Cockayne. — Botanical Excursion to Southern Islands. 257 



tion contains some of the smaller grasses, but in midwinter 

 identification of these was impossible. 



The soil of this formation consists of a great depth of peat, 

 which at the time of my visit was very wet and sticky, but 

 certainly not so wet as I had expected. The ground, in fact, 

 is neither bog nor even semi-bog, but merely a very moist 

 peaty slope. The forming of peat, even while a plant is 

 alive, is a common-enough occurrence amongst New Zealand 

 cushion-plants. Kirk shows, for instance, how the dense 

 lower leaves on Baoulia goyeni of Stewart Island become 

 changed into peat while the upper leaves are performing their 

 usual functions (62, p. 215). In Fuegia also the leaves of 

 living plants are rapidly converted into peat. Darwin writes 

 regarding Astelia puvala (23a, p. 286), " Fresh leaves are 

 always succeeding one to the other round the central tap- 

 root ; the lower ones soon decay, and in tracing a root down- 

 wards in the peat the leaves yet holding their place can be 

 observed passing through every stage of decomposition till 

 the whole becomes blended in one confused mass." In the 

 Southern Islands such peat-forming is very plamly to be seen, 

 especially in winter, in certain of the plants, which die down 

 to the ground. Then the leaves of the past year lie rotting 

 upon the surface of the soil, while their bases form great 

 decayed masses many centimeters m thickness round the 

 leaf-bases of the young leaves of Pleurophylkcm criniferum or 

 P. hooker I. In these sheaths of decaying leaves considerable 

 numbers of earthworms are found, and they appear also to be 

 fairly numerous in the peat itself. This will lead to a greater 

 amount of oxygen in the soil than is usually present in peat, . 

 and probably there is a considerably less percentage of humic 

 acids ; but I have no data on this head. All that can be said 

 is that, notwithstanding the soil is altogether peat, it must be 

 very much more favourable for plant-life than is the peat of 

 an ordinary bog, or even a dry heath. 



Since my visit took place in the depth of winter I my- 

 self can say nothing regarding the magnificent display of 

 flowers which this spot and the formation in general, if it 

 be indeed a true formation, exhibits during the summer 

 season. However, Chapman gives a most vivid picture of 

 Fairchild's Garden, which is here quoted almost in its entirety : 

 " This place " (16, p. 505) " will now be known by the name 

 we gave it — Fairchild's Garden. It extends from the strait at 

 the north-west end of the island along the shore to the first 

 piece of bush, and thence up to and over the summit of the 

 hill — in all perhaps 400 acres — one of the most wonderful 

 natural gardens the extratropical world can show. No doubt 

 other parts of Adams Island and other places in the group are 

 equally beautiful, but the day we spent here can never be for- 



17— Trans. 



