MOUNTAINS.-Parts of New Zealand are very mountainous. The whole country is of volcanic origin. Mount Egmont (8,000 feet) in North Island, is an almost perfect cone, and its summit, which is an extinct crater, is covered with perpetual snow. The Southern Alps extend through the Middle Island, a distance of 200 miles. Mount Cook (12,000 feet) is the loftiest peak.

MINERAL RESOURCES.-New Zealand is almost as rich in metals as any part of Australia. Gold was first discovered in the province of Otago in the Middle Island. There are gold-fields in both islands. Copper, silver, iron, tin, and coal, have also been found.

CLIMATE.-The climate is temperate. The North Island has as hot summers as Paris, and with winters as mild as Rome. The temperature of the Middle Island resembles that of Jersey in summer, and South of France in winter.

PRINCIPAL TOWNS.-Wellington (21,000) the capital of the Colony, is situated on the shores of Port Nicholson, an inlet of Cook Strait. It has the best harbour in New Zealand. Auckland (37,000) the largest city in the North Island, was formerly the seat of government. The scenery in the neighbourhood is very picturesque. Duneden (42,000) in the Middle Island, founded in 1848, is the largest and most important commercial city in New Zealand. Christchurch (30,000) near Port Lyttleton, connected by railway with Dunedin, from which it is distant 230 miles. Nelson (9,000) is prettily situated near the shores of a small harbour. Steamers ply regularly to Sydney and Melbourne Invercargill (7,000), one of the most rising towns in the Middle Island, connected with Duneden and Christchurch by railway. The principal exports are wool, gold, grain, tallow, and kauri gum. The timber trade is very extensive.

II. MALAYSIA.

Malaysia, or the Indian Archipelago, (Malayan Asia being principally inhabited by the Malay race), comprises the largest group of islands in the world; they are situated between Further India and China on the north, and Australia and New Guinea on the south, and extend from 110 S.L. to 200 N.L., and from 95° 25′ E.L. to 131o E.L. The principal islands are, Sumatra, Borneo, Celebes, the Moluccas or Spice Islands (Gilolo, Ceram, and Amboyna), the Banda or Nutmeg Islands, the Manillas or Philippine Islands (Luzon, Mindanao, &c.), the Sooloo Islands, Java, and the Lesser Sunda Islands (Balli or Little Java, Sumbava, Flores, Timor), &c.

Next to Borneo, Sumatra is the largest island in Malaysia; it is divided between the Dutch and several native states, the principal of which is Acheen. The principal towns of Sumatra are Bencoolen, Palembang, and Acheen. Bencoolen and Palembang belong to the Dutch.

The principal towns of Borneo are Sarawak (formerly Kuchin), the capital of the Rajah (son of the late Rajah, Sir James Brook); Pontianak and Banjermassin, belonging to the Dutch; and Brunai or Borneo the capital of a native state. Of Celebes the principal town is Macassar; of the Philippine Isles, Manilla; and of Java, the chief towns are Batavia, Bantam, Samarang, and Sourabaya. Batavia is the capital of the Dutch possessions in the East. See page 312.

III. MELANESIA.

4.

Melanesia comprehends the numerous islands extending between Malaysia, and 180° W.L., and lying north and north-east of Australia, between the equator and tropic of Capricorn. They derive the name of Melanesia (Melan, black) from the dark complexion of the natives. The principal groups are-1. New Guinea or Papua, and the Louisade Archipelago. 2. Admiralty Isles. 3. New Britain, New Ireland. Queen Charlotte and Solomon Islands. 5. New Hebrides, and New Caledonia. 6. Fiji Islands. New Guinea is the largest island in the world, excepting Borneo; its length is about 1,200 miles, and its breadth 300 miles. New Caledonia, about 700 miles north-east of Queensland, Australia, is an important French colony.

IV. MICRONESIA AND POLYNESIA.

Micronesia derives its name from the number of small islands (Micros, small) which it comprises. They are situated generally in the western part of the North Pacific, and extend from the Philippine Isles in Malaysia, to the Sandwich Islands, 1560 W.L., and from the equator to latitude 270 N. The principal groups are-1. Bonin Islands. 2. Ladronea or Marianne Islands. 3. Pelew Islands. 4. Caroline Archipelago. 5. Ralick, Marshal, and Radack Chains. 6. Gilbert Islands. 7. Sandwich Islands.

