Rivers of Scotland into Tasmania. 139 



habits of the Salmon, caused zinc tickets, marked and 

 numbered, to be affixed to all the spawned sahnon he could 

 catch, and a register to be kept of the weights of the fishes 

 so marked, and of the dates. Amongst many others, a 

 spawned salmon was taken in March, 1845, which weighed 

 10 pounds : in the space of five weeks and three days the 

 same salmon, with the Duke's ticket attached to it, was 

 caught returning from the sea, and it then weighed 21 

 pounds and a quarter.* 



Such is a sketch of the early life and history of the 

 Salmon, from the period of its being hatched to the time 

 of its returning to its native river as a full grown fish. 

 The question as to the mode of bringing them out here, 

 most likely to succeed, remains to be determined. 



Mr. Young, who has so cheerfully promised his assistance 

 to Mr. Burnett in procuring fish or spawn, and putting it on 

 board a ship bound for the Colony, suggests two methods ; — 

 one is to bring out the spawn, and the other to bring young 

 fish. 



With regard to the first of these propositions, there 

 would be no difficulty in making the experiment, but there 

 is much doubt of its succeeding ; — in the first place, the 

 spawn takes 90 to 140 days in which to be hatched in its 

 own rivers, the time being in proportion to the temperature 

 of the water : now, the temperature of the water in the rivers 

 during the winter would be very low, which of course could 

 not be the case in any water or gravel in which the spawn 

 might be placed for transport hither. On the contrary, the 

 temperature would necessarily be high during the voyage, 

 and so expedite the hatching ; and the delicate young fish, 

 if produced on board, would have no chance of living. 



• The full grown Salmon weighs from 20 to 40 pounds and upwards. 

 Yarrell mentions a female Salmon brought to Mr. Grove, Fishmonger, of 

 Bond-street, in 1821, which weighed 83 pounds. 



