Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 17.djvu/412

390 W N E W at Doreh, in Geelvink Bay, and the Dutch flag is hoisted by many of the coast chiefs, ignorant even of its meaning ; all attempts at settlement have been abandoned owing to the bad climate, the difficult navigation, and the constant fighting and laziness of the people, all this limiting the amount of produce available for trade. The Dutch missionaries, 1 who have laboured on the shores and islands of Geelvink Bay for many years, have a certain influence, and their schools are well attended, but with no more definite result than a certain softening of manners and slight increase of material prosperity. Though probably sighted by A. Dabrou, 1511, New Guinea was apparently first visited either by the Portuguese Don Jorge de Meneses, driven on his way from Goa to Ternate in 1526 to take shelter at " Isla Versija" (which has been identified with a place Warsia on the N.W. coast, but may possibly be the island of "VVaigiu), or by the Spaniard Alvaro de Saavedra two years later. By Ortiz de Retez, or Roda, who in 1546 first laid down several points along the north coast, the name of "New Guinea" was probably given. In that and the two following centuries, though the coasts were visited by many illustrious navigators, as Schouten and Lemaire, Tasman, Dampier, Torres, Bougainville, and Cook, little additional knowledge was gained. This was due first to the difficulties of the navigation, next to the exclusiveness of the Dutch, who, holding the Spice Islands, prevented all access to places east of them, and lastly to the stream of enterprise being latterly diverted to the more temperate regions farther south. The Dutch barrier was broken down by the arrival of Dampier and other "interlopers" from the east, and of emissaries from the (English) East India Company in search of spice-bearing lands. The voyage of Forrest (1774) in the "Tartar galley" of 10 tons, and his account of New Guinea, are still full of interest. New Guinea was actually annexed in 1793 by two commanders in the East India Company s service, and the island of Manasvari in Geelvink Bay held for some months by their troops. After the peace of 1815 Dutch surveying expeditions to the west coasts became more numerous. Surveys of the east coasts have been made since the visits of D Entrecasteaux (1793) and D Urville (1827-40) by Captains Owen Stanley, Yule, Blackwood, and other English officers, the latest being that of Captain Moresby ; and English missionaries and traders are doing around the Gulf of Papua what the Dutch have done at Geelvink Bay. The islands of Torres Straits, which are the headquarters of a valuable pearl- shell and tripang fishery, have all been annexed to Queensland, and practically command the few available channels by which ships can pass. Latterly the colonial authorities in Australia, alarmed at the prospect of the annexation by some foreign power of territory so near their shores, and also desirous to prevent the abuses that must soon arise from the influx of convicts or of European adventurers under no control, have urged the home Government to annex the east half of New Guinea. Authorities. The principal are Von Rosenberg, Der Malayische Archipel Miiller, Nieuw Guinea, ethnogr. en natuurkundig onderzocht, Amsterdam, 1862 ; Robide" van der Aa, Reizen naar Nederlandsch Nieuw Guinea, 1879; Moresby, New Guinea and Polynesia ; D Albertis, New Guinea ; Quart. Rev., July 1877 ; Beccari, Malesia (botanical) ; Kolff s Voyage, translated by Windsor Earl ; Parliamentary Papers, 1876 and 1883; lecture by Prof. W. H. Flower at the Royal Institution, 31st May 1878 ; A. B. Meyer, " Anthrop. Mittheil. tiber die Papuas von N. G.," in Jour. Anthrop. Inst., 1877-78 ; papers in Cosmos, 1875-77 ; Trans, of Brit. Atsoc., 1883; Proc. R. Geog. Soe., March 1884. (C. T.) NEW HAMPSHIRE, one of the New England States of the American Union, lies between 70 37 and 72 37 W. long., and between 42 40 and 45 18 23" N. lat., and has an area of 9336 square miles. Its boundaries are partly natural. On the W. it is separated from the State of Vermont by Connecticut river; on the N. from the province of Quebec by the natural ridge of the watershed between the St Lawrence and the streams flowing south to the Atlantic ; on the E. from Maine by a straight line from Quebec to the source of Salmon river, thence by this river to the ocean, and south-easterly through