Arthur. — On the Brown Trout introduced into Otayo. 491 



Waiwera fish the best ; but I have heard that the Otaria and Mimihau fish 

 are better still. The Wakatipu trout are also particularly fine, perhaps the 

 best. Of course the single example from the Oreti cannot be held as proof 

 that its trout will all be as good ; and, indeed, the 10 lb. male which was got 

 at the same time was not fit to eat, I was informed by the gentleman who 

 had it cooked for dinner. It is likewise difficult, I find, to predict from its 

 appearance how a trout will eat in Otago. We have them both pink, red, 

 orange, and white in the flesh-colour. Most anglers think a fat trout is 

 sure to be good, and, as a general rule, I will not dispute it may be so. I 

 certainly find that, when the pyloric cseca are covered with much fat, the 

 trout may be depended on as good, unless it happens to have been grubbing 

 among clay or moss for larvaa, when it will have an earthy taste. But I 

 remember on one occasion getting a 4^- lb. male trout from Shag Eiver, 

 which was very fat, sent me by a settler, and which ate nearly as well as a 

 sea trout, while an exactly similar fat trout, sent by the same settler, at the 

 very same time, from the Shag Eiver to a friend of mine in town, proved 

 quite earthy in flavour when boiled, and anything but palatable. My fish, 

 I found when examining it, had four large native minnows in its stomach. 

 In October, 1880, I killed a female trout in the Lee Stream of 1 lb. 9 oz. 

 (not sexually developed so far as I could make out) which was very fat, and 

 had its stomach very full of flies, also five large grubs or creepers, with re- 

 mains of others. This fish was equally good to eat with the one sent me from 

 Shag Eiver. Now, the Shag Eiver fish, both fat, with access to the same 

 food probably, viz., minnows and whitebait, differed entirely as to quality ; 

 while the Lee trout, also fat, but feeding on widely different food, proved 

 the finest of eating, just as one only of the two Shag Eiver fish did ! In 

 addition to fat around the caeca, I find that thin skins and deciduous 

 scales, also orange-coloured flesh, are pretty good indications of quality in 

 trout. On the other hand, I must not forget to mention that I have known 

 cases of trout only half-fat, which were excellent, and, indeed, this is 

 characteristic of the Teviot trout, and also those of Waitahuna Eiver. So 

 much for the quality of our trout in connection with the kind of food and 

 the external appearance of the fish. 



The general superiority of the trout in the Waiwera, Waipahi, Otaria, 

 and Mimihau over those say of the Pomahaka and many other rivers, must 

 have some other cause than such as I may have previously hinted at. 

 These rivers are all situated within the trap district, defined by me at the 

 commencement of this paper, are low-lying, and, excepting the Mimihau, 

 flow towards the sun, and so get their waters well exposed. The banks are 

 good, and well covered by vegetation, as grass, flax, scrub, or even bush. 

 Also they may be regarded as early rivers, for Messrs. A. C. Begg, 



