136 THE CANADIAN NATURALIST. [^pril, 



that the spermatozoa assume their peculiar vibratory quick action 

 when water is added to them, otherwise:' they are quite quiescent. 

 This is a most important point as regards the actual bringing the 

 theory into practice. 



I here desire to state, once for all, as I wish every one to 

 remember, that I do not . say that my experiment in keeping the 

 milt and ova separate for so long a time will succeed, and that 

 healthy young fish come from the egg, nor again am I at all sure 

 that fish will hatch from eggs taken from the dead fish ; but there 

 is however no reason why the experiment should not be tried, for 

 nature has many choice secrets in her laboratory which she has 

 yet withheld from us, and which she will only disclose to us by 

 asking her in the form of experiments varied and repeated in every 

 possible manner. 



Thus far I have attempted to show what becomes of the eggs 

 of the fish in their natural state; how they may be taken care of? 

 and what great results may be, with good luck and careful man- 

 agement, obtained. I would venture now to report progress and 

 the result. The first originators and supporters of the important 

 science of fish-hatching for th*^ public good were the French Gov- 

 ernment, who have, as most of you are aware, erected a magnifi- 

 cent series of buildings, which may be fairly denominated a fish- 

 manufactory, at Huningue, near Basle. 



I must now mention what has been done in her Majesty's do- 

 minions. The first place established (that I know of) was at 

 Perth, where thousands of salmon are hatched by artificial means 

 annually. In Mr. W. Brown's admirable little book^ will be 

 found details as to the number of eggs laid down, &c. One of the 

 consequences of this artificial hatching, Mr. Brown informs us, is 

 as follows : We find that in the year 1828, the year of the pass- 

 ing of Home Drummond's Act, the rental of the salmon-fisheries 

 of the Tay was £14,574. It gradually fell off every year after- 

 wards till 1852, when it reached the minimum, amounting to 

 £7,973. In 1853 the artificial rearing commenced; and in 

 1858, when the statement was printed, the rental was £11,487 ; 

 it his now reached what it was in 1828." Mr. Brown has 

 been kind enough to send me the latest news as follows : — 



•' The number of ova deposited in the boxes at Stormontfield 



* The Stormontfield Experiment on the Salmon. Glasgow: Murraj 

 and Son. London : Arthur Hall, Virtue and Co. Price 3s. 



