Old New Zealand

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22109, 3 June 1937, Page 6 (Supplement)

Old New Zealand

BRINGING PLANTS FROM OVERSEAS

(By Gladys Lawson, Linwood)

Looking round New Zealand today, we find it hard to believe that before the arrival of the Maori there was no animal life here excepting birds, bats, a few reptiles, and a rare kind of frog. The land was of great beauty, with scenic marvels, snow-capped peaks, swift rivers, and glorious waterfalls. Tree-ferns and beautiful native forest were here, but animal life was very sparse. The largest living creature was a bird, the giant moa, now extinct, which was twice the height of a very tall man. Among the countless smaller birds were other moas of many sizes. There were also kiwis, birds with long beaks, and short but tremendously strong legs. There was not a single enemy for these birds to fear, not even a venomous snake, or flesh-eating animal. They saw nc heed to fly, and gradually they lost the use of their wings. Five hundred years ago, the Maoris arrived in their canoes. With them they brought their dogs, .pnd the sweet potato, or kumara. The Polynesian rats were concealed in the cargo of the Maoris, and were thus introduced into New Zealand. With the coming of human beings to the country, the moa's doom was sealed. Year after year the Maoris preyed upon this bird, and upon the kiwi. Ultimately the moa was exterminated, and few of the kiwis were left. Luckily the Maoris had no firearms, or bows and arrows, or many other birds would soon have been killed out. In 1770. Captain Cook arrived, bringing with him pigs, poultry, and a stock of seed potatoes. The poultry multiplied very quickly, and the pigs ran wild all over the islands. To-day their descendants still run wild in the back country, and are very destructive. The food of the Maoris now consisted of pork, poultry, lizard, shark, potato, and fern-root. That was all the country had to offer to the first white settlers. In 1840, New Zealand became a British colony. The white mens first need was corn. But to plough the land, they needed oxen and horses, and these in their turn must have food. New Zealand had none of the grasses so abundant in other countries—no hay or green fodder There was no fruit. All these had to be introduced into New Zealand from across the sea. There was one very useful plant which flourished in the country. This was the wild flax. For centuries the Maoris had used it for making their clothing, nets, and baskets. But the white man needed something warmer than this, he needed wool from sheep and sheep must have food. First of all. the beautiful native bush had to be cleared to leave room for pasture. It was cut and burned. Many beautiful plants were destroyed, and the bush was injured to such an extent that it 1 ' ■

can never be replaced. Seeds had next to be imported. Many obstacles lay in the path of the people. In one case, a seedsman sent dock seed in mistake for grassseed. The weed grew till it smothered other crops and grasses, watercress was Introduced, too, and it grew into huge plants, choking up rivers and making navigation impossible. It is interesting to note that it took £3OO a year to keep the Avon river free from watercress in the early days.

Cattle and sheep were threatened with starvation as the weeds grew and flourished. People decided that British clover must be introduced. The clover arrived. It grew and flourished. Alasl It did not seed. What could be done- At last 1 * was suggested that the honey bee should be introduced. This was done. The clover seeded and flourished. Red clover was next introduced. It grew, too But the honey bees were not heavy enough to help it to pollinate, and it produced no seeds. The larger humble bee was needed for this work. So the humble bee. too. was introduced Both the red clover and the white grew so well that they crowded out noxious weeds, thus having a double use. Cattle and sheep grew well upon clover. ' Life poured into New Zealand. Deer and rabbits were introduced, but these have both become pests. Many birds were brought here, including the thrush, skyiark. row, linnet, and quail. Some do much good—others are very destructive . ... By 1870 animal and plant lire was abundant. There was plenty of food for man and beast. The task now remaining was that of stocking the rivers. The eggs of salmon and trout and other British freshwater fish were brought out m moist cases kept cool by ice. Many difficulties had to be overcome. There was no equipment for making ice, and so huge blocks were packed in flannel and sawdust. In some cases the ice melted, and the high temperature caused the eggs to hatch, so that the young fish died. Sometimes the life in the eggs became extinct, and the whole cargo was useless. At last some ogg® were successfully landed and the waters were gradually filled with fish.

The Kotukutuku

Several readers have noticed that last week a drawing of New Zea-

land broom was used to illustrate the article on the kotukutuku op fuchsia. This is what the flowejp and berry of the fuchsia look lika.