THE HISTORY OF A SALMON.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4211, 18 September 1874, Page 3

THE HISTORY OF A SALMON.

(From Land and Water, July 11.) Amongst tiro'latest arrivals'at the Brighton Aqmvinm is a salmon—a true Sulmo talar. Although nearly fourteen months old, ho is only two and a-half inches long—hot so big as a largo minnow. His history is a curious .and eventful ono. On tho 14th of .January, 1873, J[r. James A. Youl (who, in recognition of his efforts to stock the rivers of our Antipodean Colonies with salmon and trout, lias recently been honored by Her Majesty with the Companionship of the Order of St. Michael and St. George) sent out to Now Zealand, in the ship Oberou, 120,000 salmon ova, packed with moss in 227 deal boxes. Each box measured ten inches by eight, and was four inches deep. To arrest the development of tho young fish in the eggs during the long voyage, and to prevent their being hatched out before arriving at their destination, the boxes were surrounded by blocks of ice, which froze together in a solid mass, in a, chamber specially prepared for them. The Oberou arrived at Port Chalmers, Otago, on the Ist of May, and when the icehouse was opened, it was found- that of the twenty-five tons of ice put on board, not more than live tons at tho outside, had melted away on the voyage. A hundred thousand of the ova were transhipped to Southland, from which about six hundred salmon were hatched; the remainder were taken to the Province of Canterbury, and from these only sixty youpg fish were obtained. Dangers incurred in the transhipment are supposed to account, in some measure, for the arrival at maturity of so small a proportion of the ova. Of a previous consignment of salmon eggs by tho Lincolnshire, in 18C0, nearly 10 per cent, were hatched. That he might ascertain whether the ova were properly fecundated, and compare the produce of those exposed to tho vicissitudes of a sea voyage with that of others kept at home under similar conditions, Mr. Youl retained four boxes from the batch, and placed them in the vaults of the Wenham Lake Ice Company, in the Strand, on the very same day that their companions wore lodged in the ice-room of the Oberon. They wore opened on the 2nd of May, after being, 108 days in ice; and, as was afterwards learned, just ono day after the arrival of the ship in New Zealand. The four boxes contained about 2200 eggs. Of these Mr. Youl gave all but 170 to various friends; and in all, 500 fish were obtained from them. In the m<sst successful experiment the youngsters were not “ born in a bower/' but hatched in a pie-dish, under the dripping of a tap from which fell eight drops ,of water per minute—an example of good work being done by a skilful and careful operator with inexpensive apparatus From tho 170 eggs which Mr. Youl transferred to his own troughs 120 salmon were produced, the first of which made it appearance on tho 15th of May. Of these

lie gave away seventy when they were two months old, and of the fifty which lie kept, and hoped to rear to adult salmonhood, the lively little follow which he has entrusted to iny charge at Brighton is the sole survivor.