Pobruary, 1004] 25 



portion of my collecting work was done in the immediate neighbour- 

 hood of the principal seaports and oldest settlements, where the best 

 results could hardly have been expected ; but after many years of 

 wandering and insect-hunting in various parts of the world, T am 

 disposed to regard my New Zealand experiences as the most pleasant 

 and interesting of all. 



As New Zealand extends over fourteen degrees of latitude in the 

 South Temperate Zone (from 34°, 25' to 47°, 20' S.), and possesses a 

 more diversified surface than that of almost any other land of equal 

 extent, its climate, although mild on the whole and eminently healthy, 

 varies very greatly within its limits. In the north, we find the mean 

 annual temperature of the south of Erance, though with less varia- 

 tion at different seasons, and such fruits as lemons, oranges, figs, and 

 olives thrive to perfection at Auckland in the open. The climate of 

 the Dunedin district may fairly be compared to that of the south of 

 England, with fewer hot days in summer, and less severe cold in 

 winter. At this season, frosts in the low country, though frequent 

 enough, are usually of short duration, though I have seen ice half-an- 

 inch thick in July at Lyttelton for several days in succession. On 

 all the coasts the winds are often very boisterous, and Cook's Strait 

 has quite an unenviable notoriety for stormy weather ; and rapid 

 changes of temperature are frequent, though not so great and sudden 

 as in xiustralia. Insects, though of course less numerous in winter 

 than at other times, are active in that season ; and as, with very few 

 exceptions, all the native trees and shrubs are evergreens, the general 

 aspect of the country varies but little throughout the year. 



In the course of settlement a great part of the once general 

 forest clothing of the Islands has been destroyed, but many thousands 

 of square miles in the more remote parts are still covered with the 

 primeval " bush." This is especially the case on the western side of 

 the South Island, where a naturally fertile soil, a genial climate, and 

 a rainfall of from 80 to 150 inches per annum, combine to produce a 

 vigorous and luxuriant forest growth such as is rarely to be met with 

 outside the Tropics. The ferns of New Zealand are justly celebrated 

 for their beauty and variety, more than 130 species being known, and 

 the noble arborescent forms, which extend to the southern extremity 

 of the Islands, give an air of gyeat distinction to the deep and tangled 

 gullies in which they are seen to the best advantage. The only 

 indigenous palm is the Nikau {Rliopnlostylis sapida) which is 

 abundant in the North Island, and is found as far south as 

 latitude 44° in Banks Peninsula, this being the southern limit of its 



