8 ACCLIMATISATION OF THE SALMONID-E IN TASMANIA. 



JTotwithstandinp; this failure, the experience gained was 

 such that in reporting to the Chief Secretary the Commis- 

 sioners wrote " they were justiiied in expressing a confident 

 opinion that that experiment, though uusuccesst'ul, hud demon- 

 strated the perfect practicability of the project, and the 

 certainty of success under proper conditions easily attainable." 

 This shipment was the last failure and the cause of future 

 successes. The little box already mentioned containing ova 

 packed in layers in moss and charcoal, which had been placed 

 in the ice-house by Mr. Youl, and forgotten by Mr. Kams- 

 bottom until he stumbled against it GO days after the Beautiful 

 Star had left England, led to further experiments and the 

 institution of a similar system of packing ova adopted after- 

 wards in most of the future shipments. It is only natural to 

 suppose that there would be many claimants for the credit of 

 this discovery. The suggestion to retard the development of 

 ova by the use of ice was made long before by Mr. Bidwell, as 

 already mentiuned, and there exist many records of somewhat 

 similar suggestions by other individuals at various times in 

 this colony and elsewhere prior to the experiment in the 

 Beautiful Star. The credit of the first practical attempt to 

 test what had previously been many times suggested lies, 

 therefore, with Mr. Youl, who has stated that the idea was 

 first mentioned to him in Paris by M. Girley, who showed 

 him how fish ova packed in wot moss in earthenware jars 

 were sent long journeys. But jirior to the shipment of ova 

 per Beautiful Star our present guest. Sir Thomas Brady, 

 then secretary to the Fisheries Board of Ireland, had l>y his 

 practical views on pisciculture attracted the attention of Mr. 

 Youl, and the latter gentleman several times visited Dublin 

 to consult with him. Mr. Brady was much impressed with 

 the packing of ova in moss, and writing to Mr. Youl on 24th 

 December, 1861, he says: — " It strikes me that you ought to 

 try the ova in moss also. I got it up the other day in 

 beautiful order in moss, and it kept very good for several 

 days in the damp moss, and might keep so a very long time, 

 I think. I send you a sketch of what I would propose." [I 

 have this sketch, which shows a box of ova packed in layers 

 in moss, with a tank for iced water at top and a false 

 bottom, with tap to draw off the water after it passed 

 through the moss.] " If by means of the iced water 

 you can retard the hatching of the ova I think it will lie the 

 easiest way of preventing them being tossed about by the 

 rf)lling of the ship as the moss will keef) the ova steady. I 

 never saw any ova in such good condition as that I lately 

 received in the moss, and I am trying an exj»criment with it, 

 and also purpose sending some ova to Italy in this way; 

 at any rate a small trial ih this way would do no luinii, and it 



