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is exposed to so many dangers, that not more than one-fourth of 

 the quantity deposited ever comes to life. Hence the urgent ne- 

 cessity for bringing forih the young, securely sheltered in these 

 breeding-ponda from the most destructive of their natural ene- 

 mies, and securing for all the fish which comes to life a safe 

 asylum, till the period wheu they may be safely sent on their 

 travels. 



" The largest experiment in salmon-breeding yet made in Great 

 Britain has been tried on the banks of the River Tay, at a spot 

 called Colinhaugh, but better known as Stormontfield, on the 

 property of the Earl of Mansfield. The operations at Stormont- 

 field originated at a meeting of the proprietors of the river 

 held in July, 185-2, when a communication by Dr. Eisdale was 

 read on the subject of artificial propagation ; and Mr. Thomas 

 Ashworth, of Poynton, explained the experiments which had 

 been conducted at his Irish fishery-station. He said that ' he 

 had entertained the opinion for a long time, that it would be 

 as easy artificially to propagate salmon in our rivers as it was to 

 raise silk-worms on mulberry-leaves, though the former were un- 

 der water, and the latter in the open air. It was an established 

 fact, that salmon and other fish may be propagated artificially in 

 ponds in millions, at a small cost, and thus be protected from 

 their natural enemies for the first year of their existence, after 

 which they will be much more capable of protecting themselves 

 than can be the case in the early stages of their existence. His bro- 

 ther and he have at the present time about 20,000 young salmon 

 in ponds, thus produced, which are daily fed with suitable food. 

 Mr. Ashworth also observed, that a great deal had yet to be dis- 

 covered in the artificial propagation and feeding of salmon. They 

 knew but comparatively little of the habits of salmon, and in 

 order that a greater amount of knowledge might be obtained, he 

 had recommended to the Commissioners of Fisheries in Ireland to 

 take a portion of the fish propagated in the way he had mention- 

 • ed from the ponds, and immerse them annually in the sea for a 

 period of three months, and to be again deposited in the ponda 

 for other nine months — to be repeated for several years. The 



