63 



a famous one, and need not be enlarged upon here. It is 

 necessary, however, that a brief reference should be made 

 to it, and to the fishes now successfully established in our 

 waters, and included among the Catalogue of Tasmanian 

 Fishes. It is now nearly 33 years ago since Sir W.Denison, 

 Mr. Burnett, Capt. Stanley, Mr. A. Young, and others, 

 originated the idea of stocking Tasmanian rivers with the 

 Salmon of Europe. Many trials and proposals were made, 

 and repeated failures ; but these experiments were in one 

 sense a success, for they eventually led the minds of such 

 men as Gottlieb Boccius and Mr. J. A. Youl, C.M.G., 

 to ponder over and eventually to overcome all obstacles and 

 difficulties. For, although the shipments of 50,000 ova in 

 each of the years 1852, 1859, and 1862, by the Columbus j 

 S. Curling f and JBeaut if ul Sta?' failed altogether, yet, mainly 

 owing to the enthusiastic ardour and intelligent direction of 

 Mr. Youl, in conjunction with English and Tasmanian 

 naturahsts, success at last crowned their labours by the safe 

 arrival of the Norfolk^ in the year 1864, with healthy 

 impregnated ova, packed in moss, and surroimded by ice, 

 in a suitable chamber. 



Mr. Seager, the Secretary of the Tasmanian Salmon 

 Commissioners, has kindly given me the following particu- 

 lars. Of the 102,000 ova of Salmo salavy and 1500 eggs 

 of Salmo fario (Itcham Trout), it is estimated that about 

 34,700 of the former and 300 of the latter arrived at the 

 Salmon Ponds on the Plenty in a healthy condition ; and of 

 these it is further estimated that 3000 of Salmo salar and 300 

 S. fario were successfully hatched and eventually liberated 

 in the Plenty. In 1866 another consignment of about 

 102,000 ova of S. salar and 15,000 of S. trutta arrived, from 

 which about 6000 of the former and 496 of the latter were 

 successfully hatched, and eventually liberated in the same 

 tributary of the Derwent. The result of this has been that 

 the River Derwent is now stocked with the migratory sea- 

 going Salmonoids and the Brown Trout ; while in all the 

 principal rivers of the island the Brown Trout has been 

 successfully established. Indeed, it is noteworthy that the 

 Brown Trout hatched in the Ponds from a box of ova 

 supplied by Frank Buckland and Francis Francis, are the 

 progenitors of all the Trout which now exist in the Austra- 

 lian Colonies. 



The following is a statement, also supplied by Mr. Seager, 

 of the ova and fry forwarded to the various places between 

 the years 1869 and 1881 from the breeding establishment 

 on the Plenty ; viz. — 



