OF THE SALMON. 51 



tells us that three weeks after the spawn was sprin- 

 kled into the troughs, the eyes of the young fish 



state, and unprovided as yet with either ground or surface food. 

 Allowing that 50,000,000 of the ova had actually been brought to 

 life, the injury done at this stage by kelts, trout, pike, sea gulls, 

 and waterfowl, cannot be estimated at less than one half the num- 

 ber as already noticed. During the after continuance of the fry 

 in the river and its tributaries up to the time of their descent as 

 smolts, seeing that new elements of devastation are brought into 

 play, such as the weapon of the angler, the pout-net of the 

 poacher, the mill-wheel, droughts, disease, &c., it is fair to set 

 down the further injury resulting from these causes at 5,000,000 

 more, so that the 150,000,000 that I have assumed, upon pre- 

 mises by no means unreasonable, that are annually shed over the 

 breeding grounds of the Tay, 20,000,000 of smolts may therefore 

 be considered as the annual offspring of this river and its tri- 

 butaries. 



I now proceed to contrast with the results just arrived at, those 

 which are likely to accrue from the experiments in artificial 

 spawning by Mr. Kamsbottom at Stormontfield. The number of 

 ova which the boxes for hatching are intended to receive (they 

 are now, I understand, implemented, and the contents under pro- 

 cess of being hatched) amounts to 400,000. How many of these 

 pellets, allowing every proper caution to be taken with respect to 

 them, are likely to be brought to life? This is a question of con- 

 siderable importance, and can best be answered by reference to 

 the results of some former experiments in pisciculture. 



The one reported by Mr. Halliday, as carried on and brought 

 so far to completion, in connection with the salmon fisheries at 

 Outeranch in Galway, throws some light upon the question. This 

 experiment was conducted, I understand, by Mr. Kamsbottom, 

 on the same system as that pursued by him at Stormontfield. 

 Mr. Halliday. in regard to it, admits the deposit of 40,000 ova, 

 one third of which he is under the impression has been rendered 

 useless during the hatching process; and now the remainder have 

 been committed to the rearing ground, which, at Outeranch, I am 

 led to believe, consists, instead of artificial ponds, of a natural 

 sheet of water. He seems convinced that as they are approaching 

 the smolt stage, they are undergoing a still further reduction in 

 point of numbers; in short, that the available yield of 40,000 ova 

 consists at present of about half that number of fry. 

 2 



