NATURE—AND MAN

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 726, 29 December 1933, Page 2

NATURE—AND MAN

WONDERHAND OF N.Z. A FBW GLIMjPSES (Edited by Leo. Panning) W'ell, friends, here we are again, ■past another Chris'tm'as which, we all ' fondly hope, should be the last of the dismal .slump period. However, for a few days, let us cast care aside and • . try to see the world with th'e brigjht, , trustful eyes of childhood. Despiite 'the dirges of dreary pessdmists, the world is rea'lly quite iai good plaoe. It >is always ready to produce more than 'man needs for all purpoises of life. fWfhani humanity, in the mass, gets some more sense and leams how to mahe the best use of th'e gifts of Na"tlire, the mdllennium will be praetically here. |But this is not the time for heavy homdlities or chidings. Serious lessons about various laiffairs can wait until the New Year blows the whistles and rings the bells for a 'stem return to life's routine. Therefore this week's article will be mainly for the entertainment of children and for : . older folk who wish to be young again for a little while. Here are some jingles from a book v/hich I wrote some years ago: — Charmi of the Forest The fairies of the f'orest dells Hiave palaces of ferns and moss; No wicked witches cast thieir spells To cause the pixies pain or loss. The woods are ever gay and green; (No snake lurks there for careless feet; No terror spoils the'sylvan scene (Of Nature's joy and peace complete iDuring the midsummer holidays 'many thousands of New Zealanders will see some of the marvellous beaiuty of their forests. May they resolve to do whatever they can to keep that sylvan splendour free from harm by fire or other nuisance. Call of the Wanganui River The Wanganui River winds through imiles of verdant hanks Where three-ferns stand like sentdn- ' els in splendid serried ranks; And through the leafy isles you see the crests of noble hills, And hear the roiar of waterfalls and songs of birds and rills. I If the Wanganui River is to retain its present scenic majesty, there must .be no more destruction of forests on ' the watersheds above its banks. The Prehistoric Tuatara The Lady Tuatara will never tell her age: She's very, very wrinkled, but very, very saige: She's very, very proud of her ancient ancestry — This Tuatara knows she has the oldest family-.tree.

' She links up with the dragcns of pre- ' historic days, When monstrous ngly reptiles flew about th'e swamps and bays. ' So let us be thankful she is innocent and small: If she wasn't she would eat us — (flesh hones and clothes and all. ■ New Zealand's unique Tuatara, a harmless dwarf survival of the prehistoric Saurian family (which ineluded various winged monsters), is only about two feet iini lengtih when fullgrown. It is a link hetween reptiles and birds; it is a distant cousin of the croeodile, but it has bird-like ribs, a rudimentary tihird eye, and other peculiarities. Marvels of Milford Sound A million years or so ago, A Giant wandered to and fro About the Southland Sounds. His height wias fourt.een miles or inore, And heavy were th'e shoes he wore; | He made tremendous bounds. I He couldn't get enough to eat; j So when he'd finisbed all the meat, ] Except a lion friend, j He slowly starved to death, 'tis said. I He sank into the Milford bed, I And more than filled one end. I And when he lay there all alone His Cap and Lion turned to stone, And there they are to-day. The Lion seems to guard the Cap — A very faithful kind of chap, Who nevei' runs away. The Giamt's Cap in Milford Sound, Southland, is known officially as Mitre Peak (which is more than a mile iiigh), but the Giant was not a Bishop. Compiared with "The Lion," crouched 1 near the Mitre, the lion body of the I Sphinx would look a mouse. | Maori Myths of Mountains I There were hot times in New Zealand I Wh'en He-mountains nsed to fight 1 By the sea-land and the tree-land | For the dear She-mountains hright. | There were awful roars and hisses, 1 And much hurling of hig rocks, I For those lovely Mountain Misses, [ Wlho survived volcanic shocks. :W|h'en a rival was well battered, . He would flee far, far away. . If he lingered, he'd be shattered; So he didn't like to stay. iA Maori myth states that when Taranaki's conical Mount Egmomt wias an active volcano it stood near the fiery Tongariro. They quarrelled for the 'love of Pihanga, a dej ajbove Roto-|a-Ira Lake. Egmont ligMful green-mantled mountain was vanquish'ed, after much spluttering and. fuming, and fled west until Ihis tired feet found rest near the sea's edge. Murder of Pelorus Jack | Pelorus Jack, a wise .sea-scout, i A dolphin, old and gray, ( In Cook Strait kept a keen look-iout j For ships 'that sped. that way. H© met them by a narrow pass, And seemed to iguide them through, He knew his pi'lot task first-class, ' Surprising ahy crew. He leaped in glee above the wtaive, lAnd dived beneath' the* keel; • For Jack was strong, and= lithe, and brave, (And quicker than an eel. iPelorus Jack; a, brightJhued Risso's „ dolphin (Grampus grd^eus), prdtected hy New Zealand Govemment Order-

in-Council, has not been seen since the visit of some foreign whalers to Cook Btrait about 1914. It is helieved that these' persons haipooined "Jack" in ignorance of his legal right to kindness. His loss was very deeply regretted.