16 MR. MORTON ALLPORT ON THE (Jan. 13, 
as to the change of the water at fixed intervals, and warned the cap- 
tain of the vessel that he might expect the Trout-ova to hatch about 
the 15th and the Salmon-ova about the 20th of April. On the Ist 
of March, however, in latitude 14° 30’ north and longitude 26° west, 
the ova of both began to hatch, and continued to do so for about a 
fortnight, after which time the water became thick and putrid, the 
weather being intensely hot. As the ship approached colder lati- 
tudes, the water gradually cleared, but no symptoms of life appeared 
in the tub; and when the vessel arrived in Tasmania, Dr. Milligan, 
then Secretary of the Royal Society of Tasmania, and Mr. J. L. 
Burnett carefully examined, first the water in the tub, and then the 
gravel, but without finding any traces of either spawn or fish. 
Mr. Burnett, in an admirably written account of this experiment, 
published in the ‘ Proceedings’ of the Royal Society of Tasmania’ 
(vol. ii. p. 288), suggested that in future the temperature of the 
water in which the ova are placed should, if practicable, be regulated 
by means of ice. 
From a letter from the Duke of Newcastle to Sir William Denison, 
dated the 2nd of June, 1853, enclosing a voluminous report from 
Dr. Boccius on the causes of failure, it appears that the cost of 
the experiment in the ‘Columbus’ was £300, which was charged to 
the land-fund of the colony. 
On the 12th of June, 1852, J. C. Bidwell, Esq., Commissioner 
of Crown Lands in New South Wales, forwarded to His Excellency 
Sir William Denison a paper entitled ‘ Notes on the Establishment 
of Salmon and other Fish in the Rivers of Tasmania and New Zea- 
land,” which paper was published in the ‘ Proceedings of the Royal 
Society of Tasmania’ (vol. ii. p. 326). The following extract will 
show that Mr. Bidwell was the first person who recommended the 
exact process by which success was ultimately attained more than 
ten years afterwards, though several have claimed the merit of the 
discovery at a later date. ‘‘ On mentioning the subject of the intro- 
duction of fish from foreign countries to the late Earl of Derby, he 
informed me that he had been extremely unsuccessful in his attempts 
to breed exotic fish in England ; and I do not think that there is an 
instance of any fish not belonging to the Cyprinide having been 
successfully established as colonists in any country ; but I believe 
the want of success may have arisen almost’entirely from the small 
number of individuals, which, if imported alive, it would be at an 
time possible to turn loose, and that if thousands could be liberated 
at once, the chances would be in favour of any predaceous fish es- 
tablishing itself in a new river in any suitable climate. Now to do 
this it would be necessary to bring and hatch the spawn. And I 
think that by packing spawn in ice there would be no difficulty in 
preserving its vitality for a much longer time than would be required. 
It is not probable that the vitality of fish-spawn would be destroyed 
even by freezing ; but by merely packing it in ice there would be no 
danger of actual freezing, as the ice would always be in a melting 
state.” 
Thus the whole difficulty was foreseen and provided against ; and 
