228 APPENDIX. 



ture of the ova could never have exceeded 32, or 

 these pieces of ice would have melted away. 



" The six remaining boxes were again covered with 

 blocks of ice, with the intention of examining one 

 at intervals of twenty or thirty days, to learn if 

 the ova can be kept alive in an ice-house a sufficient 

 length of time to reach Tasmania, and then be taken 

 out at the end of the voyage and hatched in the 

 stream of water in the colony. JAMES A. YOUL. 



" Waratah House, Clapliam Park, March 26." 



The next week I was enabled to record the fol- 

 lowing satisfactory results : 



" It will be remembered that, in the last ' Field/ 

 Mr. Youl reported the result of the exhumation 

 from a dense mass of ice blocks in the vaults of 

 the Wenham Lake Ice Company of a box contain- 

 ing newly-impregnated salmon ova, which had been 

 buried from January 17th to March 25th in all 

 sixty-eight days. He kindly consigned some of 

 these to myself, as well as to Mr. Johnson. When 

 first taken from the ice they were apparently alive ; 

 but, in order to make the experiment quite certain, 

 Tennant, the keeper of the Zoological Gardens, was 

 in attendance, and took them up immediately to 

 place them in the admirable hatching apparatus 

 constructed by the society; the object being to 

 ascertain for Mr. Youl and our Australian friends 

 whether they would ever hatch out after such a long 

 period of freezing. The following is Tennant's report 

 received by me this morning, April 2nd, of the state 

 of these eggs, and all must rejoice to see that the 

 experiment so far is highly encouraging and satis- 

 factory. F. BTJCKLAND." 



