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New Zealand Nature Notes.

SHORT SKETCHES

01 THE

GEOLOGY, BOTANY, ZOOLOGY,
AND ETHNOLOGY -OF NEW ZEALAND

(WITH NOTES ON ENGINEERING-WORKS)

FOR THE USE OF

Members of the Australasian Association for the

Advancement of Science,
Wellington Meeting, January, 1923.

WELLINGTON.

BY AUTHORITY: w. A. G. SKINNER, GOVERNMENT PRINTER
1922.

New Zealand Nature Notes.

SHORT SKETCHES

OF THE

GEOLOGY, BOTANY, ZOOLOGY,
AND ETHNOLOGY OF NEW ZEALAND

(WITH NOTES ON ENGINEERING-WORKS)

FOR THE USE OF

Members of the Australasian Association for the

Advancement of Science,
Wellington Meeting, January, 1923.

WELLINGTON.

BY AUTHORITY: w. A. G. SKINNER, GOVERNMENT PRINTER.
1922.

CONTENTS.

Page

The Geomorphology of Wellington . . . . . . . . 3

The Wild Indigenous Plants of the City of Wellington . . . . 1 1

Littoral Plant and Animal Communities of Cook Strait . . . . 12

Notes on the Marine Fauna of Island Bay, Wellington . . . . 14

Ethnological Exhibits in the Dominion Museum, Wellington. . . . 15

The Maori of New Zealand . . . . . . . . . . 17

Physiographic Notes on Auckland . . . . . . . . 19

Rangitoto Island and its Vegetation . . . . . . 20

The Forest of the Waitakerei Range . . . . . . . . 22

The Kauri Forest . . . . . . . . . . 22

Auckland Museum . . . . . . . . . . 26

Rotorua and Taupo Districts . . . . . . . . 27

The Plant-life of the Hot Lakes District . . . . . . 30

The Tongariro National Park . . . . . . . . 32

The Plant-life of the Tongariro National Park and its Environs . . 35

The Geology of the " Mineral Belt " of Nelson . . . . . . 36

The Vegetation of a Portion of the " Mineral Belt " . . . . . . 39

The Cawthron Institute, Nelson . . . . . . 40

Geological Notes on Banks Peninsula . . . . . . . . 40

The Flora of Banks Peninsula . . . . . . . . . . 41

Canterbury Museum . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

The Southern Alps . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

Glaciers and Glaciation in the Mount Cook District . . . . 46

The Plant-life in the Vicinity of Mount Cook . . . . . . 48

Franz Josef Glacier, Westland . . . . . . . . . . 51

The Vegetation near the Franz Josef Glacier . . . . . . 52

The Geology of the Dunedin District . . . . . . 53

The Flora of Dunedin . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Otago University Museum . . . . . . . . . . 57

The Mica-schists of Central Otago . . . . . . 57

Lists of Localities —

Geology . . . . . . . . . . 59

Mountain Passes . . . . . . . . . . 59

Botany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Agriculture and Forestry . . . . . . . . . 61

Engineering- works . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Electric-power Stations . . . . . . . . . 63

NEW ZEALAND NATURE NOTES.

THE GEOMORPHOLOGY OF WELLINGTON.

THE ORIGIN OF THE PORT NICHOLSON DEPRESSION.

THE Port Nicholson depression — containing one of the world's finest
natural harbours, the location of which has determined the position
of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand — may be described as
an area of subsidence partially submerged, so that it now comprises

FIG. i. — Map of Port Nicholson.

a broad sheet of water (Port Nicholson) and several embayed ridges
between this and the sea to the south (fig. i).

The depression is almost surrounded — to west, north, and east — •
by a higher-standing land-surface. The dominant features of the
high-standing area, and also of the unsubmerged portions of the
area of subsidence, are mature ridges and spurs, but remnants of a
dissected peneplain may be traced on some of the ridges, and most
of the valleys are rejuvenated. In the western part the average

relief is fully 1,000 ft., and several ridges rise to more than 1,500 ft.
above the sea ; while to the east the ridges are successively higher
until, at a distance of seven miles, the Rimutaka Range (3,000 ft.)
is reached. The smaller valleys are insequent, but there is a
distinct longitudinal, and occasionally trellised, drainage system
developed on strongly folded (nearly vertical) sedimentary strata
with occasional crushed zones, or shatter-belts, parallel to the
general north-north-east strike. The mature ridges of the depressed
block show a similar parallel arrangement. As a result of depression
of the maturely dissected surface these ridges (Miramar Peninsula
and the Kilbirnie Hills) and their spurs are separated by drowned
valleys, and their highest peaks now reach only 400 ft. to 600 ft.
above sea-level, while an almost complete absence of islands from

FIG. 2. — Eastern shore-line of Port Nicholson.

the northern portion of the harbour suggests that subsidence was
there much greater than farther south.

The north-western boundary of the depression is a well-preserved
fault-scarp (see p. 8), but the remaining boundaries are embayed
by submergence. The embayed eastern shore-line is traced along
the half-submerged side of a prominent and steep-sided longitudinal
ridge (fig. 2). It has been cliff ed by marine erosion, and still later
prograded, with the formation of a cuspate foreland.

Along all the shore-lines initiated by the subsidence there are
wave-cut cliffs of varying height according to the exposure. On
the exposed outer (southward-facing) coast cliff-recession has taken
place to a very considerable extent, truncating the ends of the
half-submerged ridges, and large areas of cut platforms lie at the

cliff-bases. Along this outer coast the shore-line of the depressed
area is, or, rather, was before a small uplift which accompanied the
earthquake of 1855, in an early mature stage of development,
•considerable modification of the initial embayed outline having
resulted in part from the cutting-back of points and in part from
bay-filling. A sand isthmus, which ties Miramar Peninsula, a former
island, to the mainland, effects a decided smoothing of the initial
•outline (fig. 3).

Port Nicholson has a smooth floor, with a maximum depth of
100 ft. in the middle. This indicates that a large accumulation of

FIG. 3. — Diagram showing Miramar Peninsula as a land-tied island. Above
is the initial form ; below, cliffing and modification of the outer
coast of the depressed area are shown.

FIG. 4. — Diagram-sketch of the southern end of the tilted area east of Port
Nicholson. From left (north-west) to right (south-east) the coastal
features shown are : Pencarrow Head, Lake Koangapiripiri, Lake
Koangatera, Fitzroy Bay, Baring Head, Wainui-o-mata River,
Orongorongo River, Cape Turakirae.

sediment has taken place, the material burying the submerged mature
land-surface.

Though its .north-western boundary is a fault-scarp (fig. 5), the
depression is not simply a small fault-bounded tectonic block. The
absence of- companion fault-scarps, no less than the positive
physiographic evidence, indicates that faulting must be regarded
as merely an incident in the formation of the depression. The
principal event appears to have been the sharp downwarping of a

belt of land about thirty miles long, elongated in a north-north-east
and south-south-west direction (and extending an unknown distance
farther to the south-south-west beneath the sea). The depth of
downwarping that must be assumed is variable, the maximum being
perhaps in the neighbourhood of 1,500 ft., or perhaps rather more,
where the broadest part of Port Nicholson now is. The width of
the strip affected also varies in different parts, but is at least
ten miles where Port Nicholson is widest. Both depth and width
diminish, though irregularly, to the north-east up the Hutt Valley.

The movement of downwarping took place comparatively recently.
Though the outer coast of the partly drowned area is now approach-
ing submaturity of outline, the initial shore-line (after submergence)
can still be restored, and it is seen that the change in the normal
subaerial land-forms that has taken place since submergence is
inappreciable. The surface that was warped and incidentally faulted
to produce the depression was therefore like that of the surrounding
district to-day — maturely dissected, with a somewhat fine texture
of dissection and a relief of rather more than 1,000 ft. Such strongly
differential movement of a small earth-block in very recent times is
unusual even in New Zealand, though it was common enough in
somewhat earlier times when the mountain masses were blocked out
and the river-courses determined by the movements to which the
name " Kaikoura " has been applied.

The evidence in support of the hypothesis of warping to account
for the submergence of the Port Nicholson area is much more con-
clusive for the eastern than for the western side of Port Nicholson.
In the critical area on the wrestern side ancient strand-] ines do not
survive, but have been cut completely away by modern marine erosion.
The only positive evidence of warping found there is a progressively
more extensive drowning of valleys as the entrance to the harbour
is approached ; but there is also weighty negative evidence in the
absence of a traceable fault-scarp separating the obviously depressed
Port Nicholson area from the high-standing land to the west.

The evidence on the eastern side is more striking.* It is of
three kinds : (i) Uplifted wave-cut platforms (ancient strand-lines)
on the outer coast are very strongly tilted endwise towards Port
Nicholson (fig. 4) ; (2) there is progressively more extensive drowning
of valleys as the harbour-entrance is approached (fig. 4) ; (3) the
inferred tilting towards the centre-line of the depression is so strong
that it must have considerable effect on the regimen of streams.
The larger streams east of the harbour are for the most part parallel
to the hinge-line of warping, and, as might thus be expected, are but
little affected ; but the valleys of small headwater streams tributary
to these and entering them from the west show striking aggradational
effects, which can be ascribed only to headward tilting in spite of the
steep gradients normal to such streams, even when mature, in this
district of strong and fine-textured relief. These effects may be seen
well developed in the western branch of the Wainui-o-mata, and in
the western tributaries of the Mangaroa (fig. 6).f

* This evidence is set out more fully in a paper by the present writer
entitled " The Warped Land-surface on the Eastern Side of the Port Nichol-
son Depression," Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 53, pp. 131-43, 1921.

t Loc. cit., pp. 140-42 ; Geomorphology of New Zealand, p. 238.

FIG. 5. — Fault-scarp forming the north-western boundary of the Port
Nicholson depression.

FIG. 6.— Map of the Hutt River delta,' which partly fills the Port Nicholson
depression, and the aggraded valley of the western branch of
the Wainui-o-mata. Note the contrast between the fault-scarp
forming the straight north-western side of the depression and the
embayed eastern side. Approximate scale, £ in. -f- = i mile.

THE WELLINGTON FAULT-SCARP (figs, i and 4).

The fault-scarp referred to above as forming the north-western
boundary of Port Nicholson trends approximately south-west to-
north-east. Its south-western part forms the steep slope of the
Tinakori Hills, and its north-eastern continuation extends far up the
valley of the Hutt River. The scarp appears to have been submaturely
dissected and very recently rejuvenated. It seems to have come
into existence as an accompaniment of the formation of the Port
Nicholson depression. When rejuvenation took place, however,
though probably the floor of the depression again sank, the land on
the north-western side of the fault appears to have risen. The
newer scarp thus cuts a submaturely dissected surface with a rather
steep general slope towards Port Nicholson, blunt-ended spurs alter-
nating with streams, a few only of which are now mature at their

FIG. 7. — Raised rock platform and beach, backed by sea-cliffs,
southward from Breaker Bay, Wellington.

mouths. Above the newer scarp would rise the somewhat worn
facets of the earlier, dissected scarp. All the streams would cascade
into Port Nicholson from the mouths of hanging valleys. These
characteristics are still recognizable, though they have been somewhat
modified in the post-faulting period.

Access. — Visible from Wellington. A good point of view is the
radio station on Tinakori Hills. Take Karori tram to Northland ;
thence walk.

RAISED BEACHES AT WELLINGTON.

The Wellington earthquake of 1855 was accompanied by a
sudden uplift, or, more strictly, tilting of a large block of country.
According to the account received by Lyell from eye-witnesses
and embodied in the later editions of the Principles of Geology,

the hinge-line of the tilt coincided roughly with the north-western
coast of the Wellington Peninsula, and the uplift increased to 5ft.
.at Wellington, and thence to 9 ft. at a point on the shore of
Palliser Bay, about fifteen miles in a direct line east-south-east from
Wellington .

As a result of the movement extensive areas of the rock platforms
cut by wave-action along the southern coast in the neighbourhood
of Wellington during a relatively long period of stillstand were raised
permanently above high-water level (fig. 7).

The rock platform is surmounted by stacks, and numerous
irregular hollows in it are filled with gravel. Wave-cut cliffs rise
behind the platforms, with occasional sea-caves at the base, and there
is generally a convex beach-ridge of gravel at the former shore-line.
Both beach and platform now support a scanty growth of vegetation,
the seaward limit of which is a new beach-ridge. The most extensive
rock platforms stretch out seaward from the base of the cliffs at
the southern end of Miramar Peninsula (fig. 3). The raised beaches
have been largely destroyed in the course of road-construction, their
presence allowing of the cheap formation of roads along the foreshore,
but a strip about a mile in length along the eastern shore of the
southern end of Miramar Peninsula still remains in a good state of
preservation.

Access. — The best of the raised beaches and associated features
may be seen in the course of a walk from Lyall Bay (tram-terminus)
eastward around the south end of Miramar Peninsula. Keep to the
foreshore as far as Breaker Bay quarry, thence take the road through
.a cutting to Seatoun (tram - te'rminus) . On the sides of this catting
almost horizontal " earth pillars " may be seen pointing southward
(Cotton, Geomorphology of New Zealand, fig. 35).

HIGH-STANDING WAVE-CUT PLATFORMS.

WTest and east of the downwarped Port Nicholson area the coasts
.are of the multicycle uplifted type, and the uplift (which has left its
impression on the land also, in the form of multicycle subaerial
features) was no doubt general prior to the occurrence of the local
subsidence. Wave-cut rock platforms with a thin veneer of gravel
and coarse sand occur at various levels. They are reduced to narrow
benches by cliff-cutting marine erosion in the intermediate and present
•cycles, and in many places have been cut away altogether.

West of Port Nicholson the high platforms that survive are only
two in number, and the higher of these is represented by but one
small remnant. The lower is traceable for several miles — from Cape
Terawhiti to beyond Tongue Point (fig. i) — but for a great part of
this distance only in the section exposed along the sea-cliffs, in which
the even top of a cut bench can be very distinctly seen from sea-
ward. This is covered, however, by a thick accumulation of talus,
the slope of which quite obscures the profile of the bench. At Tongue
Point, however, quite a large remnant of the bench survives.

East of Port Nicholson there is an extensive series of benches,
•each the remnant of a cut platform (figs. 5 and 8). These are tilted

10

endwise very steeply (about 175 ft. per mile) towards the depressed
area.* On the lower benches there is a considerable quantity of
gravel, and at Baring Head some stacks survive on the platform
which forms the Head. fg

Access. — The platforms at Tongue Point may be reached by walk-
ing westward along the foreshore from Island Bay tram-terminus ;
or, more easily, by road and bridle-track — motor-car to end of South
Makara Road (in the valley of the Karori Stream), thence on foot
three miles to McMenamen's homestead at Tongue Point.

To visit the platforms east of Port Nicholson it is necessary to
proceed by motor-car by way of Petone or Lower Hutt and the
Wainui-o-mata Valley (note aggradation due to tilting — see p. 6),

FIG. 8. — Uplifted marine platforms between Baring Head and Cape Tura-

kirae, Wellington.

to the last farm-buildings before the mouth of the Wainui is reached
(twenty-four miles from Wellington). Here the Wainui-o-mata is
crossed on a plank bridge, and a steep slope undercut by a meander
of the stream, since cut off, must be climbed. There is an indistinct
track, which leads over a low gap, to Fitzroy Bay. Proceed along
the lowest, or Baring Head, platform to Baring Head, where the tilt
of this platform becomes obvious and an excellent view of the higher
benches is obtained.

C. A. COTTON.

* For a description of these see C. A. Cotton, " The Warped Land-surface
. ," Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 53, pp. 131-43 (refer to pp. 136-38), 1921.

II

THE WILD INDIGENOUS PLANTS OF THE CITY OF
WELLINGTON.

Here is included all the area within the city boundaries together
with the forest reserve at Day's Bay. Much, though nominally
" city," is open country containing many remnants of the almost
continuous original forest covering, and there is also an extensive
coast-line which provides many types of coastal habitats. In con-
sequence, about 37 per cent, of the total New Zealand lowland and
coastal floras, taken together, are gathered together into a small
compass.

The pteridophytes and spermophytes number about 416 species,
which belong to no less than 83 families and 210 genera. The
largest families and genera, together with the species in each, are —
Filices, 67 ; Cyperaceae, 35 ; Gramineae, 25 ; Compositae, 23 ;
Rubiaceae, 21 ; Orchidaceae, 18 ; Onagraceae, 15 ; Coprosma, 18 ;
Epilobium, 12 ; Carex, n ; Hymenophyllum and Blechnum, each 10.

So far as forest-plants are concerned, a considerable percentage
can be seen within the city proper, for much of the Botanical Gardens
is occupied by a fairly-well-preserved example of the semi-coastal
rain-forest which originally filled the gullies and clothed many of
the slopes where houses now stand closely. Unfortunately, the tall
trees were destroyed long ago, but there is still a dense, rich vegetation
of about no kinds of small trees, tree-ferns, shrubs, lianes, and ferns
in general. Some characteristic plants of the New Zealand flora are
represented by fine examples in this invaluable open-air museum :
e.g., the cauliflorous tree Dysoxylum spectabile, the dimorphic
Pennantia corymbosa, Pseudopanax crassifolium var. unifoliolatum
(with its juvenile and adult forms so different that at one time
they were held to be distinct species), Rubus australis (a huge
bramble), and Myrtus bullata with its curious blistered leaves.

At Lyall Bay typical dunes may be seen with the endemic
Scirpus frondosus — an admirable example of convergent epharmony —
as a sand-binder, and the locally endemic Acaena novae-zelandiae
var. pallida. On shaded coastal cliffs there is abundance of Phormium
Colensoi, and in its company Senecio lagopus and Festuca multinodis.
Aciphylla squarrosa and a variety of Raoulia australis also occur
on the coast, though they are frequently mountain-plants. The
subantarctic Crassula moschata has on this piece of coast its sole
station for the North Island. Several rather rare species are coastal
— e.g., Lepidium obtusatum, Hymenanthera obovata, Copvosma Kirkii,
and C. Buchanani.

