CHAPTER II
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CHAPTER II.
TREES--BIRDS--QUADRUPEDS--FISHES--INSECTS--SHELLS--CLIMATE--SEASONS--SOIL--MINERALS.
SOME of the trees which grow in the immense forests of New Zealand have been found very serviceable to Europeans, not only for the erection of houses and the building of vessels, but also as spars for masts for the British navy. The staple trade of these islands must ever be their timber and their flax, both of which are articles highly valuable to the merchant and to the ship-owner. Many exaggerated reports have been circulated respecting the facility of obtaining spars, of sufficient magnitude to answer the purposes of the British navy. By some it has been said, that they may be obtained without difficulty; and by others, that it is impossible to obtain them at all. Both of these reports are equally incorrect. They may be obtained; but it can only be with much labour, and at great expense. The nature of the forests is such as to render the task extremely difficult and hazardous. The finest trees grow in the deepest ravines; and the under-
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wood is so strong, and the ratan or supple-jack so netted from branch to branch, and interwoven with the underwood, as to prevent either ingress or egress, unless pioneers have cleared the way before you. Then again, as there is nothing at the bottom of these ravines except a small brook, the spars must be dragged up three or four hundred yards of very steep hill, rolled down the opposite side, and then, perhaps, have the same process to undergo, before they arrive at one of the main branches of the river, leading to the tide; and even then they must await the contingency of a flood, for floating them down to the harbour where they are to be embarked. The greatest caution is necessary in floating logs of large dimensions down the very narrow rivers of New Zealand, as their form is serpentine; and sometimes the angle is so sharp, as to throw a large log right across the stream, and fix it immoveably, with either end in the bank. With the machinery that is used in England, for removing great weights, the work might be much facilitated; but whose purpose will it answer to bring expensive machinery to New Zealand? From all I know of any timber-district in the country, the Hokianga, and its tributary streams, afford the greatest facilities for obtaining a cargo of good spars; as there they grow nearer to the water's edge, and have a splendid stream of nearly thirty miles, down which they can be floated; when they arrive at the main river. There is, however, this
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objection to the place: no large vessel can enter with safety: or if, through her lightness, she should enter, she would not be able to get out again when loaded, on account of the bar which runs right across this and every other harbour, except one, on the western coast. I am not sufficiently acquainted with the local facilities for obtaining timber in the frith of the Thames, to hazard an opinion, whether it is more desirable than Wangaroa for an establishment of the kind. All my information of that place has been obtained from others; for, on my visit to that part of the island, I did not go into the woods where the large and valuable timber flourishes. But, from all I could collect, it is not so desirable a place as Wangaroa; and, but for the drawback of the bar at the mouth of the river, certainly not equal to the Hokianga. Small vessels, of any tonnage less than three hundred tons, may go in and out with safety; but these are not long enough to take in the spars that are most valuable, and, indeed, the only ones that are required for the purposes of the navy. I shall not pretend to give any account of the anchorage in the Thames: I believe, however, it is good: but there can be no doubt of Wangaroa Harbour, nor of that at Hokianga. They are both of them completely land-locked, and are also very extensive: the land on either side is bold, and the water deep.
The first tree which I shall notice, is the
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Kauri (Dammari Australis , or Pinus Kauri ). This tree is of the genus Pine; and has attracted much of the attention of Europeans, on account of its magnitude, and the excellency of its wood; answering every purpose of house-building, and being excellently adapted, from its size, lightness, and strength, for the top-masts of the largest East-Indiamen and men-of-war. It grows, in some of the forests, from eighty-five to ninety-five feet high, without a branch. The trunk of the tree is of immense girth, being sometimes twelve feet in diameter; and when the bark and sap are removed, the circumference of the solid heart of the log is thirty-three feet, being a diameter of eleven feet. It will scarcely be believed, by an English timber-merchant, that I have measured a Kauri-tree whose circumference was forty feet eleven inches, perfectly sound throughout; the gum oozing out of it, when the bark was wounded, as though it were a plant of only a few years' growth. The sap of the Kauri, as indeed of every other tree in New Zealand, is thickest on the shaded side; that is, on the south and south-west side, or that portion of the plant which faces the south or south-west: it is on that side, sometimes, seven inches thick; while the opposite sides, those facing the north and north-east, have only five inches of sap; and the heart, or solid part, of the tree, is harder and more durable than the other side. The sap soon rots, being very succulent in its
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nature; and, when stripped of its bark, is immediately preyed upon by a small brown worm, which reduces a great portion of it to powder. As a shrub, and during its youthful days, the Kauri is not very graceful: it is crooked and shapeless, and has a few long, narrow, pale-green leaves, scattered here and there upon its branches: but when it comes to years of maturity, it stands unrivalled for majesty and beauty. Its top is crowned with the most splendid foliage; and its immense height raises its head far above the other trees of the forest; over which it stands the undisputed monarch, and affords, under its crown, an umbrageous retreat for many of the more humble plants. Its leaves are small, but very numerous, and not unlike those of the English box. The bark is thick, white, and smooth, and very soon hardens after the tree is cut down: if not stripped in a short time after it is felled, the task becomes difficult, from the pertinacity with which it adheres to the trunk. The wood is very light in its colour, is beautifully grained, planes up smooth, and otherwise works well. From the trunk of the tree oozes a gum, insoluble in water, and, I believe, in rectified spirits-of-wine; also a kind of resin, which will answer the purpose of that useful article in ship-building. Both emit a strong resinous smell: the gum is, however, very fragrant, and is chewed by the natives, for hours together, on account of the taste which it leaves upon the tongue. The
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gum and resin diffuse themselves over the whole tree. The cone and the leaf are equally tinctured with it, and it may be seen exuding from the tips of the leaves on the highest branches. This tree nourishes on the sides of steep hills and in the bottom of deep ravines, and always on a stiff, hard, clayey soil. The roots of the Kauri, as of every other tree in New Zealand, are very much upon the surface of the earth, with here and there a fibre striking deeply into the ground. This is again another difficulty, which those have to contend with, who are passing through, or working in a forest. Tanekaha (Podocarpus asplenifolius , or Phyllocladus trichomanoides )--This regular, beautiful, and highly-ornamental tree, is found on hilly lands, or in dry shaded woods. Its general height is about forty-five feet; and its girth, or circumference, ten feet. The bark is plain, and light-coloured, ringed at about six inches, and forming distinct flakes up to the branches of the tree: the leaf-stem is about four inches; and each one has nine or eleven small umbelliferous leaves, like those of the parsley, growing upon it. The wood is a shade darker than the Kauri: it has a closer grain, smells strongly of turpentine, is less affected with wet than any other pine, and is an exceedingly valuable wood. It is used for all kinds of outside work, such as posts, and floors for verandahs; and is much sought after for the decks of vessels. The tree is not so plentiful as
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the Kauri; and is not of sufficient magnitude for masts of any but small-craft. Totara (Taxus )--This tree, when full grown, is about twenty feet in circumference, and from fifty to sixty feet high in the trunk. It has a coarse, light-coloured bark, very thick and heavy; and has the appearance of having been chopped through, at small intervals, with an axe. It flourishes in dry soil and on rising ground; but is sometimes found on the banks of rivers. The wood is inclining to red, splits freely, is very hard, but works well. Its foliage forms a thick handsome crown at the top of the tree, and is much like that of the yew. This tree does not appear to be subject to the same diseases as others of the same species, as it is mostly found in a very sound and perfect state. Its roots are high out of the ground, and the fibres are remarkably thick and strong: they spread themselves over a great surface of earth: and are detrimental to the growth of the underwood, with which most of the forests in New Zealand abound.
