PROCEEDINGS, APRIL. vii 



of view, as adding to the food of the people and increasing the commercial 

 value of the Fisheries of Tasmanian waters. In these waters, the nurseries 

 of fish, the harvests of the future are to be gathered for Australasia, and 

 remembering that the Board of Trade returns of England show a value of 

 £10,000,000 per annum as the product of the Fisheries of Great Britain, 

 that gave some indication of the commercial importance of Fisheries here. 

 This experiment haa demonstrated the kinship between the philosophical, 

 practical, and jirofitable. Ova brought from rivers 13,000 miles away, 

 under circumstances of suspended animation, passing through the Torrid 

 Zone, and reaching a Southern sphere to be revitalised, with the result 

 that the living fish are exhibited upon the table as examples of the teeming 

 life now existing at the Salmon Hatchery, thus gaining practical evidence 

 of the commercial value of science to this c>ommunity. Apart from 

 that aspect, however, the occasional advent of scientific men at this 

 Institute gave a new inspiration to the work of the Fellows, and leave 

 behind not only pleasing memories, but incentives to renewed efforts. 

 The archives of this Institute will hand down as public benefactors the 

 names of Dr. Agnew, Sir Thomas Brady, and Mr. Moore, and in years 

 to come, when future generations shall enjoy the sports of our rivers 

 and partake as food of the king of fish, the record of this work, in which 

 Dr. Agnew, Sir Thomas and Mr. Moore have been engaged, will be reviewed 

 and the great value of their services re-acknowledged, and not the least 

 that assistance afforded by Mr. Moore's lavish gift. That Irish gentleman 

 has learnt from his associations mth Nature's bounties liimself to be 

 bountiful. Nothing could be more so than his gifts of ova to this 

 community. This, the second important donation, tliis time of half-a- 

 million ova, without fee or reward, no, not without reward, for the 

 scientist finds his high reward in the success of his experiments, and in that 

 respect Mr. Moore reaps a great reward, and he is rewarded also by the 

 fact that he has ministered to the commercial success of a people akin with 

 himself — Britisli Colonists. 



He called upon the assembled company to welcome Sir Thomas with the 

 heartiness with which Tasmanians knew so well how to gi-eet their 

 friends. 



The audience rose and expressed their response to the invitation by 

 loud applause. 



Mr. Robert Henry then gave a short explanation of submarine 

 mining, illustrated by apparatus and illustrations of the working of 

 electro-contact mines as used for the protection of our harbour. Mr. W. 

 F. Ward, the Government analysist, followed with some simple but 

 interesting and rapidly performed experiments with the air pump, to 

 illustrate the elasticity of gases and modern theories deduced from such 

 phenomena. 



In the lower room there was a display of exhibits, a collection of photo- 

 graphs, a lithographic press, and an oxy-hydrogen microscope. 



Great interest was manifested in Mr. Perrin's exhibits, especially in the 

 proposed design for the timber trophy in the Melbourne Exhibition. The 

 photographs represent the work of an eight months old association — The 

 Tasmanian Photographic and Art Association — and are worthy specimens 

 of this beautiful Art. Mr. ]']chliii, secretary to the association, gave 

 practical demonstration of platinoty[)e i)rinting — this process is the inven- 

 tion of and patented by Mr. Willis (a relative of our worthy citizen, Mr. 

 denies), and consists of sensitising the paper with platinum-chloride, 

 printing as in silver, but in about an eighth of the time, and developing in 

 an a(iueous solution of neutral oxalate of potash, at a tomj)erature of 

 IfiOdeg. to 170deg. Fahr. — then fixing in a!i 8 per cent, bath of hydrochloric 

 acid, the result being a picture beaiing a resemblance to fine .steel 

 engiaving, and having tlie inestimable advantage of being permanent ; the 



