Cockayne. — Plant Geography of the Waimakariri. 113 



judging from accounts of their culture in the Gardeners* 

 Chronicle and the Garden ; indeed, such are often much more 

 amenable to cultivation than are those indigenous to our Alps, 

 many of which can only be grown with the greatest difficulty. 

 S'llene acaulis, Dianthus alpinus, D. neglectus, Papaver 

 alpinum, Viola calcarata, Gcntiana verna, G. acaulis, Leon- 

 topodium alpinum, Anemone sidfurea, A. vernalis, Androsace 

 lactea, Primula farinosa, P. iongijlora, P. auricula, Arnica 

 montana, Aster alpinus, Saxifraga aizoides, S. aizoon, 

 S. exarata, Draba aizoides, Campanula pusilla, to quote some 

 examples from the Swiss alpine flora, all thrive or have 

 thriven in the Tarata Garden. Many other alpines — Hima- 

 layan, Andean, Siberian, or North American — could also be 

 quoted. 



The successful acclimatisation of any plant belonging to 

 exotic temperate regions in the lowland or lower mountain 

 region seems to depend less upon temperature and rainfall 

 than upon the nature of the soil, and shelter from the prevail- 

 ing winds. In' certain parts of the Canterbury Plain — e.g., near 

 the lower Waimakariri Gorge — the force of the north-west 

 wind has been sufficient to blow away from a newly sown 

 wheat -field both surface -soil and seed. It is in many in- 

 stances rather New Zealand plants themselves which are difiS- 

 cult to acclimatise than exotics. 



Numbers of North Island forest -trees, some from the 

 neighbouring Port Hills, and others from Stewart Island, 

 far to the south, are damaged or killed outright by the cold 

 even near the sea."' In fact, the winter climate of the low- 

 land region, or perhaps of the Canterbury Plain as a whole, is 

 more severe than any other similarly situated region in the 

 South Island, nor is the maritime region much milder than 

 sheltered inland stations at 300 m. altitude. 



Phe?iology. 



I am not aware that phenological records have ever been 

 published regarding any part of New Zealand.! Such are 

 of extreme value as a measure of climate. BaileyJ writes, 

 " Such records are more accurate measures of seasonal 

 climates than instrumental measurements are. Someday" — 

 referring to the United States — " the country will have charts of 



* L. Cockayne : " An Inquiry into the Seedling Forms of New Zea- 

 land Phanerocjams" (Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xxxi., p. 359). 



t Since writing the above I have found an interesting account of the 

 blooming of New Zealand orchids in the Thames district, for which see 

 Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. xvi.: "On the Botany of the Thames Goldfield," 

 by J. Adams, B.A. 



\ L. H. Bailey: " The Principles of Fruit-growing," New York, 1897, 

 p. 127. 



8 