Kahikatea (Treniperus , or Dacrydium excelsum ) --This tree only flourishes in low, swampy, or alluvial soils; and never in thick and shady woods. It has a very imposing appearance when it stands alone, having a trunk branchless for seventy or eighty feet; and then a beautiful top, rising to a point; the leaves being sharp and prickly, of the same character as those of the Totara, only
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longer and narrower. It bears a red berry; of which the natives are particularly fond, and which has latterly become an article of barter among themselves. The first visitors to New Zealand were much disappointed in this tree. It is, what has commonly been designated, the White Pine: but it is of so soft and spongy a nature, as to rot in a few months, if exposed to the weather. It absorbs so much wet, that, in the damp climate of New Zealand, it is almost impossible to season it; and from its having been exported, and strongly recommended for building purposes, it quickly brought the pines of this country into disrepute. Now, however, it is never cut down for use, except by those persons who are not acquainted with its nature, or who have no scruples in substituting it in the place of more durable woods, which, in many situations, it is more difficult to obtain. The tree grows with great rapidity, quickly comes to perfection, and as quickly decays.
Rimu (Dacrydium cupressinum )--This elegant tree comes to its greatest perfection in shaded woods, and in moist rich soil. Its topmost branches are not more than eighty feet from the ground; and the diameter of its trunk seldom exceeds four feet. Its foliage is remarkably graceful and beautiful, especially it its shrubbery days. Its leaves are only small prickles, running up a long stem, from which, towards the top, branch out several other small stems, whose
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united weight causes the main stem to hang like the branches of the weeping-willow, or a cluster of ostrich-feathers; and the beauty of the whole is heightened by the liveliness of the colour with which it is decorated. It has a dark scaly bark; and its wood is inclining to red, without any particular marks of grain. It is hard and difficult to work, being brittle; but its qualities are not sufficiently known, to make it, as yet, much sought after. There is, however, no doubt that it will be found a serviceable and enduring wood. It emits a strong resinous and turpentine smell; and a little resin sometimes oozes from the upper branches. The tree is plentiful in the forests, where the soil is not clayey.
Mairi--a tree of the Podocarpus species, growing from forty to sixty feet high, but never arriving at a larger circumference than twelve feet. Its bark is peculiarly clean; and resembles that of a healthy young oak, or the Tanekaha, when a shrub. It produces a brittly, close-grained, durable wood, of a red colour; planes up smoothly; and appears capable of receiving a high polish. It flourishes best in rich soils, and seems to require much moisture. It has a spiral leaf, long and narrow, of a pale bright green. The wood is too brittle for the cabinet-maker, or it would not be a bad substitute for mahogany. Another objection to its use, for articles of household furniture, except fixtures, is its weight.
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Torairi (Laurus macrophylla )--This tree grows to the height of from fifty to seventy feet; and its trunk measures, in diameter, not more than thirty-six inches. Its wood is light and spongy, and by no means durable. It grows in all soils, but seems to prefer those which are dry and gravelly. It flowers and bears fruit in September, October, and November. Its berries are black, exactly resembling the damson in size and appearance: they are fed upon with avidity by the wild pigeons, but are noxious to man: these berries have a very inviting appearance: their beauty, however, is only superficial; for immediately under the surface is a hard rough husk, prickly to the touch, and disagreeable to the taste. Its bark is smooth, and inclining to grey. Its leaves are like those of the finest, largest and most brilliant English laurel; and the tree is altogether one of the most splendid ornaments of the woods.
Tawa (Laurus Tawa ) is a frequenter of damp and deeply-shaded woods, with leaf and branches similar to those of the Mairi-tree; the branches a little more straggling, and not quite so robust. Its wood is light, and, on account of the facility with which it splits, is used by the natives for their short fences: they use it by pointing the end, and driving it into the ground. It decays in the course of two years, and becomes perfectly useless; but as the aborigines of this country seldom cultivate one spot for a longer period than two successive years, they do not experience
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the inconvenience which must otherwise accrue from the rapid decay of the wood. It would make good lining for weather-board houses; or would answer, in any situation, where not exposed to damp. It produces a berry, about the size of a small sloe; which is eaten, when boiled, by the natives. The process of boiling extracts the poison which abounds in this fruit in its native state.
Puriri (Vitex littoralis )-- This tree, from its hardness and durability, has been denominated the New-Zealand Oak; and indeed it seems to answer all the purposes of that prince of trees. The wood is of a dark-brown colour, close in the grain, and takes a good polish: it splits freely, and works well; and may be used with advantage for all outside work, as it does not injure from exposure to the damp; and twenty years' experience has proved that in that time it will not rot, though in a wet soil, under the ground. For ship-building it is a most valuable wood; as the injury which it has received, from being perforated in various places by a large worm peculiar to the tree, does not essentially diminish its value for the timbers of ships or for the knees of boats. On first examining a Puriri log, you would be inclined to reject it, on account of the many large holes that at once present themselves to notice; but, on further examination, it is found that the perforations do not proceed from the rot, and that the wood which remains is of great value, though
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it must sometimes be cut up to disadvantage. These defects in the trunk of the tree make it unavailable for working-up into household furniture, or for boards; but no plant in New Zealand furnishes such excellent materials for the ground-plates of houses, or for posts and rails for fences: it also answers well for the wood-work of a plough. It grows from fifteen to thirty feet without a branch; and varies from twelve to twenty feet in circumference. The branches are crooked, diffuse, and robust: the leaves are large, and of a deep bright green, growing three and five together: its bark is rough and grey, and is generally covered with a short dry moss: it flowers in September and October, and flourishes best in a deep rich soil. Its roots are much on the surface; and it is more liable than any other tree of the forest to be prostrated to the earth by a gale.
