LAND AND WATER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2762, 20 February 1907, Page 53

LAND AND WATER.

Work at the Portobello Fish Hatcher* recently has been entirely in the direction^ of preparing" For an expected shipment ofr lobsters by the Karamea, due on the 25thinst. Judging from the extremely variably trials through which the lobsters at present in the hatchery have come, they seen* able to stand great extremes of heat andl cold, and Mr Anderton, the curator, is" confident that he will have no difficulty in keeping and rearing these crustaceans. Experiments made during the early parl of the summer on the local crayfish, re« suiting in the liberation of several million fry into the waters of the harbour, alsqt lead to the conclusion that it will be possible to hatch and rear the eggs of lobster* successfully. Both these crustaceans undergo great metamorphoses in their 'development' from the egg to the adult stage, and the difficulty of rearing crayfish particularly i» so great that they have never been broug'nfe past the first few stages iii confinement. Inf the case of lobsters greater success hay been achieved, and it is hoped that with.' the adults once established at Portobello there will be no difficulty in stocking the* •surrounding seas with these valuable crustaceans. The extreme drought of this ser.»' son ha* proved very disastrous to the CO.lection of Stewart Island plants, which wero thriving beautifully at the hatchery, most of | which have been lost. It is»hoped to renew, them next season. Recen^ visitors fromr' the north have expressed their apprecia- ; tion of the hatchery and their desire thaft acclimatisation societies throughout the colony should support it as a colonial institution. The deer liberated by the South CanteiV bury Acclimatisation Society on the Albury Ranges have done so well that they are now becoming 1 a nuisance to farmers, whose crope they eat.