down to the farm."

"I know; but won't it be simpler to do that than to collect oysters on
the beach? We should have to hump treble the weight of the lime we
should get after burning them. And then we should have to hump the lime
at least half a mile up from the beach. There is a track through the
bush up to Marahemo, and we could easily open it a bit. Half a day's
work for the lot of us would make it passable for a bullock-sled; or we
might pack the lime down on some of Dandy Jack's horses. Then the stuff
we should get there would be easier burnt and make better lime. And we
could make enough to supply the neighbourhood. A few boat-loads sold at
a fair price would pay us for our work, and we should have the lime we
want for our own use as pure profit. If we didn't find a market on the
rivers, I'm certain it would pay to charter a schooner, load her up, and
send her round to the Manukau. Auckland has to get all her lime from
Whangarei or Mahurangi as it is."

So the thing was settled, and we went to work on Marahemo as
lime-burners.

One day when we were "nooning," Old Colonial and I chanced to be
together on the top of Marahemo. We were looking at the splendid
prospect, glorious under the mid-day sun. All around us was bush--a
dense jungle of shrubs and trees. The conical hill on which we stood was
thickly clothed, and all round, over the steep, rough ranges, the
abrupt ravines and gullies, with their brawling streams, was spread the
one variegated mantle of gorgeous foliage.

Since then I have seen certain of the far-famed forests of the tropics,
but I must candidly say that the scenery they offer is, on the whole,
far less striking and beautiful than that of the bush of Northern New
Zealand. The colouring is not so good; in the mass, it is not so
lustrous, nor so varied. The rich flowers are hidden away, so that the
fewer and less gaudy blossoms of our bush are more conspicuous, because
severally more plentiful. But a woodland scene in England, the old home
across the seas, even surpasses all in the glory of its autumn dress.

From where we stood on Marahemo we could see for considerable distances,
where the ranges did not intervene. Here and there, through some vista
of wooded gullies, we could catch a glimpse of shining river reaches,
and, in one or two directions, could make out the house of some
neighbour, easily distinguishable in the pure atmosphere, though
possibly ten or twelve miles distant.

Looking