OTAGO ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2429, 3 October 1900, Page 51

OTAGO ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

The monthly meeting of the Council of the Otago Acclimatisation Society was held in the rooms, Exchange Court, on Friday after noon, there being present Messrs A. O. Begg (in the chair). C. D. R. lUehardson, K. Forrest, A. E. Farquhar, .T. Ddgtir, J. P. MaitIsind, D. Husbell (secretary), and F. Deans (manager). Mr Farqubar, in reporting on Mr Pillan&'s

hatchery establishment, said he had found thf place in very good order considering the tim^ it had been in use. He found only one breaty 1 in the embankment, and there was a very nic«{ stream of water running into it which woulcf make it a very nice place for rearing purpo&s.t Feed would be the only, drawback to its use,! If the pond was full the water would cover 1

an area of about two acres. The depth 6& the water when he was there was about lOfV where the sluice was, but it would be 15f(\ if the pond was full, lie would suggest fchaf\ Mr Deans visit the place and report upon it 4 - The cost of mending the break in the embankment would be about £2. He had int quired about getting some person to look after, the pond, and found that there was an enthu--siastic angler there who would assist the society in pny way he could. There waf plenty of natural feed upon the water, bu(\ if the fish were in the pond this would decrease very much. He noticed a few jierch in the water.— lt was decided that Mr Deani' report on the matter. The following is the report, for Septembe;" submitted by Mr Deans :—" The present milo. weather is bringing on the ova very fast. 'At Ol'iiton t*- 1 ? Loch L"?-"er-s-e.£yl So^i.bSmv trout are about all hatched, and~ th/ 'bro^ro, trout o---a at Opoho are also nearly all hatched. The rainbow trout have not qiiitfe all spawned. About 80,000 have -'been so far obtained', 33,000 of which have been forwarded to Geelong aiid 20,000 to Ballarat. As .usual, a considerable number of the stock fish ova hasi pioved to be unfertile. Mr M'Jvenzie, who is in charge at the Clinton hatchery, is ghing the fish and ova every attention, and carefully shipped at the Bluff tho various lots of ova sent to Victoria, the first of which is re-

ported to have arrived in good condition. The angling season is again close .at Hand, and it is pleasing to note the good reports coming in from all directions regarding the abundance of fish in the streams, and after the mild winter we have experienced the fish should be in the pink of. condition. Some one brought in a sample -of lime, and reported having found it in the Water of Leith. But after carefully examining the place, it was doubtful whether it had been used for the purpose of poisoning the fish. At the same time, 'd 16 somewhat puzzling to know how the lime came to be placed where it was found. "' The supposed case of liming the Water of Leith was referred to. Mr Deans stating that it occurred a couple of yards below the pool near the old curling pond. There was no indication of the fish having been poisoned. He saw one fish in the pool. — Mr Russell said he saw the place where the lime was, and what was now shown to the council was only the hard lumps that were left. What was the lime placed there for? The water was limed once or twice ]ast year, and he thought some extreme measures should be taken.— My Forrest moved llvt a reward oi £5 be offered for infonr.ntion that would lead to Hie conviction of ar^o^c liming' this, or any other stream.— TJ.'C motion wa^ carried.

A letter vwis received concerning netting on Hie Shag River. The writer (.rated that tfie fish were extremely plentiful below the dam, but from what he heard there would be very few left by the opening of the season. He made certain suggestions regarding the matter.

He aLo referred to the advisability of having Ssh ladders in "some localities.— The Chairman, mentioned that il was suggested the ladder should be constructed upon' private property, and Mr Forrest said that the owner of the land had no objection to the ladder, which, he (Mr Forrest) estimated would cost £4 or £b. — It was decided that Mr Forrest should visit the locality and report. — With regard to poaching, a member mentioned that he

had overheard a conversation about the fine hauls tbafe vrcrs being got in this way, which went to show that poaching was going on. It was decided to support the Chrislchurch Society in petitioning the Government to have the size of trout that may be caught reduced from 9in to 7in. The Government had informed the Christchurch Society that they had no objection, provided the Otago and Southland societies were agreeable, so that fhould tho Southland Society fall in line with the other two bodies the Government will probably make the alteration.

The Chairman said the question of hares

being taken, off the game list b.t>d been referred to the executive, and if anything was to be done it should be done soon. There were great complaints in Central Otago about the haves damaging the fruit trees, and in South Canterbury they had been off the game list for some time. — The Secretary mentioned that Mr Roberts went frequently to Gladbrook, and had promised to make inquiries on the subject, and the question was allowed to stand over. The Marine department, Wellington, wrote on the subject of the proposed fish hatchery at Purnkanui, and stated that a better site had been suggested in Otago Harbour. Mr Ayson, inspector of fisheries, would visit; Dunedin. to inspect and report

I upon it. The Minister of Marine considered jtthat as it would be an experimental station, the cost of construction "could be reduced considerably on the estimates made, until it was ascertained what could be done, and, as regarded the maintenance, if the society and Otago Institute did not contribute towards the cost of this, he thought that the management should be under the control of the department, but he would be glad io have the advice and assistance of Mr G. M. Thomson and a representative of the society to carry it on. — The Chairman paid he believed Mr Ayson had, as a matter of fact, selected a place for the" hatchery. Mr Forrest regai»:lecl Hooper's Inlet as a suitable site. There were two creeks there, and the tide ebbed and flowed.— The Chairman thought the proposal to get tho assistance of Mr Thomson and a member of the society a very fair one. — The proposed conditions were generally approved of. The Chairman stated that he had noticed from «i letter in the Otago Daily Times that the grass along the Waihola Lake was being burnt, and the nests of clucks destroyed. He thought tho police phould be spoken to about the matter. — Mr Farquharson said it was known who_ had fired the grass, and he thought action should be taken. It was a very large fire and went over to Mr Adams's property. It destroyed all the eggs, and not only them, but the birds also. He supposed the man who lit the fire wanted to burn something off his own property. — Tho Chairman considered that the best plan was to ask the police to make inquiries, and. if possible, to take action against the offending parties, and this view was agreed to. It was stated that two parties had been perch fishing at the Tomahawk lagoon from, boats. The Secretary explained that it was only an experiment to see if the fish were still in the lagoon, anc 1 only one was caught. He had sent word to the person who had fished that although no great harm, had beenp done, the action was a very wrong one. It was really a thoughtless action. — The explana-' tion was regarded as satisfactory.

TUSSIOURA Cures Eronchi'is, Catarrh o\ the Lungs, Oppression ol the Che&t, etc. Sold' all chemists.