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The term animal research as it is generally understood in New Zealand and as it is used in this article has, of course, a limited application. It is confined to investigations designed to increase the efficiency of the production of substances of animal origin which are required for human use. Though limited in their scope these investigations do deal with biological problems and the title of this article might equally well have been worded: “Animal industry aspects of biological research in New Zealand.” All aspects of animal research should be of interest to biologists and it will be the object of this article to increase that interest and perhaps to increase the number of biologists who manifest that interest, for if biologists are to participate effectively in animal research they must first be interested in animal research.
The national economy of New Zealand is based very largely on its animal products which provide over 90% of the total exports, so that there are good economic and social reasons for studying the problems of animal production. What are these problems? Broadly, one may say that they fall naturally into two classes—problems of heredity and problems of environment.
The art of animal breeding is very much older than the science of genetics, and even today the geneticist cannot help the animal breeder nearly as much as he can the breeder of plants. But fortunately the contribution of the geneticist is steadily increasing. In many spheres progress in animal breeding has almost stopped and further advances will depend on the application of the principles of genetics. Let us look at a few cases. The most important meat animal in New Zealand is the lamb. Now meat consists largely of muscle and fat, two tissues which develop relatively late in most animals. To produce an attractive fat lamb it is necessary that these tissues should develop earlier than usual. Fortunately the characters responsible for early maturity in the Southdown sheep are so dominant that a Southdown ram may be crossed with a ewe of any breed and the lamb will mature early provided it receives adequate milk from the ewe. The Romney Marsh ewe nearly always does provide enough milk for one lamb and generally enough for two. Consequently New Zealand lamb is famous for its quality. But there still remains a major problem for the geneticist. The New Zealand fat lamb breeder seldom produces more than 100% of fat lambs from his ewes. Using a different breed in England
150% has been achieved. The breed used in England would probably not suit New Zealand conditions, but we badly need that extra 50% of lambs to help consume the spring and summer flush of grass much of which at present, is often wasted. Twinning in sheep is not very strongly inherited; it may be a recessive character. It needs to be bred for in the Romney Marsh without reducing milk and wool production–a nice problem in animal genetics.
An even more baffling problem faces the breeder of dairy cattle. Many dairy farmers derive their income almost entirely from the sale of butterfat. They therefore desire cows which will produce large volumes of milk with a high concentration of butterfat, characters which are inherited separately. The inheritance of high production of milk appears to be very complex. Moreover, this character does not find expression in cows until they are two years old and it remains completely dormant in bulls. No method has been devised for assessing the genotype of bulls for butterfat production based on examination of their phenotype, and the position in regard to cows is very little better. In such cases it is necessary to resort to the practice of sire surveying in which a bull's genotype is measured from the production of his first group of daughters. Though reasonably effective this method is very cumbersome and slow and it seldom reveals a bull's worth before more than half of his breeding life is passed. However, the consistent uses of the best progeny tested sires in stud herds by means of artificial insemination should result in a gradual concentration of the desirable genes. Concurrent with this practice should go an intensive search for measurable manifestations in the bull of those genes which at present can only be estimated after they have been transmitted to his daughters. To this end a study is being made of some thirty erythrocyte antigens which are inherited as simple dominants. Should the genes for any of these reside on the same chromosomes as genes responsible for high butterfat production, it might become possible to assay the productive potentialities of both bulls and heifers at an early age. American workers have suggested that a heifer's capacity for lactation may be assessed from the degree of development of mammary tissue which occurs at an early age. This would be extremely valuable as it would save feed at present wasted on low producers during the first two years of their lives.
Occasionally an undesirable character is found and it is necessary to determine its mode of inheritance so that it may be eliminated. An interesting example is a photosensitivity which occurs in some Southdown sheep. This has been shown to be due to phyloerythrin, a porphyrin into which chlorophyll is changed in the alimentary tract of ruminants. Normally this is excreted in the bile. In the affected animals there is a liver dysfunction which allows the phyloerythrin to be absorbed into the circulation and enough reaches the skin to render
One could go on multiplying examples but perhaps enough has been said to indicate that the geneticist has ample scope in the realm of animal research.
To obtain the optimum production from well bred animals they must be provided with an environment in which they can give full expression to their heritage. In fact, so complementary are the effects of heredity and environment that it is often very difficult to assay them separately.
Of all the factors in an animal's environment food is much the most important. The expanding science of animal nutrition is now so vast that scientists are devoting their lives to the study of single phases. The climate of New Zealand is so favourable to pasture growth during almost the whole year that our animal industry has been based on the grazing animal. Much work is required to provide a proper understanding of the nutritive properties of the growing plants upon which animals graze and the factors upon which those properties depend. The composition of plant tissue is known to be affected, for example, by species of plants, by soil composition, by climate, by stage of growth and by rapidity of growth. So complex are these factors that often they can be measured only in terms of the response of the animals grazing them.
Experimentation with grazing animals is a recent development and adequate techniques have yet to be devised. Animals are notoriously variable and it is often difficult to provide similar homogenous groups with which to measure the effects of the treatments under test. The use of identical twins seems likely to be of great assistance in this regard.
Difficulties are encountered in measuring the amount of pasture eaten, in adjusting the intake to a particular level and in accurately sampling what is eaten. Moreover, pasture never remains static either in quantity or quality and the cumulative effect of such variations on the metabolism of the animal may be very important. For example, the same total amount of food may be fed to two pigs over a period of six months and their final weights may be the same, but their conformations and the ratios of their tissues may be entirely different. Generous feeding followed by a restricted diet produces a long lean pig with a relatively high proportion of bone and muscle while the reverse procedure results in an excessively fat pig. Or again, serious ketosis and death ensue in ewes when they receive an ample diet early and are starved late in the gestation period. The same total amount of food will maintain them in perfect health if the reverse procedure is adopted.
