elapse after they are reclaimed, before they will bear crops of grain[1].
The Waiho, although a much larger river, is not more useful than the Hutt, as it will only serve for the downward conveyance of produce, for which purpose the latter is equally capable; and in Port Nicholson the farmer has the advantage of his port-town close to him, whilst on the Thames he is from thirty to forty miles from it, and consequently from his market; the almost total absence of timber on the Thames will also be a serious difficulty to the farmer, as he will, in most instances, be obliged to bring his wood for all purposes from a distance, besides buying, instead of cutting it upon his own land.
The only advantage the Thames has over the Hutt is its plain, admirably adapted for rearing herds of cattle without the labour of cultivation, and I have no doubt, in a few years, it will be so occupied from New South Wales, by persons accustomed to that kind of employment; but I apprehend few from this place would at present feel disposed to embark in such a speculation.
I can say, moreover, from all I have seen or heard of the different harbours of New Zealand, Port Nicholson is by far the best for the settlement of a new colony, not only from its geographical situation, but because the site of the town is much superior to any other that has yet been found in the country; and there is abundance of excellent land, sufficient for the employment of any amount of population there may be for twenty years to come.
At the Bay of Islands it is almost impossible to find a place suitable for the site even of a moderate village, and the country is so rough and broken, that there are no means of going from one part of the Bay to another by land; and the shores also of the
- ↑ Fully one half of the plain of the Waiho is an impassable bog covered with high rushes, the largest remaining portion poor fern land; and there is a considerable portion of wet stony land covered with rank vegetation without bushes.
