North-eastern District.

In this district of the North Island, from Taupo towards the Bay of Plenty, the surface soil is derived from rocks of a highly siliceous character, and large areas are covered with little else than loose friable pumice-stone. Towards the coast, and in some limited areas near the larger valleys, such as the Waikato and the Thames, and also where volcanic rocks of a less arid description appear at the surface, great fertility prevails, and any deficiencies in the character of the soil are amply compensated for by the magnificence of the climate of this part of New Zealand. On the eastern side of the slate range which extends through the North Island the surface of the country is generally formed of clay-marl and calcareous rocks, the valleys being occupied by shingle deposits derived from the slate and sandstone rocks of the back ranges, with occasional areas of fertile alluvium of considerable extent. It is only the latter portions of this district which can be considered as adapted for agriculture, while the remainder affords some of the finest pastoral land to be met with in any part of the colony.