Ke) An Angler's Paradise. 
hundred and fifty two-year-old fish, all apparently thriving exceed- 
ingly well in the limited space at their disposal.” The report goes 
on to describe the “stripping” of the trout, and manipulation of 
the ova and fish at Mr. Pillans’ hatchery, of which it gives a very 
interesting account. 
In looking through the “Report of the Otago Acclimatization 
Society for 1891” I see a most gratifying feature, and that is a 
balance-sheet of the Society showing a profit over and above 
working expenses, resulting from the sale of licenses, sales of trout, 
etc. The Society began the year with a balance in hand on fish- 
culture account of £248, and at the close of the year, after paying 
all expenses in connection with the work, the account shews a 
balance of £396, or about £148 profit on the year’s working. 
When we take into consideration all that had to be done, and that 
the working expenses were excessive, this result speaks volumes. 
Now let us take the state of things in New Zealand to-day, 
and what do we find? Why, that the rivers of that country are 
many of them full of magnificent trout, that have grown beyond 
all expectation. Trout cultivation in New Zealand is a grand 
success. The attention bestowed on the fish by the Wellington 
Acclimatization Society and the Otago Acclimatization Society 
is most praiseworthy, and has produced the most gratifying results, 
and much larger fish than the average in Britain are very plentiful. 
In the records received from time to time I see such cases as 
thirteen fish, a hundred and two pounds; about eight pounds 
each on the average. Fish from five to ten pounds are common, 
and trout varying from thirty to forty pounds are reported as 
having been occasionally taken. Take, as an example, one out of 
many reports which have appeared in our papers, the following 
from Rod and Gun, March 11th, 1893 :— 
“The Rakaia is a river of forty or fifty miles, stocked with 
the finest trout, seldom under two pounds, and not uncommonly 
containing weights of twelve pounds, fifteen pounds, and even 
twenty pounds, and it is confined ordinarily to three or four large 
streams, breaking up constantly into numerous smaller ones. It 
is stated that the Rakaia is the home of some of the finest trout in 
the world, and that fish get larger and more plentiful the nearer it 
approaches the sea. They are often caught in the salt water at 
