386 Transactions. 



and, to show their extent, there are 1,000 acres north of Westport 

 and about 4,000 acres to the south, on which a few cattle wade 

 about picking up a precarious living. Patches of forest are 

 scattered over their surface, and a fringe of forest of varying depth 

 forms a line of demarcation between the pakihis and the sea- 

 beach. Eivers and creeks intersect their surface, and water- 

 races form quite a network between the numerous dams. 



I made no meteorological observations in Westport, but, 

 situated as it is within the influence of the westerly rainfalls, 

 it has a large proportion of wet days. The highest temperature 

 which I remember was 81° in the shade, and in winter-time 

 there is seldom more than two or three degrees of frost. The 

 prevailing winds are south-west and north-west, and during 

 the summer months a cool south-westerly breeze generally springs 

 up before noon, pleasantly tempering the midday heat. 



Starting from Westport, and taking a northerly direction, 

 there is good travelling for six miles on a firm sandy beach, 

 except at high water, when the sands are impracticable. This 

 beach extends to Fairdown, but beyond that point it is shingled 

 up, and makes very bad walking. The pakihis commence at 

 Serjeant's Hill, extending past Fairdown, almost reaching to 

 Waimangaroa, six miles away, and in parts they have a width 

 of several miles. On these wet plains walking is difficult, except 

 in very dry weather, as there are considerable areas of swampy 

 ground where Typha flourishes, associated with Carex fanicvlata, 

 C. virgata, C. gaudichaudiana, and Leptocarpus simplex. The 

 creeks and rivers traversing the pakihis have their banks fringed 

 with bushes, conspicuous amongst which are Coprosma lucida, 

 C. grandifiora, and C. parviflora, with Veronica salicifolia, V. 

 gracillima, and Ascarina lucida. On the drier portions where 

 shght elevations exist, Leptospermum scoparium and L. ericoides 

 flourish, whilst Pteris aquilina and Gleichenia circinata are the 

 prevailing representatives of the Fihces. The railway crosses 

 these pakihis, and train can be taken from Westport to Moki- 

 hinui Mine, a distance of thirty-one miles. On the banks of 

 the railway I have found many curious plants, which have become 

 naturalised there through vessels from Australian ports arriving at 

 Westport, the ballast from which has been utilised for making up 

 the railway embankment. Amongst these are Portulaca oleracea, 

 Amarantus hlitum, Chenopodium murale, Emex australis, Aspho- 

 delus fistulosus, Cynodoti dactylon, Eleusine indica, and others which 

 have not been identified, and which probably came from Africa. 



The pakihis extend to the foot of Mount Rochfort and some 

 distance up its slopes, and in all the Papahua Mountains con- 

 siderable tracts of these swampy lands are found at an elevation 

 of from 1,000 ft. to 2,000 ft. 



