ACCLIMATIZATION SOCIETY.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9, 23 May 1868, Page 2

ACCLIMATIZATION SOCIETY.

FniDAY, May 22. Tho annual general mocllng of tho soeiety was held ln the upper room of tho Institute, at half-past seven p.m. Tlio attondanco was very largo nnd iniiucntial, tho room being crowded, On tho motion of Dr Ilaast, his Honor the Superintendent wns voted to the chair. He briefly stated tho object of the meeting, and called upon tho treasurer, who submitted the financial statement of receipts and expenditure for tho past year. In answer to a question by Mr "Feredny, the aeemtary explained that the minute-book of tho council having been stolen, tho meet* ing wns deferred, becauso tho report and financial statement could not he made up without It, Mr Fercday remarked that tho book had not been lost until tho 25th of April, nndyot no steps had been takon to propnro for tho general meeting. It had been reported thnt tho secretary had said thore was not to bo, a meeting called, aud In face of this, the loss bf the minute-book appeared very strange. Tho Secretary denied having said unytblng of tho kind, nnd after a prolonged discussion tho matter dropped. Tho annual report of the Council was read;— Tho Co u n oil of tho Canterbury Acclimatization Society in presenting their fourth annual report, congratulate the society on tho continued interest exhibited by the public in tho objects of acclimatization, Tlio acclimatization of salmon and trout In Tasmania having been satisfactorily effected, tho idea of obtaining ova from thence was long and anxiously deliberated upon by your Council in July, but tho motion of Mr Davie , to send at onco for some was deferred; however, on the 27th of that month, the Curator having reported that tho ponds would be road)' before the ova could arrivo, a special meeting was called for August 9th, when an ofibr \raa mado by tho Curator to go to Tasmania at his own expense, he being allowed a

