magnificent ground. But now, owing to wholesale cutting down of timber, and extensive burning, the collector has to go much further afield than formerly was the case. Including club-mosses, about 70 species can be gathered in the neighbourhood. Some of these have been already referred to. The common tree-ferns are Hemitelia smithii, Dicksonia squarrosa, and the silver-leaved Cyathea dealbata, the latter especially near the sea. About 15 kinds of filmy ferns have been gathered in the Leith Valley, or the thickly-wooded parts of Pine Hill and Mount Cargill, but some of these, as Hymenophyllum javanicum and subtilissimum are now rare. H. malingii is still to be met with occasionally on Mount Cargill, but its former haunts on Pine Hill and Flagstaff Hill have been invaded by axe and fire. Another rarity sometimes met with in the Leith Valley is Trichomanes Colensoi, one of the most delicate of these little gems. Todea superba, variously known as crape fern and Prince of Wales' feather, is still a sufficiently common fern in localities near the Leith Valley. The only maiden-hair which occurs in this neighbourhood is Adiantum affine (called A. cunninghamii in Hooker's Handbook). This is not uncommon on Otago Peninsula, as well as the North side of the Harbour, and is met with in suitable localities all along the coast. Species of Lomaria, Asplenium, Aspidium, Nephrodium, and Polypodium abound everywhere, and give the undergrowth of the bush its characteristic appearance. We must not overlook two little plants usually classed with ferns, and both of which are represented here. The little adder's-tongue (Ophioglossum) springs up in grassy meadows, especially when the sward is kept closely cropped down. When in spore from November to February it is distinguishable, but at any other time its simple little frond is passed over as a short blade of grass or other plant. The Moonwort (Botrychium lunaria) is a species which appears in all sorts of unexpected places, disappearing again for whole seasons. This is in part due to the fact that its fronds take some four years to mature, spending three of these under the surface. It has been frequently gathered in the Town Belt, and in various localities round Dunedin.
The foregoing little sketch will give an idea of the botanical wealth of this neighbourhood. It must be remembered that
