Text-fig. 2 is a detailed plan of the ridge-top section in which the majority of skinks were marked. The quarter-acre plot is rectangular in shape, 180ft long by 60ft wide, with the longest dimension lying in a north-east to south-west direction, and comprises about one-third the total area of the cemetery. Over two hundred skinks of the species Leiolopisma zelandica were caught and marked within this narrow strip during the period from March, 1954, to October, 1955.

The graves of the cemetery, mostly surrounded or covered with concrete or brick, provide a litter of flat stones and bricks giving adequate cover to the skink population. There are numerous crevices in the stonework and narrow spaces which harbour many skinks, especially during the hibernation period. Many of the graves are bordered by a profuse growth of weeds and shrubs which either completely obscures the stonework or leaves “islands” of concrete which serve as basking places for L. zelandica.

The substratum consists of a thin layer of clay-loam varying in thickness from 2 to 10 inches, and overlying the typical mixture of rotten rock and clay produced through the decay of greywacke rock.

The trees of the area include both introduced and indigenous species. The indigenous species are: coprosmas (Coprosma repens and C. lucida), akeake (Dodonea viscosa), ngaio (Myoporum laetum), puriri (Vitex lucens), pohutukawa (Metrosideros excelsa), mahoe (Melycitus ramiflorus), karo (Pittosporum crassifolium), tarota (Pittosporum eugenioides), kowhai (Sophora tetraptera) and the New Zealand cabbage tree (Cordyline australis).

A few specimens of holly (Ilex aquifolium) with single specimens of yew (Taxus baccata) and Viburnum odoratissimum make up the introduced trees within the plot, although there are many more in the southern hollow. Grasses, predominantly brome (Bromus cartharticus) with some cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata), Yorkshire fog (Holius lanatus), couch grass (Agropyron repens) and brown top (Agrostis tenuis) carpet the area in patches, mixed with weeds. Common amongst the weeds are vetches (Vicia sp.), cleavers (Galium aparine), black nightshade (Solanum nigrum), black medick (Medicago lupulina), spurge (Euphorbia peplus) and cow-thistle (Sonchus oleraceus). In the early spring the wild onion (Allium triquetrum) forms large clumps, as do several species of common wood sorrels (Oxalis sp.) These give way to grasses in the summer and autumn.

Within the quarter-acre strip three sets of traps were used, marked A, B and C in Text-fig. 2. Set “A” on the lower level was surrounded by a belt of grass, mostly Bromus cartharticus, which was in turn bordered by a patch of gorse (Ulex europeus) mixed with broom (Cytisus scoparius), this continues as a horseshoe-shaped belt around the lower edge of the gully and butts on to the study area at its upper end. The traps in “B” partly extended into a patch of periwinkle (Vinca major), fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and vetch, forming a tangled mass two to four feet high inhabited by large numbers of skinks. Part of this area was further overgrown by a tangled growth of honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) and a shrubby valerian (Kentranthus ruber). Traps “C” were set on a moderate slope which was sparsely covered with short grasses and patches of valerian 2 to 3 feet tall.

The scattered trees and shrubs together with the fennel, periwinkle, valerian and honeysuckle, form a litter layer from 2 to 6 inches thick which in some parts remains moist all the year round, and contains a rich source of arthropod food for the skinks. There is no running or standing water in the strip. In winter the ground is very damp, with a few small pools of water following rain, but dry conditions generally persist through January to late March or early April. During this latter period the grasses and weeds die down and form in places a thick mat that retains considerable moisture close to the ground surface.