DR. COCKAYNE INTERVIEWED.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12976, 2 December 1907, Page 8

DR. COCKAYNE INTERVIEWED.

A RARE BIRD COLLECTION;

(PRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.)

INVERCARGILL, December 1. Tlie little band of scientists who wont to the Campbell and Auckland I.lands to collect and classify what knowledge of those islands it was possible for them to acquire, returned by the Hinemoa oh Saturday afternoon.

Dr. Cockoyno, on being interviewed, said:--'' I am instructed by th© Hon. R. McNab, under whose direction I am investigating the botany of New Zealand, to bring back a number of peculiar land birds from the BubAntarctic Island's. I have now in Invercargill twelve cages of birds, including ten flightless ducks and twenty-four parrakeets, some of which are tho Auckland Istand species, and some arc specimens of one of 'tho rarest birds in the world, tho Antipodes parrakeets. I also had fern birds and robins and snipe from the Snares, but notwithstanding every car© taken during my stay on Auckland. Island, they finally all died. The present birds are in excellent condition, and I have great hopes of landing the entire cargo by Thursday or Friday on Kapiti Island, a plant and animal sanctuary in Cook Strait. The ducks are fed on biscuits or bread soakod in mil* or water, and they eat this with avidity, although they have, tasted nothing before but marine or seashore produce. Tho parrakeets are fed on oats and wheat. Most of the land birds were caught either by hand or with a butterfly net. The ducks, of which thero aro hundreds swimming amongst the kelp on Ewing Island, wero "first- driven ashore by the aid of n l»at. and then caught by an active Maori boy. These experiments of transferring birds to one of the sanctuaries from a distance are the first of iheir kind, and if successful, it is hoped that they will b© followed by other similar expeditions." BOTANICAL INVESTIGATIONS. Speaking more particularly of his work as a botanist, Dr.. Cockayne paid, "My time on this island was spent in investigating the manner in which the various species havo got arranged into associations in harmony with tho climate, the indigenous animals, and the soil. . I also studied the adaptations of the various plants to the extraordinary conditions of the sub-Antarctic climate, and I have, I_ believe, discovered 6omo facts not previously known with regard to such matters. The most interesting spot visited was Disappointment Island, since no botanist had been there pre-

