NEW ZEALAND.
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NEW ZEALAND.
New Zealand.
General description of New Zealand.
Rivers.
New Zealand, first visited by Captain Cook in 1769, consists of a group of three islands, known as the North, Middle, and South or Stewart's Island. The whole group is nearly 1,000 miles long, and 200 miles broad; its coast line extends over 1,000 leagues. The area of the country is estimated at 122,000 square miles, or nearly 80,000,000 of acres, two-thirds of which are fitted, more or less, for agriculture and grazing. The North Island contains about thirty-one, and the Middle Island about forty-six millions of acres. Stewart's Island, uninhabited and, as many think, uninhabitable, contains about one million of acres. A range of high, snow-clad mountains runs lengthwise through the Middle Island, and forms an almost impassable barrier between its east and west coasts. The eastern portion of this division is composed of fertile valleys, and lofty hills covered with good grasses. It varies in breadth from forty to sixty miles. This tract of country is watered by numerous rivers, flowing from the high mountains in a due easterly course towards the sea. The mountain districts on the western side are thought to be rugged and inhospitable, but they have never been fully explored; for, with the exception of Nelson and Marlborough in the north, the eastern half only of the Middle Island is occupied by European settlers. The mountains of the North Island, with the exception of Mount Egmont, are not so high, nor do they stretch in so long a range as those of the Middle Island. There is a large lake, called Lake Taupo, in the centre of the island.
"New Zealand may be called a wooded highland country, clothed with evergreen vegetation. The North Island contains only two or three moderately extensive plains; but abounds in large valleys, and in sheltered dells and dales. The surface character of many of the districts bears a striking resemblance to that of Devonshire. Owing to the coast-line of 3,000 miles, and to the division of the country into three portions, New Zealand has a number of bays, creeks, coves, estuaries, and anchorages, and some of the finest naval and commercial harbours in the world. One of its most striking features is the abundance both of water and of water power. Taupo is the only large lake, and New River, the Clutha, Thames, Hokianga, Wanganui, Waikato, and Manuwatu are the only rivers navigable twenty miles up for anything larger than a canoe. But there are several smaller lakes, and the county from north to south is full of rivers, rivulets, brooks, and burns, of the clearest and softest water, running over pebbly beds, and bearing a close resemblance to many of our trout and salmon streams, such as the Tamar, Deveron, Tweed, Don, and Dee." 1
Climate.
The Climate of New Zealand varies in different portions of the islands. Of the three, the North Island is the warmest. In
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New Zealand.
summer the weather is warm by day and cool by night; the winters are milder than English winters. Winter weather in New Zealand consists of snow on the hills, periodical rains, cold frosty nights, and mild sunny mornings.
"From my own observation," says Captain Cooper, "I consider the climate of New Zealand superior to the most salubrious parts of Australia; it is better suited to animal and vegetable life than the climate of any colony of the British empire, Tasmania excepted." "Compared with the summer of England the summer of New Zealand is but little warmer, though considerably longer. New Zealand is also much milder than England in winter, spring, and summer." 2
"The climate of New Zealand might almost be described as the 'climate of England with half the cold of the English winter;' and in suitability for the people of the British isles, in recruiting or sanitary properties for the invalid, and in marked fitness for agricultural and pastoral pursuits, it deserves to rank as one of the finest climates in the world." 3
Seasons.
The summer is not much warmer than a warm English summer in the south of England, and the winter is seldom colder than a cold, wet, and boisterous English April. New Zealand, being in the southern hemisphere nearly opposite England, the seasons are, of course, reversed: July is the coldest month, January (the harvest month) the hottest. As all native trees and plants are evergreens, and as there is no autumnal fall of the leaf, and the country appears almost equally green at all periods of the year, the change of season is far less marked than in England; in some districts it is scarcely perceptible. September, October, and November are, however, generally called spring; December, January, and February, summer; March, April, and May, autumn; June, July, and August, winter.
Productions.
