BANK NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2295, 24 February 1898, Page 38

BANK NOTES.

" The Waitati. — Mr P. Aitken has been getting good sport on this stream. L»sb Wednesday he secured a capital baskeb ot 40 fish, «nd the week previous, for a frw hour*' fiabiug, 30 fish, ranging from £lb bo 1-jlb. The > stream was in capital order on each of his visits, but is now very low and clear. Waipahi — M> Chudleigh H. G-orrick, writing from the Waipahi ou February 21, says the weather the whole of last week, with tbe excepI tion of Saturday afternoon acid Sunday, was • delightfully clear and wnrm. The river tm ! also been in capital condition since the spate, ■ but the fish have been very uncertain and i irregular in their feeding. Some d*ys tbafe f appeared perfect for cricket or fly-fishing turned out to be utter blanks ; bui", on the whole, good baskets have been made. The most successful i angler was Mr J. Moir, of Oaiuaru, who was j staying at the Waipahi Hotel. Ou Monday he ! fi'hed the Poinahaks. River, from Conical Hills jto the junction of the Waipahi. He ouly i creeled 4 fish 0£ lib uach, the water baing too low and clear for minnow fishing. On Wednesday he fished the Waipahi from the Gorge upwards, and creeled 17 splendid trout weighing 201b, rangiDg from 3£lb, 3lb, 2f b, 2£lb down to pouuders. Two-ihirda wtre caught on cricket, the others oa a large, clare l ; hackle j Jessie fly. On Thursday M?s°rs Moir, Tebb. I nnd the writer fidfaed the Gorge, Mr Moir grassed 7 fish, the largest 31b, total 101b ; the writer killed 2 fish — 3lb, I^-lb ; the last two on cricket, but five of Mr M.'s took the fly ("governor," red tip). The same p*rfey fished j the Gorge again on Friday, but owing to the i thundery weather only one small fi.h of $'b was lidded . Saturday morning Mr Moir fished the I Waipahi from where it runs into the Pona&haka j to the hots', and killed .4 trout weighing 3£lb. j I creeled 4 nice-size fish* of a total weight of 4slb this morning all on the fly ; the taking patterns were small red governor, silver | ribbed Jessie, and black hackle and I brown. Last Saturday I went to MaDdeville |to see the Otamita River. It appeared to bg in excellent trim, and I saw plenty of trout moving. One of the local anglera informed me ! that the fly-fishing is extremely good, bub the | fith ruu small close to the hotel. But better I fishing can be had higher up if permission is | obtained from Mr Bell, who owns all the land ] for railed up the stream. Excellent bankets are ' bring daily made by two anglers from Tapanui, : who arc; camped on the Foni*haWa Rivw, three j miles below the mouth of the Waipahi. The cricket if. the lure, and plenty of trout up to slb and 61b are daily taken. In last issue your Arthurton correspondent (Smith) acknowledges that the Waipahi trout " noiv and again" take the minnow very keenly (the italics are mine). The "now and again" no doubb means when the river is in sp*ite. This bears out all I have written on the subjtct, as I never for a moment imagined that anybody would use a minnow when the waber was low and clear. I mighb mention for your correspondent's edification | that the term "kill devil" ia the name of an 1 artificial minnow sold in all tackle shops. Toe wind has been blowing lightly from the B all the week, but now it has chauged to the S.W., wibh occasional showers. The water is ]ow and clear, but with warm weafchor the trouting should be extremely good. Lnter. — The water is in excellent order ; wind light from S.W. ; weather warm ; fish taking artificial fly well. This should be a good week — no fly up to speak of, an orSd blue dun and Waip&hi fly coming down. But the fish are letting them i pa*s, preferring a drowned fly well sunk. The J trout) are now feeding in ths tails of the pools. — On February 16 another correspondent informed me that the Waipahi was in capital trim, and as the weather appeared to have taken uyt good bags should be made. The local fishermen were at the time too busy to take advantage of the favourable conditions. Messrs Purvis and Valentine, fishing with