To William Nicholson   10 June 1860

Melbourne botanic & zoologic Garden,

10. June 1860

Sir

I have the honor to inform you, that the trial of importing Salmon Ova to Tasmania by a shipment pr "S. Curling" has not had a direct success, the spawn having perished after a lapse of sixty days on the voyage for want of ice and, as I have been informed by the Gentleman, who conducted the experiment, only three days before the ship would have reached so high southern latitudes as to have brough the ova out of danger as far as the temperature of water was causing it.

It is however gratifying to know, that Salmon ova may be safely brought to Australia by adopting in a second trial those precautions, which the experience gained on this occasion suggests, and I beg to bring under your Honors favorable consideration, whether it would not be desirable to provide in the estimates of the expenditure for 1861 an adequate sum for bringing next season a quantity of ova of salmon to the rivers of Gipps Land.

I shall not fail to impress on Mr Black,1 the Gentleman in charge of the ova pr. "S. Curling" the desirability of furnishing a report on the experiments for future guidance in the same enterprise.

I have the honor to be,

Sir,

your most obedient servant

Ferd. Mueller.

 

The honorable the Chief Secretary2

1
Alexander Black, author of the report, 'Acclimatising and propagating salmon', New South Wales. Votes and proceedings of the Legislative Assembly during the session of 1861-2 (vol. 2, Sydney) (1862) paper no. 156.
2
MS file annotation, 12 June 1860: 'Read'. See also W. Henty to M, 23 and 24 April 1860; M to W. Henty, 27 April 1860; W. Henty to M, 9 May 1860; M to W. Henty, 15 May 1860; M to W. Nicholson, 23 May 1860; M to W. Henty, 29 May and 12 June 1860; W. Henty to M, 14 June 1860 (in this edition as 60-06-14b;) M to J. Milligan, 19 June; and W. Henty to M, 30 June 1860 (in this edition as 60-06-30a). At the request of the Tasmanian government, M made elaborate preparations to receive the shipment of salmon ova and trans-ship it to Hobart. Both the Governor of Victoria, Sir Henry Barkly, and the Chief Secretary, William Nicholson, took an active interest in the affair.

Please cite as “FVM-60-06-10,” in Correspondence of Ferdinand von Mueller, edited by R.W. Home, Thomas A. Darragh, A.M. Lucas, Sara Maroske, D.M. Sinkora†, J.H. Voigt† and Monika Wells accessed on 26 April 2024, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/vonmueller/letters/60-06-10