I 



it'; 



Climate— Soil 



N E W Z E A L A N I ). Fr «!««.— Vegetable*.— Htmp. 



south-east and north-west, which usually succeed 

 rm-li other nt short intervals; during the rest of 

 the yea , winds from south round to west arc more 

 frequent, and bring with them wot weather. 



The general in Com in t ion which we obtained, and 

 which lias riot heen included in thu 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 uf any in the South Seas. A large quantity 

 of rain falls during the year, but 1 was unable to 

 obtain any record of its exact amount. The tem- 

 perature, at Korornrika, during ihc months of 

 February and March, varied from &:t J to 78°, and 

 the mean was U4 2°. In the sun the therrnunieter 

 rose 08 high as 110°. 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, man v of whom are affected by phthisis, or 

 swept <>fT by rapid consumptions. They air 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 Hay of Islands, the influenza prevailed on 

 shore and was communicated to our crow. The 

 venereal disease, propagated by their licentious 

 habits uf 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- 

 leuta). 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 hare of vegetation; 

 For after the ground is cleared, the heavy fails of 

 rant sweep the Boil from them into the valleys, and 

 near 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. Clendou 

 on Matmwa Bay. The sterility of the soil ia not 

 the only obstacle the agriculturist has to contend 

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

 up the moment the forest is removed, and covers 

 the land with n dense vegetation. Ploughing is 

 not sufficient to extirpate St, for it will spring again 

 from the severed roots, and 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 la 1 a 

 Hood manure. In this manner the SOU <»f Mr. 

 Williams, the missionary at I 'ah in, are endeavour- 

 ing to bring n farm thoy possess into cultivation. 

 X.iliee.H ;ip. employed iii 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 thr 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 ami ridges, 

 and have branch* which lead to the neighbouring 

 cultivated spots. The moment the culture of the 

 land is neglected, the fern again makes its nppcar- 

 nnce. 



The clayey soils afford only a scanty growth of 

 grass, which is scarcely tit fur pasture, and indeed 

 there appear to be no native grasses. In the more 

 fertile hoi Is, red clover, according to Mr. Krncken- 

 ridge, does well; and he believes that white clover 

 would succeed on the hills, ft Inch are now bare. 

 The climate is favourable to the growth of the 

 foreign grasses. 



After the feni lias been burnt arid the ashes 

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

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

 duce of fiuid near the Hay of Islands, wo may cite 

 the instance of Captain Wright's farm, which is 

 eligibly situated, and is considered as possessing a 

 fertile snil. He had twenty acres in wheat, whose 

 average product was only fourteen bushels per 

 acre. 



Among the foreign fruits which have been intro- 

 duced, an- 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 

 |H.rfeetion. The peaches are fine, but the propen- 

 sity of the natives to pluck them before they are 

 ripe prevents them from attaining their full llavour. 

 Cape gooseberries are plentiful, hut 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 those 

 may be set down as exaggerations calculated to 

 mislead, ami intended to subserve speculation. 

 The success of Captain Wright, however, in raising 

 fruit and vegetables, has l»een great. 



Among the native ve getables is the sweet-potato, 

 which tin y call kumara: it is plentiful. 



The missionaries stated that the native* 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 Ihe common potato, which has been 

 cultivated ever since his visit, and is* now plen- 

 tiful. 



The native hemp (plmrmium tenax) is a most 

 useful plant; it grows in large quantities, and is 

 apjdied 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 ore 

 also employed for other more common ma-a. It is 

 manufactured into fine fishing-lines, which are 

 much prized at Sydney for their strength and 

 beauty. 



The manufacture of the hemp is ali-tgeilu-r per- 

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

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



