1904.] >J1 



was my companion on miiny plcjiwant little excursions, and I am 

 specially indebted to him for guiding mo to the most ])roductive 

 spots in the vicinity of the city. 



Wellington is built at the foot of a range of high steep hills, 

 which on three sides enclose Lambton Harbour, an arm of the fine 

 inlet known as Port Nicholson. 'J'liese hills appear to concentrate on 

 the harbour all the winds of the stormy Cook's Strait, and at all times 

 of the year, the boisterous breezes for which Wellington is notorious 

 render communication with the shore often unpleasant and sometimes 

 impossible. Until a comparatively recent date, the hills were covered 

 with fine " bush " which has been entirely cleared away on the side 

 facing the harbour, leaving nothing but steep slopes of poor pasture- 

 land with patches of gorse, and with here and there a big decayed 

 log, or a more durable tree-fern stump, as a memento of the vanished 

 woodland. But on going a short distance inland, one meets with a 

 fair amount of the original forest-growth, usually on the sides of deep 

 gullies where it is frequently rather difiicult of access ; and many 

 stumps, logs, and occasional standing dead trees of large size, are 

 scattered over the hills. The best and most characteristic piece of 

 woodland within easy walking distance of the city, called " Wilton's 

 Bush," still contains many noble trees, chiefly '" Rimu " and " Matai " 

 pines, the lofty "Rewa-rewa" {Knightia cxceha), the " Hinau " 

 {^Elceocnrpus dentatus) a handsome tree of the order Tiliacew, tree- 

 ferns of great size and beauty, and a very varied undergrowth. A 

 Fuchsia (F. excorticata) attains the size of a forest tree, as it is some- 

 times seen forty feet in height, with a hard wood trunk two feet or 

 more in diameter. The "Kawa-kavva" {Piper excelsum) is also a 

 characteristic feature of the " bush " and is the giant of the pepper 

 tribe, growing to a height of fifteen feet or more, with a jointed 

 woody stem as thick as one's arm. All the larger trees are loaded 

 with climbing and epiphytic plants, such as the " Kiekie " {Freycinetia 

 banksii), one of the Fandanaccce or " screwpines," which forms hu^^e 

 tufts of long sword-shaped leaves among the branches of its host ; the 

 climbing Rata {Metrosideros scandens) ; and, in the damper and more 

 shady places, with creeping ferns {Hymenophyllum), &c., in great 

 variety and of exquisite beauty. The whole " bush " presents an aspect 

 of luxuriance and vigour which is rare in the temperate Australian 

 forest, except in a few favoured s[)ots. Many of the trees at 

 " Wilton's Bush " are in an advanced stage of decay, and there is an 

 abundance of loose bark, rotten wood of every degree of dryness or 

 moisture, dead leaves and sticks, and decaying vegetable matter to 