the cricket for a few hours each on the previous Thursday and Friday, had secured 10 and 9 fish resp'ctively. — Mr Gomclc's remarks re minnow fishing ha^a not beru vcy favourably received in thr- Obiiniia d Sjiict, and my correspondent fays he has made better bagts with the fly than wiih either minnow or cricket, and to call the minnow a poacher and that it rakes the liver is simply " rot." The Upper Waipahi. — Messrs W. Aibken and R. Spiers have been having a good time on the Waipahi at Hutchison's. I had the pleanure of inspecting a splendid baskeb of 45 fish sent to (owe by these gentlemen, and the fish

were all in the pink of condition. They would ruu from lib to 31b. I understand the crickec was the most succesaful lure. The Mimihac. — " W. P. 5.," writing on February 17, says: " Our well-known sport Mr Jamsa Mitchell has had hard luck by the luS3 of I the s.<s. M-r^ura. He shipped by her two boxes ' of Vfiinih.nu trout — one to tha editor of the j Fiold, and one to a friend. They were real j beautifs, and it is much to be regretted that j th^y are now at the bottom of the ocean. Mr j Mitchell being a real good sport will no doubb ' try again, and if he does it is to be hoped he 1 will hays better fortune next time. Messrs ! Mik'hi-H, ?f»i. aud jun., had a grand day's sport ,on the iu>per waters oa the 11th Tae former i grassed 24 fiin and the latter 8. Tae total weight was 43i'.b. The local streams are now iv firsc-cla r -s trim, aud the weather to all appearance is settled. • . • The Rev. D Anderson, the enthusiastic pisiculturist of Totara Flat, brought down on Saturday (says the West Coast Times of the 7th) a very fine specimen of the brown trout cauph*; iv the Grey River. The fish, which wag on vienr in Mr James King's windo*.v on Satu»--da-y afternoon aud eveuing, amply bears out the name applied to this species of fish — "spotted beauties." Iv was indeed a handsome fisb, about three years old and 7^ b in weight. Ib attracted many adjuring sptc ators on Satorday night, who were gladly surpn^ed to learn tb.?it similar fish •will be procurable in our own streams in three yen.ro' time if the society receiT<Dß proper public sappoil. With the enthusiasm now >/oing inapot-ted into fish culture in this district we hope soon to have our rivers teeming with fish. The Oreti. — My correspondent, writing on the 19th Feb' vary, says the Oreti was very low and clear. Tae number of shags on the river ! is, he says, sometQing remarkable, and no : doubt it it s.ceount&J for by all the young birds bMng now out. Fish in the river are somewhat scaics, tbe worm having for some time proved a very deadly bait. The takes reported are : Dr Bauchop, fly and minaosv, some very large fish ; A Coakroft for one day with worm toaic 53 fish ; Me s a rs D. Grieve, D. Mackenzie, i Social^, Kirkland, King, and M'Slath also I secured some nice baskets. ! Clydk. — My Ciydp correspondent wrßda under date Fibruary 14- : — The Upp?r Clutba between Albert Town aud Cromwell is full of fi-h thisyear. ranging from -£U> v i to 31b or 4lb. ; Some exceileut baskets have b--en made with ! the rod, 15 or 20 for an evening's fishing ; and as for the bags got by rhe poachers who go out | with lights aud spears, tbey are not baskasa, but sacks. A fisherman residing uetr Cromw.ll received a,n invitfttion to a. vseek'd fisUinjj ab ut the Luggate in the S;ol lowing tonns : — "Diana ; fash yersel' vri' a rod ; just bring a cairb." However, as the river is stacked at present, there aro plenty of fish for tha legitimate fishermea, and also for shags and poachers. Otabaia. — Mr E. Cuishulm left town on Monday nsoraing for a few days' fishing in the Ob&r&ia districb. During hie visit he will be the guest of Mr and Mrs G. Valentine, of Kaiwera, and I know he will have a real good time. My only regret is that I cannot be there, too. The streams in that locality are all in grand trim, and I expect to hear of Messrs Chisholm, Valfiitine, and Purvis having capital sport. Owaka — The weather has been exceptionally go;>d froun tho 15ch to the 19 ,h, and the fish ware constantly on the