Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/610

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NEW YORK UNIVERSITY.
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NEW ZEALAND.

history of the university was the period between 1890 and 1900. In 1891 the grounds on University Heights overlooking the Harlem River were acquired, and in 1894 the College of Arts and Pure Science and the School of Applied Science were removed to the new site, the schools of Law and Pedagogy and a part of the Graduate School remaining in a new structure on Washington Square. The various schools hitherto loosely connected were now reorganized into one university system. The university in 1902 comprised six faculties besides the School of Commerce, the Woman's Law Class, and the Summer School, having in all 212 professors and instructors, and 2101 students. (1) University College confers the degrees of B.A. and B.S. (2) The University Law School (coeducational) confers the degrees of LL.B., LL.M., and J.D. (3) The Medical College, together with the Veterinary College, confers the degrees of M.D., D.S., and D.V.S. (4) The School of Applied Science confers the degrees of C.E. and M.E. (5) The Graduate School confers the degrees of M.A., M.S., Ph.M., and Ph.D. (6) The School of Pedagogy confers the degrees of Pd.M. and Pd.D. The School of Commerce, Accounts, and Finance confers the degree of B.C.S. (bachelor of commercial science). The Summer School had in 1902 12 instructors and 113 students. The library of the university contained in 1902 over 55,000 volumes, including the Oswald Ottendorfer Collection. The campus covers about 22 acres, and its chief architectural feature is the library building, completed in 1900, at a cost of $750,000. An open colonnade known as the Hall of Fame (q.v.) extends partly around the library, overlooking the Harlem. The total value of the buildings and grounds in 1902 was $2,945,342; the endowment was $2,080,179; the gross income $467,839, and the total value of the college property $5,025,522. The government of the university is vested in a Senate consisting of the chancellor, the deans of the several schools, and six professors elected, one from each school, together with advisory members. The chancellors of the university have been James Matthews, Theodore Frelinghuysen, Isaac Ferris, Howard Crosby, John Hall, Henry M. MacCracken.

NEW YORK WEASEL. See Weasel.

NEW ZEALAND, zē′land. A British colony in the South Pacific Ocean, situated between latitudes 34° 25′ and 47° 17′ S., and between longitudes 166° 26′ and 178° 36′ E., a little more than 1000 miles southeast of the Australian continent. New Zealand proper consists of two large islands. North Island and South or Middle Island, separated by Cook Strait, from 16 to 100 miles wide, and of a smaller island, Stewart Island, lying 25 miles south of South Island, from which it is separated by Foveaux Strait. Several of the outlying groups, known as the Auckland, Chatham, Cook, Kermadee islands, and other small islets, are also attached to the colony. The area of North Island is 44,468 square miles, of South Island 58,525, and of Stewart Island 665 square miles. The total area of the colony is estimated at 104,471 square miles, being nearly equal to that of Italy, to which peninsula the shape of New Zealand bears a striking resemblance.

Topography. The surface of North Island is in the main gently undulating, with low hills and tablelands densely forested. There are, however, several volcanic peaks in this island, from 4000 to over 9000 feet high. Of these Tarawera and Tongariro, on the mainland, and Whakari, in the Bay of Plenty, are active volcanoes, while the highest extinct cones are Ruapehu (9715 feet) and Mount Egmont or Taranaki. The latter is a solitary peak standing at the west entrance to Cook Strait. It is 8270 feet high, and its summit is covered with perpetual snow. South Island differs in a marked degree from North Island. It has no volcanoes, but along its whole western coast runs a lofty and rugged mountain range known as the Southern Alps, which rivals the European Alps in its wild mountain scenery. It has a height of from 8000 to over 12,000 feet, Mount Cook, the highest point, being 12,340 feet above the sea. It is deeply cleft, with numerous ravines and precipices, while on the western slope there are great glaciers, in some places reaching within a few hundred feet of the sea. The range is generally covered with forests to the snow line. On the eastern flank of the Alps is a plateau bounded by a lower range running through the centre of the island, from which the land descends in terraced, grassy plains to the eastern coast.

The coast-line of New Zealand measures about 3000 miles, two-thirds of which forms the coast of North Island, which is much indented with bays, two of them almost separating the northwestern peninsula from the mainland. Really good harbors, however, are few, as most of the bays are obstructed by bars. The best harbors are those of Auckland and Wellington. The rivers are small and unimportant, the largest being the Waikato, in North Island. The lakes by contrast are interesting. Those in North Island are of volcanic origin. The largest is Lake Taupo, with a diameter of 22 miles and an enormous depth. The region surrounding it is full of hot springs and geysers, among which rose the famous pink and white terraces of siliceous deposits which were destroyed by an eruption in 1886. In South Island, along the eastern slope of the Alps, extends a series of elongated mountain lakes supposed to be, like the deep fiords of the southwest coast, of glacial origin. The largest is Wakatipu, which is said to rival Lake Lucerne in beauty. Though its surface is 1060 feet above sea-level, its bottom, is in some places 500 feet below.

Climate. The climate is varied, but in general equable, with no intense heat or cold. The mean temperature for January is 68° in the north and 58° in the south; for June it is 51° in the north and 40° in the south. Frost is almost unknown in North Island. The rainfall varies from 28 inches in the east to over 100 inches on the west coast. The coast districts are very windy, which fact contributes toward rendering the climate healthful.

Flora. The flora is poor in species, but two-thirds of the indigenous forms are entirely peculiar to the islands, and 20 of its genera are represented nowhere else. The forests as well as the vegetation generally are characterized by a dull monotonous green, there being very few plants with conspicuous flowers. Though the flora is related to that of Australia, as well as to South America and the Antarctic islands, some of the most common Australian genera, such as Eucalyptus and Acacia, are absent. The ferns, mosses, and hepaticas are especially abundant and characteristic, large tracts of