NEW ZEALAND—EGBERT H. WALKER 329 
cedar (Libocedrus bidwillii—Pinaceae). ‘These numerous changes are 
dealt with by Cockayne (7) and in many special accounts and reports 
of the vegetation of certain localities. 
The southern-beech forest extends intermittently, essentially from 
the central plateau of North Island to Southland in South Island (pl.1, 
fig. 1), but is lacking in a stretch of Westland and does not occur on 
Stewart Island. In former times it was often called birch, but this 
erroneous designation is seldom used today. These forests are usually 
composed of just one species of Nothofagus, or at most two. The spe- 
cies change rather strikingly with changes in altitude. The forester 
is not content with the taxonomist’s five species of this genus, but is 
able to recognize in this complex a great many more entities or varia- 
tions, most of them more or less significant to him in dealing with this 
economically important forest association. It is now the most im- 
portant native timber tree, since the kauri is practically gone as a source 
of commercial timber. Hence, the foresters are working out ways of 
conserving, extending, and using the beech forests of South Island. 
Soil conservationists are interested in Nothofagus forests, for these 
can prevent erosion on mountain slopes, if man would only let them 
alone or aid Nature to restore them. But man’s ax and fire have laid 
waste large tracts of mountain slopes. And now another danger 
threatens the beech forests. ‘The deer which man introduced for 
sport, or their progeny, are busy browsing and trampling the young 
beech seedling so that in places the undergrowth of young seedlings 
has disappeared. The solution for the regeneration of these forests 
seems to be the extermination of the deer, or at least the keeping of 
the population under control at a much lower level than it is today. 
Indeed, the problems of future forests involve many factors in this 
fascinating country. 
THE FLORA, OR THE PLANT SPECIES COMPRISING THE 
VEGETATION 
Many species of New Zealand plants are possibly unimportant in 
considering the structure, origin, and distribution of the vegetation or 
plant associations. They are, however, extremely important in rela- 
tion to the flora as a whole and the understanding of its origins, 
affinities, and distribution. There are too many interesting species to 
deal with them at all thoroughly here, but some aspects of the flora 
can be reviewed. ‘The marine and fresh-water algae (pl. 10, fig. 2), 
and the other lower cryptogams must be omitted, but with full recog- 
nition of their great interest and importance. Although New Zealand 
is famous as a pteridologist’s paradise, the ferns, too, must be largely 
ignored. (See pl, 5, fig. 1.) 
One’s first impulse in looking at the New Zealand flora is to divide 
it into two categories, the native plants and those introduced by man. 
