(a.) General.

Thanks to the work of Cockayne the very prevalent misstatements in biological literature as to the powerlessness of the indigenous species to hold their own in competition with exotic species have been sufficiently refuted, and the true, position has been clearly stated. Reference may especially be made to his remarks in Section 5 of The Vegetation of New Zealand (1921, p. 280 et seq.), and it will suffice to say here that my observations at Mount Peel completely support his contentions. One or two matters may, however, be referred to. My list includes 143 species, but it should be stated that the gardens and waste-places near the village were not searchingly examined, and doubtless contain a number of species not noted, but these are of no moment from the point of view of the present paper. Of the 143 species, 35 are either rare or very infrequent; 23 are practically confined to cultivated land; 22 are confined to road-sides, hedgerows, and