bonus on every fish successfully hatchcdjand it wns resolved that a bonus of £1 be given \ him fot every fish (salmon or trout) he reared to six weeks old, But looking to tho responsibility which Mr Johnson assumed, the Council agreed to advance him -£30, to continue tho payment of his salary as heretofore, and to provide at the society's expense a man to watch and work in the gardens during his absenco. The Curator ultimately proceeded to Tas* ; mania, and procured a quantity of trout ova, being unable to procure any salmon ova, from | tho fact th*t no fish had been captured, The experiment was not sueeo*.-.ful, only three fish [ having been hatched, owing, as your Council ; believe, to the fact that no sailing vessel was obtainable to bring the ova direct; it had therefore to be taken to Melbourne, and from thenco to Lyttelton lua screw steamer, and further, the arrangements in tho gardens were found to be incomplete for receiving it. However it is satisfactory to know that tho Curator was well received by tho Acclimatization Societies both in Victoria and Tasmania, 'and the experience ho gained will be of great benefit should ho again leave on a similar enterprise. He also brought away many valunblo seeds, and a fino specimen of a fnllow doer, the gift of Mr Graves of the Tasmanian Acclimatization Society, Your Council finding that the English birds kept in tho aviaries for breeding purposes gradually decreased, and that there was no chance of their breeding while confined there, decided to turn them out, when it was found thnt tho aviaries wero infested with rats. >fA valuable and most successful Importation of English birds, comprising blackbirds, thrashes, mealy rod-polos, house and hedge sparrows, and bramble finches (in all 141 pairs), was mado by Captain Stoiens in the Matoaka, in tho month of February, all being safely placed In your gardens in fine condition, nt a cost of XI B2. A certain proportion of these birds was sold to members for them to turn out, the rest being turned out by the Curator for the reasons above stated. The Council havo every reason to believe that all these birds arc successfully acclimatized, Inasmuch as within six weeks of their being turned loose, ono nest of thrushes was successfully hatched, whilst tho other birds are continually seen. During the year about 40 pheasants have been hatched, some of which, by order of the Counull, have be«n sold at £2 per pair, and others which have escaped from the gardens are doing well. In the gardens your Council haa to report that considerable additions have been made by tho building of wire enclosures for pheasants, a large houso for tbe two-fold purposes of a hatching-house and aviary, and tho sinking of tbo necessary artesian wells j and in order to carry out one of the objeeUof (he sooiety, namely, the rearing and Introduction of valuable plant*, the Council have decided not to allow fowls and other birds to run loose in tho gardens. The Park and Domain Board have placed at the disposal ot tho society about seven acres of land laid down in English grass, securely fenced Into two enclosures. It is to be regretted that tho society baa lost tho services of Mr Weld, and Messrs Wilkin and Hill. ; Finding that the dalle*! of M«etary and ! curator were somewhat incompatible, the ; council decided on separating tbe offices, Mr Speedily undertaking to act as honorary socretary j at tho same tlmo £20 per annum has been nddsd to Mr Jehuson'd salary m curator, ; The black swans continue to increase | rapidly, and many aro now to bo seen on Lake Jf-liesmcrc, where a nest containing ! eggs was found during the last month. Unfortunately one ef the white swans vu killed, tho society now only being in posses* sion of ono bird. -7 * . Valuablo collections of seeds of treee and shrubs havo been obtained and distributed, nnd arrangements made for further suppliei, Tlie introduction of the Ailanthus silk worm has also been suggested, nnd Mr Hislop has promised some Ailanthus trees, bnt np to tho present timo tho Council have taken no furthor stops in the matter. Some different specimens of out native ducks and other bird*, have been sent to England, and to various other societies. The rules of tho society are about to be registered at Wellington, in accordance with tho Game Act, and it is believed that rangers for tho better protection of imported and native gamo will soon be appointed by the" General Government. Yonr council havo to acknowledge the services of the Government gardener (Mr Armstrong) lv destroying vermin and protecting imported birds. The best thanks of the society are due to the Otago Government for their great liberality lv forwarding, undercharge of Sergeant Quin, eleven boxes of salmon ova, together with about six tona of ice. On arriving at Lyttelton, it wns found that tho best way of conveying the boxes containing the ova to Ohrlstehureh, would be by packing theni surrounded with ice, and covered with blankets, in baskets, and carrying tbo same by hand in a railway carriage. Your council have to acknowledge the great assistance afforded them by Messrs Holmes and Co, in this portion of their transit When the ova reached Christchurch, it was carried by bnnd to tho gardens, where it was safely deposited in the breeding boxes the same night, It Is, however, a source of great regret: to state the fact that when the ova was uncovered it did not present a healthy ap pearance, only about 200 being apparently alive, since which time they have been gradually decreasing in numbers, and now not mere than 00 remain sound. The financial condition of the society haa vow become a matter for serious consideration ; the estimated income for the ensuing year will not exceed .£3OO, which, after allowing for tbo Balary of the curator, leaves but a small surplus balance. It will therefere be necessary to reduce in every way the