Environmental factors may result in pasture plants acquiring dangerous properties. They may, for example, develop cyanogenetic
Space does not permit more than mention of some of the other important environmental factors. The direct effect of climate can be very important. For example, high temperatures or sudden changes in temperatures may seriously interfere with spermatogensis in rams. Then there is the host of living organisms which are such important environmental factors. Insects, trematodes, cestodes, nematodes, protoza, bacteria and viruses may cause a wide variety of diseases. On the other hand the rumen micro-flora are capable of digesting cellulose and synthesising amino acids and vitamins for the use of their hosts.
The grazing animal spends its whole life in the closest contact with the other living organisms which share its environment. If left undisturbed a state of flexible equilibrium is reached in which the number of each species is adjusted so that its requirements may be met. Man often unconsciously upsets this balance sometimes with disastrous results. It is the object of the animal research worker to show how the balance may be adjusted to provide optimum conditions for domesticated animals to produce those substances which contribute so largely to the health and comfort of mankind. It is hoped that this brief article may stimulate at least a few biologists to interest themselves in this important department of their great science.
A brief description of the method for using keys of the type included in “Tuatara” is given in this number for the benefit of those who are not familiar with the use of keys as an aid for the quick identification of organisms.
The procedure is as follows:
Commencing at “1”, two alternative and mutually exclusive conditions are listed. When it is definitely decided which condition the specimen being examined fulfils, note the number for that feature as listed at the right side of the key (in the present key, either 2 or 3). Now, on the left side of the key, go to the number selected as above. Under it two further alternative features are listed. Again carefully select the one which applies to the specimen under consideration. This procedure is continued until it leads to a name which will be that of the specimen studied (or of a closely related species) if sufficient care is taken at each stage.
It is very important to avoid all key numbers except those which lead directly from one to the other at each stage.
Editor.
Shakespeare frequently drew upon the insect world for material in his portrayals. This practice of seeking inspiration in the field of natural history is by no means peculiar to the age of literature; it was practised in the dim past when co-ordinated human thought and langauge were formulated; indeed, it still remains a feature of uncultured races, existing, as they do, in surroundings where a knowledge of natural phenomena and of human nature is of real necessity, and so more profound than the average among cultured peoples. Such knowledge, having passed into folklore, has infiltrated the every-day life of the most enlightened; Shakespeare was no exception; neither were the authors of the ancient classics; on the other hand, Shakespeare added nothing to the basic facts, but such observers as Aristotle and Pliny did.
As far as I can see, Shakespeare's entomological knowledge was primarily that of well informed people in his time, enhanced by an unusual flair for sifting and using information gathered directly from others and from the classics; his knowledge of the subject was profound only in so far as his scholastic needs demanded. Some indication of the entomological standards in Shakespeare's time can be had from the writings of the physician Moufet (Moffett) who was a contemporary of Shakespeare; I have an idea (which requires confirmation) that this Moufet was a colleague of Shakespeare.
I have made no thorough search of Shakespeare's writings, but have located one hundred odd references to insects; these are found in all but two works—The Tragedy of King Richard III and Pericles; his poems were not searched; that the subject is exhausted is not pretended, but the material gathered is sufficient for this precis.
An analysis of the available data shows the distribution of them; the number in brackets indicate the number of references located:
Henry IV (9); A Midsummer-Night's Dream (8); Henry VI (7); Hamlet (7); Henry V (6); Tempest (6); Troilus and Cressida (5); Cymbeline (5); Antony and Cleopatra (5); Romeo and Juliet, King Lear and Coriolanus (4 each); Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, The Winter's Tale and Othello (3 each); Henry VIII, Merchant of Venice, All's Well that Ends Well, As You Like It, Taming of the Shrew, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, Merry Wives of Windsor, King Richard II, Measure for Measure and Macbeth (2 each); Love's Labour Lost, Comedy of Errors, Timon of Athens, Much Ado About Nothing and King John (1 each).
There are not many kinds of insects referred to, and all are species with which everyone is familiar. The references are apparently in the
Shakespeare makes frequent use of the industry, social organisation, habits and products of the honey-bee. All these attributes are ably summed in the biological discourse between Westmoreland, Exeter and the Archbishop of Canterbury; the theme was the defence of England against “the weasel Scot” who would suck “her princely eggs” (a fear that has come to pass, by all accounts!); the passage in question is that where the Archbishop says, “for so work the honey-bees” to “the lazy yawning drone.” (Henry V; i. 2. 187-204). In this passage it is stated that “They have a king,” which reveals a common error of the times when the queen's true position in the hive was doubtless unknown; it is found again in “Led by their master in the flower'd fields” (Titus Andronicus; v. 1. 15); Virgil has the same statement—“from thence the Insect King” (Georgics Book 4).
Shakespeare vividly pictures the upheavals caused by the loss of the bee leader; it is when reporting the murder of Duke Humphrey by Suffolk and Cardinal Beaufort, Warwick exclaims:
The commons, like an angry hive of bees
That want their leader, scatter up and down, And care not who they sting in his revenge (2 Henry VI; iii. 2. 125-127).
The same thought lies in Virgil's lines:, Their King surviving, all Unanimous concur; his death dissolves Society. (Georgics Book 4.)
Following another popular fallacy, King Henry states:
'Tis seldom when the bee doth leave her comb
In the dead carrion. (2 Henry IV; iv. 4. 79-80.)
In this perhaps Shakespeare had in mind Samson (Judges 14:8-9), or Virgil's:
Which by the Arcadian shepherd was disclosed
How, oft, from putrid gore of cattle slain
Bees have been bred. (Georgics Book 4.)
The insects mistaken for bees were doubtless one of the carrion-breeding hover-flies, called drone-flies from their resemblance to drone bees, and in being stingless; of course, there would be many blowflies also, as indicated later in the same passage by Virgil: “small animals, in clusters, thick are seen, short of their legs at first.”
