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Voyage of Capt Sir James C. Ross to the Antarctic. 323 



The woods consist entirely of four or five species of trees or 

 large shrubs, as follows : — Metrosideros lucida, a tree with a short 

 thick trunk, allied to the classical myrtle. — Dracophylhim longi- 

 folium, with a black bark, slender and neat branches and grassy 

 leaves. — Panax simplex. — Veronica elliptica, a plant of Tierra 

 del Fuego and New Zealand. — Coprosma frntidissima, leaves 

 very fetid, especially when bruised and drying. 



The most beautiful plants are found upon the hills — the vege- 

 tation being very luxuriant. Eighty flowering plants were found, 

 and fifty of them new. 



Mosses, Lichens, Hepaiicce and sca-tveeds — more than two 

 hundred, and most of them new. A tree fern was brought on 

 board three or four feet high, with fronds between three and four 

 feet long. The proportion of monocotyledons to dicotyledons 

 was as one to. twenty-two. 



The domestic pig introduced several years ago and now in a 

 wild state, is the only quadruped, and has greatly multiplied; 

 their food is the Arabia polaris. The birds have come from New 

 Zealand; of land birds there are only seven or eight species. 



The albatross breeds in considerable numbers on the tops of 

 the cliffs on a small mound of earth. Its nest is built by the joint 

 labors of both the male and female ; it is composed of dry grass 

 and leaves matted together, and is about six feet round at the base 

 and two feet high. Like most of the petrel tribe, the albatross 

 lays but one egg, it is pure white and weighs from fifteen to 

 twenty-one ounces. T\\ r o eggs were found in one nest, in only 

 °ae instance out of one hundred. 



Campbell Island was discovered in 1810 by Hazelburgh in 

 the Perseverance, the island is about thirty miles in circum- 

 ference. The ships found a good harbor called Perseverance, 

 ^ter the ship of the discoverer. It was capable of containing 

 °ne hundred ships although somewhat shoal in some parts. In 

 entering it they encountered gusts of wind which came down 

 from the heights with astonishing force. This sudden rush of 

 strong winds is characteristic of all the islands in this latitude, 

 and is the more dangerous on account of the light and baffling 

 winds which occupy the intervals between the squalls. At 

 Campbell Island the trees are prostrated by the prevalence of the 

 westerly winds. 



Campbell's Island is situated 120 miles to the southward of the 

 Auckland group, but contains fully as many native plants. The 

 whole number of species of plants in the islands, south of N w 

 Zealand, is about one hundred, and of these only one-fourth ire 

 found in New Zealand, one-thirtieth in Van Diemens Land, and 

 one-sixth in Tierra del Fuego. Campbell Island possesses none 

 °f the pines and beaches of New Zealand. It has no land 

 birds. 