The Day's Bay reserve is a noble piece of almost virgin forest
some 600 acres in extent. The dominant tall trees belong to the
subantarctic genus Nothofagus, the species being N. fusca and N.
Solandri, together with various forms of hybrids between them, one
group of such being known as N. apiculata. Within the gullies the
vegetation is of the rain-forest type, while the Nothofagus association
is confined to the drier slopes. Compared with the rain-forest, its
undergrowth is more open and xerophytic, as evidenced by the
presence of Cyathodes acerosa and other drought-resisting species. But
the filmy fern, Trichomanes reniforme, with its broad fronds curled
up in dry weather, is common on the dry slopes. Near streams bryo-
phytes are plentiful, including the huge thalloid liverwort Monoclea
Forsteri. At its outskirts the forest merges into tall shrubland, with
the usual Leptospermum scoparium dominant, combined, however,
with young trees, so that it is really potential forest.

L. COCKAYNE.

12

LITTORAL PLANT AND ANIMAL COMMUNITIES OF COOK

STRAIT.

A weathered platform of greywacke rocks fronting the open ocean,
and with no large river discharging near-by, affords in the intertidal
belt solid foothold in clear water. Such ideal conditions for marine
life are found in Cook Strait, easily accessible by tram from the
City of Wellington. Good collecting- ground may be found near the
Island Bay, Lyall Bay, and Seatoun termini. Being an open coast,
there is no heaping up of tides, so that the moderate range of about
5 ft. at ordinary springs is the rule. This allows for the development
of only two or three distinct belts of plant and animal life in vertical
sequence at any point. Situated as Wellington is near the middle
of the Dominion, samples of the typical marine algal communities
of both the northern and southern portions of New Zealand may be
seen, though some especially characteristic cold- and warm-water
associations are absent, such as the small moss-weed (Bostrychia}
association of Otago and the mangrove and tunicate communities of
Auckland.

Durvillea Association. — On the most exposed portions of the rocky
coast outside the harbour the large kelp-weed (Durvillea antarctica]
forms a miniature marine forest. On the shore the maximum amount
of light and supply of water occur in that strip between the level of
low tide at neaps and springs. Here, where the waves beat hardest
and the waters are consequently most aerated, the kelp loves to grow.
Its large discoidal holdfasts are fixed to the rock high up in this belt,
and its large palmate leathery fronds hang down, covering the rock-
face while the tide is out, and, when covered with water, stand
upright by virtue of their natural buoyancy. This buoyancy is
brought about not, as in many kinds of brown algae, by special air-
vesicles, but by the large polygonal cells which make up the bulk
of the tissue of the thallus. The upper margin of the Durvillea
association is usually defined by a fringe of Laurencia, a dark-purple
species forming tufts 2 in. to 3 in. high. Following on this is a narrow
belt of the common brown alga Xiphophora chondrophylla, easily
recognized by its branching flat thalli. Below these algae the bulk
of the formation lies, and consists principally of a mixture of Lessonia
variegata, Carpophyllum maschalocarpum, Marginaria boryana, Sargas-
sum Sinclair i, and Cystophora dumosa extending some distance below
low-tide mark. Beneath these large species is an undergrowth com-
prised of smaller red, green, and brown algae, such as Pterocladia
lucida, Caulerpa sedoides, C. Brownii, Lychaete Dart&ini, Zonaria Tur-
neriana, Glossophora Harveyi, Stypocaulon paniculatum, and others,
while the rock-face itself is covered with the crustaceous corrallines
Melobesia and Lithothamnion, and the branching corallines Amphiroa*
Corallina, and Jania. The animals associated with the large brown
algae include the herbivorous gastropods Cantharidus opalus, C.
purpurata, and Turbo smaragdus, feeding on the larger algae ; the
large sedentary chitons, such as Endoxochiton nobilis, Plaxiphora
biramosa, and Sypharochiton Sinclairi ; the mussels Mytilus canali-
culus and M. maorianus ; and the large ear shells Haliotis iris and
H. australis. Shore fishes include various blennies and the sucker-fish
Diplocrepis puniceus, the former usually taking protection in rock.

13

pools and gulfs, the latter freely exposing itself to the surf and
relying on its pectoral disc to hold on to the rocks. The more con-
spicuous echinoderms are the sea-urchin Evechinus chloroticus and the
starfishes Asterina regularis, Asterias scabra, and Pentagonaster pul-
c helium. Of especial interest is the fauna which is found within the
hollowed-out bases of Durvillea. Here are found Siphonaria zealandica,
various Crustacea and worms, and the chitons Plaxiphora egregia and
Onithochiton neglectus.

Corallina-Hormosira Association. — Between tide-marks there is
developed, especially in rock-pools, an association in which th,e
branched coralline Corallina officinalis and the brown alga Hormosira
Banksi are often fairly well mixed. The distribution of these two
algae is determined by the amount of water present, Hormosira
affecting drier situations than Corallina, so that frequently Corallina
will grow on the floor of a pool, with Hormosira fringing the water-
line and exposed during the recess of the tide. Hormosira Banksi
sometimes, especially on level rocks, forms a pure association. The
animals associated with Corallina and Hormosira include Turbo
smaragdus, Cerithidea tricarinata, Melaraphe unifasciata, and, in
pools, blennies and shrimps.

Porphyra Association. — Conspicuous on rocks between tide-marks
is an association of Porphyra laciniata. It forms large patches about
half -tide. The thallus is like that of the sea-cabbage (Ulva), but of
a pale-greenish colour. It has a shining appearance when dry, and
the tips suffer a good deal from wilting during exposure to the
atmosphere.

Barnacle Association. — The chief animal association on rocks
between tide-marks is that which occupies a belt over a yard in
vertical width just above the brown-algae formation. The rocks are
to a large extent covered with the sessile barnacle Chamaesipho
columna. With it are associated a number of (usually small) molluscs
— Cellana denticalata, C. ornata, Siphonaria obliquata, Monodonta
coracina, Lepsiella scobina, Sypharochiton pellisserpentis, and many
others. The association is in all respects comparable with similar
associations on the Australian coasts, but the species are, with the
exception of one or two only, entirely different. Within Wellington
Harbour the barnacle association is present, but on the more exposed
rocks gives way to an association of mussels.

Zostera Association. — Extensive areas of intertidal flats in Wel-
lington Harbour are covered with a sward of the grass-wrack Zostera
tasmanica. With it occurs an assemblage of molluscs, including
herbivorous species such as Turbo smaragdus, Monodonta corrosa,
and M. aethiops, and a number of carnivorous forms, including
Cominella adspersa, C. lurida, and C. maculosa. The shell locally
called " cockle " (Antigona stutchburyi] is abundant just below the
surface of the mud.

Monodonta- A mphibola Association. — On mud-flats where Zostera
does not grow, a number of molluscs are found, mostly identical with
those living among the Zostera. Of especial interest, however, is
the presence of the Amphibola crenata. This is a member of the
pulmonate or air-breathing order of gastropods which has returned
to a life in the water. So dependent now is it on a continuous supply
of moisture, which while the tide is out it gets from the moist mud,
that it is unable to live for any length of time if kept without water.

W. R. B. OLIVER.

NOTES ON THE MARINE FAUNA OF ISLAND BAY,
WELLINGTON.

Between the tide-marks are many sheltered rock-pools, and in
these are small fish, crabs, and a few interesting seaweeds. On the
margins of these pools and in clefts of the rock there frequently occur
the spirally coiled egg-masses of the large Siphonaria obliquata and
of the two common limpets Cellana radians and C. ornatus. As these
egg-masses become older many diatoms are found in them, and certain
Gymnomyxa, notably Amoeba agilis. As the masses deliquesce they
shelter a Vorticella, which, although marine, has a contractile vacuole.
In addition to the pools there are many guts or chasms in the rock,
and here there is abundance of life. The brown seaweed Lessonia
variegata, with its buttress-like base, gives shelter to Annelids, Crus-
tacea, and many sponges, especially Calcarea. Among the last are
Syconute dendyi and the striking Grantessa intus-articulata. On the
leaves and stems of the Lessonia are frequently found anemones,
Sagartia nutrix and others, as well as several gastropods, noticeably
the beautiful little Cantharidus dilatatus and the larger Cantharidus
opalus. The stems are often bored by Polychaetes.

In the more sheltered pools is an abundant growth of coralline
seaweeds, and if the masses be pulled apart they are often found to
shelter Dolichoglossus otagoensis. This animal is from i in. to i^in.
in length, and of a bright-red colour. It is allied to a Japanese
species. The same seaweed shelters many young sand-stars and small
sponges and Tunicates, many developing Crustacea, and worms. These
masses form the nursery of the rock-pool fauna.

Beneath the stones are several interesting molluscs, as, for ex-
ample, the small A cmaea fr agilis and the great Scutus ambiguus, whose
flattened white shell is concealed by the spacious mantle-folds, the
whole surface, except the sole of the foot, a deep blue-black. Three
species of Haliotis are found. The older specimens of H. iris and
H. australis forsake the shelter of the stones. H. iris, coming down
from Miocene times, is the paua of the Maori. He formerly used the
animal as food, and the shell to form the eyes of gigantic carved
figures. Fully exposed upon the rocks, often well above high- water
mark, are two species of Melaraphe, allies of the European periwinkle
(Littorina). Much less exposed, and often seeking shade, are two
species of Onchidella.

The large Holothurian, Stichopus mollis, is abundant, and exposes
itself freely where the sea-floor is sheltered. Under stones and in the
sand smaller Holothurians are found. The starfish that is most
abundant is the small, pentagonal Asterina regularis, usually blue,
but not infrequently yellow or green. Of other starfishes that occur
here the largest and handsomest is Asterias scabra, usually blue above
and with red tube - feet. The only known specimen (now in the
Victoria College museum) of the remarkable monotypic genus Eury-
gonias (E. hylacanthus] was found at Island Bay.

Of Ophiuroidea, the common sand-star Ophionereis schayeri occurs
in abundance under stones. The large brittle-star, Pectinura maculata,
abundant in some parts of New Zealand, occurs occasionally here.

The common sea-urchin is Ev echinus chloroticus. It is of some
interest to note that the Maori name is kina.

Of sea-anemones, the three commonest forms are Actinia tenebrosa
(dark red in colour and exposed at half -tide), Cradactis plicatus, and
Anemonia olivacea, the last usually olive-green in colour. Several other
sea-anemones are found, including the extraordinary Phlyctenactis retifera,
a large anemone frequently found floating or attached to seaweeds at
the surface, but dredged once from a depth of 15 fathoms.

It will be noted that there are no Protodrilids.

These notes refer only to the commoner or more interesting forms
that are likely to be met with on the Island Bay excursion, and are
not designed to serve as a basis for views on the New Zealand littoral
fauna as a whole.

H. B. KIRK.

ETHNOLOGICAL EXHIBITS IN THE DOMINION MUSEUM,

WELLINGTON.

In a brief article only a few characteristic exhibits out of many
can be dealt with.

Canoes. — The three principal types of canoes used by the Maori
in former times were — (i) The double canoe ; (2) the single-hull canoe
with outrigger ; (3) the single-hull canoe without outrigger. The
first two types went out of use many years ago, but both were seen
in Cook's time. The ordinary canoe of No. 3 type may be divided
into three classes, as follows : (a.) The big capacious war-canoe, up to
80 ft. in length and 7 ft. to 8 ft. in width ; ornamented with carved
prow and stern-pieces, carved sideboards, painted devices, and feathers.
(b.) Fishing-canoes, used also for any form of water carriage ; plain
prow and stern-pieces. Both these types were composed of a dugout
hull of one, two, or three pieces ingeniously fastened together, with
a top strake lashed on to raise the sides, (c.) Small river-canoes,
without thwarts or decking, and minus any attachment or ornament
— plain dugouts.

No specimen of the old-time double and outrigger canoes has been
preserved, and the only specimen extant of the (a) class is that
in the Auckland Museum. The largest specimen in the Dominion
Museum is of the (b) class, used for fishing and ordinary travelling
purposes. An old canoe fashioned with stone tools is one of the
most valuable specimens.

In the cases may be seen collections of paddles, balers, carved
prow and stern-pieces, and small model canoes. Fishing-gear is
represented by a large number of hooks in wood, bone, and shell
(a few being fashioned from moa-bone), nets and traps of various
kinds, carved and plain sinkers, spear-points, &c.

Houses. — We have one high-class carved house up, though some-
what impaired by the absence of the veranda and window, the wrong
situation of the entrance, and the substitution of fluted boards for

i6

reedwork in the lining. The carved posts, however, are very fine
specimens, all named after ancestors. Interesting specimens of house-
rafters adorned with painted devices may be seen on either side of
the entrance to the main hall, and opposite that entrance the carved
timbers of the front of the house. None of the highly elaborate
elevated carved storehouses have been erected, owing to want of
space, but parts of such are exhibited.

Stone Implements. — In stone implements are seen some very fine
specimens of native workmanship, as in the case of weapons and
adzes. The collection of stone adzes is large, showing a number of
different types and the processes of manufacture. Of all stone imple-
ments the patu, a short hand-weapon, is the most symmetrical and
well finished. The mere of nephrite is more rare. Other stone imple-
ments are pounders and beaters (used for a variety of purposes), drills,
sinkers, and lamps. Of stone ornaments the neck-pendant termed
heitiki was the most highly prized, and the manufacture thereof was
exceedingly slow and laborious. An exhibit of much interest is the
stump of a tree that was felled with stone tools.

Bone Implements. — In this department the most important items
are weapons — viz., the curious long carved hoeroa, the notched kotiate,
the patu paraoa, and wahaika. These were fashioned from whale's
bones. Other bone items are mallets used by carvers, spear-points,
fish-hooks, needles, cloak-pins, combs, flutes, and ornaments such as
pendants of various kinds.

Wooden Implements. — In wood we have some typical Maori
weapons, such as taiaha, pouwhenua, tewhatewha, and spears, fashioned
out of hardwood by slow processes. Agricultural implements are
represented by spades, picks, and the curious digging - implement
termed ko, resembling the old Highland spade. In wood we also
find combs, flutes, trumpets, tops, and other toys. Carved wooden
boxes illustrate the fine work done by the Maori with stone tools.
Vessels are of wood, as bowls, and bark deftly doubled up ; also
bowls and water-vessels of gourds, some of which are finely etched
like those of various Pacific groups and Central America. The mira
tuatini, a curious implement made by affixing the teeth of a species
of shark to a wooden handle, was used wherewith to cut flesh. The
curiously formed wooden coffins are specially interesting, as also are
the so-called Kumara gods.

Other Exhibits. — The two dried tattooed human heads are good
specimens, and must be a century old.

In textiles are shown cloaks and capes woven from the dressed
fibres of Phormium and Cordyline by a peculiar process once employed
by people of the Mississippi region ; others of feathers and dogskin
fastened on to a ground of woven fabric. Sleeping and floor mats
are made by plaiting raw undressed strips of Phormium-lesii or of
Freycinetia. Baskets and belts are made in similar manner.

There is also a small collection of bird snaring and trapping
implements, with some long bird-spears.

ELSDON BEST.

17
THE MAORI OF NEW ZEALAND.

The natives of New Zealand form a branch of the Polynesian
race, and are nearly related to the people of the Cook and Society
Groups. The later-coming pre-European settlers in these Isles
assuredly came from that region, hence the origin of the Maori of
New Zealand is one with the origin of the far-scattered Polynesian
race.

The original home-land of the Polynesians is a matter that has
caused much interest and produced many conjectures. Most of the
writers on this subject agree in locating that home-land in southern
or south-eastern Asia. Professor Keane has placed the Polynesians
among the Caucasic peoples in his family tree of the Hominidae,
and claims tliat they represent the main subdivision of the Indo-
Oceanic Caucasians. An interesting tradition preserved by the Taki-
tumu clans of the North Island mentions Irihia as the name of the
hidden home-land, and in this name some students of Polynesian
ethnology recognize an old Sanscrit name for India — Vrihia. This
name is apparently connected with vrihi, a name for rice, and the
Maori has possibly preserved another rice-name in ari, which he states,
was a small seed that formed one of the principal food-supplies of
the land of Irihia.

Divers writers bring the Polynesians into the region termed by
us Polynesia at varying dates ranging from 1000 B.C. to 450 A.D.
Whatever the date may have been, the early European voyagers in
these seas found them occupying an area of about 4,000 by 4,500
miles in extent. In addition to this exclusively Polynesian area
there are many Polynesian colonies in far-sundered isles of Melanesia
and Micronesia, from the New Hebrides to Monteverde Isle.

It is clear that the ancestors of the Polynesians were fearless
voyagers, intrepid navigators of wide seas. Throughout long centuries
they roamed over great areas of the Pacific, and made many long
voyages repeatedly in all directions. Thus repeated voyages were
made between Tahiti and New Zealand, between Tahiti and the
Hawaiian Isles. A yet longer voyage was that from Fiji to Easter
Island. These pre-Columbian neolithic sea-rovers, all ignorant of the
compass and of the true art of shipbuilding, manned their carvel-built
outrigger and double canoes, and cross-hatched great seas with their
innumerable ara moana or sea-roads.

Some forty generations ago two of these Polynesian Vikings dis-
covered the Isles of New Zealand and returned to eastern Polynesia.
Twelve generations later the first Polynesian settlers arrived on these
shores, but during that period the northern parts of the North Island
had been occupied by an unknown people, a dark-skinned folk who
probably came from the western Pacific. These early settlers were
the descendants of castaways, the crews of three vessels that made
land on the Taranaki coast. These two peoples intermarried, and
hence the Melanesian characteristics so often observed among our
Maori folk.