It was formerly thought that bees collected their wax from the flowers visited, and on this King Henry says, “Our thighs packed with wax, our mouths with honey”; (2 Henry IV; iv. 5. 75). Also, there are many apt passages on honey and the gathering of it:
King Henry. Thus we may gather honey from the weed,
And make a moral of the devil himself.
Henry V; iv. 1. 11-12).
Friar Laurence. Which, as they kiss consume: the sweetest honey Is loathsome in his own deliciousness.
(Romeo and Juliet; ii. 6. 11-12.)
Brutus. Boy! Lucius! Fast asleep? It is no matter;
Enjoy the honey-heavy dew of slumber.
(Julius Caesar; ii. 1. 229-230).
Turning to the stinging of bees, we find a delightful irony when Cassius and Brutus taunt Antony:
Cassius. Antony,
The posture of your blows are yet unknown;
But for your words, they rob the Hybla bees,
And leave them honeyless.
Antony. Not stingless too.
Brutus. O! yes, and soundless too;
For you have stol'n their buzzing, Antony.
And very wisely threat before you sting.
(Julius Caesar, v. 1. 32-38.)
Humble-bees are also specifically mentioned; for example, “Full merrily the humble-bee doth sing” (Troilus and Cressida; v. 10.42), and “No, no, no; your son was misled with a snipt-taffeta fellow there,” and he would have been “more advanced by the king than by that redtailed humble-bee I speak of” (All's Well; iv. 5. 1-7); again, “Mounsieur Cobweb, good mounsieur, get your weapons in your hand, and kill me a red-hipped humble-bee on the top of a thistle; and, good mounsieur, bring me the honey-bag” (Midsummer-Night's Dream; iv. 1. 10-13).
That Shakespeare should seek inspiration from bees more often than from any other insects, is to be understood; their social organisation offers such excellent material. On the other hand, he but rarely refers to the equally organised ant, possibly because much more was known of bees at that time, than of ants. As far as I know, Shakespeare uses the ant on three occasions only, as follows; the first citation is reminiscent of Solomon, though in the words of a fool:
(1) We'll set thee to school to an ant, to teach thee there's no labouring i' the winter. (King Lear, ii. 4. 68-69).
(2) sometimes he angers me
With telling me of the moldwarp and the ant.
(I Henry IV; iii. 1. 147-148.)
(3) Why, look you, I am whipp'd and scourg'd with rods,
Nettled, and stung with pismires, when I hear
Of this vile politician Bolingbroke.
(I Henry IV; iii. 1. 147-148.)
Such troublesome creatures as the stinging wasps were also good pabulum for Shakespeare on occasion; he made full use of the opportunity in the following domestic affair:
Petruchio. Come, come you wasp; i' faith you are too angry.
Katharina. If I be waspish, best beware my sting.
Petruchio. My remedy is, then, to pluck it out.
Katharina. Ay, if the fool could find it where it lies.
Petruchio. Who knows not where a wasp does wear its sting?
(Taming of the Shrew; ii. 1. 210-214.)
Petruchio's last retort recalls the physician Moufet (contemporary of Shakespeare) on the subject of stings. It was on the question raised by Aristophanes, the Attic comedian, in his “Clouds” where Chaerophon asks the philosopher Socrates whether the buzz of the mosquito issued from the mouth or the tail; dwelling on this Moufet naively opined that the organ of sound lies in the mouth and not the tail, because the buzz is more pronounced when the insect approaches than when it departs!
Moths and butterflies are used frequently by Shakespeare: “all the yarn she spun on Ulysses' absence did but fill Ithaca full of moths” (Coriolanus; i. 3. 92-93); “there is a difference between a grub and a butterfly; yet your butterfly was a grub” (l.c. v. 4. 12-13); “than boys pursuing summer butterflies, or butchers killing flies” (l. c. iv. 6. 93-95); “and laugh at gilded butterflies” (King Lear; v. 3. 12-13); while the fluttering evasive butterfly can be seen in the following:
I'll swear 'tis a very pretty boy. I saw him run after a gilded butterfly; and when he caught it, he let it go again; and after it again; and over and over he comes, and up again; catched it again; (Coriolanus; i. 3. 62-69).
Further, what can be more picturesque in its acrid piquancy than Bolingbroke's reference to the enemies of the realm?
The caterpillars of the commonwealth,
Which I have sworn to weed and pluck away.
(Richard II; ii. 3. 166-167.)
Also the Servant:
When our sea-walled garden, the whole land,
Is full of weeds, her fairest flowers chok'd up,
Her fruit trees all unprun'd, her hedges ruin'd,
Her knots disorder'd, and her wholesome herbs Swarming with caterpillars? (l. c. iii. 4. 43-47.)
It is to be expected that such common insects as the blowfly (and its maggots), the gnat, gadfly, fleas and lice did not escape the Bard's attention.
Thus the delightfully droll Doll Tearsheet loses none of her picturesque fluency in reference to the blue dress of a beadle:
I'll tell thee what, thou thin man in a censer, I will have
you as soundly swinged for this, you blue-bottle rogue!
(2 Henry IV; v. 4. 20-24.)
Among other uses there are also the following: “these summer flies have blown me full of maggot ostentation” (Love's Labour's Lost; v. 2. 409-410); “for if the sun breed maggots in a dead dog” (Hamlet; ii. 2. 183-184).
The blood-sucking gadfly (breese) is cleverly played on by Nestor in his reference to the structural weakness of ships of the fleet:
The herd hath more annoyance by the breese
Than by the tiger. (Troilus and Cressida; i. 3. 48-49.)
