296 SOIL AND CLIMATE. [1S40. 



of their weapons and ornaments. Manganese, alum, sulphur, 

 slate, copper, whinstone, granite, and marble, are quite com- 

 mon ; and clay, suitable for making bricks, is easily obtained 

 in every part of the islands. 



In the vicinity of the Bay of Islands, the rocky subsoil is 

 compact and argillaceous, and it is covered with a layer of 

 stiff clay. In the neighborhood of the craters the land is 

 much more productive than elsewhere. On the ridges and 

 elevated plains, the upper stratum is thin, on account of its 

 being washed into the valleys and gulleys, that divide or in- 

 tersect them, by the frequent rains. Marshes alternate now 

 and then with the rocky bluffs and precipices along the coast, 

 and are often met with on the banks of the streams. In gen- 

 eral, the soil may be said to be a rich yellow loam or vegeta- 

 ble mould, very fertile, and well adapted to the production of 

 all the vegetables, and most of the grains, raised in Europe 

 and America. 



Though the climate of New Zealand is changeable, it is 

 temperate and healthy ; being analogous to that of France, 

 southern England, and the middle states of our own country, 

 and therefore well adapted to European constitutions. At 

 Auckland, the mean annual temperature is about 59° ; in the 

 summer months it averages about 67°, and in the winter about 

 52°. The oppressive heats of the mid-day at Sydney, and the 

 long continued droughts that parch and wither up the vege- 

 tation of the Australian continent, are unknown. Of moisture 

 there is a great abundance. North-easterly and south-westerly 

 gales prevail at every change of the moon, and almost al- 

 ways bring heavy rains, particularly in the winter season. 

 In the interior, the weather is much colder, but is also more 

 equable. 



Nevertheless, on the whole, the climate may be pronounced 

 salubrious, and decidedly favorable to longevity. In some 

 situations scrofulous and glandular affections are. common ; 

 pectoral diseases, rapid consumptions, phthisis, pleurisy and 

 rheumatism, are by no means rare ; yet, after all, most of the 

 prevalent forms of disease have been either introduced by 



