The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-19 00:00:00

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the Rviariee at the Botanical GardedE.

Of the angler and lover of fish diet the society has
not been forgetful. At the recommendation of the
I society, successive votes have been placed on the
Estimates, and passed, towards assisting the spirited
enterprise of the Tasmanian Government in the in-
troduction of the king of fresh water fishes—the
salmon. The gouramie, a fish which has been re-
presented as the best fresh-water pond-fish in the
world, is already in the possession of the society,
having been presented after• many trials by a Mel-
bourne firm, and the difficulties of their introduc-
tion having now been overcome, the society expects
soon to obtain further supp;ies in considerable
numbers.

PRICE ...... ...4d.
STAMPEDi....Sd.

ACCLIMATIZATION.

The followieg letter has been addressed to the
Editor of the Times :

Sirs—You have so frequently devoted a large
portion of your space to the details of what is being
done in the novel and interesting project of anlima-
tization, that I think you will be glad of the oppor-
tunity of furnishing your readers with a few facs
as to the past history and present condition of en
ossociation which may fairly claim to rank among
he most energetic, successful, and progressive
acclimatization societies in the world.

The ee.rp, tench, roLch, and dace, as specimens of
ihe not very valuable pond-fishes of England, and
the golclfiAl, have been introduced and distributed
in various localities favourable to their multiplica-
tion.

The following statement is just about to be issued,
for the reasons it itself explains. It conveys in a
concise form all that we have at present done,
and I feel sure that its publication in your
columns will not only give pleasure to thousands of
kind-hearted persons who are gratified by the pros-
pect of increasing the happiness of their fellow-
creatures, but will incite other British dependencies
to take active measures to add to the comforts,
luxuries, and legitimate pleasures of their people.--
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
EDWARD WILSON.
Melbourne, March 26.

