24 PLANTS OF NEW ZEALAND 



Their flowers, too, are certainly the most attractive amongst 

 those of tlie herbaceous plants of New Zealand. Town 

 dwellers, in their untravelled and untrammelled ignorance, 

 frequently say that New Zealand has no wild flowers. 

 Certainly we have none in the neighbourhood of the cities, 

 or on the plains, that can compare with those of the fields 

 and hedgerows of England. One reason for this is obvious. 

 Where not too dry, the land has, previous to the advent of the 

 white man, been covered with forest. There have been no 

 damp meadows or shady lanes to provide a home for annual or 

 bulbous plants. But though we have no pale beauty of 

 primrose or deep glow of violet, there is many a handsome 

 plant and many a sweet-scented flower amidst the great 

 lonelinesses of the Alps, for the pleasure of those who care to 

 leave the cities, and live for a time in the fresh air and glorious 

 scenes of the mountain heights. 



The Origin of the New Zealand Flora. 



The discussion of the relationships of the fauna and flora 

 of Southern regions has given rise to some of the most 

 fascinating speculations of modern science. It has provided us 

 with quite unexpected glimpses into the past history of the 

 earth's surface, and of the climatic conditions then prevailing. 

 We have learnt from it stories of sunken continents, 

 and of warm seas full of life, where now there are 

 only barren ice-sheets. However pleasant it might be to follow 

 the by-paths of Science in the investigation of such questions, 

 the limitations of our space prevent us from giving them any 

 adequate treatment here. A consideration of the chief factors 

 involved in the present distribution of animal and vegetable life 

 in the South Temperate Zone, would require references to strati- 

 graphical geology, ocean soundings, and to general geological 

 and astronomical theories quite outside the scope of this work. 



