ANTARCTIC BOTANY.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1714, 3 April 1906, Page 3

ANTARCTIC BOTANY.

A letter tbat bridges a gap of more than 60 ytfars in this oolony’a bistory, and illustrates the obaoges that time has brought about in'these parts was reoeived by Dr Cockayne, the New Zealand botanioal I authority. ' It was written by Sir Jooeph Hooker, su'geon and botanist of the Boss Antarotio expedition,'tohioh explored the Southern Seas between 1839 and 1842. Tbe great botanist acknowledges the re oeipt of Dr Cockayne’s paper on the excursion to tbe southern islands of New Zealand, Sir Joseph Hooker, in his letter, says “I am exceedingly obliged to you for sending me your ‘ Botanioal Excursion,’ every page of whioh interests me, recalling, as it does, scenes of my early botanieiog days and the years of my devotion to New Zealand botany. The enlargement of my knowledge of the New Zealand small insular flo-as as eet forth by you' is simply prodigious. Whether under the aspect of geographical distribution or the botanical obaraoters of genera and species tbe number of new faots and their interest is to me most refreshing reading. I fear I shall not see them embodied in a philosophical flora of the whole New Zealand arohipelago of all the facts which you have marshalled. That of the rata ferest in tbe Auckland Islands is the most pregnant, and of the antipodean flora the least expeoted. I am sending you a little brochure of mine on tbe flora of British India, and one on the Kerguelen Land flora.” It was in 1840 that Sir Joseph visited New Zealand’s sub-antarotio islands. Dr Cockayne's paper was published in 1904, so that 64 years separate the dates of their investigations into tbe same flora. One of the most interesting features of tbe latter is the foot that it was written by a man 87 years of age, and it shows that tbe aged botanist still retains his extraordinary zsal ‘and critical faculties. His " little breohure,” by the way, is a booklet of 40 pages. Another point of interest is that Sir Joseph Hooker is one of tbe pioneers of all botanioal re* searoh in this part of the world, and Dr. < Oookayne is the first pioneer in Austral- I asia of what is known as the ecological system of studying plant geography.