416 Proceedings. 



miles back from the east coast in a direct line. The Rough E-idge, Raggedy, 

 Rock and Pillar, and Dimstan ranges, with their intervening rallies, 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 

 {Banthonia), 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 

 lying 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 remeuibers 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 argument 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 five inches in diameter, but every here and tliere 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 



