together, and crushed them close. This
certainly produced an amount of motion in the rocks which,
within reasonable limits, it is difficult to overstate; and the
question then is: What did this movement result in beyond
the physical effects which can be seen still impressed upon
the stubborn but bent and contorted strata ?
In following out this train of thought one is easily led to
the reply, that those vast movements must have generated
an amount of heat proportioned to their own extent.
It must be borne in mind that the mere pressure of for-
mations lying upon each other does not seem capable of
producing such changes as those I refer to in the argillites
of North Gippsland, even when many thousands of feet of
beds are horizontally upon each other. But it is different
where pressure causes the forcible movement of the rock
particles among themselves, and especially the folding of the
strata. It is under such circumstances that pressure can
generate metamorphic action, and especially when the sedi-
ments acted upon are still permeated by the waters of the =
oceans in which they were laid down.
122 The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
The sedimentary crust of the earth in Gippsland was sub-
jected to such conditions as those I have just referred to at
the close of the Silurian age, and they imply pressure, heat,
mineralised waters, and vast periods of time, in fact all that
which is requisite, so far as we know, to produce meta-
morphic action and mineral regeneration.
it appears to me to be very significant, when looked at
from this standpoint, that the most crushed and contorted
rocks in the Gippsland Alps are to be found in the area of
regional metamorphism; in other words, where the sediments
1a have been most dislocated and compressed, there it is that
TE metamorphism has been most intense.
} According to these views, the mineralisation of the
argillites and the regional metamorphism of the sediments at
Ensay and Omeo are respectively earlier and later stages of
the same process, which, for want of a better term, might be
spoken of as dynamical metamorphism in contradistinction
to contact metamorphism.
These views lead to the further conclusion that places
such as Ensay, wherein the sediments have been converted
in limited areas into mica schist and gneiss before their in-
vasion by the plutonic rocks, were localities in which the
movements of the strata were greatest, where the tempera-
ture was consequently higher than elsewhere in the distorted
crust, and where, as a direct consequence, metamorphism
reached extreme stages.
Moreover, itseems to me to be quite conceivable that, under
such conditions, those localities would be most readily in-
vaded and absorbed by the plutonic rocks if the invasion
was part of the same great range of operations.
As I see the evidence to be obtained in the Ensay district,
dynamicalmetamorphism—as I have definedit—first produced
an alteration of the sediments to the condition of argillites,
next to phyllites, and finally to mica schist and gneiss.
The schists then being invaded by the plutonic masses
were no doubt further affected by contact metamorphism ;
but in what manner, or to what degree, I am not at present
in a position to state. Possibly some further light may be
thrown upon this very obscure subject by work which still
remains to be done as regards the Omeo district.
I have now briefly stated the hypothesis which I have
ventured to bring forward as explaining the seeming
anomalies of the Ensay schists. The belief that the crushing
together of the strata has produced sufficient heat to set up
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 123
metamorphism, is not at all new. Among others, Mallett
worked it out to a greatextent, and it seems to be nowgaining
ground among geologists in asomewhat modified form. The
views which I have now recorded have been slowly forced
upon me, so to say, during the progress of my investigations
into the geology of the Gippsland Alps during many past
years. If they have a foundation of truth, they will be
maintained ; if otherwise, then, no doubt, justly they will fall 3
to the ground. It is well that I should mention that I have, ;
in formulating them, relied upon more than the evidence of
the Ensay district alone. I have, to some extent, been
influenced by evidence as yet unrecorded from the Omeo
district. It might perhaps be thought that it would have
been better to have waited until that evidence had been
worked out, and laid before this Society. But in working
out the Ensay evidence I found that I had before me just
those problems in miniature which confronted me at Omeo on
the large scale, and I therefore briefly sketched the results
arising, not only from my Ensay work, but also from that
in the Omeo district. Since the work which relates to the
latter area consists mainly in the analysis and microscopical
study of rocks collected there, it is not likely that the general
conclusions to which the field work has led me will be in any
great degree altered.
CONCLUSIONS.
The general results arrived at in the preceding pages may 5
be shortly summed up as follows :—
(1.) Two kinds of metamorphism may be distinguished—
dynamic metamorphism, or the effects produced by heat,
resulting from vast movements within the earth’s crust,
upon the sediments and the mineralised waters included in
them ; and contact metamorphism, or the effects produced on
the sediments by masses of intrusive igneous rocks.
(2.) At the close of the Silurian age the sedimentary crust
of the earth was tilted, folded, and crushed over an enormous
region in the Australian Alps.
(3.) The sediments were metamorphosed during these
movements. They were generally converted into argillites, ©
and where the movement was greatest into mica schist and
= gneiss. The Ensay area is an instance of the latter. :
(4.) Connected with or following these results of dyna- =
mical metamorphism, the more or less altered sediments
Se
aie, oo es 7s.
Se SE AS eee
\ ”
124
The Sedimentary, Metamorphic,
were invaded from below by molten masses, which acted
especially upon such areas as those referred to in conclusion
8, and also generally upon the argillites, producing the con-
tact schists,
(5.) The period when the Ensay schists were formed may
be placed at the close of the Silurian age, and in any case
cannot be later than the close of the Middle Devonian
period.
EXPLANATION OF PLATES III AND IV.
. 1. Horizontal section of schists at Ensay, about eight
feet in width. (a) Schist, (b) quartz vein, (c) erystal-
line-granular intrusive rock.
. 2. Horizontal section showing relation of schist and
pegmatite vein. (qa) Schist, (6) pegmatite, (c) aplite.: .
. 8. Horizontal section of schist and crystalline-granular
rock at Hnsay. (a) Schist, (6) crystalline-granular
rock.
. 4, Microscopical section of microcline-perthite prepared
from principal cleavage. (a) Microcline, (6) albite, - x 55.
. 5. Microscopical section of microcline-perthite prepared
from second cleavage. (a) Microcline, (6) albite, x 55.
The engraving gives the impression of striation in this
albite, which is incorrect.
Figs. 4 and 5 drawn by polarised light.
YOU OR 99 PULVOUD OZ 7S
LOMLSIG AVSNA 3HL JO Lyd”
‘fo =
%
8
7
fu
Plate I.
onl
4
*
+
SN
Uy
NA
ous Rocks of Ensay. ;
and Igne
elles
FT)
ep mea
ZINN SSS sao
2
The Sedimentary, Metamorphic
126
Plate II.
Ck. Tambarra Rr.
Wilkinson’s
Mt. Baldhead.
Diagram Section from Mount Baldhead to East of the Tamb
rra River.
a
Xi]
Diabase
a
A
ae
Igneous and
Metamorphie
Silurian
Seale f Horizontal eight miles } pene rin.
Vertical 22,500 feet
‘Plate III.
re
on
4
Ry
\
‘ is
‘ : ' iy 5 5 4 i
i Vegas . ry es ae are op | yl a Rey ‘ve * eae rn
: See gen RT SNA TET a SSeS OS Te
5s wal eet 1p An os itl
and Igneous Rocks of Ensay. 127
Plate IVY,
<o Poo (Io 0)
Fig. 5. x 55.
Art, XII.—Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa.
PART IX,
By P. H. MacGriuivray, M.A., M.R.CS., F.LS.
[Read 12th November, 1885. |
Family GEMELLARIIDA.
Dimetopia hirta, n. sp. -
A Form of Dimetopia has been sent to me by Mr. J. B.
Wilson, which, although allied to D. cornuta, ought to be
described as a new species. The cell aperture is rounder
below, the margin much thicker, and the spines much more
developed. Of these there are one or two on the lower
margin, three above, of which the middle is longest, and
three or four on each side; the uppermost usually situated
further back, and directed more posteriorly.
Family NotTaMIIDé.
Calwellia gracilis, Maplestone.
Zocecia very long and slender ; anterior surface flattened ;
a short, thick process, supporting an avicularium, on each
side above.
Portland, Mr. Maplestone; Port Phillip Heads, Mr.
Wilson. ) ;
This species, which seems to be very rare, was described
some years ago at the Microscopical Society by Mr. Maple-
stone, but his paper has not been published. It differs from
C. bicornis in the zocecia being longer, very much more
slender, and flat in front. The branches are also more
straggling.
Family CELLULARUDZ.
Menipea funiculata, n. sp. Plate L, Fig. 8. .
Zoarium continuous, dichotomously branched, branches
narrow, margined by radical fibres. Zocecia multiserial,
elongated, aperture large, elliptical, with a slightly-thickened
margin, and overlapped by a large sacculated fornix. On
Descriptions of New, or Little Known, Polyzoa. 129
the marginal cells there are three spines at the upper and
outer angle, and one at the inner; in the central cells
a single spine at each side; a sessile avicularium (usually
absent) attached to the upper and outer angle of the lateral
zocecia ; a sessile avicularium on the front of each zocecium,
except the lateral, usually close to the peduncle of the fornix
of the adjoining cell. Zocecia posteriorly quadrate, smooth,
or faintly longitudinally sulcate. Ocecia prominent, rounded,
smooth. The radical fibres forming the lateral bundles
spring from the lower part of the back of the cells.
Port Phillip Heads.
Closely allied to Busk’s MW. benemunita, but distinguished
by the absence of the two avicularia on the front of the
central zocecia, and the different form of the fornix.
Caberea Darwinii, Busk.
In the Challenger Polyzoa, Mr. Busk describes and figures
a form from New Zealand under this name, which, he says,
is identical with that previously described in the British
Museum Catalogue as C. Boryi, and marked on the plate
C. patagonica. It is not uncommon in Victoria, and I quite
agree with Busk in considering it as distinct from the
European species. It is characterised by the zocecia being
narrowed downwards, the lower parts and sides of the area
filled in by a granular layer, with the edge of the aperture
finely crenulated. In perfect specimens the fornix is of
large size, filling the whole aperture, except the part corre-
sponding to the mouth. It is nearly straight above, with
frequently a small process or spur projecting upwards, and
the large, downwardly extending lamina has a peculiar
helicoid marking, with the spiral turned inwards. Busk
does not describe or figure this appearance, showing the
lamina as plain, but there can be no doubt of the identity of
the species. A somewhat similar, but less developed mark,
is seen in an English specimen of C. Boryi. In older
specimens the edge of the lamina is usually worn off, and it
then has a reniform or hammer-shaped appearance. The
ovicell when young has the margin smooth, but this gradu-
ally becomes surrounded by a thickened band,
C. glabra, n. sp.
Zoarium expanded, flabelliform. Zocecia biserial, slightly -
narrowed below, area partly filled in by a smooth plate.
; ee
130 Descriptions of New,
-Fornix, with a thick peduncle, the lamina usually expanded
chiefly downwards, reniform or hammer-shaped, two spines
at the outer angle above, and one, frequently of enormous
size, from the peduncle of the fornix. Lateral avicularia,
small; central avicularia large, irregularly placed above or
below the peduncle. Zocecia posteriorily elongated, smooth
or faintly sulcate. Vibracular sete, serrated. Ocecia
rounded, arcuate or irregular in outline, flattened in front,
with a thickened marginal rim. .
Port Phillip Heads.
Differs from C. Darwin in the smoothness of the lamina
filling in the area. It is closely allied to the European
C. Boryt, in which the cells are shorter and broader, and
which has a thickened smooth band round the edge of the
aperture. The ocecia are at first nearly smooth at the upper
edge, but gradually develop a thickened rim.
Family FARCIMINARIIDA,
Farcninaria svmplex, no. sp. Plate L, fig 1.
Zoarium dichotomously branched, internodes long. Zocecia
much elongated, narrow, separated by raised, shghtly crenu-
lated or smooth margins. Ocecia very large, globular. No
avicularia. |
Port Phillip Heads. |
This species differs from the others previously described
in the absence of avicularia and of spines or processes of any
sort on the separating margins of the zocecia. The ocecium
is of great size, occupies a distinctly bounded space between
the extremities of two cells. It is smooth, globular, but
when dried becomes wrinkled, and has a depression round
the upper edge and sides, showing the marginal walls, owing
to the shrivelling of its delicate outer envelope, which seems
to be separated by some distance from the inner part.
Family BEANIIDZ.
Beania conferta, n. sp. Plate L., fig 5.
Locecia large, each connected with six others by very
short tubes ; six large spines above, of which two from the
summit project directly upwards, a similar pair (one on each
side), originating a little farther back, pointing in the same
direction, and the third pair, arising opposite the lower edge
of the mouth, projecting upwards and forwards, and curved
inwards at their bases ; on each side of the aperture a double
or Little Known, Polyzoa. 131
row of long, stout spines, the outer directed forwards and
outwards, “and the inner series, alternating with these,
arching close over the front of the cell, and meeting in the
mesial line. Dorsal surface smooth, glassy; In many,
especially the marginal cells, a round mark on each side
towards the base, ‘probably marking the attachment of a
radical fibre. No avicularia.
Portland, Mr. Maplestone ; Port Phillip Heads, Mr. J. B.
Wilson.
This species is readily distinguished from the other Aus-
tralian forms by the closeness of the cells, the six large
spines at the anterior extremity, and the absence of avicu-
laria. The peculiar’ arrangement of the marginal spines,
alternately directed outwards and inwards, is not constant,
but when present is very striking. It is evidently very
closely allied to the form described from Algiers by Mr.
Hincks as Diachoris hirtissima, var. robusta, from which it
differs in having two instead of three superior spines, and
in the total. absence of avicularia. This and Heller's.
D. hirtissima, in both of which avicularia are absent, clearly
prove the invalidity of Diachoris as a genus, the only reason
for distinguishing which from Beania consists in the presence
of these organs.
Family FLUSTRIDZ.
Craspedozowm, n. genus.
Zoarium uni- or bilaminate, in strap-shaped divisions ;
each branch bordered in its whole extent by a bundle of
radical fibres springing from the bases of the lateral zocecia.
Zocecia quadrate, area partly filled in by a thickened lamina.
Ocecia external, with a thickened rim or band at or near the
margin, usually produced at the summit into a more or less.
prominent point.
In the Annals and Magazine of Natural History for
August, 1881, Mr. Hincks described and figured a remark-.
able form from near Port Curtis as Membranipora roborata,
pointing out at the same time the doubtfulness of its
position, its characters being intermediate between those of
Flustra and Membranipora, and agreeing with Gray’s.
Flustramorpha in the presence of a lateral band of radical
fibres. This species occurs also at Port Phillip Heads and
Portland (Maplestone). At the Heads two other species.
have also been found, agreeing with it in their essential.
K 2
be 182 Descriptions of New,
generic characters, but differing in being unilaminate, and in
some other points of specific value. There can be no doubt
that these ought to be formed into a distinct genus, to which
also, probably, Mr. Busk’s Plustra membraniporides (Chal-
lenger Polyzoa, p. 54) belongs. He, however, neither
ficures nor describes the marginal bundle of radical fibres,
which, however, may (as in Menipea) not be of generic
value. flustramorpha, if Busk’s species are rightly referred
to that genus, has a totally different zocecial structure.
C. ligulatum, n. sp. - Plate L, fig. 3.
Zoarium unilaminate; branches narrow, dichotomously
divided. Zocecia multiserial; a small spine at each upper
angle. A single avicularium, with a _ triangular-pointed
mandible at the base of each cell. Ocecia rounded above
and shghtly pointed, with a thickened margin, usually pro-
duced into a small point at the summit. :
Port Phillip Heads; New Zealand, Miss Jelly.
Differs from C. (Membranipora) roboratum in being uni-
laminate, the branches being very much narrower, and con-
sequently the rows of zocecia fewer, and in there being only
one avicularium at the base of a cell.
C. spicatum, n. sp. Plate L., fig. 2.’
Zoarium unilaminar, dichotomously divided, the branches
narrow. Zocecia multiserial, rhomboidal; area broadly
elliptical, the margin thickened, crenulated, the plate filling
in the lower part finely granular; the central zocecia with
a spine on each side above, the marginal with two on
the outer angle above, the lower of which is much larger.
A sessile avicularium at the base of each zocecium. Ocecia
not prominent, nearly quadrate, a thickened band from each
side of the opening passing upwards and inwards, meeting
in the centre and produced upwards as a long sharp spike.
Port Phillip Heads, Mr. J. B. Wilson.
Family EscHARIDA, -
Schizoporella pulcherrima, n. sp. Plate L, fig. 6.
Zocecia separated by narrow raised lines, broad and nearly
flat, surface traversed by faint lines converging from minute
pores or depressions at the margin; mouth very wide, edge
thickened, contracted towards the base, and the lower lip-
pan
or Little Known, Polyzoa. 133
forming a slightly hollowed sinus or nearly straight. A
broadly elliptical avicularium placed obliquely on each side
of the mouth. |
Port Phillip Heads.
The structure of the mouth approximates to that of
Gemellipora striatula.
Smittia cribraria, nu. sp. Plate LI, fig. 7.
Zoarium encrusting. Zocecia large, separated at the grow-
ing edge by raised lines; towards the older parts distinct,
but the separating line not raised; whole surface occupied
by large, closely set foramina, largest at the circumference ;
a hammer-shaped denticle in the oral sinus. Occia
rounded, smooth or pitted, sub-immersed,
Port Phillip Heads.
On one or two of the zocecia there is what seems to be
an avicularlum with an enormous flat, rounded mandible
similar to that described by Hincks on Leprulia bifrons.
Family ADEONID,
In the Challenger Polyzoa Mr. Busk proposes a new genus
Adeonella, which with Adeona (including Dictyopora) he
places in a family Adeoneze. Under dAdeonella he places a
number of species previously undescribed or referred to the
old incongruous genus Hschara. These,as mentioned by him,
differ from Adeona chiefly in the absence of a flexible stem,
agreeing in the presence of distinct avicularian cells, ocecial
cells and in the curious articular processes of the avicularian
mandibles, as well as in the presence of a suboral pore or
cluster of pores. These pores, however, as recently pointed
out by Mr. Waters (Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc, Aug., 1885),
differ essentially in several of the species. In one group, to
which he would restrict the generic name, represented here
by A. platalea (Busk) and A. dispar (M‘G.), the pore is
formed by. the growth of the peristome, and in reality opens
into its tube external to the operculum and true mouth,
while in the other group the pore or pores open into the
body-cavity below the mouth. These last, with Adeona and
Dictyopora, in which the structure is similar, he refers to
Microporella. I cannot agree with this view, and it seems
to me that Busk is quite right in forming a separate family.
The characters chiefly are that in the Adeonide, in addition
to the ordinary zocecia, there are other purely avicularian
a
134 Descriptions of New,
ells. There are no external ocecia, as in Microporella, but
the ova seem to be developed in specially modified zocecial
cells (not, however, yet observed in some of the species), and
all the avicularian mandibles (whether from the avicularian
cells or from the zocecial avicularia) have a small process at
each articular angle which, so far as is at present known, is
confined to this family. Busk’s Adeonella, however, ought
to be divided into two, the Adeonelle proper, where the pore
is external; the other where it is zocecial (opening into the
cavity of the cell). The species here described belong to the
second group, to which the generic name Adeonellopsis may
be given. It would include also Eschara mucronata (M‘G.)
