THAI', in.] SCIENTIFIC AND COMMERCIAL FISH-CULTURE. 75 



were the young of the salmon. As I shall again have occa- 

 sion to allude to Mr. Shaw's experiments, I do not require to 

 say more at present on this part of my subject than that they 

 were brought to a successful conclusion long before the re-dis- 

 covery of the art of pisciculture by Eemy. In my opinion the 

 honours may be thus divided, whether Eemy knew of Shaw's 

 experiments or not : I would give to Scotland the honour of 

 having re-discovered pisciculture as an adjunct of science, and 

 to France the useful part of having turned the art to commer- 

 cial uses. In regard to what has been already stated here as 

 to the accidental discovery of artificial fish-breeding, I may 

 mention that James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, was one of 

 the discoverers. Hogg had an observant eye for rural scenes 

 and incidents, and anxiously studied and experimented on fish- 

 life. He took an active share in the parr controversy. Having 

 seen with his own eyes the branded parr assuming the scales 

 of the smolt, he never doubted after that the fact that the parr 

 was the young of the salmon. In Norway, too, an accidental 

 discovery of this fish-breeding power was made ; and cer- 

 tainly if salmon-fishing in that country goes on at its present 

 rate cultivation will be largely required. The artificial plan 

 of breeding oysters has been more than once accidentally dis- 

 covered. There is at least one well-authenticated instance of 

 this, which occurred about a century ago, when a saltmaker of 

 Marennes, who added to his income by fattening oysters, lost a 

 batch of six thousand in consequence of an intense frost, the 

 shells not being sufficiently covered with water ; but while en- 

 gaged in mourning over his loss and kicking about the dead 

 molluscs, he found them, greatly to his surprise, covered with 

 young oysters already pretty well developed, and these, fortu- 

 nately, although tender, all in good health, so that ultimately 

 he repeopled his salt-bed without either trouble or expense 

 having of course to wait the growth of the natives before he 

 could recommence his commerce. 



