D.—No. 2

10

PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE INTRODUCTION

salmon ova was then forthwith opened, and to the joy of the anxious observers it was found that a considerable portion of its contents were still in a sound and promising condition. No examination of the remaining boxes was deemed necessary; but the most energetic measures w T ere immediately taken for the speedy transfer of the ova, with the remainder of the ice, amounting to about twelve tons, from the " Norfolk " to the hold of the " Victoria." Strong wooden boxes were prepared, in each of which fifteen of the small original boxes of ova,, covered over with a considerable thickness of ice, and enveloped in blankets, were securely packed. With commendable foresight these boxes were fitted up so as to admit of their being at once slung on bamboos, and thus carried by bearers from the termination of tho navigable portion of the Derwent to the ponds on the Plenty, a distance of nearly four miles ; and this arrangement was, in practice, found greatly to facilitate the conveyance of the ova over that part of the way. Thus prepared, eleven boxes containing 170 of the original packages were carefully removed from the "Norfolk" to the "Victoria," and deposited in a part of tho hold least exposed to the injurious action of the machinery, from which they were further protected by placing stuffed pads between the boxes. The remaining eleven boxes were retained by tho Acclimatization Society, for the purpose of being hatched in Melbourne, without exposing them to the possible accidents and certain delay involved in a second voyage, and to the tremor caused by the action of the screw, from which Mr. Youl, as well a3 the Commissioners, had apprehended considerable danger to the life of tho ova. In the presence of a large ice manufactory, in close proximity to which the hatching box was placed by the Acclimatization Society, and where could be obtained at all times an unlimited supply of ice, so essential to the well-being of the ova, that body possessed an element of* success not enjoyed by the Commissioners in this Colony, whose sole dependence rested on the surplus from the ice-house of tho " .Norfolk." The Commissioners, therefore, cannot but regard the retention of a small portion of the ova in Melbourne as a prudent course, and as affording an additional guarantee against the failuro of this great undertaking. All necessary arrangements having been completed on board the " Victoria," that vessel took her departure for Hobart Town on the morning of the 18th of April, and dropped her anchor in the Derwent at 3 o'clock in the afternoon of tho 20th of that month. She was immediately visited by tho Commissioners present in Hobart Town; and the work of removing the ova and ice, now reduced to about ten tons, into a barge provided for their reception, was forthwith begun. Tho zeal evinced by Captain Norman, his officers, and men, soon brought that work to a conclusion; and all was completed in less than six hours. At 9 p.m. tho barge was taken in tow by tho little steamer "Emu," which had been waiting all day ready to start at a moment's notice, having on board two of the Commissioners and Air. Rainsbottom ; and at 1 a.m. on the following morning safely reached the wharf at New Norfolk, where the barge, with its invaluable cargo, was securely moored and carefully guarded until daylight appeared. As soon as it was known that the ova had reached New .Norfolk, gentlemen residing in the town and its vicinity vied with each other in their offers of assistance, by their servants and teams. At an early hour the barge was towed from tho steam wharf to tho place of debarkation at the Palls, where from forty to fifty bearers and ten horse teams were waiting to take a part in the transport of the ova and ice to the banks of the Plenty. Pive of tho largo cases of ova were, without loss of time, landed from the barge; and being slung on bamboos, for which they had been prepared in Melbourne, they were placed on the shoulders of tho men selected to carry them, and were, in a space of a little more than two hours, safely and without the slightest: accident deposited on the margin of their new home. In like, manner, and with the same success, tiio remainder of tho cases wore brought up from the barge, five at a later period of tho same day, and the remaining one; early on the following morning. Some hours after the first portion of the cases bad reached their destination, and after some alterations had been made in the gravel of the hatching boxes in the, ponds, Air. Ramsbottom, zealously assisted by one of the Commissioners, Mr. Alorton All port, began the process of unpacking the ova from the little boxes in which they had been so long imprisoned, and placing them in the limpid stream which had long been awaiting their advent. This operation was continued during the remaining part of tho afternoon and a groat portion of the night, and actively resumed at the dawn of the following day, iv the course of which it was concluded, This process was conducted by Air. Ramsbottom in Ihe most careful manner, and in tho way which his experience and observation had taught him was least likely to injure the delicate and sensative ova. The layer of moss, over tho surface of which the ova were scattered, was immersed in the gently flowing water of the breeding troughs, by the action of which the ova, both dead and living, were quickly disengaged from the moss, and quietly settled down on the gravel below. 'liie removal of the dead ova was a further, and subsequent, as well as a laborious and delicate task, but was executed with all possible despatch. After a considerable number of tho small boxes had been opened, and their contents examined, it was seen that the condition of the ova varied greatly in the different packages. While in some the greater portion of the ova still retained their vitality and healthy aspect, in others nearly every one had perished. After some further opportunity | of observation, it was perceived by Mr. Ramsbottom and the Commissioners present, that a close and almost unvarying relation existed between tho fate of the ova and the condition of the moss in which they were enveloped. Whore the moss retained its natural green hue and elasticity, thcro a large proportion of toe ova retained a healthy vitality. Where, on tho contrary, tho moss was of a brown colour, and in a collapsed or compressed form, few of the ova were found alive, and all were more or less entangled in a network of fungus. The Commissioners cannot, therefore, help suspecting that the condition and quantity of the moss in which the. ova were imbedded in each small box greatly influenced their health and vitality. Messrs. Allport and Ramsbottom, by whom the chief part of the ova wero transferred from the packing-boxes to the ponds, assured the Commissioners that the smallest amount of mortality was invariably found to