ns I se Saki wes eh PP 
Travers.—On the Reclamation of Sand Dunes. 89 
Wellington—On 8rd, very low barometer, strong wind from E.; at 3 p.m. barometer 
28°754 ; at 4.15 p.m, rose rapidly, wind shifting round to 8., through E,; no rain to speak 
of at this period. 
Nelson—A storm commenced on 3rd, wind 8.E.; on 4th, wind N.E.; and on 5th, N.; the 
rainfall on the 5th, for 24 hours previous, was 7-03 inches; from 8rd to 5th the 
rainfall was 12-88 inches ; barometer down to 28°83 inches. 
Christchurch—Disastrous and unparalleled floods oecurred throughout the eastern portion of 
the Province of Canterbury on 2nd, 8rd, and 4th. The rainfall at Mount Peel was 
8°08 inches in 24 hours, ending at 12 p.m. on the 8rd. In Christchurch the rain 
was heavy, but not so severe as the above. 
Hokitika—On the 3rd a heavy S.E. gale experienced, but no great rain. 
unedin—On 3rd, a storm from S.E.; 1°37 inches rain, recorded on 4th, for previous 24 
ours. There were great floods all over the Province, doing much damage. 
Southland—Gale occurred on 3rd and 4th from E.S.E., but no rain. 
Total rain for Month of February, 1868, compared with averages for same month 
previous years. 
Same Monte 
FEB., 1868. PREVIoUs YBARS. 
ana es Ab cas vs | 3°67 inches. 
Wellington .. oF sss BIE 3°28 ” 
Nelson 50 aa. 19°05 6°43 ” 
Christchurch a 5°66 1:25 +5 
unedin mi a oo 5°07 2°35 ” 
Art V.—Remarks on the Sand Dunes of the West Coast of the Provincial 
District of Wellington. By W. T. L. Travers, F.L.S. 
[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 20th August, 1881.] 
Every person who has travelled from Wellington to Wanganui by the 
present coach road, must have been struck by the large extent of the dunes 
which lie inside the shore line from Paikakariki northward. These dunes, 
as will have been observed, consist of sand washed up by the waves, and 
then heaped up above the tide line by the action of the prevailing westerly 
winds. The depressions which occur amongst them are often of consider- 
able extent, and where these lower areas continue moist throughout the 
year, they support a comparatively dense vegetation, whilst such of them 
as usually remain dry are mere arid wastes of shifting sand, without any 
vestige of plant life. The sand of which the dunes are usually composed is 
not exclusively silicious matter, but contains a proportion of calcareous and 
other mineral substances, and of animal and vegetable remains, which help 
to give it a capacity under certain conditions for sustaining vegetable 
growth, and accordingly we find that where the surface remains undis- 
