CROSSBRED TROUT.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2954, 28 November 1900, Page 4

CROSSBRED TROUT.

To the Editor. Sir,—On the 9th November I caught in the Pareora a fish of about 31b of such peculiar markings that I sent it to Dr Moorhouse, of Christchurch, for identification. I haye to-day received a letter from him, which I think will be interesting to a number of fishermen in this district. The letter (which was apparently forgotten to be posted at the proper time) is as follows : “ Christchurch, November 11th, 1900.

“ Dear Knubley,—l went down and met your fish last night, and had it for breakfast. It was very good and pink fleshed. It was- a hybrid between the American brook trout (Salmo fontinalis) and the Loch Leven, probably. This cross is called the 1 Zebra hybrid.’ Brown trout do not easily cross with the Americans, as they spawn so much later than either the Americans or the Loch Levens. We have been making a lot of experiments here in crossing, and find it in most cases very difficulc to get the eggs fertilised. The Zebra cross is the easiest to obtain and it can only be got by using a male American and a female Loch Leven. They won’t cross the other way. It is quite possible that the one you got was a wild bred fish, but from the size of the fish I should judge it to be a 3-year-old, and we have a lot of hybrids in the gardens of about that size also 3 years old. When they were small fry one of the screens which kept them apart got shifted, and a number of the hybrids got mixed with the rainbows, and it is possible that this is one of those sent down to you amongst the rainbows wc sold you. Yours, etc., B. Moorhouse.” I am, etc., M. J. KNUBLEY. Timaru, 27th November, 1900.