488 Transactions.— Miscellaneous. 
slate and gneiss, it has not many good spawning beds but seems to have a 
good flow of water during the first half of summer. Its trout are mostly 
small, but they take the fly readily, and are possessed of good edible 
qualities. They are brown on back and golden on the sides, with black 
and crimson spots. In December, 1880, I had a day’s fishing in it above the 
washpool hut, and killed with fly 17 trout weighing 1141bs. I lost more 
than half-a-dozen, including several fish over 2 Ibs., but of those I caught 8 
weighed about 11b. each. I had no opportunity of examining the stomachs 
of these trout, but probably their food consists of shellfish, larve, and flies. 
In March, 1879, two anglers fishing the Manuherikia River at Hawkdun 
Station killed 8 trout from 1 Ib. to 21bs. in weight. "They were fat silvery 
fish and proved very good eating. Below the station the pollutions from 
gold-mining render this river useless for trout, but above it is beautifully 
clear, and has plenty of good Spawning beds. This part of the river is 
about 1,500 feet above sea-level, and in spring must carry off a large amount 
of snow water. I heard of a trout of 71bs. weight being caught in it, 
during this same year, so that its yearly growth would be fully 1 Ib., as the 
| stream was first stocked in 1878. I have no information as to its food 
supply. 
Butel's Creek, which feeds Hayes Lake is a very small stream, but it is 
well stocked, especially below the waterfall, which is impassable for trout, 
being nearly 200 feet high. Hayes Lake is very full of trout, some being 
supposed to be over 20 lbs. in weight, and these having for their spawning 
ground only the mile and a half from the lake to the waterfall of this creek, 
it gets very crowded during the Spawning season. I have heard of one 
trout poached out of this stream in 1882 which weighed 28 lbs., and these 
great fish are known to have been actually caught, and removed in cart 
loads, being afterwards salted and sold among the surrounding gold dig- 
gings. The Lake Society has done almost nothing to prevent the poaching. 
Now, trout having first been put into the streams about the Wakatipu in 
1874, this very large trout must have grown yearly at the astonishing rate 
of 841bs.! The trout in the creek are mostly small, running from $1b. to 
13 1b., although they have been taken with the rod up to lbs. It is only 
during winter that the very large fish push their way up. Mr. Paterson, a 
neighbouring settler, has told me he has seen the stream as “thick as por- 
ridge” owing to the numerous spawning fish turning up the same redds 
successively! The bed of this stream is very gravelly and sandy, and it is 
the only water entering the lake fit for spawning in. Such trout as I have 
seen taken out of it are very silvery in appearance. In November, 1880, 
Mr. A. C. Begg killed 15 trout in this creek in one day, their total weight 
being 81bs. From observation I cannot say what the food-supply is on 
