NATURE STUDY.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 4 October 1924, Page 16

NATURE STUDY.

NOTES AND COMMENTS. The season of the year that students of nature find most delight in is springtime. Everywhere at the present , time evidences that spring is with us ■may be noted bv the trees throwing forth their green shoots, fruit trees blossoming, flowers in profusion, and the birds busy building their nests. Several native trees are in full bloom at present, notably the golden-flowered kowhai. In the local cemetery and King Edward Park there are several line specimens of kowhai. They are quite a blaze of colour. In Australia there is set aside a national '■■■flower day, the wattle being recognised,as the national'emblem. At one time there wag a suggestion made that New Zealand should also have a national flower day, and the kowhai was selected as the most suitable flower to wear on that day. Others selected the clematis, but nothing has so far come of the suggestion. ■ No doubt the drawback in this direction is that there are not sufficient supplies of our native flowers to allow of it being carried into effect. Last week a school girl of Hawera found a thrush’s nest containing nine eggs. It is unusual for a thrush to lay so many eggs. Maybe another bird, like the shining cuckoo, was too lazy to make her own nest, and is relying on the industrious one to bring out both hatches. In the Nature Notes column of last week’s Auckland Herald there appears an interesting suggestion by Mr B, C. Aston, of Wellington, who has spent many delightful days looking for wild plants among the hills and valleys of the North Island. He suggests that specimens of all the different species of native plants should be grown on a site to form the nucleus of a national botanical garden. There are plants peculiar to Marlborough, Stewart Island and the Chatham Islands, tlm noble plants of the Auckland and Campbell Islands, and all the beautiful, alpine plants of both the North Island and the South Island could b? brought together. He has grown many wild flowers, and he sees, no reason why all native plants should not be grown successfully on some mountain like Egmont, which stretches from sea level to ho-ond sub-alpine heights. He suggests the establishment of the national garden at one of the national parks at Mt. Egmont, Mt. Ruapehu, and Fiordland, where caretakers reside. . The above is a very good suggestion, and would further enhance the popularity of our own mountain reserve, especially as a field for study by enthusiastic botanists. Some time ago there was a movement on foot to have a botanical survey made of Mt. Egmont, but the idea has evidently been allowed to drop, as nothing has been heard of the matter for some time. The present caretaker, Mr Murphy, is au enthusiastic observer of our native plants, and he- no doubt could be relied upon to assist as far as possible if such a suggestion as Mr Aston makes were earned into effect. It is surprising how many of our mountain plants may he acclimatised in a town rock garden. A few local enthusiasts have been quite successful in this connection. Plants that have for their .native habitat the mountain ranges may, if transplanted to a suitable situation in a rock garden, grow almost as well as in .their natural state. Mrs Garnett, of the cemetery cottage, is one who has given a great deal cf study to the growing of rare and unique specimens of our native plants, and has been very successful in this connection. In Lhe -Legislative Council lust week the Hon. G. M. Thomson made a protest against the liberation of imported birds into the Tongariro National Park. He mentioned that there had that week arrived a consignment of English grouse, and if they had not already been liberated he hoped they would not lie. A motion was finally carried by the Chamber, on Hon. Mr Thomson’s suggestion, “That the Legislative Council desires to place on record As opinion that it is desirable that Tongariro National Park . should be kept for all time as a preserve for liati.e plants and birds, and as a recreation ground for the people of .New Zealand, and that it should not be penniL.ed oy anyone to convert it into, a preserve for imported game or plants. The Auckland Star, in an editorial oil tiie question, said: “The Legislative Council did well when it passed a resolution against the planting of heather and the liberation of grouse in the iNational Park .at Tongariro. The wording of tiie resolution was in general terms, that it was desirable tnai the park '‘should he kept lor all time .is a preserve for native plants and oirus, and ns a recreation ground for die people of .New Zealand, and that it should not be permitted to anyone tc convert it into a preserve for imported game or pmnfcs,” but those v. ho supported it bad heather and grouse in mind, and it is really the more valuable fur being framed widely. , The object .on to introduciiig-grou.se or any other game birds into tiie park aie, .ustiv, that u is a native birds’ sinel tuarv, and, secondly, that it »s a public park which will, we hope, be used ; bv thousands of holiday-makers tel ore man ,- years have passed. Such a sanctuary should be strictly reserved for native birds. If sportsmen are adowed into, the park to shoot gionise they may be tempted to shoot native birds. Resides. there is always the danger of ti.e balance of Mature being upset by the introduction cf a new bird. We are sure that the majority of those who look forward to making holiday in the park do not wish to be disturbed by game-shooting. The discussion in the council, however, had a wider aspect. It touched the whole question of acclimatisation. Most costly mistakes have been made in the introduction of birds and animals, and it really is time that acclimatisation was supervised more carefully. The recreation of a few persons should not be put before the general interest. The Hon. W. H. Triggs, who lias studied the subject, made the good suggestion that every proposed experiment in acclimatisation should be approved by the Minister of Internal Affairs, who would be advised by a small board of experts.” It has been said from time to time that, there are huias in. the hinterland of the Wanganui River.- -this has, however. been discounted .by Mr H. J. Du bran, president of the Wanganui Acclimatisation Society. He considers that the natives, who are chiefly responsible for the contention that these recognised extinct birds of New Zealand still exist in remote parts of the Wanganui River, have mistaken the kokaku. or New Zealand’s crow', for the liuia. It is a bluish bird, with habits which resemble the huia, but has blue wattles.

