STRATFORD ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXX, Issue 50, 2 June 1916, Page 7

STRATFORD ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

The adjourned meeting of the Society was held in Mr Newton King's offices last evening, when the President (Mr W. I'. Kirkwood) presided, and there was a representative attendance of members. THE ANNUAL REPORT. The operations of liie Society during the year have been very successful, and compared with previous years good progress Inn been made. Notwithstanding the unsettled state of the district, in common with other districts throughout the Dominion, on account of the war, the number of fishing licenses talien out have, under the circumstances, been very satisfactory. Likewise, this also applies to tin l number of shooting licenses issued.. During the year 100.000 brown trout ova was dealt with at

the ponds by Miss Jones in a most successful manner, most of the ova hatching out into vigorous fry. While the I young tiout liberated have been fairly ! well grown, your executive are desirous of holding them for a longer period than | has been possible up to the present, and to this end it will be necessary to | make provision for an adequate and I cool supply of water during the hot i summer months. With provision made in this direction your executive are con- ! vinced that the young fish could be j field until strong enough to feud for I themselves. Large numbers of young fish are reported in the rivers, which is a sure indication that stocking is show- | ing good results. Concerning game, l your executive have to report that while Californiau quail are fairly plentiful, such is not the case with pheasants, with the exception of the bush country, whore |shoy are reported as i being more numerous. With settlement jof the country it is inevitable that .pheasants will become scarce, and while the policy of introducing fresh blood to the bush country should continue, it will be necessary to introduce i other game species that will thrive iwith less cover than is the case with pheasants. To this end inquiries have j been made as to the suitability of snip:- ! for liberation in the swamps of the dis jtricts, but the information available cloes not appear favorable to the desir|ed end, mainly for the reason that ! snipe are migratory, and the difficulty of transporation from either Ceylon or 'lndia. . Through'- the good offices of ] Commissioner - "CWle'n,' of the N.Z. ; Police 'Department, we have been abb; ito learn that another game bird that 1 has ills 'habitat < in* India','"''the Chukor ;(Ca;.'iVMs C!fucar/i ! may' be suitable for acclimatisation in this country. Tins bird does ueff 'country, and there-iTMrjld bet ln©«':'difficulty in transportation. However, before being introduced every precaution will be taken -hat the 'game bird i« question will he both suitable and desirable. We regret to report that through not being able to secure pheasants for restocking through customary channels. re-stocking this year will necessarily have to go by default. For the protec- , teetion of legitimate spoilsmen your .executive have secured; license holders ..\vlio,.Jniv.e. gaaataaslx agreed, to act as

honorary rangers,"and the best thanks of the Society are due to these gentle* "ffieir:' In the matter of protection' 1 *;!' ; hawks by the Government in. this disr : triet. your execute have (strongly 'protested against such protection, |ti \ being inimical to the best inf*res'ts hi \ acclimatisation in the. district. In con:elusion, we desire to tender the best Sthanks of the, ,Societ,y, to all who have ;assisted oiir operations during the year; ' The balance-sheet, which was published in yesterday's issue, showed a credit balance of £B7 10s. The assets of the Society amount to £lO7 18s, and the liabilities are nil.

I The President, in moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, said that considering the state of the country owing to the war, members were to be congratulated on the position of the Society. As to the fishing licenses last year the receipts were !M0 17s Gd, and in the .previous-year £ I 010 s, so that the Society had slight ly increased. As to shooting licenses, the-ocoipts were £B4 16s 6d, compared, to £ll7 19s 6d, showing that they had gone back. This might have been expected owing to the number of their

members who had enlisted. Concern ing fishing, he had noted that since the time of the big tires round Stratford the sport was not so good, the I'ate.i not being as good a stream for (rout as previously. Pheasants were getting very scarce, having been driven into the back country, and members were forced into the consideration of importing other game. Enquiries by Commissioner Cuilen, who had interested himself in the sport, had shown that they' could get game from India as mentioned in the report. Snipe might he acclimatised, and they would not interfere with the farmer; in any way, but they were difficult to keep in cr.ptinty on the way from India, which was the only place they could get them lrom. Then the Society was faced with tli • position of having to get some other game than pheasants. There was no reason at all for the protetion of hawks as decided upon by the authorities; the decision was right enough, perhaps, in a rabbit-infested country, but in this district they only preyed on the young game. The Society had enlisted tin; services of members of Parliament on behalf of the protest -entered against the decision. He pointed out that at one time they paid for hawks' feet. He was quite sure that the hawks were going to take toll of the few birds that were in the district at present. The Society should make a strong protest to the Government. The protection might be all right in some districts, but it was a wrong proceeding here. As to their fish-ponds, the Society would have to provide a better supply of water; it was all right up to a certain period of the year, but when the weather turned hot and sultry it was impossible to keep the fish in good health, and they found in the past that they had to liberate them before they were really ready to be put into the streams. His idea was to institute a working bee and so carry out improvements. This might he done with the aid of a powerful ram or by some means that members could suggest. The President said he could not conclude his remarks without making reference to the loyal services rendered by their caretaker, Miss Jones, who gave a great deal of attention to her charges in the ponds. If the Society could get a better water supply they would be able to rear as strong and healthy fish as any in the Dominion. Mr J. R. L. Stanford, in seconding the motion, congratulated members on the strong position of the Society. It was noticeable ; that the Council' refrained from'spending'more money each season than appeared would be available from subscriptions; That was a wise pobcy, and they always had a good "nes'tegg." As to the report, he mentioned that year after year the Society spent a large proportion of its funds in providing new game, but he thought it would haVe.'to stop, as members did not get a return fpr their money. Each year there were fewer birds; in fact, his experience was that not only were they not to be shot, but were not even to be seen. It was lug!; time the Society ceased spending their money on pheasants. The funds might be devoted to increasing the supply of quail or fish, or they might try and acclimatise other game. « The motion was carried. OFFICE-BEARERS. The following officers were elected for the ensuing year:— President: Mr W. P. Kirkwood (unanimously; rereJected). Vi.cerlVesid.epts:' Messrs L. Riera and J.' R. Li Stanford. Council: "Messrs W. J. Morrison, C. Massev; J,7T. r Martin, C. B. Walsh, Lyons, H. Campbell, F. Whittle, H. E. Abraham, and S. B. Hunter. GENERAL. Mr Stanford moved that the Stratford Acclimatisation Society urges upon the Government to remove the restriction on shooting hawks in this acclimatisation district, pointing out that there arc no rabbits n the district nor vermin upon which the hawks prey. Seconded by Mi- H. E. Abraham and carried. (!n the motion of Mr Stanford, it was resolved that the President, Mr Riera, and Mr Campbell be a sub-com-mittee to inquire and I'cport at a future meeting on the cost of improving the fishing ponds.