20G NEW ZEALAND. 



undulating country, the whole uniformly clothed 

 as before with fern. On our right hand we had a 

 serpentine river, the banks of which were fringed 

 with trees, and here and there on the hill sides 

 there was a clump of wood. The whole scene, in 

 spite of its gi'een colour, had rather a desolate as- 

 pect. The sight of so much fern impresses the 

 mind with an idea of sterility : this, however, is 

 not correct ; for, wherever the fern grows thick 

 and breast-high, the land, by tillage, becomes pro- 

 ductive. Some of the residents think that all this 

 extensive open country originally was covered with 

 forests, and that it has been cleared by fire. It is 

 said that, by digging in the barest spots, lumps of 

 the kind of resin which flows from the kauri pine 

 are frequently found. The natives had an evident 

 motive in clearing the country ; for the fem, for- 

 merly a staple article of food, flourishes only in 

 the open, cleared tracks. The almost entire ab- 

 sence of associated grasses, which forms so re- 

 markable a feature in the vegetation of this island, 

 may perhaps be accounted for by the land having 

 been aboriginally covered with forest-trees. 



The soil is volcanic : in several parts we passed 

 over slaggy lavas, and craters could clearly be dis- 

 tinguished on several of the neighbouring hills. 

 Although the scenery is nowhere beautiful, and 

 only occasionally pretty, I enjoyed my walk. I 

 should have enjoyed it more if my companion the 

 chief had not possessed extraordinary conversa- 

 tional powers. I knew only three words, " good," 

 "bad," and "yes," and with these I answered all 

 his remarks, without, of course, having understood 

 one word he said. This, however, was quite suf- 

 ficient : I was a good listener, an agreeable per- 

 son, and he never ceased talking to me. 



At length we reached Waimate. After having 



