BOOK NOTICES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 12831, 27 November 1903, Page 3

BOOK NOTICES.

"The Tasmanian Flora." By Leonard Rodway, Government Botanist of Tasmania. Published by the ' GovernmentPrinter, Hobart. Price, 7s. The purpose of the book, as set forth in the preface, is "to encourage junior students to take a general interest in tho vegetable'beings living in this State." Tho system of botany adopted is that of Hooker and Bcntliiim, although a later system by Baroii von Mueller is also given in the appendix. The work is profusely illustrated by plates which are described as "faithful copies of the author's drawings." A faithful copy of Nature has been arrived at rather than a display of the printer's art. The introductory chapter on " Classification " shows at a glance, the scheme of the book, and the key to the natural orders will be found very helpful to the student. At the end of. the volume there is appended a dictionary which is something more than a. glossary. There are three main divisions.dealt with in the book—viz., Angiosperms, or what nie generally termed flowering plants? Gymnosperms, the only Tasmanian representatives of which are cypressus and yews; and Ptcrydophyta, or the fern tribe. Obviously the book is mostly occupied with a .description of the Angiosperms, which 'include all of the flowering and fruiting plants generally known. It would bo interesting lo institute a comparison between'Tasmanian and New Zealand flora- as set forth-by Messrs Fiodway and Hooker, but it would occupy too much of our space to do so. It is noticeable, however, that there are many points of resemblance, as'well as many differences. Genera represented by a large number of species in New Zealand have but fewrepresentatives in Tasmania, or vice versa. To take a. single example, the veronica genus is represented by 13 species in Tasmania, 51 in New Zealand. It is not our intention to attempt a general review' of the book, which, ought to fulfil the object tho author had in view in compiling it. The :author seems to have gone about his work in a thorough manner, and the student will find all the information that is required for a study of Tasmanian flora, which, like that of our own insular colony, is both varied and interesting. —~—i "Plant Disease and Its Relation to Animal Life." By R. V. Wright. London: Soniieusohein. Swan, and Co. The author of this neat little volume is the eldest son of .the late Mr E..CI. Wright, who was. a member of'the House of Representatives for Ashbnrton for- many years. The theory,, he propounds, while . novel, seems feasible. The lesson of the book may be summed up in a sentence. Healthy plant growth depends upon the amount of green chlorophyll. A deficiency of chloro : phyll means disease, and animals fed upon diseased plants cannot becomo healthyChlorophyll "depends upon a sufficiency of iron in the soil, and iron is essential to health in both'plants and animals. Healthy blood depends upon the quality of the hojinoglobin of the. red blood . corpuscles, which contain a variable amount of iron. Tl'"« absence or deficiency of iton in either plant or animal leads to a chlorotic condition, which in the latter. case is called nnremiii: Plants can often be cured of their chlorotic condition by spraying with a solution of sulphate of iron, and animals by the administration of iron in their tood. Mr Wright devotes 160 pages to a discussion of the theory he has propounded, and makes out a very .good case indeed. His book bears evidence of considerable research, and a largo number of authorities are quoted from. .He contends,- with a good show of reason, that if nothing but healthy food, containing the normal constituents of the blood, is eaten the mostformidable diseases 01 man and animals would disappear. In order to bring about a proper condition' of things he would have iron added to the soil, where deficielit in mannrinl agents. The book is written in a pleasing and lucid style, and is well worthy of perusal.

"Early Life in New Zealand." By the Rev. George Clarke.'. Hobart-: .T. Walch and Sons. Dunedin: K. J. Kark and

Concerning those early days in New Zealand when the foundations of the colony were being laid amid strifo and peril there are few personal narrators left to tell the tale, and fewer still with the literary ability to toll it as the Chancellor of the Tasinanian University has'done. The first contact of European. and Maori was not always conducive . to. the welfare of the latter, and most of the early troubles between the races arose from the conception of the " white man " conveyed to the Maori mind by the dissolute characters who were amongst the earliest visitors to New Zealand. The publishers explain that the little brochure, so full of valuable information, was first.printed for private circulation, but permission was obtained from the author to dispose of a limited number, "as if they were published." The Rev. Mr Clarke need hot have been so modest, for his notes constitute a valuable contribution to the eaiJy history of New Zealand which will be greatly prized by generations to come. As the author explains, his notes are the testimony of n witness at first hand, and are Therefore the more valuable. Mr Clarke, although an etatogenarian, has command of a pleasing and lucid-style, and his plain, straightforward narrative makes entertaining, reading. The little book is a record (if heroism and self-negation on the part of the pioneers, in whose labours the author took a leading part. With a humilitv that is becoming, the author refers to the numerous incidents of a life that was fraught witli toil and peril as though, they wore only ordinary every-day occurrences. In the opening chapter Mr Clarke makes a brief reference to the first inglorious contact of Briton and Maori, which led to no end of misunderstanding and no small amount of bloodshed. But out of the hurly-burly of savagery there stepped forth men, both ■ brown and white, who stood head and shoulders amongst their fellows. And chief amongst those were the Rev. Samuel Marsden and the young Maori chief Runtnra, whose names will always remain green in New Zealand history, and to whose lifework the people of this colony, even to the, present day, owe so much. Mr Clarke shows that most of the terrible misunderstandings, often ending in a general massacre of the obnoxious pakeha, resulted from ignorance of Maori custom. Ruthless violation of what the Maori held sacred, and what the European only laughed at,., was too often the cause of bloodshed. , The massacre of the crew ot the whaler'Boyd -was-.an act of retaliation for the indignity'cfFered to a young chief