labour pecount in tho gardens ; nnd tho council, bearing in mind the spocial objects of tho sooioty, ' decided not to allow of the Introduction of any animal or bird not likely to he useful, without their special sanction, and which might probably occupy tho timo and attontlon of tho curator, Tho Council aro also anxious that tho society shall not loso sight of tho strict object of tho institution, which rondors It Imporatlvo that any tendency to givo tho grounds tho character of! a place of exhibition such as a geological gardens, shall bo carefully watuhod, and corrected. Mr CayglH moved tho adoption of tho report, which was duly seconded. Mr Iforcdny said thero was a vory strong fooling amongst tho members that tho grounda of the society should ho mado more attractive to tho gonoral public, nnd ho wns nat awaro that such a proceeding would in any way injure tho primary object in viow, At prcsont, birds, as soon a« received, had to bo turned loose lufdead of affording mombors and the public a chance of soulng thorn, ' which would oncourago tho former to continue thoir subscription.) nnd induce tho lnttor to bcoomo members, Again, with rcopcot to the poultry objected to by tho council, he considered that tho introduction Ol good breeds wn» of na rouoh importance to tno 'country n» il»h or Wrdfl. (Hear, hoar,) Tho objection on tho ground of their rutmlng all over the garden might easily ho obviated hy allotting a certain amount/if space to their use. But ho would go ovon furthor than thin. 110 did not ado why horticulture, together witli tho collection of animals, should nob bo amalgamated with aflellMrtUwUlflli j and if tho GoYornmo.il had money to build a museum, ho would havo that in the gardens (UflO, fio hoped tho mooting would oxpresfl their opinlonn in favour of making tho gardons moro attractive than hitherto, Mr Nottldgo was in favour of this being dono, an ho consldorod ita matter of financial Importance to tho eocloty, Ho would not, however, advocate the purehaso of birds or Animals of no uso beyond moro show. Mr Davio called attention to ruin 2, whioh provided that the operations of tho Bocloty should be confined to tho acclimatization and domestication of all nnimals and plants whioh nro likoly to bo beneficial to tho province Ho then explained how privacy was noccfisary to tho accomplishment of this. The society had been compollod to vacato tho <lomaln when ifc wn» resolved to mako it a placo of publio resort and recreation, and It would bo a nlty if after Hpoiidlng so much monoy on thoir present grounds, they had to -follow a -similar «<» .trse, Mr Bowen spoke In favour of tho grounds being made moro attract ivo, Thu Booloty had to depend entirely upon public support in thoir proceedings, nnd if they did not let thorn boo what was going on, and attract their interest, it could not he obtained. If privacy was required for any part of thoir operations. a portion of tho grounds could bo aot apart for that purpose Tho Bot.loty had not funds at present, but If they had ho could not see any objcotlon to their establishing zoological gardens, (Hoar, hear,) Ah to botany, that was a part of acclimatisation. Now trees and plants being of as much importanco as birds, Ashes, or nnimals, Dr iloast and Mr fltevens Illustrated the neccflslty Of privacy, the former quoting tlio difficulty he had experienced in obtaining access ta the Dunedin Salmon ponds, and thu latter pointing out tho necessity of It with Soung birds, or newly landed ones, Mr tovens also said he could not see how increa«ed subscriptions were to flow Jn an oxfleeted, ... Tho Boy 0, Franor favoured the proposod alteration, and pointed out how the gardens might ho divided so as lo provide the required privacy, and also offer attraction to visitors, Ia answer to a question, tho curator expressed his belief that if this was not adopted, a largo measure of publio support would bo lost, Mr Davlo said that In tho last three years only ono third of tho receipts of tha sooioty had been derived from contributions under a pound, Dr li'ofltor supported Mr Foreday, and moved the omission of the two last clauses of tho report. Mr Jameson noconded tho amondmont, which was supported by Meows Aynsloy, Wynn Williams, and others, After a very JcnaD-ened dIMiM-Aton, the Council of; tho society agreed to strllco out the objectionable clause.*, and tlio report wan . thon adopted, ovory other part of ifc being Batisfaotory, and w>v.>ml of tho members expressing tho indebtedness of tho society to tho Council for their service/, during tho yenr, Tlio Chairman said tho noxt bu»i»o»» would ho to clcofc officers, -when Mr tforedivy said lie had a resolution to.propono affecting tho rule upon which tho election had lo he conducted, A long discussion ensued ns to whether It Wft* competent to niter any of tlio rule.), tlio council of tho nooioiy averring that it was not, . nnd tho ohnirman stating that according to his interpretation of tho rules tho olccilon must he the next preeeedlug, Several member*, instanced whero tho rules of tlio society hnd previously boon altored under flimilnr oirouihstanccn, nndlt. wnau_ti« matoly decided to consider tho proposed resolution*, Mr Jfereday then moved nn amendment upon rules 3 nnd 4, with tho viow of reducing tho qualification for oloction ns a mombor of the Counoil from Jii 2s to Xi is, and of enabling tho curator to ho also eligible for election, A long debate ensued, tho reduction in tho nujilifleation . being supported by Mcsflra -b'ofltor, Inglis, W, Williams, Boy, C, Itfmsor, Bowon, and Noiiidgc, who however opp.. fled tho curator being ft member of tho Council. Mes/irs Davie, Leo, llaaflt ? and bpooohly, opposed tho reduction. >' a Hoy oral fur thor amendments wove moved, nnd tho rub s woro ultimately altered m flf) to provide for the society being governed by a chairman, two vlee-ehalrmon, a Boorotary, a ireaauror, and a council of Bixtoon, chosen

from lifo membera nnd those who subscribe .Cl Is por annum, It being nearly 11 o'clock tho mooting adjourned until Friday ovoning noxt, whon tho oflloors will bo olootcd, nnd other amendments to rules considered,