Ml 



mar 



A * J u - - — 



fimbriatae. Panicula oblonga, erecta, 30 cm, longa, 4-6 cm. lata, 

 laxiuscula ; rami primarii 10-6-ni., verticillati, oblique erecti, ad 

 10 cm. longi, basi excepta ramulosi, filiformes, laeves vel superne 

 scabridi, secundarii breves, hand divaricati ; pedicelli quam 

 spiculae breviores vel brevissimi. Spiculae purpurascentes, 

 lanceolato-oblongae, 2*2-2*5 mm. longae. Glwnae admodum 

 inaequales, inferior hyalina, angaste oblonga vel lanceolata, suba- 

 cuta, spiculam mediam paulo excedens, superior lanceolata, 

 tenuiter acuminata, 1-nervis, valvam paulo excedens. Valva 

 lanceolata, acuta vel subacuminata, 1-nervis ; palea paulo brevior. 

 Stamina 3 ; antherae 1*2 mm. longae. Caryopsis elliptico- 

 oblonga, 1*5 mm. longa, obtuse quadrangularis, compressa ; peri- 

 carpium rigid um, dehiscens. Seminis testa humefacta mucil- 

 aginosa ; endosperma opacum. 



Tropical Africa. Bahr-el-Ghazal district; Niamniam country, 

 by the Ibba River, tiear Nganye, Schiveinfurth, 3971. 



LVI-THE NELSON DISTRICT OF NEW ZEALAND. 



The following letter descriptive of a journey in the Nelson 

 District of New Zealand, by Capt. A. A. Dorrien-Smith, has 

 been forwarded by him at the request of the Director for 

 publication in the Bulletin : 



An Account of a Trip to the Nelson District of 



New Zealand in January, 1908. 



I left Nelson on 16th January by a small steamer to Motueka, 

 which is the centre of a considerable fruit-growing area, about 

 two hours steam in a N.W. direction. On arrival I set off 

 to drive 29 miles to a farmhouse occupied by Mr. Stebbings, 

 "who is in the habit of accommodating travellers and provides the 

 necessary pack-horses, <&c, for beyond his house there are no 

 roads, mountain tracks only being available. It was after dark 

 when I started the drive up, which was very fine, as the forest in 

 the hills away to our right front was all ablaze, and a great cone- 

 shaped mountain in particular was red-hot and looked like a vast 

 volcano. This we passed some miles to our right and north and 

 arrived in a narrow valley, which also was burning fiercely, 

 the great trees crashing down the mountains and starting the 

 rocks and stones at times created a terrific roar. The driver of 

 the trap feared our way up the mountains might be impeded by 

 the burning fallen logs, and on arrival at the farmhouse, where I 

 found Mr. F. tt. Gibbs and three others, it proved to be the case. 

 This was a nuisance, as it meant delay. However, the next 

 horning, having given up all hope of getting the pack-horses 

 through, we started up the track to Mount Arthur, about seven 

 *ades, and returned the same day, leaving men to clear the track 

 for the horses. On our return we found that the men had cleared 

 the track, and as it turned out I think we could have got through 

 with the horses and thus saved a long tramp. Anyway, the walk 

 through the bush was most interesting when once we had got 