the middle of the Isles of Shoals ; the boundary on the S.E. is the Atlantic ; and that on the S. is a line 2 miles distant from and parallel to the lower Merrimack, until that river changes its course to due north and south, when the line runs magnetic west to Connecticut river. The general shape of the State is nearly that of a right-angled triangle, having the per pendicular 180 and the hypothenuse 190 miles long. The greatest width is 100 miles, from Chesterfield to the outer most of the Isles of Shoals. Physical Features. The State lies on the Atlantic slope 1 One of these, Mr Van Hasselt, is the chief authority on the languages and customs of west New Guinea. of the continent, forming part of the elevated belt bordering upon the ocean which culminates in three mountain districts, viz., Newfoundland, the White Mountains, and the Black Mountains in North Carolina. It is also situated east of the Blue Ridge and its northerly continuation in the New York highlands and the Green Mountain range, both of which are distinct from the true Appalachians the latter being west of the great Appalachian limestone valley, and well-shown in the Catskill, Alleghany, and Cumber land ridges and plateaus. The Atlantic and White Mountain ranges are comparatively short, consisting of obtusely-pointed summits of gneissic or granitic rocks, either arranged en echelon or scattered in irregular groups. The White Mountains group first becomes noticeable in northern Maine, reaching the height of a mile at Mount Katahdin, and continues at less elevation south-westerly to the New Hampshire line, where it rapidly rises to its culmina tion in Mount Washington (6293 feet). The part of this mountainous area that lies within New Hampshire extends to about 1400 square miles. It is continued south-westerly, much reduced in elevation, beyond Mount Moosilauke, along the highlands separating the tributaries of the Merri mack and Connecticut rivers, through New Hampshire and Massachusetts into Connecticut. The distinctive Montalban elevation is limited on the west and on the south by the Connecticut. The geological reports published in 1878 show four important topographical features: (1) the mountainous ridge following the eastern rim of the Connecticut river basin along the longest straight line that could be drawn within the State; (2) the elevated White Mountain tract, just north of the middle of the territory ; (3) the comparatively low country between the two elevated districts just noted and the sea three-fourths of which, away from the foothills, scarcely exceeds 500 feet above the sea-level ; (4) a mountainous district north of the White Mountains, occupying Coos county in New Hamp shire, Essex county in Vermont, and an indefinite region in Maine near the Quebec line. The average elevation of the land in New Hampshire is estimated to be 1200 feet above the sea. Of this more than one-half is situated below 1000 feet, and about one-sixth exceeds 2000 feet, and is comprised in the third area mentioned above. The average height of the Coos and Essex district will be found to exceed 1500 feet. Mount Washington is the only mountain peak exceeding 6000 feet; and eight others are above 5000 feet (Adams, Jefferson, Clay, two Monroes, Madison, Lafayette, and Lincoln). Climate, Fauna, Flora.- These elevations have produced a marked effect upon the climate and natural products. The greatest annual precipitation is along the Merrimack river, 44 inches near Manchester and 46 above Franklin. It is only 35 inches near the sea-coast, and 40 inches on the upper Connecticut. The greatest precipitation is therefore on the seaward side of the long mountainous ridge constituting the backbone of the State. The annual isothermal lines vary from 48 Fahr. at Manchester to 40" in Coos county and 25 upon the summit of Mount Washington. No less than four faunal areas are recognized, known as the Alleghanian, Canadian, Hudsonian, and Labrador. The first enters New Hampshire from the south, and is limited on the north by the line of 600 feet altitude, which is not far from the isothermal line of 45 Fahr., or the winter average of 20 Fahr. and the summer average of 65 Fahr. A few distinctive animals are the red-headed woodpecker, humming bird, bobolink, Baltimore oriole, blue jay, the box and painted turtles, and the rattlesnake. Among plants which are employed to determine the northern limit of this district are the hickory or shell bark,