78 POPULAR GEOGRAPHY OF PLANTS. 



ground, of a pale yellow-green colour and very firm sub- 

 stance; the little branches being so densely and firmly 

 packed together, that they present an even surface of such 

 hardness and compactness that the knuckles may be broken 

 against the mass. These hummocks of living vegetable 

 matter often attain a height of four feet, and an equal or 

 much greater diameter. They are called Balsam-bogs or 

 Misery-balls, because they generally indicate a barren soil." 



In the same situations where the Balsam-bog grows (on 

 the sides of damp mountains) there is also found in the 

 greatest profusion a very curious Fern, Lomaria Magel- 

 lanica ; it might well be called the Proteus of Perns ; for 

 though the fructification has the same character in all the 

 varieties, their appearance differs so greatly that scarcely 

 any general likeness can be traced ; sometimes the fronds 

 are arranged in as orderly a manner as they are in our 

 common Brake, whilst at others they assume some grotesque 

 form; the fertile frond occasionally growing in the shape 

 of long brown tails. 



There is still much that is very interesting in this zone, 

 which must be crowded into a short space, namely, the cha- 

 racter of vegetation in the Auckland Isles and Campbell 

 Island. In the Auckland Isles there are no mountains so 



