BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 369 



Vol. IV, ]\o. 94. Washington, D. C. Sept. 10, 1884. 



1S(.— l^FFECT OF COLD OIV FISHES. 



By NEIL HEATH. 



[Abstract, by Cbas. W. Smiley, of a paper read before the Auckland lustitute, 



July2, 1«83.] 



It is asserted that, tiiougii shallow rivers and ponds have been con- 

 verted into solid ice in countries where the winters are protracted and 

 severe, all the imprisoned tish have not been destroyed, but that, when 

 the ice had thawed, many of them were restored to their usual health. 

 Though dead in appearance they were only asleep hibernating, and like 

 many animals that pass the long winters in a state of lethargy, they 

 would in due time recover their animation. It is not an easy matter to 

 ascertain that in such rivers and jjonds the whole of the water is un- 

 questionably frozen, and obviously the theory must be held over until 

 we can prove that the waters were completely frozen, and that the fish 

 had actually been imprisoned in the solid ice. 



It struck me that as the Mataura with her freezing-chamber was 

 lying at the wharf a few facts might be learned which would throw light 

 upon the subject. The Mataura was freezing her cargo of sheep for the 

 London market, and why should she not, if intense and continuous cold 

 only suspended the life of the lish, carry to England slabs of ice in- 

 closing numerous specimens offish hitherto unknown in that land, and 

 which would only require to be thawed iu English rivers'? Why put 

 ourselves to the trouble of bringing ova to New Zealand, only to be de- 

 stroyed by native species, when we could thus imj)ort vigorous, full- 

 grown fish! 



I will place before you a statement of the steps which have been taken 

 to show that fishes can return to life and energy after imprisonment in 

 ice. 



Captain Greenstreet, of the Mataura, cordially helped me to use the 

 freezing-chamber iu the vessel, and in it were placed two pannikins, 

 the one containing a salt-water fish in salt water, and the other a gold- 

 fish in fresh water. At the same time two other pannikins were placed 

 iu the "shoot," the coldest part of the freezing apparatus, the one con- 

 taining a salt-water fish, and the other a silverfish. The water in these 

 vessels was at the ordinary temperature. The cold in the shoot being 

 many degrees below zero F., it did not take long to convert the water 

 into ice, and at tlie end of an hour and a half I was satisfied that all 

 of both kinds of water had become solid, and that the two fishes were 

 as hard and firm as the sheep that were hanging in the freezing cham- 

 ber. Both pannikins were then removed and placed in tubs filled with 

 Bull. U. S. F. C, 81 24 



