Clakke. — On New Zealand Galaxidae. 79 



The extent of the shoals of the whitebait in the South 

 Island west coast rivers at times was incredible ; often I have 

 seen the surface of the Chinamen's gardens at the BuUer, 

 Grey, Teremakau, Hokitika, &c., for several acres each in 

 extent, covered some inches in depth with these fry, used as 

 top-dressing manure. This was when an expressly heavy run 

 occurred, making it non-practicable for our Celestial iriigrants 

 to dispose of them at a price which they considered paid for 

 the labour of hawking ; or when the shoals were too greatly 

 mixed with " cock-a-buUies " ; or when they were too lazy to 

 dry and export them to China, which they sometimes did to a 

 considerable extent, especially when the more periodical large 

 shoals of smelts were running. These they carefully dried and 

 packed in strong " upper" leather bags for export, obtaining 

 from 3s. 6d. to os. per pound for the dried article from the 

 middleman or "boss," who probably reaped a much greater 

 price still in China. This wholesale destruction for manure 

 purposes, I am happy to say, was of late years stopped by 

 preventing the use of the long shingle abutments with the set 

 nets at intervals. It was piteous at those times to see the 

 enormous quantities of young grayling (upokororo) which 

 were destroyed. 



Now that the whitebait {Galaxias attenuaUis fry) is being 

 utilised for canning — which is beginning to form a consider- 

 able industry — one hopes that the supply will last, and be 

 properly fostered, to allow sufficient to be left for annual 

 reproduction. But a safeguard in this is that it will be im- 

 possible to collect from all the rivers the supplies required for 

 the canneries, and I expect it will be some little time before 

 they are established on any but a few of the larger ones. 



The Maoris of the West Coast, South Island, called the 

 young fry " inanga " and the adult fish the " inai-tai," or 

 " mahitahi," or, as they described it, " te whaea o te inanga." 



At the time of the advent of the fry I have frequently, 

 and at several places, seen large shoals of the "inanga" 

 at sea, and have caught specimens in verification, and have 

 constantly observed them washed up by the breakers on to 

 the beaches near the mouths of the large rivers, evidently 

 when skirting the coast to enter them, and I have seen theiu 

 dragged on shore in estuaries by the ground-ropes of the 

 seine. A spate in the whitebait rivers will prevent the inrun 

 until the fresh is over. 



The early-run fish keep their immaculate colour much 

 longer in the fresh water than those which come in towards 

 the end of the season, these last, in fact, sometimes beginning 

 to darken after a few hours' sojourn in the fresh element. 



The Europeans of the West Coast, South Island, call the 

 adult fish " cents "or *' scents," whilst the youth of Taranaki 



