3O THE CLIMATE OF AUSTRALASIA 



which New Zealand volcanoes and Australian 

 bushfires are steadily polluting the atmosphere, 

 is removed by the all beneficent sea as fast as 

 it is supplied ; should at anytime the growth 

 of plants or the weathering of rocks reduce 

 the amount of that gas below the necessary 

 quantity, the sea at once breathes it forth and 

 restores the equilibrium, which is necessary to 

 our existence. The sea, in fact, in addition to 

 its many other functions, automatically regulates 

 the composition of our atmosphere. 



The possibility of the human occupation of 

 Australia and all that makes that occupation 

 profitable and pleasant, we owe to the surround- 

 ing seas, and any variation in their condition 

 inevitably affects our natural prosperity and 

 welfare. It is incumbent on us therefore, to 

 study these oceans more closely than we have 

 done hitherto. To quote Newton's famous 

 illustration, we are children, playing with shells 

 upon the shore of a vast unknown ocean ; but 

 at present we neglect the chances offered by 

 the retreat of the waves to pick up finer and 

 rarer shells, and we are careless of the advance 

 of larger waves, which may sweep away all our 

 collection. 



It is unnecessary to consider in detail the 

 effects of an ocean on the climate of a land 

 adjacent to it. They are well known and are 

 explained in elementary text-books. The 

 superiority of insular climates like England and 

 New Zealand, with their limited seasonal 



