544 



NA TURE 



{Oct. 4, 1883 



of the last-named country it is a special favourite. The 

 German carp [Cyprinus carpid) has, through the efforts 01 

 Prof. Baird, been scattered broadcast over the United 

 States, an! in the warmer regions grows with surprising 

 rapidity, attaining a weight more than double that of fish 

 of the same age in their native waters. Eggs of the Cali- 

 fornia salmon {Salmo quinnai) have been successfully 

 transported from the United States to nearly all of the 

 European countries. Though the species has always been 

 considered a sea-going salmon, the fry hatched from the 

 eggs sent to the Netherlands have been kept in freshwater 

 ponds, where they have matured and spawned, the young 

 produced from the eggs being as healthy as those hatched 

 in California. These thrive better when confined in fresh- 

 water ponds than the native salmon {Salmo salar) under 

 the same conditions, and fish-culturists of that country 

 consider them better suited to their inland waters than 

 any of the native Salmonidse. It seems probable, from 

 these experiments and from those with other species, that 

 it will be possible to raise any of the Salmonidae in fresh 

 water. 



The exhibits show the fish-cultural apparatus of many 

 countries to be very primitive, and the hatching operations 

 to be limited to a few species of Salmonidae. The Exhi- 

 bition cannot fail to advance the interests of fish culture 

 in general, for it will open the eyes of the people to the 

 fact that other species besides salmon and trout are 

 worthy of attention, and can be hatched in enormous 

 quantities without difficulty. Another important result of 

 the Exhibition will doubthss be to convince the people of 

 the value of fish culture as a means for increasing the food 

 supply. It is indeed fortunate for the future of the science 

 that so deep and widespread an interest has been awakened 

 in the subject, for several papers calling in question the 

 results of fish culture have recently made their appear- 

 ance, and it requires the testimony of the leading authori- 

 ties to counteract their influence. The testimony is just 

 what might have been expected, and shows that in those 

 countries where the operations have been most extensive 

 confidence is strongest, and in those where work has been 

 limited many question its practicability. Thus in both 

 Sweden and Norway, where only a few thousand fry 

 at most are placed in any stream, many of the hatcheries 

 that formerly existed have ceased to operate, as no 

 immediate results of their work could be seen. The 

 same is true of other localities where the work has been 

 carried on, to a limited extent only, by private parties ; but 

 where extensive hatching operations have been continued 

 through a long period, the beneficial results are invariably 

 acknowledged. Some, who are obliged to acknowledge 

 the value of fish culture in cases where the fry are 

 retained in ponds from which they cannot escape, question 

 its result when the fish are turned out into waters tribu- 

 tary to the sea ; these forget that the number of fry 

 turned out by the wash-tub fish-culturists of many coun- 

 tries is so limited when compared with the entire number 

 of fish in a stream, as to hare no appreciable effect upon 

 the fisheries. They also forget that, though owing to 

 extensive operations considerable increase in the fisheries 

 of a given locality may be noticeable in three or four years, 

 the full results of artificial propagation cannot be expected 

 until the fry of the artificially-hatched fish have developed 

 into full-grown specimens and returned to the rivers to 

 deposit their eggs. This would require from seven to 

 eight years, as the second generation of any sea-going 

 species can scarcely be expected to return before that 

 period has elapsed. Canada and the United States are 

 he only countries where public fish culture has been 

 conducted on a large scale for a sufficient period to war- 

 rant a reliable verdict as to the importance of the work; 

 and in both of these countries public opinion is decidedly 

 in favour of continuing the work, and on a larger scale 

 than ever before. 



R. Edward Earll 



NOTES 



We regret to learn that M. Dumas has been confined to his 

 bed for the last ten days, although his illness is not in itself 

 serious. 



Prof. Cunningham, of the Royal College of Surgeons, Ire- 

 land, has just been appointed to the Professorship of Anatomy 

 in the University of Dublin, in succession to Prof. Macalister. 

 The Professorship of Comparative Anatomy, also held by Dr. 

 Macalister, is vacant, but will not be filled up until the meeting 

 of the Academic Council in November or December next. 



An exhibition of electricity and electrical appliances will be 

 held in Philadelphia, United States, commencing on Tuesday, 

 September 2, 1884, under the auspices of the Franklin Institute 

 of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic 

 Arts. From the eminent reputation of this institution, coupled 

 with the fact that the projected exhibition will be the first in 

 America exclusively devoted to this important and progressing 

 branch of science, this announcement has attracted unusual 

 interest throughout the United States, and the exhibition will 

 undoubtedly afford an admirable opportunity of witnessing a 

 representative display of American discovery and invention in 

 electricity. To increase its scientific and industrial importance, 

 as well as to add to its attractiveness, it was determined shortly 

 after its inception to give it an international character. The 

 importance of the project having been properly represented to 

 the Congress of the United States, an Act was passed to this 

 effect, and articles intended for the exhibition will be admitted 

 to the States free of duty. All applications should be made to 

 the Secretary, Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, U.S.A. 



The Russian frigate Minineh has just started from the Baltic 

 on a scientific voyage round the world. She has on board a 

 number of Russian savants of every branch of science. 



The Prince of Wales is about to try the acclimatisation of the 

 Norwegian ptarmigan at Abergeldie. Of sixty birds taken at 

 Langben in Nordland, twenty-two have just arrived at Bergen, 

 the rest having died on the way. 



The Electric Railway from Portrush to the Giant's Causeway 

 was opened last Friday by Earl Spencer, and among others 

 present were Sir William Thomson, Sir William Siemens, 

 and Sir Frederick Bratnwell. It is over six miles long, and 

 has cost 45,000/. The line, after passing through the prin- 

 cipal street of Portrush, follows the seaside road, a portion 

 of a footpath six feet broad being reserved for the railway. 

 The gauge is only three feet, and the gradients are very 

 steep — in places as much as one in thirty-five — and in parts of 

 its course the curves are sharper than might have been desirable 

 had the route which it takes been chosen by the engineers. The 

 force to work it is generated by a waterfall in the River Bush, 

 with an available head of twenty-four feet, the electric current 

 being conveyed by an underground cable to the end of the tram- 

 way. The water power pissing through turbine water-wheels, 

 which utilise the whole force of the fall, is said to amount to 

 ninety horse. 



The electrical omnibus devised by M. Philippart travelled last 

 Sunday from the Place des Nations to Versailles. The distance 

 is more than 20 kilometres. The experiment was successful, the 

 only incident being a short stoppage occasi Dned, it appears, by 

 the heating of a coil owing to an excess of current. 



Advices from Colombo, under date of August 30, state that 

 on the evening of August 27, at about 5.30, an extraordinary 

 occurrence took place in Colombo Harbour. The sea suddenly 

 subsided about six feet, receding from ten feet to fifteen feet, and 

 oh ing to the velocity of the outward current the stern moorings of 

 several large vessels gave way. The tide continued to rise and 



