Cockayne. — Botanical Excursion to Southern Islands. 297 



by any means easy. This glass-iike smoothness is occasioned 

 by the polishing action of the miUions of penguins which at 

 present occupy the rocks during the breeding season, and 

 of the fur-seals, which formerly were extremely abundant. 

 These animals, happily, although at one time nearly extinct, 

 are distinctly on the increase, more than sixty being observed 

 during the " Hinemoa's " visit. In summer I understand 

 the rocks are thickly covered everywhere with the excrement 

 of the birds, but at the time of my visit this was nearly 

 all washed away by the abundant rain and sea-spray, which 

 passes at times over the highest island. But in the hollows 

 and under the stones guano was still present, and here 

 Mr. Jennings, of the Otago Museum, and myself had the 

 great pleasure of discovering a peculiar fauna rich in indivi- 

 duals ; indeed, in some places the guano beneath the stones 

 was fairly alive with amphipods, beetles, spiders, and small 

 flies, w^hile larger flies were in great numbers on the bare 

 warm rocks. 



As for plant-life, the rocks between the ebb and flow are 

 densely covered with the indiarubber-like masses of a species 

 of Durvillcea of a much yellower colour than that so fre- 

 quent in the other islands or on the coast of New Zealand 

 proper. The zone of Macrocystis, which so frequently occurs 

 beyond the zone of Durvillaa where the plant is not exposed 

 to the danger of buffeting on the rocks, is here absent. On 

 the granite of the island is no permanent soil of any kind 

 except the before-mentioned guano, nor are there any land- 

 plants at all, excepting an alga clothing the rocks and giving 

 them a greenish hue in places. The specimens of this plant 

 which I collected were unfortunately lost, so I cannot state 

 to what genus it may be referred. 



Probably these islands are a remnant of a much larger 

 land-area, and the alga not the forerunner of a more extensive 

 future vegetation, but the last survivor of one long passed 

 away. With regard to the spiders, some remarks are made 

 further on when dealing with the history of the vegetation of 

 the Southern Islands. 



V. Effect of Animals upon the Vegetation of the 

 Southern Islands. 



1. Indigenous Animals. 

 Before the advent of the white man, and even now in many 

 places, vast numbers of sea-birds and seals lived on the 

 Southern Islands for longer or shorter periods every year. 

 The time of my visit was unfavourable for observing the birds, 

 since these for the most part come on land only during the 

 breeding season. I therefore can say little as to how they 