Polynesia (from two Greek words, signifying many islands) comprehended the vast number of islands which are scattered over the wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean, which, generally speaking, lie between the parallels of 270 N. and 300 S., and between the meridians of 1300 E. and 1100 W. But modern geographers divide this vast expanse into Micronesia and Polynesia.

The

Polynesia now comprises the numerous islands south of the equator, between Melanesia (1800 W.) and 1100 W. (Easter Island). principal groups are the Friendly or Tonga Islands (Tongataboo, the principal), the Navigators' Islands, the Society Isles (Tahiti or Otaheite, the principal), Low Archipelago, and the Marquesas. See page 283.

With the exception of Hawaii, Tahiti, and a few others, the Micronesian and Polynesian islands are very small; and they are for the most part, either of coral or volcanic formation. The small islands, in particular, are based on coral formations; and they are in general so low that they rise only a few feet above the level of the sea. The islands of volcanic origin are more elevated, and some are mountainous; as the Marquesas, the Society, and the Sandwich Islands. In Hawaii, in the latter group, there are two volcanic mountains upwards of 13,000 feet high (Mowna Kea and Mowna Roa).

Though in the torrid zone, the climate of these islands-owing to the cooling and refreshing breezes from the Ocean in which they are situated-is delightful and salubrious; and they are, in general, remarkable for the fertility of their soil, and the variety and luxu

a Ladrones, that is, thieves (from the Latin latro, a robber). This name was given to the natives of these islands by the Spaniards, from their pilfering propensities. They were afterwards called the Marianne Is. lands, in honour of the queen of Philip IV. of Spain.

riance of their vegetation. Their principal vegetable productions are the bread-fruit tree, the cocoa-palm, bananas, plantains, yams, the sugar-cane, and the cotton-plant; and almost every kind of vegetable or fruit which grows in tropical or warm countries is found to flourish in them. See note, page 183.

The natives of the Micronesian-Polynesian islands are of two distinct races, the Malay and the Papuan or Austral-Negro race. The former, who are by far the more numerous, are found in almost all the Central and Eastern islands. Like the natives of New Zealand, who are of the same family, they are in general, tall, well-made, active, and intelligent; but in their character and habits there is often a great diversity. Some of them are mild, simple, and docile; while others are cruel, treacherous, and savage in the extreme. The other or Papuan race, who were probably the original inhabitants of these islands, are now chiefly confined to the Fiji Islands, and the Papuan Archipelago. They are inferior to the other race both physically and intellectually; and indeed the Austral or Oriental Negroes may be considered as the lowest and most degraded of the human family. The Sandwich and Society Islands are the most important groups; and in these Christianity, civilization, and commerce have made considerable progress. Honololu, or Honorolu, in the Island of Oahu, is the chief port of the Sandwich Islands. It contains about 10,000 inhabitants. The POPULATION of the Sandwich Islands is about 70,000; and that of the Society Islands about 10,000.

ANTARCTICA.

This term has been applied to several islands and some extensive tracts of land which have been discovered of late years within or near the Antarctic circle. These tracts of land are supposed to form portions of a Southern Continent. The principal, and farthest to the south, is South Victoria, which was discovered by Sir James Ross is 1841, who traced its shores from latitude 70° to 79°. It is covered with perpetual snow; but its most striking feature is Mount Erebus, an active and tremendous volcano. It is 12,400 feet high; and its flames, rising high above its lofty crater, throw a terrific light over these dreary and desolate regions. To the eastward of it there is another volcano called Mount Terror. It is 10,900 feet high; and they both owe their names to the celebrated exploring ships, the Erebus and the Terror.

The other tracts of land are Graham, Enderby, and Adelie Lands, which lie just without the Antarctic circle; and Sabrina Land, which is much farther to the south (in latitude 75°).

The principal Antarctic islands are the South Shetland Islands, the South Orkney Islands, South Georgia, Sandwich Land, and the Balleney Islands. To these may be added some islands, which, though lying much farther to the north, are of the same desolate character; as Kerguelen's Land, Prince Edward Island, Marion, Crozet's, Amsterdam, and St. Paul's Islands, and Tristan d'Acunha. See page 114.

GENERALIZATION OF THE

CLIMATES AND PRODUCTIONS OF THE EARTH.

