248 Transactions. — Botany. 



Thus both the very low north-west of the island and the 

 highest parts of the tableland of the south consist of quaking 

 bog. Even when the ground is not boggy its water-content 

 is usually very considerable ; and, speaking generally for the 

 whole island, excepting in places long cultivated, wet ground 

 is much more common than dry. 



The soil in most parts of Chatham Island consists of 

 peat, which must in many places be of a very great depth, 

 Mr. Travers stating that it is often 50 ft. deep (51). If the 

 peat through any reason should become dry it will burn with 

 great readiness, and should it be set on fire it may slowly 

 burn for many years. Such burning— and it is perhaps from 

 this that he gave his estimate of the depth of peat — is thus 

 described by Mr. Travers (51, p. 177): "In several parts of 

 the island this peat has been on fire for years, burning at a 

 considerable depth below the surface, which, when sufficiently 

 undermined, caves in and is consumed. I have seen the loose 

 ashes arising from these fires upwards of 30 ft. deep." On 

 the peaty plain on the north-west peninsula I saw a hollow 

 caused by the peat having been burned, wbich even then was 

 smouldering in places. This hollow was about 3 m. in 

 depth — i.e., only one-third of the depth stated by Mr. Travers 

 —and its area about 2 acres. The burning must have taken 

 place many years ago, for the bottom of the hole was a dense 

 mass of vegetation, thus affording a very interesting example 

 of what species of indigenous plants will, under present climatic 

 conditions, people a piece of virgin ground. Very often these 

 burnt-out hollows become filled with water and remain as 

 permanent lakes ; indeed, Mr. A. Shand is of opinion tbat 

 probably all the lakes of the island, including even those of 

 the tableland, have originated recently in this manner. 

 Besides peat, a much richer soil, called locally "red clay" 

 and formed of disintegrated volcanic rock, occurs in some few 

 places — much of the country from the south of Lake Huro to 

 the Whanga Lagoon and for some distance further south- 

 east is of this character ; other patches occur from the Ngaio 

 to Waitangi along the coast, and others again in the neigh- 

 bourhood of some of the old volcanic conical hills. 



As pointed out in the introduction, I did not visit quite a 

 number of important localities. Of these the chief were the 

 extremity of the north-western peninsula, from Maunganui 

 to Te Eaki Point ; the south coast of the north-western 

 peninsula ; the narrow slip of land along the north coast 

 from Wharekauri to Matarakau ; the east coast of the island 

 from the ford over Te Whanga to Ouenga ; and the greater 

 part of the coast- line on the east from Waitangi to the 

 Horns. 



