FRIENDS OR FOES? NEW-ZEALAND'S FEATHERED IMMIGRANTS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2714, 21 March 1906, Page 9

FRIENDS OR FOES? NEW- ZEALAND'S FEATHERED IMMIGRANTS.

WAS THEIR INTRODUCTION A MISTAKE? (By J. Dhtjlimoxd.) [Copyright.] VII. PHEASANTS AND QUATL. The common pheasant (Phasianus eolehicus) and the ring-necked pheasant (Phasianus torquatus) have had a strange and eventful history in this country. At first their acclimatieat'on was a. notable and almost an unqualified success. They succeeded wherever they were introduced, increasing very rapidly and rearing healthy and hardy brood*- of young One of the first successes vra6 achieved by Sir Frederick Weld in 1865, when he established the common pheasant in Canterbury. Other importations into that province followed, the Acclimatisation Society bringing out fairly large numbers. In 1868 it bred 40 birds, and sold them to member* at £2 a pair. In the tussock-covered land of Canterbury they thrived specially well, and the large Cheviot Estate, then held by the Hon. W. Robinson, was soon stocked with them. Mr Robinson spared no expense in preparing for their reception when he arranged for a consignment, supplied by thte society. Ec erected commodious aviaries, ordered that all the cats on the estate should be killed, resrly extirpated the wekas. and had hawks destroyed at the rate of six a day. The society continued to import pheasants for a considerable lime. It bred about 100 birds in a year, and obtained a fairly good income by "selling them to the owners of large estates It seamed as if pheasants would, in a few years, spread throughout" both islands and become thoroughly naturalised. After this had gone on for some time the birds received a decided check Their numbers r>ei f her increased nor decreased. Then they began to decrease rapidly, and, apparently, almost simultaneously in many districts. Their complete failure, taking the colony a.s a whole, is now beyond doubt. In Canterbury and other province* where they were once exceedingly plentiful they are never seen at all. " One plentiful, bur decreasing- or disappeared." are the words generally written against them in the circular.?. This result, which is very rejriettaMe from the sportsman's ooint of view. ;s attributed to the laying of poison for rabbils, to the depredation* of stoats. weasel-., and wild cats, to bush fires, and, in a lesser degree to the pheasants" food supplies b*injr e.-.rcn by the smaller introduced birds. Tt is stated that the vvekas as well as the Ptoata and weasels, eat plieasanN' eggs. The birds are decreasinsr a' s rapidly in districts where thore is plenty of cover >s in district" where there is little or none. The dt,-sj rue- : tion done by bush fire* is shown h x , the ' following «(atement from a farmei rd Man^ahao. Pahiatua. Wellington district. — " When sowing crass seed aftor bush fire* i seven years asro I came across thousands o f j nests with th<- remains of eggs and fl-e ] charred bone" of the pheisnnts that hj<l ' bper sitiins; on them. They were very i plentiful here once, but no*v. vvh^n one ie I seen, hnlf the (own and countiy is after it j to shoot it." In large number* of cases thp decrease ha" bt=en z lmo«t simultaneous with tho arrival of stoats and wessels. v,-hich serm to hovo « set 3 bout tlio work of o\tnnation w it'>ou<- i any umiocee'arv delay A rather «tnk'nir j remark i= made by a fainiT a* Ttuati'ui i. j who say« thai there are only :' few ■}>li-fT.=-ants in hi.-- d : s,rirl n _>w and ihos" thai ai° thei'f a-e " only old cck bids" The reports received show that pheasant* now exist in number* worth rountine in o:ilr the Noith I«land. The Poverty Bay district, on the east, coast of the North Island, is the only district in which they are reported as." numerous." and they seem tD be working towards the interior. In the few districts wow they are at all plentiful they are regarded by agriculturists as a thorough nuisance. A farmer at Parua Bay describes them as " the greatest curs" settlers have to contend Against." At Hokianga they are " ruination to the farmer an 1 the gardener." They destroy young graas, pull up maize and eat it, and attack potatoes, carrots, beans, peas, barley, wheat, and many kinds of fruit. A strong testimony is given against them by Mr W. E. Draper, of Waerenga. who classes them with both species of introduced quail in the following condemnation:— " I am a large grower of fruit, such as strawberries, grape*, poaches, plums, and so on. The ravage* committed by the pheasants and quail are a serious matter for me. I cannot offer strawberries for sale with a piece pecked out of one side, nor does it suit me to find the ground between the rows sprinkled with half-ripe berries bitten off. The buds perambulate a row of vines, and completely destroy every grape on a row five or six chains long. When I sow a field of clover the soil is scratched and the seed eaten. If a stop is not put to the increase of these pests no man in his sober senses will embark on fruit culture in country districts infested by them. My onimon is that it is little better than criminal folly to keep a clos-e season for the*e birds. I ha\o counted 25 pheasants on about one acre of potatoes on the lake side, and I have put up 19 on my own place when traversing a distance of 30 chains. Until about vino years ago I supplied strawberries up to the middle of June. The berries come now, as before. but they are all destroyed by the pheasant* and the quail, especially the Jailer. In former years I have sold in March. April, and May from ICewt to 15 cwt of strawbeiries. Now they are all destroyed." The two species of quail introduced— the siiamp quail (Svnoecu* australis) and the Cahfornian quail (Calhpepla californica) — have been hardly more successful than the pheasants. They never increased so readily, however, and their failure is not so marked. The -Californian quail is still plentiful in .some of the North Inland districts, whore farmer* write against it= name. " no good." At Te Puke, in the Maketu district, quail live largely on clover, taking both the seed and the young plants in the bush clearings. Stoats and weasels, cat*, poison, and bush fires are their enemies. In regard to Californian quail, a farmer at Ngatimaru says: "I have noticed that this bird wants fairly large tracts of land. It is also better if the land is hilly, and broken with bush and scrub here and there It seems to get on very well on land where there is plenty ef bush. On other land it does w*»ll foi i time, and theu its cumbers are decreased,

