PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION D. 481 
here frequently has five and even seven, while the sparrows have 
increased at a prodigious rate. On the other hand, many birds 
that would be highly beneficial will not adapt themselves to their 
new surroundings. Another troublesome importation from the 
old country has of late years made its appearance, in the European 
snail, no doubt introduced in wooden cases containing plants. It 
is now spreading far and wide over Victoria; wherever plants 
are carried the snail probably goes too. It seems, like the 
sparrow, the rabbit, and the fox, to increase very rapidly, and 
will yearly become more troublesome. 
The introduction of English trout into Victorian streams has 
been, on the whole, a success. There are several fish acclimatisa- 
tion societies in Victoria—in Ballarat, Geelong, and other places, 
all of which do good work ; and Sir Samuel Wilson has a very 
complete fish-hatching establishment at “ Ercildoune,” which he 
maintains at his own cost, giving the young fish every year 
principally to the Zoological and Acclimatisation Society, the 
Society undertaking the transportation of the fish to suitable 
streams, and thus benefitting the whole colony. In this manner 
a great many fine streams have been stocked, and the number of 
trout streams is being increased every year. One or two costly 
experiments have been made with the English and the Californian 
salmon, but without success. But here again New Zealand is 
far in advance, as the streams of that fine colony are much better 
adapted to the trout and other European fish than ours are. 
Both my father and myself have taken a deep interest in 
acclimatisation for many years past, and I sincerely wish I could 
write more hopefully on the subject; but I fear that but scant 
success will attend any efforts in this direction, as far as good 
game birds are concerned, without laws to prohibit indiscriminate 
shooting. At every holiday season parties of young people spread 
all over the country shooting everything they meet, and also, 
alas! shooting each other. This should be stopped, but in this 
free and democratic country such prohibitions are not popular. 
One thing is certain, that if birds are to be established they must 
be protected from pot-hunters, and individual effort must be more 
sustained in the future than it has been in the past. 
The following list gives a summary of the principal animals and 
birds acclimatised in Victoria :— 
The Deer, of which six kinds have now successfully established them- 
selves, and are at large in the colony. 
The Alpaca, which has not been able to accommodate itself to the 
great change from an altitude of 10,000 feet in Peru, its native land, to 
the Victorian climate, and has died out. 
The Cashmere Goat, which has failed from the same cause. 
The Angora Goat, which has proved unprofitable, and has been almost. 
entirely absorbed into the breed of common goats. Ms 
E 