By far the greater portion of the land occupied in New Zealand is used for grazing and stock-farming. Horses, horned cattle, and sheep thrive on the rich grassy plains, valleys, and hills. Pigs were the first animals imported from Europe, by Captain Cook. The tracts which are under cultivation for grain and other crops produce abundant harvests. All the grains, vegetables, and plants cultivated in England, more especially potatoes, thrive equally in New Zealand. In the North Island, and in the northern parts of the South Island, splendid crops of the productions of warmer climates are raised. Among them may be mentioned sweet potatoes, tobacco, grapes, figs, peaches, and melons. The soil is specially adapted for the cultivation of flax. Almost all parts of the two islands abound with splendid timber, fit for ship-building, and other purposes to which first-rate wood can be applied. Ship-building
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New Zealand.
and the trade in timber are, next to wool growing, among the most substantial elements of the prosperity of New Zealand. Among the mineral productions are gold, copper, iron, and coal. The gold-diggings are in Auckland, Nelson and Otago. Those of Auckland are not very productive. The Nelson diggings yield gold to the value of £2,000 a-week, and Otago has hitherto been the only province where extensively paying gold-fields have been worked. On the whole, it may be said that agriculture, sheep, and stock-farming have proved so advantageous to the majority of the colonists, that the mineral resources of the country are comparatively neglected.
"Beneath the productive surface of these teeming islands are mineral stores as yet hardly known. If, from merely scratching projecting corners of the land, some dozen valuable minerals have been discovered--coal, iron, silver, lead, tin, copper, nickel, manganese, alum, and sulphur --what may not he anticipated after a few years of research in the interior?" 4
Political Institutions.
The general government of the Colony is vested in the Governor, appointed by the Crown. His Cabinet consists of the Colonial Treasurer, the Colonial Secretary, the Postmaster-General, Minister for Native Affairs, and the Attorney-General. The General Assembly is composed of the Legislative Council of twenty-four members, nominated by the Crown and the House of Representatives, of fifty-three members, elected by the people for five years. Every owner of a freehold worth £50, or tenant householder, in the country at £5, in the towns at £10 a-year rent, is qualified both to vote for, or to be a member of, the House of Representatives. The civil and criminal law is virtually the same as in England. Four Crown-appointed judges residing at Auckland, Wellington, Canterbury, and Otago, constitute a northern and southern Court for the "jury trial" of civil and criminal cases. In each Province there is a Resident Magistrates' Court (answering to our county courts), for the recovery of debts under £100. When adjudicating in native cases the judge is generally assisted by a native assessor, a sort of native magistrate. Local courts of this description for the trial of small debt cases sit weekly or quarterly in each of the Provinces, whilst quarter sessions are held, from time to time, by the local magistracy for the despatch of the petty criminal business.
Division of the Colony.
The Colony is divided into nine Provinces, viz. --Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Hawke's Ray, Nelson, Marlborough, Canterbury, Otago, and Southland. For the administration of justice the Colony is divided into four districts.
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New Zealand.
Population.
The European population may be estimated (in round numbers) at 110,000. Of late years many emigrants, who had originally gone to the United States and British North America, have from thence taken ship and settled in Auckland, while Otago has attracted large numbers of miners from Victoria and New South Wales. There are also in the Northern Island about 60,000 natives. They are a brown, burly, gipsy-looking race.
"They have made some progress in civilization. Some of them own a considerable amount of property in land, live stock, buildings, and small coasting vessels. They supply the markets with pigs, potatoes, Indian corn, Kauri gum, and other produce. They also cut down and saw timber. They work well, but are not fond of long-continued exertion." 5
The following table, containing the agricultural statistics of 1851, 1858, and 1861, will show the rapid progress of the country:--
POPULATION AND STOCK.
|
|
1851.
|
1858.
|
1861.
|
| Population
|
26,700
|
60,000
|
106,000
|
| Horses
|
2,890
|
11,000
|
28,000
|
| Cattle
|
35,700
|
137,000
|
193,000
|
| Sheep
|
233,000
|
1,520,000
|
2,800,000
|
| Goats
|
12,000
|
11,700
|
12,000
|
| Pigs
|
16,000
|
40,600
|
43,000
|
| Poultry
|
No return
|
No return
|
236,000
|
LAND AND CROPS.
|
|
1851.
|
1858.
|
1861.
|
|
|
Acres.
|
Acres.
|
Acres.
|
| Wheat
|
5,810
|
13,700
|
29,000
|
| Barley
|
1,300
|
3,000
|
3,300
|
| Oats
|
2,300
|
12,000
|
15,800
|
| Potatoes
|
2,200
|
5,600
|
7,300
|
| Grasses
|
15,000
|
98,000
|
158,000
|
| Maize
|
-
|
-
|
770
|
| Garden or Orchard
|
No return
|
No return
|
5,800
|
| Other Crops 6
|
2,100
|
8,000
|
5,700
|
| Total under Cultivation
|
20,100
|
140,900
|
226,000
|
| Fenced
|
30,400
|
235,400
|
409,000
|
Revenue.
