[1] "They Expressed Great Satisfaction At Our Calling Them By Their Names, Doubtless Because It Served To Persuade Them That

We were particularly concerned for their welfare, by retaining them in memory. The weather was fair and warm, considering the

Season, but our New Zealanders were all covered with shaggy cloaks, which are their winter dresses." - G.F.

[2] "We found almost all the radishes and turnips shot into seed, the cabbages and carrots very fine, and abundance of onions and parsley in good order; the pease and beans were almost entirely lost, and seemed to have been destroyed by rats. The potatoes were likewise all extirpated; but, from appearances, we guessed this to have been the work of the natives. The thriving state of our European pot-herbs, gave us a strong and convincing proof of the mildness of the winter in this part of New Zealand, where it seems it had never frozen hard enough to kill these plants, which perish in our winters. The indigenous plants of this country were not yet so forward; the deciduous trees and shrubs, in particular, were but just beginning to look green, and the vivid colour of their fresh leaves well contrasted with the dark wintery hue of the evergreens. The flag, of which the natives prepare their hemp, was, however, in flower, together with some other early species." - G.F.

[3] "The weather, during this time, was as boisterous and inconstant, as that which had so long kept us out of this harbour. Scarce a day passed without heavy squalls of wind, which hurried down with redoubled velocity from the mountains, and strong showers of rain, which retarded all our occupations. The air was commonly cold and raw, vegetation made slow advances, and the birds were only found in vallies sheltered from the chilling southern blast. This kind of weather, in all likelihood, prevails throughout the winter, and likewise far into the midst of summer, without a much greater degree of cold in the former, or of warmth in the latter season. Islands far remote from any continent, or at least not situated near a cold one, seem in general to have an uniform temperature of air, owing, perhaps, to the nature of the ocean, which every where surrounds them. It appears from the meteorological journals, kept at Port Egmont, on the Falkland Islands, (inserted in Mr Dalrymple's collection) that the extremes of the greatest cold, and the greatest heat, observed there throughout the year, do not exceed thirty degrees on Fahrenheit's scale. The latitude of that port is 51 deg. 25' S.; and that of Ship Cove, in Queen Charlotte's Sound, only 41 deg. 5'. This considerable difference of site will naturally make the climate of New Zealand much milder than that of Falkland's Islands, but cannot affect the general hypothesis concerning the temperature of all islands; and the immense height of the mountains in New Zealand, some of which are covered with snow throughout the year, doubtless contributes to refrigerate the air, so as to assimilate it to that of the Falkland's Islands, which are not so high." - G.F.

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