192 IOWA STUDIES IN NATURAL HISTORY 
boarders, students of agricultural and technical colleges, New 
Zealand military forces ete. 
I was told by a prominent Government official at Wellington 
that the railways in New Zealand are not self supporting, but 
that the service was so good and prices so low that they seem to 
meet with public favor in spite of the additional taxation incurred. 
The cars, or as they call them, carriages, are much smaller than 
ours, as in England, and the sleepers are arranged more like our 
Pullman compartment cars with a corridor along one side and the 
berths placed cross-wise in the compartments; thus there is more 
privacy than in our Pullmans and the berths are narrower but 
longer and will not accommodate two persons. The dressing-room 
is very small and there is no hot water, nor is the car appreciably 
heated. Consequently I was uncomfortably cold in spite of what 
seemed to be an adequate supply of blankets. My room-mate was 
a Mr. Collins, a Government official concerned with industrial 
affairs who, much to my surprise, called me by name. It seemed 
that Mr. Sanford had told him that I would probably be on the 
train and requested him to look out for me. Hence I was well 
eared for and formed a very pleasant and helpful acquaintance. 
We passed through the highest mountains during the night and 
the daylight run in the morning was through picturesque country. 
At a station we had a good breakfast for which we were allowed 
thirty-five minutes and charged the equivalent of sixty-two cents. 
The passengers were, of course, almost exclusively Colonials, very 
friendly and helpful to the casual stranger. The country we 
passed through early in the day was a beautiful rolling upland, 
white with frost; then it became more hilly with snow capped 
mountains in the distance and finally we ran along the rugged 
headlands of the west coast facing the Tasman Sea with the surf 
breaking high along the bold cliffs of the shore and the intense 
blue of the ocean beyond. 
As we neared Wellington the country became quite wild and 
rough with very deeply cut valleys and sharply pointed hills, 
culminating in a very rugged area just before we reached the 
city. 
While sitting in the smoking car I was addressed as ‘‘ Professor’’ 
by the man sitting next to me and found that he had been, a 
fellow passenger on the Niagara. He had been a captain in the 
British navy and commanded a submarine, if I remember rightly. 
He was very friendly and we passed several hours in conversa- 
