THE GAME AND ACCLIMATISATION QUESTION IN WAIKATO.

Waikato Times, Volume XVI, Issue 1384, 17 May 1881, Page 3

THE GAME AND ACCLIMATISATION QUESTION IN WAIKATO.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, — With your permission I would like to give expression to a few thoughts of this subject, I took possession of Kirk wood 'h farm at T.imahere, in the month of September. 1873, and in the following season I had very good pheasant shooting, but at that time I saw neither hares nor quail on the property. There was a sprinkling of Jark«, but no sparrows, no yellow - h,immers or green linnets. At that time a poitiou ot the land on the east side of the main road was undrained, upon which wo could always make a good bag of ducks, both teal and giey duck. In the bush were kakas and native pigeon. Juat before I left for England, which was in June, 1877, I was informed that hares had been seen on my land, but not having seen them, and knowing that some rabbits had escaped, I thought my informant must have been mistaken. I returned to New Zealand in July. 1878, and found a quantity of hares on the place, plenty of pheasants, C.ilifornian and brown quail aud ducks. Soon afterwards 1 drained the wet portion of my laud, which cauhed the total disappearance of the duck and teal. We did not persecute the hares at first, but since the season of 1879 havo shot them hard, but in t>pite of this I find they are mci easing in numbers. Since the first of this mouth we have killed over 70, and there are plenty left. As in 1577 there could only have been some three or four on the place, it will be seen at how rapid a rate this species of game increase. Before I went; home, I made it a practice never to shoot hen pheasants myself and never allowed them to be destroyed on my property, but when I was away my brothers did not maintain the restriction. The consequence is the shooting is nothing like what it was in 1874. If people wish to have shooting they must let the hen pheasants alone altogether. Shooting old cocks of the gallinaceous tribe does ! good, because they merely worry the younger and useful male birds. Keeperß in England are allowed to shoot old cock pheasants, giouse, and partridges, in seasou and out of season, where they consider it necebsary, discretionary powers being vested in the head-keeper. In this country one might shoot every cock pheasant he could get, because there will always be plenty left. If there are too many cooks, they only tight and spoil one another. I do not consider the Auckland Acclimatisation Society has done much good. They have omitted to import the I soft-billed insectivorous birds, the hedge spairow, the robin, the nightingale, and the siskins. These biids, we are told, cannot be imported ; but the nightingale for one is caged for from one to two years in England, and would only have to be caged four months coming to this country. It is true that these insectivorous birds would have to be fed during the voyage on ant eggs, wasps, grubs, and meal worms, but if the supply ran out they would subsist on the artificial food sold by all London birdlanciers. I do not see why, if the bird can be caged for a year in England, it cannot, if freshly caught, be landed alive in New Zealand, though I am ready to admit that such birds as these would entail more tiouble in the importation than the hard-billed birds—such as sparrows and the finch tribe. The Auckland Acclimatisation iSociety have sent us birds of doubtful value, merely because they were cheap to buy and easy to transport. One important point in treating birds on a voyage is that they shall get the same water all through, and not allow it to be changed from one sort to another. With a few precautions like these, all the soft-billed buds might be imported into New Zealand. We have nobwallows in the colony, and why have the Society never tried to introduce them from Sydney ? It is on record that swallows at "homo which have tumbled down flues have lived for over a week without food or water ! It might also be asked : Why don't the society import titmice, the English mallard, and any Australian ducks that are better than our own. The New Zeahnd wood pigeon is fast being exterminated wherever the country is settled, and so far no effort has been made f o replace them by importing Ameiican, Australian, or English pigeons. The English blue rock pigeon outrhtto do well along our coasts, Tfee English wood pigeon no doubt woi'ld do well if liberated in the bush, but perhaps if. would be too destructive to grain and might prove as doubtful a benefit as the Society's sparrows. When I was going thi ough California I saw a number of doves in the forests; they were about the size and color of turtlo doves. Why not try theae ? As to the distribution of seeds, I prefer to go to the seedsmen in Auckland rather than take them from the Society. All the seeds I have had from them have been failures. I paid a guinea a year as a member, in return for which I got seeds that were not worth sixpence. The only good thing which the Society has done, so far as I know, was the importation of the starling. They do not seem to take the least trouble to spread the rooks about tlie country away from Auckland, I should imagine that a country with a winter frost like Waikato would be much more like the climate of their own habitat than Auckland is. The rooks have not increased quickly iti Auckland, and it is a pity that they have not been tried in Waikato. It is a good bird for farmers, and would often obviate the necessity for using the chain harrows on grass paddocks by scattering the droppings of stock which it does in its search for the larvae of insects. Ido not know whether we have the wire worm in Waikato, but the rook is protected at Home, in Wiltshire especially, to keep down this pest in the wheat crops. It would scarcely be possibly to grow that cereal in parts without the help of this valuable bird. I trust to see the inauguration of some better system than that hitherto followed by the Acclimatisation Society, but it may be questioned if anything they might do in the futm-e will be able %-y repair the blunders committed in the past. — I am, &c, J. A, Douglas. - Bruntwood, TamahereJ May 16. . £ P. Sr-—lnS r -—In travelling about the country I have aeen several rivtefri ? /which,, from their rooky, shingly fcecV «i 4 owtf

waters should be suitable for trout and grayling. The streams I mean are the Pokaiwhenua and the Waipa, between Cambridge and Waotu, and the two rivers crossed in going from Okoroiri to Tapapa (these I do not know the names of). The natives tell me that all these hard-bottomed streams contain few or no eels. It is a pity to see rivers like these barren of useful fish. The Rotorua Lake is cold enough, except in parts, for fish of the salmomdce tribe, such as trout, grayling, whitefish, etc., etc. If liberated in the cold water, they will not be likely to proceed into warmer water than is good tor their health. Tarawera Lake in scenery is very similar to the lower lake at Killarney, and the streams there, where clear of the hot geysers, would make good trout breeding grounds. These rivers and lakes can never be stocked without employing a skilled man to net and strip the fish of their ova in the breeding season, and to travel in charge of the ova properly packed to its destination at the hatching boxes, which for Waikato should be on the Karapero, Waipa, or Pokaiwhenua. A skilled man could easily be got from California or England. If these rivers were stocked it would be easy to btock others within a radius of 50 mites by canying smßll fish to them. It is very much easier to carry ova properly packed than to carry fry. Of course, before procuring ova everything 1 must be in readiness in the way of troughs, sheds, &c, to place them out on their arrival at their destination. — J.A.D.