GISBORNE—AUCKLAND 
445 
Almost my first remark (to myself) was, “ Well, the Scotsman has 
brought his thistle with him to the Antipodes.” On going closer to 
the plant I saw some insects on its flowers. Lo! Bombus hortorum and 
Bristalis tenax. More than this, under every stone and bit of drift¬ 
wood above high-water mark was abundance of our garden Snail, 
Helix aspersa. It seemed scarcely worth while to have travelled 
so far. 
The only butterfly on the move at that early hour was Zizera 
labradus , the only moths single examples of * Deilemera annulata , 
*Mnesictena jlavidalis, and *Crambus sublicellus, Zell., together with 
several Emmiltis rubraria. 
The vulgar-looking Fly *Sarcophaga impatiens, Hutton (nee Walk.), 
is perhaps not as common as it looks. 
Under flotsam and jetsam were plenty of the Earwig, Anisolabis 
littorea, White, for the most part immature. A solitary example had 
been taken at Napier, at least 100 ft. above the sea-level. A Cock¬ 
roach, * Platyzosteria novae-zealandiae , Brunn., had but a moderate 
odour, which was evanescent. 
Under dead wood, etc., I also found the introduced Slugs, one 
Limax maximus and many Agriolimax agrestis, as well as several 
Vitrea cellaria, Mull., f. Sydney ensis, Cox. 
Auckland (North Island), lat. 36° 50' S. 
January 30 th.—February 6th, 1910. 
Like Wellington, this is a finely situated and a busy town, but, 
unlike Wellington, its traffic is not forced into a few streets, the city 
being spread out over a number of low hills, hence it does not strike 
one as such a bustling place. Here I saw the one building in the 
Dominion that struck me as really admirable. St. Matthew’s Church 
stands high and has a fine square tower; it is built throughout of the 
famous white Oamaru limestone, which has a remarkably fine effect, 
especially in the interior, looking like white marble. Its style is 
Perpendicular, both simple and dignified; I thought it by far the 
finest building in the Dominion. There is an admirable ecclesiastical 
custom in New Zealand. In many of the churches there are women 
in the choirs, but these women are all dressed alike, wearing college 
caps, broad white Eton collars, and either surplices or black gowns 
reaching to the feet. The dress is becoming, but effectually excludes 
feminine rivalry. I saw six women so dressed in one church, twenty- 
one in another. 
During our stay in Auckland the heat was almost tropical, and I 
