The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-05 00:00:00

FISH CULTURE AT HOME.

It is now over two years since we noticed the
progress made in salmon breeding in the ponds at
Stortmontfield, on the river Tay, near Perth. As we
then stated, a breeding at these ponds can only be
taken once in two years, because of circumstances
developed in connection with the natural history of
the salmon, which shows that only one-half of a
brood migrate to the sea at the end of the first
year ; and there being only one reception pond at
Stormontfield there was the imminent danger of
any newly-hatched fry being devoured by the two-
year-olds, which would be in waiting to make their
exit to the sea. This blemish of the Stormontfield
salmon nursery will, we believe, be speedily reme-
died, as another reception pond is about to be added
to the suite. This will enable the conservator to
produce a hatching of 300,000 salmon every year.
These will be protected in the ponds till they change
from the parr into the smolt stage, at which time
they become imbued with the migratory instinct,
and seek to visit the salt water. Many questions
connected with the natural history of the salmon
have been now set at rest by the experiments car-
ried on at Stormontfield. It is certain that the
paer becomes a smolt, that the smolt in due time
changes into a grilse, and, if not killed premiturely
—for we kill even our virgin fish—that this latter
becomes a salmon. These pisciculture' experiments
also settle the dispute as to the fecundation of the
fish—viz., that it is an external act entirely, hence
the art that has arisen in France and elsewhere of
artificial spawning and protected breeding.
The total number of fish introduced into the Tay
through the operations at the breeding ponds has
been in round figures something like a million and
a quarter, and the rental of the river has grown in
consequencv; an increase of 10 per cent. being due
to the ponds—the expense of these being only about
£1 per week. We have the authority of Sir William
Jardine for stating that pond-bred fish suffer no de-
terioration from the circumstance of their birth and
artificial nurture ; on comparing the fish of the
(Stormontfield) ponds with those in the river, that
gentleman found a remarkable similarity and agree-
ment of the different stages in all respects with
those of the same age.
The first hatching on the artificial plan took place
at Stormontfield in November and'December, 1853,
the operations being conducted by Mr. Ramsbot-
tom, an eminent practical pisciculture' manipulator.
It was eminently successful, the whole of the 300
boxes being stocked, at the rate of 1,000 eggs per
box. The fifth hatching, which was performed in
November and December, 1859, was also highly
successful, resulting in the addition of 250,000
smelts to the salmon stock of the river Tay. The
whole of the proCeedings connected with this sal-
mon nursery at Stormontfield have been watched
with great interest' by the naturalists, as well as
by sore interested in the development of the
salmon fisheries in their commercial aspect. Various
experiments have been made from year to year by
Mr. Buist, the conservator of the Tay fisheries, with
the view of 'escr.rtaining the rate at which salmon
grow. These ponds afforded him ample facilities for
watching and identifying the fish, which were
marked in various ways before being let into the
river. The pond-bred salmon were found to grow
very rapidly. Of salmon fry liberated for their sea
voyage in May Many' were taken in July of the
weight of from 31b. to 71b. The most curious fact in
the natural history of this valuable-fish is, that of
two salmon spawned at the same time one may visit
thei sea and become a grilse of 61b. weight, while the
otlier is still a little parr of icz., and in the succeed,
ing 12 months the one may be a nicely grown sal-
mon of 121 b., while the other, having only just as-
sumed the scales of the smolt, is timidly ventuting
down the river to pay its first visit to the sea.
he perfect results of the latest hatching at these
ponds will not be ascertained for a few months yet.
The spawning was begun on Martinmas-day, 1862,
and was concluded on Dec. 2d of that year—the
operation of spawning is thus protracted from the
difficult of obtaining fish with the milt and roe per-
fectly ripe. Mr. Buist (conservator) found it neces-
sary to the success of this year's spawning to cap-
ture 119 full grown salmon, and 231 grilses, and out
of these 18 salmon and 22 grilses were selected for
manipulation, and the number of ripe eggs obtained
froM the lot was 275,00. Most of the fish spawned
were females, and it may be noted here that the milt
of a single male fish will fructify the eggs of two or
more females. These eggs, with a slight percentage
of waste, all came to life, and in the comparatively
short space of 115 days; former hatchings having
taken from 15 to 25 days longer. The ponds a
Stormontfield are beautifully situated on the banks
of the Tay, about five miles from Perth, and are
well worth visiting, either at the spawning or the
migratory season. Peter Marshall, the keeper,
thoroughly understands the art of pisciculture, and
receives visitors with great urbanity. It is ne-
cessary in visiting the ponds to hire a conveyance
at Perth, as there is no railway on the pond side of
he river.

Incited, no doubt by the success of the Stormont-
field experiments, the lessee of a salmon fishery on
the River Ugte, in Banffshire, has commenced
breeding on a small scale. He has modelled his
ponds on those near Perth, and has provided ac-
cmnmodation for the hatching of 40,000 eggs. This
experiment being as yet only in its infancy need
not be further alluded to at present.
We know of another experiment in salmon breed
ing, now being carried on in the stewartry of Kirk-
cudbright, also in Scotland; but it is not yet ripe
for chscription.
But the best operations in salmon breeding are
being carried on in Ireland. They are the best as
regards their magnitude, and in the fact of their
having introduced salmon into rivers which were
formerly inaccessible to that fish. The fisheries we
allude to are those of the Messrs. Ashworth, who
take great interest in all questions relating to pisci-
culture and the natural history of all kinds of fish,
and who have by means of artificial breeding in-
created the money value of their fisheries twentyfold.
One of their experiments, a most economical one it
must be confessed, consisted in stocking a suite of
breeding-boxes with nearly 800,000 eggs at a cost of
£lB sterling. But the great merit of these gentlemen
consists in their having convertei Lough Mack and
Carra into salmon ponds—ponds embracing an area
of 25,000 acres of water. A large cut has been made
through a natural barrier of rocks which prevented
he ascent of the ealmon to a higher point than
Lough Corrib, and Mr. Thomas Ashworthexpects in
a short time that the salmon will be abundant in this
new field of water. The fish passage alluded to
above is nearly two miles in length, and was con-
structed at an expense of about £7OO, but an ample
interest will in due time be returned both for this
outlay and for the yearly expenses of the whole
fishery. Mr. Ashworth says himself that it is
much more profitable to breed salmon than sheep.
Mr. Ashworth is still hard at work. In a recent
communication he says—" We are now artificially
propagating salmon as usual by collecting the ova
and placing it in rills and ponds above Lough Mask."
Nese Galway fisheries extent 1 over a large tract of
country, the Loughs of Masi c and Carra being fed