180 DE. BEETX — FISn-HATCHING IN HEETFOEDSHIEE. 



"while we devote (and properly devote) mucli study to agriculture, 

 we neglect aqua^culture — cultivation of the water. 



My intention this evening is not to speak of pisciculture in 

 general, but to record what has been done in this useful work 

 in our own county ; for as we are a Hertfordshire Field Club, I 

 think it desirable that our members should observe and record all 

 the facts that they can connected with jS"atural Histoiy, and 

 although the facts may not be of very general interest, yet they 

 have an interest pecuKar to them as belonging to our own county. 



As far as I know, fish-breeding has only been carried out in 

 Hertfordshire in three rivers — the Colne, the Gade, and the Chess ; 

 and chiefly by three members of our Society — Dr. Hood, of Upton 

 House, Mr. Jonathan King, of Wiggen Hall, and the Earl of 

 Essex. I mention them in the order in which they began theii" 

 experiments. Fish-breeding has also been carried out by the late 

 Mr. C. Longman and by the late Mrs. Hibbert, of Munden ; and 

 Colonel Goodlake, of the Fisheries, at Denham, is very successful 

 in breeding fish. 



I asked Dr. Hood (to whom I look up as to a second Isaac 

 "Walton in all matters piscatorial) to give me the results of his 

 experience, and he kindly sent me a paper, which I will ask our 

 Secretary to read.*' 



To Mr. Jonathan King I am indebted for much, valuable infor- 

 mation, not only in pisciculture, but in other departments of 

 Natural History, for at eighty-four he has as much enthusiasm in 

 watching (as far as he can) the habits of birds, beasts, and fishes, 

 as any boy. It is of great advantage to us to retain in old age, as 

 he does, a cheerful and youthful mind. 



Mr. King was first induced to hatch fish through the ad^-ice of 

 Mr. Frank Buckhmd, He had a house built on purpose to breed 

 fish. It is a thatched wood house, 10ft. by loft. The apparatus 

 he uses is the same as that used by Mr. Ponder, of Hampton, and 

 fully described in Mr. Buckland's book on ' Fish Hatching,' which 

 I should recommend our members to read. Ho has kintUy lent 

 me the apparatus which I here show you. 



Filtered Colne water was used ; the eggs were looked at daily, 

 and the dead ones removed. The fish-hatching was carried on for 

 ten years, from 1864 to 1874. In each year about 5000 fish were 

 hatched. The kinds of fish bred were salmon, sea-trout, Neuchatel 

 (or Geneva) trout, trout from the Colne and the Gade, and trout 

 from Loch Farraline in Inverness-shire. 



There is about half an acre of water communicating Avith the 

 river, and with a current of water flowing slowly through it. The 

 water is divided into three ponds — upper, middle, and lower. AVhen 

 the young fish grow to the size of an inch long, they are placed 

 in one of those ponds, and kept for some time till they are large 

 enough to be removed into the river. 



I have had an enlarged drawing made of the salmon ova and 



• See page 185. 