take. There was no wind to contend with. One Lical augW m.ido a nice basket of 24 fuh, weighing about 30! b, in about tbre3 hours. This was the only lar^c ba&ktst I have heard of. I heav a lady angl -r in the Upper Owaka has made some good takes this aea«oa. Toe ladies of toe Upper Owaka seem to take grext interest ia fi*aiug, i for all they have so muc:i s^rub to contend with up that way. It is very diffieuH for an expert j angler to avoid the low S'jrub ; in fact there a~e j pKces where you cannot see the river at all. I The fish are not large specimens. The eels are very plentiful up this end, and I think they do considerable damage to the trout. TrjAPBKA Mourn. — The weather at Owaka continued bad nn to the bitfcpr end, but when \ "Jock Seo'ji;" Wt ifc on Monday morning there '• ■were evideot i>igns of improvempnt. It w^s really a relief t ) get away, and nob even all the j kindness of friends was sufficient to make a fortnight of such weather as that experienced endurable. "Jock" reached M>ltoa on Monday afternoon and left again ou Wednesday to pay a visit; to Tuapeka Mouth, where ha had h p ard thero was) some sjood fishing to be had with a little trouble. Five o'clock form 1 him safely landed a" the mouth of the Tu*peka Kiver, and he begins to think th*t it is a good thing to have charge of an angling column in the Witness, for it appears to ensure a welcome wherever he may happen to go. Nob th*t he thinks it necessary. Tne hospitality of country people is proverbial, and such hospitality as "Jock" hai received during his short t^u>- iq beyond all thanks. He found the h r >tel full to overflowing, but there weie not wanting kind friends who speedily made everything smooth and pleasant for him. Thursday was davotad to a trip to a lagoon situated ou Mr M'Roberbs's property, which was reported to contain some good per«'h. Tne perch were there all ri^ht, but they did not "pa-i out" very latga, SiiH the day was a beautiful one and tha outisg pleafaut. Tho Molyneux River was tried in the evening, but "Jock" c uld make nothing of i it, and after abyut an hour's flogging with the i minnow he gave it up. A irip to what is kuowt: j as Sandy Creek was plannbd that even- I ing for the morrow. The weather aj;ain prove'l beautifully fi e, and a start was m«iR j down the MoI/ik-ux after bivakt as ■; to g°tacro33 to the punt. R aching thh; opposite sid»j of the river, a brief walk broujh'j t^a party to Sandy Crfek — simply a long reach of still water of a coffee colour — where perch were said to disport themselves. They were there sure enough, and were rising freely to some fly ou the water. The worm was tried first, and answered very well for a time ; but the fish went eff tbe take, and a couple ot flies were substituted, but with no (.fiVot. Oae or two trout were seen, but with the clear though brown water and the glaring sun thpy were not to bs tempted, and a whitebait was then spun over the water. The perch, unlike those iv the ligoon on Mr M'Rob°rU's property, rose well to this, but " Jock" was not clever enough to hold them, and he discarded it for the worm tackle, and had a good hour or two, returning home with a satisfactory bag. At the time of writing this (Friday night) he intends to try the Croukburn, which it is said contains s^me goodly trouo, but is awkward to fish on account of scrub about the banks. Whether the proposed jaunt comes off must, however, depend on the weather, and as it is raining hard there is a chance that it may not eventuate. The Pomahaka is to be given a trial on Monday, and th«n a return made to town ; bat if certain matters can bs arranged th a ra "Jock" will try and give the j Waipahi a turn, for, irrespective of angling, he I would like to see some ot the Waipahi fishermen, many of whom he knows in name ouly. Waimakariri. — The following takes have been reported to Mr Alps, says the Lyttelton Times : — Mr Hamilton, 8 fish, 301b, on February 7 ; Mr W. J. A!pe and friend, 7 fhh on February 3, aud 2 on February 16 ; a Belfast augler, ] 2 fish, 81b and slb respectively ; Mr Edward j Smith, 1 trout, 91b, and 1 porch, 3^lb, oa Feb-

