FISH AND PHEASANT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 29 September 1926, Page 11

FISH AND PHEASANT.

AT THE' HATCHERIES

REARING OPERATIONS. A very cursory inspection ol the JAa<* wera hatcheries on Glover Road impresses one with the magnitude of tbe work done by the Acclimatisation Society tor the sake of the anglers or the district and in -a lesser degree, perhaps, for the man with the gun. It makes one feel that this body of enthusiasts, doing a. work of love lor the cause of sport, and doing it without any flourish of trumpets, does not get the credit and the appreciations that is its just due. When it is realised that, witn the cordial co-operation of the caretaker, Mr J. J. Miller, nearly eight hundred thousand ova are hatched-into fry land a. large number of trout yearlings, Brown and Riainbow, are reared and that in their spare time members meet and travel long distance? with the fry ,to. distribute iit with the utmost care and discrimination oyer all the streams of the Hia.wera- Acclimatisation district, a juster and more adequate idea of the work done- will be secured. A visit was paid yesterday to- the hatcheries by a. Star representative and a- very interesting and instructive time was spent with the aid of useful information supplied by the caretaker, who was most- courteous in his attention to the thirst for .information This is just the end of the hatching season and the last lot of queer little fish, look altogether lopsided with their egg-sac suspended from their little bellies. This, it niiay he added, keeps them going without other food foi three weeks, iby which time they are advanced enough to .become “swimmers.” The activity of these tiny ano-i----seis of natural life is marvellous, ami the spectacle of thousands of them m one writhing mass makes one think ol perpetual motion. They are very pretty in colour and vary quite a. lot. Most r/f them are of a- dark brown, nearly black, but some in the very early stages are a bright red, and there is an occasional white one. There are too, a few “freaks” in every batch, two headed fish and albinos being picked out by the caretaker. In three weeks, when the sac falls off, the youngsters are able to feed on very fine liver and bread, thrown to them and the curator -says they very quickly become almost tame and very knowing, coining at once -when the supply of food arrives. A detachment of these is on one of the ponds and they really look hardly large enough to take in any solid food. The -fry are being put out- fast, and, as has been recorded, many thousands have already been distributed, besides yearling Rainbows. O'f the new .stock received most cam© from Otago -and Southland, and the curator reports that the Otago lot, from wild fish, are by far the most vigorous and. quicker to develop. Some thousands are being ljetat for yearlings and will be put out then, and many thousand fry have been put into damS in various parts of the district. One pond of yearling Rainbows in the grounds are just ready and .waiting to go. It has been proved useless to -put these fish into the ordinary rivers, -and the lakes are being heavily stocked with them. The jiam at Mir. Oi Goodson’s (Havera), W. J. Tristram’s (Elt-ham) and R.. Law s (K-i----ponga), have already been filled. Tn another pool are the large stock fish, .mostly Rainbows with, a sprinkling of Brown trout. These .are fine vigorous specimens and make the spirit of the angler rise at the thought of getting one of them on his line. The “jacks” are very fierce towards one another, especially in the mating season, and if two are in the same pond they fight till one is master of the pond. THE PHEASANTS.

Away at the back of the grounds, on a high land which lies nicely to- the sun land • well sheltered, -are the pens where are kept the pheasants, reared during the season. -There are seven lots all well -grown and looking healthy. The eo-ck pheasants are particularly good specimens. They are beautifully coloured, with their gay breast and back feathers and their bright red collar round the head and their tails spread out in the breeze. The birds reared are put out first in the game preserves, situated in various parts of the district and froni them they spread to the open b\ishla.nds. The hens.are just starting to lay. and during the last day or two, eggs have been collected from the pens. The preserves of fish and feathered game form an inexhaustible find of interest to those in charge, and one is never done learning about -their habits and their ways. They form a living witness to the energy and. enthusiasm of the Acclimatisation Society, on# of the most useful and -practical bodies of the Dominion.