Communication between New Zealand and Polynesia was kept up
for generations, but finally ceased, save for certain drift voyages.
The last vessels to leave these shores for Polynesia, so far as we are
aware, sailed about two hundred and fifty years ago. Since that
time the Maori has been isolated in these Isles.

Inset — Nature Notes.

i8

The Polynesian race is one that presents many points of interest
to students of anthropology. The question of its origin has interested
many writers, and its feats in deep-sea voyaging and colonizing across
seven thousand miles of ocean have a fascination for ethnologists.
Those interested in ethnographical lore, in comparative mythology,
religion, and sociology, find here one of the most interesting fields
for research. Owing to its long period of isolation in the Pacific
region, in many far-scattered lands of small area, and to its being
cut off "rom peoples of a higher culture-plane to the west and east,
the Polynesian race has preserved many crude processes and arts.
At the same time, these neolithic folk are remarkable for the
possession of a high order of mentality, and it is this fact that
renders their concepts such an interesting study. The cosmogonic
and anthropogenic myths of the Maori people of these Isles are
remarkable productions ; the esoteric versions of the 'same are pitched
upon a high plane of thought, and contain many analogies with those
of Oriental lands.

The student of comparative religion finds much interesting data
in Maori lore. The superior concept of the Supreme Being, the
conception of various spiritual potentiae, the belief in two distinct
spirit-worlds, in neither of which is there any suffering inflicted on
the human soul — all these carry proof of the remarkable powers of
introspective thought as possessed by the Maori. The belief in the
purification of the human soul after death is perhaps the most
striking result of such powers.

Ths universal personification that is so marked a feature of Maori
mythology imparts a peculiarly mythopoetic aspect to the folklore,
superior myths, and even to the vernacular speech of the Maori folk.
No Oriental people excelled in such imagery the cannibal natives of
these Isles.

The social system of the Maori is another subject of much interest,
inasmuch as it illustrates certain institutions of communism that
make for cohesion and the preservation of order, and supply the
place of civil law. In this phase of social life we find that the
social unit s neither the individual nor yet the true family, but
the extended family, or family group.

A study of the implements and industrial processes of the Maori
shows the low-water mark of his achievements — as, for example, his
rude methods of fire-generation and weaving, his primitive agricul-
tural implements and lack of missile weapons. On the other hand,
his ingenuity and artistic talent were marked by most ingenious
devices employed in taking birds, by his remarkable accomplishments
in decorative art. The making of a war-canoe and the building of
a superior house were tasks that proved the energy, skill, and in-
domitable patience of the Maori artisan.

An interesting feature of Maori culture is the fact that we find
therein certain arts, institutions, and artifacts that are unknown in
Polynesia, but are found in the western Pacific. These Maori-
Melanesian parallels seem to be traceable to the region of New
Guinea. Quite possibly these intrusions are referable to the earliest
inhabitants of New Zealand.

ELSDON BEST.

PHYSIOGRAPHIC NOTES ON AUCKLAND.

The beautiful symmetrical Rangitoto fitly stands sentinel in
advance of the host of perfect volcanic cones which here, there,
and everywhere stud the surface of the gently rolling lowlands of
the Auckland District. But the subdued landscape, the numerous
tidal creeks, the indented shore-lines, the wave-cut cliffs, all present
a history not less interesting than that of the volcanic cones. For
the area occupied by Auckland City and northward of it the history
is this : A wide belt of weak sediments, flanked westwards by a
submeridional volcanic range, has been largely reduced by normal
erosion to near sea-level. Elevation of the area ensues, punctuated
apparently by two periods of approximate standstill, marked at
the present day — one most clearly, the other less so — by erosion
surfaces immediately adjacent to Waitemata Harbour. Both are
well below the level of widespread uplands which represent the
maturely dissected peneplain of the earlier cycle. Uplift recommences,
and deep stream- valleys are excavated in the broad erosion surface
now conspicuous at low levels north-westward of Auckland. Suddenly
there is a change, and a movement of depression causes the sea to
advance into, or " drown," the newly cut valleys, with the result
usual in such cases — the formation of numerous harbours, inlets,
and tidal creeks.

Since, the " drowning " waves have been actively cutting back
headlands, and, with the assistance of tidal currents, insilting the
mangrove-dotted inlet-heads, and forming perfect miniature examples
of barrier-beaches, spits, and other such shore-line features. The
subsidence has now ceased and uplift has again begun, leaving its
traces in shore-line platforms, as at Milford, raised about 5 ft. above
normal high-water level, and in such small elevated strand-plains
as those well displayed near Buckland's Beach.

Southward from Auckland City, on the other or western coast
of the isthmus, lies the extensive Manukau Harbour, and around
its shores is an area of totally different character from that farther
north. In generalized terms it is a lowland more or less sharply
bounded eastward, along a margin due to faulting and flexure, by
irregularly warped uplands of resistant rock. It is largely built
of soft incoherent silts laid down in a great estuary into which the
Waikato River poured its waters, and which was separated from
the Tasman Sea by a great barrier-beach, or similar accumulation,
extending between resistant headlands nearly thirty miles apart.
Behind this beach lofty sand-dunes arose, and, migrating eastward,
covered up a portion of the estuarine deposits. To-day the sand-
dune range, not yet destroyed by the ever-encroaching waves, forms
the western margin of the lowland.

But the area has meantime been called upon to share the sharp
uplift which led to the excavation of the trenches now forming the
channels of Waitemata Harbour, and, in like manner to this latter,
the present Manukau Harbour had its birth in the movement of
subsidence which followed this uplift, and which seems, from evidence
in the Manukau area, to have been quantitatively only a few feet
less than the latter in its differential effect.

20

The commencement of volcanic activity manifested in the
volcanic cones post-dates, in general, the sculpture of the present
valleys, for the latter are often occupied by lava-streams.

Ejections of tuff, as a rule, preceded the outwelling of lava
and the ejections of the scoriae which have formed most of the
prominent cones in and around Auckland City. Less prominent
tuff-cones are, however, frequent ; with few exceptions they have
wide craters now occupied by lakes, swamps, or inlets of the sea.
Rangitoto is the only important cone owing its main elevation to
accumulation of lava.

J. A. BARTRUM.

RANGITOTO ISLAND AND ITS VEGETATION.

Guarding the entrance to Auckland Harbour, reaching a height
of nearly 1,000 ft., and presenting from all points of view a long,
gradually curving outline crowned with a triple peak, lies the Island
of Rangitoto, the largest and the most recent of the many volcanic

[Home Studios, Takapuna, photo.

FIG. 9. — Rangitoto Island, Auckland, a lava-cone with a scoria-cone
within its crater.

cones of the Auckland District, a locality characterized by Hochstetter
as " one of the most remarkable volcanic districts of the earth."
Landing and ascending by an excellent track to the summit, the
visitor at once notices that the whole of the island, except the
cinder-cone with its wonderfully well-preserved crater, consists of
lava-streams with an average inclination of from 4° to 6°. Of the

21

5,600 acres which make up its area, more than 5,000 are occupied
by these streams. Their surface is everywhere rough and difficult
to traverse, being composed of masses of basalt of all sizes and
shapes, rough and sharp-edged, and piled into ridges separated by
irregular depressions or chasm-like holes. That the lava is com-
paratively recent is evident ; and good judges have estimated that
not more than five hundred or six hundred years have _ elapsed
since the close of volcanic activity. No streams of water exist,
nor could such be expected, as the heaviest rainfall is at once
absorbed by the porous surface.

Seen from a little distance the greater part of the island appears
to be covered with a low scrubby forest ; but once on shore it is
found that there are considerable areas almost bare of vegetation
except a few lichens and mosses. From the summit of the cone
these spaces stand out black and distinct against the dusky green
of the tree-clad portions. The most abundant tree is the " Christmas
tree," or pohutukawa (Metrosideros tomentosa), which probably con-
stitutes four-fifths of the ligneous vegetation. Outside Rangitoto it
.usually forms a tree 50 ft. to 60 ft. in height, but on the island it
is seldom more than 20 ft., and often much less. About Christmas
it is loaded with masses of crimson flowers. The broadleaf (Griselinia
lucida) takes the second place, its stiff and leathery yellow-green
leaves being everywhere conspicuous. Many other small trees are
common, but space will not allow a reference to them here. It
may be remarked, however, that Senecio Kirkii, one of the most
beautiful shrubs in the Dominion, which usually grows in the shade
of dense forests as an epiphyte, or more rarely on the ground, on
Rangitoto flourishes among bare basaltic rocks exposed to blazing
sunshine !

Growing in the shade of the Metrosideros or among the open
rocks are large masses of two species of Astelia. With these flourish
the orchids Dendrobium Cunninghamii, Earina mucronata, and
E. suaveolens, species usually epiphytic, but on Rangitoto mainly
rupestral. With them are associated many ferns and mosses,
including the club-mosses Tmesipteris and Psilotum, the systematic
position of which has been so often debated. Rangitoto is the
only locality in New Zealand where the latter is at all plentiful.

One remarkable fact remains to be mentioned. Elsewhere in
New Zealand the various species of Trichomanes and Hymeno-
phyllum are essentially inhabitants of moist, shaded forests. On
Rangitoto alone the kidney-fern (Trichomanes reniforme) and three
species of Hymenophyllum nourish among the basaltic rocks exposed
to full sunshine. In summer the fronds are curled up, withered,
and appear to be dead ; in winter they are fresh and green and
vigorous, and apparently at home with their surroundings.

Rangitoto has many points of interest to the lover of nature.
Its vegetation, save on the cinder-cone, is very much in its virgin
condition, and likely to remain so. It is a matter for congratulation
that the whole island is now an inalienable reserve for the benefit
of the people of Auckland.

T. F. CHEESEMAN.

22

THE FOREST OF THE WAITAKEREI RANGE.

The nearest locality to Auckland where a really characteristic
example of the indigenous vegetation can be seen is the Waitakerei
Range, distant about fifteen miles in a westerly direction,
forms 'a much broken and dissected plateau about twenty-two miles
in length with a width of eight or ten, its average elevation being
about 1,000 ft. On the eastern side it rises gradually from the low
undulating country through which the northern trunk railway runs,
but on the western side drops very abruptly into the Pacific Ocean,
the sea-cliffs ranging in height from 400 ft. to 800 ft. The central
portion of the plateau is occupied by two streams : one,
Nihotapu, flowing southwards into the Manukau Harbour ; the
other the Waitakerei, pursuing a northerrt course for several miles
and then turning abruptly to the westward and discharging into
the sea. Both these streams descend from the plateau by waterfalls
of considerable height, that on the Waitakerei measuring 373 ft.

At the commencement of European settlement the whole plateau
was covered with dense and luxuriant forest, and a considerabl
part of the central and western portions are still untouched,
eastern slopes have suffered severely, and in some places are
denuded almost to the summit. The commonest tree is the tawa
(Beilschmiedia tawa}, which probably forms three-fifths of the forest
Other common species are the rata (Metrosideros robusta), the
tangeao (Litsaea calicaris), and the rewarewa (Knightia excelsa}.
Large forests of the kauri (Agathis australis) formerly existed on
the eastern slopes, but practically the whole of these have been
cut down A considerable quantity still remains in the central
and western parts of the district, and, as the first of these is now
reserved, much may yet escape destruction. The red-pine, or
rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum], is still comparatively plentii
few species like Pittosporum Kirkii, Drimys axillans, and Ixerba
brexioides are confined to the higher part of the plateau
undergrowth is chiefly composed of Alseuosmia macrophylla,
supplejack (Rhipogonum scandens), kiekie (Freycinetia Banksn), anc
various species of Astelia and Gahnia. Ferns are abundant, espe-
cially in the deep and narrow gullies, where the Hymenophyllaceae
are particularly well represented. In the higher central valley
the ground is carpeted with mosses and Hepaticae, particularly
of the genera Hypnum, Isothecium, Hypopterygium, Plagiochila, an
Gottschaea.

Altogether the Waitakerei Range affords an excellent illustrate
of the forest of northern New Zealand, and is well worth a visit.

T. F. CHEESEMAN.

THE KAURI FOREST.

The kauri pine (Agathis australis}, the most noble and impressive
of the forest-trees of New Zealand, and one with few equals in other
countries, has a limited range, being confined to the district between
the North Cape and a line drawn from Tauranga Harbour on t

24

east coast to Kawhia on the west. Although it will flourish in
almost all soils and situations save those which are exceedingly wet,
it prefers hilly and somewhat rugged localities and a poor and
clayey soil. Usually it forms little clumps or small groves rather
than continuous forests. These groves may contain from a dozen
to a hundred or many hundreds of trees. Usually they are separated
by forest tracts in which few kauris are present. Rarely the groves
may almost coalesce, forming a forest in which the kauri is the
dominant although by no means the sole tree. Nowadays such
instances are rare ; for the ravages of sixty years of sawmilling
have swept the forest out of existence, or very greatly changed its
appearance, reducing what was once a noble and magnificent spectacle
to a scene of utter ruin and desolation.

FIG. ii. — The Kahakaha (Astelia Solandri) growing on the smooth trunk
of the taraire. The climbing fern Blechnum filiforme covering
tree-trunks on the right.

A kauri forest has a very remarkable and distinctive appearance.
Even when seen from afar it can be recognized by the manner in
which the trees stand far above the adjoining forest, by their
peculiar ramification, and by the dark, dusky-green colour of the
foliage. But it is from the interior of the forest that the kauri is
seen to the best advantage, and its majestic size and noble propor-
tions can be best appreciated. On all sides rise the huge columnar
trunks, sometimes towering up for more than 80 ft. without a branch,
and tapering but slightly from the base upwards, smooth, grey, and
glistening. At the base of the trunk is the large mound of debris
produced by the fall of the bark, which is regularly cast off in
large flakes. It is from this peculiarity that the bole of the kauri

25

is so free from the climbers and epiphytes that commonly clothe
the larger trees of the New Zealand forest. From the top of the
trunk spring, almost from one point, the short but immensely
thick branches. These, with the branchlets and foliage, form a
high vaulted roof to the forest, through which a varying amount
of daylight niters to the ground. As large trees of other species
seldom grow plentifully intermixed with the kauri, the forest has
an open appearance not usually seen in the New Zealand woodlands.
Under the vaulted roof of branches the eye can penetrate far and
wide among the massive trunks, which have hence been compared
to the pillars of some vast Gothic cathedral.

So much for the physiognomy of the kauri itself. But one of
the most distinctive features of the kauri grove of any size is the
peculiar nature of the associated vegetation. Although few really
large trees grow intermixed with the kauri, smaller trees and
shrubs do, together with certain herbaceous plants and ferns. And
wherever a clump of kauri exists these plants are found, or, at any
rate, the greater portion of them. Space does not permit of a full
account, but it may be allowable to mention the names of prominent
species. Of shrubs or trees there are the taraire (Beilschmiedia
taraire), the neinei (Dracophyllum latifolium), the mairehau (Phebalium
nudum), the tapairu (Senecio Kirkii), and the climbing ratas
(Metrosideros florida and M. albi flora). Of non-shrubby plants the
most noteworthy are the " kauri-grass " (Astelia trinervia) and
Gahnia xanthocarpa. together with the ferns Lomaria discolor and
Lygodium articulatum. These, and many others, are those which
delight to grow in association with the kauri, although by no means
so certain to appear in company in the ordinary forest.

A young kauri — say, from fifty to a hundred years old — differs
entirely in appearance from the mature tree. It has a narrow
conical and sharply pointed outline, and is furnished with a succession
of short slender branches inserted at right angles to the stem. As
the tree increases in size the lower branches are cast off one by one,
but it is only by slow degrees that the bushy-topped shape of the
adult is assumed. It is a curious fact that young kauris are not
commonly found among the mature trees, the reason probably being
that the amount of light is not sufficient for the growth of the very
young tree. The juvenile kauri is usually found on the outskirts
of the forest proper, and is accompanied by such trees as the white
tea-tree (Leptospermum ericoides), the towai (Weinmannia sylvicola),
the toru (Persoonia torn), the maire (Fusanus Cunning hamii), the
rewarewa (Knightia excel so), and others. Such localities have been
very truly called the nursery of the kauri. Granted sufficient time,
this mixture of young kauris and other trees would develop into a
forest of mature kauris ; and in point of fact the intermediate stages
can be observed without difficulty.

One of the most interesting of the peculiarities of the kauri is
its copious production of a resin to which the name of " kauri-gum "
is ordinarily applied. In a fresh state every part of the kauri is
filled with a transparent turpentine, which exudes from the slightest
wound. An injury to the bark, a broken branch, even bruised
leaves, at once cause a copious flow. At first soft and viscid and of
whitish colour, it gradually hardens on exposure to the air and

26

becomes more transparent, forming lumps ranging in size from small
tear-drops to masses many pounds in weight. These pieces may
be found in the forks of the branches, in hollows or depressions on
the trunk, or concealed in the mound of debris at its base. But,
in addition to the resin met with in the living kauri forest, very
much larger quantities can be found buried at various depths on
the sites of previous forests, although these must have ceased to
exist for hundreds or even many thousands of years. That these
deposits are in many cases of enormous antiquity can be proved by
the changes that have taken place in the physical configuration of
the country since they were formed. Kauri-gum has been found
under the beds of shallow lakes ; it has been dug up in quantity
at considerable depths in swamps ; and it has been excavated from
strata overlaid by sand-dunes themselves of no very recent formation ;
while in not a few localities it has been observed in beds dipping
under the present level of the sea, and on the Auckland Isthmus
in strata overlaid by lava-streams.

All through the North Auckland Peninsula are large areas of
rolling open lands of poor quality, intersected by swampy gullies,
and covered with a heath-like vegetation mainly composed of
tea-tree (Leptospermum scoparium] and other shrubs, together with
sedges, a few herbaceous plants, terrestrial orchids, and some ferns.
Almost everywhere these areas contain deposits of kauri-gum —
sometimes close to the surface, at other times buried at considerable
depths. These " gumfields," as they are called, have for many
years afforded a living to some thousands of " gum-diggers," who
annually produce from 7,000 to 10,000 tons of gum. These nomadic
diggers, wandering over hill and swamp, armed with spade and
gum-spear, are a familiar and picturesque sight to travellers in the
North Auckland districts.

