BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2787, 3 June 1916, Page 9

BOOKS OF THE DAY

BY FOREST WAYS IN NEW ZEA- ■' \ LAND. By lores.t AVays in- New-Zealand" by I'. A. Roberts, tHeath, Crouton, Ltd.), v " „l ) ' casau ' ; 'j'- wl, itten description of viQ\\\ Zealand, mountains, lakes, and for'f'lo author visited the principal cities of the 'Dominion, being, it is evident,- specially impressed by Christchurch and Dunedin. She "did" the usual tourist round of:tho,Cold-Lakes.of Otngo, and the. southern - alpine region, 'npent three weeks in AYestland, visiting Cue Franz Josef. Glacier, anil then, returning to the North Island, visited the iVaitonio'.Caves, the Dot Lakes, making, also, various side-trips. - Everywhere she; was greatly impressed by ' tlienatiiial beauties of the country, and the freedom from conventionality, -uud 'unfailing., hospitality of the people, concerning which latter she writes- im-most laudatory terms. ..' She has'evidently, a, special love for .forest 6cenery, and waxes enthusiastic - over tlie delightful scenery to be met'with on the Milford.Sound-;'Triick'i and in tho West land forest country. ( Of tho latter 'she' writes:— .. : _

; Tlie-.West Coast forest extends'for' three hundred miles between the sea and the Southern Alps, and to tho north of': tho Alps as well—a narrow strip of countrv va-rying • in -width' from fifteen, to. thirty . iniles, and. tho further south you go the .inoro beautiful it becomos.;. It is a semitropical forest in appearance, with- its countless groves of tall and slender treeferns,- with their'rough brown stczns ; and thick. heads., of. drooping feathery fronds, a yard and more in length, and with its amazingly luxuriant undergrowth of traillug creepers and lianes, while daintiest ferns, mosses and lichens'grow everywhere round and upon' tho:.,. giant trees.; The westland forest trees ' are' mighty giants, chief, among them, being,.the red pine, or. rimu, as the - Maoris ■ call' it. This tree towers-straight up to a height of a hundred feet-or so, then it. branches out into a head of thick steins, becoming quite 6lender at the tips; and'drooping gracefully towards- the 'ground, clothed with long coppery-green tassels, hardly leaves at all, but green scales packcd closely together, and giving the'tree the effect of being dressed in a "gay green gown" of shaggy moss. Then-there is the white : pine,. growing best in swampy places, its enormous trunk biittresswuiiKe the cluster, ed pillars of a . mighty church, at lirst bare,, and then shewing, dense .tufts of green bristly spinet high tup-against the sky; the black pine, too, with grey trunk and very dark green spines. Less tall than /the pines is the red birch or beech—the names., are interchangeable 1 in Westland— Its -leaves tlie "size of elii-tree leave's, .but. thicker , and more glossy,-, andv;.allH 'the branches now ■ bearingv,bunches ■' of ; ;deaa. brown .flowers. Of the . same size as the beech is the miro, a tree with smaller but ."equally. glossy leaves, and berries beloved of- the 2Cew - Zealand - .'.'wood ; pigedn. The "totara" is a tree .that reminds one of the English yew, but its narrow leaves are longer and .of a yellower, green.. Enormous.

"rata" trees grow in -the bush, ■ their branches thickly covered with myrtle Bhaped leaves. . . . The New Zealand bush is lor the. most'part a, sombre forest, of many" shade's •.of' green; though now tho fuchsia -is )yellow and the. pepper ■ tree's leaves aro green' and pink; while in spring' the clematis festoons the bush with, masses of starry Wihite hlossoms; in summer , tho rata, blazes-crimson, the tree-veronicas" aJid oleari&s; shoiv"-purple and whits,'and : the' ribbon' wood..bears the loveliest clusters of fragile-white : flowers. When the sun: shines you forget that:you ever thought tho busll sombre,-so .'enchanting is the effect 0! light and,shade,'.on-.stem and leaf,'"Shafts of sunlight; "glint thrbush the forest as through-the aisles;of :somo vast cathedral, bringingmto. i strong relief the" waving light-green fronds of. stately tree ferns,making a, glorious; harmony of green and gold, ajl- "glossy "glooms and shifting tfheens. ......