ruary 12. All the foregoing takpg were from the Waimakariri. Mr R. P. Hill, 6 fish, weighing 421b, on February 12, in the Rakaia. TisjioKA Anglers' Club. — A meeting of the committee of this club was held on Wednesday evening, when D/r J. S. Haye?, the president, occupied the chair. The secretary reported the result of the competition for Mr J. T. M. Hayhurst's trophy, and a vote of thaDks was passed to Mr Hiyhurst. A letter was read from I Messrs Hardy Brothers, Alnwick, offering a " Contracted Perfect Reel " as a prize. The president offered a prize of the value of a guinea, aud the secretary reported that Messrs I J. ML Twouiey aud G H Rhodes had al?o promised prizes. At P e*sanfc Point a competition for local anglers had batn held for trophies given by Mr W. Anglaud and an anonymous donor, and Mr A-. Scott had given a handsome prize for a minnow competition. Votes of thanks were passed to all these donors. Ib was agretd to hold a minnow competition on Frnlay, M-irch 11, when pr zes will be awarded for h-a'.i.-sfc baskets, and the first prize will b* Me-zrs Hardy Broth -era' reel for the heaviest basket in any river ; f-'ac second and third prizes will be ! for the 0.-<u"i and Opihi takes. I '. • The secretary ot the O ago Acclimatisation : S^cietf has received ihe following letter, dated I the 11th in"?t., from the C )lonia.l Seoretary's office :—": — " I have the honour, by direction of rhe : Colo-iial Secretary, fo inform you that 91,000 ; simon ova consigned to the GroveruTaent wore shipofcd by the Ageun-g-neral per Rimu*;ak^, whiihleft London ou the 4r,h of thu month. Ifc is proposed to hand this shipment over to your I society to be haichtd oub aud to be liberated \a I suitable walers."

MR BEGG'S WILLOWBANK ESTATE. I Our Waiwe«i correspondent; writes as follows: — "Some time ego I promised to endeavour to oblVm the results ot Mi 1 Bagg'a trial wish lime on bis Willowbatik estate iv what is kuown her* 1 as the Q-orge district. On reaching I the estate Me B. and his brother received me j very kindly, and after a goid dinner for myself i aud feed for my hor3e they showed me over the I farm. Tlus first piddook we entered was one in turnips which had bsen limed, about a-hnlE this y-sar »nd fche other hali last; ye^r, with about 2c wi; of guano per acre. The crop I throughout, although a little late, looked very ! well indeed, being in raised drills. The turnips did not appear to be any bether with the lime I thau (hey were with equal guano and no lime. So far he does not think lime iv this locvlity is of much use for the turnip crop. We next came to a paddock of oat*. If; was a very fair ona for the aeaooa. The land was also sowa down with grasses an<3 clover, which sue looking very well indeed, especially so on the sharp faces. I may here mention a uofce worthy feature — all the clovers were New Zealand grown, which are I found to do much better than the imported. Judging from what I s'*w 1 should most; certainly agree with this. By w^y et experiment, two patches in tfap fiiid were tried with lime. Th-^re was certainly a d<ffe-«nce in the crop, but not br any means eiougo. to warrant; the outlay. There is, however, the hope that the litne will benefit the grasses and clover for years to come. In the meantime I don't think, trom what I could glean, that Mr B will go in tor much liming at the present rate of things. Ms Bs*g^ is hopeful on account; of a patch in an old grass paddock that ha* bflim down fur a coiW'lerft,b'e tims, and which shows the effect of the lime plainly. If I understand aright, he thinks the sime amount of money spent in manures of other kiods will give more ptttisfaction. Close attention to the afuerresialts will ba made, and a record k«pt for fuccu-e biurfib. J m<iy meation that on 1117 way I uoticed several pit's jes of 'h*: abominable weed yaf, which is bsfnVig moss of ou>" farmers. A remedy has yet to be found to keep ifc even ia moderate bounds. Mr Begg has every bops that he will be able to clear it off ins land before it spreads over a large area. I hone he will be suecoßsfu'.. One of the statements about the Gsrgs land is thftt it is not so good a'ter being broken up s,q it is in it-s native sfeata. On mentioning this to file Begg, he said he had found thut where the laud is really suiEible for cultivation—that is, fchfi sha:p and sloping faces — ifc cvrries good turnips and oats, and alter -that — at least, all the time be h.