Smith. — Plants nakiralised in the County of Ashburton. 205 



has fitted them to supplant the less vigorous antipodean plants 

 in a soil and climate perfectly adapted to their habits. With 

 few exceptions the indigenous plants of New Zealand never 

 attained the development necessary to fit them in the struggle 

 with the strongly developed European plants. On the deeper 

 and richer land of the plains, where the close-growing tussocks 

 [Pea australis) grew high and vigorous, they more than any 

 other class of plants prevented the dispersal and growth of 

 introduced species. 



The annual practice of burning the extensive sheep-runs to 

 promote fresh growth oi the tussocks, and the subsequent 

 sowing of the burned areas by scattering weed-infested seed 

 broadcast over them, will explain the occurrence of many 

 species of exotic plants naturalised on the upland country in 

 the early years of settlement. With so much weed-infested 

 seed sown on the virgin soil, and considering the lack of 

 proper tillage the land received, we should not be surprised at 

 the presence in the colony of so many species of exotic plants 

 and plant-parasites, interesting though they are to the botanist 

 and zoologist. We also know that much valuable land was 

 purchased and farmed in the early days of Canterbury by 

 many quite inexperienced men, whose lack of knowledge of 

 plants and indifferent style of farming were the chief causes 

 of the rapid spread of exotic plants now naturalised in the 

 county and elsewhere. Many species flourish in imperfectly 

 tilled land where many valuable economic plants and cereal 

 crops could make little growth. 



Unlike the river-beds of Britain, the broad, warm, sandy, 

 and silty flats of the glacier and other rivers crossing the 

 Canterbury Plains provide more congenial conditions and sites 

 for the growth of many representatives of the Scandinavian 

 flora, where they frequently attain abnormal dimensions. A 

 European botanist would be charmed to view the luxuriance 

 and beauty of many species of British plants naturalised in 

 New Zealand. When I visited the lower gorge of the Eakaia 

 River in February, 1901, the more swampy parts were ablaze 

 with the flowers of large masses of Erythrcea centaurium, 

 Prunella vulgaris, Mimulus moschcetus, Vicia tetrasperma, 

 ^Enothera biennis, Geranium molle, Galiicm aparine, Bellis 

 verennis, Grepis virens, Bartsia viscosa, Plantago lanceolata, 

 Trifolium prateiise, and T. reyens. I had not previously 

 observed these plants display such great vigour nor attain 

 such perfection of growth. The drier flats were also ablaze 

 as far as the eye could see with the orange-coloured flowers 

 of Hypochaeris radicata. On the small shingle-fans at the 

 mouths of the numerous gullies opening into the Eakaia 

 Valley Cardims lanceolatus grew in extensive masses, so high 

 and strong as to be quite impassable in some places on horse- 



