176 



Climate. Soil. 



NEW ZEALAND. 



Fruits. Vegetables. Hemp. 



south-east and north-west, which usually succeed 

 each other at short intervals; during the rest of 

 the yea , winds from south round to west are more 

 frequent, and bring with them wet weather. 



The general information which we obtained, and 

 which has not been included in the preceding por- 

 tions of the chapter, is as follows: 



The climate of New Zealand is extremely 

 changeable; but although it may be considered as 

 the cause of many diseases among the natives, it 

 is, perhaps, the best suited to a European consti- 

 tution of any in the South Seas. A large quantity 

 of rain falls during the year, but I was unable to 

 obtain any record of its exact amount. The tem- 

 perature at Kororarika, during the months of 

 February and March, varied from 53 to 78, and 

 the mean was 6'4'2. In the sun the thermometer 

 rose as high as 1 10. The principal prevailing 

 winds are from the south-east and west; the former 

 are frequently in squalls, and attended with rain : 

 May and June are the rainy months. 



Warm days are often succeeded by cold nights, 

 which give rise to pectoral diseases among the 

 natives, many of whom are affected by phthisis, or 

 swept off by rapid consumptions. They are also 

 liable to rheumatism and pleurisy. European and 

 American residents, who enjoy better food and 

 clothing, and inhabit more comfortable dwellings, 

 are exempt from these complaints. Measles, 

 hooping-cough, and other epidemics, have been 

 introduced from foreign vessels. While we lay at 

 the Bay of Islands, the influenza prevailed on 

 shore and was communicated to our crew. The 

 venereal disease, propagated by their licentious 

 habits of life, and unchecked by medicine, is 

 rapidly reducing the numbers of the natives. 



The greater part of the soil of the portion of 

 New Zealand which fell under our observation is 

 too sterile to be profitably employed in agriculture. 

 It consists, in general, of an obdurate yellow loam, 

 capable of bearing little else, after it is cleared of 

 trees and brushwood, than the fern (pteris escu- 

 lenta). Where the soil is volcanic, however, it is 

 comparatively fertile ; but this description of 

 ground is rare. 



Wheat and other grains are raised, and the 

 fruits and vegetables of temperate climates suc- 

 ceed well. The hills are almost bare of vegetation ; 

 for after the ground is cleared, the heavy falls of 

 rain sweep the soil from them into the valleys, and 

 wear the hill-sides into gullies. In this manner 

 patches of good land are formed in them, which, 

 however, rarely exceed fifteen or twenty acres in 

 extent. The only continuous level tract of as much 

 as a hundred acres, is on the farm of Mr. Clendon 

 on Manawa Bay. The sterility of the soil is not 

 the only obstacle the agriculturist has to contend 

 with. The fern, of which we have spoken, springs 

 up the moment the forest is removed, and covers 

 the land with a dense vegetation. Ploughing is 

 not sufficient to extirpate it, for it will spring again 

 from the severed roots, ami choke the grain. It 

 can only be completely eradicated by removing it 

 by hand and burning it. The ashes are then 

 spread upon the ground, and are found to be a 

 good manure. In this manner the sons of Mr. 

 Williams, the missionary at Pahia, are endeavour- 

 ing to bring a farm they possess into cultivation. 

 Natives are employed in the labour, and they have 

 in this way cleared several acres. 



The fern from its size and strength, is supposed 

 to indicate a fertile soil ; but this is not the fact, 

 for I have seen nearly a thousand acres in a body 

 covered with a growth of it six feet in height, 

 where the ground was deemed fit for no purpose 

 but to furnish brick-clay. So densely do the ferns 

 grow, that it is impossible to force a way through 

 them, and the only mode of traversing the country 

 where they abound, is by following the native 

 paths; these pursue the high ground and ridges, 

 and have branches which lead to the neighbouring 

 cultivated spots. The moment the culture of the 

 land is neglected, the fern again makes its appear- 

 ance. 



The clayey soils afford only a scanty growth of 

 grass, which is scarcely fit for pasture, and indeed 

 there appear to be no native grasses. In the more 

 fertile soils, red clover, according to Mr. Bracken- 

 ridge, does well; and he believes that white clover 

 would succeed on the hills, which are now bare. 

 The climate is favourable to the growth of the 

 foreign grasses. 



After the fern has heen burnt and the ashes 

 spread, a crop of wheat is raised, and the land is 

 laid down in grass. To give an idea of the pro- 

 duce of land near the Bay of Islands, we may cite 

 the instance of Captain Wright's farm, which is 

 eligibly situated, and is considered as possessing a 

 fertile soil. He had twenty acres in wheat, whose 

 average product was only fourteen bushels per 

 acre. 



Among the foreign fruits which have been intro- 

 duced, are apples, peaches, and grapes. The latter 

 grow best in the volcanic soils, but the climate is 

 considered to be too moist to permit them to attain 

 perfection. The peaches are fine, but the propen- 

 sity of the natives to pluck them before they are 

 ripe prevents them from attaining their full flavour. 

 Cape gooseberries are plentiful, but the common 

 description of that fruit, and the currant, have not 

 been introduced. Late writers have given mar- 

 vellous accounts of the growth of the fruit-trees of 

 temperate climates, in New Zealand; but these 

 may be set down as exaggerations calculated to 

 mislead, and intended to subserve speculation. 

 The success of Captain Wright, howevei', in raising 

 fruit and vegetables, has been great. 



Among the native vegetables is the sweet-potato, 

 which they call kumara: it is plentiful. 



The missionaries stated that the natives have a 

 remarkable tradition in relation to this root; namely, 

 that it was first brought to the island in canoes of 

 a different construction from their own, and com- 

 posed of pieces of wood sewed together. 



Cook left the common potato, which has been 

 cultivated ever since his visit, and is now plen- 

 tiful. 



The native hemp (phormium tenax) is a most 

 useful plant; it grows in large quantities, and is 

 applied by them to many purposes, besides being a 

 principal article of foreign trade. It is an im- 

 portant material in the construction of their houses, 

 for which purpose it is made into cords, that are 

 also employed for other more common uses. It is 

 manufactured into fine fishing-lines, which are 

 much prized at Sydney for their strength and 

 beauty. 



The manufacture of the hemp is altogether per- 

 formed by the women, who cut it, and after it has 

 been dried a little, divide it into strips of about an 



