The Herald FIELD CLUB

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22628, 16 January 1937, Page 9 (Supplement)

The Herald FIELD CLUB

CONDUCTED iy WRNDERER Aims of the H.F.C.

BROTHER RAMBLERS,— HAVE you ever wondered as to what is the great end and aim of our natural history study and reading? I think that it must surely be the development of a love for the objects cjwelt upon, and a desire to know more about them. Of course this can only be brought about by such practical acquaintance as collecting and preserving them induces, but at the same time 1 should be sorry to see any Rambler of the H.F.C. degenerate into a mere collector! It 13 a ' great mistake to suppose that, because you have a cabinet of butterflies, moths, or beetles, therefore you are a gocd emtomologist; or that you may lay claim to a distinguished position as a geologist on account of drawers full of *°* B,ls and minerals. But this is a mistake into which young naturalists frequently fall. 1 have seen young people with a decided taste for these studies never get beyond the mere collecting. In that case they stand on a par with collectors of postage stamps. Nor is there much to be gained, even if you become acquainted with Maori, English, or even Latin names of natural-history objects. Many people can catalogue them glibly, and never make a slip, and yet they are practically ignorant of the real knowledge which clusters around each object, and its relation to others. Both Latin and English names arc useful and even necessary; but when you have simply learnt them, and nothing more, how much wiser are you than before? No, let the learning of names be the alphabet of science—the meant* by which you can acquire a further knowledge of its mysteries. It would be just as reasonable to set up as a literary man on the strength of accurately knowing the alphabet, as to imagine you are a scientific student the moment you have learned by heart a few scores of Latin names of plants and animals! Let every object represent so much knowledge, to which the very mention of its name will immediately conjure up a crowd of associations, relationships, and intimate acquaintances, and you wil'l then see what a store of real knowledge may be represented in a carefully-airanged cabinet. Let us, as nature students, and brother Ramblers of the H.F.C., start our year's work by keeping a notebook. Each one usually works,, out his own system, according to his particular interest. But one very good plan is to have two small notebooks or a larger one divided into two parts—one for Field Notes " and the other for " Experiments." The first will cover what you see on your trips outdoors: the second what you do at home. Before starting field trip, try to have some definite plan of what you intend to find and study, and make your notes accordingly. Always put down the date of the trip and where you went. Do not try to write too much—just the most striking things. In your notes of experiments you should go into greater detail. If you have to make or build anything, describe how you did it. The notes on experiments which extend over several days or weeks should all be kept together, showing the progress of the experiment from date to date. Whenever you get the chance, make a drawing of what you see or do. Drawing is far better than writing, for once you have drawn a thing, you will never forget how it looks. Never mind if your first drawing seems crude; you will be surprised how rapidly you improve with practice. And remember that your notebooks are intended for your own benefit and pleasure, not for someone else. Never think of what others will say about them. I have recently returned from an expedition to Mayor Island and m our next set of H.F.C. notes will tell you something of the wonders of animal and plant life on this beautiful island. «mrnrn —WANDERER.

Native Plants, No. I.—Pohutukawa, Christmas Tree

(Metrosideros tomentosa.)

densely covered underneath with minute inatted hairs; the flowers are arranged in broad, many-flowered groups which flower frcm the centre outwards, wliile the fruit is a woody capsule, about half an inch long. A great tree in full blossom, backed by a summer sea and a stretch of white sand, and with iuis calling from among its branches, presents a sight but rarely paralleled bv any other flowering plant in New Zealand. In a fortnight's time I will tell you something of the pohutukawa's near relations, the ratas. Why Not Geology? I am hoping that some of our Ramblers will take up the study of geology. The necessary equipment for field-work is not large. A geological hammer must be obtained; tack hammers are useless. The most suitable hammer for general use weighs not less

Metrosideros tomentosa, the veilknown pohutukawa, the Christmas-tree of which Aucklanders are justly proud, was formerly much more abundant than at present. It grows frequently on the faces of cliffs, stretching outwards over the rocky shore. Some of its roots are fixed in sblid rock, and creep for long distances over the surface —a most remarkable sight—while others are given off quite high up the trunk or from the branches; but these do not usually reach the ground. On Mayor Island I have seen the great gnarled roots creeping thirty feet or more down a scoria cliff to the pumice soil below. Here also is to be seen a great tree with a girth of 31 feet, a veritable giant of its species, and quite recently, a glowing mass of scarlet flowers visible a mile away. The tree is usually from 30 to 70 feet high, with a massive trunk, much-branched, but in places, as on Rangitoto Island, a low shrub; tho leaves are opposite, broadly-oblong,

than one pound; one end of the head is square, and the other end narrows! unsymmetrically to an edge at right angles to the handle. The illustration shows the "pick" and "square head" shapes of geological hammers. A cold chisel, six irches long, is often useful., and a large-bladed knife is handy for use in soft rocks. A supply of canvas bags, match-boxes, and newspapers for wrapping up specimens, should also bo taken. But a great deal more of tbisi in a fortnight's time.