N EW ZEAL AND. 411 



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 appearance. 



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. Brackenridge, 

 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 been 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 

 produce 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 introduced, 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 per- 

 fection. The peaches are fine, but the propensity 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 marvellous 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 specu- 

 lation. The success of Captain Wright, however, 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 composed of 

 pieces of wood sewed together. 



