In the large island of Ika-na-Nawi there are immense forests of _Lianes_ and interlacing shrubs, which render them impenetrable. In these forests there exist, no doubt, trees of gigantic dimensions, for the canoes of the natives are sometimes as much as sixty feet long, and from three to four broad, all hollowed out of one trunk. At from two to four miles from the coast Messrs. Richard and Lesson saw large spaces, very low and probably marshy, covered with great masses of green trees, of which the _Dacrydium cupressinum_ and _Podocarpus dacrydiodes_ and some others, form the principal species. The European is surprised to meet there many familiar plants, or species closely allied to them, such as _Senecio_, _Veronica_, rushes, _Ranunculus acris_, etc. On the other hand, several plants peculiar to New Zealand grow abundantly in these localities, such, among others, as the _Phormium tenax_, called by Europeans New Zealand Flax, because its fibres furnish a very strong thread, much used in the manufacture of certain fabrics. Ferns form a tenth of the number of species in the whole vegetation of New Zealand; among Monocotyledons are _Graminaceæ_ and _Cyperaceæ_; among Dicotyledons, _Umbelliferæ_, _Cruciferæ_, and _Onagrariaceæ_. New Zealand only furnishes a small number of alimentary plants. The aboriginal inhabitants of this archipelago, for the most part ichthyophagous, were long reduced to the feculent root of a fern, the _Pteris esculenta_, for food, when they could not obtain fish. None of their trees produce large fruit. The taro (_Caladium esculentum_) and the sweet potato (_Convolvulus Batatas_) also serve as nourishment to the inhabitants of these countries. It is to be remarked that European vegetables, introduced into New Zealand by sailors, are propagated there with such facility that the aspect of the ground, as well as conditions of life, are greatly modified. Among the vegetables proper to the archipelago in question we may note the _Corypha australis_ among the palms; arborescent species of _Dracæna_, forests of _Coniferæ_, with large leaves, such as _Dammara_, and _Metrosideros_ among the _Myrtaceæ_. ZONES OF VEGETATION --M. J. SCHLEIDEN