f 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.

[4] "In the morning, the weather being clear again, Dr Sparrma