506 NEW ZEALAND. Dec. 1835. 



weather is cold they sleep there. They eat, however, and 

 pass their time in the open part in front. 



My guides having finished their pipes, we continued our 

 walk. The path led through the same undulating country, 

 the whole uniformly clothed as before with fern. On our 

 right hand, we had a serpentine river, the banks of which 

 were fringed with trees, and here and there on the hill-sides 

 there were clumps of wood. The whole scene, in spite of its 

 green colour, bore rather a desolate aspect. The sight of so 

 much fern impresses the mind with an idea of sterility. 

 This, however, is not the case ; for wherever the fern grows 

 thick and breast-high, the land by tillage becomes productive. 

 Some of the residents, with much probability think that 

 all this extensive open country was originally covered with 

 forests, and that it has been cleared by the aid of fire. 

 It is said that by digging in the barest spots, lumps of the 

 kind of resin which flows from the kauri pine, are frequently 

 found. The natives had an evident motive in thus clearing 

 the country ; for in such parts the fern, formerly so staple an 

 article of food, flourishes best. The almost entire absence of 

 associated grasses, which forms so remarkable a feature in 

 the vegetation of this island, may perhaps be accounted for, 

 by the open parts being the work of man, while nature had 

 designed the country for forest land. 



The soil is volcanic ; in several parts we passed over 

 slaggy and vesicular lavas, and the form of a crater could 

 clearly be distinguished in several of the neighbouring hills. 

 Although the scenery is nowhere beautiful, and only occa- 

 sionally pretty, I enjoyed my walk. I should have enjoyed 

 it more, if my companion, the chief, had not possessed extra- 

 ordinary conversational powers, I only knew three words ; 

 " good," " bad," and " yes:" and with these I answered all 

 his remarks, without of course having understood one word 

 he said. This, however, was quite suflScient : I was a good 

 listener, an agreeable person, and he never ceased talking 

 to me. 



