391 



ous places of the number of eggs over a square yard or less of bot- 

 tom. These counts varied from a minimum of lOO to a maximum of 

 2500 per square yard. It was difficult to find anywhere an area .of 

 bottom, however small, within the entire southern third of the field — 

 the only part examined — on which at least some eggs had not been 

 deposited. If we assume that the field has, as reported, an area of 600 

 acres (2,903,617 square yards), and that the eggs are distributed 

 over the whole area at the same rate as in the south third*, that 

 is, at the rate of 500 per square yard, which is probably a con- 

 servative estimate considering the very high density of distribution in 

 those portions where most splashing has been done, we have for the 

 field a total of 1,451,818,500 eggs. At the average rate of 500,000 

 eggs apiece (the number estimated by Cole and others for 5- to 6- ft), 

 carp), it would take 2903 females of five to six pounds' weight to 

 furnish these eggs. This is equivalent to saying that at various times 

 and places in the field between May i and May 9, 2g lots of 100 fe- 

 males each, spawned in the whole field. Looked at in this light our 

 estimate is, indeed, in all probability too lowf , and is so considered by 

 the best-informed and most observing fishermen, to whom it is no un- 

 common experience to see several hundred carp splashing at one time 

 in a space of less than an acre. 



May 12. Eggs in Danhole's field are advancing rapidly towards 

 hatching (embryo turning inside tgg), but the number of fungused 

 eggs has increased greatly since May 9. After making test counts in 

 various places, it was estimated that in the neighborhood of ten per 

 cent, of the eggs have eye-spots, the rest being fungused. This gives 

 a total hatch of 145,181,850 out of the 1,451,818,000 eggs present 

 May 9. In the south end of the field some fresh eggs, spawnecl in the 

 past three days, were found. Several lots of eggs of various ages 

 again taJ<en to laboratory for observation. A few of these hatched 

 on the way in. These eggs are evidently somewhat further advanced 

 than those from same lot brought in to the laboratory on May 9. 



In afternoon, visited Beck's Swale and ponds, between river and 

 C, B. & Q. Station at West Havana. Mr. Beck says that a hundred 

 or more large carp were rolling yesterday ( May 11) in the swale be- 

 hind his house. They come up by way of the township ditch. The 



*Note that we got several reports of carp splashing- in the upper part of the 

 field, behind the club house, between April 15 and May 15. 



tAdditions should also probably 1>e made to these numbers to allow for eggs 

 spawned before and after the estimates w^ere made, as these refer only to eggs in 

 field between May 9 and 12, and not to the total spawned during the whole spring 

 season. 



