NEW ZEALAND LITERATURE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21010, 26 April 1930, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND LITERATURE.

SOME NOTABLE BOOKS. Written for the Otago Daily Times. By the Rev. H. J. Fletcher. “New Zealand Neuroptera,” by G. V. Hudson, is a popular introduction to the life-histories of may-flies, dragon-flies, caddis-flies, and other allied insects of New Zealand, with notes on their relation to angling. There are 11 coloured plates, and the descriptions of the various flies enable the angler to identify the various species. An appendix giving the contents of 60 trout stomachs is of special interest to those who try to entice the trout to try the baits prepared for them. , It was published by West, Newman, and . Co., London, 1904, I “ The Animals of New Zealand,” by Captain F. W. Hutton and J. Drummond, is an outstanding book on the birds of New Zealand and the few animals. The writers are two well-known scientific men of New Zealand, whose writings have been known for their excellent statements of matters Maori. The book has 381 pages, a portrait of Mr T. H. Potts, a pioneer in the same .field, and 147 illustrations. The writers have been able to combine the j highly technical information required by the student with the popular information suitable for the average reader. The result is a book of great value to both There are many little stories illustrating the. habits of birds and some of their quaint characteristics, and lists of common, as well as Maori names. Printed and published by Whitcombs and Tombs, Christchurch. 1904. There are severaleditions. “Maori Lore," by J. Izett, is one of the. books that should not have been written. It was compiled for the New Zealand Government, and printed at the Government Printing Office, Wellington, 19( ¥- I was mMr Edward Tregear’s office in Wellington when he received a telegram from Mr S. Percy Smith about the book. The telegram read: “Maori scholars cannot sufficiently deplore this The^wrf? 015 old Maori stories.” takes the old sacred stories of the Maori tohungas, and represents the M?, 0 . 11 S°«3s talking to one another in a niilT*£f e 8 - lan *K Uatil this book apnrfjf +’ %* or i students could point with pnde to the cleanness and beauty of most of the Maori legends. One has only to compare .the story, of Hinemoa, in any An; or | Rm , al versions, with the versions h 0" ”“ h "» , r Hawaiki,” the original home of the •Edition b nf 8 ' P * Smith ' *? the second of the papers mentioned in a former article, rewritten and enlarged A 0 -ft volume of 223 pages, with map and ttATooi Pnnted by Whitcombs “Wars of the Northern Against the Southern Tribes of New Zealand in the Nineteenth. Century,” by S. Percy Smith, i? .K.G.S., is another reprint from the Journal of the Polynesian Society. It is f® V 0 245 pages, full of ? I a 'L ;Natl ve history from about 1795 to if IV tribes mentioned are those rnJo No £jh Auckland country and their raids on the South. . “ The Maori Race,” by Edward Tregear, is a book that was juat the thins re* quired at the time of publication. It was. impossible in 1904 to recommend to an inquirer a book that would give in the compass of one volume a comprehensive account of the Maori people, except some ot those long out of print. Mr Tregear gives a condensed account Of the arrival ot the Maoris, with habits, customs, implements, food, dress, legends, proverbs, and other matters. Printed by A. D. Willis, Whanganui, 1904. The main items in the Polynesian Journal l°r 4 1902 (volume XI) are "Notes on the Art of War” as conducted by the Maori of New Zealand, with accounts of various, customs, rites, superstitions, etc., pertaining to war as practised and believed in by the ancient Maori, by Elsdon Best. 1 Mr Best’s name is a sufficient guarantee that the subject is well done. Niue Island and its people, by S. Percy Smith, is an account of this - little dependency of New. Zealand. Mr Smith went over to the island at the request ot Lord Ranfurly, Governor of New Zealand, in order to introduce a form of government more in accordance with European ideas than the people had been accustomed to.. This was after the annexation of the island under a proclamation made by H.R.H, the Inke of Cornwall