Rewarewa (Knightia excelsa ) -- This tree is found in dry forests, and where the soil is loose and gravelly in its texture. It flowers in November and December; and is a fine umbrageous tree, with large pale-green leaves, rough, and jagged like a saw at the edges. The wood is beautifully variegated; being mottled with red, upon a ground of light-brown. It splits freely; and, were it of sufficient dimensions, would make elegant furniture, or cabinet articles. Its bark is clear, and of a light-brown colour. The height of the tree, when full-grown, is from fifty to sixty
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feet, and its diameter from eighteen to thirty inches. From the freeness with which it splits, it is of much use for paling-fence; but never for shingles, on account of its so readily twisting with the sun: indeed, the tree is not of sufficient magnitude to answer at all the purpose of shingles. It is durable for all inside-work, and would everywhere be considered a handsome wood.
Kawaka (Dacrydium plumosum ) is a tree growing about thirty feet high, and from one to three feet in diameter; with a rough dark bark, and a foliage not very unlike the fern. It is a beautifully-grained wood, close and heavy, and would make elegant picture-frames, where they were required of a deep stain. It is, however, only the lower part of the trunk of the tree which is so dark and close in the grain: the higher you ascend toward the branches, the lighter, both in weight and colour, does the wood become, and consequently, for the purpose above mentioned, the less valuable. The wood in the lower part of the tree much resembles the tulip-wood of Moreton Bay, New South Wales, though not quite so dark or heavy. I believe it is not much known, and has never, as yet, been sought after, to be applied to any useful purpose.
Miro (Podocarpus ferruginea )--This plant grows to the height of from forty to sixty feet, with a diameter of not more than thirty inches, except in extraordinarily large specimens. It flourishes in all the forests, and in every description of
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soil. It produces a fine red berry, the principal and most nourishing food of the wood-pigeon, during the season. The wood is smooth, close-grained, and dark, for a pine; splits freely, and has a large long grain, similar to that of the mahogany. The smallness of the dimensions of this tree subtracts much from its utility as timber, to which name, perhaps, it can scarcely be said to make any pretensions. The leaf is like that of the fir-tree; and its bark is clear and smooth, as the bark of the ash. For durability, as a species of the Pine, it far exceeds any other; and would be much sought after and preferred, were it not for the scantiness of its circumference. Towai--a tree of the Podocarpus species, with a dark-brown bark, and a leaf similar to, and about the size of, the moss-rose. It grows from twenty to thirty feet high, without a branch, and then becomes thickly foliated. Its bark is smooth, and similar to that of the ash. It produces a heavy, close-grained, red wood; answering all the purposes of the New South-Wales cedar, but much more durable and weighty. It grows in all the small forests, where there is no Kauri, and where the soil is light and vegetable in its nature. This tree is also but of small dimensions; and is, consequently, generally allowed to remain an undisturbed occupier of its native woods.
Pohutukaua (Callistemon ellipticus ) -- This is a tree of remarkably robust habits, and diffuse irregular growth; and is found on the rocky shores
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of most of the bays and harbours of the northern island of New Zealand. Indeed, it nourishes best on those rocks where it would appear impossible that a plant of such large dimensions should be able to derive sustenance; as nothing is visible, but the barren rock to which it has attached itself. Its leaves are large, and of a very deep green: in December and January it puts out large quantities of flowers of the most splendid crimson colour, larger than a good-sized rose; and of the class Polyandria, having an immense number of stamens, with a little light dust clinging to the top of each. The back of this tree is grey, and the wood brittle, hard, heavy, and dark. It is very difficult to work, from its hardness; as it breaks or turns the edges of almost all the tools used in preparing it. It receives the finest polish, and would be taken for a very handsome rose-wood; as a substitute for which it answers well. I should conceive it to be one of the most durable, as well as the darkest and hardest woods of New Zealand. It sometimes grows to four or five feet in diameter, but is crooked and mis-shapen.
Aki--called the Lignum vitae of New Zealand, from its hardness, weight, and colour: is useless for all common purposes, and is very difficult to work. It is a crooked short tree, scarcely more than a useful shrub, being not of larger diameter than from six inches to a foot. Its wood takes the most beautiful polish; and its grain seems to
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be only a continuation of hard knots, which gives it a peculiar, but very beautiful appearance, when wrought. It resembles the tulip-wood of Australia, more than any other plant I have seen. If sent to England, I doubt not but it would be a most valuable wood for making elegant cabinets and work-boxes; but the patience of the artist would be severely put to the test, from the hardness and brittleness of the material which he would have to work.
Kahikatoa (Leptospermum scoparium )--A tree of stunted growth, flourishing in clayey barren soils, and producing a hard red wood. From the berries which it bears, it has been designated the tea-tree. It does not grow above eighteen inches in diameter. It is sometimes used by the natives for the corner-posts of their larger fences; but it would not answer for this purpose if nails were used by them, as the wood is so hard as to resist a nail of large dimensions. It is a sure sign of a barren soil when the Kahikatoa is found in plenty; for though it grows to its greatest size in rich woods, it is very rarely seen but upon the most barren and useless plains which will scarcely produce any other plant or shrub. It has a very small leaf, and bears a white blossom all the year round. The perfume which it exhales is very fragrant, and spreads itself for a long distance from the place where the plant grows.
Kohekohe (Laurus kohekohe }--A fine handsome tree, with a trunk free of branches to a height
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of forty feet, and a diameter of three feet; producing a fine-grained red wood, closer than the cedar, and rather heavier than that wood. Its bark is clear; it splits freely, and will no doubt answer well for all common household furniture. Its leaf has the colour, the shape, and the gloss of the laurel; and its roots are more expansive, and cover a larger surface than those of any other tree of this country. In cutting roads through the woods, this plant forms a great obstruction, on account of the immense size and hardness of its roots.
Mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus ) has a thin, spiral, and elegant leaf; and grows to a height of not more than fifty feet; with a circumference of about six feet. The bark is smooth and light, and the wood which it furnishes is rather heavier than the Rimu: it works short, and will not take a good polish. Its habits are not robust; and it requires a rich alluvial soil, to bring it to any thing like perfection.
Hinau (Dicera dentata )--This tree is also partial to a rich alluvial soil: it grows to a height of sixty or seventy feet; having a circumference of about twelve feet. The wood of this plant is remarkable for its whiteness; but is almost useless, on account of the way in which it splits, when exposed to either wet or warmth. Its chief use is, that it makes an excellent dye, either a light brown or puce colour, or a deep black, not removable by washing: the natives use it (that
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is, the outer skin of the bark) for the purpose of dyeing the black threads of their garments. It only requires to be pounded and thrown into water, and the article to be dyed immersed in the infusion: of course, according to the strength is the deepness of the colour. The leaf of this tree is spiral, and of a bright green; and the bark, rough-looking and unsightly.
Matai (Taxus Matai )--a plant with a small yew-tree leaf, a strong smell, and a rough bark. Its wood is peculiarly coloured, being a mixture of red and white, forming a few shades deeper than the grain of the Kauri. Its habits are rather robust: it prefers a rich alluvial soil; grows to a height of fifty feet; and measures in diameter from three to five feet. The wood is considered durable, and has the advantage of being easily worked: it is not however, as yet, much known.
