130 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jail., 



young fish are placed in the rearing-troughs, which is the better 

 plan. The troughs are eight or ten inches deep, six feet long, and 

 twelve or eighteen inches wide. From five to eight thousand can 

 be kept in each, with a half -inch stream of unused water running 

 in at different places, so as to keep a kind of gentle whirling mo- 

 tion through the box. By this plan the food is kept in motion 

 longer and more readily taken. Screens should be very carefully 

 fastened at the outlet. The fry should be fed at least three times 

 a day, or oftener if possible, on scraped liver, sour milk, or any 

 food suitable for them that can be made fine enough, but it must 

 be made very fine or many of the fish will die from starvation. 

 All that lodges on the bottom of the box must be covered every 

 second day with fresh earth. A few weak ones will die anyway. 

 The larger ones should be taken out and put into the fry. pond as 

 soon as they are strong enough. They will begin to worry and 

 bite each other very soon, and a weak trout does not dare eat till 

 all the strong ones are satisfied. So he is getting weaker while 

 the stronger ones are getting ready to swallow him, which you may 

 always expect when a trout reaches twice the length of his mates. 

 Spring now finds the trout-breeder busy feeding, watching, 

 separating, and counting his little fish; getting them into the fry 

 ponds, as soon as they are large enough, where they will grow 

 faster and have greater liberty. As the warm days come on 

 more or less of the young fry begin to show weakness. If a hot, 

 dry time comes in April or May many of the little fellows will 

 refuse to eat, and the water will take them against the screens, 

 where they will die by scores, hundreds, or even thousands. At 

 such a time many a breeder has lost his entire stock of fry within 

 twenty-four hours. A salt bath, or plenty of fresh earth will 

 avoid this great loss, but it must be taken in time, for a sick trout 

 always dies. There are several ways of applying the salt. This 

 is, 1 think, the best. Take 10,000 fry into a pan of water and 

 stir with a feather a half-pint of fine salt into the water. Keep 

 them in the brine, say, two minutes. They will lie on their backs 

 and appear to be dying. Then pour them back into the box or 

 pond, and in a few minutes they will be all right again. The 

 fungus will peel from their bodies and can be seen on top of the 

 water. I repeat, this will not save the fish that have begun to get 

 against the screens, but will prevent this, if taken in time in many 

 .cases. It is a preventive, not a cure. 



