viii PREFACE 



and Dr L. Cockayne, F.R.S., now of Wellington, have contributed 

 much valuable information in regard to plant life. Mr F. L. Ayson, 

 Chief Inspector of Fisheries, has assisted me very materially in 

 bringing the knowledge of introduced fishes up to date. 



In addition to all these I take this opportunity of expressing my 

 indebtedness for facts and suggestions to Messrs Edgar F. Stead, 

 Elsdon Best, Chas. Hedley (of the Australian Museum, Sydney), 

 James Drummond, T. W. Kirk, the late Henry Suter, my sons 

 Dr W. M. Thomson, Dr J. Allan Thomson and Mr G. Stuart 

 Thomson, and to a large number of valued correspondents whose 

 names are recorded in the following pages. 



This work has given me a great amount of pleasure in the prepara- 

 tion, and I trust it will prove both interesting and useful to its readers. 



G.M.T. 



DUNEDIN, 



August, 1921. 