We find the same insect when Antony's friend Scarus forcefully speaks of Cleopatra's flight after the battle of Actium:
Yon ribaudred nag of Egypt,
Whom leprosy o'ertake! i' the midst o' the fight,
The breese upon her, like a cow in June,
Hoists sails and flies. (Antony and Cleopatra; iii. 8. 20-25.)
just as a beast literally hoists its tail and stampedes in the presence of the gadflies. This recalls the Grecian goddess Io, who, having been transformed to a cow, was chased over the face of the earth by a gadfly; Virgil (Georgics Book 3) refers to Io's plight in a passage dealing with the fear inspired in herds by the fly:
An insect (Oestrus by the Greeks, by the Romans
'Tis named Asilus) harsh with humming noise
It flies; by which affrighted from the woods
The herds all run;
This pest of old, to glut her vengeful ire,
Stern Juno to Inachian Io sent.
There is some difference of opinion on what insect was originally named Oestrus, but there is no room to deal with the subject here; today the term is applied to botflies, which brings us back to Shakespeare and his usage of them: “peas and beans are as dank here as a
Of other irksome insects there are the gnats: “when the sun shines let foolish gnats make sport” (Comedy of Errors; ii. 2. 30); “lie graveless, till flies and gnats of Nile have buried them for prey!” (Antony and Cleopatra; iii. 11. 166-167); “the common people swarm like summer flies; and whither fly the gnats but to the sun?” (3 Henry VI, ii. 6. 8-9.)
Apropos fleas and lice: “Do you not remember a' saw a flea stick upon Bardolph's nose, and a' said it was a black soul burning in hell-fire?” (Henry V; ii. 3. 42-44); “I think this to be the most villanous house in all London road for fleas; I am stung like a tench”, and, “your chamber-lie breeds fleas like a loach”, (1 Henry IV; ii. 1. 15-17, and 23); while on the face of it, “the dozen white louses do become an old coat well” (Merry Wives of Windsor; i. 1. 19-20), seems to refer to lice as a play on “luce”.
In passing at this point, we should note the word “bug”, which occurs in The Winter's Tale; iii. 2. 93 and in 3 Henry VI; v. 2. 2.; it is defined in the glossary as “an object of fear”, so “bug-bear” is doubtless what we would say with no entomological trend.
I fear but little space remains. However, there are not many occasions when these insects appear in Shakespeare's works, but, “beetles black, approach not near”, (Midsummer-Night's Dream; ii. 2. 22); “the shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums”, (Macbeth; iii. 2. 42); “shall we find the sharded beetle in a safer hold than is the full-wing'd eagle” (Cymbeline; iii. 3. 19-21); “and the poor beetle, that we tread upon” (Measure for Measure, iii. 1. 77); “all the charms of Sycorax, toads, beetles, bats, light on you!” (Tempest; i. 2. 339-340).
Of crickets, locusts and grasshoppers: “as merry as crickets, my lad” (1 Henry IV; ii. 4. 101); “I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry (Macbeth, ii. 2. 27); “I will tell it softly; yond crickets shall not hear it” (Winter's Tale; ii. 1 29-30); “the food that to him now is as luscious as locusts” (Othello; i. 3. 354); and:
Her waggon spokes made of long spinners' legs;
(Romeo and Juliet; i. 4. 60-65.)
A sojourn of six months studying the fisheries of China hardly fits one to write extensively on the subject. This account must, therefore, be at best very incomplete and unbalanced.
The Chinese fishing industry was prior to World War II the fourth largest in the world based on landed catches (2,890 million pounds). Approximately two-thirds of the total catch consisted of marine species, the remainder being taken from the extensive fresh-water fisheries of the interior. In common with many of the Eastern countries such as Philippines, Malaya, Japan and Formosa, China has vast subsistence fisheries, i.e., fishing units supplying food for a restricted group of families who operate the gear. None of the supplies from these groups reach the market but the total catch taken annually by them is gigantic. The concentration of subsistence fishing by almost every known primitive method is so heavy in some areas as to cause a fish conservationist to wonder how the stocks are replenished. Some sections of the coastline for mile upon mile have traps set out into the water every 50 yards and stretching out up to half-a-mile. In many rivers traps and set-nets are so numerous that navigation is definitely hazardous. The production of the area has been maintained at a very high level despite this intensive fishing, and indicates a high rate of successful reproduction and a good food supply.
Although the equipment is primitive judged by western standards, the extensive units engaged in the industry compensate for the inadequacy of the gear. The catch per man-hour is low.
Damage due to the Sino-Japanese war was heavy and was further intensified by the Allied attacks on the occupied ports of China. Fishing junks were not permitted to put to sea and deteriorated rapidly. An interesting problem arises in this connection. Junks from many of the ports find anchorage in the mouths of the rivers and the constant movement to and from sea-water to fresh-water prevents the depredations of the marine borers so prevalent in those waters. This prolongs the life of the junks. Actual bomb damage to junks and powered fishing vessels was heavy in some ports. In Shanghai, for instance, approximately 12 powered trawlers were operating prior to the war. In 1946 only 2 were left, these were in a delapidated condition and although used by the Chinese, were really not sea-worthy.
The UNRRA programme of relief for China gave special emphasis to the rehabilitation of the fishing industry. Protein from fish was regarded as one of the urgently needed requirements of China for it must be remembered that other sources of protein are not plentiful. The whole fishing industry had reached a very low ebb. Approximately 60% of the fishing junks were either destroyed or inoperable. It was generally agreed that this economic unit in the fishing industry should be restored as soon as possible. At the same time it was realised that more rapid relief was needed for China's hungry people, and the only way this could be provided was by modern powered fishing vessels.
