The Express.
London, England, 1864-02-22 00:00:00

PISCICULTURE.

The Acclimatisation Society of Groat Britain
having recently apportioned a sum from their funds to
make an experiment in pisciculture on a wile sufticiently
large to lest the practicability of 'applying on and young
fry for stocking riven and lakes, the first results of this
undertaking were shown on Saturday by Mr. Francis, •
member of the Council, to whom .has been entrusted the
direction of the whole subject of pisciculture. This gentle-
man, who is the author of a manual upon the subject, and
a distinguished observer of the habits and natural history
of fishes, has completely devoted bin epergne to the task by
settling on the banks of the Thames at Twickenham, near to
the spot where the river Cola joins it. The place was of
course purposely selected for its convenient and central po-
sition, and for the purity of the water of the river Cola,
which river is now, we believe, for some distance preserved
by Mr. Francis. The stream has been diverted at one
point as as to form • breeding " stew " by placing gratings
at the upper and lower junction, where the spawn can be
properly protectedifrom voracious pike, se wall as from the
gluttons of the trout and minion kind, who are, it appears,
most undoubtedly piscine cannibals, in embryo at least.
The proems of pisciculture which goes on here
is similar to that which has for some years been prac-
tised at the great oilmen fisheries of the Duke of Sutherland
and other proprietors in Scotland ; the experiment which
Mr. Francis has now very successfully performed is the arti6.
eial hatching of ova which have been impregnated in the
spawning plane and vivified up to • certain stage, and the
nursing of the thousands of helpless little tadpolean objects On'
cumbered with a bag of food as big as their tiny bodies, which
is to last them till they get • mouth and can feed themselves.
The artificial process is, of course, an imitation of the
natural one which goes on in the beds of rivers, but with
some modifications arising out of the necessity for doing
certain things which the stream does—as in removing the
newly hatched fish from the eggs, or taking away an unde-
veloped egg, which would otherwise decay and interfere
with the 'unitary arrangement of the colony. Mr. Francis
has built a thatched shed in the corner of his garden, in
which is mounted the water teak—the lake, which is to
become • river as it flows away down a series of troughs
arranged at each aide on steps by means of little junction
tubes, which give the Deanery current from one end of the
trough to the other. These troughs are of stout earthenware,
about two feet loogifrid four inches deep, with • woods*
inner trough, across which is • shelf formed of small tubes
of glass bearing the ova, which look like small peese of red-
dish oolour, all fallen in • regular rank and file along the
furrows formed by the glass rods. This is a most simple
and ingenious way of getting the eggs into order, so ea to
count them, and to pick out a bad one with the
little instrument like a miniature dumpling skimmer.
The addled egg turns white and opaque, and is
thus easily seen to be • defaulter in the ranks.
Mr. Buckland employs the more natural means of beds of
gravel for the eggs to lie on ; but it appears that the gleam
plan basin many respects great advantages. There is leas risk
of injury in handling the eggs. They ere readily counted,
which is of importance when they are to be sold at so much
per thousand, and, above all, the fish, ea they come up, find
their way between the glass rods into the lower part of the
trough, and may be transferred into • separate trough with
gravel in it. The water having supplied the troughs falls
into open tanks in the door, which is bricked over, where
the fry Sr. kept separate according to their species. There
an now about 90,000 ova and &Levkas in process of develop-
ment ; salmon, 6,500 ; salmon trout, 5,000 ; common trout,
67,000; great lake trout, 7,500; clam 4,000. The hatch-
ing was commenced on the 24th December last, and since
then about 136,000 have been placed in the troughs ; of these
more than 40,000 have been seat vivified to members of the
Society, at a charge of 2/. 10e. for ova and 30 per met. ad-
ditional if sent out in the more adverted condition of young
fry. About 5,000 or 6,000 have, it is considered, died
in the process. The Society has received the most
I valuable aid in obtaining ova from the establishment founded
by the French government at Huedigue, nest Strasbourg,
which is under the immediate superintendeuceof M. Coumes,
engineer-in-chief of works on the Rhine, and was the result
I of those researches and experiments of M. Costa, which have
attracted so much interest. This establishment supplies ,
the rivers of France, and there arrived on Saturday morning
• box full of 0111 for our Acclimatisatiors Society, the eggs
being packed in wide mouthed bottles with damp mom.
For an account or this French establishment we should
refer to the Illustrated News of last week. The Imperial
government have granted • sum of 4,0001. for buildings and
2,0001. per annum for expenses ; au example of dealing
with an important question of food and employment far
more practical than our expenditure upon sets of parliament
regulating salmon fishing, especially as they seem to require
endless amendment, and have uncommonly little effect in
cheapening the fish as an article of food. We may find out
some day that even the sea about our coasts may be ex-
hausted of its wealth of food, as the rivers have bees by
the most reckless neglect, and in many oases by per-
mitting them to be convened into common sewers and outlets
for the poisonous dyes and chemicals of the manufacturer.
The Acclimatisation Society, in libetelly voting 1201. to this
experiment, ate really rendering • service which to a great
extent may be called a national one, and if the success
proves complete, of which there is little doubt, it would be
most desirable that all rivers should be provided with the
apparatus for thus protecting and increasing the breeding
of fish. There is probably nothing to be expected in the
ahape of • grant from government, though grants are made
every day for lea feasible undertakings. The only hope
is that this society of country gentlemen and other.' in-
terested as naturalists or fishermen may nourish, and be
able to carry out pisciculture as completely as it
has for some years been practised in Francs, when not
oely river fish are bred in great profusion, but several kinds
1 of sea rich are supplied and added to the comma, stock of
the ocean. It should be understood that pisciculture is so
longer the curious experiment it was 100 years ago, when
Lieutenant Jacobi described his seams in hatching ova ; it
has grown into • real importance little dreamt of Ly Joseph
lUmy, the Vosges peasant, who gave the hint to M. le Pro-
fessor Caste, and it is now proved to be practicable to any
extent; aid as affording • prolificanurce of wholesome and
nutritious food when beef and mutton are becoming scarcer
and dearer every year, it is especially deserving attention as
a matter of public welfare.

THE EARLY CLOSING MOVIENECT IN MI BOROCG H.
—The large retail establishment of Masers. W. Tarn and
Co.. the well.known linendrapem, of Newington•canseway,
which employs about 300 bands in its several departments,
and has long been eminent for the practice of early closing,
was the scene of a lecture, on Friday evening kit, by the
Rev. James McConnell Hussey, in (*merlon with the
Early Closing Aseociatioo. The company assembled in the
spumoni carpet.room of the building, which had been taste-
fully decorated with illustrations of the lecturer's theme,
and mottoes hailing the work of the Early Closing Asso-
ciation. Mr. W. Tarn having taken the chair, the rev. lec-
turer proceeded to speak on the subject of " Rome." to an
audience numbering about 500, including many members of
the leading City firms, and a large proportion of ladies. In
the course of the complimentary 'Admire which followed
the lecture, Mr. Tarn's co-operation with the movement
which led to such a mantle( was gratefully acknowledged
on behalf of the employes.

EORNIMAIeII TEA la choice and strong, moderato
la price, sad aholesoa3. ue. Than advantages have stewed
for this Tea a mural pratereace. to Y *old to pubis by ;US
eguala-lA4vertlaualat.)