66 THE ACCLIMATISATION 



of the eggs. The ova were taken by him- 

 self, Mr. Edon, Mr. Marshall, and others 

 under his superintendence, and it is impos- 

 sible to doubt that they were properly 

 fertilized by one who has had so much 

 experience in this work. The account of 

 the packing had better be given in his own 

 words. The ship Timarii was lying at 

 Glasgow, and the ice - house built in her 

 hold was capable of containing between 

 thirty and forty tons of ice, and was sur- 

 rounded by a " skin " of sawdust eighteen 

 inches thick. The packing boxes measured 

 a cubic foot, and inside each were five or 

 six trays fiUed with sphagnum moss. " The 

 tray containing moss was sunk into the. 

 water, the eggs were then taken from 

 another vessel by means of a small shovel 

 made of perforated zinc ; with this they 

 were then distributed among the moss, and, 

 being still under water, were separated one 

 from the other by means of a soft brush." 

 This is all Mr. Buckland gives us ! It 

 seems to have been a complicated process, 

 and the use of the shovel could not be 