It may well be asked in what manner did the kauri forests of the
past disappear, what vegetation succeeded them, and what have been
the series of changes which have resulted in the present plant
covering of the gumfields. The answer to these questions is,
however, still uncertain and incomplete.

T. F. CHEESEMAN.

AUCKLAND MUSEUM.

Probably that portion of the Museum which will prove most
interesting to a visitor from abroad is the Maori Hall, which is
devoted to collections illustrating the manners, customs, and mode
of life of the Maori race. Here can be seen a magnificent example,
84 ft. in length, of a war-canoe, carved and decorated from end to
end, and in a perfect state of preservation. It is the last survivor
of the fleets of war-canoes mentioned by all early travellers and
explorers from the time of Cook to the establishment of British rule.
Here, too, will be found a superb specimen of a whare whakairo, or
meeting-house, without which no Maori village in olden times would
be considered complete. Two elaborately carved storehouses are
also exhibited. These differ from the meeting-houses in their carv-
ings and other ornamentation being on the outside of the house
instead of in the interior. Round the walls of the hall are placed
many ancient and valuable carvings, several of them dating back

27

to a time long prior to the introduction of iron tools. In the show-
cases are arranged the smaller articles. The visitor should pay
special attention to a case devoted to the exhibition of a series of
carved coffins or burial-chests, sixteen in number, used to receive
the bones of chiefs of high rank. Several of these are believed to be
from two hundred to three hundred years old.

Within the limits of a short notice it is impossible to mention
more than a fraction of the many treasures contained in this part
of the Museum. Suffice it to say that almost all the features of
Maori life are well represented. Their weapons ; their axes, gouges,
and chisels ; their fish-hooks and fishing - implements ; their bird-
snares and bird-spears ; their miscellaneous tools and implements ;
their elaborately carved feather boxes ; their musical instruments ;
their varied personal ornaments ; their cloaks and other articles of
clothing — all are to be seen, and in most cases illustrated by numerous
examples. In a room adjoining the Maori Hall is a small foreign
ethnographical collection, serviceable for comparison with the work
of the Maoris.

The main hall is devoted to the zoological and geological cellections.
In the centre of the lower floor stands an elaborate group comprising
a skeleton of the largest species of moa (Dinornis maximus] and a
life-size restoration, 10 ft. in height, of the bird itself. Surrounding
these are examples of the nearest living allies of the moa — the
ostrich, the emu, and the cassowary. Occupying the remainder of
the centre of the hall are some fine groups of mammals obtained
under the provisions of a special bequest made by the late Mr.
Mackechnie. In the wall cases on the north and east sides of the hall
are placed the foreign birds ; on the south side the smaller mammals.

The New Zealand birds, of which the Museum possesses a fairly
representative collection, will be found on the north side of the
gallery ; the fishes are shown on the south side ; while the reptiles,
including a varied set of preparations of the celebrated tuatara lizard,
must be sought for at the eastern end. The geological collections,
both New Zealand and foreign, are placed in a separate room opening
out on the Maori Hall.

T. F. CHEESEMAN.

ROTORUA AND TAUPO DISTRICTS.

The Town of Rotorua, near the southern extremity of the lake
of the same name, is 171 miles by rail south-east from Auckland.
The surrounding district forms part of what is known as the thermal
belt or region of the North Island. This region extends north-east-
ward from Mount Ruapehu (9, 175 ft.) to White Island in the Bay
of Plenty, a distance of over 150 miles, and contains within its limits
several semi-active volcanoes, numerous geysers, and countless hot
springs. The prevailing rocks are andesites, rhyolites, agglomerates,
tuffs, and pumiceous drifts, late Tertiary to Recent in age. These
in many places have been profoundly altered by the action of heated
waters and vapours.

The thermal district contains many lakes, some of which fill
explosion cavities, whilst others occupy downwarped hollows or areas
dammed by volcanic debris.

28

FIG. 12. — Mud volcano at Waiotapu.

FIG. 13. — Mount Tarawera, showing the rift blown out by the eruption of

1886.

29

The chief points of interest near Rotorua are the Sanatorium
grounds, with several boiling springs and artificial geysers ;
Hamurana, a large cold-water spring ; Tikitere, with immense pools
of fiercely boiling mud ; and Whakarewarewa, where one may see
every phase of solfataric action. Here are mud volcanoes, sinter
deposits, steam-vents, numerous boiling springs, and geysers, the
largest of which are known as Pohutu and Wairoa.

About fifteen miles south-east of Rotorua is Mount Tarawera
(3, 770 ft.), which in the early morning of the loth June, 1886,
suddenly burst into eruption. As a result 130 lives were lost, and
the surrounding country buried by the ejected debris. A great rift
— or, rather, series of explosion cavities — nine miles in length, was
formed. The bottom of a small lake, Rotomahana, was blown out,

FIG. 14. — Map of Tarawera volcanic rift after the eruption of 1886.

and the adjoining Pink and White Terraces destroyed. Since the
eruption a new Lake Rotomahana, much larger than the old lake,
has been formed. The Tarawera rift, the major axis of Lake Roto-
mahana, and Waimangu, greatest of geysers, lie on an approximately
straight line. As a geyser Waimangu was in regular operation only
during the years 1900-4, but in later years there have been several
spasmodic outbursts.

About the end of May, 1922, a long series of earthquakes began
in the district at the north end of Lake Taupo, and at the time of
writing had not entirely ceased. During June there wert days on
which at least a hundred shakes were perceptible to the senses. The
shocks were nearly all mild, but a few were sufficiently strong to shake
articles off shelves, and slightly to damage chimneys.

P. G. MORGAN.

THE PLANT-LIFE OF THE HOT LAKES DISTRICT.

The pumice substratum, notwithstanding the considerable rain-
fall, in many places has only permitted the establishment of a more
or less xerophytic vegetation, so that the commonest plant formation
is shrubland with Leptospermum scoparium dominant. Where there
is the poorest and driest soil there may be almost pure stands of
Dracophyllum subulatum, a shrub virtually confined to the Volcanic
Plateau Botanical District. A very beautiful plant with the same
range as the above epacrid is Gaultheria oppositifolia, which, when it
grows in company with G. rupestris, a species of extremely wide range,
gives rise to the polymorphic hybrid G. fagifolia.

Where soil-conditions, climate, and shelter permit trees to be
established there is a fine taxad rain-forest. For instance, splendid
forest, but now much reduced in area, can be seen from the train at
Mamaku.

The effect of heated ground, together with the special chemical
characteristics of the soil in the vicinity of hot springs, fumeroles, &c.,
brings about both epharmonic changes in plastic species and the
establishment of special plant associations. Thus, the low tree or
tall shrub Leptospermum ericoides is changed to a prostrate shrub ;
yet Leucopogon fasciculatus, with usually an ecologically equivalent
growth-form, under identical conditions remains quite erect. Where
exposed to steam from a stream of hot water various pterido-
phytes grow with extreme luxuriance, especially Gleichenia circinata,
Histiopteris incisa, and Lycopodium cernuum. Certain ferns in the
area being considered are restricted to places where the steam is
especially powerful : such are Gleichenia linearis, Schizaea dichotoma,
Nephrolepis cordifolia, Dryopteris parasitica, and D. gongy lodes. In
the hot pools themselves with a maximum temperature of 75° C.
there is an association of Schizophyceae.

The eruption of Mount Tarawera in 1886 led to a considerable
area of vegetation being buried so deeply by volcanic ash that an
absolutely new habitat, destitute of plant-life, was provided for
plant colonization. Nineteen years after the eruption the deep water-
courses of the steep slopes were occupied thickly, except on their
ridges, by Arundo conspicua and Coriaria sarmentosa (fig. 15). On the
flatter ground the new vegetation was extremely open. The most in-
teresting point is that none of the colonizing species had come any
distance, for all were plants of the immediate neighbourhood. On
Tarawera itself and the area adjacent there are multitudes of the flat
cushions of a variety of Raoulia australis, just as certain members
of the same genus, after the destruction of the tussock-grassland,
occupied the depleted slopes of Central Otago. A large majority
of these plant settlers were wind-borne, the number of species brought
by birds being very few.

L. COCKAYNE.

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32

THE TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK.

The Tongariro National Park, one of the five national parks of
New Zealand (the others being Mount Egmont, the Waimakariri,
Mount Cook, and the Sounds), is the chief one located in the North
Island, and includes within its boundaries the great volcanic cones
of Ruapehu, Ngauruhoe, and Tongariro.

Largely owing to the presence of the volcanoes of the Tongariro
National Park, New Zealand has a reputation as a volcanic country
which is not entirely deserved. True, at various epochs of bygone
geological eras there have been districts where volcanic action has
been intense, notably in the South Island near Dunedin, at Banks
Peninsula, at the eastern base of the Southern Alps, in Marlborough,
and in the North Island in the vicinity of Auckland, on Coromandel
Peninsula, near the Bay of Islands, and at Egmont ; but the greater
part of the land-surface has been formed by the more orderly
processes of denudation, sedimentation, and vertical uplift in which
paroxysmal action has played a very subordinate part. On the whole,
the Tertiary era was the time of greatest volcanic activity, especi-
ally in the North Island, and present-day manifestations, interesting
though they may be, show a decline in energy which may herald
approaching extinction. But periodicity is such a characteristic
feature of volcanic action that we cannot predict this for certain,
and present decline may be merely the prelude to more intense
activity in the near future. If this is to occur, then the value of
a volcanic observatory would be very great indeed.

The only existing active foci in the North Island lie on a line
stretching in a north-east direction from Ruapehu towards White
Island, in the Bay of Plenty, but several of the points of special
interest are located within the actual boundaries of the Park. Its
most striking landscape feature is Mount Ruapehu (9,175 ft.), not
so graceful or symmetrical as Egmont, but still a noble-looking
mountain, undwarfed by any neighbouring height, and rising from
a circular base some forty miles in circumference to a summit
truncated by a crater nearly a mile across. The appearance of size
is increased by the fact that it rises direct from a plateau for close
on 6,000 ft. with slopes which are regular and uninterrupted. It is
a composite cone, perhaps a twin cone, constructed of flows of lava
and interstratified layers of ash and scoria. The summit-crater is
almost filled with ice, which has used the hollow as a " collecting-
ground," the excess overflowing the low parts of the crater-ring
chiefly towards the east, while a part moves in the direction of a small
hot lake in the middle of the crater, formed by the action of the
escaping steam on the ice, the supply of water being constantly
replenished by the melting of the small icebergs which break away
from the ice-front as it reaches the hot water. The lake is about
400 ft. across, and is depressed considerably below the general level
of the ice in the crater. No doubt its conditions vary somewhat
with the varying activity of the volcano. Ruapehu has never dis-
played within historic times any pronounced activity, though the lake
on top is hot and has occasionally discharged mud over the slopes
of the mountain. Its scenic interest is increased by the presence of

33

[F. G. Radcliffe, photo.
FIG. 16. — Mount Ruapehu, from Horopito.

'

[F. G. Radcliffe, photo.

FIG. i7._ The cone of Mount Ngauruhoe, showing smoke-like cloud of
fumes and tuff-particles emitted during an eruption.

34

a considerable amount of ice on the outer slopes, which is organized
in places into definite glaciers.

About ten miles north-east of Ruapehu lies the beautiful sugarloaf
cone of Ngauruhoe (7,515 ft.), which is separated from it by a distinct
and low saddle — in fact, there is no apparent geographical connection
between the two mountains. The last-named cone is always more
or less active, ?nd on numerous occasions, notably in 1909, it has
discharged ashes over the surrounding country, and lava has been
reported as occurring in the throat of the crater. The last discharge
of lava may have occurred as late as 1869, when there was a some-
what severe eruption, but doubt has been cast on this statement.
The crater is continually altering in form as a result of the constantly
recurring periods of activity. Steam and sulphurous gases frequently
form clouds which envelop the cone, and should be avoided, if possible,
by persons making the ascent.

About two miles farther on in linear sequence lies Tongariro
(6,458ft.), a somewhat shapeless mass, which is apparently the base
of a volcano, analogous in bulk to Ruapehu, whose top has been
destroyed by a paroxysmal explosion. On the irregular summit thus
left, and on a line with both Ruapehu and Ngauruhoe, lie two active
points, the Red Crater and Te Mari (5,641 ft.). Ngauruhoe may be
regarded as belonging to the same series, for it is apparently a point
of activity located on the truncated summit of a greater Tongariro,
and is really a secondary cone. The Red Crater has within recent
geological times discharged lava, ash, and mud. The crater has been
breached by a lava-flow which has run down into another of the
crateral hollows on the top of Tongariro. Te Mari has at times been
quite active, and has thrown ashes as far as the northern shore
of Lake Taupo. At the present time it is discharging steam and
sulphurous gases.

Between these two active centres lies an extinct crater now
occupied by the Blue Lake (5, 570 ft.), one of the most picturesque
and weird spots on the top of the mountain. Both on and off the
line of active vents are others which were formerly of importance,
though some of the craters, such as the Oturere Crater, may have been
areas of collapse rather than of extrusion. On the northern side of
the mountain facing Lake Roto-aira are the Ketetahi Hot Springs,
noted for their thermal activity.

There are one or two other points on the Park which present
features of interest, notably the lakes on the saddle between Ruapehu
and Ngauruhoe, called Nga Puna a Tama, which occupy the sites
of small explosion-craters ; while to the west of Ruapehu lies the
buttress of Hauhangatahi (4,983 ft.), volcanic in origin, and evidently
belonging to the Ruapehu series, judging from the similarity in the
nature of their lavas. On the eastern flank of the mountain lies the
Rangipo Desert — perhaps the only true desert in New Zealand —
formed of scoria and ash washed from the upper slopes of the volcano,
with masses of lava rising at intervals through the loose debris.

The line of volcanic vents continues north-east beyond the limits
of the Park, through Pihama, south of Lake Taupo ; through Taupo
itself, where the Island of Motukaiko and its outlying reefs give
evidence of volcanic activity, to Tauhara, near the north-east corner

35

of the lake ; and so on to Tarawera, Mount Edgecumbe, Whale Island,
and White Island — the last being a very active centre.

The foundation of these volcanoes was laid during the middle and
latter part of the Tertiary era on underlying sedimentaries of early
Mesozoic age, but the extrusive processes became most active during
the Early Pleistocene and later, the volcanic development being no
doubt a manifestation attendant on, though not necessarily a con-
sequence of, the elevation of the central portion of the North Island.
The deeply entrenched beds of the Rangitikei, Wanganui, and Mokau
Rivers, which rise in the vicinity of the volcanic zone, demonstrate
this upward movement, and there is biological evidence based on the
distribution of plants and animals which suggests that an arm of the
sea existed in late Tertiary times right into the heart of the Island,
if not actually across it, dividing it into two or more detached
fragments, which have been subsequently joined as a result of these
elevatory movements.

The first eruptions of the region were in all probability rhyolitic
in character, since there is a widespread distribution of pumice of
that nature in Tertiary sedimentary deposits of the surrounding
country, as well as lava-flows of the same lithological character over
a more restricted area ; but these do not show within the limits of the
Park. If they do exist they are completely masked by the later
volcanic material, which consists of augite-hypersthene andesites and
hornblende-hypersthene andesites, the former being far in excess of
the latter in geological importance. During the last stages a little
olivine appears, indicating a more basic facies. Although the ande-
sites form the most recent rocks of Ruapehu and its associated cones,
there is an extensive deposit of pumice over the whole central area
of the Island, forming a thin veneer in most places, but thick drifts
along the watercourses and at times on the mountain-slopes. The
recency of this pumice covering is shown not only from its position on
the top of all other surface material, but from its containing charred
logs in such numbers and in such positions as point to the destruction
of the forests at a quite recent date. The source of this pumice is
doubtful, but it has been suggested that it came from Taupo as
the result of a paroxysmal explosion which formed the basin now
occupied by the lake. The general evidence, however, points to tec-
tonic movements as being responsible for the formation of this basin.
The earthquakes recently recorded from that district clearly indicate
that the crust in its vicinity has not yet reached a condition of
stability. R< SPEIGHT.

THE PLANT-LIFE OF THE TONGARIRO NATIONAL PARK
AND ITS ENVIRONS.

The area here dealt with includes the loftiest part of the North
Island, together with its extension to the Main Trunk line from
Waiouru to Waimarino. Nothing is said about the forest associa-
tions, since such do not differ greatly from those in certain other
parts of the North Island. What follows is devoted to the flora
and vegetation of the open country, nearly all of which lies at an
altitude of more than 3,000 ft.

36

The pteridophyte and spermophyte flora, limited as above, consists
of about 185 species belonging to forty-three families and ninety-six
genera. The most important to note of the species are the following,
which do not extend to the South Island ; some (marked with a star)
are very rare, or wanting, except in the Volcanic Plateau Botanical
District or its immediate neighbourhood : Ranunculus nivicola, Pimelea
buxifolia, Dracophyllum recurvum,* D. subulatum,* Logania depressa,*
Veronica laevis, V. tetragona* V. Hookeriana,* V. spathulata* Ourisia
Colensoi,* Euphrasia tricolor, and Raoulia australis var. albosericea
(= R. albosericea Col.).

Coming to the vegetation, the most characteristic plant association
is that of the desert. That there should be such a feature of the
landscape in a forest climate seems a paradox. But it is not a
climatic but an edaphic desert, its presence depending on the porous
pumice soil, little retentive of moisture and easily moved by the
wind, and the loose scoria of the mountain-slopes. It is also, in
part, a primary stage of succession which has its climax — -according
to circumstances — in pumice fell-field, tussock-grassland, or -even
forest. In places there is retrogressive desert (e.g., part of the
Onatapu Desert).

