Chapman. — On the Islands south- of New Zealand. 505 



temporarily on her return voyage. After waiting nearly 

 eighteen months for succour, the captain made his way to 

 Stewart Island in a frail boat which had been improved a 

 little by his mate, M. Eaynal, a Frenchman, who had first to 

 make his file, then with that his saw, out of a piece of old 

 sheet-iron, then his nails, and then proceed with his work. 



IV. Caenley Harboue, Adam's Island. 

 Early next morning we again passed down the deep har- 

 bour to the long strait which separates the two islands. We 

 called at the depot, which is maintained at a very unsuitable 

 place, on the edge of a densely-timbered point — accessible only 

 by boat, and visible only from high land. It is, however, sup- 

 plemented by a boat in a shod lower down the harbour. Then 

 a boat was sent into a cove in x\dam's Island to search for 

 some sealers' huts said to exist there. They searched the 

 wrong cove, and by chance came upon a brood of young m-er 

 gansers (Mergus anstralis) with their parents. The old birds 

 got away, but the chicks were seized ; and I had the satisfac- 

 tion, through the kindness of Mr. Neil (the chief officer), of 

 securing a couple for our museum. This bird is common in 

 the Northern Hemisphere, and is there represented by 

 numerous arctic and sub-arctic species : in the Southern 

 Hemisphere it is represented by this one species, found only 

 in a limited part of this small island-group. At another land- 

 ing I saw more specimens of the rare flightless Auckland 

 Island duck, Ncsonetta aucklandica, which were not disturbed. 

 Here, too, I only saw them on or close to the shore. Anchor- 

 ing close to Monumental Island, which stops the entrance 

 from the ocean, we landed, and at once found ourselves in 

 the true plant-gathering country. Here we first spent some 

 time hunting for a wingless duck, different from Nesonetta, 

 said to exist here, but we could not find it. This place will 

 now be known by the name which we gave it — Fairchild's 

 Garden. It extends from the strait at the north-west end of 

 the island along the shore to the first piece of bush, and thence 

 up to and over the summit of the hill — in all perhaps 400 

 acres — one of the most wonderful natural gardens the extra- 

 tropical world can show. No doubt other parts of Adam's 

 Island and other places in the group are equally beautiful, but 

 the day we spent here can never be forgotten. A peaked rock 

 overhead is 700ft. above the sea ; the summit rocks ai'e 1,100ft. 

 by the aneroid. The whole of the grouiid up to these and 

 beyond them for some distance is literally packed with beau- 

 tiful flowering herbaceous plants. Near the shore the Ligus- 

 ticiims, L. laiifolmvi and L. antipodnm, grow in splendid 

 profusion, their stout rhizomes and huge rigid leaves stopping 

 the progress of pedestrians. Along the shore were masses of 