\s been there — 100 per ceut. more sbeep per acre. At the same titae, he says that; every precaution must be used, »ncl by no means mart the baak-lyiog ground or swampy fltt« by broken up u-i'.il some other method ha* been devised to treat them. Here, roo, Me Begg intends expariaieatiag to try and improve matters. Already he claims to be improving the permanency of the pastures by adding fescue grasses to his mixture?, and these aeem to do very well indeed. H« 13 also very sanguine that there is a possibility of establishing a good sole of mixed grasses where they have hihherto failed, which would of courae ituctease the capabilities of the Had and add considerably to it 3 value. We next visited a pieca of land lately purchased that was supposed to hays been cropped out and ruined, and to look at some of the patches of crop one would almosb be led to think it true. There is, however, a decided improvemeat on the whole, i"S l,hert> is a good show of turnips in oa'j paddock aud oals in ano'^hnr. It is thought that tli9 success iv rhe turaip crop in the land suppo§ed to have been rua out is in great measure to be -attributed to the crop having been sown with the fla 1 : drill, which sows the manure and turnips at the same time — a process that is now becoming general and admirably adapted to these parfs. In future Mr B''gg intend"! thY turnips, which are sown with Scwfc of M'.lden Inland gu\no ocr acre, are to be followed by an oat crop, aud than the land to be sown down with grasses in which there will be a good deal of fescue and ofther permanent grasses. I have no doubt that by thi?. method the desired end will be achieved. As before stated, the laud virias very much, and iv requires a great deal of attention and practical knowledge to farm su^C33sfui!y. At present it would be 'in absurd thing ta at^emotto settle theie parts by Btn\il fwaiern who ivtva lictle capital. While every attention lus been paid to cultivation the fences hay." bsen thoroughly renewed, and miles o? rabbit-proof fencos are being erected at great cost. Tne whole estate is well stocked with sheep and cattle. Although for years past the priucipal breed has been Romuey Marsh, with a view of getting the flock a little finer in the wool halfbrad rams are being used. This promises ta answer the dfisired end. All the stock at the Urns of my visii looked very well, and appeared to be carefully culled. A first-class team of horses are kept constantly at work, and sometimes a good deal is done by contract. The implement* are of the usual kind found on such, estates. Near the homestead my attention was drawn to a splendid plantation. The best method of pHnHng on this land is to first ridge ib up, thus affording a chance to drain off the surtace water. From 500 to 1000 trees are planted every year. These plantations are beginning to look really beautiful, and afford a splendid shelter. The steadings are very extensive, consisting of: a large woolshed, with modern press and appliances, large ttables, byres, &c, &c. The latter buildings are all paved after Mr Begg's own design and undec his supervision. The dwelling house, which, i*

a very convenient one, is supplied with water from a cistern, the eisteru being filled from a spring which flows aboub 30gal per hour. A cold clsy flat in front of the house has been reclaimed, and made to grow clover very luxuriantly. This is attributed in a measure to a liberal liming after the land had been drained. Mr Begg also pays a good deal of attention ti> the flower and pleasure grounds. Besides a well-stocked garden there is alfo a rice tennis lawn. Mr Begg dos 3 not confice his energies solely io the management of his estate, bubia a.n active member of the local bodies oi the district."