Acclimatisation.

Otago Witness, Issue 1244, 2 October 1875, Page 17

Acclimatisation.

MR BUCKLAND AND THE SALMON OVA. In L%nd and Water, of July 10th, Mr Bnckland notices the various reports that have reached him from New Zealand concerning the fate of the salmon e^ga which he had sent ont by the Titnaru. After quoting extracts from letters he had received from Mr Howard, of Makarewa, and from Mr W,. I). Muri-on and Mr F. Dearns, of Dnnedin, Mr Bnckland says that he has thought the mstt-er over and ovdr again, and has arrived at the following conclusion :—: — - Firstly, that the salmon eggs were properly impregnated when taken from the parentfish in the Scotch rivers. When Mr Edon — my assistant, who has considerable experience— was t at work on the Tay, he was accompanied by Peter Marshall, of the Storraontfield Ponds. ' At Lord Kinnonl's. on the Earn, he was accompanied by Mr Croll, head water-bailiff of the Forth Salmon Board. Both these experienced gentlemen expressed themselves more than satisfied with the great care with which Mr Edon has operated. When I myself took the eggs opposite Dupplin Castle, on the Earn, it is needless to remark that every possible attention was shown them, and the most careful manipulation practised under the im- 1 me;Uate eye of Mr Napier, Superintendent of j the Forth Fishery Board. What took place, I ( have already described in print, and copies have beeu sent to New Zealand. The eg~s I taken by myself were deposited for the night in Mr Kae's ice-house, in a large tin, the water being allowed to drop gently over them durin" the night. They were packed up during the following day, in the presence of Mr Croll and Mr Napier, who expressed themselves perfectly satisfied that the eggs had been properly impregnated. Let us now transfer the scene to New Zealand. "When the boxes were unpacked, nearly all the salmon eggs were opaque and white. Some of them, however, were found to be quite transparent, and showed no signs of an enibryo. These, then, were what I have known so well in my long experience as a fish cultunst as blind eggs," and it id perfectly true farst, that these had not beeu impregnated and secondly that they retained their vitality for a much longer period than those which actually contained an embryo. A certain proportion of eggs which I had sent me this year from the north of Scotland presented this appearance and they remained alive for several days after the other eggs had hatched out completely and the young fish were swimming about! The conclusion that I have come to is that some unknown cause has affected tbeeg-»s between the time that they were placed on "board the Timsru at Glasgow, on the 26th of December, and the time when they were unpacked in New Zealand, on the 20th of April. Second this cause, whatever it may be, took effect upon the eggs when stowed away in the hold at Borne date previous to the young embryonic salmon being developed in the eggs. For, if theembryohad come to life in the moss, there was ample time during the voyage for it to be hatched out, and the little dead salmon would have been found in the moss. Thirdly, this cause may have oc cttrred when the embryo was half developed j in which case, when the egg was dead and opaque, it would bo impossible to ascertain whether it had or had notiiver become vivified Fourthly, it is much to be regretted that the Timaru was so long as 103 days at sea, and that the eggs were 115 days in the ice ; but it would be ungenerous of me to say that this long voy. age was the cause of this muoh-to-be-regreeted failure. The Messrs Henderson and Co did •verything in their power to expedite the voy. age, and Mr Galbnyth toolc every means in his power to facilitate the undertaking in every way. For this, I thank him much. Still we have not arrived at the cause of the failure and though I and anybody else might guess as much as we liked, yet, for my own part, I honestly confess that I do not know what the cause was It remains only fpr mo to make one other obi wrattw. Jointly, « nwrii •xp?na«, Th f

expense incurred by myself and assistants in collecting and packing, including boxes, moss, and everything, amounted to the sum of Lll6 2s. only. Ido not know what what was the cost of the ice or the box, nor do I know the cost of the freightage from Glasgow to JNew Zealand. I well remember, however, Mr Cralbraith informing me that if it could be arranged, that if the Timaru should not call at the Bluff, but go straight to Canterbury, he would give the eggs a free passage. I was asked whether the eggs would be "injured by being taken direct to Canterbury, and I replied that it would not injure them at all. Of the final arrangements made on this matter, I am ignoraat. As regards, therefore, the loss which has occurred to the New Zealand Government, so far as I am personally concerned, is but slight, and I have no hesitation in Haying that should salmon eggs be again sent to ISTew Zealand, that the cost of collection should not exceed the sum spent by myself. Although this experiment has turned out so unprcperously, I am strongly of opinion that it should be repeated next year. For my own part, ultimate success would be more likely to be obtained by continually sending over year by year smaller parcels of salmon eggs at less expen.se than by the larger parcels occasionally at very considerable expense. Again: In an important national affair of this kind, the fastest possible mode of transit should be adopted. Such precious jewels as salmon eggs should not be entrusted to the tender mercies of favourable or non-favourable winds, to which they arc certainly consigned if sent by a sailing ship. The run from the Tay or the I ' orth to London by the Limited Mail of twelve hours and a half, and the immediate sending them awny from the docks in London on their road by steamer to New Zealand, presents a contrast to a sailing ship which doerf not get away until heven days have elapsed after the balmon eg?s have been received, and which of necessity must make a slower passage than a steamer. As this consignment of eggs has Jailed, I proiHwe next Uhnstmns to collect another lot (as many, of course, as possible), and to send them out to New Zealand, packed as usual m ice. I shall do all this at my own expense as far ; s funds will allow.

TheTimaru Herald remarks :— " We are glad to hear of the English birds spreading in this district. Yesterday, about thirty linnets were seen in the garden at Beverly, strong on the wing, and flinging sweetly. The thrushes at Mr Archer's place are doing well, five or six haviug domiciled in the hedges there and the neighbouring coverts. " A meeting of the Council of the Acclimatisation Society was held on Tuesday W6ek, wh»n the following members were present : — Messrs W. Mason, F. D. Rich, 0. K. Turton, A. C. Fegg (Hon. Sec), and W. D. Mnrison (in the chair). A draft annual report and balance Bheet were paced before tho meeting, and were approved. It wsb resolved that the annual general meeting of members be held on Thursday, the 30th inst. It was stated that a proclamation, under the hand of His Honour the Superintendent, will appear in to-day'B Gazette, fixing the Ist October next as the day upon which the season for brown trout fishing will begin, and stating the streams to fish in, and for which licenses will be issued from the Provincial Treasur}-. The residents of Blueskin had an agreeable surprise oa Tuesday week, when Mr Deans, the Acclimatisation Society's Manager, made his appearance in charge of a number of wOl-grown trout, which, it had beea decided, should be turned into the Waitati. The fish, numbering in all twenty • six, of which 10 were about hilf a ponnd each, and the r-'inaiuing 10 from two to four pounds weight, were taken from the ponds in the Botanie.il Gardens afe an early hour yesterday morning, and having been placed in a cask containing fresh water, were at once conveyed to Blueskin in au express. Oa arriving at tho township Mr Deans obtained the assistance of Mr K. Ferguson, and, with his advice, the troit were taken to a part of the Waifcati which flows past the flUt ■immediately above the township. Without exception the trout all proved to be lively, and upon liberation they at once darted \io and down the stream which 13 to bothiir future home. It is about six yaars since trout were first turned into the Waitati, and it is asserted that these and their progeny are now to be seen some seven or eight miles up the rivar. The Bettlers, we are told, are well pleased with the Society's efforts to efcoek their sfcreun with (ish, and we hope ere long to hear that yesterday's trip has brought forth good results.