600 Proceedings. 



Mr. Travecs returned thanks for the manner in which his address 

 had been received. 



Second Meeting : 22nd Juhj, 1896. 



Mr. W. T. L. Travers, F.L.S., President, in the chair. 



Neiu Members. — Mr. F. E. Clarke and Mr. John Young. 



Pa'pers. — 1. "On Polynesian Migrations," 1st section — 

 chapters I., II., and III., by Mr. Joshua Eutland ; communi- 

 cated by Mr. E. Tregear. {Transactions, p. 1.) 



Sir James Hector was glad to bear this paper read. It was most 

 interesting, and afforded a large amount of information on all branches 

 of science. Of course, until Mr. Tregear had read the whole of the paper 

 it was not possible to have any lengthy discussion on the subjects brought 

 forward. The question as to what plants might be considered indigenous 

 to this country was an important one, and perhaps Mr. Kirk, who was 

 preparing a new work on the botany of New Zealand, would be prepared 

 to make known his views in the matter. He himself thought that all 

 plants found flourishing by the first arrivals should be looked upon as 

 indigenous. 



Mr. Maskell said Mr. Rutland had written an able paper entitled 

 "The Fall of the Leaf," and he thought any paper from this gentleman 

 would be sure to be interesting. 



Sir W.Buller, in reference to what Sir James Hector had said, expressed 

 a hope that Mr. Kirk would include in his forthcoming Flora of New Zea- 

 land descriptions of all the plants found in this country by the first 

 European discoverers, whether actually indigenous or introduced by the 

 Maoris when they came to New Zealand, and whether these plants had 

 become presumably extinct or not. The rule in zoology was to include 

 in the indigenous fauna all animals that had found their own way to the 

 country as distinguished from those introduced by man — for example, in 

 his " History of the Birds of New Zealand " he had included all stragglers 

 from Australia and elsewhere, without considering whether the arrival 

 was ancient or recent. Any bird winging its own way across the ocean 

 to this land, from whatever cause, would by the accepted rule be entitled 

 to a place in our own fauna. 



Mr. Kirk said botanists were a little more particular than ornitholo- 

 gists. He could not include all plants found here as indigenous. If he 

 did there would be no end to the collection. The rule was that all plants 

 that had become naturali.ted should be described, although they might 

 Lave been introduced by Europeans. Among the plants that would 

 cause some difficulty he instanced a species of Cordyline, which had 

 never been known to have flowered in New Zealand, and wliich might 

 turn out to be a plant that flowers in a warmer climate. There were also 

 several other plants that would require to be added to the list of natu- 

 ralised species. 



Sir James Hector would like to add that the plant referred to by Mr. 

 Kirk was the curious Ti-tawhiti,* supposed to be a Cordyline, and which, 

 as stated, never flowered in New Zealand. It was grown by the natives 

 in the Taranaki district, and had large bunches of rather thick green 

 leaves for a palm-lily, with long intervals of stem. These were tightly 

 ligatured by the Maoris, and pegged down, when they developed a large 



* The Ti from a distance. 



