Bucuanan.—Flora of the Province of Wellington. ‚ 213 
required. In experiments made on the strength of timbers for the New 
Zealand Exhibition Commissioners, it was clearly proved that in certain 
localities the timber of rimu was much stronger than in others, and the only 
reason that can be assigned for this is the difference in soil and exposure, 
But little need be said on the vegetation of the open land, which, in almost 
every locality, is either grass or fern, with intervals of scrub. A list of the 
plants of this division has already been given in a paper on the flora of the 
Miramar Peninsula (Trans. N.Z. Inst, Vol V., p. 349). 
The indigenous grasses are sparsely spread, but improve by grazing if not 
too often burned. They generally disappear before British grasses, not from 
possessing a lesser vitality, but from being unduly handicapped in the struggle. 
There is probably no instance of the native grass-seeds being collected and 
sown, while this is frequently done with the British species, some of which 
would, no doubt, disappear also but for being re-sown. 
The alpine region in Wellington is but little known. Those plants collected 
prove to be chiefly South Island species, with a few Ruahine Mountain species, 
the latter having been first collected there by Mr. Colenso. Many new 
species may still be expected to be found in this region when more thoroughly 
examined. 
The littoral region differs little over the entire coast of New Zealand, thus 
proving a great uniformity in the conditions of plant-life there. A list of the 
species peculiar to this division will be found in Trans. N.Z. Inst, Vol. V., 
p. 349. 
In the marine region the Alge of the southern coast of Wellington are 
peculiarly rich in the Melanosperm:e, or large-sized species of the order, masses 
of them having, no doubt, been drifted by the currents and storms of the south 
from other islands, although the same species are also indigenous to New 
Zealand. In proof of this, and as fixing the locality whence some may have 
come, Ostrea virginica, a molluse of the Chatham Islands, has been found 
attached to one of these floating masses ; again, Acanthocwtes ovatus, a rare 
molluse founded by Captain Hutton on a single specimen (of unknown locality), 
has since been found deeply imbedded in a large floated stem of Macrocystus 
pyrifera, from which it may be inferred that both plant and molluse are 
immigrants to New Zealand. 
The storm-beaten shores of Wellington, with limited shelter, are but little 
adapted to the growth of the more delicate Rhodosperme, hence the fewness of 
those found, except when parasitic on the larger species, 4 
The other orders of the Cryptogamia have their habitats spread over all 
the regions of the Phanerogamia. The alpine forms are little known, and the 
whole, especially Fungi, still offer a rich field for further research in 
Wellington. 
Hl 
