4 8 



up the glacier. The Malte Brun Hut stands on a bench on the eastern 

 side of the glacier, and from, it a splendid view is obtained of the neve- 

 field at the head of the Tasman, and of the surrounding peaks and 

 hanging glaciers. If a stay is made at Malte Brun Hut it may be 

 used as a base for an expedition to the Hochstetter Dome, on the 

 main divide, at the head of the Tasman Glacier. 



Numerous short trips from the Hermitage can be arranged, and 

 experienced mountaineers have the choice of many fine climbs. 



The road from Timaru (via Fairlie) to the Hermitage passes 

 through the Mackenzie Plain, and thence up the Tasman Valley. The 

 Mackenzie Plain occupies a large* tectonic depression lying between 

 the main range of the Southern Alps and an outlying complex of 

 faulted blocks. The depression is filled in with alluvium to form 

 a basin-plain, traversed by the rivers of the Waitaki system. There 

 is considerable interfingering of the alluvium with glacial moraines. 

 The large lakes in the basin Tekapo, Pukaki, and Ohau are held 

 up by dams of terminal moraine in valleys enlarged by glaciation. 



It is clear that the glaciers, nestling now close to the main divide, 

 were at one time enormously extended. Very striking evidence of 

 the great former extension of the Tasman Glacier, for example, is 

 seen in the presence of prominent terraces of stranded lateral moraine 

 high on the sides of the Tasman Valley, overlooking Lake Pukaki 

 and the rapidly growing delta at the head of the lake. There are 

 also hanging valleys. 



That the modern glaciers are still corrading is evidenced by the 

 milky appearance of the rivers that flow from them. So fine is the 

 rock-flour they carry that much remains in suspension even after 

 the water has passed through the large lakes Pukaki and Tekapo. 



C. A. COTTON. 



THE PLANT-LIFE IN THE VICINFTY OF MOUNT COOK. 



A rapid acquaintance with the floristic and ecological characters 

 of the New Zealand high-mountain plants can be gained with far 

 greater ease in the confines of the Mount Cook National Park than 

 anywhere else in New Zealand. Usually to visit the high-mountain 

 plant associations entails an arduous climb of several hours. From 

 the Hermitage, on the contrary, only a few yards away there is 

 primitive subalpine scrub, while a leisurely walk of two or three miles, 

 or less, without any climbing, enables a large percentage of the plants 

 to be seen in their primeval habitats. There are certainly some 

 which never descend into the valleys, but nearly all such can be 

 reached by the excellent track leading to above the shrub-line on 

 the Sealey Range. 



The total number of species of pteridophytes and spermophytes 

 in the area under consideration is about 380, which belong to 

 54 families and 146 genera. This is about 40 per cent, of the whole 

 New Zealand high-mountain flora, many species of which are of 

 local distribution, while others are restricted to localities much drier 

 than that of Mount Cook. Most of the genera of the Mount Cook 

 florula contain few species, the following alone having each ten or 



