Travers.—On Organic Productions of New Zealand. 465 
is found in the mountains of the north-western parts of Otago, and its 
restriction to this range is remarkable, seeing that Nestor meridionalis, with 
which it is very closely allied, ranges over both islands. I have already 
alluded to the case of Cabalus modestus, found on one of the outliers 
of the Chatham group, only two specimens of which have ever been 
obtained. 
I now propose to call attention to some of the more remarkable instances 
in the flora of New Zealand, which are calculated to illustrate the parallelism 
in distribution of the organic productions of these islands and those 
of the Galipagos Group, premising, however, that the flora of New Zealand 
has large affinities with those of Australia and South America. In this 
connection Dr. Hooker points out that—'* Of the 303 New Zealand genera 
of plants described in his Handbook of 1864, about 252 are common to it 
and Australia, and 174 to it and South America ; and that of the 985 species 
of flowering plants, 677 are peculiar to the Islands, 222 are Australian, and 
111 American.” The affinity between the flora of New Zealand and that of 
Australia is singular enough, seeing the great gulf which lies between the 
two districts; but in view of the fact that the warm ocean current which 
‘runs southward along the coasts of Australia and Tasmania, curls round 
the southern part of New Zealand, and that Australian birds have frequently 
been borne across the intervening sea during the strong north-west gales 
which constantly blow upon the western coasts of these islands, it is far less 
striking than the fact that so many South American forms are represented 
in our flora. 
In the latter connection I may ee incidentally, a very singular 
matter. Amongst the insects of New Zealand is one called Peripatus, ` 
which has been the subject of elaborate descriptions by Mr. Mosely (one 
of the naturalists of the ** Challenger ” expedition), and by Captain Hutton, 
and which is only found in New Zealand, in Chili, and at the Cape 
of Good Hope. As this inséct inhabits only decayed wood, its distri- 
bution is most extraordinary, and can, apparently, be accounted for only 
upon the eupppahon of a former land connection between the three 
localities. 
The instances to which I am about to call your attention in connection 
with the distribution of the flora of the main islands of New Zealand are 
taken from the ** Handbook ” already referred to, but are confined, as you 
will observe, to the Phanerogams. I am, of course, aware that in some 
respects these instances may no longer be strictly accurate in extent, but 
there is nothing in recent additions to our knowledge to affect the general 
- principle which they illustrate. 
80 