The whole relief and rehabilitation programme had to fit into the economic structure of the fishing industry, and this has not been achieved without a great deal of difficulty. Assistance was given to the Chinese fishing co-operatives (guilds, unions, etc.), in kind and in money to rebuild and repair 50,000 fishing junks. Fish processing plants and ice and refrigeration plants were brought to China to assist in the distribution plans. Some 200 powered fishing trawlers were purchased for the off-shore fishing fleet. These latter were for use on the fishing banks beyond the reach of the fishing junks. It must here be emphasized that any new fishing methods which interfere with the junk fleet will seriously upset the balance of the industry.
My general remarks must be confined to the Yellow and East China Seas. These are among the richest fishing areas in the world, and the island group (Chusan Islands) at the mouth of Hangchow Bay are the centre of vast operations. In addition, the rivers and the net work of lakes (including Tai Lake) just inland from Shanghai, and especially the pond cultures, supply great quantities of fresh-water fish. The culture of fresh-water fish in the rice paddies is fairly well known to most biologists. Fry are hatched in specially prepared ponds and are sold to farmers.
The tremendous catch of fish from these areas is masked to a certain extent by the fact that the bulk of the fishing is for subsistence purposes as mentioned earlier.
The rather costly fresh-water fish produced locally tends to move to the cities and the dried and salt water fish from the coast to replace it in the rural areas. Owing to the primitive facilities aboard the junks and the fact that they are propelled by wind the fish has to be salted or dried as caught. Comparatively little fresh salt-water fish reaches the market. For instance a junk may take up to a week to beat up the Yangtze River to Shanghai from the fishing grounds at the mouth, depending on the winds and tides.
The volume of the salt water catch was, during the pre-war years, highly irregular, and prices fluctuated widely both from year to year and during the year. The development of steam trawling and other improvements in the industry were discouraged for this reason. Piracy on the seas and rivers, a highly restrictive guild monopoly system, unfavourable tax and credit policies and intrusion by the Japanese, all served to keep production low. It seemed evident that by the expedients of rational organization and policing, the sea catch could be increased considerably over the pre-war volume provided vessels and other facilities were available.
Although some fishing was carried on throughout the year the major sea hauls were taken during spring (April-June) and early summer. Salted and dried fish prepared during this period serves to extend the season. The fresh-water fisheries supplement the autumn and winter shortages.
The introduction of western type powered fishing vessels to the area was a most interesting experiment. The Yellow Sea and East China Sea are comparatively shallow for very great distances from the coast. Fishing banks exist far beyond the range of the wind-operated junk, and although these had been fished by the Japanese in pre-war days they were not now permitted to operate on them. The 100 fathom line in the East China Sea is approximately 400 miles east of the mouth of the Yangtze River. To us in New Zealand with our narrow Continental Shelf this wide fertile area offers wonderful prospects for seining and trawling. Much of the area needed surveying, and it was fortunate that most of the vessels sent under the United Nations programme to China were equipped with depth recording gear and ship to shore and shore to ship radio receiving equipment. Vessels working in concert can cover likely sea bed quickly and locate productive fishing grounds. In addition all vessels were equipped to carry crushed ice and land their catches fresh in the markets. These innovations presented the Chinese with immediate marketing problems, and these took time to overcome.
During my period at sea some isolated observations of the fishing areas may be of interest.
My journeyings took me many times out of the port of Shanghai, into the Yellow Sea, off the coast of the Korean Peninsula, around the Chusan Islands and south to the north coast of Formosa. The population of screeching sea-birds normally following a fishing vessel were nowhere in sight. Only an occasional sea bird was seen.
Surface fish were not in evidence at this time of the year. It was not until I reached the area near the Pescadores Islands (centre of vast herring fisheries) that the shoals of surface fish were seen.
The bottom over very large areas was covered with a thin layer of mud, particularly around the mouth of the Yangtze River. Coral
The Gulf of Chihli, Yellow Sea, East China Sea, Formosan waters and the Pescadores all yield enormous catches of fish. The bulk of the fishing is demersal—only that in the Pescadores being for pelagic types.
Little is known of the problems of the area. The life-history of the main food fishes, the migrations, spawning habits, growth, etc., are a virgin field for study. The Chinese have only a handful of trained biologists who cannot hope to undertake more than a fraction of the work the area presents.
Some of the problems are indicated in the following brief account of the main types of fish caught on the area.
Pseudoscianea crocea. Rich. (Big croaker) Taken April-June round Chefoo-Weihaiwei coastline and September-December around Chusan Islands and south to Foochow. Definite migration in summer from north to south and reverse in winter. Bottom feeding fish. Forms one of principal food fishes. Not unlike a cod in shape. Taken with seines (hauled between two junks), gill net, set lines and stake nets.
Pseudoscianea undovittata. Jordan and Seale. (Small croaker.) Also called yellow croaker. Information as for P. crocea.
Nebia ming Basil and N. albiflora. Rich. Also croakers but taken in less numbers than the two above.
Trichiurus japonicus. Temm and Schl. (Hairtail.) This fish is taken May-September on the north coast and October-March on the east and south coasts. It is a semi-demersal type. A laterally compressed fish, no scales, tail fin modified into long hair like appendage—hence name. Not unlike our Barracouta in some respects. Taken by lines and trawls and highly prized by Chinese. One UNRRA powered fishing trawler took 100,000 lbs. of this fish in 36 hours' fishing in 20 fathoms water near Taichow.
Ilisha elongata. Bennett. (White herring.) The season varies from August-September on the north coast to November-May on the east and south coast. The fish was not seen in shoals on the surface. Some quantities were taken at times in trawls up to 25 fathoms. A large flat sided herring.
Pampus argenteus Bloch and P. cinereus. (Pomfret.) This is a common food fish in the area around the Chusan Islands and taken in trawls and set lines. A demersal feeder it is taken all the year round. In shape it resembles our Trevally.
Sepiella japonica, Sepia exulenta (Cuttlefish), Squalus spp. (Sharks); Raja spp. (Rays) form a very large proportion of the total catch and although relatively rarely utilized in New Zealand are highly prized in the Chinese diet. Other types of fish taken in smaller quantities include the following:
Red pargo and Sea Breams:
Pagrosomus major Temm and Schl.