for what reason 1 do not know, unless it is on account of the cats, which I think are largely to blame." A farmer in the Motu district, in the Auckland province, sa\s that quail need more protection, and he suggests that private owners should proclaim their pioperties private sanctuaries, and every third year should be a close one. THE TWO SWANS. There is a very striking contrast between the white swan and the b ack swan m respect to their acclimatisation in New Zealand. The black swan is near the top of the list of successes, while the white swan has increased slowl-_ and with obvious d'fficulty, and has sometimes quite failed to establish itself. The black swan, in fact, has shown much greater adaptabiluy than the other species, whose first attempts at incubation in Christchurch and other places were utterly ineffective. The black swan settled down at once to its new conditions. It was introduced 1 into Canterbury partly with the object of j destroying watercress in the Avon, which j runs through Christchurch. In a few years • the birds had increased largely, but in 1867 I many of them forsook the Avon ard made j long, and rather notable migrations to the wi!d country on the West Coast and to Otago, and even Marlborough. Less than 20 were liberated on the Avon at first by the Christchurch City Council. These birds did the work desired fiom them, as they cleared a pathway through the watercress for the current. In 1880 there were hundreds of b'.ack swans on the Avon and Halsv. ell Rivers, as well as the Heathcote. as many as 500 sometimes being counted on small areas. They achieved the same j succe c s in Ota°o. where about 60 were , liberated from 1?66 to 1870. | Back swans aie now foinxl in thousands i on lakes. <-stt-'arif=. an 1 lagoops in many j parts of the colony from the extreme north to the far south. The,y keep much to the wild region- In some p'aer*; they wa?e a deadly v, ar on the native ducks, taking then food supplies fiom them and persecuting th«m lelent'.esslv. FURTHER INTRODUCTIONS SUGGESTED. A rather striking aspect of the inquiries is that there is not the same coie-cnsus of opinion against the introduction of more English birds as there is against those we ha\e already. Further introductions are suggested with quite as muc'i confidence as characterised tho first introductions, 40 jears ago. The twenty-eighth question on (he circular was: "Do you think that any other English birds could be introduced advanI tageously? If so, -tate the -pecies you I favour." The> replies show that only a ] few of the correspondents a ■? opposed to further introductions, although several 1 soxxnd a warning that English birds are | liable to change their habit-, on coming to i a new land and living uiulor ii"w conditions. It is very clear that teiitiment mint still • 1 bei reckoned with. This is shown by the j I fact tha! many jno^e votes have been cast : in favour of robin redbreast than in favour ■ I of any ether bird that can be thought of. : He heads the list of «ug<T^stcd importations of the future-. Jenny Wren is not v-erv iar down in the list, and th's may be j (akeii ps further r-\ idence that sentiment j i." regard to the birds ot the Old Country I v not dead It is exrect-=>>-l however, that I robin redbreast will be. u-eful as w-ell as ornamental. The swallow conves next to | the robin, then severa l kind* of martins, ! then the p'overs. the- swift aiid the wag- ] tail, jn that order. The cuckoo i.« a <jen^ral ' favourite Other biid* named arc the ' ston^chat. shrike, snipe more lapwing* and hed.'csparrow* flvr.itelvM. tn-. titmouse, whit-r f hroat 'light inhale (wh< r h by the I wav ha-, only rn-r> \ote). wat^r O'i«eLs. i stoiks American fl\fjurh«r ,-v.d kmgb rd. Rcatsuckor grr-usr black eo< k partnda;e (luench and English), lackdaw. nightjar, woodpecker. whi'ichat. wheateav, P'pit, wrvneok crow, and butcher-bird. I I supply this list for what it is worth, and in order to give some indication of the feeline on the subject. The advisability of introducing any of the birds named is a matter that should be gone into with great care when definite steps pi regard *to further importations are contemplated, ■a-nd it could hardly bo discussed satisfactorily here. The facts brought to light in respect to acclimatisation in New Zealand are sufficiently striking to be a warning against thoughtless action in the future. It might be advisable to forbid the importation of any more foreign birds without the sanction of a committee of experts, which could be appointed CONCLUSION. The inquiry has not put an end to the controversy, which is one of those fchintrs that will continue as long as small birds and farmers exist. The lines of demarcation are too faint, and too hard to define, to enable it to be said with any certainty that the introduction of small birds into this colony wa- a mistake. The question rests largely upon speculative opinion, and absolute settlement need never be looked for. A groat deal of the evidence I have collected is confusing, and a little of it is obviously the outcome of prejudice and bitter enmity. There is. however, less of this than I expected. For tl.e most part, the conclusions arrived at by the hundreds of correspondents who have returned the circulars are based upon actual observations extending over 30 or 40 years. Many of those who went to the trouble of filling- in the circulars are in the advantageous position of having known the small birds both at Home and in the colonies, and they are in a good position to make comparison*, and unto changes that ha\e taken pko in the birds' habite. In some esses consuleiable trouble has been taken, the circulars beintj accompanied by long letters. By the adoption of this "system of seeking information mon have hepn reached who would nev^r have imparted their knowledge in any other wav Several of the co i respondents have been <rood enough to commend the ?>stem Ihey have expressed their willingness to supply more detailed information, if desired, and they suggest that the system should ho extended to other subjects that interest the agriculturist. The evidence has been wcisrhod carefully, and in forming conclusions I have endeavoured to be just to men and birds alike. The summary of the result*, nt any rate, is impartial, and I think I can claim, that on the prominent points of the controversy a consensus of expert opinion throughout the colony is now placed at , the disposal of all who wish to have it | I have to thank Mr T. W. Kirk. Government Bio'ogi-t. for his kindness in seoing i that the circulais were distributed, and in. I having the re»lit-s sent to me. •

