NEW ZEALAND. 277 



trodden by man {^i"" 24.5') he was accompanied by only two men— Brainard and 

 Christiansen. He carried thirty-five days' provisions on a sled drawn by dogs. 

 At this remote point traces of rnimal life were abundant, tracks of hares, lem- 

 mings, ptarmigan, and snow-bunting ; a little further south were seen the tracks 

 of bears and signs of the musk-ox. This expedition lasted fifty-nine days, and 

 no one engaged in it suffered any serious consequences from the prolonged ex- 

 posure. 



NEW ZEALAND. 



W. DAWSON, SPICELAND, IJND. 



Having been much interested in Professor Pritchett's article on "The Tran- 

 sit of Venus in New Zealand," in the February number of the Review, I have 

 thought some account of the geography, etc., of that colony might, perhaps, be 

 of interest as a kind of supplement to the professor's article. 



New Zealand is an English colony of two large islands and a much smaller 

 one, with a number of islets, in the south Pacific Ocean ; and pretty nearly on 

 the opposite side of the earth. They are about 1,200 miles southeast of Austra- 

 lia, and 7,000 miles nearly southwest of San Francisco. Although far away, it is 

 a fine and interesting country. 



Imagine a long and narrow island lying in a direction nearly northeast and 

 southwest, divided near the middle by Cook's Strait, North island, often called 

 New Ulster, is very irregular in shape ; the northwestern part- extending far into 

 the ocean, narrows to a point. The northeastern part extends out about one- 

 fourth as far, and rounds off much more obtusely. So the shape of this island is 

 somewhat like a shoe. South island — New Munster — is pretty nearly a parallel- 

 ogram in shape, and the two taken together resemble a boot in outline as well as 

 Italy does. 



Their extreme length is nearly a thousand miles, and the average width about 

 100 miles. New Ulster is about the size of New York, containing about 48,000 

 square miles. South island is somewhat larger. The third, called Stewart's 

 Island, is south of New Munster, and Foveaux Strait, fifteen miles wide, is be- 

 tween them. This island is triangular in shape, and contains nearly 1,000 square 

 miles. Cook's Strait is in latitude 40° S.; and longitude 185° W. of Greenwich. 

 It took its name from James Cook, the renowned navigator, who surveyed New 

 Zealand about 1770. 



These islands are considerably mountainous; several peaks having an eleva- 

 tion of about two miles. Mt. Cook, in South island, is 13,000 feet high. Many 

 extinct and a few active volcanoes exist. Earthquakes occur sometimes. The 

 coasts are indented with numerous bays, many of which afford excellent harbors. 

 " The climate of New Zealand is one of the finest in the world." The atmos- 

 phere is damp, though pure and healthy ; disease and sickness being compara- 



viii-12 