Adeonellopsis foluaced, nu. sp. Plate II, fig. 1.
Zoarium large, foliaceous, lamina twisted so as to form a
cellular mass. Zocécia rhomboidal, quincuncial, separated
by distinct grooves; surface pitted, a median pore or pores
(when fresh obscured by the epitheca) ; mouth arched above,
straight below; a median avicularium below the mouth,
with the mandible pointed directly upwards and projecting
beyond the lower lip, and one smaller on each side (occa-
sionally absent), directed inwards and slightly downwards.
Ocecial cells very large, convex, pitted and tuberculated like
the ordinary cells.
Westernport, Mr. J. B. Wilson.
Mr. Wilson has also sent me a variety in which the
zoarium is not foliaceous and cellular, but with branches
narrower, anastomosing, and much twisted. The zocecial
characters, however, are identical; Both forms attain a large
size, the specimen of the first, which is broken, measuring
6 in. x 5 in., with a depth of nearly 4 in.
A. latipuncta, n. sp. Plate IL, fig. 5.
Zoarium expanded, foliaceous, simple or convoluted.
Marginal cells convex, with a large circular area on the front,
occupied by a cluster of 6—1i0 fimbriated pores; mouth
arched above, slightly hollowed below. Older cells with
the edge much raised, leaving the perforated area in a
depression. A large central avicularium below the mouth
with the long narrow mandible pointed directly upwards.
Colour, yellowish brown.
Port Phillip Heads.
~
or Inttle Known, Polyzoa. 135
A. parvipuncta, n. sp. Plate IT, fig. 4.
Zoarium small, erect, branched, the branches broad and 5
flat. Youngest zocecia elongated, convex, mouth arched |
above, straight or slightly projecting below ; a small, round,
smooth or dentate pore below the mouth, Older cells
distinct, rhomboidal, quincuncial, the lateral parts much |
raised, convex, inclosing the mouth and pore in a deep t
hollow ; pore single, and usually elongated and denticulate
in the zocecial cells, in the ocecial, which are broader, the »
depression is occupied by several denticulate or stellate
pores. Small, triangular avicularia scattered on the edges
of the cells and frequently on slight eminences by the sides |
of the mouth. Large vicarious avicularia, with triangular ae
mandibles, arranged on the free edges of the branches. ‘i
Port Phillip Heads. |
A. australis, n. sp. Plate IL, figs. 2 and 3. : |
Zoarium erect, formed of irregularly-divided branches, Sets |
flat, narrow, twisted, and truncate at the extremities. Seed
Zocecia rhomboidal, convex, narrowed below, separated by
finely crenulated, raised lines. A small, central, stellately 5
perforated depression. Mouth arched above, straight below. .
A median avicularium below the mouth, with thetriangular |
mandible directed obliquely upwards; frequently another
avicularium towards the base of the cell. Ocecial cells very
broad, with the mouth much wider and shallower, not very -
convex; occasionally with two lateral oral avicularia in
addition to the central one. Vicarious avicularia very large,
with triancular mandibles, interspersed among the zocecial
cells, but more frequent on the margins of the branches. 3
Port Phillip Heads. Common. =
Bracebridgia, n. gen.
Zoarium erect, bilaminate, branched. Zocecia distinct,
entire ; mouth subcircular, with an internal denticle; peri-
stome raised, thick. Avicularian cells on the free edges of
the lobate branches, the triangular mandibles with a pro-
jecting articular process at each lower angle. Ocecia ?
B. pyriformis, Busk, sp. Plate IL, figs. 6-and 7.
(Mucronella pyriformis, Challenger Polyzoa, p. —)
The Zoarium attains a height of one or two inches, and
consists of flat branches with lateral lobes, the various
136% 3 Descriptions of New,
branches usually more or less twisted on themselves. The
Zocecia are pyriform, separated by deep grooves ; the mouth
is subcircular, with a broad denticle internally and occasion-
ally a small apiculate process on the lower lip. There is an
elevated ridge round the mouth, the two sides meeting
below the lower edge and continuing down the cell as a
central elevation. The surface is smooth, or, especially in
young cells and on the raised portion, minutely granular.
As age advances the divisions between the cells become
much fainter, the cells themselves are squarer, and the
mouth appears as a circular opening surrounded by a
broad tumid margin. Many of the cells are also completely
closed. One very young specimen (fig. 7) rises as a small
bifid lobe from an encrusting base. Towards the edge of the
encrusting part many of the cells are closed or not properly
formed, while both external and internal to these are some
where the mouths have clear, narrowly elevated margins,
with an apiculate mucro below and, in a few, a broadly
elliptical avicularium across the front of the lower lips
have not seen these oral avicularia in any other specimen.
On the free edge of the lobate branches, in most specimens,
there is a single row of avicularian cells.
This species, which is common, has been described by
Mr. Busk in the Challenger Polyzoa, and doubtfully referred —
to Mucronella. There can, however, be no question that it
ought to form the type of a new generic group, and I have
much pleasure in associating it with the name of my friend,
Mr. J. Bracebridge Wilson, who has done so much to
advance our knowledge of the marine zoology and botany of
Victoria. Its systematic position, however, is doubtful, and
it ought perhaps to be included in the Hscharidee.
Family CELLEPORIDA.
Pecilopora, n. genus.
Zoarium erect, bilaminate, branched. Zocecia indistinct ;
primary mouth, with a sinus; peristome commencing as an
elevated point, with a small avicularium on the summit,
finally becoming a tumid, subcircular ring. Ocecia immersed,
closed by a perforated plate.
P.anomala, n.sp.- Plate L, fis. 9,
Of this very curious species, I have only one good speci-
men, for which I am indebted to Mr. Wilson, and two or
or Inttle Known, Polyzoa. 137
three imperfect fragments. The zoarium is small, branched,
bilaminate. The youngest zocecia and those at the margins
of the branches have one side produced into a long point,
with a small avicularium on the inner surface at the summit.
As age advances the summit disappears, and the mouth
becomes surrounded by a tumid peristome, with the avicu-
larium usually on the outer part of the ring. The pointed
process, with its surmounting avicularium, seems to be
formed before the operculum, as in the cells showing these
parts it cannot be detected. In a few older cells, where
the peristome is developed into a thick circular ring,
the internal mouth can be seen with a slit on its
superior side, that is, towards the wpper end of the branches.
On the basal side of the mouth is a perforated plate, which
at first I thought was an ordinary zocecial opening similar
to that of Microporella renipuncta. It is, however, in
reality the opening of the ocecium. Im young celis this
appears first as a cup-shaped elevation, which becomes
covered by a perforated plate, and gradually sinks into the
substance of the zoceclum. The most curious circumstance
is that, although it would appear to be below the mouth, it
is really above it, owing to the peculiar reversal of the
mouth. It is evidently closely allied to Lekythopora
hystri« (M‘G.), where the ocecia and oral avicularia are
similar. The shape of the operculum is similar in both, but
I have not yet made the necessary examination to ascertain
if the position of the ocecium in Lekythopora is also
superior, although seemingly inferior. The two species are
most remarkable, and I hope shortly to be able to give a
more detailed account of their structure.
Funily HoRNERIDA.
Idmonea wnterjuncta, n. sp.
Zoarium dichotomously branched, branches spreading
irregularly, intricate, occasionally anastomosing ; numerous.
bundles of prismatic, calcareous, radical tubes, passing from _
the back of the branches, and attached either to the surface
on which it grows or to other branches. Zocecia usually -
four in a series, of which the inner is shortest, turned much
forward, united side to side, separated by distinct grooves,
surface thickly covered with projecting pores.’ Posterior
surface finely grooved longitudinally, covered with elevated
perforations as in front; surface marked by obscure, trans-
verse, concentric ridges.
138
Descriptions of New,
Port Phillip Heads, Mr. J. B. Wilson.
This is so close a repetition of I. Milneana in miniature
that I was at first disposed to rank it as a slender variety of
‘that species. It differs in being very much more slender, the
branches more interlacing, the colour dirty white instead of
ereen, and in the branches being joined to each other in
many instances by the long, calcified bundles of tubes.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
| Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
Fig.
EXPLANATION OF FIGURES.
PirAane dt
.1. Farcuemimaria simplex, natural size. Fig. la. Out-
line of portion magnified, showing an ocecium.
. 2. Craspedozoum spicatum, natural size. Fig. 2a. Por-
tion magnified.
. 3. CO. ligulatwm, natural size. Fig. 3a. Portion
magnified.
. 4, Portion of specimen of C. roboratum (Hincks sp.),
natural size, to contrast with Fig. 3.
5. Zocecium of Beanie conferta, magnified,
6. Schizoporella pulcherrima; the left-hand cell is
evidently formed by the fusion of two.
7. Smittia cribraria.
8. Menipea funiculata, natural size. Fig. 8a. Portion
magnified.
9. Pecilopora anomala, natural size. Fig. 9a. Portion
from the extremity of a branch, magnified, one of the
zocecia Showing the internal or primary mouth. Fig.
9b. Portion from the growing edge. Fig. 9c. Another
portion showing the growth of the ocecium.
PLATE Th
1. Zocecium and ocecial cell of Adeonellopsis foliacea.
Vig. la. Avicularian cell of same.
2. A. australis, natural size. Fig. 3. Portion of another
specimen magnified, showing ordinary zocecia, a closed
zocecium, and two avicularian cells. ig. 3a. Another
portion of the same to show an ocecial cell. —
4. A. parvipuncta, natural size. lig. 4a. Portion
magnified, | 3 ;
0 anerheraion
it
A Maine
Ret joes FRCS
pees ve)!
a
; a
RAT ke
hay *
atl
Fate orgn re”
Oo
C.Troedel&C 1.
Ye Wiehe
AE es ihre K(@ ©
nyo
nad
=
,
<
Ee
“a
=
tm
eer
7
C Troedet Ce
genennneg
ra tal
i
wr My
no on vi \
j
ans ctl
e.deledith —
7
;
j
£
i
ra
7
%
H.M? G
or Little Known, Polyzoa. 139
Fig. 5. A. latipuncta, natural size. Fig. 5a. Portion mag-
nified. Fig. 56. Avicularian cell.
Fig, 6. Portion of specimen of Bracebridgia pyriformis,
natural size. Fig. 6a. Portion of the same magnified.
Fig. 6b. Two avicularian cells from the free edge.
Fig. 6c. Portion of older part of same zoarium.
Fig. 7. Young specimen, natural size. Fig. 7a. Two
Zocecia from the same, showing an apiculate mucro and
an oral avicularium.
PLATE III.
Chitinous parts of—
. A. foliacea.
. A. parvipuncta.
. A. australis.
. A. latipuncta.
. Bracebridgia pyriformis.
. Pecilopora anomala.
br}
i
IOV °
Sop Ov H C9 bO Ee
Art. XIII.—On an Apparatus for Utilising the Force
of the Tides.
By Mr. LocKHART MorTON.
[Read December 10th, 1885. ]
ArT. XIV.—On an Apparatus for Determining the
Stability of Ships.
By C. W. M‘LEAN.
[Read December 10th, 1885.]
6) WR a
= sa a serena emcee ete tae eee, ena aa =
Obituary.
THE HON. DAVID ELLIOTT WILKIE, M.D. Ep., AND
L.R.C.S. Ep.
Dr. WILKIE was a native of Haddington, in Scotland, where his
early education was obtained. He afterwards studied in Edin-
burgh for the medical profession, and graduated at the University
of that city. Afterwards he went to Paris, for the purpose of
completing his medical studies, and in 1838 he came to
Australia, selecting Adelaide as his first place of residence, and
coming on to Melbourne in the succeeding year. At that time the
medical profession in this colony consisted of very few members,
but Dr. Wilkie, after he had been here some time, induced the
others to join him in commencing a medical society, which was
called the Port Phillip Medical Association. In 1852 a second
society—the Medico-Chirurgical Society—was formed, and in 1855
these two bodies became the present Medical Society of Victoria,
of which, in 1858, Dr. Wilkie became President. In that society
he took a warm interest, and frequently read papers at its meetings.
He was also a regular contributor to the Australian Medical
Journal, which in 1856 he helped to found, and which for awhile
he edited. He was one of the original members of the Philo-
sophical Society, out of which finally grew the present Royal
Society, and was first its treasurer and afterwards (in 1857) its
vice-president. He contributed to its Transactions frequent papers ;
and although some of his conclusions, especially that referring to
the Yan Yean Reservoir, were curiously unconfirmed, there was no
denying the great industry and care with which his essays were
prepared. Dr. Wilkie was one of the first physicians to the
Melbourne Hospital, a connection which, after being for some time
broken, he afterwards renewed, and to the duties of which office
he applied himself with a conscientious regard for their fulfilment.
After several unsuccessful attempts, he in 1858 became a member
of the Legislative Council of this colony for the North-western
Obituary. 141
Province, He retained his seat for ten years, during which time
he became a member of a Government and Chairman of Committees ;
but he never showed any special liking for political life, his heart
being in the study and practice of his profession, in which he
deservedly held a conspicuous place, and in which he won con-
siderable success, both generally and as a specialist, the direction
of this latter being gynocology.
For several years before his visit to Europe, whither he went in
November last, Dr. Wilkie had retired from very active practice,
but his scientific interest in medicine never waned. His death
took place in Paris on the 2nd of April of this year, at the age of
seventy. The event was unexpected, as he was in very fair health
when he left Melbourne.
EDWARD BARKER, M.D. Mets., F.R.C.S. Ene.
Dr. BarRKER was an old colonist, having arrived in Victoria in
1840, when only twenty-four years of age. He was a native of the
South of England, and his medical education was received at
University College, London, where he was a pupil of the illustrious
Liston, and to whose example and precepts he attributed much of
the interest he always took in operative and conservative surgery.
His first experience here, however, was not in connection with his
professional pursuits, for on his arrival he at once took up land in
the north-west, where he entered upon pastoral pursuits with
much energy and very profitable results. Nine years later he
experienced a desire to resume the practice of the profession to
which he had been trained, and although he continued a com-
mercial connection with his squatting undertakings, he settled
down in Melbourne to the regular work of medicine. In 1851 he
obtained his first official position, being elected in that year
honorary surgeon of the Melbourne Benevolent Asylum, then only
just started. In 1852 he was chosen toa like position on the
staff of the Melbourne Hospital, at that time a very small institu-
tion in comparison with its present bulk and importance. He held
this appointment continuously for twenty-four years, during which
period he deservedly acquired the reputation of a skilful and
scientific surgeon. He was one of the founders of the Royal
Society of Victoria, and also of the Medical Society, both
of which grew out of the fusion of competing, but not
antagonistic, associations. With the governing bodies of both
societies he maintained a long connection, and of the Medical_
Society he was President in 1859. He assisted in starting the
Australian Medical Journal, which has been for more than thirty
———————————————
/
142 ; Obituary.
years the organ of the Medical Society, and he contributed papers
of a practically valuable kind both to this publication and to the
earlier Transactions of the Royal Society. In 1864 he was
appointed lecturer on surgery in the then recently established
Medical School of the University, having during the previous
year taken the degree of Doctor of Medicine. About the same
time he was appointed by the Government one of the official
visitors of Lunatic Asylums, and the opportunity the duties of
this office afforded him of studying mental diseases caused him to
become an authority in that branch of medicine. Indeed, as a
good ‘‘all-round” man in the medical profession, he could not well
be distanced, and his success in practice was commensurate
with his ability. He was a diligent reader of medical books,
and he had collected together a very valuable library of
both standard authors and monograph writers. As a con-
sulting surgeon, therefore, he held a leading position. Like
many other old colonists, however, Dr. Barker did not die rich,
although he was at one time regarded as one of the very successful
of the early settlers in this part of the world. Perhaps he had not
the special faculty of thrift, which is necessary to the accumulation
of wealth; and it is certain that, in the days of his prosperity, he
was as open-handed as he was warm-hearted.
He was married in 1845 to Miss Scott, who came of an old
Midlothian family, and his domestic life was known to he a
happy one. He had a numerous family, and two of his sons chose
also the medical profession ; but they both died before him, and
at his death only a son and daughter survived him.
Among the many good qualities of Dr. Barker the interest he
always took in the Royal Society of Victoria will be remembered
not the least when his name shall have been only an historical
memory. He died on the 30th of June, 1885.
JONATHAN BINNS WERE, C.M.G., J.P., &.
Mr. J. B. Were, the third son of Nicholas Were, Esq., a landed
proprietor in Somersetshire, was born at Wellington, in that
county, on the 25th April, 1809. Asa youth he entered the employ
of a leading commercial house in the seaport town of Plymouth,
with whom he continued for some years; but being possessed of an
enterprising spirit, and having the command of some capital, he
eventually determined to visit the colonies, in the hope that he
would there find a freer scope for the use of both the one and the
other.
Obituary. 143:
Accordingly, upon the 25th July, 1839, he embarked for the
new settlement of Port Phillip, with his wife and two young
children, in a ship freighted by himself with goods suitable
to the enterprise. He landed in Australia on the 15th
November following, and he was, from the time of his arrival
in Melbourne to the date of his death, a leading figure in its com-
mercial world.
He received his magistrate’s commission in 1840. He was one
of the earliest presidents of the Chamber of Commerce. From
1841 to 1851 he was a leader in the agitation which resulted in
the separation of the district of Port Phillip from the colony of
New South Wales. He was on the committee of the Melbourne
Hospital as far back as 1841. In 1854 he joined the Philosophical
Society of Victoria, an institution which, with another, event-
ually merged into the Royal Society. He became a member
of the council of the latter body shortly after it was established, and
subsequently he was elected a life member, in recognition of the
valuable services which he had rendered to it. Although of late
years he had ceased to take any active part in our proceedings, he
ever expressed himself as heartily interested in our work, and as
well pleased to hear of our progress.
The deceased gentleman was also a member of the Royal Society
of Antiquaries of Copenhagen.
Mr. Were represented Brighton in the Legislative Assembly in
the year 1856, but he retired for good from politics in the following
year.
He was an ex-director of the Union Bank, and was consul for
no less than six different foreign powers.
He was a Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George
of Great Britain, a Knight Commander of the Danish Order of the
Danneboog, and a Knight of the Swedish Order of Wasa,
One of the founders of the colony of Victoria, Mr. Were’s long
colonial career was marked conspicuously by zeal in promoting the
interests of his adopted country, by energy and integrity in the
manggement of his business, and by charity and hospitality in his
private life.