Rata (Genus unknown)--This is a fine and useful tree, producing a heavy, close-grained, durable red wood, capable of being turned to almost any purpose of household work; and valuable to the ship-builder, as he may find its branches curved to his hand, and requiring but little of the labour of the axe to form it to his purpose. It is found in perfection, of all sizes and heights, from twenty to seventy feet high, and from eighteen inches to seven feet in diameter. It prefers a dry stony soil, and varies in the pleasantness of its appearance, according to the regular or irregular shape of its trunk. Its branches generally shoot
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from the top of the main stem, and put forth to some height before a leaf appears. The leaves are small, in the shape of the Box; tufted at the top of the tree, forming a crown; and, in the distance, appear like a cluster of palms growing out of one large stem, rising far above the parent stock by which they are supported.
Besides the trees already mentioned, there are many others of the same character, differing 'but little in the nature of the wood, and in the purposes for which they can be used. It would require years to discover the nature of the various trees which flourish in this land; but it will appear, from the short and very imperfect description given above, that though the Kauri is the monarch of the forest, and the tree most sought after on account of its immense size, there are others whose qualities for particular purposes excel this. The Kauri would never alone answer the purpose of ground-plates for a house: but when they are laid of Puriri, a strong and enduring foundation for a weather-board building is obtained, and the whole superstructure, with all the finishings, inside and outside, may be supplied with advantage from the mighty trunk of this valuable pine. It possesses also a value of which but few other trees can boast; that is, the facility with which it can be worked, from the first stroke at its roots with the axe, to the touch of the master carpenter, or the last finish of the accomplished artist.
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WITHOUT attempting any thing like a classification of the Birds of New Zealand, or presuming to intrude upon the province of the Natural Historian, I shall endeavour to give a short description of those which I have particularly noticed in this country. --Nothing can possibly exceed the exquisiteness of a morning concert as performed in the ample woods of these islands. One of the greatest treats which I enjoy, is to be wakened in my tent by the loud and lovely voices of the only musicians which I have met with, since I left the lark and the nightingale behind me in much-loved England. Their song is too sweet to be of long continuance: at the first dawn of day it commences, and gradually heightens as the light increases; but no sooner does the sun appear, gilding the hills with his bright beams, than the performers, one after another, retire, and all the lovely sounds die away into profound silence: or if the silence be broken, it is only by the shrill note of some unmusical bird, who dared not to appear till his more melodious companions had retired into the woods, either to prepare for, or to take care of, their young, and to repose after the exertions of the morning. --I proceed to describe some few of the feathered inhabitants of New Zealand.
Tui --This remarkable bird, from the versatility of its talents for imitation, has, by some, been called "the Mocking Bird;" and, from its pecu-
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liar plumage, has by others been denominated "the Parson Bird." It is so restless in its disposition, as to seem incapable of remaining in one situation, or unemployed, for a single moment. There is not a note of any bird of the woods but what it exactly imitates; and, when confined in a cage, it learns with great ease and correctness to speak long sentences. It imitates dogs, cats, turkeys, geese, and, in fact, every sound which is repeated a few times in its hearing. Its size is that of the thrush; and its plumage, a beautiful glossy black, with a few very fine white hairy feathers scattered about the head and breast, a few stronger ones about the nostrils, and two small clusters of long white feathers hanging down from the neck upon the breast, resembling a pair of clerical bands. Its eye is penetrating, and its voice peculiarly mellow. Its general food is flies and small insects, which it is very expert in catching; supplying itself in a very short time with great abundance. It also feeds upon the berries of various plants, and will not reject earthworms. This bird seems to associate with every other warbler of the wood; and, next to the ground-lark, is found in the greatest number of all the birds of New Zealand. It is delicious eating. It seems to be of a tender constitution, short-lived, and not able to bear the extremes of either heat or cold.
Koukou --The bird so called is a small owl, a native of New Zealand; and partakes of all the
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character of the common British owl. Its habits are the same: it conceals itself in holes of trees, or in the deep shelter of the woods, during the day, and goes out at night to seek for its prey. Its name has been given to it as an imitation of its cry.
Powaitere --A Parrot, or Paroquet. --Of these birds there are several kinds; all of them small, though differing in size; and, with the exception of the Kaka, are nearly the same in plumage--a bright green; yellow or red under the throat and tail; and red or yellow about the head. They seem to differ nothing from the parrots of New South-Wales and the East in their general character, being mischievous, chattering, and fond of imitation. They build their nests in holes of trees, and associate in flocks.
Kaka --A bird of the parrot kind; much larger than any other New-Zealand parrot; but possessing all their mischievous qualities, and capable of learning to imitate the human voice to an astonishing degree. Its feathers are of a dark russet colour: round the neck, upon the thighs, and under the tail, beautifully tinged and spotted with deep red. It has a large round dark eye; and the feathers encircling it are shaded with a mixture of yellow and red. This bird feeds upon all kinds of fruit, berries, and farinaceous roots. It bites holes in trees, in which it makes its nest; laying four, and sometimes five, eggs, perfectly white. Generally, three of these birds are found
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together in the same hole, one male and two females; and during the season of incubation, the nests, though separated, are so close together, that either of the mother-birds can sit upon the eggs, feed their neighbour's young, and cover them with one of her wings, without leaving her own nest, or neglecting her own offspring. The cry of this bird, when ranging at large in the woods, is harsh and disagreeable in the extreme.
The Kokorimako is about the size of the sparrow, with a small, oblong, dark eye; plumage, a dark brown, tinged with green; with a long beak, gradually coming to a sharp point, and a little curved in the middle. It has puce-coloured legs, a long forked tail, and strong wings. It lays seven eggs, spotted with blue, upon a brown ground; has a remarkably shrill quick cry, Te te te te, which it keeps up for some minutes without intermission. In the morning, it joins the other songsters of the wood. The male is larger, has brighter colours, and more green in its plumage, than the female.
Tataiato --A small bird about the size of the wren; its feathers very fine in texture, of a dusky brown colour; the head and breast inclining to white. It has a forked tail, long, and of a bright brown; its eyes are small and penetrating; its beak, black, and very short; its legs and feet like those of the goldfinch, only stronger in the claws. It feeds upon berries and fruits.
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BIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND.
Tiaki , or Purourou--This elegant bird is about the size of the sky-lark; and its plumage, for which it is remarkable, is of a glossy black; except the outer feathers on the back and wings, which are of a deep dusky red, and give it a peculiar appearance. Its legs are strong and black; and its beak like that of the starling. It feeds on worms and berries; is very rapid in its motions; exceedingly restless, hopping from twig to twig; and scarcely ever ceasing to make a clucking noise, similar to the single call of a hen to her chickens. It lays seven purely white eggs, in a compact nest, in the lower branches of the Totara-tree. Its flesh is delicate.
