NATURE OF THE FERN. 15 
endangers himself and his rider by sinking, till he 
loses the use of his limbs in the mud. These 
swamps are generally covered with reeds and 
bulrushes : these afford the material with which 
the natives build their houses and their stores : 
the swamps in the immediate neighbourhood of 
their residences, or their pas (fortified places), are 
therefore much valued by them. The flax thrives 
in swampy ground ; but not so well, where the 
swamps are deep, and constantly under water. 
One of the most peculiar features in the 
character of this country is the fern, which every- 
where flourishes most luxuriantly, and with 
which all, except the forest land, is covered^. It 
grows nine and ten feet high, in good ground ; 
and is so thickly matted together, as to oblige 
you to cut your way through, both for your- 
self and your horse : the beaten, but not much 
frequented paths of the natives, are sometimes 
so overgrown, as to make it exceedingly irk- 
some and difficult to press your way on; with 
the chance, moreover, of having the legs of the 
animal, on which you are mounted, entangled, or 
of his dropping into an unseen hole, and throwing 
you some yards over his head, upon the soft and 
yielding surface of the very fern which was the 
occasion of your fall. 
The forests of New Zealand are truly magni- 
* Fifty-seven species of this family of plants have been 
discovered here. Baron Hiigel alone collected upwards of 
fifty, during the short time which he spent in the country. 
