848 president's address. 



visiting them. There are also pkmts which have exti^emely Hglit 

 or small seeds, or, as in the case of most Composite, possessing a 

 pappu.s, by means of which they are borne by the wind over long 

 distances. Again, there are seeds with barbed hooks which may 

 adhere to the feathers of birds, or others of small size produced by 

 plants growing on the margin of water or elsewhere which may be 

 taken up with particles of mud, and be thus conveyed over consider- 

 able distances. But when this list is exhausted there are still many 

 plants growing on the larger islands the presence of wldch cannot 

 be accounted for. 



In the Hawaiian or Sandwich Islands, according to the late 

 Dr. Hillebrand's investigations, there are 999 species of 

 phanerogams and vascular cryptogams. After deducting from 

 this number the usual littoral and drift species, and many 

 useful and ornamental plants probably introduced by the natives, 

 and even allowing a margin for endemic evolution of new species, 

 after introduction of those from elsewhere, it must be acknow- 

 ledged that a great power of belief is required to satisfy one that 

 the balance are all introduced. 



The situation of the islands is this : — -They are 2,040 miles 

 from the coast of America, 1,860 from the Marquesas, and 2,190 

 miles from Tahiti. It can be seen how small a chance there is 

 for winds, waves and birds to bring together the component parts 

 of this rich flora from elsewhere. There are a few plants represen- 

 tative of the Eastern Austi'alian Region, a few with .Southern South 

 American aftinities. Most of the plants are allied to those on the 

 nearest coast of America. Dr. Hillebrand divides the flora 

 according to the zones which they inhabit on the islands. These 

 are as follows : — 



1. Lowland zone. 



2. Lower forest zone — 1,000 or 2,000 feet. 



3. Middle „ —up to 5,000 to 6,000 feet, this being the 



most luxuriant. 



4. Upper forest zone — up to 8,000 or 9,000. On Mauna Kea 



shrubby vegetation extends to 11,000 feet. 



