swamp at its base. I found this an excellent collecting-ground, and a couple of hours were profitably spent in examining it. Large tufts of Lomaria banksii were common on the wet lignite, mixed with such plants as Plantago raoulii, Lobelia, Samolus, Apium australe, Fuchsia procumbens, and a curious variety of Cotula minor. In the strips of swamp were Typha, Cladium articulatum, Leptocarpus, Myriophyllum variæfolium, Mazus, Glossostigma, and Epilobium chionanthum. I also observed a few tufts of Nephrodium unitum, one of those tropical ferns which in New Zealand are found almost solely in soil heated by hot springs. It was first noticed in the “far north” by Mr. J. B. Simpson, who as far back as 1886 sent me specimens gathered in a swamp near Ohora. Resuming our journey, the monotonous line of sand-dunes again appeared, and continued until we reached Hukatere, about twenty-five miles from Ahipara, where we camped for the night. Early the next morning we left for Ohora, on the eastern coast. For the first two or three miles the track, if such it can be called, led us over moving sandhills as near as possible free from vegetation. On our right was Hukatere Hill, a dome-shaped elevation perhaps 250ft. high, covered with Cassinia, Leptospermum, and Pteris. To the left white rolling sandhills stretched as far as we could see. The chief plants by our line of march were Desmoschænus, Leptocarpus, Arundo, Coprosma acerosa, and Muhlenbeckia complexa. It was curious to see huge tussocks of Leptocarpus elevated upon pillars as thick as a man's waist, and 4ft. and 5ft. high, altogether formed of the compacted roots and rhizomes of the plant. We passed a few small lagoons, round the margin of which, were great quantities of Limosella and Glossostigma, accompanied by a curious Eleocharis, probably identical with E. neozealandica, Clarke. Shortly after, we reached the consolidated sands which separate the moving dunes of the west coast from those of the east. They proved to be barren and dreary in the extreme. Stunted tea-tree and fern on the hills and Cladium teretifolium in the broad swampy gullies formed the chief vegetation. Cassytha was everywhere parasitic on the tea-tree, its interlaced and trailing branches constantly catching the feet of the traveller if he attempted to leave the path. In a large wet swamp I gathered Scirpus fluitans, not previously seen to the north of the middle waikato basin. We arrived at Ohora soon after mid-day; a violent thunderstorm, with the most vivid lightning, accompanied by heavy rain, driving us into a gum-shed for the rest of the day. Ohora Harbour is a long and narrow inlet situated half-way between Mangonui and Parengarenga. The entrance is little more than a quarter of a mile in width, and almost in the