390 SUBANTARCTIC ISLANDS OF NEW ZEALAND. [Systematic Botany. 



52° 22' and E. long. 169° 9'. It is irregnlarly rhomboidal in outline, and has a greatest 

 length of about ten miles, with a breadth of nearly eight. With the exception of two 

 or three inlets, the middle one of which almost divides the island into two, it is walled 

 round by abrupt rocky cliffs, which Sir J. I). Hooker compared to those of St. Helena. 

 The hills are steeper and more rugged than those of the Auckland Islands, although 

 not quite so high, and there is no proper forest, its place being taken by a dense 

 woody scrub, common at low levels. 



About 400 miles E.N.E. from Campbell Island, and about 490 miles from Stewart 

 Island, lie the Antipodes Islands, consisting of one large island about four miles 

 long by two broad, and seven small islands or rocks, of which BoUons Island is the 

 only one of any importance. Although the coast-line is precipitous and rocky, when 

 the top of the island is reached there is a considerable extent of undulating country. 



The Bounty Islands (S. lat. 47° 43', E. long. 179°-5) are situated about ninety 

 miles north of the Antipodes Islands, and about 490 miles east of Stewart Island. 

 The group consists of twenty or more small rocks or islets, frequented by penguins 

 or other sea-birds, but without any land vegetation whatever. 



The five groups just mentioned all stand on a comparatively shallow oceanic 

 plateau, stretching far to the south and south-east of New Zealand, the depth on 

 which, according to Sir J. Hector, nowhere exceeds 400 fathoms, and, so far as the 

 Auckland Islands are concerned, is much less than that. The sixth and most remote 

 group — that of Macquarie Island — ^lies to the south-west of Stewart Island, from 

 which it is distant about 570 miles. It is separated both from New Zealand and 

 the plateau above mentioned by an oceanic depression which is said to have a 

 depth of nearly 2,000 fathoms, a statement which must be kept clearly in mind 

 when considering its peculiarities and the history of its flora and fauna. Its 

 approximate position is S. lat. 54° 30' and E. long. 159° 3'. There is some 

 uncertainty as to its size, but it is probably from fifteen to eighteen miles long 

 by five or six in greatest breadth. Although hilly, the hills are of no great 

 height, nowhere exceeding 600 ft. or 700 ft., and on many portions of the coast-line 

 there is a considerable area of flat or gently sloping land near the sea. There are 

 two outlying islets — one, known as the " Bishop and Clerk," is nearly thirty miles 

 south of the main island ; the other is about seven miles to the north. According 

 to Dr. Scott, who visited the island in 1880, its appearance is barren and "desolate 

 in the extreme. There is not a single woody plant, and the facies of the vegetation 

 is dreary and monotonous to a degree. 



II. HISTORY OF BOTANICAL EXPLORATION. 



The botanical investigation of the islands to the south of New Zealand dates 

 back to 1840, during which year they were visited by no less than three scientific 

 expeditions of the first rank. Mentioning these in the order of time, the first was the 

 well-known United States Exploring Expedition, under the command of Commodore 

 Wilkes ; the second the elaborately organized and equipped Erench Expedition, led by 

 Admiral D'Urville ; and the third the Antarctic Expedition of Sir James Clark Eoss, 

 to which Sir Joseph Hooker was attached as naturalist. As the collections obtained 

 by Ross's voyage far surpassed in extent and importance those made by the other 

 two, and as, in addition, the results were the first published and made available to the 

 scientific world, it will be best to commence this sketch with an account of its work. 



