SPORT IN NEW ZEALAND

(From a Correspondent). ■* LONDON, FebrttjUE^ 5 ' A writer signing himself "T. JrHST!/' in au English sporting . paper warmly praises New Zealaud as "a cheap and good land for Sport." After . stating that the journey thither is "cheap ■ and easy • and luxurious," he says: "At 'the- moderate , estimate of <£100 for .each stag killed iv Scotland* «uch shooting as can be had free in New 1 Zealand would cost thousands of pounds- in our" forests/ and hot only is there deer shooting, * but excellent, trout < fishing, great attention having .been paid for some years to the acclimatisation and - rearing of trout. The deep-sea, fishing reminds one of tarpon fishing in the rivers Florida,, and though no large native quad- '. rupeds exist, there is the hunting of horses, cattle, goats, and pigs/ nb"w^"ftn ' wild, and the shooting of pheasants/ quail; and\ various wild ducks. Iv the large' for- ,~. ests and bush country are t>e;nat*£fci'bjijds. — the beautiful wild pigeon, the koka (sic), • the kuivi o weni s '(slc), -tlie surviving wing- ••' less bird, 'the gorgeous green and gold ka- " ■ kafo (sic) or ground' parrot, and' others — and of " the introduced game - there - 1 are ' • pheasants and hare's in plenty, which -flourish in this climate, and, of course, the irrepressible rabbit. Aa many -as at hundred hares have been killed .by one, gun in a day and 30 brace, of wild pheasant*." 1 New Zealanders will sraileVat the 'curious ' ' disguises under which the, well-known , "kaka" and' "kiwi" and" "kakapo"*^ appear, r but ttiat is by the wayO The- j writer pro-;. ■ ceeda : 'On the rivers and. lakes there is. no •lack of wild duck of all sorts — geese, iwans, • curlew, plover, snipe, go'dwit, .and the dotterell • now nearly extinct on our ' Yorkshire hills. „A license, ., of £\. only, entitles one to shoot' dee* iii ' a whole pro-; vince, another .pound to fish in r e,very river,' and a third to shoot all' other kind's of game. 'The sport, t00,.. is enjoyed amid some of the finest 'scenery in the world — how different from otur^mpnytonQus c^yjertt, . shooting at Hbme!— the chmatejis excellent, and the 'people one meets hospitable ' ' and ready to , help one. .Deer-stalking, which can be had through both islands, begins; in" February, and f allow, dpeisdn many patts are so numerous v thj»t • iapy may be shot without restriction as to nunlbers,. especially in.; the Auckland district: ' The extent of country whiph maj ,b^ shot over is immense,' arid yet 14 good hotels 'are generally within reach. The popular sporting . centres of Cambridge, 1 Okordire, .and Tirau lie within a few hpur% of Auckland by. rail, and,' though" I have not personally visited the Island of Mototapu, within 10 miles' of Auckland, t read ih the Auckland Times, (sic) that it carries iplendi4 herdsj and that Mz Eeid.the ow^ier of the i^Jand, heartily, welcomes, bpiia" fide '"' sportsmen. In " the Wellington district;, Wairarapa is well' stocked with Ted and fallow deer, and at Carnarvon- sambiir', dee* have been successfully . introduced.^ In, the Nelson .province are' many deer,' both red' " and fallow, as also on the Bluri^M'rinnttins ■' in Otago, and about Lakes iWan*ka< and . Hawea, where the scarce i axis deer- may also be found." . '' ;'; ' •", ••, ' ; Finally,! he Tisis something^ to- say -about - piscatorial matters" in ; thfe colony, 1 thus: 'The trout fishing throughout both, islands • of. New Zealand, is quite- unrivalled, - hundreds of rivers being well .stocked: In the Auckland, province both brown and rainbow' trout abound. Even in' the Hot Springs' district ,abou,t luUorua and; Taupo there is r good fißjiir>g,, especially. '.in -the"~ Urewera district. Tliere. are scarcely any restrictions, as to. "foiling,- even 'in private. wa'tera; all large, rivers' are' open. 'to the publio.' a'«d.ths difCfrvoafc »«cliwvaiisation societies will e?idoree the^Sl licenses^ making them universally available. One may fish' with fly, bait, and minnow, and baskets of from 501 bto 1001 b are frequent; a single' fish occasionally scaling up to 301 b. As to the deep-sea fishing with rod' and line, a sport too neglected, at Home, there is Tbundaneo "on the 'harbours' and coasts. The Maori kaka, or kiwgfish, gives spdrtr'^ like the tarpon in Florida, being k game '- fiph, 4ft to sft longhand upto.3olb weight. The k k4wai, or sea salmon, is also com•nbn, and a<Yords good .sport, eittfer.with , -pion-, artificial minnow, or live bait/Wild jattle and pigs," .he, concludes, ."maj/-be found in the rougher dtstriots,, a|td '^ld ?oats abound on the cousls of ' Pn' the Taupo Plains aife niobs of J ;*ata ' horses, too rough for tbeordinary^spbrf^man. The great charm affiport^ in iliew ; Zealand isita freedom, there.' bunn* but , seldom any question of trespass; andiroave ' is but seldom refused -by landowners ;'. on ■ the contrary, one is" almost «fettain of ft) friendly, .welcome and information. ,as tp< «sport, the country upt b'eiiig'j^et oveiuono •' by travellers, and with a Vmall our Jay ,'Squire Lackland- can enjoy" hrtfer^jirt, , have more freedom and yariany, and lv\fi,\ i. a far better time generiUy/ iu ,^i,w 2inland than if he spent th-nui'i.is.'m^'rent. iand expenses, or owned • Ii 5 .c .l*-t'dc*i"«v- • eets .and trout streams ift i»«inift. Scot. • land." -' • ■' v ;■-