FISH ACCLIMATISATION, 391 



trout wfiich were turned into a small pond in the park, where 

 they lived for many years. - After this I set up a small breeding 

 establishment, consisting of slate -boxes arranged in staircase 

 form, one above the other, with water laid on to run through 

 them from top to bottom, over a bed of gravel. Buckland had 

 introduced me to a Swiss-German Professor (De Vouga) who 

 lived at Neufchatel, and he for several years supplied me with 

 large quantities of ova from his piscicultural establishment in 

 Switzerland, and these I hatched and brought up in considerable 

 numbers, turning the fish, as they grew strong enough to take care 

 of themselves, into ponds in Burghley Park, and into a small lake 

 a mile and a half from the house, named Whitewater. 



All these trout (principally Salmo ferox) were hatched on the 

 old system upon gravel, which I found to be very troublesome, 

 and having discovered on trial that the ova hatched as well on 

 the bare slate of the hatching-boxes, and required less cleansing 

 and attention, the gravel was discarded altogether. My valet 

 Deane (now Steward of the Conservative Club), whom I had 

 taught how to attend to the fish-cultural establishment during 

 my absence from home, suggested trying perforated zinc trays 

 for holding the ova, so that they could be readily moved when the 

 boxes required cleaning or the ova to be transferred to other 

 water-runs in the conservatory where I hatched my fish. 

 These trays I found to answer admirably, and the following 

 year hatched some sixty or eighty thousand ova sent me from 

 America by Sir Edward Thornton, who kindly obtained them 

 from the United States Government Fish Cultural Establish- 

 ment. 



I here insert a letter to Mr. Frank Buckland, from Land 

 and Wafer, 1874, with Deane's observations and notes on the 

 treatment of trout ova ; also a letter from Deane answering 

 some enquiries I had made to him the other day. 



Fish Breeding at Burghley House, 1874. 



Dear Buckland, — ^You will be glad to hear that I have just 

 received a good remittance of ova from Mr. Robert Roosvelt, New 



