28 On the Murray River Cod. 



" bream. 3rdly. When put into the water did they swim 

 " vigorously away ? The majority of them did. Some ap- 

 " peared sickly, and after watching them a short time, five cod- 

 " fish and one bream died; indeed, four were all but dead when 

 " they arrived. One bream died about four hours after they 

 " were put into the river, and three days subsequently I found 

 " one codfish dead in the hole and one bream in the river. 

 " There have, therefore, been seven deaths out of nineteen 

 " fish ; but I am certain no more have died, as I have con- 

 " stantly watched both the river and the water-hole without 

 " having discovered any more either sick or dead, and I think 

 " that you have now living in the waters flowing to the 

 " south, nine codfish and three bream." Mr. Sherwin goes 

 on to say, " The latter fish is a fac simile of the fish of the 

 " same name so common in the Bay, Saltwater River, and 

 " Werribee. From the general appearance of the fish and 

 " the number of deaths, I was of opinion that they had been 

 " confined too long, and advised George to make shorter 

 *' trips, even though he brought fewer of them, and to feed 

 " the fish by throwing into his pen some maggotty meat, as 

 " some of them appeared to me to be suffering from starva- 

 " tion more than any other cause." 



After sundry further misadventures from floods and other 

 causes, leading to the loss, at the King Parrot Creek, of a 

 good many fish, Mr. Sherwin writes me again on the 25th 

 February : — " In my last I expressed fears that the zinc box 

 " had something in it deleterious to the lives of the fish, and 

 " I advised certain changes ; first, that a cask with a scuttle 

 " should be substituted for the cistern ; and second, shorter 

 " trips by at least three days. I am happy to inform you 

 " that these have been salutary changes, as the results show. 

 " George arrived here with nine cod and three bream (after 

 " an absence of four days), which, the instant they were put 

 " into the river, darted off vigorously and disappeared. I 

 " have constantly watched the place, both above and below, 

 " and have not found any dead. On the 23rd he came down 

 " again with another supply of twenty-eight fish — eighteen 

 " of which were cod, and ten bream, all strong, vigorous, and 

 " in beautiful condition, clean and bright, having the appear- 

 " ance generally of only having just been captured; and 

 " when put into the river they darted off instantly and dis- 

 " appeared in the deep water. I have watched constantly 

 " since, but have not found any yet either sick or dead. 



