ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5630, 2 December 1879, Page 3

ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

The monthly meeting ..f t' a Council was held in the Institute an i Mui.n.n li.,i]diu c yesterday,—R. C. Barstow, £--q., in the chair.—The Secretary (Mr. Cheeseman) read the minutes of the previous meeting, which were confirmed. Finance. —Balance in Bank of New Zealand, November 3, 1879, £154 13? 4d ; admi'sion fees, £8 15a 9d ; plants sold, 3s ; inscriptions, £4 4s : total, £167 IC* 51. Payments, £39 S3 5d ; receipts, £13 2n 9d : balance in bank, Ist December, after paying wages, for bird food, seed, &c , £128 Bs. Teees.—Mr. Clieeseman, secretary, laid on the table a list of trees suitable for introduction to New Zealand, as follows :—Acer dasycarpum (American white maple), Acer macrophyllum (Oregon maple), Acer rubrum (American red maple), Acer negundo (Boa elder), Acer platanoides (Norway maple). All the mapled produced excellent timber, and are handsome trees ; Carpinus betulus, hornbeam, wood very valuable; C'r.rya (several speciea), the various kinds of hickories, all valuable trees; Ceratonia siliqua, carob tree, the ports form a most valuable and fattening food for cattle ; Indian's cicrerea, American butternut; Inglau's nigra, American black walnut; Liriodenrlron tulipefera, tulip tree ; Pinus austr jlis, pitch pine, yields the greater part of the American turpentine ; Pinus rigida, pitch pine, same use as the preceding; Pistacia vera, pistachia nut, shuuld succeed in New Zealand ; Pistacia lentiscus, mastic tree, should succeed in New Zealand ; Quercus (several epecies), many of the South European and North American species would probably do better in Now Zealand than the English oak ; Khus coriaria, tanners' sumach ; Rhus vernicifera, yields Japan varnish.—The secretary was instructed to write to San Francisco for seeds of the several species. Cbabs.—Mr. Burtfc brought under the no. tice of the council an excellent species of marine crabs lit for eating, which was to be found in New Caledonia, and, he btlieved, in other islands of the South Seas. He thought they would not be difficult of transport from one place to another. If such a shell-fish were found upon the New Zealand coast it would be much valued. Ha thought that some attempt might be made to introduce the crab. The cost would not be much.— The secretary was instructed to write to Mr. Maning, residing al Noumea, with a view to obtain all necessary information. Trout.—Mr. Cheeseman reported that he started on the 22nd of last month, with between 2000 and 3000 young fish to be liberated in the stream near Mr. Hobbs's place at Pokeno. The day was very wet. in consequence of the unfavourable weather, and the shaking of the cart in which it was necessary to convey them, a great number (nearly one half ) the young fish died. There was no help for it but to tako them on that day as directed, for when the young fish are caught, they cannot be put back in the fish-house. Salmon.—Mr. Burtt said he had heard from the natives coming from the district of Te Aroha, that a fish had made its appearance which, would not take a bait, the flesh of which was pink. From the general description of it,be thought it was the salmon,— The Chairman : lam almost certain I saw a ealmon rise in the Waikato river, a little above Mercer, only a few days ago. There is a peculiarity in the manner by which the rise of the salmon may be recoguieed.—Mr. Burtt: I think we ought to have some results by this time. I asked the natives to send me down full particulars of the next fish they got, and thay said they would do so.—Mr. Bull believed that the experiment had been thoroughly successful in the South. —The Chairman: Yes. I was readirjg a Canterbury paper only a short time ago in which it was stated that a salmon had betn caught weighing 1C pounds. On the motion of Air. Burtt, eeconded by Mr. Bull, it was resolved that the secretary should prepare a statement of the dates and places when and where ova had been deposited or fish liberated. This concluded the business. -■ - — I