ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

Press, Volume XXII, Issue 2646, 29 January 1874, Page 2

ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

The annual general meeting of this society was held last evening in the upper room of the Literary Institute. Mr O. R. Blakiston, president,- occupied the chair; •/"\ The minutes of the last general meeting were read and confirmed. The following annual report was read by the hon secretary:— ; ; " The Council.of the Canterbury Acclimatisation Society, have, the hon,or to.present the tenth annual report of the society's proceedings, being for the year ending December 3Ut, 1873. "The balance sheet submitted herewith shows the financial position of the society, from which it will be seen that had it not been for the liberality of the Provincial Conncil in the aid they have afforded' by grants of public money, your council would have been unable to carry out the very important and useful objects of the society during the past year. -, .; "The council again strongly the inhabitants of the province the necessity of their assisting the society by their contributions. They regret that the strong appeals to the farmers made on previous occasions have not met with that response which might have been looked for. It is matter for surprise that the accounts constantly coming forward of the ravages com« mitted on the crops and grass by caterpillars, grubs, arid insects generally do not create greater interest in the work carried on by your society in the importation of insectivorous birds. " Your council have much pleasure in reporting that they have received satisfactory accounts from all parts of the province of the well-doing of the birds and; animals turned out by them. " During the past year they have imported and tnrned out Australian magpies, most valuable insectivorous birds, and held in high estimation in Australia and Tasmania. In the latter place it may be remarked, that they are protected by a heavy fine beiog impofed on any person killing one. " Partridges, skylarks, blackbirds, thrushes redpoles, starlings, rooks, hedge-sparrows, yellow-hammers, chaffinches, goldfinches, tomtits, bramble-finches, and Californiap quail, have been imported ;n considerable numbers... The hares imported by the society —there is f every reason to believe—have bred, and are rapidly increasing in numbers. ••? The schedule at the foot of this report contains a list of the birds, tec., in the possession of the society, and at present =in the gardens in their occupation. Several genr tlemen in various districts of the province have been appointed rangers under the provision of the Acts for the protection of animals ; and it ie hoped and believed, that such appointments will tend greatly to further the objects of the society, and that the heavy penalties imposed under these Acts, .will put a stop to poaching. '.' The thanks of the society are due to those gentlemen who have accepted the responsibilities of that office. '! The Council have to report, that during the past session of the^ General Assembly, an Act for the protection of animals intituled, 'The Protection of Animal? Apt, 1873,' was passed, the provigiong of which it is hoped, will promote the interests of this and kindred societies. '5 The trout turned put in the yariqug rivers through the instrumentality of the society have multiplied and thriven therein. -" In February your council were iefprmed by the Colonial Secretary that salmon oya had been despatched by tlje ehjp pberon fpr New Zealand, and might be expected in Otago the beginning of April. JSvery pre? paration was made for their reception in the fieh-house, and the curator sent to Dunedin in order to await the arrival. The vessel made a long passage (120 days), and but little hopes of enpeess were entertained. Eventually 40 boxes, containing about 2000 ova, arrived here, and were carefully unpacked and placed in the boxes—a very large majority presenting no sign of life ; but on the 17th of May the first salmon was hatched. This strengthened hopes, and by the 23rd about 40 proved the experiment a

