244 FISHES 



ledged 20,000. From these only 12 fish hatched out and eight sur- 

 vived. These were placed in a stream running into Lake Coleridge. 



The Waitaki (Oamaru) Society received a box of 50,000 ova, but 

 there is no report as to what was done vnth them. 



The Otago Society also received one box, and were more suc- 

 cessful than any of the others, about 1000 young fish hatching out 

 "which throve very well at the breeding ponds." Mr Arthur, writing 

 on loth July to Dr Hector, says : 



The last I know of them is, that Deans started with the whole lot for the 

 Wanaka, before they had reached that age and size which we all agreed 

 to be most prudent before turning them out. He got as far as the Teviot, 

 but they had nearly all died, except one or two which were liberated in 

 a lagoon communicating with the Clutha. 



The remaining four boxes with 200,000 ova were taken by Dr 

 Hector himself to the Bluff by steamer, and conveyed as rapidly as 

 possible to Lake Te Anau. By special train to Lumsden, and travelling 

 all night in an American wagon, Te Anau was reached by 3 p.m. 

 on 23rd March, and the boxes were unpacked. 



Out of the four boxes of ova three were almost completely destroyed by 

 the growth of white fungus, and the young fish, which had evidently been 

 hatched out for some time were reduced to a pulpy jelly. In the fourth 

 box in which there was only a slight growth of fungus, a considerable 

 number of the ova were found in sound condition, and hatched out rapidly 

 as they were transferred to the trough. 



Mr S. Herbert Cox reported from Te Anau to Dr Hector on 20th 

 February: " The whitefish are doing very well. They are all hatched 

 out, and are feeding well, they will, I presume, be let loose in the lake 

 about Saturday, if it is calm enough." There is no further record. 



The Nelson Society received an earlier consignment of ova which 

 was brought over at the expense of Mr John Kerr of the Lake Run, 

 but I cannot learn the date of this importation. " The ova were placed 

 in a creek running into Lake Rotoiti, and hatched out well." None 

 have ever been caught, but Judge Broad in his jubilee history of Nelson 

 says : " it is believed that they exist in the lake in considerable numbers." 

 Mr F. G. Gibbs, Chairman of the Rotoiti Domain Board, writing 

 on 3rd February, 1917, says: 



I have frequently made inquiries about the whitefish, but I cannot find 

 any one who has seen any trace of them. I well remember the ova being 

 taken up to the lake, and I also remember that the local newspapers shortly 

 afterwards reported that the young fish had been seen. If they really 

 were seen, which many doubt, they have since completely disappeared, 

 probably exterminated by eels, which are very abundant in the lake. 



In 1879 the Auckland Society imported 500,000 ova. Most of 



