﻿274 
  Transactions. 
  — 
  Zoology. 
  

  

  Fulton's 
  Creek, 
  Waipaliii 
  Eiver, 
  Mimiliau, 
  and 
  some 
  of 
  about 
  lOBos. 
  in 
  

   weiglit 
  in 
  the 
  "Wakatipu 
  Lake 
  at 
  Queenstown. 
  In 
  the 
  Kuriwao 
  a 
  trout 
  

   6^Ibs. 
  was 
  killed 
  in 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  this 
  year. 
  Trout 
  were 
  first 
  x^^it 
  

   in 
  this 
  stream 
  in 
  1874, 
  but 
  into 
  the 
  Waiwera, 
  into 
  which 
  the 
  Kuriwao 
  

   runs, 
  in 
  1873. 
  So 
  that 
  the 
  average 
  yearly 
  growth 
  may 
  be 
  taken 
  at 
  about 
  

   l^lbs. 
  As 
  regards 
  the 
  Waikouaiti 
  River, 
  I 
  have 
  had, 
  from 
  two 
  different 
  

   sources, 
  tolerably 
  reliable 
  evidence 
  that 
  the 
  trout 
  put 
  into 
  it 
  have 
  lived 
  and 
  

   thrived, 
  but 
  this 
  requires 
  confirmation. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  above 
  I 
  have, 
  as 
  explained, 
  regarded 
  the 
  average 
  weight 
  on 
  the 
  

   theory 
  (which 
  is 
  a 
  safe 
  one), 
  that 
  the 
  fish 
  actually 
  caught 
  and 
  weighed, 
  may 
  

   have 
  been 
  individuals 
  of 
  the 
  first 
  stock 
  put 
  into 
  each 
  stream. 
  Of 
  course 
  there 
  

   still 
  remains 
  another, 
  but 
  more 
  laborious, 
  method 
  for 
  the 
  future, 
  of 
  determin- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  rate 
  of 
  growth, 
  viz., 
  marking 
  young 
  fish 
  when 
  caught, 
  and 
  returning 
  

   them 
  to 
  the 
  river 
  for 
  future 
  observations. 
  Two 
  summers 
  ago 
  I 
  began 
  this 
  

   plan 
  in 
  the 
  Lee 
  Stream, 
  by 
  removing 
  the 
  posterior 
  half 
  of 
  the 
  adipose 
  fin 
  ; 
  

   but 
  as 
  yet 
  I 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  fortunate 
  enough 
  to 
  recapture 
  any 
  of 
  those 
  

   so 
  marked. 
  These 
  fish 
  would 
  run 
  from 
  four 
  to 
  seven 
  inches 
  in 
  length, 
  and 
  

   in 
  number 
  about 
  one 
  dozen. 
  In 
  the 
  Southland 
  rivers 
  young 
  trout 
  were 
  

   turned 
  out 
  from 
  1870 
  to 
  1877, 
  as 
  shown 
  by 
  a 
  list 
  appended, 
  which 
  Mr. 
  

   Howard 
  has 
  sent 
  me. 
  As 
  yet, 
  however, 
  I 
  have 
  not 
  been 
  able 
  to 
  get 
  any 
  

   positive 
  information 
  as 
  to 
  how 
  they 
  have 
  succeeded. 
  

  

  Comparing 
  now 
  the 
  growth 
  of 
  our 
  trout 
  with 
  river 
  trout 
  of 
  England 
  and 
  

   Scotland, 
  I 
  find 
  that 
  Stoddart, 
  in 
  his 
  Lochs 
  and 
  Elvers 
  of 
  Scotland, 
  gives 
  

   the 
  following 
  as 
  his 
  opinion. 
  The 
  fry 
  are 
  hatched 
  out 
  in 
  April, 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  

   month 
  of 
  October 
  stop 
  growing 
  for 
  that 
  season, 
  having 
  attained 
  a 
  length 
  of 
  six 
  

   or 
  seven 
  inches, 
  and 
  weighing 
  a 
  quarter 
  of 
  a 
  pound. 
  There 
  is 
  no 
  perceptible 
  

   growth 
  till 
  the 
  following 
  spring, 
  when 
  food 
  again 
  becomes 
  plentiful. 
  They 
  

   then 
  resume 
  growing, 
  and 
  before 
  winter 
  have 
  increased 
  in 
  length 
  by 
  two 
  

   inches, 
  and 
  in 
  weight 
  up 
  to 
  half 
  a 
  pound, 
  by 
  which 
  time 
  a 
  certain 
  number 
  are 
  

   in 
  spawning 
  condition. 
  It 
  is 
  four 
  years 
  before 
  these 
  fish 
  reach 
  one 
  pound 
  

   weight, 
  when 
  many 
  cease 
  growing, 
  but 
  some 
  from 
  favouring 
  conditions 
  of 
  

   locality 
  and 
  feed 
  reach 
  a 
  greater 
  weight. 
  These 
  latter 
  live 
  almost 
  entirely 
  

   upon 
  ground 
  and 
  surface 
  food 
  — 
  not 
  minnows. 
  In 
  well 
  sheltered 
  waters 
  and 
  

   when 
  the 
  feed 
  is 
  particularly 
  good, 
  as 
  in 
  the 
  Leet 
  and 
  Eden, 
  in 
  the 
  course 
  

   of 
  five 
  or 
  six 
  years 
  trout 
  have 
  reached 
  two 
  pounds 
  weight 
  and 
  upwards. 
  * 
  

   Again, 
  Yarrel, 
  in 
  his 
  British 
  Eishes, 
  says: 
  — 
  "An 
  acutely 
  observing 
  friend 
  

   of 
  mine 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  has 
  for 
  years 
  kept 
  trout 
  in 
  a 
  kind 
  of 
  store 
  stream, 
  

   and 
  having 
  fed 
  them 
  with 
  every 
  kind 
  of 
  food, 
  has 
  had 
  some 
  of 
  them 
  increase 
  

  

  * 
  Stoddart 
  says 
  that 
  in 
  South 
  of 
  England 
  an 
  experiment 
  with 
  trout 
  in 
  three 
  tanks 
  

   fed 
  respectively 
  with 
  worms, 
  minnows, 
  and 
  large 
  water-flies, 
  was 
  tried, 
  when 
  those 
  fed 
  on 
  

   flies 
  attained 
  twice 
  the 
  weight 
  of 
  the 
  others. 
  

  

  