Ngirungiru --This bird lays its eggs m the holes of trees: they are spotted with brown, on a white ground. Its food is small flies, and insects which crawl and feed upon the trees. It is a very small bird, not larger than the torn-tit: its plumage is black and white, having a white breast, and some of the near feathers of each wing tinged with white. It has yellow feet, and a short round black beak. Its voice is shrill; not very pleasant when heard alone, but assists in the general and harmonious concert of the woods.
Toutouwai --This bird is nearly the size of the sparrow; a little more round in its figure, but about the same length. It has a short strong beak, dark eye, and a short straight tail: its feathers are dark, tinged with white about the breast and tail, with small light-coloured downy feathers
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BIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND.
hanging over the wings and tail, which give the bird a peculiarly plump appearance. It feeds on worms and small insects; and lays seven eggs, spotted with brown, on a faint blue ground. It pronounces clearly, in a shrill voice, the word from whence it takes its name.
Piripiri --A small bird, three inches long; with brown plumage, tinged with yellow and dark purple. Its beak is half an inch long, and very slender. The outer feathers on the breast are white; legs of a dark brown; and the feet yellow. It makes a sucking noise; is easily caught with the hand; builds a very compact nest at the tops of the Kauri-tree; and lays four small white eggs, not much larger than a pea.
Parera , or Wild Duck--These birds exactly resemble the common English wild-duck. They are of a fine flavour, and abound in all the rivers and lakes in New Zealand. In the Thames they are particularly tame, and plentiful. In almost every other river, north of the Thames, they are as remarkable for their timidity and wildness.
Piwakawaka , or Tirakaraka -- This restless little bird is continually on the wing, or hopping from twig to twig. It has a head like the bullfinch; with one black and one white streak under the neck, coming to a point in the centre of the throat Its wings are very sharp and pointed; and as it hops from spray to spray, it spreads its tail in the form of a fan. Its plumage is black and white; and its food, flies, and small leaf-
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insects, which it pursues and catches with astonishing rapidity. It is a very bold and daring bird; and will fly so close to you, as to allow you to strike it down or catch it with the hand. The natives seldom harm them, as they destroy so many sand-flies and musketoes.
Riroriro --A very small brown bird, with white feathers under the wings and tail. The plumage on the breast is of a lighter brown than on any other part of the body. It builds its nest on the ground, under shelter of the thickest fern. It has no song.
Pihoihoi --This bird resembles the canary in shape and size: it is however no songster, and its plumage is a spotted brown. It does not frequent the wood; but is always found in the plains, among the fern. In time of danger, the male leaves the female on the nest, and flies or hovers about your path; endeavouring to lead you away from its young, by placing itself in such situations as to take your attention, and draw you from its nest. This bird also makes its nest at the roots of the thickest fern, which shelters it equally from heat and from cold. It might not be improperly designated the ground-lark, which it very much resembles.
Kiwi --The most remarkable and curious bird in New Zealand. It is about the size of a three-months-old turkey; and is covered with feathers, coarse, long, and slender, similar to those of the Emu of New Holland: its beak is precisely the
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BIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND.
same as that of the curlew, and is used to thrust into the ground for earth-worms, upon which it feeds: the eyes are always blinking: the head is very small in proportion to the size of the bird; and from the nostrils grow out several long, strong, black hairs, or feelers, like the whiskers of a cat: its legs are short, remarkably strong for the size of the bird, and are of the gallinaceous character. It has no appearance of either wing or tail. It makes a kind of hissing noise when in search of prey; and strikes the ground with its strong heavy feet, to rouse the earth-worms, and put them in motion. Its sense of smelling appears to be very acute. These birds hide themselves during the day; and come out of their retreats, which are generally small holes in the earth, or under stones, at night, to seek for their food. They run very fast, and are only to be caught by dogs, by torch-light, which they sometimes kick and bruise severely. They are highly prized, when taken, which is very rarely, by the natives; and their skins are kept till a sufficient number are collected to make into a garment. I have only seen one garment made of skins of this bird, during my six years and a half residence in New Zealand; and no consideration would induce the man to whom it belonged to part with it. The flesh is black, sinewy, tough, and tasteless. There are but few of these birds to be met with north of Hikurangi, a large mountain at the East Cape; but in this place they
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abound, and are generally larger than in any other part of the island.
Matata --A small dusky-coloured bird, with a white and brown spotted breast; a beak like that of the canary-bird; head long, and covered with light and dark-brown spotted feathers. It has light brown feet, with four claws. The tail is composed of four long and four short feathers, similar in texture to those of the Emu and Kiwi. It lives amongst the rushes, in swamps; and has a long shrill cry, very piercing, and at times melancholy. It is remarkably tame, and seems to have no fear of man.
Kauaua A sparrow-hawk, nothing differing from the sparrow-hawks of England. It is exceedingly swift of wing; and but few birds that it pursues can escape its talons. It is very elegant in its form and plumage; and, but for its tiger-like propensities, would soon become a petted favourite.
Kahu --A large and powerful bird, of the hawk species. It has great strength of wing and talon; and alights with such force upon its prey, as at one blow to sever the head from a duck, or to slay outright a full-grown turkey. When one of these birds makes its appearance, the whole of the poultry-yard is put in agitation, and continues in a state of great restlessness till it has retired out of sight. The general food of this rapacious bird is rats and young wild-ducks. It rarely visits the barn-door, and never attacks domestic
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BIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND.
fowls, except when much pressed by hunger. This bird, though to appearance large, is actually very small, and is remarkably lanky in its body. The sinews are so strong, as almost to resist, or to blunt, the edge of a good knife.
Tatariki --A small brown bird, with a white head, short black beak, black legs, and brown feet with four claws. It resembles the torn-tit in shape; sings sweetly; but altogether ceases its song during the three winter months. It lays three spotted eggs, feeds upon small insects, and inhabits the most retired parts of the wood; and is scarcely ever seen for more than an hour, after the rising of the sun.
Huia --This bird is found only in the mountainous districts of Taranaki, and farther south than Waiapu or the East Cape. It is a black bird, about the size of a nightingale, with long slender yellowish legs and feet. The plumage is of a glossy black, and very fine: it has, for its tail, four long broad black feathers, tipped with white at the extremity, which gives it a very lively appearance: these feathers are much valued by the natives, and are sent as presents to the natives of the Bay of Islands, to ornament their hair on grand occasions, or when going out to battle. The most remarkable feature in the appearance of this bird is the form of its beak, which is slender, and resolves itself into an exact semicircle. It resides in deep long grass: its food is worms and insects, with a small berry called ponga. After
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the skin is taken off, which is always done for the sake of wearing a tuft of the feathers in the ear, the flesh is delicious.