Pukekos are common in the huge flax svyamp at Miranui, says the Mamtwatu Times, and stalk about quite unperturbed by passage of; the trolleys which run to cutting gangs. There are also numbers in swampy land near Waitotara station. It isreported that the disease in New Zealand flax which several years ago was causing concern to those en- . ~.ged m the industry is dying out na--ura.ly. ; “Perhaps most cf you don't know that if you find a stoat or weasel in your chicken-run you have .to take your hat off 3 to him, and write to the Minister for a permit to kill him, vvhich might come to hand three months later, by which time the stoat or weasel has left,” said a speaker at a recent meeting of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society. It is to his dog that Mr Gibbs, of tvikiri. in the Greymouth district, attributes the fact that he was not burned to death while sleeping alone in a small five-roomed cottage. After retiring to bed between 10 o’clock and 10.30, Mr Gibbs was aroused about midnight by the dog’s whining and frantic pawing. He found the bedroom enveloped in flames, and barely had time to throw a few clothes out of the window and make- his e£it when the bed itself caught- alight. Mr Gibbs .xmsiders himself fortunate that, thanks to his faithful companion, be escaped with his life. A curious choice for bees of a p'ace for making their home when they swarmed comes from Haekfield, Reading (Eng-.). A party had left the taxi for some time in the village, and when they rejoined it found that a swarm of bees had. made themselves a home there. The bees could not be removed immediately, and the passengers declined to ride back to Reading with them. Next morning when the taxi was sent for che bees were comfortably at home in it., and were cleariv making wax and bringing in honey. The taxi was -driven back to Reading. There an experienced beekeeper, after some difficulty in removing the- upholstery of the "taxi, hived the swarm, whose number he calculated at about •20,000. A Tiniaru resident, reading of the destructiveness ol the hawks, suggests a means of getting rid of them tnat ,ie saw practised in his youth 'states die Timaru Herald;. The method was no get ordinary rabbit traps baited, and lay a number of them together on a lull or some exposed face, it not being uecessary to cover up the traps the same as when'catching rabbits. Ti.e .mwks see the bait lying m the trap, and the trap does the rest. The bait, iiowever, must be tied so as to make ,ure cf a good pull from the hawk. In answer to a. query as to the wisdom ,jf setting a number of traps together when one trap with its live contents would probably scare the other birds ewa-y, it was stated that this does not work out so m. practice. The hawks come down in numbers, and they have oeen seen alighting on as many as ten traps at a time, regardless of the captive hawk awaiting its doom; in fact, traps can be cleared and set and cleared again and set without the hawks apparently becoming wise to the method of capture. “If a bird of paradise leg has a piece of satin tied to'it, it can be imported .nto New Zealand, ’> sard Mr E. 1 1 , otead, chairman of the North Canterbury Acclimatisation Society on Wednesday. “it could not be imported for a museum though,” he stated. The matter came under itotice during the reading of a letter from the Department c-f Internal Affairs, in which it was stated that birds’ eggs, feathers or skins could not be imported in their natural state. A French surgeon at Smyrna once wished to secure a stork, but found if very difficult, as those birds are he ..cl. sacred by the Turk. He, however, managed to steal some stones’ eggs out of a nest, and replaced them with some hen eggs. In course of time the ,'o-ung chickens were hatched, much to the astonishment of the old stork couple. The male stork disappeared for three days and then returned with an immense flock pf storks, who all assembled in the place and formed a circle, taking no notice of the crowd of peopLe .who had gathered to see the extraordinary sight. Mrs Stork was then enticed into the centre of the birds, and the whole flock fell upon her and Lore, her to pieces, as evidently they thought it was her fault that the eggs and hatched out chickens and not babystorks. After this all the birds flew •way. and the> nest was quite abandoned. TOWN BEAUTIFYING. RESERVE IN THE MAKING. A very excellent work is being done on a small borough reserve just south of and bordering on the Public Hospital grounds; Messrs -J. Garnett, C. M. . .meet and G. S. Watts conceiveu ilc idea cf endeavouring to beautify tiie aiea named. It is sloping ..round. with two pie tty’ little stretches of water in the hollow, and is capable of being made a most pictuiesque little .beauty spot. Already these enthusiasts have secured and. planted quite a .urge number of trees and shrubs, all naive with the exception of a few rhodendrons which were donated to tlieni. It was their scheme to confine the o'anting tc. native trees, and so fai they have made only this one departure They have planted birches, pungas tree ferns, flax, pampas, bamboo, pohutukawa, lace bark, and many others, working all the time to a plan ind forming paths and steps which will enable visitors to walk all over the reserve. It is intended later to clear thesmall lakes, and already there are in cue of these twc. black swans and some ducks. The possibilities are very’ considerable. The promoters con'd do with mve trees, and no doubt will be verypleased to get donations from am country people who have these on theii fai ms. or from townspeople who feel UK-lined- to hole. If is a project worth assistance. The formation work was undertaken by the Borough Council, and was supervised Tiv Mr J. Garnett, and to him a great deal of credit is due for