4 BIEDS OF THE WATER 



deepens into a gorge. AYith these advant- 

 ages, this part of the run is almost ideal 

 cattle country, for the beasts that don't 

 break their necks reaching for scrub on the 

 cliffs, mostly bog themselves in search of 

 the rough grasses grown on the quagmires. 



No runliolder who wishes to get the 

 utmost out of his property should own cattle. 

 The damage they do is enormous, spreading 

 grasses everywhere, opening up the rough 

 corners of paddocks, and smashing down 

 the smaller species of scrub so necessary 

 for covert for birds. 



On the far west Tutira reaches to nearly 

 3,500 feet above sea level, and the upper 

 slopes and tops are covered with valuable 

 woods — timber impossible to get out for 

 milling purposes, and which even if felled 

 could not be got to carry a fire. The soil is 

 indifferent, the climate humid, and in the 

 natural forest clearings wineberry at once 

 springs up. These range tops, perhaps, may 

 be reckoned as my best country, for they are 

 well stocked, and carry a good head of rare 

 native species. They are, moreover, for 

 long likely to remain intact and unspoiled. 



The photographs shown were taken through- 

 out the seasons of 1908 and 1909. During 



