148 Transactions. 



Brunnertou, according to Mr. Ma Hock tkere are both the green 

 and brown kinds present, though the latter are more numerous 

 and are increasing. 



At Ahaura, twenty-four miles up the river, only the brown 

 frogs are present, and these appear to be increasing. 



At the centre of their dispersion, Greymouth, they are said 

 to exist in very large Jiumbers, and seem to be increasing. 



The only other place where I have them recorded is Hoki- 

 tika, twenty-two miles south of Greymouth, and there is no 

 reference to them being found in between these towns, so that 

 it is very unlikely that they travelled overland— indeed, rumour 

 says that they were brought by an unknown person from Grey- 

 mouth. 



At Hokitika Hyla ewingii is now very scarce, if not quite 

 extinct. Mr. James King, of Hokitika, says that ten years 

 ago the big green frog (I suppose Hyla aurea) was introduced, 

 and perhaps this has something to do with the decrease of the 

 brown ones. From what I have seen of the Hyla aurea it would 

 find the small brown frog very eatable, and if it does not stop 

 at eating its own kind there is very little chance of it sparing 

 the small strangers. It is evident that they have not extended 

 in any direction from Hokitika, for I have no place outside 

 of that town where they are known to be present. 



Its Introduction. 



The next question is to find out how this frog came to New 

 Zealand. 



I thought that a,t first it might be an indigenous frog, but 

 there seems to be no evidence whatever to support this theory. 

 There is no record of it in the early days of settlement, and 

 at all the places where it has been found its origin can be traced 

 directly or indirectly to Greymouth. 



As the frog was so common on the east coast of Australia 

 I thought that probably it came over among the ballast of some 

 ship trading between that continent . and Greymouth, but this 

 theory was upset on making further inquiries in Westland. 



Several of my correspondents say that these brown frogs, 

 Hyla ewingii, were brought from Tasmania by a Mr. W. Perkins 

 in 1875, and through the kindness of Mr. T. Eldon Coates, of 

 Greymouth, I received the report which is generally accepted 

 in that town. He states that a Mr. W. Perkins, who was a bar- 

 rister in Greymouth for some time, brought some of these frogs 

 from Tasmania in a glass bottle in 1875. They were liberated 

 in a drain in Alexandra Street, Greymouth, whence they have 

 spread to the surrounding country. They have remained in 



