454 Willis . — The Distribution of Species in New Zealand . 
17. Carex Brownti, Tuckerm. (Flora, p. 834). ‘ N. Island : Auckland — marshes 
at Lake Tongonge, near Kaitaia. Mr. Matthews, who is the first to observe it in 
New Zealand, considers it to be indigenous, and there is nothing improbable in its 
occurrence in the extreme north of the colony.’ 
18. Imperata arundinacea , Cyr. ‘N. Island: Auckland, near Kaitaia. Perhaps 
introduced only, but it is one of those species which might be expected to be indigenous 
in the extreme north of the colony, and I have consequently given it the benefit of the 
doubt.’ 
19. Stipa setacea , R. Br. (Flora, p. 858). f S. Island: Otago — Cromwell, 
Kurow, Duntroon, and other localities in the interior. A common Australian plant, 
stretching from Queensland to Tasmania. It is probably naturalized only in New 
Zealand.’ 
20. Agrostis magellanica , Lam. (Flora, p. 862). ‘ S. Island : Otago, head of 
Clinton valley, near Lake Te Anau. Aucklands, Campbells, Antipodes, Macquarie.’ 
Formerly separated, but now merged in A. magellanica by Hooker and Hackel. 
21. Poa foliosa, Hook. f. (Flora, p. 900). 'Confined to Stewart I.’ Evidently 
arrived too late to cross to the South Island. 
Of these 21 species, then, 5 are pretty evidently recent accidental 
introductions, and 5 are doubtful determinations. Two are confined to 
Stewart Island, and were evidently too late to reach the South Island. Two 
are confined to islets in Foveaux Strait, and may have accidentally reached 
these islets and been unable to get farther. It is also noticeable that no less 
than eight of the total are from Auckland Province, and of these four are 
from Kaitaia, and two from the Waikato. This fact makes one suspicious of 
introduction, as does the further fact that J2 out of the 21 are Mono- 
cotyledons. It is fairly evident that the number under this head, instead 
of being 21, should not be more than about 6 to 10. 
In the same way, the proportion of endemics is less in the lower part 
of the scale than in Ceylon. Even in the lowest class, though it includes 
a much greater area than in Ceylon, the number is only 168 out of 902, or 
18 per cent., against 233 out of 809, or 28 per cent., in Ceylon. This 
corresponds exactly to the fact that the wides have gone higher up the scale 
in New Zealand. 
We shall further expect to find that the average area occupied is much 
greater in New Zealand than in Ceylon, for there will not be so many 
recent arrivals among the wides, still confined to small areas, nor so many 
recent formations among the endemics similarly confined. 
Both these predictions are borne out by the facts. The average area 
occupied by a wide in Ceylon is at most about 10,000 sq. miles, while in 
New Zealand it is about 77,000, though New Zealand is only four times the 
area of Ceylon. Even the eighth and ninth classes in New Zealand occupy 
as much space as the average of all the wides in Ceylon. 
Similarly with regard to the endemics ; their rarity, in figures running 
