118 MESSRS. ASHWORTH'S EXPERIMENTS. 



has lately visited the oyster-farms of the Isle of Be, and has 

 a high opinion of the efforts made for the multiplication of 

 that favourite mollusc. He has very obligingly communi- 

 cated to me a number of interesting statistics as to French 

 oyster-culture, which I have incorporated into my account 

 of the shell-fish fisheries. 



Two recent achievements in the art of fish-culture, or at 

 any rate in the art of acclimatisation, deserve to be chronicled 

 in this division of the " Harvest of the Sea." I allude to the 

 successful introduction into Australia of the British salmon, 

 and the equally successful bringing to this country of a foreign 

 fish the Silurus glanis. 



Grave doubts at one time prevailed among persons 

 interested in acclimatisation and pisciculture as to whether 

 or not it were possible to introduce the British salmon into 

 the waters of Australia ; and an interesting controversy 

 was about three years ago carried on in various journals 

 as to the best way of taking out the fish to that country. 

 Those very wise people w T ho never do anything, but are 

 largely eiidow r ed with the gift of prophecy, at once pro- 

 claimed that it could not be done ; that it was impossible to 

 take the salmon out to Australia, etc. etc. But happily 

 for the cause of progress in natural science, and the suc- 

 cess of this particular experiment, there were men who 

 had resolved to carry it out and who would not be put down. 

 Mr. Francis Francis, Mr. Frank Buckland, and Mr. J. A. 

 Youl, took a leading part in the achievement ; but before 

 they fell upon their successful plan of taking out the ova in 

 ice, hot discussions had ensued as to how the salmon could 

 be introduced into the rivers of the Australian Continent. 

 Many plans were suggested: some for carrying out the young 

 fish in tanks, and others for taking out the fructified ova, so 

 that the process of hatching might be carried on during the 

 voyage. One ingenious person promulgated a plan of taking 



