XXX HISTORY OF 
flora. The 731 species of flowering-plants and 119 ferns known in 1853 
were increased to 935 and 135 respectively, an increase of nearly 
one-quarter ; while the additional information obtained with regard 
to the distribution of the species was correspondingly large. The 
general plan of the work was in accordance with that recommended 
by Sir W. J. Hooker for a uniform series of floras of the British Colonies, 
a project which has been to a considerable extent carried out. In 
point of execution, the “ Handbook” realised all the expectations 
which could have been entertained. The clearness and excellence 
of the descriptions and their general accuracy are most noteworthy, 
especially when it is considered that a large proportion of the species 
have been examined and described by the author alone. Its publication 
gave an immense impetus to the study of the indigenous vegetation, 
and it must always remain the foundation for future systematic work 
on the botany of the colony. 
The number of persons who have collected plants or published 
memoirs relating to New Zealand botany during the forty years which 
have elapsed since the publication of the “‘ Handbook ” is so large that 
I can only allude to the chief workers here. The first place must be 
accorded to Mr. T. Kirk, both from the number of his discoveries 
and the importance of his publications. Arriving in the colony in 
1863, he at once devoted himself to its botany, his first discoveries 
being briefly mentioned in the appendix to the second part of the ““ Hand- 
book.” For ten years after his arrival he resided in Auckland, his 
chief explorations during that period being that of the Great Barrier 
Island in 1867, of the north-eastern coast of the northern peninsula 
in 1868, of the Thames Goldfields in 1869, of the Waikato district 
in 1870, and of the Rotorua and Taupo districts in 1872. Among 
the numerous species added to the flora by these journeys are the 
following: Pittosporum Kirkii, Pseudopanar discolor, Coprosma 
arborea, Olearia Allomii, Dacrydium Kirkii, Phyllocladus glauca, and 
Isoetes Kirku. In 1874 Mr. Kirk removed to Wellington, occupying 
firstly the position of Lecturer on Natural Science at Wellington 
College, and at a later date that of Chief Conservator of State Forests. 
In the performance of the duties of the latter office he travelled through 
the greater part of both the North and South Islands, and these journeys 
were always employed to the furtherance of botanical science. After 
his retirement from the State Forests Department he made a lengthened 
exploration of Stewart Island, detecting several novelties, among them 
the superb Olearia Traillii. In 1890 he paid a visit to the Auckland 
and Campbell Islands, adding several species to their flora. During the 
same voyage he landed on the Snares and Antipodes Islands, the 
vegetation of which was previously quite unknown. The results of 
this expedition were embodied in a memoir printed in the Report of 
the Australasian Association for 1891. Mr. Kirk was a voluminous 
writer, and his contributions to New Zealand botany, mostly printed 