Sparus macrocephalus Basil.
Sparus latus Houttuyn.
(Closely allied to our schnapper).
Eel:
Anguilla japonica Temm and Schl.
Mackerels:
Scomberomorus japonicus Temm and Schl.
S. guttatus. Bl. Schn.
(I did not have the opportunity of investigating the extensive run of tuna reported in the Kuro Siwa current off the east coast of Formosa.)
Soles and Flounders:
Cynoglossus abbreviatus Gray.
C. macrolepidotus Bleeker.
Zebrias zebra Bloch.
Verasper variegatus Temm and Schl.
The nature of the bottom would indicate much larger catches of these fish than was achieved by the powered vessels. Modification of fishing gear, etc., are being investigated.
Crabs:
Neptunus pelagicus L.
Charybdis crucifera Fabr.
Shrimp:
Peneus carinatus Dana.
P. japonicus Bate.
These are extensively taken in the spring and summer of the year by beam trawls and hand nets.
Fresh-water fishes:
River and lake catches of carp are the most important and are maintained throughout the year. Great river fisheries of other species occur in the Tsien Tang River in April to June, and again from August to November. Pond cultures are another supply source which continues to produce during the season when the salt-water fisheries are slack.
The following are the main types:
White fish—Culter brevicauda.
Golden carp—Cyprinus auratus.
Shad—Helsa reevesii.
Silver carp—Hypophthalmichthys molitrix.
Grass carp—Mylopharyngodon aethiops.
Carp—Cyprinus carpie.
Eel—Fluta alba.
The future productivity of the whole area must be planned with the help of fisheries biologists. Vast resources remain untapped, and while the East remains in want the development of this area must be pressed ahead. China needs trained technical and scientific assistance and a co-ordinated plan is now being formulated and brought into operation by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization. The world shortage of trained fisheries biologists will be one of the main factors in hampering progress.
The authority for soil conservation to be placed on a State and Local Body basis came with the passing of the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Act in 1941, under which authority was given for the formation of the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council and Catchment Boards; under the terms of this Act, the primary objects of these bodies were (1) the promotion of soil conservation and (2) the prevention and mitigation of soil erosion.
The problems of soil conservation cannot be solved by the work of any one branch of science, and it is only by the combination of the skills of agronomists, agrostologists, agriculturalists, botanists, foresters, pedologists and engineers working simultaneously that successful results can be secured. In New Zealand, due to wartime difficulties the putting into operation of a soil conservation programme has been delayed, and until recently, work has been largely confined to river control by engineering means. Now that soil conservation is an accepted fact, the scope of work will become infinitely greater with passage of time.
A basic principle in soil conservation is protection of the soil by vegetative cover, with or without assistance from engineering structures, while on arable land the emphasis is on improved cultural technique. In New Zealand, soil conservation is concerned in the main with country with depleted vegetative cover, country which was originally covered with either tussock grassland or forest; thus, the maintenance or regeneration of an adequate vegetative cover over some millions of acres is the problem confronting New Zealand. In this task, the botanist is called on to play an important part.
Vegetation surveys are essential in providing basic information, this being useful not only by itself, but it can be used in combination with data from other types of surveys, e.g., soil surveys in the preparation of land utilization schemes. In New Zealand there has been no systematic vegetation survey of the country as a whole, and when it is proposed to carry out conservation measures it is usually necessary to carry out such a survey of the particular region. Vegetation surveys have been carried out by the Botany Division, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, for the Soil Conservation and Rivers Control Council, District Soil Conservation Committees and Catchment Boards, and there are at present others waiting to be carried out. Such surveys may be made of a single catchment, or of a region
It is necessary when dealing with depleted tussock grassland and burned and/or cut over forest land to make more detailed investigations than are carried out during a vegetation survey; these are essential in studying the present state of the vegetation, and where reseeding has taken place, to study the process of establishment of the sown species, or where these fail to establish the cause of the failure. In these detailed investigations, use is made of unit areas of vegetation termed “quadrats,” the study of a number of which yields a picture of the structure of the particular association. Investigations of this nature have been carried out by the Botany Division, D.S.I.R., at the Molesworth run, Marlborough, in connection with the rehabilitation of depleted tussock grassland. Various types of quadrats can be used, depending on the purpose of the particular investigations (list quadrats, basal area quadrats, clip quadrats, etc.), and although not all have been used in New Zealand it seems likely that all will be required to elucidate the different facets of the problems presented. For investigation of the effect of altitude, slope and aspect, use is made of “belt transects,” this method being used by the Soil Conservator of the North Canterbury Catchment Board in study of depleted tussock grassland. The interpretation of photographic records of vegetation is another sphere of activity for the botanist.
The introduction of plant species for soil conservation purposes is an important and exacting activity which should be carried out by the botanist, since in other hands it can have serious effects, such as introduction of undesirable species. A complete record of such introductions is essential, covering origin, habit and general characteristics in the experimental plantings, correctness of identity, suitability for projected plantings in New Zealand, and loci of distribution after trial period. New introductions should be carefully observed in the initial experimental sowings, and if they prove suitable for further sowings in other areas, their behaviour in the new habitats should be further observed—only by meticulous care can plant introduction be really beneficial, and the possibility of undesirable plants gaining access and distribution due to inaccurate naming of original seed, or failure to appreciate harmful habits under local conditions, be greatly reduced.
Taxonomy, although regarded by some people as largely academic, is of importance in soil conservation. As mentioned above, the taxonomist has a definite responsibility in plant introduction. The ecologist in his vegetation surveys and more detailed work requires that the flora with which he deals be systematised; work carried out since the Gramineae. Correctness of determination is essential when dealing with the willows (Salix sp.) and poplars (Populus sp.) which have important uses in river control and stabilization of slumping hillsides, and equally so with any other plants used for conservation purposes.
