171 



SIR W. JARDINE on the ICHTHYOLOGY of HEREFORDSHIRE.* 



The first issue of the Transactions of the Woolhope Naturalists' Field Club, 

 including the Annual Addresses of the successive Presidents, and a selection 

 from the many interesting papeis which have been read at the meetings, having 

 reached the hands of that distinguished naturahst, Sir Wm. Jardine, has elicited 

 from him a very gratifying expression of approval and encouragement. In a 

 letter to the Rev. W. S. Symonds, Rector of Pendock, lately President of the 

 Club, Sir W illiam J ardine thus refers to the Club, and to Mr. Hewett Wheatley's 

 very valuable paper on the Ichthyology of Herefordshire, which forms part of 

 its Transactions : — 



" Let me congratulate the members of the Club on their progress and the 

 publication of this first record of their doings. All they have to continue to do 

 is to work steadily to record their observations, and in time, far less than they 

 think, these Transactions will bear a value and be much estimated. They will 

 be part and parcel of a great Natural History of England yet to be drawn up. 

 I was glad to see the Ichthyology taken up, and particularly the remarks of the 

 Salmonidffi by Mr. Wheatley, with which you know I am at present working. 

 I trust Mr. Wheatley will continue his observations, and I enclose, for such 

 members of your Club as are interested in the pursuit, a few copies of the report 

 read at Cheltenham on the experiments at Stormontfield regarding artificial 

 production. You will see from this that one of the facts which Mr. Wheatley 

 states as proved (see antea pages 62 to 78), is just one of those which has been a 

 point of dispute, and helped to originate the Stormontfield ponds. The e.xperi- 

 ments now in progress will prove (next May) whether any portion of the brood 

 of young fish assume the migratory dress within the twelve or thirteen months ; 

 but I have no doubt, whether this is the case or not, that a great deal might be 

 done artificially to increase the produce of any salmon river, and at no great 

 expense of old fish, as the salmon, if carefully handled during the expulsion of 

 the ova and their impregnation, are not killed, but as in the case of the Tay fish, 

 have even been a second time captured and employed. I am not sufiiciently 

 acquainted with the Herefordshire rivers to know much of their contents, but 

 it appears to me remarkable that the other migratory salmon should be such rare 

 visitants as Mr. Wheatly mentions. And now I will ask Mr. Wheatley in future 

 to give us scientific names as well as common ones — the use of provincial names 

 only is one of the fertile causes of all confusion. Thus salmon trout is commonly 

 applied over Scotland to various small fish (3 to 4 lbs.) and indiscriminately to 

 the two other migratory species, so that in some places salmon trout would be 

 synonymous to Mr. Wheatley's sewin. " Sewin " is a provincial name used 

 chiefly, I believe, in Wales ; but I rather think it is indiscriminately applied to 

 both Sahno trutta and Salmo eroix. Would your Club understand me if I asked 

 them to send me herlings or whitings from the Wye ? I have killed sewin in a 

 small stream at Aber, about ten or fifteen nules before you reach Bangor ; they 



♦ From the Hereford Times, November ist, 1S56. 



