Show new zealanda Zea lands supply of meat Is important british food iten item 91 I 1 IV III englad ORT A 4 pacific ocean 0 t 0 PANAMA CANAL bouth A A atlantic 00 60 ocean ZEALAND transportation problem Is serious because of war conditions Pr prepared elUred by national geographic society washington ashington D C service an old world war slogan tood food will help win the war it was recently recalled when new zealand reported arrangements to send britain her exportable meat surplus problem how to transport the shipments past submarine and other perils to the mother country half the world away new zealand is more than miles from england by way of the panama canal the route around south america would add another thousand miles ships sailing westward through the suez canal and the mediterranean sea must travel more than miles from wellington new zealand to southampton england geographic isolation made new zealand one of the most recent regions to be colonized yet within 80 years of the first permanent settlements tle ments in the this self gov arning dominion had a seat in the league of nations after the world war in recognition of services in that conflict she was given a mandate over german samoa square miles in area one hundred three thousand square miles in area new zealand is made up of north and south islands the two main segments of the group as well as stewart cook and several smaller outlying islands of the pacific more than a thousand miles long and only miles across at its widest point the dominions slim outline seems on a map of the broad pacific much closer to australia than it is actually they are 1400 miles apart new zealand has a population of more than a million and a half people including maoris laoris the intelligent tell igent aborigines who are increase MAP SHOWS shipping routes most usually used in transporting supplies from new zealand to england the distance by way tray of the panama canal is miles and around south america its an additional 1000 not shown on the map but possible is a mile route through the suez canal and the mediterranean sea ing rather than diminishing in numbers under the white mans government the human population of new zealand is far exceeded by its do bestic animal population there are roughly three times as many cattle as people on the islands and more than 20 times as many sheep stock raising is the leading industry A mild climate with ample rainfall and sunshine assures grazing in the open the year around the islands also grow considerable fodder crops some wheat potatoes peas and many fruits including apples peaches apricots plums and nectarines necta rines the dairy industry is highly developed no one factor has proved more important in the trade life of new zealand than the advent of refrigeration in the late the islands made their first timber exports later with the whaling industry of the south seas came little depot settlements specializing in blubber whalebone and oil world trade Is large today in proportion to population new zealand has the worlds largest trade figure the united kingdom is the dominions best customer taking some 83 per cent of its exports of the lambs born there in 1938 more than went to britain in return new zealand buys a little less than half of her total imports from the mother ar country due partly to the opening of the panama canal lessening the distance from new zealand to uncle sams eastern ports imports from the united states have increased considerably in modern times the percentage is roughly one eighth of the total canada supplies about half as much |