247 



PolypoJium rupestre, 12 5 6 7 8 



„ Cunniiighami, 12 3 5 7 



,, pustulaturn, 12 5 7 8 



Billardieri, 12 3 4 5 6 7 8 

 Todea africana, 3 6 

 Leptopteris hynienophylloides, 12 3 



5 8 

 Lygodium articulatum, 12 3 6 7 8 

 Schizsea dichotoma, 12 3 7 8 

 ,, bifida, 1 7 



Marattia salicina, 1 2 

 Ophioglossum vulgatum, 1 

 Botry cbiu m cicutarium, 12 6 



Lycopodiace^e. 



Lycopodium Billardieri, 12 3 7 



,, densum, 2 5 6 



,, laterale, 2 5 6 



,, cernuum, 2 5 



volubile, 12 3 5 6 7 

 Tmesipteris Forsteri, 12 6 



1. Wangarei. 



2. Bay of Islands. 



3. Wangaroa. 



4. Stephenson's Island. 



5. Mount Camel. 



6. North Cape. 



7. Kaitaia. 



8. Hokianga. 



Art. LXII. — On the Sand-worn Stones of Evans' Bay. By 

 W. T. L. Travers, F.L.S. 



(With. Illustrations.) 



[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, February 9, 1869.] 



The first specimen of these curious stones brought under my notice was given to 

 me by young Mr. Hackworth, the son of the Acting Collector of Customs here, 

 who informed me that he had found it near an old Maori kitchen-mound, in Lyall's 

 Bay. This specimen (Fig. 1), is an inch and a half in length, pointed at both 

 ends, and presenting three equal triangular facets. Both extremities of the 

 stone have a slight twist in opposite directions, such as would, if it were used 

 as an arrow-head, insure its more direct flight, in the same manner as the twist 

 given to a bullet by the rifling of a gun. The facets, moreover, are perfectly 

 smooth and slightly concave, and the edges quite sharp. A cross section any- 

 where would give an equilateral triangle, the greatest length of side, through 

 the middle of the stone, being rather over half an inch. Looking to the 

 extreme regularity of the shape of this stone, it is difficult, even with our 

 present knowledge of the manner in which it was formed, to realize the fact 

 that it is not an artificial production. When 1 first obtained it, I showed 

 it to Dr. Hector and Mr. Mantell, and although we all came to the conclusion, 

 at that time, that it was an artificial production, we were unable to assign any 

 particular use to it. The most plausible suggestion was that it had been used 

 to cut and polish the grooves in the " Hei Tiki" or jade ornaments worn by 

 natives of rank. However, on applying to several Maoris, they said that they 

 had never seen any stone like it, and that the grooves in the " Hei Tiki " were 

 not cut in the manner suggested. 



A short time after 1 received the stone I again saw young Mr. Hackworth, 

 who described to me where he had found it, and promised to show me the 

 exact spot, at the same time informing me that " there were plenty more 

 there." This was somewhat puzzling, and soon afterwards I went to the locality 

 indicated, in company with Dr. Hector and Mr. Mantell, who were both 

 anxious to solve the apparent mystery, and we then found that this stone had 

 been reduced to its present foim by an action, and under circumstances which 

 I will now describe to you, and at the same time we collected the series of 

 illustrative specimens now on the table. 



You all know the peninsula occupied by Mr. Crawford as a sheep run, 

 which lies at the eastern side of Evans' and Lyall's Bays, and you also all 

 know that the side of that peninsula adjoining those bays presents a pretty 