mamed Tara, who was flogged with; the cat-w'-nme-tails. "To a Maori chief the dis;grace was 'worse than death. The man 'vowed vengeance for the insult, and when 4he vessel arrived at Wangaroa the whole crew were murdered except 'a woman and three.children, and the ship .was plundered ■and burnt." Shortly afterwards five English whalers visited the Bay of Islands, ■attacked ,a. Maori village, killed, all the inhabitants, burnt the houses and food and stores, and smashed up their canoes.. But the unfortunate chief who thus had a sample of English summary justice, instead of participating in the Boyd massacre, as was thought to be the case, in reality did all that he .could to prevent it. We need not 'marvel that after that "the Bay of Islands became a very dangerous place to 'visit*' 1 Mr Clarke tells us that " only now and then would an English vessel venture to anchor in -fhe port at all, but they surprised villages, lured the canoes to come alongside and. then sunk, carried off the women," and performed generally lawless acfcs, such as might put the average Briton to the blush at the present time. . "The competition between the ruthless savigo and the civilised villain ran high, and it was hard to say which had the best .or the worst of it." The founding of the mission station in 1815 by the Bev. Samuel Marsden heralded the dawn of a new era; but the hardest task of all was to counteract the wrongdoing of the vicious whites. The author of the entertaining little volume was born at Parramatta in 1823, and the following parents took passage to tho Bay of Islands- ih a French corvette under command of' Captain. D'Urville, the celebrated circumnavigator, afterwards pro> rooted to the rank of admiral. The destination of the trio—parents and child—was Ken Ken. the new mission station thathad just been formed by Messrs Buller and Kemp. Keri Keri was the headquarters of the noted chief Hmgi, and there 'was a population of many thousands of Maoris.on both sides of the inlet, '"i'he Keri Keri was my baby world," says Mr Clarke. "It is a circle"of low, bare, hills,, surrounding a beautiful little basin of water, in which a river, some 40 yards wide, pours over a ledge of rock in a fall of Bft or 9ft into the tidal water. The. house stood by the waterside, a few yards from the fall, and stands there still. .

It was built of heart of kauri, and preserved itself well." It has fallen to the lot of few Englishmen to have spent their early childhood amidst such untoward surroundings, and there is something very pathetic in the picture of the fond mother endeavouring' hy all the means at her command to bring her child up in ignorance of the cannibal orgies that were an everyday occurrence in the Maori pa. hard by. Sometime' afterwards a baby sister was born, and there is something infinitely touching in the information that the first rosebud ever grown in New Zealand was laid upon the breast dead child,' who died of whooping cough. Although, the author in childhood never saw an actual murder, yet he watched tho war canoes of Hongi on their return from fighting expeditions " with loads of baked humanity," and saw the scuffle on landing for possession of the prisoners, preserved alive for subsequent cannibal feasts. Mr; Clarke gives a capital description of Heke's. war, of which he had some persona! experience, and also of the' early colonisation by the New Zealand Company, under the guidance of the Wakefield brothers. The story of the Wairau massacre as told by Mr Clarke is the record of a' series of blunders such as, only wrong-headed men could have perpetrated. The attempt to; manacle Te Rauparaha and his, followers was a blunder of the first order, for which its originators paid with their lives. John Bull at his worst could hardly have underrated the enemy and overrated his own powers in 'a more stupid fashion, '."he only parties who came well out of the affair are the grossly-insulted chiefs. MrTuckctt, who escaped with his life, did not appear to have profited.by his-experience, as he insisted in Otago upon running his survey lines over the burial grounds and sacred places of' the Maoris, until p'ersuaded by those who knew, the Natives better to desist. Throughout all the troublous'"land "negotiations between the company.and the Maoris. Mr Clarke did yeoman service'as interpreter for and protector of the Maoris. Lord John''.Russell, sent out Mr Spain, "a solicitor, who had been engaged in the electioneering Liberal interest at Home," to be Chief' Commissioner to adjudicate upon claims to land alleged to have been purchased from the Maoris. All ; throughout Spam's Land Court proceedings Mr Clarke was a faithful coadjutor, who at the same'time did all he could to conserve the interests of the native, landowners. When quite worn out with his labours Mr Clarke was summoned to go to the Bay of Islands to assist Wska X'ene in the task of holding Hone Heka to the northern, -districts in order to save the seat of Government at Auckland. With, a degree of immunity that bore witness to the confidence reposed in hini by the Maoris Mr Clarke was allowed safe convoy between tho contending parties, and although Heke knew well that Mr Clarke was endeavouring to frustrate his plans he never once attempted to interfere with the, agent of the Government. There are many other tilings in' the book we might have referred to, but space forbids. The book is full of stirring incident, in a good deal of which the author took part; But the whole story is told in simple narrative,, with no attempt at- embellishment or self-' glorification. On the other hand, the author is exceedingly modest. In the end, wearied in mind and bedy. ■ Mr Clarke turned his back on New Zealand.' and entered upon the ministry of the Gospel in Tasmania, which was more to his taste than the excitement- of the wild life he had been mixed up with in New Zealand.