178 THE PERCH. 



by Mr. Begg himself to Dunrobin Castle, the seat 

 of his Grace the Duke of Sutherland. 



It was, however, to the late Marquis of Exeter, 

 Burlcigh House, Stamford, that English fish- 

 culturists owe the importation to, and acclimatisa- 

 tion of, black bass in this country. Since then 

 (1878 to 1879) other gentlemen have successfully 

 carried on experiments in cultivating these fish, 

 which now rank among our best, for their sport- 

 giving and superior edible qualifications. Small 

 importations of a few hundred bass, brought over 

 by the Marquis of Exeter's pisciculturist, Mr. Silk 

 (who went twice to America for the bass), were 

 placed in the White Water Lake, Burlcigh Park 

 where they bred and multiplied into many thou- 

 sands, some of the fish now being specimens of 

 from 6 Ibs. to 8 Ibs. each. 



Mr. Silk's report of the experiences gleaned in 

 his expeditions undertaken to obtain the bass, and 

 the trouble taken in conveying them alive to 

 England, are so interesting that I am induced to 

 .give a summarised account of them : " All of the 

 black bass that I brought in 1878 from the United 

 States of America were taken from the Delaware 

 River. I placed them in boxes floating in the 

 stream ready to be taken away. On the day pre- 

 ceding the sailing of the steamship for England, 

 they were placed in the tank I had prepared for 

 them by the riverside. We got them to the train 

 without any loss, and on arriving in New York 

 had them placed on the main-deck of the steamer ; 

 it was then 1 1 p.m., we having left the Delaware 

 River at 3 p.m. Up to this time I had no loss ; my 

 greatest trouble was the high temperature, viz., 

 78 degrees all night. I kept the water as cool as 



