BOTANICAL-STATION.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 76, 23 December 1907, Page 8

BOTANICAL-STATION.

A CHARMING SPOT IN "THE SOUTHERN ;■•' . "." .'V-";."Aif3 v /.'(Br TELEGRAPH—SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT.) ~ . ....!.,..■;■/; Ghrlstchurch, Decoraber 22. , ; The;., Boar- of-.,- Governors of Canterbury College.-. agreed some time ago-to sot apart a.- portion of their Craigieburn Estate, near Broken,; River,, the present terminus of the .Midland' Railway,-as-a botanical station. 'Dri'-'Cdbkayile'riiiud-Mr. ■&:■ Speight,'lecturer" on, geology at Canterbury Coflego, spent two days this .week, looking for-a suitable site, aiidj-according to'.the. "Times," havo been fortunate in..securing "ah ideal spot. .-The .site :is in tho; very, heart of the mountain: range, which Separates Canterbury from Wostland...-It-isl6soft. abovo sea level, and consists .of-i an.i'ircm'enso basin .several hundred, acres.in area,' with hills/rising all rouiid it.' Most;"'of;:'the'.- basin' has been cleared of 'trees, and is covered with snow grass, flax, tussbck,i,:and "plants that .grow: in-moist places, and bogs. Along ono end is a splen-did-beech'forest in its natural state. There is. a-large, piece.."of iflat land, 'and the hills send down into the basin many spurs which give.J'mariy :varieties, of conditions under which' plants will' grow. .-. One', of .the . principal recommendations .' of thaiißite.,js-i,-thati!'iti. - .is quite close to tho Broken River,, railway station. It can be reached from: the station in about half an hour.-. The whole district is rich in botanical treasures,-and Dr; Cockayno is satisfied that the,site.-could hardly:be improved so far as its . purpose, ids, concerned. ■ Every ' kind of position required -by, high "mountain plants can be.-obtained.

Mr. Speight says that the basin is an excellent.place for studying field geology. Geological processes: caft ,be traced on the hillsides and in the .valleys, and the station will make a base for studying the geology of the surrounding country,''with its ancient lake beds, moraines, canons', and river terraces. In the forests thoro aro boll' birds, wekas, green -.wrens, quail,;hawks; and-other birds. Insect-life is very .plentiful. Entomologists will.-.find ;a rich field for investigation at,the station. ,- Mr. J. H. -Lewis, tho engineer in charge of the Midland Railway, who has his headquarters at Broken River,,is an enthusiast. in- this: branch.iof science, and he has already',.made' many: collections. ,It,is,proposod to fence only a small space for an, Alpine garden, l but to have the whole of-tho,:basin and; many acres'of forest land declared a botanical rbservo.' If that is done, there iwill bo no interference with the sheep that are running on the estate, and a piece of; splendid:,forest -will bo kept in-, tact.. The cottage for. the use of students will be a small' one, and it is expected that the'cost of erection-will be very small, as there willbe iio difficulty in getting material tolthe spot. •■.:■■•