The most characteristic species of the association is Dracophyllum
recurvum, which forms reddish open cushions or almost mats. Fre-
quently the pumice sand blown by the wind builds dunes, which,
gaining stability through certain plants having secured a footing,
sometimes support more than twenty kinds of shrubs, herbs, semi-
woody plants, and grasses. The ultra-desert species which occupy,
at wide intervals, unstable slopes of scoria are Luzula Colensoi,
Claytonia australasica, Gentiana bellidifolia, and Veronica spathulata;
but elsewhere the Claytonia is often found at times in shallow water,
and the gentian under highly mesophytic conditions.

Next in interest to the above is the pumice fell-field (named by
me originally " shrub-steppe ") occupying flattish ground at about
an altitude of 3,600 ft. to 4,500 ft. The plants grow on low, flat
mounds of fine pumice and humus. The usual species present
number twenty-five (fifteen shrubs, six semi-woody plants and herbs,
three tussock-grasses, and one fern).

Tussock-grass^nd occupies much of the lower part of the open
country, with Danthonia Raoulii var. rubra dominant, and Dracophyllum
subulatum and the beautiful Euphrasia tricolor as characteristic species.

Finally, the " winter-bogs " must be noted, where the plants
endure extreme conditions, since the habitat becomes dry in summer.
Carpha alpina, Oreobolus pectinatus, Hypolaena lateriflora var. minor,
and Celmisia glandulosa are common members of this peculiar
association.

L.. COCKAYNE.

THE GEOLOGY OF THE " MINERAL BELT " OF NELSON.

The " Mineral Belt " of Nelson and west Marlborough is a great
band of magnesian igneous rocks, varying from six miles to about
half a mile in width, which stretches in a very definite and little
broken line for about seventy miles, from D'Urville Island at the
north-east of Nelson Province approximately south-westward to the

37

upper waters of the Wairau River in west Marlborough. It forms
rugged country of strong relief, which, according to Bell, Clarke,
and Marshall, represents a portion of an ancient dissected peneplain
covering a great part of the northern portion of the South Island.
The areas occupied by the magnesian rocks are generally detected
very readily in the field, even at considerable distance, by the peculiar
and stunted nature of their vegetation, which contrasts strikingly
with that flourishing on the near-by areas of sedimentary rock.

In 1859 Dr. F. von Hochstetter visited Nelson, and, as a result,
his well-known publications early demonstrated the exceedingly
interesting nature of the ultrabasic igneous rocks of the " Mineral
Belt " to petrologists throughout the world. Dunite, a rock com-
posed almost wholly of somewhat granular olivine, was named by
Hochstetter after Dun Mountain (3,703 ft.), a conspicuous, brown,
grass-covered, rounded knob, prominent near the Town of Nelson,
and composed in large part of this rock. Even before the visit of
the eminent Austrian geologist the " Mineral Belt " had become
famous in the early " fifties " on account of its alluring but illusory
deposits of copper-ores and chromite, which were even then being
mined at various places near Nelson, and north-eastwards at Croiselles
and D'Urville Island.

Little is known of the geology of the " Mineral Belt " other than
that portion near the Town of Nelson, which has been described
comparatively recently by Bell, Clarke, and Marshall in Geological
Survey Bulletin No. 12 (1911). For this reason the present description
applies chiefly to this latter, or the Dun Mountain area.

Stratigraphically the ultrabasic rocks form sill-like masses intrusive
into argillites, greywackes, and coarser rocks of Permo-Carboniferous
age (or thereabouts), which are quite insignificantly metamorphosed
by the intrusion. In the same (Maitai) series there is a prominent
somewhat argillaceous limestone, which for nearly nine miles forms
the west wall of the magnesian intrusion. Westward of the lime-
stone the argillites appear to underlie with perfect conformity con-
glomerates and fossiliferous sandstones containing middle and upper
Triassic forms. The limestone and some of the closely adjacent
argillites of the Maitai series are sparingly fossiliferous, and Dr. C. T.
Trechmann has assigned a Permo-Carboniferous age to them. The
stratigraphical relations of these strata to the Triassic seem explicable
only on the supposition of overfolding or overthrusting, or a com-
bination of the two, and there is indeed strong evidence of faulting
in topography and in the actual in-tilting of Tertiary strata along
the west margin of the Triassic rocks, where the comparatively lofty
strike ridges in which they outcrop border the low-lying Waimea
Plain.

In facies the rocks of the intrusive zone are highly interesting,
but have been very incompletely studied from areas not included
in the Dun Mountain Subdivision. Here serpentine, derived from
the olivine-enstatite rock harzburgite, forms the main portion of
the mass, and exhibits local gradation into fresh harzburgite. Near
Dun Mountain itself there is serpentine derived from the dunite
outcropping in that mountain. Dyke-like intrusions of doleritic
and dioritic rock are fairly numerous, chiefly as a western fringe
to the ultrabasic rocks near their contact with the enclosing
sediments. The most interesting dykes, however, are those of

38

websterite, a remarkable, coarse, diallage rock with subordinate
enstatite, and of an unusually rare rock called rodingite, which
has an exceedingly high lime-content (31-01 per cent.) and a very
high specific gravity (3-502).

Hutton originally described the rodingite as a saussurite gabbro,
a name by which it continued to be known for many years, but
Bell, Clarke, and Marshall determined the supposed saussurite as
grossularite (lime- aluminium garnet), and introduced a new name,
"rodingite," for the rock. The coarse greenish-white crystals of
the grossularite are moulded on subordinate diallage, which is practi-
cally the only other constituent, and often show alteration to a
mineral identified as prehnite. The normal rodingite occurs as more
or less narrow dykes intrusive throughout the general peridotite,
but varieties termed "prehnite rodingite" and " serpentine-prehnite
rodingite," in which prehnite has replaced the original grossularits,
form an important belt separated from the eastern margin of the
peridotites by a strip of sediments over half a mile wide.

In discussing the origin of the rodingite, Bell, Clarke, and
Marshall reject any possibility of assimilation of adjacent limestone
by the magnesian magma, and suggest some form of differentiation
as the controlling cause.

A chrome-iron ore, or more strictly a spinelled mineral inter-
mediate between chromite and picotite, forms separate grains in the
dunite and serpentine, and is frequently segregated in the latter
to form nodules and small, discontinuous, scattered, lens-like veins
which furnished nearly 4,000 tons of ore before mining operations
were abandoned in 1866. The Dun Mountain tramway, a popular
route to the top of the mountain, was built in order to transport
this ore.

Copper lodes occur in shear-zones in shattered serpentine, and in
the Dun Mountain area are found chiefly near where the serpentine
merges into the dolerites and diorites forming the western margin
of the " Mineral Belt." The lodes are numerous but highly dis-
continuous, and only a comparatively few feet in greatest dimension.
After a long unprofitable struggle since 1855 against unfavourable
conditions, mining practically ceased about twelve years ago. The
site of the most important operations was in the valley of Roding
River, a few miles south-west of Dun Mountain. In this area the
gangue is chiefly serpentine or occasionally rodingite. The un-
oxidized ore shows two main associations — cupriferous pyrrhotite
(containing up to 1-5 per cent, of copper) and minor chalcopyrite,
both intimately intermixed, or else pyrrhotite and native copper.
In both the pyrrhotite is the earlier mineral, and the presence of
native copper with it is ascribed by the authors of the Dun Mountain
bulletin to differential oxidation of the pyrrhotite.. though the con-
ditions permitting such oxidation are not stated. The same writers
consider that the lodes are genetically connected with the intrusions
of rodingite.

The oxidized superficial portions of the lodes show the usual
minerals, and from some of the outcrops large blocks of native
copper have been obtained.

Mr. C. P. Worley states that specks of platinum have been found,
as might be expected, in the alluvium of some of the streams draining
the peridotite belt.

J. A. BARTRUM.

39

THE VEGETATION OF A PORTION OF THE "MINERAL

BELT."

After following the easy but gradually ascending track to the
Dun Mountain (Nelson) for some miles through noble southern-beech
(Nothofagus) forest, the tree-community abruptly comes to a halt
and the widest part of the celebrated "Mineral Belt" is entered,
its barren-looking vegetation offering a striking contrast to the tall
green trees at its margin. This sudden alteration in the nature and
aspect of the plant covering is apparently due to the high magnesian
content of the soil. But the change, almost without transition, from
luxuriant forest to xerophytic shrubs, tussock-grassland, and bare rocky
ground to no small extent exaggerates the barren aspect of the " Mineral
Belt " vegetation, for really it is not different in appearance or ecological
characteristics to certain other allied communities of the so-called " dry "
New Zealand mountains. Most of the species, indeed, are common
enough, but there are a few local endemics — e.g., Pimelea Suteri,
Myosotis Monroi, perhaps also the local forms of Poa acicularifolia
and Cassinia albida, as also the so-called Coprosma Cunninghamii
and a species of Festuca. Such forest-trees as overstep the line are
dwarfed to shrubs — e.g., Nothofagus fusca, N. cliffortioides, Weinmannia
racemosa, and some others.

The vegetation is made up of shrubland, fell-field, and tall tussock-
grassland, the last-named with rather small Danthonia flavescens
dominant.

The following are common members of the shrubland : Phormium
Colensoi, Exocarpus Bidwillii, Nothofagus fusca, N. cliffortioides,
Pittosporum divaricatum, Hymenanthera dentatu var. alpina, Lepto-
spermum scoparium (sometimes dominant, from 6 ft. high to prostrate),
Griselinia littoralis, Cyathodes acerosa, Suttonia divaricata, Veronica
sp. (apparently related to V. buxifolia, perhaps locally endemic),
Coprosma propinqua, C. foetidissima, C. Cunninghamii (or an un-
described species), Olearia virgata var., Cassinia albida var. In places
the association gets more and more open until it merges into the
fell-field. The latter, where the ground is extremely stony with
many loose stones on its surface, is represented by but few species,
the most interesting being Notothlaspi australe, Pimelea Suteri,
Colobanthus quitensis, and Myosotis Monroi. Other species of fell-
field are Poa acicularifolia var., Claytonia australasica, stunted Lepto-
spermum scoparium, Dracophyllum rosmarinifolium, and Helichrysum
bellidioides (very grey in colour).

The foregoing lists are far from complete, but, in any case, the
florula is quite small. It is interesting to note that none of the
species of Olearia or Senecio so characteristic of subalpine scrub are
present, while the shrubland itself is closely related to river-terrace
scrub.

In conclusion it must be pointed out that the remarkable plant
covering so briefly described in this note, together with the virgin
forest adjacent, form that splendid national domain — the Cawthron
Park — given by the late Mr. T. Cawthron to the people of New
Zealand.

L. COCKAYNE.

40

THE CAWTHRON INSTITUTE, NELSON.

The Cawthron Institute of Scientific Research owes its origin to the
munificent bequest of the late Thomas Cawthron, merchant, of Nelson,
who left the sum of nearly £24 0,000 for the purchase of land and
the establishment and maintenance of a technical school, institute,
and museum, to be called the Cawthron Institute.

On the advice of a commission of New Zealand scientific men,
it was decided that the Institute should be a research Institute, the
chief object of which should be to investigate problems in connec-
tion with the industries of New Zealand, particularly agriculture and
horticulture.

" Fellworth," the site of the Institute, is a large private house
which has been fitted up as a collection of laboratories, offices, a
museum, and a library.

The museum is of interest in that it contains a photographic
record of the work of the Institute, maps showing the progress of
the soil survey of the Nelson Provincial District, an interesting
entomological collection, and an irreplaceable set of Sevres and
Meissen ware.

The grounds of the Institute have been laid out to demonstrate
the effect of different fertilizers on a number of different types of
soil, and will be found of great interest to students of agriculture.

The library probably contains the most complete collection of
entomological literature to be found in Australasia.

T. H. EASTERFIELD.

GEOLOGICAL NOTES ON BANKS PENINSULA, CANTERBURY.

The oldest rocks of Banks Peninsula are slates and greywackes
•exposed near Gebbie's Pass at the head of Lyttelton Harbour, and
covering them are rhyolites with dykes of pitch stone. The great
mass of the peninsula has, however, been built up chiefly of
andesites and basalts poured forth from the two great craters of
Lyttelton and Akaroa. Subordinate later eruptions, also of andesites
and basalts, took place from Mount Herbert (3,050 ft.), the highest
elevation of the mountain complex, lying to the south of Lyttelton
Harbour.

The whole area suffered from extensive stream-erosion when
the land was higher, but subsequently depression set in, and the
combined effect of these two agencies on the complex volcanic mass
is responsible for, the dominant landscape features. An impressive
view of Akaroa Harbour is obtained from the hilltop (1,200 ft.) ;
the great caldera lies below, its entrance guarded by giant cliffs,
rising sheer 500 ft. on the southern side. The stream-enlarged
hollow with its drowned valleys is ten miles in length, and into the
centre stretches the small peninsula of Onawe — noted historically
as the scene of the massacre of South Island Maoris by the
conquering chief Te Rauparaha, but interesting geologically for
the presence of a mass of syenite and gabbro at its extremity, the
•only occurrence of plutonic rocks in the district.

At the head of Lyttelton Harbour may be seen rhyolites and
pitchstones and excellent exposures of loess. A road follows the
shore of the harbour, and then climbs for T,OOO ft. to the crest of
the Lyttelton crater-ring, from which point a magnificent view is
obtained. Looking ea.st there lies the enlarged crater of Lyttelton,
with Quail Island in the centre, and finger-like peninsulas dividing
the drowned valleys ; in the middle distance is the long gentle slope
accordant with the lava-flows which issued from Mount Herbert ;
and far beyond the indistinct medley of hills forming the mass of the
peninsula.

R. SPEIGHT.

THE FLORA OF BANKS PENINSULA.

Banks Peninsula is a congeries of steep volcanic hills of oval
outline about thirty to thirty-five miles long and fifteen to twenty
miles wide. In the centre are the crests of Mount Herbert and Castle
Hill, rising approximately to a height of 3,000 ft. Botanically
speaking, the peninsula is an island, for were it isolated from the
plains by a strait five miles wide its vegetation would probably be
little different from what it is now. Like all insular districts off
the New Zealand coast it has its distinctive species, and these are
interesting and striking — three rock-plants, Senecio saxifragoides,
Veronica Lavaudiana, Celmisia Mackaui, and a fourth plant, Cotula
Haastii, usually to be found in dry tussock formations on the
seaward side of the peninsula. It is true that these species have
been reported from other parts of the province ; but, with the
doubtful exception of the fourth mentioned, they are at present not
known to botanists elsewhere than on Banks Peninsula. The first
three species are striking and handsome plants, found on the
moister rock-faces with a southerly aspect. Senecio saxifragoides is
confined to the Lyttelton Hills, and is usually found at an altitude
of from 800 ft. upwards anywhere between Gebbie's Pass, at the
head of Lyttelton Harbour, and the Lyttelton lighthouse, and on
the harbour side of the hills only. It is worth looking for — a
herbaceous plant with a rosette of large rounded hairy leaves, closely
appressed to the rocks. Celmisia Mackaui, the rarest of the three,
is only to be found near Akaroa, and is scarcely likely to be
gathered by the casual visitor. Veronica Lavaudiana is found in
similar localities to Senecio saxifragoides, and is abundant all over
the peninsula. It produces masses of corymbose white flowers,
pinkish in the bud, and is often cultivated locally in gardens.
Everywhere, indeed, on the peninsula the rocky faces and promontories
provide forms of interest in addition to the endemic species already
mentioned. In such situations will be found representatives of the
genera Metrosideros, Astelia, Earina, Colobanthus, Dracophyllum,
Anisotome, &c., that are not to be met with in the bush below.
Indeed, the vegetation of the rocky cliffs here is a highly distinctive
one.

Though visitors will perhaps search for these rare and distinctive
species first, there are certain aspects of the florula that are sure also

42

to attract attention. Cook Strait is not, as is well known, a barrier
for North Island plants ; but there is a considerable number of such
species which become rarer as we go south, and finally dwindle out
at Banks Peninsula. It is thus the southern limit — on the east
coast, at least — for the nikau-palm (Rhopalostylis sapida), the fcaraka
(Corynocarpus laevigata), the pigeon-berry (Hedycarya dentata), the
titoki (Alectryon excelsum), and about a dozen other species.
Unfortunately, however, the forest which once clothed two-thirds
of the peninsula from summit to base has been nearly completely
destroyed, and it is now becoming increasingly difficult to see
anything of its original glory. There is, indeed, only one spot left
where the lower taxad forest can be seen in its primeval beauty.
An easy motor run of thirty miles from Christchurch over level roads
will take the visitor to Price's' Valley, where there are a few acres
of magnificent forest in good preservation. Here will be found huge
specimens of black and white pine, with a considerable admixture
of totara. The black - pine (matai, Podocarpus spicata) is easily
recognized by its brownish - black bark, which is hammer-marked
(i.e., covered with circular patches about 2 in. in diameter, which
suggest that it has been repeatedly struck by a heavy hammer). Its
trunk is tall and straight, and often more than 3 ft. in diameter.
The white-pine (kahikatea, P. dacrydioides] is usually more tapering,
with rougher, greyer bark, and with even more characteristic
hammer-markings than the matai. The totara (P. totara) becomes
much more common as we ascend through the forest, and is easily
recognized by the long strips of pale-brown bark hanging from a
trunk which is more massive even than in the other species, often
reaching a diameter of 5 ft., though the tree is usually not so tall
as the black or white pine. Many other species of trees are, of course,
to be found in this forest, together with a dozen or two different kinds
of shrubs and perhaps eight or ten lianes, amongst which Rubus
cissoides (a lawyer, well marked by its yellow prickles) here reaches
an unusual size, climbing to the tops of the tallest trees.

