FIJI-NEW ZEALAND EXPEDITION 289 
an hour the splendid view from the summit. The blue waters of 
Hauraki Gulf with its seemingly motionless ships spread out before 
us, and in the distance to the right were the various suburbs of 
the city of Auckland. Below was the rugged face of the mountain, 
much of it barren and broken as if lava had recently poured out. 
But a vigorous plant life is slowly subduing its surface and 
changing the bleak bareness to living green. My host parted from 
me at one of the suburbs touched by the ferry. As we separated, 
knowing we should probably never meet again, I tried to thank 
him for his courtesies. He touched his hat and was gone, but not 
forgotten, for many men whom I have known all my life have 
never impressed me as did this fine gentleman with whom I 
tramped but a day. 
Through the courtesy of Professor Thomas L. Lancaster, of 
Auckland University College, I was given the privilege of meeting 
Mr. E. LeRoy and opportunity to visit his private park in one of 
the suburbs of Auckland. This park is a tract of thirty or forty 
acres of abrupt hills and deep valleys, the whole clothed with 
luxuriant rain-forest vegetation. Mr. LeRoy is a business man 
who has studied the plants purely as an amateur but is neverthe- 
less not only an enthusiastic but also a competent botanist. In- 
deed he is typical of those wonderful New Zealanders, many of 
whom seem to be so versatile. Aside from all fields of information 
relating to the vocations they constantly surprised one by the 
breadth of their knowledge and attainments and seemed almost 
equally at home in many fields. So while Mr. LeRoy offered 
apology for his lack of professional training in botany he need 
not have done so for he is a skilled naturalist, one who knows his 
native plants and thoroughly understands the vegetation of this 
region. 
With Mr. LeRoy and Professor Lancaster I traveled for hours 
along the numerous paths which Mr. LeRoy has at considerable 
expense established through his tract, making it easy for one to 
reach all parts of his park. One noticed also that large tiling 
has been placed in certain gullies to carry the drainage and lessen 
erosion, and that the flood plain below had been easily modified 
into a series of shallow ponds within which were many aquatic 
plants. To all of this Mr. LeRoy invites the public with the re- 
quest that the plants be left undisturbed. But he told me, in 
response to my questions, that he found it very difficult to control 
the park which is wholly without police or protection. Though 
