SOME NOTES ABOUT AMERICAN FISH-CULTURE. 199 



trouble of doing so. Another way of packing, which is greatly praised by Mr. Wilmot, 

 of Newcastle, Ontario, is that of covering the eggs with clean snow; and then there 

 is the Russian method of packing in damp cotton, which, although I have never seen 

 it done, is said to be very successful. As a rule the roe is not moved in Europe until 

 the eye-spots are visible, but iu America they seem to transfer quite newly spawned 

 roe without any hesitation whatever, and in some cases the transit occupies several 

 days. Thus, Mr. Clark tells me, it happens that lake-trout roe is a whole week on the 

 way from the place of fecundation to North ville, where it is hatched without any part 

 thereof worth mentioning becoming spoiled. I can not, however, but believe that 

 roe which has been sent such a long way must give weaker fry than that which has 

 not been moved, and in this belief I am supported by Mr. Page, in his address lately 

 at the yearly meeting of the American Fisheries Society. 



In the same way as the hatching of the roe is different in Europe and America, 

 the fry are also treated differently in these countries. In America nearly all the 

 hatcheries are exclusively intended for the production of fry or so-called yearlings, 

 for planting in public waters. In Europe there are, however, besides stations for this 

 purpose, a number of hatcheries where fish are bred in ponds or private waters for 

 commercial purposes. With regard to the period before the fry has absorbed the yolk- 

 sack, there is not much perhaps to be said, for this is a comparatively quiet time for 

 the fish-breeder. The general experience is that it is better to keep trout and salmon 

 fry in trays during this period, so that the water can also wash it from below and pre- 

 vent its being stifled in the sediment at the bottom . 



The next period is far more critical, when the fry begins to take in food. The 

 fish-breeders of the old school have not, as is well known, troubled themselves about 

 the fry during this period, but when the yolk-sack has begun to be absorbed they 

 have let the fry out and allowed it to take care of itself. There is no doubt that in 

 many cases this has also given good results, and this method will probably continue 

 to be used for some time to come, but I, for my part, believe that as fish-culture 

 becomes more and more developed the fry will be kept in the ponds until it has 

 reached the age of six months or even a year. It is with the greatest interest that 

 I have followed Mr. Atkins's experiments iu feeding salmon fry until it has attained 

 the age of one year, which required a great deal of care and attention. The results 

 attained by this clever experimenter in breeding large quantities of salmon fry in a 

 limited space have been very successful, and these experiments were the more interest- 

 ing on account of Mr. Atkins having tried to replace liver, which until now has been 

 almost universally used, by living food. This is, in my opinion, one of the important 

 points for fish breeders, as the use of artificial +bod, both for the animal and vegetable 

 kingdoms, must be regarded as in a transition stage. 



The feeding of fry, and also older fish, with natural food may be done in two dif- 

 ferent ways: the organisms intended for feeding the fish can either be cultivated in a 

 separate place and then transferred to the basins or ponds where the fish are kept, or 

 the fish themselves can be put into ponds which have been specially prepared, so as 

 to produce a large quantity of organisms suitable for food. Each method has its 

 advantages, but if there is plenty of room the latter way seems to me the most suitable. 

 In America the custom is to build very small and shallow ponds, and Livingston Stone 

 says, in his celebrated work on Domesticated Trout, " build your ponds small, that 

 means business;" but I think you follow this advice far too closely in America. 



