OTAGO ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

Evening Star, Issue 6728, 9 October 1885, Page 4

OTAGO ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

Yesterday’s meeting of the Council was attended by Messrs A. C. Begg (in the chair), R. Chisholm, W. C. Smith, Stoddart, G. M, Thomson, R. Campbell, J. R. Sinclair, J. P. Maitland, J, Wilkie (hen. sec.), and Deans (manager). The following business was transacted after our report dosed : The Chairman said members would regret to hear that Mr Campbell had been unsuccessful in his trout hatching at Hokonui. Out of some 100,000 hatched and collected the bulk had died. This he (Mr Begg) believed was owing to the ponds being situated in too sunny a place, the young fish not being able to stand the heat. The Christchurch Society wrote asking whether the Society would reconsider the reply given re honorarium to Mr S. C. Earr. —Resolved that the Society could not alter thoir decision. The Southland Acclimatisation Society wrote saying that they intended to procure fry from the Lake Society.—Received. Complaints were noted from anglers on the AVater of Leith on the subject of men bobbing for eels and spoiling the fishing in that river. The Secretary stated that he had written to Mr Bills, at Sydney, and Mr Andree, at Ceylon, making inquiries about snipe. Ranger Burt reported that he had gone to Christchurch for the American trout kindly presented by the Canterbury Society, and had got 400, with which lie arrived safely in Dunedin. On turning them out, however, there had been an alarming mortality, and only twenty were now left. Mr F. Deans, the Society’s manager, reported as follows : I beg to report that during the season I succeeded in collecting about 340,000 brown trout ova from various streams, and that 82,000 have been sent away, chiefly to the Acclimatisation Societies in the North Islam}. The remainder, with the exception of the last stripping, are nearly all hatched. There will be ftjwufc 250,000 young fry f° r distribution this , season.

I have made 90;t additional hatching boxes, and the ova are nearly all removed from the trays. I have transferred the English salmon,. nearly 4,500 in number, from the boxes to one of the races, and they are doing very well. The salnw fonlinalis which Ranger Burt brought down from the Christchurch Society have nearly all died, only about twenty being left. The only way I can account for the sudden loss is the difference in the temperature of the water, the sudden change from the artesian water, the temperature of which would probably range from 50dog to 54dcp, to the water of Opoho, with tho frost then prevailing and a temperature of 39deg. The few that w*s got from Mr Johnson, of Opawa, are doing very well, they being year-olds. There are 259 Loch l.cvcn trout available for distribution, and are intended to bo scut to Lovells Greek. I may say that Mr M‘Grcgor, of the Ivputable Insurance Company, sent an English partridge up to the grounds which one of his boys caugat on the Town Belt, having one of its wings broken.