LAND AND WATER

Otago Witness, Issue 2561, 6 May 1903, Page 54

LAND AND WATER

With a view to trying a change in blood among the> quail in the Wellington district, the Acclimatisation Society has arranged to got a supply of quail from the Nelson Society in exchange for two young stags recently sent over to Nelson. . Two Oamaru fishermen found a shark 20ft long entangled in their net on Sunday. It was too lively for them to be able todeal with, po they anchored it with iron ballast. On Wednesday they found the brato almost dead, and their net utterly destroyed. They had a similar experience last year.

An opossum made its appearance (says the Mataura Ensign) in the garden of a ■well-known Mersey street resident en Sunday evening, but a hunt resulted in tho stranger evading capture. This is the- first timo an opossum has been seen at large here, and it is rather hard to determine whenco it came.

A party of three sportsmen from the Clutha district (Bays the Leader) returned on Wednesday afternoon from a very successful deer-stalking expedition in the Blue Mountains. Two of the head's secured were «xeeptionally good, another was well abovo ihe average, while the other heads were good average specimens. Tho season has "not been a good one for the sport, and a number of shootists have had to be contono ■with poor and sometimes empty bags, and we have not heard of many first-class heads ihaving been secured. Some fallow deer were on Monday, 27th, forwarded by rail from Tapanui, to be liberated in the Wakatipu district. The Wcstland Acclimatisation Society ia endeavouring to establish flocks of wild geese in its district. It has also under consideration the matt&r of introducing white mallard ducks.

At a meeting hefd in Invercargill last week it was decided to form a greatly-needed athletic association, ami a committee was appointed to act in the matter.