Pukeko --A species of water-hen, the size of a well-grown capon. It resides in the swamps; has very long red legs, with three long toes and one short toe on each foot. The eye is particularly small; the beak broad, very strong, and of a deep crimson; the forehead bare of feathers, and of the same deep crimson colour as the beak. The plumage of this bird is rather coarse, of a dark shaded brown, tinged with green; except the neck and breast, which are of a deep and brilliant purple: it has also a small tuft of fine white feathers under the tail, which is very short. These birds are not strong in the wing; but sometimes fly from their native retreats in the morasses, and rob the potato-fields nearest their abode; at which time they are easily snared, and great numbers taken. The New Zealanders say the flesh is coarse and bitter, and is rejected by them as food.
Kukupa --A large wood-pigeon, very plentiful in New Zealand. This is one of the most beautiful birds the country possesses. It is much larger than the largest wild or tame pigeons in England, and has a plumage unrivalled among the extensive family of doves for splendour and variety: green, purple and gold are, however, the prevailing colours. It is a heavy-flying bird, which makes it an easy prey to the hawks, with
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BIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND.
which the woods abound.. They are easily killed with a spear or a musket; and if two birds are found upon the same tree, they are either so sluggish or stupid as not to fly when one is either killed or wounded. They feed upon the berries of the Miro; are most delicious eating; and are in season from January to June. The natives destroy vast numbers of these birds, and value them much, on account of both the quantity and the quality of their flesh.
Kotihe --This bird is about the size of the goldfinch; but has a slender dark beak, nearly an inch long. The male is considerably larger than the female; and has a much more beautiful plumage, being variegated with white and yellow, upon a diversified ground of brown. Its legs are very strong, for the size of the bird, and its tail is forked. It lays four eggs, in the moss of the Puriri-tree; and the male always attends and waits upon the female during the season of incubation. Its voice is very pleasing; but it only sounds a few notes; then hops to another spray, and sings again. Its food is berries and other wild fruits of the woods. It is a timid bird, and difficult to be taken alive. The males vary much in the brilliancy of their colours; some having a jet-black head and back, and others, again, a dusky brown. Those with the black feathers are, by far, the prettiest birds. They are all, however, as beautiful as the linnet in their plumage, and surpass him in the delicacy and elegance of their shape.
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BIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND
Kokako ; called, by some, the New-Zealand crow. Its plumage is a very dark green, not much varied in any part of the body: the legs are black and coarse, with long claws on each foot. It has a strong black beak, a little curved; and a small brilliant light-blue flap hanging down on each side, from the ear. The moment the bird dies, the colour of these flaps fades, and becomes of nearly the same hue as its plumage. The habits of the bird are decidedly those of the crow. It is very sly and thievish, and is at the same time particularly shy and timid. It is found, in the greatest numbers, in the woods on the banks of the Thames. Its flesh is bitter and unsavory; but is palatable when the skin has been taken off, before it is dressed.
Pipiwawaroa --This is a bird of passage, and is supposed to come from the islands north of New Zealand; though the natives assure us that it retires in winter into the holes of trees, or into the crevices of the rocks, and does not fly away for winter-quarters to other and warmer climes. It only remains here during about three months of the high summer. It is a small bird, of very beautiful plumage, in almost every variety: green, white, purple and gold are, however, the prevailing colours: the feathers under the tail are white, spotted with brown: those on the breast and throat are marked with broad lines of white and deep brown; and the wings are a very delicate purple, tinged with gold. The eye is a
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BIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND.
piercing hazel. It has no song; is easily caught; and feeds upon the small insects found in the bark of the Kauri-tree.
Kohaperoa --This bird is remarkable for its long body, and short cock's beak. Its plumage is spotted; brown and white about the breast; the back and wings of a bright puce colour, variegated with a little black, which has a beautiful silky appearance. Under the tail, the feathers are precisely the same in colours and shape as those of the sparrow-hawk. Its legs are very short, and its claws strong; which detracts greatly from the beauty of its delicately-slender body. This bird is one of the sweetest songsters of the wood; but it is only seen or heard for about four months, in the height of summer. It secures itself, during the winter months, among stones, or in the holes of the Puriri-tree; and does not leave its retreat till all danger of its being overtaken with cold is passed away. The natives say, that always before the wind is about to blow from the south the Kohaperoa ceases its song; and does not commence again till the west wind blows, or till a breeze springs up in the north.
Tuturiwatu --This is a small delicate bird, not much larger than the thrush; with short black legs; and a pigeon-beak, with the nostrils very far down and widely extended. It has a deep red eye, a longish neck, and a plumage spotted with various shades of brown. It lays its eggs in a compact nest, which it makes in the parasitical
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plants that grow on the branches of the tallest trees of the forest. Its food is the red berry of the Tarairi.
The Takahikahi is nearly of the same size as the Tuturiwatu, with beak and legs precisely the same. It differs from it, however, in its plumage, and in its general habits. It has most beautifully spotted feathers--gold, light brown, and purple; lives upon the sea-shore; builds its nests among the thick branches of the lowest shrubs; and feeds upon the seeds of sea-weeds, and of shrubs that grow near the beach. It has no song: but makes a noise somewhat like that of the pewit.
Kotaretare --This bird is a species of the kingfisher; but is much smaller, and not so beautiful in its plumage as birds of that class found in England. They are very plentiful in New Zealand all the winter months; but are not seen so much during the fine warm months of summer. It builds its nests in decayed trees, and never lays more than four eggs. During the season of incubation, the female is fed by the male, with live earth-worms, which he procures and brings to her. The beak is long, black on the upper side, and white on the lower. The head is large; the legs and feet short and small. The plumage on the breast is white; on the throat, spotted with brown: that upon the head is pale green, with a little dark green nearer the beak, and a circle of light brown round the eye. The back is covered with very fine feathers, of a dark puce colour;
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BIRDS OF NEW ZEALAND.
the wings and tail blue and white; and the feathers, just above the tail, bright green. The bird is about the size of the jay.
Matuku urepo --This bird is a species of the crane; and is upwards of three feet long, and three feet in height. It dwells in swamps and marshes; and is very timid, keeping at a great distance from man, and seeming to take alarm at his first approach. The top of the head is covered with slight bristles; and the back of the scull is of a red colour, perfectly bald. Its neck and legs are long; and its food, the worms found at the roots of the bulrush. Its plumage is of a bright ash colour; and it has two tufts of finely-curled feathers at the end of the pinions, which, when the bird is feeding, are mostly erect, and when flying are depressed. Its flight is very elegant; not from its swiftness, but from the slimness of its shape. When on the wing, they generally confine themselves to the extensive marshes with which this country abounds; and, as they are but rarely found in greater numbers than two or three together, and being very shy, they are difficult birds to obtain. The female lays two eggs, of a pale blue colour, about the size of a turkey's egg. They are not sought after by the natives, as they describe their flesh to be "tooth-breaking and bitter."
