SINCLAIR ON PISCICULTURE. 27 



In those days, the transportation of live iish across the Channel 

 or German Ocean, must have been a difficult undertaking. There 

 is no account on record, showing that our ancestors were possessed 

 of the knowledge that fish could be cultivated by means of milted 

 spaw^n. 



The Province of Xova Scotia should not be the last country to 

 take advantage of, and reciprocate, the benefits which are likely to 

 accrue from the late advancement made in piscicultural science. 

 Her fresh-water lakes are of every conceivable size and kind ; no 

 country in the world offers superior natural advantages for a com- 

 paratively inexpensive introduction of many of the fish of the 

 temperate latitudes. 



The atmospheric isotherm of Xova Scotia corresponds with the 

 south of Sweden ; but her fresh water isotherm will ajDproximate 

 to that of central Germany, where the summers are warmer than 

 ours, and the lake w^aters are frozen for tv\'o or three months 

 durins; winter. 



With one or two exceptions, the fresh water fish of temperate 

 climes (indigenous or imported) cannot endure tepid waters ; those 

 few which can, do not suffer from hard winters, for the physical 

 reason that the mean temperature of all waters is the same under 

 a frozen surface. 



The interchange of different varieties of fish by the agencv of 

 man, seems to be peculiarly indicated. In agriculture, the cultiva- 

 tion of exotic plants has much more to contend with : the same 

 zones of latitude will not, as a rule, produce the same crops. For 

 instance : Xova Scotia lies in the same latitude as the south of 

 France, but will not ripen the finer sorts of wine grapes, the olive, 

 and the fig. But the Province is somewhat nearer this condition 

 than Great Britain, where the cucumber and maize will not ripen 

 in the open air. The thermal condition of our lakes is higher in 

 summer than that of the British lacustrine waters, and for a longer 

 period ; with reference to the hybernation of fish, for the reason 

 already given, they may be ranked vrith lakes only frozen occa- 

 sionally in winter elsewhere. 



Aquatic plants give a good indication for comparing the waters 

 of different countries, with the object of ascertaining whether they 

 will sustain similar species of organic creatui'es. 



