126 Transactions, 



limited. Indeed, it is rare to meet with any at all during a whole day's walk 

 in the hush. I attribute their destruction princij)ally to wild cats, the pro- 

 geny of imported animals, although I was informed that a species of gull 

 also attacks the land birds, and is especially destructive to poultry. 



" Besides wild cats, which are common on both islands, there are on Chat- 

 ham Island swarms of the Norway rat and English mouse. I believe there 

 were no indigenous terrestrial mammals on either island, not even a bat ; 

 but seals of several kinds, and whales, and porpoises are abundant on the 

 coasts, the former frequenting reefs at some distance from the shore. In 

 connection with the recent introduction of the New Zealand pigeon, I may 

 mention that in a small tract of bush on the margin of the great lagoon, I 

 found three trees of the Edioardsia onicrophylla all growing close together, 

 and being the only specimens of that plant which I saw on either island. 

 They were not in flower or fruit at the time. They were apparently all of 

 equal age, and were about five inches in diameter and fifteen feet high. Mr. 

 Hunt, to whom I pointed them out, stated that he had never seen the plant 

 before. During my residence at Pitt's Island I was in the habit of examining 

 the coast of the Bay in which Mr. Hunt's house is situated twice a day for 

 some months, and on one occasion I found a sawn plank of Totara, and 

 on another a seed of the Edivardsia, which had evidently been washed 

 from New Zealand. The seed was hard and aj)parently sound. I gave it 

 to Mr. Hunt, who sowed it, but I have not yet learnt the result. I also saw 

 on the beach logs of White and Eed Pine, and of the Totara, which had 

 been washed ashore some time previously. 



" I left Chatham Island about the 20th November, and proceeded to 

 Pitt's Island, and took up my residence with Mr. Hunt. As I have before 

 mentioned, the whole of Pitt's Island, with but a very trifling exception, is 

 covered with bush. I was struck with the perfect identity of the great 

 majority of the plants with those of New Zealand, but, as you will observe 

 from the collections I made, I felt it my duty to take even those about which 

 I had no doubt whatsoever. There is but one hill on the island which 

 exceeds six hundred feet in height. It is perfectly flat-topped, the summit 

 having an area of about eighty acres. This is covered with peat to the depth 

 of five or six feet, supporting a mixed growth of grass, fern, Pliormium tenax, 

 and shrubs. Prom the summit of this hill a good view of the whole group 

 of islands is obtained. 



" I was unfortunately unable to visit South-east Island, which appears to 

 be the highest land in the group, and which, I was informed, contained 

 several plants not to be found either on Chatham or Pitt's Island. I had 

 one opportunity of visiting it, but owing to the great dampness of the season, 

 I was afraid to leave my collections, which required unremitting attention. 



