1918. | The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology. 319 
evidently quite awake to the danger of introducing forms of life that are 
undesirable from the economic standpoint, he does not seem quite to 
realize the grave menace to our unique fauna that must result from the 
introduction of the far more vigorous productions of the Northern Hemi¬ 
sphere. Neither does he appear to appreciate sufficiently the high scientific 
interest of the facts of geographical distribution, nor to realize clearly that 
the absence of certain forms of life from a given region may be, to the 
scientific naturalist, of equal interest and significance to the 'presence of 
such forms. This lack of appreciation is indicated by the fact that some 
time ago Mr. Simmonds purposely introduced living specimens of the 
remarkable South Island butterfly Argyrophenga antipodum into the North 
Island, where hitherto it had not been found to occur, and has thus probably 
effaced all traces of one of the most interesting and significant facts of 
insect-distribution in New Zealand. 
Mr. Simmonds suggests in his paper that various species of European 
and Australian mammals, birds, and insects should be introduced into 
New Zealand, the justification for such a step being, in his opinion, that 
they will be “ useful ” in various ways and will also add a charm to the 
countryside. In the interests of our native fauna—a fauna that is pro¬ 
bably the most interesting in the world—I must enter an earnest and 
emphatic protest against his proposal. If, for example, our beautiful and 
familiar butterfly Vanessa gonerilla were brought into competition with 
some of its European allies, as suggested by Mr. Simmonds, only one 
result would be likely to follow—namely, its extinction. If any one doubts 
this let him read the wise words of Charles Darwin in the Origin of 
Species, especially in Chapters III, IV, and XII. It is a fact well known 
to naturalists that animals and plants of the Southern Hemisphere are 
almost invariably beaten in the struggle for existence when brought into 
competition with the living productions of the Northern Hemisphere. The 
latter have been evolved in a harder school than the former, and the 
southern forms have but a poor chance of survival against their hardier 
and more vigorous rivals from the north. We in New Zealand have already 
seen this law in operation : witness the fate of so many of our beautiful 
native birds, which have been unable to withstand the competition of the 
species introduced by our ignorant predecessors. It is, of course, true 
that the destruction of the native forests (also the work of our ignorant 
predecessors, and unfortunately also the work of our equally ignorant con¬ 
temporaries) has largely contributed to the extermination of many of our 
most interesting species, and it might with truth and justice be maintained 
that the imported animal that has worked the greatest havoc among the 
natural productions of this country is the self-imported animal Man. But it 
is at the same time undeniable that the importation of foreign forms of life 
has wrought untold mischief to our fauna and flora—mischief that no man 
or woman who loves and admires this beautiful and interesting country 
can contemplate without sorrow and shame. 
In conclusion, I may refer Mr. Simmonds and others who may agree 
with his views on this subject to section 39 of the Animals Protection Act, 
1908, which provides (inter alia) as follows : “No society, authority, or 
person shall introduce or import into New Zealand, or turn at large, for 
the purposes of sport or acclimatization, or as game, any animal or bird 
whatever without the consent in writing of the Minister.” 
It is to be hoped that no Minister of the Crown who has a due sense 
of his responsibilities will ever be a party to any course of action that will 
further imperil the existence of our native fauna and flora. 
E. F. Hawthorne. 
Department of Lands and Survey, Wellington, 28th June, 1918. 