Putoto --A small black bird, about the size of the thrush, found in the swamps of New Zealand, which it appears never to leave. Its legs are
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short; and the beak about two inches long, admirably adapted for the purpose of procuring its subsistence; as it lives by suction, thrusting its beak to the roots of the reeds and rushes upon which it feeds. The plants, whose roots have been attacked by this bird, turn of a dark brown, and sometimes entirely wither away. The eye is red and glaring; and has a ring round it, composed of light-brown feathers, which gives the bird an angry and fretful appearance. It makes a screaming noise in the night; and is but rarely caught, or even seen.
Pukunui --A bird so called from the largeness and rotundity of its breast, about the size of the crow, and remarkable for the deep red with which the feathers are tinged upon the back and under the wings. Its legs are about five inches long, and rather slender for the size of the body. Its beak is like that of the feldfare; and the eye of a light-brown colour, with a ring of white round it. These birds are never found in the woods; but on the sides of brooks, and in barren land, amongst the stunted fern. By the natives' account, they seek for their food by turning over the pebbles or small pieces of dried marl, under which they discover worms, which are their favourite food. The female lays four eggs, spotted with brown upon a light-brown ground; and makes her nest in the shrub called Kahikatoa (Leptospermum scoparium ). They are here well sheltered from the wind and rain, on account of the
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thickness of the foliage and the strength of the plant.
Katatai --This bird answers nearest to the god-wit, of any I am acquainted with. It feeds upon the sea-shore, and in sandy grounds. It is about sixteen inches long, from the point of the beak to the end of the tail. Its plumage is much variegated, striped with black, and edged with a primrose colour. Its legs are very slender, for the size of the body. It is doubtless a bird of the plover kind, and its habits are similar to those of that bird. It is much sought after by the natives; but is most difficult to procure, being roused by the slightest noise, and very swift of wing.
I am not aware that there are any sea-birds, or birds which are confined to the beach, that are peculiar to New Zealand. The rocks in the bays and rivers abound with feathered inhabitants, who come there to make their nests and rear their young. We have the petrel, cormorant, curlew; a great variety of the shag, and the albatross; the gannet, and the penguin; the great auk and tern; with all the variety of gulls. In some of my trips, I have seen the albatross caught of an immense size, measuring, from tip to tip of the wing, sixteen, and from that to nineteen feet, with a plumage most splendidly profuse--white, tinged with light pink. The natives of New Zealand are very anxious to obtain these birds, on account of their feathers. They will remain out in their canoes many days, and think themselves amply
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BIRDS, QUADRUPEDS, AND FISHES OF NEW ZEALAND.
repaid if they shoot or otherwise take one. The down on the breast is the part most sought after. They skin the bird; and hang the skin, with the feathers on it, to dry in the sun; then pluck the larger feathers off, to ornament their canoes; and cut into round tufts the skin with the down on, which they place in their ears; the beautiful whiteness of the down forming a striking contrast to the dirty face and black hair of the wearer. The gannet and the penguin are the other birds in greatest request for their feathers. All the war-canoes are ornamented from stem to stern; and, when the feathers are first laid on, look remarkably neat. Those with which the handles of the clubs are ornamented, are taken from under the wing of the kaka, or great brown parrot.
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THE only quadruped--and that must come under the name of reptile--known as aboriginal in New Zealand, except a small field-rat*, is a lizard, about six inches long. It takes up its abode among decayed trees and heaps of stones; and is remarkably shy and timid, though mostly allowed to enjoy itself uninjured by man. In the beginning of spring it casts its old skin, and is beautifully covered with bright enamelled scales, which shine, and look like highly-polished armour, in the rays of the sun. Their colours are variable: some are a beautiful green, variegated
*The natives tell us that rats were introduced in the first ship, by Tasman.
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BIRDS, QUADRUPEDS AND FISHES OF NEW ZEALAND.
with red and yellow; others are brown, yellow, and purple; but all nearly white under the belly. The natives regard this harmless and insignificant animal superstitiously, as being the form which they suppose the evil spirit assumes, when he enters a person, in order to destroy him. On this account many of them are fearful when they see a lizard, and are particularly careful not to do it an injury. This feeling is, however, confined to the older and more superstitious natives in the land.
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WE have a rich supply of excellent salt-water fish; but nothing more than eels in any of the fresh-water streams or lakes in New Zealand. Those [most plentiful, and of greatest note, are, soles, mackarel, cod-fish, a species of salmon, whiting, snapper, mullet, bream, skate, gurnards, and a few smaller kinds, some not near so large as a sprat; with an abundance of crayfish, oysters, shrimps, prawns, muscles, and cockles. An immensely large muscle, measuring from eleven to thirteen inches, is found in great abundance at Kaipara, a harbour on the western coast; and some few of this fish are picked up in the Bay of Islands. These inhabitants of the deep form a never-failing resource for the supply of native food: but fishing is now not much regarded, except in the mackarel-season, when several tribes go together to the little creeks where these fish frequent, and always succeed in capturing some hundreds of thousands before they return; the
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FISHES, INSECTS, AND SHELLS OF NEW ZEALAND
greater part of which they preserve for winter stock. They always catch these fish in the darkest nights, when they are able to see the direction the shoal takes, from the phosphorescent appearance which their motion causes on the water. They surround them with their nets, which are several hundred yards long, and drag them in vast numbers to the shore; where the contents are regularly divided among the people to whom the net belonged. REPTILES there are none, but the small lizard before mentioned.
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OF Insects there is no very great variety. The principal are, the locust and the grasshopper, which, during the summer months, make an incessant and truly unpleasant singing noise among the fern; the dragon-fly and scorpion-fly; with a small sand-fly, not larger than a flea, but very noxious--its bite is sharp, and leaves an unpleasant itching for many hours--and they are so numerous on the beach, and by the sides of creeks and rivers, as to become, at times, almost a pest: their bite is most virulent before rain. Musketoes abound in the woods, and by the side of streams; but they are only lately imported. According to Cook, however, these troublesome insects were found in great abundance in the woods, on his first visit. The natives deny this, and constantly tell us they were brought to New Zealand by
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FISHES, INSECTS, AND SHELLS, OF NEW ZEALAND.
Europeans. Many kinds of butterflies and moths, with a few beetles, and forest bugs; which latter are exceedingly unpleasant, when approached, on account of the fetid smell which they emit. Spiders are found in vast abundance among the fern; and caterpillars, of a very destructive kind, in the cultivations. --These form the principal portion of the insects which are found in New Zealand. There are none whose bite or sting is at all dreaded; nor, when you lie down to rest at night, need you fear any thing worse than a few harmless spiders crawling about you, more anxious to escape from you than you can possibly be to escape from them.
The shells on the coast of New Zealand would scarcely repay the naturalist for any long search. There are but few varieties. The French Naturalists, who were very eager in these scientific pursuits, were not able to make many additions to their collections, on the coast of New Zealand. Conchologists, however, consider all, even the most common shells, from this place, as curiosities, and are anxious to obtain them. * The natives are not good divers: they do not spend, by any means, so much of their time in the water as the islanders more to the north of them do; owing to the temperature of their climate being more moderate than that of their neighbours.