He died at his residence, “ Wellington,” Brighton, of a compli-
cation of disorders, on the 6th December, 1885, in the seventy-
seventh year of his age, leaving behind him a widow—his second
wife—four sons, and four daughters.
1885.
PROCEEDINGS:
ROYAL SOCIETY OF VICTORIA.
ANNUAL MEE TING,
March 11th, 1886.
Present, the President (mm the chair) and 16 members and
associates.
The Report and Balance-sheet for 1885 were read and adopted,
as follow :—
«Report of the Council of the Royal Society of Victoria for the
Year 1885.
«The Council has again to report the conclusion of a year
marked by nothing very startling in the way either of calamity or
success. - It has been a time of quiet prosperity; and though it is
true that only a small proportion of our Members actively join in
the preparation or discussion of papers, still what has been done
has been on the whole very satisfactory.
‘‘During the year there have been elected 5 members,
2 Honorary Life Members, and 4 Associates. There are now on
the Members’ roll the names of 108 Ordinary Members, 18 Life
Members, 7 Corresponding Members, 10 Honorary Members,
39 Country Members, and 73 Associates, making a total of 255.
“During the year there have been received for the Library
85 volumes and 518 parts of Scientific publications.
“Vol. XXI. of the Society’s Transactions was issued to
Members in June, 1885. Vol. XXII. will be ready for distribution
in April next.
“Your Council hae to report with regret the death of Dr.
Wilkie, who was one.of our earliest Members, and at one time an
active and valued contributor to our Transactions.
L
146 Proceedings, &e., for 1885.
“During the year there have been held 9 ordinary meetings,
in addition to the annual conversazione. The following papers
were read and discussed :—
“ April 16.—‘ On the Examination of Water,’ by Mr. Cosmo
NEWBERY.
“‘ May 14.—‘ Photography, Its Past and Present,’ by Mr. L.
Harr.
“ June 11.—‘On the Recent Earth Tremors, and the Condi-
tions which they Indicate,’ by Mr. G. 8S. Grirritus. ‘The
Atmosphere a Source of Nitrogen in Plant Economy,’ by Mr. E.
L. Marks. ;
“ July 9.—‘ Evidences of Glaciation in the Australian Alps,’
by Mr. J. L. Stieuive.
“ August 13.—‘ On the Dynamical Equivalent of a Pressure,’
by Mr. Waxetry. ‘On Uniformity in International Statistics,’
by Mr. H. d’Et. Taylor.
‘* September 10.—‘ The Cryptogamia of the Australian Alps,’
by Mr. J. L. Struixne. ‘On Fuller’s Spiral Slide Rule,’ by
Mr. Fenton.
“¢ November 18.—‘ The Metamorphic Schists and Intrusive
Rocks of Ensay,’ by Mr. A. W. Howirr. ‘New or Little-known
Polyzoa, Part IX., by Mr. M‘Gittivray. ‘Note on the Habits
of Hermit Crabs,’ by Mr. A. H. 8. Lucas.
‘« December 10.—‘ On an Apparatus for Obtaining Force from
the Flow of the Tides,’ by Mr. LocxHart Morton. ‘On an
Apparatus for Determining the Stability of Vessels,’ by Mr. C.
W. M‘Lean.
‘¢ During the year your Council made arrangments for the full
report of the discussions of the Society, and have engaged the
services of an excellent short-hand writer to be in attendance at
each meeting.
“The Council has continued the process of binding the
valuable scientific journals and magazines which have been for
some years past accumulating, and Members will see a con-
siderable addition to the number of volumes on our shelves.
““ Report of Section A.
“‘The year 1885 has been marked by increasing activity and
excellence of the papers contributed.
«The attendance has been steady throughout the year. The
number of names cn the list of members is now about 40.
Proceedings, &¢., for 1885. 147
“<The following were the papers contributed :—
‘‘ Professor Kernot traced the development of the steam engine
under the title of ‘High-Speed Engines.’
«Boiler Riveting.’ By Mr. W. R. Rennick.
«Tong Shafting.’ By Mr. C. W. M‘Lean.
‘<¢ Rainfall and Flood Discharge.’ By Mr, G. R. B. Steane.
«<«The Cootamundra Railway Accident.’ By Professor
Kernot.
““<«Mr, Fidler’s Graphic Method for Continuous Girders.’
By the Secretary.
“«< Hlectric Systems.’ By Mr. John Booth.
«<< The Metacentre Balance.’ By Mr. C. W. M‘Lean.
“B. A. SMITE, Honrsee”’
Es De
Hdasof ‘a LATO
LYagTI9 “a SsaWvVl "9881 ‘y2snpy ps€
*y91109 puUNo}J puv ‘xooq-sseg Yue ‘s1syonoA 9} YA posredwuod ;
‘SYOLIGAY |
§ GI 91017 G Sri gi01f¢
eS : 9 VI bz. ree ooo eos eos eve ooo 4So19}UT 14
2 Ol VI Z99 eve oo coe ose oe yueg url souryeg 66 OC © coo coo eve eee SUOTJOVSULIT, JO av 6b
0 S 9 oe “+ sormpung pur ‘sursiaapy ‘yse9 Ayog “ Ost tebe 2s oe see ose ah sexy) puvjuoy “
= © 0 oc °' wee “puny Aavq dy} 0} uoljNgijUuOD * Oo I oS =
6 0 ec. a ae 508 Bo ee aseisog OFS 0 vee eee 580 *** TLOISSIWUUIOD
2 Oo o1€ 000 cod coe eee cee eve souvinsuy * O I Zz o> one one see sIvally
Ss Gon ean one oe ms 00 a royeajog 9 O10 ces (reak-j[e py) ‘Opel
a Oo O 9 “s° = ce is ial “ gadaoy-yTeH “ o S Zt ee ee es soyeroossy SV
OO 500 2" 500 ise ae “er = quejsissy [eonayg “ 9 Ir 1 (sxeak-jezq) ‘op ‘od ¢
S 6 Li 9 ae os aie ses Gon Jang pue seg “ O L Zz te oes sroquieyy, Arjun0y 12
Ss b 1 vee eee se eee C00 se sal Soyeny. sts Ouse si ee (av0h-J[eEy) "og I
S Olo1 Si °* a0 O80 ** - svay, pu ouOIzesIaAUOD ¢ Ol Sh eSisiie see oes see sioquieyy V4
2 OS "** SUOIJOVSULIT, PUL SYOOY Jo sadivYyD pur jysorg —suondiosqng “
2 0 9 gh wee S50 800 eee eee Sutpurg “ O ZIZI tee coe a BOG -Saaq souvjUq xIg “
AY o zé¢ G00 O00 cee eee : eee syoog “ 0 0 OS1 ** O00 9-Sg9I jo uorr10d ‘op ‘od 6
o reg vee eos eee oc oie iss ainqiuin,y foymea(a ye uy) (fe 2009 *** Co-peer jo s0uvlegG—jueIy JUsWIUIOAOLT) %
(y's tail Che) FA moe sis ose aoe Axouo1jyejS pue suyug Aq (Hy Lhik CWAryA 0°78 wee "+ JooYS-d0ULTeg JSey WOIF oOULTeg OT,
aD "VEE
ee)
<
be
‘wisp fo 421905 yoko ay2 Yjimd zunoIpT us sANSDI4T, “UOET PY.L
*LHOAAS-AONYV IVA
Se ee
149)
Proceedings, &e., for 1885.
O19 etry
——
WY a
OI VI z99 JUNODDY [vIoUsyy) = =*op Meg?
O ZI ILI JuNoooY puny davgqa—yurg ur oouepeq
Ol 9
© © ofof13, 009 oo ae oimylumyy ‘Arerqry Wer“
O70 OT Se gc anp s}UdyT ‘op org | io
0 0 ObF + suondiuosqng Ssurpurjsjno jo antvA payeunsy Ag
mite) S.LHSSV
Ol g bvetry
Ol z Cov eee ooo e090 ooo aeo ooo soured 66
Oa O nly
O Scien a “* pun Aaxcy jo {por yw yuvg ur oouveq
O O OZ@ SOr}T[Iqviry Surpuvys}nO 19Y}0 Jo yUNOWLY- poyeutjsa **
OM Iga °° rae 28 7 “* paulivjoun jsortoyuy $f
© Om ciliate oa ve SuUIpULs}NO soainjUdqeq, x IYT, OF,
“SHILITIAVIT ad
“SLAHSSVY ANW SHILIIIGAVIT FTO LNAWALYLS
HdaSOf ‘a LYAIOW
*SYOLICA VY
INGATID “A SANVL
OSC Til °: os SS ms se -yueg url souveq *
@) of Cy7s 090 ae as oy "* AAV “SAL 0} preg Ag
AD
‘M20 ‘A av] ay, fo nropiyy ay, fo pry ue puing aug Ypund JUNOIIPY Ut AOANSDILT, ‘UOLT IY.L
‘Q99t ‘y2Ivpy ps€
*JO91109 PUNOF pu’ poulUEX a
O ZI 1917
OuNOneOo me ues "** Kja1I90G |eAoyX oy} JO uoTyNquyUoOD ‘*
o bv 6 es aa ame are suondiaosqng 19yiO
OmGue crilyy —.
0 3g vz a vIpVysny YNos ut od
OVO) BQOlija us He VIIOJIIA UL PopOI[[9D
—'bsy ‘uemoyovypy "AA ‘'S rod paateooa suoijdiaosqng OT,
ae
LAO GDAS=-AONY TY &
ee
150 Proceedings, e., for 1885.
OR DIN AR Y = ME Er te aNeee
Held April 16th, 1885.
Present, the President (in the chair) and 22 members and
associates.
The President desired that members who had objects of scientific
interest should make an effort to assist in rendering the Victorian
Court of the Indian and Colonial Exhibition, to be held in London
in 1886, as complete as possible from a scientific point of view.
Dr. Neild read a short obituary notice of Dr. Wilkie, who had
been an active member of the society in its early days. On his
motion it was resolved that a letter of condolence be forwarded to
the widow of Dr. Wilkie.
The President then reported the progress that had been made in
securing contributions to the Davy fund. He stated that the sum
of £157 4s. had been collected by the society, and that the
Government had granted £100 in addition.
Mr. Cosmo Newsery then read his paper on the “ Examination
of Water.’’ In the discussion which followed
Mr, Evtery said that the only way to thoroughly protect our
water supply was to exclude human habitations from the catch-
ment area. He described the efforts that had been made to keep
the basin of the Yan Yean free from dwellings. There was
nothing, so far as was yet known, that could be added to dele-
terious water, so.as to destroy disease germs. Perhaps lime
might have that result to a small extent. He remembered that
on one occasion when Dr. Gillbee was examining a hydatid sac ié
was noticed that the micrococci were at once killed by the addition
of a drop of brandy. Perhaps there might after all be some force
in the popular notion that the addition of a little spirit to water
made the latter less likely to communicate disease.
Mr. E. L. Marks said that he had long taken peculiar interest
in this examination of water used for drinking purposes. In the
destruction of germs he noticed that benzine had a remarkably
quick, while carbolic acid had a very slow, effect.
Dr. JAMIESON said that he had been much struck by hearing
Mr. Newbery confess how inadequate were the merely chemical
tests of water. The presence of disease germs was scarcely a
matter to be determined by the ordinary qualitative tests of a
chemist. Doubtless the presence of albuminoid nitrogenous
matter was a warning, but that might be abundantly present
without the appearance of germs, and on the other hand deadly
germs might be found where it was comparatively absent. He
considered that the gelatine method of determining the bacterial
energy present was a much more satisfactory test than any other ;
for in this way it is possible to cultivate each species free from the
Proceedings, &¢., for 1885. 151
interference and competition of others. In Melbourne he con-
sidered that typhoid was more prevalent than in any town of
England. Evenif the specific poison were not present we ought
to be suspicious when organic matter is present in drinking water;
for even if it does not engender typhoid, it is certain to increase
diarrhcea and allied diseases. No filter is of the least use in
removing bacterial forms, but in its own way a filter of compressed
asbestos was the best that could be had for purifying water. He
had seen Mr. Newbery’s experiments with benzine, and the result
was certainly remarkable.
Mr. BLacKeETT said that he always thought that bacteria were
of the nature of a ferment, It was surprising that Melbourne
should be so heavily visited with typhoid fever when its water
supply was so pure. Pasteur has discovered that through a biscuit
porcelain, under a pressure of two atmospheres, it was possible to
filter out bacterial germs.
Mr. A. C. MAcDONALD said that the Moorabool River, which
supplied Geelong with water, gathered its waters from a pig-feeding
area, and the supply would not therefore be very pure.
Dr. Henry said that bacteria of typhoid seemed to grow most
readily where animal and vegetable refuse were mingled.
Mr. Fenton said that the death-rate from typhoid was
increasing at an alarming rate in Melbourne. Perhaps milk was
the most dangerous vehicle in which the typhoid germs would be
disseminated. The late Dr. Thomson maintained that the typhoid
germs were absorbed by vegetable matters only from decaying
animal matters with which they might happen to be in contact.
Mr. WHITE said that possibly the germs of typhoid and allied
fevers might be spread by the dust-storms, which were the plague
of Melbourne. Dry dirt of all sorts gathered on our streets, on
account of defective scavenger arrangements, and it was possible
that the wind may blow dried, but not killed, germs into our food.
Mr. Ewuery agreed with Mr. White, and noticed that in
Melbourne typhoid abounded most in dry, dusty weather.
Mr. NEwseEry pointed out that free and albuminoid ammonia
increased in the rain collected by the Observatory gauges whenever
the weather was hot and dry, for the air was then charged with
organic matter in the form of dust, which was necessarily washed
down into the gauges. In reply to a question from a member, he
stated that the disease germs were so small that they passed readily
through any filter. Whether boiling would destroy their vitality
he could not say, but it must certainly be looked on as to a certain
extent a safeguard.
Mr. SUTHERLAND remarked that in Melbourne, while the death-
rate generally was decreasing, there was a steady increase in the
deaths from typhoid. This result could not be due to any
increasing neglect of sanitary precautions, for the change was
a ar se ores =e
152 Proceedings, &c., for 1885.
certainly in the other direction. He thought that possibly the
reason might be that there was a steadily-increasing population of
Victorian birth. Those who came here as emigrants from other
lands mostly came in the prime of life, and a large proportion
would be likely to have already passed through the ordeal of
typhoid, thus being, to a certain extent, preserved against it in
after life. The comparative absence of typhoid in the early days
of the colony might have been due to the fact that the field it had
to spread in was worked out, while the rising generation has no
such safeguard.
Dr. NEILD replied that typhoid existed here in abundance in
the early days of the colony, but it was then known as colonial
fever.
The discussion then terminated.
May 14th, 1885.
Present, the President (in the chair) and 21 members and
associates.
The President communicated a message from the Council
suggesting that Messrs. H. K. Rusden and Edward Howitt should
be elected Honorary Life Members, in consideration of their
services as Honorary Secretaries of the Society when the duties
were more arduous. After some remarks from several members
testifying to their knowledge of the value of the sérvices of these
gentlemen in promoting the interests of the Society, Messrs.
Rusden and Howitt were unanimously elected Honorary Life
Members.
Dr. Neitp, Librarian, announced that he had received from
Mr. H. F. Eaton, Dr. Davy’s son-in-law, a copy of J. J. Fahie’s
“ History of Electrical Telegraphy.”
Mr. Ltpovic Hart read his paper on ‘‘ Photography, its Past and
Present.”
Professor Krrnor said the Society was much indebted to Mr.
Marks for his paper ; that photography was invaluable to all the
professions, but particularly to the engineers, as it was perfectly
reliable. He remarked on the fact that a photograph is evidence,
which is not the case with an engraving. He suggested as an
interesting exhibit a specimen of each process in the history of
photography, and Mr. Hart promised such an exhibit.
‘Mr. Waite also remarked on the unreliability of any other
pictorial records. Photography was of immense service to astrono-
mers, and though the results were imperfect when clear definition
of small objects was required, there was ground for hope of
improvement. He thought Mr. Hart did not do justice to Mr.
Osborne. ree
i
Proceedings, &c., for 1885. 153
Mr. SUTHERLAND said the matter of the paper was not original.
Photography was being rapidly adapted to commercial purposes,
and his brother had recently patented an invention by which a
printed picture could be issued within two hours after the object
had been photographed.
Mr, Marks said that many beautiful reactions in photography
were worthy of detailed description, especially those by which the
various rays of the spectrum, visible and invisible, affected the
sensitised plate.
The Rev. J.J. Hattey mentioned Mr. Woodbury’s process of
sun printing, which was invented at Haglehawk, Victoria, but
failing support here, the inventor went to London, where it was
appreciated, and the necessary assistance obtained. He also men-
tioned the composite photograph, by means of which a typical face
was obtained by the combination of several with some common
leading characteristic.
June 11th, 1885.
Present, Mr, White, Vice-President (in the chair), and 21
members and associates.
Mr. W. K. Thomson was duly elected 2 member of the Society.
Mr. G. 8S. Grirritus then read his paper “‘ On the Recent Earth
Tremors, and the Conditions which They Indicate.’’
Mr. Eery said that the seismic centre, as placed by Mr..
Griffiths, corresponded with that calculated by himself and Captain
Short. He said that seismic shocks were never felt at the bottom
of mines, and that the motion of tall trees is less than that of
short ones.
Dr. Taytor, F.G.S. (visitor), said the speed of an earthquake
depended largely upon the strata through which it passes.
Mr. WHITE said that such computations as that of Mr. Griffiths’
might be vitiated by want of uniformity in the clocks; but the
time kept here is, on the whole, better than that of Europe.
Dr. Taytor said that the water contained in the first mile of the
earth’s surface acts as a sort of buffer, capable of checking the
spread of the movement.
Mr. GrirFitTHs replied to the observations made.
Mr. E. L. Marks read his paper on ‘“‘The Atmosphere as a
Source of Nitrogen.”’
Mr, Etxery said the paper opened up a new consideration, and
was worthy of experiment to test it. Certainly the atmosphere
was a source of nitrogen to the soil.
Dr. TayLor said that-in Professor’s Viel’s recent work it was
shown that the leguminose have the power of enriching the soil
with nitrogen.
Further discussion was postponed.
154 Proceedings, &c., for 1885.
July 9th, 1885.
Present, the President (in the chair) and 17 members and
-associates.
The Rev. Wm. Williams was duly elected as a country member,
and Messrs. L. A. Chase and O. F. Colvin as associates.
Dr. Henry moved a vote of thanks to Mr. Selby for his hand-
some donation of books to the Society. Carried.
