TARANAKI.

Press, Volume XVI, Issue 2162, 23 March 1870, Page 3

TARANAKI.

The Patea correspondent of the " Herald " writes—Dr Suther, M.8., son of the Bishop of Aberdeen, died , here on the 10th instant, in thet twentyninth year of his age. Tho funeral was largely attended by the settlers. The telegraph poles are now erected, and the wires are being x fixed on them. It is expected that tlSftjtelegyA|>|ixwill be in operation in- two or three weeks. The same r -journal furnishes an account of >'the ry ascent of Mount Egmont. who have a little spare time to .enjoy a ramble among the wild and majestic works of Nature, would do well to spend a few days upon and about the lofty and beautiful Mount Egmont, which rises to nearly 9000feetfrom its rich level forestclad plains. To ascend its lofty cone is a matter of toil, the gradient being very steep, and composed of small stones and sand which slips downward with the feet. In clear weather, the prospect from the summit is magnificent. With the assistance of a good glass, a large portion of the Waikato country is visible, also the active volcano Tongariro, vomiting its black smoke- and the Buapehu mountain with its white snow-covered crest rising to the height of 9,195 feet above the sea. On a very fine day the country round "Wellington and "Wanganui, all the Kaikoura mountains, Cook's Straits, from end to end, and round the coast to New Plymouth, also the Nelson, Canterbury and Otago mountains, in the Middle Island may be seen. The base of this lovely mountain is rich in vegetation — trees, shrubs, ferns, and flowers of every hue. There ia also a fine water-fall there, which is named after Mr Dillon Bell (Bell's Falls), having been found by that gentleman many years since. It is on the Hangatahua or Stoney river. This beautiful unbroken sheet of water falls about a hundred feet from a narrow opening in the rock about six feet wide into a large basin. The cliffs on each side form a half-circle, rise to about three hundred feet high, and are richly clustered with shrubs, ferns and flowers, even to the highest peak. Near the same locality exists a spring of warm water, which runs from beneath a high cliff into a swift running stream as cold as the ice itself. Around this place are some valuable interesting trees, cordylines, &c. The Cordyline Indivisa is a very striking tree, from thirty to fifty feet in height, and is surrounded with beautiful foliage, its leaves being from five to seven feet in length and eight or nine inches broad, and are composed of a strong flax fibre. It is free from gum, hardy and fast growing, and might be planted for its fibre apart from ornament, at the rate of 800 or 900 trees per acre. This is considered by Mr Buchanan to be a distinct species from the one found in Duskey Bay, and is much more ornamental and branching. A very fine sample leaf

has been given us by Mr Henry, of Spring "Bank Nurseries, showing the '; fibre cleaned. The Senecio elaeagnifo- - liua, a very ornamental shrub, somes thing of the Rhododendron habit, with - specks of yellow flowers, and the sure face of its leaves covered with white thread net-work, is also very hard and . fast growing, and is to be found on tops of the ranges 500 feet above the 1 sea level.