The Customs' revenue of the Colony for the financial year 1861-62 amounted to £339,000; the general revenue to £388,000; and the expenditure to £220,000.
Waste Lands.
The colonial waste lands consist of--1, fern; 2, grass; and 3, bush-lands. The first are covered with a dense growth of the common fern, from four to five feet high, intermixed with small shrubs. The grass-lands produce coarse grasses,
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New Zealand.
Clearing Wild Lands.
with fern, flax, and small shrubs. The "bush" is the common forest-land: tall trees, and dense jangled underwood, with here and there a few acres of natural clearings. For agriculture the wild land must be cleared, and this is done partly by hand and partly by fire. The fern and grass lands are burnt off, and what remains after the burning is swept down with a billhook, thrown in heaps, and burnt. The land is then broken with the plough, and after lying fallow for a month, it is harrowed, and the roots are raked up and burnt. A light cross ploughing is next given, and after a rest of from three to six months it is fit for the reception of any crop. The cost of clearing fern-lands varies from £3 to £5, while grass-land may be cleared for about £2 per acre.
Clearing Bush-lands.
On the clearing of bush-land Mr. Hursthouse says:--
"In November, the brushwood should be slashed down with the billhook, and the trees thrown with the cross-cut saw and American axe. The fallen stuff lies withering and drying through the summer, and is burnt off in early autumn. If the first or 'running' fire acts well, every thing will be consumed save trunks and heavy branches, when the latter are lopped off, the trunks rolled together, and the whole slowly burnt up in heaps. The cost of clearing bush-land varies from £4 to £8 per acre, and the first crop, grain or grass seed, may be ' chipped-in ' with the mattock for about 21s. per acre more. The stumps remain in the land about four years, when the smaller ones may be torn out with a pair of good bullocks and a strong stump chain, and the lighter lands of this description made roughly ploughable. Bush-land is richer soil than either fern or grass land; and for small dairy farms, where there is a family hand-labour at command, or for hop grounds, orchards, kitchen gardens, or home paddocks, bush-land is best. But the process of first clearing and cultivating it is, comparatively, both so slow and so expensive, that nine-tenths of all our agricultural operations are carried on on fern and grass-lands."
The following practical account of the clearing of bush-land is from an Auckland farmer--a correspondent of the Southern Cross:--
"Fern-land captivates the eye by its openness and apparently easy clearing; but Mr. Newcome, if you are a man of small means, touch it not. Leave it for men of capital, who have stock and implements, and who can wait for a return. You want the quick and certain return the bush or forest land will afford. Fern-land requires clearing, and ploughing and harrowing, and a good fallow, or it will not in many instances return your seed; and before this process even, a wise man will give it the benefit of cattle. Now, for wood-land you want neither ploughs, harrows, nor expensive implements; your axe and bill-hook serve your purpose. And there is the timber for your houses, and fencing, and firewood. How many 'farms,' improperly so called, are there in New Zealand where the residents have positively to buy all their firewood, and sometimes their water. And then again, in the forest, you get the virgin soil; seeds grow at once with luxuriance. Can this be said of fern-land? 'But,' you exclaim, 'it will never pay to clear that forest-impossible!' Never, perhaps, the way you would set about it. You would, probably, for the sake of appearances, make a clean sweep of it and grub all the stumps. Attend then a moment, and learn the art of making a home in
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New Zealand.