As distinct from investigation of introduced species for soil conservation purposes, there is need for investigation of indigenous species for the same purpose. Ecological work to date has shown that certain species offer possibilities for the revegetation of depleted land—as an example one can cite the native blue wheat grass (Agropyron scabrum) which is composed of a large number of geographic types covering divers habitats. The above mentioned species is being studied by the Botany Division, D.S.I.R., plants being grown from seed from many localities, and selection of desirable types being made from this representative collection. Further ecological work will, no doubt, reveal other indigenous species which would fulfil needs of the conservation programme. The writer has made experimental sowings of the native silver tussock (Poa caespitosa) from several sources on depleted country in Marlborough, in an endeavour to establish scattered tussocks, to act as nurse plants for more palatable grassland species.
Although the necessity has not yet arisen in New Zealand as in other countries, where the value of a species for soil conservation, although normally regarded as a weed, has to be equated against its harmful effects on agriculture, etc., the services of the botanist are useful; for instance, it might be necessary to decide whether or not sowings of gorse or some other weed are warranted for soil conservation purposes, and whether the benefits would outweigh any possible detrimental effects.
Close liaison between the botanists and the pedologists would be of value, not only to these two branches of inquiry, but to soil conservation, since integration of the results of both types of workers would provide basic information on land capability. A closer investigation of both indicator plants and indicator associations would be of material value—we do know that such plants as Gnaphalium subrigidum and Asplenium anomodum are usually characteristic of calcareous regions, and it might be that indicators of other parent materials and soils derived therefrom will be discovered. Such information would be of significance in determining the best methods of land utilization.
The above account is intended to cover in broad outline some of the aspects of the work of the botanist in soil conservation; although the spheres of the ecologist and taxonomist have been mentioned, it must not be thought that there is no scope for the physiologist—there is a large field in the investigation of the problems of “experimental ecology”; all types of botanical work are needed to help solve the problems of soil conservation.
Some three hundred species of spiders have been recorded from New Zealand to date, but as the greater majority are only rarely found, the key set out below will serve to identify most species encountered. The key is so constructed, that if a species not included is being identified, it will key out near a species of the same family or in some cases of the same genus. From this point the “Systematic Catalogue of New Zealand Spiders” (Parrot, A. W., 1946, Rec. Cant. Mus. Vol. V (2), pp. 51-92) may be used. This catalogue lists all the known species with reference to their original descriptions. If recourse to these descriptions is necessary, the terms used for the descriptions will be easily followed after study of the explanatory figures 1 and 2.
The characters used below are all easily distinguished, by use of a low-power microscope or a hand-lens.
CRIBELLUM. An oval flat plate found immediately in front of the anterior spinnerets. It is perforated with numerous small holes and is used to produce a broad ribbon of silk composed of hundreds of threads.
CALAMISTRUM. A row of closely placed fine hairs on the fourth metatarsus, used to comb the silken ribbon from the cribellum.
COLULUS. A lobe which, in some spiders, is present immediately in front of the spinnerets. It is not present in those spiders possessing a cribellum.
Most of the species described up to the end of the last century, are included in Simon, E. “Historie Naturelle des Araignees”, Paris. This work is in the Victoria College library. The most important papers since then are Bryant, E. B. (1933), Rec. Cant. Mus., 4 (1), pp. 1-27 (1935), Rec. Cant. Mus. 4 (2), pp. 53-94, and a revision of the Tunnel-web and Trap-door spiders, Todd, V. (1945), T.R.S.N.Z. 74 (4), pp. 375-407. Both of these journals are available in most libraries.
President: Miss HEATHER LEED; Secretary: Mr. PETER JENKINS
Committee: Miss Nancy Adams, Miss Sue Ferguson, Mr. Phil Gardner, Mr. Ken Prankerd, Mr. George Sullivan.
The major event of the Biological Society's activities for 1948 was the post-examination trip to Kapiti Island. The Island is 6 miles long and 1 ½ broad and is roughly rectangular in outline. Rangitira, the site of the home of Mr. Lindsay, the caretaker, and the whare where we lived for five days, is approximately 2 miles distant from the north end of the Island. The whare is on a raised beach with the eastern slopes of the Island rising steeply behind it. A boulder bank cuts off a flat swampy area below the raised beach.
The more common mainland birds, and some rarely seen on the mainland were all very abundant. At the swamp we saw a grey duck and three ducklings. Among the forest birds most frequently met were tuis, bellbirds, woodpigeons, tomtits and fantails. These birds were quite unafraid, thus allowing the party to see at close quarters, birds which on the mainland keep to the tree tops. There were two species which were new to most members of the party; one of these was a tame Kaka which could be fed by hand and which entertained the party with its acrobatics; the other was the red fronted parakeet. This brilliantly plumed bird is restricted to dense forest on the mainland, but is plentiful on the island. Its rarer relative, the yellow fronted parakeet, is found in the valleys at the north end of the Island.
The Whitehead is flourishing and is common about the whare. Some of the rarer native birds have been introduced to Kapiti Island in the hope that they would increase in numbers in the protection of the sanctuary. Kiwis, kakapos and stitchbirds have been introduced but apparently none survived. Kiwis are often reported but have usually proved to be wekas which are extremely abundant. These birds make a nuisance of themselves by stealing small objects left round the camp. They come out to forage soon after sunset and at night their call is heard even from a considerable distance.
On the afternoon of the first day we climbed to the Trig, 1725 feet above sea-level, from which we obtained a view of the whole Island. The western coast is a continuous line of cliffs. Above them is a small grassy plateau. Petrels build their burrows on the flats above the cliffs and some burrows have been found a few feet from the Trig point. The east side of the Island is formed by a fault scarp over which several small streams plunge as waterfalls. It is covered by forest except for more open areas at the north and south ends of the Island.
