The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1924-01-11

@1" NtAhbAAb it ~
nearest to the South pole, is spoken
Iof so often as 'the Antipodes Of Great
britain" that the opinion is common
that its climate is the same In every
respect. There are many Similarities,
lit is true, but in general it is the warm
'er half of England that is most nearly
like the cooler half of New Zealand.
The distance separating Great Britain's
northernmost point from the North pole
is 800 miles less than the distance be-
tween New Zealand'S Southernmost
point and the South pole; and North
Cape, New Zealand, is n full q miles
closer to the Equator than the sun
bathed Riviera of southern France and
Italy.
1t is to Italy, in fact, that New Zea-
land may perhaps best be compared,
even though the one is a peninsula
and the other an island group. The
two large islands that practically make
up New Zealand form, when taken to-
gether, almost as good a boot" as the
famous Boot Of Italy" The range
of north latitude covered by Italy al
most exactly corresponds to the de-
grees Of south latitude covered by New
Zealand; and just as the Calabrian
"tOe" of Italy reaches southwark into
the Mediterranean, so the "instep" and
"tOe" Of the Auckland peninsula OF
New Zealand extend equatorward into
the warmer waters OF the Pacific.
With it's comparison to Italy in mind
1t is easy enough to understand how
the warmest parts Of New Zealand can
produce citrus fruits. Until quite re.
Gently fruit culture had been confined
to the common orchard fruits Of the
temperate zones and had naturally
been developed south Of the warmest
regions Of North island. Even as
late as 1916 New Zealand was de
pendent on imports to furnish the lem
IONS which the islanders consumed
The lemon industry has gained rapidly
since that time and last year M New
Zealand firm alone handled tens OF
thousands Of domestic lemons.
Although New Zealand can develop
In it's warmer regions a citrus fruit
industry Of considerable Importance, il
Is as a dairy and sheep country tina,
it is best known and probably viii
continue to be known. In q recent year
It's wool exports were valued at more
than SSO,OOO,OOO, and it's exported nut
ton and lamb ut more than $30,OOO,O 600
while the utter and cheese and milk
shipped g., Of the country were wortf
upward o. $5O,OOO,OOO.
j.. able Physical Features.
L0Is accounted a social science lab
oratory and political experiment sta.
ton, New Zealand is equally note.
worthy for some physical features
biologists found there a tailless bird
evolutionary souvenir, they believe, OF
the now extinct wingless mOa, ranging
in size from a turkey to a super-Ostricl
height Of II feet from head to ground
Then there is a caterpillar which mag.
ically seems to die but to live again In
the form Of a plant, which blossoms
and goes to seed.
thC AhoICp anu TIE HCcl Va
the island LEG" Is an area equal to
that Of Connecticut and Delaware to.
gether where boiling springs spout
,, from shores of cold lakes, kissing pill.
lars of steam and cOlumned vapOrs
puncture the surface, phenomena com
parable ONLY t. the steamlng, vaporous
Valley Of Ten Thousand Smokes near
Mt. Katmai, Alaska. In the hot springs
and we the steam vents the natives
have long cooked their FOOD. AL one
place in the thermal region IRE humer
Gus geysers constituting the n'ares
; Approach to q rival for our own Yello. y
Some park that the world now affords.
Bere, as In Alaska, il is n case OF
"cherEnez le volcan," and the volcano
liz TO be tSlnd in the extinct crater OF
White islan1 For the thermal springs
district eXtefHs into the sea, and
energies again m the barren peak a
thousand feet higff, hooded in billowy
wells Of white vapor.
Attracting the publicfst because it
has the newest governmental expert
ments-cOmpulsory arbitration, old age
pensions, tax exemptions m small
farms, for example-New Zealand in
terests the geologist for an opposite
reason, because it is among the Oldest
portions of the earth's solidifedi sur
face.
Seldom Is a clearer Illustration to be
had of the effects Of geography upon Il
people. In fact, the demonstration was
duplicated in New Zealand, once with
the Maorls, and then with the English
cOlonists. The Maoris, among the most
remarkable ~ all savage tribes. are
Polynesians. They came. some 800
years ago, sor1e say from Tahiti, and
found the ahorigines ''unappetizing,