GOOD SPORT

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 83, 7 April 1936, Page 13

GOOD SPORT

A FIFTEEN-POINTER

TAUPO TROUT SMALLER

Good sport and pleasant weather were experienced by. Lord Latymer while deer stalking in the south. It is his third trip to New Zealand, and he intends to come again as soon as possible. "I am getting more particular," he said today, "and the only head I shot this time was a fine fifteen-pointer, a good, heavy head. I could have killed a good many more, but I only wanted a good head. I do not think that this fifteen-pointer is quite as good as heads ! I secured, on former" trips. We were in the Albert Burn country, near Mt. Aspiring. The, headwaters of the Albert Burn run into the Matukituki, which rises in Mt. Aspiring. I believe that the block we were on, not very difficult of access, had been culled, but the parties did not worry us, in fact we would not have known that the country had been culled. "One of the effects of the culling is to spread the deer into places where they have not been seen for years. In my opinion the culling operations, in the way they are conducted, are quite useless, and if a certain number of deer are to be killed—and I think a certain number should be—other methods should be tried. THAR KILLING PLANTS. "I think an animal that needs killing far more than the deer is the thar. It is very much like a big goat. They are not doing damage to the forest but to all the beautiful alpine plants, such as celmisias, of which they are completely clearing the Mount Cook district. The mountain daisies are completely eaten out. ,1 .found the thar much harder, to stalk than I thought they would be. It took me three days before I succeeded in stalking an old bull thar. The country is of course open, and they are very shy. The females are less shy, but they soon learn when they are being stalked.

"I did a little fishing in the Tongarirb River before I went south, but, though I had' good sport, I found the ■fish much smaller than when I came here first six years ago. I think that there is no doubt that the fish are get- ' ting smaller and smaller every year."