Aethur. — On Fish Culture in Neiv Zealand. 187 



and trout have been seen, some of the latter a good size, and we hope hi 

 another year to be able to give a good account of them. It has been 

 decided to devote more than two-thirds of our income this year to procure 

 salmon ova from San Francisco, the whole of which, if they arrive in 

 good order and are successfully hatched, will be put in the Wanganui 

 river." 



" The following little incident will show how easily a slight accident may 

 mar the best efforts of those engaged in fish acclimatization, and cause 

 them to lose all the fruits of their labours. On the arrival of the last con- 

 signment of salmon, which consisted of about 3,500 young fish, I had a 

 canoe manned by a Maori crew all ready for the purpose of taking them 

 some fifty miles up the Wanganui. I was accompanied by Major Nixon, a 

 very old resident here, who was personally acquainted with the various 

 tribes of Maoris living in the up river district, and who was much liked and 

 respected by them. It was about midday when the fish arrived, and we 

 started immediately. It was an exceedingly hot day, and when we came to 

 a part of the river where the banks were high and precipitous the heat was 

 almost unbearable. We had a framework rigged up over the cans, over 

 which we placed blankets, leaving both ends open so as to get all the air 

 possible. One of our party was detailed off to keep the blankets constantly 

 wet by pouring water over them. The fish were rather sickly on arrival, 

 caused, no doubt, by their long confinement on ship board. However, we 

 were glad to find that in spite of the heat, thanks to the precautions we 

 adopted, they freshened up wonderfully after a quantity of the cold river 

 water had been put into the cans ; and I had great hopes of bringing them 

 all safely to then- destination. My crew were not afraid of work and poled 

 and paddled away until about nine o'clock, when we arrived at the pah, 

 where we were going to stop the night. The place seemed all that could be 

 desired on account of the fish, as, although the pah was on the top of the 

 cliff, there was a shingly beach at the landing place, with water varying from 

 two inches up to three or four feet. The Major explained the object of our 

 visit to the natives. They were very much interested, and rendered us 

 every assistance. In a few minutes we had the cans out of the canoes and 

 placed in the river so that the water could (as I thought) flow just over the 

 top of the cans. I thought this was splendid, and as my blankets had been 

 carried up, I went up myself to find out what sort of a sleeping place I was 

 going to get. I found we were to be accommodated in a large whare, where 

 there were at least a dozen more, and our luxurious bed consisted of a 

 Maori mat laid on the earthen floor. However, as I had seen a bit of cam- 

 paigning m my early days, I did not think this an intolerable hardship. 



