By W. L. Barker, Esq. 257 



spend a few minutes in laying before you a short statement of the 

 number of fish turned into the river Thames during the last five 

 years, under the authority of the Thames Angling Preservation 

 Society. The fish are of six kinds ; Salmon, Salmon-Trout, Com- 

 mon Trout, Great Lake Trout, Charr, and Grayling. Mr. Ponder 

 of Hampton, has kindly furnished me with the following figures. 



In 1862, the total number was 33,950 

 In 1863, „ „ 52,000 



In 1864, „ „ 40,950 



In 1865, „ „ 39,400 



In 1866, „ „ 38,750 



The whole makes a grand total of 205050 



But these figures are as nothing compared with those sent to me 



three weeks ago by Mr. Buist of Stormontfield, Perth. In 1862, 



that gentlemen placed 270,000 salmon-ova in his apparatus ; 



In 1864, the total number was 400,000 



In 1865, „ „ 400,000 



In 1866, „ „ 400,000 



The total amounts to 1,470,000 eggs ! 

 Of this vast number four-fifths arrive at perfection, and produce 

 the king of fish, salmon : whereas in the natural mode 1 egg in 

 1000 comes to maturity. And these figures apply to four years 

 only out of thirteen years, in which Mr. Buist has been engaged 

 in the artificial production of fish. May not then the pisciculturist 

 be allowed to point with some degree of exultation, to the dispro- 

 portion existing between the insignificance of his means, and the 

 magnitude of his ends ? Is there any sister-art which can compete 

 with the art of Fish-Culture in the extreme facility of its adoption, 

 and the unqualified utility of its consummation ? I verily believe 

 there is not. To make use of a metaphor borrowed from the turf, 

 " Eclipse is first, and the rest nowhere." But the enterprise of 

 Englishmen does not confine itself to augmenting the natural 

 resources of their native rivers, but extends its efibrts to the streams 

 of foreign lands, where the salmon is unknown. Thus Mr. Toul 