Though this taxad forest was dominant on the peninsula, there
are remnants near Akaroa of what was probably an earlier forest.
On the seaward and eastward side of the Akaroa hills there has
stretched at one time, near the summit of the hills, a beech forest
consisting chiefly of Nothofagus fusca, but containing also a number
of curious variant forms, possibly hybrids between N. fusca and
N. Solandri or N. cliff ortioides, of both which latter species a few
more or less typical specimens are to be found. This beech forest
is of special interest because of its isolation, and because it has
apparently been driven seaward by the stronger and more aggressive
taxad forest, and would, even perhaps without the intervention of
man, have become extinct in a few thousand years. It still contains
in places some very fine stands of the magnificent Nothofagus fusca.

In the centre of the peninsula, on the bald crests of the highest
hills, is to be found a somewhat unexpected formation of subalpine
plants. This is most easily reached from the Hilltop Hotel, on
the Akaroa - Little River Road. A climb of two hours from here
will bring the tourist to the summit of Mount Sinclair, where he
will find when he comes above the bush-line of mountain totara and

43

cedar (Libocedrus) an assemblage of plants containing such subalpine
forms as Ourisia macrophylla (var.), Veronica Lyalli (var.), Raoulia
glabra, Raoulia subsericea, Olearia cymbifolia, Drapetes Diffenbachii ,
and, more rarely, Oreomyrrhis andicola, Euphrasia zelandica, Epilobium
macropus, and various grasses, several of considerable rarity.

Banks Peninsula belongs to Cockayne's Eastern Botanical District,
but its vegetation is sufficiently distinctive to constitute it a well-
defined sub-district. It is to be regarded rather as an outlier of the
Kaikoura coastal region than of Otago — i.e., its affinities are northern
rather than southern.

R. M. LAING.

CANTERBURY MUSEUM.

The Canterbury Museum was founded by Dr. von. Haast in 1861,
and he held the office of Director till his death in 1887. Largely
owing to his energy and enthusiasm, and to the use he made of his
finds of moa-bones for the purpose of exchange, the collection
developed rapidly, and the Museum gained a widespread reputation
throughout the scientific world. This collection was subsequently
arranged on scientific lines by Captain Hutton, who held the office of
Curator from 1892 to 1905. These two distinguished scientific men
laid the foundations on which the subsequent development of the
institution is based.

The chief feature of interest is the collection of Dinornis remains,
which includes the greater part of the moa material obtained from
Glenmark, Kapua, and Enfield, as well as representative material from
other places. Owing to the fact that the two Curators mentioned
above were primarily geologists, the geological section of the Museum
has been strongly developed, and it includes thoroughly representa-
tive mineral, petrological, and palaeontological collections from New
Zealand and from foreign countries, there being a good assemblage
of New Zealand Tertiary fossils, including many types. Other depart-
ments of the Museum have, however, received adequate attention.
A special feature has been made of the New Zealand natural-history
collection, notably the birds. The insect material includes the Fereday
collection of Lepidoptera, as well as representatives of the groups
worked over by Captain Hutton, including many of his types. A
noteworthy exhibit is the skeleton of the Okarito whale (Balaenoptera
sibbaldi), which till quite recently was the largest in any museum in
the world. This was obtained through the energy of Mr. Edgar F.
Stead during the curatorship of Mr. Edgar R. Waite.

There is a very good collection of ethnological material, especially
that from the Pacific islands. The Maori collection is small, but
includes several articles of exceptional interest ; and the Moriori
material is probably the best in the country, and includes at least
two collections made in the early days by residents at the Chatham
Islands. The herbarium, founded by Sir Julius von Haast, and con-
taining many of his specimens, comprises a fairly complete series of
New Zealand plants.

R. SPEIGHT.

44

[F. G. Radcliffe. photo.
FIG. 1 8. — Mount Cook as seen across the Hooker Valley.

[F. G. Radcliffe, photo.

FIG. 19. — The Tasman Glacier. To the left of the centre the Rudolph
Glacier joins the Tasman.

45

THE SOUTHERN ALPS.

The Southern Alps are usually considered to extend from Mount
Aspiring (9,975 ft.), west of Lake Wanaka, to about the head of the
Grey River, in north Westland. The mountains of western Otago,
however, should be included in the alpine system ; and, so far from
terminating in north Westland, the range continues north-eastward
through Nelson and Marlborough to the southern shore of Cook
Strait. North of the Grey River the range is known first as the
Spenser Mountains, next as the St. Arnaud Mountains, and then,
although still of considerable height, is for many miles without a
definite geographical name.

The mountains of western Otago, with Earnslaw (9,200 ft.) and
Tutoko (9,042 ft.) as their highest points, form a congeries of ranges
separated by deep valleys, some of which are occupied by lakes, and
others, the fiords, by the waters of the sea. They seem to owe their
present height to simple uplift rather than to the operation of folding
forces, and are therefore to be regarded as belonging to a block-
mountain system.

From Mount Aspiring northwards the Southern Alps appear on
the western side as a definite, deeply dissected, but unbroken range,
dropping steeply to the moraine-covered lowlands of Westland. On
the eastern side, broken into somewhat irregular ranges by the river-
valleys, &c., they extend many miles towards the Canterbury Plain.
Greywackes and argillites of Trias-Jura age, strongly but irregularly
folded and clearly much faulted, form almost the whole of the Canter-
bury mountains. West of the main divide these rocks gradually pass
into schistose greywackes and phyllites, and finally into closely folded
mica-schists, on the whole striking north-north-east, or somewhat to
the west of the trend of the range. On the extreme western margin
of the Alps there is some gneiss, which, like the schists, may repre-
sent highly metamorphosed sedimentary rocks. Separated from the
Alps proper and from one another by deep valleys, several mountains,
formed wholly or mainly of granite, overlook the Westland lowlands.

Hochstetter, Haast, and Hutton explain the Southern Alps as a
folded mountain-range, forming a huge geanticlinal, of which only
the eastern half has been preserved. The western half, according to
Hochstetter, is " buried in the depth of the main " (? downfaulted),
or, according to Hutton, has been removed by erosion. The geological
studies of recent years show that the western side of the Southern
Alps is bounded by a great fault, and that, as it now stands, the
range is an uplifted block, tilted slightly south-eastward, and probably
somewhat, but not greatly, modified in structure by a compressive
force acting from the south-east. The writer thinks that uplift
occurred in the Pliocene and perhaps also in early Tertiary times.
The folding of the rocks is conceived as belonging mainly to an earlier
period, probably the late Jurassic or early Cretaceous. The Spenser
and St. Arnaud mountains have the same structure as the Southern
Alps, and, as previously indicated, are essentially one and the same
range.

Among the higher alpine peaks are the following : Mount Aspiring
(9.975 ft-)' Mount Cook (12,349 ft.), Mount Tasman (11,497 ft.), Mount

46

Malte Brun, Mount de la Beche, and several others in the Mount Cook
group, all over 10,000 ft. Farther north are Mount Adams, Mount
Lambert, Mount Evans (8,612 ft.), Mount Whitcombe (8,656ft.), and
others over 8,000 ft. high. Still farther north the alpine range is
under 7,000 ft. in height, but several mountains in the Spenser Range
reach heights of over 7,000 ft., the highest being Mount Franklin,
7,571 ft. Some of the branch ranges in Canterbury reach heights of
8,000 ft., and, in the case of Mount Arrowsmith (9,171 ft.), over a
thousand feet more.

Owing to the heavy snowfall, the glaciers of the Southern Alps,
in proportion to the heights of the mountains and the size of the
snowfields, are unusually large, and, moreover, descend to low levels.
Thus on the eastern side the Tasman, Mueller, and Hooker glaciers
have their terminal faces at 2,354 ft., 2>55° ft-. and 2,880 ft. above
sea-level. On the western side the Fox Glacier descends to 620 ft.,
and the Franz Josef, as elsewhere described under a special heading,
to 692 ft. above sea-level.

P. G. MORGAN.

GLACIERS ; AND GLACIATION IN THE MOUNT COOK

DISTRICT.

The Hermitage Hotel, beautifully situated in the Hooker Valley,
close to the terminal moraine of the Mueller Glacier (fig. 20), and
almost at the base of Mount Cook itself, is approached by a good
road, and is thus within an easy day's journey of Timaru by service
motor-cars. Here, in the very heart of the Southern Alps, the visitor
may, without leaving the hotel, hear the boom of avalanches and
enjoy unrivalled mountain scenery. Neve-fields and hanging glaciers
are all around, and the evening glow on the snow-capped summit
of Mount Cook, as seen from the Hermitage, is a sight no traveller
visiting New Zealand should miss.

A walk up the Hooker Valley by the side of the glacier to the
Hooker Hut affords a fine view of Mount Cook at close quarters,
and of the glaciated trough of the Hooker Valley, with hanging
tributary valleys and truncated spurs. The surface of the Hooker
Glacier, as in the case of all the glaciers on the eastern side of the
main divide of the Southern Alps, is heavily covered with moraine.
The track to the Hooker Hut passes along a ridge of stranded lateral
moraine for a considerable distance.

A walk or ride of several hours from the Hermitage brings one
to the Ball Hut, just below the junction of the Ball and Tasman
glaciers, and situated between the rocky wall of the Tasman Valley
and a high ridge of stranded lateral moraine bordering the great
Tasman Glacier. From this point a short walk over the ice of the
Tasman Glacier (clear of moraine from this to the head, excepting
medial ridges) brings into view the magnificent ice-fall of the Hoch-
stetter Glacier, which descends from Mount Cook. It is necessary
to spend a night at the Ball Hut.

This excursion may be extended up the Tasman Valley as far as
the Malte Brun Hut, which is reached by walking about eight miles

47

, The Glacial Region

of the

SOUTHERN ALPS

FIG. 20. — Glaciers of the Southern Alps. (From Marshall's Geology of New

Zealand.)

1. Hochstetter Dome. 5. Malte Brun. 9. Mount Tasman. 12. Mount Stokes.

2. Elie de Beaumont. 6. Mount de la BSche. 10. Mount Cook. 13. Mount Sefton.

3. Mount Green. 7. Mount Haidinger. n. Mount Hicks. 14. Mount Sealey.

4. Mount Darwin. 8. Mount Haast.

48

up the glacier. The Malte Brun Hut stands on a bench on the eastern
side of the glacier, and from, it a splendid view is obtained of the neve-
field at the head of the Tasman, and of the surrounding peaks and
hanging glaciers. If a stay is made at Malte Brun Hut it may be
used as a base for an expedition to the Hochstetter Dome, on the
main divide, at the head of the Tasman Glacier.

Numerous short trips from the Hermitage can be arranged, and
experienced mountaineers have the choice of many fine climbs.

The road from Timaru (via Fairlie) to the Hermitage passes
through the Mackenzie Plain, and thence up the Tasman Valley. The
Mackenzie Plain occupies a large* tectonic depression lying between
the main range of the Southern Alps and an outlying complex of
faulted blocks. The depression is filled in with alluvium to form
a basin-plain, traversed by the rivers of the Waitaki system. There
is considerable interfingering of the alluvium with glacial moraines.
The large lakes in the basin — Tekapo, Pukaki, and Ohau — are held
up by dams of terminal moraine in valleys enlarged by glaciation.

It is clear that the glaciers, nestling now close to the main divide,
were at one time enormously extended. Very striking evidence of
the great former extension of the Tasman Glacier, for example, is
seen in the presence of prominent terraces of stranded lateral moraine
high on the sides of the Tasman Valley, overlooking Lake Pukaki
and the rapidly growing delta at the head of the lake. There are
also hanging valleys.

That the modern glaciers are still corrading is evidenced by the
milky appearance of the rivers that flow from them. So fine is the
rock-flour they carry that much remains in suspension even after
the water has passed through the large lakes Pukaki and Tekapo.

C. A. COTTON.

THE PLANT-LIFE IN THE VICINFTY OF MOUNT COOK.

A rapid acquaintance with the floristic and ecological characters
of the New Zealand high-mountain plants can be gained with far
greater ease in the confines of the Mount Cook National Park than
anywhere else in New Zealand. Usually to visit the high-mountain
plant associations entails an arduous climb of several hours. From
the Hermitage, on the contrary, only a few yards away there is
primitive subalpine scrub, while a leisurely walk of two or three miles,
or less, without any climbing, enables a large percentage of the plants
to be seen in their primeval habitats. There are certainly some
which never descend into the valleys, but nearly all such can be
reached by the excellent track leading to above the shrub-line on
the Sealey Range.

The total number of species of pteridophytes and spermophytes
in the area under consideration is about 380, which belong to
54 families and 146 genera. This is about 40 per cent, of the whole
New Zealand high-mountain flora, many species of which are of
local distribution, while others are restricted to localities much drier
than that of Mount Cook. Most of the genera of the Mount Cook
florula contain few species, the following alone having each ten or

49

more : Carex, 17 ; Veronica, 16 ; Celmisia, 15 ; Epilobium, 14 ;
Coprosma, 12 ; Ranunculus, 10. But the greater part of the area
is botanically unexplored, so that the above estimate may be
considerably below the mark.

The natural shrubbery near the Hermitage is made up chiefly of
the following : Dacrydium Bidwillii, Phyllocladus alpinus, Podocarpus
nivalis, Discaria toumatou, A ristotelia fruticosa, Gay a Lyallii, Hymen-
anthera dentata var. alpina, Coprosma rugosa, C. propinqua, C. parvi-
flora, C. rhamnoides, and Senecio cassinioides — the last-named abundant,

FIG. 21. — The Mountain-lily (Ranunculus Lyallii], the largest
buttercup in the world.

and very showy when in full bloom with its multitude of yellow
flowers.

The famous Ranunculus Lyallii (fig. 21), known as the " mountain-
lily," grows luxuriantly in many parts of the Hooker Valley, and in
its company is Celmisia coriacea, almost the finest of this beautifinl
genus. When the stiff-leaved C. Lyallii is also present, hybrids
between the two may sometimes be found.

The species of Veronica are not as numerous as in some localities,
but almost the most charming of all, V. macrantha, is both extremely

50

vigorous and abundant. V. Hectori — of the whipcord form, and so
characteristic of the Fiord and South Otago Botanical Districts — and
V. Buchanani have here apparently their northern limits. Another
shrub characteristic of the south, but here also abundant, is Olearia
moschata. In fact, the area occupies a rather critical position,
situated as it is at the eastern limit reached by the heavy westerly
rain, and not very far from the southern limit of the botanical
district — the Western — to which it belongs.

In hollows on the mountains the snow often lies long into the
summer, when the steeper ground adjacent has been for many weeks
clear. Such hollows — e.g., on the Sealey Range — have a special

FIG. 22. — The vegetable sheep (Raoulia eximia), a plant of the daisy
family forming hard cushions on rocky ground, Mount Torlesse
Range, Canterbury.

vegetation consisting of a thick mat of Danthonia oreophila var.
(not known elsewhere), Astelia monticola (a distinct species not yet
described), and a species of Aciphylla related to A. Monroi but much
larger. At a higher altitude similar hollows are the growing-place
of Celmisia Hectori, which is absent on the drier ground.

The small piece of forest (Governor's Bush) near the Hermitage
has Nothofagus Menziesii as its sole tall tree — not N. cliff or tioides,
as one might expect. The association gradually changes into low
forest of Phyllocladus alpinus, which in its turn gives place to
subalpine scrub much as already described but containing many
more species.

L. COCKAYNE.

THE FRANZ JOSEF GLACIER, WESTLAND.

The Franz Josef Glacier, remarkable for the low altitude of its
terminal face, is situated on the western side of the Southern Alps,
a little over sixty miles as the crow flies south-west of Hokitika,
and not many miles north of Mount Cook. The front of the glacier
lies approximately in latitude 43° 26' south and longitude 170° n' 30"
east of Greenwich. It is now easily reached by motor-coach from
Hokitika (road-distance ninety-five miles), or from the. rail-head at
Ross, fifteen miles south-west of Hokitika.

The terminal face of the Franz Josef Glacier is approximately
692 ft. (as determined in 1909) above sea-level, and about eleven
miles from the sea-coast. It has a width of about half a mile. The
nominal head of the glacier, at Graham Saddle, seven miles and a half
to the south-east, has an elevation of 8,759 ft., but neighbouring

" ^FiG. 23. — The Franz Josef Glacier.

peaks, Mount de la Beche and Minaret Peaks, rise to heights of over
10,000 ft.

About half-way from Graham Saddle to the terminal face
the feeding snowfields converge in order to enter a comparatively
narrow valley. Here is the " Great Icefall," and thence down-
wards the upper surface of the glacier is everywhere less than
three-quarters of a mile wide. The low altitude to which the ice
descends may be attributed to the narrowness of the containing
valley and its steep grade. As determined by observations made
in 1908, the surface of the glacier, towards the centre of the valley,
but near the terminal face, moves at the rate of about 2 ft. per day
in summer. Higher up, towards the icefall, the motion is no doubt
more rapid. In winter. the motion is presumably slower.

52

The ice-front at the present time, so far as the writer knows, is
retreating. Twelve to fourteen years ago there was a considerable
advance, but for a long time previous to that the glacier had been
retreating, probably almost continuously. J. M. Bell estimates the
retrogression in quite recent times (during the last 150 years) at
41 chains, and there can be little doubt that on the whole the
glacier will continue to lose ground during the next few hundred
years.

The almost complete absence of moraine on the surface of the
Franz Josef Glacier, especially near the terminal face, allows its
beauties to be seen to full advantage. There are innumerable
pinnacles or seracs and irregular cavities in the much-broken ice,
so that travel over it is difficult and in many places impossible.

A few miles south of the Franz Josef Glacier is the Fox Glacier,
less visited and possibly less beautiful, but having its terminal
face at a still lower altitude — namely.. 620 ft. above sea-level.

P. G. MORGAN.

THE VEGETATION NEAR THE FRANZ JOSEF GLACIER.

