y»p— \AS8KnCt tlironeh tlio midst of Oceania in the diiec-
■^jll tion in which we enter it, we eonie to the isLands of
St'w ZeaLind. The distance from San Francisco to
AnidsLand is 5370 niih_'s. jVfter sojonrning for a
time amonti' the minute specks of Land which ,i;enerally com-
pose these parts of Oceania, it is with quite a degree of com-
fort that we retire at night u[ion an ishmd so hirge that we feel
no danger of filling out of Ijed into the ocean. New Zealand
consists cliiefly of two main pai'ts, known respectively
as the North and South Islands, though quite commonly
the Litter is called Middle IsLind, out of respect for a small
one whi(di lies still south of the principal Ixidy. and wlii(di is
also called South, oi' Stewarts Island. The group is neai'ly
one thousand miles long, and two hundred miles Avide at the
liroadest part. The coast line is o\'er three thousand miles in
in extent. New Zealand lies one thousand two hundred
miles east of Australia. It was discovered by Tasnntn. in
1642, and afterward visited by (.'ajitain Cook in 170'.). The
area is estimated at o\'er i.me liundn.'d and twenty tlniusaml
square miles, of which North Island cdutains forty-foui' th(ni-
sand four hundred and sixty-seven, and South Island over
fifty-eight thousand.
New Zealand enjoys the distinction of being the first coun-
try of inqiortance to recei^'c the new-l)orn day. As is quite
w'ell known, the 180th degree of longitmle east or west of
Greenwich has been agreed upon as the line where the day

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56 NEVi ZEALAND.
