45 



some time thinking it would make its appearance again ; it did not and 

 he could not tell anything about its description. He thought it was a 

 beast of some kind, it made he says a loud gurgling noise like that a 

 horse would make. 



"E. C." 



Dr. Agnew thought this description pointed pretty clearly to the 

 assumption that the animal seen was a Seal. 



Mr. M. Allport read an interesting paper on the " Irregularity 

 in the growth of the young salmon," and subsequently called attention 

 to the young trout occupying a slate trough in the large room of the 

 museum, and said he did so with great satisfaction, because they were 

 placed there as ova, not merely to gratify a little idle scientific curiosity, 

 but to enable those of the public who had small streams or rivers La 

 their neighbourhood to judge for themselves with what ease such 

 streams and rivers could be effectually stocked, at far less cost to the 

 salmon commission than when fish are sent. Any person expending a 

 few shillings in the construction of a wooden trough on the principle 

 of that in the next room, will be enabled next season to obtain a few 

 hundreds of ova ready to hatch within a fortnight of their being 

 placed in the trough. The number of people (many hundreds) who 

 had inspected the process of artificial hatching carried on in the museum, 

 proved that the Society had done a wise and useful thing in taking 

 this extra trouble to induce the public to assist in spreading the fish 

 throughout the colony. Another object which the council of the Society 

 and the Salmon Commissioners had in view, was to demonstrate the 

 advantages to be derived from feeding the young fish in their early 

 stages on living animalculse, larvae, and small crustaceans, rather than 

 on dead food ; the young trout, like the young of all predaceous fish, 

 much preferred living food, and though it is quite true that they can be 

 taught to take the grated liver upon which they are usually fed, 

 whilst the particles are moving through the water, when once those 

 pieces which are not eaten get amongst the gravel they are left undis- 

 turbed and become fertile sources of mischief in destroying the quality 

 of the water ultimately causing disease and death to the fish. Un- 

 questionably much of the mortality in piscicultural establishments was 

 due to this cause, and, therefore, young gentles were always used at the 

 Plenty for feeding the fry as they crawled about till devoured; even with 

 the gentles, however, some would escape and die among the gravel, 

 causing more or less mischief, but with the larvge of mosquitos and gnats 

 and small crustaceans no such mischief could occur, as being in their 

 proper element, they roamed about devouring minute particles of vege- 

 tation and doing positive good to the water, till their inevitable turn 

 came and they fulfilled one object of their being by furnishing food for 

 others. 



To obtain an ample supply of such food it was only necessary to 

 use a fine muslin net in any stagnant weedy pool or ditch and enough 

 minute creatures could thus be obtained in a few minutes to last many 

 hundreds of young fish a week. 



The usual vote of thanks having been accorded to the donors of pre- 

 sentations, and to Mr. Allport, a special vote was given to Captain 

 O'Reilly for his valuable donation to the Museum. 



The meeting then terminated. 



