19 
he hatched at the fish ponds at Ercildoune and took a large 
number of the young fish himself to Gippsland and put 
them in the Snowy River and other suitable streams, while 
others were sent to rivers in the Western District. Mr. 
Souet, accompanied by Major Puichas, who has always 
been an enthusiastic member of the Council, conveyed 
4,000 of these young fish to the Badger Creek, near Heales- 
ville, driving up through the night to avoid the heat, but 
this experiment has so far resulted in failure, as the fish 
have never been seen or caught, though several were re¬ 
ported to have been seen going down the Yarra to the sea, 
but have never returned through the foul waters of the 
Lower Yarra. Other fish besides the trout and the salmon 
have also been brought to the colony, such as the goura- 
mier, an excellent pond fish from the Mauritius, the Eng¬ 
lish tench, the perch, the carp, and the dace. Amongst crus¬ 
tacean fish, the English crab was also imported alive, but its 
acclimatisation is a matter of doubt. 
Xor were the efforts of the Council of the Society re¬ 
stricted to the acclimatisation of beasts, birds, and fishes, 
but useful insecta were also introduced, and have established 
themselves. Amongst these I may mention the Ligurian 
bee, four hives of which were received in 1862, and it is 
believed that they have successfully established themselves 
in the colony. Attempts were also made to introduce the 
glow-worm of England, which prey on and destroy the gar¬ 
den snail, but though these creatures were successfully im¬ 
ported, it is doubtful if they have been acclimatised. 
Such is a history of the acclimatisation efforts of the So¬ 
ciety, many of which are disheartening enough, and in 1879 
the question of establishing a zoological collection was dis¬ 
cussed, and Mr. Le Souef was requested by the Council to 
♦ visit some of the principal Zoos in Europe, not only to ob¬ 
tain an insight into their working, but also to purchase ani¬ 
mals and birds for the intended collection. He left in 
February, t88c, and returning in August of the same year, 
brought back several valuable specimens, including a pair 
of young lions, purchased from the Bristol Society. The 
next business was to erect suitable buildings, and this work, 
with the valuable services of Major Purchas as architect, 
was at once proceeded with. An Act of Parliament was 
also obtained, incorporating the Society, and giving it power 
to borrow money up to £to,ooo. This power was acted 
upon to the extent of £3,000 to enable the Society to put 
up the necessary buildings. From that period the Zoo 
gardens have progressed in importance and in favour with 
the public, and there are now upwards of 100 buildings, 
cages, aviaries, and enclosures, and a large and interesting 
