204 A NEW ZEALAND NATURALIST'S CALENDAR. 



for many interesting plants, some of which, e.g., Melicyhw 

 lanceolatits, and its still rarer relative M. macrophyttus (the 

 iarge-leaved hina-hina), have completely disappeared of 

 late years. The ground behind Balmacewen, some of it 

 now belonging to the Golf Club, was formerly in the hands 

 of a bxttcher, and through this fine bush cattle used to 

 roam and destroy the undergrowth. The finishing touch 

 was the establishment of a fell-mongery or wool-scouring 

 place near the head waters of the stream, by which the 

 whole course of what was once a charming bush rivulet 

 has been poisoned and polluted. Would it not be worth 

 the while of the citizens of Dunedin and its suburbs to 

 buy back such rights, and so redeem this beauty spot to 

 aesthetic uses ? I think it would. 



The little bush at the head waters of the stream behind 

 the school has completely disappeared, and over a great 

 part of the slopes from the Halfway Bush Road, half way 

 to the top of Flagstaff Hill, the native vegetation has been 

 totally supplanted by gorse and broom. The growth of 

 these plants has been phenomenal, and in the spring of the 

 year when in full bloom they are beautiful beyond des- 

 cription. There are many people who cannot see beauty in 

 anything that is common, but to those who can appreciate a 

 work of Nature at its intrinsic worth I can appeal as to 

 the magnificence of a heavily-flowered branch of either 

 gorse or broom. No orchid, lily, or iris can excel it. Yet, 

 I fear, we do not appreciate these plants. The farmer 

 cannot utilise them successfully, and owing to their 

 enormous abundance they form a perfect shelter for vast 

 numbers of rabbits, which, in spite of the numerous dogs 

 and guns employed against them, manage to hold their 

 own very well. Leguminous plants commonly enrich the 

 soil on which they grow by the peculiar root-tubercles 

 which they possess, and which are the abode of and are 

 produced by nitrogen-fixing bacteria. These tubercles may 

 frequently be found on the young roots of broom and gorse, 

 so that if the superficial vegetation of these hills could be 

 returned to the soil the latter would be greatly improved 

 in quality. Unfortunately both plants are always cleared 



