﻿540 
  Proceedings. 
  

  

  so 
  that 
  I 
  am 
  not 
  in 
  a 
  position 
  even 
  to 
  form 
  an 
  opinion 
  on 
  several 
  papers. 
  

   Moreover, 
  amongst 
  the 
  titles 
  of 
  those 
  papers, 
  simply 
  taken 
  as 
  read, 
  are 
  one 
  

   or 
  two 
  which 
  doubtless 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  most 
  valuable 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  year's 
  

   work. 
  I 
  refer 
  more 
  particularly 
  to 
  those 
  on 
  Fossil 
  Brachiopoda, 
  and 
  on 
  

   the 
  Fossil 
  Botany 
  of 
  New 
  Zealand, 
  by 
  the 
  Dkector 
  of 
  the 
  Geological 
  Survey 
  

   Department 
  ; 
  for 
  these 
  and 
  other 
  reasons 
  I 
  shall 
  request 
  your 
  permission 
  to 
  

   depart 
  from 
  the 
  usual 
  com'se, 
  and 
  to 
  occupy 
  a 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  evening 
  with 
  a 
  

   few 
  remarks 
  on 
  a 
  single 
  subject 
  — 
  the 
  connection 
  between 
  the 
  Floras 
  of 
  

   New 
  Zealand 
  and 
  Austraha. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  PielationsJdjy 
  hetween 
  the 
  Floras 
  of 
  New 
  Zealand 
  and 
  Australia. 
  

   The 
  vast 
  difference 
  between 
  the 
  area 
  of 
  these 
  two 
  countries 
  necessarily 
  

   involves 
  a 
  great 
  disproportion 
  between 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  species 
  in 
  their 
  

   respective 
  floras, 
  so 
  that 
  no 
  great 
  amount 
  of 
  surprise 
  is 
  experienced 
  on 
  

   finding 
  the 
  attention 
  at 
  first 
  arrested 
  by 
  the 
  series 
  of 
  strong 
  contrasts 
  which 
  

   they 
  present 
  rather 
  than 
  by 
  prominent 
  proofs 
  of 
  affinity. 
  Nearly 
  three- 
  

   fourths 
  of 
  the 
  Australian 
  forest 
  consists 
  of 
  Eucalypti, 
  of 
  which 
  there 
  are 
  

   fully 
  140 
  species, 
  comprising 
  the 
  loftiest 
  trees 
  in 
  the 
  world, 
  but 
  the 
  genus 
  

   is 
  not 
  even 
  represented 
  in 
  New 
  Zealand. 
  Again, 
  600 
  species 
  of 
  Proteaceous 
  

   plants, 
  Banksia, 
  Grevillea, 
  Hakea, 
  Isopogon, 
  Persoonia 
  etc., 
  impart 
  a 
  pecu- 
  

   liar 
  character 
  to 
  the 
  scenery 
  of 
  many 
  Australian 
  districts, 
  but 
  only 
  two 
  

   species 
  of 
  the 
  order 
  are 
  known 
  in 
  New 
  Zealand. 
  Australia 
  possesses 
  nearly 
  

   1,000 
  species 
  of 
  Leguminos^, 
  which 
  contribute 
  largely 
  to 
  the 
  physiognomical 
  

   character 
  of 
  its 
  landscapes, 
  or 
  add 
  to 
  its 
  floral 
  beauty. 
  New 
  Zealand 
  has 
  

   only 
  some 
  thirteen 
  species, 
  none 
  of 
  which 
  are 
  important. 
  On 
  the 
  other 
  

   hand, 
  the 
  characteristic 
  genera 
  of 
  the 
  New 
  Zealand 
  flora 
  are 
  either 
  absent 
  

   or 
  but 
  sparingly 
  represented 
  in 
  Australia, 
  so 
  that 
  they 
  do 
  not 
  form 
  pro- 
  

   minent 
  features 
  in 
  its 
  flora. 
  The 
  extensive 
  forests 
  of 
  Nesodap)hne, 
  Fagus, 
  

   and 
  Podocarpus, 
  so 
  characteristic 
  of 
  this 
  colony, 
  are 
  rarely 
  met 
  with 
  in 
  

   Austraha, 
  and 
  none 
  of 
  the 
  species 
  are 
  identical. 
  Copirosma, 
  which 
  forms 
  so 
  

   large 
  a 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  undergrowth 
  throughout 
  the 
  colony, 
  and 
  comprises 
  

   some 
  twenty-five 
  species, 
  is 
  but 
  sparingly 
  represented 
  in 
  Austraha, 
  where 
  

   the 
  genus 
  is 
  hmited 
  to 
  five 
  species, 
  its 
  place 
  there 
  being 
  partly 
  occupied 
  by 
  

   Opercularia. 
  Bacrydium, 
  which 
  is 
  more 
  highly 
  developed 
  in 
  New 
  Zealand 
  

   than 
  in 
  any 
  other 
  country, 
  and 
  ranges 
  fi'om 
  the 
  sea-level 
  to 
  the 
  extreme 
  

   limit 
  of 
  ligneous 
  vegetation, 
  is 
  restricted 
  to 
  a 
  single 
  species 
  in 
  Australia, 
  the 
  

   famous 
  Huon 
  pine 
  of 
  Tasmania. 
  Celmisia, 
  a 
  remarkable 
  genus 
  of 
  Asters 
  

   comprising 
  some 
  thirty 
  species, 
  distributed 
  from 
  the 
  North 
  Cape 
  to 
  the 
  

   Bluff, 
  and 
  ascending 
  from 
  the 
  sea-level 
  to 
  the 
  highest 
  limits 
  of 
  vegetable 
  

   growth, 
  is 
  represented 
  in 
  Australia 
  by 
  a 
  single 
  species 
  common 
  to 
  both 
  

   countries. 
  Metrosideros, 
  which, 
  in 
  one 
  form 
  or 
  other, 
  is 
  an 
  important 
  factor 
  

   in 
  all 
  forest 
  vegetation, 
  is 
  hmited 
  to 
  a 
  single 
  species 
  of 
  no 
  great 
  importance 
  

   in 
  Australia, 
  

  

  