relics was impossible while beset by the hordes of Maoris, and I could neither bribe nor drive them away.

"The largest femur, tibia, and fibula, (in Table-case 15) were lying in their natural connexion, the leg slightly bent at the knee: a chain of vertebræ of corresponding size was discovered near them, and I doubt not the whole belonged to the same colossal bird.

"Mixed with the bones, but exceedingly rare, were the fragments of the egg-shells. I also found six oval rings and one broad circular ring of tracheæ. In coming down from Ngamotu, I discovered a few more remains of egg-shells: one fragment is four inches long, and affords a chord by which to estimate the size of the original; as a rough guess, I may say that a common hat would have served as an eggcup for it what a loss for the breakfast table! And if native traditions are worthy of credit, the ladies have cause to mourn the extinction of the Moa: the long feathers of its crest were by their remote ancestors prized above all other ornaments; those of the White Crane, which now bear the highest value, were mere pigeon's feathers in comparison.

"The Maoris informed me that the sand-flat at Te Rangatapu was one of the first spots on which their ancestors located; and this seems not improbable, for in digging in various places I found small circular beds of ashes, with charcoal and bones, very ancient, and such as are generally left by the native fires that have long been burning on the same place. They contained calcined bones of men, dogs, and moas. Fragments of obsidian, flint, two fishing-line stones, and a whalebone meri (a sort of weapon), were also dug up."

Ossiferous Caves in New Zealand.-In a later communication, my son mentions having seen stalactites from limestone caves, which were said to contain moas' bones in their sparry floors, but he had not been able to visit them. This account proved to be correct, and I am indebted to the kindness of Dr. Andrew Smith, Inspector-General of the Army Medical Department, for the following notice by Dr. A. S. Thompson, Surgeon of the 58th Regiment:

"During the month of September (1849), Servantes, the interpreter to the General here, was told by a native that he had discovered a cave in which were many bones of moas.

I accompanied him in search of this place, and was rewarded by getting many curious specimens, and several skulls with mandibles. The beak very much resembles that of the Ostrich or Emeu.

"This cave is on the west side of the North Island, in the limestone formation which extends along the coast. The country around is wild, and there are many similar caves, which, we were told, also contained bones. The popular opinion is that the country has been set on fire by an eruption of Tongariro, and that all the moas fled to the caves for refuge, and there perished. From traditions and other circumstances, it is supposed that the present natives of New Zealand came to these islands not more than 600 years ago. However this may be, that the Moa was alive when the first settlers came is evident from the name of this bird being mixed up with their songs and stories. One of the bones I obtained bore marks of having been cut or chopped, perhaps to get at the marrow.

FAUNA AND FLORA OF NEW ZEALAND.-Before entering upon the examination of the relics of the extinct bipeds of the Islands of the South Pacific, let us briefly consider the characters of the existing fauna and flora, which are as peculiar and remarkable as those we are endeavouring to decipher from their fossil remains.

New Zealand at the present time offers the most striking example of a now acknowledged fact in every department of natural history, namely, that different areas of dry land are endowed with peculiar forms of animal and vegetable existences; they are centres, or foci of creation, so to speak, of certain organic types. And this law, with whose effects through countless ages, geological researches have made us familiar, appears to have continued in unabated energy to the present time.

Dr. Dieffenbach has the following remarks on this subject:

Although in its flora New Zealand has some relationship with the two large continents between which it is situated, -America and Australia,—and even possesses some species identical with those of Europe, without the latter being

1 Letter to Dr. Andrew Smith, dated Auckland, October, 1849.

referable to an introduction by human agency, yet the greater number of species, and even genera, are peculiar to the country. In fact, New Zealand, with the adjacent islands, Chatham, Auckland, and Macquarrie, form a botanical centre, which is sufficiently distinct from both continents to preserve its peculiarities and it offers in this respect the most striking instances of the fact, that different regions of the earth are endowed with peculiar forms of animals and vegetables.

:

"The number of species of plants at present known is about 650; of which 320 are dicotyledonous, and the remainder monocotyledonous and cellular, the latter very largely predominating. The grasses have given way to the ferns; for ferns, and fern-like plants, are the most numerous in New Zealand, and extend over immense districts. They hold the same place here as do the grasses in other countries. Some of the arborescent ferns grow to upwards of thirty feet in height; and the variety and elegance of their forms, from the minutest species to the giants of their kind, are most remarkable." 1

But the fauna of New Zealand is yet more extraordinary. Instead of quadrupeds constituting a prominent feature in the zoology of these islands, they are almost entirely wanting; even of the cold-blooded class, the reptiles,—a few diminutive forms are the sole representatives. Of the mammalia, there is but one known animal that can with certainty be regarded as an indigenous species, namely, a frugivorous rat; and which has rapidly diminished in numbers since the introduction of that universal pest, the Norway rat.