Along the coastal region karaka, ngaio, and mahoe are the main trees with taupata, the daisy tree (Olearia forsteri) nettles and Blechnum) and climbing ratas on the trunks. In this paucity of undergrowth, Kapiti more closely resembles the forest of the Chatham Islands rather than the forest of the mainland with its profusion of undergrowth shrubs. In places the hook grass (Uncinia australis) is common on the floor of the forest. We also found some orchids in flower including Pterostylis and a species with small pink flowers.
In the forest near the higher parts of the Island, tawa, northern rata, horopito (Pseudowintera axillaris), broadleaf and kamahi are present, and the undergrowth is more dense, with filmy ferns, kidney ferns and young trees. The density of the forest and luxuriance of the undergrowth increases even more in the neighbouring gullies.
In an old shed near the whare we found 50-100 sloughed gecko skins. The geckos had evidently sheltered there while shedding their skins, all of which had been sloughed in one year as none were observed in 1946. At the time of our visit there were only two or three geckos in the shed. One evening just before dusk we walked around the swamp and meadow watching for bats. We saw several but could not see whether they were long-tailed or the rarer short-tailed bats. This was disappointing as there has been a report, of unknown reliability that the Kapiti Island bats were the short-tailed species. Cockayne, however, reports them as long-tailed bats.
On our trip to the north end of the Island along a narrow overgrown path at the top of the cliffs we passed through numerous plant associations. The beginning of the excursion was over boulders where succulents, e.g., Mesembryanthemum australe, and lichens cling to even the most barren surfaces. When we passed on to the steep hillside above the cliffs flax was plentiful and provided a strong support on the slippery path. Tetragonia expansa, the New Zealand spinach was abundant but it was always associated with stinging nettles which seemed all too plentiful.
Halfway along the path we passed through a pure karaka stand. This was situated at the beginning of a flat stretch where there were small areas of grass, Phormium, and mixed forest. Each area, though small, was a separate entity. The mixed forest was of stunted shrubs including five-finger, and the prickly Muehlenbeckia complexa. As we passed above the cliffs again we saw
At the end of the Island there is a flat, desolate area where a boulder bank of many acres has formed a lagoon. The area is mainly grassland with a scanty shrub covering of tauhinu and Olearia forsteri. Nearer the sea where the boulders are worn down like giant paving stones, the cracks between them are filled with a curious turf of mosses, grasses, and small herbs. The lagoon, which is now fresh water, is the home of many pied stilts and paradise ducks. Mr. Lindsay informed us that the birds were not increasing in number, the young being killed by natural enemies, possibly eels. Rotifers were present in abundance in the lagoon. A preliminary report on the collection has shown that it includes a form which shows distinct variations from specimens collected on the mainland and includes other interesting records.
On the west side of the flat we came to the rock pools where the fauna is similar to that found in rock pools along the coast of the mainland. Paua is very abundant and so is the common sea urchin (Evechinus chloroticus). The starfish Asterina regularis and various brittle stars were common. We saw a great many red-billed gulls, white fronted terns, and black-backed gulls. The latter nest among stones around the coast with largest numbers at the north end of the Island.
At a short distance from the whare is a steep gravel beach with a high storm beach above it. There are a few broken, bleached shells on the storm beach, but shells on the whole are very rare. Those present are deep water turbanids probably thrown up during a storm. One afternoon we walked to the south end of the Island where most of the party were won over to archaeology by the enthusiasm of one amateur who found an old camp site not far from the whare. The Island was captured from the Ngati-Apa tribe by
A small blue penguin came to visit us. It explored the whare and pecked hard if pushed where it did not want to go. It was very clumsy and moved slowly so we were amazed to see it a quarter of a mile from the sea. On a return visit to the Trig some of the party found some Poa caespitosa. This grass is fairly common on the higher parts of the mainland, but this was the only clump seen on Kapiti although we looked for it carefully.
Mr. Lindsay told us of his work and the continual efforts to eradicate enemies of the birds and forest. He told us that twenty years ago cats, opossums, wild goats, sheep and cattle threatened to over-run the Island, but relentless killing has reduced their numbers. Today only a few wild cattle (restricted to one valley at the north end of the Island) hawks and opossums occur, but these pests are gradually being eradicated. Mr. Lindsay told us too, that many of the plants around the camp had been introduced from the mainland. They consist mainly of flowering shrubs and small trees such as fuchsias, whaus, kakabeak and kowhai. These have been planted to attract the birds and so make it easier to study the birds at close quarters. At the time we were on the Island, Mr. Lindsay was saving gymnosperm seeds which had been sent from the mainland. These would be grown and planted out in the sanctuary. A great many of the plants introduced in this way have grown successfully. We all left the Island with regret, bringing few specimens but many photographs. We all feel very grateful to Mr. and Mrs. Lindsay for the many kindnesses they showed us.
For more details see:
This group, centred at Palmerston North, was formed so that specialists in genetics, workers in related fields, and students could meet. A convener arranged subjects and speakers for the monthly meetings. At one typical meeting three speakers discussed “Induced Mutation” under the headings:
(1) Gene mutations and chromosome breaks by radiation.
(2) Gene mutations and chromosome breaks by mustard gas and methyl chloranthene.
(3) Polyploidy by colchicine.
The discussion then centred mainly upon the thermodynamics of energy transfer, the possible common features of the three me hods, and the application of these techniques to commercial and fundamental problems.
We feel that the Genetics Discussion Group can form a basis for similar groups in other fields, such as Ecology, Physiology, Taxonomy, e.c., and thus promote, amongst students, a better understanding of Scientific Research.
A. S. FRASER, Massey College. Convener, 1947.
P. C. BARCLAY, Grasslands Division. Convener, 1948.