CULTURE OF THE SHAD. 155 



such a boiling within as keeps the light shad eggs con- 

 stantly free and buoyed up. The result was a triumph. 

 Out of 10,000 ova placed in this contrivance, all but seven 

 hatched. In spite of these delays, and of the imperfect 

 means at hand for taking the fish, Green succeeded in 

 hatching and setting free in the river many millions of 

 these tiny fry. 



"As no way is now known of keeping shad in ponds or 

 pools, they must be watched at their breeding-grounds, 

 and when the spawn begins to flow freely from them, 

 operations may commence. The fishing must take place 

 by night, because (near Hadley Falls, at any rate) no ripe 

 females are captured by day j those taken are all spent, or 

 not yet ready to lay. This may be because they are in the 

 deep holes, spawning, or because they are above, in the 

 quick water. The seine must not be hauled quite ashore, 

 but the bight of it must remain in the shallow water, that 

 the fish may be kept alive. Thence they are taken out, 

 and the spawn impregnated in a tub, or a large pan of 

 water. Many scales will fall in the water, and must be 

 carefully picked out, before the ova are distributed in the 

 floating boxes, wherein they may lie about one-fourth of an 

 inch deep. The boxes must be lashed end to end, in lines 

 of convenient length, and it is well to surround them with 

 a log boom, to keep off rubbish brought down by the 

 stream. They should be placed conveniently near the 

 shore, in a gentle current, but not so near as to risk being 

 left dry by a fall of the river. They will now appear as 

 if they had nothing in them, for the eggs are almost as 



