D.—No, 2

14

PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE INTRODUCTION

their task, rendered peculiarly arduous by the stormy weather that prevailed whilst they were engaged in their work, and greatly impeded the capture of the parent fish. Mr. Tout draws the special attention of the Commissioners to the merits and exertions of Mr. Thomas Johnson, by whom a very large proportion of the ova was obtained and brought to London, without which the number required for shipment would have been greatly deficient. The ice-turase was fitted for the reception of 150,000 ova, which it was Mr. Toul's desire and intention to have placed in it; but, from the cause above mentioned, he was unable, in spite of the utmost efforts of himself and his assistants, to procure more than 104,000, consisting of about 93,000 salmon, 10,000 salmon-trout, and 500 brown trout ova. These having been carefully packed in moss, and placed in small wooden boxes of the same character and dimensions as those iised on the former occasion, were then deposited in the ice-house, covered by and distributed through a mass of thirty-five tons of ice obtained from the vaults of the Wenham Lake Ice Company. The door of the ice-house \\<is llien closed, not to be opened until the "Lincolnshire" reached her destination at the antipodes. The ship took her departure on the 20th January, the same day of the same month on which the " Norfolk" had sailed with her former shipment in 1864, with every prospect, from her well-known sailing qualities, of making a speedy voyage. Unfortunately, in passing through the Downs, she came into collision with another vessel* and suffered so much damage as to be compelled to return to port for repairs, thus greatly retarding her passage to Victoria. This unfortunate accident caused Mr. Youl much anxiety, nor was it less a source of regret and alarm to the Commissioners when they were apprised of the disaster. Both were fully aware that the ova could not be detained in their ice prison, as it then appeared certain they would be, for more than 100 days, without danger and loss. The repairs of the ship having been completed, she again started on her long voyage, and safely reached Melbourne on the Ist May, after a favourable passage of average duration, but extending to 100 days from the date of her first setting sail. On the arrival of the "Lincolnshire" in Hobson's Bay, Mr. Ramsbottom, the Superintendent of our breeding establishment at the Plenty, whom the Commissioners had despatched to Melbourne some time before, for the purpose of superintending the transhipment of the ova into flic " Victoria" steanishij), which the Government of Victoria had with the utmost liberality again placed at the service of the Commissioners, immediately proceeded on board, accompanied by the President and other members nf the Council of the Victorian Acclimatization Society. Two of the small packages of salmon ova having been anxiously inspected by these gentlemen, they were gratified by discovering that a large proportion of them appeared to be in a sound and healthy condition, notwithstanding the long and disastrous voyage to which they had been exposed. The most energetic measures were immediately adopted for the removal of the ova to the " Victoria," in effecting which Mr. Kamsbottom was cordially assisted by the Council of the Acclimatization Society and their Secretary, Mr. Sprigg, as well as by Captain Norman, who had afforded every facility and aid within his power for making the necessary preparations for the conveyance of the ova to Tasmania in the vessel under his command. The small boxes containing the ova were packed as before in large cases, but of only half the size of those used on the former occasion, which had been found too ponderous to be conveniently or easily carried from New Norfolk to the Plenty. Although the Council of the Victorian Acclimatization Society had borne a considerable share of the expense of the enterprise, they liberally, and the Commissioners considered wisely, refrained from detaining any of the salmon or salmon-trout ova to be hatched under their own care, preferring that they should have the advantage of the more complete and matured appliances at our command, with the skill and experience of our Superintendent. The small box containing Ihe brown trout ova was alone left in their charge, and these, when examined, were unfortunately found to have all perished. The cases containing the salmon and salmon-trout ova having been all securely placed hi the hold of the " Victoria," and covered over with the remnant of the ice from the " Lincolnshire," still amounting to about fifteen tons, within twenty-four hours after they reached Melbourne Captain Norman got up steam, and proceeded on his voyage across the Straits; but, in order to obviate the danger to be apprehended from the vibration caused by the machinery, using only half steam-power. This precaution must have necessarily prolonged the passage to a considerable extent; but it was unfortunately still further protracted by a dense fog that prevailed in the Straits compelling Captain Norman, for the safety of his ship and all she had on board, to proceed with the utmost caution, and even to cast anchor under Goose Island for the greater part of one night. The passage from Hobson's Bay to the Derwent thus occupied three days instead of forty hours, in which it is usually performed by the steamers trading between these two ports. From Hobart Town the ova were promptly conveyed, together with about ten tons of ice that still remained undissolved, to their future home at the Plenty, by means almost precisely the same as those employed in 1864, and which it is therefore unnecessary again to describe in detail. Within thirty hours from the arrival of the "Victoria" at Hobart Town, the whole of the ova had been safely deposited in the hatching boxes at the ponds. As soon as the first boxes reached their destination, the process of unpacking was commenced by Mr. Eamsbottom, assisted by or in presence of several of the Commissioners and many other anxious spectators. The first two packages opened presented a very discouraging aspect. In these nearly all the ova had perished. As the work proceeded, however, better indications appeared; and when all the boxes had been unpacked, the general conclusion was that nearly half, and certainly not less than 40 per cent, of the ova were to all appearance alive. Although these results were highly encouraging, and gave promise of a large degree of success, the Commissioners and their Superintendent were fully aware that the number of fish might fall far short of the number of ova that reached their hands in an apparently sound condition. The apjjearance of the ova that had perished indicated that by far the largest portion of the mortality had taken place within a very recent period, and led to the conclusion that they had been dying in large and daily increasing numbers for a week or two before their arrival at the ponds. Nor was it to be expected that this mortality would be immediately stayed by the removal of the still living ova from their late unnatural home to the waters of the pond. It was scarcely to be doubted that in many the process of