BREEDING-POND FOR SALMON. 69 



this " second lamination " became in May 1855 a ques- 

 tion of practical importance, demanding immediate sol- 

 ution. At that date the salmon-fry reared in the breed- 

 ing-pond at Stormontfield, near Perth, had attained the 

 age of nearly fifteen months. Those interested in this 

 great experiment had therefore to make up their minds 

 as to whether they were to be dismissed from the pond, 

 in conformity with the experiments of Mr Young, or 

 retained for another year, as advised by Mr Shaw. The 

 late Mr James Wilson, the well-known naturalist, Mr 

 Shaw, along with Lord Mansfield, the late Dr Esdaile, 

 and several others, met at Stormontfield on the 2d May 

 1855, in order to decide what should be done with the 

 imprisoned fish. We give the result in the words of 

 Mr Wilson : " The only example of a smolt exhibited 

 to the meeting throughout our careful inquiry and in- 

 vestigation, was one caught by Dr Esdaile while ang- 

 ling in the river Tay. He brought it to us immediately; 

 and when set alongside the parr from the pond, its 

 greater size and spotless silvery lustre made its differ- 

 ence obvious to all. The meeting came to the distinct 

 and unavoidable conclusion that the inhabitants of the 

 pond were still parr and Lord Mansfield especially, 

 and very properly, pressed for their being detained in 

 confinement another year, for the sake of a complete 

 and conclusive experimental demonstration that these 

 so-called parr take two years to become smolts. Their 

 continued captivity was therefore determined on." 



The holders of the biennial theory had thus a com- 

 plete triumph. It was but of short duration, however ; 

 for, in a letter published 21st May, Dr Esdaile wrote 

 thus : " On the 19th May, seventeen days after Mr 

 Shaw's visit, I revisited the pond in company with a 

 number of experienced fishermen and anglers, and out of 

 about a dozen fish caught by me with the fly there were 

 five unmistakable smolts, not to be distinguished from 

 the smolts caught in the river at the same time. Many 

 other smolts were also taken with a very imperfect net, 