Dr. Henry moved that the Society place on record its regret
at the death of Dr. EH. Barker, and express its appreciation of the
services rendered by him to the Society at its origin. :
Mr. BLAcKETT reopened the discussion on Mr. Marks’ paper on
**'The Atmosphere as a Source of Nitrogen in Plant Economy.”
He said nitrogen was being constantly taken from the atmosphere,
but was never restored. Also, that when crops are repeatedly
sown in the same soil without nitrogenous manures they rapidly
decline in annual yield.
Mr. SUTHERLAND was disappointed that no reference had been
‘made to the experiments of French and English chemists, which
had made it tolerably certain that free nitrogen is not assimilated
by plants.
Dr. JaMIESON was also disappointed. He distrusted the argu-
ments used by Mr. Marks. The analogy of oxygen in animal
bodies with nitrogen in plants was inconclusive. He thought
that the leguminose had strong plant digestion, and could break
up obstinate compounds, leaving the nitrogen free for succeeding
plants. There is annually deposited over the soil of France about
24 lbs, to the acre of nitrogen in combination, in the forms of
ammonia and nitric acid. Hence he saw no need to invoke the
‘theory of free nitrogen by plants.
After a few remarks from the President,
Mr. Marks, in reply, said the matter was open for discussion,
‘the experiments hitherto published being unsatisfactory.
Mr. James Stirling’s paper on ‘“‘ Evidences of Glaciation in the
Australian Alps’’ was then read, but the discussion was post-
yponed till the next meeting.
ree
August 13th, 1885.
Present, the President (in the chair) and six members and
-associates.
The Secretary (Mr. Sutherland) read Mr, Wakelin’s paper on
‘the “ Dynamical Equivalent of a Pressure.”’
The PRESIDENT and Mr. SUTHERLAND pointed out some fallacies
in the paper.
Proceedings, &e., for 1885. 155
Mr. SuTHERLAND read Mr. H. @’E. Taylor’s paper on “ Inter-
national Statistical Uniformity.”
Mr. Griffiths, Mr. Rosales, Mr. Fenton, Mr. Moors, and the
President took part in the discussion.
September 10th, 1885.
Present, the President (in the chair) and 15 members and
associates.
Mr. 8. K. Vickery was duly elected a country member of the
Society.
Mr. Stirling’s paper on “Evidences of Glaciation in the
Australian Alps” was then discussed.
The Secretary read a letter from Mr. R. A. F. Murray, in which
he expressed doubts as to the evidences produced by Mr. Stirling.
The discussion was continued by Mr. Griffiths, Mr. Rosales,
Mr. Thomson, Mr. White, and Mr. Sutherland.
Mr. Stirling’s paper on the ‘‘Cryptogamia of the Australian
Alps” was accepted as read, and Mr. Fenton exhibited and
explained “ Fuller’s Spiral Slide Rule,” which elicited commend-
atory remarks from Mr, White and others.
November 13th, 1885.
Present, the President (in the chair) and 21 members and
associates.
Mr. J. J. Jones and Mr. G. C. Inskip were duly elected
country members of the Society, and Mr. E. M. Moors an
associate.
The PRESIDENT mentioned that by private liberality the Linnzan
Society of New South Wales had been presented with a hall.
Mr. A. W. Howitt read a paper on the ‘‘ Metamorphic Schists
and Intrusive Rocks of Ensay.”’
Mr. G. 8. Grirritus described the way in which he apprehended
the sequence of events towards the close of the Silurian period.
First, the flat Silurian strata under the ocean would become
crumpled up by the slow contraction of the earth, producing
secondly intense heat, and thirdly a state of fluidity, plasticity,
and expansion in bulk. Fourthly, the upper strata would be burst
through by the expanding mass below. Fifthly, the upper strata
would be largely fissured thereby. The appearances described in
the paper could be accounted for by these suppositions. He asked
for explanation of the statement that the intrusive rocks appeared
to penetrate the Silurian formations as tongues or promontories.
a
156 Proceedings, &c., for 1885.
He would expect that in such a case the streams would cut their
way down to the softer sedimentary rocks, but Mr. Howitt said
that they cut down to the igneous rocks. He could understand
this if the Silurian strata were horizontal with the igneous rocks
underneath.
Mr, Howitt had not meant to convey that the summits of the
hills of Ensay were capped with metamorphic sediments. The
metamorphic rocks are not in the low valleys where the streams
cut deepest. He described the relative positions of the strata in
different parts of the district, and said the igneous masses from
below have eaten their way up gradually. If you have igneous
rocks, you have a portion of the rocks at the surface alternating
with portions of sediment.
The further discussion of Mr. Howitt’s paper was postponed to
another occasion, when he could arrange to be present.
The PRESIDENT called upon Dr. M‘Gillivray to read part of his
series of papers on ‘“‘ New, or little-known, Polyzoa.”
Dr. M'Gittivray explained that the paper, being purely
technical, was scarcely adapted for reading. He said he intended
to complete a list of those polyzoa found in Victoria, and to
publish the series of papers in Professor M‘Coy’s “ Prodromus.”
The Presipent then called upon Mr. Lucas, who read his
paper on *‘ The Habits of Hermit Crabs,” of taking possession of
the shells of molluscs, illustrated by a par ticular case which came
under his own observation.
The PresipEnt asked if these habits were peculiar to the
Victorian hermit crab.
Mr. Witson thought the crab in question appeared to be in
quest of a good dinner as well as a house. He had had one given
to similar predatory habits, and related it proceedings.
Mr. Marks remarked on the great advantages of direct observa-
tion instead of relying upon books.
Mr. GRrirFiTHs inquired whether Australian crabs have their
pincers of equal size, as stated by Mr. Lucas of his crab.
Mr. Lucas thought it likely that many hermit crabs have claws
of equal size, but they can secure their food with equally or
unequally sized claws. He had desired to show that these crabs,
instead of being harmless and weak, as supposed, are crafty and
ferocious. They appropriate the shell as a disguise in attack, and
not for defence.
December 10th, 1885.
Present, the President (in the chair) and 18 members and
associates.
Mr. F’. Harding was duly elected an associate.
Proceedings, &c., for 1885. AL S7/
The PRESIDENT announced that Dr. M‘Gillivray’s paper on ‘‘ The
Classification of Polyzoa’’ was not completed, and therefore called
on the Secretary to read Mr. Lockhart Morton’s paper on ‘‘ An
Apparatus for Obtaining Force from the Flow of the Tides,” Mr.
Morton not being a member of the Society.
The Secretary (Mr, Sutherland) read the paper, and the Presi-
dent then requested Mr. Morton to explain the model of his
apparatus, and to address the meeting in elucidation of his views.
Mr. Euery said that he thought the proposal feasible. There
is no doubt immense power in tidal rise and fall, to both of
which Mr. Morton’s apparatus was adapted by the shifting clutch
by which the action was made reversible. He mentioned another
invention of Mr. D’Ebro’s for utilising wave motion, which had
been successfully brought into practice.
Mr. WHITE doubted whether the scheme could be made to pay.
Machines for utilising tide action were common on the Rhine some
years ago, but had since been quite superseded by the use of coal,
which was much cheaper and more convenient. Such inventions
might be useful when the supply of coal becomes exhausted.
Mr. Marks said that the force utilised, being both vertical and
horizontal, must be intermittent, and the different height of tides
at different times would require further appliances to secure
uniformity of power. Experiments were very desirable.
Mr. SuTHERLAND admitted the force of Mr. White’s remarks, but
thought it probable that new natural forces will develop when the
necessity arises. One great advantage of steam power is that it
is available anywhere in our towns. While that is the case no
one will go to a distant tide apparatus. It certainly might be
transmitted by means of electricity, which would alter the
case.
Mr. WHITE was surprised when he found that the water power
of Niagara was so little utilised. The great convenience of steam
power gives it most important advantages.
Mr. SELBy said the cost of conveying the power is the difficulty.
It had, however, been done; 40-horse power was said to have
been actually transmitted 25 miles, being equal to 80-horse power
at the driving end.
Mr. M‘LEAN said he had never seen a clutch applied like Mr.
Morton’s. ©
The PRESIDENT said the subject was important as well as interest-
ing. Machinery power can be concentrated so much more than
animal power. Animal power for engines is now quite superseded,
and wind is very uncertain ; streams dry up, also; and the tides
are too distant from where the force is wanted. Nothing can
compete with coal for cheapness and convenience.
Mr. Morton explained that he had provided for the vertical and
horizontal force of tidal motion. He gave reasons for thinking
158 Proceedings, &c., for 1885.
that his clutch would not jam. It seems a pity not to utilise
the tidal force at Queenscliff; but if this invention is really of no
commercial value it will be useless to prosecute the matter
further.
The PresIDENT then called upon Mr. M‘Lean, who read his
paper on ‘“‘An Apparatus for Determining the Stability of
Vessels.”
The PRESIDENT remarked on the importance of the subject, and
the serious losses in lives and money from the neglect of it, as in
the cases of the‘‘Austral’’ and the “Captain.” Mr. M‘Lean’s experi-
ments and apparatus are calculated to prevent the recurrence of
such casualties.
Mr. M‘LEAN said ‘(in reply to Mr. White) that ships were too
frequently built to a model. Proper precautions are not taken to
provide against shifting of cargo; much more attention is now
given to the subject in shipbuilding, and this apparatus is being
adopted.
Mr. Waite attached far more value to such experiments as Mr.
M‘Lean had been making than to such complicated theoretical
computations as Mr. M‘Lean described.
Mr. Exuery produced Mr. Verbeek’s report to the Dutch
Government upon the volcanic eruptions in the Straits of Sunda,
which, with sundry drawings, had been sent to him by Mr. Ploos
van Amstel, with a translation, which he read, of extracts from the
hook, which was in Dutch.
Abstract of a pamphlet on the ‘“ Eruption of Krakatau” in
August, 1883, by R. D. M. Verbeek, mine engineer, Buitenzorg.
Java, 19th Hobraaey, 1884 :—
“R. D. M. Verbeek, Esq., engineer of mines in Java,
Buitenzorg, was commissioned by the Netherlands-India Govern-
ment, Batavia, to investigate the nature, the intent, and the conse-
quences of the volcanic eruptions at Krakatau. The results are
given in a pamphlet as a preliminary report, and a more elaborate
report is in course of publication. As that report will be accom-
panied by many charts and plans it will take some time before the
publication will be issued. Krakatau, and various other islands in
the Straits of Sunda and along the coasts, were visited by the
engineer and party. As to the causes of the terrific eruptions
little can be said, as is generally the case with volcanic eruptions ;
yet in this case something may be stated. Krakatau, with a few
other volcanoes, is situated on a crevice or fissure of the crust of the
earth, which runs right across the Sunda Straits, and the existence
of which was suspected by Mr. Verbeek about three years ago. It
is possible that along such a fissure portions of the earth now and
then fall in, causing a pressure on the subterranean melted matters.
Besides, along such a fissure water can have easier access to the
subterranean cavities. When this water comes in contact with
Proceedings, &c., for 1885. 159
the melted matters steam is generated of a high temperature and
very high pressure. And this steam may be considered as the
chief motor of most, if not all, volcanic eruptions. There is
greater probability of eruptions breaking out along such a fissure
than under any other circumstances, provided always that sufficient
water can percolate. As the volcanoes in the Sunda Straits have
been at rest for about two hundred years, we may now conclude
that the water supply during that time was insignificant, and only
materially increased in the last few years. In these years several
earthquakes took place along this fissure, which principally affected
the lighthouse at Java’s first point. The most severe earthquake
took place on the Ist September, 1880; the top part of the light-
house broke off, and the rest had to be taken down. These earth-
quakes were no doubt the result of subterranean changes, and it may
be supposed that the fissure underwent several modifications, which
allowed the sea-water to penetratein larger quantities, In the last
three years the pressure of the steam was evidently of sufficient force to
press the lava upwards out of the deeper-lying lava cavities into
the funnel of the crater of Krakatau, and the eruption took place
when at last the steam was forced through the lava into the funnel
of the crater and to the surface. A portion of the lava was at the
same time carried away, and ejected in the form of fine particles of
dust. ‘The porous nature of the ejected matter—being nearly all
pumice stone—is, no doubt, to be attributed to the great force-
with which the steam was blown through the lava. A more
elaborate account of the manner in which the eruption was brought
about will follow, as drawings are necessary to fully understand
the matter. It is, however, to be observed that the Krakatau
eruption has greatly modified our ideas in regard to the form and
extent of the subterranean cavities. Assuming that there isa
connection between the eruption and the increased activity of the
voleanoes of the Indian Archipelago since that time, the earth-
quakes in Australia coinciding with the eruptions (which at any
rate is a most remarkable coincidence), it follows that the cavities
are much more extensive than they are supposed to be by the
geologists of the present day. Krakatau was the only crater at
work, The eruptions of the 26th and 27th of August were accom-
panied by terrific reports and atmospheric vibrations. During those
days an incessant rumbling sound was heard, resembling that of
distant thunder, but the actual eruptions were accompanied by
sharp reports, resembling heavy cannon firing, whilst the most
terrific reports were of much shorter duration, and cannot be
compared to any other sound. The great distance at which the
reports on the 27th of August were heard exceeds all previous.
experience. The reports were heard at Ceylon, in Burmah,
Manila, Doreh, and Geelvink Bay (New Guinea), and at Perth
(Western Australia), and at all places nearer to Krakatau. In order
160 Proceedings, &c., for 1885.
to form an adequate idea of the immense area over which the
sound travelled, a circle should be drawn round Amsterdam with
a radius of 30 degs., commencing at the most northern point,
at 82 degs. N. lat.; also north of Spitzbergen; then across
Nova Zembla, along the Ural Mountains to Orenburg, Tiflis,
Damascus, Jerusalem, Suez, crossing the Tropic of Cancer at about
15 degs. EH. long. (Greenwich); then to the most southern
point at 22 degs. N. lat. in the Desert of Sahara, crossing
once more the Tropic of Cancer at 5 degs. W. long. (Greenwich),
close along Terro; then to the Canary Islands and the Azores,
and back to Spitzbergen through the greatest portion of
Greenland. It was observed that the reports were heard more
distinctly at a distance than at places nearer in the same direction
with Krakatau, as Anjer, Serang, Batavia. This phenomenon is
attributed to the fact that in the lower strata of the atmosphere an
immense quantity of ashes was existent, which could not but have
the effect of deadening the sound. There is every probability that
along and over this ash-cloud the sound travelled to more distant
places—as, for instance, Batavia (ninety miles from Krakatau)—
whilst at Anjer, being behind this ash-cloud, the sound was only
feebly heard. At the time of the eruption waves of air of great
length, although not audible, had a remarkable effect. The more
rapid of these vibrations affected, as a matter of course, the
buildings and the walls of rooms, so that objects against the walls
or hanging from the ceiling began to move, and this accounts for
the fact that at Batavia and Buitenzorg, at a distance of 150 kilo-
meters from Krakatau, door and windows began to shake, the
clocks stood still, and statuettes on the cupboards fell down,
whilst oil-lamps came down with a sudden crash. At other places
a similar effect was experienced, solely arising from the vibrations
of the air, and not from earthquakes, which were never experienced
with any certainty during the whole time of the eruptions. This
is a most remarkable event. Moreover, the most terrific explosions
produced air waves of an immense length of wave. From
barometrical observations in Europe and America it was ascer-
tained that the rapidity of these waves nearly equalled the
rapidity with which sound is propelled, showing that it would take
seven minutes for these waves to reach Batavia from Krakatau.
The most terrific explosions took place on the 27th of August at
thirty-five minutes past five, ten minutes to seven, five minutes past
ten, and five minutes to eleven, Batavia time. The explosion of
five minutes past ten was the fiercest, when an enormous air-wave
ascended from the top of Krakatau, and in the form of a ring
round that point spread along the surface of the earth, and
travelled 34 times the entire circumference of the earth. The
rapidity, as already stated, was nearly that of sound, although
the waves were of a gigantic length (the length of wave of the
Proceedings, &c., for 1885. 161
lowest audible tones is about 20 meters; the Krakatau air-
wave 1,000,000 meters). The eruptions which at first broke
out above the sea, broke out probably after ten o’clock under
the sea. Previous to that hour only ash, more or less moist,
was ejected; but after that time a large quantity of mud,
being volcanic sand mixed with sea-water, was thrown up.
The northern portion of the volcano gave way before the eruption
broke out under the sea, as is proved by the time that the great
tidal wave submerged the ‘ Vlakke Hoek.’ This tidal wave
probably resulted from the northern portion of the volcano, an
immense mass of earth falling into the sea; and where Krakatau
once stood there is now water of a depth of 200 or 300 metres,.
whilst in the midst of this deep sea a rock remains of about five
metres above the sea—truly a remarkable occurrence. The com-
ponent parts of the ejected matter are chemically not sufficiently
known, but the analysis that has been made proves that the pro-
ducts do not possess acidium silicium (kiezelzeuer) in equal quan-
tities. The ash which Mr. Verbeek collected at Buitenzorg
conbained, according to the analysis, 60 per cent.; a piece of pumice-
stone on the island of Calmeyer, 68 per cent.; a piece of obsidian
of Krakatau, 68 per cent.; and a fine yellow ash of the east coast
of Krakatau, as much as 70 per cent. acidium silicium (kiezelzeuer).
Further, aluminous earth (aluinaarde), 14 to 16 per cent.;.
sulphurata ferrum, 6 per cent.; calx (kalk), 4 per cent.; soda, 4 to
6 per cent., and a little magnesium.
‘* Between Krakatau and the island of Sebese the sea is entirely
filled up by pumice-stone and ash, and two islands of this matter,
named Steers island and Calmeyer, appear above the water. As
they are only a few meters high they will soon disappear owing to
the force of the waves. The area over which the ashes fell down
is estimated at the very least to be 750,000 square kilometers, an
extent equal to Sweden and Norway. The finer particles of the
ashes fell even beyond this area, as is shown by the log-books of
sailing vessels and steamers, but the finest particles, saturated with
a large quantity of vapour, have been floating for a long time in
the upper strata of the atmosphere, and, propelled by the winds,
travelled right round the world. The vapour ascending was con-
densed into water, and got frozen in the cold strata of the
atmosphere, and the refraction through the numerous ice crystals.
produced the fine purple sunsets, which in the last months have
been witnessed at several places in Asia, Africa, Europe, and
America (no mention is made of Australia), while the particles of
ash obscured the light of the sun or imparted blue and green
colours to the sun when rising or setting. ‘The enormous distance
to which these ashes have been carried is proved by snowflakes.
that fell in Spain and rain that fell in the Netherlands, which were
found to contain the very same component parts as the ash from
M
162 Proceedings, &c., for 1885.
Krakatau. The height which these ashes attained at the time of
the last terrific explosions was immense. A steam cloud, which
rose from the crater on the 20th of May, at the time of the first
eruption, was observed on board the German corvette ‘ Elizabeth’
—which left Anjer on that day at nine o’clock in the morning—
and had attained a height which was estimated at about 11,000
metres. As the explosions on the 26th and 27th of August were
of a much grander nature, it is possible, should the above calcu-
lation be correct, that the ashes reached a height of 15 to 20
kilometers.
