306 Transactions. — Botany. 



instances, perhaps, such plants are not killed outright, and 

 may recover. In course of time in all the formations where 

 sheep can feed this magnificent plant will be destroyed, and, 

 so far as Campbell Island is concerned, it will only be found 

 in rocky hollows of the cliffs where a sufficient amount of peat 

 can accumulate. 



It is the subalpine tussock meadow and the tussock scrub 

 that are undergoing the greatest changes. In the former, as 

 pointed out before, the noble grass Danthoma hromoidcs forms 

 great tussocks as large as the largest snow-grass tussocks of 

 the Canterbury mountains. These are eaten right down to 

 their base in one year, if the meadow is heavily stocked, and 

 nothing remains but great roundish decayed mounds, the 

 bases of the leaves projecting upwards, the whole 30 cm. or 

 more in height. Such heaps, at a distance of 90 cm. or so 

 apart, meet the eye all over the hillside. Between these 

 dead tussocks on the south side of Lyall's Pyramid occur 

 the foUownng plants : Phyllachne clavigera, various species 

 of lichens, Luzula crinita, Coprosma repens, a few young 

 grasses belonging to species I could not identify at the 

 time, Ilymenophyllum nmltifiduvi, Plcurophyllum speciostmi, 

 (this mostly quite killed), Pleurophyllum liookeri (a good deal 

 eaten), Ep>ilobium confertifoliuvi,, Bulbinella rossii (in large 

 quantity). On the dead rotten hummocks of Danthonia, 

 Phyllachne, some mosses, and Cojyrosma rej^ens were growing, 

 and on the ground near by Stellaria dccijyiens had become 

 very abundant. Here, then, a distinctly changed formation is 

 in process of evolution in lohich the tico most striking plants, 

 which stamp) the physiognomy of the original formation, luill be 

 altogether absent, while some of the smaller plants, kept in 

 check by these dominant larger ones, will increase considerably 

 in numJjcrs. The next phase in tire history of the changed 

 formation will be when introduced plants put in an appearance 

 and contend with the present survivors for possession of the 

 ground, and it is certain from New Zealand experience that 

 many of these will be equally or better in harmony with their 

 new surroundings than are the endemic species. 



In some parts of the subalpine region the new formation is 

 somewhat different from that just described, in so much that 

 very large quantities of a small indigenous grass are occupying 

 the ground. According to Mr. Gordon, the manager of the 

 Campbell Island sheep-run, tliis grass is not destroyed by the 

 sheep, although they feed upon it. If this is so, another 

 meadow formation is in process of evolution, depending pro- 

 bably upon the amount of moisture in the soil. This grass 

 was especially noticeable on the ground below the cliti's on the 

 north side of Lyall's Pyramid. 



In certain places the " tussock scrub " has been burned, 



