8 THE ACCLIMATISATION 



the troughs would probably have killed 

 them in a few days. The first attempt 

 made was in 1852, by a Mr. Boccius, and 

 he not only decided on making his trial 

 with the ova, but was conscious of the im- 

 portance of protecting them from me- 

 chanical injury. Failure in this point 

 alone has been the primary cause of disap- 

 pointment in several otherwise promising 

 shipments, until Mr. James A. Youl devised a 

 simple plan which has never entirely failed, 

 and in some instances has proved so suc- 

 cessful that we may fairly regard it as the 

 principal instrument in solving the most 

 difficult problem in acclimatisation yet en- 

 countered, the influence of which on pisci- 

 culture we cannot yet fully estimate. Mr. 

 Boccius' attempt to transmit the ova to 

 Tasmania, though it cost him £300, failed 

 from two causes. In the first place, he did 

 not succeed in shielding them from injury, 

 and in the second, he had no provision for 

 keeping the temperature low enough. In 

 each mesh of a gutta-percha sieve a single 

 ovum was placed, and the sieve fixed in the 



