BY r. S. SEAGER. 3 



<iespatch from Earl Grey, in which he states that it was 

 impracticable to carry the lish iu tanks on the deck of the 

 prison ships, " while, on the other hand, the alternative of 

 using a welled smack for their conveyance has, for the present 

 at least, been abandoned as being attended with too much 

 expense." 



In the year 1852, through the efforts of those interested iu 

 the subject, aud at the instance of the Governor, Sir AN^iliiara 

 Denison, an attempt was made to introduce both salmon and 

 trout by means of ova. This effort is the first of which any 

 detailed record exists. A paper read before the Royal Society 

 -of Tasmania (see its i'roceedmgs, Vol. 2, p. 2S8) by Mr. J. L. 

 Burnett, describes the arrangements made, and gives details of 

 the voyage of the vessel selected — tbe Columbus. The ova 

 were shipped on the 3 1st January, 1852, and the plan adopted 

 is thus described by Mr. Burnett : — " About 50,000 ova of 

 salmon and trout were placed in a large oval tub or vessel 

 with a false bottom, -ift. Gin. by 3ft. 4in., 1ft. Sin. deep, 

 double-sided, made of wood, cased in lead, and capable of 

 containing GO gallons of water, besides the requisite quantity 

 of gravel. . . . The tub was slung just under and on one 

 side of the fore hatchway, with directions that every six hours 

 a fresli supply of six gallons of water should be added by 

 means of a funnel inserted in a tube entering below the false 

 bottom, the old or original quantity (or the greater portion of 

 it) being drawn off by a stop-cock placed for that purpose in 

 tbe upper part of the tub, and that the six gallons of water 

 were to be supplied six times a day as the vessel approached 

 the Equator, making 'SG gallons iu the 2-1 hours, and to be 

 again reduced iu the cooler latitudes to the original quantity 

 of 24 gallons per diem." 



Mr. Gottlieb Boccius, wlio was employed by the Home 

 Government, through the Land and Emigration Commis- 

 sioners, to procure the ova, fixed the 15th and 20th April as 

 the dates upon which the trout aud salmon respectively would 

 hatch, but the hatching commenced on 1st March, in latitude 

 l-i" 30' uortli, longitude 26" west, and the fry were seen in 

 the tub until the water became thick and putrid. On arrival 

 of the vessel at Ilobart the tub was examined by Dr. Milligan, 

 the then Secretary of the Koyal Society of Tasmania, and Mr. 

 J. L. Burnett, and it is not surprising to read, " without 

 finding any traces of either spawn or fish." 



Mv. Huruett in his paper <^ives his opinion as to the causes 

 of failure, aiul his suggestions as to future efforts, one of which 

 was that the temperature of the water should be regulated by 

 mciius of ice. This is the first recorded suggestion for the 

 regulation of temperature, the importance of which appears 

 previously to have been entirely overlooked. 



