BOTANISING IN THE FIORD COUNTRY

Chronicle (Levin), 1 June 1946, Page 4

BOTANISING IN THE FIORD COUNTRY

LECTURE BY DR. fip. If. ALLEN Members and friend's of the Leyin NeW Zealand Native Flora Glub rec'ently had the privilege of a lectuir'e by Dr. H. H. Allan, Director of the Botany Division, Wellington. Last January I>r. Allah aceompanied oi party of geologists on a tri'p rou-nd' the sounds of New Zealand's f-ar" south. The mairi object of the •trip was to make a thorough examination of the fiord country, from Preservation Inlet to Thompsons iSofmd/in search of uranium. Dr. Allan-, as a hotanist, was included i-n the party by special favour. After a while the "roek-bangers" (geologists) became tired of "b'anging- the same old rocks" and- added to their activities by collecting specimens for the "bots." So, also, did! the radfo" men, the Rarotongah crew and the ship's officers. Phus much- interesting materialwas collected. Drying specimens vvas a problem.- Boards oif a case made a good press, but the, paper used in pressing had to be dried d'aily. A small stove, used more regitimately for making cocoa, proved to be most useful, and the zoolo'gists also used it for "cooking up snrimps" (drying sampies oi marine life from the bottom of the sea)

The "New Golden Hind" (90 •bons) carried seven scientific worksrs, who lived and worked in the nold, and although the quarters were cramped, all worked happily cogether. At each anchorage a souple of boats with outboard motors set off each day for the. placesco be explored. Descriptions of some of the plaees stand ou-t. For instance, the vegetation of Long Island, typical of this region, stirs^he imagination. There are very steep- cliffs with beech forests commg down to the water's edge; in fact branches of the beech hang jver the water at high tide. Below xhe beech are flax bushes. The cliff sontinues straight down below the water for considerabl'e depths, which it was impossible to sound as ;he ship's sounding apparatus went go 30 fathoms only.

Facile Harbour was a place outjtanding for the variety and luxariance of its mosses and liverworts. Archibald Menzies, a botantst who travelled with Vancouver in 1791, made collections of mosses rnd liverworts from this region, xnd was one of the first botanists uo create an interest in these forms of plant life. Dr. Allan has never! ;een anything to compare with the .ichness of these bryophytes. The, .vhole forest floor and tree trunksl rnd branches were covered with! :hem. Dr. Allan was there at a; firne when the liverwort and mossj sushions were studded with Enarg--! sa and Libertia pulchella in flower.j A somewhat difficult landing was made on the centre island in 3r'eaksea Sound. On accouht' of weather conditions it was impos;ible to stay- more than half- an nour, during which time the chief attraction was- not botanising, but watching about 150 seals holding 'aquatic sports" — high diving, surfciding and generally • having a delightful time. Crooked Arm provided the b'estday of the whole trip, both in the weather and in the number of ! specimens collected. Climbing anj un-named mountain (latter dhbbed "Apu" after the Rorotongan cook)v members of the party attained ; heights varying from 3000 to 4500 feet and came back loaded with alphine material- — Celmisias, Forsteras, Senecios, Raoulias and Veronicas, all of which had' to be pressed that night. An hour's work, drying the papers over the stove, preceded the actual pressing, and Dr. Allan's task was not completed :ill 4 a.m. A number of photographs and specimens were shown at the meeting and the speaker used a map to indicate the progress of the trip. • During Dr. Allan's stay in Levin, a, party of twenty spent an enjoy■able day in a bush-clad valley of ihe Tararua foothills. Mosses and "filmy ferns" were the chief attractions. A frond of drooping spleen-•wor-t was -found which measured 88 inches in length. A climb to the top of the hill gave a commanding outlook over a wide stretch of country.