The special botanical interest which the immediate vicinity of
the Franz Josef Glacier affords lies in the plant colonization, now^
in progress, of ground left bare by the retreating ice, and in the
effect of a large glacier at so low an altitude (terminal face, 692 ft.)
in altering the altitudinal distribution of certain high-mountain
species.

On the eastern side of the glacier a fairly wide belt of ice-worn
rock extends from the margin of the ice to the well-established
scrub above. At a few yards distance from the ice colonizing com-
mences with the establishment of patches of the moss Rhacomitrium
symphiodon. Decaying below, the moss rapidly forms raw humus
suitable for seed-germination. The rock itself (a quartzose schist)
is marked by many depressions, grooves, and cracks, which also,
invaded by the moss, are the special places where seeds germinate
when brought by wind or water from the scrub or forest. Plants
at various stages of development are fairly frequent, the advantage
of ultimate survival, where several grow together, being all in
favour of the first-comers. More than thirty species of pterido-
phytes and spermophytes take part in the invasion. The following
list includes the most important species : Hymenophyllum multifidum
(grows on solid rock and forms soil), Lycopodium varium, Agvostis
pilosa, Poa novae-zelandiae, P. Cockayniana, Schoenus pauciflorus
(where water lies), Earina autumnale, Carmichaelia grandi flora,
Coriaria sarmentosa, Metrosideros lucida, Gunner a albocarpa, Gaultheria
rupestris, Dracophyllum longi folium, Veronica subalpina, V. Lyallii,
Coprosma rugosa, Olearia avicenniaefolia, O. ilicifolia, O. arborescens,
and O. Colensoi.

Between the first arrival of the plants and their ultimate union
into scrub there is a long period, but this is greatly shortened if
even a thin layer of moraine is left on the rock by the retreating ice.

53

Farther back from the rock which is being invaded is a broad
belt of tall scrub with the shrubs mentioned above, together with
various rain-forest species — e.g., Asplenium bulbiferum, Polystichum
vestitum, Carpodetus serratus, Weinmannia racemosa, Melicytus rami-
florus, and other mesophytes. There is also a good deal of
Metrosideros lucida, so that the scrub will eventually become forest
of the same character as that forming the next belt of vegetation.

A good many species usually confined to the subalpine belt descend
near the ice to within about 1,500 ft. altitude, or even much less..
The following are examples : Agrostis Dyeri, Poa novae - zelandiae,
Geum parviftorum, Anisotome Haastii, Dracophyllum Kirkii, D. Traversiif
Veronica subalpina, V. linifolia, Coprosma serrulata, Celmisia coriacea,.
C. bellidioides, Olearia Colensoi, and Leucogenes grandiceps.

L. COCKAYNE.

THE GEOLOGY OF THE DUNEDIN DISTRICT.

Our present detailed knowledge of the distribution of igneous
rocks in the Dunedin district is due almost entirely to the work of
Dr. Marshall and his students. Briefly, the region consists of a series
of Tertiary sediments resting on the planed surface of mica-schists.
On the eroded surface of these the volcanic complex was built up.
The mica-schists are probably the altered form of late Palaeozoic
or early Mesozoic sediments. The immediately overlying beds are
gritty sandstones with seams of exploitable lignite, which, traced
into regions immediately adjacent to the Dunedin district, are seen
to be covered by beds which in two or three localities have been
found to be fossiliferous. In one of these places is a limestone with
fragments of bivalve shells and belemnites which is probably of
late Cretaceous age, while in another, recently found by Fyfe, the
sandstone contains early Eocene molluscs. These are followed by
glauconitic mudstones, loose sands, marls with " Oligocene " (?)
Foraminifera, shark, fish, and penguin bones, a thin band of green-
sand, and a thick series of loosely cemented calcareous sandstones
with terebratulids, echincids, and a few molluscs, which pass up into
impure limestones with a more abundant molluscan fauna, shown
recently by Finlay to be of approximately " Miocene " age.

The earlier portions of the volcanic rocks are exposed in the
southern, western, and eastern portion of the Dunedin igneous com-
plex. They consist chiefly of a series of dolerite and basalt flows,
with some trachyte in the east, and a minor amount of tinguaite and
trachydolerite. A succession of twenty-six such flows is exposed in
the Otago North Head. The later volcanic rocks forming the west,
north-west, and central portion of the region consist more largely of
trachydolerite and phonolite. Extensive explosions occurred near Port
Chalmers and Portobello, resulting in the formation of large necks
filled with breccia, from which radiate a series of tinguaite dykes. The
extent to which hypabyssal bodies such as laccolites or sills are asso-
ciated with the above-mentioned lavas is not yet quite clear. Between
successive flows there may have been very short intervals of time, so
that the upper flow may rest on the unweathered scoria of the first ;

54

or there may elapse a considerable interval with deep erosion and some
sedimentation, so that between the flows are stratified leaf-bearing tuff-
beds and even conglomerates. Though of small thickness generally,
such deposits rise to a thickness of 100 ft. in Eraser's Gully, imme-
diately west of Dunedin. Rarely carbonaceous beds are seen, and a
single stratum of oil-shale is known. A series of small basalt-flows
poured out from scattered vents after the older volcanic rocks of the
region had been greatly eroded were the latest products of igneous
activity.

The region now reached a mature state of erosion. The two
main valleys draining the volcanic hills ran in opposite directions,
their heads separated by a low divide. The region subsided beneath
the sea, the minor valleys all became deep embayments, and the
main divide was flooded over, so that a long through-channel was
formed — the present Otago Harbour, the southern opening of which
was closed by the formation of the sandspit tying the Taieri Peninsula
to the mainland, where South Dunedin and St. Kilda now stand.
Sandbars also have very nearly closed entrances to the outer or
oceanward series of drowned embayments. The effects of a later
minor uplift can be recognized locally in the presence of raised
beaches and of two-cycle valley-forms seen in the Kaikorai Valley
(for example), west of Dunedin.

W. N. BENSON.

THE FLORA OF DUNEDIN.

The. earliest settlers found the Dunedin district bush-clad from
the water's edge almost to the summits of the highest hills. Human
necessity has led to the clearing-away of much of this primeval
covering, but a wise foresight has set apart as a reserve a number
of forest, remnants, some even within the city. In these more or
less unmolested areas there has been preserved almost every species
of the primitive vegetation.

The great variety of plant stations, resulting from an altitudinal
range of 3,000 ft. and a somewhat complex topography, is well
reflected in the diversity and number of species represented in the
district. Within a ten-mile radius there may be gathered over five
hundred species of flowering-plants and a still larger number of
cryptograms, exclusive of naturalized and other introduced species.
This list is inclusive of seventy-five ferns and one hundred and fifty
marine algae. Of the total assemblage, close on 90 per cent, still
exists in the area bounded by the visible horizon of the city.

The great majority of the indigenous species are endemic, but the
same cannot be said of the genera, which are for the most part
Australian also. Indeed, only nine endemic genera are met with in
the neighbourhood of Dunedin.

As elsewhere, the physiognomy of the forest is sombre, but far
from unattractive. The visitor is struck as much by the infinite
variety in the shades and hues of green of the New Zealand bush
as he is by the absence of green in the native-grass lands locally
represented on Flagstaff, Chain Hills, &c. Conspicuous blossoms are
the exception rather than the rule, most of the flowers being small

55

and unisexual either in structure or in function. Where not wholly
green, the dominant colours are white, yellow, and blue, the only
local plant having red flowers being the beautiful scarlet mistletoe
(Elytranthe Colensoi) ; but the resplendent golden blossoms of the
kowhai (Sophora microphylla}, the exquisite pure-white flowers of
the bush-clematis (C. indivisa}, or the myriad blooms of the lacebark
(Hoheria angustifolia), manuka (Leptospermum), and lawyer (Rubus
australis}, lend a charm to the landscape in their respective flowering
seasons.

The visitor with little time at his disposal, and wishing to make
a first-hand acquaintance with the native plants, is recommended to
visit the Town Belt ; but, as the larger timber-trees and a consider-
able portion of the undergrowth have been removed, a much better
though slightly more distant locality would be the forest-clad slopes
of Flagstaff or Swampy Hill. Indeed, of all the trips available, none
is more comprehensive than that which follows the Leith to its
source on Swampy Hill. A good road leads right to the Leith Saddle,
and from this point the final ascent is both easy and interesting.
In a distance of seven miles many distinct ecological formations
will be seen, each with its distinctive species, thus affording the
visitor an excellent opportunity to make a rapid survey of the local
florula.

FLORA OF LEITH VALLEY.

The first trees to attract attention after turning into Woodhaugh
Valley from George Street are the tree-fuchsia or konini (F. excorticata}
and the dark -green, glossy - leaved broadleaf (Griselinia littoralis}
growing near the foot of the cliffs on the left, and festooned with the
scrambling vine (Muehlenbeckia australis}. On the opposite side of
the valley the common panax (Nothopanax Colensoi}, with even darker
foliage than the broadleaf, is equally conspicuous. Shortly after
passing the paper-mills the well-known kowhai (Sophora microphylla}
is a conspicuous plant, especially in the flowering season, as, to a
lesser extent, is the narrow-leafed laceba.rk (Hoheria angustifolia}.
Beyond the bridge a few minutes' walk leads to a clump of taxads,
more commonly designated pines. This clump contains specimens
of the rimu (Dacridium cupressinum} , rendered conspicuous by its
drooping branch lets ; of the black-pine or matai (Podocarpus spicala),
and miro (P. ferruginea}, and of the stringy-barked totara (P. totara},
all useful timber-trees formerly occurring here in such numbers as
to suggest the name of Pine-tree Hill, now shortened to Pine HilL
By the time the Leith Valley School is reached the valley has
narrowed appreciably, and an almost unbroken stretch of native
verdure is entered, consisting at this point of the trees already
mentioned and a host of smaller trees and shrubs, conspicuous among
which are the beautiful crinkly-leaved lemonwood (Pittosporum
eugenioides} and the 7-9 -foliate patete (Schefflera digitata}. A few-
tree-ferns (mostly Heinitelia}, the wineberry (Aristotelia racemosa], and
the brittle-stemmed mahoe (Melicytus} are also noticeable, while the
reddish tints of the pepper-tree (Drimys colorata} contrast strongly
with all. Nicholl's Creek and then Morrison's Creek are successively
passed before a steep ascent leads to a piece of fairly open flat

56

land where a number of new plants appear, chief of which are the
conical-shaped kawaka or native cedar (Libocedrus Bidwillii} and the
small-leafed panax (Nothopanax simplex}. As Sullivan's dam is
approached the weeping-mapau (Myrsine divaricata) and the snowberry
(Gaultheria) become conspicuous members of the association, as are
numerous Coprosma and panax. From here to the top Coprosma
foetidissima, better and appropriately known as the " Stinkwood,"
appears and becomes the dominant shrub, as the rimu, cedar, and
Nothopanax simplex are among the trees.

A short distance beyond the summit of the Leith Saddle a dark
gate and turnstile mark the spot where the bush should be entered.
The bed of the creek when reached is followed for some distance,
and affords an excellent opportunity of seeing quite the majority
of the ferns of the district as well as a number of the less common
trees, such, e.g., as Panax Edgerleyi and the pokako (Eloeocarpus
Hookerianus}. The subalpine-shrub zone is entered on leaving the
bush, and the shrub-daisy (Olearia ilicifolia) here occurs in large
numbers, along with three varieties of tutu (Coriaria), a speedwell
(Veronica buxifolia], Cassinia, Gaultheria, &c. A very noticeable plant
-in this zone is the Spaniard or spear-grass (Aciphylla Colensoi) — a
member of the carrot family.

A short stretch of grassland containing numerous orchids, heaths,
and heath-like plants, as well as grasses, leads to the summit, where
will be found the sphagnum swamp that gave rise to the name
Swampy Hill. Here, unattached to any substratum of soil, are several
orchids, buttercups, cushion-plants (e.g., Oreostylidium], &c., while
near-by may be seen the only local examples of the divaricating alpine
wineberry (Aristotelia fruticosa), contrasting strongly with the large-
leafed species of the low-level forest.

If one ha,s time and energy for a second excursion Maungatua
(3,000 ft.) is well worth a visit, if for no other reason than that upon
it may be gathered some forty-seven plants not met with nearer to
Dunedin. On the summit six of our seven species of grass-trees
(Dracophyllum) are found, five of our seven celmisias or mountain-
daisies, two of three gentians, seven sedges, four grasses, two speed-
wells, a buttercup (Ranunculus gracilipes), an eyebright (Euphrasia
Dyeri), a chickweed (Stellaria gracilenta], and sundry others. A copy
of the catalogue of the plants of the district, prepared by the
Dunedin Naturalists' Field Club, and procurable either from the
honorary secretary of that club or of the Otago Institute (price is.),
will be found a useful adjunct on such excursions as are indicated
in these notes.

W. MARTIN.

THE OTAGO UNIVERSITY MUSEUM.

The foundation of the present collections of the Museum of the
University of Otago was laid by Dr. Hector (afterwards Sir James
Hector, F.R.S.), who organized a large and excellent natural-history
collection for the New Zealand Exhibition held in Dunedin in 1865.
This material formed the basis of the present Museum collections,
but it was not until 1877 that the central block of the present buildings

57

was completed and opened, the first Curator being Captain F. W.
Hutton (afterwards Professor Hutton, F.R.S.). Captain Hutton was
succeeded by Professor T. J. Parker, F.R.S., under whose direction
some of the most striking exhibits were added. Notable among these
is the series of elasmobranch skeletons, not surpassed in any museum
in the world. The method by which they were prepared was worked
out by Professor Parker and Edwin Jennings, Museum ta.xidermist.
On the death of Professor Parker in 1897 Dr- w- B. Benham, F.R.S.,
was appointed to the Chair of Biology and became Curator of the
Museum.

A notable benefaction was the gift by Dr. T. M. Hocken, in 1907,
of his great collection of books, manuscripts, and pictures relating to
early New Zealand and the Pacific, and his large ethnographic collec-
tion. The Hocken collection includes the largest series in existence
of manuscripts relating to the settlement -of New Zealand.

The zoological collections are extensive, being especially strong
in New Zealand birds and their eggs, in New Zealand fishes, and in the
invertebrates. Of special interest is the series of extinct birds, the
collection of moa-remains being very extensive, and including eggs,
feathers, muscles, skin, and footprints, as well as the largest number
of individual skeletons in any museum.

The foundation of the ethnographic department was laid by a
series of gifts of New Guinea material by James Chalmers (" Tamate "),
missionary to New Guinea and Polynesia. The large collection from
the Solomons, the important New Hebridean collection, and the ex-
tensive Maori section have also been built up by gifts. Perhaps the
most notable exhibit here is the material from the moa-hunters' camp
at the mouth of the Shag River, which reveals the stage of culture
reached by the earliest inhabitants of these southern districts. Their
culture would seem, on the whole, higher than that of the tribes found
in occupation at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

H. D. SKINNER.

THE MICA -SCHISTS OF CENTRAL OTAGO.

One of the most puzzling formations in New Zealand is a broad
zone of mica-schists running out from the Southern Alps south-east-
wards through Otago to the sea. The planes of schistosity, which may
be in the main parallel to the original bedding-planes, dip generally
at small angles to the south-west or north-east from a broad anticline,
the axis of which runs down to the sea-coast about ten miles south-
west of Dunedin. Locally, however, the schists dip steeply, or are
crumpled. Interstratified in these are rarely chloritic or hornblendic
schists. To these rocks all ages, from Archaean to Jurassic, have been
assigned. They are not associated with plutonic rocks, but a fairly
regular passage may sometimes be traced outwards from the axis where
the metamorphism is greatest through decreasingly metamorphosed
rocks into greywackes which resemble both those of Ordovician age in
the western parts of the Island and those in the fossiliferous Permo-
Carboniferous or Triassic series, and, indeed, merge without apparent

58

break into such fossiliferous rocks in north-eastern Otago. The Geo-
logical Survey and the majority of other geologists have held that the
schists are ancient, and must be separated by obscure unconformities
from these fossiliferous rocks. Dr. Marshall has, however, emphasized
the complete absence of any material derived from the schists in the
adjacent greywackes, and has described in detail an apparent passage
between the unaltered greywacke and the mica-schist, traced along
a line of sectior. in the southern flank of the anticline — namely, from
Balclutha to Lawrence, a distance cf about twelve miles. He concludes,
however, that the schistose structure is net a direct mechanical effect
of pressure, there being little sign of crushing or strain, but is rather
the effect of chemical action stimulated by mechanical pressure, which
has caused the regular orientation of the secondary crystal-grains
developed, and especially of the flakes of mica which replace the alkali-
feldspar. On the other hand, the longer diameter of the quartz-grains
is generally perpendicular to the plane of schistosity.

In other regions, particularly in north-western Ota.go, though it has
been asserted that there is an observable transition of greywacke into
schist, this is not supported as yet by such detailed observations, and
in places there seems, instead, to be a rather sharp break between them,
so sharp that it can be detected by differences in the topography.
In supporting Dr. Marshall's general views as to the age of the schists,
the writer has suggested a working hypothesis of the structure of the
apparent anticline, which may also be found to explain the passage,
sometimes gradual and sometimes very sharp, between the unmeta-
morphosed and metamorphosed rock-types. In this it is suggested
that the " anticline " is not simple, but is an arched packet of
recumbent sheet-folds, the schistose structures of which were de-
veloped by recrystallization during folding under the weight of the
overlying folds. The upper sheets would therefore be noticeably less
metamorphosed. Subsequent block-faulting would bring the less meta-
morphosed higher sheets down to the level of the more metamorphosed
lower sheets. Out of this " mosaic of differentially moved blocks " the
general peneplain was. cut at the commencement of the Tertiary times,
and erosion following the later post-Tertiary (?) crust - movements
(which moved diversely the same series of crust-blocks) has produced
topographic forms that vary with the lithological character of the
blocks, a suggestion which incorporates the conclusions of Professor
Cotton concerning the geographic evolution of Central Otago. The
difficulty in the way of testing this hypothesis is the absence of
any readily recognizable sedimentary series within the schists and
the adjacent rocks, and much investigation, therefore, will be neces-
sary before it can be either accepted or rejected.

