ACCLIMATISATION.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume II, Issue 56, 24 July 1862, Page 5 (Supplement)

ACCLIMATISATION.

(From the Dally Southern Cross, July 3.) It is to out credit to have established the first Acclimatisation Society in New Zealand-. Something of the kind has been attempted* in with what success we do not know, bpt thcre°is reason to believe that our Southern fellow-colonists will not draw back from such a good work. As yet the Acclimatisation Society of Auckland have effected little,, except to establish relations vviUi similar societies in Australia and [England. Before this society was projected, several varieties of useful birds and animals were introduced to the province by private enterprise. No doubt the result of associated act km-will bo apparent in the course of a few years, in our fields and bush, but it is to bo regretted that the settlers have not come forward as a body, neither has enough capital bceu subscribed by the members of the association, to enable anything like extensive operations being set about. Among the pests of this province arc caterpillars, and these principally prevent farmers laying down large breadths of land in barley or wheat. Fully one-third of the grain crops are destroyed by them on an average, and in many instances the entire has been rendered valueless by their ravages. English field birds would therefore be invaluable to the farmers of Auckland. They would do much to extirpate this army of minute marauders, who devour the corn and check husbandry, and they would also enable agriculture to be pursued with something like a certainty of success. Then why do not the country settlers to a man become members of the Acclimatisation Society ? If they cannot all contribute la”ge amounts, tne increased number of subscribers would make up for the sandiness of the sums, and moans would thus be placed at the disposal ot, .(he Acclimatisation agon s lo import English field-birds on an extensive scale. The increasing traffic wilh England "jll enable this Jo. be done with certainly and despatch ; and no ship for Auckland should be allowed to leave the old country without bringing its quota to add to the stock' of grub and ,dug° destroyers already in New Zealand, In these remarks it would not be just io tire late Government to overlook the service they rendered to the Colony in (his mailer, and it is but a few weeks since we announced the arrival of a large number of useful birds, ordered by the late Colonial Secretary, Mr. Slalford. ihe introduction of birds and animals is not, however, the sole aim of the Acclimatisation Society. Ihe Society also aims at introducing to our rivers the fish which are so justly prized in Europe. Among these the most valuable is the salmon, which we doubt not, would thrive in these seas, and add a permanent luxury to our tables. Steps have been taken to introduce the salmon to the Derwent, in Tasmania, and if we mistake not, with success. There is talk of attempting their introduction to Southern rivers in New Zealand, where it is hoped, owing to the climate, that the salmon will soon become plentiful. For our own part we have no fear lor the growth of the sahuun if once successfully introduced to our own rivers whether in (bo North or the South. The great difficulty lies in bringing the eggs in a healthy state—for it would he utterly impossible to introduce a live salmon from California, the nearest point from which we import them. There are not however, insuperable difficulties in the way of importing salmon e n gs in a healthy state. We have examples before °iis of how fish is cultivated in Europe, and the extent to which tin's system may bo applied for commercial purposes, and wo think funds should be forthcoming to enable the Acclimatisation Society to make the attempt through the agency of Captain Lutt, of the barque Corstarce, on his return voyage to San Franc'seo. About £2OO would be required tor the exoernio.it, and if successful, with adequate protection in our rivers, the one importation would bo sufficient to stock all the rivers in New Zealand. Captain Unit is willing to undertake the responsibility, and from his zeal on this and kindred.subjects, wc have a guarantee that the commission will be fail hi idly executed. Ilia plan is to lure a small vessel at Sou Erancisco, and send it in charge of a trustworthy person up the Sacramento river in the spawning season, whenthe ealmon have returned from the deep sen to deposit their eggs. This vessel would bo furnislie ' 1 with a sufficient quantity of ice, put up in boxes ; and as the fish are caught, the men in charge will extrude the e o gs from the body of the female and mix them with milt from the'body of the nude fish. When full, (no box would bo closed tightly, and (he ice would then freeze the eggs bcforc°they could be damaged. Thus he purposes to continue catching the fish and obtaining eggs on this wholesale plan, until boxes weighing from 3 to 4 tons have been filled ; the boxes would then be made up in one c- se, and placed in the bottom of the hold of the ship, where he believes the temper - tnre would be such, combined wiib the ice, as to prsseivo the eggs during (he voyage. Captain Lett grounds (Ids plan on the fact in natural history, that a salmon hrs been known to be frozen up during a northern white;, to all appearance dead, and with returning heat resuming its suspended functions of I'fo. Be that rs it majg the matter is of so much importance to the Colony, and the cost is so triflin'", 1 that we recommend the Acclimatisation Society

seriously to entertain the proposition. We liave no doubt money will be forthcoming to assist them if they authorise Captain Butt to undertake what to him would be a labour of love. Should the Acclimatisation Society adopt this proposition, they will then require to make preparations for cultivating the fish. In Scotland the culture of salmon was begun by Mr. Shaw, in 1833, for scientific purposes, and by collecting the eggs from the spawning bed, and placing them in protected places, he was enabled to resolve “the parr controversy” by establishing the fact that the “ parr” was the young of the salmon. But it ,is to France we must look for an example of what can be done on a large scale in fish culture. The plan is to catch the fish, and extrude the eggs and milt, placing them at once under protection in order to be hatched, and then feeding them in their infantile stages until they are able to protect themselves. Eggs of the Danube salmon, which attains the enormous weight of 2001b5., have been introduced to the French rivers by this process, the eggs and milt being brought from the Danube to the breeding establishment at Huningue, near Bale, on the Rhine ; and in return for this denizen of the great German river, eggs of the common salmon have been sent to Munich from Huningue, and Professor Fraas tells us thatthousandsof young salmon have been produced at 31 unich from' these eggs. The culture of salmon is likewise being extended on a large scale in Scotland and Ireland, and it is so profitable and certain that the pursuit is sure to increase rather than diminish. France has also shown us how the deep sea fishings may be increased in untold value by artificial breeding and wo are not too remote to profit by the lesson. We have many fish fit for table in these Southern seas, but not any to be compared to the salmon, and seeing that there is a possibility of importing the eggs in a healthy state, we hope no exertions will be spared to accomplish it. In hatching, a great deal depends upon the temperature, and experience has shown that the n atural heat of the water in the warm season is the best. The salmon eggs in the breeding boxes at Stormouthfield require one hundred days, and sometimes take four months before the fish escapes from the egg. In our climate about eighty days would be the average, This is a mat ter‘in which all are interested, and we hope it will be taken up with spirit.