416 Proceedings. 
miles back from the east coast in a direct line. The Rough Ridge, Raggedy, 
Rock and Pillar, and Dunstan ranges, with their intervening vallies, were 
prior to their visit a terra incognita, as far as Europeans were concerned. 
The upland district east of the Lammerlaw hills, between 2,000 and 4,000 ft., 
was-at that time covered partly with coarse grass and partly with dense scrub. 
The grass patches had been several times burnt, much to the detriment of the 
country, as the finer species were giving place to the coarse tussock-grasses 
(Danthonia), spear-grass (Aciphylla), and other worthless pasture plants. The 
scrub consisted of open sub-alpines, consisting chiefly of Veronicas and 
Celmisias, such as still survive in most parts of these uplands. The form of 
the surface and the abundance of well-preserved trunks of trees in certain 
parts of this district showed that at no distant date it had been forest land. 
In this district Moa bones were remarkably abundant, the large leg bones 
Jying strewn on the surface in great profusion and in very perfect preservation, 
most of them being quite hard, except when they had been roasted by the 
later grass fires. At the same time, Mr. Buchanan remembers that much 
fresher bones had been found near the coast, and that it was well known to 
some of the old settlers at Green Island, near Dunedin, that the dogs used to 
be seen gnawing the Moa bones, which we must therefore presume contained 
some nutritious juices, This is a very important statement, because it has 
been urged that the superior state of preservation in which the Dunstan 
Moa remains have been recently found is due to the extreme dryness of the 
climate of the interior of Otago. But this argumert is quite inapplicable to 
bones found on any part of the eastern seaboard, where the climate is well 
known to be extremely moist even now, and must have been still more so 
when the country was covered with dense forest such as that which still 
surrounds or till within a few years did surround Dunedin harbour. 
Leaving the occupied country and pushing north-west towards the Dunstan, 
the ranges were found covered with rich sub-alpine scrubby vegetation, the 
soil being deep and well pulverized by the frosts. The formidable spear-grass 
abounded in the gullies, being six to eight feet high, and flower-stalks four 
and tive inches in diameter, but every here and there patches of good pasture 
were found. Paradise ducks and a few of the smaller species abounded near 
the lagoons and water-courses, and except a few small black hawks, larks and 
grass-birds were the only representatives of the feathered tribes met with. 
Pigs, which abounded on the eastern side of the Lammerlaw range, had not 
found their way westward at that time, nor indeed were they ever abundant 
in the far interior, but wild dogs of a great variety of breeds were commonly 
seen, living chiefly upon ducks ; every swamp and creek-side having well- 
beaten dog tracks along their margins. These dogs were very tame, or rather 
had no sense of danger, as they used to sit down at a short distance and-watch 
