REARING OF THE YOUNG FRY. 1 93 



wanted.* The boxes should be perfectly clean, so 

 that there will be nothing but the fish and the water 

 to pour out. The next thing is to count them. To 

 do this, net out a quantity from the hatching-troughs 

 into a pan of water. Place this pan side by side with 

 a large can or pail of water. Then take a dipper and 

 dip up a few fish from the pan and pass them over to 

 the pail, counting each dipperful as it is passed over. 

 You had, perhaps, better begin with only four or five 

 in the dipper at once, but with practice you will be 

 able to count seven or eight or more at a time as you 

 pass them over. It takes from half an hour to an 

 hour, according to your dexterity, to count a thousand. 

 It is a good plan to score every hundred, so that, if 

 you lose your count, you will not have to go back far 

 to recover it. It is very easy to forget your count, and 

 very provoking to be obliged to count over again two 

 or three thousand because of forgetting the exact num- 

 ber ; but if you score every hundred there is no danger 

 of being driven to this. The temporary box for the 

 night should be in place when you begin to count 

 them, so that the counted fish will not be obliged to 

 stay long in the pail or can. If there is a large num- 

 ber to send off, they should be counted the day before, 

 and placed in the boxes, fed well, and covered over 

 for the night. They will then be in good condition to 

 start the next day, which is a very important point. 



* In transferring young fry from one receptacle to another, it 

 is easier and safer to pour them over, water and all, than to net 

 them out. If the fry are very thick, it is sometimes best to 

 transfer part of them with the net, and pour over the rest. 



9 M 