The natives affirm there is another indigenous terrestrial quadruped, which they call "Kāurěhe:" but no specimen has been seen by the English colonists.2

1 Dr. Dieffenbach's "New Zealand."

2 The Kaurĕhe.-My son, in his "Notes on the Middle Island," has the following remarks on this subject :

"About ten miles inland of Arowenua Bush there is a lake where an indigenous terrestrial quadruped, called Kaurehe, is said to exist; another reported habitat of this animal is inland two days' journey from Te Taumutu. The Kāurĕhe is the only indigenous quadruped, besides a species of Rat, that there are any reasonable grounds for believing to have been known to the Maoris before the advent of Europeans.

With this solitary exception, the warm-blooded vertebrata of these islands exclusively belong to the class Aves, or Birds, of which there are upwards of fifty genera, comprising numerous species, and some very peculiar types: of these the well-known Apteryx (Kiwi-kiwi of the Maoris) is the most remarkable.

APTERYX (Ap. Mantelli.)-This genus comprises three known species, all of which are restricted to the Islands of New Zealand. It is referred by ornithologists to the group or family of Struthionidæ, or brevipennate birds, the anterior extremities being quite rudimentary in all the species.

The largest kind (Ap. Australis) is equal in bulk to a small turkey; the second species (Ap. Owenii) is smaller, and measures eighteen inches in total length; the third species (Ap. Mantelli, Lign. 25) is of an intermediate size. colour of the common species is of a greyish chestnut; the

The

The native descriptions, though vague and fanciful on some points, still appear to be founded on facts. The first account I obtained was as follows:-Maopo, headman at Te Taumutu, states that the Kaurehe lays eggs as large as those of the duck.' (This suggested to me the idea of the Ornithorhynchus.) Our forefathers used to catch them, and keep them as pets when they broke loose, as they frequently did, they would return to the place they had been taken from. They still exist a day and a half's journey inland. We are afraid of them. There are two kinds,-one living on the land; the other is amphibious.'

"From Tarawata, the principal person at the Umukaha, and who is descended maternally from the Ngatimanu (the first settlers in the Middle Island, and who were exterminated by the Ngaitahu) I received a more definite account. He informed me that the length of the animal is about two feet from the point of the nose to the root of the tail; the fur grisly brown-thick short legs-bushy tail-head between that of a dog and a cat-lives in holes-the food of the land kind is lizards, of the amphibious kind, fish-does not lay eggs. Thinking of Marsupials, from our neighbour-land New Holland, I made especial inquiry as to an abdominal pouch. The reply was in the negative; and altogether the account pointed to an animal resembling the Otter or Badger, rather than to the Beaver, which some persons have thought it might prove to be.

"I offered this native a handsome remuneration if he would obtain me a specimen, dead or alive, to be taken to Akaroa, and await my arrival; but I saw him no more. Both of the above localities have lately (March, 1849) been travelled over by Mr. Torlesse, one of the Surveyors of the Canterbury Association; but though especially directed this gentleman's attention to the subject, he was unable to obtain any more satisfactory information as to this unknown (to Europeans) quadruped."-Letter from Mr. Walter Mantell.

feathers are long, lanceolate, and of hair-like structure, as in the Emeu, but each shaft bears only a single plume. The beaks are long, slender, and gently curved, with the nasal apertures at the base, as in other birds with a conformation of bill adapted for plunging into water, or soft earth, or mud, in quest of worms or insects; by a strange mistake the nostrils are stated by authors to be at the extremity of the beak. The tongue is short and simple; the hinder limbs are extremely powerful; the tarsometatarsals or shanks are very thick and short, and covered with strong scales. There are four toes; the three anterior ones are robust and armed with

strong claws, well adapted for scratching up the ground: the hind toe is a thick, sharp, horny spur, used as a weapon of defence.

The wings are quite rudimentary, and are not visible in the ordinary movements of the bird. There are no vestiges of a tail.

These birds are nocturnal and burrowing in their habits, feeding on worms and insects, which they readily detect, their olfactory nerves being highly developed. They inhabit densely wooded districts. The largest and the smallest species are of excessive rarity. Of the former (Ap. Australis), two examples only are known; namely, the original, figured and named by Dr. Shaw, and now in the museum of the Earl of Derby; and a specimen sent to me by my son, who captured it in the Middle Island. Of the second species (Ap. Owenii), the skins of but two or three individuals have been brought to England.