138 
THE CALIFORNIAN SALMON. 
Tarra and the Badger, at seven a.m. The fish were carried 
in two large cans not unlike, in shape and size, the vessels 
commonly employed by milk-vendors. By the application 
of ice, the temperature of the water was kept low, and air 
was injected at intervals by means of a pair of bellows and 
a perforated indiarubber tube. Mr. Le Souers party 
halted a short time at Coranderrk, where additional assist- 
ance was obtained, and then drove more than a mile 
further up the creek. The Badger is a stream which 
enters the Tarra on the north side, and is the next 
tributary above the Watts Eiver. No introduced fish have 
hitherto been placed in the creek, and it is inhabited by no 
more dangerous residents than the black -fish. Trout were 
put into the Watts some years ago, and they have since 
been caught there in considerable numbers. Cod frequent 
the Tarra below the Watts, but the Badger is perfectly 
free from inhabitants likely to prove unfriendly to the 
young salmon. Two places about a quarter of a mile 
apart, were selected for the deposit of the fry, and the 
operation of ladling them from the cans into the stream 
was successfully got through before ten o’clock. The fish 
were in splendid condition, for not more than two dozen 
(out of several thousands) were found dead. As soon as 
the fry were liberated, they showed themselves to be lively 
and strong, and swam about in little shoals, with their 
heads up-stream, evidently pleased with their new quarters. 
They averaged about two inches in length. A clear moun- 
tain creek like the Badger may be regarded as an excellent 
nursery. Should the grown fish be able, when they set 
out for the sea, to pass through the foul water which fills 
the river in the neighbourhood of Melbourne, a problem of 
great importance will be happily solved. It is believed 
that, with the assistance of a seasonable freshet, which they 
will probably wait for, the salmon will make their way 
