CHAP. VII.] TO MOUNT EGMONT. 153 



direction from Mount Egmont. This ridge is very 

 narrow, and forms, towards the river, a sharp es- 

 carpment ; nor was it without some difficulty that 

 we reached its crest. Higher up is a frightful pre- 

 cipice, close to the edge of which we had to walk. 

 Lying down, we looked over into the deep gorge, 

 which appeared to have been split asunder by vol- 

 canic agency, and to have been hollowed out more 

 and more by the action of the river. This ridge 

 was still covered with wood; but, as we ascended, 

 the trees gradually became less lofty, and soon gave 

 way to stunted shrubs. Low and crooked pines, 

 especially totara and miro, and the manuka, gave 

 a character to the vegetation as affiliated kinds of 

 trees do to the mountain-crests of Europe. I found 

 one plant of a new pine two feet high, and very 

 much resembling the Taxus baccata of Europe. 

 The thermometer rose during this day to 76, and 

 when we halted in the evening, shortly before sun- 

 set, it stood at 61, but fell immediately afterwards 

 to 51, and the cold became very severe : our alti- 

 tude was about 5500 feet. We prepared to rest 

 amidst the stunted and dwarfish shrubs, amongst 

 which I observed the Dracophyllum rosmarini- 

 folium, Solidago arborescens, and several other 

 compositous plants. We were able to obtain suf- 

 ficient fire-wood a little way down the sides of the 

 ridge, where we found many bleak and dry stems 

 of large dimensions. 



The escarpment which I have mentioned con- 



