10 ACCLIMATISATION OF THE SALMONID.E IN TASMANIA. 



moss, of wliicli his late experience in the Beautiful Star has 

 led him to think so favourable ; and secondly, to ascertain 

 whether and for what period the ova can be preserved alive 

 in a state of congealatiou." At the date of this report it was 

 considered that the latter method would be supplementary to 

 the main plan. At the same time Mr. Youl was also working 

 in a similar direction, as shown by a letter addressed by him 

 to a member of the Salmon Commission, dated 27th October, 



1862, in which he writes : " So impressed am I with the little 

 experiment in the box with moss that I mean to try an 

 experiment at my own expense this yeai', to test it by placing 

 some 20 small boxes, with from 300 to 500 ova in an ice- 

 house, containing 25 tons of Wenham Lake ice ; " the experi- 

 ment was to be made, if possible, in a ship direct to Hobart. 

 Mr. Youl was afterwards in treaty for space in the s.s. Great 

 Britain, but the expense involved being greater than he 

 anticipated, and being afraid of the effect of the vibration 

 of the screw on the vitality of the ova, this shipment did 

 not take place, but he afterwards secured necessary space in 

 the Dunrobin Castle sailing for Hobart direct, had everything 

 arranged, and orders given for the construction of the ice- 

 house, when the owners, fearing injury to the cargo from the 

 melting ice, withdrew their promise and the shipment was 

 abandoned. 



In the meantime with the use of the Wenham Lake Ice 

 Company's vaults in London, and the assistance of Messrs. R. 

 Kamsbottom, W. Ramsbottom, Thos. Johnston, and others, a 

 series of experiments were being carried out under the direction 

 of Mr. Youl with ova packed in moss in boxes similar 

 to the box placed in the ice-house of the Beautiful Star. 

 The boxes were covered with ice and examined at difl'erent 

 periods of 45, 57, 90, 120, and 144 days, with jicrfect success, 

 the vitality of the ova having been in no way impaired, and 

 ova of each lot being successfully hatched. Thus, at last, 

 the long cherished hope of the successful acclimatisation of 

 the salmon species in distant lands was in a fair way of 

 accomplishment, the expensive and somewhat cumbersome 

 mode hitherto adopted by means of trays with gravel, etc., 

 was at once abandoned, and Mr. Youl, writing on 25th May, 



1863, says : — " It does, therefore, ajipear that the best way of 

 making another attempt next year would be with ova in aa 

 ice-house, and not to attempt it again by placing them in a 

 running stream, which not only entails a nmch greater 

 outlay, but is attended with so much risk." 



The Salmon Commissioners again entrusted the manage- 

 ment of a fiirthfr experiment to the Australian Association 

 in England, who delegated to Mr. Youl *' the sole HUj)erinten- 

 dence of the necessary preparation of the renewed experiment 



