to the South-West. This Cook entered, 
3 à river of expanded mouth, and of consi- 
. derable length to its upper branches, it 
. reminded him of one of the more useful 
= streams in his native land, at the anti- 
podes of which he and his companions in 
peril now were. He named it the Thames. 
On its banks the first specimen of Dam- 
mara Australis (Lamb.), or Kauri Pine, 
the Monarch of the Forests, was observed, 
and a tree of it, of great bulk, cut down. 
Having surveyed the river and islands in 
the offing, Captain Cook pursued his voy- 
age northerly, but meeting with contrary 
winds, he stood into the Bay of Islands, 
now so well known as the original spot 
whereon missionary exertions were com- 
menced in favour of the native inhabitants 
—how, where the principal missionary sta- 
tions have long been established, and also, 
the principal rendezvous of the fleets of 
whalers that annually visit the South Seas. 
There the Naturalists found an ample field 
for botanical investigation, as well on its 
shores as on the banks of the rivers dis- 
_ charged into it. Among the plants col- 
- lected, were some new species of Pittospo- 
rum; the shrub constituting a genus closely 
to Logania of Mr. Brown, and now 
referred to Geniostoma of Forster ; and se- 
ed Conifere of the genera Dacrydium, 
Podocarpus, and Mr. Brown's genus Phyl- 
c'adus. Numerous also were the Filices 
with which they augmented and enriched 
their collections; and of these, that rare 
and beautiful Fern, an inhabitant of the 
ed woods of the Kaua-Kaua river. 
Todea pelluci 
pellucida (Hook. Ic. Plant. t. 8.) 
— Special mention. 
i Quitting that spacious bay, after devot- 
Co. to its investigation, our navi- 
E his survey of the coast to 
inii E on the Ist of January, 1770, 
northern extremity of the is- 
„land, observi 7 1 
called «Pp or as he passed, the islets 
intrepid T ^ ree Kings," under which the 
en = "aeu had, upwards of a cen- 
» found she 
Sls. As 
soon as fay i :ts 
in ourable winds permit 
SPECIMEN OF THE BOTANY OF NEW ZEALAND. 
ted, Capt. Cook stood to the South, along . 
the line of western coast, but no opportu- 
nity was presented to the Botanists to land 
on any part of it. At length he reached 
the western entrance of the Strait, now 
bearing his name, by passing through which 
to the sea on the East, he satisfactorily de- 
termined the insularity of the land to the 
North, upon the survey of the coasts of 
which one hundred days had been occupied. 
Finding shelter and good anchorage in an 
indentation of the northern coast, of what 
is now entitled the Larger or Middle Island, 
the Naturalists were again enabled to add 
considerably to their collections of plants. 
The shores of this inlet, named by Cook, 
Queen Charlotte’s Sound, were found 
densely clothed with wood, almost to the 
water’s edge, and in some places scarcely 
to be penetrated. 
The vegetation, however, wore a less 
vivid, luxuriant aspect, abundantly indica- 
tive of a cooler latitude and less hospitable 
climate, than that through which they had 
just passed so agreeably. However, the 
mountains, which rose from the immediate 
shore and bounded the view on the South, 
exhibited flanks bare and rugged; whilst 
on their summits snow reposed, although 
it was in the height of the summer season. 
The extent of the Middle Island was yet 
to be ascertained. From the hills in the 
vicinity of the anchorage, it appeared to 
form part of a great country, stretching far 
to the South, having a connected chain of 
lofty, barren, snow-capped mountains, ex- 
tending in the same direction. Having 
procured wood and water, our persevering 
Navigator proceeded to its examination, by 
steering to the South along it tern coast, 
but he soon had to contend with tem- 
pestuous weather, as he increased his lati- 
tude. At length he doubled the southern 
extremity of the land in the parallel of 
473°, not observing, however, as has 
been since ascertained, that it formed an 
island, nearly fifty miles square, being se- 
parated from the larger by a channel, now 
known as Foveaux’s Strait. 
By passing round this southern island 
(named on the maps, Stewart's Island), 
P 
925 
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