2 NEW SOUTH WALES 
work in the Colony, both in public institutions and in private libraries. 
Besides this, the Hon. W. Macleay has published a complete Catalogue 
of Australian Fishes, and thus all that science has done can be easily: 
and thoroughly known. This catalogue adds more than 600 to the 
number of known Australian species, which is now about 1,150. 
It is not intended in this essay to give a detailed description of all 
our fishes, but merely figures and descriptions of the more common 
ones, or those useful kinds which employ the industry of our fishermen 
and fill our markets. Such information will be added as to the habits 
and mode of capture as will be useful either to the professional fisher- 
man or the sportsman. All that is known of our fishing-grounds will 
be given too. This, with any knowledge that we have of the economical 
uses of our fishes, with our fishing laws, and all the statistics available, 
will it is hoped make this essay a complete handbook of our New South 
Wales Fisheries. 
Ihterature.—First of all it may be useful to state what has been 
hitherto done in this direction. In 1870 Mr. Alex. Oliver published, in 
the “Industrial Progress of the Colony,” a paper on the Fisheries of 
New South Wales. In 1874 the late Mr. Edward Smith Hill wrote a 
series of fourteen articles for the Sydney Mail, entitled “ Fishes of and 
Fishing in New South Wales.” These are most interesting and valuable, 
and will be often referred to in this essay. In 1877 there was an 
Oyster Commission appointed for N. 8. Wales, which published a 
report. Besides these works and the Report of 1880 already referred 
to, there are the special writings on the subject of Australian Fishes 
by Count F. de Castelnau, published either in the Journal of the 
Linnean Society of New South Wales or in the Proceedings of the 
Zoological Society of Victoria for 1872 and 1873. Therc were also two 
scarcely less valuable or extensive essays published in the official reports 
of the Victorian Intercolonial Exhibitions for 1873 and 1876. The 
work of the Hon. W. Macleay has been already referred to; but it may 
be mentioned that, though appearing first in the Proceedings of the 
Linnean Society of New South Wales, it was also published separately 
in two volumes for private circulation. Finally, there is an edition of the 
new Fisheries Act by A. Oliver. No other original writers need be men- 
tioned, because the works of Cuvier and Valenciennes, Sir John Richard- 
son, and Dr. Giinther have no special reference to Australia, and the 
Australian fishes described in them occur casually. It is necessary to 
state, however, that no complete knowledge of any species can be obtained 
without reference to the great Catalogue of Fishes by Dr. A. O. L. G. 
Ginther, F.R.S., published in eight volumes by the Trustees of the 
British Museum, or the same author’s work on the Study of Fishes, 
which is an augmented reprint of his article on Ichthyology in the ninth 
edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. 
Definition.—It will be necessary first of all to state what is a fish. 
Some readers will be surprised, if not amused, at such an idea. As if 
everybody did not know what a fish is. Yet a ‘fish has peculiarities 
which very few know, therefore a valuable increase to our knowledge 
will be gained by the definition. A fish is a vertebrate animal living 
in water, and breathing water by means of gills, It has cold red 
blood, but circulated by means of a heart with only two chambers, a 
ventricle and an anti-chamber or auricle or bulb. The limbs when 
