second, but lower chain of heights, runs parallel to the great Southern Alps on the Eastern side. From this ridge and down to the sea-coast on the east, in the central part of the island, are the so-called Canterbury plains.

7. The character of the scenery in the south-west is much like that of the west of Ireland. The coast consists of a succession of sounds, fjords, or inlets, some of them of immense size, and quite land-locked. At present they are little frequented, save by the whalers who still visit this part of the world. The depth of water is so great that anchorage cannot be found, and ships have to "tie up" to pieces of rock, or to the trees which grow down near to the water's edge.

8. The great chain of the Southern Alps is the birthplace of numerous rivers which run east and west, but their sources being high and their courses short, especially on the western slopes, they are most of them rapid and of but little use for commerce. The chief rivers on the eastern slopes are the Wairau, flowing into Cook's Strait, and Waitaki and Clutha in the southern part of the island.

9. The climate of New Zealand on the whole is mild, pleasant, and bracing; and, though varied, suffers but little from the extremes of heat and cold. Frost and snow are almost unknown in North Island, except on the elevated plateaus and mountain peaks, and the heat of summer on all the coasts is tempered by the prevalent sea-breezes. The western shores are moister and more agreeable than the eastern; but all are more or less winding, and the towns on the straits between the islands enjoy scarcely a calm day in the year. The rainfall is about the same as in England.

Siliceous. Flinty, pure flint is clear and transparent as glass. Silica is the name of flint in its pure state.

LESSON XLII.

NEW ZEALAND.—II.

1. It is not certainly known what European first sighted New Zealand; but Captain Cook was the first to examine and explore its coasts. He also took possession of the islands in the name of His Majesty King George III. of England. The first settlers were seamen from the whale ships, and escaped convicts from the penal settlements of Australia. Some missions were also established; but it was not till 1839 that the settlement of Wellington was founded, and that New Zealand was proclaimed a part of the colony of New South Wales.

2. Other settlements soon followed, and in 1843 the population amounted to 13,000. Disputes, however, arose with the natives about land, and for many years there were numerous native wars, massacres, and skirmishes. A large portion of the island is now colonised, and the population, exclusive of about 45,000 natives, amounts to nearly half a million. The area of the two large islands is a little over 100,000 square miles, or about one-tenth larger than Great Britain.

3. Before 1875 New Zealand consisted of nine independent provinces; but in that year the country was divided into counties and made into one colony, with one governor and one legislature. The different parts are still better known by the names of the provinces than by the names of the counties.

*

4. The north island contains four provinces, and the south island five. Auckland occupies the northern half of North Island; Hawke's Bay and Taranaki lie respectively to the south-east and south-west; while south again from these is Wellington, the capital town of which, of the same name, is the colonial seat of government. Cook's Strait separates the two islands. The most northern portion of South Island is occupied, east

* They are now termed provincial districts.

and west, by Nelson and Marlborough; Westland occupies a strip along the west coast south of Otago; Otago extends from shore to shore in the south; and Canterbury occupies the eastern part of the island from Marlborough in the north to Otago in the south.

5. The province of Auckland is about half as large as England. It possesses some good land, but great tracts are unfitted for tillage, and much is covered with dense forest. The settlers employ themselves chiefly in rearing cattle; sheep farming is extending, but corn is not grown to any great extent. Coal is found in extensive beds, and iron-sands and iron-stone abound. Gold is extensively mined. The Kauri pine is the characteristic tree of this province. Its timber is exported to other parts of New Zealand, to Australia, and to the South Sea Islands for the purpose of shipbuilding, as well as for general use in joinery and other domestic industries. The gum of this tree is an article of export. It is chiefly obtained by digging in the soil where the trees grew ages ago.

It

6. The chief town of this province is Auckland. was for some time the seat of government, and it is still the largest city in New Zealand. The population of the town and suburbs is about 23,000. Grahamstown is the centre of the gold-mining district. The southern part of the province is still inhabited by the Maories.

