January 30, 1908J 



NA JURE 



297 



SCE}^ERY AND NATURAL HISTORY OF NEW 

 ZEALAND.' 



■p E\V countries t-njoy so many natural advantages 

 -'■ of scenery and climate as New Zealand, and 

 none of similar extent can compete with this favoured 

 land in the variety and interest of its indigenous 

 fauna and flora. The scenery of the Southern Alps, 

 with their snow-fields and glaciers, rivals that of 

 Switzerland, and it may be doubted if the fjords of 

 Norway can be compared in romantic' beauty with 

 the west coast sounds. The weird volcanic district of 

 the North Island, with its hot lakes and geysers and 

 the still smouldering fires of Tongariro and Ruapehu, 

 stands in startling contrast to the peaceful forest-girt 

 lakes of the south, with the snow-clad mountain peaks 

 reflected in their clear waters. The luxuriance of the 

 subtropical vegetation in the far north, with its 

 kauri forest, tree ferns, and nikau palms, is only 

 eclipsed by the still more luxuriant rtixed forest of 

 the wet west coast, with its gigantic evergreen 

 bf-eches, conifers, and crimson-flowered ratas. The 

 |jcculiar alpine and subalpine floras, again, with their 

 beautiful Celmisias, their mag- 

 nificent species of Ranunculus, 

 their Ourisias, and, most interest- 

 ing of all, the so-called " vege- 

 table sheep " of the genera 

 Raoulia and Haastia, are probably 

 unsurpassed in botanical interest 

 in any part of the world. 



By far the greater number, at 

 any rate of the flowering plants, 

 are endemic, and even the out- 

 lying islands have many specie:^ 

 absolutely peculiar to them. Some 

 of the more striking plants, such 

 as the cabbage tree (Cordyline, 

 known to English horticulturists 

 as Dracaena), the fla.x bush (Phor- 

 niium, shovi-n in the foreground 

 of our illustration), Olearia haaslii 

 (one of the many beautiful species 

 of this genus found in New Zea- 

 land), and some of the shrubby 

 Veronicas, have already found 

 their way into English gardens ; 

 but no one who has not been in 

 the country can form any idea of 

 the wealth and beauty of its native 

 flora. 



Associated with this striking 

 vegetation is a no less unique and 



interesting indigenous fauna, in which the ancient 

 tuatara and the numerous flightless birds of divers 

 families — kiwis, kakapos, wekas, and Notornis — form 

 the most conspicuous features, to say nothing of 

 hosts of remarkable invertebrates, such as Peripatus, 

 land planarians and nemertines. 



It was inevitable that the process of settlement of 

 the country by Europeans, with the consequent 

 clearing of the forests and the introduction of carniv- 

 orous animals — dogs, cats, rats, weasels, and so on — 

 should have a disastrous effect both upon the scenery 

 and upon the plants and animals. Already much of 

 I he forest has been destroyed, and manv of the unique 

 native birds are almost extinct, especially those which 

 have lost the power of flight, while the tuatara is no 

 longer found on the mainland, having, it is said, been 

 exterminated there by the pigs introduced by Captain 



J (i) " Report on Scenery Preservation for the Year 1906-7." (Published 

 by the New Zealand Government, 1907 ) 



(r) " Report on a Botanictl Survey of Kapiti Island." By L. Cockayne. 

 (Published by the New Zealand Government, 1907.) 



Cook, though Still surviving on some of the small 

 islands. 



In these circumstances any attempt to arrest the 

 progress of destruction must be heartily welcomed, 

 and the New Zealand Government is to be congratu- 

 lated upon the vigorous efforts which it is making in 

 this direction. The report on scenery preservation 

 recently issued by the Department of Lands is a most 

 interesting document, with a wealth of beautiful 

 photog'raphic illustrations, one of the most striking 

 of which we reproduce. VVq learn from this publica- 

 tion that already nearly three million acres have been 

 set aside as national parks, and since the Land Act of 

 1892 came into force "the protection and preserva- 

 tion of the beautiful natural scenery with which New 

 Zealand is so richly endowed has been steadily kept 

 in view, and when any portion of Crown lands has 

 been opened for settlement, areas of specially attrac- 

 tive forest, or land surrounding waterfalls, caves, or 

 thermal springs, have been excluded from sale and 

 set apart for all time by permanent reservation." In 

 1903 a special Scenery Preservation Act was passed, 

 dealing with the rxquisltion and reservation of all 



Along the Route of the Ncrt 1 Isli 



id Main Trunk Rai.way : Ruapehu Mo 

 (Photo. C. Speccer.) 



suitable lands, whether Crown, freehold, or native. A 

 further Act provided for the formation of " The Scenery 

 Preservation Board," which now acts as an advisory 

 board to the Government, and reports on all cases of 

 suggested reservations. That this board is no mere 

 shadow but a really efficient instrument for the pur- 

 pose in view is proved by the amounts which have 

 been paid by way of compensation for land acquired 

 during the three years of its existence. In 1904-5 the 

 amount was only 216/. 45. lod., but in 1906-7 it had 

 already risen to 7855/. ig.s. lod. ! 



No less important is the work which the Govern- 

 ment has long had in hand in protecting the native 

 animals and providing sanctuaries where they may 

 remain unmolested, either by man or by the noxious 

 animals which man has introduced. For this admir- 

 able purpose some of the small islands off the coast 

 have been selected, such as Little Barrier Island in 

 the north. Resolution Island in the south-west, and 

 Kapiti Island in Ccok Straits. These islands have 

 been well chosen so as to give as great a range as 



NO 1996, VOL. yy] 