OLjLH HA I»Kfc> B VTEKY. The Presbytery of Clutha met at Milton on Wednesday iatt. when the following members were present — viz. : Mr Chisholm (Moderator pro tern.) and Messrs S. W Currie. Dalrymple, Fraser. Mille^, Bla-r, Miller, Chisholm, Orr, and W. T. Currie (mumrevsK and Mfi^rs M'Hattie, .]. ■ M'Caw, Kilgour, Tobin, Anderson. Tavlor, I M'Lcan, Mitche-11, and Menzits (elders). Messrs A ".an, Reid. Ramsay, and Macallister wrote stating thtir inability to attend. Mr Orr was elected Moderator for the ensuing six months. Mr M'Caw reported re Beaumont glebe, when it was agreed to take the matter up next Presbytery. | It was agreed that the committee appointed to visit the Mjlton congregation should report to the next meeting of the Presbytery. i Mr Fraser, on behalf of the committee appointed to visit Waihola, gave, in the report, which was received and the committee thanked for its work. Fuller consideration was d-ef erred till next meeting. Mr Dalrymple reported re- G-lenomaru that Mr M'Lean had taken Mr Weir's place. Mr Chisholm reported re Rataimi. — It was agreed that Air Bla.ir conduct communion services at Tahakopa and Chaslands on Sunday, 25th inst.. Mr Taylor agreeing to provide supply for Clinton on that day The Clerk laid on the table the resignation of Mr John M'Caw, home nvssionary. of Tuapeka West. — It was agreed to accept the resignation, and on the motion of Mr Fraser, seconded by Mr Dalrymnle the foi- ; lowing motion was agreed to — "That the

