DUBLIN KATUBAL HI8T0BT 80CIETT. 125 



Ciohes containing their young, aru met in all the harbours ; but sufficient bac 

 n said of the objects of interest which exist and which a dredge and a 

 small boat-seine can always command the capture of. To follow out more 

 closely such investigations, how interesting would be the experiments resulting 

 from daily examination of the habits of these different fish placed in those large 

 tanks, with shingly and sandy beds, rock, and with sea plants and confervcc, to 

 please their habits and tast«s. Thus, beautiful fields of interest are laid open 

 to the astonishment of admirers of nature's works, and the hidden mysteries of 

 the tenants of the deep unveiled and unravelled to the workers in physiological 

 science. In the large cisterns of the vivaria, at the Zoological Gardens, I have 

 watched with interest the perfect lifelessness of the pike and the perch ; they 

 appeared like beautifully varnished specimens suspended in the fluid, motionless 

 and inanimate, and no perceptible pulsation of the opercula or gill covers, hir- 

 ing in an element heavier than air, and suspended in a liquid of nearly the same 

 specific gravity as their own bodies, their forms are beautifully proportioned to 

 offer the least resistance to progression, while the muscular powers of the 

 tail in some, and of the pectoral fins in others, are admirably adapted for rapid 

 movements of progression and of elevation. Fishes, of all vertebrated animals, 

 are said to be the least sensitive to emotions of pain or pleasure ; their organs of 

 sensation awaken no impressions ; rigid in countenance, eyes almost immovable, 

 and which no tears dim, nor eyelids protect, they seem, with all their beauty of 

 form and brilliancy of colour, mere automatons in sensibility, and mute as the 

 silent depths they inhabit. This, in the fullest extent, is not strictly accurate, 

 for they recognise the hand that feeds them, and follow, apparently with jov and 

 sportive liveliness, the movements of those that protect thenj. Mr. Andrews 

 then alluded to the great interest of the vivarium which, some years since, had 

 been formed and kept up by Mr. Bland, of Derriquin Castle, Kenmare Bay. In 

 an inlet, guarded by reefs of rocks in Sneem Harbour, a strong barrier of stones 

 had been closely formed across the entrance, but through which every tide 

 flowed and ebbed, leaving a sufficiency of water within. In tnis, mullet, whiting, 

 bream, soles, and plaice succeeded best; haddock did also well, but gurnards 

 became paler in colour. Whiting became so tame as to feed out of the hand, and 

 all assembled at the feeding time at the appearance of the tray ; all seemed fond 

 of potatoes. Many admirable positions existed on the west coast for the for- 

 mation of extensive marine store ponds, and where^turbot, soles, haddock, cod, 

 and lobsters, could be securely stored and made available in times of scarcity and 

 boisterous weather. Under such circumstances, the artificial propagation of the 

 turbot, the sole, and the cod-fish and haddock could, with the same results, be 

 accomplished from the spawn, as the propagation of the ova from the salmon or 

 trout. 



Mr. R. Call well considered the subject brought forward was one of great va- 

 lue, not alone to the scientific man, but in a practical and economical point of 

 view. He could confirm, with regard to the fisheries, how useful the formation 

 of those store ponds would be. At the Island of Inishtrahull, about six miles 

 from Malin Head, off the coast of Derry, he had observed, the islanders were 

 prepared to bring fish to vessels passing the island. The fishermen of that 

 island had very fine whale-boats, which were sheltered and drawn up in a sandy 

 creek. In a store-pond, naturally formed in the island, the fish taken by them, 

 such as turbot and other prime fish, were deposited, and they were always pre- 

 pared to put fish on board the steamer passing from Sligo to Glasgow, or to Li- 

 verpool. 



MARCH 10, 1854. 



ON THB 8PBCIBB OP CREMILABRD8. BT Vf. ANDREWS, M.RI.A. 



Every fact of interest bearing upon new features in the natural history of 

 animals and plants is a useful record. At a recent meeting he had giren a re- 



z 



