Aethuk. — On Fish CuUtire in New Zealand. 185 



" The fish placed in these ponds in 1877 have done well, and are now 

 large enough for giving ova, of which we hope to get a plentiful supply this 

 winter. 



" With the exception of 300 fish received from Christchurch, we are 

 indebted to Otago for the whole of our trout. The trout placed in the 

 Ngaruroro river have done well, and large fish have occasionally been seen. 

 In the other streams they have not been observed as yet, as the Marae- 

 totara, Tukituki, Mangaone, Korokipo, Porongahau, Pakowhai, Mahara- 

 kiki, Maraekakaho, Upper Rangitikei, etc. 



" The rivers in which the salmon were placed are many hundreds of miles 

 in length, and all take their rise in a wooded, broken, uninhabited country. 

 It is therefore scarcely a matter for surprise that no fish have been seen up 

 to this time.* 



" The attempt to import wJiiteJish last year was not successful. We were 

 informed from Wellington that, as the ova would hatch immediately on 

 arrival, it would not be necessary to incur the expense of making the patent 

 boxes advised by the American Government. The ova were consequently 

 placed in the ordinary hatching trays used for trout. The fish began to come 

 out a few hours after arrival, but did not live longer than from twenty-four 

 to thirty-six hours. We removed numbers of the young fish to a box fed 

 directly from the well, but with no good result, as they died just in the same 

 way as those in the race. As an experiment, I removed the last dozen eggs 

 left in the trays to a box fed from the well, in imitation of the American 

 plan. These all hatched, and were observed in the box for twelve days 

 after, but, unfortunately, owing to a defect in the arrangements, which were 

 hastily made, the young fish then escaped into the trout pond, and were 

 probably eaten by trout. The conclusions I have drawn from the above 

 facts are : — That the fish died from fungus, and not from the temperature of 

 the water, which was 54 degrees. That an attempt to hatch either trout or 

 salmon ova in the same way in the month of January, would have been 

 attended with equally fatal results from the cause above-named. That our 

 climate and waters may be too warm for the successful production of white- 

 fish, but that it yet remains to be proved. 



" Enclosed you will find a statement of the fish distributed, and of the 

 riversinwhich they have been placed." (See appendix.) " Carp are plentiful 

 in some of our lakes, but I have not considered them worthy of mention." 

 Wanganui Acclimatization Society. 



The operations of this society in fish-culture, will also be best recorded 

 in Mr. Brewer's, the secretary's, own words. Writing to me in May, 1880, 

 he says : — " Our first successful consignment of brown trout arrived here 



* These rivers are Ngaruroro, Mangaone, Moliaka, Tukituki, Waipawa, Manawatu. 

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