340 HOT-SPRINGS NEAR [PART II, 



or the blast of an iron-foundry. By placing some 

 fern over a crevice, and their food (potatoes, ku- 

 meras, or pork) upon it, the natives have a ready 

 and convenient oven. 



The shore of the lake at Te-rapa is rocky ; the 

 rock is basalt, containing much augite. Some pieces 

 are tabular, with a smooth surface. Smaller boul- 

 ders are cemented together into a conglomerate by 

 the sediment of the springs : wood, which is en- 

 crusted and polished, and of a white appearance, 

 and rolled pieces of pumicestone, give the conglo- 

 merate the appearance of an osseous breccia. Close 

 to the water's edge there are ponds of hot water, 

 which, formed either by nature or artificially by the 

 natives, are used as bathing-places. The tempera- 

 ture in them ranges from 95 to 1 25 Fahrenheit ; 

 the water of the lake itself streams in the neigh- 

 bourhood of the shore ; one to two inches below 

 the surface the thermometer is often 110, but 

 lower down sinks to 60. 



These hills continue along the delta of the Wai- 

 kato. They hide the Tongariro from our eyes, and 

 it is only by ascending them that we get a sight of 

 its snowy summit. All along their side we see a 

 thick smoke issuing from numerous ravines,. but the 

 most curious assemblage of springs is about a mile 

 from the north-west corner of Te-rapa. About 

 half a mile from the base of the hills a tepid pond, 

 having a temperature of 125 Fahrenheit, discharges 

 itself into a cold river. A little farther on, in a 

 S.E. direction, is a large boiling spring. It forms 



