= 
| 4 - Botanical Exploration and Research. 
botanist to the expedition, and, associated with him was Dr. LyaLı. It is 
impossible to speak too highly of HOOKER’s untiring industry and skill as a 
.collector, for notwithstanding the subsequent visits of several botanists to these 
islands, and of one well-equipped expedition, but few additional species have 
been recorded. HOOKER devoted the first volume of his magnificent “Flora 
Antarctica” (1847) to the description of this wonderful flora that he had been 
so largely instrumental in making known. “The 400 species dealt with com- 
prise 105 spermophytes, 18 pteridophytes, and 277lower cryptogams. CHEESEMAN 
(1909: 392) truly declares the work “A splendid monument of painstaking ex- 
ploration and research”. The American WILKE’s expedition visited Lord Auck- 
land Island at about the same time as the French, but its botanical discoveries 
are :E little moment. 
2. The Period of Colonial Collectors and Hooker’s further 
vestigations. 
a. General. S 
‚Although a scattered European population had nike parts of the 
"northern North Island for some 20 years, it was not till 1839 that regular 
settlement began, and that one after the other the Provinces were founded. 
Be _Thenceforth, the history of botanical research is wrapped up with that of the 
development of the Colony, and for some time its progress depended on that 
love for Nature which inspired a few enthusiasts-to collect the plants near at 
"hand, or even to undertake distant botanical excursions. But there were none 
'in the young Colony that felt equal to describing their discoveries, nor indeed 
was there means for local publication. Consequently, all sent their collections 
ee to Sir JosErH HOOKER, ‚and well it is they did so, since he was not only 
wa er the most competent man of his day to deal with them, but the great 
u earliest collections v were TENBRR, ug 
the, er sag of . East Cape. District weı 
i visited, since ‚they des m 1a 
resources of Kew ra the collections of the earlier esplorations were at his 
The ER Ww. Colans came to N © 
foot iinasch# some, 2 re Bag: äiffen * rn 
panied only by a few Maoris. The Ruahinc 
