BY R. M, JOHNSTON, F.L.S. 29 



inconvenience or exertion, and overthrows obstacles of every 

 kind. If Tasmanians are thus deeply indebted to Sir 

 Thomas Brady, the generous protector and friend of the poor 

 struggling fishermen of Ireland, they are also under the 

 deepest obligation to Dr. Agnew, whose unabated interest in 

 the acclimatisation of edible fishes in Tasmania is proved by 

 his munificence in bearing the whole expense of tlie last 

 splendid enterprise. 



The princely gift is not merely creditable to himself, but it 

 adds lustre to the colony which produces men like him, who 

 are as much distinguished for wisdom in the conception of 

 making such thoughtful provision for the material welfare 

 of the land of their adoption as for the generosity which 

 carries it into effect. The " Agnew " experiment deserves to 

 be a success. 



OTHER PR0BLE3IS STILL AWAITING SOLUTION. 



While we have to congratulate ourselves on the success so 

 far of the Agnew experiment, there is still another problem 

 to solve. Will the veritable progeny of Salmo salar, when 

 liberated in our waters, survive and perpetuate their kind ? 

 This is now our real trouble and anxiety. It formed the 

 subject of many interesting pajjers read before the members 

 of this Society by the late Mr. Morton Allport, whose name 

 •will always be remembered in connection with the acclima- 

 tisation of the salmonidffi. That we have good reason to be 

 anxious still of this result, and to discuss its probabilities, is 

 manifest to every one who has taken any interest in the 

 acclimatisation of the true salmon (Salmo salar). It is now 

 twenty-two years since the first live fry of Salmo salar have been 

 liberated in our waters, since which time repeated successful 

 hatchings have added to the original stock. Notwithstanding 

 this, no fish of the salmon fiimily, now so common in our 

 seas, has been captured, which can with confidence be referred 

 to the European type of Salmo salar. The type of migratory 

 salmonoid, now so common in the Derwent, in certain respects 

 comes close to the smolt and grilse form of Sahuo salar, but 

 in a greater degree — although extremely variable Avithin 

 limits — its characters correspond more closely with the chief 

 varieties of Sahno trutta (S. crlox, S. hmchij^ioma, and S. cam- 

 hricus). If, therefore, we assume that the varieties so 

 common in our waters arc actually the descendants of the 

 few individuals of *S'. irntia originally liberated {■{■90 fry 

 liberated) in 18G0, what Ikis become of the many thousands 

 of fry of /S'rtZmo 8rt?ar lil)erated in our waters in the several 

 experiments since the year 1804 V* 



' Exchidiiif!; the last successful .sliipinent it is estimated that ontof tlio 38,000 fry 

 hatched from British and Irislj ««>;■*. there were about 97 per cent, of 1:1. ))alar\ 

 2 per cent, of S. trutta, and scarcely 1 per cent, of S. /ario. 



