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Traversii?, Veronica Dieffenbachti and Samolus repens, the latter a 
lovely little creeper, which like Salicornia seems to like a place 
where the salt spray can reach it. The Samolus resembles the 
plant found in New Zealand, but is altogether a finer thing and pro- 
bably deserves the distinction of var. chathamicus. The country 
between the lagoon and Lake Huro, and especially along the lagoon 
coast, is very pretty and park-like, and the forest trees growing 
close together form woods ; here Corynocarpus reaches a maximum 
height of 45 ft. with a stem thick in proportion, and the other forest 
tree are all larger than I had before seen them ; in these woods 
occurs Plagianthus chathamicus, referred by Cheeseman to P, 
betulinus. It appears to'differ in having larger flowers and foliage ; 
and as the small-leaved form of the mainland is not present in the 
Chathams, it seems reasonable to follow Dr. Cockayne and call it 
P. chathamicus. Before getting home we were wet through again ; 
but during the morning I managed to get some photographs shew- 
ing Veronica gigantea, 20 feet high. Thus ended the first seven 
days of my visit, the total rainfall being 3°10 inches, with only’ 
once a glimpse of the sun. The 12th was spent in getting dry and 
in packing the plants, but I got wet again after a short excursion 
into the Lake Huro swamp in search of Carex. In the evening our 
steamer, which had been dodging round the island as well as visit- 
ing Pitt Island, collecting wool all the week, appeared on the scene, 
but as I soon learned from the captain that he had yet two more 
days’ work down the coast and loading at Weitangei, I started off 
with Mr. Cox on the 13th, which was fine and calm, for what is 
known as the Tobacco country. This district is so called not 
because it grows tobacco ; but because it was once purchased for 
a few cigars. It is the country lying southward and comprises the 
highest ground, worst bogs and greatest quantity of Olearia semiden- 
tata; the place of all others I was longing to get to, but up till 
now quite irapossible owing to the bad state of the weather. The 
way first led through fine pasturage and patches of lowland forest 
including a very fine patch of Cyathea Cunninghamii; out on the 
moorland we saw Dracophyllum arboreum and Styphelia robusta—a 
bush of the latter standing isolated attracted my attention more 
than 200 yards «ff by the scarlet colour of its berries. After cross- 
ing a fine gully, in which was Senecio Hunti?, the giant groundsel, 
in full flower, the ground about a mile further on became wetter 
and Dracophyllum paludosum, tiny plants a mass of flower, 
appeared ; soon came Olearia semidentata, at first odd plants, then in 
masses, acres and acres of it everywhere and in full flower, and 
presently we found Olearia chathamica scattered about, and next 
came to a large bog all yellow with sphagnum and green apparently 
with water cress, patches of flax here and there, and also Carex 
appressa var. sectoides. Here we halted for lunch and I discovered 
several bushes of an entirely white form of 0. semidentata, 
‘unknown to Mr. Cox; he also found a lovely pink variety. 
Through the bog flowed a small stream, and it seemed there would 
be a difficulty in obtaining water to wash down our sandwiches ; 
but on getting nearer I discovered the supposed water cress to be a 
mass of Marchantia cephaloscypha and that one could walk on it 
everywhere, as it formed a crust over the surface of the bog. On 