success. One or two have since died, the romainder are lively andßitkjing wellr ~ -- -'~'" " Your (Council decided at its Jane meet' ing to send to Tasmania for a supply of salmon trout ova, Mr 8, Budden woe appointed to proceed to Hpbart Town. He obtained from the Tasmanian Society about 300 ova, and although be experienced a rather rough passage down, succeeded in bringing some of the ova from which about 49 fish have been hatched, and are thriving A considerable sum of money has been expended by the council in carrying out the recommendations in the last report, and the council have the satisfaction of knowing that the works have been well and satisfactorily carried out. " The thanks of the society are especially due to the Otago Society for- their valuable assistance rendered in the transhipment of the birds, &c., which arrived by way of Dunedin in the Charlotte Gladstone." " Your Council cannot close their report without placing on record their sense of the very liberal manner in which the Canterbury Domains Board have always met the wishes of this society aa regards the care and management of the grounds set apart for the purposes of acclimatisation." " Your Council, in retiring from office, beg to record their appreciation of the liberality of the Provincial Council in granting £800 dnring the current cession, for the purposes of acclimatisation, and would remind their successors in office that such grant was made contingent upon the sum of £500 being expended on the introduction of insectivorous birds and humble bees." " Stock in the Gardens on December 31st, 1873 :—English trout; ealmon, 40 ; salmon trout, 49 ; perch; tench ; English pheasants, 2; half-bred English and Chinese, 11; young pheasants, 33 ; Wonga Wonga pigeons, 4 ; English wild ducks, 12 ; English fiouen duck, 1 ; blue mountain ducks, 2; grey ducks, 2 ; paradise ducks, 8; Mandarin ducks, 3 ; enrassows, 2; wekas, 7; guinea pigs, 2 ; Australian geese, 2 ; Chinese geese, 4 ; Brent geese, 2 ; swamp hens, 2 ; ferrets, 6 ; large owl (native), I; goldfinches, 3 ; laughing jack, 1; plover, 1; opossums, 2 ; English squirrel, 1; English fallow deer, 7 ; kangaroos ; parrots, 2 ; dorkings, bramahpootras, bantams, and common fowls. The President would desire to say that with reference to the list of fish, birds, &c, in the gardens, after the word trout appeared a blank. The reason was that as the number of trout in the gardens was not really known, they had thought it better to leave it blank. The number 'had' been reported to the Counoil as thousands, but the actual number was supposed to be between two and three thousand. ' Mr J. P. Jameson, hon treasurer, read the balance-sheet, which showed that the balance in hand on Ist January was £152 ss. Mr W. Wilson had much pleasure in moving the adoption of the report, and he thought the farmers should have rendered more assistance to the society by contributing something towards its funds, Mr J. A. Bird seconded the adoption of the report. ,■.■-■ Mr D. Nairn eaid that the farmers were constantly saying that three years ago the society introduced a bird which was a pest to them. They could not keep a single cherry, and he himself had had to cat down fences to protect grain from their ravages. At Kiccarton any one could- see for himself the ravages made and mischief done by them. They ought to apply to the Provincial Couacil to take off the prohibition, and permit them to be shot or otherwise destroyed. He loved acclimatisation, but for the; introtion of house sparrows, of which he used to kill thousands at home for their mischievous propensities, he felt sorry, and if Mr Fereday, who wa s accredited with having first moved in the matter of their introduc-, tion did not' know the difference between the habits' of a house and hedge sparrow, he was not a fit person to sit on the Council of their society. The house sparrow would not eat insects. [Oh, oh.] He was sorry also to think that Mr Bo wen had advocated the introduction of the as he was a very clever man. No doubt they all knew that the flesh, of birds who lived on insects was red and not fit for food, and let them remember the white flesh of the house sparrow at home, and the beautiful pies made from them. He had only opened the discussion to see, if something could hot be done to rid the country of these pests. No wonder that Mr Grigg would have paid his guinea more willingly, if this pest had not been introduced.. [MrJFarr-—.*f Who. tqld you that ?"] Mr Nairn—l read it in the papers. He would challenge. Mr Hill or any: other gentleman to show,. that insects were ever found in the crop of a house sparrow.

