94 Proceedings of the Newport Natural History Society. 
chored these boxes in gently running water. The eggs, 
thus removed from noxious influences and yet placed in 
conditions resembling those of nature, were allowed to 
hatch, and were examined from time to time. He saw the 
eyes of the young fish appear at the end of three weeks, 
and the body in a week more, and five weeks later the 
young fish were hatched out. A month later the yolk-sac 
was absorbed and the fry, liberated from the boxes, began 
to feed upon minute animal organisms in the water. They 
grew well and at the age of six months were in a con¬ 
dition to be used for replenishing the streams and ponds. 
Jacobi observed that the eggs would spoil if heaped up, 
but his only remedy was to stir them frequently with a 
rod. His experiments were, upon the whole, successful and 
later attracted the attention of Sir Humphrey Davy. In 
1771 they were rewarded by a life-pension from King 
George III. A large fish-farm was built near Hanover, 
under government auspices, and here Jacobi, and his sons 
after him, practised their art until 1825, selling their trout 
in Germany, England and France. The importance of the 
discovery was thoroughly appreciated at the time, and his 
experiments were much discussed, and were often success¬ 
fully repeated in biological laboratories with trout hnd sal¬ 
mon and also with other fish. Thq matter was practically 
tested at Steinberg in Germany where it is recorded that 
from 1200 eggs 1000 fry were hatched, and of these 800 
grew to maturity, a yield of 67 per cent. Jacobi’s method 
was introduced into Italy as early as 1791, into Bohemia 
in 1824 and into Switzerland in 1842, though privately 
and not in public establishments. The first government 
to take the matter up was that of Norway in 1850. The 
method reached Finland in 1852, Belgium, Holland and 
Russia in 1854, Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand 
(by the introduction of English salmon) in 1862, Canada 
in 1863, and finally Japan in 1877, though it is said that 
fish-hatching was practised in the last named country some 
two centuries ago. 
