S. C. ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIC, Issue 13531, 28 February 1908, Page 2

S. C. ACCLIMATISATION SOCIETY.

A meting "I th- Council of t lie South tanK-ibmy' Accliaiiitisatiun Society was lii-lil at ill.- Grosvenoi Hotel yesterday att-.-iiioon. Tin-re « ere present :—Messrs .1. S. ltutli. rfin.l uliaimian.. A. t. I'riii"!.-. 1'- L'oira. D. Taylor. l-\ Brown, f. I-jl llassell. 1-'. Palli-er, W. H. Brown, .1. Eindlav. l)r Hayes, ami W. f.i. Aspin::li t-ecittary).

A voii.-iilf-r.ible quantity of correspondence was read :—l' l'om the lotU-i.-t Department 1 re return of 11 out sviit to the Chvistchurch Kxliitntiou : (hawing attention to poaching in the Dpilii at Fairlie. by day and night, ami tla- need for additional rangers; from ihe Oiago Society recommending removal of ilii- protection on seagulls-; notifying that the annual conference would be held in .1 mil* .and asking that tiny business desiieil be forwarded ; from iho Teniuka Horticultural Society, asking for a donation: sundry routine matters; and a large number of letters outward were read.

A quantity of correspondence, 'and explanations by the secretary, were tabled, relative to a case of a I'areora settler who had been lishing before lie applied for a. license, and only did so when his conduct was complained of to the society. The question of prosecuting had been considered. and no steps- had yet been taken in that direction. The alleged offender had claimed that he was fishing on his own land, and some members thought- that, though that was not the case, it. might, have been a mistake.-—ln -the meantime the matter was left in the hands of Mr Jlas.-ell. .Mr I'ailiser stated that the wool washing arrangements at Holme station, -which fir siiine years running had destroyed thousands of lislt, had been so altered as to avoid tile mischief ill future, by cutting a long drain from which the foul water percolated to the river and was cleansed on the war.

Two permits to freeze trout for indi viduals had been granted to the Christ church Meat Company.

A brief discussion took place on the recomendation of the Otago .Society that ihe protection of seagulls be removed, and for their destructiveness to both fish and newly dropped lambs, the Council unanimously endorsed the recommendation.

Mr Rutherford was appointed delegate to the next- conference of the Societies at Wellington; the .secretary to furnish him with the several suggestions that have been or mav be made for consideration.

In this connection some members spoke of the need for a gun tax, but- Mr I'ailiser said the M.H.R. member:-; of the conference said the House would not listen to it.

An inquiry was made by .Mi- L. James when the deer-stalking season in the Allmry district begins: and how many " heads" each man may take. —Reply to lie sent that the season is from Ist April to 51st May, and the limit is two heads; license fee £2; number of licenses to be

Tht- t-.ecretary stated that there was an undoubted run of quinnat salmon in the Rangitata this season. He had cought three, of 8, 6, and 4 lbs, t-liat gave splendid sport. He had heard of otheis and of a grilse. These, of course, came from the Jiakataramea down tilt- Waitaki.

Thanks were accorded to Mr l'ringle for his assistance in getting a government reserve beside the freehold at Tt-muka. vested in the- Society. The secretaiy reported that a quantity of trout were supplied from Temuka for the " Ximrod " dinner.

Dr Hayes supported the request of the Temuka Horticultural Society for a donation, on the ground that this Society's objects included tile introduction and improvement of plants.—Some other ine.lll- - ridiculed the request, and the rcqiust. was "received." There were too many .-itch societies to be supported. Mr E. A. Franks, cliiel ranger, reported on his proceedings since last meeting. Referring to a visit, to Fairlie he stated that he eav few fish there, and saw no poachmg going on. He had tried to uitiKe inquiry into the alleged poaching, but hj:; vouUl not get the informant. A visit \o Silversti'eam in search of pcacheis was aiiso ill vain. Mr Franks remarked

There appears to be a lot of information of .-oris about peaching, but veiy little, truth in the stories reported, and I have had to travel a. lot for nothing." The report stated that the rivers generally were very low, nearly dry in tact, and any fish in pools which could be shifted without much expense he had had removed. As far as lie knew there had been little poaching, but he had had occasion to warn a few boys. There were 20 or 30 young mallard at the reserve ready for liberation.

The secretary added to the report further explanations given him by the ranger regarding his attempts to secure poachers, in different- quarters. It was- vt-ry difficult to get. information on which to pmiecut-e. It- was impossible, for lack of funds, to engage more rangers. On the question of liberating the young mallard, Mr Rutherford said Lake Al -x----andrina was now thronged with native ducks, that- had come Irom the smaller lagoons, that were now drying up, and then.- w;is a large number of geesv ther-.-, so that the lake was well enough occupied at> present. trust the distribution to Mr Rutherford, at the liead of Tekapo, and to -exchange old drake-- with some other society.

It was decided to write to the Hon. Dr Findlay urging that Paradise ducks be allowed to be shot this season.

Some specimens of appliance.** for " foulhoiking" were exhibited, and Mr Aspinall suggested that the remedy would l»o to declare the Opihi a " tlv" river, or to limit the fishing to certain liouis of daylight. Members spoke with great- indignation of the use of such appliances, and with discontent of the uncertainty of the law on the subject. One member tallied of restricting "had," and another said it could not be done. Ihe inclusion of an artificial minnow, it was feared, made the apparatus a "bait." and tinlaw allowed " bait " to be used.—The further consideration of the matter was defended till the annual meeting.

Dr Hay«» mentioned that the chamois .had been seen at the Ball saddle, one of them with a kid, and traces had been seen of tile t.liar.

The secretary was authorised to register the Society's inks under the new Animals Protection Act, and to nominate the ;\vo rangers to be appointed by the Go-

vernor. Accounts, amounting to £ls 16s fd were pav-ed for payment.