the beautiful forest. First, with a small axe or hook thoroughly clear all the underbrush. This is essential to a good burning, and must be done before you fell a tree. Then fell away. Now, the large trees can be left standing, the fire will kill them. Some who intend their land for grass only, leave standing all trees above 18 inches in diameter; others for wheat and other crops, leave only those which exceed three feet in diameter. It is a matter of expense; for a man can fell twenty ordinary trees in the time you would take for one large one. Your felling must be finished by the end of November, to give it the summer's drying. Towards the end of the following March, watch well the weather. If heavy rain is brewing, fire your clearing, and if you have laid your trees all one way and down hill, and you begin your fire at the bottom, you will have a blaze that will astonish you; and a great number of light wood trees will burn clean away. In a day or two you will have a rich soil covered with ashes, clean of all weeds, and fit to grow anything. If you want a crop of wheat, or oats, or barley, throw in your seed on your ashes--that's all--no digging nor harrowing. In about a month after it is up, sow your grass and seed amongst the wheat. Or if you want your grass for immediate use, you sow it alone, and in six weeks you have a good bite. Now, let us see how this will pay. I put down the clearing at the highest price paid, in which all trees under three feet in diameter were felled. Where all above 18 inches have been left, only 18s. per acre has been paid.
Clearing Bush-lands.
COST.
| Felling an acre
|
£2 0 0
|
| Burning (a match)
|
|
| Seed (wheat and grass)
|
1 0 0
|
| Harvesting
|
0 15 0
|
|
|
£3 15 0
|
| Produce--35 bushels of wheat, at 5s.
|
£8 15 0
|
Straw and an acre of permanent grass that will carry from six to eight sheep per acre.
"The uncleared forest, too, is both shelter and food for your cattle. They will get fat in it in the winter when those in the open country are perhaps dying from hunger and exposure. I admit that logs and stumps are unsightly, but what of that if you and your stock are in plenty? Every year as they dry you can put a little fire to them, and soon they will disappear. And, moreover, you can always enjoy a real fireside without your happiness being alloyed by seeing visions of firewood bills in your coals."
Grazing Land.
The finest New Zealand pastures are those on which the light ferns and native grasses have been burnt down. Good mixed grass seed is thrown on the rough, unbroken surface, and duly harrowed in. The cost of this process is about £2 per acre; and, in the opinion of experienced colonists, the money so laid out is a profitable investment.
"Nearly all the wooded hills are well adapted for sheep feeding when cleared and sown down with grass. We have friends who now actually keep from five to six sheep per acre on these mis-termed useless hills. It costs about £3 10s. per acre to cut down the small bush and sow grass seed; and each sheep, in proper condition, will annually yield a fleece 3 lbs. to 4 lbs, in weight, and worth from 1s. 4d. to 1s. 6d. per lb.; there is, in addition, the increase of, say 75 per cent, every year. A labouring man with a very small capital, if of industrious habits, is pretty sure of
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New Zealand.
Farming Operations.
realizing a handsome and unfailing income. These useless hills may now be had for 103. an acre." 7
Wheat is best sown in May or June at the rate of full two bushels per acre. Harvest is general in the North Island about the middle of January. The average yield of the wheat crop in New Zealand is about 25 bushels per acre. Barley and oats are grown with considerable success. Fine samples of the Norfolk Chevalier variety of barley are besoming common in the markets. Potatoes, next to wheat, have hitherto been a well-paying crop in New Zealand. They are generally planted in the North Island in September; but the Canterbury and Otago agriculturists prefer planting a month later. On common soils, without manure, 7 tons per acre is a good yield; but 12 to 14 tons have been obtained on bush-land. Turnips, carrots, parsnips, onions, and all root and vegetable crops are very prolific; 25 tons per acre of turnips is not an uncommon yield; specimens of the white Belgian carrot have been shown weighing 9 lbs.; and two rods of the bush-soil have produced 40 hundred-weight of the white Altringham variety--equal to the almost incredible yield of 150 tons per acre. 300 lbs. of onions have been obtained from less than a rod of ground (nearly 25 tons per acre), and cabbages, grown on bush-soil, have been cut weighing 40 lbs. to 50 lbs. each.
The commonest fences are the ditch and bank, and the post and three-rail, costing at the present rates of labour from 15s. to 25s. per chain of 22 yards. Quick or furze is sometimes planted inside, and may be mixed with wild rose, broom, and geranium, all of which attain a great size and become strong shrubs.
