THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
695
rough cattle food. Poa australis var. lævis is abun-
dant in the valleys. Along the edge of the lake and
on the hills the fern is remarkably luxuriant, and
occasionally intermixed with grassy tufts and patches
—Poa anceps, Br., being the most prominent. Pass-
ing Tikitapu Lake, the track through the forest at
Rauporoa is occasionally dotted with patches of
rye-grass and other kinds, and might soon be covered
with a permanent sward by simple surface sowing.
The forest itself contains some of the finest trees to
be found in the district, notwithstanding a remarkable
paucity of species.

At the Wairoa, the outlet by which Rotokakahi
empties itself into Lake Tarawera, there is a con-
siderable extent of good land; the European ivy and
the jessamine flourish in a degree unknown in the
northern parts of the Province. The good quality of
the soil is attested by the excellent growth of many
cultivated plants, some of which have become more
or less naturalized; large quantities of wheat were
formerly grown here, but its cultivation has been
abandoned of late years, and the mill is fast falling
into a state of decay. At several Native settlements
about Lake Tarawera, tobacco was growing with as
great luxuriance as amongst the boiling springs of
Ruapeka Bay, but did not appear to receive equal
attention, although even a better yield might be ex-
pected, as the soil is decidedly superior. Native
cultivations are found at various points of the lake,
but, as a rule, land situate on the margin of the forest
is preferred by them, and, except in a few favoured
localities, is rarely cultivated for more than three
consecutive seasons, when it is allowed to lie fallow,
and speedily becomes covered with a dense growth of
piripiri and koromiko; but a lengthened period must
elapse before its nutritive capacity is even partially
restored.

Tarawera lake is specially remarkable as being the
only inland locality where the pohutukawa (Metrosi-
deros tomentosa, Cunn.) is found in great abundance
and of large dimensions. Some parts of the lake
called forcibly to mind the land-locked marine bays
of the extreme North. I was informed that the tree
occurred at intervals along the entire course of the
Matata River, from the lake to the sea; and other
maritime plants are also found on the margin of the
lake.

The vicinity of Rotomahana appears sterile in the
extreme; the low hills are almost devoid of grasses,
and the scrub presents an extremely depauperated
appearance.

Approaching the Paeora Range by the Waihorepa
Valley, the general quality of the land becomes much
poorer, until the Waikato Valley is reached: the only
exceptions are the wooded slopes of the hills and the
margin of swamps. The prevailing grass is Poa
australis var. lævis, but Microlana stipoides and Sporo-
bolus elongatus are far from uncommon, and are evi-
dently spreading; isolated patches of white and red
clovers are occasionally found, but, with the exception
of the Poa, grass is decidedly scarce. The hilly
ground is usually of better quality than the plains,
even when not clothed with bush.

Between Orakeikorako, on the left bank of the
Waikato, and Oruanui, much of the land is of good
quality. In one or two localities, the forest is ex-
tensive, and consists largely of totara, which often
attains unusual dimensions; the miro, matai, and
rimu are also abundant, and less frequently the rata
(Metrosideros robusta, Sin.). After passing Oruanui,
there appears a marked deterioration in the character
of the soil, and timber becomes extremely scarce.
Zoysia pungens often occurs in extensive patches, but
is so depauperated that its spikes are reduced to a
solitary floret. In the valleys the Poa is abundant,
its peculiar rigid tufts presenting a singular appear-
ance, almost mimicking in habit the dwarf bushes of
Dracophyllum subulatum, Hook., the characteristic
plant of the Taupo country. A few small ligneous
plants, with procumbent stems, occur amongst the
tea-tree, and in many places the cotton grass
(Celmisia longifolia, Cass.) is abundant, and, notwith-
standing the innutritious character of the plant, is
eaten by horses in the absence of better food. To-
wards Tapuehararu, the manuka is occasionally less
stunted, although grass is rarely found except in the
valleys. Crossing the Waikato at its outlet from
Lake Taupo, and proceeding along the eastern shore
of the lake, the country for about eight miles exhibits
a more uninviting appearance; but at Opepe the
summits of the low rounded hills are capped with
forest, in which the totara, miro, matai, and rimu are
the prevalent forms. The more recent beds of
pumice have been removed from the summits of the
hills by denudation, which has exposed the older and
partially decomposed deposits, thus affording far more
favourable conditions for vegetable life than are to be
found on the plains. The restricted area of these
denuded portions imparts to the scenery the character
of an immense park. Numerous ravines on the
lower land owe their origin to the same agency, and
allow a plentiful growth of Danthonia, with one or
two other native grasses, and are occasionally adorned
with a luxuriant growth of small shrubs, which are
scarcely able to maintain a depauperated existence on
the plains.

The occurrence of maritime plants at Rotorua,
Lake Tarawera, Orakeikorako, and various parts of
Lake Taupo, is of great interest in a geological and
phyto-geographical point of view, as affording direct
evidence of the submarine origin of the earliest
pumiceous deposits. Below the surface of the most
recent beds, occasionally at a considerable depth,
carbonized trunks of trees, often with the branches
still attached, occur in abundance in some parts of
the district, proving that a lengthened period must
have elapsed between the eruption of latest deposits
and those next preceding.

With few exceptions, the Native cultivations
throughout the district are situate on the margin of
forest land, and at the date of my visit (February and
March) presented in most places a miserable appear-
ance from the effects of the protracted drought,
while they were often swarming with crickets to such
an extent that entire patches of potatoes exhibited
nothing but bare green stalks without a single leaf,
the tubers being scarcely larger than marbles. In
some localities, I was informed that fresh ground was
broken up yearly, in others every two years; in very
few instances was the same patch cultivated for
several seasons consecutively. Still, with anything
like systematic culture, most of these patches would
readily produce a continuous succession of crops.

About the deserted mission stations, excellent grass
of old standing is frequently to be found. In the
majority of cases this has been sown on ploughed
or dug land; but I was informed that good grass had
been established in one or two localities, as at Omanui,
by simple surface sowing after burning off the tea-tree,
native grass, &c., and that it had stood for three
years.

At the base of many of the telegraph poles between
Opepe and Te Ngae, the dug soil has been thinly
sown with grass seed, usually Solium perenne, which
in the majority of cases appears to flourish, although
its permanence may be doubted. It is to be regretted
that the common meadow grass (Poa pratensis) was
not selected for the experiment.

The bottoms of the valleys frequently contain mixed
patches of native and introduced grasses and clovers,
apparently induced by the favourable nature of the
thin layer of surface soil, which is chiefly of vegetable