needs only
to use his pick to capture it. For many years about a million dollars'
worth of kauri gum was thus obtained each year. The lumps vary in size
from that of a hen's egg to masses weighing several pounds.

There are also some strange animals in New Zealand. One curious creature
is a bird without wings--the kiwi. The species is one of many similar
kinds that lived in Australia and New Zealand ages ago. Their remains
are found in abundance, but the kiwi is the last species now living. It
has a long, sharp bill and hair-like feathers. A full-grown bird is
about the size of a bantam fowl. One of the more beautiful birds is a
dull green parrot, the kea. But the kea is also a wretched pest, for it
has learned how to kill sheep since the sheep-herders came to New
Zealand. The kea darts out of the air, fastens its talons in the side of
the sheep, and quickly makes a gaping hole into the animal's vitals.
Thousands of sheep are thus killed every year.

There are about one million people in New Zealand, and most of them live
on the east side of South Island. That is where the grassy lands are;
and that is why the cattle and sheep are there also. And the people are
there because of the sheep and cattle. New Zealand is one of the
greatest grazing regions in the world, and most of the various
industries in the islands have something or other to do with the
grazing.

In Australia the sheep are grown almost wholly for wool. That is because
climate and grasses are just right for the growth of wool. In New
Zealand the climate and grasses are not very good for wool, but they are
just right for meat, both mutton and beef. So the commerce of beef and
mutton is the chief business of New Zealand.

The meat must go a long way before it reaches the people who consume it;
they live in Great Britain and western Europe. In any case, too, it must
have a long summer trip; for one cannot go from New Zealand to Europe
without crossing the Torrid Zone. Even if the meat were sent from New
Zealand in midwinter it not only has a long trip in the Torrid Zone, but
it gets to Europe in midsummer.

Now, it is very plain that meat cannot be carried for a month or six
weeks on a steamship without preparation. The preparation is very
simple; the meat, after dressing, is frozen and it is kept frozen until
it reaches the people who eat it. There are refrigerating-rooms at the
slaughter-houses, refrigerator cars to the nearest port, and
refrigerator s