PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION D. 287 



The water couditious being so good, it occurred to me that it would 

 1)6 an additional advantage in assisting to preserve the fish if they were 

 placed where they would be to some extent " under the eyes " of those 

 townspeople who would be likely to assist. For their better protec- 

 tion, a short section of the Bell River, about the vicinity where the fish 

 'were liberated, has been closed agaijist all fishing. 



It is worthy of meution, for record purposes, that the bass were 

 -conveyed in 10 cans, 6 in each, and that the temperature of the 

 water varied from about 56° to 58° (The Nepean River water at the 

 'Penrith weir during the previous few days had varied from 58° to 62°.) 



On the following day I .started from Peiirith with 133 fish, ranging 

 ifrom 3 to 7^ inches, for Rylstone ; the object being to plant the fish 

 in a fine lagoon about 600 yards long, situated on the course of the 

 river at " Rawden " Station, about 5 miles (by road) from Rylstone. 



Upon arrival at Rylstone Railway Station the fish were all ri^ht ; 

 "but, as the morning wp„s very sharp, misty, and frosty, I felt a little 

 anxious about the journey to " Rawden," as I knew there would be a 

 sudden and considerable fall in the temperature of the water in the cans. 

 Mr. J. T. Cox, of Rawden, was in waiting with a buggy and a fast horse, 

 and we started off with the fish (which had been in 8 cans) in 4 

 •cans. Two of the wettest of the cans were covered with a buggy rug 

 to keep the keen air away from them, and the remaining two had to be 

 left exposed. The jacket of one of these, it is interesting to note, was 

 very nearly dry, consequently the water in the can was protected to 

 some extent from the air. The other was very wet, and became very 

 tjold. When turned out into the river every fish was alive, and those 

 in all but the last can were very lively/ About one-third of the fish in 

 the fourth can, however, were partly benumbed with the cold, and lay 

 on their sides when placed in the lagoon. Care was taken to see that 

 they did ;int become fouled with the Avater-plants, and in a few minutes 

 we (Mr. Cox and myself) had the great satisfaction of seeing all the fish 

 come round and swim away. 



All the above details are given, because it is just these little things 

 which have to be attended to and which make all the difference between 

 success and failure in fish transport. 



This second stage of the first essay at acclimatisation of Australia's 

 finest indigenous fresh-water game fish formed a particularly severe 

 test. 



In the first section (those that I took to Bell River at Wellington) 

 there were 6 only in each can. on a cool all-day trip, when there was 

 little alteration in the temperature. In the second section there were 

 about 17 in each can, on an all-night trip, and as many as 33 to 

 35 per can during the 5-mile drive, with a rapidly- falling water 

 temperature. 



It was decidedly gratifying, therefore, that 193 bass should be taken 

 -away and introduced into new waters without the loss of a single fish. 



