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Bauguine enoiigli to boHeve that we have more than a chance of re¬ 
storing tliis noble fish to oiir beautiful river. Efforts arc at this 
moment at work to obtain from the salmon spawning beds at Perth 
ova for the purpose of stocking other rivers, but I regret much to 
say that the Tay Commissioners have refused apidications for the 
salmon ova, a fatal mistake. By giving them tlicy would in reality 
lose no more than a person who gives a light to another from his 
burning candle; and by not allowing them to be taken they derive 
no advanti\go to their fishery, for a gentleman from Perth wites to 
me “ .at present wc have salmon spawning in one ford from winch as 
many ova are destroyed by trouts as would supply all that is wanted, 
and would no more impoverish the river than giving a handful of 
grain out of a granary full of corn.” I trust the Tay Commissioners 
will withdraw their refusals of ova, and assist, not endeavour to 
arrest, the progress of pisciculture. 
Of the science required for the raising fishes for the stock of home 
waters, thus speaks Sir Humphrey D.avy, in his delightful work 
^almonica :—“ TTie result is easily attained, and the difficulties are 
quite innvginary. The impregnation of the ova of fishes is performed 
out of the body, and it is only necessary to pour tbe seminal fluid from 
the milt upon the ova in water. Mr. Jacobi, a German gentlem.au, 
who iii.ade many years .ago experiments on the increase of trout and 
salmon, informs us that the ova and milt of mature fish, recently dead, 
will produce living offspring. His plan for raising trout from the 
egg w.as a very simple one. He had a box made, with a small 
wire grating at one end in the cover, for admitting water from a 
fresh source or spring, and at tbe other end of tbe side of the box 
there were a number of holes, to allow the exit of the water ; the 
bottom of the box was filled ■with pebbles and gravel of dilferent 
sizes, ■which was kept covered "with water that was always in 
motion, lu November or tbe beginnning of December, when tbe 
trout were in full maturity for spawning, and collected in tbe 
rivers for this purpose upon the beds of gravel, ho caught the 
males and females in a net, and by ])ressure of bis bands received 
tbe ova in a basin of a water, and suffered the milt or seminal fluid 
to pass into tbe basin, and after they had remained a few minutes 
together, he introduced tliem upon the gravel in the box, which 
was placed under a source of fresh, cool, and pure water. 
In a few weeks the eggs burst, and the box was filled with an 
immense number of young trout, wdiich bad a small bag attached 
to tbe lower part of their body, containing a part of the yolk of 
the egg, which was still their nourishment. In this state they 
were easily canned from place to place, in couflued portions of 
