point of
view, and with some important fresh material, which will enable us to
arrive at more definite conclusions as to the nature and origin of this
remarkable fauna and flora. The present work is, besides, addressed to a
wider class of readers than my former volumes, and it would be manifestly
incomplete if all reference to one of the most remarkable and interesting
of insular faunas was omitted.

The two great islands which mainly constitute New Zealand are together
about as large as the kingdom of Italy. They stretch over thirteen degrees
of latitude in the warmer portion of the south-temperate zone, their
extreme points corresponding to the latitudes of Vienna and Cyprus. Their
climate throughout is mild and {472} equable, their vegetation is
luxuriant, and deserts or uninhabitable regions are as completely unknown
as in our own islands.

The geological structure of these islands has a decidedly continental
character. Ancient sedimentary rocks, granite, and modern volcanic
formations abound; gold, silver, copper, tin, iron, and coal are plentiful;
and there are also some considerable deposits of early or late Tertiary
age. The Secondary rocks alone are very scantily developed, and such
fragments as exist are chiefly of Cretaceous age, often not clearly
separated from the succeeding Eocene beds.

[Illustration: MAP SHOWING DEPTHS OF SEA AROUND AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.]

The light tint indicates a depth of less than 1,000 fathoms.
The dark tint ,, ,, more than 1,000 fathoms.

The position of New Zealand, in the great Southern Ocean, about 1,200 miles
distant from the Australian {473} continent, is very isolated. It is
surrounded by a moderately deep ocean; but the form of the sea-bottom is
peculiar, and may help us in the solution of some of the anomalies
presented by its living productions. The line of 200 fathoms encloses the
two islands and extends their area considerably; but the 1,000-fathom line,
which indicates the land-area that would be produced if the sea-bottom were
elevated 6,000 feet, has a very remarkable conformation, extending in a
broad mass westward and northward, then sending out a great arm reaching to
beyond Lord Howe's Island. Norfolk Island is situated on a moderate-sized
bank, while two others, much more extensive, to the north-west approach the
great barrier reef, which here carries the 1,000-fathom line more than 300
miles from the coast. It is probable that a bank