12 THE ACCLIMATISATION 



was briefly this: The ice-house consisted 

 of two rooms, one within the other, lined 

 with lead, having an interspace of seven 

 inches filled with powdered charcoal as a 

 non-conductor, and fitted with drain pipes 

 to carry off to the bilge the water from the 

 melting ice. A water tank was erected 

 over the ice-house with a pipe leading into 

 and passing twice round it, emerging above 

 the place devoted to the ova, and allowing 

 a gentle and continuous stream of water to 

 pass over them as they lay on gravel in 

 swing trays with an incline of 2^ in. to the 

 foot, thus simulating, as far as possible, 

 natural conditions. The shipment was 

 committed to the charge of Mr. Black, 

 whose care in removing dead ova and 

 otherwise attending to his duties was unre- 

 mitting ; but the passage was long, the 

 fifteen tons of ice melted rapidly, the ova 

 were no doubt knocked about in conse- 

 quence, and the last of them was found to 

 be dead when the ship had been sixty- 

 eight days out, m lat. S. 29° 62', long. W. 

 27° 38', the temperature then being 76° 



