26 
tralian continent, where they would increase more rapidly than in 
their native country where the lion and panther kept down their 
numbers. This would be a boon to humanity and facilitate the ex¬ 
ploration and settlement of the land by rendering the wild supply 
of food abundant. The same holds good for the deer, birds, and 
fish of similar latitudes in the northern hemisphere, all the best of 
which would flourish in our country if introduced. He explained 
that the word Acclimatisation did not well indicate the nature of 
their most successful and important labours, which, as he explained, 
were the introduction to a given clime of all the useful pro¬ 
ducts of other lands of similar climates, rather than as wits popu¬ 
larly supposed an attempt to change the habit of wild creatures and 
endeavour to make them bear clinnites to which they were not origi¬ 
nally suited. 
Dr. Black stated that it gave him great pleasure to announce 
that he was in receipt of information from Dr. Officer stating that 
the salmon had returned from the sea to the Derwent. The letter 
also conveyed the pleasing intelligence that the trout had so much 
increased in size that they were now over three pounds weight. 
He thought, therefore, that they might reasonably look forward to 
the time when these fish would be acclimatised in Victoria and the 
neighbouring colonies. He regarded the success as one of the 
greatest achievements of modern times, and wished to give all honour 
and praise to the Governments of Victoria and Tasmauia for the 
prompt and efficient manner in which they had rendered every aid 
to bring to a happy conclusion an undertaking of such magnitude, 
aud one fraught with such invaluable advantages to the whole of the 
Australian colonies. The steam sloop “ Victoria,” under Commander 
Norman, has been twice placed by our Government at the disposal 
of the Society to convey the precious freight to Tasmania, where 
every preparation has been made by the Salmon Commissioners for 
its reception, and under the happy guidance of these gentlemen, and 
the supervision of the son of the eminent pisciculturist, Mr. Rams- 
bottom, entire success has now crowned their efforts. He might 
also mention that the ova of the brown trout just referred to were 
procured by Dr. Buckland and Mr. Francis Francis, of London, and 
sent out by Mr. Youl expressly to Mr. Edward Wilson, the then 
President of this Society, whilst the ova of the salmon trout lately 
received were sent in consequence of a special request made by the 
Council to Mr. Youl. It was the original intention of the Council 
to retain the ova of these two varieties of trout in Victoria, but in 
consequence of the strong representations made by the Commissioners 
