524 
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 
[Vol. io. 
forest is more open than the rain-forest, and the trees quite suggest the 
northern beeches in habit, but the evergreen leaves are much smaller. 
They also recall the alders of the Pacific Coast. In the South Island the 
beech forests are much more extensive and widespread. 
In the beech forest at Day’s Bay near Wellington, there was a moderate 
undergrowth of shrubs and young trees. Among the shrubs are two species 
of Cyathodes {Epacridaceae ), Panax arboreum, Geniostoma, and Coprosma. 
Gaultheria antipoda, a common low shrub, and a pretty Clematis, C. Colen- 
soi, recalled their American relations. 
Cook’s Strait, separating the two main islands, does not, apparently, 
act as a barrier to plant migration, there being little difference in the vege¬ 
tation on the two sides of the strait. This would indicate that the separa¬ 
tion of the islands occurred at a date too recent to result in any appreciable 
change in the vegetation. 
The South Island 
The South Island, owing both to its higher latitude and to the presence 
of the lofty chain of the Southern Alps, shows a greater diversity of climate 
than is the case in the North Island. The snow-clad Alps intercept a large 
part of the moisture from the westerly winds, and the result is seen in the 
treeless Canterbury plain east of the range, and the still dryer region of 
Central Otago in the south. On the other hand, the strip of country, 
Westland, between the west coast and the mountains, has the heaviest 
rainfall in New Zealand, some stations registering 200 inches annually. 
This wet district supports a magnificent forest of truly tropical luxuriance. 
The important city of Christchurch is surrounded by the Canterbury 
Plain, an open grassland somewhat suggestive of our prairies, and like them 
offering exceptionally favorable conditions for agriculture, and now the most 
important agricultural district of New Zealand. The region, naturally, is 
mainly covered with tussock grasses, and there is very little forest growth. 
Through the kindness of Dr. Charles Chilton of Canterbury College, and 
Dr. L. Cockayne of Wellington, I was shown the most interesting botanical 
features of the neighborhood. 
There is a small patch of forest, the “ Riccarton Bush, ” in Christchurch, 
growing in low ground and probably the last survivor of other similar groves, 
perhaps comparable to the “oak openings” of our own eastern prairies. 
The other exception to the prevailing grass formation is the rugged Bank’s 
Peninsula south of Christchurch, where there is still a considerable forest 
growth in the sheltered places. 
As might be expected from its position, the climate of the Canterbury 
plain is less equable than that of the west coast, the winter being marked by 
sharp frost and the summer heat being much greater. The extremes are 
still greater in Central Otago. 
Christchurch has a very attractive botanical garden, which was in the 