But as illustrating by a small success the won-
derful results capable of attainment by acclinaatiss-
tion if adopted on a proper scale, the Council would
refer to the fact of having introduced living speci-
mens of the sea fishes of Europe in the shape of the
gray mullet and the edible crab; not, indeed, in
numbers sufficient to justify a hope of establishing
the breed, but amply suggestive of what will be
done in the future.
In a country so subject as this to the ravages of
insects, the case of the agriculturist has also been
carefully considered. Hundreds of industrious
farmers have, even this year, been ruined by the
caterpillar, and similar visitations must necessarily
be expected. The introduction of insect-destroying
birds has therefore been carefully attended to and
with this has been combined an effort to surround
our colonial residences with those interesting asso-
ciations which constitute no slight portion of the
charms with which the name of home" is ever
surrounded. The thrush, the bluckbird, the skylark,
the starling, the chaffinch, the sparrow, the Chinese
sparrow, the Java sparrow, and a most active and
interesting bird, the Indian mine, may now be
considered thoroughly established, and arc rapidly
extending by natural means through the colony.
The goldfinch, the linnet, the greenfinch, the yellow
hammer, the ortolan, the canary, the ruble, and
many kinds of the smaller birds of other countries
are being accumulated in the aviaries of the society,
and many of them have already bred there.
The nightingale and the hedge sparrow have been
promised us by benevolent ladies at home, and the
Queen herself has made an effort to supply us with
the rook. To other liberal friends of the cause we
are indebted for promises of the gazelle and the
edible crab.
As a contribution of very particular interest to
the cottager, the introduction of the Ligurian bee
may be adduced, that insect being peobabiy, from
its industrious and wonderfully prolific properties,
the most valuable in the world. This bee is multi-
plying with almost incredible rapidity, and will
soon be accessible to all classes.
A widely-extended correspondence and a system
of kindly interchange are knitting us in interesting
relations with kindred societies in all parts of the
world; and to gentlemen in England, France, India,
Ceylon, and China the scciety is, in particular,
under deep obligations.
The very great distances at which the operations
of the society have to be carried on, and the diffi'
culty of getting placed in communication with the
right class of persons and institutions calculated
to aid the enterprise, should argue in favour of as
steady persistence of effort, protracted over many
years, and should show the false policy of any ill.
considered interruption of a great national scheme.
The British Government has recently been in-
duced to take up the project of acclimatization with
an amount of consideration altogether without pre-
cedent, the Foreign and Colonial-cffices having
recently sent to British emissaries in all countries
in the world a series of questions as to the various
desirable natural products of each country, and the
Admiralty has issued a circular to all commanders
of her Majesty's ships, directing them to render
every service in their power to tho cause of ace i•
maiization in the conveyance of specimens.
In almost every colony in these seas acclimatiza-
tion societies have been foundod,most of them pay-
ing that of Victoria the compliment of taking it es
their model, and with Sydney, Hobart Town, Ade-
laid, Brisbane, Auckland, Lyttelton, and Dunedin,
the Melbourne Society is thus brought into friendly
and frequent communication. A French man-of-
war is at the time of the preparation of this Etatcx
ment engaged in bringing the society specimens of
the yak, the ostrich, and other animals.
There is something so attractive, and at the same
time so novel, in the mature of acclimatization, that
paragraphs referring to the proceedings of the
society attain a circulation more general than
almost any other subject in English and foreign
newspapers, and such notices are calculated greatly
to interest strangers in the progress of the colony.
Even the very disasters and deaths inseparable from
this kind of experiment are not without their uses,
as many interesting specimens have been contrie
buted to the National Museum from the collection
of the society.
The Council of the society as composed of gentle-
men who have no personal object to serve. They
attend the weekly meetings at the cost of consider-
able valuable time taken from their business hours,
and the reports of their meetings will show that
the attendance is such as no other non-commercial
body in the colony can boast of.
The Council think that in this brief enumeration
of facts they may consider that ' results' have been
obtained sufficient to carry conviction to any nu*
prejudiced mind to show how impolitic it would be
to allow their proceedings to be rashly or wantonly
interfered with, and to justify them in expressing a
doubt whether any other public money is as advan-
tageously expended in regard to the future as that
portion with which they have been intrusted.
e 4
From the very novelty of the project of sys t
matic acclimatisation, and from the almost illimit-
able range of the objects with which it seeks to
deal, a fertile topic is afforded to the sneers of the
thoughtless and the misrepresentations of the
informed. But in seeking to stook this country
with new, useful, and beautiful things, to add to
our national wealth, to suggest new forms for our
sports
colonial industries, to provide for manly
which willead the Australian youth to seek their
recreation on the river's bank and mountain side
rather than in the café and casino, to surround
every homestead and the path of every wayfarer
with new forms of interest and beauty, and to add
new elements to the food of the Entire people, the
Council conceive that they are engaged in a work
sufficiently noble to secure the sympathies of every
good mans
A!cl_of parents, in particular, they
would ask, whagmay not be made of this fine colony
when the seed this society is now diligently seeking
to
BOW shall, have had time to fructify in a complete
harvest? '

THE MACKAY GREAT GUN.—This gun was again
tested on the Croesby Sands, near Liverpool, yesterday,
with great success. The ehols passed twice through a HOC'
tion of the side of the iron plated ram Agincourt; and On
being tested for range with a charge of 301 b, of powder,
made the first graze at a distance of 4,500 yards, which is,
we understand, a satisfactory proof of the value of this gun,

- -
The Gazette de France says:—" Our letters
dir€ct from Rome, written by persons who are perfectly
well-informed on the subject, state that the Pope has now
recovered, and is in good health."

A MAN DECAPITATED ON A RAILWAY.--AII ing
quest which was not concluded until a late hour on
Tuesday night, was held before Mr. W. Carter, coroner for
East Surrey, at the Wandsworth and Battersea Union on
the body of Stephen Largent, aged 36, who was horribly
mutilitated by an engine on the line near the Battersea
Park Station of the Brighton Railway. On Sunday after-
noon, about four o'clock, the deceased was proceeding
along the line towards London, when an engine and tender
struck him with tremendous force. He was found with his
head and one arm complaeiy severed from his body. It
shown that the deceased, waswin was a respectable
mechanic, had doubtless gone on to the line to seek for
groundsel and cotton waste, sowe of which woo found in
his pockets. The Coroner having summtd up, the jury
returned a verdict of Accidental Death,