Guthrie-Smith. — Grasses of Tutira. 507 



For the purposes of this paper, I should say that the Tutira 

 Run includes part of the Maungahararu Education Reserve, 

 part of the Heru-o-turea Block, part of Waitara, &c. About 

 300 ft. above sea-level on its eastern edge, it rises to over 3,200 ft. 

 on the west. 



There are soils of every quality, from small alluvial flats 

 and papa outcrops to wretched low valleys stretching north 

 and south between barren ridges of sandstone, and areas of black 

 humus superposed on pumice-grit. Grasses, therefore, have the 

 choice of many varieties of soil in this block of land. 



The run came into my possession in 1882, but before that 

 date a certain amount of work had been done — fires had been 

 run through large tracts of fern, some fencing had been erected, 

 and a very small proportion of the country grassed. The re- 

 mainder was almost wholly in fern, tutu, or koromiko. Where 

 there was bush it was unfelled, and where there was swamp it 

 was undrained. I may say, therefore, that I have seen the run 

 being grassed, or grassing itself, for the last twenty-five years, 

 and have noted practically its whole development from the 

 old indigenous herbage. For over a quarter of a century op- 

 portunities have been afforded of watching the arrival of each 

 grass, its subsequent spread, or in some cases its decline. The 

 long struggle between the native and alien species still continues, 

 but is inclining slowly though surely to the former. Sufficient 

 time has now elapsed to prove which are the best of these native 

 grasses, and which, also, are the aliens most likely to survive — 

 survive, that is, in fair competition, and where the soil cannot 

 be turned over by the plough. 



For such reasons my paper may be of interest to those who 

 have perhaps in other districts watched similar processes. It 

 must, however, be borne in mind that the notes and observations 

 here recorded are purely local, and probably would not apply, 

 or, at any rate, would not apply with equal force, to the better 

 soils and drier climate of southern Hawke's Bay. 



Looking back over this quarter of a century, the feature 

 that stands out first and foremost, and most prominently, is 

 the enormously lessened fertility of to-day's surface soil as 

 compared with that of the early eighties. The proofs of this 

 are the visibly thinner proportion of rye-grass and the almost 

 complete disappearance of white-clover, the decrease in carry- 

 ing-capacity, the lessened germinating-power of grass-seed (sur- 

 face-sown), the later " spring " in the grass, the later lambings, 

 and possibly too the pretty general change throughout Hawke's 

 Bay from Lincoln to Romney Marsh, Corriedales, and other 

 hardier breeds. 



Watching a paddock year by year and month by month is 



