De Quatrefages. — On Moas and Moa-hunters. 27 



" Two against two, like the moas." Their nest was formed 

 of various dry herbs, and of the debris of ferns, heaped to- 

 gether. They fed on different kinds of plants growing on the 

 outskirts of the woods and along the borders of the swamps — 

 on the young sprouts of various shrubs, &c. ; but their princi- 

 pal food appears to have been the root of a species of fern, 

 which they tore up either with the beak or the feet. To 

 aid in the digestion of this food, the moas, like many other 

 birds, swallowed little pebbles, which, rounded and polished 

 by the friction in their stomach, assumed a peculiar form, and 

 are called to this day " moa-stones " by the natives, who are 

 familiar with them.( 33 ) But this polish rendered the stones 

 useless for the purpose intended by the birds ; whereupon 

 they were disgorged, after the manner of the ostrich and the 

 emu.( 34 ) These stones were not always of the same kind, 

 and varied with the locality. ( 35 ) 



III. 



The details I have just given lead us to suppose not only 

 that man and the moa were cotemporary, but also that the 

 disappearance of the latter dates from a recent epoch. Such, 

 in fact, is the conclusion arrived at after a thorough investi- 

 gation, carried on in New Zealand for nearly forty years, by a 

 large number of inquirers and distinguished scientists. Never- 

 theless, until a few years ago it was possible to entertain 

 doubts. One of the most distinguished New Zealand geolo- 

 gists, Dr. Julius Haast, expressed himself decidedly of a contrary 

 opinion. Although accepting as proved the co-existence of 

 men and moas at a very remote epoch, answering to our pre- 

 historic times, he denied that the actual Maoris had ever 

 known these large birds. ( 36 ) On the other hand, Mr. W. 

 Mantell, whose numerous researches render him on this point 

 a safe authority, has clearly, and at different times, expressed 

 an opposite view, arguing that these large brevipennates were 

 hunted and exterminated, not long ago, by the present race of 

 Maoris, f) 



(33.) Hochstetter, p. 186. 



(34.) " Note on Discovery of Moas and Moa-hunters' Remains at 

 Pataua River, near Whangarei," by J. Thorne, jun. (Transactions, vol. iv., 

 p. 66, 1872). A certain number of tbese moa-stoncs bave been collected, 

 and figure in the Auckland Museum and very probably in many other 

 New Zealand collections. 



(35.) Haast, loc. cit., p. 73. 



(36.) " Moas and Moa-hunters," address to the Philosophical Institute 

 of Canterbury, 1871, by Julius Haast (Transactions, vol. iv., p. 60, 1872). 

 Dr. Haast maintained his first impressions in other memoirs and in the 

 work which he published under the title of "Geology of the Provinces 

 of Canterbury and Westland, New Zealand," 1879. 



(37.) " On the Fossil Remains of Birds collected in Various Parts 



