10 THE ACCLIMATISATION 



serving their vitality. It roay not safely be 

 raised above 50° nor let below 35° Fahr., 

 while the freezing-point is most probably 

 fatal. No hope was held out by the most 

 experienced pisciculturists ; and even Mr. R. 

 Eamsbottom, whose skill and care in sup- 

 plying ova in the best possible condition has 

 been conspicuous, and who has taken gen- 

 uine interest in all the experiments, thus 

 expressed himself in a letter to Mr. Youl : 

 " You might as well- try to fetch Australia 

 to England as to carry spawn to it in moss. 

 Salmon spawn must be either hatching or 

 dying from the moment it leaves the fish ; 

 you can retard it to about 140 days by a 

 low temperature, but no longer. Neither 

 one man nor another can carry living ova 

 to Australia in any way; you can send 

 young fish, that is all." This represented 

 the best opinion an expert could give at that 

 time, and was based on existing experience ; 

 but the writer heard Mr. Eamsbottom on a 

 subsequent occasion (when he brought the 

 ova down to the East India Docks in Janu- 

 ary, 1873, for shipment in the Oberon to 