INSTEAD of obliging children to learn the climates and productions of every country in the world separately, which even if they could, it would be impossible for them to recollect, it is much better to begin by giving them general views of the principal productions of the GREAT DIVISIONS or ZONES, into which the earth's surface has been divided. In this way, the knowledge of a few general principles will enable them to form tolerably correct ideas of the climate and productions of every country in the world, by merely knowing the division or zone in which it is situated.

With this view, the earth may be divided into SEVEN great CLIMATES or regions, namely, the Equatorial, the Tropical, the Warm, the Temperate, the Cold, the Frozen, and the Polar regions. The isothermal lines described in the Sixth Chapter will enable the pupils to trace the general boundaries of each of these great divisions of the earth. They should, therefore, make themselves perfectly acquainted with the general direction of each of these lines, and with the principal productions which characterize each zone or division. It is stated in the chapter referred to, that the Equatorial region extends about twenty degrees on each side of the equator, and that the most delicate spices, as cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper, are confined to this great band of the earth. It has therefore been designated as the region of the spices. In like manner, the other great divisions of the earth have been designated from the principal productions by which they are characterized; as the region of the sugar-cane and coffee-tree; the region of the fig and olive; the region of the wine-grape; the region of the oak and wheat; the region of the fir, pine, and birch; and the region of alpine shrubs, lichens, and

mosses.

It is not to be supposed that the plants and vegetables here specified are confined to the regions which have been called by their names; still less that these are the only productions which are found in perfection in those parts of the earth. Every plant, in addition to a genial soil, requires a certain degree of temperature to bring it to maturity; and in every part of the world in which vegetables find a soil and climate suitable to their nature, there we are to expect them in the greatest perfection.

We shall now enumerate a few of the other vegetable productions by which the principal zones are characterized.

The Equatorial division of the earth, in addition to the finest spices, by which it is particularly characterized, produces in the greatest perfection, aromatic and medicinal gums, balsams, and juices; also myrrh, frankincense, camphor, and cassia. The guava,

banana, tamarind, pine-apple, and other delicious fruits abound in those regions. The breadfruit-tree, the plantain, the sago, and other species of the palm-tree; and the yam, cassava, manioc, and arrowroot, serve as substitutes for wheat, oats, barley, and rye, which could not be grown in those regions, except in elevated and mountainous districts.

Rice, and maize or Indian corn, are natives of hot climates, and hence they are produced in great abundance in the equatorial and tropical regions where the soil is suitable.

In the forests of those regions are found the hardest, most durable, and most beautiful kinds of timber, as iron-wood, teak, ebony, mahogany, sandal-wood, rose-wood, &c.

And

In the Tropical regions are found, with the exception of the finest spices, all the plants and productions of the equatorial zone. here in the greatest perfection are found the sugar-cane, coffee-tree, cocoa-nut, and all the other species of the palm-tree.

The orange, lemon, and citron, are found here with the most delicious flavour.

Indian corn or maize, and rice, are produced in great abundance in tropical climates; also cotton, tobacco, indigo, drugs, and dyewoods.

In the Warm regions, the olive and fig are found in the greatest perfection; and towards the tropical borders, the orange and lemon. Almonds, peaches, apricots, flourish here; also the mulberry, so essential to the production of silk; and the vine, from which the choicest wines are produced. Wheat, too, is produced in great perfection here, particularly towards the temperate borders.

The cork-tree, drugs, barilla, shumac, dried fruits, are products of those regions.

In the Temperate regions, the different kinds of grain are produced in great perfection; also the oak, beech, maple, and other trees valuable for timber.

Towards the borders of the warm regions, grapes, almonds, peaches, and apricots, are produced in perfection; also plums, cherries, apples, and pears, particularly towards the borders of the next great division.

The principal vegetable productions of the Cold regions are pine and fir timber, oats, barley, and rye. The fruits are apples, pears, nuts, gooseberries, strawberries, &c.

In the Frozen and Polar regions, there is scarcely any vegetation, but from those parts of the world we obtain valuable animal productions, as whalebone, train oil, and the furs of commerce.

ANIMALS.

The torrid zone is as remarkable for the great number and large size of its animals, as it is for the rank luxuriance of its vegetables. In it are found the most gigantic animals, as the elephant, the hippo