INTEODUCTOEY. 7 



active results than ours did; probably this may- 

 have been from the fact that the art was really 

 more requisite for the re-stocking of the exhausted 

 rivers. However this may be, Gehin and Eemy 

 having carefully noted the whole process of depositing 

 the spawn, it occurred to them that this process might 

 be carried out artificially, and, thereby, vast quan- 

 tities of ova, then yearly sacrificed (the fish being 

 taken in the spawning season), having been pro- 

 perly fecundated, and planted ia the river, might be 

 saved, and little comparative damage would be done 

 to the fisheries by the practices unfortunately so 

 much in vogue. 



Having by experiments found that their plan was 

 perfectly feasible, they commenced their operations in 

 1842, although it was not until 1848 that their 

 claims to public consideration were acknowledged. 

 From that time, however, they successfully carried on 

 their process in various streams, both in France and 

 in Germany. About this time M. Coste, Professor of 

 Embryogenie in the College of France, took up the 

 subject, having been attracted to it by his experiments 

 on the embryos of fish ; and hearing of what Gehin 

 and Eemy were doing, he represented the matter to 

 the Minister of Agriculture and Commerce. The 

 attention of the Government was arrested. The 



