R. Brown.— On N.Z. Musci. 325 



In November, 1889, while botanising at Castle Hill, my 

 attention was attracted by a small round white object about 

 ^in. in size. It was attached to a dry perpendicular rock ex- 

 posed to the full glare of the sun. Thinking it was the nest 

 of some small insect, I examined it with a pocket-lens, and 

 was surprised to find it was a very small moss, with the leaves 

 curled over an immersed capsule. This was the manner in 

 which G. argentea was discovered. The whole plant was only 

 ^in., with an unbranched stem and an immersed capsule. 



Grimmia dimimitum is also from the above-named rocks, 

 being only -^ in. One capsule of this moss is all that has 

 been discovered. This district is a large one, and has not yet 

 been fully examined, so that what exists in it has not been 

 ascertained. 



At Weston, near Oamaru, the calcareous rocks are most 

 •extensive, extending for miles in irregular masses, with high 

 precipitous cliffs fronting in a south-western direction. From 

 the base of these cliffs descends a steep bank, in several places 

 some hundreds of feet high, as at Cormack's Siding, on the 

 railway. Near this point the well-known non-calcareous 

 diatomaceous ooze has been exposed in the railway-cutting; 

 its depth is not known. Above this stratum and about half- 

 way below the cliffs there is another stratum of diatomace- 

 ous ooze which is calcareous, and extends all along the dis- 

 trict at about the same level. In several places the adjoining 

 fields are nearly on a level with this stratum, and the plough 

 has gone over it ; but the line of the deposit was clearly seen 

 all along these fields by the darker colour of the earth and 

 pieces of it which had not mouldered into fine dust. On the 

 steep portions of the bank, although generally covered with 

 grass, it could be easily traced, being damp, slippery, and in 

 places as plastic as clay. This bed had been opened in several 

 places and a quantity of it taken away, and at these places it 

 was dry. This stratum is from 20 ft. to 30 ft. in thickness, 

 and it was near, or on the line of, this deposit that most of 

 the mosses collected in this district were found. They were 

 either on calcareous rocks which had fallen from the cliffs 

 above, or on debits near them. To those who take an interest 

 in this subject the above imperfect description will enable 

 them to find the most interesting of the habitats in this dis- 

 trict. 



In the beginning of January, 1898, having arrived at 

 Kaikoura on a botanical exploring expedition, and being 

 anxious to collect on the high hill adjoining Mount Fyie 

 (on the summit of which snow still remained), and as I was 

 unable in Kaikoura to obtain any information regarding the 

 name of the hill or how to get on to it, I rose one morn- 

 ing early, and, after reconnoitring it at a distance, walked 