' Presbytery place on record an expression of its very high apprcc.ation of the services of Mr John M'Caw, for 13 yeais in the wide district of Tuapeka West, during ,-wh'ch time he has done most faithful and j profitable service, a record ot winch lias i been repeatedly placed on the Prc&bytery minutes. The Presbytery, in recoivvig Mr | M'Caw's ic>biguation, cordially recommend 1 him to the Warganui Prcsbyte-i-y and the [ people of his new and important sphere of | labour, and pray that the divine bles=.ng ! may accompany himself and family. A i copy to be sent to Wansranui Pre^hvterv." 'J''hc matter of filling up the Tuapeka West vacancy was considered, when it was j agreed to appoint a committee cons' sting of I the Revs. Allan and Reid and Messrs I M 'Hal tie and Taylor (Mr Allan convener) j to visit the district, with a view to raise it I to a church extension charge, and to report i to next Presbytery. Re Beaumont, it was agreed to reapnoint i Mr Adarn^ for a term of three months from ! the end of April. i The Clerk reported that the Sustentation Fund Committee had fixed the following i minima for aid-receiving congregations: — ' Lov ell's Flat. £175; Chitfia. £170; Owaka, ! £180; Miiburn, £185; Waihola, £170. for j the current year. Popotunoa was rai-ed to • the self-sustaining nlatform. In connection | with this matter a letter was received from ', Popotunoa Kirk Session obiecting to its '■ assessment, and askinqf ihe Pres.byterv to endeavour to get the Susbontation Fund : Committee to rpdure the amount to £185, J the amount fixed by the Presbytery — On the motion of Mr Dalrvmple. seconded by

Mr Cnrrie, it was ? greed, after consic'erabs. discussion, to app v to the committee in terms of this requesr. The records of To'comairiro Session, and the record of rh ■» t,e s.on of Deicotia' Court. Miiburn, woio e\;'iizmod and reported *wl] and rcgulailv l:ep-, a-'ui a« <i'cii signed by the moderator. [ It was asrr-c-o'l niar Messrs Ramsay ard ' M'Km'.ay in > poc ( ; the Kaitangata Church , re the question of repairs, and report to | the next meeting. >fe— rs Tobin and Blair i wore to -nako a stnniai report on Pureki1 leki and Mi- Ftaso-- on Hiliend. ! Mr Chiaholtn gave notice of tho following .for next meeting —"That the Presbytery meet for oidinar? business on Friday instead of Wodors lay. and that the meetings be held evev two months." Tho Rev. S W. Curne convener of the committee appointed to visit Clutha con- ' gregation. gave in the report of the comj mitteo. — On the motion of Mr Miller it i was agreed to adopt the report and thank I the com ni it tee. and to apr.oint the Rev. I Mr Curne to p'vach in Port Molynenx , and Piierux on Sabbath, the 25th "in«t., , and to bring the report and the Pres-by- | tcry's finding before the congregation. I It was agreed to appoint the Revs. Miller, Reid, and Fraser. and Messrs Sutherland and R. M'Caw to visit Lawrence during the ensuing three month?, and to report to next Presbytery.

The. how of neon waa sounded for the fiist time nn the large be"! in the Gore Post Office clock tower on Tuesday, 13th.

X-AtX -At a meeting of the Southland Traction j ftngine Owners' Association on Saturday • , Mr J. Moffeft was instructed to at once , institute proceedings- for ths recovery of the £10 -registration fee paid by the picsidt-nt under a "by-law that «a= declared uitia \ ires ; by the Supreme Coii't I will be reniPmbored that at tlie Cmu.U Coant il niv g on the pr<'\ious. Fi i'iv tl c con it 1 c\i!' - icj t.n rr»uav the ice, I

Our Nasabj correspondent wires: — "Six persons were nominated for the Mount Ida Licensing Committee, but it is likely that one will retire, so as to save the necessity foi a poll."' A number of Maoris arrived in Invercaroill last Thursday from the north to make preparations for their annual \ is.it to t!.--> mutton bird i-lands in about a fortii'"hi - 111 1 .«.