W. N. BENSON.

59

LIST OF LOCALITIES.
GEOLOGY.

Physiography. — Kaipara Harbour and other North Auckland
inlets (drowned river-valleys) ; Lake Taupo ; Wellington (fault -
scarps, crush-zones, raised beaches, see p. 3), Muka-Muka Cliff,
Palliser Bay (9 ft. uplift of 1855 quoted by Lyell and Suess ;
Marlborough Sounds (drowned river-valleys) ; Kaikoura Mountains ;
Southern Alps (see p. 45) ; Arthur's Pass and Otira Gorge ; Buller
River and gorges ; Canterbury rivers (terraces and fans) ; Central
Otago (block mountains) ; fiords, Western Otago (drowned valleys).

Glaciation Phenomena. — Fiords, Western Otago ; Lakes Manapouri,
Wakatipu, Wanaka, Tekapo and neighbourhood.

Glaciers. — Tasman, &c. (Mount Cook Hermitage) (see p. 46) ;
Franz Josef (see p. 51) ; Fox (Central Westland) (see p. 46).

Volcanoes. — Active : Ngauruhoe (National Park) (see p. 32) ;
Tarawera ; White Island. Dormant: Ruapehu (National Park).
Extinct : Mount Egmont ; environs of Auckland ; Rangitoto.

Igneous Rocks. — Dunedin (see p. 53) ; Oamaru ; Banks Peninsula
(see p. 40) ; Dun Mountain, Nelson (see p. 36) ; Coromandel Penin-
sula.

Fossiliferous Localities. — Pliocene : Wanganui ; Petane and Ngaru-
roro River ; Motunau. Miocene : Pakaurangi, Kaipara Harbour ;
Mount Brown ; Pareora ; Oamaru. Older Tertiary : Waihao Forks ;
Hampden ; Wangaloa ; Weka Pass. Cretaceous : Waipara ; Amuri
Bluff ; Selwyn Rapids. Jurassic : Nugget Point. Triassic : Nugget
Point; Mount Potts (plants). Permo-Carboniferous : Dun Mountain,
Nelson. Silurian : Lankey's Gully, Reefton. Ordovician : Colling-
wood ; Preservation Inlet.

Geysers and Thermal Phenomena. — Rotorua and environs, Whaka-
rewarewa, Waimangu (quiescent) ; Waiotapu ; Wairakei ; Taupo.

Limestone Caves. — Waitomo.

Gold. — Waihi (quartz-mining) ; Blackwater, near Reefton (quartz-
mining) ; Rimu gold-dredge (near Hokitika).

Coal. — Huntly, Pukemiro ; Westport Coal Company (Denniston
and Millerton) ; State Coal, Greymouth ; Kaitangata.

Kauri-gum. — North Auckland.

J. MARWICK.

CHIEF PASSES OF THE SOUTHERN ALPS.

- Harper's Pass (3,141 ft.). — Chief pass used by Maoris in olden
times. Route via Hurunui River to Teremakau River. First
crossing of Alps by white man made by this pass in 1857 (Mr. Leonard
Harper) .

Arthur's Pass (3,038 ft.). — Waimakariri and Bealey Rivers to Otira
and Teremakau Rivers. Known to Maoris in former times but
seldom used. Present route to West Coast is over this pass.

Browning's Pass (4, 815 ft.). — At head of Wilberforce River (tribu-
tary of Rakaia) and leading over into Arahura River.

6o

Mathias Pass (4,700 ft.). — At head of Mathias River (tributary of
Rakaia) and leading over into Hokitika River.

Whitcombe Pass (4,025 ft.). — At head of Rakaia River and leading
into Whitcombe and Hokitika Rivers.

Dennistoun Pass (6, 500 ft.). — By Rangitata and Havelock Rivers
to Batson Creek, Perth River, and Wataroa River. Alpine pass.

Sealey Pass (5, 800 ft.). — From Godley Glacier, at head of Godley
River, to Joyce Glacier, Scone Stream, and Perth and Wataroa
Rivers. Alpine pass.

Lendenfeldt Saddle (7,991 ft.). — At the head of Tasman Glacier
to Whymper Glacier and Wataroa Rivers. Alpine pass.

Graham's Saddle (8,739ft.). — From Tasman and Rudolf Glaciers
to Franz Josef Glacier. Used extensively as a pass from the Hermitage
to the Franz Josef.

Pioneer Pass (9,000 ft.). — A difficult alpine pass leading over to
the Fox Glacier.

Harper's Saddle (8, 559 ft.). — From Hooker Glacier to La Perouse
Glacier. Alpine pass.

Copland Pass (6,950 ft.). — The easiest alpine pass for crossing either
from east to west or from west to east. Used extensively by tourists
with limited alpine experience. Leads from Hooker Glacier to Cop-
land and Karangarua Rivers.

Fyfe's Pass (about 7,000 ft.). — Leads from the head of the Mueller
to the Landsborough River. Alpine pass.

Haast Pass (1,716 ft.). — A remarkable low pass leading from the
Makarora River, at the head of Lake Wanaka, to the Haast River.
Free from snow except for occasional falls during the winter. Used
as a stock route.

T. A. FLETCHER.

BOTANY.

The following list gives those localities of botanical interest which
are accessible from the principal cities and tourist resorts of New
Zealand : —

Kauri Forest (see p. 22). — Trounson's Park (eight miles from
Kaihu) ; Great Barrier Island ; Waitakerei Range (fifteen miles from
Auckland, see p. 22) ; Kauri Gully, Auckland Harbour.

Mixed Forest. — Waitakerei Range (see p. 22) ; Ngongotaha Moun-
tain and Hongi's Track (near Rotorua) ; Mamaku (near Rotorua) ;
Mount Hauhungatahi (near Waimarino) ; Kapiti Island ; Wilton's
Bush, Gollan's Valley, Wainui-o-mata, and Hutt-Waikanae Road
(in vicinity of Wellington) ; Dean's Bush, Christchurch ; Banks
Peninsula (see p. 41) ; Leith Valley, Dunedin (see p. 54) ; Mount
Cargill ; Catlin's River ; Longwood Range ; Stewart Island.

Beech Forest. — Tongariro National Park ; Mount Hauhungatahi ;
Mount Egmont ; Gollan's Valley, Wainui-o-mata, and Hutt-Waikanae
Road ; Mount Torlesse ; Mount Cook (see p. 48) ; Dun Mountain
(near Nelson, rejuvenated forest) ; Catlin's River ; Longwood Range ;
head of Lake Wakatipu ; track to Milford Sound.

Pohutukawa Scrub. — Rangitoto (see p. 20).

6i

Subalpine and Alpine Vegetation. — Mount Egmont ; Tongariro
National Park (see p. 35) ; "Mineral Belt," near Nelson (see p. 39) ;
Mount Torlesse ; Mount Cook (see p. 48) ; Swampy Hill, near Dunedin
(see p. 54) ; Stewart Island.

Mangrove. — Auckland Harbour (near Henderson, Stanley Bay,
Devonport) .

Hot Springs Vegetation. — Rotomahana ; Otumokokiri, near Waio-
tapu ; Wairakei Valley, near Taupo.

Other types of vegetation, such as manuka scrub, tussock-grass-
land, sand-dunes, swamp, bog, may be seen in several of the localities
mentioned.

W. R. B. OLIVER.

AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY.

Ruakura Farm of Instruction, Hamilton. — Nearly 900 acres, situated
on the fringe of the great Piako Swamp. The greater part of the
farm is now highly developed and equipped. A wide range of crop-
ping has been practised, but, in keeping with the essentially dairying
character of the district, pasture development and management is now
a leading feature. The pedigree live-stock includes Milking Shorthorn
(with Australian Darbalara blood) and Jersey cattle, Southdown sheep,
and Berkshire pigs. A flock of crossbred sheep is also run. The other
branches of the establishment are the poultry section, the apiary, and
the horticultural section, including an orchard of considerable size.
Ruakura is the principal farm instructional institution of the New
Zealand Department of Agriculture.

Weraroa Central Development Farm, Levin. — On 750 acres of land
converted from heavy forest. The neighbourhood is ideal dairying
country, and the farm has developed on lines consistent with the
requirements of that industry. Noted herds are Friesian (blending
Dutch and American blood) and Red Poll. Berkshire pigs and Romney
cross sheep are kept.

Other Governmental experimental stations are situated at Mou-
mahaki (general farming) and Te Kauwhata (fruit and viticulture).

Lincoln Agricultural College, near Christchurch. — Two farms, 800 and
1,500 acres. Live-stock includes horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs.' Most
attention is directed to sheep-raising and cereal-growing. Students
spend three years at the College and do all the work.

Horticulture. — The public gardens at Auckland, Palmerston North,
Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin are well worth seeing.

Forestry. — Government plantations are situated at Whakarewa-
rewa (near Rotorua), extending to Tikitapu and Rotokakahi Lakes,
with nursery at Whakarewarewa ; Waiotapu ; Kaingaroa Plains
(near Galatea) ; Hanmer (with nursery) ; Conical Hills (nursery at
Tapanui) ; Naseby.

Flax (Phormium) Industry. — The best localities for studying the
flax industry within easy distance of Wellington are Shannon and
Miranui, on the Palmerston North Railway line.

62

ENGINEERING-WORKS IN NEW ZEALAND.

Engineers and others who are interested in public works and other
undertakings will find inspection of many works throughout the
Dominion of considerable value. To such, attention is directed to
the undermentioned : —

Auckland. — In and around the city there are the city drainage-
works, which are on the combined system, with discharge into the
ebb tides of the outer harbour ; city electric tramways, a feature
being a few of the steep grades ; city water-supply, with the new
Nihotapu Reservoir ; city concrete streets, the first constructed on
a large scale in the Dominion ; destructor, dealing with household
garbage ; Graf ton reinforced-concrete arch bridge. Of the Harbour
Board's works the reinforced-concrete wharves, the tide-deflecting
moles, electric cranes, reclamations, and the dry dock are particularly
interesting.

Napier. — The successful construction of a harbour on an open
coast in the presence of drifting shingle is well illustrated by the
outer breakwater. The long reinforced-concrete bridge carrying road
and railway across the Inner Harbour is a work worthy of a visit.

New Plymouth. — The development of a harbour in face of a large
littoral sand-drift is a lesson in such work. The oil-wells should not
be missed, nor the fine asphalted country roads.

Wanganui. — Attention is directed to the harbour-works, the
bridges over the river on which the town stands, and particularly
to the passenger-lift giving access to the higher levels of Durie's Hill.

Wellington. — In and around the City of Wellington the hilly
country has required the development of many interesting works,
of which the following may be pointed out : Sewage drainage of the
low-lying parts by the Shone system, the compressed air required
being derived by power obtained from the destructor ; the general
gravitation system with sea outfall, and minor district systems with,
septic tanks ; city water-supply, with the main reservoirs at Karori
and Wainui, and subsidiary reservoirs in the city, those at the high
levels being fed by electrically operated, multistage, centrifugal pumps ;
tunnels for roads and tramways passing through ridges at Seatoun,
Karori, and Hataitai, the last for tramway traffic only ; electric tram-
ways, particularly the hill systems ; the cable tramway to Kelburn.
The recently introduced municipal milk-supply should be studied.
The development of the storage and handling of exports and imports
on the wharves will be found to be a useful study ; also the Pipitea
reinforced-concrete wharf, the patent slip, and the boat-harbour. On
the railways, the Rimutaka incline, of i in 15, operated by the Fell
system of centre rail ; and the recently installed automatic electric
signals on both double and single lines may be seen at work.

Christchurch. — At Christchurch, the City of the Plains, may be
seen water-supply from artesian wells, and the pumping-station to
supply the reservoir ; sewage farm, sewage-pumping station, pre-
liminary-treatment septic tanks, refuse-destructor, electric tramways,
and street works.

63

Ly Helton. — This place is the seaport for Christchurch and part of
the Canterbury Provincial District, and separated therefrom bv the
lip of an extinct volcanic crater which is pierced by a railway-tunnel.
Lyttelton has an artificial harbour in an inlet of the sea, where moles
have been constructed, and extensive dredging carried out by modern
machines, the most interesting being the dredge on the Fruhling
system.

Timaru. — Here is another example of a harbour being constructed
with great success on an open coast, where there is a large shingle-
drift, and which is subject to very heavy seas. •

Dunedin. — The city has many interesting works, of which may
be mentioned the following : Sewage with sea outfall, water-supply
with reservoirs, asphalt streets, and the electric tramways. The
Otago Harbour Board's activities embrace wharves, reclamations,
control and deepening of the channel to Port Chalmers and at the
Heads. The works at the Heads dealing with the littoral sand-drift
have been a great success. There are two dry docks at Port Chalmers.
The Dunedin cable tramways, giving access to the hill suburbs (three
in number), are very interesting. The Maori Hill electric tramway
is interesting as being one of the very earliest constructed electric
tramways.

Westland.—The west coast of the South Island provides a field in
which the mining engineer will be at home. The coal-mines north
of Westport, also at Reefton and in the Grey Valley ; the gold-bearing
reefs in the Reefton region ; the alluvial-gold dredge at Rimu, and
a few sluicing claims, may be seen with profit. In connection with the
coal-mines, the railways, tramways, inclines, bridges, and other works
required to bring the coal to market are an education. Attention is
drawTn to the harbour-works at Westport and Greymouth, controlling
river-embouchers through shingle-drift. The Otira railway-tunnel,
now nearing completion, is five miles and a quarter in length. It
passes through the Southern Alps, on a grade of i in 33 ; it may be
seen during the journey from Christchurch.

R. W. HOLMES.

ELECTRIC-POWER STATIONS IN NEW ZEALAND.

The question of electric-power supply in New Zealand is of especial
interest in view of the liberal policy adopted by the Government in
the development of the water-power resources of the Dominion. The
general policy adopted is that provision shall be made ultimately to
supply every farm and settlement in the Dominion to which lines can
be extended profitably.

At present two large Government hydro-electric-power stations
are in operation. Lake Coleridge started supply in 1916, and is now
developed up to 16,000 h.p. The power-station is located in the
Rakaia Valley, sixty- three miles west of Christchurch, and is accessible
by motor-car, or train and motor-coach, by a good road from Christ-
church. The Waipori Rapids plant has been developed by the Dunedin
City Council to 8,000 h.p., and extensions to 12,000 h.p. are in hand.
It is accessible by motor-car, and is about thirty miles from Dunedin.

64

The Southland Electric-power Board is now developing Lake
Monowai to 5,000 h.p. The works are in hand, and are expected to
be in operation within two years. The power-station site is accessible
from Invercargill by motor-car — about sixty miles.

In the North Island the Horahora Rapids plant was constructed
by the Waihi Gold-mining Company about 1910, and purchased by
the Government in 1919. It has a capacity of 8,400 h.p., but is being
extended to 10,000 h.p. The power-house is accessible by motor-car
from Hamilton (thirty miles) or Putaruru (twenty miles).

The Waikaremoana installation has just been completed with
1,000 h.p. capacity as a first instalment of the large 40,000 h.p. plant.
This 1,000 h.p. is employed only to supply Wairoa district — a distance
of forty miles. It is accessible by coach or motor-car from Wairoa,
Hawke's Bay.

For the Wellington District the Mangahao River power-station —
24,000 h.p. — is in hand, near Shannon, and sixty-five miles from
Wellington. The works are in an interesting stage, and are accessible
from Wellington by motor-car (seventy miles) or from Shannon (ten
miles) .

Preliminary work is in hand at the Arapuni Gorge, on the Waikato
River, for a development of 36,000 h.p. to 96,000 h.p., capable of
extension to 144,000 h.p. This is a very interesting development
owing to the method of utilization of the natural features of the
ground. It is accessible by motor-car from Hamilton, via Horahora
Rapids (about forty miles), or from Putaruru (about nine miles).

In addition, the New Plymouth Borough has a hydro-electric-
power plant of about 2,000 h.p. on the Waiwakaiho River, about
four miles by road from New Plymouth. Plans have been drawn up
for extending the plant to 6,000 h.p.

Other interesting water-power developments are those of the
Dominion Cement Company at \Vairua Falls (2,600 h.p.), twenty miles
by road from Whangarei ; Hawera Electric Supply Company, in the
Waingongoro River (800 h.p.), about twelve miles from Hawera ;
Government Tourist Department at Okere Falls (300 h.p.), about
thirteen miles by road or lake from Rotorua ; and the Tauranga
Borough plant at Omanawa Falls (1,000 h.p.), about fifteen miles by
road from Tauranga.

There are in New Zealand in all sixty-one electric-power stations,,
of a total capacity of 69,000 h.p., made up as follows : Water-power
— 27 stations, 33,500 h.p. ; steam-power — 10 stations, 29,970 h.p. ;
gas-power — 22 stations, 4,460 h.p. ; oil-power — 2 stations, 1,070 h.p.
The largest of the steam stations are the Auckland City power-station
at King's Wharf (13,200 h.p.), and the Auckland Tramway power-
station at Hobson Street (8,500 h.p.) ; the Wellington City power-
station at Harris Street (5,000 h.p.), and the Wellington Tramway
power-station at Jervois Quay (5,300 h.p.). The Wellington City
Council is building a large station at Evans Bay (15,000 h.p.) designed
to take over the load of both of these city plants, and this station is
now in an interesting stage for inspection. It is easily accessible by
tram-car (Miramax or Seatoun cars).

L. BIRKS.

By Authority : W. A. G. SKINNER, Government Printer, Wellington.

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