392 GLASS CATCHERS TO HANDLE EGGS. 



The fisli must be caught in a proper net, the eggs 

 taken from them and manipulated, the fish themselves 

 being returned uninjured to the water. All this re- 

 quires skill, and above all, if you do it yourself — and if 

 you want it done i^ropcrly you must do it yourself 

 — a knowledge of the habits of the fish, and con- 

 siderable strength to manage the wet nets, as well as 

 power to endure very gi-eat cold when wading in the 

 water, and operating on the fish. I have frequently 

 taken eggs when the weather has been so cold that 

 the nets have become stiff as wire fireguards. 



All these difficulties are now obviated by the fact that 

 those who wish to breed young salmonid^e can obtain eggs 

 all ready for hatching out from the various dealers in 

 eggs, a list of whom is given at the end of this chapter. 



Many failures and many experiments have now taught 

 us the proper time at which it is safe to move the eggs, 

 and has also shown the proper mode of packing them 

 so they will travel safely. 



When a consignment of eggs is first received from 



the dealer, the bottles or bags in which the eggs have 



been packed should be placed in cold water and the 



moss cleaned away from them, the eggs will sink to 



the bottom while the moss will float. They should 



then be carefully removed to the troughs by means of a 



glass catcher.''' 



* A "catcher" consists of a portion of glass tube about nine 

 inches long, slightly curved in the middle. 

 To use the catcher properly, you must 



(1) apply the thumb to the one end, while the other end is 

 placed opposite the eggs you wish to catch. 



(2) Kemove the thumb, and the eggs will instantly run up^into 

 the catcher. 



(3) Place the thumb on the end of the catcher again. If this, is 

 properly performed, the eggs will be found in the catcher, and can. 

 then be transferred to the troughs. 



