204 Transactions. — Botany. 



almost " cut out." Their sites, which will remain for a few 

 years more or less strewn with decaying stumps and trunks, 

 form valuable pastoral lands, on which all introduced fodder 

 and other plants generally grow luxuriantly. The broad 

 Canterbury Plains were " billowy bays of grass," clothed with 

 dense tussocks comprising several species of Poa (chiefly Poa 

 australis), with extensive groups of the palm-lily [Cordyline 

 australis) and Discaria to2imatou, extending from the sea- 

 shore to the slopes of the fore ranges. When the fierce 

 north-wester blew across the plains the successive gusts pro- 

 duced the wave-like motions of the dense and close-growing 

 tussocks, akin to those observed by "Australian Felix" on the 

 gi'assy plains of Victoria. In the hot sunshine the tussocks 

 absorbed and retained a great amount of heat, which, when the 

 north-wester leached through them, produced, especially during 

 the night, the hotter wind experienced by the early settlers 

 domiciled on the lower half of the Canterbury Plains. Amongst 

 the tussocks flourished many species of interesting native 

 plants, most of which have now almost vanished from the 

 plains. On the swampy land extensive areas of Phormmm 

 tenax, with numerous species of aquatic and sub -aquatic 

 plants, grew luxuriantly. The draining of the extensive 

 swamps — a work of great colonial enterprise — and the sub- 

 sequent depasturing of farm stock thereon, has almost com- 

 pleted the annihilation of this class of native plants on the 

 plains. 



The phenomenally rapid dispersion and naturalisation of 

 numerous species of exotic plants in New Zealand, and the 

 equally rapid disappearance of many species of native plants 

 from their habitats, during the half-century of British colonisa- 

 tion will ever remain a subject of great interest to botanists. 

 Mr. Armstrong's remarks in re the "indigenous flora liaving 

 arrived at a period of its existence when it had no longer 

 strength to maintain its own against the invading races " are 

 very suggestive. Although we know that the native flora 

 possess equally perfect methods of fertilisation in most species 

 to those invading plants that have supplanted it in many 

 large areas, its disappearance must be due to other causes at 

 present imperfectly known. In almost every district, especi- 

 ally on the poorer lands, that remained for many years un- 

 ploughed and almost untouched by stock, the displacement of 

 the native plants by more hardy alien species proceeded apace. 

 The conquest of the New Zealand flora by the northern in- 

 vaders is due in some measure to their greater development 

 " in the most extensive land-area of the globe, where competi- 

 tion has long been most severe and long continued, "■• which 



• "Island Life," p. 511. 