‘‘ A most remarkable phenomenon at the time of the eruption
was the immense sea-waves whick submerged the low-lying coasts
of the Sunda Straits, and destroyed a large number of kampongs,
resulting in the loss of the lives of 35,000 people. It is strange
that the largest wave—the only one that ran along the north coast
of Java and in the direction of the south-west at great distances,
and was higher than all others—was hardly seen at any of the
places. At Tjaringui alone the wave was observed before darkness
set in, and that was about ten o’clock in the morning (?) of the
27th August. Anjer was destroyed at six o’clock in the morning,
and deserted. This wave happening during the night little was seen
of it, The gigantic wave which arose round Krakatau at about
ten minutes to ten travelled over an immense area ; for instance,
to Ceylon, Aden, Mauritius, Port Elizabeth in South Africa, and
even to the coast of France. As to the rapidity of the wave little
is known, as it varies with the depth of the sea. When all the
reports from the tide-gauges have been received, Mr. Verbeek
will recur to this subject. However, the speed on its way to
Mauritius and the Cape was enormous—namely, 500 minute
miles per hour—a speed which equals that of the lunar tidal wave,
and of the waves of the earthquakes of Simoda, in Japan, on the
23rd December, 1854, and of Tacna, in Peru, on the 13th of
August, 1868.
The height of the great wave of ten o’clock varied greatly at
some places—Vlakke Hoek, 15 meters; south side of the island
Dwars in den eveg, 35 meters; south side island Toppenhoedge,
30; north side, 24 meters; north of Anjer, opposite Brabands-
hoedge, 36 meters. The height varies with the situation of the
places, the distance from Krakatau, and the nature of the coast.
‘‘ Extraordinary objects have been ejected during the eruptions
—viz., very small, round, little bullets, resembling marbles, of a
diameter of 14 to 6 centimeters. These bullets are found on the
bottom of the Sunda Straits, in the vicinity of Krakatau, and
were ejected through the crater.”
Proceedings, &¢., for 1885. 163
ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION A.
25th March.
HIGH-SPEED ENGINES. PROFESSOR KERNOT.
THE minutes of the last meeting having been read and confirmed,
Professor Kernot said he desired to place his resignation as chair-
man of the section in the hands of the members, as he did not
think it either becoming or in order for one man to be President of
the Society and chairman of one of its sections; and as the Society
had honoured him by electing him to the Presidency—lately
vacated by Mr. Ellery, amidst the regrets of all—he thought this
a fitting opportunity to give place to a worthy successor,
There was a unanimous feeling among the members present that
such a step would be detrimental to the best interests of the section,
and Professor Kernot was urged to reconsider his determination.
He promised to consider the matter most carefully, and seek the
advice of Mr. Eliery, who, he was sure, would give such advice as
would be wisest and best in the interest of the section and of the
Society.
The ordinary business was then proceeded with. Two subjects
were on the notice paper—
(1.) A review of the present state of machine development,
under the title of ‘“ High-speed Engines,’ by Professor Kernot.
(2.) A paper by Mr. W. R. Rennick, on “ Boiler Riveting.”
This latter was postponed till next meeting.
Professor Kernot, President of the Society, gave a brief outline
of the development of the steam engine. The old engines, he
said, were usually of large size, working at low velocity at low
pressure, relying largely on the vacuum, and increasing the speed
by means of pulleys and cogwheels. The general tendency of
modern practice, on the contrary, is towards high speed direct-acting
engines. Since the work done is the product of the force exerted
into the distance over which it is exerted, it follows that the
greater the speed at which a machine can work the less will be the
stress on the parts and the lighter the parts can be made. At the
present time two lines of investigation and experiment are being
followed :—1. Single-acting engines represented by the Brother-
hood, Westinghouse, and many other types. 2. Double-acting
engines, represented typically by the Porter-Allen engine. The
Westinghouse, the most modern of single-acting engines, has two
cylinders, with cranks 180 deg. apart. The centre line of the
cylinders runs clear of the shaft in such a way that on the steam
stroke the connecting rod is nearly in the centre line. Thus little
friction is caused in the cylinder by the obliquity of the connect-
ing rod. On the return stroke, when no work is being done, the
M 2
164 Proceedings, &c., for 1885.
obliquity is considerable. Owing to this feature, again, there is
mathematically no dead point, and practically there is none on
account of the high speed. It is a proof of the remarkable per-
formances of this engine that one has run for five months at a
rate of 550 revolutions per minute, with only two stoppages of
fifteen minutes each. The Porter-Allen engine is a slight modifi-
cation of the older double-acting engines, and its chief feature is
the great care bestowed on the balancing of its parts, the weight of
which cannot be altered without diminishing the efficiency of the
engine. Hdison has largely employed these engines for working
his dynamos, and one of them has been known to run for three
months at 350 revolutions per minute without stopping. The chief
contention of the advocates of the single-acting engines is that all
their parts are in compression, and that the wear and noise must
be ata minimum. This latter point does not seem to be realised
in practice, owing probably to the inertia of the rapidly-moving
parts. On the other hand, the supporters of the double-acting
system aver that there are really only two parts which can suffer
much from wear—viz., the pins of the connecting rod, and on the
fitting of these they bestow great care, besides attending very
carefully to the proportions and balancing of the moving parts.
Their strong point is that double as much work can be got out of
a double-acting as out of a single-acting engine. All things being
considered, it seemed probable that it was to the double-acting
system we must look for the best results in the future.
A short discussion followed the reading of the paper.
29th April, 1885.
The Secretary was unexpectedly detained, and was absent from
the meeting. No detailed minutes were taken. ‘Twosubjects were
on the notice paper—
(1.) Mr. Rennick’s paper on ‘“‘ Boiler Riveting.”
(2.) Mr. M‘Lean, on “ Long Shafting.”’
The whole evening was taken up by the first paper, and the
discussion on it and the second paper had to be postponed to the
next meeting.
27th May, 18805.
Lone SHartinc. Mr. C. W. M‘Lean, C.E.
SrewaGe Systems. Mr. L. H. Cuassz, C.E.
Professor Kernot explained that he had consulted with Mr.
Ellery as to the question which was brought up at the March
meeting of his retaining the chair of Section A.
Proceedings, &c., for 1885. 165
Mr. Ellery’s opinion was that, though as a general rule, it is not
a good rule that one person should be President of the Society
and Chairman of one of its sections, yet, in view of the strong
feeling expressed by the members for Professor Kernot to retain
the chair, he thought in this case it was permissible. Acting on
this advice he would continue as chairman for the present, but he
hoped to see some other member fill the place as soon as a fit
opportunity should arise.
Three papers were before the meeting. |
(1.) One by Mr. M‘Lean, on “Long Shafting.” Postponed from
the last meeting.
(2.) One by Mr. G. R. B. Steane, on ‘“ Rainfall and Flood Dis-
charge.” ?
Mr. Steane was absent, on account of a death in his family, and
asked that his paper might be postponed. This was accordingly
done.
(3.) Mr. L. H. Chase, on “ Sewage Systems.”
The first paper read was Mr. C. W. M‘Lean’s, on ‘‘ Long
Shafting.” ,
The operation, of ranging long lines of shafting is usually effected
by means of a piano wire about 100 feet long, strained tight. But
this method is open to one great disadvantage—the sag. Taking
resistance to tearing at 100,000 lbs. per square inch, and weight
equal to °26 lbs. per cubic inch, we can see that if this could
be strained up to the point of rupture without yielding, the sag
would be about 4 inch. ‘The operator estimates the true line, and
places the bearings accordingly. Of course this method, with
ordinary care, will give the horizontal direction close enough.
The importance of having the line very accurate would seem to be
great, for it is invariably found that in carelessly-laid work either
the shaft heats or else the couplings or the crank break. ‘The first
departure from this practice seems to have been the use of a disc
and tube, though this is not perfect on account of the obstruction
of light at the slit in the tube. A short time ago Mr. M‘Lean was
called on to examine some long shafting, which was working very
badly ; and to do this more perfectly than could be done by the
old system, he devised the following method :-—
In the case under notice the couplings were all of one size, but
a similar method could be applied in any case. He placed a
telescope having crosswires on one of the end couplings, and held
it in place by a small block of wood as a carrier, and a weighted
string passing over the whole. A small scale was then placed
vertically on the other end coupling, and the reading taken, and
the process repeated at each intermediate coupling piece. The
comparison of the results showed an error of about 4 in. at one
end. The soleplate was planed down by this amount, the shaft-
ing readjusted, and the result has been perfectly satisfactory.
166 Proceedings, &c., for 1885.
Probably the best method would be to use a mining telescope, and
set up at some little distance from the end coupling. A stand, to
carry the telescope and rest on a flat, convex, or concave surface,
is easily made by taking two boomerang-shaped supports, with
convexity downwards. The whole work can be done with the
telescope in less time than it takes to set up the wire in the old
method. In the discussion which followed, Professor Kernot said
he saw no reason why there should be any difficulty in working a
shaft 100 feet long, sprung one foot at the centre, and instanced
Hereschoft’s torpedo, where the shaft is warped about a foot.
Against this view it was remarked that the usual interval for
12-in. shafting is 12 feet, and that in this case the alignment
becomes a very important factor. The modern practice is to have
overhung screws (rather than, with an outside bearing), and to
support the shafting at many points very carefully laid.
Mr. Chase then read his paper on Sewage Systems.
The question of sewage is all-important in its bearing on the
health of a large city. Four systems of sewage disposal have
come into pretty general use.
(1.) To run the sewage matter direct into a river or the sea.
This is a fairly good method if the tide will carry the matter away
to sea, but not otherwise. This is the Melbourne method, and
here we have no tide to speak of.
(2.) Precipitation by lime or other chemicals.
(3.) Intermittent filtration through land with irrigation.
(4.) Precipitation and intermittent filtration or irrigation. This
is the best method when the natural drain of a country is a clear
stream of no great size. :
Closely connected with the question of sewage is the disposal of
town refuse. At Blackburn, with a population of 100,000, the
rubbish is burnt in destructors. These are large inclined grates
in brick chambers, and have furnace doors in front. With careful
stoking it is found that the rubbish will consume itself. The
chimney is tall, and no nuisance arises from it. The clinkers are
used for foundations of roads.
Part of the sewerage is simply precipitated with lime. Strong
lime-water is mixed with the sewage in settling ponds, 7.e., drains
about 12 feet in width. The solid matter settles to the
bottom and is pumped off asa sludge, and kept under cover till
solid enough to be dug out, when it is carted away as manure.
At Burnley, with a population of 60,000, the works are
situated near a small stream. The method of treatment is Scott’s.
Patent. It seems to give excellent results, but the expense of the
system leaves small margin for payable results. The following is
a brief description of the method :—-The sewage enters at one
corner of the works, passing through a screen or grating, so as to.
stop all large refuse. It runs down the lime race, meeting a series
Proceedings, &e., for 1885. 167
of interlaced boards along the whole length. Lime-water, con-
taining one ton of lime per million gallons, is poured in by the
engine just below the screen. At the end of the race are the
settling ponds, which consist of two portions, used alternately, each
taking about a fortnight to fill with sludge. When one pond is
full the flow is turned into the other, and the sludge is pumped
into the filters. These are enclosures of brick, about 4 feet in
height, 6 feet wide, and 20 feet long. The floor is covered with
a layer of coke. In these the water is allowed to drain off till the
sludge can be dug out. The white sludge is now spread on an
iron drying floor to a depth of about one foot, and dried by fire.
The result is a layer of about 4 inches of white cracked material,
about the size of half bricks. These are burned in kilns, with a
little fuel (themselves supplying most of it), and the product of
this process is ground in a Chilian mill, and calied Portland
cement. Its tenacity is about 300 lbs. per square inch. The
water from the settling ponds runs over a shoot into the river.
Beside this one is a second shoot for testing the purity of the
water. It is lined with glazed white bricks. ‘To test the colour,
about 4 inches of water is run over the test shoot; the inspector
should see no perceptible colour. Even then, however, it might
not be amiss to subject the water to a careful chemical and micro-
scopical examination at times, in order to ensure purity. When
sewage comes to the works with more than a certain proportion of
water it is allowed to flow direct into the river.
Perhaps the most elaborate sewage works are those at Salford,
Manchester. The profits, however, seem to be very small, if any.
At this place closet pans are in use, which are emptied into air-
tight carts, in which they are carried to the works. The nightsoil
is there deposited in large iron cylinders. These are heated by
steam, and the contents dried into manure. The steam for this
purpose is generated in boilers, of which the fuel is part of the
town refuse from the dust carts, The rest of the rubbish is treated
with sulphuric acid, and gives a good manure. The nightsoil
manure is worth £3 per ton. At times loads of condemned fish
are brought to the works. The oil is extracted from them, and
the residue is manure worth £9 per ton. The oil and such grease
as comes from other sources is made into soap and candles.
At some works near the last the system is not nearly so elaborate.
The nightsoil is discharged into a large reservoir, the rubbish
sifted in an inclined cylinder, The ashes are thrown in among
the soil of the larger pieces burnt in destructors. The nightsoil
is then taken up the canal in large barges as manure, and the
cost of removal is paid by the sale of the soil.
One more interesting case claims our notice. Part of the
fashionable seaside town of Eastbourne lies below the high water
mark, and at times a high tide would force back the sewage in the
las es ee
168 Proceedings, &¢., for 1885.
drains. This difficulty was very successfully met by means of the
Shore system. An air compressor was erected 14 miles inland,
and compressed air at about 10 lbs. pressure is carried to the
town in pipes opening into two large tanks. When the tide is
high the sewers discharge into one of two large receivers sunk in
the beach. When this one is full a valve is opened, and air comes
in, forcing the matter out to sea. The set of the current is such
as to carry all the matter out to sea, leaving the beach clean.
It is much to be desired that we may ere long see some such
method as has been described in use in Melbourne. Surely no
justification can be found for such wilful pollution of one of the
finest streams in the colony as is carried on at the present time.
June 24th, 1885.
RAINFALL AND FLoop Discuarce. Mr. G. R. B. Sreanz, C.E,
There was a small attendance at this meeting, owing to the
inclement weather.
Discussion on Mr. Steane’s paper was postponed to the next
meeting.
Mr. C. W. M‘Lean exhibited a very novel instrument known
as the ‘‘ Metacentre Balance.’”’ This was also shown later on at an
ordinary meeting of the Society, so there is scarcely any need of
further description in this place.
The present state of the science of hydrology is very unsatis-
factory indeed. Authorities differ as to whether we should call
the maximum rainfall } inch or 1 inch per hour. It is not
difficult to make the dimensions of waterway excessive; the great
problem is to make them just sufficient, no more and no less.
Merely to gauge a stream with a view to constructing permanent
works is very unsatisfactory, for improved drainage may entirely
change the aspect of the question, giving rise to the need of large
waterway. A careful study must be made of the rainfall of the
district under notice—of the nature of surface and inclination of
the channel. Thus, sandy loam and chalky ground act very
differently. The rate of discharge will increase with the rainfall,
the area (within certain limits), the slope of the ground, and
improved drainage. It will decrease with the increase of reservoirs
and the porosity of the ground, and also as the ratio of the length
to width of the drainage area increases.
It is worthy of notice that a rainfall of 1 inch per hour over one
acre is equivalent to about 1 cubic foot per second.
We must carefully distinguish between the cases of large and
small areas. Very heavy rains seldom last more than a few
Proceedings, &c., for 1885. 169
minutes, and hence, though in a small watershed they might cause
comparatively heavy floods, yet in a large area their effect might be
quite inappreciable, for it is known that the very heavy rains, such
as 1 inch per hour, are extremely local. Such rains, also, are
short in duration, and the quantity which falls increases very
slowly with the time.
The law of increase is approximately represented by the formula
F = kT where F = fall, t = time, the areas and times being
Supposed small.
Hence the rate of fall, R =7- SEAN:
Now let us consider a watershed of constant narrow width, and
let us assume that the water flows at a constant velocity down the
channel.
Then the length drained will vary as the time
hee N,. Cet
but D=RxA=RXEXC
7.é@..D oc R.L———(2)
Hence by (1)D =u)
Corresponding with the formula given by L. D’a Jackson. Ed.
1883.
But in practice none of the premises are correct.
Hence we should amend the formula to the form
Di.
ach
2
3
TS +p
where p is some variable depending on soil, &c., but constant for
any given watershed.
In most watersheds the slope of the ground is such as will tend
to equalise the velocity over the whole length, so that we are led
to the conclusion that the best simple formula is of the form
De B
- "Lt +a
a parabolic curve, though not a2 common parabola.
From a careful study of the Bendigo Creek, the following data
resulted.
D = 4100 cubic feet per sec.
10, He acres
7 5
‘The =e pave
D=10,000 cubic feet per sec.
K=100 square miles
And another small area gave
D=4 cubic feet per sec.
K=4 acres
L=7 chains
170 Proceedings, &e., for 1885.
Hence Mr, Steane deduces the formula
D= Area in sq. chains x 181
1-23
(length in chains) +1800
This has given good results in nearly all cases by which it was
tested after construction, as is shown by the following table :—
LocaLity. DISCHARGE. REMARKS.
AcTUAL. |By FoRMULA.
Cubic feet aes Cubic feet per
sec, sec.
Flinders Street Drain 410 430
Reilly Street Drain... TAS 1,342
Axe Creek,at Harrow 4,970 4,540 Doubtful
% » Axedale 13,827 11,820 Rs
Campaspe ... ...| 94,000 34,600 |Approx. —
dimension only
Yarra (flood of 1863) 39,000 | 36,700
It may be worth while to notice what rainfalls have given rise
to large floods.
The largest-known flood at Sandhurst occurred in April, 1878.
The rainfall in Sandhurst was -63 inches, and at Crusoe Reservoir
1:91 inches in one hour.
The drainage area is 10,000 acres. If 1:91 inches had fallen
over the whole area at the same time, the flood would have been
three times as great as the largest known.
The next largest was during the heaviest twenty-fours’ rain,
during which time 3°67 inches was recorded at the Survey Office,
and 4:72 inches at the Crusoe Reservoir, so that this rain was
evenly distributed over the district. The maximum fall in one
hour during this rain was ‘46 inches, and during two hours ‘76
inches, and the discharge was only three-quarters of that on the
former occasion.
