LAND AND WATER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2719, 25 April 1906, Page 57

LAND AND WATER.

A shipment of trout ova, received by the Otago Acclimatisation Soc ety from the owner and editor of th<? Fishing Gazette. • London, came to hand by the s.s. Maori, and was opened at the society's grounds at Opoho on Monday morning. There were two boxes of the same sire, and for the purposes of experiment they were differently packed. One shipment was packed in thr ordinary way, tvith moss and ice, and in the other the eggs v.ere placed on small tra;. r s, with fine scrim bottoms, surrounded by ice The box packed m thr- ordinary '. way contained about 10.000 Lake Blagdon . trout ova. This opened out in splend-d condition, and it is calculated that not more tha-a 10 or 15 per cent, of the eggs are bad. The result of th*» experimental box is not nearly so "successful. It contained about 3000 brown (tout ova from two other hatcheries, and obout 40 per cent, of these *>gg? are had. Tho box packed with nvoss had been opened at intervals during (he voyage, and the bad eggs were taken out. thus preventing contamination. The other box was not opened on the voyage. The shipments were sent ia return for the box

of ova that the Otago Society forwarded to the Fishing- Gazette some time ago. and which arrived in a wretched condition. The local body intends to forward another shipment.

The London Daily Chronicle of March 2 has th<> following paragraph: — Henry Carter, of Wellington New Zealand, who is making a tour of the world on foot, has arrived at Dunkirk, France, havir.fr walked 27,000 miles since January 21. 1902. He was arrested in Russia and Turkey as a spy, and elsewhere has been fired at and attacked by wolves and bears.

A Wellington telegram states tha.t the EasAer tennis tournament Brown and Miss Travers won the Combined Doubles Championship, beating Fisher and Mrs Holme 3. 6—4.6 — 4. 6—3.6 — 3. In the Ladies' Handicap Singles Miss Travers be&t MliBS A. Ward, s—o, 4—2.

A new time-recording camera has been patented. By photographing a motor car in motion and a watch at the same moment, it is possible for policemen to produce absolute proof that a driver has exceeded the legal speed limit.

It is quite possible (says the North Dtago Times) that there may be an outcry from Waianakarua of the complete depletion of the river of the trout that were in it before the Volunteer encampment. It is ki.own that 104 trout wm-© taken out of the river by the process known as " guddhng " by one* party, and if more than one party lent themselves to a breach of the Fisheries Conservation Act the river will havo to Le restocked by the Acclimatisation Society. The society offers a substantial reward for the conviction of thc^e caught poaching, and apparently there U. scope for the law being set in motion in this case.

The Clutha Leader states that during the Easter, holidas's Mr Black (Balelutha) and party of five got 80 hares at Timaru ; Mr Martin (Sargood's traveller) and party g^ot 40 at M'Rae's. while a drive at Ashburton resulted in 345 being caught.

A sea monster was washed ashore at Kaikoura some few days ago. Pome hold the opinion that it is' an octopus, while others maintain that it is a specie? of seacow. It ha 3 a body some 12ft long, with numerous feeWs.

The chinchilla, the little rat-like animal which produces the popular fur, is in danger of extinction. Chinchillas used to be found in great numbers in the hi«her ranges of the Andes, in Bolivia, and Chili, but, owing to the demand for their skins, they have been ruthlessly hunted.

A Nebon telegram states that during the past few days enormous numbers oF fish resembling sardines or small herring 6 have been shoaled on the mud flat between Stoke and Richmond. Millions have been put down as manure, and thousands have been salted by housewives, or eaten fresh. The fish is very similar to the " Picton bloater," having only backbone, and they have never before beee seen on. tbi3 $ide of the French

Pass. Flounders, bam'touta. and other fish also have been simi arly shoaled tip, and some think the marine disturbance is remotely or directly connected with the San Francisco calamity, and has been caused by it.

Dec i -stalk insr on the Albury Ranges during- the Easter holidays Messrs J. Rutherford and J. Pallisor secured two fine heads- -one a 16 and the other an 18-no:mer. They had excellent sport, and report that deer are very plentiful there.

BOWLING- CHAMPIONSHIP.

A Syduey cable states that in the play for the bowling championship of Australasia, Stale, of Sydney, beat Stephens, of Victoria, by 1 point.