COLLECTIONS OF FERNS

Southland Times, Issue 24862, 30 September 1942, Page 4

COLLECTIONS OF FERNS

GIFTS FOR MUSEUM Well-preserved collections of New Zealand ferns are among the latest gifts to be handed over to the Southland museum. One collection, pressed, named and neatly set up in an album, comprises the many varieties of ferns found on the West Coast of New Zealand. It was handed in by Miss T. C. Richardson, of Invercargill. The second collection, also well set up, consists of more than 30 specimens of the finer types of ferns found in many parts of New Zealand. It has been sent in by Mrs D. Graham, of Lumsden. For the botanist and the casual student of plant life in New Zealand, these collections should be an invaluable contribution. The collection of Maori adzes in the museum is mounting. The latest piece has been handed in by Mr Paul McQuarrie, of Bluff. MUSEUM APPROACHES Attractive as the interior of the museum has been made in recent months, the exterior and approaches have not been neglected. In the last few weeks the reserves department of the City Council has been at work, and the plots fronting the building have been x transformed from irregular pieces of land into attractive lawns. Sowing has just been completed, and soon the green of the lawns will set off the sombre facades of the museum. The concrete bays at the entrance of the building have been filled with a hanging creeper—variegated periwinkle—and the circular plot at the base of the statue of Minerva has been planted in celmisio and veronica. The beauty of the approaches should be seen to advantage in the late spring and summer.