The following formule are given by some writers for the
discharge of channel pipes in cities :—
ee
4A 786A 12°
or else, which is more recent, ©
D=r¢ Ji
a
in which c='75 for dense cities
= ‘31 for suburbs, with gardens, &c.
r=average rainfall
~=slope
Proceedings, &¢., for 1885. 171
This formula will not hold in all cases; for example, if
a= z-acre
r=3 in. per hour
(so that D must be less than 3 cubic feet per sec.)
the formula gives
D=3 X ‘75 Joe d°3 cubic feet per sec.,
ae
and this result is obviously false.
Tt will thus be seen in how very unsatisfactory a state is this.
branch of engineering. Some attention should certainly be paid
to it, and one may safely say that in a few years we shall be ina
better position than at the present time.
a0th September, 1885.
THE CoOOTAMUNDRA Raitway Disaster. Professor KERNOT..
The details of this fearful disaster are fresh in the memory of
all our members. A heavy flood washed away a portion of the
railway embankment near Cootamundra, N.S.W., and a train
dashed at full speed into the chasm. Many people were killed,
and more injured.—25th January, 1885.
His acquaintance with the site was formed during two journeys
in a slow train shortly after the accident. Cootamundra is about
half-way between Wodonga and Sydney. It is situated in the
Murrumbidgee watershed. The Dividing Range is crossed about
100 miles further on towards Sydney, so that Cootamundra is not
on the rainy-coast watershed, but is characterised by a climate
more like that of Victoria. The portion of the bank which was
washed away is at the crossing of the Soft Clay Creek. This
creek is a tributary of the Murrumbidgee, and flows through
country very much like that about the Yarra at Kew. ‘The line
crosses the creek by three culverts—(1) an 8-ft. barrel drain,
equal to 52 square feet; (2) apparently the same; (3) a brick
barrel drain, having about 200 square feet of waterway. The
country is lightly timbered, and the formation is hard rock to the
surface, apparently stratified. There was heavy rain on the 24th
January, and a small breach was formed at the third culvert ;
another was formed at the second, and the accident took place at
the first. The catchment area is variously stated at from 20 to 30:
square miles. Mr. Whitton says 13,000 acres. .
For the defence Mr. Morell, of the New South Wales Railway
Department, stated that one-third of the area was not very
absorbent, and that the rest consists of flats and uncleared ground.
172 Proceedings, &c., for 1885.
It was further urged that the culverts were correctly designed for
ordinary fioods; but that in this case the bursting of several dams
above the embankment caused an exceptionally heavy flood. The
jury unanimously decided that the culvert was large enough to
-earry all previous rainfall.
As to the question of the bursting of the dams, Mr. Morell
estimated the flood water from the dam at 235,000 cubic feet.
Mr. Simson stated there were dams holding respectively 1,047,000,
631,000, and 130,000 cubic feet. These must, however, have been
some distance away, as those visible from the railway are only
small ones, like cattle dams. Mr. Russell, of the Sydney Observa-
tory, stated that in some cases the discharge is only about 1 per
cent. of the rainfall. Mr. Whitton stated that he had decided the
sizes of all, the culverts on the railway, including the Coota-
mundra culverts. He further stated that there was a head of
12 feet of water to force the water through the culverts.
Against this statement Professor Kurnor raised the objection
that a railway bank should not be made to act as a dam, for no
care is taken to render it impervious to water. As to the rain-
faii on the day of the accident, Mr. Matthews stated that 4:00
‘inches fell during the day of the accident and 4:97 on the 24th;
and there is a record showing 3:08 of rain on the day of the
accident 40 miles to the west, so that the heavy rain would seem
to have been very general.
Professor KEeRNot’s conclusion is that the bursting of the dams
was but a small matter in comparison with the natural flood
discharge, and that the size of the first and second culverts was
quite inadequate; but as a new channel was cut so as to divert
the stream from these two, recurrence of the accident will probably
be prevented.
In the discussion which followed, Mr. Steane gave some further
details collected from the evidence.
Mr. Morell stated that the waterway of the culvert where
the bank failed was 52°78 square feet; that the velocity of the
water through this culvert, with a heading of one foot above the
crown, would be 17°6 feet per second, Further, that as the catch-
ment area was 21 square miles and the absorption probably
70 per cent. of rainfall, this culvert would discharge 28-in. fall
per hour.
Mr. STEANE gave as an analogous case the Bendigo Creek, at
Sandhurst. The bridge was originally of 5 bays, with waterway
of 190 square feet, for catchment ‘of 10,000 ac., the basin being
mostly impervious. This caused frequent floods, of from 4 feet
to 5 feet, with such rainfalls as ‘63 inch per hour, as mentioned in
‘his paper on “ Rainfalland Flood Discharge.’’ Mr. Steane took
‘the dimensions carefully, and came to the conclusion that the
‘Bendigo Creek culvert would not discharge more than 4100 cubic
Proceedings, &¢., for 1885. 173:
feet per second. He made a new culvert of 370 square feet water-.
way, and put an end to further floods,
The effect of a heavy rainfall on the catchment should be
noticed. The first effect is to soak the ground. The ultimate
absorption is greater in summer than in winter, but averages
about -08 inch per hour in the Bendigo Creek country, or say
1-10th inch per hour. Mr. Steane found that with a heavy down-
pour, after steady rain, took one hour and fifty minutes for rain
at the end of the catchment to reach the mouth, so that to get a
maximum flood we must have two hours’ rainfall. If the rain
lasted two hours, we should get a maximum, and then flood would
fall; but if it lasted three hours, we should get maximum, stay
there for one hour, and then fall.
The dimensions of the culverts on the Cootamundra line do not
seem to have been fixed with regard to catchment areas at all.
There is one of 8 feet at Albury for a catchment of 1 square mile,
and in most cases the sizes are excessive.
25th November, 1885.
A paper was read by the Secretary on Mr. Claxton Fidler’s:
graphic method of computing the stresses on continuous girders.
The method is merely a graphical expression of the equation of
three moments, and was not new to any of the members present.
At the conclusion of the paper there was a discussion on the use
of continuous girders.
Mr, Beyrenpt pointed out that the English engineers are far
behind the Germans in many matters, and particularly in this.
question of continuity. Twenty years ago a German engineer—
Gerber—had solved the difficulty by using overhung girders
carrying a central girder between them.
Professor KERNoT remarked that, quite independently of Gerber,
Mr. T. W. Fowler had suggested an almost identical arrangement
at the meetings of section A. It was also remarked that the
American engineers now invariably avoid the use of continuous
girders.
Mr. John Booth read a paper on ‘Systems of Electric
Lighting.”
A system consists of three essential parts—
1, A dynamo.
2. A lamp.
3. Conducting wires.
Considering, first, the simple incandescent lamp system. In
this case we have an electro-motive force, E in the dynamo falling
through a resistance R in the dynamo itself, r in the wires, and 8.
ge ee asa arm
174 Proceedings, &c., for 1885.
nes LNT
R+7r+7
E :
This transforms rage from horse-power into heat
(since there is no mechanical movement in the outer circuit), and
lay 4
in the lamp, thus the current C =
since this is distributed according to Joules’ Law H =
it is evident that we must make the resistance of the lamp high
compared with that of the rest of the circuit.
Let us now consider what is done in practice.
There are two distinct methods of treating the case, known as
the series and the parallel arrangements. In the former we pass
the same current through lamp after lamp, and in the second,
increasing the current in proportion to the number of lamps, we
divide it up between the various lamps of the system.
All other methods are modifications or combinations with slight
modifications of these two great systems.
To bring before our mind more clearly the points of resemblance
and of difference of these two systems, we may examine the
following case :—
And first take the SERIES SYSTEM.
Suppose we are dealing with 100 50-volt lamps, taking 1 ampere
of current and developing 16 candle power, we shall require an
H.M.F. at least equal to 5000 volts—a tension that is approaching
the dangerous—and even then only 100 lamps are supplied. If
we calculate on a 90 per cent. efficiency we have R + V = 500
ohms. ‘This would mean an inexpensive dynamo of small size,
and, supposing the lights to be one mile away, a No. 28 main wire
(‘34 mm.)
But another difficulty is, that the failure of one lamp of the
series interrupts the circuit and puts all the others out.
This is not likely to occur in are lamps, and they are almost
always worked in this way; but an incandescent lamp may fail
at any minute, and hence we shall have to find some method of
providing against this contingency. With such a high E.M.F., »
too-switching is almost impossible, and a special arrangement must
be introduced in the dynamo itself.
The pure series system, then, will not be troubled with the
problem of keeping down the resistance of the dynamo and line,
but will, without any difficulty, have nearly all the energy repro-
duced in the lamp. But it will require to be provided with the
most perfect insulation and safety arrangements, and some special
apparatus for providing against failure of the lamp and with the
requisite quantity of current.
We must next consider the parallel system. Suppose, as before,
we have 100 fifty-volt lamps, then we shall require a current of
Proceedings, &c., for 1885. 175
100 amperes. Our lamp resistance will thus be 7°,9, =3 ohm; and
assuming again a 90 per cent. efficiency, we shall have to make
R + r = 3, ohm, which means a very expensive machine of very
heavy wire, and if the lamps are as before—one mile away—our
conducting wire must be of 16-in. diameter, and pure copper.
The E.M.F. required will be a trifle over 50 volts—a very low
tension, the shock of which can hardly be felt, and the spark at
breaking of contact will be very slight. The points against the
parallel system are either the expense of the machine and wire on
the one hand, or the inefficiency if the cost of the machine, &c., is
kept down.
In its favour it may be said that it is free from danger, and
that one lamp going out hardly affects the rest. This includes the
important consideration that any lamp can be turned on and off at
pleasure. This is the mode usually adopted, and is the only one
that has been practised in Melbourne, a compromise being effected
between the cost of the machine and its efficiency. As we have
seen above, all the other systems in use must depend on application
of these two. A brief reference to two or three of the more
important of them must now be made.
There are two methods which are so closely allied to the funda-
mental systems that they must be taken next in order. These are
the series-multiple and the multiple-series systems.
In the one the main current traverses two large main-wires, and
these are tapped at intervals by secondary wires, each of which
carries a series of lamps. Of course the failure of a single lamp in
the series puts that group out, but does not affect any of the other
groups appreciably. In the second we have one main wire carrying
groups of lamps at various points (the current, of course, being
divided at each point, passing through the lamps, and then con-
verging once more into the main wire, and so on for each group).
The advantages are lighter mains, and consequently a larger
range, while the disadvantages are the danger, and that a whole
group must go out at onetime. Thus we shall need group cut-outs,
lamp cut-outs, and a current regulator.
The groups need not be identical, but must each take the same
amount of current. In using the series-multiple system we can
provide against the failure of any one lamp by means of an idle
wire passing from group to group—of course so long as the
potential at each end of this wire is the same, no current passes
along it, but as soon as it is altered at one end—as by a lamp going
out—the whole current for that group passes along it. Of course
it is possible to extend the idle wire to the machines, bringing it
in between the two. _ We are not aware that much has been done
in this way yet, but it seems to be a promising field. By using it
any part of the whole column may be extinguished. Of course
the extra copper required for the idle wire is above that in the
176 Proceedings, &c., for 1885.
series-multiple, but the total quantity is considerably less than
would be required in parallel series.
The greatest objection seems to be the difficulty of attending
to the management of two or more dynamos in parallel series.
There is another method in use, which is closely connected with
the above systems, though hardly deserving the name of separate
systems. It is known as the high resistance system. It has been
attempted to get greater efficiency by increasing the resistance of
the lamp, so that it may have a high ratio compared with that of
the dynamo and line. Probably the highest resistance is attained
in the Edison lamp, a hundred volt lamp. The limit to resistance
is the difficulty of manufacture, and the fact that the filaments are
not very durable under current.
Secondary Systems.—In all the foregoing the actual current
generated by the dynamo is utilised in heating the lamp. But in
the secondary systems the main current is not so employed, but
passes into more mechanism, which, in its turn, supplies the lamps
with current.
The principal of these are the motor and the secondary generator
systems. The secondary mechanism employed in the latter is
similar to the Rhumkorff induction coil. The most convenient form
of current conveying the requisite amount of energy is trans-
mitted through the mains, and passes into the secondary generator
as a primary circuit, and the secondary current is modified
to the purpose required by the winding or joining up of the
secondary wire. The main current is of high E.M.F. to avoid
heavy conductors, and must be of the “‘ alternating current” class.
This system has all the disadvantages of the series system in
danger and difficulty of control; but as it has only to pass into the
secondary generator, and not into the dwelling-houses, the danger
is to a great extent obviated, and all the controlling required is.
done in the secondary circuit.
But besides these two we have another very important branch,
which, though it can hardly be classed as a separate system, yet
may be so important a factor in any other system as to give it a
distinctive name. This is the secondary battery. In this method
the electrical energy carried by the current, instead of passing
directly into the lamps, is sent through a suitable arrangement, and,.
instead of being reproduced as heat, the energy is expended in
altering the molecular condition of the plates and liquids in the
battery, so as to form a store of chemical potential energy, which
can be for a time retained in that form, and subsequently, by
completing the circuit, be allowed to flow out in any form of
current that may be desired. Thus a high-tension current may ke
employed for charging a secondary battery at a distance, and the
battery may afterwards be used to supply current to a set of lamps
in parallel series.
Proceedings, &e., for 1885. Le
The usual method of using the secondary battery is to arrange
for a constant supply of current less than is required for the total
power of the lamps to be supplied, but more than the minimum
power used. When a small number of lamps are lit, the balance of
current from the dynamo goes to charge the battery which will be
used conjointly with the dynamo when the full power is required
for the lamps.
The only serious objection to the secondary battery is an obvious
one—its leakiness—and this cannot well be provided against.
Such are the main points to be considered and difficulties to be
overcome in designing a system of electric lighting. And from
what has been said it can readily be understood there is very wide
room for improvement, even in the broadest outlines. But, even
after having chosen the particular system to be used, there is still
an almost infinite number of details to be considered, all of them
important, and no one of which can be overlooked. We have only
to mention a few of these to bring this conclusion very forcibly
home to your minds—the dynamo, with its general outline, style
of winding, speed, class of armature, commutator, terminals and
fittings, lubricators, ventilators, &c. But after all these have been
satisfactorily arranged, we must faceall the difficulties of the mains,
switches and branches, the lamps and holders, the safety-fuse, the
carriage and insulation of the mains, the main and branch junction
boxes, the magnetic cut-outs, the regulators of potential and
current, and the testing arrangements.
Tt is the blending of all these into one harmonious whole, every
contingency being foreseen and having its pre-arranged remedy,
and where necessary its appropriate piece of mechanism, that
constitutes an electric system.
Name.
Objects.
Members and
Honorary Mem-
bers.
Patron.
Officers.
Management.
Ordinary Meet-
ings.
Annual General
Meetings.
Retirement of
Officers.
Election of
Officers.
A VV:
ee
I. The Society shall be called “The Royal Society
of Victoria.”
II. The Royal Society of Victoria is founded for the
advancement of science, literature, and art, with
especial reference to the development of the resources
of the country.
III. The Royal Society of Victoria shall consist of
Members and Honorary Members, Corresponding Mem-
bers and Associates, all of whom shall be elected by
ballot.
IV. His Excellency the Governor of Victoria for
the time being shall be requested to be the Patron of
the Society.
V. There shall be a President, and two Vice-Presi-
dents, who, with twelve other Members, and the follow-
ing Honorary Officers, viz., Treasurer, Librarian, and two
Secretaries of the Society, shall constitute the Council.
VI. The Council shall have the management of the
affairs of the Society.
VIL The Ordinary Meetings of the Society shall be
-held once in every month during the Session, from
March to December inclusive, on days fixed by and
subject to alteration by the Council with due notice.
VIII. In the second week in March there shall be a
General Meeting, to receive the report of the Council
and elect the Officers of the Society for the ensuing year.
IX. All Office-bearers and Members of Council,
except the six junior or last elected ordinary Members,
shall retire from office annually at the General Meeting
in March. The names of such Retiring Officers are to
be announced at the Ordinary Meetings in November
and December. The Officers and Members of Council
so retiring shall be eligible for the same or any other
office then vacant.
X. The President, Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, Secre-
taries, and Librarian shall be separately elected by
ballot (should such be demanded), in the above-named
Laws. 179
order, and the six vacancies in the Council shall then be
filled up together by ballot at the General Meeting in
March. Those members only shall be eligible for any
office who have been proposed and seconded at the Ordi-
nary Meeting in December, or by letter addressed to one
of the Secretaries, and received by him before the Ist
March, to be laid before the Council Meeting next
before the Annual Meeting in March. The nomina-
tion to any one office shall be held a nomination to
any office the election to which is to be subsequently
held. No ballot shall take place at any meeting unless
ten members be present.
XI. No Member whose subscription is in arrear shal] Members in
take part in the election of Officers or other business om
the meeting.
XI. An Address shall be delivered by the President Inaugur
of the Society at either a Dinner, Conversazione, or Premdent
extra meeting of the Society, as the Council for the
time being may determine, not later than the Ordinary
Meeting in June in each year.
al ad-
y the
XIII. If any vacancy occur among the Officers, Vacancies.
notice thereof shall be inserted in the summons for the
next meeting of the Society, and the vacancy shall be
then filled up by ballot.
XIV. The President shall take the chair at alJ Dutiesot
meetings of the Society and of the Council, and shall
regulate and keep order in all their proceedings; he
shall state questions and propositions to the meeting,
and report the result of ballots, and carry into effect
the regulations of the Society. In the absence of the
President the chair shall be taken by one of the Vice-
Presidents, Treasurer, or ordinary Member of Council,
in order of seniority.
XV. The Treasurer may, immediately after his elec-
tion, appoint a Collector (to act during pleasure),
subject to the approval of the Council at its next
meeting. The duty of the Collector shall be to issue
the Treasurer's notices and collect subscriptions. The
Treasurer shall receive all moneys paid to the Society,
and shall deposit the same before the end of each
month in the bank approved by the Council, to the
N 2
President.
Duties of
Treasurer.
180 Laws.
credit of an account opened in the name of the Royal
Society of Victoria. The Treasurer shall make all
payments ordered by the Council on receiving a
written authority from the chairman of the meeting.
All cheques shall be signed by himself, and counter-
signed by one of the Secretaries. No payments shall |
be made except by cheque, and on the authority of the
Council. He shall keep a detailed account of all
receipts and expenditure, present a report of the same
at each Council Meeting, and prepare a balance-sheet
to be laid before the Council, and included in its
Annual Report. He shall also produce his books
whenever called on by the Council.
