ME. Y. DAY Oy IJKITISK SALMO^'ES. -LOS 



soiitli of England has so altered since its introduction into the 

 waters of the Antipodes that the breed has increased in size, 

 while, food being abundant, certain organic changes have occurred. 

 Dr. Giinther, in an interesting manner, ignores the facts thus 

 obtained by observing that "it is a fact that numerous cross-breeds 

 have been introduced into and reared in Tasmania, which must more 

 or less interfere with the character of the pure breeds " (Introd. 

 p. 64:2). JSTeither does this view agree with his theory that " the 

 hybrids mix again with one of the parent species, thus producing 

 an offspring more or less similar to the pure breed " (I. c. p. 631)*. 

 I therefore prefer accepting the statements of Mr. Allport and 

 Mr. Arthur, more especially as their correctness as to whence 

 the ova came is capable of being verified, and with respect to 

 this I have been at some considerable pains. The trout-ova 

 (1200 to 1500) sent by Bucldand in 186Ji came from fish taken 

 " in a branch of the Itchen which runs through the garden of 

 Admiral Keppel, at Bishopstoke, near Winchester " (Buckland, 

 Brit. Eishes, p. 317); while the readers of the Tield' have 

 been informed, upon what appears to be reliable evidence, that 

 the remainder, which were sent by Mr. Francis Francis, were 

 obtained from brook-trout inhabiting streams that are affluents 

 of the Thames. 



To obviate errors, I mil trace as briefly as possible the whole 

 of this interesting experiment (except as to the collection of the 

 ova, which has already been referred to) — when the eggs were 

 sent out, and what became o£ them. From at least 1200 to 1500 

 trout-ova were despatched in the ship ' Norfolk,' which left 

 Falmouth on January 28th, 186-1, anchored at Hobart Town on 

 April 20th, and on the 21st reached the ponds, about 300 trout- 

 ova arriving alive. In Mr. Allport's account, " on the 8th day 

 of February, 1866, the ship ' Lincolnshire ' left Plymouth bound 

 for Melbourne, having on board about 103,000 ova of salmon 

 (Salmo fario\) and 15,000 ova of sea-trout {S. truUa), stowed in 

 an ice-house," reaching H.obson's Bay on the 30th April, 1866 

 (see Proc. Zool. Soc. 1870, p. 23) ; but he alludes to the ova 



* Examined from a different point of view, it may be asked to what original 

 breed of British freshwater non-migratory trout have these fish reverted, if the 

 British-Museum Catalogue is correct that none, except the Loch-Leven, have 

 more than 50 CEecal appendages ? for the Otago ones (New Zealand, distributed 

 from Tasmania) show as many as 54. 



t This probably means 8. salar, but may refer to botli. 