'.Iliere'inay;.riot,be';.very much in tho book that'has/Vnot . been said before by visitors:';. to;^e? - Dohimioiii. v but {he .au-' tlior's genuuie pleasuro Z'ealflhd-'.is- very sagreeablyexpressed, and.theijook.williirobably indiice soine' of its ' English : and Australian'readers to project a. trip to this country when the end of the war restores to us our latterly much-decreased tourist traffic. It is a pity the'illustrations,'taken, apparently, from photographs, ' should have 'so'.' .: reproduced. In 1 ' some ,;eases,. : indeed,, vthey; fire .*a/.-ipositivß •libel oii to' be depict-' ed, (N.Z;.price Gs.) •

THE GERMAN AFRICAN EMPIREIn view'of the great changes'- which aave.. already been elt'ected on the map of Alrica;-since,'the war brdke out, and tiie practiciilly. "certain' absorption in tho Dritisli L'liipire ot; the'iutui'e. of. all those' African' territories formerly 'German ,pos-Bessio'ns'.-suciii.;-a book fas .'!tfr.'. Albert'■ -iv' Calvert's 'ThC'.Geruian: 'Alrictiit-i- Empire" (J- Werner Laurie) • hy' a "'Vpeeial. and timely value. In an interesting preface, Mr. Calvert warmly, champions tne jus«.ce otvthe action;of /the' Allies'.in st'ripPJPg ' Germany of . lier colonial- empire, lie points .out that thirty years ago, writ "JS ia tbe ! "i''drlii:igh'tly'iveview," the Kcv.' l\ 111. Gresswoll warned the British Gov. erjiment tiiat the annexation of South. \\.est Alrica. by Germany was no sporadic ehort, no ranuOm-impmse. but part of 'a plan. The "real" value, of■ ■ this, terri- . said Mv. Gresswell, "Jay .in tlid proximity of the ■ region to tlip Boei btates,, disaffected;:to Great Britain.'- The laud was not taken for' bond-fide colonic ' ation, but as a point d'a'ppui." Mr. Cal. vert reminds us that German? was maintaining, \ just before the war, a very, largo force of well-trained and equipped.white, soldiers, in a country where inter-tribal iiarfare was pactically UuKiiown, and tho danger of a nativo rising was nil." deferring to the belated oilicial statement issued by Dr bolf 111 December. 11)14, in which the Ger. man Government had the audacity to deciare that "the Anglo-German war in nowise affected South Africa," and that uejniaiiy was prepared ''to 'coase hosti* iities which the South African* Govern-' ment had forced upon her, provided that the Union Government evacuates reffiona already occupied by Union, forces," Mr.Calvert says: . • ; :

lhe impertinence of this proposal, is more amazing by the existenco ' ol' abunuunt cviaence which proves, that for many years Germany' in South-West fflnca. as m Europe, has been stealthily, methodically, relentlessly! preparing for war. IhS railways built, 1 arid those that were under construction at the outbreak of hostilities, arc all strategic railways made on what is still called t!_' Cape guagc and leading out to the TJn.on border. . ..,. Collateral security against the imaginary evil intentions of the unarmed unv.arlike, and unoffending Ovamboa was provided by Germany in the shape'of a force of' 10,000 trained German soldiers fully equipped with arms, ammunition! stores, and military supplies sufficient to last the army for six years. This army with its' supplies was distant over 1000 English miles from Ambolaud,. while 6000 troops and two years' stores were concentrated within 150 miles of the Union border. ,It will be gathered from there few luaisputablo figures that Germany had been preparing to make trouble for the British in this part of the world on a thoroughly organised plan, and li-er only misfortune, so far as German ambitions are concerned, was that' the Kaiser embarked upon .-his scheme of Vforld-conriuest ft year., or two before the authorities at Windhoek had completed their railway system and "military preparations.*.

l i 9 a '- e . r ''i s ' v ® s a care f u l» roost tie. tailed description of the four territories owned by Germany in Africa, namely, South-West Africa, German East Africa, logoland, and the Caraeroons. He explodes tlie inaccuracy of the'popular im. pression that South-West Africa is a desert, "a sandy and most;., unattractive waste, waterless and barren,''.-and claims that when this territory is added, as it assuredly will be, if South Africa has onj' say in the peace terms, to,-the Union, it- will bo found to be a country , of-considerable .resources, and even greater potentialities. He gives full details of the natural productions, industries, and climatic conditions of oncli tcrritorj" quoting liberally from' German official papers and statistics, and givin" interestSag particulars as to the native inhabitants. In addition to tho several excellent maps to be found in tho book tho illustrations, of which there ore a large number, some in colour, others' in half-tone, form a specially praiseworthy

feature of the book, the'utility of which, as a work of reference, should be widely appreciated. ' (New Zealand price, 7s. Cd.)