and York at Auckland on June 1L 1901. The information is based on Mr Smith’s notes and matter supplied by Rev. F. E. Lawes, resident missionary. The language spoken is so akin to Maori that Mr Smith could speak and understand the dialect after a short time there. There is an article on the Polynesian numerals. “One,” “Five,” “Ten," by John Fraser, L.L.D.. Sydney, and an article by Colonel’ Gudgeon on “ The Whence of the Maori.” . In volume XII of the Polynesian Society’s Journal’, Mr Best continues his articles on the “ Art of War.” Colonel Gudgeon, on “ The Whence of the Maori.” Mr S, P, Smith has the concluding part of “Niue Island and its People,” but it , is followed by the “Traditions of Niue Fekai ” in the original, with a translation in English. “ The Aitntaki Version of the story of Iro” (Whiro in Maori), with a translation by J. T. Large, of Aitntaki, and some Paumotu chants. An addition to Boiler's “Birds of New Zealand ” was published for the subscribers by the author in London in 1905. It is called “ A Supplement -to the ‘ Birds of New Zealand,’” by Sir Walter Lawry Buller, K.C.M.G., F.R.S.. C.M.Z.S. It is in two volumes, imp. 4to, with 12 coloured plates, and many text illustrations. - * Nature in New Zealand/' compiled by James Drummond and edited by Captain F. W. Hutton, P.R.S., is a small book of 188 pages for the use of schools. It is beautifully illustrated with nearly 200 pictures, although one might strongly object to the illustration of “The Coming °f the Maori.” It may have been correct for some of the canoes, but it is not typical of the “Coming" as a whole, in the. opening sentence there is a serious misstatement about “ fossil bones.” The moa bones found on the surface of the ground were not “ fossilised.” Do"s have been known to gnaw them for the sake of the gelatine still i n the hone. They would not do this with a true fossilPublished by Whitcombe and Tombs Christchurch, in 1905. ’ ■n " ?i le p e f>R rf iPhy of New Zealand,” by P. Marshall, M.A., D.Sc., F.R.S.. i fi a fine book, treating the historical, physical political, and commercial aspects of the subject in a most comprehensive manner H contains contributions by Professor J! W Gregory, D.Sc F.R.S.. A. Hamilton, w L G ’ , Ho " b ™’ M-A- Published by 1005 tbe nnd Tombs > Christchurch. “The Toll of the Bush,” by W. Satrr ’ fino n P v «l of New Zealand life. The scene of the story is the 1 bush Thi nt nnn° f A'® 4 uckla nd Peninsula The account of the terrible experience of suffering from thirst is well within the knowledge of many New Zealand bushmen, even .although New Zealand is a well-watered country. Published in Vy Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1905. The Bush Boys of New Zealand,” by tlie Rev. J. Millar Thomson, is a fine picture of healthy, country boy life The games, work, and life of the average country boy of pioneer families of 30-40 v ar fl r S .° V 1 • the ,K sb country of the -North Island is well depicted. Many of the scenes were from Mr Thomson’s own SS'Ss. P " bl " h ' d br J - T “» U ". “ New Zealand Verse,” collected by W F. Alexander and A. E. Currie, is an anthology of New Zealand poetry. There are specimen verses culled from the works ot 60 . verse writers of New Zealand the selection being a very good one, embracing selections from the greatest of New Zealand poets (Domett) down to some of those who have not aspired to the fame ot a published book. Printed by the cr 1 übhshmg Co., London, 1906. , “Manual of the New Zealand Flora” by T. F. Cheeseman, F.L.S., F.Z.S., curator of the Auckland Museum. Published under the authority of the New Zealand Government, Wellington. 1906. It has xxxvi pages of introduction, and 1199 pages of other matter. It is reckoned as the standard work on the botany of New Zealand Ihe general plan of the work is the same as that of Sir J L Hooker’s “Handbook.” It contains'the history of botanical discover-!-, list of naturalised plants, arranged' in their orders, Maori names, glossary, etc., etc It was perhaps the publication of this work as a standard work bv the Government that hindered the publication of the promised book of plates prepared for Kirk’s “ Student's Flora of New Zealand,” Students of New Zealand botany will find all they want in this work.