THE COTTAGE GARDENER. 
Juke 15. 
232 
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actually copulate, and that the male fish impregnates the 
immense body of ova contained in the female (and reaching 
! in a compact mass from the vent to the gills'), in the 
ordinary way adopted by land animals, viz., by copulation. 
This 1 take to be an impossibility; besides, if it was so, why 
should so much care be taken by artificial breeders of 
salmon to use the milt of the male fish with which to 
impregnate the ova of the female, after having pressed it 
from her. I have hundreds of times seen the pea-fish for 
a considerable time on the pit, upon which she remained 
quite motionless; at intervals she would rise twelve or 
sixteen inches from the bottom, throw herself on her side, 
and‘rig’ in a curious way, which I consider to be the means 
to facilitate the expulsion of the ova. After being for some 
time occupied in this way, I have seen the male fish, who 
all the time closely attended (and seemed intent on driving 
off the number of trout who were on the watch to snap up 
the pea), come and take the place of the female, and remain 
on the pit for five or six minutes, and I have not the 
slightest doubt but that he, during that time, ejected a 
portion of bis milt on the ova already deposited. As for the 
males leaving the rivers together, I know they do not, any 
more than the females; and both drop down the river 
slowly, and at intervals—a flood greatly hurries llieir journey 
back to the sea. Mr. Ffennell remarks, that the clean fish 
which occur in the Caraglier, in the month of January, 
spawned the following November. Now, I would like to 
know when they spawned, previous to the time of their 
appearance as clean or spring fish in the month of January ? 
It November was the time, then they had but two months to 
spawn, go to the sea, and return spring fish. I think it 
would not be very easy to pass for a clean run fisli, one that 
was full of ova two months before. It would also seem, by- 
Mr. Ifennell’s theory, that the fish which remained all the 
summer in the lake and river must have been all females, as 
according to his idea the males do not arrive until after the 
summer had passed and the swarming time had come. j 
Now it is notorious, that during the summer, fish (both 
pcale and salmon) of both sexes are continually ascending 
the rivers, and can it be possible that after the close season 
commences, all the males turn back and remain in the sea 
or estuaries until the time for continuing their species 
arrives? I perfectly agree with Mr. Andrews, that fish 
remaining all the summer in fresh water are not in a healthy 
state for spawning; every angler knows that even the spring 
fish, after being in the river for any length of time become 
discoloured, and the longer they remain in the fresh water, 
the more they deteriorate both in appearance and quality. 
But as for the males leaving the river cu masse, I do not credit 
it at all; I know they do not in the Bandon river,as I every 
year take them quite as late in the spring as the spent 
pea-fish, both having the appearance resulting from a 
lengthened stay in the fresh water. Mr. Andrews was 
quite correct in styling the Bandon a late river, and that 
fish were in good condition late in the season. It would, 
I think, vastly contribute to the increase of salmon in 
that river, if the season continued for at least fifteen days 
longer and at the same time I think the open season might 
with the greatest safety be continued until the middle of 
October. I killed two salmon on the 29th September last, 
and I never saw or eat better fish—one was a male and the 
other a female; the pea in the latter was not larger than 
snipe shot. I am, therefore, of opinion that it is not fair to 
close the Bandon and other late rivers, nor open them at the 
same time as rivers in which the fish spawn earlier; in fact, 
the principal spawning time in the Bandon is from the 12th 
of January to the end of February.” 
Mr. Andrews said that he was fully prepared to make any 
comments on the valuable statement that Mr. 'Williams had 
just submitted, as well as upon any discussion that might 
arise ; but he agreed with the chairman that the time of the 
evening did not admit discussion, notwithstanding the vast 
importance of the subject. He regretted the absence of 
Mr. Ffennell, who, he was sure, would clear up any of the 
points in discussion. Mr. Andrews did not consider that 
the society had anything to do with the legal question of 
the periods of the close or open seasons; it was the natural 
history and habits of the salmon it had to deal with. Mr. 
Andrews always placed great importance on the knowledge 
ot practical men, and where science could be combined with 
such knowledge, there were no difficulties of the subject that 
could not be unravelled. There was, however, one class 
Mr. Andrews did not consider useful—non-practical philo¬ 
sophers ; their names gave weight to their opinions, but he 
; had seen some writings upon subjects where, through the 
' want of that practical knowledge, scientific errors had 
been culled and perpetuated to the injustice of the 
subject. In early days, Mr. Andrews had been a devoted 
fly-fisher, and had been well trained on the Slaney, under the 
guidance of Old Foley of Newtownbarry, who had not his 
equal as a salmon-fisher; and in our western rivers he had 
long experience with his companion, James O’Gorman, a 
first-rate salmon fisher, and son of the famous O'Gorman 
i who wrote the “ Practice of Angling in Ireland.” 
The meeting was then adjourned to the month of June. 
PO I'LTRY-YARD RE PORT. 
May, 1851. 
SFANISH V. SHANOIIAE. 
Weight favours the Spanish this month, and doubtless 
number of eggs would have been in their favour also, had 
; I not tried an experiment. In justice to the Shaughaes, 
1 must state they suffered equally, but without affecting 
them, as they could scarcely have laid another dozen witli- 
I out laying two in the day. The Experiment was simply 
I reducing the amount of food to the standard spoken of in 
your numbers for March ; they have not a large run, and 
the experiment told wofully on the Spanish : sometimes 
the nests were quite empty, and frequently only contained a 
solitary egg. 
The report is as follows :— 
shanghaes. 
Total Number laid .... 71 
lbs. o/j . drs. 
Ditto weight .... 8 8 1 
Highest weight of 
single egg .... 0 2 I 
double-yoked, and laid by 
same hen as last report. 
mixoucas. 
Total number laid .. 01 
lbs. 07. drs. 
Ditto Weight .. 7 12 7 
( Highest weight of 
single egg ....() 2 4 
The invalid Shanghae, in spite of cod-liver oil, Ac., Ac., 
died — the lungs loaded with tubercles. The perform¬ 
ances of the others are briefly these. The two that com- 
meneed laying again on the 19th and 20th of April sat I 
on the 25th and Kith of May respectively ; to the latter J 
I soon gave, for a few days, some older chicken, and have I 
turned her back into the yard. The mother with J 
chickens laid again on the 8tli, while on the 20th and 20tli 
the two others laid, in each case, within three weeks of | 
hatching time. 
The Minorca pullet has improved, but the latest report I 
stated no eggs; the hen that commenced laying in January 
is now sitting since the 30th of this month (May). 
H. B. S., Monmouthshire. 
HOLMFIRTH SPRING POULTRY SHOW. 
The idea of a spring poultry show, on the Holmfirth 
Feast Monday (May 29th), originated with the leading 
members of the rig and Poultry Association, and was a 
praiseworthy effort to place within the reach of the working 
men fcf the district a source of innocent and rational 
recreation at this festive season, which does the promoters 
of the show much credit; and though in a pecuniary point 
of view they are likely to be losers to some inconsiderable 
extent, yet the committee, we believe, are well satisfied to 
make up the loss, as they have been the means of collecting 
together some of the very best specimens of poultry that 
have ever yet been exhibited in Yorkshire at this season of 
the year. Though this pleasing sight was not appreciated 
to the extent they anticipated by the working-classes, yet, as 
a first experiment, the attendance towards the close of the 
day was far from discouraging, and such, indeed, as we trust 
will induce the committee to make the experiment another 
year. Turning from the general features of the show tn 