* For a List of New-Zealand Shells recently obtained, see Appendix.
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CLIMATE OF NEW ZEALAND
THE climate of New Zealand is decidedly temperate; neither exposed to scorching heats in summer, nor to blasting frosts in winter; though the summer is warm, and the winter cold. It is no doubt salubrious, and congenial to European constitutions. Those who come here sickly, are soon restored to health: the healthy become robust, and the robust fat. North of the Thames, snows are unknown; and frosts are off the ground by nine o'clock in the morning. The country, during six months in the year, is subject to heavy gales from the east and north-east, which usually last for three days, and are accompanied with tremendous falls of rain. These gales generally commence in the east; and gradually haul round to the north-west, where they terminate in a violent gust, almost approaching to a hurricane: the clouds then pass away, and the westerly wind blows again with some violence. In the winter season, the moon rarely either changes or wanes without raising one of these tempestuous gales; and, during the whole year, the wind is sure to blow, though it may be only for a few hours, from the east, every full and change of the moon.
The spring and autumn are delightfully temperate; but subject to showers from the w. s. w. Indeed, however fine the summer may be, we are frequently visited by refreshing rains, which give a peculiar richness to the vegetation, and fer-
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tility to the land. The prevailing winds are from s. w. to N. W., which, within this range, blow upward of nine months in the year: more frequently the wind is due west. During five months, sea-breezes set in from either coast, and meet each other about half-way across the island.
The seasons are as follow: --spring commences in the middle of August; summer, in December; autumn, in March; and winter, in July. Most of the trees are evergreens; and vegetation is scarcely, if ever, suspended. The native grasses flourish throughout the year, and, where the fern has been destroyed, afford an abundant supply. I am persuaded that all graminivorous animals, whether wild or domestic, would thrive well in this temperate climate, if allowed to range at large in the forests, on the hills, in the valleys, or on the plains.
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WE have here almost every variety of soil. Large tracts of good land, available for the cultivation of wheat, barley, maize, beans, pease, &c.; with extensive valleys of rich alluvial soil, deposited from the hills and mountains, and covered with the rankest vegetation, which it supports, summer and winter. We have also a deep rank vegetable mould, with a stiff marly subsoil, capable of being slaked or pulverized by the ashes of the fern. All English grasses flourish well; but the white clover never seeds; and, where the fern has been destroyed, a strong
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FRUITS, VEGETABLES, AND SOIL OF NEW ZEALAND
native grass, something of the nature of the Canary-grass, grows in its place, and effectually prevents the fern from springing up again. Every diversity of European vegetable and fruit flourishes in New Zealand. The gardens abound with broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, beans, pease, asparagus, kale, turnips, potatoes, gooseberries, and currants; and the orchards with excellent apples, pears, peaches, plums, quinces, apricots, nectarines, and grapes; useful and ornamental shrubs and flowers, with hops and nuts, and all kinds of British field-produce: and where the rich alluvial valleys are cultivated, the labourer receives an ample harvest as the reward of his labour. The great difficulty in cultivation arises from the want of proper means; there would be a certainty of ruin to any agricultural speculators in New Zealand, unless they were men of large capital, who could make at once a great outlay, and wait years for any return. Breaking up the land is a most laborious work, and requires much patience: as the fern-root is so closely matted together, it checks or clogs up the plough; and the roots of some of the shrubs catch the share, and often break it short off, or so bend it as to render it altogether useless. The little experience we have had at the Waimate proves that none but the strongest breaking-up ploughs will answer for the virgin soil; and that not less than six strong horses should be harnessed to it, when first put into the earth. The vegetating soil, of which the Church Missionary
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FRUITS VEGETABLES AND SOILS OF NEW ZEALAND.
Society's Estate at the Waimate is principally composed, is of a light friable nature; but very adhesive, clinging pertinaciously to the plough and other implements, and rendering their working difficult and tedious. The soil is of a reddish colour, and of an earthy nature; in depth, generally from six to ten inches. It contains a superabundance of vegetable matter, in an undecomposed state. It is sour, and requires much working and exposing to the air, before it is fit for wheat, or will bear a good crop. Could it, however, as has not hitherto been the case, be exposed for some length of time to the action of the atmosphere, and, in its broken-up state, to the showers with which we are so frequently visited, the land would soon become in a better working form, and the adhesive nature of the clods would be changed. It is well known that water expands from 40 deg, upwards, of Fahrenheit, and of course that it contracts downwards in the same ratio; and that, when it reaches 40 deg, it begins again to expand, till it arrives at 32 deg. Water, consequently, removes the adhesive nature of the clods, and reduces them to powder, either by expanding itself through heat above 40 deg, or through cold from 40 deg to 32 deg, when it becomes ice, and more suddenly expands; still, however, by its binding qualities as ice, keeping the clod together till a thaw commences. In our warm summers, therefore, broken-up land, when of a clayey nature, will derive much benefit from being exposed; as,
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SOILS, CULTIVATION, AND MINERALS OF NEW ZEALAND
from their high state of temperature, the rains or dews which fall upon the clod become suddenly expanded, the adhesive particles are separated, and the whole mass crumbles to pieces. The same effect takes place when water is contained in a clod, and is then exposed to cold below 40 deg, which is the case in our winter evenings. I am convinced therefore, that when the Missionaries at the Waimate can afford to expose the virgin soil, in a broken-up state, for some months, to the weather, it will work better, and will produce finer and larger crops. The sub-soil is of the same earthy nature, is more tenacious, and, not being mingled with vegetable matter, is exceedingly close in its texture. It has been found to vary in depth, from three to twenty feet. This sub-soil rests upon soft flakes of rock, easily separated with the pickaxe. A hard rock is seldom found at a less depth than forty feet. The horses, the ploughs, the carts, the waggons, and all the other implements used in the farm, are managed by native youths: of course, it required much time and patience to bring them to work properly; but now, the ploughing is done in regular furrows; the horses are kept clean, and in good order; the farm, as far as it is in operation, is declared by those who have visited us, some of whom have been old farmers, to be very neatly kept; and the plough and six horses going in this distant part of the world, and managed entirely by the once-savage aborigines, is a sight which cannot fail to gratify
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SOILS, CULTIVATION AND MINERALS, OF NEW ZEALAND.
every friend to civilization, and to the welfare of man.
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OF minerals, little, as yet, is known. Opportunities have not yet been afforded for much mineralogical or geological research. It is supposed, however, that the hills contain iron-stone in abundance: and whinstone is very plentiful on the banks of many of the rivers, which affords an admirable and never-failing supply of materials for rough, unpolished buildings. We have also found quarries of granite, specimens of quartz, carbonate of lime, fine marble, sulphuret of iron, &c. &c.
