( 3 ) 
leaves, growing on the tree trunks and rocks. When about 4,000 feet high we 
emerged from the “ bush.” The view was supurb. It seemed as if for miles and 
miles there was nothing but trees and the sea beyond them. The town of New 
Plymouth lay far away in the distance, but we could not see it, it was hidden by the 
smoke of the burning “bush.” The beautiful forest with its flowers and ferns is fast 
disappearing before the tide of cultivation, and many will only be known by their 
dried and shrivelled up remains. The short scrub where we were, was greatly com- 
posed of Senecto cJeagn-ifohus, or “brown backs” (plate 15), and a very curious kind of 
spear grass. I could not get any further, but others of the party went to the top of 
the ridge, another 1,000 feet, and they kindly brought me several lovely little Alpine 
flowers, Forstera litclwillu , Euphrasia Monroi, Gnaphalium, bellidioides, and others. 
At the foot of the Ranges the small Snow-trees (Carpodctus serratus), so called from 
the quantities of little white flowers making it appear as if there had been a fall 
of snow, were in full bloom, the flowers all down the stems, with shining leaves 
on each side, forming the most lovely wreaths. After a twelve hours’ journey by 
train to Palmerston, I started at six the following morning on my overland journey 
by coach to Wellington, going through the famed Manawatu Gorge, sleeping one 
night on the way, then starting at 4 o’clock a.m., and on through miles and miles 
of forest with some good bits of mountain scenery to Masterton, then by train 
to Wellington, zig-zag up the Rimutaka Mountain, with the great engines (four I 
think), puffing and snorting as if they hardly could get up. We looked down on 
the beautiful scenery, the trees red with Tetoki berries, passed the place where a train, 
engines and all, was blown down the hill by the wind, and then went through the 
tunnel and down the other side to the Hutt Valley. After going by sea to Nelson, 
through Queen Charlotte’s Sound and the French Pass, we went by coach to a 
station called Lake Station, belonging to Mr. John Kerr, whose family were most 
kind in helping me. The roads in New Zealand are very narrow, with only just 
room for the coach, and no wall or anything to prevent one going over the precipice. 
Once as we were at the top of a mountain range, and had gone round a sharp 
curve, one of the traces broke. Some evil disposed men had wantonly set fire 
to the forest all along the road, burning whole sides of mountains and destroying 
some of the most magnificent scenery, we were several days in going through, 
it was still smoking and occasionally blazing up, and there was the risk of burnt 
trees falling on us. After leaving the coach we were driven by buggy twelve 
miles to the station, and had to pass over a burnt wooden bridge, which it was 
hoped would not give way. We went in a boat on a lovely lake, Roto-iti (or Little 
Lake), with high mountains round three sides of it ; we landed on a point and walked 
up to a waterfall where I got the Loranthus Colensoi (plate 30), Ourissm macrophylla, 
and some others. At the edge of the lake there were bushes with lovely berries 
of different colours, and such large white snow berries [Gaultheria antipoda). 
