98 Transactions. — Botany. 



by floods, for, since the stony river-beds are the sole roads, 

 such an occurrence is by no means uuhkely. I have especially 

 called attention to these details as an excuse for the very 

 imperfect examination that I have made of many parts of the 

 district. One has often to leave interesting ground through 

 bad weather, or this same weather may put a stop to all 

 work. But if some of the region is uninhabited, this is all the 

 more interesting to the botanist, since it has led to many 

 places being still unused as pasturage for sheep, and where, 

 in consequence, the original plant-covering of the soil remains 

 undisturbed. Good examples of this occur at Walker's Pass, 

 Goat Pass, the sources of the Poulter, and many places near 

 the main sources of the Waimakariri. Mount Hikurangi, in 

 the North Island, is also in the same condition, according to 

 Mr. James Adams, who writes : "'^ "Neither cow, nor horse, 

 nor sheep, nor pig has ever desecrated the summit of the 

 mountain, or disturbed there the designs of nature in the 

 manner of the growth of plants." 



All the observations recorded in this and to be recorded in 

 the succeeding papers have been made by myself, unless the 

 contrary be distinctly stated ; they are the results of many 

 botanical excursions taken during the past twelve years ; 

 also I reside and have an experimental garden! in the coastal 

 region, situated partially on the older sand-dunes. 



Eegarding the photographs taken and to be taken of the 

 various plant-formations, &c., I propose to place a set, num- 

 bered in accordance with the references in this work, in the 

 Museum at Christchurch, New Zealand, since only a limited 

 number can be published ; and also dried specimens of all 

 special forms of plants treated of. 



For the identification of species I am in the main respon- 

 sible ; other identifications will be specially noted. Of course, 

 in a flora not yet thoroughly understood error? of identifica- 

 tion must occur ; others will creep in through the necessarily 

 rapid examination of many localities ; both these sources of 

 error are at the present time unavoidable, but I hope they will 

 be minimised by the deposition of doubtful specimens in the 

 museum, as stated above. 



There are also in the New Zealand as in all floras a very 

 considerable number of plant forms which some botanists con- 

 sider as good and others as bad species. Now, it is essential 

 for oecological work that every form treated of shall have a 

 name of some kind, whether specific or varietal matters little. 

 In many instances the structure of certain organs of a plant 

 — for example, the leaves of a so-called variety which repro- 

 duces itself "true" from seed — differs altogether from that 



* "On the Botany of Hikurangi Mountain," by James Adams, B.A. 

 (Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xxx., 18138, p. 416). 



t This will be referred to as " Tarata Garden." 



