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JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 



Sound by his men when clearing the bush was only a grey kiwi ; and 

 yet the discovery of this interesting bird was not made till forty years 

 after Cook's visit. As a scientific geographer Cook stands unrivalled, 

 considering the appliances at his disposal His longitudes of New 

 Zealand are wonderfully accurate, especially those computed from what 

 he called his " rated watches," the first type of the modern marine 

 chronometer, which he was almost the first navigator to use. The 

 result, of a recent measurement of the meridian difference from 

 Greenwich by magnetic signals is only two geographical miles east 

 of Captain Cook's longitude. He also observed the variation and dip 

 of the magnetic ueedle, and from his record it would appear that during 

 the hundred years which elapsed up to the time of the Challenger's 

 visit, the south-seeking end of the needle had changed its position 2£ 

 deg. westward, and inclines 1A deg. more towards the South magnetic 

 pole. Captain Cook also recorded an interesting fact, which, so far as 

 I am aware, has not been since repeated or verified in New Zealand. 

 He found that the pendulum of his astronomical clock, the length of 

 which had been adjusted to swing true seconds at Greenwich, lost at 

 the rate of 46 sec. daily at Ship Cove in Queen Charlotte Sound. This 

 is, I believe, an indication of a greater loss of the attraction of gravity 

 than would occur in a corresponding North latitude. The additions to 

 our scientific knowledge of New Zealand, acquired through the visits of 

 the other exploring ships of early navigators, the settlement of sealers 

 and whalers on the coast, and of pakeha Maories in the interior were 

 all useful, but of too slight a character to require special mention. The 

 greatest additions to science were made by the missionaries, who in the 

 work of spreading Christianity among the Natives, had the service of 

 able and zealous men who mastere I the Native dialects, reduced them 

 to a written language, collected and placed on record the traditional 

 knowledge of the interesting Maori, and had among their numbers 

 some industrious naturalists who never lost au opportunity of collecting 

 natural objects. The history of how the country, under the mixed 

 influences for good and for evil which prevailed almost without 

 Government control till 184U, gradually was ripened for the colonist, 

 is familiar to all. The new era may be said to have begun with 

 Dieffenbach, a naturalist who was employed by the JNew Zealand 

 Company. He travelled and obtained much information, but did not 

 collect to any great extent, and, in fact, appears not to have anticipated 

 that much remained to be discovered. For his conclusion is that the 

 smallness of the number of the species of animals and plants then 

 known — about one-tenth of our present lists — was not due to want of 

 acquaintance with the country, but to paucity of life forms. The chief 

 scientific value of his published work is the appendix, giving the first 

 systematic list of the fauna and flora of the country, the former being 

 compiled by the late Dr. Gray of the British Museum. The next great 

 scientific work done for New Zealand was the Admirality survey of the 

 coast line, which is a perfect marvel of accurate topography, and one of 

 the greatest boons the colony has received from the Mother Country. 

 The enormous labour and expense which was incurred on this survey at 

 an early date in the history of the colony is a substantial evidence of 

 the confidence in its future development and commercial requirements 

 which animated the Home Goverment. On the visit of the Austrian 

 exploring ship " Novara " to Anckland in 1859, Von Hochstetter was 



