TELEOSTEI 247 



1,500,000 white-fish eggs, and arrived in Auckland on 5th February. 

 They arrived in excellent condition, but according to the letter of 

 the Minister of Marine on 26th February to the U.S. Commissioner 

 of Fish and Fisheries, though "the percentage of bad eggs on being 

 unpacked was less than one per cent.," yet " on being placed in the 

 water the ova did not separate freely, and on the second day nearly 

 fifty per cent, was dead." 



Ten trays were handed over to the Nelson Society on the 6th, 

 but again I can find no record of what was done with them. This 

 lot represented 500,000 ova. One tray (50,000 eggs) was sent to 

 Clinton. About two-thirds of the eggs were bad, but a considerable 

 number of fry were hatched out. The mortality, however, was so 

 great that the rest, about 1000 in number, were turned into a large 

 pond. One or two were seen later, but the rest disappeared. On 

 February 25th, 1889, ^^^ pond was emptied and one specimen was 

 found, which died the following day. It was 12 inches long, 3 in. 

 deep and weighed close on 11 oz. 



A small lot from this tray was taken to Opoho, Dunedin, where 

 over 200 fry were hatched out, but some died and the rest disappeared. 



The remaining 19 trays, containing 950,000 ova, reached Queens- 

 town on 8th February. The following report by Mr Davidson, curator 

 of the Lakes District Society is given in full : 



The ova were placed in the boxes on the 9th, the temperature of the water 

 being 47°, lowered from 50° by ice. I was able to keep the temperature 

 at 47° for two days with ice; after this, when the ice was finished, the 

 temperature remained at 50°, and never rose higher. Some of the fry 

 were moving in the boxes on the loth, but the greater portion died in the 

 egg, not more than 50,000 hatching out. When unpacking the ova it was 

 found that too much pressure had been used, making the ova stick together 

 in one mass ; the ova, however, looked perfectly healthy, and were all alive, 

 but it was impossible to separate them. If the ova had not been so far 

 advanced there would have been a much greater chance of success. When 

 the fry were fifteen days old, I observed the sac absorbed on most of them. 

 I liberated about six thousand in Lake Wakatipu on 28th February. On 

 5th March about twenty thousand were liberated in Lakes Wanaka and 

 Hawea. I then began to feed those remaining on bullock's blood. They 

 appeared to thrive well on it for a time — say — ^for about a month; after 

 that they appeared to be not thriving so well. I therefore liberated the 

 whole of them in Lake Wakatipu about 31st March. The fry have been 

 seen on several occasions, and are doing very well apparently, being 

 i^in. long. I consider they are established without a doubt this time. 

 I have liberated quite fifty thousand in healthy condition. 



This was written on ist June, 1887; there is no further record. 



Nothing further was done in the way of attempting to introduce 



white-fish till 1904, when Mr L.F. Ayson, Chief Inspector of Fisheries, 