Duties of Secree XVI. The Secretaries shall share their duties as they
may find most convenient. One or other of them shall
conduct the correspondence of the Society and of the
Council, attend all meetings of the Society and of the
Council, take minutes of their proceedings, and enter
them in the proper books. He shall inscribe the
names and addresses of all Members in a book to be
kept for that purpose, from which no name shall be
erased except by order of the Council. He shall
issue notices of all meetings of the Society and of the
Council, and shall have the custody of all papers of
the Society, and, under the direction of the Council,
superintend the printing of the Transactions of the
Society.
Meetings of XVII. The Council shall meet on any day within
rage one week before every Ordinary Meeting of the Society.
Notice of such meeting shall be sent to every Member
at least two days previously. No business shall be
Quorum. transacted at any meeting of the Council unless five
Members be present. Any Member of Council absent-
ing himself from three consecutive meetings of Council,
without satisfactory explanation in writing, shall be
considered to have vacated his office, and the election
of a Member to fill his place shall be proceeded with at
the next Ordinary Meeting of Members, in accordance
with Law XIII.
Special Meetings XVIII. One of the Secretaries shall call a Special
Meeting of Council on the authority of the President or
of three Members of the Council. The notice of such
Laws. 18]
meeting shall specify the object for which it is called,
and no other business shall be entertained.
XIX. The Council shall call a Special Meeting of the Sire
Society, on receiving a requisition in writing sig med b y
twenty-four Members of the Society specifying the
purpose for which the meeting is required, or upon a
resolution of its own. No other business shall be
entertained at such meeting. Notice of such meeting,
and the purpose for which it is summoned, shall be
sent to every Member at least ten days before the
meeting.
XX. The Council shall annually prepare a Report Annual Report.
of the Proceedings of the Society during the past
year, embodying the balance-sheet, duly audited by
two Auditors, to be appointed for the year, at the
Ordinary Meeting in December, exhibiting a statement
of the present position of the Society. This Report
shall be laid -before the Society at the Annual Meeting
in March. No paper shall be read at that meeting.
XXI. If it shall come to the knowledge of the Expulsion ot
Council that the conduct of an Officer or a Member is “°™**
injurious to the interest of the Society, and if two-
thirds of the Council present shall be satisfied, after
opportunity of defence has been afforded to him, that
such is the case, it may call upon him to resign,
and shall have the power to expel him from the
Society, or remove him from any office therein at its
discretion. In every case all proceedings shall be
entered upon the minutes.
XXII. Every candidate for election as Member Election of Mem-
or as Associate shall be proposed and seconded by ates.
Members of the Society. The name, the address, and
the occupation of every candidate, with the names of
his proposer and of his seconder, shall be communi-
cated in writing to one of the Secretaries, and shall be
read at a meeting of Council, and also at the following
meeting of the Society, and the ballot shall take place
at the next following Ordinary Meeting of the Society.
The assent of at least five-sixths of the number voting
shall be requisite for the admission of a candidate.
XXIII. Every new Member or Associate shall Momibers stall
receive due notice of his election, and be supplied with *™
Conditions of
Resignation.
Honorary
Members.
Subscriptions.
Se
182 Laws.
a copy of the obligation,* together with a copy of the
Laws of the Society. He shall not be entitled to
enjoy any privilege of the Society, nor shall his name
be printed in the List of Members, until he shall have
paid his admission fee and first annual subscription,
and have returned to the Secretaries the obligation
signed by himself. He shall at the first meeting of
the Society at which he is present sign a duplicate of
the obligation in the Statute Book of the Society, after
which he shall be introduced to the Society by the
Chairman. No Member or Associate shall be at liberty
to withdraw from the Society without previously
giving notice in writing to one of the Secretaries of
his intention to withdraw, and returning all books
or other property of the Society in his possession.
Members and Associates will be considered lable for
the payment. of all subscriptions due from them up
to the date at which they give written notice of their
intention to withdraw from the Society.
XXIV. Gentlemen not resident in Victoria, who
are distinguished for their attainments in science,
literature, or art, may be proposed for election as
Honorary Members, on the recommendation of an
absolute majority of the Council. The election shall
be conducted in the same manner as that of ordinary
Members, but nine-tenths of the votes must be in
favour of the candidate.
XXV. Members of the Society, resident in Mel-
bourne, or within ten miles thereof, shall pay two
guineas annually, Members residing beyond that dis-
tance and Associates shall pay one guinea annually.
The subscriptions shall be due on the Ist of January
in every year. At the commencement of each year
there shall be hung up in the Hall of the Society a
* The obligation referred to is as follows :—
Roya Society oF VICTORIA.
I, the undersigned, do hereby engage that I will endeavour to
promote the interests and welfare of the Royal Society of
Victoria, and to observe its laws, as long as I shall remain a
Member or Associate thereof.
(Signed)
Address
Date
Laws. 183
list of Members and Associates, upon which the pay-
ments of their subscriptions as made by Members and
Associates shall be entered. During July notice shall
be sent to Members and Associates still in arrears.
At the end of each year a list of those who have not
paid their subscriptions shall be prepared, to be con-
sidered and dealt with by the Council.
XXVI. Newly elected Members shall pay am Entrancetees,
entrance fee of two guineas, in addition to the sub-
scription for the current year. Newly elected Asso-
ciates shall not be required to pay any entrance fee.
Those elected after the Ist of July shall pay only half
of the subscription for the current year. If the
entrance fee and subscription be not paid within one
month of the notification of election, a second notice
shall be sent, and if payment be not made within one
month from the second notice, the election shall be
void. Members resident in Melbourne, or within ten Life Member-
miles thereof, may compound for all Annual Subscrip-*””
tions of the current and future years by paying £21;
and Members residing beyond that distance may com-
pound in like manner by paying £10 10s. Associates
on seeking election as Members shall have to comply
with all the forms requisite for the election of Mem-
bers, and shall pay an entrance fee of two guineas.
XXVIII. At the Ordimary Meetings of the Society ¥"
the chair shall be taken punctually at eight o'clock,
and no new business shall be taken after ten o'clock.
Durations of
eetings.
XXVIII. At the Ordinary Meetings business shall Order and mode
of conducting
be transacted in the following order, unless it be the business.
specially decided otherwise by the Chairman :-—
Minutes of the preceding meeting to be read,
amended if incorrect, and confirmed.
New Members to enroll their names, and be in-
troduced.
Ballot for the election of new Members.
Vacancies among officers, if any, to be filled up.
Business arising out of the minutes.
Communications from the Council.
Presents to be laid on the table, and acknowledged.
Motions, of which notice has been given, to be
considered.
184 Laws.
Notices of motion for the next meeting to be
given in and read by one of the Secretaries.
Papers to be read.
Strangers. XXIX. No stranger shall speak at a meeting of
the Society unless specially invited to do so by the
Chairman.
STE ae XXX. At no meeting shall a paper be read, or
transacted, business entertained, which has not been previously
notified to the Council.
Additional XXXI. The Council may call additional meetings
Meetings.
whenever it may be deemed necessary.
TEMOSS XXXII. Every Member may introduce twovisitors to
the meetings of the Society by orders signed by himself.
ey XXXITI. Members and Associates shall have the
privilege of reading before the Society accounts of
experiments, observations, and researches conducted by
themselves, or original papers, on subjects within the
scope of the Society, or descriptions of recent dis-
coveries, or inventions of general scientific interest.
No vote of thanks to any Member or Associate for
his paper shall be proposed.
Or depute other XXXIV. If a Member or Associate ‘be unable to
embers. . .
attend for the purpose of reading his paper, he may |
delegate to any Member of the Society the reading
thereof, and his right of reply.
Membersmust =XXXV. Any Member or Associate desirous of
give notice of > 2 : re
their papers. Yeading a paper shall give in writing to one of the
Secretaries, ten days before the meeting at which he
desires it to be read, its title and the time its reading
will occupy.
Papers by XXXVI. The Council may permit a paper such as
eae described in Law XXXIJIL, not written by a Member
of the Society, to be read, if for any special reason it
shall be deemed desirable.
Papers belongto X&XXVII. Every paper read before the Society shall
the Society. ‘be the property thereof, and immediately after it has
been read shall be delivered to one of the Secretaries,
and shall remain in his custody.
Papers must be = XXX VIII. No paper shall be read before the Society
ae or published in the Transactions unless approved by
Laws. 185
the Council, and unless it consist mainly of original
matter as regards the facts or the theories enunciated.
XXXIX. Should the Council feel a difficulty in Council may
deciding on the publication of a paper, the Council Members
may refer it to any Member or Members of the
Society, who shall report upon it.
XL. Should the Council decide not to publish a Rejected papers
paper, it shall be at once returned to the author. pS
XLI. The author of any paper which the Council Members may
has decided to publish in the Transactions may have of thane
any number of copies of his paper on giving notice of
his wish in writing to one of the Secretaries, and on
paying the extra cost of such copies.
XLII. Every Member and Associate whose sub- Members tohave
scription is not in arrear, and every Honorary Member, action.
is entitled to receive one copy of the Transactions of
the Society as published. Newly elected Members
shall, on payment of their entrance fee and subscription,
receive a copy of the volume of the Transactions last
published,
XLII. Every book, pamphlet, model, plan, drawing, Property.
specimen, preparation, or collection presented to or
purchased by the Society shall be kept in the house of
the Society.
XLIV. The Library shall be open to Members and Library.
Associates of the Society and the public at such times
and under such regulations as the Council may deem fit.
XLY. The legal ownership of the property of the hope! Cwieeey
Society is vested in the President, the Vice-Presidents, 77" ”
and the Treasurer for the time being, in trust for the
use of the Society; but the Council shall have full
control over the expenditure of the funds and manage-
ment of the property of the Society.
XLVI, Every Committee appointed by the Society Committess
shall at its first meeting elect a Chairman, who sha et a
subsequently convene the Committee and bring up its
report. He shall also obtain from the Treasurer such
grants as may have been voted for the purposes of the
Committee.
XLVII. All Committees and individuals to whom Report before
any work has been assigned by the Society shall pre- *°°™* **
Grants expires
Personal ex-
penses not to he
paid.
Alteration of
laws.
Cases not pro-
vided for.
Sections.
Names and num-
ber of Sections.
186 Las.
sent to the Council, not later than the Ist November
in each year, a report of the progress which has been
made ; and, in cases where grants of money for scientific
purposes have been entrusted to them, a statement of
the sums which have been expended, and the balance
of each grant which remains unexpended. Every
Committee shall cease to exist on the lst November,
unless re-appointed.
XLVIII. Grants of pecuniary aid for scientific pur-
poses from the funds of the Society shall expire on the
ist November next following, unless it shall appear by
a report that the recommendations on which they were:
granted have been acted on, or a continuation of them
be ordered by the Council.
XLIX. In grants of money to Committees and indi-.
viduals, the Society shall not pay any personal expenses.
which may be incurred by the Members.
L. No new law, or alteration or appeal of an existing
law, shall be made except at the General Meeting in
March, or at a Special General Meeting summoned for
the purpose, as provided in Law XIX., and in pursuance
of notice given at the preceding Or dinary Meeting of
the Society.
LI. Should any circumstance arise not provided for
in these Laws, the Council is empowered to act as may
seem to be best for the interests of the Society.
LII. In order that the Members and Associates of
the Society prosecuting particular departments of
science may have opportunities of meeting and working
together with fewer formal restraints than are neces-
sary at the Ordinary Meetings of the Society, Sections
may be established.
LIII.—Sections may be established for the following
departments, viz.:—
Section A. Physical, Astronomical, and Mechanical
Science, including Engineering.
Section B. Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Metal-
lurey.
Section C. Natural History and Geology.
Section D. The Microscope and its applications.
Section E. Geography and Ethnology.
Laws. 187
Section F, Social Science and Statistics.
Section G. Literature and the Fine Arts,including
Architecture.
Section H. Medical Science,including Physiology
and Pathology.
LIV. The meetings of the Sections shall be for scien- Machines of
tific objects only.
LY. There shall be no membership of the Sections Members of
as distinguished from the membership of the Society. “"""
LVI. There shall be for each Section a Chairman to Oftcers of
preside at the meetings, and Secretary to keep minutes *“"°"*
of the proceedings, who shall jointly prepare and for-
ward to one of the Secretaries of the Society, prior to
the Ist of November in each year, a report of the
proceedings of the Section during that year, and such
report shall be submitted to the Council.
LVII. The Chairman and the Secretary of each Mode of ap-
Section shall-be appointed at the first meeting of the biticers of Sec-
Council after its election in March, in the first instance “"
from Members of the Society who shall have signified to
one of the Secretaries of the Society their willingness
to undertake these offices, and subsequently from such
as are recommended by the Section as fit and willing.
LVIII. The first meeting of each Section in the year Ties cone
shall be fixed by the Council ; subsequently the Section
shall arrange its own days and hours of meeting,
provided these be at fixed intervals.
LIX. The Council shall have power to propose Corresponding
gentlemen not resident in Victoria, for election in the
same manner as ordinary Members, as Corresponding
Members of the Society. The Corresponding Members
shall contribute to the Society papers which may be
received as those of ordinary Members, and shall in
return be entitled to receive copies of the Society’s
publications.
LX. Associates shall have the privileges of Members Frivileges of
in respect to the Society’s publications, in joming the ~~
Sections, and at the ordinary Meetings, with the
exception that they shall not have the power of voting;
they shall also not be eligible as Officers of the Society.
ME ove bs ths
OF
The Roval Society of Victoria.
LIFE MEMBERS.
Barkly, His Excellency Sir Henry, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., Carlton
Club, London
Bosisto, Joseph, Esq., M.L.A., Richmond
Butters, J. 8., Hsq., Collins-street West
Eaton, H. F., Esq., Treasury, Melbourne
Elliot, Sizar, Esq., care of Mrs. Steele, Octavia-street, St. Kilda
Elliot, T. 8., Esq., Railway Department, Spencer-street
Gibbons, Sidney W., Esq., F.C.S8., care of Mr. Lewis, Chemist,
Collins-street East
Gilbert, J. E., Esq., Melbourne Observatory
Higginbotham, His Honour Mr. Justice, Supreme Court
Howitt, Edward, Esq., Exchange, Collins-street West
Iffla, Solomon, Esq., L.F.P.S.G., South Melbourne
Mueller, Baron F. Von, K.C.M.G., M.D., Ph.D., F.R.S., Arnold-
street, South Yarra
Nicholas, William, Esq., F.G.S., Melbourne University
Nicholson, Germain, Esq., Esplanade, St. Kilda
Reed, Joseph, Esq., Elizabeth-street South
Rusden, H. K., Esq., Tivoli Place, Punt Hill, South Yarra
Thompson, H. A., Esq., Lucknow, New South Wales
White, E. J., Esq., F.R.A.S., Melbourne Observatory
Wilson, Sir Samuel, Knt., Oakley Hall, East St. Kilda
List of Members. 189
ORDINARY MEMBERS.
Allan, Alexander C., Esq., Fitzroy-street, St. Kilda
Anderson, Major J. A., Melbourne Club
Andrew, H. M., Professor, M.A., Melbourne University
Bage, Edward, Esq., jun., Redan-street, Hast St. Kilda
Barnes, Benjamin, Esq., Queen’s Terrace, South Melbourne
Beaney, Hon. J. G., M.D., M.R.LA., F.R.C.S. Ed., Collins-street
East
Bear, J. P., Esq., 834 Collins-street West
Beckx, Gustave, Esq., 56 Hoddle-street, South Yarra
Behrendt, P., Esq., C.E., 35 Queen-street
Blackett, C. R., Esq., Gertrude House, Fitzroy
Bradley, R. 8., Esq., Queen’s College, Barkly-street, St. Kilda
Browning, J. H., Esq., M.D., 12 Brunswick-street, Fitzroy
Chapman, Jas., Esq., Beemery Park, Caulfield
Clarke, George Payne, Esq., F.C.8S., Apollo Candle Works,
Footscray
Cohen, Joseph B., Esq., A.R.I.B.A., Public Works Department,
Melbourne
Cornell, Henry, Esq., Barkly-square, East Richmond
Corr, J. R., Esq., M.A., Holstein House, South Yarra
Culcheth, W. W., Esq., M.I.C.E., 86 Collins-street West
Danks, John, Esq.,42 Bourke-street West
Davidson, William, Esq., C.E., Melbourne Water Supply Office:
