176 Transactions. — Zoology. 



probably been but little noticed before, as they were quite undisturbed. 

 The gizzard stones here were not so pure white as those down the Waitaki. 

 In some cases the bird had contented itself with a collection of hard dark 

 stones, among which lay here and there a white one. I suppose the pure 

 white stones are scarce here, while down the Waitaki the birds lived nearer 

 to Otago where quartz is more plentiful. This seems to indicate that their 

 habits confined them to a comparatively small area, and perhaps that they 

 were able in some way to cross the Waitaki. I saw nothing to lead me to 

 think that the birds had been slaughtered. In one case the bones were 

 broken, but as they were not burned, and lay in situ, I concluded that they 

 had been fractured by accident. I found one umu or oven on the ground. 

 I can only express a hope that these remains may be left undisturbed until 

 some competent person has thoroughly examined the locality, making some- 

 thing more than a mere cursory survey of it. 



On the journey to Mount Cook, up the western bank of the Tasman, we 

 halted for a day or two, close to Mr. Darke's out-station. Here I ascended 

 a mountain in the Moorhouse Eange, locally called Mount Peak. It rises 

 immediately behind the hut, and terminates in a peak nearly free of snow. 

 I make its summit about 8,400 feet above the sea, but I am not certain of 

 this, owing to an accident which affected my aneroid. At various heights, 

 from 1,500 up to I think nearly 5,000 feet above the sea, I found pure 

 white quartz pebbles. They were never isolated ; generally three or four 

 lay together. In one place I found nearly 30 in a patch. Mr. F. F. C. 

 Huddlestone, one of our party, found a similar patch. Some of these groups 

 were far above the level where water- worn stones of this character might be 

 found. The material was local, as at all levels I occasionally found angular 

 fragments from the fine quartz veins which occur in the strata here. I 

 have no doubt that these small patches of pebbles were from the excreta of 

 the moa, as they were always well worn and smaller than the largest stones 

 of the collections. Mr. Huddlestone confirmed this view, having found 

 similar pebbles in similar places in Otago. 



I now take the opportunity of exhibiting three magnificent sets of 

 gizzard stones sent me from Lake Manapouri by Mr. Mitchell, manager 

 of Manapouri Station. I give his own account of them : " Each lot is 

 complete, as I gathered them very carefully. With one lot I got one or two 

 small pieces of bone which I send also. In the case of the two large lots 

 one or two stones were scattered while all the rest were as if in a pocket 

 a few inches below the surface and may belong to a young bird, but I fancy 

 it is from a smaller species." 



No. 4 is a small set containing 210 small stones, weighing in all only 

 8 ozs. No. 5 contains 389 stones and weighs 4 lbs. 7 ozs. No. 6 contains 

 342 stones and weighs 4 lbs. 10 ozs. It will be observed that they are 



