Chapter XII. 

 CARE OF THE EGGS. 



"In the morning sow thy seed, " says Solomon: — This advice 

 of the Sage of the East has many appHcations to the affairs of 

 every day life, and amongst other things it may well apply to 

 the subject under consideration, not in its literal sense, but in the 

 spirit of the admonition. As the early morning is the best time to 

 sow seed, so is the morning of the season the best time to spawn the 

 fish, as they are then in their best condition for that process, and 

 besides the young Avill have a much better opportunity to grow with- 

 out molestation, their most inveterate enemies not appearing until 

 after the season is further advanced. Thus it is that a greater per- 

 centage survives, which, becoming marketable before the main crop 

 arrives, bring higher prices and give the culturist encouragement by 

 a quick return upon his labor and capital. 



Again our quotation hits the mark, for the earlier the spawn is 

 taken from the bed the greater will be the reduction of losses, as by 

 leaving it exposed, the spawners themselves devour it. 



The early morning is the favorite time for the goldfish to spawn, 

 though it is sometimes kept up until noon. The fish are seen chas- 

 ing each other and rolling over the material thrown into the water 

 for that purpose. Upon inspection of the loosely floating clumps of 

 roots, we discover that they have adhering to them a great many 

 small round Avatery-white, creamy or yellow colored balls about the 

 size of a pinhead; these are the eggs of the goldfish. The bunches 

 of roots are then carefully removed from the water, and the individ- 

 ual rootlets bearing the eggs are either cut off with a knife or pair of 