Derham, Fred. J., Hon., 4 Queen-street
Deverell, Spencer R., Esq., 1 Lygon-street
Duerdin, James, Esq., LL.B., 105 Collins-street West
Dunn, Frederick, Esq., Little Flinders-street West
Ellery, R. L. J., Esq., F.R.S., F.R.A.S., &c., Melbourne Observa-
tory
Fitzpatrick, Rev. J., D.D., Archbishop’s Palace, Hast Melbourne
Foord, Geo., Esq., F.C.S., Royal Mint, Melbourne
Foster, C. W., Esq., 29 Collins-street Hast
Godfrey, F. R., Esq., Greylings, Alma-street, East St. Kilda
Goldstein, J. R. Y., Esq., Office of Titles
Gotch, J. 8., Hsq., 236 Albert-street, Hast Melbourne
Griffiths, G. S., Esq., Grosvenor-street, Middle Brighton, 22
Collins-street. West
Grut, Percy de Jersey, Esq., E. 8S. & A. C. Bank, Elizabeth-street
190 List of Members.
Heffernan, E. B., Esq., M.D., Brunswick-street, Fitzroy
Henderson, A. M., Esq., C.E., Hlizabeth-street South
Henry, Louis, Esq., M.D., Sydney-road, Brunswick
Hewlett, T., Esq., M.R.C.S., Nicholson-street, Fitzroy
Hicks, Johnson, Esq., Office of Patents
Hubbard J. Reynolds, Esq., 3 Market-street, Melbourne _
Hull, W. Bennett, Esq., 70 Temple-court, Collins-street West
Inskip, Geo. C., Esq., F.R.I.B.A., 5 Collins-street East
James, EH. M., Esq., M.R.C.S., Collins-street East
Jamieson, James, Esq., M.D., ‘129 Collins-street East
Joseph, R. E., Esq. : Electric Light Company, Sandridge Road,
Melbourne
Kernot, W. C., Professor, M.A., C.E., Melbourne University
Le Fevre, G., Esq., M.D., 93 Collins-street East
Lilly, Arnold, Esq., 221 Albert-road, South Melbourne
Tiucas, A. H. 8., Esq., B.Sc., M.A., F.G.S., 7 Albert Park Road,
South Melbourne
Lynch, William, Esq., 10 Market Buildings, Collins-street West
Lynch, Arthur, Esq., Chelsworth House, Drummond-street, Carlton
M‘Coy, F., Professor, F.R.S., Melbourne University
Macdonald, A. C., Esq., 95 Collins-street West
M‘Gowan, Samuel W., Esq., General Post Office
M‘Petrie, A., Esq., Rouse Street, Port Melbourne
Main, Thomas, Esq., City Surveyor’s Office, Melbourne
Manton, C. A., Esq., The Treasury
Moerlin, C., Esq., Melbourne Observatory
Moloney, Patrick, Esq., M.B., Collins-street East, Melbourne
Moors, H., Esq., Chief Secretary’s Office, Melbourne
Morley, J. L., Esq., Glenville House, Drummond-street, Carlton
Muntz, T. B., Esq., C.E., 41 Collins-street West
Murray, K. L., Esq., Railway Department, Melbourne
Nanson, E. J., Professor, M.A., Melbourne University
Neild, J. E., Esq., M.D., Spring-street
N ewbery, J. Cosmo, Esq. pata: Sc., C.M.G., Technological Museum
Noone, J., Esq., Lands Department
Parkes, Edmund §., Esq., Bank of Australasia
Parnell, Major E., 148 Latrobe-street West
Phelps, J. J., Esq., Melbourne Club
‘Ploos van Amstel, Jonkheer Daniel, 49 Collins-street West
List of Members. 191
Rennick, Charles, Esq., Ajmere, Shipley-street, South Yarra
Rennick, Francis, Esq., Railway Department, Melbourne
Ridge, Samuel H., Esq., B.A., 66 Park-street West, South
Melbourne
Rosales, Henry, Esq., Alta Mira, Grand View Grove, Armadale
Rowan, Capt. F. C., 29 Queen-street
Rowand, C., Esq., Town Hall, Prahran
Rudall, J. T., Esq., F.R.C.S., 121 Collins-street East
Rule, O. R., Esq., Technological Museum, Melbourne
Sargood, Hon. F. T., M.L.C., Elsternwick
Selby, G. W., Esq., junr., 28 Queen-street
Shakespear, Major R. H., 47 Queen-street
Shaw, Thomas, Esq., Woorywyrite, Camperdown
Skene, A. J., Esq., M.A., Lands Department
Springhall, John A., Esq., General Post Office
Smith, Bruce, Esq., 18 Market Buildings, Market-street
Steane, G. R. B., Esq., Fitzroy-street, St. Kilda
Steel, W. H., Esq., C.E., Public Works Department
Sutherland, Alex., Esq., M.A., Carlton College, Royal Park
Talbot, Robert, Esq., M.D., Brunswick
Temperly, J. R., Esq., C.E., Barkly-street, St. Kilda
Thomson, Wm. K., Esq., Bowbell Terrace, Station-street, Carlton
Tisdall, H. T., Esq., Walhalla
Vale, Hon. W. M. K., 13 Selborne Chambers, Chancery-lane
Vautin, Claude, T. I., Esq., care of J. N. Wallace, Hsq., 52
Bourke-street East
Wagemann, Capt. C., 40 Elizabeth-street
Wallis, A. R., Esq., Woodford, Kew
Wannan, Alex. C., Esq., 82 Collins-street West
Way, A.S., Esq., M.A., Wesley College
Whitley, David, Esq., Queen-street, Melbourne
Wigg, Henry C., Esq., M.D., F.R.C.8., Lygon-street, Carlton
Willimott, W. C., Esq., Lloyd’s Rooms, Collins-street West
Wilson, J. 8., Esq., Pottery Works, Yarraville
Woods, Hon. John, M.L.A., Spottiswood
Wyatt, Alfred, Esq., P.M., Yorick Club
Country MEMBERS.
Ballarat, The Bishop of, Bishopscourt, Ballarat
Bechervaise, We! , Esq., Post Office, Ballarat
Bland, R. H. , Esq., Clunes
10a List of Members.
Campbell, F. A., Esq., C.E., Deepwater, New South Wales
Chesney, Charles Alfred, Esq., C.E., Tindarey Station, Cobar,
Bourke, N.S.W., and Australian Club, Melbourne
Clough, C. F., Eisq., A.I.C.E., Engineer-in-Chief’s Office, Adelaide,
S.A. .
Conroy, James Macdowall, Esq., Yass, N. S. Wales
Daley, W. J., Esq., St. Kilda-street, Elstern wick
Dennant, J. Esq., Hamilton
Field, William Graham, Esq., C.E., Railway Engineer-ia-Chief’s
Department, Melbourne
Fowler, Thomas Walker, Esq., C.E., Mason-street, Hawthorn
Gregson, W. H., Esq., Bairnsdale
Henderson, J. B., Esq., Water Supply Department, Brisbane
Howitt, A. W. , Esq., P.M, F.G.S., Sale
Hunt, Robert, Esq., Royal Mint, Sydney
Jones, J. J, Esq., Ballarat
Keogh, Laurence F., Esq., Bruckneil Banks, Cobden
Loughrey, B., Esq., M.A., C.E., City Surveyor, Wellington, New
Zealand
Luplau, W., Esq., Lydiard-street, Ballarat
McClelland, D. C., Esq., State School, Barnawartha
MacGillivray, P. H., Esq., M.A., M.R.C.S. Ed., Sandhurst
Manns, G. 8., Esq., Leneva, near Wodonga
Manson, Donald, Esq., Waltham-buildings, Sydney
Marks, Edward Lloyd, Esq., Waverley Hotel, Collins-place
Munday, J., Esq., c/o J. Hood, Esq., Exchange, Melbourne
Murray, Stewart, Esq., C.E., Kyneton
Naylor, John, Esq., Stawell
Oddie, James, Esq., Dana-street, Ballarat
Oliver, C. E., Esq., C.E., care of Professor Kernot, University
Stirling, James, Esq., F.L.S., Survey Office, Omeo
Stuart, Rev. J. A., B.A., Harkaway, near Berwick
Sutton, H., Esq., Sturt-street, Ballarat
Vickery, 8. K., Esq., Ararat
List of Members. 193
Wakelin, T., Esq., B.A., Greytown, Wellington, New Zealand
Wall, John, Esq., Town Hall, Sebastopol
Williams, Rev. W., Sebastopol, Ballarat
Wilson, J. B., Esq., M.A., Church of England Grammar School,
Geelong.
CoRRESPONDING MEMBERS.
Bailey, F. M., Esq., The Museum, Brisbane
Clarke, Hyde, Esq., 32 St. George’s Square, London, S.W.
HKtheridge, Robert, Esq., junr., F.G.S., British Museum, London
Stirton, James, Esq., M.D., F.L.8., 15 Newton-street, Glasgow
Ulrich, G. H. F., Professor, F.G.S., Dunedin, Otago, N.Z.
Wagner, William, Esq., LL.D., Philadelphia
Woods, Rev. Julian E. Tenison, F.G.S., 162 Albion-street, Surrey
Hills, Sydney
HoNORARY MEMBERS.
Clarke, Colonel Sir Andrew, K.C.M.G., C.B., C.LE., Calcutta
Goepper, H. R., Esq., M.D., Ph.D.
Haast, Julius Von, Hsq., Ph.D., F.R.S., C.M.G., Christchurch,
New Zealand
Neumayer, George, Professor, Ph.D., Hamburg
Perry, Right Rev. Charles, D.D., Avenue-road, London
Scott, Rev. W., M.A., Kurrajong Heights, N.S.W.
Smith, John, Esq., M.D., Sydney University
Todd, Charles, Esq., C.M.G., F.R.A.S., Adelaide, S.A.
ASSOCIATES.
Anderson, D., Esq., Fair View, Stawell
Askew, David C., Esq., C.E., 43 Bourke-street West
Bage, C., Esq., M.D., 81 Toorak-road, South Yarra
Bage, W., Esq., C.E., Fulton-street, St. Kilda
Bagge, M. L., Esq., Royal Mint, Melbourne
Booth, John, Esq., C.E., Rennie-street, Coburg
Brockenshire, W. H., Esq., C.E., Railway Department, Minyip
Brownscombe, W. J., Esq., Bridge-road, Richmond
Challen, Peter R., Esq., Post Office, Heathcote
Champion, H. V., Esq., Shire Office, Rosedale
Chapman, Robert W., Esq., Melbourne University
Chase, L. H., Esq., Queensberry-street, Carlton, or Railway
Department, Selborne Chambers
Clark, Lindesay, Esq., Grace Park, Hawthorn
Q
194 List of Members.
Cole, Jas. F., Esq., 28 Queen-street
Colvin, Owen F., Esq., Melbourne University
Crouch, C. F., Esq., 7 Darling-street, South Yarra
Danks, A. T., Esq., 42 Bourke-street West
Dunlop, G. H., Esq., 60 Montague-street, South Melbourne
Edwards, J. E., Esq., 37 Erskine-street, Hotham
Fenton, J. J., Esq., Office of Government Statist
Finney, W. H., Esq., 81 Graham-street, Port Melbourne
Fletcher, R. E., Esq., 2 Exchange Court, Princes-street, Dunedin,
N.Z.
Fraser, J. H., Esq., Railway Department
Grant, A. M., Esq., Kerferd-road, Albert Park
Guilfoyle, W. R., Esq., F.L.S., Botanical Gardens
Halley, Rev. J. J., Williamstown
Harding, F., 28 Little Flinders-street West
Hart, Ludovic, Esq., 109 Elizabeth-street
Holmes, W. A., Esq., Telegraph Engineers’ Office, Railway
Department, Spencer-street
Horsley, Sydney, Esq., Melbourne University
Howden, J. M., Esq., Messrs. Lyell & Gowan’s, 46 Elizabeth-street
Kernot, Frederick A., Esq., Royal Park, Hotham
Kirkland, J. B., Esq., Lygon-street, North Carlton
Lucas, T. P., Esq., M.R.C.8., 2 Bank-street West, South Melbourne
MacLean, C. W., Esq., Domain-street, South Yarra
Magee, W. 8. T., Esq., Victoria-street, Melbourne _
Maplestone, C. M., Esq., Post-office, Portland
Mills, H. W., Esq., Glan-y-mor, Brighton
Moors, E. M., Esq., Punt-road, South Yarra
Murray, L. L., Esq., West Beach, St. Kilda
Murray, T., Esq., C.E., Victoria Water Supply Department
Newham, Arthur, Esq., B.A., Trinity College, Melbourne
Outtrim, Frank Leon, Esq., Morris-street, Williamstown _
Parry, E. W., Esq., Sydney-road, Carlton
Paul, A. W. L., Esq., Male-street, North Brighton
Phillips, A. E., Esq., 30 Stanley-street, West Melbourne
Quarry, Herbert, Esq., Alma Cottage, Macaulay-road, Kensington
Rennick, E. C., Esq., Mont Albert Road, Balwyn
Rennick, W. R., Esq., Denham-street, Hawthorn
Schafer, R., Hsq., 17 Union-street, Windsor
Shaw, A. G., Esq., Shire Hall, Bairnsdale
Shaw, E. , Esq. ., Powlett-street, Hast Melbourne
Slater, H. A. , Esq., 121 Collins- street West
Smibert, G., Esq., General Post Office
Smith, ‘AL C., Hsq., Kirkhill Cottage, Park-street Hast, South
Melbourne
Smith, B. A., Esq., Imperial Chambers, Bank-place
Smith, E. L., Esq., Hazlehurst, George-street, Kast Melbourne
Inst of Members. 195
Smith, Frederick Dudley, Esq., Oakover-road, South Preston
Steane, W. P., Esq., 63 Park-street West, South Melbourne
Stewart, C., Esq., 9 Murphy-street, South Yarra
Taylor, Norman, Esq., Studley Park Terrace, Simpson’s-road,
Richmond
Thompson, J. J., Esq., 11 Bouverie-street, Carlton
Thorne, T. Rhymer, Esq., General Post Office
Tyers, A., Esq., Marli-place, Esplanade, St. Kilda
Walsh, Fred., Esq., 6 Bridge-street, Sydney
- Wight, Gerard, Esq., The Ridge, Kensington
Williams, C. G. V., Esq., C.E., Queenscliff
Willimott, Sydney, Esq., Waltham Terrace, Richmond
Wills, Arthur, Esq., Walpole-street, Kew
LIST OF THE INSTITUTIONS AND LEARNED
SOCIETIES THAT RECEIVE COPIES OF THE
“TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY
OF VICTORIA.”
BRITISH.
Royal Society ... London
Royal Society of Arts London
Royal Geographical Society London
Royal Asiatic Society London
Royal Astronomical Society London
Royal College of Physicians London
Royal Microscopical Society London
Statistical Society 4 London
Institute of Civil Engineers London
Institute of Naval Architects London
The British Museum London
The Geological Society London
Museum of Economic Geology London
Meteorological Society London
Anthropological Institute London .
Linnzan Society London
Royal College of Surgeons London
Zoological Society A London
“ Atheneum” ... London
“ Hlectrician” London
“ Geological Magazine” London
“Quarterly Journal of Science” London
“ Nature” ce London
Colonial Office Library London
Foreign Office Library London
Agent-General of Victoria se : London
Natural History Museum he - South ‘Kensington
University Library so: oe ee Cambridge
Philosophical Society ... op an Cambridge
The Bodleian Library ... . ... ee ... Oxford
Public Library Liverpool
Literary and Philosophical Society of f Liverpool Liverpool
Owen’s College Library ... Manchester
Free Public Library wae nc wee Manchester
Literary and Philosophical Society ine Manchester
Yorkshire College of Science a --- Leeds
Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, Newcastle-on-Tyne
List of Institutions.
Royal Society ...
University Library
Royal Botanic Garden
Royal Physical Society .
Royal Scottish Society of Arts
Geological Society
Philosophical Society
University Library
Institute of Engineers of Scotland:
Naturalists’ Society
Royal Irish Academy
Trinity College Library .
Royal Geological Society of Ireland
Royal Dublin Society
EUROPEAN.
Geographical Society
Acclimatisation Society ...
Royal Academy of Sciences
Royal Geographical Society
Royal Danish Society of Sciences ...
Academy of Science ce
Royal Academy of Sciences
The University
Imperial Academy
Geographical Society
Imperial Society of Naturalists
“ Petermann’s Geological Journal”...
Society of Naturalists
Royal Institution
Royal Netherlands Meteorological Society
Royal Academy of Science
Geological Society
Linnean Society
Academy of Natural History
Geographical Society
Royal Academy of Science
Royal Academy :
Royal Geological Society
Royal Geographical ey
Royal Botanical Society ..
Imperial Academy ae
Society for Culture of Science
Royal Society of Sciences
Royal Society ...
Geographical Society
197
Kdinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow
Bristol
Dublin
Dublin
Dublin
Dublin
Paris
Paris
Brussels
Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Stockholm
Upsal
Christiania
St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg
Moscow
Hamburgh
Hamburgh
Utrecht
Utrecht
Amsterdam
Darmstadt
Darmstadt
Giessen
; Brankforror Mare
Munich
Vienna
... Vienna
Vienna
. Ratisbon
... Breslau
Breslau
Leipzig
Berlin
Berlin
198 Inst of Institutions, &e.,
Ornithological Society _ ...
Royal Academy of Petrarch for Sciences
Imperial Leopoldian Carolinian Academy of German
Naturalists ees
Society of Sciences of Finland
_ Society of Naturalists
Physico-Graphico Society
Bureau of Nautical Meteorology
Tho British and American Archeological § Society of
Rome...
Academy of Arts and Sciences
Geographical Society of dae!
Royal Society ...
Natural History Society .. o a
Royal Academy of’ Science st 505
Royal Academy of Science a a
Geographical Society ... sae ees
Society for Culture of Science 500
Royal Academy of Agriculture
Italian Geographical Society
Academy of Sciences
Royal Institute for Science, Literatur e, and Art
Royal Society of Science
Academy of Sciences :
Scientific Academy of Leghorn
Academy of Sciences
Physical and Medical Society
Helvetic Society of Natural Sciences
Society of Natural History and Medicine
Academy of Science
Teyler Museum
National Society of Natural Sciences
Zoological Society of France
Minister of Public Works
AMERICAN.
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Natural History Society ...
Geographical Society
Smithsonian Institute
Philosophical Society of Sciences
War Department, United States Navy
Geological Survey Department
Department of the Interior
Academy of Natural Sciences
American Philosophical Society
Vienna
Arezzo
i Halle
Helsingfors
Halle
nee Lund
Stockholm
Rome
Modena
Rome
Gettingen
. Geneva
-» Madrid
Lisbon
Lisbon
Bremen
. Florence
. Florence
Bologna
Milan
Naples
Turin
Leghorn
aes Lyons
beh eee
56 Berne
Heidelberg
Palermo
3 Harlem
Cherbourg
3 Paris
Rome
Boston, Mass.
Boston, Mass.
New York
Washington
Washington
Washington
Washington
Washington
Philadelphia
Philadelphia
That Receive Copies of the “ Transactions.”
Academy of Science
Davenport Academy of Natural Sciences
Californian Academy of Arts and Sciences
“‘ Science ”
199
.. St. Louis, Missouri
Towa, U.S.
San Francisco
Cambridge, Mass.
Royal Society of Canada, . Montreal
Department of Industry and Commerce Mexico
Central Meteorological eee ... Mexico
National Academy of Sciences .. Cordoba, Argentine Republic
ASIATIC.
Madras Literary Society ... Madras
Geological Survey Department Calcutta
Royal Bengal Asiatic Society . Calcutta
Meteorological Society Mauritius
Royal Society of Natural Sciences i in n Netherlands India Batavia
Society of Arts and Sciences ss Batavia
COLONIAL.
Parliamentary Library Melbourne
University Library Melbourne
Public Library... Melbourne
Registrar- -General’s s Department Melbourne
Medical Society Melbourne
German Association Melbourne
Atheneum vi Melbourne
Kelectic Association of Victoria Melbourne
Pharmaceutical Society Melbourne
Victorian Institute of Surveyors Melbourne
Chief Secretary’s Office Melbourne
School of Mines Ballarat
Sandhurst Free Library .. Sandhurst
School of Mines a Sandhurst
Free Library ... me ie ae Fitzroy
Free Library ... ise bas a ... Hchuca
Free Library ... sais ... Geelong
Royal Society of South Australia . sts Adelaide, 8S. A.
South Australian Institute SE se S.A
Royal Society ... slat Sydney, N.S.W.
Linnean Society of New ‘South Wales ... Sydney, N.S. W.
The Observatory aa aoe .. sydney, N.S.W.
ifoyalySociety ... a. yes ... Hobart, Tasmania
New Zealand Institute ... a ... Wellington, N.Z.
Otago Institute ee Dunedin, N.Z.
Philosophical Society of Queensland BaD ... Brisbane
MASON, FIRTH AND M‘CUTCHEON,
PRINTERS,
FLINDERS LANE WEST, MELBOURNE.
¥
SO eerie er. eee
: ae i | IN
iim |
67
Live Music Archive
Librivox Free Audio
Metropolitan Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Internet Arcade
Console Living Room
Books to Borrow
Open Library
TV News
Understanding 9/11