| OCR Text |
Show 1870.] INTRODUCTION OF SALMON INTO TASMANIA. 17 it seems marvellous now that Mr. Bidwell's suggestion was not earlier acted upon ; but after the paper was read, it was little likely to attract attention, as it was indexed in the volume referred to under the letter B simply as a letter from J. C. Bidwell on the introduction of fish, and was only recently brought to light in the close search for every scrap of information relating to the early history of the Salmon experiment. Early in the year 1858 the Royal Society of Tasmania appointed a committee of the Fellows to consider certain questions submitted by the then Colonial Secretary relative to the introduction of Salmon into Tasmania and the payment of a reward of _£500 voted by the Tasmanian Parliament for such introduction. The report of this committee, dated the 16th of March, 1858, amongst other things, strongly urged on the Government the necessity of providing breeding- ponds for the deposition of ova or fry on their first arrival in the Colony ; and on this suggestion the Government afterwards acted. In the year 1859 Mr. James Arundel Youl, a gentleman who from that date expressed his conviction of ultimate success, and has exhibited untiring zeal and industry in the management of such portions of the various attempts as had to be conducted in Great Britain, prevailed upon a body of gentlemen in England, known as the Australian Association, to take up the cause; and ultimately they despatched about 50,000 Salmon-ova in the ship ' S. Curling' from Liverpool, bound to Melbourne, under the charge of one Alexander Black. The 'S. Curling' sailed on the 25th of February, 1860, having fifteen tons of Wenham-Lake ice in an ice-house on board to keep down the temperature of the water supplied to the apparatus in which the ova were placed ; but on the 24th of April, and the fifty-ninth day out, the last of the ice melted and the last ovum died, no practical knowledge whatever having been derived from the experiment. By some accident no intimation of the intention to despatch ova by the ship ' S. Curling' reached Tasmania till after the departure of the vessel from England ; but upon the intelligence being received, and to prevent the loss of any ova which might have arrived, the Government caused suitable ponds to be rapidly constructed on the banks of a small stream known as the "North-west Bay River," about twelve miles from Hobart Town. These ponds were ultimately abandoned in favour of a more suitable site. In the year 1860 the question of the introduction of Salmon was referred to a joint committee of both Houses of the Tasmanian Legislature ; and, acting upon a suggestion of that committee, the Government afterwards appointed a body of Honorary Commissioners to whose management the whole experiment was thenceforth intrusted. The next attempt was made in 1862, in the 'Beautiful Star,' a small iron vessel of 120 tons burden, built for a steamer, but sent out under canvas. An ice-house was built between decks, and very elaborate apparatus of two kinds prepared for the reception of the ova, 50,000 in number. In the ice-house a deal box containing ova packed in wet PROC. ZOOL. Soc-1870, No. II. |
