are the fresh- water lakes and rivers destitute of fish. So far as 
I myself had an opportunity to become acquainted with the con- 
tents of the rivers and lakes , I only found eels and what the co- 
lonists call whitebait. According to Mr. Haast’s testimony, eels are 
predominant also in the rivers and lakes of the Provinces of Nelson 
and Canterbury, where they grow to an astonishing size of more 
than 50 pounds weight. We may well take it for granted, that 
there are various species , as the numerous distinctions made by 
the natives in naming them also lead to suppose ; scientifically, 
however, but one species has hitherto been determined, the Anguilla 
Dieffenbaclri Gray. There are more than two dozen names in vogue 
among the Maoris for eels; and even after reducing the number 
tor the different ages, which in the common parlance have fre- 
quently special names, we may still suppose , that they belong to 
a greater number of species. In the smaller brooks I gathered 
the Inangas of the natives, the whitebait of the colonists (Eleotris) 
of which thus far three species have been distinguished. Like 
our Pkoxinus they are very plentiful in fresh-water lakes and 
even in the smallest brooks. Numerous sea -fish rove far up the 
rivers, where the water is only faintly brackish. Remarkable is 
the appearance of some sea -fish which seem to belong to the 
South Sea within a broad belt on both sides of the 40 th paral. 
of latitude. Thyrsites Atun, which is chiefly caught in Simon’s 
Bay at the Cape of Cfood Hope, and which we angled also in 
the waters girding St. Paul’s Island, together with some species 
of Cheilodactyliis , “Morue des Indes”, is likewise found on the 
coasts of New Zealand. The brilliancy of colour of the New 
Zealand fishes is quite inferior to that of the species living in 
the Indian Ocean. The magnificently coloured Squamipennians 
are totally wanting, and the Julides number but few species 
displaying as beautiful a medley of colours as those of the 
other seas. 
The most charming part of the fauna are the birds. The total 
number of species known amounts at present to 100 (England con- 
tains 273 species). Numerous species, however, exclusively peculiar 