7. Hawke's Bay on the East is rather less in area than the county of York. The northern part supports large flocks of sheep, which are fed on lands sown with English grasses. The southern part is a fine fruitful plain. Wool is the chief article of export. The little town of Napier, with a population of 3,500, is the capital.

8. Taranaki on the west coast, opposite to Hawke's Bay, takes its name from Mount Egmont, a snow-capped mountain known to the natives as Taranaki. Its area is about half that of Yorkshire. This colony is in a backward state, partly owing to the fearful wars with the Maories, and partly to the absence of any good harbour on its coast. Three-fourths of its surface is covered

with dense forest, and only a very small portion is under cultivation. Iron-sand, from two to five feet in depth, forms the beach all around the coast, and is found in the bed of every mountain stream; it is, however, difficult to smelt. New Plymouth, a small town on the coast near the foot of Mount Egmont, is the capital.

9. The province of Wellington occupies the centre— between Taranaki and Hawke's Bay-and southern parts of the island. Its area is twice that of Yorkshire. The surface is mountainous, but there are many fertile valleys, and the hill slopes are covered with dense forests. There are no minerals of any importance. Wheat and

oats are grown; but the chief exports are wool and timber. Wellington, the chief town of this province, is the capital of New Zealand, and the seat of the government. The population is about 11,000.

Maories.-The Maories belong to the brown family of man. It is probable that they came to New Zealand from some of the Polynesian islands. The English found them more advanced in civilisation than the savages of other Polynesian islands. They were skilful hunters and fishers; they had learnt to till the ground, to make clothing, and to build houses; but they were cannibals. Through the influence of Europeans this practice has been abolished, and many of the Maories are now civilised and educated, and some have farms, and others are successful traders.

1. The provincial district of Nelson occupies the northwest corner of South Island. The general features of the province are bold and grand mountains, with rich valleys, and a soft and genial climate. Corn, potatoes, hops, dairy produce, wool, &c., are among the articles which Nelson claims to contribute to the riches of the world. The great wealth of Nelson, however, lies in its minerals -iron, coal, limestone, lead and copper ores, and gold.

2. Nelson, the capital, is a quiet, pleasant town, built on the shores of a small harbour in Blind Bay. "But though sleepy, it seemed happy. I was there about the

beginning of September, and nothing could be sweeter or more pleasant than the air. The summer heats are not great, and all English fruits and grass and shrubs grow at Nelson with more than English profusion. Every house was neat and pretty. The site is, I think, as lovely as that of any town I ever saw. Merely to breathe there, and to dream, and to look around, was a delight."*

3. Marlborough is situated in the north-east of South Island. It has an area about equal to that of Hawke's Bay. The country presents a succession of parallel valleys and mountain ranges. Many of the hill slopes are covered with fine forest trees, and the valleys are fertile and well suited for agriculture or pasturage. The chief exports are flax,+ wool, and timber. Blenheim, the capital, and Picton, the chief port, are small towns of 1,000 and 800 inhabitants respectively.

4. Westland is a narrow strip of country, about 300 miles long by thirty miles wide, on the west coast, between the mountains and the sea. It is chiefly noted for its rich gold-fields. Considerable quantities of timber are also exported. The climate is said to be so uniform that the same clothing can be worn in the hottest day in summer, and the coolest day in winter. Hokitika, the capital, and the centre of the gold mining districts, is a thriving town of about 3,000 inhabitants.

5. The provincial district of Canterbury covers an area of over 13,000 square miles, of which one-third constitutes a great plain sloping down to the sea. The Canterbury plains are not an interesting part of the country so far as scenery is concerned; but from an agricultural point of view they form one of the finest tracts in the whole colony. Corn, wool, and flax, are the chief productions and exports of this province. Christchurch, the capital, on the Avon, has a population of about 10,000, and Lyttleton, its port, about 3,000.

6. Otago, the southern district, has an area of 24,000 *Mr. A. Trollope.

†The plant from which the flax is obtained is not the common flax plant of Europe, but a species of lily, which grows in all parts of South Island. The fibre is very fine, and the difficulty of cleansing it from the resin only prevents it becoming a great article of commerce.