viously. It contains abont.■ __„_&«_■_ flowering plant* and ferni same time these, aHhou*&X-9__H number, form « which is an additional _v»sP£Bmm hypothesis that 0B „ the species greatly dtXH*mJQ___Mm only those remaining which special adaptations -to the urns, . The scientific i«r 08 t«__Sj2ffl these islands has a stronir 6_S__P__il the stop- of tho castaway!'«_2__Mi it we leani much regardioTlSMn tremely dtfhcult character of______ffil try the impenetrable n_t_.Ti*____li scrub and forest, the lock orJ_____B for food, and the presence, 3__M_\ animals in countless number* places.'' *i_P__il BOTANY OF THE AUC__llvflf ISLANDS. -™i|l Mr J. S. Tenuant, who Cockayne conducted a botanical ■___■■_ of the Auckland Islands, a_7_fl_ thought that practically »U t_*_*i__H seiitatives of the various depart______tl of tbe expedition wlio had besa «__Bi ing on the Auckland Isles wer%*B__§ satisfied with their researches in. n_&3i to the botanical work. It Bhol3___§l understood that the islands hadalSs||i boon explored botanicnlly in a wayfißi! they lib<l not boon in any other dn____ii inent. so that the party on th»M_M?l dit ion were mainly occupied ihvwjfiEMj? the chronicled results of H-oksrYSW? amination. mnde when he vidt«l%_||_ islands with the Erebus and T_rW_*_K pedition in 1842. So far as was __j£B> something like a hundred spad«73| plants were recorded as fnnnfl*- a- ; island. Perhaps a dozen wonld be*uS« to tliat number as the result expedition. "Of course." , a_-l^|B« < Tennant. "wo have made pretty_n3>< plcte collections, and these -i£_l_. worked up, and in the work_a» r |Sl something fresh may turn up.,_gJtKj most valuable work we could ao.-ia'.i9i botanical line is not in tho fi«ws*j||Bl new species, because thero ar© veryiZll of them Most of our time waa'aMKi 'up to studying tho conditions:„jsS|l which they wero growing there; rather interesting featuro ia tbaj|2J§ found tree fcrjis growing in Nbr_Spf Inlet; they must be the nxistiOUtSJwJ tree ferns in the world. Up ti*USl| present Stewart Island has V "£|jKJ credited with having tho most souUatbW' tree ferns." "-s£«^ BOTANICAL RESEARCH W^|| Speaking generally about *tb?fMlf search work, Mr Tennant was T«T%II phatic in stating that the boon no sort of a holiday. EveriSK had worked as long as ''daylight *3K] allow, doing anything from twahvlS' sixteen hours per day,. Added tofXi long hours there were the met with in getting about. "KHmERI most fearful place I have ever'kSs'j of for traveitiug about in," Tennant. "In" fact, we had teijS' tracks wherever we went." IWmll tation, ho continued, was foundjijjlfll similar all over the island. was probably unique in at - leafttfiE respect, for the rata trees abou]|u| about GOft to 60ft high if straighVliß as a matter of fact the bush,wat3jM dom more than 20ft high, and wfiH trunks mostly spread along the gmfS in a most weird and uncannylSK Tha covering of the forest vu|Sl thick, and underneath it was half jiiS and the ground waa covered" *nMK thick moss. Near the' «eMhor«_aH forest was ramified by sea lion.if£fcß! t to s distance of abou£ up the hill.' Th©.© were thefSl means th© membera of the expenSl! had of getting along in some waa__. THE AUCKLAND ISLANtrII FLOWERS. -\ , ■'.#p?l About the flowers Mr -T©nnan'tf||_| ©nthusiastio. Hooker, be said of tliem that they were tit*,l&B he had ever seen outside .the tittifl The most conspicuous tiana, tlio buttercups, pleunmkMSl (very mucli like the imountau and noariv related to it); th>vMtf3il oums (kind of-carrot), v©roh«ea&3l burbmolla (a glorious , yellow ,'fo"fMi9H the party hod only been later th© sight would have be**' aa&w deal finer, because a great flowers wero not yet in ous feature noticed .in -the/IoaNfKJII that while on" the whito or .yellow, purple tho predominating eoWrt b#sß_fl rlaa'da. Indeed Mr Tennant ai£t4fij| "abtne of the mountaiii flower, jaretfjtl loveliest shades of blue/he'baslMfl seen, either in wild' or-..mkWk flowers. Probably thai beat XmII plant to all those-who had '• Willi climb hills would ba; that aalM>'_tM tonia Divaracata. ,It i» »' kpir?iW|fl very often not mot* __»_ -thretffli high., but it is so abaolutaly daaae'w| a light man can very often ;*alk on w of ft. It is dwarfed fyfrnfflmM winds which blow pereA-ualtrfdml there, and it force fc 4eM»vJawrfa«|_ head. « - •' . > 1 "The sheep which w«M r ll_«ti|lMH the hills,"' continued' "" Sir VltfrJMMJil "have nearly an disappeared,*' pigs aecm to' Tiave in-fee'sad were not introcTucea ,by,.Gover«t(l(|®n by anyone else with profit, but seeing tMtbtr'Tttipi when Hooker ,viaited,\the be surrni_*d'tnatthey-,.wer©'M|iM| by passing whalers or absolutely, no use to-.'cartawax-'gfKjjM anyone, and it fs seldoimihat aity;M| be seen. Traces of ;t^in / •where,, and they .'are-doing damage to vegetation." . A BOTANICAL: COiaTANra^ll ' Professor Kirk, whose the'expedition was to make; a;&•■■!•_ survey of the Campbell ,I»lari(hr|P__| out concisely', tbe points, of .-.ftjMlft between the flora of those JaLMWifjJil the Auckland group, noting vajMSkl points of interest.,', H»'**M&£s__ flora of Campbell.lsland •■i?WjSg§ more scanty than on; ~tha # Islands, violent winds' most of the vegetation' toy'HjOTMffPJl plants and a little,scrub.' Th» s 'lgi consists almost entirely iof grass WM (Dracophyllum). .T-iere are aha*»W over the island, ond-tpey are M'aßMj very great changes ■ia'_ta*;** J _2»_*JJ| Tbey ar© eating down t T and graasea, and theae. atajopT^ m __i very, slowly being replaeeo tyfrs£_% ducod grasses, so that a- **f*___?__|! of the island bids fair-to hmmt} ,aa_?j rcn. Th© magnificent ;,! MIWB| flowering. Ligustwurai phyllums are fast being eaton,ey.M,. the sheep, so that th© of the island will soon be a tluirtf Jfc the past. • ' -'^ r -^i MAGNETIC SURVEi*. 'f^m The chief object of tha trip Government's point of view; wm * j J M, carrying out of the This was done on Auckland.W"3J£_B Dr. Farr and Mr H. Cook,mMm Campbell Islands by **nother tmmn ment under Mr, H. F. okey. , /;__ffji Mr Skoy, when interviewed, WJ?| "Thirteen stations more or MJN__S plete wero obtained. FivemWJJ?© land Islands were observed •»"»« Dr. Farr and Mr , Cook,' ■Pg, J ___ Skev, who had £ lt * h, ™;T3l E. kidson and C H. OpwjJJjgj to get three in the Cevat**&£jg% extremities of the H«> U Pbined parties ofote^n**m vation- also «* po >* Snares. On the return <***£$> and his party from the observers were *'>!•* "STE forces again and. f •>«» f( t»ined at Norman Inlet, Island, Port Boss between n«?« Sd aooth of Campl r ll UmJ. *«JE siderable variation in Mr Skey i tfMrtSg observations had been very »"«Mjg considering the and the weather. "It he said, "to carry our stuff lrom »? north aid of CampbeU eoirtih end." Tlie siirrev P«g W<JJ however, agisted Captain BollOM. who accorded in his power, and _ko son, who is in charge of a .neat m on Campbell Island. y , ,f:i --' *" .' '.(J