40 Mr. J, J. Armisiead [Feb. 14, 



the Exodus, from which one would infer that they might have 

 preferred fish to freedom. 



Coming down to later times, fish culture, or rather the secret of 

 fertilising ova by artificial means, was discovered by a German 

 naturalist, Count Von Golstein, about the year 1758. It also became 

 known to another German naturalist, one Jacobi, a short time after- 

 wards, about the year 1761, and strange to say he not only succeeded 

 in fertilising eggs, but he fertilised the eggs which he took from a 

 dead fish. However, notwithstanding this, no practical use seems to 

 have been made of the knowledge which was obtained till nearly a 

 century afterwards, down so lately as the year 1841, when it fell to 

 the lot of two French peasants to discover the fact that trout ova 

 could be fertilised artificially, and that they could be hatched. These 

 men could never have heard of the scientists who were acquainted with 

 the scientific experiment which had been discovered so long before, 

 but they found from studying the habits of the fish in their native 

 streams that the eggs were deposited in the gravel ; and, following 

 out nature's plan, these men collected a quantity of gravel from the 

 stream bottom and fertilised the eggs, and placed them among gravel, 

 and placed this in a perforated tin or zinc vessel, something in shape 

 like a cheese, and put this at the bottom of the stream where the 

 current would percolate through the holes and so keep up a continual 

 supply of water. In due course of time the eggs hatched. But for a 

 long time the thing went no further. People supposed that the 

 gravelly bed of the stream was an absolute necessity for the hatching 

 of the ova of trout. At last, however, the matter was taken up by 

 the Societe d'Acclimatation de Paris, and Professor Coste conceived 

 the idea that eggs could not only be fertilised, but could be incubated 

 and hatched, and the little fish reared to maturity, apart from the 

 natural streams, and he proved his assertion by hatching some salmon 

 in a tub. He got a large tub and in it he placed a number of boxes 

 in such a position that the water flowed from one to the other round 

 the tub. In these boxes he placed his ova, and in due course of time 

 they hatched and produced fish. This was about the year 1850. 

 Then I come down to a later time in the history of fish culture, and 

 one which I cannot but remember with feelings partly of regret at 

 the fact that the operator is no longer with us. I refer to the late 

 lamented Frank Buckland, who some thirty-three years ago stood 

 upon the platform which I have the honour to occupy to-night. 

 Buckland said of fish culture that it promised "to be eventually 

 the origin of increase of revenue to private individuals, a source 

 of national wealth, and certainly a great boon to the public in 

 general." This was thirty years ago, and hpw do we stand to-day ? 

 The first part of that prophecy has been amply fulfilled, and the last 

 part of it has been and is being fulfilled in many places. The third 

 part of itj which comes in the middle, is to be fulfilled as soon as 

 Government will take the matter up, for that alone can make the 

 subject become a source of national wealth. In Germany, fish culture 