Mr J. T. HilJ. said he would accept the challenge, and first of all it might possibly be" news for Mr Nairn to learn that the society had not introduced the sparrows but that they had been introduced by the captain, of a vessel, tie had killed a great number of sparrows that season, and in ' every instance had found thousands and thousands of larva in their crops, and in only, one instance did he find a grain of wheat in the crop of one of them. Only that day he had seen a sparrow killing and eating a locust. JJe had watched tie sparrow in his garden as he fqund nig cherries disappear, but he observed that it was the silver eyes who. robbed him pf ; his cherries. His remarks were made frpm actual observe? tion. Jn England and other countries they were now glad to let th,em live, and a}l that applied to sparrows in those .countries no doubt ag well applied to this. Bir Cracroft Wilson would, like to say a few words,, Mr Nairn had remarked to him that after three years the protection under the Act ceased. The Act had been very much altered in committee, but there was a clause in it which he remembered, and that was that animals or birds liberated by any society were only protected for three years. There was not an Act in the room, and he was sorry for it, ac he had asked that three times the number intended should be printed, and from what had fallen from the secretary he found that very few had reached him. He would use his influence to have this matter remedied if desired. With regard to house sparrows not being fit for food because they eat insects, they all knew that woodcocks fed on nothing elee fj and those birds were far from being bad eating. In New York they had an illustration of the benefit derived from sparrows, as they could not get the leaves of the trees in the city to sprout through blight; but a little while after they had introduced some sparrowsefrom England the leaves shot ont as vigorously as ever. Mr JFereday said that an attack had been made on him by Mr Nairn, in the interegt of the farmers, op account of the sparrows. ; If was necessary for him to make a few re: marks. Even before, the sparrows were introduced, the. farmers had shown the same apathy. With reference to persons subscribing, he believed that Mr Nairn had subscribed five shillings only that day for the purpose of coming there that night. -In France they destroyed sparrows, and were now only too glad to protect them, a heavy penalty being inflicted 6n any person who killed them. A committee of the House of Commons had also decided on investigating the wrong done; in destroying sparrows. People saw sparrows in their cherry.trees, and did not know whether they eat them or not. Evidence had been adduced beyond doubt that sparrows destroyed insects, and as long as he eat on the Council he would always advocate the side of £he sparrows. - , Dγ Campbell did not agree with Mr Nairn's statement thaf all insect eating birds were unfi/t for food. They pad young rpojes, partridges, turkeys an' 4 o£bei? bifds which were really good eating anij If yed on "insects. He denied that anybody could prove th,at a sparrow wpuld .eat grain while he could get sofjfc food, Hfia digestive organs were not fit for hard fpod, and be had known the case of. a sparrpw being found dead choked by eating ope grain of corn. To put this matter to the test? let the secretary consult the farmers, and give them authority to kill sparrows caught in the act, as they supposed, of eating grain, and be would be bound to cay that out of a sparrows pot one grain would be found in their crops.

Sir Cracroft Wilson desired to say that if the sparrows were introduced by the captain of a vessel, they were not protected, as it was only birds liberated by a regularly constituted society that were protected under the act.

Mr H. B. Johnson entirely objected fdea,of Mr Fcredny being euppoeedofj,! to have introduced the sparrows «• noTmoTC than any other member of cicty. He had proof in hie own RanWt ,0, it was not the sparrows wnich eat th? S ries,but the white eyes, Mr Nairn replied, expressing ren** Fereday's having been personal ft v} .*» marks, and advanced several reason **" he considered tho sparrows were a c the country, and said ho had per*! seen sparrows eating the cherries rrv " No, no."! ' L "N The adoption of tho report waa tv ried. beD «N

The eecrctary brought op the reno* attendance of members at the meetin ** the Council during the past yem\ ■ &$ The President eaid tho next businee, the election of members of the Conce-i* 8, the incoming year. As his Hon,yr theH * rintendent was a member of the 0 ex officio, they would bo good enoaJh* 8 to put his name on their lists. -. "R Messrs H.B. Johnson and W;|Hh appointed scrutineers. *B« While the election was being Bftvilw% , with, Mr W. Wilson mentioned thfd?* stance, of a trout—one of a few i«cd»*.T his Honor Judge Gresson from t!te **$ three years ago—which had brokentXt the wire netting and now in the *. known as the Waikuku numbers of W were to be seen the progeny of that tows! This circumstance was satisfactory aa nnr the successful acclimatisation of those fiS"* Mr Fereday would wish to mention tt, Mr Gould had told him .that>e Br more than a JBIOOO through caternjiw who had eaten all his grass, -the having sufficient milk to suckle their WT Sir Cracroft Wilson stated that he fct also suffered from the ravages of c&terDilta! and grasshoppers. v *• The following gentlemen We*e s eled*i members of the new council :~0 ui«v ton, Dγ Campbell, J. R. Hill, W.'dT ruthere, J. Anderson, T. Harper, — J. Ollivier, W. Pratt, J. T. Peacock >iS lace, J, Palmer, B. Wilkin, firOtalS Wilson, C. M. Wakefleld, J. 8. : WfliitaH Wilson, J. C. W. Russell, G. Thornton. A vote of thanks to the chairman cm eluded the business of tho mooting.